Salamanca - 22 July 1812

 

Haven't posted here for a year. I'm still using LinkedIn for most work and wargaming PhD stuff - which currently doesn't leave much else. PhD should be finished in a year so my amount of hobby wargaming will hopefully then ramp back up!

On 21-22 Feb 26 we (as Rose Hill Wargaming Group) ran the 4th of our 20mm Peninsular War "big battles" - this time Salamanca. This is the biggest game we've done so far with a 26' x 14' playing surface (split over 3 tables) and over 3000 20mm figures (a mix of plastics and metal). The rules are still our own Steady Lads Steady, which are designed for play on a 10cm grid.

The tables at STARTEX, showing how few blinds are out at 8am

This is one of those battles where hindsight is a real issue. The French are unlikely to be silly enough to open up a gap in their lines as they march along the Monte de Azan, and Wellington, knowing the French want to force his flank can just try and block the route with a strong force. A lot of Salamanca wargame scenarios start when the French make the mistake and Wellington throws a chicken leg over his shoulder and declares "By God, that'll do" - so the French don't have a lot to play for.

Deployment positions at 0800 with movement boxes. One square = 600m

We therefore started the battle at 0800, when very few French or Allies were on the table. And since all were beyond 600m of each other all were represented by blinds (some of which could be dummies). For their missions, the French primary aim was to get a division off the far edge of the table, with a secondary objective of inflicting a good kill ratio on the Allies. The Allied primary aim was to block such a move, but without suffering excessive losses. To try and remove some hindsight the table was divided into  four "boxes", the Allies initially being able to deploy only in the northern one (DZ), and then getting release to move into the other boxes as the French advanced. This would hopefully stop a solid wall being put in place before the French had any chance of making it to the far end.

Still a lot of blinds, and the Allied barrier forming

Before the game the Commanders issued their orders, and in particular where off table units were to arrive. The umpires then controlled the arrival time - roughly based on historic movement speeds. Wellington assigned the potential blocking task to the 1st (incl. Guards) and Light Divisions, supported by the Heavy Cavalry. This meant they could get into position a lot faster than Packenham's 3rd Division could historically - the 3rd was ordered to make its shortest possible march, onto NE edge of the table.

As the battle started Marmont immediately ordered Foy into the attack towards the Lesser Arapiles, supported by 3rd Division, whilst 8th Division and his main force moved behind the Greater Arapiles and started heading for the Monte de Azan. Unfortunately by the time they go there the Allied roadblock was in position (perhaps I'd been a bit generous with box release or 1st and Light Division arrival times, or the French had taken too southerly a route). The two western forces then just faced off against each other whilst the battle evolved all the rest of the way down the line. The KGL cavalry seeing off the French Dragoons, and the French Light Cavalry losing to their British counterparts meant that for most of the game the French only had one light cavalry regiment - which certainly hampered their ability to manoeuvre. By the end of Saturday (Turn 11, 1330hrs battle time) the front line was a big zig-zag, running N-S in the West (far end of the table), then E-W along the plain in front of Los Arapiles and between the Greater and Lesser Arapiles, and then N-S again between the Pelagarcia and the Lesser Arapiles.

Shortly before the end of Saturday, 3 Div holding the E end of the line just off camera

It was interesting how different in flavour Sunday was from Saturday. Saturday had primarily been the CinC's day, getting the blinds to move across the table, trying to manoeuvre for position, apart from some light fighting in the centre and E flank. Sunday though was when the brigade commanders earnt their keep, fighting the enemy in front of them along a now relatively static front line. The centre was a fight of steady attrition, with both sides feeding new troops in and the French getting at least one battalion up to the base of the Lesser Arapiles, but certainly nowhere near the village of Los Arapiles. In the E, Foy's 1st Division and subsequently 3 Div and even 4th Div kept up a steady pressure on  the Allied 7th Div, and 3rd Div when it arrived, finally beating them back to the Lesser Arapiles itself. In the crook of the front line by Monte de Azan the Allies were slowly pushing the French in, but it wasn't until the final moves that the Guards and Dragoons moved across the rough terrain of the Monte de Azan to start pushing the French back. The zig-zag increasingly became more of a straight line and, as with many wargames, the front line rotated as the French pushed forward on their R flank (north) and the Allies pushed forward on their R flank (south).

