Solo Campaign - The Poll - Know Your Candidate

Banastre Tarleton, circa 1790

This follows from an email I had from Ludovico, asking me who is this General Banister, and also from the Old Metal Detector’s last comment to the previous post, which rightly draws attention to the general confusion between the real Tarleton and the fictional Colonel Tavington (from The Patriot).

For anyone who really wants to know a little more about Tarleton, can I point you to a rather good, brief, pleasantly gossipy biographical note here. It hits on the main themes, the mixture of fact and legend in his reputation from the AWI, and his military isolation after he fell out with the Duke of York and Wellesley. In fact, BT appears to have fallen out with a great many people – he was an outspoken Whig, and the possessor of a sardonic and deadly wit. Anyone who invariably referred to Wellington as ‘The Sepoy General’ needed an element of – how would you say it? – bottle. His promotion to full General and his appointment as Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1812 were worthless tokens for someone with his ability and experience

I fear that I misspelled his name – he was Banastre Tarleton. I was also guilty of prematurely giving Rowland Hill a knighthood. To preserve balance between the leading candidates, I had a brief look for an interesting bio for Hill, but am alarmed to see that, apart from his military career, his life seems to have been almost entirely free of anything interesting. Not to be defeated, I’m still working on it.

If you haven’t cast a vote in the poll on the right, I’d be very pleased if you would consider doing so. You won’t win a digital camera, but you might help the British Army to defeat the French in Spain and change history forever. That’s not an offer you get every day, is it?

Solo Campaign - Situations Vacant - Poll

I need to appoint a successor to Wellington - I'd welcome votes in the little poll on the right, or comments or other nominations. All help and insight welcome. I reserve the right to ignore everything and make some daft, random appointment if I feel it's appropriate - the traditions of British government have to be observed. How about the Prince Regent as C-in-C, for example? Someone suggested the Duke of Brunswick. Someone even suggested Bernadotte, but I'll come up with some detail regulation to exclude him.

Solo Campaign - Weeks 17 & 18

Continued ill-fortune for the Allies - highlights of the two weeks are that Ciudad Rodrigo has been stormed and taken by the French and Wellington has been relieved of command by the British Parliament (though he won't know this for a week or two).

 

Marshal Jourdan receives a hostile reception from

Spanish prisoners at Ciudad Rodrigo

Week 17

Random Events

None.

Housekeeping

The 3D3 activation throws give Allies 6, French 5 – Allies elect to move first.

Lt.Col Beckwith has returned to field command of the 1/95^th Rifles, replacing Lt.Col Barnard, who was seriously wounded and captured at Malpartida. He will assume command of the 1^st Brigade of the Light Division, under Karl von Alten.

This being the middle weekend of the month, all missing blocks are diced for (except those for the garrisons of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, who are under sieged and blockaded, respectively). [Campaign rules note – in future campaigns, blocks diced for should be those missing 1 month earlier, to avoid the situation where fresh losses from a recent battle may be returned to the ranks within a week]

French reinforcements and returns: +1 block – Franzburg Jaegers, 3/15e, 4/82e, 2e Leg Ital, 1/6e Leg, 1^st Castilla LI, 1/25e Leg, 1/27e, 3/50e, Pinoteau’s combined tirailleurs, 15e Dragons, 13e Cuir, 11/8e Art a Pied

+2 blocks – 2/5e Ital, 2/76e, 1/50e, 2/59e

Total French increase = 3600 men

Allied reinforcements and returns: +1 block – 2/83^rd, 11 Cac, 1/32^nd, 1/8^th Ptgse, 1/Cold FG, 1/3^rd FG, 2/24^th, 2/58^th, 1/79^th, 2/KGL Line, 2^nd KGL Lt Bn, 68^th, Ch-Br, 1/43^rd, 2/95^th, Blantyre’s light battalion, 3 Dr, 5 DG, 2 KGL Dgns, 11^th Ptgse Cav, Elige’s, Gardiner’s and Ross’ batteries, Avila Vol Art

+2 blocks – 51^st, 1/95^th, 11LD, 1 KGL Dgns, 1^st Ptgse Cav

Total Allied increase = 5200 men

Spanish Army now has the Division of Pablo Morillo available at Tortosa – 6 battalions of regulars plus a foot battery at Tortosa, freshly equipped and uniformed. Total strength 4000 men.

Moves

Allies (6 allowed)

1 – H (Brunswick Hussars) merged into C (K Von Alten, at Almeida)

2 – ...and augmented Group C retreats to Abrantes

3 – B (Graham, at Orense) retires to Braga – army is Tired after Battle of Allariz, and the road to Braga is difficult, so a test is required

2D3 = 3 +2 (Graham’s rating) -1 (brown road) = 4   - the march is completed, but the force arrives tired in Abrantes.

