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STRATAGEMS AND CIRCI'MSTANCES
(Tacttcal sophtstlcatlon forWars of the Roses commanders)
The battles of the Wan of the Roses were fought by medieval
armies in a medieval fashion. The arrnies were basically feudal
in character and consisted of a great bulk of more or less
unwilling troops stiffened by cadres of men-at-arms and
household troops. This mass of troops was raised either from
the great nobles' estat€s or more generally by a conmission of
array issued by (or on behaf of) the King. Their service was for
a stricdy
where the victor in a strategically inconclusive battle was forced
immediately to raise a new (and pr€sumably less expedenced)
limited pedod (often 40 dayt, so we hear of situations
by Richard Crawley
army to deal with a second threat to his rule. Fot example
Edward of March, after his victory at Mortimer's Crcss and
having himsef acclaimed King in lrndon, immediately raised a
new army p.ior to defeating the Lancastrians at Towton.
The effect of this limited service by, often inexp#enced,
troops was to severely curtail the medieval general's options.
Battle ltras given in three Wards (or Baules) which would
usually line up opposite the enemy's three Battles. An exchange
of archery would then occur after which one side, finding itself
at a disadvantage, would be forced to attack. The received
wisdom of the day was:
"He who attacks is lost". The fight then
degenerated into an enomous melee overwhich the comman,
ders had little influence save to stand in the fronk rank and
encourage mer men.
The foregoing is the tmditional portrayal of late medieval
warfare. In many ways it ri quite accurate, but there p€re a good
many exceptions. Enough exceptions in fact to make Wars of
the Roses period battles more interesting to the wargamer than
the tmditional view might suggest. What follows is a brief
outline of some of these tactical factols, stratagems, and
fortuitous tums of circumstance along with some suggestions
for including them in youlgames.
used, wban or rural. First St Albans and the Bastard of
These rules are designed to assist in generating interesting
Fauconberg'sattemptsto take London in 1471 springto mindas
battle scenaios without resort to setting up a campaign and
examples of urban (or perhapsuburban) skirmishes.
without requiring the services of an umpire. You will need a set
Having set up the terrain it should be divided into areas as
of rules suitable for the period and an ordinary pack of playing shown in figure 1. The neutnl zone and the two flank zones
€ards with the Jokers left in.
should be about one bo*shot wide (or at least a normal infantry
These suggestions may be used either for large skirmishes or
move if this leaves youl deployment zones too cramped)
for pitched battles. The troops are deployed in contingents- A
according to the rules in use,
contingent is assumed to be the smallest unit of command in the
game. Normally each \rill be led by asingle lord or captain and
there may well be more than one contingent in each Battle. e,9.
for a refight of Tewkesbury the King's Battle might actually
consist of his own contingent, Clarence's contingent, Sir John
Howad\ contingent, and those ofa couple ofminornobles. In
a skirmish game a contingent will represent a smaller number of
men;theten men levied from Ambridge and theircaptain, John
the Archer, for €xample.
The basic strategic situation assumed is that the two armies
start having camped overnight fairly close to each other and
expecting to give battle.
SETTINGIJP
Straaegic sihration
One player (or side) is the King'sarmy, the other rcpresents an
invading pretender or a rebellious magnate. Roll percentage
dice to find out who is King for the day and pick an appropriate
RoI King Pocsible pretenders
01-35 Henry VI Richard of York, Edward of March,
Warwick the Kingmaker
36-70 Edward Menry VI, Margaret of Anjou,
Somerset, Warwick
7l-75 Edward V Richard ofGloucesrer
76-90 Richard III Buckingham, the Woodvilles, Henry
Tudor
91-100 Henry VII lnmbert Simnel, Perkin Warbeck
If you are fighting a skirmishlevel game, you will need an
outline scenario to determine who comnands each side in the
battle.
Make a list of the contingents available to each side, starting
with the King'sand the pret€nd€r's household troops, then any
close relatives' or associates' contingents, and then such other
troops as are available in miniatur€ folm.
Set up t€rraitr
The terrain should be fairly open for larger battles; farmland
with the occasional village, hill, stream or small wood.
