Making some English Civil War fortifications

Continuing the siege theme from my last two posts, this afternoon I decided to make some quick English earthworks using upholstery foam. These will be useful for playing out some smaller siege actions set during the English Civil War. I have purchased the ebook “English Civil War fortifications 1642–51” from Osprey for ideas and some inspiration.

The completed earthworks.

Current reading.

The steps used to create the earthwork...

1) The foam is measured up using a couple of bases.

2) The foam is cut out and the ramparts shaped.

3) The foam is cut in half and an area removed to create the parapet of the earthworks.

4) Scissors are used to help shape the ramparts and cut little divots to make the ramparts a bit uneven.

5) A brown wash is liberally applied to the shaped foam.

6) Additional colours are added.

7) Dark brown dashes of paint are used to give the impression of wood supports on the parapet.

8) Painted toothpicks are pushed into the foam to create the spikes.

By having the earthworks cut in half, they can be placed along the table edge as part of a larger defensive position, or set up as a small standalone fortification. 

Set up as a fortified position.

After looking over the photos and seeing how they dried, the earthworks appear a little lighter than I intended, so tomorrow I will be applying another brown wash to darken them down and give them a more earthy look.

English Civil War Siege - Game Report

Today I hosted a remote English Civil War siege game with Jon of Palouse Wargaming Journal. Details of the game setup are in my previous post. The scenario is a fictitious siege played with the defender’s actions determined by an events table.

Siege Background

Greyford is a small fortified town guarding the only bridge for twenty miles in either direction. Situated in the Harrow Valley, it commands the main north–south route for supply convoys, messenger riders, and troop movements.

In peacetime, Greyford was a market centre for wool, grain, and salt. Since the outbreak of war, however, it has become a prize of strategic value far beyond its modest size.

After a series of defeats, a small Royalist force has withdrawn into Greyford to regroup and await reinforcements. Determined to deny the King any foothold in the region, the Parliamentarian army has begun a loose blockade of the town.

The Royalist governor, Sir Edmund Kaye, a veteran of the wars in the Low Countries, ordered the townsfolk to stockpile food and ammunition and make repairs to the walls.

The Royalists prepare for the siege.

Parliamentarian commander Colonel John Haversham has brought up his heaviest available guns and is preparing to lay siege. His chief engineer has prepared a plan of parallels and trenches to carry the assault to Greyford’s walls.

Parliamentarian artillery park.

Siege Report

In the opening weeks of the siege, Jon made a strong start, committing most of his limited troops to digging the first parallel and establishing guard lines and patrols to control every road in and out of Greyford. Yet, the Royalist defenders proved adept at slipping messengers through the lines, raising the alarm for reinforcements. This placed Jon under mounting pressure to bring the siege to a conclusion before any relief force could arrive.

The defenders watch on at the siege preparations take place.

Progress on the siege works slowed in the following persistent rain that hampered the trench digging, and disease swept through the camp, reducing Jon’s available troops. Undeterred, he pressed on, diverting troops from patrols and guard duties to continue the work. By the fifth or sixth week, two heavy artillery batteries were in place and construction of the second parallel had begun. Seizing their chance, the defenders launched several sorties, inflicting casualties and forcing Jon to shift some of his troops back to patrols and guard duties, further delaying the digging of trenches.

Work begins on the second parallel.

The balance of the siege now seemed to favour the defenders, as progress on the second parallel and the remaining gun batteries slowed. Worse still for Jon, disease continued to thin the ranks of his troops, while the garrison successfully smuggled out messages to the approaching relief force.

Parliamentarian commanders look on as the gun batteries attempt to make breaches.

Though his numbers were dwindling, Jon managed to complete the final gun batteries and, in the weeks that followed, unleashed successful bombardments against the town’s walls. One breach was opened, inflicting casualties on the Royalist defenders and reducing their morale.

The assaults begin on the first breach.

Jon launched two assaults against the breach. The first was decisively repulsed, inflicting further losses on his army and raising serious doubts about the Parliamentarians’ ability to continue the siege. Undeterred, Jon pressed on with a second attack. This too was beaten back, but at a heavy cost to the defenders, leaving their morale at its lowest ebb.

Artillery bombard the walls to make a second and decisive breach.

