Braddock Down 1643 - Part 2: the refight

And so we come to the battle itself.  It was a normal club night and there was no inherent ceremony to the event, just myself and Gav getting together for one of our occasional games.

The terrain was laid out as best we could to reflect the map, and the troops likewise deployed.

Royalists closest to the camera here

 Hopton had thrown forward some of his cavalry and infantry to the area around the Middle Top house, whilst the rest of his force was disposed to the gentle ridge behind.

 

 Whilst the smaller Parliament force was gathered on the opposite side of the moor.

 

 Battle was led by the Royalists, who did not have the best of starts, kicking off their orders with a confused blunder, resulting in the entire company of foot wheeling to its' left under the impression Hopton wanted it to outflank Ruthven rather than attack him head on.

 

 This was a valuable delay as far as the Parliamentarians were concerned, the longer the Royalists took to advance the more chance there was of their artillery arriving.  They brought their cavalry up to secure the left flank on the boggy ground, but the right refused any orders to advance.

Hopton managed to organise his lines and make the best of the initial confusion.  he found his troops rather deeply arrayed, but clear of the fields that could've obstructed his advance.

End of turn two

 Hopton's Dragoons trotted gamely forward past the farm.

 

 Ruthven had brought up his reserve Scottish and  tried to present a reinforced line, but it was never going to be as stout as the Royalist line.

 

 However Ruthven had a greater strength, at least in numbers, of cavalry, and so tried to use them to stall or unnerve the Royalists.  Ruthvens heaviest cavalry found themselves close to Hopton's dragoons, and thus proceeded to entertain them with their swords.  Meanwhile in the rear, the Parliamentarian artillery train had arrived.

Roundhead cavalry advances

 The dragoons saw the worst of the engagement and were swiftly routed.

Curse you all!

 Ruthven's horse advanced and soon engaged Hopton's second line.  But the Royalist infantry was happy to level pike and march on the Parliament horse, given their numbers they felt assured of a victory.  Hopton's horse on his right were ordered to charge the flank of the enemy horse, but confused by such fancy words as 'attack the enemy left', turned left (blundered) and trotted off behind their own cavalry.

 

 Ruthven's horse were unable to hold nevertheless, 80 or so swords and pistols against some 1000 pikes was  one sided affair.

Add caption

 But the right offered more promise and Ruthven was able to commit Carew's best cavalry to a combined charge.

 

 Which went disastrously.

All is lost!

 The lead regiment collapsed after being fought to a standstill, and as it turned and ran it swept away its' support.  The Royalist cavalry was exhausted but held the ground.

Hopton's foot now sought to press their advantage in numbers against the Parliament foot.  Unsurprisingly at the first whiff of shot, the Cornish militia turned and fled, leaving only Ruthvens three Scottish regiments to face the five of the Royalists.

More fleeing 

 By now however the artillery train had reached the front line, and the train guards dashed ahead to enfilade the Royalist lines.  The greater fire-power of the Scots afforded them valuable time as the Cornish loyalists found themselves out-gunned and in constant disorder.

The centre becomes a grinding match

 Having failed to charge the Parliamentarian left flank earlier in the battle, a series of blunders had seen the horse from Hopton's right end up on the Liskeard road on the left.  As a unit they were ill disciplined and rash, and having achieved nothing of any use thus far in the battle, charged the first enemy they saw; who just happened to be hastily deployed artillery.

Boom boom boom boom boom, as Baldrick might wax poetically.

 Heavy cannon raked their lines and sent them into an immediate panic.  The award for most useless unit of the day was clear therefore.  At least Ruthvens Cornish foot had advanced when and where they were asked to, Hopton's cavalry couldn't manage even that.  At this stage both sides cavalry were dispersed and it was down to an infantry and artillery battle.

Crisis point

 Grenville's veterans turned the flank of the Scots, as both lines were locked, pouring a fire upon the second line whilst a fresh regiment pressed the front line to push of pike.  In hand to hand the greater numbers of pike in the Royalist units played to their favour, and overall the Scottish were severely mauled.

We're finished this day

Ruthven recognised his centre was broken and conceded the field to the Royalists.  

Gav had commanded of the Royalists, whilst I'd taken the Parliament cause, it was fair to say we had more of a scrap than occurred on the day itself, which had boiled down to the royalist cavalry chasing off the enemy horse and causing the infantry to lose heart at the first advance,  The outcome did not feel certain here, though it gradually moved to a point of inevitability.  

