l4

INTRODUCTIONIn Wargames lllustrated no.ls I described the siege ofWinchester in 1141. In this series I am descibing three morewargame scenariosofNorman battlesfought in England in KingStephen's reign.

The Norman period has so much more to offer than jusr theBattle of Hastings. In the 88 years of the four Noman kingsthere were a number ofbattles in this country as well as on rhecontinent. Some oI these are docurnented well erough inchronicles wrilten ar rhe time ro provide trargames scendrios.These chronicles are well worth reading since they are primarysour€es and by reading them you can ge. directly in touch withthe Norman period. I have listed the ones which I have us€d inny References and you could probably get them through yourlocal library. I have produced rny wargame scenarios almoststraight {rom the chronicles which I have read, ba€ked up byrcfercnce to secondary sources. In this way I have tried torecrcate the feel of the Norman period, rather than give rnyselfahistory lesson. Where possible,I have tried to quote from thechronicles so that you can see what lhe medieval authonaclually wrote about these battles.

I hav€ included my own rules after the scenarios since they arepart and parcel oI the way in which I have des€ribed thewargames of the battles. You will see that my armies only have alimited number of troop types. This is partly due to the lack ofhard fact in the chronicles and partlybecause in rnakingmy ownrules I was most concemed with the overall way in whi€h thebattles actually happened. ratberthan gettingtoo bogged downwith details. My aim bas always been lo achieve playable andenjoyable s€enarios based as closely as possible on rhe odginatchronicles. Feel free lo adapl lhe scenano. to suil )our own

THE BATTLESAll three battles are from Stephen's reign in the three yealsfrom 1141 to 1143. These were amongst the toughest ofhis 19years as king. I have a soft spot for Stephen - and not jusrb€cause he is my ramesake. He seems to have been a likeablecharacter, who despite being dealt a bad hand by fate, playedthe gane for all he was worth. His main enerny was his AuntMaiilda. As the only srviving child of Henry I she wasconsidered by many people to be the natural heiress to rhethrone. Chief among these was her half-brother Roben. Earl ofGloucester. Throughout much of his reign Srephenhad to battlewith the many headed hydra ofrebellion, eirher from Nomanbarons acting on their own account or by others acling forMatilda. No marterhow hard he ried rhere was almost alwaysunrest somewhere in the kingdom. His eldest son Eustace diedin 1153 and ultirnately he was forced toacceptHenry, Matilda'sson, as his heir- Henry becane Henry II in 115.land wasrhe firsrof th€ Plantaganets, but that, as they say, is another story.

The first batde is Lincoln, fought on 2 Februar/ 1141. Thiswas against Earl Roben of cloucesier and Earl Ranutf ofChester. Stephen was defeated and captured. But later in theyear the rebels were defeated at Winchester and Robert was

Three Norman Battles, ll4l to 11431: LINCOLN

by Stephen Simpson

€aptured by tbe king s forces (see Wargames lllustrated no.15) .The two illustrious prisoners were exchanged and the conflictbegan again. Matilda took her anny to OxIord and plunderedthe surrounding countryside. Stephen advanced to Oxford andfought a batrle to closs the dver and enter the €ity. This rivercrossing is the subject ofthe second scenario. Aftersuccesstullyertering Oxford Stephen besieged Matilda in Oxford castle.After a siege of seveial months she managed to escape.

In June 1143 Stepben was at Wilton strengthening the casrlewhen Earl Robert appeared outside the town with an arny.Stephen advan€ed tomeet him with his amy, butwas defeated.This batde of Wilton is the subiect of the third scenario. Thecivil war continued- One chronicle paints a vivid picture oIEngland at that time: 'At this tine England began to betrcubled in many differcnt vlzys; on the one side to be very hardpressed by the king and his stpporters, on tbe other to be mostviolently afilicted by the Ea ot Gloucester; sometimes toendurc the fuious attacks of one party. sometimes theunbidled nge of the other; but always znd everwhere to be ina twmoil and to be teduced to a deseft.' (GS)

This low point ofEngland\ history is,l'm sure, not as widelyappreciated as it could be. War devastated the country,panicularly in the south. Sieges were common. All three ofthese scenarios are €entred around castles. The scope for*argaming is immense, borh for campaigns and larger battles,as well as for innumerable skirmishes of all sons.

