It was a warm but overcast day (possibly sunny actually, dont recall) when 9 fully grown men made their way to the small town of Frodsham to do some serious battling with their toy soldiers.
The usual haunt of Ellesmere Port was not available to us, but at short notice, my wife had confirmed that the Frodsham Guide HQ in the Old Courthouse was available, and let me have the key. And thus the scene was set for the inaugural battle of Frodshams new gaming club, the Frodsham Furies! Or possibly the Weaver Warriors, still undecided.
A table was arrayed with the fantastic scenery on offer, a scenario was devised on the fly (I'd intended to be better prepared but had overslept!) and the available troops roughly divided. Micheal Cromwell would command the Parliamentarians, ably assisted by Ian, Ian and Dave.
Luke took the title Earl of Montrose and commanded the Royalists, with help from Andy and Chris. Rick arrived later in the day with the Kings army to provide reinforcements.
I would be Games Master and Tea Maker.
The Scenario was simple: Several Fortifications would be in place, and had to be captured. Other points would be awarded for style, damage, and the Games Masters whim.
The Parliamentarian forces were larger, but the Royalists had the heavier fortifications to defend. Both would get reinforcements when Rick arrived. Powder was limited to a deck of cards each, discarding one card whenever a unit fired. When the initial deck ran out powder could still be scrounged (from misplaced supplies, captured powder, looting the dead etc) which would grant 1d6 powder cards per turn.
The battle:
The Royalists, despite being heavily outnumbered went on the offensive. Chris commanding the bulk of the Horse in the centre smashed in to the Parliamentarian army and sent its regiments reeling. He didnt let up and tore a hole right in the middle of their lines! Counter attacks were insufficient to stop him, and though he captured no objectives, he inflicted a lot of damage. Special mention must be made of the famous Cuirassiers "Ye Uncuttables" who finally achieved their ambition of smashing a pike phalanx head on, and then doing their usual trick of absorbing huge amounts of firepower!
The flanks were slower to come to grips, Ian and Daves command rolls struggling to get the troops moving. Michael was hampered by a maliciously placed pond (I'd intended to leave the ground there more open but somebody else had decided to "help") and couldnt find a weak spot to get to grips with. The Royalist wings preferred to sit tight and wait for the Kings men to arrive. Finally, with some help from Cromwell himself, headway was made and the storming parties went forward, kust in time to meet the Royalist reinforcements coming the other way! There was a deadly push of pike all across the front of the Royalist left wing and Parliament had the worst of it, despite their numbers. They regained some honour driving off the nigh unstoppable scots, but never got near the fort that was their objective.
At the far end of the line Michael had spotted a weakspot: one of Andys pike stands had revealed its flank, and the dragoons were out on a limb! He attacked with everything he had available to him but unbelieavably was driven off.
With this the game ended, the result was not in doubt: a convincing Royalist Victory!
Im pleased to say all present had a lot of tea, jaffa cakes and fun. £21.20 GBP was raised towards the Guide groups "improving the place and doing it up a bit" fund. Further meetings on a regular basis were demanded. 1500+ figures were on this 18x4 foot table. They wouldnt let me use the Winged Hussars, which I thought was mean. The Rules used were Pike and Shotte. Mr Kiplings Apple Pies proved more popular than his Apple and Blackcurrent. The Tea was PG Tips.
This battle report was brought to you by accident.
Here are some pics:
The Parliamentarian Left under consideration:
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Some excellent synchronised pointing from the Royalists with only a half hearted reply from the Parliamentarians!
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Happy. And they know it:
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Andy and Chris consider the Jaffa Cake conundrum:
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An inspired piece of tape measure brandishing from the Parliamentarian commander!
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The Royalist Centre advances.
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Failed command rolls rule the day around the starfort.
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A typical English village.
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"Ye Uncuttable" lead the way, hacking into Parliaments Centre
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8 fully grown men and 1500 little metal ones
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"how long has that pond been there?"
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"Consult the book of armaments!"
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A cunningly placed tape measure foils the Royalist advance.
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Roundhead horse, feeding the ducks.
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The thin blue line
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The mortar battery. It missed.
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Push of pike around Windmill hill
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In a country churchyard…
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As the battle rages all around Farmer Giles tries to keep the piggies calm.
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The Royalist Wedge
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With no powder it all comes down to the pushing and shoving.
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Another perfectly delivered tape measure brandish from the Royalists!
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Intense concentration all across the field.
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takes a look at flexible roads made from long-lasting flexible resin.
