The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

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The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by stockwellpete »

I only became aware of this campaign in the course of my research into Robert the Bruce and I have decided to treat it as a separate series, although it obviously relates very closely to the Scottish Wars of Independence (Robert the Bruce wanted to open a "second front" against the English in Ireland).

There are rather more difficulties associated with producing scenarios for this campaign though. Basically it is because the primary sources are often quite vague about what happened at particular battles so historians are not able to shed any more light in their secondary publications. So, for example, I have been able to find absolutely no hard information about the topography of the various battlefields, apart from the fact that the Battle of Faughart 1318 took place "on a hill". :?

So I have decided to proceed, in any case, because I think a lot of good wargames might be made - as long as it is accepted that what I am producing is highly speculative. There is some hard information on leaders and other personalities. We know that the Bruce expeditionary army was battle-hardened and would have been typical of Scottish armies of that time. We also have a rough idea of how Anglo-Irish and indigenous Irish armies were comprised too. Anyway, I hope this is all OK.

The battles that I hope to cover in this series are as follows

Carrickfergus 1315
Moyry Pass 1315
Connor 1315
Kells 1315
Skerries 1316
Athenry 1316
Faughart 1318

Dysert O'Dea 1318 is also part of this campaign but it is already included in the FOG roster of scenarios. It is excellent and I doubt very much whether I will be able to add anything extra to it to warrant a version of my own.
Last edited by stockwellpete on Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by stockwellpete »

Just one small change. I have realised that Edward Bruce was not at the Battle of Athenry - basically it was a small-scale battle between the allies of Bruce and the Anglo-English - so it will not be included in this series. Similarly the existing FOG scenario Dysert O'Dea 1318 did not involve edward Bruce either.
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Post by stockwellpete »

The Edward Bruce challenge!!

Can you win 6 consecutive battles as Edward Bruce and establish yourself firmly as the High King of Ireland? The battles are as follows . . .

Obsolete values

Of course, if Edward Bruce is killed in any of these battles then the challenge is automatically lost. Have a try with one of your regular opponents and let me know how you get on.
Last edited by stockwellpete on Wed Jul 18, 2012 7:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by stockwellpete »

Historical notes for each battle now added in the appropriate thread.
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by stockwellpete »

The values have been revised for this challenge. Now they are as follows . . .

The Edward Bruce challenge!!

Can you win 6 consecutive battles as Edward Bruce and establish yourself firmly as the High King of Ireland? The battles are as follows . . .

i) Carrickfergus, May 1315 (Bruce 375pts, Anglo-Irish 350pts)

ii) Moyry Pass, June 1315 ( Bruce 425pts, Anglo-Irish 400pts)

iii) Connor, September 1315 (Bruce 400pts, Anglo-Irish 375pts)

iv) Kells, December 1315 (Bruce 400pts, Anglo-Irish 375pts)

v) Skerries, January 1316 (Bruce 425pts, Anglo-Irish 425pts)

vi) Faughart, October 1318 (Bruce 375pts, Anglo-Irish 450pts)

If Edward Bruce is killed in any of these battles then the challenge is automatically lost.
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by Fedem »

William Wallace? He was already dead right?
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by Fedem »

Yes he died in 1305.
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by redcoat2 »

I will have to try this campaign. According to my Irish grandfather I am a descendant of Brian Boru - High King of Ireland. But then alot of people claim descent from him ... :)
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by Turk1964 »

So how do we go about playing out this campaign? Do we set it up against A1 or do we have an Human opponent?


Cheers Turk
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by stockwellpete »

Turk1964 wrote:So how do we go about playing out this campaign? Do we set it up against A1 or do we have an Human opponent?


Cheers Turk
You can do either. All the scenarios are in the thread beow this one in the forum - I have designed them for multi-player really. The key thing is that Edward Bruce must not get killed so you have to be very careful with his unit. Being killed is when you hear the "aargh" sound during a melee - you can increase the difficulty by saying Bruce is also killed if his unit "blows up" (i.e. disappears as a result of melee) or that his prestige and reputation is destroyed if his own unit is routed. Other than that, the idea is very simple - Bruce has to win 6 in a row to firmly establish himself as High-King. :wink: .
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by stockwellpete »

A potted history basically lifted from the Wikipedia page on Edward Bruce . . .

