Friday Night Game - Battle of Tinchbrai 1106

"The Battle of Tinchebrai  was fought on 28 September 1106, in Tinchebrai, Normandy, between an invading force led by King Henry I of England, and his elder brother Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy. Henry's knights won a decisive victory, capturing Robert and imprisoning him in England (in Devizes Castle) and then Wales until Robert's death (in Cardiff Castle).

Henry invaded Normandy in 1105, taking Bayeux and Caen. He broke off his campaign because of political problems arising from the Investiture Controversy. With these settled, he returned to Normandy in the spring of 1106. After quickly taking the fortified abbey of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives (near Falaise), Henry turned south and besieged Tinchebrai Castle, on a hill above the town. Tinchebrai is on the border of the county of Mortain, in the southwest of Normandy, and was held by William, Count of Mortain, who was one of the few important Norman barons still loyal to Robert. Duke Robert then brought up his forces to break the siege. After some unsuccessful negotiations, Duke Robert decided that a battle in the open was his best option.

Henry's army was organized into three groups. Ranulf of Bayeux, Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, and William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey commanded the two primary forces. A reserve, commanded by Elias I of Maine, remained out of sight on the flank. Alan IV, Duke of Brittany, William, Count of Évreux, Ralph of Tosny, Robert of Montfort, and Robert of Grandmesnil also fought with Henry. William, Count of Mortain, and Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury fought with Robert Curthose.

The battle only lasted an hour. Henry dismounted and ordered most of his knights to dismount. This was unusual for Norman battle tactics, and meant the infantry played a decisive role. William, Count of Évreux, charged the front line, with men from Bayeux, Avranches and the Cotentin. Henry's reserve proved decisive. Most of Robert's army was captured or killed. Those captured included Robert, Edgar Atheling (uncle of Henry's wife), and William, Count of Mortain. Robert de Bellême, commanding the Duke's rear guard, led the retreat, saving himself from capture or death. Most of the prisoners were released, but Robert Curthose and William of Mortain spent the rest of their lives in captivity. Robert Curthose had a legitimate son, William Clito, whose claims to the duchy of Normandy led to several rebellions that continued through the rest of Henry's reign." - Courtesy of Wikipedia.

We refought the battle to mark our friend Julian's birthday, using his collection of (mainly) Old Glory Dark Ages/early Medieval Norman figures and the "To the Strongest" rule set he favours for this period. The game lasted about three times as long as the actual battle did! 

I got so excited by my first game at Julian's in about two months ( as he has been on a European holiday for about 5 weeks) that after the initial two or three shots of the set up, I forgot to take any pictures till we were about halfway through the game! Added to this, several of the pictures were out of focus and blurred, and I was only left with a few shots of the action. 

We randomly drew for our commands, and I picked King Henry. Joining me on the Anglo Norman side were Julian and Rick, whilst John played Duke Robert, ably assisted by Chris and Nick. In classic Medieval style, we just marched forward with a simple plan - to beat the French (Norman French that is!). Almost immediately, things started to go awry as Julian's super heavy cavalry on our right charged home against Nick's light horse lancers - and lost the combat! A move or two later they, and their commander, had permanently left the field and lost us the first of our army morale coins - we had a 13 - 11 advantage at the start of the game. 

On the left and in the centre, I advanced towards John whilst attempting to refuse my flank to Chris on the Norman right - but that is no easy task on the square boxed playing surface used under these rules. Meanwhile, Rick, who objected to the lack of a more subtle and nuanced plan,  commenced an extended perambulation along the length of our table edge, so that he eventually, in the dying moves of the game, arrived behind Julian on the Norman left flank. By that time, however, it was too late to save us, as we had steadily lost coins all evening and were down to the lucky last when one more unit was finished off by Duke Robert and the game was won for the Norman Normans.

Here are the few images that seemed worth posting:

The initial set out looking from the Norman side towards the advancing army of Henry I

Julian's super heavy grade 5 wonder knights - they did not last long!

"Arrow fodder" in front of the main Anglo Norman retinue of King Henry.

The scenario book Julian used to set up the game

King Henry in all his glory

Fast forward 90 minutes, action on our left flank as Chris's Norman cavalry defeat my attempt to refuse the flank

The same scene from another angle - behind the charging knights

The view across the table from the centre of Duke Roberts army

Roberts heavy infantry advance towards Henrys position

General view of the game toward the end - what a bloody mess!

Back to the unrefused left flank, chaos reigns as Chris's cavalry create mayhem

The final denouement - Henrys heavy knights retire in disorder as Roberts forces win the day.

A great evening with convivial company, a beautiful hour long meal in the middle of it, fine wine and sparkling repartee (mostly) - a great way to end the working week!