ECW Battle

The gaming group met at Jon's house yesterday to play out an English Civil War battle.  Jon provided the beautifully painted figures, recently rebased.  We used "Ironsides" as our rules.

The King's Army

Charles I had two brigades of infantry and two of cavalry.  There were nine infantry regiments,  eight cavalry regiments, and two batteries in his army.

Parliament's Army

Lord Essex's army was almost an even match for the king, with two brigades of infantry and two of cavalry.  Parliament fielded eight infantry regiments, seven cavalry regiments, one regiment of dismounted dragoons, and two batteries.

Rupert's Brigade

Prince Rupert commanded the cavalry on the king's right.

The King's Infantry

Charles' army started on a hill.  Jon's figures look great with those GMB flags.

Cromwell's Cavalry

Cromwell commanded on Parliament's left.  His three cavalry regiments and lone regiment of dragoons would have to defeat Rupert's four regiments of cavaliers.

Essex's Infantry

Here's Lord Essex in the center of his line.  You can see the fruits of Jon's rebasing here.  Each regiment had a single pike block with 15 figures on a stand with 60mm frontage and 80mm depth.  Each regiment had four 40mm square stands of musketeers with three figures each.  Regiments' combat value is denoted by a single marker at the back of the unit.

Parliament's Right Flank

Parliament had four regiments of cavalry on their right, facing off against an equal number of Royalist cavalry.

Don's Attack

Don commanded Parliament's right, with a brigade each of cavalry and infantry.  Austin opposed him with half the Royalist force.  I commanded Parliament's right with the same strength, and Scott R. commanded the Royalists to my front.

While both side's cavalry fought for mastery of the flanks, Don sent his infantry brigade against the Royalist line.

Don's Cavalry Attacks

Don's cavalry brigade had some success at the beginning of the game, but Austin rallied his defeated horse and returned to the field.  Don sent one cavalry regiment into the Royalist rear, but an infantry regiment pinned it for the remainder of the game.

Austin Counters

Austin pushed back Don's infantry, destroying one of Don's regiments.  Both sides surged back and forth, with infantry strength declining, the regiments retiring, rallying, and heading back into the fight.

MacPhee Breaks the King's Right

Cromwell's three regiments suffered a reverse at the beginning of the battle, but he rallied his troopers and sent them straight at Rupert's horse.  Rupert was carried of the field by a routing regiment, but he returned to lead a death-or-glory charge that crushed one of Cromwell's regiments.  Cromwell attached himself to his cuirassiers, rode straight for Rupert, and destroyed the last of the Royalists' right wing cavalry.

My infantry hammered away at their Royalist opposition, destroying one regiment and whittling away the strength of the rest.

Scott R.

With his cavalry all destroyed and his infantry on the run, Scott R. avoided having his picture taken.

Parliament Victorious

Don and I celebrated our close-fought victory by striking an anachronistic Napoleonic pose.

Royalists Retire

Scott R. and Austin decided to break off the engagement.  Their army was battered, but not broken.  Surely a nearby alehouse would afford some decent brandy and a wench or two to help them recover themselves for the next bout.