Went To Coventry

EARLIER this month I spent an extended weekend in Coventry, based in a Holiday Inn at junction 2 of the M6.

I had thought it was fairly well-known that the expression "sent to Coventry," meaning to shun, originated in the English Civil War.

The story goes that captured Royalists who were transferred to the town, a Parliamentary stronghold, were snubbed by locals.

This was the version given by Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, in his The History Of The Rebellion.

However it seems not everyone accepts this, at least not at Wikipedia and Wiktionary

One problem with Hyde's story, at least in my view, is that enemy prisoners would naturally be shunned.

But perhaps in this particular case some were allowed relative freedom to roam the town on parole, only to find no one would socialise with them, and this ostracising was maintained especially strictly.

In any event, this is the generally accepted origin of the expression, and I certainly do not have a better explanation.

Summing Up My Marston Moor Playthrough

I KNOW the refights are supposed to get tougher as one progresses through Mike Lambo's Battles Of The English Civil War.

But I cannot help thinking the difficulty level gets too high too quickly.

True, I was unlucky with my dice-throwing in this battle, and quite possibly my plan of a flank attack was too slow.

Even so, I have reached the stage where I have probably had enough of these particular refights, especially as the victory conditions in the battles are not exactly realistic.

So I plan to leave things as they are, with the AI leading our series 8-3.

Marston Moor Playthrough: Turn Seven

Situation after turn six

My five dice give me 3, 2 and three 1s. I reroll the 1s, getting 4, 2 and 1.

I allocate the useless attack-die to the demoralised horse, who cannot be saved, and the move-dice to the other units.

After the fleeing horse leave the battlefield, I move the pikes and the right-flank horse one hex forward, so both are within attacking range of the nearest enemy.

Then I move my muskets obliquely forward to their left, and charge the nearest Parliamentarian muskets with my other horse, needing 6+, reduced to 3+ thanks to support from the rest of the army. I roll 8, forcing the enemy muskets from the battlefield.

At least the artillery cannot fire at my units this turn

The forward artillery move to their right, which means the other artillery have to stand still.

The forward Parliamentarian muskets fire at my left-flank horse, needing 9+, reduced to 7+ thanks to support from more muskets and from artillery, and roll exactly 7, demoralising my men.

The other Parliamentarian muskets fire at the same target, but only need 6+ as the cavalry are demoralised. The roll is exactly 6, eliminating my men as demoralised units are always destroyed if suffering a second hit.

Both Parliamentarian pike units advance.

With all hope gone, I concede

Marston Moor Playthrough: Turn Six

Situation after turn five

My five dice give me 6, 5, two 3s and 1.

I use the 6 to rally the demoralised horse, and allocate the 5 to the muskets, with the other units getting move-dice.

I first advance my backward left-flank horse so they are within attacking range of the forward Parliamentarian pikes. Then I fire at the pikes with my muskets, needing 8+, reduced to 4+ thanks to support from the rest of the Royalist army, and I roll 9, sending the enemy off the battlefield.

I advance my pikes into the trees, and the move my central horse one square obliquely forward to their right.

My successes have been too few and too late

Parliamentarian artillery fire at my left-flank horse, needing 9+, reduced to 7+ thanks to support from two units of muskets, and roll 8, demoralising my unit and causing it to flee to the edge of the battlefield. The other artillery move another hex to their left.

The forward Parliamentarian muskets fire at my pikes, needing 8+, increased to 9+ thanks to my men being among trees, rolling 7.

The other musketeers stand still, as do the Parliamentarian pikes.

The AI has successfully countered my right-flank attacking plan

Marston Moor Playthrough: Turn Five

Situation after turn four

My six dice give me 5, 4, two 3s and two 1s. I allocate attack-dice to the horse and further-forward muskets, and move-dice to the other units.

I start by advancing the pikes and backward muskets, and move both left-flank cavalry units one hex obliquely forward to their right.

My right-flank horse attack the Parliamentarian horse, needing 8+, reduced to 4+ thanks to support from two units of muskets, one of pikes and one of horse (remember, there are no restrictions in this game on firing through friendly-occupied hexes). I roll 7, demoralising the enemy and forcing them to flee to the edge of the battlefield.

The Parliamentarian right-flank artillery again move a hex to their left. The other cannon unit fires at my muskets in its line-of-sight, needing 8+, reduced to 7+ thanks to being on higher ground, and rolls 9, sending my unit off the battlefield.

