Haitian Revolution/St Domingue Revolt - Gentlemen of the town.

 

I painted these fine looking fellows up for my game that the Rejects put on at Broadside back in June.

The Battle of Croix-du-Bouquets 1792, set in St Domingue, what it now Haiti.

I wanted to add some civilians to add a bit of scenery in the town .

The 4 figures are all from Front Rank, now owned by those luvvly chaps at Gripping Beast.

They could also perhaps be a Plantation Owner of even the Governor of the territory,

in future games. I kept my pallet a little subdued, all blue's browns and greys.

They have a slightly darker skin tone from normal, probably from too much sitting in he sun by the pool, with a cocktail in hand???

I will hopefully have their better halves appearing soon?

Miniature Wargames - Broadside 2024

 

Great to see my game got a mention in August's Miniature Wargames mag!!

There were some photos from Broadside Game Show from June printed.

We even got a pic of some of the The Rejects in the mag.

Unfortunately my big belly's on show for all to see!!!

From the left

My big belly, Postie, the back of Richard, the back of Friar Tuck Steve, Smiffy and Dan.

We only got the group shot in though, because the main pic is of the Werelords Sci-Fi game, but I can't complain!!

The Battle of Bosworth 1485 - A Test of Resolve,6mm batrep

Last weekend saw some of the Rejects meet up for BigLee's first outing of his most excellent 6mm War of the Roses collection, using Test of Resolve rules.

You can see BigLee's take on the game here and Richard's take on the game here.

Background

The location of the Battle of Bosworth has been debated and plotted by antiquarians and historians many times in the 539 years since the battle took place. For several hundred years it was linked to Ambion Hill where Richard probably camped the night before the battle. This seems logical because it is one of the highest points in a semi-circular range of hills, with good visibility for miles around. However, few artefacts had been definitively found to tie the battle to this location, and core samples of the surrounding terrain revealed no evidence of the now-famous marsh in which Richard lost his life.

Between August 2005 and August 2009 the Battlefields Trust undertook a major new study of Bosworth battlefield, on behalf of Leicestershire County Council. Combined with new analysis of documentary sources, this analysis shifted the location of the battle away from its traditional site to a position two miles south-west, either side of Fen Lane. A wealth of artefacts were uncovered, including the single largest collection of medieval cannon balls ever found, numerous sword hilts, buckles, spurs, horse tackle and the by-now famous Boar Badge which would have been worn by one of the king's closest entourage. All of these have definitively identified the site of the engagement and indicated the orientation of the battles, the location of the guns and even the infamous marsh. This game is based on this most recent interpretation of the evidence. 

Pre-Battle

Richard had a good spy network in France and was well aware of the preparations for invasion. Even the landing point in Milford was advised, but crucially he did not know if this was Milford in Southern England or the Milford in Wales, so he based himself centrally in Nottingham and awaited Henry’s first move. 

Henry landed in Wales with just 4500 troops, mostly French mercenaries. Henry’s goal was to collect as much support as quickly as possible to bring Richard to a conclusive battle and thereby take the throne. He marched north up the Welsh coast and then cut inland towards Shrewsbury and England. He was soon joined by Rhys ap Thomas and a body of Welshmen, possibly up to 2000 men strong, but his army was still smaller than the force they expected to support the King. However, Henry had been busy building a potential alliance with William and Thomas Stanley and their considerable retinue and followers. It is possible that Henry was sure of their support before he arrived, but it is also possible that their commitment was still unclear on the eve of battle. The Stanleys marched in parallel to Henry's army, but some miles away, in the days leading up to the battle, and Henry would have had many opportunities to exchange messages. What we now know from the evidence found is that the Stanleys were probably positioned behind Henry’s flank when battle commenced which strongly suggests their allegiance was assured. 

While Henry was marching across England, Richard countered by heading South from Nottingham to Leicester accompanied by a substantial army which included many of the leading magnates of the realm. If you believe that the Stanleys were already declared for Henry then the armies were evenly matched, in the range of 12,000-15,000 with the Yorkists having a slight advantage. Then on the 21st August 1485, Richard marched his army out of Leichester taking up a position on the high ground from Ambion Hill to Stoke Golding, overlooking the old Roman road to London. 