Hoping the defenders were unaware of his army’s hardships and unable to risk further losses with a third assault, Jon concentrated all remaining effort on a bombardment to open up a second breach. His guns proved to be accurate, and the new gap in the walls was soon made. This final blow broke the defenders’ morale, and they sued for terms. With his own ranks depleted by disease and casualties, the Parliamentarians accepted the surrender, allowing the Royalists to march out before occupying Greyford.

Summary

Early on, it seemed time would be Jon's greatest challenge, but disease and casualties from repeated sorties meant any further losses might have forced Parliament to abandon the siege. However, accurate gunnery in opening a second breach shattered the Royalist morale. A narrow, but well earned, victory for Jon. Well done!

Taking the fortified town in this game is no easy feat. The besieging commander must carefully allocate their limited troops between:

• Constructing parallels and trenches
• Building gun emplacements
• Conducting bombardments
• Launching assaults
• Establishing guard lines and sending out patrols to prevent sorties and messengers
• Planning and reconnaissance to improve outcomes

And all the while, a mix of defender actions, rain, and disease reduces both manpower and the time available.

Jon managed to balance these demands until disease began to seriously thin his ranks. Then, a calculated gamble of focusing on the siege works and delaying the bombardment until enough batteries were ready proved to be decisive in the end.

For those interested, the game was completed in one hour.

What is Next?

I am really enjoying these rules and have two English Civil War ideas in mind.

The first is to create a small-scale ECW campaign with only a handful of regions, some containing a strategic town or city. To fully control a region, a player would need to win a field battle and, if the region includes a fortified town or city, successfully complete a siege. This idea still needs more thought as I do not want to have the situation of my last ECW campaign which took some 40 odd battles to decide.

The second idea, inspired by some helpful comments (thank you), is to adapt the rules for sieges of fortified manors during the ECW. Where the use of trenches and parallels was far more limited. I will need to do some further reading on how these engagements were conducted and what activity would replace constructing trenches and parallels.

Or perhaps I might take a completely different direction and try a Samurai-themed siege. My Samurai armies have not yet seen the tabletop since I moved to New Zealand, so it might be time to change that.

Preparing for a remote ECW siege game

This week I am preparing for a remote siege game with Jon from Palouse Wargaming Journal. Something I am very much looking forward to after spending most of last week incapacitated due to a bad back that left me floored, quite literally. We will be using the “Siege Works” rules by Solo Wargames, available on WargameVault. They are a paper and pen game that I have adapted for use on the tabletop where the besieging player gradually constructs parallels and trenches, and positions batteries. While having various disruptions, such as sorties and disease among the troops, slowing them down.

An example of the tabletop.

The game is essentially a resource-management challenge. Where the besieger must allocate their scarce, and sometimes dwindling, resources to quickly build their parallels, trenches, and gun batteries so they can breach the walls and launch an assault on the fortified town before a relief force arrives.

The besieged have prepared the fortified town.

The original rules are set in the Napoleonic era, but I will use them for an English Civil War siege of a fortified town. In preparation for the game, I laid out the all the trenches on the tabletop and measured them to get the starting position of the first parallel. 

The parallels and trenches are built using six-inch segments with some restrictions. For example, the first parallel must be 30 inches long before the attacker can advance the zig-zag trenches and begin the second parallel which must be 24 inches long and starts 12 inches closer to the fort. Each gun battery will require 12 inches (two lengths) of parallel to be constructed before they can be established. 

There will be room on the tabletop for an artillery park.

The zig-zag trenches are brown felt cut into strips and the parallels are made from wooded dowel with a fly-wire repair kit wrapped around them for a wicker effect.

A close up view of the parallel lengths.

While I have tried to get as many siege activities as possible onto the tabletop. Tracking of resources off-table is still necessary, especially for remote play where not everything on the tabletop is easily seen. To help handle this a simple resource tracker was drawn up. Nothing fancy, just a series of boxes for placing dice as markers, with a few printed siege drawings pasted on to make it look less boring.

The resource tracker.

So everything is now ready for the remote game.

A solo Napoleonic siege - Battle report

This post turns out to be my 1000 blog post and what better way to mark this milestone than with a battle report of a Napoleonic siege wargame.

Austrians returning with supplies from nearby farms in preparation for a siege.

