The Battle of Scarborough (or "Say, are you going...?")...

 All's Fair at Scarboro'...

So... 

Cumberland has chosen his ground, to the west of Scarborough town on some low heights commanding the road from Whitby. Although, as the Jacobite army deploys on the morning of the 12th, it is clear that he is heavily outnumbered he has confidence in his Flanders veterans (if not in General Wade, now somewhere static in the Midlands). His plan? Who knows...

The Jacobite Plan:

The Jacobite plan is simple. While the guns and a slow advance by the Highlanders and Lowlanders fixes the enemy, the Irish Brigade (three foot regiments, a horse regiment and the combined detachments) and some guns, all under the command of Lord Clare (in French service, commander of the Irish Brigade) will follow the road till reaching the bend (the road swings south west then south east), deploy on the enemy's left then, after three salvos from Clare's guns, the Irish infantry and the Highlanders on the army's Left (under Drummond) will launch an attack. The outnumbered enemy, hit from front and flank, will surely collapse, and the cavalry can pursue (all they are likely good for, after their shock at Carlisle).

Cumberland's Choices:

Cumberland would seem to have five options;

1) To accept that the enemy is too powerful today, and conduct a fighting retreat towards York (he has positioned himself away from Scarborough itself, and can avoid being trapped there by falling back towards the York road). Risky though, if pressed too fast and hard.

2) To accept that the enemy is too powerful today, and conduct a fighting retreat towards Scarborough town.

Frankly, this seems to be the worst option as not only has he had no time (or, perhaps, foresight) to entrench or stockpile supplies there, but the castle is likely in poor condition and the enemy have heavy guns with them and could dominate the port from the heights to the south of the town; so preventing reinforcements by sea. With Wade patently unreliable that would likely be Cumberland's only hope for relief, supply or support if he is besieged, so denial of THAT would likely prove fatal.

3) To hold his ground and rely on the steady volleys of his men to blunt any enemy attack(s), before going at them with the bayonet.

However, the perhaps brittle (though perhaps vengeful) Highlanders, after their humiliation at Carlisle, are today backed by Irish and French regulars. If the Highlanders are steady, and the enemy use their numbers to outflank him, he could find himself very hard-pressed. On the other hand he has heavy guns himself, plus the battalion guns of his regiments, and his force is small (and thus compact), experienced and hence likely easy to move around in response to threats*.

4) To go on the attack himself and throw all but a holding force against the Jacobite left before their right has deployed sufficiently to be a threat. THIS is a gamble... But the lesser of four of the evils thus far..?

5) As above - but mirroring me, moving part of his force round MY left, to avoid my flank attack.

[*Note: The board game gives Cumberland a Three Rating, two higher than Murray, so that he will likely usually have more Command Points to throw at his men.] 

The enemy deploy* in two lines, with all of their battalion guns concentrated in two batteries and their heavy guns and cavalry on their left.

[*Game token draw and dice throw modified by IMP.] 

And so to Fight:

First moves, and my Irish Brigade makes reasonable progress along the Selby Road. I order the Highland Brigade forward, but they at once come under artillery fire. They suffer Disruption and are slowed, but no major harm done.

[The rules this time: last battle I used a combo of Crossfire/NMTB concepts for the pre-fighting manoeuvre stage, then my own variant of a merging of SP, for Activation etc. and Andy Callan's Loose Files & American Scramble tweaked for the Jacobite war. This time I'm going to take some of the Activation ideas from games using PIPs (eg. Live Free Or Die) and see how that goes. I expect it will be MUCH quicker than the SP token system, which though satisfying and fun may not be as quick in big battles. Specifically Solo aspects will be the “Decisions”; handled in my usual way of applying ad hoc IMP tests.]

Things are seeming to go well, but, oh.... It looks like Cumberland has plumped for Option 5. His second line forms itself into column and marches as if to flank my left. I organise my Highlanders, pushing them forward, while my own guns cause problems for the Government first line, which has shuffled along the slope a tad. Their guns respond, again disrupting the Highlanders.

Phase One

By move 4 the Irish have come off of the road and are marching deploy on the enemy's flank as planned. I order Drummond to get his Highlanders in line – I do NOT want a premature attack like last time. I also move the French Detachments forward to support the Highlanders.

Meanwhile, in dead ground and under the cover of some fences, with a slope to their front to make life difficult for me, Cumberland's second line forms a new battle line at an angle to that of the first line and their guns.

I now realise that the Irish are a LONG way away from the new enemy position. I suspect Cumberland regards his siege guns, and possibly his battalion guns, as expendable, so long as they slow the Irish down (though I bet they will be spiked before I can capture them). I also suspect that if I throw the Highlanders up the slope at Cumberland's new line (flanked as they will be by the enemy's guns) I may get a bloody nose. I need to get support over to them ASAP.

Cumberland continues to edge his line across while his guns batter my Highlanders, but behind the batteries the enemy limbers arrive on the table. Is Cumberland intending to pull back?

