Peninsular Campaigns

8/8/2019 Peninsular Campaigns

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PENINSUITRCAMPAIGNSBy TtmPice

The PeninsularCampaignsof the Napoleonic Era have an IIlC0rFenduring fascination for wargamersand can provide a self-contained nvironmentn whichsimple ampaignsanbe run

without too much rouble. Thefi$t one n which tookDartwasrun by PaddyGriffith, heauthorandhistorian,nvolvingover30players. hisarticle hows, owever, owonesuch ampaigncanbe run between s ew as wo players nd anUmpire,andprovidesa suitablebase map for you to design our own

I have hosen, smy startpoint, 0 July1809, henMarshalVictorwas n retreat rom headvance fWellesley ndCuestaalong he banks f the Rio Tajo, headingowardshe ownofTalavera,

BACKGROUND

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French rrnies avebeenmovingaroundSpain or overayearnow,but onlywithmixed uccess.heyhave ertainlymanagedto establishheirgovemmentn Madrid,underKingJoseph,but heyhave een adlydefeatedn theepicbaule fBaylen nthe south, eavingMadrid in rather an exposedposition.Equally h€yhavebeenevicted rom Portugalwiceovei firstby the Convention f Cintra astyear,and ust recentlybyWelledey's ictory at Oporto in May. On rhe other hand,Mooret army wasearlierdestroyedn Galicia,and rnuchofnorthemSDains irmlv n French ands.

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This is not to say that the Spanisharmies have been 11.00[{endestrcyed,ince here restill ourofthem n thefield.Theyare lSGurrcontrolled y heCenlralJunran Seville. ndarenow rying o c"#".".march nM;dr id romal lpoinlsotrheompar.Blakerra. iu' r

" ' ' --

defeatedSuchetat Alcaniz, and the developing onvergentmovement f Wilson, Welledeyand Cuesta eems o havepersuaded ictor to run for cover towards he east-ThePortugueseuontier s also stronglyheld by Beresford's ndSilveira's nglo-Portugueseorces.

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FRENCH

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PoliticallyhePortuguese ovemmentsstable-ndhas ood SPAMSHrelat ionsith the Bri t ish but the aLti tudef the SpanirhtowardsheBritish s nore ambiguous. ntilrecenttyhese*o Arntoltsmmrdnrrpkin{teneldcueiaangu&'d l?mMen

countrieshad been at war and Moore's "Maior Relief lstDi\ision s:mMen

Expedition" ailed o make he right mpression. he Junta s 2ndDi$sion 5:mMe0

alsodividedon thevitalconstitutionaluestion Republican/ 3rdDiti!0n {,4mMe0

Monarchist which n turn affects heir conduct f the war. ,fiiDivi\i0n s,lmMe0

After all, theableandsuccessfulaptain-Generalcuesta,ho 5liDiviri0o {,imMe0

commandsheJunta'sargest rmy, sknown o beanold-stylehlQvdryDvisio0',mMe0

Royalist ndout ofstepw;th he deals fthe nervRepubli;n- 15.0i[Men 2ndcrvdryDirision,ruMeo

ism. 300un AnilleryDildor $Cuns

TheFrench, n theotherha!1d, learly acka strong andatthe helm.Napoleon onapartes away n CentralEuropeandhis brotherJoseph althoughundoubtedly Bonaparre iscertainly o Napoleon . .

FORCESINVOLVED

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Opposite: Two shotsol the ine 25mm Peninsular et up at TheWaryamet's eneatseeheirad nWI77,p.15).A Potluguesebattaliondefends vi age;and aBrcupof SeanBean ook-alikespick off a ew Frcnchnen.

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BRITISH

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PORTUGUESE

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StartingDispositions

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For the startingdispositionsf all mobile orces, efer o theFrenchandAllied Dispositions aps.For the dispositionsftheGarrisonsnd heBritishResefle, ee bove.

FRENCHDISPOSITIONS

ALLIED DISPOSITIONS



MOVEMENTRULES

23

makea special ase or specific coutingmissions.WhenanArmy reaches town t will also eceive eponsof anyenemymovem€ntsharpassedhrough he ownearlierin hegame.Armiesor SupplyColunns = I Hex every 2 Days inde-

finitely.

SiegeTrainslndependentDivisionsless

than5,000rnen,ndCavalryunitsofany size.