LINCOLN 1141Lincoln h the most inieresting ofStephenh batttes and it is theone for which the most inforrnation is available. At the end of1140 Earl Ranulf of Chester and his brother William ofRoumare captured Lincoln casrle by a lrick. When Stephenheard of their treachery he hurried no(hwards wilh an almyand besieged the castle. Ranulfescaped and set about raising arelief a.my, including troops ofhis own earldom and a body ofWelsh spearmer. He also applied toEarl Robert ofcloucesterfor help. Robert was bis father-inlaw and since his daughterwas stilt in Lincoln castle he roo raised an army. This consisredofhis own followen and a force of 'Disinherited, - those whoselands had been forfeited to the king because of their a egiancero the rebeh. The conbined rebel arrny was probabty not aIlhat large because it was assembled in the dead of winter overIong distances and was nill able to reach Lincotn ready to givebattle on 2 February.

The exact site of the batrle isunknown bur it was Drobablv rolhe wesr or rhe ci l ) on g'ound, loprng down lo u *ut. ' .ortr .called the Fosdyke. King Stephen'. . . had sentforuard averystrong body of knights and footmen ro stop rhem as.theyemerged from a ford . . . (cS), bur tbey were swepi aside bythe rebel army as it crossed over. The rebels formed up ready toadvance on the city and Stephen's army formed up outside of it,ready to meet them. 'The armies rnet near rhe city, and beingclrawn up in order on both sides, baitle was joined. The kingdivided his army into three bodies, and the same order wasobserved onthe other side.' (OV)

There is a wealth of information in the chronicles, but not asystematic blow by blow account of the battle. However. byinlerlocking the delails from each chronicle a reasonablyaccurate picture of the disposilions ofthe two amies and ofthebattle i.self can be built up.

Srephent army: 'He himself rook up rhe cenrre posir ion inlhe midst of a host ofnailed knights, who were disnounted anddrawn up in close fomation.' (HH) In fronl of this infantrywere lwo bodies ofcavalry. one composedofa mixture ofearhand the other commanded by William of Ypres.

Ranulfand Robert:'ln like manner, Ranulf, Earl ofChester,with his cavalry. also dismounted, and encouraged the boldinfantryof Chestertothe work of slaughter. (OV)This infantryalso had two bodies of cavalry in front, one consisting of the'Disinhented' and the other under the command ofRobert. lnIront oI his cavalry were the Welshmen.

The battle opered with a fierce charge by the rebels'Disinherited' agaiflst the king's'Earls'. The'Earls'were not acohesive force and the 'Disinhented' nea.t business. Theybroke through lhe body ofthe Earls' . . . with such force that itwas scattered. as ir were. in the iwinklingofany eye and dividedinto three. For some of thern were slain, others laken prisonerand yet others look lo flight. (HH)

On the oiher flank, the cavalry of'. . . Willian of Yprescharged the Welsh as they were advanc;ngon the flank and puttheln to flight.' (HH) They must then have engaged Robert scavalry. but not Ior long because'. . . the forces ofthe Earl ofChester drove back this troop ofhorsernen and it was scatleredin a noment like the first line.' (HH)

The whole rebel army now attacked Stephen. And so KingStephen was left alone wilh his infantry in the midsr of theenemy. The latterencircled the royalarmyand attacked ir fromall sides, as if they were assaulting a castle. Thenceforth thebattle was seen to rage horribly around the royal defences,helnets and swords gleamed as they clashed, and the dreadfulnoise re echoed from the hills and tbe walls of the city. (HH)Stephen himself'. . . fought with sreat courage . . .'(OV) and'. . . he never ceased dealing heavy blows wilh his sword and aNonvegian battle-axe - . .'(OV) Eventually. he'. . . felltotheground on being sruck by a stone . . . (HN) He was takenprisonerand the batile was soon over. The rebels sackedthe cityof Lincoln.

