Battle of Gilbert's Forge ended.

At the end of turn five, with the enemy to the fore and on the flank, the Parliamentary force abandoned the field and the battle was ended.
An enjoyable battle, with the largest forces on each side, used to date. A very good test of the rules.
The cover offered by hedgerows appears to be too powerful and will need to be modified, and one or two other points will also need modifying. Exactly what these games are about, finding what works and what doesn't.

All the troops have now been returned to their boxes and packed away as conversion of the spare room into a man cave will start this coming week, with the room being  redecorated, new shelving and storage units being fitted. The war gaming table at 8 x 3 feet will have an extra foot added to the width by adding a hinged flap along one side, this will allow the table to be increased to 8 x 4, the 3 foot width, was just not quite enough for 28mm figures. At the same time, castors or some other type of wheels will be fitted to allow me to move the table around.

My N Gauge railway will also be in the room, the plan is for it to run in a continuous loop all around the room, with lift out sections at the window and the door. A table will be set under the window for my painting too, it will be a proper man cave and I am looking forward to making a start.

Painting of figures and war gaming will thus have to go on hold whilst the work is being carried out, but should resume again before the end of April. I will take photos of the conversion, just so that I can post something that may be of interest on the blog.

The Battle of Gilbert's Forge - Turn Five

More mayhem on the battlefield as two more Parliamentary units rout from the field.

 Foulston's Dragoons dismount and take up firing positions on the flank of the Downing Battery, whilst Rupert's Medium Horse support them.

 Having ridden out and formed into battle line, the dragoons are unable to fire this time.

 The Royalist line looks as strong as ever.

 Jostling for position on the Western flank.

 Balfour's heavies, Ireton's mediums and a depleted foot unit, are all that remain of the Parliamentary force.

 The two remaining Parliamentary cannon, received hits and were destroyed.

Royalist forces now occupy the front and left flank of the beleaguered Parliament force.

 

I think we are fast approaching the end game, in this battle. The Royalists now must surely advance for the kill. Will the Parliamentarians commit to a do or die charge? We shall see.

The Battle of Gilbert's Forge - Turn Four

Yet another turn of the battle completed, more men lost and two more units routing from the field.

 After routing Okey's Dragoons, Foulston's Dragoons, leave the wood and remount, ready to advance beyond the hedge.

 Rupert's Horse keep Joseph's Foot in Hedgehog, but suffer a further casualty.

 On the Royalist left flank, Balfour's Heavies advance toward Ireton's Medium Horse.

 Suffering in excess of 50% casualties this foot regiment is forced back.

 The Parliamentary artillery in the centre are decimated, one light gun and crew routed and the medium cannon, now minus its crew but still an effective weapon, just!

The other Parliamentary cannon looks rather isolated with Rupert's 'Blewcoates' ahead and Rupert's Horse on the flank.

 

 

This battle really has been very enjoyable to fight out, Generals Brown and Simpkins, really giving it their all. It is certainly testing the rules to the full. Already some more amendments are in the offing concerning Foot regiments moving and firing. 

The Battle of Gilbert's Forge - Turn 3 - Carnage on the battlefied

Turn three has been played out, it resulted in carnage on the battlefield, casualties galore and units routing from the field.

 The fallen are missing from the ranks after hot fire.

 Where have the London Trained Band gone?

 Okey's depleted dragoons forced to pull back, a victorious Rupert's Horse vanquish Sydenham's Horse, who rout from the field.

 All the troops on left,(not on bases) are casualties from the bloody fight!

 Units take horrendous casualties.

But still the battle rages.

The Battle of Gilbert's Forge - Turn Two - Cannons roar

Turn two has taken place on the battlefield. The Royalists are finally getting into fighting formation and have sent of both their medium horse regiments, hell for leather at the Parliamentarians.

 Parliament left wing form a hinge with the heavy horse and The Lambs forming into battle line.

 In the centre, Parliament continue to advance steadily, the Royalist cannon prepare to fire.

