Poole in Flames 1405 Demo and breakdown of the days events.

Poole In Flames 1405. A reconstruction of this local historical raid. Participants can play the Game as raider or local. Or I can to talk through the day. I've included the rules at the end.

One advantage of going through the event with other people is that you gain perspective. This summary is what I gleaned from the account. I'm following it with a detailed account of what I think happened.

Sherlock Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.” ... Holmes concluded if the dog did not bark, then the dog must have known the perpetrator and this led him to track down the guilty party.

Summary. This was my "pregame" take.

Dawn, an August morning in 1405.  A fleet of galleys entered Poole harbour and dispatched boatloads of infantry onto the shore. The raiders were told not to plunder, just to burn the town down.

As the resistance grew, the Castillans merged and assaulted the Wool Hall.  Once they gained entry, looting began.

Reinforcements, trained troops, started to arrive from outlying manors.

The locals created barriers made from doors and moved forward.  The Castillans were pushed back with the reinforcements taking the high ground.

The Castillans pushed forward against the locals.

The small French contingent landed on the flank, away from the fighting but threatening the locals.

The raiders withdrew.

Now let's "beef it up."

Dawn, an August morning in 1405. Once the fishing fleet had exited* A fleet of galleys entered Poole harbour and dispatched boatloads of infantry onto the shore. The raiders were told not to plunder, just to burn the town down.

* There was no warning for Poole or the castles and ports such as Wareham, Corfe and Christchurch. No harassment recorded by boats or other shipping.

Once landed, the force split into 3:  

One stayed to protect the boats and burn local housing.  This included the commander.**

Second headed into the town to swing around back towards the Wool Hall.

Third headed for and captured the Wool hall and despite orders, started looting.***

**  The commander faced the relief force and seems to have no control over the looting.

***  "Do as I say, not as I do!"  The nobles present found resources in the Wool Hall that they could benefit from, so they looted.  Note that most participants were conscripted sailors and fighters.  Without being able to loot, they were putting their lives at risk for nothing.

Pushing through the town forces the populace towards the church.  Plus it opens the invaders to attacks from all sides.  This pressure will increase as they move back towards the Wool Hall.

The area around the Wool Hall becomes a running battle as the attackers attempt to get away with their gains.

Local retinues start arriving from the outlying manors**** and the invaders line up to protect the boats.*****

**** The relief could have come straight in the town and been embroiled in street fighting, chasing the invaders back.  I think they took the sensible option hinted at in the account.  Arriving via the hill they were able to assess the situation and then engage.  If they can get their longbow in range of the boats, escaping could be a disaster for the invaders.  They had little investment in saving the town and its inhabitants.  If the raid was successful, more could follow threatening their lands.

***** The account mentions heavy crossbows.  These would have been less than useless due to their size and slow reload in the town.  I think they remained on the ships to keep longbows out of range and protect the boats.  Some may have been here,  which would prompt the use of doors as big shields to get the longbows closer.

Arriving on the extreme flank and possibly hampering the reliefs advance.  The French contingent.

 

Pushed from two sides, taking advantage of the more open terrain and support from the ships, the boats are loaded and the invaders depart.  After three months of practice in the teeth of local forces, they should have lots of practice.

Raiders Brief.
You have 3 small commands to land and assault Poole.
The large building with a tower is an obvious rallying point.
Once ashore you are out of range of the onboard heavy crossbows.
You have to get in and get out after doing as much damage as possible.
Massed longbow shooting will make embarking very difficult.

Generals can move 1D6 of boats, units or block of units per turn.
A block or unit can spend 2 points, 1 per move, 1 to perform action.

Shooting.  Less than double pushes back.  Double destroys.
Crossbows & Longbows  Retinue can shoot into the next square.  
D6+2 if supported +1.  A barrier gives +1 against shooting.

Combat  Less than double pushes back.  Double destroys.
Generals & French D6+6
Bill D6+5
Spears D6+4
Levy javelin D6+3
Hordes D6+3
Crossbow & Archers D6+2

Attacking a house House gets D6+1.  
Defenders in contact get +1.  Levies get +1

Locals Brief
You have two commanders at the start.  One at the church, the other at the Wool Hall.
Your job is to get the locals organised by turning hordes into levy infantry and to save as much of the town as you can.
Retinue troops from the outlying manors will turn up.  Before they do, will you have them on Poole Hill or in the town?

Generals can move 1D6 of units or blocks of units per turn. 
1 point spent on a Horde in the same square can generate (once) a levy archer or levy bill.
1 point spent by a Horde or levy base can generate a barrier that gives +1 against shooting.
A block or unit can spend 2 points, 1 per move, 1 to perform action.

Shooting and Combat as above.