Ripple Field (1643)

This was the third and final game of my virtual (or proxy) version of Ambuscade! played over the course of three days.  After the work of setting up and playing newish rules for Late Roman and Italian Wars Lion Rampant using a grid, it was nice to return to the English Civil War, which I had already recently played on a grid, and did not have to come up with much of anything new.

Prince Maurice's Royalist army.

The scenario was Ripple Field fought in 1643, about 2,000 men per side, with Prince Maurice's Royalists facing William Waller's Parliament army before the town of Ripple. 

William Waller's Parliament army before Ripple.

Both sides were almost mirror images of each other.  Waller had 4 units seasoned foot, 3 units trained band foot, and 3 units of Haselrig's Lobsters, and a single demi-culverin.  Prince Maurice also had 4 units seasoned foot and 3 units trained band foot, but also had four units of harquebusiers and a light gun.  Also of note: for each side, the train'd bands were opposite the better season infantry. This was perhaps worse for Parliament as the train'd band infantry was holding the center, while it was only on the Royalist left.

After first moves.

Waller's infantry moved forward while Maurice's repositioned itself.  Maurice's cavalry advanced en masse and Haselrig sent two of his three Lobsters forward to meet them.

Royalist cavalry advancing.

Parliament trained band shotte.

Royalist trained band infantry.

The Lobsters seemed to hold their own at first, but then the numbers of Royalists combined with some flanking fire from Royalist infantry caused a unit under attack by Prince Maurice to break and rout.  Using his Pursuit rule (see below), Maurice chased this unit right to the Parliament board edge.

Royalist left/center.

The rest of the Lobsters also faired poorly, with their caracole attacks not proving very effective, or coming out the worse for melees with the Royalists.  The Parliament trained band infantry in the center was also not fairing well, either, with a shotte unit retreating through pikes, disordering them.

The mess of the Parliament right/center.

Pirnce Maurice had galloped through the town of Ripple and attacked disordered shotte units in the Parliament center! However, he routed these and pursed them back in and through the town!

Maurice running rampant in the town.

On the Parliament left, the better quality infantry was able to capture the Royalist falconet and chase off the Royalist trained band infantry.

Waller's seasoned infantry on Parliament left on the offensive

A good shot from the falconet, however, did put the demi-culverin out of action.  In the center, Parliament and the remaining Lobsters had mounted a fierce counter attack, and although taking heavy casualties, they succeeded in disordering several Royalist units.  However, the Royalists were able to successfully rally, and on the following turn, it was Parliament units that failed rallies and routed, with a charge against, and routing of, Haselrig hisself being the end of the game.

Haselrig flees the field.

Parliament was fairly trounced, 4 victory points to 1 (the 1 for capturing the falconet).  However, the Royalist rallies at the end certainly beat probability, so the game could have easily gone the other way - even if Parliament had scored 2 points for merely dispatching more units, combined with the 1 for capturing the falconet, would have been enough. 

Prince Maurice’s ROYALIST ARMY

HARQUEBUSIERS

Att. To Hit 4+ / Def. to Hit 5+

Move Rate: 4 squares

Shoot Rng: 1 square / Shoot To Hit: 5+

Morale:4+  / Stamina: 3

Special Rules: Counter-charge; Pursuit

SEASONED PIKE

Att. To Hit 4+ / Def. to Hit 3+
Move Rate: 2 squares
Morale: 4+ / Stamina: 3 
Special Rules: Pikes

SEASONED SHOTTE
Att To Hit 6+ / Def to Hit 5+
Move Rate: 2 squares
Shoot Rng: 3 squares / Shoot To Hit 5+
Morale: 4+ / Stamina: 2
Special Rules: Skirmish at half move and -1 to shoot; over 2 in range is -1 to hit.

TRAINED BAND PIKE
Att. To Hit 4+ / Def. to Hit 3+
Move Rate: 2 squares
Morale: 5+ / Stamina: 3 
Special Rules: Pikes

TRAINED BAND SHOTTE
Att To Hit 6+ / Def to Hit 5+
Move Rate: 2 squares
Shoot Rng: 3 squares / Shoot To Hit 5+
Morale: 5+ / Stamina: 2
Special Rules: Skirmish at half move and -1 to shoot; over 2 in range is -1 to hit.

FALCONET (Light Artillery)
Att To Hit -- / Def to Hit 6+
Move Rate: 2 squares
Shoot Rng / Shoot To Hit: 
Short Rng (0”-6”):   12 dice @ 5+
Med. Rng (6”-12”): 8 dice @ 5+
Long Rng: (12”-24”): 8 dice @ 6+
Morale: 5+ / Stamina: 1
Special Rules: May offer closing fire with successful Morale check. May share a square with another friendly unit. 

