The battle of Timerton - a 2mm ECW play test

 I have been telling you about the rules for what seems like ages,  certainly my researching and writing has been going on for at least the last decade!  But, at long last I have a finished draft so that's another thing off the objectives for 2021.  Shame about all the others.

The Jolly Broom Man of the Mud, Blood, and Iron blog has kindly run a number of independent play tests and tells me that he was able to follow the rules as written and couldn’t break them.  Better yet he didn’t find any outcomes which he felt were wrong.  that is particularly important to me as JBM knows his stuff when it comes to pike and shot warfare.

So with that first play test results under my belt, I tidied up a couple of turns of phrase I found clunky and moved a couple of rules to different locations in the text so concepts which belonged together were actually together in in the rules.  Like a light turning on suddenly they were done (unless further independent play tests throw a spanner into the works).  JBM suggested running a solo game to create an after action report to see what interest it generated so here goes.

The rules split into two separate areas; pre battle and the actual tabletop fight.  That first area is very much my attempt to force players to consider the decisions a 17th century general had to make before fighting started (along with stuff that we have to do to allow a wargame to happen like selecting forces)  as these had a knock on effect on the fight that would follow.  This part of the play test covers that initial pre battle part of the game.  I’m doing this solo so the description of the pre battle stage is a bit one sided as I am trying to keep my self in the dark as to what I will be facing.

First I created an army and drew up a standard deployment plan.  This was fairly generic with a cavalry brigade on each wing and two foot brigades in the centre.  The army is using German doctrine.

The deployment map - different colours denote the separate commands

The army is a generic 1643 force with relatively low levels of training and experience.   It totals 2,050 horse, 4,300 foot and 4 guns divided into 4 brigades.  It has 4 brigade commanders plus an army commander (who isn't shown on the deployment map).

17th century armies drew up a proposed deployment which was intended to be used if a battle was imminent.  This allowed an order of march to be determined which allowed a quick deployment into battle formation.  The rules require the players to do the same.  It is a kind of bluff and counter bluff as neither side knows how the other is going to deploy in advance.  Scouting results provide some advance information on the number of battalia/squadrons the enemy has, as well as a rough idea of numbers.   With that information in hand players can amend the deployment plan within limits.  In reality it was hard to do this in the face of the enemy so the options under the rules are restricted.  Late arrivals may not be able to take their proper place in the deployment (as was the case with Newcastle's Tercio at Marston Moor) and unexpected re-enforcements are similarly restricted to where they will be deployed.

Every unit has a Combat Effectiveness value which is a measure of the units ability to continue fighting.  To calculate the unit Combat Effectiveness (CE) levels Troop training and experience levels have been allocated and  calculated. It is a key value for reaction tests and the traits which influence the CE value also have other effects during the battle part of the rules.

As 2mm figures are cast as blocks there is no scope for figure removal so the unit’s continuing ability to fight must be measured in a different way.  This is by using a “Combat effectiveness” rating (CE).  The starting CE derives from a small number of factors including the units training and experience and is calculated pre battle.  Each unit starts with a CE value of 5 which is adjusted upwards or downwards by selecting a level of training and experience and in some cases status, using the factors below to calculate the initial CE rating: 

Training
Untrained	-1
Trained	0
Well Trained	+1
Professionals	+2
Experience
Raw	0
Experienced	+1
Veteran	+2
Status
Elite	+1
Unwilling	-1

 The initial rating will range between 3 (Nervous) and 10 (Keen) and will be shown by a colour coded marker.  Tihe top of the marker shows the description and the underside the actual CE value.  Each description will cover a number of actual CE scores to add to the fog of war.

If players want a balanced game the overall value of the army needs to be known so that the two sides can have broadly the same points total.  This is calculated by taking the initial CE of each unit in the army and multiplying it by the number of bases in that unit.  Adding all those scores up is the value of the army which is actually the number of hits required to reduce every unit in the army to a CE of zero.  On top of that there is a budget for the armies command structure.  This is set at 10%  of the army value as calculated above.  Different armies have a different base cost for a general with the median cost being five.  Armies with a poorer command and control capability have a higher base cost which comes from the 10% command budget leaving less to spend on command traits.

