"on Christmas Day, before the city of Terranova in Calabria, he approached them within a mile", the second Battle of Seminara, December 1502

At the start of the festive season my friend Tom visited and having already gamed the first battle of Seminara back in 2019, http://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2019/10/seminara-1495.html, we decided it was time to try the second battle. We felt this was particularly seasonal as some sources state the battle took place on Christmas day 1502.

The Second Battle of Seminara

The treaty of Granada, agreed on 11 November 1500, between Louis XII of France and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain was meant to divide an already cowed Southern Italy between the Spanish and French. The terms of the treaty left room for interpretation as three areas were not clearly assigned to either power, these being the Basilicata, Principato and Capitanate, and by the summer of 1502 fighting had broken out between the occupying French and Spanish troops (see https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2024/12/ambush-at-tripalda-june-1502.html). Being out matched by the Swiss infantry in French employ as well as by the French gendarmes the Spanish commander, Gonzalo de Cordoba, El Gran Capitan, had retreated to the coastal town of Barletta, buying himself time to gather his forces for a counterattack. 

Whilst de Cordoba was surrounded in Barletta  the Spanish continued to hold territory further south in the province of Calabria. The leading Italian nobles of the region, such as the Sanseverino family, had allied with the French putting the garrisons held by the Spanish in Calabria under pressure. This led to Spanish reinforcements being sent in the autumn of 1502. Sources differ on the number of troops engaged but Mallet and Shaw's "The Italian Wars" state how by "mid-November about 3,000 infantry, 300 light horse and 200 hundred men-at-arms had come from Spain, Sicily and Rome (where 600 hundred infantry had been recruited among Spanish troops in the service of the Borgia)". The arrival of Spanish reinforcements in the area prompted the French commander Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, to send reinforcements to the region under the command of the Scotsman Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny. Lord d'Aubigny had captained Henry Tudor's French troops at Bosworth and defeated de Córdoba at the first Battle of Seminara in 1495. Again the sources vary on the numbers at d'Aubigny's disposal but Mallet and Shaw estimate he had "100 lances, and 1,500 Swiss infantry, giving the French with their allies among the barons about 400 men-at-arms, 600 light horse and over 5,000 infantry".

At the time of d'Aubigny's arrival the Spanish were based around Terranova, which Hugo de Cardona, in command of the Spanish forces, had recently relieved from a month long siege.  Having ransomed prisoners recently taken by the Spanish when they stormed Calimera, which included Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt, d'Aubigny advanced to the nearby town of Polistena. The contemporary Italian chronicler Paulo Giovio explains in his "Vite del Gran Capitano e del Marchese di Pescara" how Hugo de Cardona  was keen to retreat in the face of the more powerful French and Italian forces but that the newly arrived captains such as Manuel de Benavides, the Alvarados, a father and son pair, and Antonio de Leyva, who would of course hold Pavia against Francis I twenty three years later (see http://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2025/02/of-all-i-had-only-honour-and-life-have.html), thought this was shameful and that they should assess the French strength first, especially as according to their spy the French were not close yet. The spy's information was incorrect and after a night march d'Aubigny, who Giovio refers to as "Obegni" or "Obegnino", reached the Spanish giving them no option to retreat.

Translated from the Italian:

"Cardona was then encamped in the plain that extends south from the castle of Terranuova. He, informed of the enemy's approach, put the matter to council, and although he had been augmented by new troops, he nevertheless decided to flee the open countryside, and decided to retreat to the fortress of San Giorgio, which overlooks the Apennines. But the new captains, who had recently arrived from Spain, prevented this plan from being adopted. Among them were Manuel de Benavides, Antonio da Leva, who later became a high captain, and two Alvaradis, father and son, who had led four hundred men-at-arms and light cavalry, and four companies of infantry. They considered it dishonorable and highly shameful to break camp and retreat before the enemy appeared and before it was more clearly known how many men and what rank they had, especially since a suspicious Calabrese spy had made it known that the French would not arrive for two days. But Obegni (d'Aubigny) , an old captain, skillfully deceived the enemy's opinion, for using French speed, having traveled at night and along an unused route, the Calabrians showed him the way, he presented his men for battle and sounded the trumpets."

Jean d'Auton's chronicles of Louis XII explain how d'Aubigny (translated from the French) "went out into the fields, and searched for his enemies from day to day, and pursued them so much that, with his men, on Christmas Day, before the city of Terranova in Calabria, he approached them within a mile" whilst Paulo Giovio gives a detailed account of what purportedly took place in the ensuing clash. Giovo explains how the French deployed with men-at-arms on their right wing under the Sanseverinos, followed by more cavalry under d'Aubigny. Also in the centre with d'Aubigny were the Swiss pike in close order and Gascon crossbowmen in loose order under Yves de Malherbe, whilst the left flank was covered by Claude de Grigny and a force of light cavalry, again translated from Italian:

"From the right horn came forward the two Sanseverini princes, having bent their men in the shape of the moon; on the left was Grigninio (Claude de Grigny) who, as we have said, led all the light cavalry; in the middle of the battle there was Obegnino (d'Aubigny) was stopped, almost joined to the princes by a close order of men-at-arms. Malerba (Yves de Malherbe) had brought the Swiss, closely packed together, and the Gascons, who were firing comfortably from the sparse order, closer to Grigninio's light cavalry."

