Mortimer’s Cross - AAR By Lord Stanley

Last Thursday we put paid to the lowly Lancastrian and nailed the body of the Lancastrian leaders to some nice new crosses at a place called Mortimer - henceforth known as ‘Mortimer’s Cross’ (sort of twisted version of history and local town naming etc etc…).

Lord Warwick seemed to have been affected by the heat by deploying his forces alongside the other Lancastrian Lord but soon remedied this by bidding the Yorkist leaders a fond fair well and withdrew his forces to cut off any Lancastrian retreat. Rumours of Warwick ‘The Kingmaker’ changing sides have been confirmed as being untrue and merely dirty Lancastrian propaganda.

Once this little mishap had been resolved good King Richard and I set about what was left of the rebel peasants. After a very short engagement the entire enemy host was put to flight (or death) having seen the demise of their leader, who was allegedly eaten by the Kings own warhorse- Hi ho Silver!!

Secure in his glory as true King of all England, King Richard slept on the field of battle ready to march on the morrow and defeat more scum- so in the words of Lady Delia of Norwich “Come on, where are you?”

On other matters has anyone seen my daddy??

Lord Stanley (The glint in the postmans eye)

Battle of Northampton - Letter From The Earl Of Wessex To King Richard III

My Dear Friend Richard,

I am sorry for the delay in responding but it has taken a long time to carry out a proper burial and build an appropriate monument for the fallen foe who died on the Field of Northampton.

The Earl of Essex wishes it to be known throughout the Kingdom that the Army of The Man with No name did indeed fight bravely and with honour - My Nobles recognise their courage and tenacity- we salute you. It was however a futile gesture and they should never have been expected to defend a position that day against our superior force both in terms of numbers and quality.

Ultimately our forces led by Myself , the Earl of Essex, and admirably supported by Lord Stanley managed to secure the prepared positron they had been tasked to capture. Our army did not have the stomach to continue what would have been a slaughter and graciously decided that the few enemy troops left on the battlefield would be allowed- honourably - to retire from the scene and hopefully learn from their error of judgement and misguided loyalty to a cause built on the foundations of illegitimacy. .

We acknowledge the courage of our foe and would welcome them as brothers to join and support our legitimate cause and question the leadership and judgement of our enemies senior commanders to allow such a one sided contest to occur in the first place. Let it be known i take no pleasure in the slaughter of fellow countrymen.

Your Noble Friend,


Perkins Welbeck
Earl Of Essex
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Warden of the Northern Marches
High Admiral of England

Duc de Beatee Arrives !!! - INVASION !!!

Invasion

The army of the Duc de Beateee has arrived on the shores of this kingdom of England in glorious fashion bursting through the host of Duke de Hathaway in a very convincing style. The cowardly Lancastrians lined the dunes as the French ships beached and disembarked their brave forces. They proceeded up the beach routing many thousands of iron shod billmen led by a so called noble knight. Some have previously described Francs Archers as "chicken" but these stout Gallic fellows certainly showed their mettle and together with the inspiringly accurate French gunners dispatched the billmen in short order.

The Lancastrian scum knights even left the area having been distracted by a handful of French Peasants allowing the bulk of the French army to successfully land and move to the nearby town where they took the castle by stealth, the garrison of which is now being buried beneath the dunes.

Another great victory to the Yorkists

Alistaire De Campbell
Scribe to the Glorious Dec De Beateee

The Queen Speaks

Well Sir Niknik,

Obviously this relates to a battle that went very differently to the glorious Lancastrian victory I witnessed where someone looking just like you failed to assault Daves position in support of his ally, whether through treachery, cowardice or incompetence I wouldnt know.

Your friend Queen Margaret

Lord Stanley The Younger - Latest Thoughts

Dearest Lords,

I have to take some issue with the recent comments issued by the Scottish element, namely;

1. Horde!! (Although there were two Yorkist Lords our numbers still failed to match that of the heathen Scots fighting in Lancastrian colours), they also had the advantage of secure flanks, narrow frontage, ditches and stakes over which we had to fight to get to the filthy dogs.

