ECW painting and markers

Continuing with the English Civil War theme of posts this weekend I have been painting a few more figures.

Pikemen to be used as markers.

First up were some individually based pikemen. No, I am not changing my basing approach, these figures are to be used as markers to show when a unit is out of ammunition. I currently use a markers to track hits and also when an infantry units is out of ammunition. While I accept the need for markers in games, I do like to avoid or disguise them if possible. So when an infantry unit is out of ammunition, I will now place one of the pikemen as a marker to show that.

Current unit markers used to track out of ammunition and unit hits (7 in this case as the 7 is against the base)

The pikeman will replace the out of ammunition marker.

Also painted up was an infantry unit. This now balances out my ECW armies so they both have four infantry units each. So it has turned out to be a very productive weekend of painting.

Another two base infantry unit painted.

A view from the side.

I did also manage to fit in a medieval game. No report just a picture, the painting took precedence.

Medieval game on the tabletop.

Solo decision cards for ECW wargaming

Over the past few months I have been playing a number of solo English Civil War (ECW) games using decision cards to direct one or both of the armies. I originally thought about using decision trees, but instead of decision trees I found a checklist of actions that are ordered by priority to be more simpler to use. Three tactical checklists were initially created depending upon the “stance” of an army, these were:

• Attack
• Hold
• Retire

The decision on the tactical checklist to be used during a turn used a similar ordered checklist approach. The Army Stance decision card is referred to at the start of each game turn to check if an army’s stance has changed.

As I wrote up the various decision cards, two more cards were added, one for deployment and another for shooting priority. The deployment card is ignored when using a set scenario for a game, but the shooting card is required. Originally, the shooting actions were included in the cards, but it was repetitive. By pulling out the shooting instructions and putting them into their own card, I was able to make the decision cards clearer and more succinct.

There are limitations to these cards, they work best with pitched battles and are geared towards rules that are based around the IGO-UGO alternating turns of play. 

The rest of this post goes through the decision cards one by one in the order they are used, starting with the Deployment card. While this card is not used where a scenario determines an army’s deployment. It does help with understanding how the orders in the Tactical cards relate to various arms of an army.

Some earlier cards which were printed out and stuck on cardboard.

A note on the tactical cards. They follow the logic of:

1. What to do with artillery and detachments of dragoons/commanded shot?
2. What to do with the cavalry which are positioned on the flanks?
3. What to do with the infantry positioned in the centre?
4. What to do with the reserve units cavalry and infantry?

The actions related only to the movement of units, because once a unit was engaged in combat (shooting or melee) there were no further movement decisions to make until the action was resolve. This helped to simplify the decisions to those of movement not combat. This should not really have been a surprise to me, as when wargaming and you are looking at what units are free to move to attack your opponent or support your units already engaged in combat.

With a list of prioritised actions, I did not want the automated opponent being able to action all the decisions in a game turn. The armies during the English Civil War were ponderous at best, even with well trained units, and generally followed a predetermined plan laid out by their commander before the battle. To reflect this, only two of the prioritised decision actions can be actioned within a game turn. It is worth mentioning that the rules I use also restrict the number of units a player can move during a game turn.

Just a random ECW photo to break up the post.

ECW Marston Moor Game Report

This is an English Civil War game report of the Battle of Marston Moor played on a 6 foot by 4 foot tabletop. A bit of a squeeze for such a big battle. In this game, the ditch is considered a Royalist objective, and their infantry cannot advance past the ditch and must defend.

The Royalist forces have reduced orders during the first two turns of the game because of the surprise Parliamentarian attack. In each turn of these first two turns, one order is subtracted from their total available. (See the D3 ECW Rules - sequence of play section).

During the game, both sides will use the Solo Decision Cards to determine their orders. Given Parliament's advantage in army size, the Royalist forces will likely adopt a 'hold' stance, while Parliament's army will generally remain in an 'attack' stance, unless they do particularly badly in the game.

A view from the Royalist side.

Opening Game Moves…

The initial actions saw Parliament's commanded shot troops moving forward to confront their counterparts lining the ditch, while the small number of artillery from both armies began their barrage. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary cavalry advanced on both flanks. On the left flank, the Royalist cavalry charged head-on into the advancing Parliamentary cavalry. 

The effectiveness of the Royalist commanded troops led to chaos among the right flank of Parliamentarian cavalry, resulting in their retreat and the subsequent need to advance of their reserve cavalry.

