Clash in West Africa - Lion Rampant

My 19th century colonial collection has not seen battle for quite a while, so we decided to get them out and have a game. We decided to trial a game using Lion rampant.
The French colonial force which I took control of was formed of 4 units of tirailleurs (foot sergeants with bows), 2 units of Spahis (mounted sergeants) and 1 unit of allied tribesmen (warband). The West African raiders had 7 raiding parties (warbands) and 4 skirmishers (bidowers)

It is the early 1900s, work on the railway from Senegal to Mali is ongoing, but constantly hampered by raids from local tribes who oppose the foreigner's infringement into their ancestral lands. A company of Algerian Tirailleurs, supported by a detachment of Spahis, are patrolling in the local area, on the look out to defend the local railway workers against such raiders.

With scouts having spied the approaching raiders the French advance to protect the railway and the workers against the tribesmen's attack.

A long range volley from a section of tirailleurs cuts into a unit of skirmishers, sending them running.

Both sides advance on the railway track

The allied tribesmen rush forwards, towards the lead skrimishers

The skirmishers open fire, but the tribesmen hold.

Both sides continue the advance, the skirmishers holding up the allied tribesmen's advance in the centre, while the tirailleurs pin down the native Africans on the right.

The French advance rapidly on the rails, the skirmishers at last swept from the nearest bushes by the allied tribesmen, with some difficulty. The line opens up long range fire on the raiders.

At  last some raiders push close to the tirailleurs on the right, but a volley seems sure to scatter them.

However the Algerians fail their volley and the West Africans charge in, however the tough tirailleurs put up a fight and (surprisingly) send the raiders packing.

In the centre the allied tribesmen at last break and flee as nearby skirmishers open fire on them.

The tirailleurs on the right charge their fleeing foe, chasing them further on.

The French, with many of the raiders beaten back by firing, cross the railway line, the Spahis coming out from behind the line on the left.

Captain Charles Dubreton leads his men on as the spahis trot forwards

Despite receiving a charge from the nearest warband, which cut down a quarter of their number, another charge from the Spahis cuts through two warbands, causing the raiders' commander to flee the field.

A French Victory... but...

 

It felt far too easy! The Raiders didn't stand a chance, swept away by the advancing French line. All the raiders' units were either fleeing or fled by the end, while the French still had every unit they had started with on the board. The problem seemed to be not so much the power of the shooting, but the combination of fighters (sergeants) with range. Even when the raiders made contact they were repulsed! The raiders also suffered from bad rolling to move and to charge, which only put them more at the tirailleurs' mercy, while they didn't have any quality ranged troops of their own.

 

We concluded that perhaps Lion Rampant did not suite this period as well as it might have appeared...

War of the Roses - Warwick's flight - Lion Rampant

This is a "what if?" battle we did using Lion Rampant rules.

The story was that it was after the rout at Ludford, (or the battle of Ludford) where the Lancastrian and yorkist armies had a stand off, but in the night Andrew Trollope and a troop professional soldiers, who had been promised by the yorkists that he and his men would not have to fight the King only his "evil counsellors", found themselves about to fight their King in the morning, defected to the lancastrains in the night and the yorkists all ran away. All the prominent yorkist rebels fled to Ireland, but what if the King and the Duke of Buckingham had been able to pursue them and cornered them as they tried to escape?

In our battle the Duke of Buckingham had cornered Richard Neville (Warwick the king maker) and his father Salisbury and attempted to kill them. They had to escape the field.   

Armies:

Yorkists 

The Neville household....dismounted men at arms 

men at arms....dismounted men at arms

Yorkist retainer's...foot sergeants

veteran longbow men (who had probably fought in 100 years war)....expert archers

Lancastrains

The Duke of Buckingham household....dismounted men at arms

Andrew Trollope's professional soldiers....dismounted men at arms

Duke of Buckingham's mounted troops....mounted men at arms

Lancastrain retainer's...foot sergeants  

      

The board, in the centre of the field a troop of Andrew Trollop's men at arms guarded the road. while mounted men at arms rode on from the rear.  