We called ENDEX at about 3pm real time, about 1630 battle time, so about when the French line collapsed - but there was no sign of collapse here but the battle had settled down into an attritional fight.

A few turns before ENDEX view from the E end of the table

There are several ways in which we can try and evaluate who "won" the game.

Historically, the French performed far better than their real-life counterparts, still holding their own against the English, troops bumping up against the Lesser Arapiles on two sides, a route open to Salamanca and in all probability they may have been the ones to stay on the field. The Allies fared less well, although they blocked the French flanking manoeuvre they didn't destroy the French force in the way that Wellington did - although they had strong untouched brigades left whilst most of the French ones were damaged. Interestingly the research I did on the bicentennial Napoleonic games showed that wargamers often had a hard time reproducing the victories of Wellington and Napoleon! So on a historic basis it was probably a win for the French players.

Statistically speaking the Allies had lost 13 of 29 brigades, so just short of their 15 brigade break point. The French had lost 7 of 18 brigades, so also just short of their 9 brigade breakpoint - and with more fragile brigades the French may have lost it first if the game had gone on a bit longer.

In terms of the scenario victory conditions, the Allies got 2 out of 3 for their Decisive Victory (blocked exit, below army breakpoint, but not a 3:2 damage ratio). They did though meet the conditions for Marginal Victory (blocked exit, below army break point, below 3:2 damage ratio - although the ratio was actually more like 2:3). The French failed their Decisive Victory condition (exit a Division plus), but made their Marginal Victory condition (2:1 damage ratio). So on that basis it was a draw.

Overall we called the game a draw, which I think was fair, both sides having fought themselves more or less to a standstill (at least in the centre) and both very close to their army breakpoints.

Trying to design a scenario for a battle where one side won primarily due to a mistake of the other, and where neither side really wanted to fight is always a challenge - and particularly when you've got a bunch of wargamers who want to play a wargame for the the whole 2 days! The scenario may not have been perfect, but I think that most people really enjoyed themselves, and we enjoyed staging it. Roll on Vitoria in 2027!

(If you'd like to be put on the mailing list for Vitoria then just get in touch).

Some more photos from the game below.

Albuera - 16 May 1811

 

I really ought to post here a bit more, especially having left Twitter, but seem to be using LinkedIn for most work and even work/PhD adjacent hobby stuff - which currently doesn't leave much else. But certainly might be worth documenting some of my XR work here. Will see what I can do.

The Rose Hill Wargaming Group had a great game of the Battle of Albuera (1811) on 22-23 Feb 25. Three big tables giving 20' x 14' of playing area and relatively small forces meant that there was plenty of room to manoeuvre.

 
The game started on blinds, but it was soon apparent that Soult was going for the historical option of the southern flank and the two hills. Beresford had other ideas though and went onto the offensive, storming across the Albuera and catching an extended French northern wing in the flank. Beresford followed this up with crossing over the river just south of the bridges and gradually beat the French back through the olive groves and back up the Seville road! All this though meant that the Spanish had to hold the southern flank more or less on their own. There was a big cavalry battle around the two hilltops, and then the infantry clashed - right on the northern hill as per history.

 
As we left it on Saturday night we thought it was all over for the Spanish, there was even an extreme flanking move by the French onto the western table, but come Sunday morning the Spanish held firm, but paid a dear price in doing so. By lunchtime the French had lost their third Brigade and were about to lose a fourth, and so as per the scenario Soult decided that trying to reach Badajoz was too expensive and it was time to return to Seville. The Allies won a Marginal Victory, their own losses being too great to claim a Decisive Victory. Some bragging rights ensued as we'd more or less switched the commands over from Fuentes de Onoro, which the British won, so some people (no names) had two wins in a row!

