Solo Campaign - Week 32

Vernet's portrait of Pablo Morillo

Well, after last week's misfortunes for the Spanish army, there's a lot of trouble, as you might expect. Poor old Giron had to retreat to Guadalajara in the most trying of circumstances, and lost a whole lot more of his troops on the way. Tarleton has put in his customary, tactful tuppenceworth and it is all really very difficult.

Giron has blamed the poor performance of Espana's Division for his defeat, and Espana has claimed that the positioning of the army made defeat inevitable - there is mention of a major rift between these gentlemen - Espana was talked out of challenging Giron to a duel, but they are currently refusing to answer each other's communications. The only individuals in the Spanish Third Army who have come out of this with any credit are Espeleta, who did an unexpectedly good job standing in for Morillo, and Morillo himself, who had the good fortune to be absent through ill health and thus has managed to avoid any share of the blame. 

Morillo is tipped as the Third Army's next commander, though it is unlikely to be able to take the field for the foreseeable future. Once again, there are mutterings about the Supreme Junta requesting Wellington's secondment to Spanish service, but it seems very unlikely. 

Morillo's portrait of Horace Vernet

Week 32

Random Events and Strategic Notes

The two defeated Spanish armies have retreated, each in its own way. Since there is nowhere they can move to without leaving Vizcaya (which is not permitted under the campaign rules), the irregular army commanded by “El Banquero” is subject to the special guerrilla rules, and is removed from the map. This represents dispersal of the troops and loss of equipment, but the Junta de Vizcaya may mobilise this force again if required.

Giron’s Third Army, following its defeat at Vinuesa, is both Tired and Demoralised, and – since there is no alternative – must retreat into either Calatayud or Guadalajara. In both cases, the roads are rough, and the retreat is subject to harassment from French cavalry (this is not classified as Severe Harrassment since Jourdan does not have much of a superiority in fresh cavalry after Vinuesa.) The prospects for Giron are not good in the short term, however this works out.

News of Giron’s defeat has reached Aigburth (Tarleton), who has sent a strongly worded communication to the Spanish Principal Junta, from which is taken the following extract:

"Despite every advantage of ground, superiority of numbers and weight of ordnance, and despite the very evident courage and stubbornness displayed by the soldiery, there is no escaping the fact that Captain General Giron’s army has been badly beaten by the weakest of the three French field armies -  and it is to be noted that this French army consisted primarily of Allied auxiliaries who are not regarded as being of the highest calibre or having the highest levels of motivation. It is important that General Giron should rest and re-organise his army, and I shall offer him any assistance he requires for this, but I have no further confidence in the ability of large Spanish armies to engage the enemy in set-piece actions of this type. Whatever may have been the agreement with my predecessor, I shall assume that the initiative in the field for this campaign lies chiefly with my own forces. By any standards, my esteemed colleague’s performance has been a great disappointment.

Housekeeping

The 3D3 activation throws give the Allies 4 and the French 4. Since the Allies had the initiative last week, they opt to move first.

Moves

Allies (4 allowed)

1 – Sp B (Giron, at Soria) retreats his defeated army over the hilly roads into Guadalajara. This requires a test, for all sorts of reasons

2D3 = 4 +2 (Giron’s rating) -1 (brown road) -1 (Demoralised) -1 (Tired) -1 (Harrassment) = 2   - the army arrives in Guadalajara, but there is extensive further loss through desertion and troops being cut off from their units [Dice for every base/block making the retreat – regulars are lost on a throw of 1 or 2, irregular/militia on a throw of 1, 2 or 3]

2 – Sp G (El Banquero’s irregular troops at Soria) disperses and is removed from the map, though the Junta de Vizcaya may raise this force again…

 [Intelligence step -

• No new information.] 

French (4 allowed)

1 – R (Paquerette, with Garde Nationale force at Soria), rests

2 – K (Jourdan/Joseph, at Soria) rests

3 – U (Siege Train and King Joseph’s baggage train) marches from Valladolid to Burgos

4 – I (Clauzel, at Valladolid) sends scouting patrols into Salamanca, to watch Aigburth’s army

 [Intelligence step –

• No new information.] 

