French Armies of the 100 Years War

General History

This list allows you to create a wargames army for the French during the early part of the 100 Years War (1337-1360).

The 100 Years War has its roots as far back as the Conquest of England by the Normans. Since that time, the Kings of England have held large segments of France as fiefs from the French king, sometimes resulting in a foreign monarch holding more land than the French king in his own kingdom. At the beginning of the 14th century, a number of French kings died in rapid succession, leaving no male heir. The then King of England, Edward III, would logically have been declared king, as his mother was a daughter to the French crown. However, it was declared that the line of succession cannot go through a female, as per the claim that women cannot inherit property as per the Salic law (though this claim was probably made to keep an English king off of the throne). Though Edward III did not press the claim (as he was still a minor) the declaration of Edward's fief in Gascony as void in 1337 prompted the English king to declare his legitimacy to the throne and declaring the current King of France, Jean II as a usurper, thus solving the English Crown's difficulties with French rule undermining their authority.

Army Composition

Characters: 0-25%

Cavalry: French armies: 25-50%.

Infantry: French armies 25%-75%

Special Units: 0-25%

Special Rules

Combined Formation: Knights when fighting on horseback often fought with mounted sergeants in the rear ranks. Any unit of knights may combine with sergeants in the rear rank. All casualties are determined against the knights first.

Mounted Infantry: Certain types of troops were given horses in order to provide a measure of battlefield mobility. Any unit of this type may fight mounted, and are treated as Light Cavalry (though suffering from a -1 to all combat roles), or may choose to fight on foot. They may dismount only once per game, and must form into ranks as any standard infantry unit.

Bills:  Bills are weapons of mass formation use. In this list, bills act as thrusting spears, but gain an additional -1 armor save against all opponents.

Oriflamme: A particular banner, made of silk so that when it flutters in a breeze it appears like fire, this was only used when the French king went to war. Typically it meant that no quarter would be given, and none taken. The Oriflamme works exactly like a standard army banner, except the effects can be applied in an 18" radius, rather than 12". Additionally, it may only be taken when the King is the army general.

Characters

Army General

Many armies during the Middle Ages were lead by the King. Indeed it was the expected duty of the King to lead his armies into battle, and rulers who were good generals were often well liked (at least by the people who mattered). However, the king might delegate authority to one of the great magnates of the kingdom to lead in his absence.
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon, shield, lance, heavy armor. May ride a warhorse (+3). The warhorse may have barding (+3).
 
0-4 Lords (80pts)

It was a standard Medieval practice to divide the army into a handful of seperate, self-supporting units on the battlefield. These units, referred to as Battles, often mixed cavalry, infantry, and archers into a chain of command. They were usually lead into battle by the great lords of the land, the Crowned Prince, or relatives of the King.
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon, shield, lance, heavy armor. May ride a warhorse (+3). The warhorse may have barding (+3).

Special Rules: Army may have only 1 Lord per 1000 points of troops to a maximum of 4.

0-1 Army Standard Bearer (100pts)  

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon, shield, lance, heavy armor. May ride a warhorse (+3). The warhorse may have barding (+3). French armies may be equipped with the Oriflamme (+25).

Special Rules: Army Standard Bearer

Cavalry

Knight (34pts)
 
Knights formed the backbone of many Medieval European armies. Heavily armed and armored, and riding on a specially breed warhorse (always a stallion), these semi-professional men of action trained in the art of war since childhood. By the late Middle Ages, the significance of knighthood to military capabilites began to wane as it became increasingly difficult to raise them from their fiefs. As such, scutage (shield money, a tax to forgoe military obligations) was increasingly used by kings in order to hire other knights who would serve either indefinitely, or were contracted for a specific period of time (such as a year). Many knights who held fees also became professional soldiers, particularly in England, and served for years at a time.
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon, shield, lance, heavy armor. The warhorse may have barding (+3). May use a double-handed weapon instead of a lance & shield (free). May fight on foot for -15 points.