Each separate field command must have a general.  This starts with the Army commander and then goes down to wing, centre, reserve level ( those formations above brigade and tercio level) down to brigade & squadron level.  A chain of command must be defined when the army is being selected.  

Generals are the source of reaction test adjustments and command and control influences.  They have traits covering ability to issue orders, situational awareness and reaction test adjustments and can adjust combat di rolls if fighting with a unit.  Changes of orders must flow down the chain of command, although formation commanders and even individual regiments can attempt to react to events unfolding around them by taking a reaction test to change their current orders.

This army has a total value of 561 points so my budget for generals is 10% of that which is 56.1 so lets call that 56 I have assigned a command cost of 5 for generals.

Then I created standing orders using the generic examples in the rules.  These determine things like how long may a unit hold defensive fire for or when will it pursue and how long for.   These are determined by the unit's experience rating.

Terrain came next with random selection and placement being used for this battle.  This has created an …er, ‘interesting’ battlefield.  Definitely not what I would have come up with left to my own devices.  The deployment rules allow for troops to be placed behind a line half way from the relevant table edge and the centre line and covering half the length of the table measured as being an equal distance either side of the centre line.  In this case that is one square (30cm) into the table from the long edge and three squares along that edge centred on it's half way point (also known as I forgot to mark the deployment areas on the map).

The battlefield.  

Parliament deploys at the upper edge Royalists at the lower.  In the top right is an area of scrubland a road runs from upper to lower edges with a track connecting the village to the road.  That village has enclosed fields around it.  A river runs from the central area to the lower edge and a narrower stream runs up to the top left corner.  Two hills complete the layout.

To select random terrain the table is divided up into 15 - 30 cm (call it 6 to 12 inch) squares and a playing card is drawn for each square.  Number cards of any suite are open ground.  Any picture card or joker shows a terrain feature exists in that square.  if that is a river or stream it starts in that square and runs to a random table edge.  Lastly a road will run between random points on the two long edges.

In a two player game scouting totals and force details (adjusted for scouting results) would have been exchanged at this point.  This would provide an indication of the strength of each army to the enemy giving rough totals for horse, foot and guns and the numbers of bodies of each.  Those totals would be adjusted upwards or downwards according to the scouting results.  As I am going to play solo I am not doing this instead I’m going to assume neither side is gaining an advantage as that keeps me in the dark for longer.

Last comes the deployment of forces to the table and writing orders.  The rules aim to keep the fog of war in place for as long as possible.  Both sides must first deploy their army commander base.  All other units are positioned as shown in the deployment map around him.  The distances between units should match that on the deployment map.  If a side is classed as out scouted, they must deploy their front-line units first along with any pike bases that could be seen from the enemy commander’s position.  At this point some adjustment of unit placement is allowed.  

Orders are now written for all units these consist of three components:

• A target unit or location they are to move towards
• Speed of action - how fast they will close on the target or a hold position order
• Action on arrival

Plus a fourth option may be included a delay to commencement either to a set time or until a specified event occurs.  Players have 15 minutes to do this but may extend this period by mutual consent.  Once orders are written they are binding until new orders are issued or a reaction test is taken to allow a change of orders on a unit's own initiative.

That's the pre-battle stage it looks cumbersome and time consuming but I'd note two things.  Firstly it took me longer to write this post then it did to create an army, it's deployment plan and CE value.  Drafting Standing orders can be done in advance and will be standardised based on the arm of service (horse foot etc) and their experience.  The battlefield orders take a little longer but not a great deal.  Secondly all the army values and orders can be dropped as long as you know the CE of each unit, it's training style, experience and if relevant if it's status (if it is elite or unwilling).

Lastly I created an opposition for the parliamentarians to fight.  This worked out at as 11 Squadrons of horse, 5 battalia of regiment and a single gun.  it has a value of 571 and a command value of 6 (for no other reason than I wanted to see what effect a difference in command traits will create in game play.

In the next post I will detail the standing orders, and battlefield orders and start the after action report.  I'm off to set up the table now.