Last night the "fab four" had this tremendous ECW game..........................
Top photo is scenario,bottom is the table before any movement-Dave was away in Manchester,so Paul and Graham were the Royalists,whilst Brian and I were the Parliamentarians.
Move number two,and true to form,Graham has launched his cavalry forward-I have moved my cavalry to try and catch him in the flank-his cavalry are too close to each other!
The infantry in the centre are being very cautious,and not moving too close to the opposition,letting the artillery do as much damage as possible before getting involved in a fire-fight.
Brian's Ironsides cavalry advance,with enough spacing not to get disordered in case of a push back in melee.
Both sides had reinforcements coming onto the table,at the throw of a dice,they could place them anywhere,but neither Paul or Brian used the far terrain ie the river and Liklok Hill!
By move number 7 all hell was let loose!! Graham was knocking my officers over like nine-pins,and I needed a cavalry win to try and out-flank him-terrific stuff,but what of Brian??
Well,if the truth were told,he wasn't doing very well!!In the background you can see Paul has moved a cavalry regiment forward to try and destroy Brian's artillery battery-surely a whiff of grape shot will stop them in their tracks(???)
Just look at the table!!-Brian has failed to stop Paul's cavalry from destroying his battery,and all of his cavalry are being slaughtered,his reinforcements have failed to make any impact,so,as usual, it's up to me to save the army!!!!
My idea of saving the army ended when most of my infantry decided to retire(it's good being retired!)-and Paul's reinforcements started to make their presence felt-it was now up to my cavalry-could they save the day and get us a draw??
Yeah!! with Graham's troops having fought themselves to a stand still my cavalry were able to ride rampant over the flank,so a draw was decided,and very fair too.
This was tremendously good game,and never one-sided-great stuff.
Roll on next Sunday,we will be running through our Rorke's Drift game for Falkirk.
As an historical note,the rhyme of Liklok Hill was written in the 17th century by a lady called Betty Swollocks(aka Mary Hinge).
One word could describe last night's game_MARVELLOUS!!-it fell to the "fab four" of Graham,Brian,Paul and myself to fight this tense,nail-biting cracking game,as Dave couldn't make it.
Map,scenario and table before any movement-I was Hopton,Brian was Forth for the Royalists,whilst Graham was Balfour and Paul was Haselrigg for the Parliamentarians.
We're off!! despite the threat of my battery on their flank,Graham's cavalry advance through the open woods!!
With my two batteries causing lots of casualties against Graham's cavalry and advancing infantry,things were looking good!!!(too good?)
Meanwhile,Brian and Paul were standing in their original positions-observing each other-although Paul's battery on the centre ridge was doing a bit of damage to Brian's infantry.
In this shot,I have advanced my cavalry against Graham's,and a ferocious battle developed over the next few moves-thrilling stuff!!
Paul and Brian were still content to let their infantry "observe" each other,but Paul is moving a regiment of cavalry over the river-sneaky devil!!-Brian moved a regiment to cover that move,but probably,in hindsight,(always a great thing!) it would have been better to use his ,now, numerical advantage and attack Paul's remaining cavalry!!
The two cavalry units facing each other across the river-who will react first??
Back on my flank,Graham is "ramping up" the pressure and is sending more and more troops through the woods,and is even moving an infantry regiment to capture my battery in"gunners Castle"-this is wargaming at its best!!
At last!! both infantries are now taking part-Paul's earlier success against Brian's with his guns would tell when "push" came to "shove"-in the foreground you can see Graham has sent a regiment against my other gun position and has carried it,but I am counter-attacking him-bloody marvellous gaming!!
My battery in "Gunners Castle" has been taken,and,even though my cavalry are giving Graham's cavalry a lesson in fighting(!) my hold on the flank is tenuous to say the least!
Brian's cavalry are beating Paul's cavalry on the ridge and across the river,but his infantry are taking a right old beating in the centre-perhaps it's time for an ordered withdrawal???
It was decided that the Parliamentarians had won the day,but that,with the troops we had left,we could withdraw,to fight another day!
This was a great game,with highs and lows for both sides,but wargaming was the real victor-well done to us all.
Roll on Saturday,when we will be at Stockton "Battleground" show.
