The End of The Polemos Peninsular War Campaign

The End of the Campaign

After the crushing Allied victory at the Battle of Villoria, I decided to end the campaign at this point.  I decided that the time had come for Joseph Bonaparte to ask for an armistice and a convention in order to save the remaining Imperial troops in Spain.

Although it appears that there are lots of French units there are (this is true) and that they outnumber Wellington's forces, the situation appears impossible:

Joseph has a field army of 45,000 Infantry, 17,000 Cavalry and 96 Guns, with another 7,000 Infantry in local garrisons.
Wellington has a field army of 37,000 Infantry, 7,000 Cavalry and 108 Guns.

But fully half of the French Army is shattered and must be rested before they are ready to fight, whilst Wellington has a further 61,000 Spanish troops within a few days march.  Therefore Joseph, after consulting his Marshals and considering the recent disasters, has offered a convention.

Campaign Notes:
Although there has been the odd tricky moment, I have throroughly enjoyed this campaign.  I have fought 25 tabletop battles with wins and losses for both sides.  The Tomb for an Empire boardgame has given a very successful framework, all there have been a few minor issues to iron out in terms of the translation of the boardgame situation onto the tabletop and vice-versa.  Although I don't think I will re-start this campaign immediately, I very much hope to have another a go at re-fighting it a few years' time.
The allies were obviously much more successful in this campaign than they were in real life.  I think that the key difference was that the disasters of Nov 1808 - Feb 1809 for the Allies simply didn't happen: the Spanish armies were much further back when the Grande Armee arrived and they weren't brought into decisive battle, nor were the British driven back in some disorder in an equivalent of the Corunna campaign.  Instead, the French faced much stronger, better and well-supplied forces.  Better luck to the Imperials next time!
The above are my initial thoughts only: I will give the campaign a more detailed consideration after I have had a few weeks to mull it over.

Campaign Battle 24: The Battle of Villoria

The Battle of Villoria, late July 1809

General Situation: In a bid to increase the pressure even further upon the hapless King Joseph, Wellington has conducted a bold forced march past the French forces concentrated around Salamanca to strike the slightly isolated French I Corps.  Alarmed, King Joseph has set all of his troops in motion to succour Suchet's I Corps - and if Suchet can just hold on long enough, then perhaps superior force can even be brought onto Wellington's left flank and changing the complexion of the campaign entirely...


Orders of Battle:

The Imperial Army 

The Army of Spain - C-in-C King Joseph, advised by Marshal Jourdan

Saligny's Division: 2000 Infantry, 2000 Cavalry
Latour-Maubourg: 5000 Cavalry, 12 Guns

I Corps - Suchet (Decisive)

Ruffin's Division: 5000 Infantry
Villatte's Division: 3000 Infantry
Valence's Division: 6000 Infantry
Treillard's Division: 3000 Cavalry
Corps Artillery: 24 Guns

III Corps - Moncey (Capable)

 Cassagne's Division: 3000 Infantry
Foy's Division: 3000 Infantry
Vandermaes' Division: 3000 Infantry
Merle's Division: 6000 Infantry
Merlen's Brigade: 1000 Cavalry
Corps Artillery: 24 Guns

Imperial Totals: 31000 Infantry, 11000 Cavalry, 60 Guns

Soult's II Corps, Lefebvre's IV Corps and MacDonald's VI Corps all failed to arrive before the battle ended.

The Allied Army

The British Army - C-in-C Wellington (Decisive)

Spencer's Division:6000 Infantry
Hope's Division: 6000 Infantry
Baird's Division: 6000 Infantry
Ferguson's Division: 6000 Infantry
Craddock's Division: 6000 Infantry
Paget's Division: 3000 Cavalry
Cotton's Division: 3000 Cavalry
Army Artillery: 72 Guns

The Right Wing: C-in-C Beresford (Capable)

Anstruther's Division: 5000 Infantry
Lecor's Division: 2000 Infantry
Otway's Brigade: 1000 Cavalry
Wing Artillery: 12 Guns

Totals: 37000 Infantry, 7000 Cavalry, 84 Guns

Although the margin of Allied over Imperial strength was quite small, the Imperials would not have all their available strength at the beginning of the battle.


