Summing Up Hopton Heath

IT is easy in retrospect to see I was overly pessimistic during the battle.

The poor old Earl of Northampton never stood much of a chance with most of his army on one flank and he almost on his ownsome, apart from a loyal bodyguard of musketeers, on the other flank.

At least that was the situation once the Royalist horse had been defeated.

And, once the AI set up with such a large gap between the Royalist horse and the rest of the Royalist army, it was a simple matter to modify my original plan of a mounted left-hook.

All in all, once again a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and one that leaves the score in battles 2-1 in my favour.

Hopton Heath Play-Through: Turn Eight

Situation at the end of turn seven

My four dice give me a 5, two 4s and a 2. I reroll the 4s, getting another 4 and a 1. The attack orders go to the forward muskets and the pinned horse, and the move orders to the other units.

I start by attacking the Royalist horse, hoping to free my pinned horse to give support to an attack on the earl. I need 8+, reduced by two thanks to support from horse and muskets. I roll 8, demoralising the Royalist horse and forcing them to flee to the edge of the battlefield.

My other horse then charge the earl, needing 9+, reduced by one thanks to support from the just-unpinned horse. I roll 10, and since the earl only needs to be hit once, I win the battle with two turns to spare.

Hopton Heath Play-Through: Turn Seven

Situation at the end of turn six

My five dice - I lost a unit last turn - give me a 5, two 4s, a 3 and a 2. I reroll the 4s, getting a 3 and a 2.

The fleeing pikes get the useless 5, but first I advance the muskets before letting the pikes flee two hexes.

My further forward horse charge the bodyguard muskets, needing 6+, increased by one because the muskets are in a wood, but reduced by one thanks to support from the other Parliamentarian horse. I roll 7, demoralising the muskets and making them flee the battlefield.

My other horse charge the Royalist horse, needing 8+, reduced by two thanks to support from cavalry and muskets, but I roll a miserable 2.

The earl's situation is desperate

The forward artillery score another hit on my pikes, destroying them, but the other cannon unit misses its shot.

The Royalist cavalry roll 7, just one short of what is needed to hit the nearer Parliamentarian cavalry.

The remaining muskets and pikes advance to their left, but will they be in time to save the earl?

The Parliamentarian horse have a good sight of their quarry

Hopton Heath Play-Through: Turn Six

Situation at the end of turn five

My six dice give me two 6s, a 4, a 3 and two 1s. I use one 6 to rally the fleeing pikes and give move orders to all the rest, except for the other pikes, my thinking being the muskets may be able to give useful supporting fire before time runs out.

I move my cavalry closer to the bodyguard muskets, ready to attack next turn.

Crunch time is fast approaching

The Royalist cannon suddenly find their range, demoralising both my pike units, the righthand one of which flees the battlefield.

The cavalry advance to support the bodyguard muskets.

The right-flank muskets fail to hit my remaining pikes, while the bodyguard muskets shoot at my further back horse, needing 9+, reduced by one thanks to the Royalist horse, but roll 6.

The Royalist pikes again stand still.

A crucial turn is upcoming

Hopton Heath Play-Through: Turn Five

Situation at the end of turn four

My six dice give me two 6s, a 5, a 4, a 2 and a 1. I could not have asked for a better throw as the 6s will rally the two pike units, the 5 and 4 will let the muskets fire and the move-orders will go to the horse.

I fire the rear muskets first. They need 8+ to hit the forward pikes, reduced by two thanks to support from muskets and pikes. I roll a stupendous 11, demoralising the Royalist pikes and forcing them to flee the battlefield.

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

I advance my backward horse, but basically move the other horse sideways to keep them out of range of the bodyguard muskets.

The Parliamentary cause is surely in the ascendancy

The further forward artillery fire at my forward pikes, requiring 8+, reduced by one thanks to musket support, and the roll is exactly the 7 needed.

The other artillery fire at my other pikes, rolling 8, which is not enough as they are shooting through trees.

The fleeing Royalist cavalry rally in the nick of time.

The right-flank muskets fire at my demoralised pikes, needing 8+, reduced by one thanks to artillery support, but roll 5.

The bodyguard muskets move into the tress in front of the earl, which gives him greater protection and makes the muskets harder to hit.

The demoralised pikes fail to rally and so flee the battlefield as there is no space for them to fall straight back two hexes. The remaining pikes stand still.

It feels as if I do not have to rush, but the clock is ticking and it is questionable if any of my foot units will be in time to help decide matters

Hopton Heath Play-Through: Turn Four

Situation at the end of turn three

My six dice give me one each of every possibility. I use the 6 to rally the demoralised horse, give the 5 to the forward muskets and give the move orders to the other horse, the further-forward pikes and the rear muskets.

Moving the muskets is straightforward, and I use the forward pike to charge the furthest forward Royalist pikes, requiring 8+, reduced by one thanks to support from muskets. However I roll 4, and immediately regret putting the pikes in such a vulnerable position.

My forward muskets fire at the same Royalist pikes, requiring 8+, reduced by one thanks to pike-support. I roll 9, demoralising the pikes and forcing them back two hexes.

With my forward cavalry I take a risk and charge the Royalist cavalry, requiring 8+, which is exactly what I get.

The battle feels in the balance

The further-forward artillery again misses, but the other cannon unit rolls 9, exactly what is needed when firing through trees at my pikes.

The Royalist cavalry fail to rally, fleeing to the edge of the battlefield.

The right-flank muskets advance into the adjacent trees, and the earl's bodyguard muskets fire at my forward cavalry, requiring 9+ but rolling 8.