Remember that thh h before the Enclosure Acts so there will
not be long hedgerows marching across the countryside. For
skirmish games any historically appropdate terrain may be
At this point you should also determine *hat the \reather is
like, using whatever system suits your rules.
Iht€Imirc size of forces
Each player has three Battles. Draw a playing card from the
pack for each Battle to determine its strength. Keep them,
without sho$ing your opponent, until the end of the game:
2to 6
7to10
Jack, Queen or King
One contingent
Two contingents
Thrce contingents
Four contingents
The contingents are then picked Iiom the list prepared earlier
Opposire: 2 pics of Wars of the Rosestatagems: an improvised barriude and a (prcviously) hidden force. AU noops & teftain from
the editot's co ection. The 25mn frgurcs include Citadel Miniaturcs, Wargames Foundty, Essex Miniaturcs and Stratagem Figurcs.
Mostly painted by Ton McKe aL Buidings include scnkh builts by Rob Bake\ Mike White, Hales Modeb & the Miniature
Archited and rcsin "flat pick" lrcm Waryames FoM&t. The Brcenery by Foliage Factoty, Dean Forcst Figures, K&M Trces. The
banicades ttro ofaset of fou pieces awilable thrcugh Figuret, Amour, A i ery in rcsin - plus a cast metal bench & chai lrom
Redoubt Enteryrises. Stones from Recar beach & a quarry somewherc in No hYorkshbe.
21

22
and amnged in three Battles. Each Battle must have a
designated commander. lf you draw a Joker or th€ Ace of
Spadesat this point, keepit to one side and draw anothercard.
D€temin€ stratag€m points
Each side dmws a card to detemine the stratagem points
available. This card should be kept, face down, to one side until
the end ofthe game. Again ifyou draw a Joker place it to one
side. The Ace ofSpades you may use now or save for laterand
draw again.
2or3
?to9
l0orJack
Queen or King
One stratagem point
Two stratagem points
Thrce stmtagem points
Four stratagem points
Five stratagem points
Si\ stratagem points
Sp€nd saratagem points
Stratagen points are spent by wri.ing the titles (given in capitals
below) ofthestratagems.obe usedon a sheet of scrap paper. At
this point it will also be necessary to note which enemy and/or
friendly contingents and/or locations are affected by the
stratagems chosen.
D€ploy troops
The table is divided into zones as shown in figure one. A player
may only deploy forces, includingthose
hidden deployments,
in his own deployment zone unless he holds the following€ardsi
Aceofspades
Red Joker
Black Joker
May deploy contingents or Battles which
are the subject offriendlystratagemsin the
neutralzone.
May deploy contingents or Battles which
are the subject of friendly stratagemsin the
red flank zone.
May deploy contingents or Battles which
are the subj ect of friendly stratagems in the
black flankzone.
ffyou have all three ofthese cards and a reasonably-sized army
and you still don'twin then I'm aftaid there is no hope for you:
take uD needle-Doint.
ELA'K
ZCNE
PRE I:I.]DEP'S
l: ' L a' 1.'1a f.lI ZCNE
i :P-ari.lEr'.- Z.lr':t
THE STANLEY SYNDROME
Irrd Stanley raised a considerable force for the Lancas
trians but apparently remained idle some six miles away,
possibly because the Lancastrians retused lo let him line up
in the position ofhonour opposite Salisbury's retinue-
Selecton enemy contingent before deploymena. There
isa3 in6 chance it is removed hom Dlav.
LAAGERLOUTS
Salisbury's left flank was prorccted by a stream. To
strengthen his right he deployed his baggage waggons in a
circle on that side.
The waggons may not be moved. They provide cover for
one cofltingent. Obviously oflittle orno use to an attacking
army.
Northampton, 1461)
Another Yorkist assault, this time on a strongly defended
Lancastrian camp, backed by a riverandfronted by a deep and
muddyditch.
TRENCHWARFARE
The Lancastrian dilch was sieep sided and, rnade slippery
by heavy rain. defied Yorkisl altempts 1o cross.
Enough to cover the front of the army. May only be
crossed by unopposed troops who become disordered.
POSSIBLE TREACHERY
STRATAGEMS AND CIRCUMSTANCES
In the end the Yorkists only won by means of treachery.
