The Battle of Sloggy Bottom, 1643

The King won the toss, as it were, and Lord Pargetter's Brigade of Horse did the "It's just a step to the right...", whilst Colonel Archer's Brigade of Foote moved forward in the general direction of the Enemy. On the Royal left, the Foote and Cavalry brigades also lumbered forward. The King's guns were out of range of the Roundheads, and thus bided their time. 

On the Parliamentarian side, Colonel Haselrig's cumbersome "Dutch" style Horse lumbered forward and to their Left.  The rest of the Roundheads (commanded by your truly did... well a lot of nothing as far as I could tell! The picture is taken at the end of Turn 1. 

End of Cavalier Turn 2; Lord Pargetter's Brigade is divided by the trees of The Bishop's Copse.

A prettier sight you'll not see than the coordinated advance of the rest of the Royalist army; Sir John played the Brigades of Pargetter and Archer, whilst Sir Barry played the Brigades of  general Astley (Foote), Lord Goring (Horse), and the small force under the command of the King (artillery and the Gentlemen Pensioners).

 View of the Eastern half of the battlefield at the end of Royalist Turn 2.

This view of the battlefield from the Southeast captures a rare image of Sir John as well.

 The only notable events of Roundhead Turn 2 is the charge of Haslerig's Dutch style Cuirassiers, lead by Sir Arthur himself. Little impact is made buy either side, but Dash and Pistol Ammo markers fly off the table like Robins in search of their worms, as the Swedish style Horse of  the Earl of Northampton counter charge! "Nice armor you have their, Sir Arthur!

Royalist Turn 3, right flank. The Earl of Northhampton's horse charge Haslerig's Cuirassiers, but get a hail of Pistol shots in the face from the defending "Lobsters", throwing them into Disorder. Dashing troops, though. Meanwhile, Archers' Brigade of Foote advances between the Soggy Bottom Swamp and the Bishop's Copse.

On the Royal Left, the perfect alignment and symmetry of the advance belies the fact that little forward movement occurred. (Sir Barry turned a multitude of Aces!)

Horrobin's regiment of (raw) redcoated "Dutch Horse", lead by Sir Arthur, charges, Disordering their Roundhead opponents, While the Cuirasiers come off worse in their own charge, now becoming Disordered themselves. The Earl of Denbigh's horse is gradually making their way to their left to support their fellow horsemen. The commanded shot in the Copse let fly at Lord Byron's horse, but have little discernible effect. 

General Skippon pretty much stands pat, waiting for the Cavaliers to come to him. The Siege guns conserve their ammunition, waiting for the dense infantry battalia to come into close range.  The Parliamentary Dragoons are among the few troops to show any forward movement.

Royalist Turn 4 see's Archer's Foote Brigade continue to close on Soggy Bottom.

On the Royal flank sinister, though, the entire cavalry Brigade of Lord Goring surges forward, two units of Northern Horse (Lord Capel) Dashing forward into melee. The Parliamentary cavalry on this flank, operating in the "Swedish" style, countercharge, and each side sees one of it's regiments thrown into Disorder as a result. 

Parliamentary Turn 4; The weight of Horrobin's horse destroys their enemies,, resulting in the inexperienced troopers setting off in pursuit of the fugitives. Meanwhile, Halerig has joined his Cuirassiers, who have pulled back to rally, their place being taken by the Horse of the Earl of Denbigh (grey coats).

In the left Center, Archer's Brigade and the defending Borsetshire Brigade close to close range, exchanging some largely ineffective musketry.

Cromwell leads his Brigade of Horse to the attack, and gets the better of two regiments of cavaliers. This at last provides the King's guns with some targets, however. 

Royalist Turn 5 - The Penny Hasset Foote brigade charges The Borsetshire City Militia; the militia get the upper hand, and in the process, Colonel David Archer is shot through the neck. he is dead before he falls off of his horse (a "10", shown, was played for the effect of the officer being "hit"). . This demoralizes his men, and leaves his Brigade lacking proper command.

On the Left, the Royalist Cavalry reforms, and the infantry advances. Roundhead Roundshot plows through the ranks of The King's Lifeguard of Foote, throwing them into Disorder.

Parliament, Turn 5: Horrobin's Horse fight with Northhampton;'s, the former suffering Disorder, whilst Denbigh's horse is destroyed in melee. Hassleerig and his Lobsters pull back, heavily damaged, attempting to Rally, but Lord Pargetter's small troop of Cuirassier Lifeguards seeks to make this difficult. The Borsetshire Bruigade and Archer's brigade stare at each other, hurling curses that their preachers would faint at hearing, but doing little damage.