Bruce campaign in Ireland
After his victory at the Battle of Bannockburn, King Robert I of Scotland decided to expand his war against the English by sending an army under his younger brother, Edward Bruce, to invade Ireland. Another reason for the expedition was also the fact that supporters of the exiled House of Balliol had fled to Ireland after fighting at Bannockburn and remained a dangerous threat. These men were led by John MacDougall of Lorn who was the cousin of John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, nephew of King John Balliol. The murder of Comyn in 1306 had set off a bloody civil war for the throne of Scotland which King Robert had all but won at Bannockburn and was now attempting to finish off by capturing their last remaining stronghold. Robert was also invited by some of the native Irish to send an army to drive out the English settlers and in return they would crown his brother High King of Ireland.

Historical background
By the early 14th century, Ireland had not had a High King since Ruaidri mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (Rory O'Conor) who had been deposed by his son in 1186. Further, the Plantagenet dynasty had been assigned Ireland by Laudabiliter in 1155 and indirectly ruled much of the eastern part of the island. The country was divided between the Irish dynasties that survived the Norman invasion and the Norman-Irish Lordship of Ireland.
In 1258 some of the Gaelic dynasties and clans elected Brian Ua Néill to this position; however he was defeated by the Normans at the Battle of Downpatrick in 1260.

The invasion of Ireland
In 1315, Robert Bruce of Scotland sent his younger brother Edward Bruce to invade Ireland. Bruce's main mission in invading Ireland was to create a second front in the ongoing war against Norman England, draining her of much needed men, materials and finance by creating havoc on the island. This became critical when the Isle of Man was recaptured by Norman-backed Scots from King Robert's control in January 1315, thereby threatening the south and south-west of Scotland and also reopening up a potential source of aid to the Normans from the Anglo-Irish and native Irish.
Added to this was a request for aid from the King of Tír Eógain, Domnall mac Brian Ó Néill. Ó Néill had been troubled by Anglo-Irish incursions to the south-east (the de Verdons), the east (tenants of the Earl of Ulster) and west (also by the Earl of Ulster) of Tír Eógain and in order to retain his lands, he and some twelve of his vassals and allies jointly asked for aid from Scotland. The Bruce brothers agreed, on condition that they would support Edward as King of Ireland, as the brothers envisaged themselves as separate rulers of Scotland and Ireland, while Robert would regain Man and Edward possibly making an attack on Wales, with Welsh support. They personally envisioned "a grand Gaelic alliance against England", between Scotland and Ireland since both countries had a common heritage, language and culture.

Ó Néill approved of the conditions for himself and on behalf of his vassals, and preparations began. At about this point, Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, received news from Irish sources that an invasion was about to take place, and made his way to Ireland where he held land, mainly in and around the castle and town of Trim. He had previously fought against the Bruces at Bannockburn where he was taken prisoner and freed to return King Edward II's royal seal, lost in the rout.

The Scottish assembly met at Ayr on April 26, 1315, just across the Irish Channel from Antrim. As King Robert did not yet have any legitimate male heir, Edward was proclaimed his legal heir and successor as King of Scotland and all other titles in case of his death. Edward's invasion fleet also mustered there, having received calls to assemble as far back as at least the previous month.

The campaign of 1315
On May 26, 1315 Edward and his fleet (estimated at in excess of 6,000 men) landed on the Irish coast at points at and between Olderfleet Castle at Larne, and Glendrum. His brother had sailed from Tarbert for the Western Isles with his son-in-law Walter Stewart, to subjugate them till "all the isles, great and small, were brought to his will." Edward meanwhile was swiftly faced by an army led by vassals and confederates of the Earl of Ulster, the de Mandevilles, Bissets of the Glens, Logans, and Savages, as well as their Irish allies, overall led by Sir Thomas de Mandeville. However they were defeated in battle by the Scots under Thomas, Earl of Moray. Subsequently, the Scots managed to take the town, though not the castle, of Carrickfergus.