4 – Sp B (Espana, at Orense) also marches to Braga – test for difficult road:

2D3 = 5 +1 (Espana’s rating) -1 (brown road) = 5   - the march is completed without problems.

5 – Allies close down supply base at Vigo. Wellington’s force will be supplied from Porto.

6 – New Sp C (Morillo) formed at Tortosa.

[Intelligence step –

• no scouting orders]

French (5 allowed)

1 – O (Clauzel) holds position and sets up “masking” blockade of fortress of Almeida.

2 – N (Marmont) rests his army at Orense.

 [Intelligence step -

• no scouting orders]

Supplies and Demoralisation

All units are in supply. No-one is Demoralised.

Contacts

(1) The siege of Ciudad Rodrigo enters its third week.

(2) The fortress at Almeida is now blockaded – it is not under formal siege, but the roads from Braga and Abrantes are closed.

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (Week 3)

Bombardment phase: Spanish now have a Garrison Value (GV) of 3, thus roll 3D6 - they come up 4 2 1 – no hits on either the besiegers’ Battering Value (BV) or their Assault Value (AV).

Simultaneously, the French battering guns (BV = 4) roll 4D6 – 6 4 3 2 – the 6 deducts one from the defenders’ Fortress Value (FV, the strength of the place itself), but there are no 5s, so no losses to the Garrison Value (GV).

Removing the losses, next week’s figures will be FV = 1, GV = 3 (total = 4) for the Spanish, while AV = 7, BV = 4 for the French. The walls continue to deteriorate under bombardment – again, the French opt to wait another week before attempting a storm. They have a strong superiority in numbers, but last week’s incident with the flag of truce and the dead chicken has confirmed that the garrison are prepared to fight to the last man, and there is a chance that the citizens may also contribute to the defence – either of these would add extra dice to the resistance to a storm.

Casualties for the week: Spanish defenders have suffered no loss in GV, so still have 2260 men, and the French besiegers suffered no deduction from their AV, so their strength is unchanged at 16330.

Week 18

Random Events

News of the defeats at Allariz and Malpartida, plus the expectation of the imminent fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, has reached Westminster, and a vote in the House scheduled. Opinion is currently 3:2 against Wellington, so a vote is required if a single D6 comes up 5 or 6 – it does, so the vote itself will play 3D6 vs 2D6 to reflect the balance of opinion.

If the pro-Wellington lobby get less than half of their opponents’ total, a further motion to call the British Army home from the Peninsular will be scheduled for the following week.

Otherwise, if pro-Wellington vote is less than anti-Wellington, he will be relieved of command of the army in the Peninsular with immediate effect, and a successor appointed.

The vote took place 20^th May:

Pro-Wellington:    4 + 3 = 7                Anti-Wellington:     5 + 4 + 1 = 10

With effect from 21^st May, Wellington is to be recalled to Britain, Sir Thomas Graham, as senior British officer in the Peninsula, will take temporary command until a permanent replacement C-in-C arrives. The army will remain in Portugal for the time being. In practice, since Wellington will be unaware of the ruling, he remains in charge until 1^st June.

Housekeeping

The 3D3 activation throws give Allies 5, French 7 – French elect to move first.

The Hon George Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie, has arrived to take command of the Allied 7^th Divn [previous commander, Sir John Hope, was only present as the result of an administrative error, since technically he outranks everyone else in the Peninsula!]

Spanish Army now has the Division of Pablo Morillo – 6 battalions plus a foot battery at Tortosa, freshly equipped and uniformed. Total strength 4000 men.

Moves

 

French (7 allowed)

1 – New Groups P, Q & R (National Guard units) are mobilised at Bayonne and Pau...

2 – ...P (3500 National Guardsmen under GdB Martinelli) march from Bayonne to Pamplona, where they relieve the garrison

3 – ...Q (3500 National Guardsmen under GdB Dujour) march from Pau to Jaca, where they relieve the garrison

4 – ...R (4000 National Guardsmen under GdB Paquerette) are placed in training at Bayonne

5 – E (Abbé) leaves the HQ of the Armee du Nord at Pamplona, and marches to Lodosa

6 – GdB Lacharrue travels from Pau to Jaca, where he takes command of Group G...

7 – ...G (Lacharrue) marches from Jaca to Roncal – this is a difficult road, so a test is required:

2D3 = 5 +1 (Lacharrue’s rating) -1 (brown road) = 5   - the march is completed without problems.

[Intelligence step -

• no scouting orders]

Allies (5 allowed)

1 – Groups A & B merge as A under Wellington at Braga, and new Group E is detached – Sixth Divn, under Clinton, with Anson’s light cavalry bde...