For a more balanced battle one could keep the same forces but allow Ruthven his artillery from the start (perhaps Hopton delays too long), or you could allow commanders to deploy troops as they see fit and see what results.  Either should produce a less certain result in my view.  

Overall this was an enjoyable little battle, and nice to get the old boys back on a table.  I realise now that I hadn't used these models in six years.  Damn!

Damn....

The Battle of Braddock Down - Part One: the Scenario

Hey folks,  it's finally time for another historical refight on the blog, and as is my preference it is for a smaller and arguably more obscure engagement, this time from the English Civil Wars.

Truth be told it would almost be disingenuous to call the historical outcome of Braddock Down, 19 January 1643, a battle.  The actual engagement was about as brief and one sided as you could ask for; but with a little more resolve it need not have been so one sided, after all both sides were of roughly similar sizes and the weaker Parliamentarian forces were at least deployed and ready when they sighted their foe.

The battle such as it was is well described in the slim volume 'The Civil War in the South-West' by John Barratt

   

One of the royalist commanders of the day, Sir Bevil Grenville noted "Sir Ralph Hopton resolved to march over to them and leave all to the mercy of God and valour of our side...[The Parliamentarians] courage failed them as they stood not our first charge of foot but fled in great disorder."  but could it have been otherwise.  Other reports suggest an attack in the rear by local clubmen may have helped the parliamentarians along, but they had at least begun the day well ordered and presented.  so what went awry?

Portraying the battle

This is the sort of small engagement that should be within the ability of any reasonable collection of models to represent in some way; Lutzen or even Naseby this ain't!  A total of around 9,000 men were engaged on the day and as the map below will show, the battlefield was a small one and easy to represent on table.  The first major issue would be selection of rules and you will all have your favourite, but I've chosen mine, Black Powder.

Now straight away, you may say 'but these don't cover the English Civil War! surely Pike and Shotte would be the obvious choice if you are going to use Warlord Games' rules?'  You may think that, but I personally dislike their application of companies of pike and shotte operating loosely - quasi-independently - of one another.  Black Powder does not permit such liberty, and all that is really missing is some allowance for the weapons and tactics of the period.  I keep this to a bare minimum, and so add a couple of extra rules, the most complex being the 'Stand of Pike' which replaces 'Form Square'

• 'Stand of Pike' units within which at least 1/3 are armed with pike, may form a stand of pike.  This may be done as an ordered manoeuvre, or as an initiative action during a players own turn, or may be attempted as a reaction to a threat of a charge during the opponents' turn, for which the unit must pass a command check.  If successful the unit withdraws it's muskets behind the pike bases, to whatever facing is deemed appropriate.  the facing of the pikemen remains the same.  A unit in SoP may not move, except to wheel on the spot around its' centre once per turn upto 90 degrees.  A SoP may only fire with once dice, to its' flank arcs.  units charging the SoP lose their charge bonus and must beat the unit by a clear 2 point margin (casualties, support etc) to force a break test.  A SoP loses all melee benefits if charged from the flank or rear, and a unit may not form a SoP if reacting to a charge from the flank or rear.  Unlike in later periods, cavalry will always at least try to charge an SoP.  Units failing to form a SoP as a reaction roll to a charge will instead be placed in disorder before rolling for combat.

Additionally

• Certain Parliamentarian cavalry is considered Unwilling to Charge.  These suffer a -1 command penalty if issuing charge orders.
• Artillery does not have the luxury of quality limbers, mainly pulled by plough horses and oxen.  Therefore all movement is at the manhandled speed at all times

As the game was played in 15mm, the rules were scaled down to centimetres, which makes a 6x4 foot table more than enough for the whole battle.  A four foot square space would well serve  if pressed, though modification to the reserve timing of the artillery (see below) would then be advised.

For the army lists a standard notation of the commander (his command level and any traits applied) followed by the units under his command is used.  for units the four key stats in the rules - Hand to Hand, Shooting, Morale and Stamina - are given in brackets in that order, followed by any special notation and the recommended number of bases.  Cavalry have pistols and infantry musket and pike unless specifically noted otherwise.

