Lessie's Moor: Battle of the Three Ninnies, Act 2

Welcome back, dear readers, as the curtain rises on Act II of our narrative. We trust you enjoyed your ale! In case you missed them, you may wish to  peruse the Background and Act I   prior to proceeding.

Well, the action re-commenced with a dramatic moment indeed, as the pistol packing Cavaliers of  The Honorable Frederick's regiment of Horse, with the gallant Colonel Josh Archer at their side,  trampled under the purple coats of Alderman Grundy's own Foote. It seems the finery of their raiment was not matched my their fighting spirit! Seeing their collapse, the nearby Parliamnetarian units shrugged off their concerns and were unaffected. 

Colonel Archer's entreaties notwithstanding, the men of Frederick's of Horseywood pursued the shattered remnants of Grundy's Foote, only to run into the solid but raw and untried ranks of the Borchester City Auxiliaries, some of whom wielded rusty Bills from another century! 

On the far Royalist Left, the commanded shot under Captain Heathcliffe moved into position to fire on to the flank of sir Robin Fairbrother's Horse. The men were well supplied with ammunition for this task.

Off on the Royalist Right, Sir Nigel belatedly recalled the heretofore neglected men of Colonel Perk's regiment of Foote. Of course, he had partly *tried* to forget them, the men being composed of the dregs of Borsetshire society... untried,  ill trained and worse armed, and with few muskets among them. Leaving the comparative safety of their hedgerow position, the men grudgingly moved forward to keep the Roundhead cavalry honest.

Back over on the Roundhead Right, the demise of D'Arcy's doomed Dragoons was soon  accomplished. Their collapse unmasked the flank of  the redcoated Lord Stoke's commanded shot. With Colonel Rex not even trying to restrain them, the pursuing Horse of his brother Toby's regiment slammed into the hapless shotte. "We'll *enjoy* this!", exclaimed the riders, as they scatted the shotte in red ruin. Well, alright, they were already wearing red, but allow for some poetic license, eh Guv?

Frederick's bull headed pursuit into the Borchester City Auxiliaries was beaten off, somewhat to the surprise of their captain, the Right Hon. Tomdick Harry. In the farground, it can be seen that the battle of attrition between the Foote in the center is gradually going the royalist way, the ranks of the  Roundheads falling into ever increasing Disorder!

Captain General Grundy managed to maneuver his Cavalry to shore up his vulnerable left flank.

Two regiments of indifferent "Dutch" style "trotters" opposed to  two regiments of well trained "Swedish" "gallopers"and one hot headed (and hot blooded) Prince?  What could go wrong? 

In the Roundhead center, another performance of the "Shuffle off to Borchester" brought the Borsetshire Trained Bands (who were, amazing enough, in fact actually *trained*) in to a most satisfying position on the flank of the Penny Hassett (un)Trained Bands sheltering in the Elves' Copse. 

Situation on the Roundhead right, near Loxley-Barret manor. 

Prince Phillip, in a moment of military genius (at least for an arrogant 16 year old!) dashed forward Prince Edward's Horse to stabilize his own flank.

Overview of the rest of the battlefield; Sir Nigel's small troop of Cuirassiers pulled back to provide some obstacle to the rampaging Parliamentarian horse. 

Over by Loxley-Barrett Manor, Sir Barrymore Heathcliffe ordered volley after volley of long distance fire into the exposed flank of Sir Robins, Horse! Sir Barrymore swore as his men ran very low on ammunition, and the cursed Roundheads seemed little worse for the wear!

In the Centre, Colonel Sterling, himself hardly a Ninny, pulled back his battered and and outflanked regiment. This unmasked the Parliamentary guns, such as they were. To everyone's surprise, not the least surprised being the gunners, the whitecoats of Colonel Aldrige's regiment had enough for this day, and break! In the process, the brigade's commander, Colonel David Archer was hit! Barclay, his trusted servant, was quick to inspect the injury "It's just a Flesh Wound, Milord!"

The cavalry melee swirls, as Grundy used his superior numbers to get in a flank attack on Prince Edward's Horse. 

More of the "Borchester Shuffle" stabilized the Roundhead Center... for the moment, at least.

The badly battered Roundhead center attempted to rally under the shelter of the gunnes, but the men were too weary to have much luck restoring order to their ranks 

Situation in the Centre from the Royalist vantage point; the repeated charges by Frederick's Horse have ground them down, with surprisingly little impact on the Borchester City Auxiliaries.  

Of on the Royalist right, Prince Phillip at last ordered the charge! His gorge having risen (along with certain royal nether parts at the thought of enjoying some post-victory vixens after the battle, although the gentlemen readers will perhaps recall how little it takes for those parts to rise at age 16 anyway), he and his men plowed right through Bellamy's regiment of Horse!

Titchner's Dragoon's, hit in the flank, were the next to be swept away by the hard-charging Prince and his Lifeguard!

Continuing across the fields of Borsetshire, the Prince and company reach the flank of the Borchester City regiment, their horses well and truly blown!

    On that thrilling note, dear readers, we must once again leave affairs in Borsetshire lay for a bit. Let me entreat you to take advantage of the services of another of our sponsors, Grundy and Company, Esquires, "Barristers to the Bors". Remember their slogan "Where there's a Will, there's inveigh!"

- Reginald Soggybottom, your journalist-at-large.