Siege Rules for English Civil War Using The Portable Pike & Shot Wargame

1. SET UP

Battalia: SP 4. Move 2. Weapon range 2 (-1 to hit at 2 squares, however)
Commanded Shot: SP 3. Move 2. Weapon range 2
Heavy Artillery: SP 2. Move 2. Weapon range 8
Light Artillery: SP 2. Move 2. Weapon range 5

Decide if the town besieged has walls or not. If running a historical-based campaign you can usually figure out with a little research whether there were walls or not.  Next, using your army-size randomizer, roll up the attackers force, but perhaps add an additional +1 to battalias and commanded shot, and ignore cavalry altogether.  The attacker should have a minimum of two heavy artillery pieces, but probably a max of 3 or 4.  The defender's infantry is simply half of the attackers. The defender should have a minimum of one heavy artillery piece and the defender's total artillery pieces should never exceed the attacker's total.  The defenders total SP for infantry should be half of the attackers. The defender receives one grid side's of earthworks for each point of SP it does not have in infantry (so if the attacker has 20 SP in infantry, the defender will have 10 SP in infantry and 10 grid-sides of earthworks).  These earthworks represent defenses the defender prepared prior to the siege, and these may be placed as follows: in the row of grids squares adjacent and parallel to the town wall (or the edge of the town buildings if there is no wall). They may also "bump out" into the next row of squares (such that they will be two grid squares from the town wall) as long as they form a continuous row of earthworks back to the first row closer to the town wall. In other words, "bumping out" the earthworks will bring heavy artillery in closer range of the besiegers but will shorten the overall length of the earthworks.

The defender may then place his infantry and guns anywhere behind his defenses.

The attacker places all his guns and infantry on his closest back line.

It may also be easier to simply give the attacker 2/3rds of your collection's infantry units, and give the defender the remaining 1/3rd. 

2. INITIATIVE

Attacker goes first in the first turn. Thereafter, dice for initiative on each subsequent turn. A turn represents a day's activity, roughly.

3. ARTILLERY PHASE. 

The attacker's back line is always out of range, and artillery may not fire in or out of that line of grid squares.

Heavy artillery has a close range of 5 and a long range of 8. Light artillery has a close range of 5 only, but is less effective against fortifications. A gun may not target a town wall if the line of sight is obstructed by an earthwork - it must reduce the earthwork first. At long range, artillery fire is only effective and counts as a "hit" on a natural roll of 6. At short range, a roll of 5+ is effective. A gun may not fire if was moved the previous turn.  Modifiers to hit are as follows: +1 if gun is shooting at same target as previous turn.  

Unless playing out the storming of a breach (see below) or an especially prolonged Sally (see also below), siege artillery fire is focused on the destruction of earthworks and walls. A town wall section has 10 SP.  An earthwork has 30 SP.

If a fortification is hit by heavy artillery, roll a d6 to determine effect: 1-3: 1 SP damage; 4-6: 1d6 SP damage.

If a fortification is hit by light artillery, roll a d6 to determine effect: 1-3: 1 SP damage; 4-6: 2 SP damage.

When an earthwork or wall is reduced to 0 SP, it is removed or replaced with a breach marker. Defenders may build a barricade in its place (see below), which cannot be destroyed by artillery fire, but only counts as cover for any defending units and takes 2 movement to cross, as per a regular game of The Portable Pike & Shot.

4. MOVEMENT

Infantry units may move 2 squares per turn. Artillery may move 2 square as well, unless a storming of breach or sally action is underway, in which case heavy artillery does not move (although it may be rotated), and light artillery pieces may be moved 2 squares.  If a unit crosses its own earthworks to leave a square, there is no movement penalty.  If a unit must cross enemy earthworks to enter a square, it costs 2 movement instead of 1. The exception to this is if a close combat has occurred, and the enemy defending the earthwork has retreated, the attacker may move across the earthwork at that time.

5. SAPPING

If unit has not moved yet, it may be instructed to dig new earthworks in an adjacent square, so long as this forms a continuous line of adjacent squares with earthworks. The exception to this is if the unit is in the attacker's back line. Move the unit into the square being sapped, and arrange it or add a marker to indicate that it is digging.  Assuming the unit does not retreat as a result of a Sally (see below) or from defensive fire (see below), at the beginning of the next turn, a new earth work can be placed on one side of the grid square. 

If it is desired to have more than one side of a grid fortified with earthworks, then an additional turn of sapping is required for each turn (so making a 'L' corner will take two turns, and making a 'U' shape will take 3). Since the first piece of earthwork presumably faces toward the enemy, this means that a Sally on a unit sapping a second length of earthwork in the same square will be at -1 as the sapping unit is in cover of its already constructed works.

The besieger may also have units construct ladders for escalade for use during a Storming attempt (see below), one ladder for one unit in one turn, using same principle as sapping (i.e., it may not move that turn, and assuming it is not disrupted by a Sally attack - although if it partakes in counter-attacks to a Sally the ladder is not completed).

The besieged may dig new entrenchment extensions of their existing defenses using the same rules. A unit working on new entrenchments is subject to artillery fire. 

