I felt a wave of nostalgia when I first opened up my copy of the Men of Iron Tri-Pack from GMT – the new release that packages three of legendary game designer Richard Berg’s classic medieval hex and counter wargames together. It’s not that I’d played this game before, or any of the previous versions. I hadn’t even played a hex and counter wargame before, not really. My nostalgia stems instead from games I played with rather than played, and memories from my very early childhood.
You see, my father was something of a wargamer back in his day. He owned copies of classic Avalon Hill games like Gettysburg and Civil War. Some of the earliest photos of me as a child show him balancing me on one knee while he pours over a classic wargame, played solo in the basement of the house my parents were renting. As an older child my brother and I would occasionally coerce him into unpacking a game and trying teaching us how to play – as Virginians we couldn’t help but take at least a little interest in battles that took place in our home state. We never successfully played them, we were far too young and the games too long, but he gamely made an effort, and they were fun evenings even if we ended up making up at least half the rules ourselves. The closest we ever got to playing one of the classic Avalon Hill games was Civilization, a perennial favourite during the intermittent blackouts that accompanied major storms in the autumn. That game would be unpacked, the rules hastily learned, and the opening turns played before it got too dark, and we were sent to bed. We would leave it out with a plan to finish it tomorrow, but usually the power would be back, and it was far more tempting to play Super Nintendo instead. The more serious wargames never even got that far.
It was these memories that came back as I sat punching out cardboard chits while learning the rules to Men of Iron. I’ve had substantial wargaming experience since those childhood days, but almost exclusively in the world of miniatures. I started where most do, with Games Workshop, the pseudo-medieval skirmish game Mordheim was a favourite, before devoting a serious amount of time to Privateer Press’ Warmachine and Hordes system. It’s now been a few years since my minis last saw table time and I’d been yearning for something more historic anyway, so a classic hex and counter game about medieval battles perfectly fit the bill. One impulsive purchase later and there I was setting up my first hex and counter battle.
Agincourt before hostilities begin, the French are to move first.
I decided to play Agincourt first, despite being somewhat apathetic on the battle if I’m honest. Don’t get me wrong, I was once fascinated by Agincourt – in my undergrad years studying medieval history I was obsessed with the battle. That obsession lasted into the start of my PhD, but over time I’ve become less and less interested in it. I’m not uninterested in it, by the metrics of normal society I’m a complete obsessive for anything medieval military history, but I’ve found the broader strategic sweeps of the second half of the Hundred Years War far more interesting than the specific battles. The mythic status of Agincourt has begun to bother me – sure it was a shocking victory by a far outnumbered force, but it was also fought at the tail end of a reckless campaign who’s most enduring success, the taking of Harfleur, had already been achieved. The status of Agincourt owes more to Shakespeare than it does to the actual impact it had on the Hundred Years War. Give me Poitiers over Agincourt any day, basically. That all having been said, Agincourt came on a smaller map that fit in the little section of counter I’d been able to clear for wargaming and it’s more manageable number of counters made it a good starting point. And look, I’m hardly going to turn up an opportunity to see if I can show how overrated those English archers were.
End of French Turn 1. Orleans’ Battle has advanced to position itself for the charge while some good Continuation Rolls have allowed the archers and third Battle to advance into better positions.
From my historian’s eye the layout of the Agincourt battle looks reasonable enough. Berg has chosen to give the English position their defensive stakes – probably the right call but one not without controversy. Everyone pretty much agrees that the English archers put out stakes to protect themselves from charges, but the issue lies with the evidence that they later advanced their position before the actual battle took place – leaving open to debate whether they brought the stakes with them or not. I’m inclined to think they did given how they successfully drove off a charge by the French cavalry, but it’s entirely possible that they did not and the topic is still much debated. I’m pleased to see that the French actually have a ranged element – a mix of crossbows and archers. Since they contributed very little to the battle they tend to be forgotten in discussions – their deployment directly behind Orleans’ front line of men-at-arms is possibly even more favourable than what I would have given them – I’ve usually pictured them at the very back of the army struggling to contribute at all since there was no room for them on the flanks. In the end these archers played a fairly decisive roll in my version of Agincourt.
