Casa de Salinas - Talavera, Game One

The calm before the storm

British Order of Battle, showing unit strength/quality, officer quality/command range
[ 501] Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley - Active A [1500 paces]

Division Sir Alexander Mackenzie - Defend Orders
[ 502] Major General Sir Alexander Mackenzie - Active C+ [800 paces]
[ 501] 2/24th Foot (Warwickshire)  708 C
[ 502] 2/31st Foot (Huntingdonshire)  660 C
[ 503] 1/45th Foot (Nottinghamshire) 680 C+
[ 504] Mackenzie's Bde. Light Bttn. 228 C

Brigade Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin - Defend Orders
[ 503] Brigadier General Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin - B [450 paces]
[ 505] 2/87th (P of Wales Own Irish) 539 C
[ 506] 1/88th (Connaught Rangers) 539 C
[ 507] 5/60th (Rifles) 220 B
[ 508] Donkins Bde. Light Battalion 175 C

Brigade George Anson - Defend Orders
[ 504] Brigadier General George Anson - Active C+ [400 paces]
[ 509] 23rd Light Dragoons 459 C
[ 510] 1st KGL Light Dragoons 451 C+

Strengths:
3749 Bayonets
910 Sabres
4659 Total of all arms
10 Standards present

Map showing British setup areas in red, French arrival area in blue

French Order of Battle, showing unit strength/quality, officer quality/command range 
[ 101] General de Division Pierre- Bellon Lapisse - Active C- [725 paces]
[ 115] 2/3me Artillerie a Cheval 155 [ 4 Guns, 2 Howitzers] C

Brigade Solignac - Attack Orders
[ 102] General de Brigade Solignac - Active C [350 paces]
[ 101] 1/8me Regiment de Ligne 489 C
[ 102] 2/8me Regiment de Ligne 460 C
[ 103] 3/8me Regiment de Ligne 462 C-
[ 104] 1/54me Regiment de Ligne 498 C
[ 105] 2/54me Regiment de Ligne 457 C
[ 106] 3/54me Regiment de Ligne 497 C-
[ 107] Solignac's Voltigeurs 569 C

Brigade Laplannes - Attack Orders
[ 103] General de Brigade Laplannes - Active C- [350 paces]
[ 108] 1/16me Regiment de Legere 494 C
[ 109] 2/16me Regiment de Legere 462 C
[ 110] 3/16me Regiment de Legere 487 C-
[ 111] 1/45me Regiment de Ligne 454 C
[ 112] 2/45me Regiment de Ligne 498 C
[ 113] 3/45me Regiment de Ligne 482 C-
[ 114] Laplannes Voltigeurs 564 C

Strengths:
6873 Bayonets
155 Artillerists
6 Cannon
7028 Total of all arms
4 Standards present


The attack by General de Division Lapisses columns began at 13.00 on a hot sultry afternoon with just the hint of light rain and a summer thunder storm in the air. The last units of General Cuesta's Spanish columns had passed the Casa an hour and a half previously followed by General Sherbrooke's 1st Division, and the ground about the derelict farm was littered with redcoats relaxing in the shade of the trees. Staff officers could be observed riding up to the buildings and going and coming, with their focus very much towards the road leading down through the trees towards the River Alberche and the approaching army of King Joseph.

Just occasionally the pop pop of skirmish musket fire could be heard as pickets exchanged compliments to one another, only the firing started to become more insistent and officers and soldiers alike would look up from their idle conversation towards the distant shots.

General Lapisse's voltigeur screen probes ahead feeling out the British position

Colonel Jean Pierre Dellard was very proud of his regiment. The 16me Legere carried the battle honours of Jena 1806, Eylau 1807 and Friedland 1807 on their Colour and were eager to lead the attack on the English. To them, had been given the honour to spearhead the assault towards the position where the enemy line was expected to be and his men braced themselves for the first contact with the enemy.

Donkin's Light Battalion, should have been on picket duty but were lazing in the sun with the rest of the brigade

Surely they should have met the English picket line by now, he thought. Perhaps we have misjudged our enemy and he has departed unobserved, ah no matter, en avant.

Mackenzie's Light Battalion, doing their job, patrolling to the front

Suddenly a shout of alarm from the trees up ahead and a rapid exchange of musketry announced the two lines had found each other. The 87th Foot were at ease, spread around on the ground when the alarm was raised, with men jumping up to grab their arms. Turning round in the direction of the French positions, the first of them crumpled and fell back to the ground as the first shots from French voltigeurs flew through their little glade amongst the trees.

Stand to, stand to !! In a matter of minutes about half their number had gathered around the Colours, forming a two rank line, facing the tree line where the voltigeurs fired and calmly reloaded one after the other.

Those blinds behind the voltigeurs are the three battalions of the 16me Legere, with a dummy blind in the mix

The "light bobs" of Colonel Donkin's brigade were the first to respond to the call of alarm. The small unit was quick to form up into open order and with a skirmish line ahead moved down the road from the Casa to be met by a column of legere probing towards the building. They opened fire, deliberately searching out the officers and ncos, as the French battalion started to deploy into line.