From Giovio's account it seems both sides had artillery but the fighting began before any guns could be brought into action. The Spanish infantry, who look to have been deployed on the Spanish right wing,  were quickly routed when Claude de Grigny flanked them with the French light cavalry whilst the Swiss and Gascons under Malherbe attacked them from the front. On the other side of the field the Spanish left was held by Hugo de Cardona with the cavalry who initially resisted a charge by the Italian men-at-arms before being put to flight by d'Aubigny and his company of gendarmes:

"On the other side, the Spaniards, seeing the enemy, although they were outnumbered and deceived in their plan, courageously formed into order and encouraged themselves to engage, and thus steadfastly withstood the fury of the advancing French. A fierce battle ensued, with neither side having the opportunity to unleash artillery. But as the battle raged, while Cardona, with marvelous perseverance, performed the duties of captain and soldier, Grigninio, forming a wide circle and spreading out his band, entered the enemy infantry on the flank, disorganized them, and routed them. The Swiss and Gascons immediately pressed upon them with such fury that, driven back by pikes and wounded by arrows, they were put to flight. But on the other side, all the cavalry, closed together at the advice of Don Ugo (Hugo de Cardona), held the Calabrese without advantage. But when Obegnino (d'Aubigny) pushed his order, neither the Sicilian cavalry nor the Spanish could withstand the fury of the Scottish men-at-arms. Instead, they immediately turned and fled hastily, retreating into the mountains, although Cardona rebuked them and in vain begged them to turn slowly and retreat. Thus, the cavalry being routed, the infantry in the midst was routed and shattered, and most of the cavalry retreated to the mountain passes."

Not everything went well for the French as in the chaos of the pursuit Claude de Grigny raised his visor only to receive a wound to the eye which killed him. Lord d'Aubigny himself was also nearly killed as Antonio de Leyva had later reported to Giovio how d'Aubigny was surrounded by Spanish knights who attempted to remove his helmet to cut or stab his throat. Only the timely arrival of Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, saved his life:

"In this rout of the enemy, Grigninio (Claude de Grigny), running in too disorderly a manner after those who were fleeing, had raised the visor of his helmet, thus exposing his face. He was wounded in the eye by the point of a lance from an enemy who turned, and was killed. And Obegnino (d'Aubigny) was also in great danger of his life, because the Spanish knights, as I later learned from Signor Antonio da Leva, having caught him in the middle and almost captured him, were trying to take off his helmet, and without a doubt they were about to wound him in the throat if he had not been saved by the band of the Prince of Salerno (Roberto Sanseverino), who arrived."

The Spanish infantry captain Antonio de Sena Sardo was slain along with over four hundred Spanish infantry killed or captured, whilst around fifty Spanish men at arms were killed or made prisoner. The French captured the Spanish baggage train along with many banners and Spanish horses but Giovio explains that for D'Aubigny this did little to make up for the loss of de Grigny:

"The baggage was taken by the soldiers and peasants, but the standards, with many beautiful Spanish horses, were taken to Obegnino, and the number of prisoners was much greater than the number of dead. Nor could that victory have seemed very joyful to Obegnino, since it cost him the death of Grigninio, his dear friend and a very brave man".

Cardona retreated to the town of  Rocella Ionica leaving the French in command of nearly all of Calabria.

A view of the Spanish infantry in front of their camp forming the right wing of the Spanish army.

The speed of the French march has caught the Spanish off guard and they must fight them in open ground.

Scenario

As always the game was played using our modified Lion Rampant rules.

Deployment

For this game each army was divided into three standard retinues and also had a small artillery one as well (see the rules for the artillery below). In an attempt to match Paulo Giovio's account the two armies had to be deployed on the table in following positions. For the French Lord d'Aubigny and the Calabrian Italian Princes retinue had to form the right wing. The infantry retinue under Yves de Malherbe would form the centre and the left wing would be held by Claude de Grigny and the light cavalry.  For the Spanish the Infantry under Antonio de Sena Sardo had to form the right wing whilst the Spanish player could place Antonio de Leyva and Hugo de Cardona's retinues as a centre and left wing or could intermingle them. The Spanish infantry had to form the right wing of the Spanish deployment.

Both players could decide where to place their guns but the guns had to be placed together.

Turn sequence

To make the game even more chaotic The order in which the retinue acted would change each turn. Each standard retinue, the three Spanish and three French, was represented by a different coloured dice. The 6 dice were placed in a bag. Each turn a dice was taken from the bag and the retinue whose dice was drawn would then act. This was done for all six retinues every turn. If a retinue was wiped out its dice would be removed from the bag.

To represent Giovio's statement that "neither side having the opportunity to unleash artillery" the two artillery retinues always went last with the first artillery retinue being the alternate to whoever had just played a turn with their last standard retinue via the dice bag. So for example if the last dice had been pulled by the French Player, who had played that retinue, then the first artillery turn would be for the Spanish and then the French guns would take a turn. The artillery retinues activated as normal and did not have retinue leaders but they could use the special activation reroll rules (see below).

Rerolls

Each army contained three retinue leaders as well as units containing other personalities as described in the lists below. Every time an opposing player killed or routed a retinue leader or killed or routed the unit containing the other personalities they would get D3 activation rerolls which they could then use for any of their retinues during the remainder of the game.

Victory

 

Victory would go to the first player who could halve the points of all of the three standard retinues. If both players did this on the same turn then the game was considered a draw. The artillery retinues did not count towards the victory conditions.

A view of the French infantry comprising Swiss pikemen, Gascon crossbowmen and Calabrian swordsmen. To the left the Stradiots who form part of the French left flank can be seem.

The French right flank comprises the gendarmes, Calabrian heavy cavalry and supporting lancers under the command of Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny.

A view of the table with the armies arrayed. In the top right can be seen the French heavy cavalry, under Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny, with the infantry positioned beneath them, under the command of  Yves de Malherbe, and the French light cavalry, under Claude de Grigny, in the bottom right. In the top left the Spanish heavy cavalry are facing their French counterparts, under the command of Hugo de Cardona, with the jinetes in the centre, under a young Antonio de Leyva, and the Spanish infantry in front of the Spanish camp in the bottom left under Antonio de Sena Sardo.

The Armies

For this game Tom chose to play the French under Hugo de Cardona so I took on the role of Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny, in command of the French.

