I played the following game,using my 15mm ECW figures,on Friday,and thoroughly enjoyed it! I took my time,and planned what I wanted to achieve from the game,used my tried and tested very simple solo rules,and got a result-what more could you ask for?
Top photo shows the lay-out,with the town of Brockwell,in the centre being held by Royalist troops,who are also defending the surrounding area.
The bottom photo shows the initial assault by the Parliamentarians,who I had planned to pin the town troops and make an out-flanking sweep,with their right flank troops,eventually to drive the Royalists out of the town,and drive them away altogether!!
This shows the out-flanking troops,heading towards the Royalist left flank,which was lightly held!!
Rupert's and Hopton's regiments held the town,and with the benefit of cover,were giving the attackers a bit of a rough ride!!-other regiments were also getting involved,in what was turning into a very entertaining game!
In this shot,Maurice's horse are taking on Cromwell's horse-the simple expedient of throwing a dice each,and the highest score wins-resulted in this instance of Cromwell's horse receiving a "red dot" against them(on a wipe board-see later photo!)-two "red dots" would result in a minus one from their dice score,and three "dots" would mean the unit leaving the board!!-very simple and brutal,but a result !!
Top photo shows the "out-flankers" about to get to grips with Newcastle and Percy's regiments,whilst the battle for the town "hots up"-this,to me ,was thrilling stuff!!
Under intense pressure(and three "red dots") Hopton's regiment has gone!!-and the Parliamentarians have gained access to the town-BUT,they were fired on,losing their officer,which put them on 3 "dots"-resulting in them leaving the board-the town is saved!!
Newcastle and Percy's white coats are taking a right old pounding,but Royalist reserves are moving up,and the flank is saved,as well as the town-by this move I was exhausted!!!
This is the final shot of the board-the Parliamentarians have "shot their bolt" so to speak,whilst the Royalists have fresh troops,and still control the town-so a victory for them!!
This is the white board,showing the state of the various regiments-remember that 3 "red dots" results in that unit leaving the board-at the end of the game the Royalists lost 4 units while the Parliamentarians lost 8-a resounding result.
It became obvious that I need more cavalry and guns,but the game was a real success to me,the only problem(if you can call it a problem) was remembering whose turn it was to move!!!
I will be playing future games,adding more to the simple rules,such as elite type units,morale features etc.
Well,at last I have finished the 15mm figures that I have so far-Christmas is coming and I have requested that family buy me some more guns and cavalry,so will have to wait to finish the whole project.
However,I do have enough to stage my first English Civil War game,and thought I would post the set-up,and play the game later on this week............................
This is the set-up,I will be calling the game the battle of Brockwell(the town c/w scratch built houses and a church!) which is in the middle of the picture,and being defended by the Royalists.
Two views of Brockwell,from the front and from the back-with the New Model Army about to mount their first attack!!
New Model Army,and detail-quite apt,I think-being my new model army!!!
Detail of "Yellow" regiment defending the right flank farm.
The view from the Parliamentarian gun position.
I am looking forward to fighting a campaign based on the town of Brockwell,taking into account the casualties and positions of the troops after this first battle-and will,of course, keep posting information.
As we have been invited to take part in Charlie Wesencraft's group Christmas game(refighting Marston Moor) next Saturday,I thought I would re-fight this battle to see what we are letting ourselves into by way of tactics,weapons,personalities etc. and, as a bonus, Charlie came along to observe and comment!!
This is the table before any movement-the Royalists on the left,Parliamentarians on the right.
Paul was Cromwell,Dave was Fairfax(for the parliamentarians) whilst Brian was Rupert and Graham was Goring.(for the royalists)
Both Brian and Paul have launched their cavalry at each other in the opening move!!
At the same time,on the other flank,Graham and Dave have done the same thing-tremendous looking stuff!!!
In the centre,the whole of the Parliamentarian infantry are advancing and driving the royalist dragoons and musketeers way from the ditch/hedge.
To counter this push,Brian has advanced his infantry,and a fire-fight ensued! To the left of this shot you can see the cavalry battle raging ,both sides feeding in units when and where needed!!
A close up of the cavalry battle-very tightly fought,but Brian hit a bad spell of very low dice scores,and gradually he was pushed back-historically correct,but infuriating for Brian!!
Brian is being pushed back,what he needs is the reserve cavalry to help him out-where are they?-well,Graham had decided to take them over to his flank(which was winning!!) to bolster his troops!!-nothing was said,of course, Brian is too much of a gentleman for that!!!
The infantry battle is looming,as both side contest the ditch/hedge line-Graham looks as though he is deciding where to employ the reserve cavalry!!
Dave is throwing some diabolical dice,and Graham is pushing him back-as per history!-the reserve cavalry can just be seen,in column,in the background-it's a good job Brian doesn't need them(???!!!)
