Rebels and Scottish and French...Oh My!

September of 1649

by Chris J. Hahn

For the first month of the short Fall season in England, weather conditions were roughly split between clear and rain. In Northumberland however, an early cold front moved in, but the Scots were well supplied and in generally good health.

Rain fell in three Provinces. It fell in part of the Scottish homeland, in the Districts of the Western Confederation and in those Districts making up the Southern Association. In every other Province, the weather was clear and the temperatures were mild for this first month of Fall.

This was fortunate for both sides, as Sussex would be witness to the main action this month. The Scots under McMullin marched across the border, intent on advancing into the Capital. From the West, the newly raised Third Army, under High Constable Wallace, advanced into the Capital District as well. The Royalists marched out to meet these threats: Lord Otto, again, contending the advance of the First Scottish force, and Brigadier General Woolley going into action against the Highlanders.

Satisfied with their initial and immediate gains (read as "due to poor die rolling") the French 2nd Army and the force from the Southern Association would concentrate efforts this season on politics. Of course, this did not please Prince John at all. But he had Lord Otto to deal with first. If the Scots could crush this force and secure Sussex, then perhaps it would be time for talks. He did wish however, that the French and Southern armies would provide even more pressure on the Royals. It appeared as though he would have to wait for Winter to see if any change would take place. Even then, as civilized warfare dictated, any resolution would be delayed until Spring, as most forces would be lodged in Winter quarters.

General Featherstone did not help the Prince's cause either this season. Suffering the loss of 3/4 of his home Province, the General adopted a defensive posture - and a passive one at that. Fortunately, the General's closest threat, the Queen, had also rolled poorly, and contented herself with attempting to turn the Rebel tide through political means.

Emissaries to the Scottish camps were not even received. Officials sent to treat with the French and officers of the Southern Association were received. Discussions between both sides soon bogged dowri, as each side desired territory and or conditions that the other was not at all prepared to cede nor to grant.

Meeting at Effingham, in Sussex

Ten days into the month of September, scouts from the armies of Brigadier General Woolley (Royalist) and High Constable Wallace (Scottish - newly raised) crossed swords some miles northwest of the town of Effingham. For the next couple of days, the scouts continued their probes and fought more skim-iishes while the main forces deployed, counter-marched and then, redeployed. Brigadier General Woolley was the more patient of the two commanders, and this was made evident when the Scots were caught, mid-morning, in a road column, approaching the outskirts of Effingham.

The Scottish were somewhat spread out, with a single cavalry regiment at either end of the column. The French complement followed the leading horse. They, in turn, were followed by a battery of light artillery. In the center, more than several bands of Highlanders were marching. Fortunately, High Constable Wallace rolled well against the surprise, and was able to form two divisions out of his scattered units. These divisions comprised the two units of French musket and pike and a grand total of four bands of Highlanders.

The Royalists in contrast, were deployed more or less traditionally, with infantry in the center and cavalry on the flanks. On the left and right, Woolley placed two regiments of horse. In the center and to the rear, he placed a single regiment of Dragoons. The infantry were broken into three grand divisions: each composed of three units of pike and musket infantry. Two of these divisions were advancing on the right of the field: garrison troops in front of veteran regiments. The division on the left flank was made up of regular units. In the center, Woolley placed himself and his suite. To his immediate front, there was a single medium battery. These guns were guarded by two "battalions" of musketeers.

The terrain of the field was unremarkable. There was a slight rise on the Scottish right. There was a smallish wood in the middle of the field, though well to the right of the Royalist horse. As the fighting progressed, only the hill would play any real part. And in this respect, only to serve as a perch for a couple of Highlander bands. (One of these would be decimated and driven from the hill by accurate Royalist musketry.)

Initiative and impetus were won and remained with Woolley's force for the majority of the battle. The Scots did take their "turn" one or two times, but it would ultimately prove insufficient. Their elan would prove insufficient as well, for spirit was certainly no match to well-aimed musket fire and formed rows of pike heads.

The French (on the Scottish left), proved to be the most stalwart force on the field. They roughly handled the Royalist horse - if after these troopers were reduced by action with the Scottish light horse. And, in exchange after exchange with the garrison troops in the Royalist front ranks, these Frenchmen gave almost as good as they received. In the end however, having lost five BP out of an original eight, Lt. Colonel Mountblanc had to withdraw his battered regiments.