The French Army

The Cavalry of Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny and the Calabrian Italian Princes

1 Unit of Gendarmes (Contains retinue leader Bernard Stewart, Lord d'Aubigny)

1 Unit of Gendarmes (Contains Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt)

1 Unit of Italian Elemti (Contains Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno)
1 Unit of Italian Elemti

2 Units of French Ordonnance Archers with lances

The Infantry under Yves de Malherbe

1 Unit of Foot Knights (Contains retinue leader Yves de Malherbe)

2 Units of Swiss Pike

2 Units of Gascon Crossbowmen

1 Unit of Calabruan Infantry

The Light Cavalry under Claude de Grigny 

1 Unit of French Men at Arms (Contains retinue leader Claude de Grigny) 

2 Units of Mounted Crossbowmen

2 Units of Stradiots

Artillery

2 Culverins

The Spanish Army

The Cavalry under Hugo de Cardona 

1 Unit of Men at Arms (Contains retinue leader Hugo de Cardona)

1 Unit of Men at Arms (Contains Manuel de Benavides)

1 Unit of Men at Arms (Contains the Alvarados father and son)

1 Unit of Men at Arms

1 Unit of Lancers

The Light Cavarly under Antonio de Leyva 

1 Unit of Men at Arms (Contains retinue leader Antonio de Leyva)

4 Units of Jinetes

The infantry under Antonio de Sena Sardo 

1 Unit of Foot Knights (Contains retinue leader Antonio de Sena Sardo)

2 Units of Spanish Arquebusiers

2 Units of Rodeleros

1 Unit of Sicilian Infantry

1 Unit of Galician Infantry

1 Unit of Spanish Pike

Artillery

2 Culverins

The captions under the photos describe the events that follow and a brief account of this chaotic Christmas game also follows!

The fighting starts with the French light cavalry and Gascon crossbowmen shooting at the Spanish infantry as the Spanish guns return fire.

The French heavy cavalry hold firm as the Spanish jinetes launch skirmishing attacks at them.

A view across the field showing how the Gascon crossbowmen and Spanish jinetes have advanced from their respective lines to shoot at their enemies.

The first melee develops as a group of Spanish rodeleros defeat a unit of stradiots in French pay.

The French guns open fire on the Spanish infantry and a lucky shot sends the Spanish pikemen fleeing from the field.

The Swiss infantry sweep across the field and drive back the Spanish cavalry as...

...some of the French gendarmes and their Calabrian allies charge forward into the fight.

The fighting opened with the light cavalry of both sides, the stradiots and jinetes, launching attacks across the battlefield. The Spanish infantry, aided by their artillery, quickly drove off the stradiots, with the first melee of the day taking place as a unit of veteran Spanish rodeleros cut down some of the stradiots. The Spanish were less successful at being able to dislodge the Gascon crossbowmen who advanced in support of the stradiots and sent a hail of bolts into the Spanish ranks. On the other side of the field the Spanish jinetes fared better but the French and Calabrian heavy cavalry they hurled their javelins at suffered few casualties and refused to give chase.

A unit of Spanish pikemen suffered a direct hit from one of the French guns and fled the field whilst at the same time a unit of Swiss mercenaries in French pay charged forward and quickly drove the jinetes back. Behind the Swiss followed some of the Calabrian heavy cavalry and some of the French gendarmes but the attack was not well coordinated and the rest of the Swiss, Calabrians and gendarmes were slower to support their comrades which gave the Spanish cavalry enough time to launch a counter attack.

Whilst the French light cavalry skirmish with the Spanish infantry at one end of the field at the other the ferocity of the Swiss attack has pushed back the Spanish cavalry.

    The Swiss pike and Calabrian cavalry drive the Spanish back but the chaos of the fighting opens large gaps in the French ranks.

The Gascon crossbowmen, "firing comfortably from the sparse order", continue to engage with the Spanish arquebusiers and Galician Infantry.

A view of the fierce cavalry battle that is raging around one of the Swiss pike blocks which has...

...advanced far ahead of its own line of battle and is repeatedly charged by the Spanish men at arms...

...who surround the Swiss unit.

The men in the Swiss pike block sell their lives dearly as they are finally ridden down.

A fierce and bloody fight took place as the Swiss pike block that had advanced far ahead of the rest of the French army was charged repeatedly by the Spanish men at arms. Both sides suffered casualties and some of the Calabrians rode to the aid of the beleaguered Swiss unit only to be driven back by the fierce charges that Hugo de Cardona and his men launched. Surrounded the Swiss pike sold their lives dearly.

At the other end of the field the Spanish infantry were struggling to get to grips with the remaining French light cavalry who continued to skirmish and shoot at them. Every time they attempted to close in on the French the fire from the French guns and bolts of the Gascon crossbowmen would drive them back and something of a stalemate developed with the Spanish being unable to reach the French and the French missile fire being unable to break the Spanish.

French and Calabrian mounted crossbowmen skirmish with the Spanish infantry.

The Galician infantry in the Spanish ranks hurl javelins back at the skirmishing French.

A view across the field as the overall Spanish commander, Hugo de Cardona and his men at arms clash with a troop of Calabrian men at arms.

As the cavalry fight develops Manuel de Benavides is killed in a clash with Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt and his gendarmes.

At the same time Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, and Hugo de Cardona trade blows in the melee but neither is slain or unhorsed.

The second unit of Swiss pike attacks the Spanish men at arms hoping to avenge their countrymen.

On the other side of the field the Spanish infantry finally advance and start to drive the French back.

A view across the field. At the top the cavalry melee continues whilst at the bottom the Spanish infantry are advancing and driving off the French light horse.

A chaotic swirling cavalry battle took place at one end of the field. The first casualty of note was Manuel de Benavides who was killed in a brutal clash with the recently ransomed Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt, and his French gendarmes. Hugo de Cardona and Roberto Sanseverino were also in the thick of the fighting which was made even more bloody and bitter when the second group of Swiss pikemen entered the fray keen to avenge their countrymen who had been surrounded and killed moments earlier.

At the other end of the field the Spanish infantry finally closed with the French left flank which did not put up much of a fight. Claude de Grigny charged into the fray but the veteran Spanish infantry could not be broken.

Claude de Grigny charges into the Spanish arquebusiers hoping to scatter them in flight by the dogged Spanish infantry hold their ground.

In a clash with the Alvarados family the Calabrian Prince, Roberto Sanseverino, is unhorsed and defeated...

...only for the Alvarados father and son pair to then be slain in a charge from d'Aubigny and his Scots gendarmes.

In the chaos Adrien de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt is captured by Antonio de Leyva and his men at arms...

