Back to "The Troubles"- ECW 1643

Royalist horse close on the tail of an important supply column.

My "green mile" got turned into ye olde England today for an ECW battle to get me back into the mood to paint my 40mm stuff. I laid out a scenario wherein a Parliamentarian column is surprised in the early morning by a Royalist force intent on capturing what is rumored to be a train of powder and ball destined for the Earl of Essex a few miles distant. The action begins when a body of Royalist horse spot a straggling section of the column consisting of a small train of wagons defended by a squadron of horse, a regiment of foot, and a squadron of dragoons...

The Parliamentarians realizing that rear of the column has become separated in the night march, double back to arrive at about the same time the straggling section of the column is spotted by the Royalists.

the escorting horse and foot deploy to defend the baggage.

after scattering the dragoons defending the bridge, the Royalists pursue in a disordered state but are faced with the defending horse..the battle erupts in a wild cavalry melee...

meanwhile Royalist foot after crossing a ford off table occupy a farm on high ground to delay the Roundhead brigade hurrying to the sound of musketry...

The Parliamentary foot get embroiled at the farmhouse but can't break in and instead must settle for a musketry duel...

meanwhile the battle at the bridge with the wayward column heats up as both sides shake into a rough battle line and begin to exchange musketry fire...

Roundhead horse takes a severe volley and are scattered...

the Royalists seem to have an endless supply of units to throw across the bridge...in the distance the struggle at the farm continues...and Parliament brings on a lone field gun...unfortunately for the Roundheads a stray spark from a gunners linstock ingnited a powder barrel and destroyed the second arriving gun and many of the crew, putting it out of action.

Royalist horse pursue Parliamentary horse...but are disordered and are forced to rally back at the bridge with other regrouping squadrons...

a local Royalist garrison regiment arrives to lend weight to the Royalist push towards the supply wagons...

...to be continued...

This battle is being fought using Clarence Henderson's excellent "Victory Without Quarter" ECW rules (available for free on his website). These rules are great for solo play and this time I used some of the optional rules for "Maddening Subordinates" and "Random Events" and the game has been really a blast! I was also loosely inspired by the raid scenario in C.S. Grant's "Tabletop Teasers"(Battlegames Special Edition). I thought a non set-piece encounter battle would be a good way to further test the "Victory Without Quarter" rules and so far they have performed fantastically well!