The immediate aftermath

The campaign continues with Lord Thomas hoping to get back to Eastspring with the guns, survive the ignominy of his retreat,and rebuild his force. In his view the lack of horse and the ineffectiveness of artillery in encounter battles put him at a disadvantage from the start.  Would his superiors agree though?

Sir Josiah had his own problems. Colonels Cavanagh and De Prest, seemed to have no idea of the role he expected of them. They were of the opinion that the Royalist retreat signified job done and to give an idea of their reluctance to prosecute a pursuit, Lord Thomas and his guns were ( if he but knew it) no longer in danger as the Parluamentarian Horse ambled alongside the Infantry.  Sir Josiah, becoming in mortal danger of a choler, exhorted Colonel Mudford and his Dragoons to follow and harass the enemy, but the Colonel's reply of "On our own? With no support? These are green troops Sir" Sir Josiah thought he detected more of a yellow hue, but bit his tongue as he needed these Dragoons to follow his orders through. Sir George Maltravers Regiment had suffered the most, from Artillery and musketry, and so turned backwards towards Speyford for succor and  reserves.

The battle of South Clifton

Well ... the first encounter has taken place. Ubfortunately the Commanders inexperience was only exceeded by mine. It did not go well. 

Lord Thomas Markham of Foresby had led his mainly raw force, financed and led by his friends and acquaitances, from Eastspring, and across the River Trout South of Forksey. To tempt away beseigers from the strategically important town of Oldfetter.The agreed plan was for him to take and hold the large village of Dollingham. This would disrupt local Parliamentarian recruitment, supply and also threaten the link between besiegers and Linden the shire's only city. His force was 3 Infantry regiments 2 pieces of  Artillery. and a Regiment of horse. Artillery would make fortification of Dollingham easier, but it would slow him down

Sir Josiah Letterman of Spalsby was on a mission too. He was required to lead a strike force on a spoiling attack against the Royalist food sources between Eastspring and Graftsop.He was pleased with his force,  2 regiments of Horse 1 of Dragoons and 3 regiments of Foote. This would give him the chance to hold a secure base whilst causing mayhem for the malignants in the area.

The Parliamentarians formed up on the Southern ridge with the Horse covering the road and the Dragoons on the Right with the intention of outflanking the Royalists from the Farm in front of them.

For their part, the Royalistrank and file put great faith in the Artillery they had brought with them. Those of their leaders who had experience of military action in the Low Countries were  far more apprehensive.

Appalling initiative throws for Parliament, gave Lord Thoresby hope. and when the Roundheads centre Infantry suffered damage from the exalted Artillery. The Parliamentarians advanced ( as best they could... those poor dice rolls.) Lord Thomas was happy to await the enemy and hoped to break the rraw enemy troops by making them face their fate and have to walk toward it

The Royalist right of the Horse and the trained and experience Foresby Regiment of Foot moved to cover the wing and negate the threat of the enemy horse... who seemed content  to just watch what was going on and let their horses graze...

The early successes of the gunners wre not to be replicated  and although the enemy was picking up damage  Lord Thomas could see that the enemy casualties were not having the effect that he had hoped for.. The guns would not be in his care for much longr at this rate. The raw levies were getting more and more erratic. There was a lot of smoke and noise but precious few casualies to force an outcome. In an effort to force the issue , the Royalist horse charged across the fiield  and slammed into the flank of Crabbe's Foot. Regrettably for Lord Thomas the cavalry would have been more effective if they had been armed with stinging nettles. After a round or two the Parliamentarian Horse charged into the rear of the Royalist Horse and after a while, routed them.  However, they Had bought Lord Thomas time, The guns were limbered  and the Thoresby foot escorted the guns away whilst the remaining foot of both sides decided that the gathering twilight made a good excuse to go home. The Parliamentary horse and dragoons had been exhausted by the little work they had done ( the dragoons spent most of their day birdwatching.) so the Royalists skulked away back towards the River Trout and a safe route home. 

