Friday Night Game - For King and Parliament

 Welcome - normal service has been resumed! After a snap three day level 3 lockdown in Auckland, we were all happy to hear the government announce on Wednesday that we would drop to level 2 with the rest of the country going to level 1 - meaning Julian's proposed Friday night game was back on again - hurrah! Unfortunately for a variety of reasons, the rest of the usual suspects were unavailable to attend, so it ended up just being Julian and myself

We fought a scenario from one of Julian's collection of rule/scenario books - its a fictitious battle apparently based on the classic BBC Radio series "The Archers"....I dont know because even I am not old enough to have listed to drama on the wireless - I think thats more a 50's and 60's thing! (1950's that is , not age group).

We remembered some rules that we have previously forgotten in the heat of battle (mainly because we have played TtF so often and these rules slightly resemble them, although they have MANY more nuances) The morale test when adjacent units are destroyed was particularly helpful to me!

The battle plan - I was the "Royalists" on the bottom of the map

View of the table before I had deployed

View from Julian's side after I had spent half an hour pulling troops from five different boxes!

My overall commander - despite the fact I was nominally Royalist and Julian Parliamentarian, the actual forces deployed were Covenanters on my side and TYW Swedes on Julian's - obviously some falling out over an arcane area of Calvinist theology!

I was outnumbered in cavalry but theoretically had an advantage if charging - so I did on the left flank

Well that didnt go so well - one unit destroyed and another retired disordered - 3 coins gone from my army morale!

On the other (right) flank, my smaller cavalry units moved forward to engage Julian.

This cavalry met with more success - I had one less unit but was able to concentrate them more quickly than Julian, so had a three to two advantage in the first action

On the other flank, unhindered by my one remaining unit, Julian's four cavalry units charged forwards, but after several moves were destroyed or driven back by my gallant dragoons and commanded shot! ( coins off Julian's army morale.

The next four shots are how the right wing cavalry tussle developed

Stands turned at 90 deg indicate disrupted. My units could sustain two hits, Julian's could take three - but it did not save him. In one fight, I had five cards and got four hits, Julian needed to save three - which he didnt - minus another three coins mate!

Having destroyed the cavalry, this unit charged a disordered dismounted dragoon unit - and were defeated! Another three coins off my pile.

But I also managed to wipe out this unit - Julian's four cavalry brigade was reduced to a sole survivor

As mentioned, on the other flank, withering musketry removed another two cavalry units with the one remaining (at left by hedge) pulling back to reorganise

The mas yellow brigade of four pike and shot units advanced in the centre - whoops, here we go I thought....but some good shooting managed to disorder a couple of them

We traded fire for a couple of turns, I had two disordered units and Julian I think had three

And then all of a sudden, one unit popped and another disappeared after failing a morale test - and all Julian's coins were gone, whilst I still had about ten