View from Soggy Bottom village, and the Royalist Centre.

Dragoons and Commanded shot trade ineffective shots amonst the hedgerows, while Cromwell attempts to mop up what is left of the Cavalier Horse on this flank.

Cavalier Turn 6: Pargetter pulls Northampton's Horse back to Rally... but Rawdon is obligated to pursue! His Lifeguard rides down the opposing battered Cuirassiers, but are thus themselves thus committed to pursuit.

Casualties are slowly mounting in the Royalist Foote engaged in the  "Battle of Borsetshire".

The Royalist center closes on Soggy Bottom and Old Nick's Leap.

The Major Undertaking's commanded Shotte "hedge" their bets, and the Royalist Horse charges, attempting some form of earthly redemption for their poor earlier showing.

Roundhead Turn 6: Horrobin's Troopers Pursue into the Disordered Horse of Northampton, but come off worse in the process!

Falcon's eye view of Soggy Bottom Swamp and environs. Note Major Goodenough's commanded Shotte shooting into the flank of the Penny Hassett Foote, who are close to breaking; their fire has already been enough to destroy Lord Byron's Horse. on an earlier turn.

In the center, the infantry exchange some ineffective long range fire (two Parlimentray battalia are 'raw", and thus cannot use their ammo for close range "double fire" anyway, but do mange to provoke the enemy into using their own ammo in this ineffective fashion).

On the Parliamentary right, the Horse of both side have thinned out considerably.

Royalist Turn 7; Horse have become thin on this flank as well, whilst the Penny Hassset Foote have pulled back to avoid the murderous flank volleys of Goodenough's commanded shotte! The Royalist center has closed to within point blank range of the troops before SOggy Bottom village, however.

View from King;'s Hill; the Parlimanetary guns have strewn gre4at Disored amongst the elite soldiers of the King;'s Lifeguard, but the Charismatic general Sir Jacob Astley has joined them, seeking to restore their sagging ardor. Likewise, the King has sent the aging Gentlemen Pensioners, bearing the Royal Standard, forward to stabilize the Cavalry situation on the Royal; left, whilst his guns continue to take long range pot shots at anything their projectiles might reach. 

This overview of Parliamentary Tuirn 7 from the clouds includes a rare shot of Sir John, looking contemplative.

The King's Lifegaurds have rallied, and moved up to join the line. Hampden's red coated Trained bands have suffered heavy damage, and pulled back to avoid destruction. The gap left by their departure is all too obvious.

Soggy Bottom and environs; the infantry battle of attrition is in full swing now!

Parliamentary Turn 8; just one unit of Horse each left on this flank. Haselrig leads Tirrell's "Dutch" horse forward!

Situation overview from the Northeast.

Charge home, boys!

The soggy bottom slog continues!

Another Roundhead regiment (Alderman Grundy's greencoats) is close to destruction.

The Fool on the Hill - Skippon, who was aiding the shooting of his big guns, realizes that, with the advance of Royalist Greencoats, his position is most exposed! He moves over Essex's orangecoats to plug the gap... but can they make the difficult maneuver in time?

(Semi) Open spaces on the Eastern end of the field.

Unfortunately, we had to call the action at this point after 4 hours of play; with at least 1 more player (2 per side), the game should play almost twice as fast, and I hope to have 4 players a side for the convention versions. The next Royalist turn would have seen the loss of the guns... and perhaps Skippon himself. Overall, the Roundhead infantry was taking the worst of it. The repeated "Salvee" charges of the veteran Lifeguards, assisted by the Charismatic Astley were really pounding the enemy (with Astley attached, the Lifeguards are saving on 5+ vs 7+ or 8+ for the opposition). Overall, a victory for the King seemed likely, if hardly assured. Both sides had lost 12 victory medals at this point. 