   

The Neville men at arms scan the field. 

 

Warwick sees that the lancastrains have managed to seek him out in the early morning of the 12th of October, his sins have caught up with him, in the shape of Buckingham's men. 

 

Then suddenly out of the woods to their rear the Duke himself and a group of retainers appear. 

 

The yorkists quickly respond by sending a troop of retainers into their lancastrain counterparts. But the lancastrains come off the better pushing off their assailants.  

  

The duke of Buckingham's men rush at the archers, who turn and loose a hail of terrible shafts into them, killing three of them! 

The Duke rallies his remaining men. The Yorkist men at arms move up the field unhindered.   

The duke again orders his men to charge, but they are going nowhere, and the longbow men start shooting again, raining arrows onto them, shooting down all but the duke.

Both troops of yorkist men at arms pin the lancastrians who are defending the hedge. 

Warwick's men cut down four of the men at arms and send them back over the road, as the yorkist infantry take the road further up.  

The mounted men at arms charge the yorkist men at arms behind the hedge, killing three of them before one of their own men is killed and they retire back.  

Warwick's men reform. 

The longbow men shoot down the duke and the retainers flee!  

They charge again but kill only one men at arms before three of their horsemen are hauled from the saddle and hacked to death!

The yorkists pursue the fleeing lancastrians killing many of them. 

The mounted men at arms charge again but all flee, with only one man left.

The last lancastrain leaves the battle.

A Clear Yorkist Victory! 

The lancastrains had lost every unit on the field, but not one of the yokist troops had been fled the battle. 

The yorkist commanders were are free to leave England and reform in Ireland.  

 

By M

Skirmish on the plains of Gisoreux - Lion Rampant

Having landed in the Brettonian marches with a handful of riders from his tribe, Surtha Lenk, warrior of Slaanesh, champion of Tzeentch and sworn enemy of Sigvald the Magnificent, advanced across the marches and the mountains into the pleasant land of Brettonia. As he moved beastmen gathered around him and aided him as he overwhelmed small Brettonian outposts and garrissons. Reports reached the lords of Brettonia, but they could only speculate about why he had come, while every attempt to catch or stop him was foiled as his followers melted away into the forests and mountains. Finally they slipped into the great forest of Arden and dissapeared altogether.

Perhaps Lenk sought a grail relic, something of power which he could use against Sigvald, but what this object might be, or even if there was any object, was not known even by the men who followed him.

Forces

Bretonnian Knight's of Gisoreux

Earl Richard and household knights....mounted men at arms

Knight's of the realm....mounted men at arms

Richard's brother Raymond and Questing knights....dismounted men at arms

Earls men at arms....foot sarjeants

Town levy....bidowers

The Chaos Horde of Surtha Lenk

 Surtha Lenk and centigors....mounted sarjeants

Centigors....mounted sarjeants

Marauder horsemen....mounted sarjeants

Centigors....mounted yeomen

Marauder horsemen....mounted yeomen

Gor herd...fierce foot

On the out-skirts of the huge forest of Arden, a lone watch man hurridly lit the beacon on top of the small watch-tower he was charged with defending, as a huge horde of beastmen began to emerge from the forest in the early morning mist. The knights of Gisoreux, had seen the beacon and were riding out to bring to battle the chaos hordes on the plains of Gisoreux, and if possible kill their leader and stamp out his attacks once and for all.        

The beastmen hugely outnumbered the bretonnian knights, although Surtha Lenk had great trouble getting his disordered force to move out of the woods. The bretonnians quickly sent men to either flank and the centre.    

The beastmen at last managed to begin their advance. The peasant bowmen, who had taken up position in the watch tower, started to send hails of arrows at the horsemen to keep them at bay, killing one of the riders.  

Then with sudden swiftness the bestmen launched their attack. 