...whilst the overall Spanish commander Hugo de Cardona is himself brought down in a savage engagement with the remaining Swiss.

The heavy cavalry of both sides suffered high casualties in the final stages of the battle. Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, was unhorsed  in a melee with the "two Alvaradis, father and son" who were themselves then defeated when they were caught between the fresh unit of Swiss pike and d'Aubigny and his gendarmes. The young Antonio de Leyva captured Lord Humbercourt, who would have to be ransomed yet again.

As the Spanish infantry swept all before them at the other end of the field it was clear that the French were defeated. Lord d'Aubigny and the French infantry captain Yves de Malherbe sounded the retreat and began to withdraw whilst Claude de Grigny had to fight his way from the field with the Spanish and Sicilian infantry very nearly surrounding him. In a final act of revenge the remaining Swiss pike unit advanced towards Hugo de Cardona who, having fought heroically for the duration of the battle, was finally overpowered and brought down by the mercenary pikemen. The Spanish were victorious but it had come at a price.

At the other end of the field the Sicilian and Spanish infantry push forward...

...and drive Claude de Grigny and the remaining French from the field. It has been a bitter clash and the Spanish have lost Hugo de Cardona, their commander, but they have the field, having suffered far fewer casualties than the the French.

This was one of those games where at one point I was certain of victory...but it all crumbled! With the Swiss charging forward with lots of fresh units of cavalry behind them and most of the Spanish personalities trapped in one corner of the field how could it go wrong? The attack faltered, units were fed into the endless cavalry melee one by one and as I put all my focus into the heavy cavalry battle Tom methodically pressed attacks against my weaker units so that I suddenly discovered the French army had very few units left in it and was defeated! 

This was another really entertaining and fun game. We will certainly game the third battle of Seminara at some point, having lost the first and the second maybe I can win that one!

Merry Christmas!

"a fray took place between the Germans and the English", the riot in the English Camp outside Thérouanne, August 1513

Last month Stuart visited for a couple more wargames and as I have recently completed a set of tents to make a sixteenth century camp we felt we had to get these on the table. We gamed two events from Henry VIII's 1513 invasion of France, one of which was the notorious "riot" between the English archers in Henry's army and the landsknecht mercenaries/auxiliaries provided by Maximilian I. Some of you may recall there is Gerry Embleton plate in the Osprey covering the English Longbowman that depicts this particular event. For the other we were back to Calais and Newnham Bridge to game an attempt to burn Henry's camp on the night of his arrival in France in June 1513.

A view of the camp of the English main ward on the night of 30 June 1513. Whilst King Henry VIII is lodged within Calais, the main ward camp lies between the walls of the town and stretches up the Newnham Bridge which can be seen in the distance.

"the bayly of Whitsand & the Bullonys had entreprised for the burning of the kynges tentes"

The 1513 English siege of Thérouanne was well underway by the time Henry VIII landed in Calais. George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, in command of the English vanguard, and Charles Somerset, Lord Herbert, in command of the English rearward, had begun the formal siege on 25 June 1513. Five days later their King arrived in Calais amidst great pomp in command of the English main ward. Hall's chronicle describes how Henry landed in a boat covered in expensive cloth wearing an "almain rivet" harness over which he wore a coat of white cloth of gold that bore the red cross of St George. On his head the English king wore a hat lined with crimson satin that bore an expensive coronet and broach in the image of St George. He was met by the deputy of Calais, Sir Gilbert Talbot, before entering through the lantern gate and offering thanks for his safe passage at St Nicholas Church after which the king dined in the Staple Inn. Hall reports how the arrival of the King allowed the banished men of Calais to be restored to the liberty of the town and how the salute of shot from his fleet and from the guns of the town was so loud that it could reportedly be heard in Dover:

"The kyng was received into a bote covered in arras, & so was set on londe. He was appareilled in almayne ryvet crested & his vambrace of the same & on his head a chapeau motabyn with a riche coronal, and the folde of the chapeau was lined with crimsyn sate & on it a riche brooch with the image of sainct George, over his rivett he had a garment of white cloth of gold with a redde crosse, & so he was received with procession & with his deputie of Caleys called Sir Gylbert Talbot, and all other nobles and gentlemen of the town & countrey, & so entred in at the lanterngate & passed the stretes tyll he came to Saincte Nycholas churche, and ther he alighted & offered, & from thens he went to the stapleinne where he supped.

When the kyng entred Caleys, al the banished men entred with him & were restored to the liberty of the toune. To tell of the gonne shott of the toune and of the shippes at the kynges landing it was a great wonder, for many of good estimacion reported that they harde it at Dover."

Whilst Henry and some of his household remained within the walls of the town most of the troops under his command encamped within the Pale at Newnham Bridge, a Fortified Bridge which guarded the causeway across the marshes to the west of Calais (see http://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2025/08/what-honour-they-shoulde-obteyne-yf.html for a previous scenario featuring Newnham Bridge).

Hall's Chronicle recounts how the nearby French garrison of Boulogne were keen to give the English king a warm welcome. A French spy in the service of the Yeoman of the Vittles Tents  had informed a force sixty horsemen and two hundred infantry of the Boulogne garrison and surrounding area how they could sneak along the coast during the night, at low tide, past Rysbank Tower a fortification which stood at the end of a promontory and protected Calais Harbour, "entendyng to passe by Rice banke at the low water marke", and set fire to the tents of the King's main ward, "had entreprised for the burning of the kynges tentes" before escaping back into the night. Luckily for Henry he was saved from this affront to his honour by the English archers who were camped on the coast and waded into the water to fight off the attacking French, "the Archers that laie next the see side entred into the water & defended the passage".

