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1644 Battle Report

We played our first game of 1644 using New Model and Late Royalist armies of800 points each on a 6 x 4 table of mostly open terrain with a few hedgerows and

buildings on the flanks. Each army fielded 3 pike and shot units (2 trained and one elite).

The Royalists deployed 4 units of elite cavalry while Parliament fought with 3 units ofcavalry (2 elite and 1 trained) plus a unit of elite Dragoons. Each side fielded one heavy

gun, while Parliament had a light artillery piece as well.

The Royalists deployed their entire cavalry contingent on their right flank, with

infantry and artillery in the center, and two units of infantry in a double line defending

their left. Parliament split their cavalry between both flanks and deployed their dragoons

on the left in the hedgerows in front of their main position. Both artillery pieces occupiedthe center. Their infantry formed a single line on their left center and a double line on the

right of the guns.

Both sides began with a general advance and opened with artillery. The Royalistartillery was ineffective, but Parliament combined the fire of both their guns on the

Royalist infantry in the center and their fire began to tell once the Royalists closed withineffective range.

The Royalist cavalry initiated the first charge against Parliaments left flankcavalry. Before the cavalry closed, Parliaments dragoons unleashed a volley that shook

their resolve but failed to stop them. The opening round of combat was indecisive. Both

sides charged in with additional units, but the result remained in doubt. The Royalists,

with the last fresh cavalry unit on that part of the field, charged into the combat androuted Parliaments cavalry from the field. This might have turned the tide of the battle

decisively for the Royalists, but half of their cavlary left the field, caught up in the chase.They failed to return and had no further impact on the battle. The remaining Royalistcavalry made short work of the infantry on Parliaments left as well, but once again

chased their quarry from the field and were out of the fight.

Meanwhile, the infantry on the opposite flank charged into close combat. Once

again, the initial round was indecisive. As the melee raged on, Parliaments remaining

cavalry deployed on their right and charged in to support their infantry. Parliaments

infantry fought on in disorder with diminished effectiveness, but the support of theircavalry was decisive. The Royalist infantry routed through their second line and the

victorious Parliament troops crashed into them with abandon, the infantry officers having

lost all control and the cavalry catching the spirit of the chase.

Both armies had suffered severely, having lost a battle on one flank while gaining

victory on the other, and both accepted a drawn battle after a hard days fighting andwithdrew to their starting positions.

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The Armies

1644 New Model Army

Unit Number Weapon CF FF Armour Status Pts/Model Points

General 1 Pistol - - Armour General 50 50

Scots Regt of Foot12 Pike 3 - - Trained 3 36

20 Shot 3 3 - Trained 4 80

Green Regt of Foot8 Pike 3 - - Trained 4 32

24 Shot 3 3 - Trained 4 96

Red Regt of Foot12 Pike 3 - - Elite 5 60

24 Shot 3 3 - Elite 5 120

Dragoons 10 Musket 3 3 - Elite 6 60

Regt of Horse 10 Pistol 4 3 Armour Elite 7 70

Regt of Horse 10 Pistol 4 3 Armour Elite 7 70

Regt of Horse 10 Pistol 4 3 Armour Trained 6 60Field Gun 1 Field Gun 1 - - Trained 40 40

Light Gun 1 Light Gun 1 - - Trained 21 21

795

1644 Late Royalist Army

Unit Number Weapon CF FF Armour Status Pts/Model Points

General 1 Pistol - - Armour General 50 50

Red Regt of Foot12 Pike 3 - - Trained 3 36

20 Shot 3 3 - Trained 4 80

Blue Regt of Foot8 Pike 3 - - Trained 4 32

24 Shot 3 3 - Trained 4 96

Red Regt of Foot(Blue Color)

12 Pike 3 - - Elite 4 48

24 Shot 3 3 - Elite 4 96

Regt of Horse 10 Pistol 4 3 Armour Elite 8 80

Regt of Horse 10 Pistol 4 3 Armour Elite 8 80

Regt of Horse 10 Pistol 4 3 Armour Elite 8 80

Regt of Horse 10 Pistol 4 3 Armour Elite 8 80

Field Gun 1 Field Gun 1 - - Trained 40 40

798

Army List Notes:

1. The Scots do not belong in a New Model list, but I had to make do with the foot

units available for the day.

Notes on the Game

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First, I should note I am a big fan of Warhammer ECW. The guys I game with at

conventions have been wanting to try 1644 since its re-release by Foundry, and this

game was our first go at it. Here is an informal list of my initial impressions:

The army lists seem simple and similar, but there are subtle differences that

may have a great impact on the game. Parliament, for instance, may field agreater proportion of shot to pike in an infantry unit. With no powder rules, I

think this is distinct advantage. The Late Royalist list allows all elite status

for all cavalry units, but the cost for this is one higher per model than forParliament (though Parliament is limited to 2 elite for every 5 cavalry units).

There is less randomness in casualties, and melees tend to last more than one

round when units are fresh. As there is no way out of melee if the winner

follows up, melee is very destructive. Units that rout are pretty well finished,but pursuing them often deprives you of the units that won the contest as well

(this seems appropriate for the period, especially for Royalist cavalry).

The command rules add flavor to the game without being too complex, and

solve one of the problems I have with WHECW, which is the lack of rules fordisorder. If you dont like losing control of your units, however, you may not

care for the results of failed command tests. We all thought this made for a

more realistic game.

Cavalry combat is spectacular in this game. The ability to charge in with

additional units results in wild melees between huge numbers of models, with

the last fresh unit to charge in sometimes deciding the combat. Again, this

seems realistic for the period. Since units in command states other thannormal are almost certain to pursue, its almost a guarantee that some of your

cavalry will end up chasing enemy units from the field. We may add a house

rule making this more likely for the Royalists, especially early in the war.

I thought the Intention/Declaration phases might bog down the game. Wefound we rarely (if ever) used blank markers, and it is usually intuitive

whether a unit is reforming or charging. The option to reform while

retreating a full move seems to have great tactical possibilities, and one of themore interesting choices in the game is whether to charge in with a shaken

unit or reform and surrender the initiative.

1644 seems to have great potential for tinkering by adding to the list of

modifiers for command tests or combat factors. So if you think something ismissing, add a +/- modifier on the appropriate table and see how it works.

Overall, this is a fun game with a good balance of realism and fun. Im looking forward

to trying out the campaign rules as well, if I can convince my friends to do it. Hope youenjoy the pictures from our game!