Cropredy Bridge BatRep

The background for Cropredy Bridge was presented in the previous post (see: On The Table Today Is).  Now, time to present the action, itself.

Four players took up the challenge in a remote game with Chris and Richard taking command of the Parliamentarian Army while Steve and Tony took command of the Royalist Army.  While Richard had played the rules, A Reign Cut Short, one time, perhaps a year ago, the others received their baptism of fire.  The rules are my own work with original inspiration coming from Howard Whitehouse's Ironsides.

Without further ado, on to battle!
(Arrows: White=move; Yellow=retreat; Red=melee).

Armies drawn up for battle.

Middleton rushes over Cropredy Bridge
 with infantry following.

With Royalist horse arrayed upon the heights, 
Astley's infantry march toward Hays Bridge.

Astley on the march.

Coming down from the heights,
 Wilmot's horse deploys.
Middleton counters. 

Middleton and Wilmot eye each other nervously.

Who will flinch first?

View from behind the Royalist position.
Northampton on the left (foreground).
Waller on the left (background).

Astley's foote regiments swing into line facing the enemy.
Wilmot and Cleveland charge toward Middleton's horse.
A swirling melee erupts in charges and countercharges.

When the dust settles, each command loses
two horse regiments with one more wavering.
Vandruske brings up his foote.

With cavalry in tatters to his left, Vandruske advances
 his infantry toward the Royalist positions.

As Waller's dragoons mount up,
Waller prepares to attack Northampton.

Taking fire from Vandruske, Wilmot is forced to retire.
Waller advances on the right
 while Northampton moves up.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place,
Northampton forms his brigade into a wedge.

Waller closes in on Northampton from all sides.

Dragoons guarding Hays Bridge.

Waller attacks and Northampton is destroyed!
The dragoons guarding Hays Bridge,
 safely behind the barricades, come forward.

With the right secure,
Vandruske presses on against the Royalist center.

Middleton attacks the bold dragoons near Hays Bridge.

The dragoons are put to flight
as they scurry back across the bridge.

The dragoons rout!

While Vandruske's left regiment of foote
suffers a setback in melee,
the other scatters Astley's yellow coats
 as they dissolve under fire. 

As Vandruske's bluecoats crest the hill,
Wilmot realizes it is time to disengage.
with his path to Hays Bridge cut off, the battle is over.

Yes, the battle is over.  The Parliamentarians win a major victory as Wilmot's rear column is effectively destroyed.

What began with great promise for the Royalists in their early cavalry attacks upon Middleton quickly unraveled when Northampton was caught in a pincer by Waller and Vandruske.  With no artillery on the field, the Royalists found themselves at a disadvantage although Parliamentarian artillery was generally ineffective but sometimes a nuisance.

Congratulations to Richard and Chris for their superb handling of the Parliamentarian Army.  Rather than strike with Middleton directly toward Hays Bridge (as historically), Chris chose to engage the enemy cavalry first.  Richard's dismantling of Northampton will be one for the record books.  

Thanks to Steve and Tony for offering up a solid defense while providing an entertaining game.  With one game under their belts, no guarantee that this result could be repeated.  For me, great fun in bringing together distant gamers for an enjoyable session.  I look forward to the next time.