The Deployment:

Suchet's I Corps is deployed to defend some farm enclosures around a crossroads to the east of Salamanca.  It is not a strong defensive position!  Ruffin's Division is on the viewer's left, Valence's Division is on the right, Villatte's Division is in reserve and Treillard's Dragoons are at the top-left of the picture.

Wellington has concentrated his cavalry on the Eastern side of the battlefield too.

The size of Wellington's army compared to Suchet's Corps may be seen at a glance in this shot...

 The Battle:

Unexpectedly, first blood was to the French.  Ruffin's light infantry units see off a combined infantry and artillery attack

A second attack proved much more effective however, and the French infantry are routed

Ruffin's Division fails its morale check and the remainder of its units plunge headling into the rear.

Suchet feeds in his reserve division to stabilize the situation around the crossroads; meanwhile Wellington orders a massed cavalry charge on his right

Wellington reforms Spencer's brigades after their successful attack; whilst Lecor's Portuguese move around the flank (note Ruffin's troops retreating in the background)

Finally, some aid arrives!  Moncey's III Corps approaches from the West...

Wellington shifts the weight of his attack into the centre, attacking I Corps' artillery whilst pinning Valence's Division

Hope's Division is deployed to face the oncoming French III Corps

The British Cavalry triumph!  One Dragoon regiment was broken quickly and the remainder of the division later failed its morale test.  One British  Hussar brigade was a bit cut up

Wellington leads Baird's troops personally into the French centre; but the real damage is done by Lecor's Portuguese (top-left) who have pushed back one of Villatte's brigades over the crossroads and are now threatening the French artillery...

Same position, wider perspective

A combined British and Portuguese attack destroys the lead elements of III Corps (Foy's Division) and threatens Vandermaes' troops too

I Corps collapses - the Allied troops scoop up many prisoners

Allied troops complete the destruction of Vandermaes' Division and Merlen's Brigade - Merle's Division prevents a collapse for the moment.  Joseph declines to throw in his Guards

I Corps only salvages a single brigade from each of Villatte's and Valence's Divisions, plus the Corps artillery

The position at the end of the battle, as III Corps fails its morale check and the entire French force withdraws

Outcome: A true disaster for the French.  Wellington's forces were just too strong for Suchet's isolated corps and ripped it apart before any of the French reinforcements reached the scene.  They arrived too late and then became the focus of vicious attacks which destroyed three French formations in the space of an hour.  Allied losses were trifling - about 800, roughly evenly split between the British infantry and the cavalry.  French losses were very high however: c.12100 infantry casualties (including 7500 prisoners), 2000 cavalry casualties (including c.1000 prisoners) and 12 guns lost.  The retreating French troops were bundled back in to Salamanca.

Game Notes: A trifle disappointing as a game because the Allies proved just too strong: too strong numerically for Suchet's Corps, then too strong in quality for Moncey's motley corps.  The French had little luck, starting with the very poor terrain rolls in the first place.  Without firm anchors for the position, Suchet's force was always in for a very hard time.  Combat outcome and morale rolls continued to play a key roll in the game: the early departure of Ruffin's division (only a 1-in-3 chance) really set the dismal tone for the French battle.  The British cavalry success allowed it to reform and cause the huge casualties in the nearly encircled French infantry formations.

The game was played using the Polemos Marechal de l'Empire rules on a 5'x3' table over a homemade terrain mat.  Figures as ever from Baccus 6mm.  The game took about 2 hours to play to completion.

Campaign Battle 23: The Battle of Arevalo

The Battle of Arevalo, early July 1809

General Situation: Elio, who had retreated in the face of Moncey's surprise advance from the main French concentration area near Salamance towards the northern passes to Madrid, decided that he needed to resume his advance and threaten the French line of communication with Burgos and risk battle to achieve that objective.  Moncey, who had thought his aggressive move had been sufficient to restore the French situation, was surprised and perturbed to hear of Elio's advance and quickly moved to occupy a defensive position.  He was determined to hold on at all costs, as defeat would probably imply a retreat for the entire Army of Spain as far as Burgos, if not France itself...