In early June Ó Néill of Tyrone and some twelve fellow northern Kings and lords met Edward Bruce at Carrickfergus and swore fealty to him as King of Ireland. The Irish annals state that Bruce "took the hostages and lordship of the whole province of Ulster without opposition and they consented to him being proclaimed King of Ireland and all the Gaels of Ireland agreed to grant him lordship and they called him King of Ireland." In fact, Bruce was never to receive anything more than purely nominal recognition from any of the more powerful Irish Kings, and despite entreatys at various times over the next three years was ignored by those whom he did not directly interest. He did however directly or indirectly rule much of eastern and mid-Ulster.

In late June, Edward proceeded with his army from Carrickfergus along Magh Line (Six Mile Water), burning Rathmore, near Antrim town, which was a holding of the Savages. He then went south by way of the Moiry Pass — called "Innermallan"/"Enderwillane"/Imberdiolan" in contemporary accounts — between Newry and Dundalk. This ancient routeway had been for centuries the passage south out of Ulster into the Kingdom of Mide, Leinster and Munster but because of its narrowness Ulster armies had frequently ambushed and been ambushed at the pass. Here he was met by Mac Duilechain of Clanbrassil and Mac Artain of Iveagh, both of whom had submitted to him at Carrickfergus. Their attempted ambush ended in their defeat and the army pressed on, destroying de Verdon's fortress of Castleroache, and on June 29 attacked Dundalk. The town, another possession of the de Verdon's, was almost totally destroyed with its population, both Anglo-Irish and Gaelic, massacred alike.

In July, two separate armies opposing Bruce met and assemble at Sliabh Breagh, south of Ardee. One was led out of Connacht by Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and his ally, the King of Connacht, Felim mac Aedh Ua Conchobair. The second consisted of forces raised in Munster and Leinster by the Justicier Edmund Butler. The Scots-Irish army was located at Inniskeen, ten miles north. In between Sliabh Breagh and Inniskeen was the village of Louth. De Burgh moved his army north of Louth and set up camp while his cousin, William Liath de Burgh attempted to ambush Bruce's forces. While some skirmishing did result in a number of Scots deaths, Bruce refused to give battle and instead, with the Ó Néill, retreated northwards to Coleraine via Armagh. Bruce and Ó Néill sacked and burned Coleraine, threw down the bridge over the river Bann and faced off de Burgh's pursuing army on the opposite bank. While both sides now were experiencing shortages of food and supplies, Bruce and Ó Néill could at least draw support from local lords such as Ó Cathain and Ó Floinn. Mindful of this, de Burgh eventually withdrew back forty miles to Antrim, while Butler had to return to Ormond due to lack of supplies.

In addition to this, Bruce sent separate messages both to King Felim and a rival dynast, Cathal Ua Conchobair, promising to support them if they withdrew. Cathal managed to return to Connacht and had himself proclaimed king, leaving Felim with no choice but to return to put down his rebellion. Worst was to follow: De Burgh found himself deprived of not two but three allies and their armies when his kinsman, Walter mac Walter Cattach Burke deserted back to Connacht at the head of several hundred men, probably to guard his own estates from the upcoming conflict. Thus when in August Bruce and his men crossed the Bann (in four ships supplied by Scots sea captain, Thomas Dun, de Burgh retreated still further to Connor, where on either the first or ninth of September a charge by the Scots-Irish led to his defeat. William Liath was captured and taken as hostage to Scotland by Moray who arrived there on September 15, 1315 to raise more troops, "his ships filled with booty." De Burgh retreated back to Connacht, while other Anglo-Irish took refuge in Carrickfergus Castle.

