I finally played the Nottinghill Wargame with around 70 defending Nottinghill forces versus twice that number of attackers. Mat commanded the attackers. There were several units a side, ranging from a handful of men to twenty odd.
The North Kensington forces included two small units with modern rifles (circa, corresponding to late 1900s to early twentieth century of our universe). There was a sprinkling of troops with flintlocks. The bulk of the troops were sword and shield men but also big units with twohanded swords.
The Nottinghill side had two catapults that turned out to miss only once but they could shoot only alternating moves. There was also a unit of 13 longbows, supported by two matchlock men. There was a handful of modern rifles and a sprinkling of flintlocks. There were also a small unit of Highlanders.
The troops that came against Mat's left flank were two large units of halberds and a unit of cuirassiers. Just like in the novel, they were to ambush the enemy. (There is no description in the story, of apparel and weapons of the cavalry).
The Nottinghill forces of Scott Wayne had some troops in position on the top of the factory and near to the battle's target of the water tower. others began from the table end or were in reserve to come on the table at a prewritten point on the flank.
Below: The Nottinghill longbows and the cemetery, situated on my left flank.
Mat lost the setting up roll so had to deploy first, no biggie as everything was concealed anyway. All I could see were his bits of paper not yet viewable by my troops. Mat, however, got first move.
My reserves arrived on the third move and blundered into a large North Kensington force. The trouble was two large North Kensington units had plate armor and two-handed swords and axes or halberds. There was also a large unit of swordsmen. My halberd men (Beef eaters and ECW figures) lacked armor. They were led by Wayne, but he was soon wounded and this diminished his effectiveness.
The Nottinghilliers that arrived from reserve succeeded in stopping Mat's main flank advance but, in return, were wiped out. Wayne was dead! His next in command passed the army morale roll and the battle continued. Mat's forces in the center continued to advance but suffered greatly from catapult, rifle and longbow shooting. (The few muskets were often out of range).
The center. A tortoiseshell cat, called Dixie, makes her own advance along the ruin to stalk the birdhouse. The North Kensington Khaki Rifles advance but the catapult smashes its missiles into them. First time the missiles consisted of cabbages and rotten eggs. This managed to stun and confuse the advancing soldiers who stopped in their tracks, stunned. But then large rocks and printing press lead bits fell among them and reduced their numbers.
Nottinghill troops who were set up in the center and on the factory. The factory is a little counter-intuitive, considering that things have supposedly reverted a few hundred years. But saying they would revert to merry Old England and doing it are two different things. People might make a show of wearing striped tights, flowery hats or baggy breeches but they still wanted their spectacles, bicycles, soap, bottled beer and other modern marvels. The men in the tower have modern rifles but have not obtained the colorful Renaissance uniforms. Next to them are men with flintlocks led by Mel Gibson.
Some of the keen-eyed might have spotted the new use for the multi-barreled squirter gun.
This is how things looked near the start of the game with units marked underneath the papers or else they were blanks. This is a view of the North Kensington center and most of those papers are blank, revealed when they came into line of sight.
Another view from the rear of the North Kensington advance. The rifle armed Blue Boys (Royal marines) can be seen.
A brave civilian loiters outside a building.
CONCLUSION:
The Nottinghill ambush went terribly wrong, but it delayed the North Kensington force, stopping it from getting to the water tower. The invaders from the smaller columns managed to make it to the factory but many had been mown down. They also had got lost and suffered when the lights went out. Some forces had even killed some men on their own side. The forces had wasted valuable time by staying in place when they became confused. On move eleven the proctor of North Kensington personally led a charge against the enemy bowmen and drove them from the field. Another, much diminished, group of attackers began battering the factory door but failed to break though.
Meanwhile the Scots attacked a very small group of the enemy which, surprisingly, drove them back, this bringing them in range of the water tower and making its ownership in dispute.
The game was declared a draw.
Certain things became obvious: The attackers having some plate armored units and none with Nottinghill, made a big impact on the outcome of melees. The Nottinghill side having a field of fire on the attackers was an advantage with the catapults being surprisingly dangerous.
It should be noted that our game was an interpretation of the armies and there is no reason one side would have better armor. Also, the use of firearms is just an assumption and little if anything was said of them in the novel. I compromised on this by limiting their numbers and varying their vintage.
I'll be uploading additional photos and also a summary of the rules.
Mat and I plan to play the game again next Thursday with a switching of armies, so I'll next command the attackers.
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