The Parliamentarian horse fail to rally and so also leave the battlefield.

Two Parliamentarian musket units advance, and the left-flank pikes charge my cavalry in the trees, needing 7+, reduced by one thanks to support from muskets, but increased by one thanks to the target being in trees. They roll 8, demoralising my horse and making them flee to the edge of the battlefield.

The right-flank Parliamentarian pikes advance, but the central pikes hold steady.

The Royalist cause is surely hopeless, but I will give it another turn

Marston Moor Playthrough: Turn Four

Situation after turn three

My six dice (I have lost a unit) give me 5, 3, two 2s and two 1s. I reroll the 1s in the hope of getting an attack-die, and a move-die if possible, and get exactly that in the shape of 5 and 1.

I give the attack-dice to the right-flank horse and right-flank muskets.

The other units get move-dice, and I use them to get all my troops out of firing range of the enemy.

I then use my right-flank horse to attack the remaining Parliamentarian horse, needing 8+, reduced by one thanks to support from muskets, but I roll 6.

The forward muskets shoot at the same target, needing 9+, reduced by one thanks to cavalry support, but again I roll 6.

I have done a reasonable job of presenting enemy artillery with few targets, but otherwise the Royalists do not look in good shape

The artillery again move to their left.

The Parliamentarian horse attack my horse in the trees, needing 8+, increased to 9+ thanks to the cover, but roll 7.

Two of the Parliamentarian musket units advance, as do all the but the right-flank pikes.

The mass of the Parliamentarian army is slowly advancing

Marston Moor Playthrough: Turn Three

Situation after turn two

Would you believe it? Having rolled four unwanted 6s last turn, and getting another two when I rerolled them, my seven this turn dice give me four 4s, 5, 3 and 1, and not a 6 with which to rally a fleeing unit.

Naturally I reroll the 4s, getting 6, 5 and two more 4s.

I use the 6 to rally the fleeing horse, but have to let the demoralised pikes exit the battlefield.

I give move-orders to my muskets on the same file as enemy artillery, moving my men to the right, and use the other move-die to charge the Parliamentarian right-flank horse, needing 8+, reduced by one thanks to support from another unit of horse, and I roll 10, demoralising the enemy and sending them fleeing three hexes.

At this point I suddenly realise I earlier mistakenly advanced the Parliamentarian right-flank artillery while moving them, something that is not allowed as artillery must stay on the back row of hexes.

The AI is about to have its third turn, with the position of the Parliamentarian right-flank artillery corrected

Neither artillery unit has a target in its line-of-sight, so both move to their left (the right-flank artillery moving first).

The Parliamentarian left-flank horse charge my horse in the trees, needing 8+, increased by one thanks to cover, but roll 6.

The demoralised Parliamentarian horse fail to rally (rallying for the AI requires a throw of 5 or 6) and so leave the battlefield.

The furthest-forward Parliamentarian muskets fire at my further-forward left-flank horse, needing 9+, but roll 7.

The other Parliamentarian muskets stand still, as do all but the rearmost Parliamentarian pikes, who advance one hex obliquely to their right.

I already feel like throwing in the towel

Marston Moor Playthrough: Turn Two

Situation after turn one

My seven dice give me four 6s, 5, 4, and 2; in other words, only one move-die, which is all I can use right now. I reroll the 6s, getting two more 6s, 4 and 2.

I decide to play aggressively, and start by charging the left-flank Parliamentarian horse, needing 8+, but roll 4.

With my other move-die I get the left-flank horse to move two hexes to their right.

The right-flank Parliamentarian artillery move left a hex to get closer to being on the same file of hexes as Royalists.

The rearward Parliamentarian artillery fire at my pikes in their line-of-sight, needing 8+, reduced by one for being on higher ground. The roll is 7, so my pikes are demoralised.

The left-flank Parliamentarian horse attack my horse opposite them, needing 8+, and roll 9, demoralising my men and sending them fleeing a hex into the cover of trees.

The other Parliamentarian horse rush towards my left-flank cavalry.

Having stood still last turn, all three Parliamentarian musket units advance,

Of the Parliamentarian pikes, only the left-flank ones move, placing themselves behind friendly horse.

No units have been lost, but I have two retreating

Marston Moor Playthrough: Introduction & Turn One

THE 11th refight in Mike Lambo's English Civil War book is the Battle of Marston Moor.

