Crossbowmen at Tewkesbury 1471

[stevenneate]

Recently, I played in a Commands and Colours scenario for Tewkesbury 1471, a defining battle in the Wars of the Roses.

The scenario allowed the Lancastrians a couple of units of crossbowmen and no longbowmen. Maybe the latter is meant as a scenario driver to make the Lancastrians move and attack rather than stand around attempting to shoot their way out of trouble. The crossbowmen I think could be the scenario writer's interpretation that Margaret of Anjou brought French(?) troops from the Continent.  Is there any evidence for crossbowmen at Tewkesbury, French or otherwise?  Were the Lancastrians short of longbowmen?

Also, my online search has come up with a variety of numbers for the combatants, from 3000 to 6000 per side, sometimes equal in size, sometimes not.  Are there any historical numbers quoted?   

[stevenneate]

https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/battlefields/tewkesbury/

Might have answered my own question, as the crossbowmen don't seem to rate a mention in the sources. Therefore I would probably remove these from the scenario unless someone has some more definitive information.

Somerset may have impetuously attacked because the Lancastrians were suffering under the Yorkist bombardment (arrows and cannonade). He did not strike the flank (as happened to me when playing in the first game we played) but the flank-centre where he got bogged down in the terrain (as happened when playing in the second game we did). The unfavourable terrain does get mentioned in the sources.

[Erpingham]

I would suggest any crossbows at Tewksbury would have been in tactically insignificant numbers, hence no mention. Remember the French had plenty of longbowmen that could have joined the expedition, especially from the north.

On Somerset, you may be right.  There are mentions of the Lancastrians fortifying a position in front of Tewksbury, as I recall.