Spain's biggest Peninsular War battle: Ocaña (1809)

Another week, another wargame, another finely crafted, lovingly edited blog post ... our battlefield this time is Ocaña (1809), which I believe features the largest Spanish army of the entire Peninsular War.

After his victory at Talavera, Wellington withdrew into Portugal. Nevertheless, even without his support, the Spanish junta decided to launch three Spanish armies to converge on Madrid. The largest of these was that approaching from the south under Juan Carlos de Aréizaga. Unfortunately, he dithered and gave the French time to concentrate against him. Aréizaga decided to defend the line of the gorge in front of Ocaña, but left his right hanging in the air. The French were outnumbered 3:2 but had a much better quality army. King Joseph and his chief of staff, Marshal Soult, attacked by pinning the Spanish frontally while launching a strong left hook against the open Spanish right. The Spanish line was rolled up and Aréizaga's army disintegrated.

Our game didn't quite follow the script. See how it went in the dozen pictures below (almost all taken from the Spanish point of view, as I was commanding the Spanish right). Some reflections follow at the end.

Dave W commanded the Spanish left, tasked with holding Ocaña (the town with two white Objective counters on it). The buildings at San Francisco (top left) and San Isidore (centre right) are also Objectives. So are the two road exits off the bottom edge of the pic - the Spanish lines of retreat.

The dark grey strips in front of Ocaña mark the very steep slopes of the gorge; the brown strips are where it gets shallower and gentler. Hard to tell, but the light stripe running along the centre of the gorge is a stream; the other light strips are roads. The 'wood' lower right is actually very open, no obstacle to movement or fire, just blocks LOS.

Units with one flag are Trained; those with none are Raw militia. (Only the French get 2-flag Veteran units.) Pink cubes denote Fragile; red show that artillery units are of Reduced strength. The best troops on our side are in Zayas's division, the two leftmost brigades in this pic, unfortunately fixed in place until Turn 3.

And here we see my right wing, hanging in the air as described above. A lot of troops but a lot of rubbish. My Fragile cavalry covering the flank are hugely inferior to the French cavalry (top right) who are rated Shock or Aggressive. At least we have a hill Objective, 'El Navajo', to fall back on and defend.

Crispin, commanding the French right, immediately stole a march and had a brigade leap into Ocaña, undeterred by feeble Spanish fire. (The yellow cube shows the French suffered some Disruption, but not enough to stop them.) He also deployed a grand battery on the hill facing Ocaña (top of pic) to hinder any counterattack by Dave.

Mark, acting as Marshal Soult, points his deadly baton at my isolated 1st Division under General Lacy, which my cavalry (now bottom right) promptly deserted as soon as the French horse approached. Four French brigades march on, top left. Actually, one of these comprised Polish troops and another Germans. For some reason, these two units failed to cooperate all game ...

Dave's first attempt at responding to the French incursion into Ocaña is rebuffed with heavy casualties - the formerly large Spanish unit just to the right of the town is now much smaller, Disrupted and Spent (blue counter). The grand battery briefly ran short of ammo.

Matters develop briskly on the Spanish right, with huge swings of fortune. The French cavalry works its way around the flank to get behind the Spanish line (top right). However, the first French infantry assault against Lacy's troops suffers an unexpected and bloody repulse (a 6:1 die roll), which dislocates the French attack and leaves the French cavalry fighting a separate battle for the rest of the game.

Another swing of fortune, this time on our left. Having taken heavy punishment last turn, Dave dishes some out: a Spent French brigade is driven back from Ocaña (top right). Can the now isolated French unit in the town hang on?

Looking inward from the extreme right end of the Spanish line, where Lacy is poised to fall on an exposed French flank, now that the French cavalry is focusing on our defensive position on the El Navajo hill (next pic).

And here's a French cavalryman's-eye view. The French are in some disarray, having finally caught up with the Spanish cavalry and driven them back but (embarrassingly) failed to destroy them. (Green cube = Aggressive; purple counter = Shock.) El Navajo is strongly garrisoned but about to be assailed from two directions: cavalry from its right, infantry against its front.

Patient stuff around Ocaña. Dave is trying to organise his forces for a massed assault; Crispin is frantically trying to persuade King Joseph's royal guard to reinforce his foothold in the town. The 1-base cavalry unit made it briefly and can be seen in the middle of Ocaña, about to be mown down by musketry from its flank.

