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Sunday, August 18, 2024

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...

46 comments:

  1. Superb battle report, shame about the result for you

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  2. 3-0 to Waller?
    Perhaps historically, Hopton never had a chance?
    Neil

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    1. The score is actually Waller 2-0-1. We scored Game #1 as a draw. Perhaps Hopton and I have a lot in common...

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  3. Another fine game and Parliamentarian win, which is good to see. As Neil says above, maybe Hopton didn't indeed stand a chance in this battle? From memory in many a battle the side that lost the cavalry clash tended to lose the fight in the end, assuming your could rein in the cavalry from sacking the baggage. A while since I read much on the ECW so I could be wrong!

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    1. Thanks, Steve! Perhaps Hopton really did have the decked stacked against him? I expect a few more refights of Cheriton before packing it away. With luck, maybe Hopton can turn the table on Waller? Yes, if you lose a wing, chances are you could lose the battle.

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  4. Another lovely looking game Jon and your usual excellent report!
    Steve's point is well made....do your rules include a risk of victorious cavalry charging off uncontrollably to sack and loot the enemy camp, rather than carrying on with the tactical plan to beat the enemy? That often happened in ECW battles and could have a major impact on the outcome....it was discipline and control that made Cromwells cavalry such a significant weapon in Parliaments arsenal!

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    1. Thank you, Keith, on both counts! Do you actually read though the whole report to jump to the end???

      These rules carry the possibility of uncontrolled cavalry pursuits like many others. Mark managed to keep most of his cavalry in check although I think the lobsters met their demise in a pursuit that placed them in a compromising situation.

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    2. I just had to re read your report to see if I had missed the answer to my question, Jon...but I don't think so?
      Generally, I do read right through game reports, unless I am pressed for time or if the report is excessively long....I don't always have 20 minutes to spend on reading about one game!
      Your reports are usually just the right length and with enough detail to follow how the game played out.

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    3. Keith, I was only checking to see if you are a “reader” or a “skimmer” wrt battle reports. I was not testing your reading comprehension. Very encouraging to see that you are a reader and the my batreps are a tolerable length! Sorry for the confusion.

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  5. Splendid looking game and it sounds bitterly fought into the end, I'm sure it was really a close run thing!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you! Mark, being the gentleman that he is, will say the battle was much closer than I would claim.

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  6. Fascinating to read through another game report having recently played the game with yourself. Moving Balfour’s cavalry across to support Haselrigge seems an effective tactic.

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    1. The game with Mark was the day before our game. Interesting to see that you both sent Balfour to the left.

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  7. The artillery did well against Stuart's cavalry. It would have been interesting to see what you might have achieved had they been successful.

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    1. Yes, Mark’s artillery performed better than they ought! What might have been… We will never know.

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  8. Exciting AAR Jon. Congrats to Mark.
    Seems I’m the only ‘Waller’ not to win! (David kept pleading with me to release Balfour’s cavalry through succour the left wing, so I take the blame for not using that plan that proved successful in the other games).
    Chris

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    1. Thank you, Chris! I suggest we convene a rematch from your four-player game. To be clear, you may not have won as Waller but you didn’t lose either!

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    2. It does look like Waller can win if he uses more cavalry on his left - not that this means I would necessarily have done as well! We are all wise to that now, however, so future Hoptons will be ready..
      Great report Jon, and clearly a dramatic game!

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    3. Thanks, David! Future Hopton's may be ready for such tactics. The question becomes, how does Hopton counter?

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    4. hmmm.... I am trying to think about that one. Waller has more cavalry ( including 'Lobsters' ), so Hopton needs to neutralise them somewhow. Dave didn't do a bad job in our game, come to think of it!

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    5. DC did a very good job of neutralizing Haselrigge in your game. If I recall, he pushed Haselrigge back to table's edge!

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  9. Another great looking game and a lovely table. I enjoyed the battle report too, a good read and a good win for Parliament .

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    1. Thank you, Donnie! I appreciate the encouragement.

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  10. Great looking game Jonathan.
    Forming hedgehogs sounds more fun than forming squares.

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    1. Much appreciated, Ben! I am sure the Royalist foot would prefer NOT being in a situation that requires forming hedgehog.

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  11. Fantastic looking battle report as always Jonathan!

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  12. Another cracking looking game and AAR Jonathan.
    You were certainly in an awkward position once Mark got his cavalry to your rear…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thank you, Aly! Having enemy cavalry in the rear is definitely an awkward position. Don’t let this happen to you!

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  13. A flendid report and picture montage. Damn nuisance those cavalry when they get round ones flank.

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  14. Beautiful game. You should have several more plays, and rules options to master hedgerow horror. Great job on AAR, except for not winning. His cavalry in your rear area I thought was to be a cunning trap, alas not.

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    1. Thanks, Joe! Not winning is a situation one can become accustomed to seeing when I host and play. Switching hats between umpire and player is a tough transition for me. The cunning trap was allowing enemy cavalry into my rear. And I fell for it!

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  15. What a lovely battle/collection Jon reminding me I really need to get some more ECW figures on the painting list 🤔

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  16. Fantastic game and for once my pre game planning actually bore fruit! With all that said you got damned close to the ridge. Too close for my liking! Great fun and great company as usual.

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    1. Thank you, Mark! The game was fantastic due to your fine play and good humor. The stand on the ridge by your gun against my fine cavalry was figuratively the straw that broke this armies back.

      Great game in great company, as always.

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    2. I'm starting to think that Mark had to move to the French countryside because he kept beating all of his opponents and no one wanted to play with him anymore....😁😆

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    3. Good theory, Stew! Mark mentioned that he was primarily a solo gamer until remote gaming came along.

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  17. Highly enjoyable AAR Jon. What I like about ECW battles is that troops are very similar on both sides leading to balanced and unpredictable battles. But in this particular scenario the Royalists seem to have been on the wrong end of the stick quite a number of times.

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    1. Thank you, Mike, and good to see you back among the commenters! Yes, balanced forces can produce unpredictable battles. In this battle, Waller has a small edge on both numbers and quality. It doesn't help that Hopton should be taking the fight to Waller. Hopton's fight is uphill...both ways!

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  18. A great looking game and read Jonathan! Better luck next time!

    Christopher

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    1. Thanks! Mark is a tough opponent. I will need some luck.

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  19. That was action-packed and a ripper of a read/view! Plenty of manoeuvre for an English Civil War game. The Parliament's cavalry are usually their weak link, but they had a 'red letter day' in this one!
    Regards, James

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    1. The game was action-packed almost from the starting gun. Glad you enjoyed the retelling of the battle. Waller's decision to redeploy Balfour to the left resulted in overwhelming Forth and bringing the Royalist position untenable. Mark did a great job in smashing any plan I had for success.

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