Supplies and Demoralisation

All units are in supply. Giron’s army suffers further losses on the retreat to Guadalajara: Regulars lose 1600 infantry and 3 guns, Volunteers and Militia lose 2800 infantry, 130 cavalry and 4 guns.

Contacts

None.

Solo Campaign - Battle of Vinuesa, Saturday 22nd August 1812

General view at the start, from behind the French right

Battle of Vinuesa, 22^nd Aug 1812

Spanish Third Army (General Pedro Agostin Giron) - 13200 inf, 1800 cavalry, 18 guns

First Division (España)

            Zaldibar’s Brigade

                        1/2^o Princesa + Tiradores de Castilla

            Parker Carroll’s Brigade

                        1/Sevilla + 1/2^o Jaen + Cazadores de Castilla

            Pardo’s Brigade*

Vols de Valencia + Ligero del Reino de Valencia + 2^o Loyales de Zamora + Defensores de Fernando VII

            Cavalry Brigade* (Sanchez)

                        1^er & 2^o Lanceros de Castilla

Foot battery (Capt Herrera)

Avila volunteer battery* (Capt Arguellas)

Second Division (Morillo) – Morillo was absent, ill, and Espeleta commanded the Division

            Bausa y Ortiz’s Brigade

                        1/Leon + 1/Bailen + Vols de la Victoria  

            Cordoba’s Brigade

                        1/La Union + 1/2^o Mallorca + Legion Extremena

            Espeleta’s Brigade*

                        Vols de Guadalajara + Aragon + Cuenca + Regto del Ribeiro

            Cavalry Brigade (Penne)

Coraceros Espanoles + Hus de Extemadura + Vols de España

Foot battery (Capt Hidalgo)

Foot battery (Capt Estrabismo)

* - formations marked with an asterisk are classified as militia for C&CN rules

Since the Spanish artillery batteries have only 4 guns each, they are classed as “Reduced” in the CCN rules

French Army (Marshal Jourdan) - 9950 inf, 1750 cavalry, 14 guns

Division D’Armagnac [from Army of Centre]

            Brigade Neuenstein

                        2e Nassau (2 Bns) + Regt de Francfort (1) + 4e Bade (2)

            Brigade Chassé

                        4e Hesse-Darmstadt (2) + 3e Berg (1)

            Brigade St Paul (Italian)

                        2e Léger (1) + 3e (2) & 5e Ligne (2)

Italian Foot battery (Capt Ferrarese)

Cavalry (Maupoint) [combined from Armies of Centre & North]

            Brigade Maupoint

                        13e Cuirassiers + 15e Chass a Chev + 5e Chev-Leg

Brigade Kleinwinkel

1er & 2e Chev-Leg Rugeois

11/3e Art a Cheval (Capt Demilune)

The positions and the development of the action should be clear from the pictures. Giron placed his right on a loop of low but quite rugged hills. His overriding concern throughout was that a large proportion of his troops were volunteers (who rank as militia in the game rules). Spanish line troops are subject to double retreats, and militia to treble retreats, and this did prove to be a major problem throughout the day. He placed Morillo’s line division on these hills, with the majority of the voluntarios in reserve, behind them. Morillo himself was absent, suffering from malaria, and his division was commanded on the day by General Espeleta.

The Spanish left was in more open terrain, and Giron stood Espana’s veterans in this area, making best use of wooded areas. He placed his cavalry on both flanks, expecting them to play little part in the action.

Jourdan had St Paul’s Italian brigade on his left, entering the field through more woods. The German brigades which formed the remainder of D’Armagnac’s Division occupied the middle and right of the French position.

The Italians made little progress against Espeleta on the French left, but a regular pattern began to emerge. As Spanish units were driven back, the multiple retreats had a big effect – apart from the loss of ground, there were numerous occasions when retiring units did not have room to make a full retreat, and the rules force a loss of blocks when this happens. For the first hour of the action the impression was that the movement and the weight of fire appeared to be about even, but the Spanish problem with retreats meant that the eliminated units were all Spanish. The “Victory Banners” score very quickly rose to 6-0, 10 being the target required for an overall win.

