English Civil War Superpost

My good self, the Marquess of Nottingham.
Pictures are from Jane Dunn.

Welcome back to Palladian Guard, where today I'll be sharing the results of our ECW Supercampaign!

What is a Supercampaign?

It's like a normal campaign, a series of linked battles played out on a map.  But we blur the lines with roleplaying - orders have to be written and troops moved around a master campaign map in real time.  Not using 'nodes' or 'pins', we really do work out how far the men march and how many miles they're spread out over!  There are secret notes, orders, couriers and subterfuges that make for a gripping campaign season.  Our most recent Supercampaign was the American Civil War one.

What's this Supercampaign all about?

Some might remember our recent trips to the National Civil War Centre - our gaming group are all from Newark in the UK, which was a Royalist stronghold during the Civil War.  This campaign saw us playing out the Third Siege, which lasted from late 1645 to the end of the war the following year.



So how did it go?

To keep this post short and digestible, I'll summarize everything quite briefly.

 I assumed the role of the (fictional) Marquess of Nottingham, leading a small Royalist garrison.  Although the war was nearly over and there was no hope of a 'victory' for me, it was my job to try and fight for favourable surrender terms for my men.  I had a tiny force - about ten stands of 2mm Irregular Miniatures - but the town had formidable defences and artillery cover which made any direct assault a difficult prospect.

The Parliamentarians led by brother Ollie (the fictional Sir James Maxwell, MP), and the allied Scots by the valiant Kieran (Earl of Kinross), had a hugely superior force but had a long line to garrison.  They had about thirty stands to command, but it would be hard for them to guard the entire siege line round the town while concentrating quickly for battle.

My worthy foe, Sir James!

Over the first few months I led some daring raids out of the town and scored a few successes, burning the surrounding villages (depriving the besiegers of vital winter quarters) and looting supplies.  Soon, however, the attritional casualties, cold weather and outbreaks of typhus wore down my men and I fought one battle too many.  Outside North Muskham my army was all but annihilated and I barely escaped with my life!  A further six weeks of protracted negotiations, prolonged by the intransigence of both parties, eventually led to the besiegers biting the bullet and storming the town at night, while I tried to slip away and escape by boat!

A satisfyingly climactic battle ensued, and despite some horrendous casualties storming the guns the besiegers broke through into the town.  Still unwilling to surrender, I blew up the town's magazine and managed to escape with about three boatloads of my most loyal men.  Unfortunately my boat later sank on the way to Oxford and I was captured.  My life graciously spared by Sir James, who instead banished me to the Isle of Wight.  The Earl of Kinross was less disposed to mercy but eventually relented...

In summary, a clear Parliamentarian/Scottish victory, but I'm pleased I held out to the last!  Even if, of the 3,000 men I started with, 1,000 were captured and 1,750 were killed in battle or died of typhus.  Oh dear.

My lovingly-made model of the town of Newark!

The Royalists sally forth, past the Queen's Sconce towards Farndon!  All the moves were meticulously
worked out on a map, painstakingly researched by Kieran.

Sir John Redman's troops approach Farndon.  We used a modification of the Give Them The Cold Steel ACW rules, suitably tweaked for 17th Century warfare.

And there we have it!  I hope that captures some of the drama and tension of what was a fantastic four weeks' campaigning.  What's next, I hear you cry?  The distant rumble of the Franco-Prussian War can be heard just over the horizon...

Bye for now,

Ed