2 – ...and E (Clinton) is ordered from Braga to Porto, which is a bad road, so a test is required:

2D3 = 4 +2 (Graham’s rating) -1 (brown road) = 5   - the march is completed without problems

3 – Sp C (Morillo) march from Tortosa to Alcaniz – test required

2D3 = 5 +2 (Morillo’s rating) -1 (brown road) = 6   - no problems

4 – C (Karl von Alten) rest at Abrantes

[Intelligence step –

• no scouting orders]

Supplies and Demoralisation

All units are in supply. No-one is Demoralised.

Contacts

(1) The siege of Ciudad Rodrigo enters its fourth week.

(2) The fortress at Almeida is blockaded by the French – roads from Braga and Abrantes are closed.

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (Week 4)

Bombardment phase: Spanish now have a Garrison Value (GV) of 3, thus roll 3D6 - they come up 5 4 4 – the 5 scores one hit on the besiegers’ Assault Value (AV); no loss to the Battering Value (BV).

Simultaneously, the French battering guns (BV = 4) roll 4D6 – 5 3 3 2 – the 5 deducts one from the defenders’ Garrison Value (GV); no loss to the Fortress Value (FV).

Removing the losses, the figures become FV = 1, GV = 2 (total = 3) for the Spanish defenders, and AV = 6, BV = 4 for the French. Jourdan, the commander of the besieging forces, decides to storm the walls on the night of Saturday 23^rd May 1812.

During the week leading up to the storm, the Spanish have lost 1/3 of GV, which represents

1/10 x 1/3 of the 2260 men involved = 75 men, leaving 2185. The French have lost 1/7 of their remaining AV, and thus have lost 1/10 x 1/7 of the 16330 men employed = 233 men, leaving 16097.

The Storm of Ciudad Rodrigo

Under the inspirational leadership of General Reixas, the Spanish garrison qualify for the additional Suicide Dice – being prepared to fight to the last man. The citizens are heartily sick of being under siege, and there are, in any case, few able-bodied men of suitable age who have not already been called up to the militia – thus there is no addditional Agustina Dice available to the defence.

Jourdan uses the full force at his disposal for the attack (he has the choice to use only part of his AV, to keep losses down). According to my (newly revised) algorithmic system:

the Defenders’ Storm Strength, DSS =  FV + GV + 1D6 + the Suicide Dice = 3 + 4 + 1 = 8

the Attackers’ Storm Strength, ASS = AV + 1D6 = 6 + 4 = 10

Since ASS > DSS, the fortress falls. In the storm itself, the French lose 0.25 x DSS (= 2) from AV, so their final AV is 4. Thus they have lost 1/3 of their available AV, representing losses of 1/10 x 1/3 of the available 16097 men = 537 killed and wounded. Remaining strength is thus 15560.

The Spanish defenders lose 0.5 x ASS (= 5) from GV, so their final GV is -1. Thus they have lost 4/3 of their GV, and loss in killed in wounded in the storm is 1/10 x 4/3 of the 2185 men available = 292. The surviving 1893 are taken prisoner.

Total losses during the siege are thus

Week	Spanish	French
1	80	370
2	58	0
3	0	0
4	75	233
Storm	292	537
Captured	1893	0
Total	2398	1140

The Spanish force (Combat Group A on the map) is destroyed. The French have suffered a loss of 6 bases, which are deducted (at random) from the following infantry units:

Maucune’s Divn – 5/66e, 5/82e & 1/86e.

Darmagnac’s Divn – 2/4^th Baden, 1/4^th Hesse Darmstadt, 1/3^rd Italian Line. 

Solo Campaign - Excremento Profundo

 

Spencer Perceval - recently assassinated Prime Minister

no longer available to defend Wellington

Weeks 17 and 18 of my solo Peninsular campaign are in the process of being written up. Without wishing to give away the exciting bits of the plot, let it be said only that the continued run of bad results for the Allied Army has eventually resulted in a motion being tabled to remove Wellington from command. Despite the extraordinary alarm and distraction provided by the assassination of the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, just a week earlier, a vote in the British Parliament on 20^th May 1812 gave a substantial majority in favour of Wellington's removal. A further motion that the British Army be withdrawn from Portugal was defeated, however.

With immediate effect, Sir Thomas Graham, as senior British officer with the army will assume temporary command of the British and Hanoverian forces, until a permanent commander is selected and appointed. Here is a list, in seniority order, of the prominent candidates – some are unavailable through duties in remote parts of the Empire, many are in dubious physical health, some are plainly unsuitable for a major field command.

The successful candidate may be any of these, or may be someone else – the army works in mysterious ways. I have discounted the Duke of York himself from being seriously considered for the job. With all due appreciation of previous comments on this subject (most of which are reflected in the list) I would be very interested in any further nominations, applications(!) or comments.

