Vitoria battlefield visit

Vitoria was the biggest battle of the Peninsular War. Roughly 80,000 Allied troops defeated some 60,000 French. A battle that size deserves to be wargamed, as we did last year (see here and scroll down), and a battlefield that important deserves to be visited, as I did last week.

I benefited considerably from Jonathan Jones's blog report of his own visit to Vitoria (thanks, JJ!). You can find that on his "JJ's Wargames" site, here. JJ focused mainly on the various contested bridges across the Zadorra. I took a different approach and hope that my report therefore complements JJ's nicely.

The Duke of Wellington's tea set! On display in the Álava Museum of Arms in Vitoria.

Our tour began with a visit to the Museo de Armería de Álava. Based on a personal collection, donated in the 1960s, then added to over the decades since, this museum has enough to keep you busy for a good 90 minutes to 2 hours. The ground floor is assorted arms and armour from prehistoric times through to the 18th century. The second floor is where the real excitement starts for us C19 enthusiasts, as most of it is devoted to the battle of Vitoria. Uniforms, weapons and equipment from the period, plus quite a lot of personal effects from notable personages (Wellington, Marshal Jourdan, General Murillo, etc). A grand relief map/diorama that is helpful for getting oriented prior to touring the battlefield, plus several dioramas with miniature figurines depicting various episodes. The second floor is rounded off with weapons from other parts of the world (Africa, Oceania, Japan, etc) and some Spanish uniforms and paraphernalia from the Carlist wars and more recent history.

Logistical notes: we found it convenient to park in the underground car park at Plaza Amárica. It's then less than a 10-minute walk to the museum. We hoped to have lunch at the nearby Casa de Napoleon. That was fully booked but we did very well at Asador Orio.

We decided the best place to see the battlefield from was the central knoll above Ariñez: the Cerro de Jundiz. (Viewpoint #5 on the map on this site.) We spent 45 minutes on a 3km round-trip hike up there and back and studying the battle from it. I took these three panoramic photos that cover about 90 degrees each, starting from the French left on the Puebla Heights, working across the front centre, then down the right to Vitoria itself and the French right rear beyond the city.

Panorama #1. The first Allied column under Hill debouched through the Puebla gap (the notch in the skyline at the right of the picture), then fought its way all along the skyline ridge (the Puebla Heights) to left of pic and beyond. 

Panorama #2. The first two French lines (Gazan and d'Erlon) were arrayed across the flat open ground here, with the Zadorra river covering their front and right. The second Allied column came through the village of Nanclares, nestled against the dark woods centre left. Wellington commanded from a knoll behind it. To the right of that, a higher light green patch is "Kempt's Hill" - high ground in a bend of the Zadorra that concealed an unguarded bridge at Tres Puentes, where Kempt's division got across and established a foothold. The rest of the column crossed there and at Nanclares and Villodas.

Panorama #3. (Not a great pic, sorry.) The third and fourth British columns arrived here: Dalhousie's (really Picton's, as Dalhousie was late) from Mendoza (the light-coloured tower near left edge); Graham's force all across the right half of the pic, tasked with cutting off the retreat, against various villages commanding crossings of the Zadorra near Vitoria. The city itself is visible near right edge of pic. In a nutshell: Picton showed good initiative and attacked at the right time to ensure the two French lines in the centre were effectively outflanked and driven back repeatedly; Graham was a little too cautious, so although he did eventually cut off the enemy's direct route back to France, the French army was able to escape by heading a bit further east towards Pamplona initially.

A lot of action also happened between the knoll and Vitoria, but that is all covered by industrial estates now, so I figured you didn't need a photo of that. Essentially it was just more of the same anyway - Allied lines driving back disordered French lines - really only notable for including the biggest artillery duel of the Peninsular War, when the Allies had to bring up 70+ guns to suppress a similar number of French cannon.

As noted above, the battle featured significant fights at a number of crossings of the Zadorra. We only visited this one, the Puente de Iruña at Tres Puentes. Consider it typical.

Our visit made clear just how big and sprawling a battle this was, and how remarkable it was that Wellington managed to pull off coordinating his four widely separated columns as well as he did. Apart from that, my major take-away from the trip and associated reading was how the fog of war hampered the French defence. While Wellington had full information (thanks to his spy network and the support of the local population), the French did not dare to send out scouts very far or in small patrols, as they would fall victim to Spanish guerrillas. Consequently, for a start, they didn't appreciate quite how outnumbered they actually were. Furthermore, they assumed Wellington would be approaching them more directly from the south and likely to threaten their left across the Puebla Heights, and did not expect his big left hook against their right rear. I'm talking with Mark Smith about how we can reflect this in his Vitoria scenario for the eventual BBB Peninsular War scenario book.

I hope my report will encourage some of you readers to enjoy a visit to Vitoria yourselves. If you do go, I hope what I've written here will be helpful. Buen viaje!

PS - First Carlist War

I tend to dismiss the First Carlist War. It seems to me to be disproportionately popular among wargamers. Obviously this is because the availability of beautiful 28mm Perry figures makes it attractive and gets it plenty of play in the glossy mags, but this protracted series of inconclusive skirmishes just doesn't feature enough substantial battles to pique my interest, even though I normally go for the exotic and off-beat. However, on this trip we did pass through one Carlist War battlefield: Ramales (1839). This seems to have been a big enough fight to inflict nearly 1,000 casualties on each side, so perhaps it merits attention. I was struck by the terrain here. Ramales is in a steep river valley, surrounded by the region's characteristic conical hills. How did they find enough room for a battle there? It would be a challenge for any wargamer's terrain collection! Perhaps I will take up that challenge at some point ...