Some gaps remained to be filled so far as the commanders of the day, but I've tried to reflect the forces of the battle as best I can, whilst at least intending to make the battle one either side could win...

The forces: Royalists

From Somerset gentry and with some experience from the Thirty Years War to fall back upon, Hopton had flashes of brilliance but was if anything an overrated commander.  His army however was undoubtedly the better of the two in the field on that day, formed around a core of veteran infantry.

Sir Ralph Hopton
(being Royalist, he's indulged in a full portrait)

Ralph Hopton Commander in Chief (command: 8; traits: aggressive)

• Hoptons Buffs (7/-/4+/3) +1 cavalry shock in melee resolution, 6 stands
• Horse (6/1/4+/3) +1 shock, 6 stands
• Dragoons (5/1/5+/3) Marauder, Carbines.  6 stands
• Forlorn Hope (3/2/5+/2) Skirmishers.  No pike. 4 stands

Sir Bevil Grenville (command:8)

• Grenvilles Cornish veterans (6/2/4+/3) Tough Fighters.  4 Pike and 3 shot stands
• Slanning's regt. (5/2/4+/3)  3 pike and 3 shot stands
• Travanion's regt. (5/2/4+/3)  3 pike and 3 shot stands
• Godolphin's regt. (5/2/4+/3)  3 pike and 3 shot stands
• Mohun's regt. (5/2/4+/3)  3 pike and 3 shot stands

Lord Warwick Mohun (command:7)

• 2 Saker cannon (1/3-2-1/5+/1).  Light cannon ranged.  1 stand each

The forces: Parliament

Col. Ruthven was judged a competent commander, but by no means a spectacular talent, his army was largely made up of his own Scottish troops with recent local recruits added.  His artillery was still on it's way to the battlefield...

Col. William Ruthven
(being Parliamentarian, he can afford only an engraving)

Col. William Ruthven Commander in Chief (command: 8; traits: none)

• Ruthven's first Scottish (5/3/4+/3) 2 Pike and 4 shot stands
• Ruthven's second Scottish (5/3/4+/3) 2 Pike and 4 shot stands
• Ruthven's third Scottish (5/3/4+/3) 2 Pike and 4 shot stands
• Cornish militia (4/2/5+/3)  Wavering.  2 pike and 4 shot stands

Col. Carew (command:8)

• Carews first troop of Heavy Horse (7/-/4+/3) +1 cavalry shock, 6 stands
• Carews second troop of Heavy Horse (7/-/4+/3) +1 cavalry shock, 6 stands
• Carews first troop of Light Horse (5/1/4+/3) Marauders, Unwilling to Charge, 6 stands
• Carews second troop of Light Horse (5/1/4+/3) Marauders, Unwilling to Charge, 6 stands

Sir Shilston Carmedy (command:7)

• 2 Demi-cannon (1/3-2-1/5+/2).  Heavy cannon ranged.  1 stand each
• 1 Culverin (1/3-2-1/5+/1) Light cannon ranged. 1 stand
• Guards of the artillery train (3/2/4+/2) Skirmishers.  4 stands

Note that Carmedy and all his command begins the battle in reserve on the Liskeard road, and will not appear until turn four.

Also be aware that for both sides their commander in chief also has command of a brigade, this being such a small battle you may wish to ignore the Black Powder rule that ends the players order issuing if the CinC fails a command check, rather treat him in this case as the same as any other subordinate general.  The forces are limited enough already.

The Battlefield and Initial Deployments

Download full version from the Battlefields Trust: HERE

The battlefield for the game is relatively simple, playing essentially across a gentle fold in moorland, with both armies beginning the battle on gentle rises, neither of which will confer any defensive advantage.  Middle Top House sits on the Liskeard road and has some small field enclosures associated with it which Hopton made use of.  Marshland fills the depression on the moor, and impinges upon the deployment of the Parliamentarians, arguably protecting their flank.  The marsh should be considered difficult ground for any entering it.  Fields are to the Parliament rear into which some troops were still deployed, though from accounts certainly not the Cornish who presumably were put in the front line to stop them drifting away.  Woodland is to the rear of the Royalists.

Deployment at least for the most historical play should emulate the map below; if tried a second time players may wish to deploy freely however, to see if they can do better than their gentlemen of the day...

Royalists to the right, yes, technically that's upside down.