First St Albanr, 1455
Lord Grey ofRuthyn's men, atasignal from the Yorkists,
A Yorkist assault on a lightly defended town in an effort to changed sides and helped the Earl of Waruick\ men across
capture the King (HenryVI).
the ditch.
AN IMPROVISED BARRICADE cost = I point The side choosing this option mus. immediately (before
The Lancastrians did not have time to fortify St Albans. deploymeno and secretly nominate one enemy€ontingent
The town had a surounding ditch and barriers across the as the possible traitorc. Obviously this can't be the enemy
roadways. Doubtless these were slightly reinforced - commander-in-chiefs contingent orthat of one ofhis close
indeed they stoppedthe Yorkist attacks.
relatives (except the Duke of Clarence might perhaps
Enough to cover the width of two roads or equivalent. betray Edward VI). When the signal is given there is a50%
Attackers should be at a disadvantage: minus 1, disordered,
ar whatever.
Wak€fi€ld, 1460
chance that they willswitch sides.
CONFUSION TO OUR ENEMIES cosr = 3 points Richard o{ York, spending Christmas at Sandal Castl€ near
Some o{ our Lancastrian defenders, seeing a Yorkist party Wakefield, believed thatthe only Lancastrians facing him were
ride out to parley, assumed that the battle was off for the the contingent of Lord Clifford. He sallied out to destroy
day. They stood down and thereby left pan of the town Clifford while he was unsuDDorted.
ditch undefended.
ATEMPTINGLURE
Select one enemy contingent at random. Half of its ln fact Clifford s contingentwas merelythe centre Battle of
figures are removeduntil tum 6.
three. York s force was surrounded and he and his son
Blore Heath, 1459
Ednund- Earl ofRutland were killed.
A snall Yorkist force underthe Earl ofSalisbury was caught by Theplayerchoosingthis option may add two conting€nts
a much larger Lancastrian army. After charging three times, to his force. These, and up to halfhis original {orce, may be
once mounred and rhen l$ice on foor, rhe Lancasrrian' were deployed off table to left oi right or both to enter as
driven off.
required on a pre-designated game tum-

Second St Albans, 1461
The Earl of waruick, mistaken as to the likely direction from
which the Lancastrians would attack, was caught on the hop
while redeploing. The resuh was almost a fatal blow for
Yorkist hoDes.
SPIKED PA\{SES
Warwick's men prepared a sophGticated range of defences.
These included pavise studded with large spikes, these
could be hidden behind, or thrown down in the path of
Enough to block two roadways or equivalent. Provides
cover fron archery for defenders. May be converted to
SPIKEDNETS
cost = l point
Arso used were large nets like fishing nets with up ght
spikes through every se€ond knot.
Enough to cover two roadways. Treat as caltrops.
AND WILDFIRE WITHAL
warwick's Burgundian handgunners were equipped with
"wildfire . presumably some t ind ot incendiary ammunition
and/or explosive firepots.
Affe€ts one contingent of gunners. They may start fires
and are also given a bonus in close combat for thrown
firepots.
$ uutLl*ea
t1,.ati}
69, ALBERT ROAD
'fl nl \ I sourHsEA
lul OfreLfrlll$t3!'ir"
\- 0705-733208
THE SOUTH'S
LARGEST
MINIFIGS
srocKrsr
ALL MAJOR
CREOIf CARDS
WELCOMED
FORCED FLANKMARCH
Margaret of Anjou's army of Lancastrian Nonhemers,
after a forced march, approached St Albans ftom the South
West. Warwick, expecting them to come from the North
was surprised by an attack on his "safe" t3tesr releases, always, quicklyavailablebyposl wo.ldwide
left flank.
MINIFIGS CATAIOGUE NOW IN STOCK
Enemy must deploy first. Friendly army enters at the
f3.50 - U.K. fs.OO - Overseas inc posr'
beginning of the game on one of the ends of the table. If
both sides choose this stratagem they cancel out each
olner smanoeuvre.
that the cunent turn number the designated contingent is
placed at a random position on the designated flank. lt will
SUDDEN ADVANCE cost = 2 points per contingent
march towards and engage the nearest enemy contingent.
The Lancastrian army was preceded by a mounted
€ontingent under Andrew Trollope. tuding through the
streets of St Albans they sowed panic and suryrise in the
Yorkist left.