Why did Stephen lose? This seems basically to have beenbecause his cavalry ran awry before his infantry got into thefight and lhis feature of the batlle must be reflected in thewargam€. The 'Earls' appeared to have had no real leader.There is flo obvious reason for the defeat of William of Ypres.except that he probablywent too far into the rebelarmy withoutsupporl. Maybe Srephen's infantry were already pinned downby the victorious Disinherited' lhus allowing the rebels to throwtheir infantry against Ypres's force. The rebels were obviouslyvery determined and there is a suggestion ;n rhe chronicles thatsome ofStephen's earls were a bit lukewarn in theirenthusiasmfor the battle.

15

although'. . . the king's own anny was very large . . .(HH),the'. . . force ofcavalry appeared below strength.' (HH) Thereis no statement of actual numbers, but bearing in mind thal ilwas winter and thal both sides were assembled in a hurry, Isuggest that Stephen had an armyofaround 5,000 nenwhile therebels were nearer6,000. The two wargame amieswhichl usedfor the battle are as follows (at a scale of 1:40):

Not€s1. All troops are B class (average) exceptthe Welshwho are Cclass (below average). There are no archels.2. The royal army is uphill.3. The opening phase of the battle should be with the'Disinherited' and 'Earls' charging each other, while william ofYpres charges the Welsh. The Welsh should really be beatenquite quickly so that Ypres ploughs on into Robeft's cavalry.4. Bearing in mind that €ommanden and leaden hold vitalplaces in ny rules (see later) I have used them to balance thebattle in favour of the rebels. Only Robert of the two rebelcommanders actually counts as a commander at the beginningof the game (Ranulf counts as a leader). However, if Robe(becomes a casualty then Ranulf can take over as cornnanderimmediately without there being any overall loss of mntrol ormorale. On Stephen\ side the 'Earls' do not count as having acommander within range or any leader for morale purposes,This reflects thei poor cohesion as a unit. If you do not use myrules you should ensure that your rules take into account therebels sreater conrrol and morale in thi \ bat l lE.

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THE FORCESAs to the sizes ofthe armies. that is difficult to determine. Thechroniclesto not seemto ag.eeoverlhe litlle information wbichthey provide. The rebels were said to have - . . assembled avast body ofmen under arms . . . (OV) The best knights andmen-at-arms were in the king s armyi but 1be enemy outnum-bered then in infantry and the welsh levies.' (OV) However,

:

When refighting Lincoln there is every chance that Stephen willstill lose in exactly th€ same way as he originallydid. But there isalso a good chance of a twist in the tail ifhis cavalry can hold onlong enough forthe inlantry to get stuck in and prevent his armyfrom being defeated piecemeal-

Next monlh: Oxford, 1142,

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oxFoRD ll42ln June 1142 Earl Robert sailed io Normandy to ask for helpfrorn tbe Count of Anjou. In his absence Stephen embarked ona brilliant campaign. He captured Wareham village and castleand went on to demolish the castle at Cirencester. Then hestormed the castle at Bampton and received the sunerder ofRadcot castle. All these castles were held by the rebels. Thiseffectively cut rebel communications with the continent andisolated Matilda who was at Oxford. Oxfordseems to have beena tough nut to crack.lt was described as follows: 'Now Oxford isa city very securely protected. inaccessible because of the veryd€ep water that washes it allround. most carefully encircled bythe palisade of an outwork on one side, and on another finelyand very strongly fortified by an impregnable castl€ and a towerof great height.'(GS)

