Preparation for Recon

With 2018 drawing to a close, it is time for our last wargaming outing of the year, the Recon show at Pudsey.  The Lance & Longbow Society will be attending ad Steve and I will be putting on a participation game using our tried and tested variant of 'Lion Rampant'.  This year the game will be Lewes from the 2nd Barons' War of 1264-66.  We have incorporated some of the key features of the battle  but the result is  by no means a foregone conclusion, (where would be the fun in that?).  Will the outnumbered Montfortians prevail as they did in history, or will the king quash the rebellion?

Here are a few photos taken during our trial run.

Prince Edward leads the Royalist cavalry past the walls of Lewes

The Royalist centre commanded by Richard, earl of Cornwall

The main rebel army ready to attack down Offham Hill

Nicholas de Segrave leading the London contingent

There are several good sources of information on the battle available on the internet; Steve and I found this one very useful. 

 If you are attending the show please drop by and say hello, or even better, have a go at the game, Steve and I are always on the look out for volunteers.

Crisis : some of the other games at the show

Even though we had a busy day gaming, there were a couple of opportunities to look at the other games on offer and what a choice there was.  The standard of painting and modelling was very high with plenty to inspire.  This is not an exhaustive review and I tried not to cover games that I had seen at other shows.

I will start with the Great Northern Wars Rugen game

The table before the troops deployed

The Allied right advance on the Swedes

The Allied centre await the onslaught

The Swedish advance

A game on an epic scale, which I had seen reports of, but was delighted to see it "in the flesh"

I was first drawn to this game by Berserkir Wargamers by the excellent modelling of the river and longship.

On closer inspection it was a fantasy game, but there was plenty of nice detail

Close by was a very nice Napoleonic game set in 1809 by (I think) Schild and Vriend

Constructing a pontoon bridge

Austrian Hussars

A lovely windmill 

Bavarian infantry advance

The cavalry clash

Crossing the Isar

Another Napoleonic game, Albuera by South London  Warlords

Back to the medieval period for Hattin by La Grande Armee

The Dortmund Amateur Wargamers presented Dunkerque

Nothing amateur looking about the standard of modelling!

On a smaller scale was this Pikeman's Lament scenario set in the Jacobite period by Kurpfalz Feldherren

Warfare Miniatures showcased their new range of Ottoman figures with this Donnybrook scenario

I would recommend that if you get the chance visit this show.  Not only is there a great range of games, but there is a large trade presence too.  Admittedly a good percentage of those hail from the UK but there is the opportunity to find buildings, etc that just don't appear at UK shows.  On top of that Antwerp is well worth a visit with good museums and varied architecture.

Crisis 2018: the Lance & Longbow game - the Battle of Arcen

The Gentlemen Pensioners had an international 'away day' over the weekend when a group of us attended the 'Crisis' show in Antwerp.  We had been invited by Jan and Peter (the Alde Garde group) to help them with their Arcen 1511 game.  Readers may remember that Jan and Peter visited the Phalanx Show in 2017 with one of their games (link ).  The game at Crisis represented a "what if" from the campaign between the Habsburgs (with English allies) and the forces of the Duke of Guelders (with French allies).

For us, it was a brilliant day; Jan and Peter provided an excellent terrain and plenty of well painted figures and invited us to play the game whilst they chatted to passers by.  The French and Imperial gendarmes battled it out all day with the former eventually gaining the upper hand.  A similar tussle, between the two blocks of landsknechts took place across the stream, with neither being able to make the decisive breakthrough.  However, the English archers under the command of Sir Edward Poynings stormed the fortified manor of Huys and secured a foothold within it's walls.  After a desperate struggle they were forced back at point of pike.

Here are a few photos of the action

The Guelders landsknechts advance towards the river

Habsburg infantry with their English allies

More Habsburg infantry

Preparing to defend Huys

The French gendarmes move forward

The Habsburg gendarmes move forward

Habsburg forces move up to the river

The attack on Huys develops

Sir Edward encourages his troops

Close quarters fighting along the river

The English gain a foothold

The garrison strikes back

The Geulders landsknechts are pushed back over the river

A great game with fortunes ebbing and flowing.  Many thanks to Jan and Peter and also the Gentlemen Pensioners, John, Neil, Steve and Will who played the game and manned the society stand.

In a second post I will feature some more games from this excellent show.  More photos can be found on Will's blog here