First Battle of Newbury 1643 - A Refight

An After Action Report

Royalist Cavalry advance early in the game

Last month I posted a Scenario post for 1st Newbury. If you missed it the piece contained a brief history of the action, a plan of our game table and a detailed orbat of the troops we used.

Rules wise we are Home Brew, a set that started life as Forlorn Hope but now looks nothing like them ! The main similarity is that units are defined by a single pike:shot ratio rather than counting individual figures.

Check out the original post HERE.

Royalist Artillery start the Battle unfortunately it would spend much of the day masked by its own troops.

The battle naturally divides itself into three sectors, the Royalist right opposite the hedged enclosures of Skinners Green, the centre opposite Round Hill and then the Royalist left on Wash Common.

A Cavalry melee on a flank in an ECW game, surely not.

With the Royalist Forces on the attack everything moved off towards the Rebel (or Parliamentary if your that way out) lines. Initial clashes were between Cavalry on Wash Common. The Roundheads did well against these first attacks dragging more and more Royal Regiments into the fray.

The King's Lifeguard falter early on

Things went badly in the centre from the off, already hampered by a poor initial Morale grade roll the King's Lifeguard went onto a compulsory Hold order after a bad Morale reaction to a spot of Artillery.

On the right people walked slowly through hedges

So with the Lifeguard on hold the Prince of Wales Foote stepped into the breach, for all of a turn ! Two Artillery hits and a 3 for Morale and they were off to spend the rest of the game hiding in the outskirts of Newbury.

The Cavalry battle got bigger and bigger but no one could gain an advantage, there was one move when the Royalists had a real chance to break through but the dice gods delivered a triple 1 in a melee round.

Meanwhile on the right, people walked through hedges whilst other people waited.

Tired Cavalry return to their own lines to reform

The Infantry on the Common engaged in a long range musketery duel, neither prepared to advance with an ongoing Cavalry melee on their flank. With the Infantry stalled in the centre, the Royalist Cavalry where the next to try their luck.

It was a noble attempt but sadly it failed, two Regiments tried but couldn't reach the guns on Round Hill. The Infantry in Skinners Green was now involved in a ferocious Firefight as the London Trained Bands entered the fray.

But it was already the beginning of the end for the Royalists as the pressure of the guns on Round Hill finished off the Lifeguard who routed taking one of the units in Skinners Green with them.

Bye Bye Lifeguard  (little cry, sad face)

On the left the Cavalier Cavalry had finally got the upper hand and forced the Parliamentary Infantry back off the common to protect their flank but there was nothing left to exploit the advantage, the remaining fresh Cavalry was needed to protect the crumbling centre.

The King takes cover behind his Cavalry

The fresh London Trained Bands then got into Skinners Green and the tired battle worn Royalist Infantry couldn't hold and the Green turned into mass of confused Infantry running in all directions.

LTB in da hedge

And that was that. A victory for Parliament.  The centre of the Royalists had broken and the Road to London was open. An enjoyable game which with different dice could have gone the other way. Next up some Napoleonics.

This way to London !