The French combined assault on El Navajo has been thwarted: the Frenchcavalry were repelled with loss; the French infantry actually made it to the top and effectively destroyed a Spanish infantry unit, but a Spanish counterattack drove them off again.

Meanwhile, bottom right, I'd cautiously pulled back a brigade to guard the road exits, but now felt emboldened to push it forward again.

This emboldened Mark in turn to launch all his cavalry against said brigade. One cavalry unit duly charged - but the other rolled snake-eyes and stalled! (We joked that they were bidding for promotion to Joseph's similarly disinclined royal guard.) Result: the heavily outnumbered cavalry unit was wiped out. However, when the infantry tried to rally from the resulting Disruption, being Fragile they failed so badly they lost a base, became Spent, and fell back 12" to guard the escape route again. (At which Mark cheered up somewhat and declared that his charge was vindicated.)

Game end on the right: Soult (top right) surveys the sorry remnants of his force (one inf unit top right, one cav unit foreground) and the seemingly impregnable bastion of El Navajo.

Game end on the left: a Spanish charge expels the Josefino royal guard, but cannot dislodge the stubborn French who have held Ocaña since Turn 1. This left the French holding the three Objectives they needed to earn a draw. Hurrah!

Reflections

Quality vs Quantity. No harm in saying this once again: asymmetric contests like this, between two very different forces, always produce a good game.

Swings of Fortune. In a BBB game, we roll a lot of dice, and using 2D6 makes the results tend towards the average. But in this game, both sides seemed to get more than the usual proportion of extreme dice - either very high or very low. This produced some unexpected results and radical changes of fortune, forcing us commanders to adapt our plans agilely and on the hoof - not to mention generating whoops of delight or moans of dismay as applicable. The dice definitely added to the fun.

Combined Arms and Concentration of Force. Post-game, Mark rued the fact that his cavalry had ended up separated from his infantry and fighting their own battle. This wasn't primarily his fault - 9 times out of 10, he could have expected to smash Lacy's division and keep coordinated - but it's true that the resulting division of effort hurt his attack and helped me to defeat French units in detail.

The Difference between 0 and 2. The town of Ocaña was worth 2 Objectives. The difference between holding and losing it, in a game where the French needed 3 Objectives to draw or 4 to win, was therefore huge - enough to turn victory into defeat. I suggested Mark split the town into two halves next time.

Forgetting Scenario Special Rules. To prevent the Spanish from forming ahistorical grand batteries, Mark had a scenario special rule obliging Spanish artillery units to stay buddied up with their own infantry units at all times. I duly forgot it and broke the rule repeatedly during the game; the rule author did not notice or remind me. With scenario special rules, there is a delicate balance to be struck: one or two adds flavour; more than that and they either start adding complication and getting in the way or (as here) just get forgotten. Maybe this one was a rule too many - I never had two artillery units together anyway.

Looking Forward to the Book. This was another of Mark's set of scenarios intended for an eventual Peninsular War scenario book. They've all been very good games. Roll on publication - hopefully early 2026, maybe even by the end of this year?

Chattanooga (Lookout Mountain & Missionary Ridge)

Back in November, I was fortunate enough to tour a few ACW battlefields between Nashville and Atlanta (see my report here), including the Battle of Chattanooga. This week I got to wargame the battle.

I thought it would be tricky to turn into a good scenario. It has two major episodes: the preliminary storming of Lookout Mountain on 24 November; then the storming of Missionary Ridge on 25 November. Set-piece assaults on well-entrenched static defenders are not always the most interesting to game (as I discussed here), and combining the two episodes that were several miles apart and on different days is a challenge.

However, Crispin rose to that challenge and I am happy to say he has done a great job of the scenario design. Incorporating two separate frontal assaults into a single scenario actually makes them far more interesting together than they would be individually, as the connection between them creates options, introduces decisions, and generates maneuver for both sides. We had a fun evening - it moved swiftly, had its moments of drama (both comedy and tragedy), and was all over in two hours. This bodes well for when Crispin runs it at the next BBB Bash Day in Slimbridge on 22 June (as announced in various places, eg here).

Ten captioned photos below illustrate how it went, followed by some Reflections.