The battle was on 26 September and began when'. . . theking approached wilh a large and well-trained army andapp€ared suddenly on the other side of the river.' (GS) Therebelsadvdnced from the ciry and' . . . were doingveD grierousharm to his men from the other side of the iver by vigorousarchery . . .' (GS) when Stephen was shown '. . . an old,extremelydeepford. . . ' (CS).Heplunsedinai lheheadofhistroops and on crossing'. . . turiously charged tbe enemy, andcompelling them to retreat to the gates of the cityjoined battlewirb them with the greatest spirit. (GS).Asrberestofhisarrnycrossed the river lhe rebels fled into th€ city through the citygales. Thegateswere left open andStephen's almyentered thecity mingled wilh fleeing rebels and sacked it. He closelybesieged the castle with Matilda in il for sorne tine, knowingthat if she was captured his kingdom would be secure.Unfonunately she had a lucky escape, being let down from thecastle towerbyropes and wearingwhitefordisguise in the snow,she escaped to nearby Wallingford. Shortly after the castle

This battle makes aD intriguing wargame. The king'. . . wassaid to have a thousand knights and more . . .' (HN) and soincluding the rest of his army on this victoious campaign heprobably had a totat ofaround 3300 men. Matilda cannot havehad many men wilh her after the debacle ofWinchester but sheis still said to have had'. . . a magnificent body of troops . . .'(GS), soaforce of2200 seems aboul ght. It is not possible to besure ofthe exact location ofthe battle and the ford since thereare several watercourses including the Thames to the west ofOxford in th€ direction of Stephen's approach Gee OS map164). One is right against the casile which is too close. so it musthave been over anotherslightly furtheraway that rhe batrle wasfought. In developing the scenano I have ignored all the othertlatercourses for the sake of playability and clarity. The mapshows my suggested dispositions. The ford should only be 2 or3movesfrom Stephen s army. Obviouslythe rebelsdidnot knowthatthefordwasthere.Matilda'. . .feltexcessiveconfid€nceinherself and her rnen . . - (GS) and maybe this led to menleaving the city with its gates open. presurnably in the beliefthat

Royal A.my1. 2 leaders

2. King Stephen(commander) plus2 leaders

3. 2 leaders

Amoured Infartry 15Unarmoured Infantry 10

Armoured Cavalry 28

Armoured Infantry 15Unarnoured lnfantry 15

Cavalry 20

Total

Rebel ArmyA. Brien fitz Count Armoured

(commander) plus

83

x40 = 3320

2 leadersB. 2 leaders 20

510

,,tO = ZZOO

Armoured InfantryUnamoured InfantryUnannoured Archers

Total

1� All lroops are B class.2- The baltle opens with part ofStephen's army (1) under fire

from the rebelarchers (B). AsI have saidthe archers seern topin the rebels as much as the royal army. Therefore onlySlephen\ armyparts (2) and (3) can move until thevanguardof his cavalry has just crossed the ford. Then everyone can

Three Norman Battles, ll4l to 11432: OXFORD

by Stephen Simpson

theycould not be got ar over the river. They were obviously nolpreparedforbattle and I suggest that the rebels are divided withmost near the ver and the rest starting nearer the city.

The presence of the rebel archers seems to have stimulatedStephen to rapid and effective action. I believe that archers arenot a panicularly important part of Norman armies. There is noreference to them in the detailed accounts of the battle ofLincoln and it is my beliefthat they were not able to decisivelyaffect battles whi€h normally came to close combat very quickly(perhaps partly as a resull ofa need to get out of archery fire!)For this reason I normally leave them out of my armies 'rntesstheir presence is dictated by the scenario of the battle, sinceotherwise they often slow down the real actionl At Oxfordarchers are required on the rebel side to ensure that Stephengets on with the action. Tbey may even have had an adverseeffect on the rebels by fixing their attention on the portion ofStephen's arrny directly over the river so that they did not seethe rest of his army on their flank until it was too late.