The furthest forward pikes attack my undemoralised pikes, moving in such a way that they have left space for another pike unit to also attack. A roll of 8+, reduced by one thanks to musket support, is needed, but the result is a 4.

The other undemorlaised Royalist pikes then join in the attack, receiving support from pikes and muskets, and just get the 6 needed.

There is further good news for the Royalists when their fleeing pike unit rallies.

Two of my units are fleeing, but the earl continues to look vulnerable 

Hopton Heath Play-Through: Turn Three

Situation at the end of turn two

My six dice give me two 6s, a 5, a 4, a 3 and a 2. I reroll the 6s, getting another 6 and a 3.

I allocate the 6 to the pikes adjacent to the Royalist horse, and I give move orders to both my cavalry units and one musket unit.

I start by moving the muskets, and then use my pikes to attack the further-forward Royalist horse, requiring 7+, reduced by one thanks to mounted support and a further one thanks to support from muskets. I roll 7, demoralising the Royalists and forcing them to flee two hexes.

I next move my left-flank horse into the trees adjacent to both Royalist horse units, and attack the unit further back, requiring 8+, but I roll 7.

My other cavalry move right and then charge the already demoralised enemy cavalry, requiring 8+, reduced by two for support from cavalry and muskets and a further one for the attackers being demoralised. I roll 6, meaning the enemy cavalry are destroyed.

First blood to the Parliamentarians, weakening the Royalist left flank

The further-right artillery misses its target by a large margin. The other artillery fires at my cavalry in the trees, requiring 9+, increased by one thanks to the cavalry being in cover, but reduced by two thanks to support from Royalist cavalry and the earl's bodyguard-musketeers. That means 8 is needed, but the roll is 7.

The cavalry attack my cavalry in the trees, requiring 8+, increased by one thanks to the trees but reduced by two thanks to support from artillery and muskets. The roll is 10, demoralising my cavalry and forcing them to flee to the edge of the battlefield.

Neither musket unit moves, but two of the pike units advance.

A good half-turn for the Royalists, especially if I fail to rally my fleeing horse next turn

Hopton Heath Play-Through: Turn Two

Situation at the end of turn one

My six dice give me two 6s, two 5s a 3 and a 2. I reroll the 5s, but get another 5 and a 6.

I use a 6 to rally the demoralised pikes, and I allocate the move-order dice to the other pikes and the more-forward cavalry, who are in danger of being attacked by two pike units.

I charge with units of pikes and horse

First I use the pikes to attack the cavalry further down the map, requiring 7+, but roll 3.

My cavalry then attack the other Royalist cavalry, requiring 8+, but reduced by one thanks to support from the pikes, and I roll 10, demoralising the enemy cavalry and forcing them to flee two hexes.

Now the AI replies

The further forward Royalist artillery fire at my pikes, but roll 7, one short of the score needed.

The other cannon unit fires at my horse, requiring 9+, increased by one thanks to firing through trees, but also roll 7.

The undemoralised cavalry attack my pikes, but roll 4, while the other cavalry rally on a throw of 5.

Again only the right-flank muskets advance, and only one pike unit advances.

The Royalist pikes look menacing but I have hopes of destroying an enemy cavalry unit

Hopton Heath Play-Through: Introduction & Turn One

THE Battle of Hopton Heath is the third battle in Mike Lambo's solo wargaming book on the English Civil War.

It occurred in March 1643, and both sides were to claim victory, a not unheard of happening in confused fighting in which neither force is routed.

However there was a particularly unusual feature in this battle, namely that the Royalist commander, the Earl of Northampton, was killed.

Accordingly the objective in Lambo's book for the human player, commanding the Parliamentarians, is to kill the earl before 10 turns have passed (this is the only battle in which the book's earl counter is used).

The earl stays in position near the rear of the Royalist position for the whole battle.

He has no offensive capability, but enemy units require 9+ on two throws of the dice to score a hit against him, which would be immediately fatal.

As usual I will write up the battle turn by turn.

Battlefield with the earl in position

The Parliamentarians get two units each of horse, muskets and pikes, but no cannon.

I have to setup first, and one thing I am strongly bearing in mind is that at Braddock Down I failed to take care of my musketeers properly, making them vulnerable to enemy cavalry.

This time I am ordering them to huddle behind the pikes, and I plan to send the horse on a flanking manoeuvre on the left.

Parliamentarians deployed

The Royalists get three units of pikes and two each of horse, muskets and cannons.

The AI's setup is decided by dice throws

I have to say the Parliamentarian task looks daunting, but it should be remembered 'all' that is required is to kill the earl, and he is killed by a single successful attack.

I am pleased the Royalist cavalry have massed on their left flank, away from my musketeers and my cavalry. Another bonus is that the Royalist cannon units are not lined up against any of my units.

There is also a huge gap between the Royalist cavalry and the rest of the army. In the light of this I am revising my battle plan, intending to attack the Royalist cavalry and hopefully continue all the way to the earl.

TURN ONE

My six dice give me a 5, a 4, a 3 and three 1s. This means I can move four units (1-2-3 are move orders), and I swing the horse and pikes to the right.

Tally-ho!

Only one of the Royalist cannon units can fire, and it needs 8+ to hit my nearer pikes, which is exactly what it gets, demoralising my men. The other Royalist artillery can neither fire nor move as the only hex it would want to move to is already occupied.

Both Royalist cavalry units advance towards my forces, but only the right-flank muskets move.

All three pike units advance, but their moves take them obliquely away from the earl.

The earl has a bodyguard of muskets, but otherwise looks somewhat isolated