2. The only Lancastrians I saw praying were those under my sword at the end of the battle.

3. The only thing the Lancastrians held at the end of the day was a wake to mourn their numerous dead, they certainly did not hold their position as this was over-run by my lusty men. Although technically they did still hold it in a way, as most of their troops adorned the ground in a grisly array of death.

4. My guns crews were not slain but had merely withdrawn due to their powder being ineffective in the inclement weather.


My official head-counter Lord Darling (former chancellor and therefore brilliant bean-counter) said that he had counted over 100 dead felled by our arrows whilst we lost only 7 dead amongst our own number - A victory in any mans book- what happened on the other half of the field was none of my concern!!!

I’ll be quite happy to fight the remains of this army on any day of their Lords choosing!!

All the stuff about Fletch was true.


Lord Stanley the Younger –

“I seek him here I seek him there, my fathers slayer had better be ‘ware’’

Lancastrian Musings

We offer our greetings to all our noble subjects and allies.

We must celebrate our glorious triumphs in battle at Northampton and at Wakefield Common. The rebels have received two devastating defeats in the same week. Surely all must see that God is against them.

At Northampton our Scottish Friend defended the town and Priory against two rebel armies inflicting huge losses upon them and maintained his line of defence until night fell. The Rebel Earl of Essex revealed his popularity by fielding an army of foreign mercenaries. Stanley the Younger decided upon not supporting his allies assault for some mysterious reason so the Yorkists failed when by rights they should have easily swept our forces away. It is rumoured that 'Stanley the Younger' is a lookalike, the real Stanley having been kidnapped following a previous rout of Yorkist forces. Essex followed his usual practice of having huge numbers of his troops killed for no obvious reason.

At Wakefield Common our victory was even more decisive: Richard of York (self styled 'King' Richard), faced the forces of Margaret of Anjou and Lord Percy. All he had to do was leave Wakefield Castle, and take the road to Pontefract Castle to evade our forces. Instead he was cornered at Wakefield Common, believing that Lord Percy would aid him. Alas he was mistaken, for Percy had accepted Our forgiveness and deployed to attack Yorks forces. This he proceeded to do with skill and boldness. Anjous forces engaged Yorks all along his front and succeeded in turning back the rebels and eventually overwhelming their entire army.

At this point Richard could have shown his mettle and led his army to victory or death like a King. Instead he revealed his true nature; as his Men at Arms were hemmed in on all sides he slipped away from them and ran off to Pontefract, leaving his army to its fate. He boldly, bravely, ran away!

Richards army dissolved soon after and he was the only survivor. Our spies note that when interviewed by his allies after his heroic escape he confided "they were all expendable. I was okay and thats what mattered." Who could not want to follow this noble 'King' into battle?

We are grateful to our loyal and victorious generals and bestow upon them our thanks and the following gifts:

Our Scottish Friend is awarded the Lordship and Baronetcy of Houghton and Wyton, including the new village and garrison of Wyton on the Hill. He may also freely sack and destroy our disloyal towns of Lakenheath and Hendon at a time of his choosing.

We recognise the loyalty of our Noble Lord Percy and forgive him any sins and misjudgements that he may have had before. He has served Us bravely in battle and We award him the town and Castle of Wakefield, the Lordship and Baronetcy of the Alconburys.

Queen Margaret of Anjou's forces were led by a common soldier going by the name of 'Big Lawrence'. In our gratitude for his fighting skills, loyalty and success in the field of battle we award him the Lordship of Stewkely including Stewkely Meadows, and he is hereafter recognised as Her Majesties Champion.

In addition we must celebrate these crushing victories. All loyal nobles are instructed to have two days feasting and general debauchery, during which it will be in order to hang anyone bearing the name Richard or York without penalty as part of our victory celebrations. Peasants may have one half day off work to go to Church to thank God for saving them from the Yorkists.