First contact as the voltigeurs attack the 87th Foot, Donkin's Light Battalions move out in open order

Meanwhile the alarm had spread along the battalions of Donkin's brigade with the 88th Foot falling into line with their Irish brothers in the 87th. They faced a similar formation of French Legere battalions deploying from the tree line ahead. The two battalions should have been deploying over a thousand men to face the threat but, due to their surprise and dispersion when the attack occurred, barely mustered half that number. Just as the order was given to "present arms" Brigadier General (Colonel) Donkin rode up and joined the line of the 87th calling out words of encouragement to steady his new battalion.

The 16me Legere move in to attack the Irish battalions, the 88th and 87th Foot, with Brigadier General Donkin attached

Given the limited visibility among the trees, the two lines found themselves facing each other at 75 paces, just over 50 yards. Even with reduced numbers in the British ranks, the volley fire at this range was bound to be telling. However Colonel Dellard was brimming with confidence as his two battalions outnumbered the redcoats by two to one.

The orders to fire, were simultaneous, and the two ranks, being so close in amongst the trees were immediately enveloped in white clouds of acrid smoke.

The French force press towards the Casa

Sir Arthur Wellesley was leaning on the ledge of one of the arched windows atop the tower in one corner of the Casa de Salinas stable yard, and had noticed a light rain had started to fall, thinking this might mean a storm tonight. Whilst considering the implications on the ground conditions for what he knew was an inevitable clash the next day, his attention was drawn to a unit of British light infantry forming up in open order and heading off into the woods along the road.

Suddenly he heard the volley fire erupt to his left and turned his glass to see what the commotion was about. "Damn me and damn Mackenzie, we've been humbugged! Stewart get to the horses we're under attack!"

The first volley from the Irish caused the 16me Legere to fall back shocked by the British musketry

The two battalions of the 16me Legere were a mess, with the smoke gradually clearing to reveal their front rank a line of dead and dying soldiers and with the remainder pushing their way back through the ranks behind. Those officers and sergeants still standing were vainly trying to physically push their men into line and face the enemy, but to no avail as the French men sought the sanctuary of the trees behind.

The 45me Ligne attempt to keep the pressure on Donkin's men. Colonel Donkin is seriously wounded in the firefight.

With the first attack held and repulsed, the British line came alive with shouts and activity as men became aware of the urgency, quickly grabbing up their weapons and seeking their place in the lines.

General de Division Pierre Belon Lapisse was desperate to know the progress of his attack. These trees they were moving through were a mixed blessing, he thought. On the one hand they gave excellent cover to mask their approach and gain surprise, but, on the other, they made it very difficult for him to command his division as a whole.

Riding through the columns of his supporting battalions he sought out General de Brigade Laplannes, arriving just in time to see the retreat of the 16me Legere. Realising the need to get his men forward as quickly as possible and regain the initiative, he sent his ADC to command Colonel Barrie, to bring forward the 45me Ligne and lead the attack on the British line up ahead.

Mackenzie's light bobs add their fire on the French

Meanwhile the men of the Fifth Battalion, 60th Rifles, had formed up and positioned their remaining four companies, just over 200 men, on the right flank of the 87th Foot. Like their other five companies, the fifth company had been detached to skirmish and joined Donkin's Light Battalion.

The thin red line holds steady

Colonel Barrie, despite his orders, was unwilling to have his men dispatched as their colleagues in the Legere had been and so held back as he allowed the voltiguer battalion to go about its work sniping the British line from the cover of the trees.

Colonel Donkin realised that he had to push the French reserve back to give his men space to pull back and break contact. The order was given to charge and the 87th Foot swept forward catching the rearward men of the voltigeur line as they attempted to hold their ground.

The effect was two fold, the voltigeur battalion was completely shocked by the sudden charge and fell back, but in getting caught had impeded the 87th Foot leaving them facing off with the 3/45me Ligne. Worst still Colonel Donkin was seriously wounded in the attack and had to be carried back behind the line.

With the 88th Foot held back as a reserve, the 60th Rifles unleashed a volley on the 3/45me Ligne, only to receive a more devastating volley back dropping half their number and causing the remainder to retreat.

The retirement begins and it nearly goes wrong

The British resistance had its effect with the 45me Ligne reluctant to press matters and with the 16me Legere refusing to advance.

General Lapisse was forced to change his attack plans and called forward the lead elements of General de Brigade Solignac's battalions.

The 8me Ligne get a successful charge in on the rear of the 87th in column, note the blue charge marker. The 88th turn to face

It is often said that to retreat in the face of the enemy is one of the hardest manoeuvres to pull off successfully, and with their leader down, seriously wounded, the men of Donkin's Brigade nearly paid the price for their inexperience.

Looking to take advantage of the lull caused to the French attack and commence their withdrawal, the 87th and 88th foot both formed column and proceeded to turn away from what they thought was a disrupted French line.

