The Return Of The Spanish

It has been some years since my Spanish army has made an appearance. They were brought out in a defensive struggle with some historical army composition in mind so that not every cavalry unit I had for them would be fielded. The Spanish suffered from a deficient cavalry and artillery arm and so this battle will reflect the difficulties not commonly discussed. The French are seen marching onto the field, confident and ready to rush in.

The center of the Spanish line with the singular Spanish battery. To the left of the battery the Regiment Irlanda is present. On the French side, the Irish Legion also makes a guest appearance.

The Spanish left has light infantry followed by two units of guerillas and a battalion of militia. This flank should be less involved in the fighting and so the stream will be the main defense in slowing down an enemy attack.

The full Spanish line can be seen in the upper portion of the picture. A redoubt manned by a converged grenadier battalion protects the objective, the town. Behind the town is a small reserve of some militia and cavalry but unfortunately no additional artillery.

I had considered finding some way of increasing the defense of the town such as maybe giving the Spanish a sapper for the engineering rule for defending a town. double the garrison perhaps? The problem with the Spanish army on the field is that their weak morale is always a disadvantage for melees. They rarely could field any sizeable amount of artillery and so good dice rolling is the only real hope.

Seeing the French dragoon brigade moving up quickly and boldly positioning itself for an assault, the reserves break right to prepare for filling any holes. It isn't pessimism, it is simply experience.

The French leisurely make their way toward the Spanish left. The Spanish reserves might end up being useful down here but the amount of enemy cavalry on the other side makes the matter more pressing.

The reserves fan out to form a third line as this appears to be the main thrust from the French. The French horse artillery deployed and opens fire at extreme canister range.

The Spanish artillery opened fire on the French artillery as it deployed. The first exchange failed to accomplish anything but on the sescond exchange the French artillery was forced to limber up. After it was determined the Spanish artillery would need more fire power to deal with the French horse artillery, they decided to hit the dragoons. In retrospect, going after the dragoons from the beginning could have had a change of events on this wing.

Two dragoon regiments attack the square. The Spanish managed to form up confidently enough, but failed to score any hits in the melee and were broken.

French foot artillery deploys and bombards the grenadiers in the redoubt. The rest of the Spanish left wing moves forward to try and cover the crossing and the bank of the stream.

The French center pushing forward along the stream.

Now the French are gathered for the push across the stream. It appears they're going for a frontal attack along with a smaller flanking maneuver coming down from the hill.

Meanwhile in the center right of the Spanish line, the Regiment Irlanda found it did not have enough space to form square and had to rely on fire power and melee to save itself. The subsequent firing was ineffective.

So the extreme right of the Spanish line had two squares get smashed and the hussars tried in vain to counter charge the French dragoons, only to get pushed back. Here the mounted guerrilla cavalry decided to try their hand at a charge with also less than successful results.

The artillery not having the intended impact upon the grenadiers, the only other option was an infantry assault. On the right, the Swiss unit in Spanish service is facing off against the Irish Legion. The Swiss had been expecting some dragoons to rush at them and so had formed square in advance of the expected charge. The Swiss failed to reform as a charge reaction when the Irish Legion decided to take a chance and charge.

The infantry in square were broken in combat and the Irish advance forward along with some dragoons to break the Spanish center. This square will manage to hold but the Spanish have suffered some heavy losses and aren't going to be on the field much longer.

The grenadiers were overwhelmed in their defenses and the Spanish light infantry aew shot up and broken. The guerrillas to the left and the militia holding the town are just a nuisance that's not going to stop any French advance.

The French foot artillery crosses the bridge in an effort to secure the holding on the Spanish side of the stream. The town is going to be overwhelmed and taken.

The last guerrilla unit is shot to pieces and broke. The French can now swing around behind the town and cut off the defenders and roll up the rest of the Spanish line.

The last Spanish square manages to hold on and is cut off. The Spanish cavalry is pushed back after multiple ineffective combats during the battle. The only reason the Spanish cavalry survived is due to its speed. The Spanish losses at this point were over the 50% breaking point and the French did not have to storm the town and take it by force.

Although the Spanish army may look nice on the field, it is a affirmation of why they are so often neglected or scorned. To win with them is difficult. One must look for major mistakes in your opponent in order to have a fair chance of victory. It wouldn't be correct to change their characteristics or to severely handicap the French. Putting them on to the field has to be for the joy of recreating history and appreciating what it was and not what you can remake it to be.