I do not know the commanden and leaders on either sideapart from Stephen. Maybe the rebels were commanded byBrien fitz Count of nearby wallingford who was a very firmsuppo er ofMatilda. At a scale of1:40these are the suggested

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Three Norman Battles, ll4l to 11433: WILTON

by Stephen Simpson

WILTON 1143In 1 143 Stephen and his army were fortifying a casde at Wilton.When Earl Robel heard of this he assembled an army andmarchedto do battle. The batrlewas described as follows: 'And

when the king. arraying his arrny in squadrons on both flanks forbaltle at close quarters, advanced from the town to meet himlhe earl, in soldierly fashion, carefully divided those he hadbrought with him into three bodies of men closely packedlogether and heavily charging his opponents with the greaaestresolution compelled the king to give ground . . . (GS).Mostofthe royal army were routed and Stephen and the Bishop ofWinchester were forced to flee as well. However. WilliamMartel, the king's steward, and his knights offered strongresistance. Eventually .hey were overwhelmed and he and agreat many otherswere lakenprisoner. Wilton, as withLincolnand Oxford, was sacked. I have only this one chronicle for thebattle so there is nol too much to go on, but there is enough todevelop a reasonable wargame scenario.

I suggesl that Robert was coming from the direction of hispowerbase al Bistol. This means that he would probably havearrived no hwest of the town where he would have had theadvantage of higher ground as he advanced towards StephenGee OS map 184). Both armies appear to have had time to beproperly organised. The reference 1o squadrons probablymeans cavalry, with by implication, infantry in thecentre. SinceRobert was also organised in rhree bodies it seems likelythat hehad a sinilarformalion. In the absence of any guide to numberslsuggest 4400perside, alihough ifanything I feelthat this is anover-estimate. In any case there is nothing to suggest that thesideswere particularly unequal, so I decided that the two armiesshould be rhe rame. Ar a scdle ol L:40 rhe l$o armie\ are as

Royal Army1. Bishop of winchesterAmoured Cavalry

36

1. All troops are B class and the rebel arrny is uphill.2. The naned leaders are those mentioned in the chronicle as

beingpresent at the battle (GS). They are not likely to be iniheir correcl places because I have no information on this-The Bishop of Winchester may not have been a leader assuch at all.

3. There are two rivers around Wilton but since they are notmentioned as affecting the battle or the rout, I have onlyused rhem ro mark the edges of the battlefield.

The rebels have an advantage in that they are uphill and sinceihey wonthe original batde I havegiven them 3 extraleadersiohelp their cohesion and morale. Otheruise, this is a fairly ev€nbattle and no lessexciting thanthe other two scenarios for ihat.

INTRODUCTION TO THE RULES

Rebel ArmyA. Miles of Hereford Armoured Cavalry

(leaders) plus 1 leaderB. Robei of GloucesterArmoured Infanlry

(commander) Unarrnoured InianlryWillian of Salisbury(leader) plus 2 leaders

C. Robert fitz HildebrandArmoured Cavalry(leader) plus I lead€r

There are a number of battles between Norman armies that canbe recreated as warganes. In these three I have lried to give aflavour ofwhatthe Norrnan peiod canoffer. The rules whi€h Ihave us€d to refighl these battles are my own and sothe amiesin pa icular lnay need to be modified to suit yourown rules. Ifeel thar it would be usetul to describe my rules here, parrlybe€ause they were speci{ically designed for these refights (andothefs) and pa ly because they may have some intereslingfeatureswhich evolved as I gradually created them over a senesofbaules. You naythinklhem abitcumbersome. and in placesindeed rhey are. But they do help to recreate the ebb and flow ofa confused mcl6e which is what nany Norman battles boileddownto, andwhich lwas tryingto recreare and investigate. Themost interesting features are:

1� A mechanism thal allows for men on both sides to run awayfrom a melae at lhe same time in large or smallnumbe$. Ibelieve that both armies in a battle would wear down in thisway before one side gained the upper hand.

2. The use ofleaders andlhe commanderprovides a simple wayofreflecling the morale and cohesion ofan amy. Bygiving asmallside rnore leadersthan a largerside I have managed toachieve one oftbe elusive objectives ofwargames, that is thewargame where a small army can defeal a large army.