Panoramic view, looking south from the Union side of the river. Chattanooga and its surrounding fortifications dominate the centre of the table. Several of the US divisions immediately in front are anchored in place for the first few turns, while Hooker's force (top right) is poised to assault the Confederate outpost on Lookout Mountain. Most of the Confederate army is dug in on Missionary Ridge (left of pic), which culminates in a high point at Tunnel Hill (out of pic bottom left). Sherman's force in the woods lower left will operate against that end of the ridge. White counters indicate objective locations. There are 8, not all visible; US needs to take/hold 5 or 6 to draw, 7+ to win.

A better view of Missionary Ridge. I commanded its Confederate defenders. Dave had the tough task of storming the heights. Figures are Baccus 6mm. Armies and terrain all done by Crispin (except for Mark's earthworks).

Hooker's men on their start line behind the railroad. Crispin led the attack here, while Mark marshalled the defence.

Looking out from Lookout Mountain (nowadays a very pretty little park). The US assault columns form up but struggle to get the movement rolls for a coordinated attack. Consequently, one division will stumble forward into the Confederate cannister alone and be wiped out by a Confederate counter-charge. Union fire from a second US unit will eventually whittle the Reb division down and render it Spent, but the US ran out of time and couldn't quite take the objective here.

The key to the US plan was this isolated Confederate division linking Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. The idea was to smash that quickly, get behind Lookout Mountain, and sweep down against the southern end of Missionary Ridge ...

... which meant Sherman's men facing the other end of the ridge were to sit tight for the whole of Day 1, then attack in coordination with the anticipated breakthrough.

When the Union did eventually roll forward against Missionary Ridge, it didn't go well for them. Their artillery tried to suppress the Confederate guns in their redoubts but failed to make much impression, whereas Confederate fire disrupted and pinned down every US attempt to advance. Perhaps focusing on one sector and/or working round the flank would have helped the Union attack to go better.

Revenge! Crispin's men in the centre eventually managed to bully a second Confederate linking division.

"Now you're gonna get it!" said Dave as he launched his assaults. Sadly, it was his own men who "got it". Here's one attack about to bounce off the southern end of Missionary Ridge ...

... while that sad little 2-base remnant unit (centre left) is what's left of a last desperate and futile US charge next to Tunnel Hill.

As the Union had made no impression on Missionary Ridge and failed to take Lookout Mountain, the result was a Confederate victory. We had time for a good post-battle discussion of why the Union plan hadn't worked out, how it could have gone differently, and what other plans both sides could follow. Definitely worth being played again (as it will be in a month's time - come to Bash Day and join in!).

Reflections

The happy idler. Ensconced in my entrenchments on Missionary Ridge and with an opponent not even deigning to advance to the attack until Turn 6, I did virtually nothing all game but roll firing dice. I had to make a couple of rally rolls but I lost just one base to the attackers' fire. My only movement was to form up my lefthand division from its firing line into depth in preparation for Dave's last-ditch assault. Now, I talk a lot about how important it is to have decisions to make, and I had hardly any - but I still enjoyed the game. That's partly because I've been on the go so much the past few weeks that I was just happy to sit back and take it easy! But also because there was enough going on elsewhere on the pitch that I could savour the bigger picture and appreciate how both sides' plans were working out overall. (Plus good company, the aesthetic of a nice layout, etc.) So in some respects it was actually good not to have much to do in my own sector.

Which is better: wargame first, or battlefield tour? Having visited Chattanooga last autumn meant I was familiar with the battle and had a reasonable appreciation of the ground before wargaming it. That definitely helped bring some episodes to life during the game, eg when Crispin's Union attackers were hunkered down below the literal cliffs of Lookout Mountain, or when action was happening at other specific locations I'd visited along Missionary Ridge. Compare that with my trip to Vitoria earlier this month, which I'd wargamed last year: during the wargame, although I'd read a little about the battle, I had a less clear picture of the history and didn't relate it so closely to events on the table. When I was on the Cerro de Jundiz, although I had a vague recollection of the game, I couldn't actually point to a spot on the Vitoria battlefield and say "oh, that's where my cavalry charge routed your best brigade" (or whatever), so there wasn't quite the same productive connection. On balance, then, I think I'd say it's better to visit the battlefield first, then wargame it - provided you do the necessary reading beforehand to get enough out of the visit.