Whilst it seems the night attack was prevented by the diligence of the archers, "the Englishmen kept so good watch as you have harde that their entreprice came to none effect" by the morning the details of the plan had been revealed by the capture of two Frenchmen, one from the town of Wissant, called Whitsand Bay by the English, and one from Boulogne, "after this a Frechman of Whitsand bay & one of Bullein were taken, and one called Charles de bone, the other Peter vernowne, which confessed". The two men told how the French infantry and horsemen had launched the attack from Wissant, "from the toune of Whitsand came. Ix. horsmen &. ii. C. footmen of the garrison of Bullein & the countrey adjoynyng" and that the French spy had shown them the route to take via ford at Calais Harbour "ouer the haven of Caleis at a certayn foord shewed to them by a spy which served the yoman of the tentes of vitailes". The English retaliation was swift with Thomas Howard, Admiral of the English Fleet, landing at Wissant the very next day, 1 July 1513, and burning and looting the town. Less than two months later Thomas Howard would join his father, the Earl of Surrey, at Bolton at the head of his veteran marines to take part in the Battle of Flodden.

The full passage from Hall reads:

"The king lyeng thus in Caleys, all his army except a few of his counsail and other that gave their attendance on hym laye encamped at Newnam bridge, in which campe about a xi of the clock at night there arose an eskrye, so that the toune of Caleys began alarme, with that the kyng waked and came to the walles, and demaunded what the matter ment, the yoman of the tentes, called Richarde Gybson, shewed him howe that certayne horsmen & footmen of Fraunce, profered to come over the haven, & the Archers that laie next the see side entred into the water & defended the passage, with which defence the Frenchmen returned, & so the kyng was satisfied. But after this a Frechman of Whitsand bay & one of Bullein were taken, and one called Charles de bone, the other Peter vernowne, which confessed that from the toune of Whitsand came. Ix. horsmen &. ii. C. footmen of the garrison of Bullein & the countrey adjoynyng entendyng to passe by Rice banke at the low water marke, over the haven of Caleis at a certayn foord shewed to them by a spy which served the yoman of the tentes of vitailes, & shewed them that the tentes were piched under Caleis walles betwene the towne & the cape, so that thei might burne them quykly or the towne could issue, or the cape, remove. But the Englishmen kept so good watch as you have harde that their entreprice came to none effect. The morow after being the first day of July, the noble lord Haward admirall of England landed at Whitsand Bay, & entred, spoyled & brent the toune, & returned to his ships for all the Bullonoys, & so recompensed the imaginacion that the bayly of Whitsand & the Bullonys had entreprised for the burning of the kynges tentes."

From atop the fortified bridge at Newnham the English keep a night watch.

Scenario

As always the games were played using our modified Lion Rampant rules. The table (see the photo below) was set up to represent the English camp lying between the walls of Calais and Newnham Bridge with the Rysbank Tower on the coast. The water could be moved through as the attack took place at low tide. 

Deployment

At the start of the game all of the French force, save for a spy unit, were placed on one table edge to represent them emerging from low tide and through the sand dunes. The units were deployed as "battered" markers to represent the night attack, see the night rules below.

For the English three garrison archer units were placed on guard duty and not hidden whilst all the other English units would emerge from their tents or the Rysbank Tower as the fighting developed. See the rules below.

Whilst units in the water were unrevealed they could move unimpeded but once revealed the water counted as difficult terrain for combat and movement but gave a +1 armour bonus against missile attacks.

Night Movement

To represent the dark “battered” counters were used to represent each attacking French and the emerging English units with the players writing down in secret which unit each marker was for. A unit was revealed either by an enemy unit attacking or shooting it once it was within 6” of the marker or by an enemy unit simply moving within 3” of it. If a sand dune was in between the counters/units they couldn't see each other even if the distance was less than 3". Retinue leaders could not apply their morale bonus until revealed and all counters could "move" activate on a 6+ and move 6” until they were revealed. If units wanted to “reveal” themselves earlier, to use their full movement allowance for example or if the Retinue Leader wanted to give his leadership benefit, they could do so by declaring this when they activated. Once “revealed” units did not disappear again. Declaring a challenge would reveal a unit and attempting to burn a tent would reveal a unit.

"the tentes were piched under Caleis walles" 

The rest of the English force were inside the various tents or the Rysbank Tower. The English player wrote down which tent each unit was in or whether they were in the tower. Up to two units could be placed in a square based tent with the round tents each holding one unit. Up to three units could be placed in the Rysbank Tower. Once the first shooting or melee had taken place on the following turn the English player could start to rouse the troops in the tents and tower and move them. The units could only emerge from the tents and tower via a move activation and could do this already revealed or as a counter to make use of the night time conditions. If they failed to activate the turn ended but the unit was not revealed. If a tent was burnt, see below, whilst a unit was still in it then the unit was destroyed.

"a spy which served the yoman of the tentes of vitailes"

To represent the spy showing the French the way the French player wrote down three tents in the English camp that each held a "battered" counter. Two of these counters were "dummy" counters but one represented a unit of aventuriers being led by the spy. Once the first shooting or melee had taken place on the following turn the French player could start to move the three battered counters from their tents as part of the French turn. If the two dummy markers were revealed by being attacked or shot at within 6" or by an enemy unit moving within 3" of the markers then they were removed from play. Once the actual spy counter was revealed then an aventurier unit was placed in its place. 

"so that thei might burne them quykly" 

To burn a tent a French unit had to be in base to base contact with it. On the following turn a successful attack activation would burn the tent.

Victory Conditions

The side with the highest victory points once one side had lost half its points would win the game.

Victory points were awarded as follows:

The English

2 points for every French unit killed or routed

3 points if the French Spy unit was killed or routed

The French 

1 point for every tent burnt

2 points if Richarde Gybson was killed or routed

A view of the battlefield. The French night attack will be from the top of the photo and their objective is to burn the English tents shown at the bottom of the photo. The units of English archers are guarding the camp and can be seen in the centre of the photo. Due to the darkness the French will move via counters until they can be seen. There are more English in some of the tents and in the Rysbank Tower, which can be seen in the top right of the photo on the shoreline, who will be awakened by the fighting. The French also have a spy hidden in one of the tents in the English main ward camp.

In the foreground is Newnham Bridge whilst beyond it on the shoreline to the left is Rysbank Tower. In the top right of the photo the corner of the walls of Calais can be seen. The French will attack through the sand dunes and water at low tide in an attempt to burn the tents of the main ward's camp.