In 15mm scale terms the two armies are about 60cm apart at the start of the game, for faster play you may wish to close the gap, but I do not recommend shortening the space to less than about 40cm, else there will be little to no manoeuvre!  Carmedy's artillery is placed on the Liskerad road behind the Parliament deployments in line on turn four, from turn five it may receive orders.

And so as it's getting late and this has actually become rather a long feature.  We'll leave it there.  Up next, what happened when we actually played out the scenario ourselves.

Tabletop Teaser - Mercenaries

Inspired by a rather enjoyable Wargames Illustrated issue on Mercenaries I thought I would prepare a suitable scenario for just such a situation...

Introduction

Allies in battle, whether tied by treaty, subjugation, duty or the promise of fortune; cannot be relied upon.  Most of the time such arrangements will hold, but there will always be cases whereby this arrangement does not deliver the results hoped for.  At Sekigahara (1600) the troops of Kobayakawa were turned by spies and negotiation against their former friends.  At Bosworth field (1485), the Stanley's held back from engagement until they could decide who it would be most advantageous to support.  Whilst at Lepzig (1814) Saxon Divisions changed side mid battle, turning on their former masters.

This scenario attempts to provide a degree of uncertainty to both sides as they attempt to defeat their foe in a civil dispute, each has unknowingly been in negotiation with the same mercenaries to aid their cause, who, if any will the mercenaries fight for; and who will be victorious?

Ground

Dashed lines indicate initial deployment dispositions

A wide plain used as common land lies between the two armies.  A small town is to the west of this and narrow track-ways led to the east down the middle of the field until they are diverted by a long ridge line that dominates the eastern edge.

Red deploys his forces to zone A and Blue to zone B; each anchoring his position with a patch of woodland on their right.  There should be at least half the width of the battle field between the two sides at deployment and neither may deploy troops beyond the track ways eastern side.

Period

With suitable adjustments to terrain and forces this scenario could be suitable for any period.  It is presented here with pre-gunpowder weaponry in mind, but would be easy to adapt to Pike and Shot or later periods.  Small forces and similar equipment should permit players to divide a single force to represent the armies if needed, should a suitable civil war force not be available to them.

General Outline

Red and Blue represent opposite sides in a civil dispute, which may range from the trivially regional to the nationally historic.  Each side has met the other on a neutral field for a clash it sees as critical to it's cause, and has assembled their available forces.  Both sides have also been attempting to sway the allegiance of hired troops from a neighbouring region that has remained neutral.

Blue Force

Blue will have the following core force:

• One Unit of Heavy Cavalry
• One Unit of Light Cavalry
• Two Units of Medium Infantry with long-ranged Missile Weapons
• Two units of Medium Infantry with spears and shields

Additionally they have 500 gold coins with which they may:

• Either attempt to buy the services of the Mercenaries by specifying any sum of money, or
• Buy a single unit of Heavy Cavalry for 400 gold
• Buy up to two units of medium foot troops (either type) for 200 gold each, or
• Buy up to three units of skirmishing light infantry for 100 gold each

They need not spend any of this money.  It is uncertain what troops the Mercenary Gold force may bring to battle, but they are known as mighty and usually mounted warriors.  Blue should understand that the mercenary force is likely to be half the size of his own.  Even if they do not spend any money on the mercenaries, they will be able to parley for their support before the battle, but bear in mind, money talks!

Red Force

Red has the same initial troops and decisions as detailed for Blue above; it is given the same briefing.

Gold Force

The Mercenaries will arrive with the following troops:

• Two units of Heavy Cavalry 
• Two units of Light-medium infantry sword/axe-men

The mercenaries will not arrive on the field until the start of the first players second full turn; then appearing along the crest of the ridge line at 'C'.  The mercenaries should be controlled by the umpire in line with the guidance below.

Playing the Game

Give each player their briefing and ask them to choose how much money they wish to use on Mercenaries or additional troops. Once this is determined have each player roll 2D6; to this roll add one for every 100 gold spent on the mercenaries (rounding down if required).  This will give a result of from 2 to 17 on the table below:

• 2-7 - They are offended by the offer made and will not fight for the party.
• 8-12 - They consider the offer fair but are unsure of the party's ability to win, they will join its' cause only once it has destroyed more of the enemies units than it has lost (so it would join at 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, etc. as befits circumstance)
• 13-17 - They are heartily impressed and will directly support the parties attack as soon as they arrive the field.