Orders of Battle:

The Imperial Army

III Corps - Marshal Moncey

Clauzel's Division: 3000 infantry, 6 guns
Vandermaes' Division: 4000 infantry, 6 guns
Foy's Division: 2000 infantry, 6 guns
Merle's Division: 4000 infantry, 6 guns
Merlen's Brigade: 1000 cavalry
Corps Artillery: 24 guns

Totals: 13000 infantry, 1000 cavalry, 48 guns

The Spanish Army

IV Army - General Elio

Anglona's Division: 6000 infantry, 6 guns
Henestrosa's Division: 6000 infantry, 6 guns
San Roman's Division: 4000 infantry, 6 guns
Mendizabal's Division: 5000 infantry, 6 guns
Loy's Division: 3000 cavalry, 6 guns
O'Donoghue's Brigade: 1000 cavalry

Totals: 21000 infantry, 4000 cavalry, 30 guns

The Deployment:

 

View from the East: Spanish to the left, French to the right

A wide shot from behind the Spanish lines.  Loy's Cavalry Division is out of shot to the left, then Anglona's Division in checkerboard columns, Henestrosa's Division in the centre, Mendizabal's Division to the right.  On the French side, Merle's Division is just south of the river (top left), there is a grand battery across the road, Clauzel's Division is next to the grand battery and Vandermaes' Division is to the top-right.  Foy's Division is further right still (not seen). Merlen's Cavalry is in the rear of the French position.

Loy's Division in dead ground behind a hill, overlooking Merle's Division.

The Battle:

Elements of Henestrosa's and Anglona's Divisions advance; French artillery fire causes severe disruption in the centre

On the Spanish right, Mendizabal and San Roman's troops advance in stately fashion towards the French left-hand corps

Mendizabal's leading brigade prepares to assault Vermaesen's men

Clauzel leads a spoiling attack at the head of his light infantrymen: Mendizabal's left-hand brigade is routed!

However Mendizabal's leading brigade has pushed back Vermaesen's troops

Henestrosa, showing great élan at the head of his troops, punches a while in the French centre, overruning half the French artillery!

Clauzel led his counter-attack into the depth of the Spanish position, when a shot from a Spanish musket killed him.  The Spanish are under severe pressure in this part of the field and barely hang on...

Luckily for the Spanish, the C-in-C personally leads a counterattack into the flank of the French brigade, which is almost surrounded and severely shaken

A see-saw battle between Vandermeas' troops and Mendizabal's continues - both have lost another battalion

Moncey himself leads Clauzel's other brigade in a counter-attack and drives back some of Henestrosa's units.  Henestrosa and his leading brigade look sorely exposed (top, facing the French cavalry)

Hard fighting, reinforcements and the collapse of the rest of Clauzel's division persuade this brigade to retreat from the battle too - there is now a large gap in the French centre

General Foy suddenly goes onto the offensive, hoping to turn the Spanish right and divert attention away from the gap in the French centre; San Roman's units have been thrown back with heavy losses

Merle also attempted a counter-attack on the opposite flank.  Here the Spanish resistance was much stouter and the French have come off worst.  One Frnech battalion is broken and others have suffered severely.

Showing great determination, the disordered French troops manage to put in sufficient effective musketry to defeat the Spanihs riposte!

Foy leads two battalions onwards, routing more Spaniards and disordering others.  However, (top-right) some Spanish units have put in a very effective counter-attack

The combination of Hensetrosa and Anglona has swept away Merle from the enclosures

The French right is shattered and broken

...as have the units on the French left, all three remaining divisions collapsing more-or-less simultaneously

Loy's troopers were barely involved...and are thus fresh, ready for the pursuit!

View from the right at the end of the battle.

Outcome:

A reasonably sanguinary battle for the Spanish, but a true horror story for the French: the fresh Spanish cavalry were able to really hurt the defeated French forces in the post-battle pursuit.  The Spanish lost c.3500, almost entirely from the infantry and mainly from Mendizabal's forces which had two distinct hard fights.  The French lost c.7300, over 4000 of them in the pursuit, in addition to 30 guns.  General Clausel fell at the head of his troops, on the point of achieving an unlikely victory:

This result is likely to have the most profound consequences and there is no time for Moncey to rue the outcome of the battlefield.  He has no cavalry and his infantry are shattered: does he withdraw northwards to safety but leave the Army of Spain with Elio's army on its lines of communications with Wellington at its front?  But will the situation be even worse if he marches westwards back towards the Army of Spain.  A sleepless night to follow a bloody day for the unfortunate Marshal...