Clausewitz was right. I recently read Clausewitz's chapter on attacking a cordon defense (which is effectively what the Confederate line on Missionary Ridge was). If the Union had followed his advice, we might have had a harder time of it.

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 ...

The biggest WWI battle in Africa: Mahiwa (1917)

On Easter Monday, we returned to the fascinating sideshow that was East Africa in WWI, where von Lettow-Vorbeck's German Schutztruppe led vastly larger British Empire forces on a merry dance for the whole duration of the war.

This book has been on my shelves since I was about 15 - now at last I am wargaming it!

Anton has already given us two African WWI offerings: Tabora and Otavi. Those were mere appetizers for this week's game, the largest battle of the campaign: Mahiwa. I think many wargamers are familiar with Tanga, the 'Battle of the Bees', but few of us will know of the larger and bloodier engagement at Mahiwa - I certainly had not heard of it.

The gist is that British Empire forces were chasing much smaller German columns around what is now southern Tanzania; three Nigerian battalions bumped into a column under General Wahle; von Lettow saw an opportunity to inflict a serious defeat on this Nigerian force, did so, but this then developed into a more general battle as more British Empire forces arrived. Although the Germans inflicted 2,700 casualties for the loss of only 500 or so of their own, the German losses were irreplaceable, whereas the British were not. Nevertheless, von Lettow continued to cause mischief all across East Africa for more than a year thereafter.

How did our game go? Herewith a dozen or so annotated photos, followed by some reflections. (Actually, we played it one and a half times, with a few scenario modifications after the first full go.)

First, a treeless and troop-less panorama just to get you oriented. Top edge is north; 5'x4' table is about 6 miles x 5. Bush gives cover everywhere but without limiting LOS. The Nigerian brigade starts dug-in on the two hills north of the central marsh. Buildings are landmarks. Wahle's column deploys within 6" of Nyangao, on the east edge, ready to attack the Nigerians. Von Lettow's column arrives along the road via Mkwera, lower left corner. Mahiwa itself is at the southern end of the marsh. The other three British brigades will arrive from the east edge on Turns 3 and 5 (later amended to 3 and 4).

Trees and white objective counters added. There should be one on the top hill as well. Also, the Germans can earn one or two objectives for exiting one or two units off the SW corner at the end. The Nigerian-held hills are 'highwater mark' objectives - i.e., the Germans get a victory point just for taking them, they don't have to keep them. Germans needed 3 for a draw or 4 for a win (later amended this to 4 for a draw or 5 for a win).

Colonel Mann motivating his 1st & 2nd Nigerian battalions. Figures are Baccus 6mm Colonials from Mark's collection. (Before you complain about his unflocked bases, be glad that they will make it easier for you to follow the action in this game, as the Germans are on green ones!) Troop scale for this scenario is 125 men per base, so these British battalions have 600 men each.

Von Lettow-Vorbeck leads his column into Mkwera. Figures are Irregular 6mm Boers from Anton's collection - suitably scruffy for the Schutztruppe after three years without any supplies from home. They are skilled veterans by now, though, so they get the Skirmisher rating and are far superior to the mainly Raw and Fragile British forces. It's quality versus quantity - the Germans are outnumbered two to one in this battle.

Wahle's force deploys to assault the Nigerian positions. No subtle tactics from Anton here! The German units are 2-base companies of ~250 men. The base with the red fluff is a half-base MG unit representing 2 or 3 machine-guns.

Anton's force has crossed the river (top right) to advance into the teeth of the Nigerian fire. The northernmost Nigerian battalion has descended on Anton's flank. Three of his six companies have been wiped out on the first turn. Fortunately, Von Lettow's column is shaking out (lower left) and lending fire support, so two Nigerian battalions have also suffered serious casualties and are Spent (black fluff)

'The African Queen'! This is one of the 6" guns the Germans salvaged from the cruiser Koenigsberg (an episode that doesn't really have much to do with the classic movie, The African Queen, but I like to think it does).

Turn 3. (Looking east now.) Masses of Brits (actually mostly King's African Rifles or Indian troops) have appeared behind Anton, whose remaining two companies nevertheless fight a game delaying action on the hilltop road. Mark's Nigerians are mostly wiped out too. As von Lettow, I have started pushing a couple of companies left through the marsh to try to sneak onto the Nigerian hill, while most of my force screens the line of retreat back through Mahiwa and Mkwera.