Unfortunately for the British Brigade Major Collins who had just replaced the fallen Colonel Donkin and given the order to fall back, was that he hadn't realised the French Ligne regiment moving forward was the 8me Ligne from a different French brigade.

Donkin's Brigade Major attempts to rally a shaken 87th Foot as Wellesley does the same for the 60th Rifles

The battle was in the balance with casualties so far, very slightly favouring the British rearguard.

General Solignac rode up to the 489 men of the 1/8me Ligne and called on them to charge the rear of the retiring British column, to which they replied "Non merci". The British command looked on with a sense of relief as the French line, surrounded by dead and dying comrades, refused to charge. However they were not out of danger even then, as the 87th needed at least one more march to get clear of the French line, and the 88th were forced to about face and form line to cover the retreat.

At that moment Sir Arthur Wellesley rode in among the ranks of Donkin's brigade. He quickly issued orders to Major General Mackenzie to get his first brigade clear and on the road to Talavera. Then, heading towards the 5/60th Rifles, he passed the young captain commanding Donkin's Light Battalion instructing him to fall back on the brigade covering their withdrawal.

The men of the 5/60th were disordered and halted when Sir Arthur rode up and called out to them, reminding them of their position as one of the finest regiments in the British army, they quickly reformed and march towards Anson's light cavalry brigade covering the open ground beyond.

Donkin's Light Battalion cover the brigade as it finally breaks contact

There but remained just one more roll of the dice to decide the outcome of the battle. General Solignac pleaded the honour of the 8me Ligne and demanded an immediate charge to be made on the retiring British column.

The French troops halfheartedly complied with the order and only a few companies charged forward to contact the rear ranks of the 87th Foot. The redcoats turned to defend themselves, but the feeble attack only increased the pace of the retirement without breaking the order of the column, whilst gaining little ground for the French troops.

Whilst Major Collins held the 87th together and halted them to dress the ranks, the British line had gained a march on the French pursuit and were making their way into the open ground and the succour of Anson's light cavalry, thus ending the engagement at 16.30

Sir Arthur Wellesley had managed to pull off a minor victory and salvage the terrible position his men's inexperience had put him in. The analysis of this action would have to wait as a major battle loomed on the morrow, but it was clear that his soldiers were still very much learning their jobs and over 200 men had paid the price for the lesson administered by General Lapisse's Division.

Army Sir Arthur Wellesley
[ 501] Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley - Active A [1500 paces]

Division Sir Alexander Mackenzie - Defend
[ 502] Major General Sir Alexander Mackenzie - Active C+ [800 paces]
[ 501] 2/24th Foot (Warwickshire) 0/ 708 C [sk] Good Tiring
[ 502] 2/31st Foot (Huntingdonshire) 0/ 660 C [sk] Good Fresh
[ 503] 1/45th Foot (Nottinghamshire) 0/ 680 C+ [sk] Good Fresh
[ 504] Mackenzie's Bde. Light Bttn. 7/ 221 C [sk] Average Acceptable

Brigade Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin - Defend [No Advance]
[ 503] Brigadier General Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin - Severely wounded B [450 paces]
[ 505] 2/87th (P of Wales Own Irish) 76/ 463 C [sk] Good Tired
[ 506] 1/88th (Connaught Rangers) 30/ 509 C [sk] Poor Acceptable
[ 507] 5/60th (Rifles) 101/ 119 B [sk] Good Acceptable
[ 508] Donkins Bde. Light Battalion 8/ 167 C [sk] Average Tiring

Brigade George Anson - Defend
[ 504] Brigadier General George Anson - Active C+ [400 paces]
[ 509] 23rd Light Dragoons 0/ 459 C [sk] Good Fresh
[ 510] 1st KGL Light Dragoons 0/ 451 C+ [sk] Good Fresh

Strengths:
losses/active
222/ 3527 Bayonets
0/ 910 Sabres
222/ 4437 Total of all arms
10 Standards present
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Division Pierre- Bellon Lapisse - Attack
[ 101] General de Division Pierre- Bellon Lapisse - Active C- [725 paces]
[ 115] 2/3me Artillerie a Cheval 0/ 155 [ 6] C Good Fresh

Brigade Solignac - Attack
[ 102] General de Brigade Solignac - Active C [350 paces]
[ 101] 1/8me Regiment de Ligne 0/ 489 C [sk] Good Tired
[ 102] 2/8me Regiment de Ligne 0/ 460 C [sk] Average Fresh
[W] [ 103] 3/8me Regiment de Ligne 0/ 462 C- [sk] Average Exhausted
[ 104] 1/54me Regiment de Ligne 0/ 498 C [sk] Good Fresh
[ 105] 2/54me Regiment de Ligne 0/ 457 C [sk] Good Fresh
[ 106] 3/54me Regiment de Ligne 0/ 497 C- [sk] Good Acceptable
[ 107] Solignac's Voltigeurs 10/ 559 C [sk] Average Tired