The French had every advantage they could have hoped for – apart from the assymetrical rules, they also had marvellous cards and dice throws throughout. Jourdan would do well to retire from the army at this moment, for he will never have such a lucky day again.

One such card – La Grande Manoeuvre – resulted in a sudden advance, as the French centre moved to their right and a heavy attack developed against Espana’s troops, who crumbled disappointingly, and a fairly humble brigade of Confederation light cavalry, with no particular reputation but with Maupoint leading them in person, swept away the Spanish cavalry and clinched a convincing and surprisingly one-sided win (10-2 in banners) to the French. Giron’s right remained doggedly where it started, but his left was destroyed.

This result is a major setback to the Allies’ progress, and the appointments of a number of the Spanish generals are under close examination. Espana in particular has been heavily criticised, but there is a great deal of mutual accusation as to who is to take the blame for the disaster.

The Spanish lost 4200 infantry, 1125 cavalry and 4 guns, the French lost 1600 infantry and 125 cavalry. The fact that Giron had the advantage of defence, greater numbers and more artillery is not lost on his political opponents.

Legio Extremena in the woods

The Spanish left - where it all went wrong

Spanish position, from their left flank

General Giron's big day out - he may not get another...

Spanish Line troops, 1812 style - 2nd Mallorca

Italians - the woods were full of them

Genl Von Neuenstein with the 2nd Nassau - the spyglass was a useful precaution,
since he managed to stay a long way from the action

Stoical Germans - the Confederation troops did a great job - just got on with it

Gunner's view - that Spanish battery opposite didn't stay there long

The Spanish left wing again - hmmm...   Espana with the white base border

  

In comparison, the right wing did well, but with heavy losses

The Spanish right, from another viewpoint

Here is the crux of the matter - the Regimiento del Ribeiro, being voluntarios, have
to take triple retreats - one hit, plus a retreat they didn't have space for, did for them.
There was a lot of this.

The combined light companies from St Paul's Italian brigade performed real
heroics, but were battered in the end

Spanish volunteer artillery. On the day, they couldn't hit the proverbial
 whatsit in the thingummy with a how's-your-father

Great card - started the French swing to the right

Here they go...

The briefest of appearances by my posh new Spanish hussars ended with their
being soundly beaten by the brigade of Rugeois light horse, led by Maupoint

That would do it - the sort of dice which the French turned up all day

Espeleta brings forward the Bailen regiment, possibly wishing he'd gone
for a less conspicuous uniform

The French attack, from behind their right

Maupoint, with the unstoppable Rugeois, finishes the game

Position at the finish - the Spanish left, at this end, has gone

Whichever way you look at it...

Some friends of Lee's! - some of the voluntarios - they look great, but they didn't do
so well today!

I'll include the revised maps and army returns with Week 32's report, in a few days.

Solo Campaign - Action at Arnedillo, Friday 21st August 1812

Action at Arnedillo, Friday 21^st August 1812

French forces (Gen de Bde Jean-Marcel-Auguste Paquerette)

17e Regiment Provisoir (111e, 114e & 115e bns Garde Nationale)

18e Regiment Provisoir (112e bn GN et 3/Garde du Tarn)

7/5e Art à Pied (Cpt Borrance)

Total:  3910 men, with 8 guns

Spanish forces (Don Iago Pacheco, “El Banquero”)

3600 irregulars from the Junta de Vizcaya, of whom approx. 280 are mounted.

Paquerette’s men are Garde Nationale soldiers from the Languedoc and Albi areas of France. Originally recruited to serve in their home region, to release front-line troops for the main field armies, these men were subsequently very bemused to be moved, first to Bayonne, then to serve in North-Eastern Spain. They have no battle experience, though they have acquired some skill in dealing with guerrilleros and policing hostile towns, and their morale is surprisingly good.