Start of German Turn 5. The British line has advanced, but slowly, delayed by Anton's valiant rearguard as well as by the terrain. (We later deleted the minor stream branches on the right of this pic.)

On Turn 5, my lads have got into the marsh but they won't be advancing out of it - too many Lee-Enfields lined up in front of them. But at least we've diverted several British battalions away from pressing down the road.

That said, the last British brigade - including the cavalry and the best British battalion on the table (55th Rifles - they get flags and skirmishers!) - is doing its best to push through the middle.

Slow going for the British left on the southern flank.

But now the British right outflanks my left. Those two companies in the marsh are doomed. Will the Brits be able to seize the strategic height of Mremba Hill behind them? Fortunately, my reserve company bottom right will preempt the British advance and hold that objective.

And on the right, the British advance grinds to a halt, as two battalions suffer heavy casualties and are Spent (which is why the Germans are now Low on Ammo - brown fluff).

The first game therefore ended in a German victory. We agreed it was a little too hard for the British even to get a draw, so we made a few changes. Anton and I had time to push units around for another half a game, with different plans and scenario tweaks - not enough to absolutely confirm that the tweaks balance it properly, but enough to demonstrate that different plans are possible and the game can go very differently. Well worth playing again.

Reflections

Battlefield geometry. Anton really has an eye for the shape of a battle and the resulting structure of a scenario. In last week's report on Braga (1809), I commented on the virtues of games that 'use the whole pitch'. That very much applies to Mahiwa, where first the Nigerians are sandwiched, then Wahle's sandwichers become sandwichees. The 'highwater mark' objectives, plus the end-of-game retreat objectives, also stretch the action across the pitch. That complex geometry makes for lots of options and lots of decisions.

Multi-day battles - greater than the sum of the parts. Mahiwa was not a single-day, set-piece battle. It was a series of actions spread across 15-18 October 1917. By taking advantage of BBB's elastic scale and compressing all these into an 8-turn game, Anton has made a great scenario and managed to represent an important but neglected battle, whose component actions would not have been nearly as interesting if tackled individually.

Hurrah for the esoteric and obscure! Of course, we all want to fight Waterloo, or Gettysburg, or Borodino, or Koeniggraetz - surely no serious historical wargamer's gaming career would be complete without the likes of these on his CV - but it is also wonderful to game battles we've never heard of and know nothing about. There is the joy of discovery, the pleasure of learning, often spiced with unique or bizarre incidents or larger-than-life characters. And the tactical challenges are entirely fresh too (no more "of course he should never have attacked Hougoumont"). Thank you, Anton, for helping us to explore another hidden corner of history.

Beware the grape-scissors! Portuguese militia at Braga (1809)

The Peninsular War of 1807-1814 gets plenty of tabletop exposure. However, for obvious and understandable reasons, Peninsular wargames tend to focus on battles where British forces were involved. Occasionally we see a game that just has French vs Spanish. But for our game this week, Mark offered us a true rarity: the battle of Braga (1809), which pitted Soult's much-diminished French II Corps against a purely Portuguese force, predominantly made up of half-armed and quarter-trained - but occasionally ferocious - ordenanza levies.

It's an interesting match-up. Not only is it fairly extreme in terms of French quality versus Portuguese quantity, but the French have to attack a lightly fortified defensive position held by twice their numbers. It produced a really absorbing game, so much so that I only took five photos. I'll do my best to describe it from these.

The photo above is a close-up of the French assault on the village of Lanhozo, of which more later. Figures are Baccus 6mm from Mark's collection.

Here's the battlefield to get you oriented. The pic is taken a couple of turns into the action. The main Portuguese positions are on the two big ridges, Monte Adaufe (lower left) and Monte Vallongo (running diagonally from bottom centre to top right corner). These are steep hills. They are the Level 2 contour; Level 1 is denoted by the dark grey strips that create another steep slope all around the two ridges.

The two ridges are Objectives (white counters), held by whoever has most units on them at game end. There are three other Objectives, all villages: Lanhozo by the bridge at top centre, between the two halves of the French force; Carvalho d'Este, on the main road axis, by that giant hand; and Palmera, in the Portuguese rear, bottom left.