Game Notes:
A good, tight game which just might have gone to the French.  The first crisis was only resolved because of the unfortunate death of poor Clauzel at the critical moment robbed the very successful French spoiling attack of its impetus.  The second crisis was survived because every Spanish brigade held on, in some difficult circumstances.  In no individual case was a Spanish brigade more likely to break than not, but it was much more likely than not that at least one Spanish brigade would.  As it was, once Clauzel's division was broken, then it was only a matter of time before the Spanish would exploit their better position and numerical strength to overcome the (marginally) more skillful French troops.
It is noticeable that as the campaign progresses and the Spanish have suffered rather fewer disasters than their historical counterparts, the Spanish armies are becoming relatively much stronger and more capable than their historical counterparts.  Many Spanish divisions are approaching the quality levels of their opponents.  Conversely, many French divisions are at 1811-12 levels of ability rather than 1809-10 levels.
Once again, the Tomb for an Empire campaign rules provide a powerful incentive to not use cavalry in the battle but save it for the post-battle pursuit: the fresh Spanish cavalry effectively doubled the size of French losses.
I discovered I have been making a small mistake in the distribution of losses after a pursuit.  As the rule would have materially affected the way I approached this battle, I will implement it from the next engagement.  I still need to sort out the artillery! Moncey seemed to have far too much. Not that it did him much good in the end, and he did lose it all..
As ever, Polemos General de Division gave a very good game. The game did bring up what I dislike most about the rules though: the occasional clash of rules with no idea how to resolve them.  Here, it was the situation of what happens if a unit, which must pursue for 1BW after breaking its opponents, contacts another enemy unit or approaches within 1BW (which wouldn't normally be allowed)?  I have personal answers for this kind of thing, which I have either got from the forum or just given myself a common-sense ruling, but it is the kind of thing which causes interruptions in the flow of the game.
This is the first game I have played using one of my new home-made terrain mats. I tried to make this one reminiscent of the drier, browner look to many parts of the Peninsular.  I was quite pleased with how it turned out!  Otherwise, as usual, figures from Baccus 6mm and buildings from Total Battle Miniatures.  Game played solitaire on a 5'x3' table and took about two-and-a-half hours of play.

The Peninsular War Campaign - A Review of the First Game Year

I began my refight of the Peninsular War on 12th September 2013 so it has been going on for nearly three years now.  I haven't hammered it, having a large young family, an engrossing job and many other interests, both outside and inside gaming.  And this morning I completed the first year of "game time": the game clock has reached 1st July 1809.

The course of the campaign has been very interesting, both in the extent to which it has resembled the real thing and where it has diverged from it.  If you are interested in the course of the campaign but haven't followed my blogposts so far, then you can follow it here.

Overall, I don't think that the campaign has been too different from the original and nothing has felt too implausible: a credit to the Tomb for an Empire campaign rules.  Although there have been a couple of minor glitches, in general the campaign rules have been able to interface with the battle rules, Polemos Napoleonics, successfully.  The glitches, such as they were, have been:

Getting the correct, plausible amount of artillery on the map.
Deciding on how exactly one of the key attrition mechanics should work.
Getting the "march to the sound of the guns" mechanism correctly calibrated.

As a solo player, the basic mechanic I use to generate uncertainty is a card draw to activate formations of either side (although it has several nuances).  It has worked very well!

As for the course of the campaign, I think that overall, the Allies are just shading it.  The French have gained more ground in the East more quickly, with Zaragoza and the majority of the Catalonian forces in French hands already.  However, the Allies largely avoided the series of disasters which befell the real Spanish armies when Napoleon arrived in real life, by being a lot more defensive and being quicker to retreat.  And the key difference was that the British Army was able to retreat along a prepared route towards Lisbon, rather than a mad rush to Corunna to avoid being crushed by massively superior forces.  This has left a rather larger Allied army in being, which has been able to successfully fend off the main Imperial attack.

I don't know how the campaign will run from here.  I think that the situation in the East is fairly balanced and could go either way.  I think that the Imperials will have to await further reinforcements before making another serious attempt to complete the invasion of Portugal and attempt to defeat the Allied army.