Brigade Laplannes - Attack
[ 103] General de Brigade Laplannes - Active C- [350 paces]
[ 108] 1/16me Regiment de Legere 86/ 408 C [sk] Poor Fresh
[ 109] 2/16me Regiment de Legere 75/ 387 C [sk] Poor Fresh
[D] [ 110] 3/16me Regiment de Legere 69/ 418 C- [sk] Broken Tired
[ 111] 1/45me Regiment de Ligne 0/ 454 C [sk] Average Fresh
[ 112] 2/45me Regiment de Ligne 23/ 475 C [sk] Average Acceptable
[ 113] 3/45me Regiment de Ligne 0/ 482 C- [sk] Good Tiring
[ 114] Laplannes Voltigeurs 38/ 526 C [sk] Average Acceptable

Strengths:
losses/active
301/ 6572 Bayonets
0/ 155 Artillerists
0/ 6 Cannon
301/ 6727 Total of all arms
4 Standards present
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minor victory for the British Army
As of Game Turn: 14

The British Army has suffered losses of:
[ 4%] 222 men of all arms
incl.[ 0%] 10 prisoners of all arms
[ 5%] 222 bayonets
[ 0%] 0 sabres

Honours: [ 505] 2/87th (P of Wales Own Irish)
Losses include 1 General[s]:
[ 503] Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin - Severely wounded

The French Army has suffered losses of:
[ 10%] 719 men of all arms
incl.[ 0%] 52 prisoners of all arms
[ 10%] 719 bayonets
[ 0%] 0 artillerists

Honours: [ 107] Solignac's Voltigeurs

This was a great little scenario to start the Talavera campaign off. The 87th and 88th Foot, contacted in the first attack, produced a devastating volley for their numbers which seemed to knock the stuffing out of the French.

From that moment on the French were playing catch up on a situation that started with them in the driving seat. The hold up in the attack drew away French follow up forces towards it, thus leaving Wellesley and Mackenzie's brigade free to respond by riding to take command and pulling back respectively.

The inexperience among British ranks was perfectly modelled by having myself in command of the British in my first game playing C&G. I made a cardinal error in putting both Irish battalions into column and trying to break contact instead of protecting the 87th column by keeping the 88th in line to prevent the French charge that followed my mistake. I got lucky in that the 8me Ligne were reluctant to put in a committed charge and with Wellesley close by I was able to quickly regain control of my shaken units and bring them away under command.

Tom enjoyed his time on the computer issuing forth with appropriate noises as he observed the damage inflicted by our units various actions, at one stage telling his Dad to go away from the screen and getting to much information.

The blinds and dice mechanisms used to work out British responses seemed to work well and I have changed some of the response times based on how we played it in the game. Future plays will confirm the approach adopted. These variables together with different battle plans will give this scenario added replay-ability.

The reduced table size also seemed to fit well and I came away thinking that a four by four table layout would work, as once the British fall back over the small stream into open ground, the French follow up will slow due to Anson's light cavalry thus allowing the British to break contact and a natural game ending event.

We played for three hours 7.30pm to 10.30pm getting in 14 turns of play and getting what seemed a very representative result if somewhat reversed in favour of the British.

Thanks to Steve and Tom for great evenings entertainment and a game to remember.

The Talavera Campaign - 1809

The Battle of Talavera de la Reina by William Heath

Last April, prior to launching a series of games about the Second Battle of Oporto, I posted a couple of brief summaries (as brief as I could make them, and it still filled two posts!) of how the battle fitted in to events in that part of the Iberian Peninsula, so as to set the battle in some context for those less familiar with the history.

The Campaign in Northern Portugal Part 1
The Campaign in Northern Portugal Part 2

I got some really positive feedback on those posts, so I thought I would pick up the thread before commencing on the next series of games, tonight, about the Battle of Talavera and give some background as to why Sir Arthur Wellesley was, with his Spanish allies, facing off two French armies and the Madrid reserve under King Joseph, Napoleon's elder brother.

Map illustrating the relative positions of the various armies at the beginning of the Talavera campaign in July 1809

Having liberated Oporto and driven Soult's army out of Portugal, causing him to lose his artillery in the process, Wellesley turned his attention to Victor's 1st Corps in Estremadura.

During his pursuit of Soult, Wellesley had received authority from the British Government to extend his campaign into Spain, as part of their policy to stretch French resources away from the Scheldt and the Danube Valley.

Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno, Commanding French I Corps

Leaving Portuguese General Silviera to watch the northern corridor and detaching all the Portuguese troops who had accompanied him during the Oporto campaign to watch the approaches from Leon, Wellesley marched his army south amidst reports from General Mackenzie that Victor was beginning to stir. However before committing to a plan of campaign he wrote to Spanish General Cuesta asking his views on how and whether to prosecute a campaign together.

