Neil Thomas One Hour Wargames Scenario 29

Scenario 29 in Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames, entitled straightforwardly enough as 'Shambolic Command', is based upon a battle which I have re-fought quite a few times (e.g. here): Medina de Rio Seco, one of the early Peninsular War battles. The 'shambolic command' referred to is that of De La Cuesta, often considered one of the most incompetent commanders of the entire Napoleonic Wars. In typical Thomas style, this is a brutally simplified but still recognizable version of the battle.

 

 

 

As usual, I used Polemos: Ruse de Guerre for this refight. Changing things up slightly though, instead of 'Jacobite Wars'-themed forces, I used a Franco-Spanish force instead.

 

 

The Forces:

Franco-Spanish: 5 bases of Infantry, 2 bases of Artillery, 2 bases of Cavalry

British: 3 bases of Infantry, 1 base of Dragoons, 2 bases of Cavalry

 

The object of the battle is to control the high ground at the end of the game. The Franco-Spanish may only activate two units in any one turn (although for my purposes, any units with a target could fire; reform moves could also be done by forces of any size, although only two of the units could actually move in a single turn during the reforming - this will all make sense if you are using a Polemos set!).

 

The Set-Up:

View from the Franco-Spanish baseline: the main force occupies the high ground, a reinforcement of 2 infantry units and the artillery is moving up.

A closer look at the troops on the hill

and from the front

and the reinforcements: the French Regiments du Roi and de le Reine, along with the guns

The Battle:

The British strategy is fairly direct, attacking straight away with Horse and Foot, whilst the Dragoons guard the flank

Another view, because why not?

The first British attack meets with pretty much universal defeat; the infantry attack is stopped by firepower, with one of the regiments routed; the cavalry is seen off by half its number; the only bright spot is that the French gunners have been driven off by close range musketry

Meanwhile, the French infantry march forwards to assist

The British infantry and cavalry reform, ready for another go, although the musketry exchange still continues

The British are once again pushed down the slope - however, the continuous musketry has eventually taken its toll on the right-hand Spanish infantry battalion (centre)

Which breaks and runs...

The British cavalry put in yet another charge, whilst the Spanish infantry counter-attack down the slopes against the disordered British infantry

Both attacks fail; the British cavalry are bundled down the hill again, whilst the Spanish infantry recoils back up the slopes

Then a devastating volley rings out, as the leading Spanish battalion crumples under the weight of British musketry...

...which breaks and runs, disordering its supporting battalion...

...which in turn runs, as the Spanish infantry remnants recoil en masse...just as the French infantry is arriving to start intervening in the action!

However, the collapse of the Spanish infantry leads to a general rout of the Franco-Spanish...

 

Game Notes: 

Another good fun game, although it all ended rather abruptly when the Spanish infantry brigade collapsed.  The British tactics might seem a bit crude, but given the command constraints on the Franco-Spanish side, it felt like the best way to overmatch the Franco-Spanish by giving them too much to deal with. In retrospect, I should have allowed the Franco-Spanish to move 3 units per turn, to scale up in accordance with the slightly increased numbers of units used in my games.  Otherwise, the Spanish troops fought well, although they were unlucky to lose their artillery support very early, and for their victories over the British cavalry to be so indecisive. The attack of the Spanish infantry was a risk well worth taking despite its ultimate lack of success, it was much better odds than waiting for the British to reform and volley-and-attack again. I don't think there is much else to mention that I haven't already dealt with...a good, fun game, and quite recognizable as a bit like Medina de Rio Seco, despite its much simplified form! I suppose I might note that this battle really shows the difference when using the more firepower-focused Ruse de Guerre rules compared to the much more shock-focused Polemos: General de Division Napoleonic set.

Figures by Baccus 6mm