The Marquis of Montose is possibly the most eulogised and romanticised of Civil War generals. It's hard to imagine an account of the man, his battles and campaigns without reading that "he was a much adored and courageous leader, a poet and a polrfot, but he combined these qualities wlth polifical foresight, and he was also a superb guerrilla leader, who of times displayed a military genius far in advance of most of his contemporaries" (Battles In Britain, William Seymour). Indeed to Stuart Reid eminent and prolific author for Partisan Press, Montrose was "one of the greatest soldiers Scotland has produced," whilst Sir John Fortescue described him as "perhaps the most brilliant natural military genius disclosed by the Civil War". Whatever the viewpoint, the thing is that Montrose probably makes for the perfect solo worgaming general. What? Look, let me explain. First of all, he fought for the King, so closet Royalists don't have to feel too bad playing him. You see, he didn't fight the forces of Parliament as such, only those nasty Covenanter fellows who were the cause of the wars in the first place, weren't they, and who later ended up being trounced by good 'ol Oliver's Army anyway. And, he was Scottish and only fought Scots, so no national sensitivities get hurt either. Then of course, he was just so brilliant and the Covenanters equally so uninspired that you don't have to feel guilty beating them time and again, particularly when you're refighting Montrose's battles solo. There's no cheating or bias involved just because you win a few times, it just goes to show how historically correct the game is, doesn't it? He fought heaps of battles too; Tippermuir, Aberdeen, Justice Mills, Fyvte, Inverlochy, Auidearn, Alford and Kilsyth. Well, don't have to tax the grey cells too much coming up with scenarios do we? Oh, and they all took place within a year, so there's no way the campaign could be called boring. And the troops! The armies were small and manageable, okay read affordable. Montrose's troops are colourful and romantic, but I must admit the Covenanters are a bit dull. Still, at least you get your monies worth with the Covenanters! Yes, they can also march into England with Leslie to fight beside Cromwell at Morston Moor In the First Civil War, Join Charles II at Worcester for the 2nd Civil War and finally face Cromwell again at Dunbor In the 3rd Clvii War. Once you've exhausted those possibilities, take ship to Ireland and fight at Benburb, or further afield to join Gustavus Adolphus at Lutzen. Just in case I might be getting interested at this point, here's a battle to refight using 'For King And Covenant' quick ploy rules. Montrose's Army 1,500 - 1,600 Infantry of roughly 1 pike to 2 shot. Irish Regular. Laghman's Regiment of Foot : 30%, McDonnell's Regiment of Foot 20%, O'Cahan's Regiment of Foot :20%, Mortimers Commanded Musketeers : 10%, Rollo's Commanded Musketeers : 10%, Highlanders 10 %, may be split between commanded musketeers. Treat commanded musketeers as skirmishers for Cohesion Factor. 80 horse. Regular Nathaniel Gordon's : Troop 50%, Ogilvys Troop : 50% 2 Light guns Government Forces 2,400 Infantry at 2 shot to 3 pikes Fife (Fyff) Regiment of Foot ; Regular : 20%, Aberdeen Militia Regiment of Foot ; Militia : 20%, Forbes' Regiment of Foot ; Regular (?) : 15%, Udnys / Clackbreach's / Muriefauld's Regiments of foot ; Levy : 40% between them. Commanded musketeers at Justice Mills 5%. Dice for appearance of Forbes' Regiment. Must Score 10 on 2xAvD. Reduce score needed by one each turn. Now throw 1xD6 = 1,2 Left Flank : 3,4,6 Centre : 6 Right Flank. 300 horse. Crolgievars / Keith's / Crichton's / Frosers Troops of Horse ; Regular, Northern Levies / Lord Lewis Gordon's Troops ; Local Levy : Split cavalry as see fit but Gordon's troop was only 18 men strong! Guns ? For a Strategic Win Montrose must rout the Government troops off the heights opposite and force his way Into Aberdeen. Montrose has a Tactical Win if he routs more enemy than has broken of his own and keeps the Irish Regiments Intact. For Further reading to discover more about the battle or Montrose you can read the classic biography 'Montrose' by John Buchon and the very wargame friendly 'The Campaigns of Montrose' by Stuart Raid. Stuart also authored 'Scots Army in the Seventeenth Century' (4 vols.), and English Civil Wargames series : 'Kilsyth' & 'Justice Mills'. In historical fiction, there is 'The Proud Servant' by Margaret Irwin and 'Montrose' by Nigel Tranter ( 2 vols in one ). Most are available from Partisan Press / Caliver Books. Any of you who enjoyed the books of Alfred Duggan back in the 60's and 70's will equally enjoy the works of Nigel Tranter, Scotland's leading author of historical fiction. Back to The Gauntlet No. 3 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com