ECW Braddock Down

 Another week another game. I was invited down to Erik's for an ECW refight of Braddock Down with all his usual attention to detail. The scenario was for an historic action fought in January 1643 and on arriving there was once again a beautiful table set up, I noticed some new troops as Erik's collection continues to grow, they were on my side and we all know how new troops behave.

Anyway I was Parliament and was deployed on a hill facing the Royalists on another hill across a valley, I had an artillery train but it was only just leaving the town of Liskeard and would take quite some time to reach the front line. I could withdraw and meet the artillery or I could simply attack before the Royalists used their numbers to outflank me, I chose the latter.

The Royalists in the background.

Parliamentarian position.

Close up of the Royalists.

Erik had not expected such an attack and I got off to a good start, I sent one reserve regiment to my left and the other to my right along with cavalry to support. My dragoons lost a fight with some Royalist dragoons but I then swept these away with my cavalry, the enemy cavalry looked like they would accept my challenge but decided not to and kept withdrawing from danger. I had now moved a foot regiment to the right but this turned out to be a bad decision as Erik continued to funnel everything into the fight in the centre.

I move forward into the valley of death.

Shot flies.

I seemed to have the advantage in numbers on the edge of the valley and sent two Royalist regiments running for home, however more turned up and I had taken some quite severe casualties by now, but my boys held on. I am unsure now what exactly went on as I forgot to take pictures in all the excitement, but my tactical genius was now the end of me, as my men pursued down the hill they found themselves with enemy on both flanks, I was undone, the pendulum had swung. I was preparing for an early tea.

Things looking dodgy.

My cavalry victorious.

The end.

Two moves later my right wing cavalry had swept away a second unit of dragoons and the Royalist cavalry, riding down their artillerymen in the process. They now threatened the Royalist centre but it was too powerful and they instead turned on the Militia on the hilltop, sweeping these away as well, bravo! But it was not all going my way and I was reduced to the cavalry and one foot regiment. As the enemy closed in my infantry led by my commander in chief put up a stalwart fight while my horse manouvered to threaten the Royalist hedgehog. My guns had now arrived but proved useless while my mounted troops could not feasibly frontally attack the enemy, I called a halt as my last foot regiment collapsed and fled.

Now they turn up, too late.

A very good game, luck was almost even, Erik threw 6's a few times when he needed them and I managed three or maybe four snake eyes at the wrong time. Victory swung too and fro a couple of times and I was pleased overall with my performance, moving the infantry to the right was a bad decision I think it was still a good move to attack. An excellent little game and it was a pleasure to play it.

Nothing on the horizon yet for next week although I believe a trip to Matt's might be on. I am continuing with the Yanks and have completed another squad, the third is now on the tray. I will do what I can with them as I am still a bit busy with the last maps for the Atlas, 14+ to go and around 140 finished.

I was wrong about Alexander: God, King, Man, I thought it was a biography, it is more about his taking the Persian Empire, nonetheless it is a good read with some very interesting snippets spread throughout. Alexander captured 2,500 tons of gold when he took Persepolis, and there was enough left when the Romans took Macedon to cease direct taxes on their citizens for one hundred years. The oldest dirty joke was also found written down but the author fails to share it, and then there was the "A man walks into a pub with a dog" the punchline however is lost to us. Fascinating stuff.

I almost forgot that I took along Matt's super dice to Erik's hoping to have an easy time of it, yes, you are right, they didn't work. Matt is now looking for a discount should he buy them. 

I start systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) tomorrow, not over the moon about it but no alternative is available and they cannot cut anything more from my liver, I have fingers and toes crossed that I do not suffer badly from side affects, so, onwards and upwards.

Tempus Fugit as the Romans say

 Seems to have been a bit since I last posted or maybe that is just my mind playing tricks, which it seems to do these days with increasing regularity. I feel the need to rant against the world but I won't burden you with it here.

A week or so ago I popped down to Erik's for an ECW bash, as usual the table was lovely and the armies looked the part, Erik had also sent me a map and an introduction to the battle which sadly I missed amongst the usual dross I am sent. The action was Highnam House where the Royalists were ensconced in earthworks south of Gloucester and were being attacked by two Parliamentarian forces, one from the city and the other under William Waller who had marched to the rear of the Royalists.

