Neville's Cross, 17 Octobre 1346 (2008)

Overview

Neville's Cross 1346 is a module to Frederic Bey's classic "Au Fil de l'Epée" wargame and depicts the battle between Scottish troops led by their king David II. (about 12,000 men) and an English army quickly mobilized by William Zouche, the Archbishop of York (about 3,000-4,000 men) close to Durham in the north of England.

On October 17th, 1346 both armies met in the morning mist and prepared for a defensive battle. After both sides realized this stalemate results of their respective positions, the English send forward their bowmen, forcing the Scots to attack.

Due to their poor position taken in the morning the Scots managed to attack ill-fated. When it became clear that the battle was going in favor of the English, Robert Stewart and the Earl of March fled, abandoning David II's battalion to face the enemy alone. Late in the afternoon, the king's own battalion attempted to retreat. The retreat was unsuccessful and David II was captured (though not without difficulty) while the rest of the Scottish army was pursued for more than twenty miles, resulting in more than 7,000 men casualties (by just 100 men English casualties!).