The new 3rd edition of Field of Battle by Brent Oman includes rules for the English Civil War. I have wanted to try these rules out, as well as to put pretty much my entire EXW collection on the table. This action provides a good excuse to do both, the game to be played solo due to the pandemic and rising prevalence of Covid-19 in our area.
The First Battle of Newbury was fought in the Fall of 1643, and followed a series of Royalist successes, culminating in the capture of Bristol. The one remaining Parliamentary army under the Earl of Essex was demoralized. The Royalist moved on Gloucester, having reason to believe that the Governor of the city would capitulate to the King. When that failed to materialize, they laid a half hearted siege to the city. The siege was relived by Essex's army, gaining much needed gunpowder from the magazines of the city. In the meantime, the King assembled forces from other regions of England, and a race began with Essex attempting to return to London, and the King attempting to cut him off and force a decisive battle on ground of his choosing. The two armies met outside the city of Newbury. Essex launched a surprise dawn attack, catching the Royalist forces off guard.
Although perhaps decisive, in that the battle offered the best chance for the King to defeat the last Parliamentary army and end the Civil War, this battle is among the worst documented of the conflict, with fairly sketchy information about most aspects of the action, including the exact composition of the forces involved . In the OOB I have done my best to assign commanders to the various forces. The exact units involved are governed solely by the composition of my own collection.
Terrain: Hedges, woods, and hills are all class II terrain, buildings provide Class III cover. The rivers may not be crossed. There was heavy rain the night before the battle. On the first MOVE card for each side, no command may win more than 2 segments, regardless of how high it rolls.
Surprise: All Royalist LD rolls for their first MOVE card are Down one die type as well to reflect the effects of surprise.
Victory: The Parliamentary forces were attempting to break through the Royalist position to reach London, while the Royalists hoped to destroy the last effective Parliamentary army in the field. For each Parliamentary uinit that can exit off the Royalist edge of the table, subtract the UI value of the unit (at full strength) from the Royalist Morale Point pool. Otherwise, normal FoB3 rules apply for Army Morale Checks and margin of victory.
ORDERS of BATTLE
1st Battle of Newcastle, September 20, 1643
Royalist Army, C-inC King Charles II
(Average) Leadership: D12+1 Command Radius: 13”
Sequence Deck: Superior
34 Units, Morale Points 34
Left Wing (Prince Rupert)
Commander: Prince Rupert of the Rhine Rating: Skilled
Leadership Die ? Command Radius:
Commander: Lord Wilmot Rating: Average
Leadership Die ? Command Radius:
Center (Byron and Charles)
Commander: Lord Byron Rating: Average
Leadership Die D8 Command Radius: 16”
Commander: Colonel John Belasyse Rating: Average
Leadership Die D12+1 Command Radius: 13”
Commander: Jacob Astley Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 10”
Commander: Lord Henry Percy Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 20”
Right Wing: Vavasour
Commander: William Vavasour Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 20”
Commander: Earl of Caernarvon Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 10”
Parliamentary Army, C-in-C Earl of Essex
(Poor) Leadership: D8 Command Radius: 8”
Sequence Deck: Average
33 Units, Morale Points 38
Left Wing (Middleton)
Commander: General John Middleton Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 10”
Commander: Oliver Cromwell Rating: Skilled
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 10”
Left Center: Skippon and Mainwaring; Right Center Essex and Robarte
Commander: General Randall Mainwaring Rating: Average
Leadership Die D8 Command Radius: 8”
Commander: Philip Skippon Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 10”
Commander: Lord Robarte Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 10”
Commander: Earl of Wessex Rating: Poor
Leadership Die D8 Command Radius: 8”
Right Wing: Stapleton
Commander: Philip Stapleton Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 10”
Commander: Sir Sammuel Luke Rating: Average
Leadership Die D10 Command Radius: 10”
Online references (I especially based this scenario on the first reference)
http://www.gajominis.com/blog/scenarios/ps%20First%20Newbury.pdf
http://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.com/2016/06/1st-battle-of-newbury-1643-scenario.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Newbury
https://jdglasco.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/february-2013-game-field-of-glory-renaissance-first-newbury-english-civil-war/
http://bcw-project.org/military/english-civil-war/southern-england/first-newbury
http://bcw-project.org/military/english-civil-war/southern-england/first-newbury-order-of-battle
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/tothestrongest/first-newbury-sort-of-scenario-t980.html