We're now planning our next game, which will be Salamanca, with around 3000 20mm figures on at least the same size table - so we'll probably need twice as many players. It will probably be on 21-22 Feb 2026 - so if you'd like to provisionally book a place let us know.

The full photo library is on our Facebook page, but here are a few choice ones.

Quite like this "panoramic" shot of the Spanish and French lines clashing

Another shot of the main fight, looking N to the Spanish line, ENDEX positions

Spanish infantry holding the line

We start the games on blinds so that intentions aren't clear

More Spanish heading into the fight

Note the rain sign - tiles were periodically hit by rainstorms - as happened in the battle

The Portuguese getting in on the action too!

Blake reflecting that the day has gone well

Battle of Vimeiro AAR and Over the Hills Playtest

Having picked up the new edition of Over The Hills in the Kickstarter earlier in the year I finally got this set to the table, having heard good things about the 1st Edition.

The scenario I chose was Vimeiro, as it was due in my decadal battle series (if a year late!) and there was a nice scenario for the southern part of the battle using OTH courtesy of the Devon Wargames Group.

It was also my first chance to try out my new foam mats, and fight on 10cm squares instead of 10cm hexes (I converted OTH readily for the purpose).

This was the starting deployment, looking S, French on the left.

Four tiles to my 2:1 standard, the Mk1 top right just as underlay

The Battle

Only a brief summary. The French "came on in the same old style, and the British repelled them in the same old style". With only a battery apiece there was little time for preparation so the French columns piled into the British lines on the hill and got beaten back. The British followed up and inflicted more casualties, breaking one Brigade.

The lines clashing. Puff = 1 fatigue

On the French right (bottom of top picture) the cavalry tried to take on the advancing British but the terrain was too complex, the British formed square and the Cavalry went home. A final showpiece British vs French cavalry charge achieved little. At the end of Turn 8 (suggested scenario end-point) the French had 27 fatigues, only 3 off the Army break point, the British had about half that, so a clear victory for the British.

British Light Dragoons - Airfix conversions ~30yr old. Yes I know not Tarleton.

The Rules

I suppose the problem I have with OTH is that they are a very standard set, and as such I naturally think that my "standard set" - Steady Lads Steady - are better, and most of the changes I'd make to OTH would just make them more SLS like. This is in contrast to say Snappy Nappy or Et Sans Resultat where the mechanics are different enough that there is no direct comparison.

30+ yr old brittle Airfix Highlanders get a rare outing!

That said OTH played pretty well, and certainly prefer them to Black Powder or Liphook, but perhaps not to Francis Long's. I need to retry GdA/GdB and Shako for further comparison.

The only thing I particularly liked was the Skirmish ratings as a way of abstracting skirmishers. Did also give me some ideas for better use of Generals in SLS.

French Grenadiers flanking some 95th

Things I was less keen on were (and may just be me misreading rules):

• The whole movement segment things, just more data to remember
• Shot from artillery impacting Skirmishers, only getting the line behind on 50% chance follow through
• The ease with which units could recover Fatigue, so many units stayed at full strength
• The rules layout, things were often quite buried and not helped by having melee rules about 3 times for the different situations (Inf vs Inf, Cav vs Inf, Cav vs Cav)

So glad I've played it, but not one I'd turn to again out of choice, but happy to play at a club (who might understand them better!)

British Light and Rifles - again 30+ yr old Airfix conversions. Even stovepipes!

The Grid

Worked really well. There are dots every 10cm, but even up close I sometimes had to hunt for them. Units could still manoeuvre on diagonals and wheels - although there wasn't much scope for that in this game. Looking forward to using them in ECW next.

Spot the grid?

Battle of Bailen 1808 and Et Sans Resultat

That's got to hurt - you'd have thought!