2 Hex n 2 Days, ollowed y2 Days est.l Hexevery Days.2 Hex every 2 Days inde-

finitely.4 Hex n 2 Days. ollowed y2Daysrest.

Messengers

Mountains nd iversmayonlybecrossedt hecrossingoints

shownon the nap, excepi or Messengers.ho may movefteely, andwilson'sspeciallyrainedmobile orce,who naymove reely n the mountains ut have hesame estrictions sotherswhen rying to cross ivers.Movementby sea s onlypossibleor theBritishandwill akeat east2weekstoorganise,2 dayso load,2'5days ailing dependingn heweatherl) nd

2days o unload.

SUPPLYRULES

The nain supplyproblem acing he armies n Spainwasnotamnunition. ut ood or themenand odder or theanimals.Itis assumedhat armies€an always ind a minimumof food.providing hat they keepmoving hrough new" territory. ftheyhalt or any ength ftime,or are orced o movealongthesame oute alreadyusedby anotherarmy, hey will stan towaste way.I usea system ithstep eductionsn effectivenessat 4 Days,8 Daysand 16 Days at which ime the army willdisperseo find food). The besrwayof representinghis s by

drawing line, recordinghe track of an army,on a separale"supplymap". n thisway t serves sa ecord flhe pastmovesof an army,aswellasmaking t easyo see f it ispassingvergroundhat hasalreadybeeneatenouf .

There s, however, everanyshorlage f foodon thecoastalplain within2 Hexesof the sea notmountains)), nycity,oran'$'heren the Rio Ebro valley within2 Hexesof the RioEbro(notmountains)).

In lhe eventof a siege, he besieging layerswill have1ogenerateupply olumnseaving very4 days rom a suitabl€supplycentre. hebesiegedlayerwill not un out of food.butthewallswill besraduallveduced ntil anattack sfeasible.

INTELLIGENCEThe time it took to sendandreceivemessages adea greatdifference o the amount and quality of the intelligenceavailable. his s extremely ifficult o representealisti€ally.withouthaving separatelayeror each ommand ndpassing

messagesn a historicallyealisticimeframe. he compromisethat reached as o give heplayers napproximatupdate fthe enerny ositionsoughlyonceaweek.as heywerea weekago.The easyway o do this s lo nake a noteon the \upply

map"by making €ircle round heposilions flhe unitson hedayconcemed ndbdefing heplayena week ater. fyou useturns epresenting2ays, oushouldmake hisupdate very3

or 4 turnsas hefancytakesou.

SCOUTING

: 6 Hex every 2 Days indefinitely.

Armies will re€eive epons of enemyactivitiesn the hexesimmediately urounding heir currentposition,unless hey

BATTLES

Thereare a numberof waysyoucanuse o resolve attles nthesecampaigns,ependingonhe imeand esourceshatyou

haveavailable. usedHowardwhitehouse exceuent nd unnles "Old Trousers"Nben playedhecampaign sa memberof a clubwherewe couldmeet egularlyor battleswitb metalfigures.When imewas imited usedoneof two alternatives:SCRUDGeewdlsaner rartlaredNo. 64)or a systemdevisedspeciallyor thiscampaignhat caII BATTLESKETCH'.

Whateversystemouuse, ach ombatakes 2-Dayturn. oth€ playersmust make he next turn's decisions efore heoutcome fthe battle s known.

with SCRUD, combat s resolvedby representing achCorpsby a numberof 6'sideddice somewith modifications).Whenunitsareengaged,hediceare hrownand nodifiedbytuming hemover o reflect he modified core-themaximumbeing6and hemininumbeing1).These re inedup between

the opposing ides, ighest coreaSainst ighest core.Eachdice hatbeats nopponent'sice esultsn a l modifierto hebeaten ice n thenext engagement.or every3 dice hat arebeaten, he owest coring ne s eliminated. ndwhena dicereaches -3 modifierit s alsoeliminated.

Modiffersusedar€ as ollows:Defending town +l (foionediceonly)Defending rivercrossing +lOut ofsupply i per"step" 4days,I daysor

16days)

SCRUDnumbers fdiceandvalues reas ollows:

AIliedunitsdefendingthePortugueseorderDefendingortified own

+ l+1 (use Town"abovewhenwalls ave een reached)

Spani!h

BlakeCuesta

FrenchI Corps1I CorpslllCorpslV CorpsVCorpsVI CorpsVII CorpsReserve

432

3332

Silveira

Beresford

3(All at 1)4(Al lat 1)7(AIlat 1)5(Al lat 1)

British & Ponugues€5 AIlar+1)

2(Both l - l )

1 ( a t 1 )22

For BATTLESKETCH he system,whichwith practiceookabout10-15minutes. asas ollows:

Draw2 (reasonably)denlical ket€hmaps f the battlefield;one oreach ide, ased n heirscouts'epons.You maywanttohaveafew ypical errain ketchesre-prepared.