Somewhere in Andalusia AAR

Although a generic battle, the order of battle had Picton's Third Division against the better part of Reynier's corps with the stray supporting dragoon brigade. The objective was to break the opponent by routing 50% of the units.

The Anglo-Portuguese right wing. My picture taking was a bit off this day and so I missed some better shots that I would have normally gotten. To the immediate right is a supporting brigade of British cavalry consisting of two units of light dragoons and a unit of hussars.

The British brigade here was quickly under fire from the French 12lb battery. Even at long range, the guns were able to bounce through and soften up the line here. In many respects, this really prevented the Anglo-Portuguese army from deciding to advance. The terrain appeared to be better suited for anchoring ourselves in and trying to ride out the storm. In Lasalle, the defender usually must weaken an attacker or risk being swept away.

The French left advancing in checkerboard columns. I was thankful the French horse artillery was largely ineffective and perhaps meant to distract my cavalry brigade from being a little too wild with no enemy cavalry on this end to oppose them.

Having been involved in too many village fights, I chose to relinquish occupation of the village on the hill. Not just from the last battle report, but from numerous others where the defender typically is overwhelmed and annihilated for their efforts did I conclude it usually isn't worth wasting the man power. Considering it was not an objective in this scenario, it felt even less pressing. The French felt quite differently and stormed the hill and occupied the village.

The French 12lb battery was much more significant in its reach and impact. The 1st battalion of the 88th Foot was broken from the 12lb guns and the rest of the brigade had suffered a bit before the French infantry came in the try and finish the break through.

The French right is also moving to engage the British defenders of this other village. The dragoons and French infantry are going to exercise combined arms to successfully turn the British left wing.

So many of the vents unfolded here rather quickly and I failed to capture it all in pictures. The French infantry moved up quickly and the British light cavalry managed to break two of the French battalions and drive the guns off. I had failed to consider the French infantry's desire to take this small village and work on my flank. The battalion I kept in reserve had to be brought up and opposed to keep the new tenants from vacating in my direction.

My British cavalry brigade managed to break the French wing here and threaten the center. The good thing is that the French 12lb battery now had to disengage the barrage they were successfully laying on the Anglo-Portuguese center and turn to defend themselves. I didn't feel so lucky as to overrun such a battery with a head on charge. Call me timid, but the unit needed to recover some of the disruptions.

And fulfilling my expectations, the French overwhelmed the British defenders in the larger village and eliminated the not pictured British left wing. French dragoons have come around behind the village to threaten the nearly ruptured British center.

And the French win. The Anglo-Portuguese division is at 50% and breaks after this last combat. The French were not that close to breaking and were more or less in command of the field. The only thing saving the British retreat would by the intact light cavalry brigade to screen the withdrawal. Neither side had a numerical or qualitative advantage of any real significance but those 12lb guns sure made an impression.

The Bridge AAR

A battle that turned out to be smaller than I had originally expected. Everyone appeared to be busy this weekend and so a 1-on-1 game is what we settled on playing. So that the game would not drag on relentlessly and appear aimless, I setup the scenario for 10 turns each and to have control over the bridge as the objective for winning. Each side had pretty similar forces but some slight differences in artillery and cavalry. I hadn't finished my 3rd battalion of AB Portuguese, so my Old Glory units filled in the Portuguese brigade for the British 3rd Division.

Both sides cautiously move forward through the center. The natural tendency is to cling to the villages either side of the stream. Although the stream is fordable, it does restrict movement. The bridge is a natural bottleneck and no one really wants to be stuck crossing it in an unfortunate formation such as a column. In my mind, it makes a good objective because you cannot take it and hide within its confines the way you would a village, forest or on top of a hill.

The French (my side) right wing. Both sides had smartly placed their cavalry on the plains where they could maximize their movement advantage. The British light cavalry brigade can be seen at the top moving up to meet the French advance.

The Portuguese move up to secure their side of the stream. The British chose to place the artillery in the center to secure the objective through firepower. I placed my battery beside the village to help sweep the open area. Although I only had a single horse artillery battery, it did prove to be more useful as this position permitted me to get into action sooner than the British battery, which never managed to open fire.