But; if the results for both Red and Blue fall in the same range, the mercenaries will not fight for either and will leave after observing 3 full turns of battle.  

The only other exception to any of the above being that if either Red or Blue blinks first and attempts to attack the mercenaries (shoots at them or declares a charge against them, moving towards them would not be enough), the mercenaries will turn on that side for the rest of the battle.

Once mercenaries commit to the battle they will do so enthusiastically for whichever side their programmed result favours.  The umpire should seek to use them in a reasonable, but aggressive, fashion; until such a time as victory is won or lost (see Winning The Game, below).

As far as Red and Blue are concerned, they are told none of the above, rather refer only to the result of the 2D6 roll; If it is even then inform them that the negotiations have gone well, and can expect matters to go their way. if it is odd tell them that the negotiations have gone badly, and that they cannot assume any support.  This may very well not reflect the true course of matters!

Each player will then deploy their troops.  The preferred method for doing so will be by indicating their dispositions on maps - then placed by the umpire.  Other methods such as deploying alternate units may also be acceptable.

Winning the Game

The battle lasts for 6 turns for each player, subject to the rules conventions used.

The game will be won or lost otherwise by conventional means, typically, whichever commander destroys more than half of his enemies units, may declare himself victor.  Mercenaries do not count towards this loss, but if they lose half their units, they will independently withdraw.  You may wish to count army commanders as units for the purposes of determining over half- subject to rule sets.

If both sides lose over half their force, it may be considered a pyrrhic victory for whoever is ascendant.   If both sides have over half their army left after 6 turns it may be considered a draw as each is in a position to pursue the campaign further.

Notes

The key to this scenario is uncertainty.  Neither Blue nor Red should be certain of when or indeed whether the mercenaries will appear and if they do, whose side they are on.  This will possibly make either player jumpy enough to launch a pre-emptive attack!  Not a wise course of action.

Whilst the scenario as written assumes largely identical armies, it would not be unreasonable to use differing forces built to an equal points value.  In this case it is suggested that Warhammer Fantasy/Ancients forces of 1500 points may form the core, with an optional 500 points to spend either on additional troops or on gold coins (at an exchange rate of 1 to 1) to buy mercenary favour.  In such a case the Mercenaries will have a combined value of 1000 points.  For DBMM a core force of 150 with 50 optional points and a mercenary force of 100 points may be more appropriate.

These ratio's (3/4 core, 1/4 optional and a Mercenary force of half the sum total of the player points) should permit the mercenaries to be a tempting proposition, but one the players may elect to forego.

War on Two Fronts Played - Orchies 1341

And so here we are with my own interpretation of the War on Two Fronts scenario.  As we are about to play a large refight I felt it would be good to refresh everyone on the rules of Hail Caesar and the period flavour we were going to need; so transposing the scenario to the Hundred Years War was the choice of the day.

The forces matched those in the scenario, with the Blue forces naturally enough being the French, whilst the Red forces were English in zone E - well provisioned with bowmen and infantry - and Flemish in zone F, distinctively armed with pike and some short bow armed skirmishers.

Deployment was trotted through, but without the recourse to maps, there was some wriggle room for both sides to tweak broad positions as their opponents' deployed.  But both sides stuck to a principle of not repositioning a unit by more than an inch or so once placed - just shuffling!

The field of battle in full

The English to the East did not have enough space to fully deploy and so placed some of their bowmen to cover the angle, as if in the midst of redeployment, whilst their melee infantry advanced on in column, to the West the smaller Flemish force had enough room to deploy for battle with their right supported and skirmishers to their left.

The French faced two of their three main battles to face the English, with an infantry battle facing the Flemings.  The Kings Elite knights were held in reserve in the centre, whilst the peasants and artillery took to the fields and outskirts of the town.  The French skirmishers in the small wood to the West.

The French as seen mid morning from the English lines

The English bowmen exude confidence - Pauls' superb painting on show.

The Flemish seen arriving in the distance, faced by a small battle of French infantry.

The French main lines, cavalry heavy...

 I took a support role as the leader of the French town levy and the troops facing the Flemish, whilst James T (hereafter JT) took the main kings force.  He decided to open the engagement with a a full charge of the French knights into the English bowmen before they could deploy.