The campaign has mainly been a very interesting and diverting experience.  I have enjoyed refighting the battles, which have been of vastly different sizes and force compositions and with different, nuanced aims.  But the best moment was a couple of months ago.  I was thinking of Wellington's next move, considering his options and the various possible French reactions when suddenly I thought of a passage from Petre's Napoleon's Conquest of Prussia.  This was the first 'serious' Napoleonic history book I read, taken from Peterlee public library in c.1987.  As I was going through the various options of Wellington's in my head, whilst staring at the game map, I felt myself thinking of it in the same way I had read that passage discussing Napoleon's plans and options those many years ago.  And that, to me, is what has made this a successful campaign game.  I don't think that a wargame can easily replicate the decisions an actual general makes: but it can replicate the way we think of those events as readers, perhaps even critics.  And that may be one of the virtues of a good historical campaign game.

I am looking forward to seeing where my campaign goes next!  I am hoping to get more game time this year, and perhaps next year too.  I want to try and improve both my terrain and my photography too, to make my battles and my blogposts more eye-pleasing.  And, of course, just add the odd new unit, here and there...

Thanks to all those who have read, followed and commented on the campaign so far.  In particular thanks to Paul Leniston, whose example inspired my own efforts.

Peninsular War Campaign Summary - end of June 1809

Situation at the end of June 1809:

Summary of Events:
Joseph initially began to move towards Elio's Fourth Spanish Army, based near Madrid but Elio's manoeuvrings convinced him that he would be chasing a shadow whilst moving many miles through hostile territory with Wellington's Allied army at his back.  He therefore returned nack down the Tagus, not knowing whether to attack Wellington or merely feint and then run back to Leon to regroup on Moncey and Soult.  Wellington was aggressive, threatening Joseph's lines of communication to the North so Joseph reluctantly committed to an attack.  Seeing a fleeting opportunity to attack Cuesta's small Spanish army he attacked, but the prompt arrival of the Allied forces led to a French defeat and the loss of Marshal Ney as a prisoner and the destruction of a large proportion of his army corps, although not before serious damage had been done to Cuesta's forces.  Joseph did at least manage to escape and has withdrawn to Salamanca.  To partly compensate for the disastrous Tagus valley campaign against the Allies over the last few months, Mortier was able to storm and capture Ciudad Rodrigo in a brilliant action, thus opening up an alternative invasion route for the French (n.b. see here for details of the actual taking of Ciudad Rodrigo).  Soult has withdrawn slightly from Astorga, to Benavente, in order to be in a better position to support Joseph if attacked by Wellington, whilst still being able to cover any advance by Mahy from Galicia into Leon.  Right at the end of the month, Moncey's III Corps carried out a lightning advance eastwards with the aim of checking Elio's advance over the mountains into the Segovia area.  Elio had no intention of fighting however and successfully covered by his stronger cavalry, was able to retire safely into the mountains.
On the East coast, St-Cyr withdrew from the Valencia area, fearing starvation in the desolated ground and the combined strength of the Spanish Armies of Valencia and Catalonia.  He carried out a storm of Tortosa as equally brilliant as Mortier's actions in the West, which cost the Spanish 5000 casualties in dead and prisoners.  A second attack on Tarrogona failed, however.

Imperial Order of Battle:

Army of Spain (Joseph) at Salamanca
Royal Guard: 2000 Infantry, 2000 Cavalry
Latour-Maubourg's Div: 5000 Cavalry
IV Corps (Lefebvre): 7000 Infantry, 2000 Cavalry, 36 Guns
VI Corps (MacDonald):  6000 Infantry, 24 Guns

I Corps (Suchet): 14000 Infantry, 3000 Cavalry, 48 Guns east of Salamanca

III Corps (Moncey): 15000 Infantry, 1000 Cavalry, 24 Guns west of Segovia

V Corps (Mortier): 6000 Infantry, 3000 Cavalry, 36 Guns

VIII Corps (Junot): 5000 Infantry, 1000 Cavalry, 24 Guns west of Barcelona
Decaen's Div: 3000 Infantry at Tortosa
Travot's Div: 5000 Infantry at Tarragona
Souham & Chabot'sDivs: 9000 Infantry at Hostalrich
Habert's Div: 9000 Infantry and siege train at Olot