The Highlanders suffered from the exchanges as well. In fact, the majority of casualties on this field were from small arms fire. Artillery - at least the medium battery of the Royalists - played a lesser role in the engagement, but did add to the final total of men lost. Of the four melees taking place on the field, the first and second (that between the Royalist horse and Scottish lights, then French infantry) were the most bloody. The latter melees were half-hearted affairs. In one, a much reduced Highlander band tried to break some garrison regiments, but met its end in the face of close range musketry and tightly ordered pikemen. In the last, demi lancers tried to break another Royalist regiment. Like their kilted brethren, they met their demise in several clouds of gray-white smoke and on the business-end of infantry pikes.

With both cavalry regiments out of action and an equal number of Highlander bands eliminated, High Constable Wallace gave the command to withdraw. Three of the remaining four Highlander bands were much reduced. The French were very bloodied as well. Woolley was content to simply secure the field and clean up the few pockets of resisting Highlanders. His left flank cavalry remained inactive throughout the battle. They would offer no pursuit of the Scots.

This was, with the exception of the four melees mentioned, primarily a shooting battle. The Royalists had the advantage in guns and numbers, and used this advantage well. In the engagement, no commanders were wounded or killed. There were no standards or unit flags taken, either. Losses for the army under Wallace amounted to 11 BP in Highlanders, 5 BP in Cavalry and 5 BP for the French. Returned to their ranks after the engagement then, were: 3 BP of Highlanders, and 2 BP each of cavalry and French infantry. The Royalists lost 5 BP of each arm. Making camp on the field, and posting a couple of regiments in Effingham itself, the Royalists would return 2 BP of infantry and cavalry to their muster.

In terms of Victory Points, the Franco-Scottish force could only claim 2. These were awarded for breaking a unit of Royalist horsemen. Woolley's command, however, would "score" a total of 21 points on this field. What is more, his garrison regiments could now be classed as regulars and half of the cavalry could now be rightly called veterans. The Scottish and French had some battle-hardened units too, but these units were rather reduced in strength.

Barstow-on-Heath: Otto v. McMullin ... yet again

Some 150 miles away and three days later, Lord Otto and his army of The Confederation would meet (yet again) and fight the Scottish under Lord McMullin. Coincidentally, this would also turn out to be a battle waged and decided with musket ball and cannon shot. However, due to excellent marksmanship, a decent position and a hard-won cavalry engagement on the right flank, the Scots would emerge victorious.

The Scots, outnumbered in respect to horse regiments, were out scouted and so, deployed first. Lord McMullin - with no real help from Prince John, who had established himself more as a hanger-on than an effective military leader - selected a very good position centered on Barstow-on-Heath.

On the right flank, Lord McMullin placed three cavalry regiments. One of these was of demi lancers. All three regiments were veterans. In order to offset the advantage the Royalists held in cavalry, Lord McMullin placed a light battery in front of these horsemen. Then, on the flank of these four guns, a "battalion" of musketeers. To the left of this wing, on a gentle hill, there were three Highlander bands supported by the lone medium battery in the Scottish army. Bishop Glenn (from Crispin's army) was in charge of this flank.

The center, Barstow-on-Heath and the largish duck pond to its left-front, was left unmanned. Behind the village however, Lord McMullin posted himself and an infantry reserve of three pike & musket regiments. Not too far to the left of this line, he also placed the now veteran but much reduced, light cavalry of his force. These troopers were ostensibly for the support of the infantry line angling from Barstow to a smallish wood on the Scottish left flank. Each end of this line was anchored by a light battery of guns; the line itself being comprised of three foot regiments. In the wood, Lord McMullin placed the remaining two bands of Highlanders. The thinking was that they could launch an attack upon Royalists involved with the main line. As the battle played itself out on the September afternoon, the hiding Highlanders would see no action.

Arrayed against these dispositions were the combined forces of Lord Otto and what remained of the Northumberland "army" under Major General Turner. The Royalists adopted a traditional deployment with cavalry on the flanks and infantry in the center. As the duck pond and town presented something of an obstacle in the center and, as Lord Otto and the Major General weren't the best of friends, there was something of a gap between the forces of these two men. Lord Otto's four regiments of horse were posted on the far left of the line. Five regiments of foot, fronted by a battery of medium guns and a "battalion" of musketeers, made up the main line. As a reserve, Lord Otto deployed two more regiments of foot; one of these being a garrison regiment.