Name	Age @ May 1812	Rank / date	Rating (1=poor, 3=good)	Current job	Comments
John Pitt, Lord Chatham	56	General, 1801	1	Governor of Jersey	Well connected politically, commanded army in Walcheren
Sir Banestre Tarleton	58	General, 1812	3	Governor of Berwick	Hero(?) of AWI, was strongly fancied to command in the Peninsula in 1809, but Wellington was preferred. Prominent Whig
Sir Eyre Coote	50	Lt.Genl, 1801	2	Governor of Jamaica	Another AWI veteran, unpopular
Sir David Baird	55	Lt.Genl, 1805	3		Highly rated, aggressive commander – was badly wounded at Corunna – health uncertain
Sir John Hope, Earl of Hopetoun	47	Lt.Genl, 1808	2	Military Governor of Ireland	Poor health – recently served in Peninsula
Sir Henry Paget, Earl of Uxbridge	44	Lt.Genl, 1808	3		Commanded cavalry under Moore with distinction – was unable to serve with Wellington because of family difficulties (having eloped with Wellington’s sister-in-law)
Sir John Stuart, Count of Maida	53	Lt.Genl, 1808	2	Governor of Grenada	Victor of Maida, but overall lack of experience and not rated highly – health not good.
Sir Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch	64	Lt.Genl, 1810	2	in Portugal	Competent commander, but (again) has repeating health problems
Sir John Murray	44	Lt.Genl, 1812	1		Very poor reputation – unable to follow orders
Sir Rowland Hill	50	Lt.Genl, 1812	2		Should be in Portugal, but he’s not in my campaign army(!). Wellington regarded him as the best of his subordinates
William Carr Beresford	44	Lt.Genl, 1812	2	Commander,  Portuguese Army	Wellington’s official deputy in the PW, because of his local rank. Good administrator but hesitant, ineffective battlefield commander.

Solo Campaign - The Quarries of Malpartida

On Saturday 9th May 1812, Maj.Gen Karl, Graf von Alten - a Hanoverian in the British service, fought a defensive action at Malpartida, between the Portuguese-Spanish border and the fortress of Almeida. His little army consisted of his own Light Division - an elite force which had not thus far been involved in combat in the 1812 campaign - with support from a brigade of light cavalry, plus a battalion of militia and a howitzer battery seconded from the Almeida garrison. His force totalled some 5700 men, with 12 guns. The cavalry commander was his brother, Viktor, and one of the cavalry regiments, the Brunswick-Oels Hussars, had ridden a remarkable distance from Elvas to join him, but - since the cavalry played no part in the day's business - we shall not mention them again.

 

Initial situation, French on the left

His opponent was Bertrand Clauzel, with his own (2nd) Division of the Armee de Portugal, plus a brigade of dragoons and two batteries from the reserve of the AdP. Since these troops had already been involved in some of the heaviest fighting, Clauzel was forced to assemble some small units into provisional units to give them a useful combat capability. In all, Clauzel had rather more than 6600 men, with 24 guns.

[Though I gave serious thought to using some different rules for ths action, I used CCN again. 5 cards each, French to move first, 6 Victory Banners to decide matters.]

Von Alten took advantage of two ancient quarries (of Sant Iago and San Rafael) near the village - his troops were laid out with painstaking care, with riflemen in the two quarries, a horse artillery unit between them and reserves in support (notably the 43rd Foot). Vandeleur's brigade was placed on the left flank, an area where woods and the village would ensure a difficult assault for the French. Overlapping fields of fire were carefully worked out, and a frontal attack against the area around the quarry pits would be a hazardous undertaking indeed, across an open, stony area.

Clauzel placed Berlier's veteran brigade opposite the quarries, and Pinoteau's (formerly Barbot's) brigade on the right, where they were prepared for a long, difficult day, attempting to root Vandeleur's men out of the woods around Malpartida itself.

The action produced a quick and rather surprising result, in a game lasting a little over an hour. Clauzel opened with a Bombard card, which gave his artillery (heavier, longer-ranged and more numerous than the Allied) a further bonus, and in the first turn reduced the two Allied batteries to a very weak state. Von Alten's defence was not looking as strong as it had, but he prepared for the French to come on "in the same old way".

They did not disappoint him - on Turn 2, Clauzel played a Grande Manoeuvre card, and sent Berlier's troops in against the quarries. They covered the open ground quickly - a Grande Manoeuvre lets the troops get there quickly, but they have to wait until next turn to fight. The Allies, of course, let them have everything they had available (which wasn't helped by very poor cards for the Centre sector) - Berlier took some losses, as expected, and the 2/27e Ligne were driven back by rifle fire from San Rafael, but the remainder of the attacking force had reached the British lines in far better shape than Von Alten might have hoped for.