As the battle progressed, the Royalist forces' numerical advantage in cavalry on their right flank became evident, causing the Parliamentarian cavalry to rout, and some of their units charged off in pursuit of their foes. The cavalry engagement was to continue as Parliament’s cavalry reserve entered the fray.

Commanded shot advance and artillery opening salvos.

The cavalry of Parliament made advances on both sides.

Royalist cavalry engage the advancing cavalry on their right flank. On the other flank commanded shot lining the ditch shoot at the advancing cavalry of Parliament. 

Parliament’s reserve cavalry advance on their right flank.

Royalist cavalry rout the outnumbered Parliamentarian cavalry and pursue them off the battlefield.

Mid-game…

With cavalry engaged in combat on both flanks, the infantry at the centres of both armies proceeded to advance. The Royalist forces’ progress came to a halt at the ditch that extended across their front. They chose to hold their position, readying themselves to defend against an infantry force double their size. For a period of time, the armies maintained their lines while the cavalry battled and the infantry exchanged musket fire. Eventually, the Royalist cavalry successfully routed their opponents on both flanks, and charged headlong in pursuit of their fleeing enemy.

In the centre the infantry advance.

The battle rages across they whole battle line.

Royalist cavalry on both flanks defeat Parliament’s cavalry.

End Game…

The Royalist reserve cavalry on the right flank advanced towards Parliament's infantry threatening their flank, and hoping to provide support to their outnumbered infantry in the centre. In response, Parliament repositioned half their infantry to face the cavalry. The cavalry managed to rout one of Parliament's infantry units, but they became exhausted in the process. Once the cavalry threat was eliminated, Parliament's infantry resumed their assault on the Royalist centre, eventually forcing them to retreat with significant losses.

Royalist cavalry threaten Parliament’s flank.

Parliamentarian infantry turn to face the Royalist cavalry.

My one Scottish looking infantry advance. It contains a few gifted MiniFig ECW Scots figures.

The Royalist’s cede the field of battle.

Summary

The Parliamentarians achieved a victory, as they did in the historical battle. The Royalist commanded shot performed well, managing to disrupt and weaken the Parliamentarian right cavalry attack. This allowed the Royalist cavalry to defeat the Parliamentarian cavalry on both flanks. The outcome might have been closer had the Royalist cavalry not pursued their defeated foes off the tabletop rather than turning in to attack Parliament's centre.

Throughout the game, both sides followed the Solo Decision Card orders, which provided an entertaining game. I will share the details of the Solo Decision Cards in an upcoming posts.

Preparing for a ECW Marston Moor game

This weekend’s English Civil War (ECW) game is based on the Battle of Marston Moor fought on 2 July 1644 near the village of Long Marston in Yorkshire. Here are some details:

• The Parliamentarian army was 28,000 strong, while the Royalist army was 18,000 strong.
• The Parliamentarians were led by Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester, while the Royalists were led by Prince Rupert and the Marquess of Newcastle.
• The Parliamentarians won the battle which led to the capture of York by the Parliamentarians.

Will a Parliamentarian victory be repeated on the tabletop?

A close up on the Parliamentarian forces looking from Long Marston. The village of Tockwith can be seen in the background.

Marston Moor is a big battle so the game is going to be very much themed on the battle. I am also using pretty much using all my available units for this game. My primary inspiration for this game is based on the scenario from the book “With Pike and Musket”, but I also had a look at a couple of other books in my collection for ideas.

“With Pike and Musket” is the primary inspiration for this game.

The tabletop set up has an open area with a few hedgerows. The prominent terrain feature is a ditch across the Royalist army's front. Though crossable, it is treated as difficult terrain, impeding movement and any units crossing it will not be able to move and shoot. Defenders in a melee gain bonuses when holding their ground.

The tabletop setup with the ditch running across the front of the Royalist forces.

The ditch is an important terrain feature.

The plans…

The Royalist planned to defend the position and were not expecting to engage in battle until the following day. However, the Parliamentarian plan was to launch a surprise attack on the Royalists at around 7pm, which would give them a good few hours of daylight for the battle.

A view of the deployment.

Order of Battle…

The orders of battle for the armies is partially based on numbers and the ratio of forces, particularly cavalry on the flanks. Parliament’s cavalry appears to have been pretty much split evenly between both flanks and their infantry in the centre.

Parliamentarians

Parliament Right Flank

• 2 x Cavalry units in two lines.
• 1 x Commanded Shot detachment (I used dragoons to represent them).

Parliament Centre

• 4 x Infantry units in two lines.
• 1 x Artillery piece.