Pilliovn, 1462
The LancastdanJames Buder, Earl of Ormond was defeated by
the Earl ofDesmond's Yorkists in the only major battle ofthe
wars of the Roses to take place in lreland.
The designated contingent may make two moves at the
NEVER ON A MONDAY
start of the game before the enemy can respond.
Much of Ormond ' force refused to fighr because il was a
Towton, l{61
Edward, having proclained hinself King in Irndon, marched
Nonh and, with War,{ick and Fauconberg at his side, defeated
the Lancast an lords ifl the bloodiest battle ever foueht on
Britishsoil.
Monday?l
Use the same rule as that suggested under The Stanley
Syndrome. See Blore Heath above.
Uedgeley Moo., 1464
A party escorting Scottish ambassadors who had been visiting
THE ARROW STRATAGEM cost = I point per enemy King Edward was arnbushed by the Duke of Somerset, Sir
Battle
Ralph Percy, and sundry, other die-hard Lancastrians.
The archers of Fauconberg's Yorkist van, hidden by a
MYLORDISDEAD!
cost:2 points
blizzard, used their short range arrows to make the
With the death of Sir Ralph Percy lhe remaining
Lancast ans think that they were almost upon them. Firing
Lancastrians lost hea( and fled.
blind the Lancast an archers wasted their own shafts, most
Player may designate one enemy leader, rews of whose
ofwhich fell short.
death (should he be killed in the following battle) will
Only usable if there is a snowstorm or fog on the
spread like wild-fire through the arny. lf that leader is
battlefield. Player using this stratagem can force the
killed all remaining leaders on that side have a2in 6 chance
archers olone eneny ratle to begin firing immediately,I
of breaking off. Their contingents must then take morale
suggest you limit ea€h contingent to, say,6 tums worth of
checks.
LATE ARRIVALS
cost = lrsecoaa Field, 1469
2 poinrs
Edward IV found himself faced by a much larger army led by the
The battle continued long and hard and was onlyswayed in
tum-coat Earl of War,rvick.
the Yorkists'{avour by the arrival of troops under the Duke
of Norfolk.
RUNAWAAAYI
Player using this stratagem may designate one contingent
as rnaking a long flank march on one or other flank. discretion was the better part ofvalour and fled on the eve
Edward and his fellow Yorkist commanders decided that
Each tum roll a lo-sided die. If the number rolled is less of battle. His men. findina themselves leaderless and

24
outnumbered, fled before a blow was struck, throwing off
their livery jackets to avoid identification.
* Only ifyou hold any three aces from the initial set up
process. You have obviously got the strategic drop on our
opponent. There is a 5 in 6 chance that his advisors will
force him to flee. Congratulations you can now be King!
Now set up a new battle.
Balnel, l47l
Pitched battle in foggy conditions between Edward IV (newly
retumed from exile in Flandert and a Neville/Lancastrian army
under the Early of Warwick.
AN IMPROVISED BARRICADE
The Londoners built protective barricades fiom wine pipes
filled with gravel.
As above, see fi$t St Albans.
FIELDSOFFIRE
cost: l point
The defenders also knocked down some walls to give a
clearfield of fire for thei anillery.
Player may remove a section of wall or hedge within his
deployment zone. The section may be as wide asthe bas€ of
a single artillery piece model.
Bosworth, 1485
Richard III faced a smaller army of English and Welsh
Lancastdans and French mercenaries under Henry Tudor.
OvERNIGI{TBOMBARDMENT
Warwick's gunnenhad fired throughout the previous night
in an attempt to demoralise Edward's men before the
THESTANLEY SYNDROME
battle.
On thisoccasion it was both Lord StanleyandHenryPer€y,
Contingents in the enemy vanguard have their morale
adversely affected (minus
Earl o{ Northumberland who failed to act wh€n needed.
one or whatever). Thi stratagem
is rendered ineffective by the stratagerns SUDDEN
Asabove. see Blore Heath.