Then things happened very quickly - the 43rd Foot were routed and eliminated, the 3/95th Rifles were reduced, in their quarry, to a single "block" (at which strength they were unable to fight back), the 1/95th, in their own quarry, were driven out very easily, failing disastrously to re-take the position, Col Barnard, the brigade commander, was critically wounded, and men from the 25e Leger overran the remnants of Ross's Troop of the horse artillery. In desperation, Von Alten brought up the Thomar battalion of Portuguese militia - previously untried, and there only as emergency secondments from garrison duties at Almeida - and - unbelievably - they defeated the exhausted veterans of the 1/25e Leger and took back the Sant Iago quarry. But it was all in vain, the sixth Victory Banner was on the table. The cavalry, the complicated operations around Malpartida were completely irrelevant - a preliminary artillery bombardment and a rather crude frontal charge carried the day.

Von Alten withdrew his men, placed Vandeleur and the cavalry as a rearguard, and headed off towards Abrantes. Clauzel's next task was to mask the fortress at Almeida, so the Light Division were left to retire without further harrassment. Riflemen in quarries? - piff! French won 6-1.

OOBs

French Force - Gen de Divn Bertrand Clauzel

Second Divn, Armee de Portugal (Clauzel)

            Brigade Berlier: 25e Leger & 27e Ligne (5 Bns)

            Brigade Pinoteau: 50e & 59e Ligne (4 Bns)

Brigade Picquet: 6e & 11e Dragons (4 Sqns)

15/3e Art a Pied (Capt Pajot)

10/3e Art a Pied (Capt Dyvincourt)

19/3e Art a Pied (Capt Gariel)

Losses - approx 800 men k/w

Allied Force - Maj.Gen Karl, Graf Von Alten

Light Division (K von Alten)

            Barnard's brigade: 1/43rd, 1/95th, 3/95th, 1st Cacadores

            Vandeleur's brigade: 1/52nd, 2/95th, 3rd Cacadores

Troop 'I', RHA (Maj Ross)

Cavalry (Maj.Gen V von Alten): 1st Hussars KGL, Brunswick Hussars

Attached (from Almeida garrison): Thomar militia & howitzer battery (4th Ptgse Art)

Losses - approx 1600 men k/w/t, 10 guns destroyed or taken, Col Barnard gravely wounded and captured.

Von Alten's "Hornet's Nest" - Ha!

 

3/95th in the quarry of Sant Iago

 

Opening bombardment - pretty much ruined the Allied batteries

 

Grande Manoeuvre charge by Berlier - crude but effective

  

...and suddenly the hornets had gone

  

Unlikely heroes - the Thomar militia briefly won back one of the quarries,
though it didn't affect the outcome

Solo Campaign - the Battle of Allariz

The Battle of Allariz, Friday 8th May 1812

Nicolas Guye (waving his hat) with the King's Guard at Allariz

Sir Thomas Graham, with the First and Seventh Divisions of the Allied army, plus the cavalry brigades of Von Bock (KGL Dragoons) and Col Otway (Portuguese), defended a position near the village of Allariz, close to the Portuguese border, on the road between Orense and Braga. He had a total of some 11500 men with 12 guns, and he also had available the support of a small Spanish force of good quality troops under the command of the Conde de Espana, a further 6000 men with 10 guns. Espana's troops were quartered some distance from Allariz, at Arabaldo on the River Minho, and had to march to the field to join the Anglo-Portuguese army.

In this campaign, whenever an Anglo-Portuguese force is to collaborate with a Spanish force in battle, a dice is thrown to test the level of co-ordination between the commanders. In this instance, given the distance travelled, it was determined that from the 7th turn onward, a dice would be thrown to test for the arrival of Espana. A throw of 6 would be successful arrival, and the position of arrival (left, centre, right) would also be diced for - thereafter Spanish units may be called onto the table in the requisite sector as Command Cards allowed - generals can arrive on the table attached to units.

The opposition included contingents from the Armee de Portugal (AdP), Armee du Centre (AdC) and Armee du Nord (AdN), all under the command of Marshal Marmont - a total of approximately 17850 men with 24 guns. The French were greatly superior in both cavalry and artillery. The forces met at approximately 10 o'clock, on a fine, clear morning.

[CCN stuff: Because this battle is large by normal CCN standards, I did away with the additional "converged" light battalions which I normally field for each brigade, and adopted the normal CCN rule that all light regiments on both sides are classed as LT (I usually classify French legere units as Line). Both armies had units depleted by previous campaign action - I combined the single remaining subunit of the British 51st Foot (W Yorks LI) with one of the KGL light battalions. The nature of the field can be seen in the pictures - each side received 6 cards, the French moved first, and victory was set at 9 Victory Banners. The Allies, initially, have 5 designated Leaders - Graham, Henry Campbell, Hope, Halkett, Von Bock - and the French 5 - Marmont, Foy, Guye, Montbrun, Maupoint]

Graham placed his army on a line of hills - the First Division with the artillery on his right, the Seventh Division on his left. The Portuguese cavalry was held behind his centre, the German dragoons on the right flank. Col Halkett with the 1st Lt Bn of the KGL was placed in an advanced position in a wood on the right.