Major General Turner took up his command position on a wooded rise that jutted into the right rear of the Royalist deployment. With him on the slope, he had a regiment of pike and musket men as well as a battery of guns. To his front, he deployed three more regiments of foot. These, like those over on the left, were fronted by a battery and a "battalion" of musketeers. Then, to the right of this line, the Major General placed his cavalry wing. The cavalry was commanded by Count Leo, while the infantry was under the charge of Colonel Darling (former commander of the Royalist garrison in then undecided Northumberland). Lord Otto took direct command of the main line, and his alternate General Appleby, was in control of the horse.

For the Scots, Lord McMullin and Prince John were in the center - behind Barstowon-Heath. Bishop Glenn took the right of the line and General O'Day (wounded in May but now recovered) took the left.

The battle itself began when Bishop Glenn order his artillery to fire on the standing line of Royalist infantry. This was done, but with little immediate effect. Indeed, for the next hour, both sides were content to stand at this distance and exchange cannon shots. There was, eventually, cumulative damage taken by various units, but nothing decisive.

Unable to respond and aggravated by the inaction, General Appleby ordered an advance. This was timed well, for the Scots were caught in the process of reloading their guns. Before the Royalist horse could reach the battery however, they were counter-charged by the Scottish horse. The veteran status of the Scots quickly told, and two regiments of the enemy were sent reeling. The demi lancers did not break their opponents, but traded them blow for blow. General Appleby was caught up in the mass of fugitives, and found himself carried off in the rout. He did not return to the field. However, he did eventually find his way back to the Royalist camp.

The Scots broke their cavalry division into pieces; one regiment turning to take the remaining Royalists in the flank. The other regiment charged into the left side of Lord Otto's advancing line. This side was slightly refused (having witnessed the flight of their horse). The line itself was somewhat disordered for they had advanced closer to the Scottish guns on the hill next to Barstow-on-Heath. Their artillery fire was beginning to tell. These units were also within musket range, and a desultory fire had developed against the Highlanders on that same hill.

A similar story was playing out on the Scottish left. Here however, the regiment of foot in the center of the line had been broken by effective artillery fire and the close fire of that musketeer "battalion." The main line of Turner's troops did not shoot as well, though. The two Scottish foot units closed their ranks and began to return a more effective fire.

As with the artillery fire that opened the battle, this exchange of musketry all along the line continued for some time. The Scots were taking a lot of hits - the Highlanders on the hill suffering especially. And yet, they were able inflict more on the ranks of Royalist infantry. The breaking point for Lord Otto came when his last regiment of horse was defeated and to his immediate left, a regiment of pike & muskets was finally destroyed by a rogue cavalry regiment. This regiment did not Pursue as there was a battery nearby as well as the small reserve. Further, the regiment had taken more than a few bumps and bruises in the successive melees.

Lord McMullin allowed the Royalists to withdraw from the field. Prince John, of course, was excited by the victory and adamant that a pursuit be made of the defeated enemy. McMullin was tired of the Prince. He turned in his saddle and queried the man, "With what troops does your Grace suggest I pursue the enemy? My cavalry is decimated and exhausted. My foot regiments are not in any condition. I think we are lucky to have held against them."

In the face of this, the Prince looked a little taken aback - almost insulted. But, as was his ilk, he quickly lost interest in this matter and motioned to his retinue to follow him as he toured the battlefield.

Lord Otto's army earned just 8 Victory Points in this contest. He lost 6 BP of cavalry and a shocking 19 BP of infantry. Fortunately, there were no standards nor command elements lost. For the month of October then, he could count on returning 2 BP of Cavalry (rounded-up from 1.5) and just 5 BP of infantry.

In comparison, Lord McMullin gained 31 Victory Points for the Prince's cause. Losses for the Scottish amounted to just 10 BP: 7 for the infantry (Highlanders again, bearing the brunt of it) and 3 for cavalry. On this side of the field too, there were no standards nor command elements lost. For October, Lord McMullin would adjust his army roster with the return of 1 BP of cavalry and 2 BP of infantry.

NOTES:

Lord McMullin's victory (he was putting together quite a string against Lord Otto and the Royalists) presented something of a "problem" in terms of the campaign process. Normally, an engagement would result if an enemy force advanced into a home district occupied by friendly forces. Either the garrison would hold or decamp, or the friendly army would fight against the invader. It was never a question of whether a fight would occur, it was simply a matter of how - meaning the pre-battle counters would be drawn for each force. At the end of September, in the Capital District of Sussex however, the armies of Lord McMullin and General Woolley were "co-existing." Both had just been involved with the enemy, and both remained in possession of that field.