For King Henry Plantagenet

A Highland Viewpoint

Gentlemen,

1. Please excuse the tardiness of this missive, as I have been incredibly busy after the dastardly attack by overwhelming Yorkist cowards round the bends in the river near Northampton. The 2 Yorkist lords, (Fletch & Nick) assembled their hordes (and my, they were big hordes) and brought them thundering across England's green and pleasant fields to bring death and destruction to my vastly outnumbered force, which was reduced by having many of their nobility attending prayers, and who therefore missed the battle.

2. That notwithstanding, the noble Lancastrian force bravely held their ground in the face of overwhelming odds, and even launched an audacious counterattack on Fletch's craven mercenary pikemen. This threw lord Fletch into severe panic, with various of his troops running in abject panic, while his noble knights, not having any counterparts to worry about, endeavoured to charge the advancing Lancastrians but botching up their manoeuvre and getting tangled up in a ditch - thereby playing no part in the battle. Some scurrilous bounders actually suggested that this was done quite deliberately, as a commander as able as Lord Fletch couldn't possibly make such a basic blunder, and that the Yorkist knights were afraid to face the Lancastrian infantry! Whatever the reason, the Yorkie bar Knights played no part in their armies endeavours, but almost joined their infantry in the route!.

3. Meanwhile, Lord Nick was fighting a much more canny battle. Advancing slowly, he was using his far greater volume of bowmen to whittle the gallant Lancastrian numbers. It wasn't without cost; the Lancastrian bowmen, incensed at the treatment they were receiving, showered the 2 Yorkist cannons with arrows, wiping out their crews. So as night began to fall, the Lancastrians were desperately holding their position by the river, having suffered dreadful losses from Lord Nick's archers, while Lord Fletch's forces were in complete disarray, with dead bodies strewn across the battlefield, and men routing in terror from the gallent band of Lancastrian defenders. An epic result for a hideously outnumbered Lancastrian force, and one that is thirsting for revenge.

One very enraged Lancastrian supporter.

TREACHERY TREACHERY TREACHERY !!

Gentlemen, another After Action Report from 'Sabre' our independent and totally impartial reporter who is covering the conflict.
Ian
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Yesterday on the green fields of the Sandal Castle Common, King Richard (Ian) offered the seemingly outnumber Lancastrian scum, the Duke of Somerset (Lawrence), the opportunity to join with the God fearing Yorkist cause. The Lancastrian trash spurned the Kings generous terms, and sought to gain an early advantage by advancing on the King and his army whilst they were at prayer. Enraged at such unchivalrous action the King Richard led his most noble knights in a glorious charge across the battlefield. As the cowardly mercenaries hired by the unworthy Lancastrians fled in abject terror, victory looked certain for the King. However, Percy Earl of Northumberland (Dave H) at that very moment did reveal that he had treacherously switched sides to the godless Lancastrian cause. Long will the Yorkist cause remember this action, and not rest until his rotting head adorns the walls of York. As the King cleaved his way through the Duke of Somerset's army he was heard to say, "I shall have my vengeance, in this life or the next !". In the fading light the remaining Yorkists sold their lives dearly cutting down hundreds of the ungodly Lancastrian filth before they eventually succumbed under the greater weight of numbers.

The King back as his Headquarters has declared that a reward of £ 500 will be paid to who ever can bring him the head of the despicable traitor Percy, and called on the Pope himself to excommunicate the coward, to ensure that his godless soul rots in the very deepest pits of hell.

Sabre
Senior Reporter at the Yorkist Times.

Battle of Tillyfield - Skirmish at Nibley Green

Battle of Tillyfield - Skirmish at Nibley Green On 10th Jun (By Dave Till)

I write this to report the emphatic victory of the ‘Yorkist’ forces at the battle of Tillyfield. Such a one-sided victory will surely never be forgotten. Despite the many heroic deeds performed on this battlefield the true glory belongs to John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln and his brave force that created the foundation for this victory.

Whilst preparing for the upcoming battle, news arrived within the Yorkist camp of another force approaching the expected battlesite. This force apparently being led by the Earl of Lincolns father. A decision was taken to despatch a small force to intercept, so as to ascertain their loyalties. Orders were given to delay their progress and prevent them reaching Tillyfield during the battle, also to seize any supplies of arrows ensuring they were in Yorkist hands. The Earl of Lincoln certain that his father’s loyalties were with the Yorkist cause volunteered to lead this force to prevent any ‘misunderstandings’.