The royalist infantry are being driven back towards White Sike Close,and the parliamentarian commanders are looking "smug"-just out of shot to the right,the royalist cavalry are soundly beaten,and retiring(it's good being retired!)-history is repeating itself!
Brian's last cavalry unit is being surrounded,and the game is over-Graham has won with his cavalry,but the centre is lost ,and an historical result has been achieved-well done to everyone.
This time of the year is for rejoicing,being happy and looking forward to enjoying good food,good company,gifts etc. etc.-the whole season is probably epitomised in this photograph......
BAH HUMBUG!!!!!!!!!!!
Roll on next Saturday,when we will,once again take to the fields of Marston Moor,at Charlie's club.
Last night the "Feisty Five" of Graham,Paul,Brian,Dave and I had an absolutely splendid game,fast,colourful and exciting-grand stuff!!
The scenario and table before any movement-Brian,Paul and Graham were the Royalists and Dave and I were the Parliamentarians.All was set for a great game!
It was all action from move number one-this is my initial assault on the village and large field,being ably defended by Graham-our plan was to attack in overwhelming numbers,forcing Paul to commit his reserve infantry,to help Graham-this worked,sort of, but Paul sent the reserve too late to assist him!!!-hurrah!
In the centre,consisting of cavalry,Dave has sent 2 regiments of his "Ironsides" cavalry to instigate the attack,and my troopers are following up to give support-wonderful wargaming!
Dave's infantry are attacking Brian's on our left flank-what a tussle!!-doesn't Brian look like a certain Winston Churchill in this shot?-however,after Thursday's antics he'll probably be saying "We will bite them on the beaches!!!"
Oh no!! he's at it again-having killed and officer,he "whipped" his teeth out and did a sort of "Jig"-I wonder if we can get him barred from the club!!
The cavalry battle is swinging both ways,neither side getting an advantage-Paul is feeding units into the melee,and it is not looking good for the Parliamentarians!!
Having been beaten back from my first assault on the village,I have re-organised my lines and a second assault is going in,Graham's defenders are weakened,and,with a bit of luck,I should manage to capture the village.
I have!!-hurrah,the left flank of the Royalists has collapsed,but what of Dave's flank?
He has held it!!-another hurrah!!-The Royalists have failed to meet their objectives,so Dave and I were declared the winners,although it must be said that the central cavalry battle was still on-going,and it was looking "bleak" for the Parliamentarians!
Well done to everyone,a great game.
Dave and Brian brought along their latest "Painting Offerings" for us to "Ooh and Arrgh" over,and here they are...................
"Maison du Roi" Elite miniatures by Dave-bloody show-off!!
Prussians and Russians-Napoleonic,Elite Miniatures by Dave-full of action.
Brian's British infantry-a whole box full of them,Crusader miniatures-absolutely marvellous!
Another shot of these well-painted figures-it's a bit "uncanny" but if you look closely at the figure on the left at the back of the base,well,it looks an awful lot like Brian!!!!-how does he do it??
Roll on Thursday--no idea what we'll be playing yet,but inbetween I am going down to Charlie Wesencraft's club on Wednesday to run through a Viking Raid game they are putting at the "Low Light" museum on 30th July.
Last night we attempted to recreate the Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644,Paul and Graham were the Royalist commanders whilst Brian and I were in charge of the Parliamentarians.The scenario and terrain were quite difficult to stick to on the wargames table,so I suppose the game we played was my "take" on the actual battle.
Top photo is the scenario we played to and the bottom photo is the table before any movement.
Graham was in charge of the rear column and Paul was the Vanguard and "off-table" cavalry.
Despite having a "free shot" on Graham's troops in the first move,he reformed his infantry and cavalry and gave me the proverbial "bloody nose" for my troubles in the second and third moves,forcing me to "retire" up Boulton Hill.Graham then had the audacity to give chase with his cavalry....................
The bounder!!!!-I did manage to establish a firing line on the top of the hill,but my morale was "shot" and it was only a matter of time before my whole force fled the field!!!
Meanwhile,on the other flank,Brian has lost the race to get to Cropredy Bridge and fords,and has contented himself with contesting the crossings.However Paul's cavalry have now made their appearance,and are moving forward to help the out-numbered infantry!!
It's all action in this shot-Paul has actually managed to get one unit of infantry across the ford,and is meleeing without support-he could be in trouble!!
Brian has pushed Paul's Infantry back across the ford,but he has been forced to retire on the far left,leaving that ford unguarded!!-With my flank in total dis-array,and Graham being in a position to reform and out-flank Brian's troops,we called it a day.Eleven moves and a real historical result can't be bad(unless you're a Parliamentarian of course!!)
Roll on Sunday,an Ancients battle,just to get back into the swing of things again.