20(leader)

2. King Stephen(commander) plus2 leaders

3. William Manel(leader)

Armoured lntantryUnarmoured lnfantry

Total

l535

20

I l 0

*.to-T"..-

20

3535

20

I t 0

"40 =

4400

^ ol/

l/ lfa

w

Total

4400

31

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lJ- !B( l l ]1

trt IRREGLILARMINIATURES LTD IgARK R().\D. N()R I ()\. \IALI Otr_. \.l ORliS YOlt !r!.A T[L. (06]3) 6!t693

OUT NowrrThe lrreeular Miniaru.€s Ancie.r Rule s.r t2 40.if yo! santto.omnand 10.10 units.rllsslrrnishers.nd say.a do.€n el.ph.nGands€td.ath or elory In t hours. th.nr€ad6n. The

*q!....rorea.h lurn rhc only oth€r htorb.don you ned ls ldated on !h€ A{ Intoductory pa€c.. an.ienrs staner Pa.r. Ruresa

,1

:l

l$

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tili:

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.B&,

38

I have included a worked example to illustrate thecrucial m€leepart of the rules.

Uphill +1 Artackinsover a fordCommander in melee +l CctasqGee Commandersileaders below)

Remove whole lost units, otherwise keep a running total offigure losses against each troop type in eachmCl6euntil a wholeunit can be removed.

Nots, on M6l6es1 . On second and subsequent tums a merce can be extended by

l unit on each flank (a total of2 for each opposing group). A$oup must stay 2 ranks deep, so eventually the side withlarger numbers will wrap round the other.It also meansthalseparate mCl6es (and groupt can e.d up merging into one.After being tully extended casualties can cause one side tobecome less than 2 ranks deep. This is alright and is cateredforin the morale rules. Alternatively the group can contractto a maximum of2 ranks deep. The enemy stays in contact of

2. After 2 full turns ofmCl6e one side can try and break away ordetach from the other (€xceptthat infantry can never detachfrom cavalry). Throw one d10: Cavalry need 1to 9 to breakaway from infantry.Infantry against infantry and cavalry againsi cavalry need Ito 7 to break away.

3. When one side detaches from a m€l6e the other side throwsone d10 to see if it has to (or is allowed to) puFue:A 1 means it does for 2 tums.A 2 or 3 means it does for I tum. OtheNise there is no

Detaching frorn a mel6e is usually taken as a sign ofdefeat.

4. The charge bonus is allowed even when troops join anexisting mCl6e. providing thev end the charge in contactwith

4. Commanders/leadersCommanders or leaders with units under archery or in mCl6ecan become casuahies:

M6l6e A.cheryThrow a dlo for each leader 9 = Wounded Wounded

10 = Killed WoundedThrow a d20 for each commander 19 = Wounueu

20 = Killed Wounded

Being wounded only applies for the rnorale rest (if any) in the

Conmanders are ahraJs available for morale purposes. butthey can elect ro be active in a mel6e or not. If they are no1 activethen the +1 mCI6e factor is not allowed (see mCt€es). But, theycan only become calualties if they are acrive. This tules willrellect the temperament of the wargarner- An acti\'e comman,der in an even rnClde can tip the balance in favour of his ownside, as long as he does not become a casualty in the proces!.Leaders do not have this option.

Ifa comnanderor leaderis killed. then as an option he can becaptured instead (which for rhe purposes of the wargameamounts to lhe same thing). Any comnander or leader with aforce which is wiped out is killed or caplured. Any commanderorleaderNith a force which routs mal, escape orbe captured. Iuse a d6 with even chances ro decide any ofrhese possibililies.They help the \rargamer ro take a vened interest in hispersonality figures and help to reflect the fortunes of the realpersonalities in ihe scenarios.