Cet eachCommandero skerch nlo hismap hedisposilions

of his"front

line" troops, eavingout reserves nd forcesconceFledrom heenemy'sscouts.ake hesemaps side.

Copy the Commander\sketchonto his opponent'smap,makinganyadditions nd deletions syou hink air, andpasseach neback o theCommanders.

EachCommanderhenhas5 minuteso plot his eservesif



24

any),andsketchhis ntentions n diagrammaticorm, with notesif necessary. he Command€r must decide which part of hisplan shisMainPointof Effort (MPE).

You should hen work out which Divisionsare attackinswhrchDrv'sions f lhe enemy orce.andwhicbunirsbrnefiiiiom the support of reserves.You should then work out theCombat Factor or eachDivision.

The units with the highest combat factors win. Any ratiosgreater han 2:1

are otally decisive,and he lowerfactoredunitwil break, osing grades. ratio of 1.5:l will win, with thelower actored nit losing grade-Ratios ess han 1.5:1areindecisive ndwill only result n victory if 66% of allunits on onesideare higher actored han their opponents.

When 2 Divisionsare attacking ne,you should ork outeachone n isoladonand, only after aniving at the final CombatFactor, hould ouadd he esultsogether.

BATTLESKETCH example:

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BAI'TLESKETCHFACTORS BATTLESKETCHGRADES

The following facton arecalculated or eachDivision involved

in, whatyouas he Umpire,decides the decisive ointof theCommander'sketch f theattack.With a ittlepra€tice oucansee which attacks will be inconclusive (and th€refore areirelevant) andyoucan thenconcentrateonly on the imponantareas f thebattle. f theCommander asdoneanything ight,thisshouldcoincidewith his Main Pointof Effort!

You should rot sho$thes€ aclors o lbc players.

FrenchI Corps

II Corps

III Corps

IV Corps

V Corps

VI Corps

SpanishArmy of Estremadura

lstDivision2nd Division3rd DivisionCavalry

lst Division2nd Division3rdDivisionCavalry

lst Division2ndDivision3rd DivisionCavalry

lstDivisioo

2nd Division3rd DivisionCavalry

lstDivision2nd Division3rdDivisionCavalry

1stDivision2ndDivision3rd DivisionCavalry

lstDivision

2ndDivision3rd DivisionCavalry

lstBrigade2ndBrigadeGuard nfantryGuard CavalryLine Cavalry

StSebastianPamplonaVitoriaLogrcno

ValladolidBurgos

vanguardlst Division2ndDivision

4444

4444

Factors:GradeofDivision:Add 50%of thegrade f reserve nits rcundup):Reserves ansupport up to 3 Units.A Unit canonlybesupportedy I Reserve f each ype,such s

an nfantryDiv anda CavalryDiv;but by anynumber f guns.Add 50%of henumber f reserve nillervDiec€s: + ?Additionally, dd he ollo*ing:

Unit has50% rillery superiorityUnit has 00% rtillery uperiorityUnithaslots f artillery, ndopponenthasnone

Defending astream, all,hedgelinercopseaslope, unkenoador orcharda hill, farm cornplex,or wooda iveror villagea ortified town or cliff

+1-6+1-3

+1+2

+ 1

+5

3333

4

454

4

4443

The\e acrors re.of course. orshown n theCampaigD ap. ...^bul should epresento some xtent n theskerch f rhebanle v ll (rrp!

Unitattacking downhill +1onthe lankofthemainenemyline +2behindtheenemymainline +4 MadridReserve

aspartof a combin€d orc€(inf+ cav+ arty) +1

+ 1+t+ l-1 Garisons-3

Elements re:separatettacksorphasesn aplan.The Command actors hownaboveonly apply o the Divs

involved n the Commander'sMain Point of Effort.