Arriving at Nibley Green, Lincoln found an Army arrayed in front of him. He hastily placed his force on the field, still confident of his fathers affections he felt confident to place himself clearly visible at the front of his army. A view confirmed when troops left his fathers force and dashed across the battlefield swelling his ranks by a further 20%.

However his father’s views had been poisoned against the legitimate king and an unexpected bombardment ensued. Lincoln decided to rush across the battlefield in an attempt to speak to his father but he was not prepared to listen. The skirmish came to an end when a freak shot from one of the Lancastrian cannon unseated Lincoln from his horse and he had to helped from the field, reports of his death can not as yet be confirmed. However his brave actions did successfully delay this supporting force and all their arrows were in Yorkist possession by the end.

A word of caution against complacency though for the Yorkist cause. It must be remembered that the ultimate victors in any conflict sometimes distort history. Should the unthinkable occur and Lancastrian supported ambitions be successful, the truth about the heroic and brave delaying action will no doubt be distorted and claimed as a Lancastrian success whilst major victories such as that at Tillyfield will be striken from history for all time. Be warned!

Justice will be done as Nibley Green social services have been alerted to this child abuse.

Next Battles

June will see more of the great Lords of England join the fray.

June 10th
The Battle of Nibley Green, 1460: Pole v's Pole

June 17th
The Battle of Northampton, 1460: Essex and Stanley the Younger v's Scots Mercenaries

Additional acenarios for 1460 (sign up and claim your victory).

The Siege of London, 1460: 2 Yorkists v's 1 Lancastrian
The Battle of Worksop, 1460: 1 Yorkist v's 1 Lancastrian
The Battle of Wakefield, 1460: 1 Yorkist v's 2 Lancastrians

Other news:

Lord Grey has committed himself to the Lancastrian cause.

King Richard has seen fit to recognise the claim of Perkin Warbeck, annointing him as Lord Essex.

Campaign Information

Results so far:

Followers of the Lancastrian cause have made great claims as to their victories so far in the campaign. Some protagonists on behalf of the Yorkist cause have disputed the accuracy of these claims. Most have seen fit to keep their counsel to themselves.

Oh the rancour, the bleating. Love it. Please keep it up chaps its what campaigns are all about.

As the totally impartial campaign co-ordinator I can only go on what is reported. I do not listen to verbal "results" they could of course be biased and an attempt to pervert the course of history.

I am sure that you would all agree that a totally impartial campaign co-ordinator would not lower himself into such a position.

No instead the campaign will be judged by modern day historians who can use the carefully transcripted writings of the past to present thir own modern interpretation of the events of 500 (or so) years ago.

I present the Richard III Society as an example of this - despite the undisputed facts they still consider that complete and utter b*stard as being a jolly good chap.

There are two perfectly good ways of communicating such information - a simple e-mail to the group or posting on the campaign blog. I will happily post reports to the blog if requested. It is worth at least one player from a battle to report upon it or otherwise the events will simply be a postscript and lost for all time.

Unlike other campaigns, as you have found out you only get games if you "sign up" for them. Likewise you only get credit for your victories if you claim them, after all with nothing to go on the historians have nothing to re-interpret history from.

I hope that this is all clear.

Mike - the totally impartial campaign co-ordinator.

Not to confused with

WILLIAM DE LA POLE, Earl, Marquis, and Duke of Suffolk, chief minister of Henry VI, favourite of Margaret of Anjou, champion of St John of Blore.

He of course would not be so impartial.

Red Rose Rising

Good fellows yet more tidings on behalf of our true king, King Henry.

A new tide of Yorkist supporters has been halted on the beaches of Dover. The traitorous Northumberland landed with huge numbers of French dogs to be met by a small but infinitely brave group of true Englishmen, hastily brought together under the banner of the Duke of Sussex.

Raising the battle cry “St John of Blore” our gallant men turned back wave after wave inflicting horrendous casualties on our foe.