A group of centigors charged at the band of questing knights, catching them off guard, they cornered, and killed two of the knights, before they had one of their own troop killed. 

 The questing knights, badly disordered, retired before the centigors who they had so badly underestimated. In the centre the men at arms formed a wall of shields and bills and held strong, hoping that the knights behind them would attack soon. 

It was then that the beastmen felt the awe striking charge of the Bretonnian knights. Earl Richard seeing the Gors rushing up the the flank of the shield wall, turned to his knights and crying "For Bretonnia and the Lady!", couched his lance and charged. The rest of the Questing knights followed suit.      

Earl Richard's household knights cut down four of the screaming Gors making them rush back not even killing one of the knights. The Questing knights of the other hand, though they had brought the centigors down to half their number, again lost two men and had to fall back. 

The bowmen that had held back two troops of horsemen fell back from the tower under a hail of javelins from the enemy. The men at arms in the centre were under pressure, and an attack seemed immanent. But the knights of the realm behind them refused to see any further then their lances, and made no move to aid them.          

Earl Richard continued his charge with full impetuousness, and slew all but four of the Gors, who ran before their knightly valour!     

Then Surtha lenk called his men to him, and in a warrior's fashion he went to kill the bretonnian lord himself. Charging into the Earl, but never one to sit and wait for the fight to come, to him, Richard counter charged! 

 But alas the centigors, lacking chivalry and any honour, charged them in the rear! Well what can you expect from beastmen!   

Although out numbered and fighting from all sides the knight's charge knew no bounds and not only did they defend themselves adequately, but so ferocious were they that they sent Surtha's best running to the woods!        

The Questing knights continued the fight with the centigors. Meanwhile The Earl pushed forward into the retiring Surtha lenk.

Killing all but the leader himself. 

The knights, having over run their charge, were hit in the rear by the nigh unstoppable centigors.  

All but the wounded Earl were killed, but having charged though five combats, they had done well.

   

The Earl and Surtha Lenk now stood looking at each other near the edge of the forest. No word passed between them they charged at each other! Crashing together in a furious battle, the mounted knight forsaking his lance in favour of his two handed mace, and the huge axe welding chaos leader. Surtha was beaten off by the Earl, who almost unconscious with blood loss was ridden into the forest by his horse.          

The three troops of chaos riders still menaced the left, fearing the ridged wall of pole arms, they thought it better to hurl javelins at them instead.     

Then when all seem lost for the Bretonnians, did Raymond, brother of the Earl, lead his only questing knight forward in the charge, calling the men at arms to him as he charged into the centigor troops that had formed up in front of him.    

    

The momentum of their charge was unstoppable, both units were sent flying by the Questing knights and the supporting men at arms. 

Seeing the charge of young Raymond now exposed to the flanking chaos horse men, the knights of the realm finally moved up into the battle. The chaos warriors charged with ear splitting war cries at the knights, who counter charged, smashed one troop, killing all but two!    

They then continued their charge into the other unit. The warrior commander told his men to evade, but they paused a moment too long in indecision, and where caught by the knights who destroyed them all!       

Surtha Lenk then rushed forward towards the Questing knights, the only knight left spurred onto the huge man, his lace was smashed aside and his horse hacked from under him. 

 But Raymond had thundered up to him, his great sword held above his head, and his battle cry on his lips! With a great sweep of his sword he brought the chaos lord to the ground!

  

With their leader down, and born from the field by his warriors, the last beastmen fled for their lives pursued by the victorious Bretonnians.  

The field was empty, save for the corpses, and one bloodied figure, being born away towards the woods. Surtha Lenk wounded and beaten but still alive left the battle ground...

A Clear Bretonnian Victory!    

The forces of chaos had been badly beaten and would now be mercilessly tracked down. All that was left for Lenk was to recooperate while he hid in the forest, before attempting to escape Brettonia and perhaps cause some carnage in their flight...

By M