Sir William Wallers’s PARLIAMENT ARMY

HASELRIG’S LOBSTERS
Att To Hit 5+ / Def to Hit 4+
Move Rate: 4 squares
Shoot Rng: 1 square / Shoot To Hit 5+
Morale: 3+ / Stamina: 4
Special Rules: Caracole; Skirmish

REITERS
Att To Hit 5+ / Def to Hit 4+
Move Rate: 4 squares
Shoot Rng: 1 square / Shoot To Hit 5+
Morale: 4+ / Stamina: 3
Special Rules: Caracole

HARQUEBUSIERS- same as Royalist SEASONED PIKE- same as Royalist SEASONED SHOTTE- same as Royalist TRAINED BAND PIKE - same as Royalist TRAINED BAND SHOTTE - same as Royalist

DEMI-CULVERIN

Att To Hit -- / Def to Hit 6+

Move Rate: 0

Shoot Rng / Shoot To Hit: 

    Short Rng (1-2 squares): 12 dice @ 4+.
    Med. Rng (3-4 squares): 9 dice @ 5+ 

(4 dice if ½ strength)

     Long Rng (5+ squares): 6 dice @ 5+

Morale: 5+ / Stamina: 1

Special Rules: Has 6 Strength points. May offer closing fire. May share a square with another friendly unit. Cannot move during game, but receives one deployment move of 2 squares before first player’s regular turn.

RULES FOR GRIDS:

A. MOVEMENT

1. Diagonal moves are not allowed.

2. Cavalry move 4 squares

3. Infantry moves 2 squares

4. Light artillery moves 2 squares

5. Culverins and other heavy artillery cannot move at all, but receive one free deployment move of two squares into a “forward position” at the beginning of the game.

6. Artillery units may share a square with another friendly unit, including another artillery unit.  Dice for shooting and melee attacks by a single units against two units sharing a square must allocate 2 of 12 (or 1 of 6 if halfstrength) dice towards the non-artillery target.  If both units in the square are artillery pieces, divide the dice evenly. 

B. RANGES

7. Muskets: 3 squares (over 2 squares is -1 to hit)
   Pistols: 1 square
   Light Artillery: short range 1-2 squares, medium 3 squares, long 4-5 squares
   Heavy Artillery: short 1-2 squares, medium 3-4 squares, long 5+ squares

8. Line of sight is calculated from center of originating square to center of target square (use a stick).  If the line passes over a square that contains another unit, or obstructing terrain such a a building or woods, then there is no LOS.  If the line touches the corner but does not cross the square, there is LOS (this is possible at direct 45 degree angles).

C. SKIRMISH ORDERS

9. All units armed with ranged weapons, and light artillery, may make a half move and shoot at -1 to hit.  This can be move/shoot or shoot/move.

D. ORDERED ACTIVATIONS/REACTIONS.

10. Move, Shoot, Skirmish actions are considered automatic, and no activation roll is required.

11. If attacking an enemy unit, the attacker must pass a Courage test. Usual modifiers apply.

12. A Countercharge and Closing Fire action requires a Courage test.

E. COMBAT

13. An attacking unit can attack an enemy unit in an adjacent (but not diagonal) square. IF the defending unit is in a building, or woods, or behind an obstacle, and loses the melee, the attacking unit will “carry the position” and move into the square vacated by the enemy.

14. Attacks on Guns:  Guns will always test against Morale to offer closing fire (at close range). If the attackers take casualties and fail the morale test, they fall back to the second square from of the gun. If they pass the morale test, they will “carry the position” and move into the gun square. The gun crew is assumed to flee. No melee is fought.  If the gun is sharing the square with another non-gun unit (see above), the attacker will fight a melee with that unit (if it weathered the closing fire from the gun).  If that unit loses and retreats, the gun crew flees and, again, the attacker moves into the gun square and captures it.

F. RETREATS

15. A unit retreats half a move after losing a melee or failing a Rally test. Retreat moves are always towards controlling the player's starting edge. If the retreat is into a square occupied by another friendly unit, the retreating unit will pass through that unit (and any others) until it reaches an empty square.  Units passed through must pass a Morale test or become Disordered (although they are not required to retreat from failing this test).  If the retreating unit is retreating because it lost a melee, but did not become disordered, it too must pass a Morale test or become disordered due to it retreating through friendly troops.

SPECIAL RULES:

• Caracole:  The unit may make a half Move and then a Shoot action. If the enemy fails a Morale test due to the Shooting the unit may now perform a free Attack activation (if within range), moving into contact with that enemy unit and immediately resolving an Attack.

• Pursuit: If this unit has charged or counter-charged an enemy unit, and the result of the melee is that the enemy Routs (a result of 0 or less on a Morale test), then this unit will move towards the enemy table edge in a straight line and stop at the edge. If this line brings it contact with another enemy, it will attack it. If that second melee also results in a Rout, the victorious unit will not Pursue a second time. If the table edge is a terrain feature, the unit will stop in the square in front of that feature. 

• Counter-charge: When enemy unit has successfully diced to attack this unit, but before it moves, this unit may test for a counter-charge by passing a Morale test. If successful, both units meet halfway between their start positions and both count at Attacking. If test fails, stand in place for enemy charge. May not be used if Wavering.

• Pikes:  Pike units are -1 to Defense Value if attacked by another unit with the Pikes rule. If an Attack ends with both units still in contact (i.e. a tie), the enemy must retreat (unless the enemy is also has Pikes). If a unit with Pikes enters rough going, no longer contains at least 6 models or is Wavering, it does not receive the Pike bonuses. 

• Skirmish: This unit may choose to make half move and shoot at -1 before or after this movement takes place.