Over on my right the Irish have nearly reached the point where they should shuffle from column into line of attack. THIS of course, will slow them down, but there's no helping this; those are their orders.

The next two moves sees the Irish advancing in line, while my Highlanders keep themselves in order as salvos from the enemy guns drop ball among them. Few casualties, but they are getting frustrated, and want to charge. I continue to move up the French and Lowlanders to support and steady them.

[Throughout the above I am having to use all my Command points/PIPS to keep the Highlanders' disruption markers low, and to keep the French, Lowlanders and Irish going, so I have none spare to get my own cannon firing. However, with the enemy pretty static their regulars can, to a degree, recover from DPs automatically, so there is little to be gained by bombarding - at THIS stage.].

"Unseen by me", the enemy siege guns have limbered, and are moving away from the advancing Irish. Otherwise the enemy remains pretty still. What is he planning?

As the game develops my Irish are a still a tad slow, and the enemy heavy guns are able to pull back a little, before unlimbering again.

I halt the Lowlanders, so that they can shift some of the disruption they accumulated marching at speed in line.

The enemy guns continue to harass my Irish and Highlanders - the latter suddenly launching a reckless charge up the slopes at the new enemy centre, part of which is protected by a palisade-type fence. Again their lack of discipline under fire has led to an early charge.

As my Highlanders charge the enemy loose a volley. Some units are relatively unscathed, others seriously disrupted by the fire.



At contact some Highland regiments are halted at the crest and driven back in disarray, the others only make it partly up the slope; whereupon THEY are counter-charged by one of the enemy regiments and themselves pushed back.

Two of my Highland regiments charge towards the new enemy left, but the combination of artillery hitting them on their approach, and close-combat, are too much for them, and they are forced back. Again, the Highlanders have let me down, with several regiments in my centre routed.

I move the French up, and they engage in a firefight with the enemy regiments. One Government regiment tries to work around the French flank - so, desperate, I charge it with my cavalry; but they are repulsed. After a couple of moves of fire the French pull back, having suffered badly in the exchange.




Meanwhile, the advancing Irish have been being hammered by the enemy cannon. Their own guns open fire on the enemy artillery (as does my main battery), causing some considerable damage and casualties among the toiling gunners, but not silencing the enemy guns. Then, just as I think I'm getting somewhere, the enemy throw their cavalry against my lead Irish regiment. Already in some disarray it recoils, as does its supporting unit, but the enemy horse break through, and the brigade commander Lord Clare is captured.



All in all things are not looking good. The enemy have now firmly positioned themselves on the heights to the east, which work against any assault. My best troops, the Irish, French and Highlanders, have suffered casualties and, in the case of the latter, been bested in close combat. I have a choice: attempt to attack again, or pull back.

The Irish form square, for fear of the enemy horse, but as they are still in enemy artillery range, they begin to suffer serious casualties from the cannon fire. The enemy cavalry reform, and pull back, but the damage has been done. The Irish  begins withdrawing.*

[*Test - it seems that the individual units, with their Brigade Commander gone, are NOT happy.]

In good news, Prince Charles rallies the fleeing Highlanders [Morale test]; but they are now some way from the battle lines. Also, the guns supporting the Irish again hit the enemy artillery.



My general figure (Murray) organises the Lowlanders and the remaining Highland units on his left, plus the French detachments, into assault columns before launching them at the enemy line. The Royal Ecossais charge - and force one enemy regiment on their right to pull back, dragging its neighbour with it as the latter tries to maintain the battle line.

In the enemy centre the enemy's weakest unit, a militia regiment, is likewise forced back by Cluny's Highlanders, but they do not break. Instead they launch a volley as my men sort themselves out for another charge – and then withstand that assault; holding off the Highlanders [For two turns! Lucky dice indeed for the militia...] before forcing THEM to retire..

Meanwhile, on the flanks of Cluny's men two other enemy regiments counter-charge their would-be assailants; driving them off with the bayonet. With enemy cannon shooting in from the flank, and these misfortunes, two of my units break, upsetting their neighbours. The second assault on the enemy position has been repulsed.

To cause further concern, the enemy cavalry are now threatening my battle line.

Phase Two - Three

With my regiments in disarray and casualties mounting things are looking difficult – again. IF the enemy press too hard too quickly (and with a bit of luck) I may be able to give them a bloody nose. But if Cumberland keeps his head, and his men in hand, I do not think I will win the day without having to attempt another assault. If the enemy pull back to their position on the slopes I fear the result – and I doubt if Cumberland would be foolish enough to come down from his position of vantage..

It begins to look as if the best I can hope for would be to (again) hold for a stalemate; gather my men into some kind of order and hold on the field to allow my stragglers and wounded to creep back overnight before heading back to Whitby, or even Newcastle.

I am well aware that, strategically, another indecisive fight and another retreat is bad news. The Jacobites COULD by-pass Cumberland and press southwards, but this would leave both him and Wade - not to mention the Government-controlled Lowlands - between our mainly Scots army and the Highland heartland. What message another failure would send to the French, and their forces sitting outside the Flanders ports, doesn't bear thinking about.