The town of San Mariano guards a vital supply route.

Siege Background

French General Delacroix, commanding a corps of seasoned veterans, has been ordered to seize and hold the key crossing at the fortified town of San Mariano. The town is a strategic stronghold guarding a vital supply route trough the mountains.

The town is encircled by an old, but well-maintained, bastions and walls. An Austrian garrison having dispatched messengers for a relief force and have been gathering supplies from nearby farms in preparation for the siege.

Battle Report

Turns 1 and 2

The siege begins with the construction of the first parallel. The besieging French assign a portion of their troops to guard against any potential Austrian sorties. Although no sorties were launched, accurate Austrian cannon fire harassed the French engineers and delayed the establishment of French gun batteries.

The first parallel is prepared as the Austrian guns open up.

Accurate fire from the Austrian guns delays the building a French batteries.

Turns 3 and 4

The French pressed on with their trench works, completing the first parallel and finally establishing their first gun battery. Zig-zag trenches advanced steadily forward from the first parallel, though progress remained slower than General Delacroix had hoped. The Austrian defenders launched a sortie, but the French, maintaining vigilant guard posts and successfully repelled them.

As the first parallel is completed 

The Austrians launch a sortie.

Turns 5 and 6

An Austrian messenger successfully slipped through the French lines, carrying urgent pleas to the relief force to hurry up, tightening the timeframe for the besiegers. The garrison continued to launch sorties as the French dug forward and caught the French off guard, inflicting casualties and reducing their resources to build trenches.

The French dig forward and begin to establish their second parallel.

A successful Austrian sortie forces the French to divert soldiers from the trench works.

Turns 7 and 8

Trench digging continued as a priority, and three gun batteries were soon in position. The zig-zag approach trenches were now within assault range of the town walls, creating two potential sites for assaults. Meanwhile, the Austrians managed to get further messages through the lines, keeping the approaching relief column informed of their situation. Time was now becoming a worry for General Delacroix.

The Austrians continued with their sorties and forced the French to divert troops from the trench works to reinforce their guard lines. this slowed down the establishment of the fourth and last gun battery as they took precautions against further attacks.

The trenches are now within assault range of the town.

Turns 9 and 10

The Austrians prepared countermine charges beneath the most vulnerable sections of the walls, ready to detonate them during any French assault. At the same time, they continued launching sorties in a final effort to disrupt and delay the inevitable attack. By this stage, the French had established four artillery batteries and had successfully breached the town’s walls. They had also completed the digging and preparing their own mine, ready to support the final assault on the fortress.

The French begin the work to breach the walls.

Turns 11 and 12

The French detonated their mine beneath the walls and launched an assault. Although the attack was repulsed, the Austrian defenders suffered casualties, and their morale was beginning to falter.

The first attack is supported by a mine detonated just before the assault.

Meanwhile, French scouts reported that a relief force was only a few days march away. In response, General Delacroix ordered a series of assaults in a final effort to seize the town before reinforcements could disrupt and end the siege. But the news was not all bad for the general, engineers informed him they had made a second breech.

The French prepared counter mines two assaults.

The French planned two successive assaults. The first was repulsed with heavy casualties, as the Austrians successfully detonated a mine beneath the breach. However, the second assault proved to be more effective, Austrian troops had been drawn away from the walls to reinforce the earlier defence, leaving the second breach under-manned. French forces surged through, and with sections of the town’s walls now in French hands and Austrian morale collapsing, the defenders were overwhelmed. The fortified town fell to the French.

French troops assault the breaches.

French troops surge forward into the second breach.

A French victory! Just in the nick of time before the Austrian relief force could lift the siege.

Summary

Had the second French assault failed, the approaching Austrian relief force would have forced the French to abandon the siege. It was a very exciting game. Early on, it seemed unlikely the French would take the fortified town, as their progress on the gun battery positions was slow and hampered by accurate artillery shooting from the town. However, once all four batteries were in place, they quickly created breaches in the walls and were able to widened them to prepare for the final assaults.

A resource based game that can be adapted to the tabletop.

