Tuesday, April 12, 2016

ECW Battle of Montgomery, BatRep

With the background for the Battle of Montgomery laid out in a prior post (see: Battle of Montgomery), I had a rare Friday Night At The Fights session against Jake.  Even more rare, I managed two games within the same week!
Battle lines close from Roundhead positions
The Roundhead's needed to hold Salt Bridge to garner a victory so what does Meldrum do?  He orders a general advance towards the Royalist position on the hill.  Meldrum sympathizers argue that having his forces deployed with their backs up against the unfordable river was untenable and an advance to gain space was a good proposition.
Cavalry clash on the left
To begin the battle, Meldrum orders Middleton's horse covering the bridge to prevent an advance upon Salt Bridge.  Middleton charges into Ellis' Foote and is sent reeling back to  the bridge following a devastating first volley.  Attacking foote frontally with horse is not advised! 

Wasting no time, the Royalist Commander of Horse, Col. Trevor, spurs his horse forward on the left, joins his lead regiment of horse, and launches an attack on Fairfax's closest regiment of horse.  As Trevor approaches, Fairfax countercharges into the oncoming Cavalier horse with a clash midway between the two formations' starting positions.  Being trotters, Fairfax's troopers discharge their pistols at point blank range before drawing their swords.  The short range fire disorders the Royalist horse but does not stop them.   
Fairfax vs Trevor
The momentum of the Royalist horse is too much for Fairfax and the Roundhead horse is repulsed in disorder taking more casualties than than it gave.  Its retreat brought the beaten horse into contact with Fairfax's other supporting horse regiment and it is pushed back in disorder.  Fortunately for Fairfax, Trevor is unable to mount a vigorous pursuit.
Fairfax repulsed
Roundhead horse driven back into their support
Commanding the Roundhead foot in the center, Lothian continues his advance towards the Royalist line.  Mainwaring's Foote advances too close to Tillier's Foote and Tillier unleashes a seemingly devastating first volley.  
Panorama of battle
Ouch!
Being of solid resolve, Tillier's fire does no more than disorder Mainwaring.  What, only disorder?  As a note, Lothian's three regiments of Cheshire foot historically showed great courage on this day of battle and are allowed one inspiring rally per game.  In this, the Cheshire foot may ignore one failed Cohesion Test.  My Royalist adversary was quite gentlemanly when such devastating fire resulted in only a disorder.
Fairfax rallies and attacks
Seeing no pursuit from Trevor, Fairfax rallies his horse and pitches back into Trevor's horse.  In a repeat of the action only a few moments before, Fairfax is sent reeling back into his supporting horse.  Trevor, again, fails to follow up on his success.  For now.
Fairfax repulsed a second time
His own horse weakened from two melees in quick succession, Trevor orders a supporting regiment of horse to cover his right flank in preparation for dealing with the Roundhead horse on the wing.
Royalist horse maneuver on the wing
While the remainder of the battle lines were content to exchange short range musket fire to little effect, Trevor's horse went back into action against Fairfax.  At this point in the battle we remembered that Opportunity Fire was a possible reaction to shooting so fire and counter fire became de rigueur for the remainder of the game.

With escape blocked by the river, Trevor took the opportunity to attack the Royalist horse once again.  Finally in this clash of horseflesh and steel, Trevor prevails and Fairfax's Regiment of Horse is scattered.  Unable to check the pursuit, Trevor's victorious horse hit the remaining Roundhead horse.  Winded and ranks depleted, the Royalist horse are, likewise, scattered. 
Demise of Fairfax's Horse
Having contained the cavalry threat to the Royalist right, Trevor's remaining horse maneuvers to threaten the Roundhead center.  Vaughn's Regiment of Horse moves to place himself in a position to fall upon the flank of Mainwaring's regiment.
Maneuvers on the Roundhead left