Northumberland seeing his rag tag army mowed down in their droves scuttled off with his tail between his legs. A sorrier looking cur you will never see.

God was with us for the brave men fighting for the true cause suffered light casualties.

Colpethe Cartwright
Squire in the service of the house of Lancaster

YORKIST LIES

The REAL Battle of Huntingdon 1459

Well, the "independant" reporter was obviously commenting on a different battle. After the bold Scots, with their heroic Lancastrian allies, advanced across the field into the hailstorm of cowardly Yorkisk bowfire, the gallant few assaulted the town walls. Prior to reaching the walls, the Lancastrian bowmen brought such firepower down on some stupid Yorkist levy bowmen, that they broke, never to rally. First blood to the good guys! The Irish Gallowglass, supporting the Scots as they obviously know whose side God is on, attacked some scury scum crossbowmen hiding behind one of the town's outer walls. The craven crossbowmen kept dodging the lethal axes of the Irishmen, and thought salvation was at hand when some Yorkist nobility (nobility? NOBILITY?!?) charged into the flank of the axemen. Who stoutly held, their massive axes laying low the odd mounted gentry. This was too much for the lowly mercenaries, who promply fled. This caused yet more crossbowmen to turn tail, not wanting to face the wrath of the real warriors.

Now unsupported by any friends, the Yorkie Bar knights were taken in the rear by some Irish Kerns, gleefully taking advantage of the knights preoccupation with the Gallowglass, and this was too much for the gentry; they broke, and were cut down to a man in the following pursuit.

While all this was happening in the East of the town, the bold Scots general (a distant relative to the Spaniard "who had no name") was leading his German pikemen in an assault against the western ramparts. Alas, the heroic troops could make no headway, so the general, seeing an opportunity to lay down some devastating bowfire against the pretender, who had advanced (yes, I know, staggering isn't it?!?) into an interesting position. So the good guys broke of their attack against the town, but the chivalrous bowmen decided not to shoot at the pretender! How outrageous was that? So the Lancastrians, in full control of the Eastern half of the town, started to regroup their entire army - all of whom were still on the battlefield - ready to initiate another co-ordinated assault against the battered defenders, when the prentender asked for a truce (something to do with his bedtime?).

So, when the following morning arises, the victorious Lancastrians expect to be in complete control of the town, with the Yorkist's having slunk away in the night. And far from the Scots general avoiding combat, he was in the front rank of his men, on foot, battering at the walls and the defenders hiding behind them, while the pretender remained well to the rear, sat on his horse, ready for a speedy getaway.

What can I say? That's what happened. Who do I get to fight next? And surely my reputation grows? Stormed my way into and through 2 towns now. When is some Yorki "hero" actually going to give me a proper fight?

He also who has no name.

The Battle Of Huntingdon 1459

Gentlemen, we are indeed again incredibly fortunate to have an After Action Report from 'Sabre' our independent and totally impartial reporter who has recently being covering the conflict.
Ian

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VICTORY FOR KING RICHARD !

King Richard (Ian) whilst undertaking his royal duties in the town of Huntingdon yesterday, hastened to its defence when a Scottish looting mob led by Lord Bravetart (Dave I) in the pay of the filthy Lancastrian scum attempted to attack the town. The King with only a small retinue and grossly outnumbered put up a spirited and masterly defence from behind the town walls. Although the unwashed trash did penetrate into a small part of the town, the quality of the defence was such, and the losses taken so horrendous, that in front of his entire army, the cowardly Bravetart did flee in front of the slaughter, when faced with the possibility of having the fight the King himself in personal combat.

As night fell, the thousands of Lancastrian dead were collected and burned like the vermin they are, and the 35 god fearing men of the Kings army who fell in combat were buried with full military honours. A sad day indeed for their families, however they can take solace from the fact that they gave their lives for a noble and worthy cause which on this day was an Total Victory for the god fearing Yorkist cause.

Sabre
Senior Reporter at the Yorkist Times.

Yorkists Routed at Ludford

The cause of our lawful King Henry has been greatly aided by the complete rout of the rebel forces at Ludford.