Finally got Bailen on the table. This is the 1808 battle where the Spanish managed to beat the French under Dupont. For this game I decided to try out the Et Sans Resultat rules. I'd heard good things from them on the Meeples and Miniatures podcast and elsewhere, so was looking forward to it. As usual I'll do the battle report first, then a rules review and finish with some overall comments.

As an experiment I set the terrain up in 10cm Hexon, but then laid in 4cm hex cloth over it, worked pretty well.

Battle Report

STARTEX: French coming from left., Bailen off to right.

Chabert's Brigade was first on, and, as in 1808, swung SE to climb the slope and attack Coupigny (bottom of picture above). The first round was undecisive, both sides taking casualties, but by the second the French had the upper hand. Coupigny fell back broken, but Chabert retired as no longer effective.

Chabert's assault on Coupigny

The baggage train delayed Schramm's arrival buy a turn or tow, but they were sent stright up just to the S of the road to hit Reding. Again it took a couple of turn,s but this time Reding broke with minimal casualties to Schramm. Just as well as although Pannetier had arrived his orders got lost and he hadn't moved before the game was over! Dupre and Prive's cavalry faired better though and were thrown forward N of the road to join Schramm in a two pronged attack on Venegas (top of the main picture). Again two turns was all it took to send Venegas packing with minimal French losses.

Schramm on Reding - you'd have thought that Spanish gun would hurt!

So without even committing the rear-guard of the Marines, but with Chabert looking a bit the worse for wear the French totally over-turned the historical outcome.

The final fight on Venegas' position, with Reding himself almost surrounded

Rules Review

Well this was a bit up and down. I had good expectations, and the production values are really high, but  my heart sank when I read that deployed infantry moved 1125 yards - which at a 1" = 100yd scale means we're expected to measure to 1/4". As soon as I got the rules on the table I hit the next big negative, infantry move 1125 yards, but artillery only fire 900 yards. So you can move form out of range to melee in one go! The rules say that units "in contact" are still targettable as they are initially assumed to be at musket range, but may be out of arc - but after the first turn I always allowed one shot on the way in. What I did quite like though was that the fire is effectively "formation" (i.e Brigade) fire, with skirmish battalions and artillery combining against the approaching targets.

The initial melees seemed lacklustre, with few casualties (fatigues), but the after battle assessment saw more damage and was where the formation really suffered. At first it seemed to disconnect the damage from the actual combat - but again its reflects the focus on the "formation" not the Bn ( I should have watched the video tutorials first!).

Coming back the next day I realised I'd read the combat table wrongly. I though you just looked up the difference once (for the winner - which is what I do with SLS), whereas in fact you look up for both sides - but even so it was still the assessment that caused the real damage. I was now getting more into the flavour of the game, and you do need to think of it as formation level, even though you have Bn MUs.

I used the orders a bit, Pannetier's delay being the result of that, and I could see in a bigger game and more forcibly applied they might work pretty well.

Another big downer though came when look up troop types. There is page after page of stats for named commanders of the period, but units are only given in some representative OOBs, none of which had Cuirassiers (or some other key troop types!) so I've no idea what stat they should have. There was also no sense of formation (which could be allowable at this scale), but also no sense of cavalry wreaking havoc amongst unprepared infantry, or infantry being penalised for taking defensive measures. Gunners also appeared to be able to melee just as well as an irregular battalion - even against cavalry!

Overall

So overall, I think there is actually a very good set of rules in there, but its struggling to get out. It's got one of the nicest "higher level" takes on Napoleonic gaming I've seen, and I can see that the command, firing, melee and assessment sections could all work well with just a bit of tweaking, and as long as you stay in the formation mindset. But I think if I played again (as I may do - which is saying something!), then I'd certainly halve or third all movement to give the guns a fair crack of the whip (the French guns never stopped to fire a shot!) and give more of that sense of advance to contact.

