Battle at Northycote Farm

For our most recent encounter here in GHQ, and keeping faith with facilitating the appearance of periods/armies/rules less seen on the tabletop battlefield, I set up a fictional ECW game which I named after a local farm and country park which has core buildings going back to the C17th. Phil provided the farm buildings, PMC Buildings from Caliver Books,  while the rest of the terrain is from my Last Valley collection. My armies are mostly Foundry and Perry Miniatures, though the guns might be from other sources, I forget! We used Pike & Shotte for the rules, though no doubt were playing Black Caesar & Shotte! Whatever, we had a happy two or three hours or so. On now to the usual annotated photomontage to hopefully carry you down into the action ~

The Parliamentary army of Obadiah Bykleigh,  gentleman ~ but military incompetent! His objective, the stores and treasure currently stored at Northycote Farm awaiting collection by the arch Royalist, Sir Marmaduke Robinson.

The Royalist army of Sir Marmaduke Robinson drawn up at the end of Turn 2. You may notice in the distance the Dragoons of the Parliamentary army have reached the hedge line and can threaten any movement on the objective. The first two turns had not been kind to either army, but particularly towards the Royalists.

Obadiah's Dragoons proved the exception to his army's lethargy, reaching the hedge line and effectively stymying the Royalist movement on their objective of recovering the stored supplies and treasure.

While the Dragoons hold off any premature Royalist advance on the farm Obadiah advances Foote and Horse in their support, seeking to take advantage of Royalist lethargy. 

As his Foote deploys into fighting formation the first clash of Parliamentary and Royalist Horse develops on their left flank.

As a second melee of Horse develops on the flank of the first, Royalist Dragoons dismount and advance on the hedge line held by their Parliamentary opposite number.

The two melees of Horse are brutal and conclusive. Sir Mattias Bykleigh's Horse are routed by their Royalist foe while Obadiah Bykleigh's Horse thrash their opponents. The Royalists rally back, threatened by musketeers out of shot, while the Parliamentary Horse sweep onward in support of their Dragoons.

On the opposite flank further elements of Horse are clashing in brutal, swirling combat! The Royalists are lead by their general, a move proving decisive in ensuing combat.

Parliamentary losses are too much to bear, the Horse's morale collapses and they flee. Fortunately their second line is ready to meet the threat!

Spured on by a little know East Anglian by the name of Cromwell Sir Martyn Bowland's Horse charge home against further Royalists! Will his brave leadership prove telling or empty bravado?

Back on the Parliamentary left flank more fighting between both army's Horse continues. The Parliamentary Foote might find life too hot for their liking if their Horse is defeated.

As feared the Parliamentary Horse is defeated by their foe and the remnants flee! Fortunately for the Parliamentary Foote the Royalists are Shaken and so retire fearing a devastating volley from the Parliamentary musketeers!

On the Parliamentary right disaster strikes the Royalist regiments of Horse. In bloody, decisive melees they are shattered by their foe and the remnants sent fleeing from the field! Suddenly the slow moving Royalist Foote finds its flank fatally exposed.

Despite serious losses Cromwell's leadership has proved decisive and the Royalist cause is fatally wounded. Mark my words, we shall hear of this Cromwell fellow again before this sad state of affairs in our divided kingdom is resolved.

The victorious Parliamentary army advances all along its front as the Royalists begin a slow withdrawal.  The supplies and treasure will be removed from Northycote Farm to a safer location in nearby Rushall Hall. The Royalists will rally their forces back in Bushbury and regroup ready for the next phase, whenever that maybe. Cromwell meanwhile moves on to greater things...

A fine game resolved in eight turns and almost exclusively decided by the Horse of both armies, the Foote being hardly engaged and only the Parliamentary gun getting a shot or two off! Command dice were far from kind to the Royalists who fought well despite everything going against them! Dour and dependable, the plodding Parliamentarian army proved the victor.

Home Again, Home Again...

...Jiggity Jig! We've just spent over 9 hours  making a four hour journey home from Cornwall!! I would personally like to emasculate the moron in charge of our motorways with a rusty knife! To raise my spirits here are a few pictures of Anthony House, the ancestral home of the Carew family.

The present house, in the care of the National Trust, postdates the English Civil War period.

But the grand entrance hall gives a nod to that epoch with several periods paintings, with nearly-headless Charlie dominating the fireplace wall.

I love this picture: cut out of its frame, thrown in the cellar, rescued and restitched into its frame. All as the Carews supported first one cause, then another. Very ECW if you Ask me.

The colour of the Carew regiment of foote. Protected behind a screen, is it an original?

Some of the medals awarded to one of the Carew-Pole family in the C19th. Can you identify the star? Or any of the others?

Some 'military bits' casually arranged about a door!

A silver table centre piece? A bit posher than the ship in Compton Castle!

Dinner is served! You can make out the ship in the background!

C18th Chinese earthenware funery figures, not brought to England until 1996 apparently.

I loved this painting! The last time England had a decent test team perhaps? 

The terrace face of the house. Worth a visit if you are in the area. The tea room doesn't decent pastie as a bonus.

The Old 1-2...

...that is, one hobby related Christmas gift and two painted figures, all I have to show for the holiday period. 

