AAR Battle at SEPÚLVEDA, 1808

Hi All

I thought I’d share an After Action Report (AAR) of a recent LASALLE Game I and my good mate Mark played today.

The Scenario we played was based on a LASALLE Scenario plucked from the HONOUR SCENARIOS WIKI. The engagement was based on the Battle at SEPÚLVEDA, 1808, (prelude to Somosierra)

http://sites.google.com/site/honourscenarios/scenario-somosierra-30-november-1808/scenario-sepulveda

Now, I hate to sound like a prat, but for me, the scenario wasn’t terribly well written. It was unclear to me what parts of the river were fordable (based on the diagram provided), and the ORBATs seemed incomplete as there was what appears to be reference to Artillery in the text:

“Only a few gunfires are the farewell of the French forces that are obliged to retire”.

Yet there is no mention of Artillery in either force!

I think part of the problem might stem from the author of the scenario not having English as his (her?) first language.

Consequently Mark and I decided to give each side a Battery of Artillery (4 x Medium Guns for the Spanish, and 3 Medium Guns and a Howitzer for the French).

We also decided that the river along the front of the high ground would be fordable, and the Spanish would initially be compelled to stay 20cm back from the edge of the hills until the French started to cross the river.

Another modification to the scenario was the fact i didn’t have 4 Battalions of Fusilier Grenadiers at hand. Consequently we used one Battalion of Young Guard and 3 battalions of grizzled Veterans, (all were Valiant/Experienced/SK2)

The only other difference was that we allowed the French to have ENGINEER support.

So, here is the MODIFIED ORBATS:

French order of battle:

Imperial Young Guard Infantry Brigade (Vigor +1/ Tactics -1)- General Savary.

1eme Young Guard, (1 batalions/unit) Valiant/Experienced/SK2

57eme Line, (3 batalions/units) Valiant/Experienced/SK2

Lasalle´s cavalry Brigade. (Vigor +1/ Tactics +1) - General Lasalle

10eme Chasseurs a Cheval ,. Valiant/Experienced/Pursuit

9eme Dragoons, Valiant/Experienced/Pursuit

1 Line Artillery a Pied, 3 x Med Gun, 1 x How.

(BELOW) General Lasalle!

Spanish order of battle:

Brigada mixta de infantería y caballería.(*)

Commander in chief General Serdaigne. (Vigor -1 Tactics – 0)

Infantry.

Combined Grenadier, (1 batallón/unit) . Reliable/Experienced/SK1

Regimiento de infantería de línea Jaen, (2 batallones/units) Reliable/Amateur/SK 1.

Regimiento de infantería de Royal Fusiliers, (2 batallones/units) Unpredictable/Amateur/SK 1

Voluntarios de Sevilla, 1 batallón/unit. Shaky/Amateur/SK 1

Cavalry: Reales Carabineros, (150 troopers aprox.) and Regimiento de línea Alcántara y Montesa, (400 troopers aprox) (1 unit)(**) Shaky/Amateur

1 x Artillery Battery 4 x Med Guns

So how did the game play out?

The deployments can be seen in the photo below:

The Spanish (Me), deployed with the bulk of the infantry to the left of the Battery. Only one Battalion of Regimiento de infantería de Royal Fusiliers was to the right of the Battery. The Combined Grenadiers were held in reserve and the Cavalry was posted behind the Battery.

The Volunteers of Sevilla would move off to garrison the town as soon as the French crossed the river.

(BELOW) The Spanish Deployment.

Marks plan saw all his Cavalry massed on his left, with his infantry aimed at my left.

The first few turns saw the French move across the river and head up the slopes with drums beating. One battalion of the 57^th peeled of to my left looking to storm the town whilst the rest of the French host pinned the Spanish on the high ground.

The most dramatic event saw both French cavalry units charge up the hills. The 9^th Dragoons heading for the 1^st Royal Fusiliers, 1^st Battalion, and the Chasseurs charged the Battery!

The Fusiliers formed Square, but were cut down and sent fleeing to the rear, but the gunners stood to their guns and blasted the 10^th Chasseurs a Cheval.

The French light cavalry bounced back, only to be blasted a second time and sent fleeing. General Lasalle himself, at the head of the 10^th Chasseurs a Cheval was wounded, and saw no further action in the battle.

The 9^th Dragoons, flushed with success over the Spanish Square now charged on towards the shaky Spanish horsemen’s flank. Amazingly the Spanish cavalry calmly changed facing and met the dragoons head on. The Spanish cavalry repulsed the Dragoons and then charged after them, routing them!

In two turns the entire French cavalry force had been put to flight!

Meanwhile the French infantry continued their advance up the slope. Both Battalions of the Spanish Regimiento de infantería de línea Jaen advanced to meet them.

The initial fire fight went badly for the Spanish, (that extra die for skirmish advantage for the French does tell). Consequently I decided cold steal was a better option than hot lead and ordered both battalions to charge.

One battalion was routed, (first being reppeled then finished off with a follow up charge by the French); however the 2^nd Battalion faired better. Although their charge was repelled, they reformed and delivered a devastating volley that broke the Frenchmen opposite them.

