ECW - The Rising of John Lambert, 1660

We had a very interesting 'what if' re-fight of the last 'confrontation' of the English Civil War at the club meeting on Monday night.

The historical background is complicated, but Major General John Lambert lead an ill fated attempt to resist the Restoration of the Monarchy in the years following the death of the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. 

His (rebel) Parliamentarian Army disintegrated in the face of the (government) Pro-Restoration army, commanded by Ingoldsby, in Northamptonshire and the battle, as such, never really joined.

We decided to play the game out and see what might have happened. At the start of the game, two units of horse swopped sides, complicating matters for both commanders. Lambert's forces got the better of the firefight and skirmishes on either side of the brook. Lambert's reinforcements arrived to put further pressure on the enemy, by which time some of Ingoldsby's units had started to flee the field.

Therefore, in our game, history was reversed. Lambert was victorious and was able to continue on his march to London to resist Parliament's dastardly attempts to restore the Monarchy! 

Bridge Building - AWI Scenario

On Monday night we played out a fun scenario from Osprey's 'Rebels & Patriots' wargame rules. In this game, a force of British, including some engineers, have to build a bridge across a river. The American rebels have to prevent them from doing so.

In the end, the British were successful by taking up strong positions on their side of the river to use firepower to chase away and Americans that were seeking to interfere with the work of the engineers. The Americans were hampered by weaker command and initiative throughout the game, although they did come close to thwarting the British when they mauled a unit of Grenadiers and chased away a troop of Dragoons which had crossed the river.

This scenario would work for a number of different periods as the timing mechanism by which the engineers have to build the bridge adds an element of excitement to the game.

1812 Napoleon's Invasion of Russia

1812 era Russians made their first appearance on the club battlefield last night. Unfortunately, they weren't successful. 

On their left flank their Lithuanian Uhlans were routed and a horse artillery battery was captured by some incredibly brave French Hussars. On their right flank an incompetent brigade commander failed to advance his command on a number of turns, complicated by the fact that their supporting cavalry didn't seem to do much, save engage in some elaborate dressage!

The centre of the line held out reasonably well, but started to crack as the French moved excess forces in from the flanks to aid their frontal assault.

Never mind. The Russians, merely retired from the field of battle, leading the French invaders further into the endless vastness of continental Russia.

French Revolutionary Wars - French vs Russians

Three games at the club on Monday night. Two Flames of War and a very interesting game set in the French Revolutionary Wars - French vs Russians in 1799.