On the 22th of September, my dad and I decided that it would be a good idea to revisit the Battle of Nájera (or Navarrete, depending on the sources -please, avoid using Navarette) in 1367.
My dad took command of the forces of the bastard usurper (later also fratricidal) Henry of Trastámara (a jewel of a gentleman), and I took charge of the hosts lead by the Black Prince.
We used a version of the Great Medieval Battles Ruleset (SPI, 1979) that was published under the title The Black Prince: Crecy and Navarette [sic] in number 260 of the Strategy & Tactics magazine.
Nájera (or Navarrete) was an important battle in the Castilian Civil War. The battle was fought between the Castilian nobles supporting the usurper Henry of Trastámara -who counted also with the aid of the French king- and the legitimate heir of the crown of Castilla, Peter I -supported by the Black Prince, who saw this conflict as a mechanism for weakening the position of France in what later would be called the Hundred Years War.
The historic battle took place on the 3rd of April, 1367 along the road connecting the villages of Nájera and Navarrete in La Rioja, Spain. The most accepted sources place the battle closer to Navarrete than to Nájera. According to Fortún Garcés, the battle started on the flatlands between the modern village of Ventosa, and a creek that runs south to north on the borders of Navarrete's lands. The image below indicates the most likely site of the battle.
The picture below -taken from the top of the hill where Navarrete sits, shows the area where the battle may have occurred, with the hypothetical initial positions of the armies of Henry of Trastámara (red), and the Black Prince (blue).
Near the village of Ventosa, Henry's hypothetical rear, there is a cemetery and nearby a small mound where it is possible to have a look at the battlefield as from Henry's point of view. The video below starts from the church in Ventosa and moves north-east towards Edward's camp (located behind the hill).
The game map represents the area of the battlefield. Although it presents a more or less accurate depiction of the terrain, there are a few inaccuracies: a) the battle was actually fought closer to Navarrete, half way between both towns; b) the compass rose is wrongly orientated, Navarrete is right to the east of Nájera, and therefore the rose must be rotated 45 degrees counter clockwise (with the E coinciding with the current N); and c) the distance between Nájera and Navarrete is about 10 miles, and the battle was fought between 4 and 6 miles east of Nájera, a fact that is not accurately represented by the game's 50 yards/hex scale.
Despite of these, the initial deployment of the armies is quite accurate, and the scale of the actual battlefield feels right for medieval combat. The initial setup is represented in the following picture. On the left, Henry's forces, on the right, the Black Prince's army. The Najerilla river appears on Henry's rear (much closer than it really was).
Turn 1
The usurper's army starts advancing towards the Anglo-Castilian army with an envelope move targeting the flanks. Lancaster and Chandos advance to face the centre of Henry's army, lead by Du Guesclin's men, while Percy and Edward's -one the left- and Armagnac and Pedro -on the right- start moving toward Henry's flanks. Isolated shots by the English longbowmen which have only minor effect on the enemy's troops..
Turn 2
Henry's army continues its flanking movement, avoiding direct engagement with Lancaster's troops. Pedro and Edward's army continues their advance, also avoiding contact with Du Guesclin's cavalry. Castilian genitors cause minor damage on Pedro's army, while English longbowmen continue punishing Henry's front lines, eliminating two Castilian unit's and causing two more to route.
The two armies make contact, with skirmishes on both flanks and the centre. During Henry's move, the English archers cause serious damage on the usurper's vanguard, mainly on the flanks. Castilian slings punish Edward's front, but the impact is minor. At the end of the turn, Galician troops, as well as those led by the Count of Denia have been eliminated, and a number of Castilian units are on route. On the other hand, the English units under Chandos -the most punished ones- keep good shape, although some units are on route.
Turn 4
At the end of this turn, despite of having a large number of units on route, Henry's troops have manage to halt the advance of Edward's army. None of the army has suffered many loses, but the usurper's army is quite shaken. A highlight of this turn is that a branch of Henry's own troops got encircled by Edward's horsemen. Armagnac and Peter's units have been successfully retained at the rear by Don Tello's men.
Turn 5
At the end of this turn, Henry's army retires orderly in an attempt to regroup their units, but are pursued by Edward's men. Units belonging to Lancaster, Chandos, and Peter encircle Du Guesclin's -and some of Henry's- men. the usurper is present in this fight.
Turn 6
Castilian forces supporting the usurper are disbanded. Although Du Guesclin's men still put a brave face, the French units are almost defeated. Henry tried to support his French ally, but things did not work as expected.
Turn 7 and Game End
Before starting this Turn, Henry of Trastámara, Du Guesclin, Don Tello, and Denia escape and their armies route, giving an absolute victory to the legitimate heir Pedro I and his ally Prince Edward.
Final Score
81-0
Castilian Army Casualties
- Three type A units (one Castilian and two French)
- One type B unit (one French)
- Three type C units
- Two type D units
- Three type E units
No casualties for the Black Prince and Pedro.
The game is well balanced and the result reflects the outcome of the historic battle. Dice rolls punished severely the Castilian player, who could have attained a better outcome, although the final result would most likely had been the same.
On the other hand, the usurper's army fell victim of a long chain of fortunate dice rolls. Henry was ultimately defeated by a storm of dice!
According also to the aforementioned Garcés, the early stages of the combat took place on the right of the usurper, where Du Guesclin fought the troops of Albret. Such actions attracted men from the left, leaving that wing unprotected. The Duke of Lancaster then attacked Don Tello on this wing, causing his troops to route. This action gave Lancaster the chance to flank (and almost attack from the rear) Du Guesclin's men, forcing them to move back to the rear of the central mass of Trastámara's army, which was already trying to regroup back on Alesón, Huércanos and Uruñuela. The Black Prince grouped his army and charged against Henry's centre, causing the mass to route and disperse, and the bastard to ran direction Nájera. On the route, a bottleneck was formed on the Nájera river bridge, causing a large number of men to attempt swimming across the river. Many of them drawned. The Trastámara's army was completely destroyed, yet, the bastard lived long enough to defeat and kill his halfbrother, and to start an illegitimate dynasty that would shape modern Spain... and maybe the word.
Source: Garcés, F. (1993) Antología de Batallas del Camino de Santiago. PEVISA.
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