Pacheco has under his command a mixture of troops with a wide range of experience and enthusiasm – from seasoned resistance fighters to terrified conscripts. The Junta’s recruiting methods are pretty ruthless. His men are aware that the fairly open terrain does not suit their normal manner of fighting, but their contempt for the French prevents any undue pessimism, though the more experienced men are concerned about the French artillery.

Early on Friday morning, in a light drizzle, the French units pass through the village of Arnedillo, and march on towards the area of small hills around the (deserted) Convent of Nuestra Senora de Penalba, which has been stripped repeatedly by both sides over the last 4 years. A tributary of the River Cidacos rises near the village, the source being a long-established working for the extraction of building sand. The river is not deep, but very muddy, and it may only be crossed at the old Roman bridge.

[Because of the small numbers involved, the action will be played out end to end of the table. This renders the normal C&CN concepts of centre and flank sectors meaningless – thus the game will use C&CN combat mechanisms, but the Command Cards will not be used, activation being carried out by a dice-based system. These are fairly poorly trained troops – on both sides. None of the infantry is able to form square and – to avoid an unnecessary bloodbath – victory conditions are light – the French need to eliminate 5 units or officers to win, the Spaniards need to eliminate just 3. This could be a very short battle!

The French infantry are classed as militia, and are thus subject to triple retreats, though the artillery are trained regulars. The Spanish have the special guerrilla classification I use in C&CN – they may move 2 hexes and fight, and may move freely through woods and villages, but a single, uncancelled retreat will eliminate any unit.]

The French approach - you may see eagles and line troops, but these are Garde
Nationale troops (apart from the artillery), and they are scared out of their wits.
Paquerette is visible at the centre rear, framed in a dining chair...

Dust & sweat (1)...

Dust & sweat (2)

Foy seen in the sky above Arnedillo

The Action

The Spanish infantry took advantage of what cover and broken ground there was, and Paquerette marched his men forward in good order. The speed of deployment of the guerrilleros enabled them to bring a lot of units against the French advance, and an intensive firefight commenced, though the standard of shooting was not what we would expect from the line. The French rookies performed steadily, though a couple of battalions retired (with fairly light losses). The Spaniards (whose units are small – counting only 2 bases each) are invariable brittle in action, and soon there was a steady stream of the wounded and discouraged to the rear.

With militia and irregular troops, C&CN requires units to be clustered together for mutual support, and to have generals close at hand. Both generals did a decent job of bringing up fresh units to fill gaps and relieve battered ones. As ever with C&C related games, the ghost of Mr Borg was somewhere around, and once again we reached a stage where one further loss either way would decide the action.

At this point, Paquerette aspired to a little text-book C&CN, performing an attack with combined arms (artillery + infantry charge) as his men finally closed to within melee range of the enemy. It was a near thing – with 7 combat dice available, he was handicapped by the fact that militia (and the French classed as militia here) do not get to count “crossed sabres” in a melee, but he managed the single infantry hit required to eliminate a fifth Spanish unit and El Banquero withdrew without battling back.

Both commanders did quite well, but the French troops’ musketry was disappointingly ineffective early in the engagement. The Spaniards suffered a total of about 1200 losses – a great majority of which were runaways. The French had 100 killed, 280 missing, and about 400 wounded.

The rapidity of the Spanish movement, plus the lack of French mounted troops, allowed El Banquero to retire in reasonable order, without further harassment. The first shots were timed at around 9:30. The Spaniards had melted away, with most of their wounded, by 10:45.

Starting position, from the Spanish side

That's the way to do it - the terminal retreat flag can be ignored, given
enough support among the guerrilleros

El Banquero - first time in the field - he did OK

Don't get captured by these fellows - actually, one of them is a woman...?

The decisive attack of Combined Arms, which finished things...

...looks like plenty of dice, but the single blue symbol is what counted

Only here for the drink? - some kind of mirage on the horizon

Once again, my thanks to my staff photographer - Nick - for his customary idiosyncratic work.