This Parliamentarian victory near York in July 1644 obliged the Royalists, who at the battle were led by Prince Rupert and the Marquess of Newcastle, to abandon north England.

The human commands the Royalists, who will attack from the bottom of the map

The outnumbered Royalists have three units of horse and two each of muskets and pikes.

I have gone for a classical setup, favouring my left with an extra unit of horse as high ground is less likely to be reached so soon on that flank

The AI's Parliamentarians consist of three units each of muskets and pikes, and two units each of horse and guns. Their initial dispositions are determined by dice throws.

The AI has gone for an asymmetrical formation, favouring its right flank  

To win I have to destroy or demoralise every Parliamentarian unit before the end of turn 10.

As usual I will write up the refight as it unfolds.

TURN ONE

My seven dice give me 6, 5, 4, two 2s and two 1s. Attack-dice (6,5,4) are useless on this turn, at least for the Royalists, but I cannot reroll them as I do not have a pair of such dice.

I give move-dice (3,2,1) to my units on the same files as enemy artillery, to my left-flank pikes and my right-flank horse.

The Royalists look ragged, but my plan is to attack the Parliamentarians on their weaker left-flank and hopefully roll up the rest of the enemy after I have taken some high ground

Both Parliamentarian units of artillery move to their right to get on files of hexes containing Royalists.

Both Parliamentarian cavalry units advance two hexes, but the musketeers hold their positions, and only the further forward of the left-flank pike units advances.

The left-flank Parliamentarian horse may have advanced rather too boldly

Summing Up Cropredy Bridge

WITH the benefit of hindsight my decision to concentrate all my forces around one bridge was a fundamental mistake.

Hindsight should not have been necessary - a little sensible foresight ought to have been enough.

I was able to inflict quite high casualties on the Royalists, but the one-bridge bottleneck meant I was always likely to run out of time.

The AI now leads our series 7-3.

Cropredy Bridge Playthrough: Turn Eight

Situation after turn seven

My five dice give me 4, 3, two 2s and 1.

I decide I have to take the opportunity to fire from the bridge while the enemy are lined up in a file to the edge of the battlefield, so I allocate the 4 to the forward muskets and move-dice to the other units.

The forward muskets fire at the nearer Royalist muskets, needing 8+, increased to 9+ thanks to firing through trees, but I roll 6.

I finish by advancing the pikes along the river bank, and moving the artillery onto the same file of hexes as the forward Royalist pikes.

Halfway through turn eight and I still have not established any troops across the river

The forward Royalist muskets fire at my men on the bridge, needing 8+, increased to 9+ by the trees, and roll 10, demoralising my unit and sending it fleeing to the edge of the battlefield.

The other Royalist muskets remain on the high ground, the forward pikes take cover in trees and the other pikes advance to the edge of the high ground.

The Parliamentarian side in this battle is clearly a lost cause, and so I concede 

Cropredy Bridge Playthrough: Turn Seven

Situation after turn six

My five dice give me 6, 4, 3 and two 1s.

I allocate attack-dice to the artillery and left-flank pikes, and move-dice to the remaining units.

First I fire at the pikes in the line-of-sight of my artillery, needing 8+, but roll 5.

Then I send the rearward muskets on to the bridge, and move the horse behind them.

Time is running out for the Parliamentarians

The forward Royalist muskets fire at my men on the bridge, needing 8+, increased by one thanks to firing through trees, but roll 4.

The rearward Royalist muskets should advance towards my pikes, but cannot do so as moving obliquely forward would not bring them closer.

The forward Royalist pikes advance towards my pikes, taking the Royalist unit off the file my artillery is on, but the other Royalist pike unit stands still.

This has been a very quiet turn

Cropredy Bridge Playthrough: Turn Six

Situation after turn five

My five dice give me 6, 5, 4 and two 3s.

I allocate attack-dice to the muskets and the horse, and move-dice to the pikes and artillery.

I start by moving the pikes to their left and the artillery to their right.

Then the backward muskets fire at the foremost pikes, needing 8+, reduced by two thanks to support from muskets and artillery, and I roll 8, demoralising the pikes and forcing them to flee two hexes.

My other muskets fire at the pikes in trees, needing 8+, increased by one thanks to the trees, but decreased by one thanks to support from my other muskets, and I roll 9, demoralising the muskets and forcing them to the edge of the battlefield.