5. Morale

1. When there is no uns,ounded leader o. commander in rhe

THE RULESFieure5

I used 5mm, but 15mm would be fine. Figures are nounted inunits of 4 cavalry or 5 infantry with the same frontage (in one

All lroop types are a combination of B orC class, armoured orunarmoured, archer or not.Cavalry are l7r points, so one cavalry unit is 6 points.Infantry are I point. so one infantry unit is 5 points.Always remenber this because the points value is used forcalculations in several places in lhe rules.Armies are organised in usually 3 or 4 groups of units. Eachgroup can be a mixtur€ of different iypes of units (see the

Orde. of Game Tu.n

2. Archery3. Mel6es4. Conmanders/leaders5. Morale

l. MovementArmouredlnfantry 8cmUnarmouredlnfantry 10cmCavalry 12cmlnfantry + 2cm when charging. cavalry + 3cm.Archers may move a maximum ofa half move and slill shoot.Rivencannot be crossed, but fords can becrossed al halfspeed.

2. Arche.yArchers can shoot in up lo 2 ranks. For each unir throw a d6.At long range. 12 to 24cm, subtract.l from each die.Al short range, under 12cm, subtract 3 hon each die_The .emainder are potential casualries.

Saving ThrowsFor each potentiai casualty of archery or rnel€e throw one d6.Unarmoured troops need a 5 or a 6 to be saved.Armoured troops need a .1. 5 or 6 to be saved.Otherwise they are casualries.

3. M€l€esMel€es occur when opposing troops advance or charge intocontact. In the first turn only 1 rank can Iight. For subsequenttums, count 2 ranks. Add up the rotat points for rhe figureseligible to fighi (infantry I point. cavatry lyr poinrt for-eachside.Then. for each unit eligible to fight add orsubtract rhe followingpoints to or from the total:Charging - t

- l

I

Divide the total figure by 5 and round down. Throwthis nunberot average dice and add up the total. Divide this by 2 and thernswer ls the number of points of potential enemy casuatties.

Apportion these potential casualiies as eventy as Dossibleumongi rhe dr l ferenr l roop ry pe. of rhe enemy unirs rnd rhenapply some saving throws. Bear in mind thar while I poinl is Iinfantry figure. a cavalry figure is wonh 17r points. Those ihatare not saved are casualties_

nel6e or group under archery.2. When 10% of points value of a group is lost in one tum.3 When a group in a m€l6e is outnumbered by a points value of2:1 or more.

Add up the following factors for each side which has to testmorale in each melee or Broup unde' ! rchery:Killed more points than lost in mel6e rhis tum +1In at least 2 ranks +1Commander not killed or captured (even if wounded) +2For each leader in mCl€e or with group (even ifwounded) +1Comnander not kill€d. wounded or caprured this rurn 2For each leader in mCl6e or wirh group killed. wo'rnded orcaptured this tum -1No comnander, and no leader in n€l6e or with group -3Over half B class in mCl€e or group +1Enemy wilhin 10cm. including in m€l6e -lNo enemy in contaci +2At least balf poinls value in mCl6e or group ar€ cavalry +1Outnurnbered by at least 2:1 points or grerter in mCl6e -1or Ouhunbered by at leas13:1 points or grearer in mCl6e -2For each 10% poinls lost by group rhis lurn -1

Throw 2 average dice (one counting plus and the other Ininus)for a potenlial modifier of + 1 or I depending on rhe differencein Ihe dice scores (or nothing if borh dice are the same). Thencompare tbe result with the fouowing rable:+5 or over OK+4+3+2+ 1

0

2 units rout3 units .out

Half units rout (or at least 5 units, whicheveris the most)All units in group roul

39

divided by lyr). The saving throws are 6, 4, 5, I soonly one figure is actually lost. Afrer dice throws forcornnander/leader casualties which are negative andsince 1t, points out of24 is less than l0%, the cavalrydo not bave to test morale.

lnfantry- ylofthe units are armoured, so rheytake yi ofthe 12points casualties which is 3. Saving throws are 5,3,4so they have I figure losr. 7a of the units areunarmoured, so they rake 7a of the 12 pointscasualt ies which is 9. Savingthrows are 6,5,5,3,4, 1,2,5,6 so they have 4 figures lost- Neither rype ofinfantry have any casualties canied forward frornprevrous tumsso no units are removed. But5 figureslost (4 + 1) is still5 out of25 which is 25%, which isenough for a morale test. The die throw for thecornnander casualty is nega.ive.