The rules used were from the pen-and-paper game “Siege Works” by Solo Wargame, which I recently purchased from Wargame Vault. It’s a resource-based game in which you, as the besieger, must manage limited resources to progress of trench construction, establishment of gun positions, dig mines, and post guards against sorties which is all marked off in pencil on a game map. All while you have to make sure you have enough troops available to launch a successful assault before your time runs out. Meanwhile, the defenders will attempt to disrupt your efforts through actions determined by a dice-driven event table. 

The game includes four scenario maps to play through of varying complexity.

All my parallel and zig-zag trenches advanced in 6-inch increments, so I pre-measured the starting position of the French attackers to ensure the number of trench sections matched the progression in the game.

It was pretty straightforward to adapt the game to the tabletop using the simplest  scenario map as a guide. Instead of marking progress on a paper map, I placed the parallel trenches, zig-zag trenches and gun positions on the tabletop, building and advancing them in 6-inch increments. This required some initial measuring to determine where the French attackers would begin placing their first parallel trenches so the layout aligned with the original map in terms of the number of trenches and batteries required to build.  

Resource management and breach tracking were handled using markers and small bits of paper with written notes (hidden under troop bases). All in all the game played out in just under an hour as I worked my way through the rules for the first time. Some rereading and checking of the 7-page rules was required, but I was soon in the swing of things and the game progressed smoothly.

Transferred to the tabletop, these rules provided an enjoyable and challenging solo siege games with the added benefit of getting my siege terrain, forts, and troops on to the tabletop. There is no movement of units in the game, just the placement of terrain and troops to indicate progress and for the look of the tabletop. I may well have to invest in some engineering troops or make some conversions which can be used as markers for mines. In the meantime I am looking through a couple of Military Modelling books by Stuart Asquith, which cover both solo wargaming and siege warfare for ideas.

A source of ideas.

For my next siege game, I plan to use the rules in an English Civil War setting. I will also be introducing forts, as some of the other scenario maps in the game feature outlying forts which must be taken before assaults on the main fortifications can begin.

A remote Star War game

Today I hosted a remote Star Wars game with Jon of Palouse Wargaming Journal using the Squad Hammer Core rules from Nordic Weasel Games. The rules were adapted for use with a 6-inch square grid, which makes gameplay much easier for remote games. 

These skirmish games are relatively quick to play, so we managed to fit in two games, giving each of us the chance to be both attacker and defender.

74-Z Speeder Bikes crash and burn after being surprised by a Rebel unit.

Scenario Background

On the desolate frontier world of Kholaris situated on the outer-rim, lies the mining settlement of Dusthaven. Built around the richest vein of Virelium Crystals in the sector, they are used for stabilizing and extending hyperdrive jumps.

But the people of Dusthaven have had enough of the empire. Overworked, underpaid, and brutalized by the mining corporations, the miners have staged an open revolt. A force of Rebels has joined their cause led by Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO.

The Empire has responded with force. Darth Vader has been dispatched by the Emperor to crush the rebellion and ensure the crystal mines return to full production. 

Will the spirit of rebellion ignite across Kholaris or be crushed under the heel of the Empire?

Map

The game is played on a tabletop using a 6-inch square grid. While the mat includes dots to mark the corners of each square, these are not easily visible to the remote player. To assist with unit positioning and overall setup, a gridded map was provided, and terrain features such as vegetation and rocks were carefully placed at square corners to make the grid more apparent for the remote player.

A map with the grid was provided to help with positioning of units.

A regimented layout of rocks and vegetation helps to define the squares. 

Built-up and rocky squares provide cover to any units occupying them, while units on hill squares are able to extend shooting ranges. Up to two units may be "stacked" in a single square. 

All movement and shooting ranges can be measured diagonally.

Order of Battle

Rebels

All Rebel units begin the game positioned on the tabletop. They must be positioned in a building or hill squares.

• Han Solo and Chewbacca (Hero unit)
• Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and C-3PO (Hero unit)
• Swoop Bikers
• 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team
• 2 x Rebel Troopers
• Rebel Sleeper Cell

Empire

All Empire units begin the game along the southernmost row of squares on the tabletop.

• 2 x Stormtroopers
• Dewback Rider
• AT-RT walker
• 74-Z Speeder Bikes
• Riot Control Squad
• Darth Vader (Villain unit)

I also had provided a list of all units and their stats for movement, combat, and shooting to help keep things running smoothly.