Finally appraised of the seriousness of the situation, Edward II had on September 1 ordered an assembly of the leading Anglo-Irish, which met at Parliament in Dublin in late October, but no decisive action was taken. On November 13, Bruce marched further south via Dundalk — where, incredibly, some gave them the right hand", i.e., a fight — garrisoned Nobber on the 30th, and advanced to Kells, where he was met by Mortimer. Mortimer had managed to raise a large force consisting both of his Anglo-Irish and Gaelic vassals, in addition to forces of other magnates. At the same time, Bruce was reinforced by Moray who had returned from Scotland with around five hundred fresh troops and supplies. The Battle of Kells was fought on the sixth or seventh of November, with Mortimer being decisively defeated by Bruce. Mortimer was forced to retreat to Dublin while his lieutenant, Walter Cusack, held out at Trim. He almost immediately set sail for England to urge Edward II for reinforcements. At the same time, Governor of Ireland (and Bishop of Ely) John de Hothum began to take drastic action to defend Dublin from Bruce, such as leveling entire tenement and churches.

After sacking and burning Kells, Bruce proceeded to do the same to Granard, Finnea, the Cistercian monastery of Abbeylara and raided Angaile (Annaly), the lordship of Gaelic lord O Hanely. Bruce spent Christmas at de Verdon's manor of Loughsewdy, consuming its supplies entirely and before leaving, razing it to the ground. The only manors left alone belonged to Irish lords intimidated to join him, or that of a junior branch of the de Lacy family who in an effort to gain lands voluntarily joined him.

Remonstrance of 1317
In 1317 Edward's Irish allies sent a remonstrance to Pope John XXII asking him to revoke Laudabiliter and mentioning Edward as King of Ireland.[1] Pope John ignored the request. "And that we may be able to attain our purpose more speedily and fitly in this respect, we call to our help and assistance Edward de Bruyis, illustrious earl of Carrick, brother of Robert by the grace of God most illustrious king of the Scots, who is sprung from our noblest ancestors.
"And as it is free to anyone to renounce his right and transfer it to another, all the right which is publicly known to pertain to us in the said kingdom as its true heirs, we have given and granted to him by our letters patent, and in order that he may do therein judgment and justice and equity which through default of the prince [i.e. Edward II of England] have utterly failed therein, we have unanimously established and set him [Edward Bruce] up as our king and lord in our kingdom aforesaid, for in our judgment and the common judgment of men he is pious and prudent, humble and chaste, exceedingly temperate, in all things sedate and moderate, and possessing power (God on high be praised) to snatch us mightily from the house of bondage with the help of God and our own justice, and very willing to render to everyone what is due to him of right, and above all is ready to restore entirely to the Church in Ireland the possessions and liberties of which she was damnably despoiled, and he intends to grant greater liberties than ever otherwise she has been wont to have."

Defeat in 1318
After several years of mobile warfare, Bruce and his allies failed to hold areas that they had conquered. His army fed itself by pillaging, which caused increasing unpopularity. The pan-European Great Famine of 1315–1317 affected Ireland also, and disease became widespread in his army, causing it to shrink, and he was defeated and killed at the end of 1318 at the Battle of Faughart in County Louth.

Faughart
Unfortunately, the sources provide little in the way of detail and background for the Battle of Faughart. According to John Barbour, the Scottish chronicler, Edward Bruce was the architect of his own defeat, deciding to engage a larger enemy force (20,000 strong in his account) without waiting for reinforcements from Scotland, a view which finds some support in the Annals of Clonmacnoise, where it is recorded that "anxious to obtain the victory for himself, he did not wait for his brother." He took up position on the rising ground at Faughart, not far from Dundalk, on 14 October. When his Irish allies objected to facing a stronger enemy force in battle Bruce responded by placing them in the rear, close to the top of the hill, leaving some 2000 Scots troops to face the enemy onslaught.

