Stockwellpete's War of the Roses Campaign

[stockwellpete]

. . . I have just been tracking the fortunes of the monarch in our campaign. Henry VI came to the throne before his first birthday in 1422 and starts our campaign as the king. In 1461, there is a very brief period of dual power before his control is re-established after the Lancastrian victory at Towton. Then, after two successful rebellion battles in 1465, the Yorkist claimant Richard Plantagenet takes the Crown from Henry VI and he is still ruling at the time the battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury take place in 1471. If the Lancastrians win at Tewkesbury then Henry VI will re-take control of the Crown and rule until his death in 1483. The idea is that each campaign will generate a different alternative history for the period 1455-87.

Just an update on the monarchy . . . after the Yorkist victory at Tewkesbury 1471, Richard Plantagenet continued to rule until his death in 1483 (he actually ruled as Richard III in our campaign. He was succeeded by a sickly and corpulent Edward IV, who was represented at Bosworth Field by his younger brother Richard of Gloucester.

[Doyley50]

Lancastrian commanders for Bosworth Field
C in C Henry Tudor
Lord Thomas Stanley,Earl of Derby.

[edb1815]

Yorkist commanders for Bosworth Field are . . .

C-in-C - Richard, Duke of Gloucester
2- John Howard, Duke of Norfolk
3- Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland

Challenge is up, password is Doyley50

I hope Richard has brought extra horses!

[stockwellpete]

I hope Richard has brought extra horses!

Yes, he will need something to help him in this very tough battle. Battle is under way.

[angusosborne]

Nothing. You just move straight on to Towton. I will make this clearer when I issue v2 of the text campaign once we have finished.

I mean is there a mechanism for withdrawal in the scenario? Something other than the usual win/draw/loss

No. If you commit to the scenario then you must play it to a conclusion.

Oh I see - the bit in the text document: " will you defend the crossing or withdraw?" I assumed that choice would be made in the battle. It's not clear to me that there is a choice to not fight the battle (mind you I would have chosen to fight it anyway)

[stockwellpete]

Oh I see - the bit in the text document: " will you defend the crossing or withdraw?" I assumed that choice would be made in the battle. It's not clear to me that there is a choice to not fight the battle (mind you I would have chosen to fight it anyway)

I will make it clearer when I update the text campaign after we have finished.

[stockwellpete]

The Yorkists have taken an early lead and are making progress on their right. Richard of Gloucester has moved to the centre of the Yorkist position . . .

Screen_00000009.jpg (674.41 KiB) Viewed 1003 times

[stockwellpete]

The Yorkists are now running riot and it could be over shortly without the Stanley's making an appearance . . .

Screen_00000010.jpg (605.62 KiB) Viewed 989 times

[stockwellpete]

The Yorkists are on the verge of victory now. They lead 43-5 and both the Northumberland and Stanley contingents are moving to support the Yorkists . . .

Screen_00000011.jpg (593.38 KiB) Viewed 981 times

[stockwellpete]

No rallies for the Lancastrians so it has finished in a Yorkist victory 43-5. No pursuit as one Yorkist "pricker" unit was fragmented, so Henry Tudor escapes into exile. 12 points, I think - 10 for the victory and 2 Crown points.

[PeterThePainter]

Congratulations to the Yorkist team, well played. Commiserations to my fellow Lancastrians. Big "Thanks Yous" to both Karvon for organising our campaign, and Stockwellpete for all the time and effort put into the design of the campaign. It was great fun.

[Karvon]

and here are the final standings for the campaign.

Congrat's to the White team.

Thanks Pete for the work put in to create this series and to everyone for participating. Hope you enjoyed the format.

[stockwellpete]

My thanks to Karvon for organising this team event. I hope everyone enjoyed it. I think we all probably did as we got to the end in good time and nobody dropped out. If there are any aspects of the campaign that you think I should address than please let me know. Towton has already been updated and I will send an updated version of Barnet to Richard shortly. I have put Bosworth "under review" after my victory in that one, but my first SP HotSeat test produced a decisive Lancastrian victory, so it may be OK as it is. There are a number of clarifications (already notified to me) required in the text part of the campaign and the updated version should be available some time next week.

As far as our campaign went, it swung from side to side quite dramatically. The major battles at Towton and Barnet were won by the Lancastrians and it seemed as if they were on the road to victory. Their victory at Towton was particularly important as it denied the Yorkists the opportunity to really build their score with the battles of Hedgeley Moor and Hexham (both 1464). But Yorkist success in two rebellion battles after Towton got the campaign back on its historical track. And then there was the crushing Yorkist win at Tewkesbury which changed the picture completely. Bosworth was also won by the actual historical losers as well to complete a campaign full of upsets and surprises.

In terms of the monarchy, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, heroically survived the Yorkist defeat at Wakefield and ruled (as Richard III) from 1465 to 1483. This meant Edward IV only had a short reign until 1487 before being succeeded by his younger brother Richard of Gloucester as Richard IV (not III as in real life). And there would be no Tudor dynasty in England, no Henry VIII and most probably no break with the Catholic church and the emergence of Puritanism. All conjecture, I know, but quite good fun all the same!

[PeterThePainter]

In terms of the monarchy, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, heroically survived the Yorkist defeat at Wakefield and ruled (as Richard III) from 1465 to 1483. This meant Edward IV only had a short reign until 1487 before being succeeded by his younger brother Richard of Gloucester as Richard IV (not III as in real life). And there would be no Tudor dynasty in England, no Henry VIII and most probably no break with the Catholic church and the emergence of Puritanism. All conjecture, I know, but quite good fun all the same!

I thought the same and then wondered why it was most Northern European States went Protestant whilst the Southern European ones did not. Was it to do with the rulers (certainly the English Reformation looks to me as something driven by Henry VIII's lust rather than his religious belief), or is it that feast days and processions are more fun in the Southern sun than the cold and drizzle of Northern Europe. Perhaps the climatic influence is less direct, perhaps drinking wine makes you celebratory whilst beer drinking makes you reflect on your unworthiness. As you say conjecture but playing with history has been fun.

[angusosborne]

You're not asking the easy questions Pete