General Gregorio de la Cuesta, commanding the Army of Estremadura

Concentrating his army at Abrantes close to the Spanish frontier, Wellesley took time to refit and reorganise his troops. Because of the demands of the Walcheren expedition, the British Government were unable to spare large numbers of reinforcements, but they did accede to Wellesley's request for light infantry and sent out the first battalions of the 43rd, 52nd and 95th, together with two troops of horse artillery plus several units from Ireland and other garrisons. Contrary winds and other circumstances kept them from joining his army before Talavera. He was also instructed to release some of his badly needed cavalry with the 20th Light Dragoons going home to recruit and the 2nd KGL Hussars to rejoin its HQ in Sicily.

At the same time he reorganised his army into the new formal divisions, creating four such formations each with two brigades of infantry, the exception being the 1st Division with four brigades including the Guards, with a brigade being two to three battalions. This would be the foundation of a new model of organisation for the British army, with Wellington, as he would later become, going on to create seven such divisions and the Light Division, each incorporating Portuguese brigades, with a few exceptions.

Alongside the reorganisation of his forces he also attempted to put his commissariat and finance arrangements into better order for the new campaign. The long marches in April and May had put considerable strain on animals and staff with a commissariat still learning on the job, and huge numbers of mules and muleteers to be arranged to support the needs of the army. This coupled with a profound lack of money produced the need to build up a war chest to pay for the transport and requisitioning of supplies along the route of march, and also to pay the soldiers as well. In this effort he borrowed £13,000 from the impoverished merchants in Oporto and obtained bills of exchange in Cadiz where the treasure fleet had just come in.

All this activity meant that the British army was not ready to move into Spain until the 28th June, crossing the border on the 3rd July.

Marshal Victor's troops (I Corps 20,000 men) lay south of the River Tagus, in a triangle, Truxillo - Cacares - Merida, so that at Abrantes, Wellesley (21,000 men) would lie on their flank and rear. In his correspondence, Cuesta (42,000 men) proposed three differing strategies

• That the British join him at Badajoz and attack Victor frontally, with two flanking columns to surround him.
• That the British cross the Tagus at Alcantara and attack Victor in the rear whilst Cuesta attacked in front.
• That the British march along the north bank of the Tagus and capture the bridges at Almaraz and Arzobispo, thus severing Victor's communications and probable line of retreat.

Of these options Wellesley was only prepared to countenance the last, for the first two could be countered by Victor by simply moving his position. However, when he wrote to accept the last option, Cuesta replied that he did not agree with the strategy and insisted instead on the British moving down to Badajoz. The possible reason for this lack of co-operation was that, unbeknown to Wellesley, his name was being mentioned in Spanish conversations as a potential Generalissimo for the combined British and Spanish armies, which did not carry favour with Cuesta who considered himself as a more preferable candidate.

On the 19th of June the situation changed altogether, when Victor destroyed all his fortified posts and moved his army north of the Tagus between Almaraz and Talavera. News had reached Madrid of Soult's defeat and consequent retreat, and with no intelligence gathering mechanism in Portugal, King Joseph assessed that Wellesley's next move would be against Mortier in Leon. This together with Victor's demands either for supplies or to be allowed to move to a more fertile area, made it obvious for I Corps to be pulled back as a first stage to reinforce any threatened area.

Victor's move brought his army closer to Wellesley and he wrote to Cuesta to urge that the British should move via Plasencia and Almaraz, whilst the Spanish attacked from the front, pointing out that with an allied combined force of 50,000 men against Victor's 25,000 men, the issue would not long be in doubt.

General Francisco Xavier Venegas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Javier_Venegas

As well as his own army, Cuesta had a subordinate, General Venegas, in command of the Army of Andalusia (23,000 men), to his right. General Venegas preferred to treat Cuesta as an equal rather than a superior and didn't align his movements towards the Tagus with the former, instead preferring to rapidly advance on Sebastiani's IV Corps (15,500 men) just south of Madrid, who when reinforced by King Joseph and his central reserve (6,000 men) reacted by presenting to offer battle. Fortunately Venegas thought better of it than to test his army of untried new recruits against a force that he barely outnumbered and withdrew rapidly to the mountains south of the River Guadiana. The allied campaign would have been imperilled if he had suffered a defeat this early in its progress.

Within a week of his move over the Tagus, Victor wrote to King Joseph complaining that his troops were starving and that he was falling back beyond Talavera to the River Alberche. This move put him further away from Wellesley of whose presence he was completely unaware, and confused Cuesta who began to push north across the Tagus, building a new bridge at Almaraz. Patrolling east towards Arzobispo and Oropesa, the Spanish general halted to await the arrival of Wellesley, who crossing the frontier on the 3rd of July reached Plasencia on the 8th.

Wellesley, leaving his army at Plasencia, rode across country to meet with Cuesta at Almaraz on the 10th of July, arriving in darkness and inspecting a Spanish honour guard by the light of torches. The next day, the meeting with Cuesta proved a difficult affair, lasting about four hours. With neither commander speaking the others language, and although both able to speak French, Cuesta refused to use the language of the hated enemy and so the discussion was translated by Cuesta's Chief of Staff, General O'Donoju, who, with his Irish origins, was able to translate in English.