VII Corps (St-Cyr): 16000 Infantry, 2000 Cavalry, 36 Guns at Tarragona

II Corps (Soult): 13000 Infantry, 3000 Cavalry, 24 Guns and siege train at Benavente

Rosas: 1000 Infantry
Figueras: 2000 Infantry
Gerona: 1000 Infantry
Barcelona: 1000 Infantry
Astorga: 3000 Infantry
Burgos: 3000 Infantry
San Sebastian: 2000 Infantry
Pamplona: 4000 Infantry
Tudela: 1000 Infantry
Zaragonza: 7000 Infantry
Valladolid: 3000 Infantry
Bayonne: 12000 Infantry
Zamora: 2000 Infantry
Perpignan: 2000 Infantry
Ciudad Rodrigo: 3000 Infantry


Allied Order of Battle:

IV Army (Elio): 20000 Infantry, 4000 Cavalry, 48 Guns in the passes NW of Madrid

Army of Andalusia (Castanos): 6000 Infantry, 2000 Cavalry, 24 Guns at Cadiz

Army of the Centre (Cuesta): 7000 Infantry. 2000 Cavalry, 12 Guns at Coria

Army of Galicia (Mahy): 29000 Infantry, 48 Guns at Lugo

Army of Valencia (La Romana): 13000 Infantry, 1000 Cavalry, 36 Guns at Requena

Army of Catalonia (Sarsfield): 9000 Infantry, 12 Guns

Anglo-Portuguese Army (Wellington): 39000 Infantry, 6000 Cavalry, 72 Guns
Otway's Bde: 1000 Cavalry at Plasencia
Hamilton's Div: 8000 Infantry at Lisbon

Miller's Div: 8000 Militia at Almeida
Trant's Div: 8000 Militia at Elvas

Seville: 6000 Infantry
Malaga: 2000 Infantry
Granada: 1000 Infantry
Badajoz: 5000 Infantry
La Coruna: 2000 Infantry
Cartagena: 2000 Infantry
Valencia: 3000 Infantry
Sagunto: 2000 Infantry
Tarragona: 3000 Infantry
Hostalrich: 1000 Infantry
Tortosa: 4000 Infantry
Santarem: 2000 Infantry
Gibraltar: 6000 Infantry
Almeida: 1000 Infantry
Lisbon: 2000 Infantry

Peninsular Campaign: French Dilemma

In my refight of the Peninsular War, the French Army of Spain is in a particularly tricky situation.  Wellington is on the Spanish-Portuguese border with around 50,000 veteran troops.  The French Army of Spain is in the barren territory to the east of Wellington on the Spanish side of the border.  They number about 60,000 troops of variable quality, but mainly veterans.  A Spanish army of 20,ooo troops - wildly varying quality - has re-taken Madrid and is marching northwards against the French lines of communication to Bayonne.  There are no large forces belonging to the French in the North of Spain except Soult's Corps of around 20,000 which is around Astorga, which is holding down an equally-sized although slightly less skilled Spanish force opposing it from Galicia.

So what should Joseph do?

If he presses home the attack on Wellington and fails, he will probably be destroyed.
If he retreats then Wellington will probably pursue and together with Elio will outnumber Joseph.
If he detaches a force to defeat Elio, Wellington will probably have sufficient troops to almost guarantee defeating him.
If he retires on Soult in Astorga, Wellington will mask them while Elio cuts off the army from France.

Game Map:

 
Hopefully this screen shot makes things clear.  The river is the Tagus, Madrid is to the East.

Campaign Battle 22: The Battle of Montehermosa

The Battle of Montehermosa, early June 1809

General Situation: King Joseph and the Army of Spain were in a difficult position, with every possible move dangerous.  Should they fall back into Leon?  Force a way through to Madrid and then escape?  Attack Wellington directly?  Play for time and wait until Moncey's III Corps could rejoin them from its period refitting between Salamanca and Astorga?  In the end King Joseph vacillated between the Madrid withdrawal and attack, but Cuesta's close pursuit persuaded Joseph that a precipitate retreat would be a defeat without a battle, whereas with luck he might check or defeat Wellington and Cuesta.  Noting that Cuesta was slightly exposed, Joseph has ordered an all out attack.  Could Wellington arrive in time to bring succour to the Spaniards?


