Actions in the valley of the River Barley - 1685

[d_Guy]

I have started an alternate history campaign which supposes that Monmouth achieved complete surprise at
Sedgemoor, rapidly got across the Bussex Rhine and routed the government army.

Because of the programmed-in fog of war there was a good deal more maneuvering then fighting. I used my own rules for grand tactical movement and the final draft of For King and Parliament for the tactical.

A few pics of most of the action are below

West of the Barley, Monmouth surveys the enemy positions in Barleybridge:


From the heights of Coney Hill above Linnetsmouth, General John Churchill and The Duke of Grafton consider their defense of the river crossings:


The Duke of Grafton and his Guards brigade. In the foreground is the composite grenadier battalion:


In the first action of the day, Monmouth's first brigade shoots it out with a brigade of Wessexshire militia (on left):


Nearly two miles to the south, Lord Grey and his second squadron slam in to Gabriel Oaks' composite brigade of militia horse. The fighting occurs in a narrow defile through which passes the Yeovil-Cruelton Road:


In the late afternoon, Senior Troop Captain Honeycutt leads the Wiltshire horse in a desperate attempt to break through Monmouth's rear guard:


The positions at the end of the game. Monmouth (blue lines and arrows) has all but exited on the road south to Yeovil. The government forces (red lines and arrows) have concentrated at the river crossing but are effectively prevented from crossing by Monmouth's blocking forces:


While there was not a good deal of fighting, it was a very interesting solo game because of all the unknowns facing by the active player (Monmouth)

There was a 25% chance Monmouth would take the easiest road south to Yeovil - which he did (this is likely a strategic error).

There was a reasonable chance that Monmouth would find the militia already concentrated and under effective command. This did not happen.

There was also a chance that the people of Wessexshire would rise to support Monmouth (and take some of the militia with them). This did not happen either.

Finally, there was chance Churchill's regulars would arrive early rather than late - nope.

I have five blog posts about the Barley Valley (although the first two are setup and housekeeping). They are presented in chronological order at the link below (counter-intuitively, press "older posts" to go to newer!):

https://inredcoatragsattired.com/tag/barley-valley?order=asc

[Steve J]

I've really enjoyed following this campaign, so much so that I've ordered a book on Monmouth's Rebellion to get a better knowledge of what happened. I live a mile or so away from Keynsham and can look over where the army camped that night. Also I think the old bridge is still around, so need to go and have a gander at that.

[Techno]

Looks great, Bill !! 

Cheers - Phil

[Ithoriel]

Spectacular!

Great looking units.

Nice to see a table with a reasonable amount of terrain too.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Top reports Bill!

[d_Guy]

Thanks guys, really having a good deal of fun with this.
Ithoriel, I like lots of terrain features and integrating in grand tactical moves was a way to do it.  

Steve, in one of our visits to Britain in the late 1980s I was browsing in the military section of Foyle's - found David Chandler's book on Sedgemoor and have been hooked ever since. There was a sharp little action at Keynsham where Monmouth crossed the Avon in late June.
It was enough to cause Monmouth to dither and then abort his approach on Bristol. In hindsight this may have been where he lost the campaign. If you do get into this - send pics of the terrain  .  The bridge may still be original, it was partly destroyed by the militia but the planked over so Monmouth could cross.

Incidentally Urbancohort is working on the Sedgemoor campaign and his many pics have been helpful.

[fred.]

Look  most interesting, I will peruse properly later once I have fed everyone.

[Steve J]

When I next get chance Bill, I will take some photos of the relevant areas involved in the action at Keynsham. In fact my walk will follow the same route taken by Francis Creswicke when he ventured out to see what was happening, details of which can be found below:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/34538476871/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/33418769834

[paulr]

Another great looking game 

I'm intrigued by the stats on you labels, e.g. 3H 2M 3A 0D Ssn+7

I'm pretty sure the last one doesn't refer to Nuclear Submarines

[Norm]

Thanks, enjoyed and smiled at the things that didn't happen!

[d_Guy]

Another great looking game 

I'm intrigued by the stats on you labels, e.g. 3H 2M 3A 0D Ssn+7

I'm pretty sure the last one doesn't refer to Nuclear Submarines

Things I want to remember about them in For King and Parliament
H = the number of hits (disorders) at which a unit breaks (routs)
M=Melee value (my term) the number of base to-hit cards (chits) the unit can play on an opponent in each melee round.
A=Ammunition at start of game. For horse it represent the number of pistols available and for musket armed foot, it actually represents a limited number of firing tactics (muskets can always shoot at close range) that troops of different experience levels can use.
D=Dash at start of game (used only by horse - and some Highlanders in my own little bizzaro world). Dash represent both the level of energy of the horses and the elan vitale of the riders. Without dash, horse units have limited capabilities.

Ssn = Seasoned, the experience, training, and/or enthusiasm level of the unit. Raw and Veteran (Vet) are the other levels.
+7 is the save value (used mainly against hits but has a couple other uses as well) Don't really need it since Raw=+8,Seasoned=+7,Veteran=+6 BUT I'm an idiot and I don't have an opponent to remind me 

The colored dot indicates which brigade the unit belongs to (a critical thing to know).

Mollinary (Andrew) has taken To the Strongest! and really added in a great deal of flavor and subtlety for ECW. Just learning how to best use your ammo and dash is worth the price of admission.

And speaking of Mollinary. This is his baby, so I hope he will correct any mistakes I've made in the descriptions above.

[d_Guy]

Thanks, enjoyed and smiled at the things that didn't happen!

As you well know when you put a lot of time and effort in setting up lots of possabilities in a scenario and you get pretty much the plain vanilla it's a little disappointing. I was particularly perturbed that Montrose drew the easy way out (but he'll pay for it later    ).

I think that you and many here are of the same mind that at the deepest level this is about story telling so I play what I'm dealt.

[paulr]

Thanks d_Guy, I had correctly guessed most of them
I must have been paying attention when I watched that test game

There definitely does appear to be "a great deal of flavor and subtlety for ECW" in FK&P

[Terry37]

Bill, an absolutely excellent report with a great looking battlefield and troops!!! And yes I do have figures for doing it in HOTT if I ever get around to painting it!!! Although I seldom if ever replay actual battles - just face what ever enemy comes along, which is not uncommon with HOTT.

Terry

[d_Guy]

When I next get chance Bill, I will take some photos of the relevant areas involved in the action at Keynsham. In fact my walk will follow the same route taken by Francis Creswicke when he ventured out to see what was happening, details of which can be found below:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/34538476871/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/33418769834