Battle of Bussaco - 27 Sep 1810 - Battlefield Tour

I've got to present a conference paper in Coimbra this week, and seeing as its only 20-30km from Bussaco I thought it would be silly not to spend the weekend there first. It also just happens that the convent that was there during the battlefield is now surrounded by the Grand Palace Hotel - formerly a Ducal residence and now a faded but wonderful 5-starish hotel - which Deb and I actually managed to get at a good, if not cheap rate for the weekend. Taxi from Coimbra was Euro33.

I'm blogging this in the rather sumptuous lounge of the palace have seen the sights (or at least what we could on foot with rain looming in 26 degree temperatures and no decent map) this morning. So here's a photo-essay of the trip.

The Palace itself. Totally over the top decoration, even the pillars have pillars. The orange roofed/ochre walled building in the left side is the old convent (actually a monastery in English terms).

There are a whole load of tiled murals of Portuguese history and legend inside and out. There are about half-a-dozen relating the battle - this one showing the Portuguese and British troops repelling the French as they assault the ridge.

Nice one of Massena and his staff.

And Wellington to balance it out.

A nice study of a Dragoon trumpeter.

The first part of today's walk was up to the small museum (2 Euros) just outside the huge enclosed area (~3km x 4km?) of the convent forest.

Portuguese Line infantry man 1:1 painted outside the museum.

Inside the museum was a nice diorama of the battle with what looked like 25mm commercial figs and claiming to be 1/100th scale, but didn't look like 15s and too small to be 1/100 ground scale or even 1 figure = 100 men. There was also a smaller diorama made up of Airfix figs!

The walls had a nice big scale map of the battlefield and dispositions, and also a couple of huge charts of Portuguese Army units and which battles they fought in, including small skirmishes, and the strength by each rank of each unit of the Allied Army.

From a modelling point of view one of the most interesting aspects were two dummies of Cacadores - their uniforms being more of a khaki that the richer brown shown in the L&F books.

From the museum it was a short walk up to the battle monument,

The monument sits on the ridge above Sula, so just above where Crauford's Light Division repulsed Ney's attack. The slope is to steep and wooded to see it properly though. There is a good view however out E towards Moura where Marchand went against Pack's Portuguese.

We (well I) then wanted to walk out to Wellington's command post further along the ridge. Unfortunately its position was only very roughly marked on one local map, and not at all on another. Also paths beyond the convent walls were not shown! So we walk along a path about as far as the SE end of the convent wall which is in the right area, but couldn't see any sign - perhaps we should have stuck to the road route. However this certainly took us along the area occupied by Coleman's 6th Portuguese Brigade and where it was attacked by the lost 2/32nd Ligne. Whilst it would not have been so wooded this photo gives you an idea of the steepness and roughness of the terrain. We were even using hands to get over some of the outcrops.

Having failed to find the command post we turned from home, and at the Cruz Alta you get a superb view SE of the back of the length of the ridge.

And also out onto the plain to the SW.

It certainly highlights how the Bussaco ridge was the last serious obstacle to Massena before he could spread out onto the coastal plain.

A nice walk back through the woods along the Via Sacra, with some incredible terracotta style lifesized models of the stages of the cross, each housed in a little building with a bit barred door - luckily the smartphone camera just fitted between the bars (and most were nowhere nearly as well naturally illuminated as this one)!

The last stop was to actually look into the convent (2 Euros) where Wellington stayed (see plaque at top of the article).

The centre of the convent is a small chapel, and then all around the corridor that surrounds it on 4 sides are the small cells of the monks. I wonder which one Wellington commandeered?

The most amazing thing about the place is that all the doors and the ceiling beams are covered in the cork bark that grows locally. It gives the whole place a very organic feel, but I guess it's a great insulator.

One final Napoleonic photo - the old olive tree outside the convent where Wellington is alleged to have tied his horse.

The whole site around the hotel was busy all weekend with tour groups, a kids festival and a car rally - so it's nice to see that the place isn't too forgotten (or exclusive).

Overall a great weekend, a lovely place to stay, and a nice walk. But really you'll need a car to see the full extent of the battle as distances are big and paths poor - and a lot better map!

Oh, and this is the room I'm blogging from.