H&HM - War of The Roses Yorkist v Medieval Korean

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Paul K
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H&HM - War of The Roses Yorkist v Medieval Korean

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This game pitted a Yorkist army which included 9 units of mounted men-at-arms, 12 units of longbow and 4 of billmen, against a Korean army with 6 units of heavy and 5 units of light cavalry, all bow armed, plus supporting spearmen, handgunners and archers. Both armies had 4 generals.
Initial Korean deployment with the light and heavy cavalry on the right and the infantry on the left
Initial Korean deployment with the light and heavy cavalry on the right and the infantry on the left
The terrain, as is the tradition, was chosen and features positioned by Andre, before he headed off to play a game of Battlecry against James on a nearby table. The resulting terrain layout had some strategically positioned hills and a very useful 4 hex escarpment along with a scattering of small areas of forest. The Yorkists (Tony and Chris), won the di roll for second deployment and first move. However, the Koreans (Dave and I), did have choice of table edge and this gave us possession of a rather useful long 8 hex hill behind which we could position our ‘C’ class Korean infantry.
Korean spearmen and handgunners wait to receive the WOTR Yorkist heavy cavalry
Korean spearmen and handgunners wait to receive the WOTR Yorkist heavy cavalry
We deployed our Korean army centrally along our table edge with the infantry forward and the cavalry behind and to the right of centre where there was more cavalry friendly open ground. In response the Yorkists deployed their longbow units in an un-broken line from an area of woodland on their right across to the extreme left of their table edge. The 9 units of heavy cavalry were concentrated behind their centre across to the right wing.
The Yorkist army slowly advances with a line of longbow stretching to the table edge
The Yorkist army slowly advances with a line of longbow stretching to the table edge
Royalist longbow and bill units occupy a small wood. This prevented the Korean light cavalry from attacking the left wing of the Yorkist position.
Royalist longbow and bill units occupy a small wood. This prevented the Korean light cavalry from attacking the left wing of the Yorkist position.
The Yorkist first move brought their infantry line slowly forward, but in contrast their heavy cavalry units moved up quickly against Dave’s Korean infantry on our left and my Korean cavalry units left of centre. In response, the next Korean tactical move was spent preparing to receive a heavy cavalry charge. Dave had his Korean spearmen and handgunners adopt a 2 - line defence while I positioned my light cavalry units forward ready to evade and shoot the Yorkist mounted men-at-arms if they charged.
The Yorkist mounted men at arms charge the Korean spearmen
The Yorkist mounted men at arms charge the Korean spearmen
The Yorkist heavy cavlary are repulsed in the centre of the field.
The Yorkist heavy cavlary are repulsed in the centre of the field.
The Yorkist heavy cavalry charged into the Korean infantry but the potential charge into the centre didn’t happen. The 4 units of Tony’s Yorkist heavy cavalry, plus a general, hit the Korean infantry line causing significant disruption and forcing some units to recoil and one to break. However, the line held, and as the Yorkist heavies followed-up their recoiling opponents they became exposed to a counter - attack by units of Korean spearmen of the second line lead by a general. A unit of my Korean heavy cavalry from the centre also came across with another general, and after short brutal struggle 3 Yorkist heavy cavalry were lost and a general. The fourth managed to flee to safety losing a single stand!

Korean heavy cavalry come across to assist the Korean spearmen.
Korean heavy cavalry come across to assist the Korean spearmen.
In the centre my Korean light cavalry inflicted another blow by shooting to death another Yorkist heavy cavalry unit before pulling back as the line of longbow units continued their slow but steady advance. I planned to out - flank Chris’s Yorkist infantry around his left, but this was not possible against the un-broken line stretching across to the table edge. Instead I tried to hold onto a key 4 hex escarpment with my light cavalry. This turned out to be a tactical mistake and I lost 3 units of Korean light cavalry in a rather uneven shooting match with the more numerous Yorkist longbow.
Korean cavalry trap and defeat the final unit of Yorkist mounted men-at-arms in the centre
Korean cavalry trap and defeat the final unit of Yorkist mounted men-at-arms in the centre
The Yorkist longbow defeat the Korean light cavalry and advance to occupy the 4-hex escarpment as the Koreans retreat.
The Yorkist longbow defeat the Korean light cavalry and advance to occupy the 4-hex escarpment as the Koreans retreat.
The Advance of Chris’s infantry seemed at this point pretty un – stoppable as my cavalry slowly pulled back towards our table edge. To charge my 4 remaining units of Korean heavy against the Yorkist longbow and billmen holding a strong line, in front of, on top of, and on either side of the 4 hex escarpment would be futile. However, the Korean army still had 4 generals against the Yorkist 3 and when Tony and Chris launched the remaining units of Yorkist heavy cavalry against our weakened centre, we were able to commit 3 generals into hand-to-hand combat and use the fourth to command Dave’s infantry. In the following 2 rounds of combat the additional general finally tipped the balance in the Koreans favour. The last of the Yorkist heavy cavalry were lost along with 2 generals.
The remains of the Korean cavalry re-group to await the final Yorkist assault.
The remains of the Korean cavalry re-group to await the final Yorkist assault.
The Korean spearmen and heavy cavalry form a line ready for the final act of the game - the Yorkist final assault.
The Korean spearmen and heavy cavalry form a line ready for the final act of the game - the Yorkist final assault.
With the Yorkist more mobile units now gone, Dave’s Korean infantry were able to advance against the right wing of the Yorkist infantry, capturing the 4 hex hill and woodland, and in doing so, enabled the remaining Korean units to assault the now buckling Yorkist line. With only one Yorkist general left to try and command a quickly disintegrating line of infantry, Tony and Chris accepted defeat.
The Yorkist heavy cavalry are defeated and the Korean infantry break the Yorkist line of longbows to steal a victory.
The Yorkist heavy cavalry are defeated and the Korean infantry break the Yorkist line of longbows to steal a victory.
Game Analysis
In this game the very numerous and powerful cavalry units of both the Yorkists and Koreans were out - fought by lines of steady infantry. Dave’s Korean spearmen defeated the Yorkist heavy cavalry and Chris’s longbow won the battle of attrition against the Korean light cavalry. The last Yorkist gamble; the ill-fated assault on the Korean line turned a very marginal Korean victory into a more substantive one. However, this last Yorkist attack might well have succeeded if the Koreans hadn’t been able to commit 3 generals into the resulting hand-to-hand combats.
Kind regards
Paul

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