Returning to Ferrybridge 1461

Firstly, a quick hello to those who have recently started following the blog and also my thanks to all the visitors who have commented making the recent posts much more interesting.

The last post gave a detailed description of how the Ferrybridge scenario in ‘Test of Resolve’ system was divided into three linked actions. For any readers wanting a fuller explanation, there is a link to that post in the Resource Section bellow.

In brief, I attempted to play the three linked scenarios, but a Yorkist defeat in game one (Warwick Attacks the Bridge), meant that the historical cycle of events had been interrupted and the scenario hit sudden death, rather than playing on to the next game.

Today, I am taking this rather enjoyable system back to the table, playing Ferrybridge again and hoping this time, to get right through all three parts of the scenario … fingers crossed!

Phase I (Warwick Attacks the Bridge).

When I played this last time, it seemed like Warwick’s task of steamrollering across the bridge was pretty straight forward. 

But on playing, it soon transpired to be anything but straight forward. Warwick (Yorkist) threw his contingent’s over the bridge and three (out of four) bill retinues were routed, included his best troops!

Cards direct the battle and this together with the system of melee using opposed D12, means there are plenty of variables that can fall out of play, removing certainty (I like that).

Above - The Lancastrian defence is a retinue of bill (superior) and two longbow units. 

So today, with nothing taken for granted, I again pushed Warwick’s melee troops over the bridge, supported by one company of archers. Those archers initially got the better of the Lancastrian defenders, but the ‘Missile Supply’ card was drawn and they failed their test ….. now out of arrows, they fell back behind the billmen to support them.

Above - oops, I have flagged the Lancastrians (left) with a Yorkist flag!

Warwick was now reliant on his overwhelming numbers of billmen to carry the day. As they charged over the bridge, they inflicted 2 losses (good) on the defending billmen, but the Lancastrians passed their Resolve Test and so stood their ground. 

But it was a short lived act of defiance, the melee ground on and the Lancastrian defenders were swept away decisively. 

Above - Warwicks positions for the second battle - having captured the bridge, he is treated as encamped.

This Yorkist victory means that we do indeed now move to the second part of the scenario (Warwick Defends the Bridge). The battlefield set-up remains the same. Warwick did not lose any units in game one, so they all return to the second game. They set up encamped on the far side of the bridge.

Above - the banner on the left belongs to Clifford.

Being encamped means that they only become activated (alerted) if their Special Event card is drawn or their units are contacted by attacking Lancastrians under Clifford. The latter will be a worry for the Yorkists as they will suffer a -2 penalty in the initial contact for being surprised in melee!

And guess what! that is exactly what happens. Worse the Lancastrians got to draw 4 cards for this activation, they might do a lot of damage with that. 

The first card drawn is the Move / Melee card and so the Lancastrians are able to advance to contact with half off their forces, those on the far side of the road (above). They get the first round bonus for charging into melee and thanks to the surprise melee bonus, they just about inflict 1 loss. The Yorkist bill unit (superior), taking the loss, must pass a Test of Resolve roll - they fail and ‘Turn Tail’ running back to the river embankment.

This is now potentially serious, the Yorkist bill unit is trapped against the river with their backs to the Lancastrians …. who still have 3 more cards to play. I think those Billmen days are numbered!

Wrong! ….. the second card turned is a ‘Flummoxed’ card, this switches play to the other side so that the two remaining Lancastrian cards actually become Yorkist cards to be played. The third card is turned over, it is a Move / Melee card, the Yorkist may yet be saved!

In their move, the retreating unit pivots, advances a short distance and re-engages, as does the rest of the now alerted Yorkist line.

The opposed melee die rolls are close, so fighting settles down to an ‘Ongoing Melee’, which means melee fighting will resume when the next melee card by either side is drawn.

I have highlighted this moment of play just to show how dynamic the play can be and it is a reminder to take nothing for granted! 

As play continues, with shoving, pushing and hacking by the billmen of both sides, I really got stuck on what would be best for each side to do next!

Each side has one flank that is doing really well and the other flank at some serious peril. Warwick’s best billmen (near the river) are on 3 losses (at 4 they will rout). I really should be pulling those billmen with 3 hits out of the line …. but, due to positioning against the river, that would leave the nearby units vulnerable. On the other flank, there is every prospect that Yorkist attacks against the hub of archers, might sweep that flank away and break the enemy.

In the end I decide both sides have a chance to push the other over the edge and that they should stay in place and fight it out. It is a pivotal moment ….. and of course a gamble ….. but one side will soon be able to claim that they are a brilliant tactician!