The Royalists are reeling, but time is on their side

Neither Royalist musket unit advances, the backward unit because it could not get closer to the Parliamentarian unit it was required to approach. But both Royalist pike units rally.

Quite a gap has opened between the two armies

Cropredy Bridge Playthrough: Turn Five

Situation after turn four

My six dice give me 6, two 5s, 4 and two 3s.

I allocate the 6 to the horse, the 5s and 4 to the muskets and artillery, and the 3s to the pikes.

First I rally the horse, then use the artillery to fire at the nearest Royalist pikes, needing 8+, reduced by one thanks to support from pikes and two more thanks to support from muskets, and I roll 7, demoralising the pikes and forcing them to flee two hexes.

My forward muskets fire at the muskets in the trees, needing 8+, reduced by two thanks to support from pikes and muskets, but increased by one thanks to the trees. I roll 3.

My other unit of muskets fires at the same target, also needing 7+, and I roll 9, demoralising the Royalist muskets and forcing them back two hexes.

I decide to leave the forward pikes on the bridge, so they cannot be charged by Royalist pikes.

The Royalists face a critical half-turn in which much of their army could flee the battlefield

The foremost Royalist muskets fire at my pikes on the bridge, needing 8+, and they roll 9, which destroys the pikes as there are no retreat squares they can use.

The demoralised muskets fail to rally and so flee the battlefield, but the rearmost muskets advance.

The two furthest-forward pikes advance obliquely one hex, but the demoralised pikes next to them fail to rally and so have to leave the battlefield.

This is followed by the other demoralised pikes also failing to rally, and so leaving the battlefield.

The Royalist army now has fewer units than the Parliamentarians

Cropredy Bridge Playthrough: Turn Four

Situation after turn three

My six dice give me 6, 5, 3, two 2s and 1.

I allocate move-dice to all but the artillery and backward pikes.

First I take quite a risk by using the horse to charge the muskets in the trees. I need 6+, increased by one thanks to the cover, but I roll 6.

My artillery fire at the pikes in their line-of-sight, needing 8+, and roll exactly 8.

I advance the forward pikes onto the bridge, with the muskets close behind them.

Am I about to lose my last unit of horse?

The muskets in the trees fire at my horse, needing 9+, reduced by one thanks to support from other muskets, but roll 4.

The second unit of muskets fires at the same target, also needing 8+, and roll 11, demoralising my horse and sending them to the edge of the battlefield (fortunately their route did not take them into the river, as they would have been destroyed).

The rearward muskets at last advance, albeit obliquely, as do the three good-morale units of pike, but their demoralised comrades fail to rally and so flee to the edge of the battlefield.

The Royalists are well-placed to attack anyone crossing the Parliamentarian-held bridge

Cropredy Bridge Playthrough: Turn Three

Situation after turn two

My six dice - I have lost a unit - give me 6, two 5s, 4, 2 and 1. I reroll the 5s but get two more 5s.

I allocate one attack-die to the artillery, and ensure the left-flank pikes have one of the move-dice.

My artillery fire at the fleeing Royalist horse, needing 9+, reduced by one thanks to the target being demoralised. I roll exactly 8, destroying the horse as they have been hit while demoralised.

My other units stand still, except for the left-flank pikes which move to their right.

Again I am waiting for the Royalists to approach 'my' bridge

Only the foremost Royalist muskets advance, together with two of their pike units.

The most-advanced Royalist muskets have taken cover in trees

Cropredy Bridge Playthrough: Turn Two

Situation after turn one

My seven dice give me 5, two 4s, two 3s and two 1s.

I allocate the attack-dice to the artillery and muskets, and the move-dice to the remaining units.

I start by firing the artillery at the horse in their line-of-sight, needing 9+, rolling exactly 9, and so demoralising the Royalists.

Then the rearward muskets fire at the other Royalist cavalry unit, needing 9+, reduced by three thanks to support from two units of horse and one of muskets, but I roll 5.

The other musketeer unit fires at the same target, also needing 6+, but also roll 5.

Then my rearward horse charge the Royalists, needing 8+, reduced by two thanks to support from two units of muskets (my other horse cannot support as they cannot cross the bridge while it is occupied), and I roll 10, demoralising the Royalists and sending them fleeing to the edge of the battlefield.

Both my pike units move rightwards, and the unmoved horse stand pat.