Orders of Battle:

The Army of Spain - King Joseph (Plodding)

Saligny's Div: 3000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Latour-Maubourg's Div: 5000 Cavalry, 6 Guns

I Corps - Suchet (Decisive)

Ruffin's Div: 4500 Infantry, 6 Guns
Villatte's Div: 3000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Valence's Div: 6000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Treillard's Div: 3000 Cavalry, 6 Guns
I Corps Artillery: 24 Guns

IV Corps - Lefebvre (Capable)

Sebastiani's Div: 3000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Lapisse's Div: 45000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Lahoussaye's Div: 2000 Cavalry, 6 Guns
IV Corps Artillery: 12 Guns

V Corps - Mortier (Capable)

Rey's Div: 4500 Infantry, 6 Guns
Gazan's Div: 4500 Infantry, 6 Guns
Lorge's Div: 3000 Cavalry, 6 Guns
V Corps Artillery: 24 Guns

VI Corps - Ney (Decisive)

Bisson's Div: 4500 Infantry, 6 Guns
Marasin's Div: 4500 Infantry, 6 Guns
Mermet's Div: 3000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Grouchy's Div: 1000 Cavalry, 6 Guns
VI Corps Arty: 12 Guns

Infantry: 45000 Cavalry: 14000 Guns: 156

The Allied Army

Spanish Army of the Centre - Cuesta (Plodding)

Zayas' Div: 3000 Infantry, 2000 Cavalry, 6 Guns
Moretti's Div: 4500 Infantry, 1000 Cavalry, 6 Guns

Total: 7500 Infantry, 3000 Cavalry, 12 Guns

The British Army - Wellington (Decisive)

Anstruther's Div: 6000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Spencer's Div: 6000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Hope's Div: 6000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Baird's Div: 7500 Infantry, 6 Guns
Paget's Div: 3000 Cavalry, 6 Guns
Lecor's Div: 1500 Infantry, 6 Guns
Ferguson's Div: 6000 Infantry, 6 Guns
Craddock's Div: 7500 Infantry, 6 Guns
Cotton's Div: 3000 Cavalry, 6 Guns
Otway's Bde: 1000 Cavalry
Reserve Artillery: 36 Guns

Infantry: 40500 Cavalry: 7000 Guns: 90

The Deployment:

 

The centre and right of the battlefield, French at the bottom.  The terrain generator came up with a river, so I made the scenario into a river crossing scenario.  Ney's VI Corps is on the left of shot advancing over a pontoon bridge in the woods; Lefebvre in the centre with the Army reserves at the bottom below the hill; Mortier's V Corps in on the right.  Detachments of Morretti's Division are defending the central and right-hand bridge, a detachment of Zayas' Division faces the French in the woods.

A closer-in shot of the French right flank

The left-hand side: Suchet's I Corps faces another of Zayas' brigades guarding the bridge; and another shot of Ney with his leading troops across the pontoon bridge

A shot looking down the river from French left (near) to French right (far)

 

The view from the Spanish side: looking down towards the French centre and right.

The Battle

First blood to the French in the morning sunlight: Suchet's Corps (left) and Ney's Corps right successfully sieze the bridges, in Ney's case routing the Spanish opposition too.

The Spaniards fleeing (left) and the Frenchmen of Ney's VI Corps advancing (right)

Stalemate on the French right: Mortier's troops briefly gained the bridge and threw the Spanish back, but the arrival of Wellington's forces in the nick of time restored the situation.

The French artillery forced the Spaniards defending the central bridge back in disorder; again the arrival of the Allied troops in the nick of time restored the situation.  British heavy cavalry have moved up to the support of Moretti's hard-pressed infantry

Ney's VI Corps has cleared the woods and advanced to the brow of the hill and thrown back a British cavalry attack in disorder; this was merealy a feint however for Wellington to prepare his assault on the most exposed French Corps

"Bold measures are the safest": Suchet proves he isn't a general for nothing as he leads an immediate counter-attack by Rey's Division which throws back an advancing British division in confusion

A closer view of the same position

On the extreme left, the British hurriedly try to get into formation to repel Suchet's I Corps; however Wellington's attack has demolished Bisson and Mermet's Divisions of VI Corps; can Ney, leading his last unbroken division (Maransin's) halt the rout?