Paul, commanding the English  looked pensive and asked after his stakes, but given the need for immediate action they'd had no time to deploy any such defences.  Still as the French came in they laid down a withering fire, so much that one retinue of knights failed the charge.  In the ensuing melee, the supported English outfought the disordered and disorganised French, and so the first wave of attacks for the French achieved nothing.

After the attack, the French consider their options.

 Meanwhile the Flemish failed to advance for the first two turns of the day, and James S in command of them (hereafter JS) could only look on as the French infantry slowly advanced to check his position.  The English archers formed an orderly line, but the fringe of the forests (off the table) made it impossible for their infantry to deploy.

Both sides eye each other up from their new lines.

 The flower of French nobility charged again.

The little orange flashes tell a sorry tale.

 The solid English line proved more than up to the task, and the French were thrown back once again.

This time the English were able to follow up the success and began to envelop the French infantry.  JT was still up for another charge, but a blunder saw the freshest of the knights divert their attack from the bowmen towards the English Men at Arms on their right.  A tangle of infantry and cavalry made contact impossible.

Disorder in the the French lines continued.

Paul's Men at Arms couldn't resist  charging, and in a last brave act the French countered, but the English made the better fight of it and already worn Frenchmen retreated in the face of solid English force.  JT attempted to get infantry in position to shore up the gap but instead the exposed themselves to a follow up attack, retreating in kind.

However they did not have it all their way, and rallied French finally managed to break the English bowmen on Paul's' right.  Troops from the town finally advanced into the flank offering support if not actual action.  But by now it was almost too late.  JT's knights were now a broken brigade, and obliged to retire in the face of advancing English, his infantry were offering a hail of bolts on the advancing English foot, but they were in a precarious position indeed.

English knights pursue the French hard

 Meanwhile to the east the Flemish finally made contact with the French.  Thick walls of pikes made their mark of weakly armed and unwilling crossbowmen.

Crunch.

Out of sight the lowlander skirmishers had outflanked French peasants massed in the fields west of the town, JS wanted them to charge and it was agreed they would need 3 orders to do.  In the last command roll of the game he blundered and cursed his luck, until a subsequent 6 saw them eagerly vault the hedgerows and lunger into the peasants.  The final melees saw the pikes break through the French infantry.

As time was beating us we drew to a close there, but it was apparent that nothing short of a miracle would stop the English and Flemish connecting in their next turn.  The French were spent by three charges against the English lines and the Flemish had ultimately made short work of what troops were committed to facing them.  We were in agreement then that the game was an allied victory.

As to the rules used, as stated it was Hail Caesar, but with modifications to suit the small scale of the available table.  The Headingley club is so popular that a 6x4 foot table is all the space we can spare for a figure game.  To that end we used 2/3rd sized units and halved all movement and firing ranges.  To avoid unbalance in a small game I disallowed the 'Follow Me' rule; and I think this was a good idea.

Overall it was a cracking little game, and I think at least, the scenario bore up quiet well.  My thanks to the players, and onto the big game...

Tabletop Teaser - A War on Two Fronts

Permit me the indulgence of emulating the style of the great Charles S Grant.  In what may become an infrequent series of scenarios.

A War on Two Fronts

Introduction

War on two fronts is a common enough military problem at the strategic scale, one only has to think of World War two for the most famous examples; but at an operational and tactical level it is not uncommon.  the distinction over a simple flank attack here being that the defender knows he is facing an enemy in more than one zone, and must choose to dispose his forces and battleplan accordingly.  Napoleon's situation at Waterloo being a fine example (though whether Napoleon made the right choices on the day, is another matter).

This scenario places the opposing sides in such a position, with the Red player(s) looking to link up smaller forces in an effort to extract a larger Blue force from a vital position.

Ground

For the most part the terrain is open flat pasture, with little to disturb.  A large, dense forest sits on the centre of the northern edge of the field, and is considered impassable to all but troops in skirmish order.  It is impossible to target troops inside it unless they are in base contact with its edge.  To the south and opposite the forest, stands the edge of an unfortified town, with a field complex to its East, and a small open woodland - suitable for skirmish and loose-ordered infantry - to its west.  A dirt track in reasonable condition leads to the Northeast from the town, but will offer no great benefit to marching troops (and need not be represented if players so wish).

