It has been some years since any of my English Civil War collection has seen the light of day or felt the table beneath their bases. Since I was in the chair for our group's May game I thought it well past time to get them out of their boxes and for King and Parliament to try conclusions once more.
Rather than hump the whole ECW collction to our groups new secret location, I deceided to simply take the 'retro' collection of old Hincliffe, Garrison and Minifigs for a middle sized game for two players and an Umpire. The game was played out on my old terrain boards and the unsightly gaps show why these days I prefer cloths.
 |
| The four units of Royalist horse as they should have appeared. Photo taken in my 'studio' a couple of days before the game. |
Rules would be Forlorn Hope- my personal favourites for the ECW despite their age as they are very flexible as to unit size and punish poor formations and tactics.
The two armies were relatively evenly matched but being set in the early days of the war I decided to make all the units 'Raw' which thought I -with impish grin- should make the players lives interesting.
The Royalists had 3 regiments of Foote each some 30 plus figures strong. Four units of Horse- with one thinking themselve a cut above being 'Gentlemen' classed as Elite- but still Raw- the 'elitleness' being mostly in their heads but all gallopers using Swedish/German drills. The Cavaliers also boasted a unit of Dragoons and 2 light and 1 heavy guns.
 |
| Two of the three regiments of Royalist Foot.Their 'skirmish line formation being obvious.- as is the unsightly gap between the terrain boards. |
The Parliamentarians had 2 regiments of Foote one of some 50 figures and the other about 35 figures plus a 24 figure unit of commanded shot, 4 units of Horse, all trotters- using Dutch style drills. For artillery theRoundheads had 2 light guns each one being attached to a regiment of Foote and 2 heavy guns.
The action opened with an artillery bombardment by the Parliamentarians as the Royalists began a slow deliberate advance. Their infantry centre would halt behing the Nobb's End boundary hedge and stay ensconced in this cover for the rest of the action. The Royalist Dragoons dismounted behing the hamlet of Nobb's end and dismounted to occupy the cottages.
 |
| Early in the action .The Royalists move forward. |
The Royalist centre deployed as a thick 'skirmish line' of musketeers with their pikes in two rather forlorn huddles to their rear. This was fine as long as they were not threatened by cavalry and even better for those behind the hedge line. Teh Roundhed heavy guns took a slow dribble of casualties from the Royalist centre and a bum morlae score kept the Cavalier pinned behind their hedge- not that they wanted to advance. The action in the centre ground on as the Parliaments Green regiment advanced intending to drive the Cavalier from the hedge line. However a ferocious blast of musketry halted this advance in its tracksas Roundhead morale faltered and the regiment halted in some disorder. To their right hover the White Regiment stormed Nobb's End despite the resitance of the Royalist dragoons - which to say the least was less than sterling- they giving one volley of shot then decamping for their horses and making off into the distance. Indeed the Roundhead right was more successful their single unit of horse beating the Royalists off and pursueing. Not only this butreinforcemnts in the shape of a 16 strong Cuirassier unit finally arrived on their baseline on their extremme right. As it happend too late to partake of the hurly-burly but in time to watch the collapse of the Royalist left.
 |
| The cavalry melee. |
Over on the Royalist right things looked considerably more difficult for the Roundheads. The Royalist 'Gentlemen' attacked and defeated their immediate opposition and even managed to rally but in reforming and retiring were caught by Parliamentary horse in their rear. The Roundead commanded shot had tried to take a hand but their volley was singularly unsuccessful dropping neither horse nor man and Gentlemanly giggles were heard from the relieved Royalists. Nevertheless disaster now overcame them. The odious cubes did their worst as the Royalist supports failed to second the gentlemen, getting a halt reaction at the worst posible moment. The routing Gentlemen looked likely to carry away thier own supports and at this point the Royalist commander threw in the towel, declaring that he had suffered a minor defeat and had to go to work in a few hours.
The Umpire's analysis- A Royalist defeat, actually rather worse than 'minor'- the Cavaliers threw in the towel at just the right moment in game terms as had the next couple of moves been played out would in all likelhood have been catastrophic for them. Their weak left wing was gone their centre under pressure and soon to be outflanked, their right possibly close to complete collapse. The Roundheads had uncommited units even if one of their central foot Regiments was in troubleand likely to break.
Nevertheless a fun afternoon and nice to see the Old Lead Dudes out on the table once more.