Some archers are guarding the camp but otherwise all is still and quiet after the pomp and ceremony of Henry VIII's arrival earlier in the day.

The armies

For this game Stuart took command of the English and I played the role of the attacking Boulogne Garrison.

"Ix. horsmen &. ii. C. footmen of the garrison of Bullein & the countrey adjoynyng" the French

2 Units of French Men at Arms (One unit includes the retinue leader)

1 Unit of Ordonnance Archers (with bows)

2 Units of Ordonnance Archers (with lances)

2 Units of Picard Pike 

2 Units of Aventuriers

1 Unit of Franc Archer Foot

1 Unit of Aventuriers deployed in the English camp with the Spy

"the Archers that laie next the see side" the English

1 Unit of Yeomen of the Guard (Includes the retinue leader - "Richarde Gybson" the "yoman of the tentes")

1 Unit of English Pike

2 Units of Shire Bill

2 Units of Shire Archers

Deployed outside the Rysbank Tower and tents

3 Units of Garrison Archers

As always the photos and the captions beneath them are a good way to follow the game but a brief write up also follows.

The first sign of an attack takes place when a unit of French pike from the Boulogne garrison blunder in the dunes and alert the archers guarding the camp of their presence...

...the archers in the camp of the main ward send a volley of arrows at the pikemen from Boulogne's garrison and they immediately flee!

Fearing the element of surprise has been lost the French captain charges out of the night with his men at arms.

In quick succession two of the guard units of English archers are ridden down...

...and flee in the face of the French attack.

Following the spectacle and celebration of the king's arrival in France earlier that day the camp of the English main ward had finally settled down for the night. Guards had been posted at Newnham Bridge and the Rysbank tower whilst small groups of archers patrolled the camp but none expected the French to attack, especially whilst there were so many troops encamped within the Pale. Little did they know "that from the toune of Whitsand came. Ix. horsmen &. ii. C. footmen of the garrison of Bullein & the countrey adjoynyng" who were making use of the low tide and attempting to launch as surprise attack on the camp.

Unfortunately the element of surprise was lost when some of the Picard pikemen in the attacking force made too much noise as they crept through the sand dunes. This alerted the English archers who were standing guard. One volley of arrows was it all took to send the pikemen fleeing back into the night. Seeing this and not wanting to loose the element of the surprise the French captain ordered his men at arms to charge. The horsemen rode down most of the archers on guard and it looked as though the French route to the camp was clear.

The noise of the fighting has alerted Richarde Gybson the "yoman of the tentes"...

...and he emerges from Rysbank Tower with some Yeomen of the Guard and English pikemen,

The disturbance outside the walls has woken Henry and he climbs one of the towers of Calais to see what is happening outside the walls.

The French captain and Richarde Gybson engage in a one to one duel on the shoreline but it is inconclusive and neither of them defeats the other.

Moments later a unit of English archers are woken in their tents and the French captain is killed in a rain of arrows.

The fighting between the Boulogne men at arms and the archers on guard alerted the English camp to the attack. Even Henry himself, safe within the walls of Calais, was awoken, and he rushed to the walls to see what the commotion was about. The "yoman of the tentes, called Richarde Gybson" emerged from the Rysbank Tower with a force of yeoman of the guard, pikemen and archers. The French captain and Richarde Gybson engaged in a one to duel in the moonlight but neither of them could defeat the other before they were separated by the general melee that had developed around the tower.

As "the Archers that laie next the see side entred into the water & defended the passage" they clashed with the French, with the English getting the better of the fight and driving most of the French back. Things went from bad to worse for the attacking Boulogne garrison when their captain was picked off by an English archer and slain just outside the camp of the main ward. Seeing the death of their captain many of the Boulogne Garrison fled into the night.

On the shoreline the French and English battle it out in the shallow water of low tide.

Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the fighting around the Rysbank Tower the French spy and some hidden French crossbowmen manage to set fire to one of the tents close to Newnham Bridge.

A fierce melee is taking place around Rysbank Tower and the garrison of Boulogne are being driven back.

Having managed to only set fire to one tent the spy and the French crossbowmen make a hasty retreat from the camp.

Whilst much of the fighting had been taking place in the shallow water around the Rysbank Tower a smaller party of troops form the Boulogne Garrison had attempted to attack the camp through the sand dunes. French crossbowmen traded shots with the English archers with both sides achieving little in the darkness. It was under the cover of this chaos that the French spy in the service of the Yeoman of the Vittles Tents led a small group of French crossbowmen into the camp in secret. The infiltrating French troops set one of the tents alight but this instantly gave away their location and they were quickly chased back out of the camp by a band of angry English billmen.

As the spy escaped from the main ward camp a further attempt at "the burning of the kynges tentes" was made by a force of mounted French archers. They managed to get right up to the edge of the camp but they were spotted by the men posted at Newnham Bridge and soon routed when the English archers began to shoot at them. The "surprise" attack by the men from Boulogne had not gone as planned with the French taking heavy casualties and only setting fire to one tent. Their spy may have escaped by Henry could rest contented that the "Englishmen kept so good watch as you have harde that their entreprice came to none effect".

With most of the Boulogne garrison defeated or routed in the fighting around the Rysbank Tower a unit of French mounted archers tries to ride into the camp and set the tents alight... 

...but they are spotted by the guards on Newnham Bridge who alert more of the English archers of their location. The French are driven back having taken heavy losses and only set one tent alight!

By August 1513 the siege of Thérouanne is well under way. As the gunners pound the towns walls the rest of Henry's army is encamped around the town.

