Sunday 3 July 2022

Battle of Edgehill October 23rd 1642.

This article is my interpretation of this battle. Any mistakes are my own.

In the five years prior to the battle, political and confessional confrontation had been building between the Monarchy and Parliament. Having already lost the Bishops War with Scotland, Charles 1st became increasingly frustrated by Parliament constantly bringing in Laws to curtail Monarchical power

Charles 1st believed in the Divine Right of Kings, and with that in mind he decided to exercise that right. On the 4th of January 1642, Charles marched into the House of Commons with a company of armed Infantry. He had a warrant for the arrest of five M.P,s.

These men knew of the impending intervention, and had managed to slip away. In the five days after this event the citizens of London became hostile to the King. Charles left the Capital and made his way to York where he set up his Headquarters.

In the next nine months both sides collected supporters and troops. Parliament had a head start by securing the Trained Bands of London and the Arsenal at the City of Hull. Portsmouth had also been seized giving Parliament control of the Navy. Meanwhile, Charles had sent his Wife, the Queen Henrietta to France to raise troops and weapons.

All these actions culminated in two armies facing each other at Edgehill----------

The Battle;

My previous Blog detailed the assembly of the Paperboy paper figures of Peter Dennis to foamboard blocks. It is these figures I am using in this reconstruction.

Optional Rule;

Normally, under the TABLE TOP BATTLES rule system, only one stand is allowed in a square. Using the blocks, TWO INFANTRY OR ONE INFANTRY AND ONE GENERAL,   OR, ONE CAVALRY AND ONE GENERAL stand are allowed within a square. Cavalry and Artillery remain at one per square.


Only the front INFANTRY stand can fire or fight in combat. However, if there is a Pike block in the same square behind the front Infantry, the Pike can also be included in the Combat.

*If a " moveback " is required after Firing or Combat, both stands must be moved back. The rear Stand still counts as " Support ".

THE ROYALIST ARMY;  15,000 = 15 points x 4 = 60 pts.

11,000 Infantry = 11 points x 4 = 44 pts.

22 points of Pike = 7 stands @ 3pts + General Wilmot @ 1 point.

22 points of Muskets = 11 stands @ 2 points.

3,000 Cavalry = 3pts x 4 =12 points.

5 stands of Cavalry @ 2 points + King Charles @ 1 point + Prince Rupert @ 1 point.

1,000 Dragoons = 1 point x 4 = 4 points.

3 stands of Dragoons @1 point + Lord Byron @ 1 point.

THE ARTILLERY;

20 Guns each with 12 gunners = 240 men. = 0.240 x 4 = 0.960 r/u = 1 point = 1 gun model.


THE PARLIAMENTARIAN ARMY.; 15,000 = 15 points x 4 = 60 points.

12,000 Infantry = 12 points x 4 = 48 points;

21 points of Pike = 7 stands @ 3 points.

27 points of Muskets = 12 stands @ 2 points +Earl of Essex @ 1pt + Sir John Meldrum @ 1 point + Sir William Balfour.@ 1 point.

2,000 Cavalry = 2 points x 4 = 8 points;

4 stands of Cavalry @ 1 point.

2 stands of Regular Cavalry @ 2 points

1,000 Dragoons = 1 point x 4 = 4 points.

3 stands of Dragoons @ 1 point + Sir James Ramsey @ 1 point.

ARTILLERY;

30 Guns each with 12 gunners = 360 men = 0.360 pts x 4 = 1.440pts r/d = 1 point = 1 Gun model.



Historical Notes;

* The Royalist Army was initially positioned on Edgehill. When the Parliamentary Army under Essex maintained its position near Kineton the King ordered the advance downhill onto flatter ground. Therefore, the Royalists move first on the first Game-Turn. Game-Turns two to eight will be diced for as per normal.

* The Royalists keep the Initiative Point for the entire battle.

* The Artillery cannot move from their respective positions. In the battle, the Artillery had little effect.

* If any stand retreats up Edgehill it is lost from play.

 


* I’ve included the roads for completion. In this scenario the roads do not give the plus one move advantage.

* In the battle the Cavalry of both sides fought their own battle. Therefore, Cavalry cannot attack Infantry and vice versa.

* If the King is killed or captured, the battle immediately finishes as a win for Parliament. If a Parliamentary Cavalry or Dragoon stand attacks the King and forces a “ move-back”, the King is captured! ( The Kings Life Guard had gone off to fight in the front rank on the right, so the King only had a small group of Courtiers with him. A troop of Parliamentary Cavalry attacked the Kings party during the battle, and managed to grab the Royal Standard. However Sir Edmund Verny cut off the hand of the Parliamentary assailant during the defence of the King and regained the Standard,! ).

CREDITS:

* As previously stated, I used photo copied illustrations from Peter Dennis’s book of the English Civil War ( currently available from www.helion.co.uk ).

* The hills were made from Foamboard. The trees were photocopied from the book and glued to Foamboard. The white areas on the tree illustrations were painted with Powder Blue paint from Miniature Paints.

* The hedgerow sections are made from pieces of pan scrubber glued to thick cardboard.

* The waggons were made from cocktail sticks and cardboard with buttons as wheels.






* The village models were made from Foamboard and cardboard. Sections of photocopied buildings from the book were glued to the Foamboard and painted in places with Miniature Paints Olive Green.



* I’ve included some photos of the battle which I played Solo. As a slight change, I played this battle on a dining table, on a 3 foot x 2 foot ( 90cm x 60cm ) piece of felt cloth with a 2 inch square grid drawn onto it.