The Scottish had won a number of victory points and could safely withdraw back to a base district in Northumberland. Rested and reorganized, they could press the advantage against Lord Otto, or launch a proper invasion of the Capital District of Sussex. The Scottish could also stay in place, effectively "sharing" the District with General Woolley and his force. Though I did not have any rules in place to cover this kind of situation, this scenario seemed more realistic to me. For one, there was a presumed geographic distance between the two antagonists. Second, it did not seem to me to make sense for the Scots to advance, win a battle, and then withdraw.

Thinking it through (well, as much as it could be thought through - the campaign is a work in progress after all ... ) I decided to have the Scottish remain in the District. They would need to split off some of their force in order to garrison the operational base District in Northumberland. But this was a minor point. More interesting, was how to handle the question of supply revenue for the district in the next campaign month. In a Fall month, a District will provide nine (9) supply points if unoccupied; six (6) points to an enemy army or camp if under enemy "rule." Initially, I figured that points would be denied to both sides: a District was either subjugated or it was not. There could be no middle ground. This particular District was not subjugated but it was occupied by Scottish troops. Certainly, these troops would have some kind of impact of the supply situation. And so, I determined to allow each side to secure half of the normal allowance of supply. Therefore, the Scottish would "gain" three (3) supply points for the month of October, while the Royalists would "secure" four and a half rounded up to five (5) supply points.

While resolving this supply issue/question, I considered expanding the rules governing supply to include monies. That is, in addition to Districts providing food and equipment for troops in the field, it might prove "interesting" to establish a system of tax or tax collection. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and this idea was quickly dismissed as one that would only add complexity to the monthly turn as well as increase the amount of record keeping.

The end of September saw the end of the fifth month of the campaign. In all that time and amidst all the armies and garrisons, there was recorded only one instance of an incident occurring. Very early on, the Scottish Second Army command discovered that the ammunition supply for their light guns was not the correct caliber. A month would be spent in correcting the error, but neither the error nor time required had any real impact on operations of the army.

The reader may recall that incidents are rolled for during the "status check" phase of the monthly turn. Initially, the result of a roll of two (snake eyes) was thought to be a good choice for the occurrence of a mishap or other discomfort to a standing or marching army. Given the frequency of an actual incident (practically zero), I decided to change the rule starting with the month of October, 1649. Instead of rolling 2d6, an army would now roll percentile dice. On rolls of 10% or less, the army commander would then have to roll 2d6 to determine what had happened to his force that month. Depending on the condition of the army (morale, supply status, location, defeated in battle recently, etc.) the cut-off could be raised to 15%, 20% or even 25%.

As with the lack of any incidents, I could not help but notice too, the lack of any kind of naval contest between the Royalists and their enemies. Perhaps this can be addressed in the coming campaign year? It's very nearly Winter by the game calendar, and I do not believe there will be any combined operations launched this late in the season. I think too, that the main reason for the lack of any naval engagement has been the concentration of effort on land. That is to remark, the French in their landings have approached coastline that was friendly to them. It is also to note that the vast majority of battles have taken place in Districts removed from the coastline. Therefore, naval support has not been needed. The fighting ships of the warring factions then, remain in home port or are out patrolling home waters.

Turning to the arena of land battles, I must admit to taking some license with the ARMATI system. For example, due to the varieties in the orders of battles, I have not always strictly adhered to the rules governing army divisions. Nor have I been religious about the "break point" rules with respect to standing armies. And then, there is the question of terrain. Here too, I have not followed ARMATI to the letter. As I understand the rules detailing terrain and terrain placement, each command makes a selection and then places the terrain piece(s) within their set up area. It strikes me as more interesting (challenging) if one can "interfere" or shape the battle line of an enemy by placing that same terrain on their side of the table. I believe I outlined - way back in the revised rules - a couple of options with respect to terrain. One of these options considered drafting 10 or 12 different tables with pre-existing terrain. When two armies "met", a die or dice would be rolled to determine what table would be used for the wargame. A second roll would be made to determine on what side the armies deployed. Though this means an amount of work at the outset, I think that it serves to cut down on terrain "time" in the long run. As with the naval aspects discussed above, perhaps this is something I need to look hard at for the next campaign year.

Return of Prince John ECW Campaign Rules

Campaign Journal: November and December 1649 [Conclusion] (MW118)

Return of Prince John ECW Campaign Rules

Return of Prince John ECW Campaign Rules

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