The English Civil War - 1645

After staving off defeat in 1644, can the Royalists turn things around in 1645? To prevent a sudden defeat they need to take a territory from Parliament.

1645 - 1

And they got the opportunity, when the selected active area was the South. This left them with the option of attempting to retake the South Midlands or the bolder move of striking for London and the South East. I thought that the latter was more dramatic!

So we find Sir Ralph Hopton taking his Southern Army towards London in a bold attempt to subdue the capital. The previous year of setbacks for Parliament had left its defences thin and its formidable Trained Bands somewhat demoralised.

Hopton's force had a considerable siege train, although it was well guarded. A good job, as a significant Parliamentarian force shadowed the Royalists as they headed towards Windsor. Early one afternoon they struck the Royalist army in the vicinity of the Village of Englefield Green

Game 7 - The Battle of Cooper's Hill

Royalists - 1 x Horse, 1 x Defended Horse, 1 x Elite Missile Foot, 1 x Elite Shot in Defences
Parliament - 3 x Horse, 1 x Missile Foot, 1 x Artillery, 1 x Shot

Sir William Waller led a bold assault on the Royalist's siege train, defended by troops under Sir Byron Lane. The Royalist force was small, but confident in its strong position.

The initial artillery bombardment had no effect.

Turn 1 - Waller ordered his artillery to concentrate its fire on the left, and quickly demoralised and scattered the Royalist horse there. 

The Royalist foot, with the fierce Cornish pikemen to the fore, rushed forward, but Waller's artillery kept up a steady fire and the Royalists found it too much for them. They rallied but the army's morale was already shaky.

Turn 2 - With the upper hand Waller ordered his horse to charge the Royalist shot in the centre. The shot fire one ineffectual volley and then broke.

Sir Byron ordered one last desperate cavalry charge on the right, but that was defeated as well. The Royalists broke and ran, losing their siege train.

Shocked by this sudden defeat, Hopton ordered his army to halt, then pulled back to Basingstoke.

(Parliament rolled three sixes and a four in their combats, whilst the Royalists were either fighting second or rolled a two. This battle was, quite simply, a rout.)

So once again, the situation was unchanged.

1645 - 2

Despite their setback in the south, the Royalists continued to take the initiative. Their army in the north headed up the east coast in an attempt to take Newcastle from Parliament. Just south of Durham, near the village of Sedgefield, they encountered a Parliamentarian army sent south to intercept them.

The Royalists, under Sir Reginald Spence formed up for battle.

Game 8 - The Battle of Sedgefield

Royalists - 2 x Horse, 2 x Missile Foot, 1 x Pike, 1 x Artillery

Parliament - 2 x Horse, 2 x Melee Foot, 1 x Missile Foot, 1 x Dragoon

The parliamentarian commander, Lord Newcastle had chosen a flat area of moorland to give battle, and the Royalists opted for a simple frontal assault.

The initial Royalist artillery bombardment prompted Lord Newcastle to send his dragoons forward. They quickly took the guns under fire, causing the gunners to scatter.

Turn 1 - Sir Reginald sent in his newly-raised militia in the centre. Poor in musketry they advanced quickly with pikes leveled, but were stopped dead by fire from the Parliamentarian foot ahead of them. A Parliamentarian counter-attack was held by reinforcing Royalist foot.

Turn 2 - As the pike and shot struggled in the centre, Sir Reginald ordered his horse forward on the right flank. It was quickly routed ...

... as were the second line of horse regiments. Sir Reginald tried to rally the felling horse but to no avail.

Turn 3 - Ironically as his right flank collapsed he saw his foot in the centre finally gain the upper hand, pushing back the Parliamentarian pike and shot

But it wasn't enough. With the Parliamentarian cavalry harrasing his flank, Sir Reginald ordered a general retreat.

1645 saw two Royalist advances easily repelled by the Parliamentarians. As the year drew to a close the political situation remained unchanged.

Both sides were now exhausted, but Parliament still had the upper-hand.

Going into 1646 - the final year of the campaign - the Royalists can only win if they can capture the South East and one other territory in order to force a drawn campaign. This would take it to an eleventh tie-break battle, with a bitterly divided country as the dubious prize for the victor. Once again all that Parliament has to do in the final year is win one more territory.