08/15/55 -- Sir John Griffyn

Situation
Over 2000 Cheshire men responded to the call to arms. This was definitively more than expected, but it didn't turned out to be a curse for the unit. The upside is that the few men selected to sail first were the most experiences and well equipped that the Shire could produce. Although bows and strings were short earlier in the summer, the men who made the cut were well equipped, smartly dressed, armed appropriately with short swords and large daggers. Many are wearing armors dating back from the glory days of Crecy. There are grosses of arrows everywhere, but the steel-headed kind had to be procured from the King's store. This is ironic since the King's purveyors were responsible for doing their job too well in the first place: leaving nothing behind for the regional units. Most archers simply can't carry horses oversea, for the lack of shipping is even greater than the lack of suitable horses. The Cheshire commanders will be on horses, maybe a few scouts will be on light horses, but the unit will be on foot.

The really bad news is that only one eight of the unit will be able to sail to France with the Prince of Wales. The fleet is supposed to come back in a month, but by then it is likely that most men will have abandoned their billet and returned home. During the weeks of riots, Sir Griffyn steered the fine line between making the men busy and getting them angry. He disregarded a few requests to execute trouble makers, but the unit is overall still mainly loyal to the Prince of Wales. The unit leaving for France is rated as trained, and has suitable discipline.

This concludes Phase 1 of the game for the Cheshire Archers. See you on the private site for new situation updates and more mayhem.

07/15/55 -- Sir John Griffyn

Situation
Once that you arrive in Plymouth, the town is in a minor state of upheaval: it has ran dry. There are brawls at night, and the Welsh Spearmen have been called by the Prince of Wales to break fights at night. Your unit is billeted in the Northern end of town, where frightened civilians are barricading their houses every night in fear of being invaded... by your men among others.

Mobilization Outlook
Unchanged from July 1, will be updated in Aug 1 (next turn).

1. Requested forces :  1000 archers (momentum, eager, likely)
2. Bows, string (shortage of strings, somewhat likely)
3. Steel headed arrows (acute shortage, unlikely)
4. Training arrows (plenty!, very likely)
5. Uniforms, textile and manufacture (recycling old uniforms, unlikely)
6. Blades (on course, somewhat likely)
7. Horses (shortage, very unlikely)
8. Departure within 4 weeks (likely)

Instructions
It is mid-July, your men are trickling in and are getting into trouble as well. You have been ordered by the Prince of Wales to execute 3 troublemakers in a show of tough discipline. You men are confused and angry that they get punished for the shortcoming of the Prince (failure to provide drinks and shortage of other victuals). 

1) Do you carry on the orders? Some units have simply dismissed the culprit after a good beating. 

2) How do you handle the situation for the next two weeks? Things are getting worst every day?

07/01/55 -- Sir Griffyn

Gronou ap Griffith, leader of the Welsh
spearmen bound to Aquitaine. 

Situation
Breakthrough, Sir Griffyn appealed to the veterans of Crecy for the unit's colours. As a result, scores of old uniforms were donated to Sir Griffyn to be used in the coming chevauchee.  Strings can be sourced from the Northern reaches of England from the surplus of the last campaign into Scotland. However, this means that even though the spindles must be sold at King's wage, the transportation cost almost doubles the price. At any rate, it looks like there will be more than the target number of arrayed archers that will assemble in Plymouth on Aug 1. There should be enough string initially, but the stock may be low. As for steel arrows, it turned out that the shortage is caused by the aggressive sourcing of these by the King's puveyors in early June. There should be plenty of them from the Prince of Wales' pile in Plymouth (should). As for horses, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the archers are taking their own horses, which value will be assessed and guaranteed by the King before sailing off to France. The missing horses will have to be purchased somewhere else: there is just not enough available in Cheshire at this time.

Note. About half of the arrayed archers are small land-owner with some means to their disposal. These can provide their own horses, bows and whatever they fancy for armor (mail, padded armors mostly). The other half must be provided for.

Cheshire Archers

1. 20 Experienced trainers over 8 locations within Cheshire. (training is likely to bring troops to trained level rapidly). Lots of activity going on every day: new recruits, training tournaments, sparring.
2. Tradition of excellence: Prince of Wales signature unit.
3. Eager population base.
4. Funds : sufficient for requested levels.