I don't actually have a dog in this fight as I have no love for either side, albeit the modern versions, I digress. All in all things do not look good for the Royalists as they are hugely outnumbered, if I stayed behind my earthworks then I was just asking to be overwhelmed so I decided to quickly engage and hopefully rout the men from Gloucester and then position myself on their ridge and hope for the best. This action went fairly well and for the loss of one cavalry squadron I sent the good citizens back to where they had come from.

Royalist works.

My boys move out.

Gloucester garrison.

I now deployed my troops along the ridge with the cavalry on my right and infantry on the left, a little late I also ordered my artillery in the works to join me as a dust cloud intimated that the rest of the enemy had turned up. Erik had plenty of time to deploy as I was happy to hold the high ground. He eventually began to move his forces forward and as they closed I decided to surprise him by advancing, I expected my large infantry regiments to beat anything in their path and simply crossed my fingers that my remaining cavalry might beat their opponents albeit they were outnumbered.

Gloucester men put to flight.

Ooops, Waller turns up.

More of Waller's men.

Steady lads, steady.

Imagine my surprise when three dragoons and their pet goat routed my best regiment, my second fell prey to the Parliamentarian right wing cavalry while my horse didn't like the odds and ran. I was undone. 

My guns run from Waller.

A tsunami of Parliament cavalry.

A nice little game of two halves, I suppose I can look on it as a draw with one win each, but I cannot spin the fact my army fell apart very quickly with barely a fight, my troops were Welsh and although tempted to make some comments I don't want the Old Bill at the door. An enjoyable evening's entertainment.

Next up was an introduction to wargaming for my grandson, I had given him free reign and he chose WWII, I had talked to my son about it and I set up a Chain of Command game for both of them, this did not go well for the Jerries and James looked perplexed by it all, as indeed anyone new to CoC would. After lunch I offered to change things to Bolt Action on the same table, this was more enjoyable for the lad and by the end of the game he had captured two of the three objectives and contested the third. So in the end he went away happy.

Big cat.

Humber burning.

Flakpanzer.

The end.

Hartenstein Hotel, thanks Matt.

Dynamic duo.

I was at the club last night, first time in a long while, maybe the second this year, health of course has played its part but also a lot of what is played really doesn't grab me and I have been doing a lot of gaming here in the Bunker or at Matt's or Erik's. Anyway, Ashley was looking for a frigate captain and I offered my sword as I had not played the game and felt the need to get out and about. The rules were written for frigate vs frigate warfare courtesy of Ashley, I was Royal Navy (of course) and Mike took the Frenchie with Ashley umpiring.

Both ships were basically equal and as the engagement started Mike came straight for me, while I planned a slower approach, very soon I wondered if I had come up against a French Nelson or Cochrane, I was like a mouse being played by a cat. The Monsieur's also re-loaded faster than my Tars and I was taking a lot of damage, did Ashley know how superior our boys actually were?

Damn, not close enough for a rake!

And then the penny dropped, I had got the wrong end of the stick as to how the turns worked and was basically only taking one action to Mike's two! Once the confusion was sorted we set up again and my boys were ready this time. As we closed though I began to take a lot of hits to my masts, had a fire and a hole under the waterline along with quite a few guns knocked out along my port battery. It was not all one way this time though and most of my hits were on the French guns. As the battle progressed I managed to turn my relatively untouched starboard battery against Mike, who had lost the wind and was a sitting duck at close range. 

As the French got underway both ships collided and Mike attempted to board, although I had lost a  couple of Marines I had more crew left than Mike thanks to dismounting most of his guns and in the first round of melee he also lost his Captain and Lieutenant, this along with being outnumbered sealed his fate and the lads looked forward to their share of the prize money back in Blighty.

Payback.

An enjoyable evening and something different from two large fleets knocking hell out of each other, although we tried very hard to do that. The rules worked well but I am glad Ashley was umpiring.

My Americans now have a full squad ready and several support teams on the tray, I have now got everything I need to finish a platoon with a good selection of support, box, bases, tanks etc. I do not intend to finish these as swiftly as I have done in the past.

I have been spoiling myself again and picked up another couple of books while in Kendal yesterday along with some treats, I am not supposed to eat these of course but you only live once. I now have around 6 books waiting in the wings to start so I must put aside some time to read them, I normally try to do this once a day but lately I get no further than a page before I am out for the count. Perhaps it is not all my fault as a book which grabs me doesn't send me to sleep but you never know until you start.