No rebel was left standing as the unstoppable faithful inspired by the memory of St John of Blore swept across a heavily fortified position with just a few scratches. Our gallant leader Pierre De Breze himself suffered a mere flesh wound clearing token Yorkist resistance.

The rebels have no taste for this fight victory is assured for the Red Rose.

Colpeth Cartwright
Squire in the service of the house of Lancaster

Filthy Peasant!

You betray your complete ignorance with your attached missive:

1) We do not know what you mean by "ligitimate". Obviously you cannot mean "legitimate" as that would confuse the commoners that the Yorkist cause has legitimacy.

2) Who are the "Lancashire faction"? Presumably this is an incomptetent, ingnorant, and inarticulate reference to the Royal House of Lancaster, which has no special relationship to Lancashire other than being its lawful King! Lancaster is not a faction, but your God given ruling dynasty. York is not a faction, but a collection of rebels traitors theives and vulgar ill disposed persons of low station.

3) "a step to far". This is why it is wasteful and wrong to educate commoners.

Back to your roasting spit, Scullion!

De Breze

Perhaps you could arrange to deploy yourself opposite my army and we can discuss this in greater detail.

A Message from the Pope

Dearest Bretheren

it is my great honour to convey to you great instructions from the most holy leader of Chrsitendon

We are saddened to hear of the loss of John Morton a true practitioner and noble inspiration of the faith in your great country.

In respect of his achievemnents we have seen fit to open the path to his elevation to the highest company of the most holy at the right hand of our Lord himself.

For now and forever John will be known as St John of Blore

May his life's works be an inspiration to all.

The Right Reverend Deacon John Pyme
Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury

On behalf of His most holy
Pope Pius II

Rejoice Rejoice (if you support the illiterate Yorkist cause)‏

The Church as always is understanding and seeks to hold its hand out to all true Englishmen.

We see where the misunderstanding comes from - illiterate Irish supporting the illegitimate Yorkist cause.

Perkins - surrender and place yourself in our most lenient hands

The Right Reverend Deacon John Pimm
Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury

Rejoice Rejoice (if you support the ligitimate Yorkist cause)‏

An Archbishop who can actually ride a horse would be a step forward for the Lancashire faction.
Someone who recognises the truth would obviously be a step to far.....

Has the Lancashire army who were at Blore Heath managed to stopped running or was the sight of the Irish horde massing over the brook still causing them sleepless nights?

Perkins Walbeck

REJOICE REJOICE

Rejoice that our Lord God Almighty has regaled our rightful King Henry with mighty victories. The just cause of the house of the Red Rose has been upheld with the Yorkist rebels expelled from rioting and looting in our fair town of St Albans and the field swept clear at Blore Heath.

The church looks forward with eager anticipation for King Henry’s anointment of a new Archbishop to follow in the footsteps of the late John Morton. John is sure to be looking down on us with great praise for the mighty deeds done in pursuit of a just and righteous cause.

Rejoice for with the Good Lord on our side victory will surely be ours.


The Right Reverend Deacon John Pymme

Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury

A message on behalf of King Henry

Greetings to all loyal and well affected subjects.

The Lord has seen fit to reward his chosen King Henry with another marvellous victory! Rejoice!

The tales of heroism among the Lancastrian ranks are too many to recount in full, and the imecilic activities of the treacherous rebels too disgraceful to committ to parchment this day. However the people need highlights to bring the glorious episode to life, to divert them from their God given task of ploughing and being taxed.

Firstly it must be noted that the rebel filthy commoner Warpeck, or Simnel (or some other tradespersons name) has so little support in the country that his army was almost entirely composed of foreigners;French, Irish bog 'people', and even worse, Scots. This can hardly be called an army, it was more a convention of thieves and looters.

As the rebel Stanley took the field it was noted by all that he was so full of shame for his treason that he dared not let his troops wear his livery, dressing them all in black in a vain attempt to hide his identity.

As Waldeck failed in his assault upon Brave Bishop Mortons army, he authorised an assassin to stab our martyred hero in the back! Murdered in his moment of glory! For some reason the murdering guttersnipe claimed this as victory. Things may be so in the vile gutter that Welbeck inhabits, but noble deeds of war are evaluated quite differently. You can kill a man, but his reputation and honour live on.