Richard is said to have had a bad night's sleep, disturbed by bad dreams. Whether this is true, or later Tudor propaganda is still debated. What is now known is that Henry's army approached Fen Lane from the west, and both armies formed up on what was the flattest area of ground available. It wasn’t the best ground for a battle, with hills to the east and fenland and boggy ground around several small streams in its centre, but it was large enough to accommodate the 20-3000 men gathered to decide the fate of the Kingdom.

The set up from the Yorkist side

Richard on the left - Northumberland

Ray in the centre - King Richard and Brackenbury

Surg on the left - Norfolk

Facing the Lancastrians

on their right Postie - Stanley

centre and left, Steve - Henry, Oxford and de Chande

Lee was using Test of Resolve as the basis of the rules, but had to change a few bits as he's painted up around 2/3's more troops than he actually needed, so the battles massive!!!! yeh ha!!!

King Richard III & chums

Reject Richard's Northumberland command. These buggers just didn't want to move!

Airplane mode

The Lancastrians get the first move, RIII just crosses the stream and Brackenbury's command barely moves forward.

Norfolk on our right keeps in line with Brackenbury and RIII during the next turn.

Pery and Lovell's men at arms have a little trouble crossing the stream, it would have helped if I remembered that Mounted Men at Arms get a bonus 2 inches added to their movement!!

Norfolk makes it up the hill facing the Frenchman de Chande

Its gonna get bloody!!

Roast pork sandwich anyone?

All of my archers retreat back behind the MAA and billmen. Henry is stuck in the river top left of the photo. Steve kept throwing bad dice to get them moving and also forgot about the plus 2" movement!

And we're in! The Lancastrians get the charge

There's lots of twoing and froing as troops are lost quickly from both sides.

King Richard sees an easy opening, especailly with Henry still stuck in the stream.  $*&^%$£!!! I only throw a 3 so can only move 3 inches, so I won't make contact!!!

Norfolk's MAA come and lend a hand in the centre.

Its just a mess!

Sir Gilbert Talbot's Scurriers felt brave and charged the Earl of Shrewsbury's Billmen.
Big mistake!

The Lancastrians had a lot of pike, they were a pain in the butt!

In the centre Lord Scrope and Lord Greystoke kept battling away but kept drawing melee, so the fight would carry on next turn.

King Richard's MAA charged into the Lancastrian Scurriers.

The Yorkists finally make the hole, Sir Richard Brackenbury's MAA bash into the Lancastrian bowmen.

It was all going well in the centre, that was about to change on our right!!

The Lancastrian centre has almost gone, but Steve threw well on the dice and what's left of his command stays on the table.

Which isn't a lot, 3 archers units and 1 bill unit.

While Henry is STILL in the river!

After what seemed like an eternity Richard's command, Northumberland has finally chosen his side in the battle and moves forward. 

While Postie still can't move!!

In what I hoped would be the final death nail for Henry, I moved my MAA up.

A bit of luck on our right flank de Chande is killed.

Henry's handgunners get a shot in, knocking a point of of Lovells command.

Time was getting on, ok Richard III's attached, we're going in for the kill!!

On our right Surj's Norfolk command got battered but Steve's dice!!!

So much that he passed the zero mark on his resolve test and the whole command buggered off!!!

So it was really do or die now with the MAA

The dice deserted me, Lovells and Percy's MAA were both destroyed!

And in the following fight I lost again, the unit was destroyed, but did Richard escape???

Unfortunately not, he was captured and well.........the rest is history!

Conclusion

Well I really enjoyed the game to be honest, it was too and fro from the get go. It was a shame Richard and Postie didn't really get a game, but its always difficult reproducing a historical fight. I'm already looking forward to another game with these very interesting and playable rules.

Well done Lee and well done to the Lancastrians..........

A visit to Chichester p2.....Fishbourne Roman Palace

 

On our way home from Chichester, I persuaded SWMO Emma to accompany me to Fishbourne Roman Palace, which was a 15 minute drive south of Chichester, not really on our way home, but hey ho!