I don't have a lot on at the moment wargaming wise, I have Erik here on the 19th for American Civil War but am clear until then, doors open.

More Gaming: Part 2

 The last game of the week, I was invited to Erik's for an English Civil War clash using his own rules which he has tried to keep on two sides of an A4 sheet, so this is the second battle involving Royalists and Parliament in just three days.

Erik had set up the Battle of Lansdown Hill and had prepared OOB's, rules and a lovely map and information on the battle, I had a quick look over before arriving. Parliament under Sir William Waller had marched out of Bath and took position on Lansdown Hill, the Royalists under Sir Ralph Hopton tried to tempt Waller from his hill but failed and decided to withdraw. Waller saw an opportunity and attacked Hopton's rear around 3pm.

The Royalists turn around, Lansdown Hill in the background.

At first glance it looked like I (Waller) could inflict some damage on Hopton's (Erik) rear guard with four cavalry squadrons vs  two, I also had three more approaching the enemy left flank supported by some dragoons. Full of enthusiasm I threw my troopers at the enemy, I was roughly handled and a bit disappointed as it looked like I had failed, I had lost a full brigade of cavalry and my centre decided to retire towards the nearby hill, everything seemed to be in Hopton's favour as more and more Royalists turned up. However as the dust settled and both sides reorganised several of the enemy units had taken heavy casualties and were going to need some luck to push me off the hill.

A tsunami of Parliamentary cavalry.

Lansdown Hill.

Surely we will win........

My flanking cavalry about to be run off.

 

With the first phase of the battle over we set up for the second phase, I put my dragoons along a hedge bordering a wood on my left supported by two badly cut up cavalry units, I had a full regiment of pike and shot in my centre interspersed with cannon the on my far right Haselrig's 'Lobsters', armoured cavalry completely fresh. Erik put his gun batteries in the centre and split his army across both flanks with most of the cavalry on his left and most of the infantry on his right. I was a bit dubious about my ability to hold the left as it was fairly weak.

Steady boys, steady.

The Royalist right move on the hill.

Haselrig charges in.

Fortuna smiled on me as Haselrig's troopers smashed into the Royalist cavalry and slowly and surely routed all around them, the guns on both sides firing at long range were basically no threat to either side. Seeing this and the Royalist infantry intent on rolling up my left I now decided to move a gun and all my infantry apart from one dragoon unit over to support my dodgy flank. I did this just in time as Erik chased away some dragoons and my supporting cavalry. With the Royalist left destroyed it was now up to his last untouched infantry regiment on the right to continue in its attempt to roll up my flank and centre. It was not to be as the Cornishmen had taken several hits during their advance from the dragoons and the Parliamentary foot stood their ground and and finished them off, they fled, the battle was over. 

Haselrig routs the enemy left.

 

Waller holds the hill.

I was a bit surprised at the result as it looked like my fate had been sealed during phase one, but the damage inflicted by my forlorn hope's ensured taking the hill would not be easy for the enemy, this along with the success of Haselrig and the redeployment of my infantry sealed the victory.

I have fought at Erik's three or four times and each time the armies and terrain keeps getting better, this battlefield was a real joy to play on, I suspect he will need another room if he keeps this up. 

I have a busy week next week, Ed on Wednesday night and Matt on Thursday, not sure about the club yet on Tuesday. There may also be a visit from GHQ's David Bickley, I must break out the chocolate biscuits, a present to our troops in Mafeking.

More gaming.

 My son arrived early on Saturday and had asked for a Chain of Command game, so I set up an Attack and Defend scenario with a little help from ChatGPT, the game was set during the Winter Offensive of 1941 outside Moscow with the Soviets attacking a small village on the front line. Stewart chose the Germans and brought a Panzer III as support along with a sniper. I didn't want to go all heavy in an introductory game so the T-34 was left in the garage, I doubt there were many available if any during December '41, so took a BT-7, an infantry gun and a sniper, that would be more than enough to cause the Hitlerites a problem thought I.