The (in)famous Battle of Soggy Bottom, 1643 (revised names to fit my own trooops)

Royalist Army	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
His Majesty the King - commanding general				6		2+
Gentlemen Pensioners - Swedish Horse, veteran, Small Unit	1	3	1		2	6+
Field Artillery - Seasoned	6		1	1	1	7+

Defeat at 25 medals

Goring’s Brigade	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
Lt General Lord Goring - general, gallant*				2		2+	Gallant
Marmaduke Rawdon’s Regt - Swedish Horse, seasoned (redcoats)	1	3	2	2	2	7+
Lord Capel’s Regt. - Swedish Horse, veteran  (bluecoats)	1	3	2	2	2	6+
Lord Lucas I - Swedish Horse, seasoned  (buffcoats)	1	3	2	2	2	7+
Lord Lucas II - Swedish Horse, seasoned  (buffcoats)	1	3	2	2	2	7+
Lord Lucas III - Swedish Horse, seasoned  (buffcoats)	1	3	2	2	2	7+
Major Undertaking’s Commanded shot  (greencoats)	3		2	2	2	7+

Astley’s Brigade	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
Sgt-Major General Sir Jacob Astley - general, charismatic				2		2+	Charismatic
King’s Lifeguard I - std Foote battalia, veteran  (redcoats, Lion)	4		2	2	2	6+
King’s Lifeguard II - std Foote battalia, raw, untried  (redcoats, Rose)	2		2	2	2	8+	Untried
Sir Thomas Gerard’s Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned (bluecoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
Col. Henry Tillier’s Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned (greencoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
Earl of Norwich Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned  (whitecoats)	3		2	2	2	7+

Archer’s Brigade	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
Colonel David Archer - Colonel, gallant*				2		2+	Gallant
Duke of York’s Regt - std Foote battalia, raw  (redcoats)	2		2	2	2	8+
Sir Thomas Blackwell’s Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned  (blackcoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
John Talbot’s Regt - std Foote battalia, raw (yellowcoats)	2		2	2	2	8+
Devonshire Regt - std Foote battalia, raw, untried (yellowcoats, halberds)	2		2	2	2	8+	Untried

Pargetter’s Brigade	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
Nigel, Lord Pargetter - general (overall command Archer’s brigade as well)				2		2+
Lord Pargetter’s Lifeguard - Dutch Cuirassiers, seasoned, small unit	1	3	1	1	2	7+	Save bonus
Lord John Byron’s Regt - Swedish Horse, seasoned (bluecoats)	1	3	2	2	2	7+
Earl of Northampton’s Regt - Swedish Horse, seasoned (greencoats)	1	3	2	2	2	7+
Josh Archer’s Regt - Swedish Horse, seasoned (bluecoats, Minifigs)	1	3	2	2	2	7+

Parliamentary Filed Army	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
General Philip Skippon - commanding general, gallant*				5		2+	Gallant

Defeat at 24 medals

Haselrig’s Brigade	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
Sir Arthur Haselrig - colonel				1		2+
Sir Arthur Haselrig’s Regt - Dutch Cuirassiers, seasoned	2	3	3	3	2	7+	Save bonus
William Tirrell’s Regt - Dutch Horse, seasoned  (whitecoats)	2	3	3	3	2	7+
Horrobin’s Regt - Dutch Horse, raw  (redcoats)	2	3	3	3	2	8+
Earl of Denbigh’s Horse - Dutch Horse, seasoned  (greycoats)	2	3	3	3	2	7+
Major Goodenough’s - commanded shot, seasoned  (bluecoats)	3		2	2	2	7+

Sterling’s Brigade	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
Colonel Oliver Sterling - Colonel				1		2+
Sterling’s Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned  (redcoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
Alderman Grundy’s Regt - std Foote battalia, raw, untried  (greencoats, halb)	2		2	2	2	8+	Untried
Sir Thomas Grantham’s Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned  (browncoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
Thomas Ballard’s Regt - std Foote Battalia, raw, untried  (greycoats)	2		2	2	2	8+	Untried

Hampden’s Brigade	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
Colonel John Hampden - colonel, gallant*				1		2+	Gallant
Earl of Stamford’s Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned  (bluecoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
Earl of Essex’s Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned  (orangecoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
Lord Brooke’s Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned  (purplecoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
Hampden’s Trained Band Regt - std Foote battalia, seasoned  (redcoats)	3		2	2	2	7+
Siege guns, seasoned	6		1	1	1	7+

Cromwell’s Brigade	Ammo	Dash	Hits	VP	To-Hit Cards	Save	Notes
Colonel Oliver Cromwell - colonel				1		2+
Alexander Pophams’ Regt I - Swedish Horse, veteran  (yellow coats)	1	3	2	2	2	6+
Alexander Pophams’ Regt II - Swedish Horse, veteran  (yellow coats)	1	3	2	2	2	6+
Colonel Cromwell’s Regt - Swedish Horse, seasoned (redcoats)	1	3	2	2	2	7+
John Hampden’s Regt - Swedish Horse, veteran  (greencoats)	1	3	2	2	2	7+