Marmont had Guye's Spanish Divn, including King Joseph's Guard, on his left, with Foy's Divn of the Armee de Portugal on the right. He placed Maupoint's light cavalry on the left end of his line, and Curto's brigade of light cavalry on the right, while Montbrun had personal command of the heavy cavalry in the centre.

Aware that De Espana's Spanish force was on the way, Marmont commenced a very vigorous attack on the Allied left (including a Bayonet Charge Command Card). Chemineau's brigade took heavy losses in this attack [and after 3 turns they were 3-1 down on Victory Banners], but eventually pushed Hope's men off the ridge [making good use of Combined Arms attacks using infantry with horse artillery]. While this was proceeding, Von Bock got involved in a bloody and unnecessary fight with the French cavalry on the opposite flank. The French 5e Chevauxlegers-Lanciers [who may not have existed in May 1812?] performed very poorly, and were resoundingly defeated in a single charge, but the two light units of the Duchy of Stralsund-Ruegen rescued the situation for the French, and after a long and fierce struggle they eliminated the KGL dragoons - Von Bock was mortally wounded during this action.

As the Allied left gave way, Montbrun attacked their centre with the bulk of the cavalry - this started badly, as the 13e Cuirassiers were shattered by fire from MacDonald's Troop of RHA, but the 25e Dragons, supported by Curto's light cavalry, routed Otway's Portuguese horse and swept round behind the end of the line of the Allied First Division. At this point, very belatedly, the Allies finally managed to roll a 6 to cue the Spanish reinforcements, and it transpired that De Espana's men would appear from behind Graham's right flank. Sadly, it was all too late - none of the Spanish troops made it onto the table before the French gained the requisite 9th Victory Banner, to give them a decisive win by 9-5. The Allied First Division, with the single exception of the 24th Foot, were never seriously engaged, neither were Guye's French Division, who opposed them - the action was decided elswhere. 

Graham, with no cavalry left, was left to withdraw as best he could - because of the disparity in cavalry strength, and the decisive result, the Allies were not allowed the customary "battlefield recovery" step, which allows a proportion of lost "blocks" to return to the ranks, so some of Graham's units were completely destroyed in the battle.

OOBs

French Army - Marshal Auguste Viesse de Marmont

Division Foy (AdP)

            Bde Chemineau: 6e Leger & 69e Ligne (5 Bns)

            Bde Desgraviers: 39e & 76e Ligne (4 Bns)

            3/2e Art a Cheval (Capt Guerrier)

            6/4e Art a Pied (Capt Braty)

Division Guye (AdC)

            Bde Merlin: King Joseph's Guard (5 Bns)

            Bde Casapalacios: 1e Leger (Castille), 2e Ligne (Toledo), Royal-Etranger (4 Bns)

            Guard Horse Battery (Capt Desert)

Division Montbrun (AdP)

            Bde Boyer: 15e & 25e Dragons (4 Sqns)

            Bde Curto: 3e Hussards & 22e Chasseurs a Cheval (6 Sqns)

            Bde Vial: 13e & 26e Chasseurs a Cheval (6 Sqns)

            5/5e Art a Cheval (Capt Graillat)

Division Maupoint (AdN)

            Bde ??: 13e Cuirassiers, 5e Chevauxlegers-Lanciers (6 Sqns)

            Bde Kleinwinkel: 1e & 2e Chev-Leg (Stralsund-Ruegen)

Total casualties - approx 1000 infantry, 600 cavalry.

Allied Army - Lt.Gen Sir Thomas Graham

First Division (Maj.Gen H Campbell)

            H Campbell's Bde: 1/Coldstream & 1/3rd Ft Gds

            Blantyre's Bde: 2/24th, 1/42nd, 2/58th & 1/79th

            Von Low's Bde: 1st, 2nd & 5th Line Bns, KGL

            Gardner's Battery, RA

Seventh Division (Lt.Gen Sir John Hope)

            Halkett's Bde: 1st & 2nd Lt Bns KGL & Brunswick-Oels Jaegers

            Von Bernewitz's Bde: 51st & 68th & Chasseurs-Britanniques

            McDonald's Troop, RHA

Cavalry (Maj.Gen Von Bock)

            Von Bock's Bde: 1st & 2nd Dragoons, KGL

            Otway's Bde: 1st & 11th Portuguese Cavalry

Total casualties - approx 2800 infantry, 1300 cavalry, 5 guns lost.