The key issue that came out in the discussions was how to deal with a French threat from the north, for whilst the two generals knew that I Corps was behind the Alberche, with King Joseph's central reserve close enough to be considered a reinforcement, and that Sebastiani was at Madridejos, they had no clear idea of the numbers or locations of the northern French Corps D'Armee of Ney, Soult and Mortier. They did however feel that their combined forces of about 50,000 men were enough to overwhelm both Victor and Joseph's combined force of about 30,000 men with General Venegas under strict orders to keep General Sebastiani tied down.

Neither commander expected the French to evacuate northern Spain in response to a threat along the Tagus Valley, but they did consider that a move against Madrid would cause Mortier to move south from Avila and thus they agreed that General Wilson would command a combined flank guard of about 3,000 Portuguese and Spanish troops, with Cuesta agreeing to send two weak battalions to guard the pass at Banos.

With these arrangements agreed and Wellesley bringing up the problem of supplies, the British commander left to join his army and prepare to move up to the River Tietar whilst Cuesta would march on a parallel route via Arzobispo, these movements to begin on the 18th July, to allow for time to build up stocks of supplies and to get orders to Venegas. However the delay was to prove time wasted as only small amounts of food stuffs were coming in despite a trawl of the countryside up to Cuidad Rodrigo and there was a severe lack of transport to move it.

Crossing the Tietar at Bazagona, the two armies met each other on the 20th July at Oropesa, where Cuesta inspected the British troops. From Oropesa the two armies marched on Talavera with the Spanish having their right flank closest to the Tagus and the British along the main road with an open flank to the north.

On the 22nd July the Spanish advance guard bumped Victor's pickets to the west of Talavera and soon discovered that all of Latour-Maubourg's Dragoons were present, with the French only falling back with the arrival of Anson's Light Brigade. Falling back from Talavera with the forward infantry supports and getting back behind the Alberche, Victor was made aware, for the first time, of British troops being in the area.

Immediately both commanders began talk of giving battle the next day, for their plans had worked perfectly and Wellesley proposed attacking the French corps frontally with his army whilst the Spanish used fords over the Alberche to come up on their left flank. After some consideration Cuesta agreed.

Early the next morning the redcoats filed down to the river bank and formed up in silence, confident that the darkness had hidden their movements, but by the time daylight broke, there was no sign of their allies and it was becoming apparent that the French pickets were aware of their presence. A bewildered Welesley rode across to see what had happened, to be informed that Cuesta had changed his mind because his men were tired and he was unsure of his route in the dark. He proposed a day of rest and to attack the next day,on the 24th, even though the French trains were on the move revealing only cavalry pickets left at the end of the day. Cuesta, however, would not move.

To Wellesley, it was quite apparent that the possibility of destroying Victor was over, and when Cuesta suggested that they should follow him up even though they had heard nothing from Venegas, Sir Arthur refused flatly, particularly as his troops were now on half rations.

Consequently on the afternoon of the 24th the Spanish moved eastwards, only to discover on the 25th that not only had Sebastiani moved west to join up with Victor, but that Joseph had also joined the new force with his reserve, giving the French a concentration of about 50,000 men. With commendable prudence, which he seldom showed, Cuesta, on the 26th July, determined upon an immediate retreat.

Such a move would normally have been fraught with risk, since the French cavalry were superior in every respect to their Spanish counterparts. Despite the fact that Victor was content to chivy the Spanish army along, excusing his lack of energetic pursuit to the fact that his men were tired from their long marches, the Spanish columns were extremely unsettled by the time they reached the Alberche and a rendezvous with the British. The retreat possibly costed them about 1000 casualties.

Incredibly, on reaching the Alberche, Cuesta decided to camp on the eastern (French) side of the river and it was only after an argument and when Wellesley pleaded with him, that he could be prevailed to fall back to Talavera, under cover of Sherbrooke's and Mackenzie's Divisions and Anson's cavalry brigade. On the morning of the 27th the Spanish fell back along the highway to Talavera followed by Sherbrooke's division with Mackenzie bringing up the rear, halting briefly at about 12pm at a derelict group of farm buildings known as the  Casa de Salinas, whilst Wellesley climbed a tower in the farm to observe the approach of the French.

Thus the text brings us to the first serious contact between the Allied and French forces at Talavera, as Marshal Victor, anticipating any likely rearguard to halt in the woods near to the Casa, stealthily moved his forward infantry across the River Alberche, taking advantage of the cover provided from the smoke caused by burning French bivouacs, ironically set alight by the British as they pulled back.

Sources used:
Great Battles of History Refought - Talavera, Richard Partridge & Mike Oliver
Talavera 1809 - Wellington's lightening strike into Spain, Rene Chartrand & Graham Turner,Osprey
Wellington's Peninsular Army 1809-14, Stuart Reid, Osprey
The Peninsular War Atlas, Colonel Nick Luscombe

Next up the action at Casa de Salinas.

Casa de Salinas, Pre-Game Set Up and Ready To Go!

On the eve of playing the first game of the Talavera campaign series, I am really excited and thought I would share some set up pictures prior to playing tomorrow evening.

