The English Civil War, For King & Parliament, 28mm

I’ve been remiss. Trips away and work  got in the way of wargaming, and of posting games. My apologies, and I’ll do better, I promise! This clash was a renewal of the fictitious fight between the Royalist Earl of Doncaster (Sean) and his Parliamentarian counterpart the Earl of Rotherham. This game was a small encounter in Yorkshire, somewhere between the two towns. We both played our alter egos, while Ally helped out as a largely impartial observer. The premise was simple. two fairly evenly matched forces encountered each other near the village of Everton, with the Parliamentarians crossing the River Idle from the south, and the Royalists marching west down the road from Bawtry. This small encounter battle was set up as shown above, with the Parliamentarians on the left and the Royalists entering from the top right. the game was played out on a club night, on a 6×4 foot table. The Royalists got off to a good start, advancing their whole cavalry brigade of three regiments to the south, while the Parliamentarians were still backed up crossing the river. the exception was Harrison’s Parliamentary regiment of horse, who advanced  up the road past Everton, only to be ambushed by Prideaux’ Royalist dragoons as they passed an enclosure. Being fired at into the clank at close range, they were lucky to escape with a single hit. Revenge though, is sweet, and the Scunthorpe Trained Bands, which was then approaching Everton, deployed on the road, and promptly shot the Royalist dragoons to pieces. They were routed, but things weren’t decided, as the Royalist foot had now entered the table, and was deploying to the west of the enclosures. My battered regiment of horse pulled back to rally, while the Trained Bands lined the hedge, and waited for the enemy’s next move. Over to the south, near the River Idle, the cavalry of both sides were maneuvering for position. Mine were outnumbered – just Rotherham’s and Arkwright’s regiments of horse, led by Sir Benjamin Harrison. Facing them to the west of the road and bridge were three Royalist cavalry regiments, Wentham’s, Greenwood’s and Hartley’s horse, led by the dashing Sir Edward Greenwood. Both sides planned to decide the issue with a clash of steel.Meanwhile, in the centre, the Parliamentarian bluecoats of Boothroyd’s regiment had formed up next to the russet-coated Trained Bands, and helped hold the line of the road. On their left, next to the River Idle, Harrison charged at the head of the Earl of Rotherham’s horse, but in their brief melee with Greenwood and his horse, both sides were forced to retire, with one hit. So, it was all still to play for on the Parliamentarian left. Back in the centre though, both sides had been holding back, not being the first ones to advance into the hedged enclosures, and face a series line of the enemy behind the hedgelines. The Trained Bands were almost out of ammunition anyway, so they stayed on the defensive, while the freshly-rallied troopers of Harrison’s horse passed back through the village of Everton, to rejoin the other cavalry of Harrison’s brigade on the left flank. That was where the action moved next. Sir Edward Greenwood charged again, but the clash was indecisive. Both sides were now ‘blown’ – no more ‘Dash counters’, so neither side could really make any headway. In the centre it was pretty much the same. Col. Tobias Arkwright’s horse charged Col. Tobias Hartley’s horse, and both sides were disordered. They pulled back, but the Royalists charged again, and Arkwright’s milling horse were routed.Sean’s alter ego the Earl of Doncaster didn’t have time to crow though – not that he would, the stout Yorkshire gentleman that he is. Hartley’s horse had to pursue, and hit the bluecoated infantry to their front, which had now taken shelter behind a hedge on the far side of the road. Both sides took a hit – the second one for Boothroy’s foot, who were now little more than a disordered huddle. However, a spirited charge by Harrison’s horse turned the tide. The Parliamentarian cavalry charged across the hedge, and slammed into the Royalist horse, which were now ‘blown’ after their fight. Tobias Hartley’s regiment took a second hit, and so were swept from the field. this time though, Harrison’s seasoned cavalry recovered from pursuit, and pulled back to hold the line. It was now an infantry fight, with both sides facing each other across an enclosure – with nobody willing to make the first move. In fact, this was where the fighting petered out. Both cavalry forces had lost a regiment – a third of their strength, but the remainder were ‘blown’, and so unlikely to achieve much more in the game.  Both infantry lines were pretty solid, so a parley was held, and both Rotherham and Doncaster (pictured below, behind ‘Barraclough’s yellowcoats’) agreed to call it a day and march off home. So, there’s still everything to play for in South Yorkshire!  

Tags: For King & Parliament