The Cumberland Sausage

In the same week that James VI’s Scots were defeated in County Durham, as recounted last week, the Scottish army on the western route invading England crossed the border. Their aim, naturally enough, was London, or at least supporting their King in his quest to become King of England as well. They do not, however, know of James’ defeat and his uncertain whereabouts. Still, the Scottish GOOS score was pretty low by this time (25%), and so it was hardly a surprise that the trained bands decided to resist the invaders.

For the Scots, of course, this was a chance for some sort of redemption, at least of their military reputation, which is a little tattered. However, as at other points in the campaign, the dice were not particularly kind to them. I rolled up a fairly open terrain for the encounter, at least, considering that it is in Cumberland, with a number of streams flowing to and from a marshy area, as well as some hills and enclosures. The direction dice roll (that is, which edge are the Scots coming from?) was really unkind, allocating the English the streams and one of the hills. Already I could feel Scottish morale sinking.

In the picture, the Scots are to the left. The English foot are lining one of the streams, with reserves on the slopes of the hill, on the crest of which was an area of enclosures. The English plan was to fight a fully defensive battle from behind the streams, and make the Scots come to them.

The Scottish plan was to force the stream with a plethora of pike, supported by some shot. Meanwhile, the demi-lancers (nearest the camera) were to cross the streams and attempt to outflank the English position, while some more shot, on the far side (Scottish left), were to advance and at least entertain the rest of the English foot, while probing for a way to cross the stream safely.

The above shows the plans in action. The light horse are skirmishing across the marsh, while the Scottish demi-lancers have forded the first stream and rallied from that. To the Scots’ disappointment, their left flank shot have not got moving yet (a lack of tempo points) but the central pike and their supports, along with the general, are about to tackle the central English position. The English have summoned the foot from along the stream to reinforce the point the Scots are aiming for.

The attempt to storm the stream did not go particularly well. As in the last game, the Scots rolled badly at the critical point, and were repulsed, shaken from the stream, as seen above. The English managed to add another pike base and the general to the Scottish target, and also closed up some more shot, which led to the Scots pike being outshot and repulsed. The general, more happily, survived.

The Scots attempted to rally, but this was disrupted by the English musketeers. Meanwhile, the Scottish demi-lancers crossed the second stream, and one base was immediately routed by the English, commanded by their general, who had just dashed across the hilltop to take command. The other base, in desperation, charged the English pike who had turned to face them, uphill and disorganised. They did surprisingly well, all things considered, but were pushed back down the hill by the pointy sticks.

The end came with more of a whimper than a bang. The English pike and demi-lancers trapped the remaining Scottish demi-lancers and routed them, while the English light horse managed to disrupt both Scottish light bases. In the centre, an assault across the stream by the marsh by some Scots musketeers ended in disaster, but did permit the pike sufficient respite for them to rally. The other central Scottish musketeers also attempted to cross the stream, for the same purpose, and are in serious disarray, having been repulsed. On a more positive note, the Scottish left wing has arrived at the stream and is poised to cross.

The losses for the Scots were mounting, however, and the morale throw indicated a withdraw. As I could not really see how further success could be achieved without Scottish pressure on both English flanks as well as the centre, I decided that the Scots would withdraw, honour intact, if not victorious.

I really do not know if the Scots could have won this one. They were committed to attack a very strong defensive position. As I said, the terrain dice had not been kind to them. They had a chance with the first assault across the stream, but good English shooting, decent generalship, and reasonable dice rolling meant that the chance for a breakthrough never came.

There was some further unfinished business, of course. The dice were rolled for the whereabouts and health of King James after the Durham debacle. Initially, for his failed combat risk roll, he was wounded. The second roll, after the rout of the army, was captured. So, there we have it: James VI is both wounded and in the hands of the English, or, rather, Isabella.

This marks, I think, the end of the campaign, after 13 wargames. All of the rivals for the throne are in the hands of Isabella of Austria, which seems to indicate that she will be the next Queen of England. Quite how happy the English might be with this outcome remains to be seen, of course. I suspect, given that historically she was never much interested in England, she might actually make Arbella, who was her firm ally throughout the campaign, her regent, married to a nice, safe, Spanish nobleman.

The fate of Edward Seymour is more dubious, as he is actively hostile to the Spanish and Isabella. It may well be that he gets a one-way trip to Tower Hill, another martyr to the Protestant cause. In the campaign, he was really unlucky, with two fumbles on his initiative dice, and his attempt to take the throne never got going. He also managed to disrupt Arbella’s attempt, although once Isabella took London she did not really have an aim in mind as she would not attack her ally.

As for James, well, Scotland is in a difficult position now, with the Spanish established in the south and her King in their hands. Anne of Denmark will probably take over as regent, and possibly Prince Henry might come to the fore as a great Scottish patriot. On the other hand, a recovered James could make a bid to undermine the Presbyterians in his own land with a bit of help from the new Catholic regime.

The campaign itself worked smoothly and simply enough for me to pack quite a few wargames into the duration. Plus, it was a lot of fun. As I noted along the way, sometimes the dice were just not kind to any of the sides, except, perhaps, Isabella. The French and the Dutch were knocked out early as viable players, but the situation in England got complex.

What happens next? I am not sure, but I am busily rebasing Romans at the moment, so anything is possible. But, maybe, a bit more reflection on the events of the 1603 campaign might be in order.