But Cumberland neither sits on his hands, nor acts rashly; instead (worst option for me) he makes a steady advance, giving fire when the opportunity arises, and hammering my men with his guns. A couple of Scots formations break (I am having to form ad hoc groupings, so that Highland/Lowland differentials are becoming irrelevant) as the enemy slowly moves down the hill towards them. On their flank they can see the enemy horse - always unsettling. 

I give ground as slowly as I can. The French and Royals are steady, as is one of my English Jacobite units (only because they haven't borne the brunt of the hand to hand, and have been small enough to escape the attention of the guns), but more Scots regiments break as casualties from roundshot and shell mount.

Army morale is now very low - over half my units have either routed (some are still running) or been forced to withdraw at some time, and nearly all have taken casualties from the enemy guns. The Highlanders have been bested at what THEY do best and are not happy. Despite the effect which that might have on morale I order my own guns to limber-up, to try to save them, and form a screen with my remaining units.

Luckily, Cumberland seems to have decided not to risk a full-on attack without preparing the ground with his guns and, while he organises this I am able to salvage the artillery and protect my routed and fleeing units from close pursuit. Slowly I pull my units back, sending instructions to Charlie, and the rallied Highlanders currently with him, to also withdraw. The Irish are already retracing their steps down the road..

Cumberland does not pursue, but holds the field. 

And THAT, effectively, is the end of the Battle of Scarborough.

Aftermath:

A LOT of recrimination in the Jacobite camp as we slog back towards Whitby. I blame the absent Clare for being too slow and cautious, and Drummond for not keeping his Highlanders in check. O'Sullivan, with the Lowlanders, could have been more supportive. My cavalry were useless (the loss of Elcho at Carlisle having an effect?).

The Prince was subdued and inactive through most of the battle (almost as if he didn't want to be there..), but at least he rallied the bulk of the routing Highlanders; and anyway, you don't diss The Quality....

The Butcher's Bill is steep. We were able to get our lightly-wounded away, but the tally of lost and missing is a blow. The returns indicate that:

The Lowland regiments suffered most of all (mainly from artillery and gunfire) with some 1,440 men lost.

The Highland regiments (guns, muskets and hand-to-hand) - 960 lost.

The Manchester Regiment - 60 men lost. The Scots & English Cavalry - 40 lost.

Many of these "lost" men will have been captured after the battle (taken while wounded, lurking in the woods or generally straggling). The enemy will likely be making their own breakdown or tally. Whatever the state of the Scots and Englishmen lost and in their hands, these men are now of no use to me.

The Irish regiments suffered very badly from the artillery and the enemy cavalry charge: 660 men lost (around 300 each from the two leading regiments, approx. 60 from the third unit). Approximately 50% of these men are currently held by the enemy as Prisoners of War, almost all of the regimental men being wounded in some way.*

(*Against the Prince's policy, and my wishes, the French have made an approach to the enemy under a Flag of Truce overnight to check on the fate of Clare, his staff, and others enlisted as French troops/auxiliaries and possibly in enemy hands. The enemy has been courteous enough to supply the French with the basic details given here. The French envoy apparently didn't ask about my Scots and English.)

The Irish's cavalry supports, who likewise suffered from artillery fire, suffered a loss of 180 men (two thirds of whom were captured; wounded or rounded up while dismounted and wandering about in unsuitable footwear).

Of the French infantry detachments 260 were captured on the field badly wounded and around 240 killed outright/died of wounds.

The Royal Ecossais lost 20 men wounded and captured.

Lord Clare and his staff were captured unharmed.

Estimated total Loss for The Army; 3,880 of all ranks.

[Note: The Government losses were low.

Their artillerymen suffered disproportionately; 20 wounded seriously, 40 light wounds, 20 dead. All due to the Jacobite guns' counter-battery fire.

Their infantry lost 160 dead and 120 seriously wounded (about 40 lightly wounded have returned to the ranks).

It might be noted that some three quarters of the Government foot casualties came from the militia regiment charged by the Highlanders, with whom they fought several rounds of vicious hand to hand combat.]

Conclusion:

Another tense game. The rules worked well and were much quicker. Are the guns overpowered? I need to do some more research.

Strategically this was a disaster for the Jacobites; badly bruised, their army pulls back to Alnwick, via Newcastle, to meet reinforcements (two Irish regiments from French Flanders) and lick its wounds.

Meanwhile, Cumberland marches across the Midlands to join Wade at Leicester, while in Scotland Cope moves to Stirling, then Perth.

In the Western Isles the clans attempt to concentrate.

Across the Channel in the Pas de Calais and the Normandy ports, the French regiments under Richelieu wait for an opportunity to cross.

Things are NOT looking good for the rebellion....

So there we are. Map moves next. As always, thoughts, queries and comments are always welcome...