My old friend Steve M is coming round and together with Tom and I, we are going to kick off this new set of games. I can't think of a nicer way to spend a Friday night.

The table is set up, the armies are out and labelled up - just need to get on and play!

I have, in the past two years, reported and game mastered quite a few Carnage & Glory games, but tomorrow night, I get to play, as Tom is keen to get to grips with the computer management side of the game and I am more than happy to wield a range stick and angle measure for a change. As Steve is our guest he gets to choose sides.

This series of games will give an opportunity to try and stretch the C&G system a bit more and I am keen to see if we can streamline the blinds system originally tested in the Vimeiro game. Visibility and surprise are an important factor in this scenario and I want to model the initial contact to capture those aspects and go someway to defeat the helicopter view point that both commanders will have.

Hence you will see blinds placed on the table indicating the potential positions of the forces, but also giving an indication of formation (line or column). In addition I will use the advantage system in C&G that helps determine who gets the drop on who, when it comes to charges, to also influence who spots first.

The first four French blinds indicate the approach area of the spearhead regiment, the 16me Legere, which I have set up in company columns, but will have the option to approach in line as indicated by Oman.

The British markers indicate that the units will form up in line, but that in reality the bulk of the soldiers are lying on the ground relaxing in the hot Spanish summer sun, blissfully unaware of the peril that approaches.

In addition to the action between the opposing troops we we also have the risk that the Peninsular War is changed completely with the potential for the French to capture Wellesley as he beats a hasty retreat from the Casa.

British infantry markers - enjoying the sun and relaxing in the shade of the trees

What's this? French columns stealthily approaching the British line

In the centre of the table I have the trusty dice tower ready to adjudicate some of these command situations that will affect what inputs are made into C&G. Often as not I use electronic dice on the laptop, but we might use old technology for added fun.

The French on the right have about a third more infantry, supported by some horse artillery supplied by Victor from his I Corps reserve. The British 3rd Division, on the left,  is as shown in the recent post, and, for all but two of the units, will be their first time out on the table, so fingers crossed.

Both armies out, labelled, with orders of battle printed up and all the game play items ready to go

This game will give us a chance to play through some ideas and get an idea of the timings and is played purely as a stand alone scenario. However as we proceed to putting the full battle together I will aim to use this and the night attack scenario to impact on the full game by merging the order of battles back into the full orders of battle, something that C&G enables painlessly.

A full game report will follow this weekend.

2nd Battalion 48th(Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot - The Heroes of Talavera

I first featured the 48th Foot in my post about the 1st Battalion, back in January last year, where you can find out about the history of the regiment and an overview of its service in the Peninsular War.
http://jjwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/48th-foot-northamptonshire-regiment.html

With the completion of the 2/48th, I thought it would be interesting to look at the fighting that occurred on their part of the Talavera battlefield with the first attack of the day. The principle source used for this account is from Talavera - Wellington's First Victory in Spain by Andrew W. Field, an excellent book on the battle.

The two battalions of the 48th were at the centre of General Hill's deployment of his 2nd Division atop the Cerro de Medellin, with Brigadier General Richard Stewart's Brigade (29th, 1st Detachments, 1/48th) on the left front of the hill and Major General Christopher Tilson's Brigade (2/48th 2/66th, 1/3rd) on the right front. This after surviving the abortive night attack by Ruffin's division, where both battalions suffered minimal casualties 1/48th eight men and 2/48th three men.

General Hill's 2nd Division can be seen holding the top of the Cerro de Medellin

At 5 am a single signal gun fired from the Cerro de Cascajal initiating a tremendous artillery barrage of over fifty French cannon as Marshal Victor's I Corps Grand Battery opened up on on the Medellin opposite. The order was given to the troops to drop back behind the ridge line and lie down.

A witness described how
"they served their guns in an infinitely better style than at Vimeiro: their shells were thrown with precision, and did considerable execution."

Oman reckons this barrage went on for about forty-five minutes before the French assault columns of General Ruffin's division commenced their attack on the Medellin, as they tried to do what they failed to do the night before.

Because they had pulled back and with all the artillery smoke hanging in the air, the British heard the French advance before they saw it. The sound of French drums beating the attack through a veil of smoke, with that of the firing as the two skirmish screens came ever closer, fighting for advantage, must have been very disconcerting to the newer men.

As the heads of the columns approached within 100 yards of the ridge line, Hill gave his battalions the order to stand up and advance so they looked down on the advancing French. The six battalions delivered a shattering volley that brought the columns to a standstill, as the front ranks fell in disordered heaps and the following ranks hesitated.

Ensign Clarke of the 2/66th on the right of the 2/48th described his battalion's actions
"Our orders were to lie down behind the ridge until the enemy's column had reached the top, then to rise, deliver a volley, and charge. I was sent to the summit by the commanding officer to let him know where the enemy were and returned with the intelligence that a strong column was only fifty yards off. The volley was delivered and we rushed on them with the bayonet. At first they appeared as if they would stand the charge, but when we closed they wavered, and then they turned and ran down the hill in the wildest confusion." 

