The eternal battle - English v Scottish - Round Two, the Border country

[ahuyton]

So with the Scots rampaging through Berwick and the Northern towns, inland the Border families start to mobilise their troops to join in the fun.

Game Two is from the Extra Nations v3 mod, which you can download from the Historical Section.

The game will be: English Border Reivers 1540-1603 v Scottish Border Reivers 1540-1603
As usual, Large armies, wide terrain, agricultural, open battle.

Here are the match-ups:

Kiwiwarlord (w) v Warrior230
Snugglebunnies (w) v ahuyton
smjohnso77 v Awesum4 (w)
Lascar (d) v Doyley50( d)
snooky51 v Gribol (w)
PeterthePainter (d) v Gdod (d)
Fybyyn v Kerry D (corrected) (w)

English farmers and rogues - please defend your honour and, more importantly, your cattle and set up the game.

Please let me know asap if you are having difficulty keeping up with the turns or if your opponent either does not respond or plays too slowly.

Please also post the results here in the forum NOT by pm!

[GDod]

PeterthePainter, the unsettled border awaits your attention...let's hope you don't paint it red with English blood

pw = peter

Best of British to you! PM sent

[KiwiWarlord]

Here are the match-ups:
Fybyyn v Awesum4

This is an error is it not Alan ?
Should it read Kerry D in stead of awesum4 ?

[ahuyton]

Here are the match-ups:
Fybyyn v Awesum4

This is an error is it not Alan ?
Should it read Kerry D in stead of awesum4 ?

No, Brian it is correct. I have not heard from KerryD for a long time. I have proposed Andre plays a second game as we are an odd number of players. Also I know he enjoys the Border Reivers so it will not be a hardship.

[Doyley50]

Doyley50 has challenged lascar, pwd 1234, PM sent.

[awesum4]

Alan, and everyone else,

Kerry has returned to playing Pike and Shot, so he is playing Fybyyn instead of me.

Fybyyn and I are already playing another game, a rather bizarre random battle between Venetian and Venetian Colonial. Neither is an army I would normally use, massed arquebus being 30% of my army and militia arquebus being another 30% makes this a real challenge to use on an almost completely bare battlefield,

Andre

[ahuyton]

Thanks everyone for sorting this out and welcome back to Kerry D.

[GDod]

Indeed, welcome back Kerry.

Kiwi s All.jpg (26.06 KiB) Viewed 2007 times

[GDod]

How to tell your nasty Scottish Border Reiver who is after your cattle from your English gentleman naturalist rover who is just off for a ramble northwards collecting cattle samples for later sketching and classification.

How to spot a reiver.jpg (105.59 KiB) Viewed 1984 times

P.S. Don't forget to search and watch the BBC 1968-70 series of "THE BORDERERS", which was described by The Guardian in 2007 as "brave and original...a kind of north-eastern western".

[KiwiWarlord]

P.S. Don't forget to search and watch the BBC 1968-70 series of "THE BORDERERS", which was described by The Guardian in 2007 as "brave and original...a kind of north-eastern western".

UTube or Netflix ?

[Doyley50]

Its on U-Tube.

[GDod]

We've received a hurriedly scrawled note from G Dodds of Gotta-Lockit Downs from his recent reiving on the Border...

We've encountered Black Pete' of West Teviotdale, who has marshaled his Scottish ruffians well and made good use of his superior numbers of light misfits, and tavern dregs.

We brave Englishmen have not given up hope though and are endeavouring to turn the tide but I fear the mountain is steep and we may be left blowing in the wind without wiping the slate clean. However, we're still rolling with the punches and trying every positive idiom we can to cover all our bases and, even though we're behind the eight ball, I don't think we're on a wild goose chase. Soon, we hope it will be almost a level playing field!

If we should succeed, we shall bring back a bag full of scottish idioms and this grand flock of pre-dyed sheep!

Bordersheep.png (95.42 KiB) Viewed 1824 times

[awesum4]

Gentlemen,

I am pleased to inform you that we have secured the border against the breechless Scots. The armies were almost identical with us have 1 extra cavalry and 1 extra light horse., and they having pikes whereas we used the good old bills.
The field of battle was a flat plain with the only terrain of any significance a fairly large forest to right of our centre and slightly more on our side of the table. We occupied this with our entire force of archers and massed arquebus, and sent a force of light horse and cavalry on a sweep around the forest. Our bill man and single gun held a line from the rear of the forest out to our left with a line of cavalry extending that, most of our light horse extended that to the edge of the battlefield.
The Scots marched resolutely past the forest to engage us, our light horse originally advanced hen withdrew to draw his light horse closer to our cavalry. When his light horse charged it was a fairly even fight but our cavalry then charged in as well and discomforted the enemy light horse.
Meanwhile our light horse emerged around the forest and he sent a force of light horse to hold them up, these were engaged by our light horse and attacked on their flank by the foot emerging from the forest. Our other shooters harrased his foot as they marched past the forest and then charged into his flanks as the bills engaged him form the front.
By the time his cavalry got into the fight with our mounted we had units of light horse who had pursued into his rear then turned and charged. He had no answer to our swarms of light horse charging every exposed flank and his army brake and ran.
The final result was the Scots had lost 44%, the English 16%.
Steven as always played well, but I have used the reivers lots, and have a real love of their chaotic capabilities.