The pictures, as last time, owe much to my son Nick's efforts - any good shots here are almost certainly his:

General view of the battlefield at the outset, French on the right

French left flank - the lancers were very poor

French centre and right - Foy's boys at the far end

The French position seen from their right flank

Forlorn Hope? - Sir John with the Seventh Divn

The heavy end of the Allied line - the First Divn on the right

Marmont in the farmyard

French horse artillery contributed well to the attacks

Colin Halkett in the woods with the KGL Lights

Chemineau's brigade go in with the bayonet

Brunswickers in action

KGL Line Infantry

58th (Rutlandshire) and 79th (Camerons)

King Joseph's Guard Horse Artillery

The beginning of the end - the French roll up the Allied left

3eme Hussards mean business

The Result - not a big help for Wellington?

     

Solo Campaign - Week 16 - CRUNCH!

Well, Sod's Law raises its ugly head yet again. Just when I'm a bit short of time, this week in the campaign throws up two battles, one divisional-sized one at Malpartida, near Almeida, and one of rather more than twice that size at Allariz, south of Orense. Not sure just when I'll get these games played, but it should be within a week or two - I'll publish the updated army returns and a new map when the battles are done.

In the meantime, the Mathematical Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo has undergone its second week, and the French are making a real mess of the fortress. It proves, once again, that all the science in the world is not as useful as lucky dice. 

I haven't written up a narrative summary of Week 16, since it just means writing everything twice (not to mention reading it twice). Here's the nuts-&-bolts report, in exactly the form that I promised not to publish them. 

Old Bridge at Allariz

Week 16

Random Events

None.

Housekeeping

The 3D3 activation throws give Allies 5, French 4 – Allies elect to move first.

As a result of Br.Gen Silveira being sent with the Brunswick hussars to Almeida, temporary command of the fortress garrison at Elvas devolves to Col. De Souza of the Abrantes militia (rating 0).  

Moves

Allies (5 allowed)

1 – Sp D (Maceta, at Talavera) marches to Toledo.

2 – A (Wellington, at Braga) rests his force after the march from Orense.

3 – F (Framlingham, at Elvas) detaches a new force, H, consisting of the Brunswick Hussars under the command of Br.Gen Silveira (rating 1) of the Portuguese service ...

4 – ...and sends them to join Von Alten at Almeida. The first leg of this journey is over a difficult road to Abrantes, the march therefore requires a test:

2D3 = 4 +1 (Silveira’s rating) -1 (brown road) = 4   - the march is completed, but the force arrives tired in Almeida (which means they will suffer a deduction of 1 die in any combat).

Church Parade - the militia at Almeida - not a good turnout

5 – The Tomar battalion of Portuguese militia, plus a regular Portuguese Artillery howitzer battery are detached from the garrison of Almeida (Group F), and join Von Alten’s Group C, in the countryside near Almeida.

You mean go out there and face the French?
(Gunner - 4th Portuguese Artillery)

[Intelligence step –

• no scouting orders]

French (4 allowed)

1 – O (Clauzel) advances into Portugal, from Ciudad Rodrigo (which he may pass through, since the fort is under siege) to Almeida, where he attacks the Anglo-Portuguese Groups C and H (Karl Von Alten)

2 – N (Marmont) marches 1 step from Lugo to Orense. Since this is a difficult road (they are all difficult around here), a test is required:

2D3 = 4 +3 (Marmont’s rating) -1 (brown road) = 6   - the march is completed without problems.

Marmont then attacks Graham’s force (B, and possibly Sp B).

3 – C (D’Orsay’s bde of Bonet’s Divn, Armee du Nord), march from Valladolid to Salamanca.

[Intelligence step -

• no scouting orders]

Supplies and Demoralisation

All units are in supply. No-one is Demoralised.

Contacts

(1) The siege of Ciudad Rodrigo enters its second week.

The medieval chapel on the Malpartida battlefield

(2) Karl Von Alten, with the Anglo-Portuguese Light Division and the 1^st Hussars of the KGL, and now augmented by the Brunswick-Oels Hussars (under Col. Ernst von Schrader – this unit is classed as Tired), the Tomar battalion of Portuguese militia and a Portuguese howitzer battery (these last two units seconded from the Almeida garrison), defends a position on the Almeida road, south of the settlement of Malpartida, within a mile or two of the Portuguese border, but inside Portugal. This position is chosen primarily for political reasons (since he can call on Portuguese militia support, though in the event the dice decree that he receives only a single battalion). The region is high, virtually treeless, and he has a position on a ridge overlooking a small river – so small that it will not appear on the battlefield. A large quarry, dating back to Roman times, is a feature of the field. Von Alten has a total of about 5000 infantry (including 3 battalions of riflemen), 600 cavalry and 12 guns available.