Fishbourne Roman Palace or Fishbourne Villa is the largest known Roman residence north of the Alps, and has an unusually early date of 75 AD, around thirty years after the Roman conquest of Britain.

Much of the palace has been excavated and is preserved, along with an on-site museum. The rectangular palace surrounded formal gardens, the northern parts of which have been reconstructed.

Extensive alterations were made in the second and third centuries AD, when many of the original black and white mosaics were overlaid with more sophisticated coloured work, including the perfectly preserved Dolphin mosaic in the north wing. More alterations were in progress when the palace burnt down in around 270 AD, after which it was abandoned.

Upon entering the site, you're ushered around to one side of the building to see some artifacts, before you get to the palce.

The site was accidentally discovered in 1805, during the construction of a new home on the grounds of the ancient Roman ruin.Workers discovered 13-foot-wide (4.0 m) pavement as well as fragments of columns. In the following years, additional remains such as pottery fragments and portions of mosaic tiles were unearthed by local inhabitants who lived within close proximity to the site. However, the locals were unable to conceive the fact that the findings were part of a larger unknown structure that remained below the surface. It wasn't until 1960, that Aubrey Barrett, an engineer working for the Portsmouth Water Company, discovered the foundations of a “masonry building” located north of the main road while digging a trench for a water main.

This rediscovery of the ancient structure caught the attention of the Susssex Archeollogical Society and triggered the first series of excavations, directed by the archaeologist Barry Cuncliffe and his team in 1961. Cunliffe's findings from his digs provide the most significant portion of the information associated with the site. In the years following the initial excavations led by Cunliffe, a series of further excavations were conducted, each of which focused on unearthing various other areas of the ancient site.

To the surprise of archeologists and historians alike, each stage of excavations revealed previously unknown details surrounding the site's vast and complex history. For instance, from 1995 to 1999, the archeologists John Manley and David Rudkin conducted digs that focused on southern portions of the site, which exposed significant evidence of human activity prior to the Roman conquest in 43 AD. Over the course of five years, Manley's team of archeologists discovered nearly twelve thousand artifacts, including flint tools that are believed to date back to the Mesolithic period (around 5000–4000 BC) and could indicate the presence of a hunter and gatherer settlement near the present-day location of the Fishbourne palace. However, the most intriguing and significant evidence of pre-Roman human activity at the site comes from a ditch containing nearly seven hundred fragments of pottery and a cup that can be traced back to a period within the Late Iron Age. The findings made by Manley and his team challenge Cunliffe's earlier assumptions by suggesting the likely presence of significant human activity at Fishbourne prior to 43 AD.

The site of the excavated Roman Villa was so large that it became known as Fishbourne Roman Palace. In size, it is approximately equivalent to Nero's Golden home in Rome or to the Villa Romana del Casale near to Piazza Armerina in Sicily, and in plan it closely mirrors the basic organization of the emperor Domitain's palace, the Domus Flavia, completed in 92 AD upon the Palatine Hill in Rome. Fishbourne is by far the largest Roman residence known north of the Alps. At about 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2), it has a larger footprint than Buckingham Palace.

I included my fat sausage fingered had to get a sense of scale. 

We'd only been here 10 minutes when SWMBO pipped up, "You ain't gonna read everything , are you?"

"Well, yeh?"

I'm going to sit down then!

I then got the 2 finger salute!

 

A great looking diorama, that would grace any wargaming table! 

Now onto the palace, by this time I'd lost Emma, she'd vanished????

I carried on looking at the "Rocks" as she calls them!

It just amazes me that this still looks what it looked like after approx 1949 years!!

Amazing???

Ah, there's Emma......the black dot, centre right, lol!!

Every mans pain, re-doing the decorating. Laying a new floor over the old one.

Again this just amazes me???

At the site the only floor you see is the north wing, above, just look at what's still under the ground?

Can you see the diagonal trench cutting across the middle?

The indentations you see here are post holes, made before the palace was built.

I highly recommend a visit to Fishbourne Roman Palace, if you get the chance.

Its a place I've always wanted to go to, but just never had the chance before. 10/10