Cheriton: Freitag vs Wheatley

After umpiring the four-player game of Cheriton (see Battle of Cheriton, Hopton vs Waller), Mark agreed to indulge me in a one-on-one refight of the battle.  Having fought the earlier battle as a Royalist, Mark opted to command the Parliamentarian Army under Waller.  As a refresher, the battlefield and army dispositions are illustrated in the table view below:

The rules of engagement for the battle are once again my A Reign Cut Short adapted for play on a hex grid.  Game #1 in the link above was the first playing under the hex permutation.  The game went well enough to give the rules another hex-based run-out.  Figures are 30mm from a variety of manufacturers but mostly Redoubt and Renegade.

Battle array looking from east.

Looking north toward the Royalist Army
from behind Cheriton Woods. 

On to battle!

Before the battle begins, Waller must decide if he will pull off a unit of commanded shot from the battle line and push them into Cheriton Woods.  He does so.  With commanded shot positioned in these woods, Hopton counters by forming up his own unit of commanded shot in an attempt to drive the Roundheads out of the woods.

The battle begins with Haselerigge moving his cavalry forward to engage the enemy.  Forth counters by sending his cavalry wing forward to contest the ground.  A series of charges and counter charges results in heavy casualties for all involved.  Forth is driven back when Haselrigge's Lobsters come up in support.  While the cavalry battle on Waller's left is in full swing, Waller orders Potley's infantry down from the South Spur and forward toward the enemy.  Leaving the high ground on the spur is a bold move.  I should have expected nothing less from Mark.  Many of Potley's infantry reach the hedge-lined lane splitting the battlefield.  Waller sends Balfour's cavalry trotting off to join Haselrigge on the Left Wing.  Appleyard's Royalist commanded shot moves up to the north edge of Cheriton Woods.

Cavalry clash on the Waller's Left.

Charge and counter charge is the order of the day.

Battlefield view from the east.

With Potley already taking up positions along the hedge, Hopton orders Paulet's infantry forward. Paulet's men take up positions along the lane with only the thick hedge separating them from the enemy.  Volleys erupt all across the battlefield as each army tries to gain an advantage.  Hopton pushes his two guns forward in search of suitable firing positions.

Hopton on the move!

Royalists line the hedge.

Close range firefights.

With Haselrigge leading his Lobsters on, the Royalist right is turned.  Forth's Royalist cavalry brigades are seen streaming to the rear without putting up much of a fight.  They are done for the day.  Pressing on, Haselrigge's cuirassiers are disordered trying to negotiate the thick hedges.  The Lobster's pursuit is blunted.  In swift counter charges, the already disordered and wavering Lobsters are sent packing to the rear as Stuart sends two of his Royalist cavalry brigades to reinforce the right.  Haselrigge escapes to rally his other cavalry.  Luckily for Haslerigge, Balfour has arrived onto the left wing and comes up smartly in support. 

Haselrigge blunted by hedges.

While infantry continue to battle it out in the center of the battlefield, fighting around Cheriton Woods intensives.  Royalist bluecoats push the enemy back from the hedge and advance into the heath.  Appleyard's commanded shot gain a foothold in the northern parts of the woods as the enemy falls back through the woods.  With Paulet's infantrymen hotly engaged in the center, they fail to appreciate the danger to their rear.  Having overcome both Forth and Stuart's cavalry, Balfour has scattered all enemy cavalry to his front.  A clear path into Hopton's rear lays wide open!  

Royalists gain ground near Cheriton Woods...

but fail to appreciate the danger to their rear.

With Hopton's right flank no longer, Balfour and Haselrigge move to sweep into the Royalist rear.  Seeing enemy cavalry on his right and in his rear, Bard orders his foot to form hedgehog as he tries to hold the right flank of the army.  Hopton's situation is quickly becoming out of hand as Haselrigge has turned the enemy flank!  Seeing the Royalist line under threat from Haselrigge and Balfour, Potley orders his infantry to fall back to reduce the possibility of his formations being shot to pieces before Balfour can deliver the coup de grace to Hopton's Army.

Royalist right is turned!

Bard is forced to form hedgehog.

Potley steps back from the intensive firefight.

As Haselrigge swings into the Royalist rear, he sets his sights on the redcoated foot astride Broad Lane.  The Roundhead cavalry charge in but the redcoats form into hedgehog to repel the enemy horsemen.  Fighting is bitter but with enemy cavalry swirling in their rear and enemy foot pouring volleys into their front, surrounded, the redcoats lay down their arms in surrender.  Seeing the foot to their right lay down their arms, the adjacent Royalist regiment forms hedgehog in anticipation of what may come.  Bard, situated on the other flank, can take no more.  He breaks and runs toward the rear.  Save yourself! 

Attacked in the rear!

Another Royalist regiment under threat
 while Bard is put to flight.

All looks bleak for Hopton but he still has a trick up his sleeve.  Attacking vigorously along Bramdean Lane, one of Potley's regiments of foot is destroyed on the heath.  Seizing this opportunity, Stuart leads his one remaining cavalry brigade forward onto the heath.  Looking up to the South Spur, the ridge is devoid of enemy except one, unsupported gun.  If that gun can be taken and the spur occupied, the battle may still be won.

Stuart rides uphill and into the gun.  The gun fires before Stuart's horsemen can close.  Some cavaliers fall.  Fighting against all odds, the artillerymen manage to drive Stuart's cavalry off.  Hoorah!  

Royalist success on the heath!

Seeing Stuart's cavalry repulsed and with enemy horse in its rear, the second redcoated infantry foot regiment near Bramdean Lane assesses its situation.  With enemy foot to the front and enemy cavalry coming up in its rear, it makes the wise decision to lay down arms.  This battle is over. 

Another Royalist regiment lays down its arms.

Well!  I faced a decisive loss in this battle.  Mark tore Hopton's Army to shreds once his cavalry overwhelmed the Royalist cavalry and then proceeded to rip apart the center.  Once Hopton's right was turned, I had no means to counter these threats.  Near the end of battle, had Stuart's cavalry overcome Waller's artillery and gained the South Spur then there may have been hope.  Certainly, the complexion of battle may have changed.  Still, overturning the eventual result of a Parliamentarian victory may have been slight.

Cunningly played, Mark, and a great victory for you and Waller!  Even in crushing defeat, the battle was great fun and we managed to play six turns to a decisive conclusion in under two hours.  Remarkable.

Until we meet again...