Going in against Mainwaring's regiment, Tillier closes on the his foe.  With neither foot regiment able to get the upper hand in the contest, Vaughan seizes the opportunity to attack while Mainwaring is otherwise occupied.
Mainwaring in trouble
With God on their side, Mainwaring summons the strength to repel both Royalist attackers.  Huzzah!
Mainwaring overcomes the odds
Not able to contain their excitement, Mainwaring's boys advance back into the scrum with Tillier.  Again, neither regiment of foote gains and an advantage and push of pike yields no gain.
Push of pike
Sensing a bit of deja vu, the Royalist foote is again hit in the flank from Royalist horse.  This time the result is not the same.  Rather than repelling their foes a second time, Mainwaring's regiment is cut down where they stand.
Mainwaring attacked gain!
Having destroyed Mainwaring and seemingly secured the Royalist right, Sir Byron orders a general advance on the bridge.  Finally, awaking to the danger, Meldrum orders a withdrawal towards the bridge and his only change for escape. 
Royalists advance on Salt Bridge
Greatly weakened from the first, ill-advised clash of the battle, Middleton's horse is scattered by musketry from both Washington's dragoons and Brereton's Foot.  Having dispatched Roundhead horse covering the bridge, the Royalist left wing swings to cut off Meldrum's chance to escape.  Meldrum lays down his arms and concedes defeat.
Excellent contest and a much better understanding of Baroque gained following the playing of the second game of Montgomery.  Perhaps, the first battle of Montgomery will get chronicled later?  Major victory for Sir Bryon as he controlled the bridge and prevented the Roundheads from escaping.  As Meldrum, I was out-generaled by Jake's Sir Byron.  Game provided much ebb and flow.  While the resiliency of the Cheshire foote helped, the Roundheads were unable to overcome a number of failed Discipline Tests and the greater marksmanship of their opponent.  With two games in the books, thoughts can now turn towards reflecting on my first impressions of Baroque.  

Congratulations to Jake for a battle well-fought!  


21 comments:

  1. Excellent Batrep, Jon. I feel like I was there!

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  2. It was an entertaining game. I am generally favorable towards Impetus Baroque. I really like the fact that Impetus bonuses are now retained until 1/2 of the original BV is lost as it makes a dynamic game more possible. I intentionally took an aggressive stance in this game to drive my Impetus bonuses as well as isolate the bridge. I also found it very beneficial to hold off on the initial firing opportunity to maximize the benefit of first fire. The special rule made sense, and it made for an excellent game.

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    1. You recognized and learned the tactics quicker than I. I'll get you next time!

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    1. That is partially Jon's fault. He reminded me that a double 6 on initiative increased leadership and a double 1 decreased. The dice lords responded by giving us our first doubles (6 for me, 1 for Jon) in the game....

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    2. Killer Dice, for sure! Jake was embarrassed to show the result.

      Glad you enjoyed the game, Ray.

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  4. Great looking game, no doubt!!

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  5. A great looking game Jonathan and very nice report! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Baroque.

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks, Christopher. A Baroque First Impressions is probably my next evolution in my Baroque saga.

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  6. Superb - looks terrific, and a great report - nice job on the post, and the game looks like a blast. Glad that the Impetus game hangs together so well. I'm fired up to get my own ECW guys back on the table now!

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    1. Appreciate your kind comments!

      Very pleased to provide a little inspiration to getting your ECW collection onto the gaming table. I look forward to that event.

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  7. Great looking game, lovely looking armies and I'm looking forward to your great Italian wars outing!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you, Iain! I look forward to seeing the Italian Wars figures in a game soon too.

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  8. Great report card Jon, great looking figures/units and photos too!

    i also looking forward to your Great Italian Wars game..

    All the best,
    cheers

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    1. Much appreciated, Phil! Jake and I are anxious to get our collections onto the table for a battle.

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  9. Enjoyed the report and the pretty pix, and.. kudos to Jake!

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    1. Yep, soundly beaten. I am a gracious host, after all. Glad you enjoyed the report!

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