Either side may attempt to repair damage to earthworks or town walls.  In doing so the unit is exposed to artillery fire although the artillery is -1 to hit from partial cover from undamaged fortifications, or from working at night.  If the unit is not forced to retreat from artillery fire, the fortification section recovers 2 SP.  Repairs may be effective at first but will probably quickly become a lost cause.

6. ARTILLERY FIRE AT SAPPING UNITS

 A gun may target a unit that is sapping.  However, it is -1 to hit as the sappers use the existing earthworks they are sapping from for cover, and it is also -1 to hit if the sappers are digging from the starting back line. If hit, roll a d6 for effect (same for light and heavy artillery): 1-3: intense fire drives sappers back, and new earthwork is not constructed; 4-6: new earthwork section completed but sapping unit loses 1 SP.

7. SALLIES

The defender may launch Sallies at sappers or entrenched guns during their turn.  A Sallying unit may move 4 square on its first turn, representing the element of surprise.  If attacking a Sapping unit, fight the close combat as if a regular game. Sallies count as "turns-within-turns," so after all Sallying units have resolved their attacks, the besiegers may have a turn to use artillery fire (not against fortifications, but against units or other artillery as per usual field battle game - artillery will retreat if required, which represents the crew withdrawing to other cover), move, counterattack or shoot back as they so wish. The Sallying player then falls back, and is returned to its defenses.   

Attacks against units behind earthworks are -1 as the unit is in cover. Artillery fire during a Sally against units in cover will therefore probably be a 6 to hit only. A Sallying unit may opt to move into musket range and make a shooting attack instead of close combat. Close combats may be continued via moving into empty squares if the other unit has retreated per the regular rules. If a Sapping unit is forced to retreat from a Sally, it moves into an adjacent square that has earthworks, and the new earthwork section is not completed.

The besiegers may also launch sallies (raids) at entrenched gun positions or sapping defenders but not other infantry units.  Sapping by defenders is therefore very risky once in range of sallies.  Infantry units who are not sapping are considered on guard and cannot be taken by surprise. 

8. STORMING A BREACH

Storming a Breach is the endgame of a siege game.  Once started, a regular game can be thought of as starting. A breach in earthworks may only be stormed if there are no town walls.  An attacker's unit, which must start positioned in a straight line from the breach, is designated as the storming party/forlorn hope.  This unit may move 4 squares to initiate the storm but can move only up to the square adjacent to the breach. It may attack any defenders in the breached grid square.  

Other besieger units may support the attack but can only move two grid squares. Such units may carry ladders and attempt to escalade the walls. Escalading is considered an attack against an enemy in cover. If no enemy unit in the defending wall square, on the following turn, the escalading unit may be placed on the wall (similar to crossing an obstacle). This is why creating more than one breach in the outer earthworks of the town is advantageous.

9. ENDING A GAME

There is no separate exhaustion and breaking points as in a regular field battle game. 

The town defenders will surrender if they have lost 60% of their starting infantry SP.

The besieging attackers will give up and leave if they have lost 50% of their starting infantry SP.

An attempt to take the town by Storming a breach will end when:

A. The designated Storming Party/Forlorn Hope unit has successfully moved through the breached square and into the town - the besieger wins the game. If a second attacking unit successfully escalades a wall and moves into the town center before the Forlorn Hope carries the breach, the besieger wins the game. If another attacking unit moves through the breach and into the town center (presumably because the Storming Party has cleared the way), the besieger wins the game. Once an attacker moves into the town squares, the game is instantly over.

B. If at the end of either player's turn, the designated Storming Party/Forlorn Hope unit is completely destroyed, and no attacking unit is adjacent to the breach in the town wall, and a defending unit is occupying the breach square, and no attacking units have successfully escaladed and are on the walls, then the defenders have held the walls, and storm has failed - the besieged have won the game. 

C. If a side reaches 60% or 50% losses as described above during a Storming action, finish the player's current turn in progress to see if the conditions of (A) or (B) are met. If neither are met, the defenders will surrender or the attackers will lose their resolve as described above. If both are met in the same turn, victory defaults to the defender and the siege is lifted.

NOTES:

• I wrote these up because I felt like the Lincolnshire campaign needed an attempt to take the Royalist stronghold of Newark, and since the siege rules as presented in the The Portable Pike & Shot Wargame felt a little incomplete, I decided to pinch a little from both Portable Pike & Shot and my earlier experiment with siege rules for the Italian Wars, each and came up with the above.
• As far as the logistical considerations from the Italian Wars rules, such as food and ammunition, are fun, in terms of making a game, I do not want an option for the attacker to simply starve the defender out.  The logistical rules also seemed to have little impact or not add much value to the game. 
• Hopefully, defender artillery fire and Sallies create pressure on the attacker to bring heavy guns into close range as quickly as possible to create at least one breach and initiate a storm while having lost as few SPs as possible. However, if attacker is too aggressive, an attack on a single breach may create a bottle neck and advantage in superior numbers may be blunted. Defender risks being understrength if Sallies are too aggressive, but cannot afford to let attacker Sap at will. 

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