Villages nearly ready....

Just got the thatched roofs to paint a pale grey brown. They are of acrylic resin filler smeared over cardboard. 

The roads MIGHT get a light brown wash, although my roads are a creamy coloured felt. Then a varnish. 

The campaign itself has got underway with the Royalist force having crossed the great River Trout and headed towards their objective of Dolling ham

. As it happened, the Parliamentarian forces had been tasked with a 'spoiling ' attack and were headed North toward the same crossing of the Trout.  The 2 sides, both having been appraised and shocked by the approach of the other are about to join battle North of Dollingham, near the villages of North and South Clipton......

Work continues apace..... well snail's pace, as buildings for my 6mm ECW campaign start to come together. Designed on computer, scaled down to roughly 1/300 these are printed onto paper which is stretched around a balsa or card insert. Great fun. These will provide the 4 villages/towns I will need for my OHW battles. The hills will be more.....errr... representational so as to fit into the Portable Wargaming gridded framework. The 'board' will be 45cmx45cm with 50mm squares. 

I have been preparing for a mini-ECW campaign, set in an area of the country (UK) where I once lived.
The premise is that there is a long lasting siege going on and, in an effort to divert the enemy's manpower from prosecuting/raising the siege , local magnates ahve been asked to take forces into enemy territory and attack settlements, hold them if you can or raze them if not to cause the enemy discomfort.

I set about producing a map, assembling 6mm armies for a Portable Wargame / One Hour Wargame style resolution. Also terrain pieces for this.

Enough of this verbose persiflage... Here is the Map

Feedback would be most welcome

In the beginning......

Being well advanced into my dotage, my recall of days long gone is far better than what I had for tea yesterday. My dear papa was a military man, and at one Christmas party (many gifts fashioned in the Camp workshops) in  the very early 50's, I received a fort (painted co-incidentally exactly the same shade of green as the centurion tanks and other vehicles outside the Officer's Mess  windows)  and half a dozen Britain's soldiers. I cannot recall any other gifts I received that year. My interest in all things military, and my admiration for the men and women who don their country's uniform, remain undiminished with the passing years.

Airfix figures ( 2 shillings a box, affordable when one's income was 2 shillings and sixpence)  were early favourites although Swoppet knights were AWESOME. In teen years conversions were attempted with the useful aforementioned Airfix. Metal models were mainly beyond my reach... 2s 6d for 1 mounted knight.

Then came RPGs.

This blog will be based on my ramblings and musings of the present day shenanigans that I attempt., inspired by the blogs of others and the advent of  Bob Cordery's The Portable Wargame and Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames. I can no longer hoik  around 6x4 pieces of  MDF and the use of the dining room table is severely curtailed by the powers that be, hence the delight of discovering The Portable Wargame.

Last evening I played my first game of Ganesha Games 'Galleys & Galleons' . Inspired by Kaptain Kobold's enthralling Action reports and his 'lolly stick' ships, themselves inspired by Tim's Miniature ( The Stronghold Rebuilt). I played the first scenario, The Pursuit. A large Galleon sttod in for an Indiaman and a Brig of Piratical intent, the Witch  of Bognor was the pursuer.

The Dagwacht saw that the Witch was making a course to intercept her on the further side of Napkin Island  and , having disappeared from the Witch's view wore ship to bring her back to the windward side of the Island. When the Witch cleared the Island with many a curse she too turned back. The Captain and Master of The Dagwacht  knew this would happen and awaited the sight of the Witch's staysails and wore ship again.

The infuriated pirates turned their ship agai..... unfortunately they did not have the sea room  and ran aground.... the Dagwacht had a simple run to its exit point.

Back on the island the pirate crew had 2 problems to solve, how to repair and refliat the Witch and the election of a new captain..... the previous post holder now being the main course for the island's crabs