"a fray took place between the Germans and the English"

The army with which Henry VIII invaded France in 1513 included a large contingent of landsknecht auxiliaries provided by Henry's Hapsburg ally, Maximilian I. Out of an army of around 30,000 men, 5,000 to 6,000 of them may have been landsknecht. The diary of John Taylor, Clerk of the Parliaments states "the King left Calais with a magnificent army increased by 8,000 German mercenaries" although these would have also included the Burgundian heavy cavalry that Maximilian provided. The presence of the king meant that discipline within the army was generally good but there were instances of ill discipline with Taylor reporting how on 25th July the town of Ardres, which had paid Henry off so as not to be attacked, was sacked by some of the landsknecht. As a result three of the German troops were hung:

"On the 25th, pitched their camp in the enemy's land near Ardes ; that night the town was nearly consumed by fire. At day-break an alarm was raised that the French were at hand ; for that day some citadels were mischievously burned by the Germans, who did not respect the churches. The King had three of them hanged that night"

Perhaps the worst outbreak of ill discipline took place on 15 August whilst the army was besieging Thérouanne. Taylor's diary states:

"On Assumption day a fray took place between the Germans and the English, in which many were killed on both sides"

Hall's Chronicle puts the clash on the 13 August and goes into more detail explaining how the affray took place within the main ward which was under the direct command of Henry, "the Almaynes of the kynges felde". The landsknecht took over the King's heavy guns, training them on Henry and his camp. This sent the English into a rage,"Thenglisheme were greatly fumed", with their archers preparing to attack the landsknecht who in turn levelled their pikes ready for battle. Only the intervention of the captains was able to prevent further bloodshed:

 "Monday the. xiii. daye of August by infortune, with oute any cause knowen, there fell a greate debate betwene the Almaynes of the kynges felde and Thenglyshemen, in so muche that they fell to fyghtynge and many men slayne, the Almaynes sodaynely ran to the kynges ordynaunce and toke it, and embattayled them selfes, and bent the ordinaunce agaynste the kynge and his campe. Thenglisheme were greatly fumed with this matter: in so muche the archers set forward' to have joyned with the Almaynes, and they lykewyse prepared there pykes, but the capitaynes tooke suche payne that the fray was appesed and al things done for that time, but as this comocion was in trouble, the Emperour came from Ayre and saw all the demener of both parties and was glad to see the discrete handelyng of' the capitaynes"

It is not surprising that camp orders were set down stating:

"No Englishman to meddle or lodge within the ground assigned to the Allemans (the landsknecht), and both Almains and English to abstain from using language likely to offend."

"with oute any cause knowen, there fell a greate debate betwene the Almaynes of the kynges felde and Thenglyshemen". Perhaps it was a row over gambling that started the fighting?

A view of the table. The walls of Thérouanne lie behind the English earthworks on the right of the photo, whilst the landsknecht camp is in the top left of the photo and the English camp in the bottom left. The two forces of rioters are arrayed facing one another in a tense standoff. Once the fighting starts the Captains of each side will arrive behind their respective forces moving through the tents to reach the rioters and attempt to stop them fighting. Maximilian I and Henry VIII will also be drawn to see what the commotion is arriving between the lines on war wagons that can be seen in the right of the photo.

Scenario

As with the first game this was played using our adapted Lion Rampant rules. Each player took control of a "rioting" retinue of landsknecht or English infantry. The players aimed to score victory points by causing as much destruction and chaos to the opposing retinue, including looting their camp and attacking their ruler, Henry VIII or Maximilian I, before the riot was brought to an end. The game was played out beneath the walls of Thérouanne in the siege camp.

Each retinue was set up in front of their section of the camp opposing the other retinue, see the photo above.

"the archers set forward' to have joyned with the Almaynes, and they lykewyse prepared there pykes"

The two rioting retinues could not immediately start shooting at one another, first they had to fall "to fyghtynge". Neither retinue could attempt any shooting activation until they had taken casualties. This meant that the first fighting to take place had to be a melee. Once any unit in the English retinue had taken a casualty in a melee they could use their bows and once any unit in the landsknecht retinue had taken a casualty they could use their arquebuses.

With regard to the captured artillery the landsknecht had and to represent the escalation of the riot these guns could only be fired once a unit of English archers had shot at a landsknecht unit.

"but the capitaynes tooke suche payne that the fray was appesed" 

Each player also controlled a small Captain's retinue, but they controlled the Captains from the opposing side, so the English Rioting player controlled the landsknecht Captain's retinue and the landsknecht rioting player controlled the English Captain's retinue. The turn after the first casualty was caused each player rolled 2D6. On the first turn a 12 brought on their respective Captain's retinue, the turn after that an 11+, the turn after that a 10+ and so on. So, for example if the English player rolled a 10+ on the third turn after a casualty has been caused the English player would then bring on the landsknecht Captain's retinue. All three units in the retinue were placed on the table edge behind their camp, so the landsknecht Captain's would arrive behind the landsknecht camp, and the units could then activate that turn, performing a move or attack activation.

The Captain's retinues could not be attacked or fired upon by either side and could not destroy the tents. In order to stop units from rioting the Captain's had to attack them but they could only attack units of their own nation. So the English captains could only attack English units in an attempt to stop them rioting. If they won the combat the unit they attacked was removed from play and the opposing rioting retinue would not get victory points for this. Whilst making the attack, in an attempt to stop the rioting, the units in the Captain's retinues could take casualties from the defending units. The only other way the Captain's retinues could potentially suffer casualties was via a blunder activation from their retinue or that of another retinue, be they English or landsknecht.

"the Emperour came from Ayre and saw all the demener of both parties" 

As well as rolling for the arrival of the Captain's retinues the turn after the first casualty was caused each player also rolled a D6 at the start of the next turn, one rolling for Henry VIII and the other for Maximilian I. A roll of a 6 brought on that sovereign's unit in a predetermined location, this being between the lines of wagons defending the camp, see the photo above. On the following turn a 5+ would bring on Maximilian I or Henry VIII, if they had not already arrived, and so on. 

Henry and Maximlian I were both Foot Knight units although mounted figures were used to represent Henry.

Both players started with 5 playing cards. Once Maximilian or Henry had arrived each turn the players would play a card and whoever played the highest got to control Henry and Maximilian, depending on which ruler was on the table, for that turn. Both players then took another card. These units could not attack and could only move around the table observing the riot. They could not be attacked by either Captain's retinue but Maximilian I could be attacked by the rioting English and Henry VIII could be attacked by the rioting landsknecht.

