The Great Rebellion - 1642–1651 in Oxford 2014
Scots Royalist vs Scots Royalist
Game 1 Scots Royalist vs Scots Covenanter
Game 2 Scots Royalist vs Royalist
Game 3 Scots Royalist vs Scots Royalist
The third game, an' after a round ay biscuits it was a chance tae remedy the despair ay the first round. an' many other players were struggling tae record big scores, so even with a win an' a defeat the Highlanders were still in the hunt, an' now in a Civil War
The lists for the Scots Royalist an' Scots Royalist frae this game, as well as all the other lists frae the games at Oxford can be seen here in the FoG:R Wiki.
What's Going on Here Then?
The two armies are very similar, and are prepared to fight. Even the large steep hill in the middle of the battlefield to the south is no obstacle for the highlanders. This will be about the dice for both sides
This was a much simpler battle, with an open field an' almost no meaningful terrain tae clutter it. Both armies were pretty similar - unsurprisingly - an' lined up against each other ready for a good clean fight
Well, almost identical. The enemy had some Light Horse raiders who promptly charged at full tilt tae the flank, hunting baggage frae the off.
This time, no messing about - immdiately a huge attack was launched as the enemy stood in a line waiting for the attack
Explanation ay Scottish Swearing, onYouTube
What's Going on Here Then?
The army fighting from the south is slowly expanding it's frontage to match the rather wider - but shallower - army of the north. The northern formations have highlanders mostly on the right of the map, and the southern army has them intermingled in their lines. The Highland Charge will be decisive
Like a haggis sizzling on an open fire, a proper battle was heating up rather quickly - lots ay even fights were teeing up, an' only the Horse on the near side belonging tae the enemy forces unbalanced the symmetry ay the two armies, and on my side, the unit of Lancer horse had seen some Highlanders and were filtering up through the lines of troops to try an' get in a charge on the loose-formation enemy who represented their only sensible target on the table.
Both sides were trying tae sneak in some mounted troops tae charge down the opponents loose formation Highlanders, an' apart frae that the only real difference was that mah Highlanders were massed in the centre, an' the opposition had split theirs tae the flanks
But the enemy got into contact first - against the Strathbogie Regiment, so it was Highland Warriors against Superior Pike & Shotte. A tough call tae see who would win.
Och Aye! The Strathbogie lost bases - but hung on, an' the Highlanders who were fighting them dropped tae disrupted. This was swinging the way ay the Strathbogie, an' the looming presence ay the Superior Highlanders looking tae throw themselves into the fray. This looked good...
On the other flank a solid wall ay Highlanders were piling into mah Pike & Shotte infantry - but these infantry weren't Superior, so this was a lot more dicey.
What's Going on Here Then?
Battle has been joined all along the line - there are few reserves, and few tactics on either side. God alone will determine the winner
A collapse ! Everything fell apart as the enemy charged home...
Everything was routing almost immediately - the entire flank had no so much collapsed as simply having been removed frae play !
The other flank was going better - the Strathbogie had taken down the Highlanders, an' the rest ay mah army was gradually gaining the upper hand - although the inherent weakness ay 6-packs was starting tae creep up on the inside rail too, with some weaknesses appearing along the line.
English Civil War Re-enactment
The battle carried on relentlessly, with several ay mah units on the brink ay autobreak - only some fortunate conforming kept them alive
What's Going on Here Then?
The northern army has won decisively on the right of the map and wiped out almost all opposition, and the southern army has returned the favour on the left - only some poor quality horse are maintaining anything like a proper battle line for the northern army on the left. The centre is a struggle for both sides, but the southern army is mopping up more quickly
Having seen most ay the right flank evaporate, a sole unit ay Dragoons suddenly found themselves pursued by almost half ay the enemy army - their crushing victory had been so swift an' so complete that they now had no-one tae actually fight against so chasing dragoons was about as good as it would get for them now!
On the left, almost naethin' at all was happening as a wall ay pistol armed horse shot ineffectually at a resolute Pike an' Shot unit. This flank was bogged down until luck decided who tae give the upper hand to.
But slightly more towards the centre, a slice ay the enemy army that would have been too big tae drop into anything other than an industrial deep fat fryer suddenly went missing - almost 4 enemy units had simply ceased tae be
Scottish & English
The Pike & Shotte unit who had been providing rear support for the enemy centre suddenly found themselves outnumbered, an' more frighteningly, in the front line ay the battle, being stared down by Superior Highlanders an' Irish Pike & Shotte. Nasty!