Parliament Left Flank

• 2 x Cavalry units
• 1 x Commanded Shot detachment (I used dragoons to represent them).

Their commander has one staff officer.

Royalists

Royalist Right Flank

• 3 x Cavalry units in two lines.
• 1 x Commanded Shot detachment (I used dragoons to represent them).

Royalist Centre

• 2 x Infantry units in one lines.
• 1 x Artillery piece.

Royalist Left Flank

• 1 x Cavalry unit
• 3 x Commanded Shot detachment (I used dragoons to represent them).

Their commander has three staff officers.

This is where having only a few units can create problems. The Royalist right flank had a stronger cavalry force than its left flank, but not by a 3:1 ratio. I wanted to make it stronger, so I chose to place 3 cavalry units on the right. Parliament had twice as many infantry units, so the Royalists had half as many infantry units. However, as a game, this could prove too one-sided, so I opted to have an additional 2 commanded shot supporting their left flank.

The Royalist commander has 3 staff officers to the Parliamentarian’s 1 staff officer. This reflects the better trained Royalist forces.

A view from the Parliamentarian side

A view from the Royalist side

Starting the game…

To reflect the surprise Parliamentarian attack, the Royalist command will subtract 1 from all their movement orders for the first 2 game turns. See the D3 ECW Rules here, they were updated last week and a few amendments made yesterday to clarify rules and correct typos (thank you for feedback).

As with the previous game I will be using the solo decision cards to direct both armies. The ditch will be considered a game objective which will influence the Royalist army stance.

Painting artillery and writing up notes on ECW rule amendments

Over the weekend I finished painting a couple of English Civil War guns and yesterday I have finally managed to write up the notes on the D3 ECW rule amendments I have been using recently. They can be found at the top of the blog page or you can simply click here.

Recently off the painting table.

Huzzah they work 😀

This weekend I am planning another ECW game using the Marston Moor scenario from “With Pike and Musket” by C.F. Wesencraft. Both armies will be using the Solo Decision Cards to direct their actions which are working well for set piece battles. After the Marston Moor game I will have to try a few other scenarios which are not set piece and more encounter style games, Cropredy Bridge springs to mind.

ECW game report - the First Battle of Newbury

In this game report, I am playing a scenario based on the First Battle of Newbury from C.F. Wesencraft's book "With Pike and Musket". Both armies are being directed by the solo decision cards (see here for details on the decision cards).

The game in progress.

The order of battle and deployment…

Royalist Army

Right Wing

• 1 detachment of dragoons
• 1 cavalry in the first line (veteran unit)
• 1 cavalry in reserve

Centre

• 2 artillery
• 2 infantry in the first line (1 is a veteran unit)
• 1 infantry in reserve

Left Wing

• 1 cavalry in the first line
• 1 cavalry in reserve

Parliamentarian Army

Right Wing

• 1 cavalry in the first line (veteran unit)

Centre

• 2 artillery
• 2 infantry in first line
• 2 infantry in reserve

Left Wing

• 1 cavalry in the first line (veteran unit)
• 1 cavalry in reserve

Parliament deployment on the left and Royalist deployment on the right.

A note on the rules. I am using my D3 ECW rules but have changed the sequence of play and include simultaneous combat for shooting and melee. At the start of a game turn each player rolls a D6. The highest scoring player will move first as Player A, re-rolling any ties. 

1. Movement for player A.
2. Movement for player B.
3. Both player’s units shooting simultaneously.
4. Both players' units melee simultaneously.
5. Remove eliminated units and check for impetuous cavalry.

I will be updating the rules and posting over the next week, once I type up my notes.

On to the game…

The initial turns of the battle saw Parliament seizing the initiative, advancing their dragoons and exchanging artillery fire with the Royalists. As the opening moves developed, both armies committed their cavalry, while the Royalist centre infantry pushed forward. However, the presence of hedges delayed the advance of the Royalist right flank. However, it was not long before the cavalry on both flanks were engaged in combat, charging and counter-charging.

Opening artillery salvos.

Cavalry advance on both flanks.

As the cavalry engage on each flank the Royalist centre advances.

As the Royalist centre pressed forward, the Parliamentarian commander responded, advancing his own centre in a bid to counter the enemy's progress. Both commanders deployed their reserves to reinforce their flank cavalry and provide crucial support. While In the centre, infantry units from both armies began exchanging musket fire. A breakthrough occurred on the Royalist right flank with their cavalry breaking through the Parliamentarian cavalry, sending them into a panicked retreat. The impetuous Royalist cavalry pursued the routed enemy, driving them off the field and also taking themselves out of the battle.