During the first turn visibility was reduced due to morning fog, so I managed to get almost all my forces on the table ready to move on the whistle, I miscalculated one squad and the German sniper opened up, I quickly spotted him but Stewart moved him before I could open up. Now that I was ready I ended the turn, the fog lifted and the shooting started. I sent my tank forward to get into close range of the German defenders in the village while keeping it out of sight of the Pz III, hoping to then get a second phase in order to also move my infantry up to the frozen stream and into a bit of cover at the edge. It was Stewart who got the double turns and my troops began to suffer, I brought my infantry gun on but the Panzer soon wiped out the crew, that particular version has two machine guns in the turret and one in the hull.

Pz III.

German defences.

BT-7.

Slowly but surely my squads began to lose cohesion and soon two of them were pinned, this would put an end to my thoughts of attacking, I just could not shift the Jerries from the village and there was still one squad in reserve. All this time the tanks had began to duel, with their small calibre weapons neither could manage a kill although the BT-7 was made to reverse twice putting it back over the stream. At this point I conceded as I could go no further, plan A had not materialised.

Infantry gun.

About to withdraw.

Deadly combination of machine guns.

A decent introduction for Stewart and he seems keen to try again, I might put more effort into my game the next time. Sadly for me I continually rolled a five and a six during each phase, this basically meant I was playing with three command dice rather then five, a real bind. My snipers, Ludmilla and Natalya were typically late as women usually are and did nothing. 

 I have finished my BEF now, although I do need one more figure to be completely comfortable and possibly a Matilda II, although there were only 23 in France during the Blitzkrieg. The BEF figures are all from 1st Corps and are very nice.

Talking about being comfortable I have taken a mad turn and ordered up 11 figures from Aventine, eight will be used to enlarge two of my phalanxes to 32 men from 28, the other three will be added to Legio XII to enlarge the First Cohort from 24 to 27 men, not a great deal but they will stick out more on the battlefield. All this of course means new movement trays and transfers (most of which will not be used) along with the figures, am I mad, yes.

Wednesday and a trip to Penrith through all the roadworks at 50mph, we will soon need a guy with a red flag in front. Anyway Matt set up the Battle of Nantwich and I took the Parliamentarians, I slightly outnumbered the Royalists as I had the garrison of Nantwich and some cavalry out on my right flank where the Cavaliers had none. I decided to push with my right and bring the garrison out to help my left, I did have an idea to throw my left flank cavalry forward but as Royalist cavalry were going to turn up on my left at some point I brought them back.

Beautiful table set up.

Parliamentary forces, luckily not led by the PM.

My army advances through the fields.

Matt advanced slightly from his original position and this gave me the opportunity to threaten his flank and rear with my right flank cavalry, too late he saw the danger, by this time I had advanced all my infantry through the fields in front of his position. There were some Dragoon's covering Nantwich but I was sure my regiment of pike and shot inside the town would sweep this annoyance away and march on the enemy line. How wrong I was as the Nantwich numbskulls failed miserably and were eventually routed by one man and his dog, or so it seemed looking across the table. More bad luck was to follow, the Royalist cavalry turned up and my boys went straight at them before they could deploy properly, Matt assured me that "cavalry melees take all day" but within two moves the defenders of my left flank had routed and dispersed and the enemy made for my baggage train, I really needed to finish off the enemy infantry before this cavalry could enter the main battle.

My cavalry preparing to hit the enemy left.

My less than energetic cavalry.

The enemy left folds.

As does the centre.

Despite the setbacks my infantry and right flank horse began to tip the scales as the troopers hit the rear of the enemy and rode down the Royalist cannon, in the centre I also managed to weaken the defenders there and they too fled, the enemy on my far left put up a tough fight but were also ground down. Just in time the Royalists fell apart.

The rules were Kings of War with tweaks and worked fine, they are not difficult to pick up, Matt had sorted some event cards to work with the English Civil War and I think I had the edge with mine as they helped me deal death and destruction. The table as usual was a joy to play on and the armies were impressive for the small scale. The Dungeon really is a wargamers Aladdin's Cave, just as your eyes alight on one interesting piece you see another, a completely different period and scale, the Tirpitz is there, Greeks for WWII, Napoleonic cavalry, aircraft, buildings for the AWI, books, sci-fi stuff and much, much more. We are looking to start another Chain of Command campaign soon, interspersed with more trips to the Dungeon I hope.

More ECW coming up tomorrow as I head to Erik's, nothing penciled in for next week yet. 

Still working away on the Atlas, with what is going on I expect more maps to be added.

Air defences.

 

Hundred Years War.