[GDod]

Congratulations to the 3rd Duke of Stiff-Upperlip upon Avon (though I fear the Lord has moved his hereditary house further north than I recall )

We hope you've brought back many a Scottish idiom for use at our next dinner table conversation to be sure to be sure (Hey, who let that Irishman in! ). As is our desire to taste their tartan ed lamb shanks!

Booty from the north.jpg (9.76 KiB) Viewed 1797 times

Duke, are you sure these are sheep?

[KiwiWarlord]

Round 2 KiwiWarlord (Brian the Bruce ) Scots 28%, Warrior230 English 56% Win to the Scots

The Border is once again in Scottish hands, Brian the Bruce has quelled the Sassenachs in a brilliant feat of Scottish horsemanship.
Note the last communication between Brian the Bruce & Warrior230 sent as the English routed in huge numbers then fled the field.

rsz_round_2_last_chat.png (201.01 KiB) Viewed 1775 times

rsz_round_2_v_warrior230.png (624.09 KiB) Viewed 1775 times

[lascar]

The Scottish and English Border Reivers clashed on a battlefield with a stream dividing the contested ground with abundant woods on the Scottish side of the river.
This impaired the ability of the numerous cavalry on both side from conducting, sweeping, flanking maneuvers. Many cavalry units were bogged down in the woods for most of the battle and this resulted in a bloody melee slog causing heavy losses on both sides. The result was a draw 60/60, with the English withdrawing in the night and the battered Scots holding the battlefield.

[SnuggleBunnies]

SnuggleBunnies (Scots) defeats ahuyton (English) 60-37

https://youtu.be/zEtJ0hYVx5I

Can't say I played this brilliantly or anything. The only thing that stands out to me is that maybe Alan should have brought less infantry, or at least sent the Arquebusiers into the Marsh/Forest, as in the open they were easy prey, due to the -100 Impact POA Unprotected MF get vs cav in the Open.

[ahuyton]

SnuggleBunnies (Scots) defeats ahuyton (English) 60-37

https://youtu.be/zEtJ0hYVx5I

Can't say I played this brilliantly or anything. The only thing that stands out to me is that maybe Alan should have brought less infantry, or at least sent the Arquebusiers into the Marsh/Forest, as in the open they were easy prey, due to the -100 Impact POA Unprotected MF get vs cav in the Open.

It was a good game anyway. I realised my error in the second or third turn when Snuggles's light cavalry disrupted several of my infantry units.

And the game was very notable for a successful flank march. Snuggles' light cav appeared on my flank at a critical moment and with one move killed two and fragmented another of my units, who had previously thought themselves secure. Well done!

[GDod]

We've received another hurriedly scrawled note from G Dodds of Gotta-Lockit Downs from his recent reiving on the Border...

We continue to chase Black Pete's light cavalry misfits, and tavern dregs across the field with only 4 turns to go.

We brave Englishmen have almost turned the tide but I fear that we may still be left blowing in the wind without wiping the slate clean. However, we're still trying every positive idiom we can on our wild goose chase, and now it's definitely a level playing field. We don't want to call it a day, or let the cat out of the bag (and it could be a blessing in disguise), but we're endeavouring to kill two birds with one stone by inventing horse racing in the Scottish lowlands. The Scottish are still a dime a dozen and beating around the bush. To make a long story short, rather than biting the bullet they are running from pillar to post. So, we're hanging in there but it will definitely be down to the wire![/i]

At the end of the day we still confident of finding and retreiving some Scottish idioms!

The invention of the steeplechase.png (95.49 KiB) Viewed 1637 times

[GDod]

We've received a final scrawled note from G Dodds of Gotta-Lockit Downs from his recent reiving on the Border...

Black Pete has escaped the field with what remained of his Scottish reivers... Yet, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth on both sides of the border during the coming months. 58% of the Scots will not returning to the lairs while our own losses were no less significant. While we managed to stave of a defeat (only just), 54% of our brave Englishmen fell to the Scottish before nightfall put a end to our sport.

So, we will now retire with a rather good pilfered single malt and bask in the afterglow of this rather attractive flock of tartened sheep Black Pete kindly left behind on the field. While doing so, we will reflect on the great sport Black Pete and myself had in the borderlands, though I can't help thinking it was indeed a costly encounter!

Until the next raid (though we may have to send down south for distant relations to come and fill the ranks! )