The centres advance and engage in musket fire.

The game is at a critical point with no losses by either side yet.

The Royalist right flank finally breaks Parliament’s left flank and pursues them off the tabletop. 

The Royalist dragoons seize the opportunity to position themselves on the exposed left flank of the Parliamentarians. With a clear line of sight, they readied their carbines to unleash a volley of fire. Seeing the imminent threat, Parliamentarian forces reacted and position their reserve infantry to block the danger.

Meanwhile, in the centre of the battlefield, the Royalist infantry first line were sustaining damage from the Parliamentarian musketry. Despite the mounting losses, the Royalists are yet to deploy their centre reserve. 

On the other flank cavalry reserves from both forces continue the cavalry engagement.

The action is on both flanks with dragoons flanking the centre and the cavalry battle continues on teh near flank.

Parliament’s centre is starting to put pressure on the Royalist infantry.

The Royalist first line of infantry in the centre had resisted the larger Parliamentarian infantry force. However, the weight of numbers eventually took its toll, and the Royalists were routed. A late charge by the Royalist right flank cavalry reserve sought to turn the tide of the battle, but the hedges limited their effectiveness and they could not halt the advance of the Parliamentarian infantry centre.

On the opposite flank, the cavalry forces of both sides had engaged in fierce combat. Exhausted and depleted, both cavalry forces found themselves at a stalemate, unable to continue.

The Royalist commander observed the advance of the Parliamentarian infantry, choosing not to commit the final reserve of infantry and retired from the battlefield.

A final Royalist cavalry attack by their reserve through the hedges.
 

The Royalists retire.

Summary

The battle proved to be a closely contested affair, with victory hanging in the balance until the final turns. Had the Royalist cavalry performed better, the outcome may have been different and favoured them. However, similar to the actual historical battle upon which the scenarios is based, the presence of hedges posed significant challenges for the Royalist cavalry on their right flank. Allowing the Parliamentarian forces to leverage their numerical advantage in the centre, and eventually gaining control of the battlefield.

A commander’s view midway through the battle.

I am planning to post the solo decision cards, current version, and also the updated D3 ECW rules which have been modified over the past month or so to accommodate the decision card approach.

Finished painting an ECW unit just in time for a weekend game

I am continuing with the painting English Civil War figures. This week I have painted every evening, even if it was just for 30 minutes on one occasion, with the aim of completing a base of infantry during the week. Well the base rolled off the painting table this Friday evening and is ready to be used in the weekend’s ECW game.

Tabletop setup with the First Battle of Newbury scenario.

An infantry base completed this week.

For my games I now use two bases together as a unit often representing a brigade.

I am continuing to test out my solo decision cards and will be using these cards to run both armies in the scenario First Battle of Newbury adapted from “With Pike and Musket - Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Battles for the Wargamer” by C.F. Wesencraft.

The solo decision cards - updated, reprinted, and laminated.

Some ECW painting and WW2 games

Not a lot to post about this week. Over the weekend I decided to get the World War II forces on to the tabletop and have a few games. I was set up the terrain rather randomly, then identified five features on the tabletop the defender was to hold. At the end of the game who ever holds three areas has a marginal victory, four areas is a victory, and five areas is a major victory. 

Tabletop setup with 5 terrain features to be held or captured.

My thinking behind this approach is that I'm considering setting up a mini-campaign and using period-specific maps. I aim to transfer the campaign actions from the maps and onto the tabletop by creating scenarios based on these maps. Each scenario would involve the defender needing to hold 1, 3, or 5 key terrain features, preventing the attacker from gaining control over them. Although there has been some progress, there still needs to be a bit more thinking to be done to make this idea successful. 

An example of the type of maps I am looking at using in a future campaign.

In the meantime, here are a few photographs of the games…

Allied forces enter the town.

Panther tanks positioned on a hill.

AT gun covers the road.

A ground level view.

On a more productive note, I finished painting a base of English Civil War figures using the figures that had arrived the previous week. I still have one more base to complete as I am currently using two bases for  my units. I plan to begin working on the next base this week.

Latest base of ECW infantry.

On the ECW topic, I am considering painting up some single pikemen to place behind the unit as a marker to show when a unit is out of ammunition. At the moment I use single mounted officers to show veteran units as they look nice and reduce the number of tokens.

An officer is used instead of a token to mark veteran unit.

A possible use of some spare pikemen to be used to indicate infantry units out of ammunition.

The ECW will soon return to the tabletop.