"Thenglisheme were greatly fumed" 

As part of the affray the rioting English and landsknecht retinues could attempt to loot the others camp. To attempt to loot a tent a unit had to move into base to base contact with it. Instead of an activation the following turn they could roll 2D6 and consult the chart below:

2-3 More rioters were disturbed and joined the fray! Within the tent were more English or landsknecht. If this was an English tent the English rioting player got either a Shire archer or bill unit whilst if it was German the landsknecht player got another pike or arquebusier unit. The unit could activate as part of their rioting retinue the following turn.

4 - A priest was within the tent. The priest would move in a random direction at the start of each turn and the first rioting unit he walked into would be removed from the game, along with the priest. The priest could not be attacked or shot at. If the priest walked into impassible terrain he would stop moving and if he walked off the table he was removed from play.

5-8 Nothing happened

9-10 Ale and food - the retinue scored 1 victory point

11-12 Valuable loot - the retinue scored 2 victory points

After it had been looted the tent was removed from the table but disappointingly the fighting in our game was so fierce and brief that no tents got looted!

Victory Conditions

Once all the rioting units had been removed from the table the winner would be the player with the most victory points. These were awarded as follows:

The English

Any points scored by looting, see the rules above

1 point for every rioting landsknecht unit killed or routed by the rioters, not removed from the fight by the Captains or a priest

-1 point for every casualty caused to Maximilian's unit.

The Landsknecht

Any points scored by looting, see the rules above

1 point for every rioting English infantry unit killed or routed by the rioters, not removed from the fight by the Captains or a priest

-1 point for every casualty caused to Henry VIII's unit.

A view of the table with the English on the right and the landsknecht on the left.

The landskencht have "embattayled them selfes, and bent the ordinaunce agaynste the kynge and his campe"

"Thenglisheme were greatly fumed with this matter: in so muche the archers set forward' to have joyned with the Almaynes, and they lykewyse prepared there pykes"

The English and landsknecht face off against one another.

The Rioters!

For this game Stuart took control on the landsknecht whilst I took command of the English.

The English Rioters

4 Units of Shire Bill (One includes the retinue leader)

5 Units of Shire Archers

The Landsknecht

4 Units of Landsknecht Pike (One includes the retinue leader)

2 Culverins

2 Unit of Landsknecht Halberdiers

2 Units of Landsknecht Arquebusiers

The English Captains

2 Units of Foot Knights (One includes the retinue leader)

1 Unit of Yeoman of the Guard 

The Landsknecht Captains

3 Units of Foot Knights (One includes the retinue leader) 

As the rioters started so close to each other this was a brief, but very violent, clash! The captions under the photos give an account of the affray and a brief summary also follows.

From the walls of Thérouanne the defenders can see there are problems in the camp.

The English and landsknecht rush towards one another.

The hot tempered landsknecht are the first to draw blood with their halberdiers...

...charging into the English archers.

The fighting soon escalates as English billmen clash with the landsknecht pikemen.

No one was sure what had caused the "greate debate betwene the Almaynes of the kynges felde and Thenglyshemen" but that mattered little as the two bands of infantry faced off against one another. Tensions had reached boiling point as much "language likely to offend" was heard. It was the landsknecht who's tempers went first with some of them picking up halberds and launching into the English archers. The English fought back and soon both sides had "men slayne".

This brawling only escalated the violence as the English sent a hail of arrows into the landskencht and the German mercenaries fired back with their arquebuses. Within moments the whole camp was a scene of bitter fighting. Outraged by the fact the landsknecht had "bent the ordinaunce agaynste the kynge and his campe" a unit of English billmen fought their way through the landsknecht and succeeded in retaking one of the King's prized guns.

The bloodshed worsens as landsknecht arquebusiers fire a devastating hail of shot into a unit of English archers. 

A view of the fighting from the English camp.

The English charge into the landsknecht camp and succeed in retaking some of the "kynges ordynaunce"

Alerted of the disturbance Maximilian I arrives only for some of his personal retinue to be slain by arrows shot by the English. This is a terrible affront to the Hapsburg ruler's honour!

Moments later the English King, Henry VIII, arrives, furious at the behaviour of his troops.

Maximilian has managed to find safety behind a group of landsknecht and Henry looks on in horror as English archers continue to send a rain of arrows into the landsknecht.

Things get even worse as the landsknecht open fire with one of the cannons. Luckily for the English the shot misses any of the rioters and no one is harmed by the gun.

The rioting alerted the respective rulers of the Germans and English and it was the 54 year old Maximilian who arrived first. The Hapsburg monarch suffered a terrible affront to his honour when two of his personal retinue were killed by arrows shot at him by the "greatly fumed" English archers. Moments later the 22 year old Henry arrived, understandably embarrassed by the fact his men had attacked the ally he idolized so much. Both men were shocked to hear one of the king's guns being fired. If the French sallied out of Thérouanne now surely the whole camp would be routed as the English and landsknecht were killing one another in the siege lines.

Luckily for Henry and Maximilian it was only a short time before the captains of both the landsknecht and the English arrived. The German captains chastised their men and Henry's remaining gun was handed back. The English captains forced the archers to lower their bows which they did, happy in the knowledge that more Germans than English had been slain in the riot and that they had frightening poor Maximilian by shooting at him! Whilst many had been slain on both sides the camp itself had escaped unharmed. 

The fighting is brought to a close as the English captains reach their men and instill some discipline...

...whilst at the same time the landsknecht captains also reach their soldiers. One of the captains heads straight for the landsknecht with the remaining cannon ensuring that they don't fire it again. It has been a bloody day in the English siege lines with the landsknecht coming off worse than the English.

These two games were a great debut for the newly painted tents. Despite my terrible defeat in the first I really enjoyed attempting to battle my way through the English archers and set fire to the English camp. Stuart and I laughed how in the second we probably spent more time setting it up and packing it away than playing the actual game itself. The rioters started so close to each other that it was over very quickly, and no one even attempted to loot a tent! It did make for a spectacular set up and at least I managed to win the second one. 

At the start of this post I mentioned how the Osprey book on the English Longbowman contained a colour plate by Gerry Embleton depicting the riot that took place in the English camp between the archers and landsknecht. I thought you may enjoy our homage to that piece of art...