Rebels and Scottish and French...Oh My!

October of 1649

by Chris J. Hahn

In the month prior to the arrival of calendar Winter, weather throughout the land Was generally good. Scotland was clear but cool. In the lower Provinces, rain fell in Sussex and in the Districts making up the Southern Association. Elsewhere, the weather was fine. As in Scotland however, there was a noted chill in the air.

In this final month of Fall, political alliances remained unchanged. The Southern Association and what remained of The Lowland Districts were arrayed against the Queen and her allies. Of course, the French played a part in this too. They were a third and powerful element of the forces aligned with the Prince on this southern front. To the North, seemingly continuous and great pressure was being brought by the Scots.

As an example of this pressure, the forces of High Constable Wallace took an opposite tack and instead advancing back into the Capital District of Sussex, they pushed into the coastal District and quickly dispersed the garrison forces there. As had been the case since the Scots started there campaign, there was no siege to be laid in this contest. In fact, the garrison forces were so roughly handled that only a few score made their way to the Eastershire garrison in the occupied Capital District of The Lowlands.

And though the weather was not conducive to offensive operations, Lord McMullin marshaled his army once again and advanced on the Capital of Sussex.

In contrast, there was little action or even movement in the southern theater of the war. However, the Royalist cause did enjoy one small success.

Having learned from his experiences, Lord Otto took his wounded but veteran army and marched South towards the 2nd French Army. He reasoned that if he could not defeat the Scots, perhaps his luck would be better versus the French. And yet, when his scouts reported the numbers and condition of the French host, Lord Otto changed his mind. Advancing south-west from his Capital District, Lord Otto routed the garrison of the Southern Association in the neighboring District. As it was with the Scots under Wallace, there would be no siege here. It being very near Winter however, Lord Otto posted a strong garrison and returned to his Capital District. In this way, he could reap the reward of supply points (however meager) from a subjugated district, while protecting the Capital District of his home Province from the French.

With respect to the condition or status of the armies, all were in fairly good condition. Lord Otto's force was on the low end of the fair rating however, which was another reason why he elected to steal a District from the enemy rather than engage them in the field. The Scots - regardless of the turn of events outside of the Sussex capital city - would face the Winter season with plenty of supply points and the very real possibility of drawing from established garrisons to refit their armies in the field. The Queen, in comparison, was not doing as well. Her field army was "okay," but in ensuring these troops were supplied, her garrison forces had suffered. Fortunately, Featherstone's forces were in a defensive posture, and so the combined threat of weakened state and advancing Rebels could be avoided until the new campaign season arrived in Spring of the new year. In the back of her mind though, she wondered if there would be any garrison forces remaining to cause her worry.

Contest in Sight of the Capital City

For three days, the army of Lord McMullin had waited for a break in the rain. The Royalist forces had waited too, content in the relative comfort of their prepared camp. In fact, General Woolley had made some arrangements so that troops could be rotated into the city. The purpose was not to carouse and carry on, but to get out of the weather ... to get a hot meal and to get dry under the roofs of real houses and not the canvas and leather of tents.

In terms of strength, the Scottish foot just barely outnumbered the Royalists. They also held an advantage in artillery, by a margin of four batteries to two. However, given that three of the Scot batteries were light and that the rain seemed unending, this advantage would most assuredly be canceled out on the battlefield. The Royalists did possess a like superiority in the cavalry arm (2-1), but the proportion of veteran horsemen was equal. Even with the wet weather and the poor movement across country, the Royalist horse were able to keep General Woolley informed of Scottish movement and changes in deployment. That is - or was - until the Highlander contingent of McMullin's force was able to make a flank march and take the Royalist position from its left and left-rear.

Fully half of Woolley's command was still in encampment when the rain-soaked Highlanders made their appearance. Wielding broadsword, pike and club with telling effect, they bloodied and routed several regiments of foot. Of course, Bishop Glen was in the forefront. The veteran Highlanders followed his shouted orders and chased the running Royalists, preventing any organized line from being established. However, two of the bands were drawn by the opportunity to plunder the abandoned tents. While trying to get these men back into the thick of fighting, the Bishop was felled by a sword thrust from a Royalist captain who had somehow organized a small company of men to his banner.

Scottish leadership would suffer twice more on this victorious day, for General O'Day met his death leading the Scottish cavalry against unshaken foot. Both horse and rider were impaled several times over on Royalist pikes. Even Lord McMullin did not escape harm. In the closing moments of the battle, he was wounded in his non-fighting arm by a musket ball. He remained in his saddle and directed the final attack before handing over command to a promoted Brigadier on the muddy, riddled-with-standing-water, field.