As I tried to close in around the bridge, the British infantry took a deeper interest in my advance in the center and moved to apply pressure on my flank. This ultimately lead me to divert a few battalions to square off against them.

The French dragoons had charged in with the best of intentions but were pushed back. Although the dragoons had a slight numerical advantage, I was unable to really make great use of that due to available space. I did manage to go after the slightly easier target first, being the British light dragoons and saving the British hussars when I could gain an advantage over them.

The horse artillery didn't manage to soften the British line up much here and so the French line infantry are going to have to try and rely on some brute force to break it up. I had to be careful in advancing with the infantry as I was fully expecting the British cavalry to come charging out and force my troops to form square. They showed some uncharacteristic restraint in not charging the infantry, probably more concerned with the French dragoons.

The Anglo-Portuguese have managed to form around the bridge in a position that would permit them to have a crossfire with any of my French troops that look to seize the objective. A solid move.

I had to form into line to counter the firepower that the British troops here were able to deliver. In forming into line, my movement slowed down and when combined with the terrain, bogged my advance down. One battalion tried to advance in column and batter its way across, but the Portuguese didn't give way. It would take repeated attempts to make a crossing.

Part of 2eme Legere, having made its way through the olive rows, attempted to push the British position back. After a couple of exchanges of fire, the British infantry fired upon the French closing up. The left battalion has taken some serious disruptions that will handicap it in the upcoming melee.

A grand charge of the entire right wing. The French dragoons, having obtained a clear numerical advantage by breaking one of the British light dragoon regiments, now decide to proceed all out and perform a combined charge with the infantry. There isn't a qualitative advantage but there is a numerical advantage that the French have in their favor.

From another angle, part of the French dragoon brigade remains in reserve. The combat results turn out to be the loss of the British hussars and the 94th Foot breaks. The light dragoons would be in a horrible and isolated position were it not for the end of the scenario.

The 2nd Battalion of the 2eme Legere broke as the French charge here failed quite miserably. While the French manage to inflict slightly more casualties than they took and obtain a contested foothold on the other side of the stream, it wasn't convincing to declare a victory by the time constraints. The attack column failed to live up to its reputation and the Anglo-Portuguese infantry managed to stay solid and deliver enough fire power to weaken the French attacks. The British leftwing/French rightwing was more in the French's favor, but was not enough to decide the game. More damage would have been required to achieve victory through breaking the enemy force.

The end result was a draw.

Albuera In 6mm

Trying a different direction in gaming, here is a 6mm Albuera my group played in recently. The French left flank here near Soult's position. We used historical OOB's but deployment was a little different. The varying weather as in the historical battle's rain played a role in this.

The opposing Spanish right flank. Knowing the Allies have little artillery, we decided to set up the Spanish and British behind the ridge instead on top of it. This would shield us from French fire until they were up close. Latour-Maubourg's cavalry can be seen trying to get around the Spanish line.

The village of Albuera on the opposite side of the battlefield. The river is fordable in a few areas and will slow down some of the progress made here by the French. We didn't understand until near the end of the battle that the village had some victory point value and was worth holding.

A better view of the Allied position behind the ridge. To the left, reserves being positioned more towards the Spanish as they are the weakest link and will likely need the help later on.

The extreme Allied right where the Spanish cavalry are positioned for a counter strike. One battalion in a square to increase its odds of surviving. As it later turns out, would be needed.

The French cavalry positioning for their strike. Why the artillery is not deployed to open up on the square is unknown but I did not correct my opponent. The only thing I can assume is he was overly confident of smashing the Spanish and did not feel like wasting time with such time consuming measures. Keep that in mind for later.

My apologies for the blurry picture here, but 6mm picture taking is new for me. The French right closing in on the village while the defenders spread out into line. The French as it turned out got across the river quite easily. We had varying weather during the game like the real battle but the rains didn't seem to keep the French back.

The Allied center with the Spanish command ending and the Portuguese brigade starting up. Not much goes on here until the last several turns of the battle.

More French reinforcements fording the river near the village. As the Allies, we decided not to hold the village as we didn't think it necessary nor did we think we had the numbers to hold it and the rest of the line. The French have a reserve that came in later during the game and not knowing where it was coming in made it difficult to commit the bulk of our men, especially when worrying about how long the Spanish could hold out.

I believe this is Cole's brigade being held in reserve along the Allied left. Stewart, the other reserve brigade, was in position behind the Spanish as an immediate reinforcement.

