Powick Bridge

Powick Bridge

This week I've spent a little time researching a small historical battle to set up with my ECW stuff. This was one of the first battles of the English Civil War and the battle that established the initial reputation of the Royalist cavalry and Prince Rupert as a force to rekon with.

I was able to get some very good map info on a great site for battles in England called the "UK Battlefield Resource Center" that has super Ordinance Survey maps of many of the important battlefields in England. Each battle has the OS map, plus a more diagrammatic map of the original features of the battle, as well as aerial photos of the sites all in downloadable PDF format. Needless to say VERY useful for the gamer! I garnered an order of battle from Julian Lander's ECW scenario Book "De Bellis Civile" published by "Keep Wargaming". His book is primarily set up for "DBR" rules so I used about half the number of "elements" he lists and change them to "units" of my collection. so we get a pretty good approximation of both sides with:

Royalists:
CinC Prince Rupert (command stand)
3 units of horse (2 stands each)
2 units of dragoons (2 stands each)

Parliament:
CinC John Browne
4 units of horse (2 stands each)
1 unit of dragoons (3 stands)

thus a good small all horse/dragoon skirmish....

The battle was the result of a Parliamentary attempt to capture a train of silver plate collected by the people of Oxford to support the King who lay at Shrewsbury. Prince Rupert was dispatched with a body of horse to reinforce the column.

The battle began historically with Parliamentarian horse advancing out of the town of Powick down a narrow lane to eventually cross Powick Bridge in column. So for the game the Roundheads are set up in column on the road so at least the battle will begin historically with the advancing horse having to run a gauntlet of dragoons posted just across the bridge behind a line of hedges. After that I plan to let the game run its course to see if it generally plays out as it did in 1642. More to follow... First some pics of the initial set up.

Royalist dragoons wait in ambush

Ruperts horse, though surprised, assemble a battle line quickly.

initial positions of the Royalists at top posted in a wide meadow of higher groundand though outnumbered have a strong tactical advantage in defending the narrow lane and bridge

Col. John Browne follows the leading squadrons of Parliamentary horse down the narrow lane...the battle opens...

(as usual I'm using "Victory Without Quarter" ECW rules and 40mm Sash and Saber figures)