I have captured a bridge and sent the Royalist horse fleeing, but my horse on the bridge are looking very vulnerable, especially as they have no retreat squares, a fact I have only just realised

Neither of the Royalist cavalry units rally (both rolled 1), so one exits the battlefield and the other comes within one turn of doing so.

The foremost Royalist muskets fire at my horse on the bridge, needing 9+, reduced by one thanks to support from another unit of muskets, but roll 5.

That other unit of muskets fires at the same target, also needing 8+, and they roll 9, eliminating my horse.

The rearward Royalist muskets again stand still, but two of the pike units advance.

The river still divides the two armies (and I have remembered to move on the turn counter)

Cropredy Bridge Playthrough: Introduction & Turn One

THE 10th refight in Mike Lambo's English Civil War book is the Battle of Cropredy Bridge, an indecisive engagement in Oxfordshire in June 1644.

The human commands the Parliamentarians, attacking from the bottom of the map

The Parliamentarians consist of a unit of artillery and two units each of horse, muskets and pikes.

The river can only be crossed by the two bridges, but nevertheless victory only comes if every Royalist unit is removed or demoralised before the end of turn 10.

Nothing subtle about this setup - I am going all out on the right flank

The AI's Royalists consist of two units of horse and four each of muskets and pikes. Their setup is determined by dice throws.

The Royalist horse are on the same flank as their Parliamentarian counterparts

TURN ONE

As usual I will write up the refight as I go along.

My seven dice give me 6, 5, 3, 2 and three 1s.

I allocate the attack-dice (6-5) to the artillery and the left-flank pikes, and give move-dice (3-2-1) to the other units.

The artillery open fire on the muskets in their line-of-sight, needing 8+, rolling 9, which sends the Royalists fleeing from the battlefield.

I move the horse forward one hex each and shuffle the foot rightwards (apart from the left-flank pikes, who do not have a move-die).

I am waiting for the Royalists to approach so my horse can hopefully charge them while supported by musketeers

The Royalist horse advance, each moving two hexes obliquely to their right.

The foremost Royalist muskets cannot attack anyone, and their die roll is a 5, meaning they should move "towards nearest [enemy] unit, favouring 'horizontal' moves."

Three of my units - the two horse by the bridge and the pikes next to them - are equidistant, but should the fact the pikes are behind impassable terrain, ie the river, rule them out as not being equally near?

I am fairly confident the answer is that the nature of terrain should not make a difference, and that is how I will play it.

Accordingly I roll a die, which determines the Royalist muskets should head for the pikes, and so they move one hex directly down the map as a 'horizontal' move would not take them closer.

The left-flank muskets also advance, but the rearward muskets, although rolling a 4, stand still as they cannot get closer to their intended target, which is also my pikes by the horse.

All four units of Royalist pikes advance.

The righthand bridge is surely set to be the centre of desperate fighting

Summing Up My Play-Through Of The Battle Of Cheriton

JUST as in the real Battle of Cheriton 379 years ago, my refight started with Royalist successes.

Indeed at around the halfway point I thought I must be favourite to win.

But, if truth be told, it may be that rash advances by part of the Parliamentarian army were a major contributory factor to my good start.

And despite turning an initial unit balance of minus three into plus one, I never captured much of Cheriton Wood, and was never close to driving the enemy from the field.

The AI now leads our English Civil War series 6-3.

Cheriton Play-Through: Turn Nine

Situation at the end of turn eight

My five dice give me two 6s, 5, 4 and 3.

I allocate the 6s to the demoralised units, the other attack-dice to the artillery and forward muskets, and the move-die to the right-flank muskets.

After rallying the demoralised units, I use the artillery to fire at the demoralised Parliamentarian muskets, needing 8+, reduced by one thanks to being on higher ground, but increased by one thanks to firing through trees, and I roll 11, destroying the enemy unit.

My forward muskets fire at the forward Parliamentarian pikes, needing 8+, reduced by two thanks to support from pikes and horse, and I roll exactly 6.

Finally the right-flank pikes advance a hex.

The Royalist cause is hopeless

The left-flank Parliamentarian muskets fire at the muskets opposite them, needing 8+, increased by one thanks to firing through trees, but roll 5.

The right-flank Parliamentarian muskets fire at my pikes, needing 8+, but roll 4.

The demoralised pikes fail to rally, and so flee to the edge of the battlefield, while the other pikes advance a hex.

It is impossible to clear the field of undemoralised Parliamentarian units next turn, so I concede the battle