My Lord Somerset was attacked by the perjured coward Stanley. Their armies traded arrows and blows, but the 'courage' of Stanley was tested so he hurried from the field leaving one of his henchmen in charge. As the Men At Arms closed to decide the issue, brave and combative words were exchanged between Somerset and Stanleys unsporting champion. This was no battle for honour, but a bloody fight for total victory. God gave victory to Henry's people, and the foul mouthed squire was struck down attempting to flee. In the pursuit 'brave' Stanley was cornered and felled like a squealing pig. The Yorkist Rebel army then dissolved, leaving the field to the loyal followers of the King.

Ex Post Facto. The entire Stanley family, and their direct relatives have been attainted by a legal Act of Attainder. Their lands, titles and marriages are forfeit. His Majesty withdraws his favour from such a vile litter.

Somerset, for his loyal and brave service has been appointed Royal Receiver of all Stanley lands and castles, and is permitted to kill anyone called Stanley whom he meets in the course of his travels.

Warpeck has fled to Ireland to recruit more bandits, though he may find it difficult as the Irish seem to die in droves under his command.

The coward Stanley was as noted above executed whilst attempting to escape. As befits a traitor he has been beheaded, and it has been returned to his family. His body has been fed to pigs and hopefully it will not poison them.

The traitor Stanley the younger remains at large but as he is outside the protection of the law, anyone who sees him can strike him down, where he will likely offer as little resistance as his bold talking father.

Poor Bishop Mortons remains were conveyed in State to his mausoleum at Canterbury. As he died defending his God appointed monarch he instantly becomes an English Martyr, and we understand that His Holiness will convey sainthood upon him presently. He rests in heaven on His right side and need not be troubled by the base cares of this world again.

His murderer, stabbing a simple priest in the back in the middle of a battle, can expect no such end. Killing a Bishop, and taking the field against ones God appointed King are both mortal sins: Murder and Blasphemy. We can be sure that he and his fellow conspiritors will edure in Hell for a thousand, thousand years, devilish tortures that not even a saracen or Yorkist could imagine.

All Yorkists are henceforth excommunicated and may not be offered the comfort of the Sacraments, or burial within Consecrated ground. Such treatment is fitting for Blasphemers and Regicides.

His Majesty conveys his paternal love and good wishes to all his loyal subjects.

Fra. Francis

Secretary to His Majesty Henry.

The Battle of Blore Heath, 1459: Warbeck & Stanley against Somerset & Morton

Brethren

It is my sad duty to inform you of the fall of our beloved Archbishop John Morton. He gave his life in the pursuit of a just and holy cause and with his last breath ensured that a great and mighty victory was won by the forces loyal to our rightful King. John has set us on the path of righteousness that will see our great land freed from the base and vile deeds of these Yorkist rebels.

John showed us the light in these darkened times. A shining beacon leading forth the valiant defenders of the faith. A bastion of strength in support of the true leader of this great land of ours, God’s appointed King Henry.

His great courage should be a lesson to us all


The Right Reverend Deacon John Pymm.
Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
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First Battle of St. Albans 1455 - AAR

Gentlemen, we are indeed fortunate to have an After Action Report from an independent and totally impartial reporter who witnessed the battle on Thursday.
Ian
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ITS WAR !!

Hostiles have broken out !! The unwashed Scottish hordes (Dave Ireland) in the pay of the unscrupulous Lancastrians sneaked (like thieves in the night) past the blocking forces along Hadrian's Wall and descended on the peaceful town of St Albans. Chasing behind them eager to bring them to battle came the god fearing (Yorkist) forces of Northumberland (Dave Hathaway). As both sides deployed on either side of the town it looked like a blood bath was to ensue.
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Dave H had however became increasingly concerned at the collateral damage and risk of injury to innocent civilians that would be caused by him defeating the Scots amongst the tightly packed houses.
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The true Noble that he is, Dave H opted therefore to conceded ground to the unwashed hordes and situated his army outside the town.
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Sadly adopting such a strategy put him at such a tactical disadvantage that after the loss of two minor units he felt it prudent to leave the battlefield in good order, conceding a Minor Victory to the Lancastrian cowards in the process.

