English Civil War Game

Today we played an English Civil War game. It s a game between four playes, two Royalist and two Parliamentarian.

The Parliamentarians were attempting to break through a Royalist force to raise a siege. Each side could select their army from the troops available. The Royalists could select 12 units and the Parliamentarians 16 units, where a unit was a pike and shot unit, a regiment of horse, a dragoon regiment or a gun.

The Royalists chose two guns, one regiment of dragoons, two regiments of horse and seven units of foot. The Parliamentarians chose six regiments of horse, two regiments of dragoons and eight units of foot.

The terrain was simple, a small village in the centre of the table with a large ridge to either side. A wood extended on the outside edge of the hills. 

The Royalists deployed first, with the two regiments of horse on the left. To the right of the cavalry were two foot regiments, behind the hill. Further right, and on top of the hill stood the guns. In the village two units of foot occupied the forward areas. To the right of the village were three regiments of foot at the dragoons.

The Parliamentarians deployed the cavalry on the flanks, four regiments on their left, against the Royalist horse, and two on the right, supported by a regiment of dragoons. They deployed four regiments of foot on the right and four on the left, with a regiment of dragoons forming the link between the two wings.

The first serious action took place on the Royalist left, where the Parliamentarian cavalry advanced agains the Royalist horse. Forced by the position of a Royalist regiment of foot, the Parliamentarians split their attack two regiments attacking one Royalist regiment and two the other. The honours were even; one regiment of Royalist horse was routed, while the other Royalist regiment routed two Parliamentarian regiments. 

With the two cavalry forces were now locked in combat, the Royalist infantry were free to move and one units advanced to the top of the hill beside the guns and attacked.  It succeeded in routing one, and then a second Parliamentarian foot unit. On the Royalist right. At one point all of the Parliamentarian foot on this wing were in retreat. 

On the Royalist right things held until quite late in the afternoon. An initial attack by a Parliamentarian regiment of foot was repulsed, but when the Royalists attempted to consolidate on their success, the Parliamentarian repelled the attack and then drove the Royalist foot off.

With this the battle ended. The Parliamentarian took control of the road that lead to the besieged town and the surviving Royalists were compelled to retreat.