Firstly, the gift, a book of rule suggestions and scenarios for sieges in the ECW. In truth a bit off the wall as gifts go, but I must not be ungrateful and will endeavour to put it to good use in the coming year ~

Secondly, the two figures I have completed, in the shape of two from the Warlord Games' Roman civilians pack I bought on my Lead Belt trip. 

The first I finished was an old veteran reduced to begging, sadly a sight we can still encounter here in the C21st.

The second figure represents a senior Roman officer making a sacrificial offering of wine to the gods. (In my case it should probably be to those capricious dice gods!) 

Both figures will be added to the background fluff no doubt in my Republican Roman army for the Carthaginian Wars. Of course honesty compels me to confess that I have completed some other hobby stuff this month in the shape of the three MDF German farm buildings for the SYW games. I also have a SYW French Regiment of Grenadiers Royaux on the go, but nothing approaching the finished article to show until next year at a guess.

Lord Gornale Takes Command

Paul recently paid his now monthly visit to GHQ, to lead the Royalist army in an English Civil War game. We agreed to use Pike & Shot as the game rules as their common heritage with Black Powder makes them a little easier to pick up for a one off game. The battlefield is very sparsely occupied with terrain features, making a bloody set to more likely! Let's see how the battle unfolded, shall we? 

The action opens on the Royalists'left wing with massed cavalry charges led respectively by Rupert and Cromwell. Parliamentary heavy artillery opens up on the Royalist centre causing some Disorder.

Surprised to find Royalist Dragoons occupying the high ground on their right the Parliamentary dragoons halt in confusion. Had their commander been more aggressive they might have carried the position themselves, now it will cost many lives...

The Parliamentary Foote in the centre of their line at last begins to move forward!

The Parliamentary left and centre advance cautiously, the Royalist Dragoons have seized the high ground and will prove stubborn in its defence. 

The advance of the Parliamentary right is halted and thrown back but Gornale fails to drive home the advantage and they reform.

Talbot's and The Duke of York 's Foote hastily form hedgehog under threat from Parliamentary regiments of horse!

On Parliament 's right early exchanges between rival horse regiments favour Rupert's regiments of horse! Sir Matthew Bykleigh's Horse flee the field!

Steady Parliamentary Foote repel the attack from Gornale's Lifeguard of Horse!

A view from the Royalists' right flank. While Parliament's left wing has seen the dragoons forced back the line has not been broken or turned. Gornale's best chance of victory seems to be slipping away.

Despite some early hesitation and setbacks, Fairfax and Cromwell have lead the Parliamentary horse to a stunning victory over Rupert's regiments of horse.

In the Parliamentary centre, the Foote have formed up to bring their muskets to bear on the Royalists' who are struggling to form up.

Obadiah Bykleigh, gentleman, receives news of the battle's outcome from Essex.

Whilst the Royalists' Red Dragoons hold the hill, even with the support of Gornale's Lifeguard of Horse, they cannot drive of the Parliamentary left.

Lord Gornale confers with the Bishop of Lichfield, before both ignominiously flee the field.

Rupert's Blue Coats and Robinson's White Coats hold off the enemy amongst the chaos of defeat.

The Parliamentary left stays firm and holds the Royalist Dragoons at bay. The support of Essex's Tawney Coats, a light artillery piece and Bykleigh's Foote has emboldened the Parliamentary Blue Dragoons.

With three of Gornale's battles broken his army is beaten and leaves the field to the victors. A splendid game we both agreed which swung both ways at different times before suddenly slipping away from the Royalists as their morale failed.

Roundhead or Royalist?

 Sue and I have been away for a week's R&R in Cornwall. We've been staying in the small coastal village of Downderry in a rather fine appartment with a splendid view ~

We have generally been chillaxing locally mostly, but popping out and about if we felt like it. I don't know about other wargamers, but it seems to me that aspects of the hobby pop up even when you are not consciously looking for any. Treating ourselves to Coffee & Cake in Liskeard's Stuart House we found an exhibition of the Civil War's impact on the town and C17th life in general ~

Lots of interesting information panels around explaining both the exhibits and the course of the war in the area, especially focusing on Roundway Down and it's aftermath.

And all for free! The final three from the exhibition focusing on the likely events in the life of the woman of the house and childbirth. Progress is a good thing it leaves you thinking! We also took advantage of our National Trust membership to visit Anthony House, thankfully mostly avoiding the earnest but irritating intrusions of the 'volunteer' room guides, who I suspect are mostly retired infant school teachers! The house post dates the ECW but is linked to the Carew family, with members declaring for both sides it seems ~

The approach to the house, not landscaped by Capability Brown!

The Hall, dominated by its fireplace and portrait of Charles I.

Sir John Carew(?) Who raised the Militia for Parliament. Royalist family members cut his picture out of the frame and consigned it to the cellars. When Parliament later executed him for treason the picture was roughly stitched back in the frame!

What appears to be a period silk standard of the family's regiment of Foot. If it is genuine then it's in mighty fine condition. It's behind a protective perspex screen so it's safe from grubby fingered wargamers!

We were able to call in at Restormel Castle, or what remains of it. It briefly saw action in the Civil War, the only time in its entire history it seems. 

It seems it wasn't even worth slighting at the war's conclusion! Sad fate for any castle to be deemed useless!