Sabre
Senior Reporter at the Yorkist Times.
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Yorkist Faction Availability

The clean living, god fearing Yorkist team after checking availability can certainly rise to the challenge and make four battles this month.

Dick III and Pierre have been busy with the scedule running to:

Thu 13th May
The First Battle of St. Albans, 1455: Northumberland and Hairy Arsed Scots

Thu 20th May
The Battle of Blore Heath, 1459: Warbeck & Stanley against Somerset & Morton

We delay the The Rout of Ludford, 1459 until the following week:

Thu 27th May
The Battle of Northampton, 1460: Warbeck & Stanley v's 1 Lancastrian
Rout of Ludford, 1459: Warwick v's Pierre De Breze & 1 Lancastrian

Regards to all

Richard III (aka Ian)

(Quote: I have set my life upon a cast, and I will stand the hazard of the die.)

So this is all shaping up nicely. Scenarios and dates for June to follow.

Future Games

Gents there are now two ways of getting your games booked. Either contact the leader of your faction for him to co-ordinate who plays any given scenario or sign up here. You will see from the list below that I have assigned dates to the scenarios we have so far. This is just for May, further details for June will appear in due course. You can play as many or as few as you like but if you don't get your name down then you will not get a game, simple as that. By doing it this way there is no pressure to play and no need to get a fixed number of games in. The only real thing that I would ask is that if you cannot make a date that you have booked, please let us know and preferably get a stand-in - it is only courteous after all.
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DATES:
Thursday 13th May: The First Battle of St. Albans, 1455: 1 Yorkist v's 1 Lancastrian
.......................... v's Scots Mercenaries (Lancastrian)
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Thursday 20th May: The Battle of Blore Heath, 1459: 2 Yorkists v's 2 Lancastrians
.......................... v's ...........................
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Thursday 20th May: The Rout of Ludford, 1459: 1 Yorkist v's 2 Lancastrians
.......................... v's ...........................
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Thursday 27st May: The Battle of Northampton, 1460: 2 Yorkists v's 1 Lancastrian
.......................... v's ...........................
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You will see that the first army on the list are the Scots Mercenaries that have been bribed to join the Lancastrian faction. They will be walking through St Albans unopposed unless a Yorkist steps up to the plate. This should be a fun street battle with full 2,250point armies.
Cheers
Mike

First Round Of Games to Play

The First Battle of St. Albans, 1455: 1 Yorkist v’s 1 Lancastrian
The Battle of Blore Heath, 1459: 2 Yorkists v’s 2 Lancastrians
The Rout of Ludford, 1459: 1 Yorkist v's 2 Lancastrians
The Battle of Northampton, 1460: 2 Yorkists v’s 1 Lancastrian
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All armies to be 2,250 points. I couldn't give a toss who plays which scenario, how many scenarios an individual plays in or in what order they get played. The faction leader may like to put forward the names of who is playing in each game. Then again he may not and it could be a complete free-for-all. However the more games you play the more successful you will be. I will pass on details of each scenario once the combatants are fixed up. Currently 3 Lancastrians will be pretty busy and the unattached can stand by the side watching on picking their noses.
Games to be played (ideally) before the end of May. Some of you who may have glanced at a history book will note that things are not entirely consistent with the official accounts of the period. The accounts are obviously wrong as we wargamers are always right !
Cheers
Mike

Position As of 4 May

Yorkists
Ian G: Richard III: King and faction leader
James P: Warwick: the kingmaker
Fletch: Perkin Warbeck
Dave H: Northumberland
Nick J: Stanley
Dave Till: Pole

Lancastrians
Francis HM: Pierre De Breze: faction leader
Lawrence P: Somerset
Mike E: John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury
Dave I: Hairy arsed Scots

Unattached- unclaimed, unloved, unwanted, whatever...
Graham B: Bloody Foreigner
Guy B: Snooty Noble