The Royalists (on the right of photo) were down on numbers but with superior cavalry. The Parliamentarians wanted to protect their flanks with cavalry but attempt to win through their number of foot. But they were wary of the Royalist artillery on the central hill.
Too wary as it turned out given David's rolls but the plan was set. The Parliamentarians held back their foot in the centre and pushed forwards on the sides, and with their cavalry flanks. The right flank was quickly engaged by the superior Royalist cavalry.
Here the Parliamentarians learned another lesson. The reserve cavalry was far too close to the attacking regiments and the cavalry got hideously disrupted as they were pushed back by the Royalists. Parliament's Horse were soon routed from the table pursued by Royalists. The cavalry on the left flank held up a little longer but again were up against superior troops.
In the centre, the smile-shaped formation was not reflected on Kieron and James' faces.
Holding back the centre out of artillery range crammed in the Parliamentarian reserves and the advantage of numbers was not taken. Exchange of musket fire and later close combat did take losses from both sides' foot, so we did get more up close and personal than the Battle of Newbury we played in January.
The rules (Bloody Kingdom, by the writer of Father Tilly - the ruleset used for the last ECW battle) reflect well the impact of losses on the army's morale and effectiveness, so certain dice rolls get harder to achieve as you lose more and more troops. Consequently the early loss of the cavalry wing was a decisive factor. By the time the Parliamentarians got their foot into combat, they were already fighting under par, and never really made much of a dent on the Royalist army, who were bolstered in turn 5 by the arrival of King Charles and reinforcements.
By the end of the eighth turn, Parliament's losses exceeded 25% and their troops were fighting at such a disadvantage, it was clear the battle was a decisive victory for the Royalists. The table at that time shows how the Parliamentarian flanks have pretty much disappeared and the central foot is under pressure.
A fun game with superbly painted figures and great flags...
...and some lovely characters, like the Earl of Essex....
...and, my favourite, a sharpshooter balancing his aim through the hilt of his sword.
And finally, the obligatory fly-by video...
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