I forgot a picture or two from this Allied right flank, but this is the end result of a Spanish initiated cavalry charge. The blurry cavalry on the bottom right had charged, pushed back the French cavalry now coming back at them. During that interval, the French horse artillery battery was destroyed. The French are seeking some revenge and are now fully engaged.

The French infantry finally engage the Spanish along the curved line of the Allied right. A Spanish battalion is broken and the French keep on coming, seemingly again not deeming the Spanish worthy of weakening before rushing right in. The rain inflicting negatives or the impossibility of musketry at times probably also adding to the decision.

Stewart's brigade lined up in assuming a new flank when the Spanish give way. Everything remains quiet in the center.

The Allied left is about to be heavily engaged as the bulk of the French army is on this side of the field. Using the reverse slope combined with the intermittent rains really prevented musketry from being a deciding factor. In the heavy rain, which seemed to take up about 1/3 of the game, there was no musketry. In the light rain, it was at a -1. Everything would come down to melee.

Again, I missed a couple of turns here from all the dice rolling. The French cavalry brigade was demoralized and broke! A lancer unit did poorly and broke, then some dragoons decided to charge the square. The Spanish light cavalry counter charged and broke the French cavalry unit. Between those two lost cavalry units and the artillery, the brigade broke. The Spanish cavalry lost one unit as it ran from the field after a poorly fought round of combat. Typical.

The French manage a break through of sorts with one battalion breaking the corner of the line. The rest of the French aren't having quite as much luck as they're getting repulsed from their charges. The rains let up a bit and the Spanish were able to fire and weaken the attacking lines, which made the combats not so advantageous for the French.

The center of the line can now see some French fanning out to come attack the center. It's about the get bloody.

The Allied left is facing difficulties as the number of French units are making themselves felt. The Allied line here is thin and so if the French manage a breakthrough, they have the chance to roll up the flank.

Some of the upcoming French troops from the left flank also decide fan out toward the center. With the Allied right holding them back, maybe they believe the center is the weak point? Time will tell.

The center from a different view. The Spanish artillery really was a life saver for the Spanish as it inflicted a lot of damage from canister fire. With the French coming over the ridge, they were going to be hit soon. The battalion coming down the hill to try to fight it will also be broken from canister fire.

Cole's reserve brigade is being brought up as some of the Allied left units have broken. It won't be long and an Allied brigade will also break. The heavy rains have seemingly subsided so musketry is beginning to also take its toll.

Another French brigade broken! This valiant French battalion that did the break through has found itself in a trap and is eliminated in the musketry crossfire. This finishes off the brigade. The Spanish cavalry coming up around the far right will take over the position and reverse the flank.

Stewart's brigade is now not needed as a backup for the Spanish and so turns and moves towards the center where the next act is about to be played out. The Spanish artillery continues firing and inflicting damage.

Now the center begins the musketry duel as the French close in. The Italian battalion toward the bottom right will soon be broken as it marches across the Spanish artillery's line of sights and into the path of waiting infantry.

The Allied left lost one brigade and the French are continuing to press home the attacks. The French have paid for the continued attacks as they've had no real chance to recover from the disruptions. This is the most success the French have had up until now.

With the French all routed, the Spanish cavalry decided to try what Latour-Maubourg's troops did and turn the flank. It will take a while to get into a position as there is quite a bit of ground to cover.

The continued approach. Both commanders seemed to work together here to make sure they could try to deliver simultaneous attacks, which was a good idea. The longer they took, the more damage they were taking and so time was not on their side.

Cole's men plugged the gap on the Allied left. With fresh units now place, the French attempts to break through were greatly decreased. Not pictured was a couple of rounds of melee in the center which cost each side a battalion or so and really did nothing. The Spanish cavalry managed to come after another French battery trailing the infantry moving to the center.

It was getting late and we had to call it a draw. The village was worth 1pt and each broken formation was also worth 1pt. Both sides had 2pts and it's clear that in another couple of turns, the French probably would have lost another brigade and that would have taken the French from the field. We did not expect the Spanish to do so well but I think the French aggression worked against itself in that even though there was rain, they made minimal to almost no attempt to weaken the Spanish lines first. I think their artillery could have been brought up and used much sooner than it was. Despite the quality issues, the numbers made up for the quality differences and allowed the Allies to hold the line.