"Firing into the Brown" #65 - John of Bohemia, Sudan and stuff...

"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".

Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"

Time for another update..

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The post about the death of Sir Edmund Verney bought to mind the account of John, the King of Bohemia (the modern-day Czech Republic), killed at the Battle of Crecy .. 

Edward, The Black Prince after the battle of Crécy contemplating the slain King John of Bohemia, painting by Julian Russell Storey, 1888

John had lost his eyesight at the age of 39 or 40  in 1336, probably from what is now believed to have been ophthalmia. For political reasons, he had sided with King Philip VI of France at the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War in 1337.

Despite his infirmity, for the Crecy campaign John commanded Phillip's advanced guard and the  contingents of Charles II of Alençon and Louis I, Count of Flanders.

By the time of Crecy he had been almost sightless for 10 years, but according to the Cronica ecclesiae Pragensis Benesii Krabice de Weitmile, when he was told by his aides that the battle was lost, and it was better he fled to save his life, he replied 

"Far be it that the King of Bohemia should run away. Instead, take me to the place where the noise of the battle is the loudest. The Lord will be with us. Nothing to fear. Just take good care of my son."

The medieval chronicler Jean Froissart left the following account of his final words and actions..

'Sirs, ye are my men, my companions and friends in this journey: I require you bring me so far forward, that I may strike one stroke with my sword.' They said they would do his commandment, and to the intent that they should not lose him in the press, they tied all their reins of their bridles each to other and set the king before to accomplish his desire, and so they went on their enemies. ...

The king .. was so far forward that he strake a stroke with his sword, yea and more than four, and fought valiantly and so did his company; and they adventured themselves so forward, that they were there all slain, and the next day they were found in the place about the king, and all their horses tied each to other'.

I think it was the similarity of what can only seem to me to be that same dreadful fatalism that had made Sir Edmund take the field at Edgehill unarmoured, "he would neither put on armes or buff cote the day of battell, the reason I know not", and Sir John take to the field while blind...  both of them must have been fully aware of what the outcomes were likely to be, but still acted as they thought proper...  

On the shoulders of giants...

Ave..

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Difficult to believe it was so long ago (2017!), but bear with, as the Sudan collection has been deployed. 😱

Before I could play the game though (One Hour Wargames Scenario 26 "Triple Line"), I first of all needed to remind/review myself on my rule choices. Looking at my project page then, I seemed to start off with my own rules (a derivative of the 7YW/AWI Will McNally set), then moved to "A Good Dusting" by David Bickley but these days I yearn for simpler and simpler sets of rules, and what drives me is the narrative rather than the mechanisms. 

For this game then I thought I'd use the rules lifted direct from One Hour Wargames, but with some modifications..

• the rules in the book are for European warfare and don't account for native troops
• I wanted to throw in some solo amendments - a bit of grist in the mill

My basis was the American Civil War rules that DG and I worked up over a number of games a few years back - and specifically I was thinking of that initiative dice mechanism which I've always loved, and can provide some surprisingly awkward decisions even when you're playing both sides!

Game report to come but a copy of the rules (a work in progress) are here [clicky]

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Laters, as the young people are want to say...