A closer view of the position around the wood: French infantry fleeing to the left, Lecor's Portguese have turned to face the remainder of Ney's troops.  British light cavalry look on to the exit from the wood whilst further British troops advance; and to their rear, the British cavalry (defeated by Ney earlier) is regrouping

Maransin's Division is largely broken in the woods and the advancing British light infantry seize the pontoon bridge.  Ney has fought off the attack on the last of Maransin's brigades (see Ney in the woods) but he is now surrounded...

and Ney, Marshal of France, has no option but to offer Wellington his sword!

In the left-centre, the British light cavalry has taken thousands of prisoners from Ney's fugitives; Suchet, cool-headed in the crisis, has formed a strong line to halt any further pursuit; in the extreme top-left, Craddock's division is barely holding out against Rey's infantry

Suchet has stabilised the French left-flank, but the destruction of Ney's cavalry (the Chasseurs of the Guard no less!) completes the utter defeat of VI Corps.  The French army is split into two...

On the right, Mortier's troops have fought their opponents to a standstill but have not been able to advance themselves: stalemate

Lefebevre's Corps got a nasty shock in the centre, as the Spanish infantry and British cavalry routed a Dragoon brigade from Lahoussaye's Division and advanced over the bridge!  French reserves restored the situation and the Spanish and British retired to a stronger defensive position

The Finale

The battle continued for quite a while after this without anything much of note happening!  Wellington knew that strategically the battle was won and was unwilling to risk a tactical reverse which might change that, so he methodically prepared to advance.  On the French side, Jospeh realized that a further tactical reverse might result in the loss of the entire Army of Spain, so carried out a (very skillful) disengagement without significant further loss.  The French cavalry superiority ensured that there would be no very close pursuit and the remaining French troops left the battlefield in good order.

The Results

Casualties were actually surprisingly light, except for the destruction wrought on Ney's Corps.  The Spanish lost 2400 infantry, 1100 cavalry and 12 guns, mostly from Zayas' mauled division.  The Allies lost around 1100 infantry and 250 cavalry and 12 guns, the majority from Craddock's Division which was roughly handled by Suchet's troops.  The French however lost 4500 infantry and 600 cavalry killed and wounded, but losing 6000 prisoners and 12 guns on top - along with one of the best French commanders Marshal Ney.  Although the disengagement was carried out skilfully and successfully (in recognition of which, many picked troops from I and V Corps were transferred into Joseph's Guard!), the strategic position for King Joseph is dire, as Wellington has cut off his escape into Leon.  Joseph must cut his way out the long way through the devastated lands around Madrid in the face of Spanish opposition...or surrender!

Marshal Ney, after fighting off a strong British attack, had no option but to offer his sword to Lord Wellington after being surrounded and cut off in the Battle of Montehermosa

Game Notes

There was considerable French success at the beginning of the game - the additional French commanders (the French have Corps commanders on the table, the Allies don't) give the French forces a significant tactical advantage in combat over the Allies, particularly the Spanish, who suffer from less effective skirmishing tactics too.  Luckily for the Allies, Wellington's troops turned up quite quickly after the start of this battle.  Some determined Spanish resistance in some sectors meant that Wellington was able to concentrate overwheleming forces against the most advanced Frecnh Corps - that of Ney.  And Ney was duly overwhelmed!  The French then made lots of feints, covered by strong artillery fire, to prevent the Allies opportunistically exploiting this success and all the remaining French troops escaped. 

I think this battle identified a weakness in my use of "marching to the sound of the guns rules".  Both sides have used this in the campaign and I think the mechanism is sound (each leader rolls against his initiative to march to the sound of the guns, then roll a '6' on a D6 to arrive).  However, until this point I have allowed each side to arrive en masse.  I think it would be more realistic for troops to arrive one formation at a time from that point onwards, but each formation already moving (i.e. can continue to move for a single tempo point/PIP until halted).

The game took about two and a half hours of playing time which is longer thsan usual, but the cat-and-mouse end of the game took a while to play out,  It was played on a 5'x3' table.  Rules as ever were the Polemos Marechal d'Empire Napoleonic set and the figures are from Baccus 6mm.