But the Irish were only 1 base frae autobreak - an' they took the opportunity tae go home early, leaving the Superior Highlanders alone
The enemy horse had gotten bored..., or, more accurately, they had worked out that breaking off was the only way they could hope tae get out ay a rather boring an' clearly futile faceoff against mah foote regiments, an' had charged in. Fragmented, an' a base down, this strategy wasn't however proving entirely succesful for them... an' the possibility ay a breakthrough in what was otherwise a null area ay the game was hoving into view like a herd ay wild haggis stampeding round the side ay a scottish mountain
The battered pistol-armed (shooty) horse broke off, an' suddenly the Highlanders, even though they were still very much medium foote, took heart an' sensed an opportunity tae push forwards an' unleash some telling retro-style bowfire
Royal Armouries English Civil War Weaponry
What's Going on Here Then?
The northern army is collapsing, unable to capitalise on it's advantage on the right, the greater concentration of force of the southrn army has allowed them to achieve a breakthrough along the rest of the line
Och Aye! The whole flank was suddenly ablaze with the fires ay imminent victory. mah own Scottish lancers had managed tae threaten the flank ay the remaining committed enemy horse unit, forcing them tae turn tae face the lesser ay two evils an' exposing a flank tae the board's most patient infantry regiment, an' the bowfire ay the Highlanders had broken the morale ay the already Fragged unit, giving them a red marker an' a reason tae leave the table at high speed! Now even the enemy dragoons skulking in the nearby village were getting concerned..
A temporary setback as the lancers bounced off the enemy pistols - but the delay was only temporary for sure....
A flank charge frae the Infantry regiment immediately put paid tae any aspirations the enemy pistolleers had ay holding up the victory parade
As I started tae win decisively on the left, an' the enemy had already won in similar style on the right, the middle ground became a crosshatched maelstrom ay potential flank charges, with mah own Pistol-armed horse called into the unlikley role ay potential saviours ay one ay the Irish brigades as enemy infantry regiments closed on them frae the right
Scottish Linguistics, with Al Murray
The brave/foolhardy/desparate/unwilling/havering (delete as appropriate, or if ye' actually understand what havering means) Pistoleers charge home, preventing the enemy charge frae doing too much damage tae the vital fooote regiments who were steadily winning on their own
What's Going on Here Then?
The northern army collapses with only its left flank still intact
And, with one last Huzzah! frae the Superior Highlanders the enemy army slumped tae total defeat! The Result is a pretty decisive 19-6 win.
Read on for the post match summaries frae the deep-fried Generals involved, as well as another episode ay legendary expert analysis frae Hannibal
Post Match Summary frae the Scots Royalist Commander
Whit a fan-dabee-dozee result fur me an' th' canty highlanders, fa at swordpoint led mah glorioos army tae victory! noo th' kin' will be restored tae th' thrain, an' th' future is rosy aw roon, wi' only th' wee issue ay membership ay th' european commmon currency tae deal wi'
Th' gam was ay coorse evenly matched, which gart mah leadership th' only possible difference atween th' tois armies, an' Ah am plait tae say 'at Ah triumphed in some style.
It was a sham tae see th' reit flenk collapse sae easily, but in th' end th' enemy hud naethin' tae exploit thes gain, but Ah hud concentrated mah forces in th' reit place an' every victory was swiftly followed by anither.
Thes makeshift bain ay hired mercenaries did me weel - Ah will noo retire tae mah remote northern castle tae finish paintin' up a load ay lurkio an' peter pig figures tae make thes army fur real.
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
A solitary decisive victory, a loss ay one game in three, an' a place on the podium - what a poor standard ay opponent you must have been blessed with this Sunday mah hapless friend - perhaps I need tae take a tour ay Southern Britain an' beat some competence into a whole cavalcade ay half-witted generals if your dissapointing lack ay progress is nae tae be unfairly rewarded with undeserved trophies in this ongoing competition?
As they do say here in Bonnie Scotland, own yi go ride thu brron floom - an' this your certainly did here in managing tae throw away a whole flank half way through the game, through the not-uncommon expedient ay nae committing anywhere enough troops tae do the job required ay them, an' then leaving their flank hanging in the breeze as if it were an unweighted kilt in a highland storm
I look at ye an' think, y' cack-anded twa' - an' I am right tae do so. The plan you had was tae advance in a line an' get lucky, an' that is all you managed tae do.
Even if you do manage tae paint up the proper figures for this blue-bonneted army, it will nae change tha sad fact that when it comes tae gazing upon a persons visage an' seeing in it the glint ay great generalship, wall I see when I look at you is that you've a face like a skelpit erse. Begone, an' never darken mah Scottish door again!
That's the end - so why nae go back tae the Match Reports Index an' read some more reports?
You can also comment, "like" or give feedback on these reports on either the Madaxeman.com Facebook Page or the Madaxeman.com Blogger Site.
Game 1 Scots Royalist vs Scots Covenanter
Game 2 Scots Royalist vs Royalist
Game 3 Scots Royalist vs Scots Royalist
FoG Renaissance
Order on Amazon here
FoG:R Reports Pageloads tae date.
View mah Stats for mah FoG:R Pages