 On the right, things are getting very congested, both Royalist medium horse regiments have jumped the hedge and face the enemy.

 In a good defensive position, Foulston's Dragoons take aim on their opposite number.

 Royalist medium horse, clear the hedge into the face of the surprised Parliamentarians.

 The forces are now in firing range, Royalists have the advantage of soft cover from the hedge.

 The London Trained Band suffer their first casualty, from cannon fire.

Okey's Dragoons score four hits on Wormsley's Horse in column.  

Foulston's Dragoons score four hits on Okey's Dragoons.

 

I should have placed a marker on both Okey's Dragoons and Wormsley's Horse, as both have suffered 25% casualties. A die should have been thrown and a chart consulted to see what the unit then did, i.e. continue as normal, fall back or even rout from the field. In the excitement I forgot to do this.



'The Battle of Gilbert's Forge.' Opening moves - Turn One

Both General Brown of the Parliamentarians and General Simpkins of the Royalists, have issued the first movement orders to their troops. The Parliamentarians, are already formed in battle lines and are steadily advancing across the table. However, the Royalists, having arrived mainly in advance column are rapidly having to adjust formation to meet the oncoming threat.

 

 

 Looking down the table from the East, Parliament on the left, Royalist on the right.

 With the Parliamentarians already deployed in battle formation, the Royalists are hurrying to deploy.

 Dragoons form a firing line in the wood.

 Looking West along the table, the Royalists can be seen manoeuvring.

Parliament forces already deployed advance.

 

Can the Royalists save the day?



The Battle of Gilbert's Forge - Initial Deployment

The first entry for the Battle of Gilbert's Forge. Both generals sent their initial deployment to me via email, and surprisingly, both ignored the flank containing the said, Gilbert's Forge.

 Gilbert's house in the foreground, the Parliamentary forces on the left with the Royalist forces on the right hand side of the road. Looking West to East.

 The Parliamentary forces.

As you can see, quite an impressive array of troops, waiting for orders. The Royalist foot are all in column of march and all three artillery pieces are limbered. The Parliamentarians, on the other hand, have guns unlimbered and foot regiments in line of battle.

 

I will hopefully be doing a turn by turn update over the coming days, so please check back regularly, alternatively, you can also watch the battle unfold on my You Tube channel, a link to which is in the top right hand corner of this blog.

Widening a bridge.

Something a little different for this blog entry. I ordered an MDF and card three arch bridge to use on the wargaming table, however it was too narrow to allow the movement bases that I use to fit. This called for some drastic surgery to widen the kit to suit, I widened it by about 20mm. I used a very sharp Stanley knife to cut the MDF using a steel rule as a guide. I also wore a dust mask as the dust and fibres from MDF are very dangerous and should not be inhaled. I also did the cutting outdoors.
Although the alterations seem drastic, they did actually work, as you will see from the following photographs.

 The original kit.

 You can see my movement base is just too wide for the bridge planking.

 The bases of the bridge, cut with a Stanley knife and a new piece of MDF cut to slot in between.

 Like so.

 This altered the width of the vertical walls and so allowed me to then widen the planking.

 The support pieces now glued with the new central inserts and the cardboard road surface now also has an insert to match.

Dry fitted together, it works!

 

 Now wide enough for my movement bases with about 12mm or quarter of an inch either side.



The other two pieces altered in the same way.

 

 All the pieces glued, painted and flocked.

 Keeping it in three separate pieces means the join isn't brilliant, but good enough for me.

Should look fine on the wargaming table.

 

 Keeping it in three pieces gives me the option of a shorter hump back bridge.

Mounted troopers cross the bridge. The bases now fit easily into the new wider bridge.

 

The next Quick & Dirty battle should be commencing in the next couple of days, it will be known as the battle of Gilbert's Forge and will have daily postings of what is going on, both on this blog and on my You Tube channel. This time the generals will be commanding much larger forces, this will test the modified rules to the limit, and should show up any problems.