There is a bit more shove and push, the Lancastrians throw in their last reserve of an archer company in desperation to pile on the pressure and cover a gap. The Yorkists bill (superior) company takes their 4th loss and rout.

In short thrift the rest of the Yorkist position collapses and the Lancastrians (Clifford) get their victory. This opens the gate to the playing of the third and final part of the scenario ‘Fauconberg’s Counter-attack’.

In the last battle, the Lancastrians lost 1 x bill retinue, but the Yorkists lost three companies, 1 x bill retinue, 1 x bill retinue (superior) and 1 x archer. 

The Yorkists need to get across the River Aire, but with the Lancastrians now controlling the bridge again, this next action represents Edward IV’s (Yorkist) decision to cross the River 3 miles higher up from the bridge at a ford and then drop back down to outflank Clifford (Lancastrian). In our game Clifford is left to defend with the troops that survived the last battle, so he is down by one bill unit - that could make all the difference here, because the Fauconberg's force is not particularly powerful.

Above - the Lancastrian positions, had they not lost a bill unit in the last game, they would have another bill company in that back line. The Yorkists will enter the table from the bottom (position of the viewer) and face the archers. 

If the Lancastrians retreat back off the opposite edge of the table, they get an automatic draw, but they look strong enough, with their front bristling with archers, to stand and fight ..... and hope to win!

The Yorkist forces are all mounted at the start of play. For now, I will keep the Household company mounted, but the bill retinue and the two archer companies will need to dismount as soon as they enter the table if they are to fight straight away.

Thinking about it, perhaps Clifford should hedge his bets and pull back part way, so that he is nearer his own table edge in case the Lancastrians need to run for it, but I worry that as they retreat, they will be easily caught by the mounted Household company (mainly Men-at-Arms in plate armour).

As it happens the Lancastrians get the first run of cards, the first is Move / Melee. I need to make a decision, should Clifford stand or retire …… I decide the Lancastrian position is fairly strong and fearing the Yorkist cavalry, I have them stand. 

The second card is also a Move / Melee …. Oh Doh! Two consecutive move cards, I could probably have had Clifford move away far enough (random movement on a D12) to keep out of the clutches of the cavalry - Oh Well, hindsight and all that, but this might become another one of those pivotal decisions!

As the Yorkist troops enter the table and dismount (not the Household), there is a lively arrow exchange between the archers, while the Yorkist mounted Household charge the archers in front of them, supported by billmen (above). The archers flee and take safety behind their own melee troops.

Clifford seizes the moment and counter-charges the Yorkist bill, with his own bill, but it is a disaster, the opposed melee die rolls on D12 are 12 - 1 in favour of the Yorkist and then the Lancastrian Test of Resolve die roll is '1' (bad - bad - bad)!

Clifford’s billmen (superior) immediately rout and Clifford decides that running away with the rest of his battle is now the only honourable thing left to do :-)

Above - the remnants of the Lancastrians (left in red) look to be successfully breaking contact.

Clifford gets good movement results, moving close to his table edge and in this moment it looks like he will make it, but then the Yorkist get a run of movement cards and their mounted M.A.A. and foot billmen, catch up and start snapping at the Lancastrian heals. The turn ends (two end of turn cards have been drawn). The cards are shuffled.  

What matters now is which side will get the first meaningful card, allowing them to move. There is a moment of excitement in the play - this matters.

Above - Yorkist men-at-arms enthusiastically pursue!

The first lucky recipient of a move card is in fact Clifford’s Battle. They roll for their movement allowance and roll high enough to get all of the troops off the table …. So there we are, all three actions played and the Lancastrian escape decides the three battle fight as a draw - that was so close!

Conclusions.

I have been looking to reduce the length and detail of AAR’s, but here, I thought that highlighting how the system brought about particular moments was worth doing.

This is a fun 3 part scenario that is kind to smaller collections. Despite these essentially being one battle Vs one battle sized games, a good bit of nuance falls out of them and they play really well, with the system serving them fully, rather than them feeling like cut down games.

The last moments of the last game was exciting to play, showing the strength of the system, how often do we actually play out a pursuit.

I am reaching the point of being quite happy in treating these rules as my ‘go to’ for the Wars of the Roses project. They fit within my play time-frame, are superb for anyone playing solo (as well as opposed) and as my own reading of the Wars of the Roses steps up a gear, the thinking behind the rules are matching the accounts that I am reading about.

More to come!

Resource Section.

Detailed look at Parts I, II and III of the Ferrybridge scenario - LINK

https://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2026/07/battle-of-ferrybridge-parts-i-ii-and-ii.html

My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’  showcases the various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.

https://commanders.simdif.com/dear_diary.html