ADVANCE and AGGRESSI\.E APPROACH PROBABLETREACHERY
MARCH,
Sir William Stanley, brother of Lord Stanley, intervened
AGGRESSIVE APPROACH MARCH cost : 2 points on behalfofHenry Tudo' at rhe crucial momen'
Eitward marched ovemighto put his army closer to Barnet As for Possible Treachery Gee Northampton above)
than the Lancastdans expected. This saved the Yorkisr except that the opposing player is informed. before
army from the effects of Warwick's ovemight bonbard, deployment of the possibility o{ treachery ftom the
ment.
designal€d contingent.
Immune to effe€ts of overnight bombardment. Deploy
as close as possible to forward edge of deployment zone. If
you have the Ace of Spades you PLAYTESTING TIIE MECHANISMS :
may deploy the whole
army in the neutral zone.
The concept of stratagems was iested fi$t in a skirmish game
MISTAKEN IDENTITY cost =
between the Pargeters and the Bellamies, those irascible
2 points per occasion
denizens of fifteenth century Bo$etshire. The Battle ofPenny
The Earl of Oxford's men, returning from having routed
Hassett revolved around an attempt by Sir John Pargeter (and
the Yorkist left, were mistaken by Montague's conringent
the Anbridge militia led by John Archer and his son John) to
for Yorkists. The resulting exchange of arrows led to cries
of "Trea€hery"
rescue his daughter Elizabeth from the lascivious clutches of
and disordered the Lancastrian right.
John Bellamy esq. The Pargeter forces were commanded
The player
by a
selecting this stratagem may, under any wargamer playing hisfirst medieval
circumstances where two enemy forces come together in
Same who, with knowledge
of World War II tactics, tried to'thoot in" his poleaxe
poor
armed
visibility, requesthat they check to see ifthey attack
troops using crossbow
"covering
fire". The effect of this was a
each other. There is a 50% chance that they will then long range shooting duel in which the crossbowmen came ofJa
engage in two tums of archery or one tum of melee as poor second to the Bellamy longbowrnen.
appropda.e.
Three times the Pargeters attempted to closs the bridge into
Tewk€sbury, l47l
Penny Hassett- Twice they were forced back under a hail of well
Pitched battle between Edward IV and a Lancastrian force aimed arows. Finally they forced their way over only to find
under the Duke ofSomenet.
their route inlo the village blocked (stratagem: AN IMPRO-
KNOWNGROUND €ost = I pointpercontingent
VISED BARRICADE). The fighting here was fierce and
looked bound to go
Somersef s battle advanced initiallyalonghidden roads
the Pargeten' way when a troop of their
out
of sight of the Yorkshire
horse led by Edmund
archers.
Grundy ardved behindthe Bellamyflank
having crossed the dver downstream (stmtagem:
One €ontingent is automatically immune to archery
LATE
ARRIVALS). Another stratagem was to prove
while making its first move of the battle. Lasts for one tum
vital at this
point however. As Grundy's men clattered past
only and not on a tum $hich ends in contact with the
the rirhe bam
on the outskins of the village, a group of archers hidden within
the barn (stratagem: DETACHED SMALL FORCE) began to
DETACHED SMALL FORCE
shootthrougholes cutin thethatched roof. Grundy was killed
instantly and his men fledin disanay.
Edward, fearing a possible anbush, had secredy moved a With his archers free to come around onto the Parseters'
body of 200 mounted spearmen into Tewkesbury Park. flank and his cavalry resene ava'lable to threaten thJorher
These later charged into Somerset'sflank-
flank, Bellamy now proceeded to push the Pargeters back over
A contingent may be secredy positioned in any accessible
tenain feature. 'Accessible' the river. The retreat became a rout and Bellamy was able to
means in the player's retum to the village and have his wicked way with the Pargeter
deployment zone unless he holds a Joker or the Ace of
Spades as detailed above. The contingent nust have Since Penny Hassett, which was a large scale skirmish game,
written orders which nayinclude responses tosignals. these mechanisms have also seen a massed battle between the
l,ondon, 1471
forces of Richard III and Henry Tudor in which the result of
Thomas Neville, Bastard of Fauconberg attempted to force an
Bosworth was revened, despite Henry's cunning plan to trick
entry into London, probably with the aim of rescuing Henry VI
Richard's archen into shooting off all of their arrows into the
from Yorkist captivity in the Tower.
mist.

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