Commanderfinished

hissketchirstmade he easlmistakesonskerclplannvolves -3elementsplan nvolves4elementsplan nvolv€s5 ormoreelements

Unit n which heCommanders ocated:RaDdom actorOther factor decidedby the Umpire as best

4

444

+ 1

meets he

43223

2232

22

233



25

Army of La Mancha

Army of Galicia

BridshArmy ofthePeninsula

CorpsSilveira

3rdDivision4th Division5thDivisionlst CavDiv2nd CavDiv

lst Division2nd Division3rdDivision

4th DivisionCavDivision

lst Division2nd Division3d Division4th DivisionCavDivision

lst Division2nd Divisio!3rd Division4th DivisionCavDivision

Light Divisionlst Division2nd Division3rdDivision4th DivisionCavDivision

lstDivision2ndDivision3rd DivisionCavDivision

5

5

lst Division2ndDivision3rd DivisionCavDivision

33333

433

33

33333

565554

4333

33322

4332

THE HAiiOSAIE WANGATENSCLUB

IBADE STATDS

PAiIICIPAT|('II GAIEA

& B|'Y

CorpsWilson

Lisbon Reserv€

Portugu€s€AJfmy f Po(ugal

TJMPIRENOTES

The best way of running this campaign s to photocopyeachofthe disposition maps and the backgound information anddistribute them to the players. You should then make anenlargement f the maincampargn nap. f you are eeling rich,you can do this at PmntaPrina, or some other High Streetphotocopyshop,and heycan enlarge he map rom A4 sized oA1 in a singleprocess.They will have o send t away,and t willcost anything up to f10 for a single copy - but the result isfabulous,andwill last forev€r if you cover t in fablon. ff youdonl fancy.thismethod, then a simple A3 copy is quiteadequate. n addition to these or eachplayer, the Umpire willrcquire another copy to act as the "Supply and Int€lligenceR€pon Map". An A4 copy s fine for thispurpose.

The Umpirc should henget generalorder frcm the Playersas o th€ir intentionsfor the next few weeksof game ime; eg:"Soultwith II Corps s to advance nto Portugal n order ro cutoff Welesley's supply ines from Lisbon, with assistancetom

Ney and VI Cnrps."Having decided on a plan, the players are to advis€ the

Umpire of themoves n each um in strict rotation, $aning withthe nearestunits to the player's ocation. Thesemovesare o bein accordancewith the gen€ralorden issued. f there s a majorchangeof plan, new orderswill have o be written and hesewill

take a we€k to implement; during which the Unit involved caneither continue with the previousorders or do nothing (whichcanbe dangerousf food s scarce!).

I would advise aking he game n 2 or 4 day tums, onlyslowingdown o I day tums when t is necessaryo plot the finedetailof the moves. o this end, t is essentialhatyoukeepacaretul €alendarso that intelligence updatesare givenroughlyon time (som€enors either way areperfectlyrealistic after allintelligencegathering n this period wasnot an exactsciencebut too much orgedulness akes he Umpire ook stupidandtheplayen will quickly loseconfidence).The reports should besimilar o: "The Army of Estemadum s rcported to the southoftbeRio Tajo, nearTalavera n the23d, heading ast.

When you are advising he playen as to the €stimatedstrengthof the enemy orces acing hem, t is essential hat yourcmain consistent. t is realistic hat the figuresgivenmay w€llbe wrong, but if you

dice andomlyeach im€you give

an updatercport, theplayerswill soonwork out the correct average.Whatyoushould do is work out whatfigure wi be reported, make anote of it, and report the same igure each ime. The estimateshouldonly change fter a majot event,suchas a battle, adetachment f a Division, or whenan Army rcachesa town usrafter the other army haspassedhrough t.

I havea modemroad mapof Spainand Po(ugual, bought ora fewpounds rom agarage. t is mostus€fu|when you need ofill in the little detailsabout ocations, suchaswhena battle isabout to take place in an area rhat is quite blank on thecampaignmap. Beingable o find the nameof rhe nearestvillage and where the streams and hills are males all thedifference henyouareprcparingtheayour I thebattlefield.

Lastly, be preparedfor the odd mistake. Point out to theplayen that what is shonn on the master Umpire map is"reality" no matter what he play€Nhaveshownon their map,s.If thereareany differenceshat occur, hesewill be he resultsofmistaken cports, rumoursand alse nformation spreadby theenemy! asoppos€d o anUmpire cock-up . . .).

PnESEIIITS

AI

COMPETITION

MECHFOBCEK

Peninsular Campaigns

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