The quarry where they got the stone for the old chapel - might

just get to use CCN's rules for a quarry - always wondered why they were there

He is opposed by Bertrand Clauzel’s Division of the Armee de Portugal, supported by Picquet’s dragoon brigade and two batteries from the reserve artillery of the Armee de Portugal. Altogether 10 battalions of infantry and some 5 squadrons of dragoons (including the formidable 6eme, who recently wrecked Le Marchant’s British heavy brigade), but some of these are understrength, and his force is estimated at 6200 infantry, 400 cavalry and 24 guns, all of heavier calibre than the Allied artillery.

The advanced guards are in contact at dawn on Saturday 9^th May – the Battle of Malpartida, as it will become known, is critically important – if Von Alten loses, Almeida is immediately vulnerable and the road to Lisbon is threatened. Clauzel has the chance to place his army between the besieged town of Ciudad Rodrigo and any relieving force sent by Wellington from Braga.

(3) Marmont’s northern force, advancing from Lugo, is in contact with Graham near Orense. The original agreement between Wellington and the Spanish army was that the town of Orense was to be defended, but Graham has abandoned Orense to the French and adopted a defensive position closer to the Portuguese border, near the village of Allariz.

In this campaign, whenever a Spanish force is required to support an Anglo-Portuguese one, a dice is rolled to check the level of co-ordination. The rule is:

4+           No problems – full co-ordination

3              Spanish force arrives late – 1D6 each turn – 5 or 6 they arrive

2              Spanish force arrives late – 1D6 each turn – 6 they arrive

1              Spanish force does not arrive

In this case the dice came up 2, so the Conde de Espana’s little army, which was quartered around Arabaldo on the River Minho, expecting to be ordered to defend Orense, will take a little while to reach the field. One imagines a little tension between Graham and the Conde, since Graham has retreated almost to the border – I had considered making the Spanish force demoralised, with some deduction from their combat effectiveness, but decided against it on the grounds that an outnumbered Graham has little enough going for him already – I may change my mind again, of course.

Marmont’s army consists of Foy’s Divn and about ¾ of the cavalry of the Armee de Portugal, Guye’s Divn of the Armee du Centre (King Joseph’s Guard and a brigade of Joseph’s Spanish line troops), plus the entire cavalry of the Armee du Nord – about 5 regiments including the 13e Cuirassiers. His total force is estimated at about 17850 men with 24 guns. He has a considerable superiority in cavalry.

Graham, without De Espana, has the Allied First and Seventh Divns, plus the cavalry brigades of Von Bock (KGL dragoons) and Otway (Portuguese). Total is about 11500 men with 12 guns.

De Espana has about 6000 men, of whom a proportion are voluntarios (classed as militia), and 2 batteries, which between them have 10 guns.

The battle of Allariz takes place on Friday 8^th May.

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (Week 2)

Bombardment phase: Spanish now have a Garrison Value (GV) of 4, thus roll 4D6 - they come up 6 3 2 1 – the 6 reduces the attackers' Battering Value (BV) by 1, but there are no 5s, so no losses from the besiegers’ Assault Value (AV).

Simultaneously, the French battering guns (BV = 5) roll 5D6 – 6 6 5 3 3 (once again, the French siege batteries are good/lucky) – each 6 deducts one from the defenders’ Fortress Value (FV, the strength of the place itself), and the 5 deducts one from their Garrison Value (GV).

Removing the losses, next week’s figures will be FV = 2, GV = 3 (total = 5) for the Spanish, while AV = 7, BV = 4 for the French. The walls are not looking good – a storm is becoming a distinct possibility, but the French – confident that they have another week before the Allies can interrupt them with any kind of relieving effort – decide to continue bombardment for a further week. They do, however, summon the fortress to surrender. One of Marshal Jourdan’s aides, Col. Alfonse-Maurice-Louis Merveilleux, is sent on 10^th May under a flag of truce with a letter from Jourdan for the governor, General Hermogenes Reixas, requesting that he lower the Spanish flag within one hour. Merveilleux is returned, unharmed, but trussed up with rope, with a dead chicken hanging around his neck. Despite this additional provocation, no storm is attempted.

Casualties for the week: Spanish defenders have lost 1/4 of their GV, so have lost 1/10 x 1/4 of the remaining 2320 men engaged, which is 58 men killed and wounded. Again, loss in combat effectiveness is proportionately far higher, and the walls of the town are in a sorry state. French besiegers suffered no deduction from their AV, so their strength is unchanged at 16330. This does not mean, of course, that no-one was hurt – it simply means that returns from hospital and so forth cancel out any new losses.