End of French Turn 2. The English spent their turn taking pot shots at the French line to disappointing effect. They fared slightly better with their response when the French advanced into melee, but good dice still allowed the French to displace two of Henry’s men-at-arms (but not the king himself). Orleans suffered significant casualties, but he has pushed his enemy back from their defensive position.
I chose not to use the optional rules for the French, the ones that make it significantly harder for them. I wanted to see an Agincourt had the French been at their best, rather than the one that actually happened. After all, I have a pretty good idea what happened at the real one, let’s see an alternative! The result was a resounding French victory – thanks in no small part to some very lucky rolls and a string of bad luck for the English. Orleans’ was able to push back Henry V’s men-at-arms, and while he suffered enormous casualties doing so that opened up a window for the French crossbowmen and archers to gang up on the longbowmen and use their superior numbers (and better luck) to drive them off. In the end, the two rear battles from the French failed to really contribute – probably because the mud in the field made it nearly impossible to bring them forward enough to be helpful. Henry V escaped with his life, but the Genoese claimed his baggage wagon and the lives of many of his soldiers – a remarkable day for France and Italy!
The English manage to mostly retake their left flank, but things deteriorate significantly on the right and in the centre as withering crossbow and arrow fire pushes Henry V back to his standard. Orleans’ Battle is much diminished, but the English position is breaking.
I found Men of Iron reasonably easy to learn. Having completed my first playthrough I think I probably got some of the rules wrong – I definitely got some wrong during play but was able to mostly fix the ones I noticed with some quick retconning and adjustments. I definitely felt more comfortable with it the more I played, and I suspect my next playthrough will be quicker and easier, with fewer references to the rulebook. I do wish there were a few more examples in the rules, particularly for the ranged and melee combat sections. There are some, but I think it would have benefited from a more thorough exploring of a range of examples. At only one point during my read of the rulebook did I feel the urge to be needlessly pedantic by contradicting Mr. Berg’s sources which led him to state that throughout the period wooden crossbows would have been the exclusive type. While wooden crossbows remained popular throughout the Middle Ages, only the battles from the First Crusade could be said to have happened before the arrival of composite crossbows, and steel crossbows probably date to around the dawn of the Hundred Years War - that means that all three types would have been around for most of the battles in the box!
The English left flank has buckled under concentrated French power (and amazing French dice rolling), the defensive position is overrun. Henry V made one last effort to rally but there’s only so much he can do on his own.
I think Men of Iron was great as an initial introduction to hex and counter wargaming, and it worked reasonably well as a solo-experience. I’m not sure if I’ll be tempted to replay battles on my own very often, without a human opponent I think I run the risk of repeating myself too often, but luckily there’s more than enough battles in the box to keep me busy for a while yet. Hopefully in the not too distant future I’ll get to replay some battles against a real opponent, but for the moment I’m sufficiently entertained!
The Genoese take Richard’s wagon, having driven him from the field, for a win. The die shows the successful Continuation roll that made it possible!
I think the sheer amount of ranged weapons on display at Agincourt somewhat tilted the system into being more of a shooting match than you would have seen in real history. After all, while bows and crossbows were effective they stood very little chance of reliably penetrating the plate armour that men-at-arms would have been wearing at the time. With that in mind I’m curious to try a battle with far fewer ranged weapons on display, ideally all of them crossbows, to explore more how the game plays when it’s mostly melee soldiers engaging in fierce clashes. On that note, I hear there’s some interesting things happening around the city of Courtrai in the year 1302...
Recommended Further Reading on Agincourt:
The Hundred Years War: A People’s History by David Green
Great Battles: Agincourt by Anne Curry
The Battle of Agincourt: Sources and Interpretations by Anne Curry