Mobilization Outlook

1. Requested forces :  1000 archers (momentum, eager, likely)
2. Bows, string (shortage of strings, somewhat likely)
3. Steel headed arrows (acute shortage, unlikely)
4. Training arrows (plenty!, very likely)
5. Uniforms, textile and manufacture (recycling old uniforms, unlikely)
6. Blades (on course, somewhat likely)
7. Horses (shortage, very unlikely)
8. Departure within 4 weeks (likely)

Instructions
There is less than a turn before setting to Plymouth. Any instructions?

06/15/55 - Sir Griffyn

Situation Update
Two weeks have expanded since the mobilization has been called. The response from the counties is very positive and the other officers are reporting amazing progress toward the recruitment target. The purveyors are reporting acute problems with bow strings, steel arrows, green cloth for the uniforms and horses.  This is no very unusual, but this is not where we want to be. The trainers are working the newly arrayed men very hard: tournaments are taking place on weekends and all activities other than archery are banned.

We need to keep a tab on funds in the coming two weeks, with strings and steel being much more expensive than planned. We also will be slower on the way to Plymouth if we're short of horses.  We are going to assemble in two weeks to travel to the coast.

Cheshire Archers

1. 20 Experienced trainers over 8 locations within Cheshire. (training is likely to bring troops to trained level rapidly)
2. Tradition of excellence: Prince of Wales signature unit.
3. Eager population base.
4. Funds : sufficient for requested levels.

Mobilization Outlook

1. Requested forces :  1000 archers (momentum, eager, likely)
2. Bows, string (shortage of strings, somewhat likely)
3. Steel headed arrows (shortage, unlikely)
4. Training arrows (plenty!, very likely)
5. Uniforms, textile and manufacture (no green cloth, unlikely)
6. Blades (on course, somewhat likely)
7. Horses (shortage, very unlikely)
8. Departure within 4 weeks (likely)

Instructions

The uniform seems like a minor thing, but it is a matter of unit pride. Don't underestimate this, although this is not like you can start weaving yourself.  At any rate, anything missing can be purchased later on the way to Plymouth. You can try to be aggressive and pay more for stuff, or take your chance and try to buy what's missing (you may not be alone trying to do this). Things are not that bad, are there any special instructions?

06/01/55 - Sir Griffyn

Cheshire Archers

1. 20 Experiencedtrainers over 8 locations within Cheshire. (training is likely to bring troops to trained level rapidly)
2. Tradition of excellence: Prince of Wales signature unit.
3. Eager population base.
4. Funds : sufficient for requested levels.

Mobilization Outlook

1. Requested forces :  1000 archers (likely)
2. Bows, string (somewhat likely)
3. Steel headed arrows (unikely)
4. Training arrows (very likely)
5. Uniforms, textile and manufacture (somewhat likely)
6. Blades (somewhat likely)
7. Horses (very unlikely)
8. Departure within 4 weeks (likely)

Instructions

We are about  to set on another enterprise with the Prince of Wales. The men and women of Cheshire are eager to bring riches from France one more time. Sir Griffyn, knighted after his exploits at Crecy, is the de factor leader of the Cheshire archers. Your deputies will oversee the procurement of material and the distribution of funds to the arrayers and purveyors. Everything seems to be looking fine, except for the endemic shortage of suitable horses and textile so far inland. Shall we proceed or re there special instructions that we should consider before mobilization?

Sir John Griffyn

Sir John Griffyn in the background.

Sir John Griffyn is one of many leaders of the Cheshire archers. A elite formation of longbowmen which forms the pinacle of the Prince of Wales's strategy. Sir Griffyn's duty is to ensure that the name and uniform (yes, green and white and one of the first standard issue uniform ever) are honoured in the coming raid into France.

Axioms

1. Personal Wealth.
2. Knighted for deed at Crecy in 1345.
3. Military Leader : Experienced
4. Tactician : trained
5. Administrator : trained
6. Procuring (horses) : Experienced