Special Rules: Combined formation. Stubborn when on foot. May count rank bonus of up to +1 even though cavalry.

Mounted Sergeant (20pts)

Sergeants are typically a retainer of a lord or king. Like knights they hold land in exchange for a specific service (though unlike knights this is not always military), though some sergeants were paid. A sergeant's fee is typically smaller than that of a knight's. As the Middle Ages progressed, sergeantys became increasingly important, with some lords sending scutage and sergeants rather than knights, while knights themselves were sometimes expected to go to battle accompanied by their own sergeants. Typically, equipment is not quite as good (or extensive) as a knight's, though the two might indeed be very similar.
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon and warhorse. May have a shield (+1), light armor (+2) or heavy armor (+3), thrusting spear (+2) or lance (+4). May fight on foot for -10pts, but only with knights.

Special Rules: Combined Formation.

Mounted Bowmen (17pts)

Some bowmen were mounted in order to give them greater mobility, particularly neccessary during the Chevauchee. Normally, these troops would dismount and form into ranks when engaging in combat.
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon, horse and a crossbow. May be equiped with light armor (+2) and a buckler (+1)

Special Rules: Mounted Infantry.

Infantry

Foot Sergeant (5pts)

Infantry had always played an important role in Medieval Warfare, even if they are overshadowed by the glamor of the knights. Many lords or kings maintained a relatively small standing army of semi-professional or professional infantry, serving as castle garrisons. These troops were often hired mercenaries, though paid retainers (technically mercenaries but of local origin) were also used.
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon. May have a shield (+1), light armor (+2) or thrusting spear (+2). May trade shield and thrusting spear for a bill (free).

Crossbowman (9pts)
 
Some crossbowmen were semi-professional troops and might even hold a sergeanty.
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon and a crossbow. May have light armor (+2), or personal pavaise (+4).

Special Rules: Light Infantry.

Militia Infantry (4pts)
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon. May have a shield (+1),  thrusting spear (+2), and light armor (+2)
 

Militia Crossbowman (6pts)
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon and crossbow. May have light armor (+2).
 

Brigans (4pts)

Originally named for the brigandine armor they wore, these troops served as light infantry and skirmishers in the French army, though they may also be found in English armies originating from occupied areas.
 

Equipment: armed with a hand weapon. May wear light armor (+2), buckler (+1) and be armed with javelins (+1)

Special Rules: Skirmishers.

Special Units

0-1 Genoese Crossbowman (12pts)
 

Equipment: Equiped with a hand weapon, crossbow, and light armor. May have a personal pavaise (+4).

Special Rules: Light Infantry. Drilled.

Peasant Levy (3pts)

Occasionally, hordes of peasants were raised in times of desperation. The French used this tactic several times during the 100 Years War, however their contribution to the battlefield was often dubious.
 

Equipment: Armed with improvised farm equipment (treat as spears) and daggers. May have shield (+1)

Special Rules: Fears any unit it doesn't outnumber at least 2 to 1. Light Infantry.
 

War Machines
 

 
Equipment: The catapult and bombard have a crew of three, the bolt thrower and pot de fer have a crew of two, and the trebuchet has a crew of four. The crew is armed with hand weapons. They may wear light armor (+2 per model).

Special Rules: The catapult and trebuchet may only be used in sieges, and presented here out of completeness. Maximum of 2 Trebuchets in any army.

Catapult: Range 48"; Strength 7, no save, D3 wounds per hit.
Bolt Thrower: Range 48"; Strength 5/-1 for each rank, no save, D3 wounds per hit.
Trebuchet: Range 54"; Strength 8, no save, D6 wounds per hit.
Pot de Fer: Range 48"; Strength 6/-1 for each rank, no save, D3 wounds per hit.
Bombard: Range 48"; Strenght 8, no save, D3 wounds per hit.