At the same time the Young Guard was taking withering fire from the Battery, who was plastering them with canister fire. Try as the Young Guard might, they couldn’t rally off all the disruption that was being inflicted upon them.

(BELOW): General savary orders the withdrawal while a relieved General Serdaigne and his escort call it a day.

Sensing victory would not be possible, General Savary reluctantly ordered a withdrawal,..

This was the second time I played this scenario. The first time I played it against another mate of mine, the French went much closer to winning, but still had to retire. Both games played differently, but in the end, (just like in the real battle), it was just too much of an ask for the French.

I enjoyed the game, and i think Mark did also. The game was knocked over in a little over two hours.

Below are photos from the game.
The Early part of the game. As the French start to cross the river, the Spanish battery opens up.

BELOW: The Spanish Battery continues to fire as the Spanish 1t Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers forms square
BELOW: The two Battalions of the Regimiento de infantería de línea Jaen await the French!

BELOW: The same situation, but from the fiew of the French 57th Line (1st and 2nd battalions)

BELOW: The Spanish Battery and the 1st Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (in square) receive the French Cavalry

BELOW: Crunch time approaches for the Spanish on the left!

BELOW: The Spanish infantry in square have been swept away, and now the 9th Dragoons are sweeping towards the Spanish Cav. The Spanish Guns make ready to deliver a final blast of canister into the wavering 10th Chasseurs a Cheval.

BELOW: The Militia garrison the town, as the 3rd Battalion of the French 57th approach.

BELOW: The 2nd Battalion of the 57th advance through the hole where the 2nd Spanish Linea Jaen was. The Combined Grenadiers ready to plug the gap,..

BELOW: The 2nd Battalion Linea Jaen delivers a crashing volley into the 1st Battalion of the 57th,... (they are no more). The Young Guard continue to take withering fire from the Battery and the 2nd battalion of the Royal Fusiliers

BELOW: The French 3rd Battalion of the 57th Line halt just short of the town, "Mon Du, is that the re-call I hear"?

BELOW: The end!

Feel free to leave a comment.

Cheers

Lasalle; A Battle report: Part 3

ABOVE: The 33rd Foot Fires a volly at the hard charging 5th Hussars. It wont be enough to halt them and the Englishmen will soon be ridden down! Meanwhile the British 7th Dragoons try to hold back the 1st Hussars and the Lancers

CRUNCH TIME:

Following on after Turn 8 I’ll now run through quickly how the battle played out.

ABOVE: The 33rd's two HITS v the 5th Hussars 5 HITS! "Goodnight the 33rd"!

In the North the French 1^st Hussars and Lancers charged into the Brit’s 7^th Dragoons as the French 5^th Hussars charged the 33^rd Foot. The 33^rd failed to form square and were ridden down.

In the centre the French launched an assault on the town with Engineer Support. The Spanish Militia rolled very badly and were bundled out of the town with heavy losses. Their efforts for the day were at an end.

BELOW: The Spanish Militia try to hold back the keen French conscripts, but it's all to no avail.

ABOVE: The 69th fires a volly then charges the French.

BELOW: The 69th and 44th Foot attack the French! The French Dragoons test to counter-charge and pass. The cry of "Vive Le France"! is screamed as the Dragoons sweep forward,..

The 69th Foot suffer two in-conclusive results and are driven back!

In the south the Veteran French battalions, supported by the Dragoons, launched a co-ordinated attack on the 69^th and 44^th Foot. The 69^th Charged downhill at the French Battalion threatening them, only to be counter-charged by the Dragoons. They had an inconclusive result against the Dragoons, but were bested by the French Infantry and withdrew back to their start point, worse for wear. The 44^th didn’t succeed either, and were driven back. To make matter worse, the 44^th now had a Conscript Battalion threatening their right flank!

BELOW: The 44th Fire a Volley and then Charge the French Veterans!

BELOW: The RA Battery fires but roll only 1 "6"!


Back to the North sector, and the 7^th Dragoons finally broke under the combined weight of the 1^st Hussars and their Lancer comrades. The only good news was the success of the fresh and rested 2^nd Dragoons charging and routing the French 5^th Hussars, blown after destroying the 33^rd Foot; and the 1^st Foot Guards managed to drive back the Conscript Battalions. But now the Foot Guards had the Victorious French Battalion that had stormed the town pouring out behind them, and the French Chasseurs a Cheval were forming to charge the only British cavalry on the battlefield, the tired 2^nd Dragoons.

BELOW: The 1st Foot Guards score 5 HITS to the French 3 Hits

The British commander conceded defeat and ordered a withdrawal.

BELOW: The 2nd Dragoons and The Foot Guards are successful, but "the jig is up"!



