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.

Beginning the English Civil War siege of Stonemarch

Following Parliament’s victories at Naseby and Langport, Royalist resistance continues to remain strong in the west. One such area is the town of Stonemarch which is serving as a rallying point for Royalist cavalry raiders harassing nearby regions controlled by Parliamentarian.

Stonemarch defences.

Colonel Ezekiel Hartwell has been ordered to capture the town. Upon his army’s arrival at Stonemarch, he quickly realises a direct assault is impossible. The town's defences were reinforced early in the war with earthwork bastions and will require a full siege. Hartwell’s engineers begin surveying the town’s walls, gates, and approaches to identify weak points, while the rest of the army is ordered to establish a fortified camp and began the investment of the town. Posting outposts and pickets along every road to block supplies and reinforcements.

An outpost defending a road.

To begin wargaming the siege of Stonemarch, the first scenario will see Royalist forces attempting to get supplies into the town. If successful, the defenders will gain a morale boost, giving them an advantage in the siege game.

The Royalists will have to breakthrough the outpost.

The scenario is based on One-Hour Wargames (OHW) Scenario 13: Escape, with a few adjustments. The Royalists are marching north when they find their route blocked. To achieve victory, they must escort at least one of their two guarded supply carts down the road and off the southern table edge.

The game will be played using a variation of OHW pike and musket rules.

Royalist Forces:

• 2 x Pike and musket infantry
• 2 x Dragoons
• 2 x Cavalry
• 2 x Supplies with guards.

All units arrive along the road on turn 1.

Parliamentarian Forces:

• 1 x Gun (start on the tabletop)
• 1 x Pike and musket infantry (start on the tabletop)
• 2 x Cavalry
• 2 x Dragoons

A cavalry unit and dragoon unit arrive on turn 2 on the hill and on turn 4 south of the wood.

Note: all dragoons and supply guards are half units and are eliminated after 8 hits rather than 15 hits.

The tabletop. Parliamentarian reserves arrival areas marked with blue arrows.

The next post will be the battle report...

English Civil War fortified town ready for a siege game

My original plan was to make and paint a simple backdrop of a fortified town, with a couple of earthwork bastions placed in front for another English Civil War siege game. However, after trying out a few options with the two foam earthwork bastions I have made over the past few weeks (see here for details) and looking at the illustrations in "English Civil War Fortifications 1642–51", I decided to use all the bastions and my woodblock houses to make a more substantial looking fortified town.

A fortified English Civil War town.

The first step was to determine what additional ramparts I needed. I set up the town layout, positioned the earthwork bastions around it, and then measured and cut foam ramparts to connect them and create a wall for a gate. The upholstery foam was cut with a sharp carving knife, then shaped with scissors. very much the same steps as with making the earthwork bastions.

The shaping process can get to be a messy business with lots of small bits of foam which seem to stick everywhere. I used masking tape to help collect and pickup the bits of foam. 

Working out the size of ramparts to connect the bastions.

A messy business cutting the foam.

Masking tape used to collect up the mess.

Easily picks up the bits.

Once the foam was cut and shaped, I painted it with a couple of brown washes, followed by touches of green. While the paint is still wet, and it takes a long while to dry, the colours can be blended with a clean brush to achieve the desired look.

For the gate, I used some MDF scraps to build a three-sided arch that fits neatly over the foam rampart. It was quickly painted brown and lines added to suggest wooden planks.

The painted ramparts.

The gate is made to slot over the wall.

Gate simply painted painted in brown and lines added to suggest wooden planks

The gate slots over the wall.

A close view at ground level.

The completed fortified town.

All is now ready for my next siege game.

The defenders man the walls.

A second earthworks fort and some ECW painting

This past week and weekend, I managed to make another earthworks fort and paint up some English Civil War infantry that had been sitting around primed for a couple of months. I also painted a General Fairfax figure that had been lying around and hiding in the remaining ECW lead pile.

Another earthworks is added.

The earthworks are made from upholsterer’s foam and coloured with watered down paint. Cocktail sticks are painted and pushed into the foam for storm poles. (see my previous post on the steps to making a foam fort.)

The new earthworks will be a useful addition for an upcoming siege game. My next step in preparing for the game is to draw and paint a backdrop of a fortified town. The backdrop I currently have looks more 18th Century than 17th Century. I have just finished reading English Civil War Fortifications 1642–51 by Peter Harrington, which is filled with lots of illustrations that will provide plenty of inspiration for the backdrop.

General Fairfax - a Hinchliffe model.

Latest infantry painted. These models are mainly Minifigs, but the officer and drummer are Hinchliffe.

I also managed to paint some farm animals this week for the siege game. I picked them up while browsing the local hobby shop. They will be used in a game before the siege, if the defenders can escort the animals safely across the tabletop, it will improve their chances of withstanding the siege.

Farm animals added for supplies.

A recent pick up from the local hobby shop by Warlord Games

In the meantime, both earthworks will see action in a game this week using the “One-Hour Wargames” Scenario 15 - Fortified Defence.

The tabletop is set up for the OHW scenario 15 - Fortified Defence.

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.