Period

Although written with ancient and mediaeval periods in mind, the conditions of this scenario make it suitable for any period up to the middle of the nineteenth century.  Longer range firepower and artillery, along with high mobility make more modern periods less applicable.

General Outline

Red has been advancing his force for some days on the fringes of hostile enemy territory, in the hope of connecting with the troops of a trusted ally.  The two forces have finally made limited contact, but find a substantial enemy disposed between them.  large impassable features to the North and South mean that any attempt by the two forces to withdraw in the face of Blue will lead to their advantage in numbers and mounted troops ensuring one or other ally is destroyed in a rout.  Therefore the generals decide to attempt to force the choke point and assimilate their forces.

For Blue - having harried and attempted to block Red for days -  a powerful and mobile force finds itself cornered on open ground between two minor divisions.  Either of these, it could confidently take on in open combat, but with a threat to its rear Blue must weigh up the risk of both.  It has hurriedly called up reluctant troops and has limited artillery support stationed on the outskirts of a largely undefended town to its South, but can otherwise look only to its own defences.

Blue Force

Within deployment zone A, Blue may field the following:

• One unit of Elite Heavy Cavalry
• Three units of Heavy Cavalry
• Two Units of Medium infantry with missile weapons 
• Four units of Medium infantry with hand to hand weapons

(Alternately for horse and musket periods replace the missile weapons with light infantry units, and the other infantry with line units)

Within deployment zone B, blue fields:

• One unit of Artillery with suitable field fortifications
• One unit of skirmishing light infantry
• Two units of levies of poor quality

(Artillery may be Ballistae, Onager, Bombard or Cannon as period dictates, its defences should offer a last stand defence to the crew.  For later periods Levy infantry should be of very poor quality militia, Skirmishers as Jaeger's or similar.)

Each force should have at least one commander as rules and balance dictates.

Red Force

Within deployment zone E, Red fields:

• One unit of Elite Heavy Cavalry
• One unit of Heavy Infantry with hand to hand weapons
• Two units of Medium Infantry with hand to hand weapons
• Four  units of Light infantry with missile weapons

(Alternately for H&M periods, replace heavy infantry with Guard/Elite foot, and use 4 Units of Line and 2 Units of Light Foot)

Within deployment zone F, red should field

• Three units of Medium Infantry with hand to hand weapons - distinct from any type fielded in zone E
• One unit of skirmishing Light Infantry

(As force F is culturally different from force E - conditions apply to the infantry composition, for later H&M periods this distinction would be insignificant, treat force as 3 units of Line infantry - but see also notes below - and one of skirmishing Jaeger's or similar.)

Each force should have at least one commander as rules and balance dictates.

Playing the Game

Each player should use a copy of the map to indicate their initial dispositions.  If two or more players divide the red forces they may not confer on their initial deployments; in a similar situation Blue, may.  With the exception of skirmishers, treat the northern forest as impassable terrain, skirmishers will still treat it as difficult ground.  All templated areas of terrain to the south are difficult going, treat all other ground as good going.

Winning the Game

The game ends after 6 full turns for each player (unless preferred rules would not reflect a full game in this time).  Red wins if units from Force E and Force F meet on the field, this will occur when either of their units comes within a half infantry move of the other - so long as both units are steady (i.e. not broken, shaken, routed or similarly of low morale).  Blue wins if it destroys either Force E or Force F outright, or if after each sides limit of turns it has prevented the two allies from connecting up.

Notes

The game should be balance so that Blue at A has a more potent force than Red has in force E, but that it cannot ignore force F except at its own peril.  As E and F are intended to represent different nations they should each have distinct fighting styles (for example one might be Spanish, the other Iberian Celt; against a Roman army), these distinctions in troop type will fade into the black powder eras, but national personalities may remain distinctive.

Time should be a factor, as Red has much ground to cover, but the number of turns should permit at least some leway in movement rates for Red to have a fighting chance of making it if things go well for them.  Rule systems which make it difficult for troops to deploy between two enemy forces will need adapting accordingly (and probably won't suit this sort of game anyway).



We recently tried this scenario out with my Hundred Years War collection, and the Hail Caesar rules, a report will follow in due course.  I hope this scenario will inspire some of you out there, and I'd be happy to hear about any other plays it gets.