FINAL THOUGHTS:

The rules are very easy to understand and they give what I consider a realistic result.
They are often described as "a clean set of rules", and by that I suspect people mean you don't get bogged down in piles of charts. I particularly like the way "Skirmishers" are tackled. You get the "eye candy" by using "Markers" to represent their presence, (that is if you want to use markers); but none of the hassle of having to "fiddle around" with companies of lights when all you want to do is drive your Bridage forward. They ARE there, and their effects are obvious, just none of the hassle game-wise.
Artillery is also well handled, with bounce through a consideration and Canister fire can be devastating!
The use of Engineers / Sappers to assist in clearing field works and other defences is also well simulated.

I do wish the index was more detailed, but this is a minor point because the rules a written in a way that make referencing a breeze,…

Getting use to the idea that in your turn you are the DEFENDER takes a bit of getting use to, but once accepted the game flows very easily.

This is a game that rewards a combined arms approach and the maintenance of a reserve.
I'm very impressed!

EXTRA NOTES:

I played the game over 3 days, (because I was in the process of moving my apartment to my house, had a ton of "end of year" functions to attend, and have a very demanding 14mth old).
It would have gone for about 4.5 to 5 hours I think.
Now that I'm across the rules, about 3 hours would have done it.

What I meant by (to para-phrase) "..the rules reward a player who maintains a reserve" is just that. If you (the player) can maintain troops in reserve and be the last player to commit them you'll probably be victorious. In my game the Brits had thrown everything in, and the French still had the Chasseurs a Cheval and about 2 fresh, uncommited Battalions to throw in. Even though the 2nd Dragoons and 1st Foot Guards were doing well, they would soon be countered by Fresh units, or Infantry in their rear, (thanks to the failures of the Spanish militia to hold the town and the final collapse of the 7th Dragoons). The Highlanders would have been better off as a central reserve, (behind the town), and the 33rd should have formed square earlier, (probably on the reverse slope of Northen Hill).

Thoughts on bases for 28mm:

I'll probably go with 40mm square bases with 4 figs (2 x 2).
45mm x 40mm with a frontage of 3 figs in 2 ranks would also look good.

Trailape OUT!

P.S. You can find a detailed review of "Lasalle" at the RULES DIRECTORY. (Highly Recommended)

AB and Fantassin Miniatures Spanish Militia

Hi All
Inspired by my friend Dan's sterling work in painting my Wurtemburg, Saxon, Westphalian and Bavarian troops, I thought I'd have a crack at painting some Spanish Militia.
BTW, check out Dan's work at his Blog: Gunner's Wargaming
So I ordered the figures and decided to hook in. Too easy, no real study required, (after all, they are militia, and Spanish at that), so I just painted them what ever colours took my fancy, (SHOCK, HORROR; I can just imagine the anal retentive crying in their Osprey's now).
Also, if I made a real arse of it, who cares, they are Militia after all,.... didn't I already say that.

All the miniatures are 18mm AB or Fantassin Miniatures. The fantassin figs I purchased via SCALE CREEP, (who, BTW provide OUTSTANDING customer care and service)

The AB MINIATURES I purchased from EUREKA Miniatures here in Australia, who also are a fantastic business to do erm, um business with.

Above: The brave Spanish Militia of unknown origins marches out of the sleepy village, bent on revenge against the vile French.

OR:

Below: The cowardly and murderous Spanish Militia feebly attempt to hold back the valiant French!

Bases are from LITKO. Flags are the free Spanish download types from warflag.

Please feel free to leave a comment or two.

Cheers!

More AB MINIATURES Spanish

Hi All

Yep, more Spanish!

Here we see them in mass!

The Cavarly were painted by DRAGON PAINTING SERVICE in Hong Kong.

Below we have the Fusiliers and the Princessa Regts advancing under withering fire from the French!

Spanish On the Fly,..

Hi All
Here are some pictures of my Peninsular War (1808-1814) Spanish.
All are AB MINIATURES and the vast majority were painted by Reinforcements By Post, (certainly the Spanish on this page were painted by RBP).
RBP did a great job of these guys. I based them no LITKO bases, and geot the flags from WARFLAG and NAPFLAG, (free downloads). You can find links to the Flags on the left of this page.
First is the Princessa Regt. (I've use JENA PRUSSIANS as casualties, as their uniform is close enough to the early Spanish uniform for me)

Next is a "Fusilier" Regt. Not sure of the details of this unit. I wanted them painted like the ABs painted and displayed on the EUREKA MINIATURES web site.













Next is the "FERNANDO VII Regt":













Below is The "Regt des Asturies" (as named on the Liehart & Humbert uniforms web site)

I'll add more SPANISH soon.

Trailape OUT!

AB Miniatures SPANISH. Painted by RBP.

Hi Team

Here are some pictures of the Spanish Napoleonics I commissioned RBP to paint for me.

(see the review of their service here).

As usual, painted to a very high standard. I've not completed the basing yet, (still awainting the flocking), but I guessed some of you would like to see how they came out.
All the miniatures are the magnificent 18mm AB MINIATURES available from EUREKA MINIATURES in Australian. I think Fighting 15s produce them in the UK.
They are almost all from the AB Miniatures Spanish range of figures. The casualties are actually from the AB Miniatures EARLY PRUSSIAN Range, (Jena 1806).

CHEERS!

The bases seen here are from Litko BTW, (highly recommended).