Infantry In two ranks +1, Commander present +2, Overmorale test halfB class +1. Enemywirhin 10cm -1,20% lost

thisturn -2. Thisgives atotalof +1. The averagedice throw for +/-l gives a +1 which gives a finaltotal of +2. This means that the 3 unarmouredunits of infantry rour_

This srnall examples gives a rather drastic result, but if rherew€re say 20 units per side the resulr would still have been th€same (or nearly the same) so that the 20 unirs on one side wouldhave reduced to 17. In this way one or both sides would weardown gradual lyunt i ladecisivemCl6etumwasreachedandone

REFERENCESThe main references are these:1. (CS) Gesta Stephani (The Deeds of Stephen) tanslaredby K.

R. Pot.er (published by Thornas Nelson and Sons Ltd,19ss).

2. (HN) H isto ria N ov e a b) w i iam of M almes b ury, rr anst^tedby K. R. Porter (published byThomasNelson andSons Ltd,l9s5).

3. (HH) Henry of Huntingdon: some evenrs of rhe reign ofStephen described in "The History of the English" (C. 1154)translated by T. For€srer (London, 1853), in t,1grnftHistotial Documents Volume II 1042-1189 edited by D. C.Douglas and G. W- creenaway (Eyrc Merhuen, 1981).

4- (ov) Ecclesiastiul History of Ensland and Normandy byOderic8 Vitalis, tdlanslated by Thomas Forester (Henry c_Bohn,l-ondon, 1853).

5. Warfarc in England 1066-1189 by John Beeler (ComellUniversity Press. 1966).

6. Ordnance Srney Landmnger Maps nos. 164 Oxford andsunounding area and 184 Salisbury and The Plain, both 17ainches to 1 mile.

Other useful references which I used are:7- The Anglo-Saxon Chrorrcle rranslated by c. N. carmons-

way (J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd. Everyman's Libmry, 1984).a. Nornan Costles in Britain by Derek Renn (John Baker

Publ ishe's Lld. lqTJ).9. The Saxon and Norman (irar by Christopher Brooke

(Fonlan,/collins, 1984).

Notes on Morale1� All rouled unils are permanentl) lost.2. The lessertroop types always rout firsr, that isCclassbefore

B class, then unarmoured before amoured and theninlantry before cavalry.

3. I{ in a mCl6e all the opposing units run away. rhen thewinning group stillhave to rest to see ifthey have to pursuethe dispersed fugitives (see Notes on M€l€e no3)

4. lf lroops are surrounded when rhe!'are forced to rout thenthey surrender instead.

5. There are no 'ules co!er ing di \o 'ganr,at ion.

M6lde Exampl€On the second round of a mCl€e, there are foul units ofarmoured cavalry in 2 ranks against I unit ofarmoured infanrryand3 unitsofunarmoured infantry (aho in 2 rankt. The cavalryhave I commander and I leader. The infantry have 1conrnander. All troops are B class. Both sides have theircommander active in the mel6e aDd lhe cavalry are upbill.

Cavalry 4 units @6 poinrs : 24 points, + 4forcommander inmCl6e and + 4 for being uphill = 32. 32 divided by 5 androunded down = 6 average dice.Inlantry-4units@5points = 20points. + 4forcommander=24. 24 divided by 5 and rounded down : 4 average dice.

Cavalry throw 5.2..1.4,5,4which gives a total of24.24 divid€db) 2 gives l2 poinls potenrial ca.uatt ies on lhe intanrry.Infantrythrow4.3,3,2which giv€salotalof 12. t2dividedby2gives 6 points potential casualties on rhe cavatry.

Cavalry - 6 points casualties is 4 potential figure casuathes (6