General Woolley survived the engagement untouched, but his pride was very much wounded. He had let his guard down; he had dispersed his horse instead of keeping them close and in a central reserve to counter just the action that caused his defeat.

Some of his men retreated into the walled town of Duddington (Capital of Sussex), but the vast majority were cut off from that route and so, headed south to what would become the sole remaining District of Sussex not under enemy control.

It looked as if November, the first month of Winter would prove bitter and cold for the Royalist cause in Sussex. In addition to losing Duddington to the Scots, Brigadier General left two batteries of medium artillery. On the field, there were some 11 BP worth of casualties from pike and musket units. His cavalry had fared better, losing just three BP out of a total strength of nine. The only VP he was able to take away from the field were those for nearly destroying the leadership of the Scottish army. But "winning" eight points was small consolation to losing the battle and the Capital District.

In contrast, the Scottish scored 76 VP in the field before Duddington. Three points were awarded for taking enemy standards. Eight points were awarded for breaking key and/or veteran units. The Scots earned 15 points for winning the day. The remaining 50 points came from taking and occupying the District and its major city; the Capital of Sussex.

This one-sided success did not come without cost, however. As mentioned above, two of three commanders met their death in the contest. The third, Lord McMullin, was himself wounded. The cavalry arm of the Scots was reduced by 50%. Infantry casualties amounted to 7 BP: the Highlanders taking nearly half of these losses.

WHAT LIES AHEAD ...

The "map" of England shows the "state of things" at the close of the Fall season. The darker squares with the letter P in the center represent those Districts controlled by forces allied with Prince John. The white squares, edged with a thin double-line, represent the territory held by forces with the Queen. A simple comparison of numbers shows that the advantage - as Winter brings an end to hostilities - lies with Prince John. In terms of position too, he and his allies have the Queen between "Scotland and a hard place."

To be sure, the Scottish forces under arms have been roughly handled and are worn from six months of campaigning. However, they have subjugated a territory equal in number of Districts to their homeland. They will spend Winter fatly, with all the supply points earned and put in depot from these successes. In the Spring, they will most likely be able to bolster the veteran, if depleted ranks, with another culling of garrisons. Lord McMullin might decide too, that it would be better to have one large force instead of two or three, smaller armies. (Given his success and distaste for the Prince, there have been some rumors circulating that he might complete the subjugation of Sussex and "then show Prince John the door.")

Queen Polivka, vanquisher of the French, poses the greatest potential threat to the Scottish effort. However, with Winter coming on and there being another army of mouths to feed (General Woolley's troops), the potency of that potential could be significantly reduced. The weight of this threat is countered too, by the fact that there are two strong armies (one of experienced French and one of untried units from the Southern Association) "behind" the Queen's front line(s). Lord Otto did make a small penetration against Rebel lands, but his army is worn, tired and few in number ... much like that of Woolley's. In a worst case scenario for Prince John, the French would have to face Lord Otto and the new army of the Southern Association would engage the Queen. These are still very good (even) odds though. And they don't take into consideration the strategic value of the Scots. At the very least, the Queen has to expect and prepare for a two-front campaign over The Lowlands Districts.

As of this typing (October of 2000), 1 have not gamed the Winter months. I imagine that they will prove easier than the previous months if only for the fact that there will not be any battles. Thus, it's just a matter of die rolling and paper work. However, I have been re-thinking my rules governing combat during this season. I have also been spending some time re-thinking the political situation.

What if, for example, the rumors about Lord McMullin are true? What if he and Prince John have a falling out? Will the Prince make it out alive? Will Scotland join forces with the Queen? Or, having wrested roughly one-third of her kingdom (or his), will the Scots be content to remain in place and thumb their noses at anyone who attempts to re-take the Districts?

What if Queen Polivka thinks she cannot make it through the Winter, and sues for peace? Do the Scots then engage Prince John in the Spring? And what of the French army that is now on English soil? What happens if another outside interest becomes involved in the campaign? (Here, in perhaps a "wild moment," I considered introducing a German expeditionary army that would fight on the side of the Queen. But again, Winter is going to be the key, as these German troops - if readied - could not sail and land until the middle of March. Even then, the prediction is that their presence would only serve to complicate things.)

In several respects then, I think I'm going to enjoy playing out these next four months.

In more than several respects, I have really enjoyed playing the last six months of this solo campaign.

I would like to take these last few lines to express my gratitude. First, thanks to Hal for providing me the platform and silent encouragement without which this revised solo campaign probably never would have been revisited. In that same vein, a big thank you to Arty Conliffe (again) for providing me a foundation upon which I could build. And lastly, my thanks to fellow readers of MWAN for their patronage, commentary and yes, even constructive criticism.

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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© Copyright 2002 Hal Thinglum
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