In contrast to Barbour, the Lanercost Chronicle, the chief English source, says that Bruce approached Dundalk "with a great army of Scots which had already arrived in Ireland." It would seem that the three English commanders — John de Bermingham, Edmund Butler and Roland Joyce, Archbishop of Armagh — were themselves attacked, though in a somewhat impetuous and haphazard fashion. Lanercost gives by far the clearest description of the action that followed:
The Scots were in three columns at such a distance from each other that the first was done with before the second came up, and then the second before the third, with which Edward was marching could render any aid. Thus the third column was routed just as the two preceding ones had been. Edward fell at the same time and was beheaded after death; his body being divided into four quarters, which were sent to the four chief quarters of Ireland
We have no precise figures for the number slain, though they also included Alexander MacDonald, described in the annals as 'King of Argyll', and Alexander MacRuari, 'King of the Isles.' This would suggest that most, if not all, of the Scottish force was drawn from the Gaels of the Western Isles and from Bruce's own earldom of Carrick in Ayrshire. Defeat was followed by the almost complete collapse of the Scottish position in Ulster: Carrickfergus castle was recaptured on 2 December. John de Bermingham received most of the credit for the victory, and was created earl of Louth by a grateful king. It was not to be the end of Scottish involvement in Ireland; but there were to be no more High Kings.

Few, if any, of the Irish regretted the passing of the High King, whose rule was seemingly less welcome in the end than that of the English. By way of obituary it is noted in the Annals of Loch Ce that Edward Bruce: was the common ruin of the Gaels and Galls of Ireland...never was a better deed done for the Irish than this...For in this Bruce's time, for three years and a half, falsehood and famine and homicide filled the country, and undoubtedly men ate each other in Ireland.

Sources
· Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland, GWS Barrow, 1976.
· Annals of Ireland 1162–1370 in Britannia by William Camden; ed. Richard Gough, London, 1789.
· Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars: The Invasions of Ireland 1306–1329, Sean Duffy, 2004.
· The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ian Mortimer, 2004.

(from Wikipedia)
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by stockwellpete »

I am going to be doing some more work on this in the next few days (with Eric). I have just spent a couple of hours removing a few minor discrepancies between the various scenarios. Here are the latest versions (although they may be subject to further changes as a result of the new play-tests) . . .

Carrickfergus 1315

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15461007/Battle ... 20PWv4.rar

Moyry Pass 1315

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15461007/Battle ... 20PWv4.rar

Connor 1315

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15461007/Battle ... 20PWv4.rar

Kells 1315

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15461007/Battle ... 20PWv4.rar

Skerries 1316

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15461007/Battle ... 20PWv4.rar

Faughart 1318

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15461007/Battle ... 20PWv4.rar

Has anybody played this campaign-type game? Has anybody successfully made Edward Bruce the High-King of Ireland?
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by stockwellpete »

I have just finished playing a challenge with Turk1964. In the first game Edward Bruce fell at the first hurdle (defeated at Carrickfergus 1315) but in the second game he fared better until he was defeated in the fifth battle (Skerries 1316). I am going to make a few modifications to two of the scenarios - Moyry Pass 1315 and Skerries 1316. I have also decided to allow Edward Bruce to continue the campaign after his first drawn battle. A second drawn game would represent a serious loss of momentum though and he would be forced to return to Scotland.
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by Turk1964 »

I must say that i really enjoyed this challange Pete. I ended up taking command of the Anglo Irish after losing the second battle of the series and was able to see the difficulty facing Edward Bruce from the other side. Pete and i agreed Mowry Pass and Skerries needed to be altered to make the battle less one sided. Other than that i recommend the Series to anyone that wants a seriuos challange.Take up the Sword of Edward Bruce and see if you can make it to the last battle,i can assure you its no cake walk. Well done Pete'

Cheers Turk
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by stockwellpete »

This is a 2 part drama documentary about the campaign just showing on the BBC I-player. It will be available for 3-4 weeks . . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... -episode-1
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by stockwellpete »

The documentary "After Bannockburn" is now on YouTube . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF5u7bmWdCw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw2KlTiNoJw

I will be providing an updated version of this campaign for FOG2 at some point during 2018.
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by JamesHunt »

Is there somewhere a working link to be found?
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Re: The Bruce Campaign in Ireland 1315-18 (the Challenge)

Post by ericdoman1 »

I don't think there is for The Bruce .....

However go to viewtopic.php?f=92&t=69381

Below this link is http://www.peoplesgeneral.de/Downloads/ ... narios.zip

Within are 100s of scenarios
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