Victory conditions

Reducing the opposition to 2 or less units.

Game Reports

These games tend to move along at a quick pace, and between hosting and the fast gameplay, I did not manage to take many photos. So instead, I have written up a report of the game and included any photos that were available after the report.

Game 1 - Peter as the Empire and Jon as the Rebels

As the first Imperial units appeared on the southern approaches to Dushaven,  the Rebels had already taken up strong positions. A squad equipped with a Z-6 rotary blaster manned the high ground west of the town, while the 1.4 FD laser cannon team was dug in on the eastern ridge. The remaining Rebel troops were scattered in prepared positions behind makeshift barricades throughout Dusthaven.

Imperial forces opened fire from a distance. An AT-RT walker and a pair of 74-Z speeder bikes strafed the hills in an attempt to dislodge the Rebel positions. But the Rebels held firm, both well-prepared and well-positioned. The walker was destroyed by some precise shooting from the FD laser cannon, and the speeder bikes took minor damage from the Z-6 rotary blaster before disengaging.

Rather than wasting time on the flanks, the Imperials pushed directly towards Dusthaven. Under cover of suppressive fire, Stormtroopers advanced and eliminated the Rebel sleeper cell. However, the Rebels quickly responded and brought down the speeder bikes, which crashed in a fiery explosion.

The Imperial assault intensified. Darth Vader, supported by a riot control squad of Stormtroopers, charged the barricades. But the defenders were ready. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca emerged to meet the attack head-on. The clash was fierce, blaster shots flew and lightsabers clashed. Long-range fire from the hills continued to pour in and Darth Vader fell wounded, forced to withdraw from the battlefield. The riot troopers were not so lucky, they were cut down in a storm of blaster fire.

In a final desperate effort, a Dewback rider crashed through the barricades, scattering Han, Chewbacca, and a Rebel squad deeper into the town. But Luke stood firm. Supported again by covering fire from the hills, he confronted the beast and brought it down in close combat.

With their commander gone and losses mounting, the last two Stormtrooper squads pulled back from the ruins of Dusthaven.

A Rebel victory!

The first assault on Dusthaven.

The speeder bikes are destroyed as the Rebels respond.

The final assault by the Dewback rider just before it was cutdown by Luke.

Game 2 - Jon as the Empire and Peter as the Rebels

After their earlier victory, the Rebels knew it was only a matter of time before the Empire returned.

Darth Vader, recovered from his wounds and determined to crush the uprising, led a renewed assault on the mining town of Dushaven. This time the Empire would not underestimate the Rebels again.

Anticipating the attack, the Rebels maintained their defensive positions. A squad armed with a Z-6 rotary blaster held the high ground west of the town, while the 1.4 FD laser cannon team was once again deployed on the eastern ridge.

The Empire struck first, concentrating their initial attack on the eastern ridge. The 1.4 FD laser cannon and its crew were swiftly eliminated with some precise shooting, clearing a key threat to the Empire advance. With the eastern flank neutralized, Stormtroopers unleashed suppressive fire across the town’s defenses.

Then came the main assault led by Darth Vader himself, supported by the Riot Control squad and the Dewback, The defenders at the barricades fought hard, but the assaults were unrelenting. One by one, the Rebels were pushed back from the barricades.

The AT-RT walker, now occupying the eastern ridge, provided steady covering fire that continued to sap the defenders' strength. In the chaos of battle, Han Solo and Chewbacca were cut down in a withering hail of blaster fire, vanishing into smoke and flame. Only Luke Skywalker remained.

With the barricades breached, Luke stood alone against the Empire's attack. Lightsaber in hand, he fought valiantly to hold the line. But with the last supporting unit eliminated he was forced to retire, and with that the defence of Dusthaven collapsed.

Victory to the Empire!

Setup for the second game.

The AT-RT destroys the laser cannon in the initial strike by the Empire.

The assaults begin on the town.

Wrap Up

Well done to Jon on securing two victories, the Force was definitely with him! Overall, the rules worked well converted to a square grid. However, one area that did not seem to flow as smoothly compared to games using free movement was close combat. When a unit attacks a square occupied by two enemy units. If the attacker wins, they are unable to advance if the square still contains another enemy unit. I will have look into seeing if there is a better way of dealing with assaults.