Meanwhile on the left flank of the Medellin, Wellesley ordered Stewart's brigade to charge, with a participant recording,
"on we went, a wall of stout hearts and bristling steel. The enemy did not fancy such close quarters, and the moment our rush began they went to the right-about. The principal portion broke and fled, though some brave fellows occasionally faced about and gave us an irregular fire."

The momentum of charging down such a steep slope and the adrenalin of success took all six of Hill's battalions down the hill to the Portina Brook. Some of the more enthusiastic fellows even crossed the stream and started up the slopes of the Cascajal, until coming under fire from French artillery and reserves under General Villatte.

A French account of the attack has Colonel Jamin commanding the 24eme de Ligne, shouting
"Au revoir Messieurs les Anglais" as he retired with his survivors, and receiving a mocking reply from a British officer of "Au revoir Monsieur le Colonel; au revoir messieurs!"

The French committed 4,900 men to this attack against the 3,700 British troops. They suffered heavy losses with Oman calculating the number to be about 1,300 casualties. However the British did not get off lightly suffering 750 casualties including the wounded Lieutenant Colonel Muter of the 3rd Foot who would die the next day of his wounds.

The 2/48th started the day with 567 men but would end it with 68 fewer, with 12 killed, 55 wounded and 1 missing.

My 2/48th are composed of figures from the Xan range of British infantry with the mounted officer and ensigns from AB. The Colours are from GMB Flags.

The other principle source consulted for this post was the Napoleon Series.
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Britain/Infantry/WellingtonsRegiments/c_48thFoot.html

The completion of the 2/48th, just leaves, the two battalions (1/61st and 2/83rd) of Cameron's brigade of the 1st Division to do, the two heavy cavalry regiments (3rd Dragoon Guards, 4th Dragoons), some additional artillery limbers and about half a dozen general officers to finish Wellesley's army. However the next posts will concentrate on the Spanish division of General Portago and the first scenario, Casa de Salinas.

PAW 2015 - Plymouth

Yesterday was spent pleasantly wondering around what has become my traditional first show of the year hosted by the Plymouth Wargames Association (PAW), our neighbours down the road from Exeter.

PAW 2015

The fun was added to by spending time "shooting the breeze" with friends from the DWG and I managed to pick up a few "Warmodelling" Spanish from Mr Mark Jackman at the Stonewall Figures stand, which given the recent issues getting hold of figures from the parent company, was a great help.

Stonewall Figures

Mark is rolling out his new range of French Revolution Wars 15/18mm collection, to be followed by his own Napoleonics. I have a sample pack of the Napoleonic French range and will endeavour to get them painted up for you to see.

As always I had the camera in hand and grabbed some pictures of games that caught my eye walking around the show. I really enjoy seeing how others put a game together and I get great inspiration from the effort to bring a particular battle/period to life. I have to say the American Civil War players took first prize for me, and that is high praise as I am not a keen follower of this period of history.

Sadly there was not a list of game presenters on the PAW site and I attempted to spot details as I went round, but wasn't paying to close attention as I thought I will easily identify them on the PAW site when I got home. Note to self!!

So first up was a delightful "Longstreet" game with beautiful terrain and battalions and regiments that look like units to be reckoned with. I love the rules that Sam Mustafa comes up with, and he is, IMHO, one of the leading lights in the hobby for coming up with new ways of playing games with a high fun/simulation content. So it was very nice to see the effort put in to one of his game sets.

The ACW Longstreet game 

Union Infantry en masse

Cavalry, riding horses, surely not the ACW - oops that was my Napoleonic bias creeping out!

Ah now this is much more familiar terrain for me and I will be taking a look at the real thing in June this year. If you can't identify this building, please get in contact and I will set you a reading list with a test to follow.

I recognised the faux fur blanket from previous Musket and Tomahwk 15mm games displayed at Exeter and this turned out to be a variation on the theme with Muskets and Tomahawks for Napoleonics, and why not.

La Haye Sainte in all its glory

These actions within a larger battle seem perfect scenarios for rule sets like M&T and this game certainly brought the concept to life. I wouldn't mind giving this a go with Carnage & Glory.

Next up was the War and Conquest display, which had some very nice hopolites on show. I don't know much about this rule set and I prefer multiple figure bases rather than single figures in movement trays, but a very nice little display never the less.

Spartans I presume

And last but by no means least, a stunning ACW effort in 15mm which on my extremely limited knowledge of the ACW sees river boats and gun batteries supporting troops fighting in front of a serious town or city. The rebels are defending the urban area, so Richmond?

If this was your game and you are reading this please put me out of my ignorance and get the credit for some lovely modelling and a very fine looking game.

Paddle boats galore - I much prefer a brown or green murky looking river than the azure blue one often sees.

Lots of effort to create the city outskirts

Meanwhile, over the river, let battle commence

Now those are what you call guns

So there we are, 2015 is officially underway with another PAW seen and done and another nice day out to savour.