ECW game report - The investment of Stonemarch town

The siege of Stonemarch begins with a small game on a 4x4 foot tabletop. The game represents the investment of the fortified town. Details of the game setup can be found in my previous post here. If the Royalists succeed in getting their supplies through, it will provide a morale boost for the garrison in the up coming siege game.

Rules for the game use a variation of the One-Hour Wargames Pike and Shot rules. The rule changes include:

• Dragoons and artillery are treated as half-units. They shoot with D3 and are eliminated after taking 8 or more hits. Both must also check for ammunition after shooting.
• All cavalry are treated as gallopers.
• The first two “out of ammunition” results for an army can be resupplied.
• Movement tests are required for all unit moves. A roll 2+ on a D6 is required for the unit to move. If a roll fails, no further units may move that turn, and play proceeds to the shooting phase.

Parliamentarian outpost guarding the road.

One of Colonel Ezekiel Hartwell’s first actions, as the Parliamentarian commander tasked with capturing Stonemarch, was to invest the town. His forces established outposts and pickets along the roads to cut off any supplies reaching the defenders. In response, a Royalist force is now attempting to break through the blockade and deliver supplies to the town in readiness for the up coming siege.

Battle Report…

On sighting the Parliamentarian outpost guarding the road, the Royalist force began to deploy and advance. However, they remained wary of additional Parliamentarian units arriving to reinforce the defence. As the Royalists moved forward, Parliamentarian artillery opened fire, while a detachment of their dragoons appeared on the hill, soon followed by a supporting a unit of cavalry.

Royalist force arrives and begins to deploy.

Parliamentarian reinforcements appear on the hilltop.

The arrival of another small unit of Parliamentarian dragoons south of the wood, along with those already positioned on the hill, was disrupting the Royalist deployment as they adjusted to these threats. Royalist cavalry charged the dragoons near the wood and quickly routed them, but their success was short lived as Parliamentarian cavalry arrived south of the wood and counter-charged.

In the centre Royalist dragoons and infantry advanced along the road to engage the outpost. While on their right flank a unit of dragoons, supported by cavalry, pushed forward towards the occupied hill.

The engagement heats up as Parliamentarian reserves arrive and take up position.

The supply carts and their guards hurry up down the road, while a cavalry melee to the left is underway.

The cavalry melee near the woods was dragging on while the supply carts and their guards hurried down the road. As the Parliamentarian cavalry began to gain the upper hand, and the Royalists feared they might break through to harass the wagons. However, the Parliamentarian cavalry were left disorganised after routing their opponents, and a timely volley from some nearby Royalist dragoons was enough to put them to flight.

Elsewhere, the infantry engaged the outpost, to their relief the artillery had exhausted its ammunition. While Parliamentary dragoons continued to hold and defend their position on the hilltop. Their remaining cavalry moved in behind the outpost, ready to lend support.

The cavalry engagement on the left sees the Parliamentarian cavalry gain the upper hand. Elsewhere the dragoons on the hilltop are engaged.

The supply carts push forward as a unit of dragoons puts to flight the exhausted Parliamentarian cavalry after their cavalry engagement.

With the threat from the woods dealt with, the Royalists turned their attention to the outpost. They routed the Parliamentarian infantry blocking the road, only to be counter-charged by the reserve cavalry. Time was now an issue for the Royalists, who needed to clear the road quickly for their supply carts. Meanwhile, the Parliamentarian dragoons on the hilltop were holding firm and continued to harass the Royalist right flank.

The road is cleared of infantry, but Parliamentary cavalry are in reserve.

The cavalry charge.

With the support of a nearby infantry unit, the supply carts and their guards manage to drive off the last of the Parliamentarian cavalry. Finally, the road was clear, and the carts move swiftly along the road and towards Stonemarch.

The road is cleared.

The supply carts move towards Stonemarch.

A Royalist victory. The supplies have successfully reached Stonemarch. This success will boost the garrison’s morale in the next game, which will be a siege of the fortified town. For this game I will be using the Siege-Works pen-and-paper game rules, adapted for play on the tabletop.