From LeeH: Richard III, Sir Robert Percy & Viscount Lovell (35 Points)

Week nine and I have finally reached a point where I can start on King Richard III’s army for the Battle of Bosworth. Richard must have been fairly confident by the time his army met that of Henry Tudor. It was probably close to double the size of the force facing him, odds that would be increased further if the Stanleys could be brought into line. Richard was also a seasoned campaigner and no stranger to combat while Henry was untested in battle (indeed Tudor had given control of his army to the more experienced Oxford for the upcoming fight). Moreover, this was Richard's opportunity to snuff out the only serious opposition that remained to his rule, so this was a fight he was anticipating.

At a crucial moment in the battle, Richard saw that Henry and his mounted retinue were separated from the main force and were therefore vulnerable. The King led his mounted knights in a charge to exploit the moment and smashed into Henry’s group. They cut their way through the Lancastrians, almost reaching Henry, killing his Standard-bearer on the horse next to him. For a moment the future of the English crown hung in the balance. Then the Stanleys finally committed their troops to support Henry. Richard and his band were surrounded and the King was unseated from his horse. A new mount was offered to the King so he could escape, but Richard refused, allegedly swearing to fight or die as the rightful King of England. At some point, he was felled by one or more blows from a billhook and so the last Plantagenet King died and the crown passed to Henry Tudor, now Henry VII. Regardless of your stance on the legitimacy of Richard's reign, even his enemies had to acknowledge he died bravely.

I have modeled Richard on his own base of three figures, with both his Standard and the Royal Banner on display (more is more when it comes to flags!).

Then we have Sir Robert Percy of Scotton. He was killed fighting for Richard III and probably went down in those lost few fateful minutes as the momentum went out of Richard's charge and they became surrounded and bogged down. Like his father before him, he was a staunch Yorkist, and like his father, paid for this loyalty with his life.

Lastly, we have Sir Francis, Viscount Lovell of Minster. He was said to be Richard's best friend and was initially listed as killed in the bitter fighting that took place around the King in the last few moments of the battle. However, he actually survived and continued the Yorkist resistance against Henry VII. It's unclear what happened to him after the final showdown at Stoke Field in 1487 but it's hard to imagine he would have been tolerated to live (or remain at large in the country) by the new King.

Now I have the bulk of the Yorkist army under the control of Norfolk and Brackenbury ahead of me. That will probably take the rest of the Challenge so I will have to work on Northumberland's command and a few other odds and ends in weeks 14, 15 & 16 (ie, after Challenge XIII has wrapped up). Mind you, I have a few days off work penciled in, so I may get more done than I expect. Only time will tell. 

Points Estimate:

33x6mm Cavalry = 33 Points

From TeemuL: It is great to see you focus on your project and plan and stick to them! Nice start of the army and lovely amount of flags. The cavalry looks good, I wonder what you will show us next week. A couple of extra points granted for those banners.