The French are divided into two wings. Heudelet's and Delaborde's divisions start on table, roughly between Lanhozo and Carvalho, facing the Portuguese left. Mermet's division arrives Turn 1 from the top right.

The Portuguese must deploy on the two ridges but have the option of deploying a unit in Lanhozo. We Portuguese players chose to do this to distract and delay the French advance. We also posted a 'speed bump' unit to do the same on the far top right tip of Monte Vallongo. The rest formed up in rough lines behind V-shaped redoubts. These were 'Rifle Pits' in BBB terms, just 1 level of cover.

A Portuguese ordonenza unit together with a friendly battery on Monte Vallongo. The ordonenza's poor armament is indicated by the scythe-men in the back rank. Very versatile figures, these - they've served as Tyrolean rebels, Hungarian national guards, Spanish guerrillas ... a good investment. We said it was not their scythes but their grape scissors that the French truly feared. They are rated Raw and Fragile with Ragged Volleys, but because they could be ferocious (they murdered the Portuguese C-in-C prior to the battle because they learned he didn't want to stand and fight, and some of them did give the French a serious scare at one point), we could reveal one of these units to be Aggressive instead during the battle - a potentially nasty surprise.

Apart from these, the Portuguese have one slightly better unit of properly organised militia (no Ragged Volleys penalty) and one actual decent unit, the British-trained Loyal Lusitanian Legion (Trained and with a Skirmisher). The LLL's commander, Baron von Eben, had to act as C-in-C following his predecessor's unfortunate demise.

The core of the Portuguese position on Monte Adaufe. Top left unit is Baron von Eben and the LLL - they merit flags!

Shot of one of the two critical Portuguese delaying actions, that by the scythemen on the tip of Monte Vallongo. Trying to advance swiftly, the French unit in column of march (top of pic) had exposed itself to a Portuguese charge. The ordonenza duly obliged, succeeding in killing a base and driving the French back Disrupted (yellow cube). To add to the French disarray, Mermet is knocked over to show that he is out of action for a turn, having been caught up in this embarassment.

The French did then chase these ordonenza off the hill so they could press on to clear the redoubts, but it continued to loiter and be a nuisance, so some of them had to turn around and beat it up. They failed to kill it off entirely, so at game end it was still lurking to contest their ownership of the ridge.

Similar story with the ordonenza in Lanhozo in the first pic. That French assault expelled them, but the French neglected to finish them off. Consequently, they rallied and reoccupied the village later, forcing the French to clear it a second time.

These two distractions slowed, disrupted and weakened both prongs of the French advance. On the Portuguese right, Crispin did eventually break enough of my units to claim the ridge, but only just, and he ran out of time to press on against our left.

Meanwhile, Phil did advance far enough to exchange volleys with Dave's force on Monte Adaufe but never got onto the ridge. Instead, Dave took advantage of Phil's force's minor disarray, advanced off the ridge and recaptured Carvalho.

The French needed three Objectives to draw and four to win. They couldn't quite hang on to the third, so it was a Portuguese victory.

Reflections

Using the whole pitch. Many battles (and hence wargames) are just a simple affair of two lines, coming down to whether one side or the other gives way on its left or its right. This is especially true of anything pre-Napoleonic (per my customary prejudiced dismissive view). Games become much more interesting when the geometry is more complex. In the case of Braga, all it took was those two little units posted well forward. Not only did they disrupt the French line and oblige the French to attack in different directions initially; by remaining as forces in being, they continued to do so all game. Having the action spread across the pitch like that, not just focused on one end of one line, made for a far wider range of possible tactical combinations and a much more challenging and thoroughly absorbing game.

The joys of active defence. Sometimes it is too easy for a defender to sit tight and just roll firing dice. (This is truer of later periods with better firepower, of course.) In this game, both Dave and I had plenty to do. In my case, as well as cunning maneuvers with my valiant forward outpost units, once Crispin's attack reached my redoubts I was then having to constantly maneuver to reconstruct my line as his superior quality drove me back. In Dave's case, he first maneuvered to deter an initial flank threat by Phil, then chose his moment to advance off Monte Adaufe in force for his victorious counterattack.

Every game needs its grape-scissors! Colourful troops make for colourful games. The Portuguese ordonenza may not have been the most glamorous or effective force but, by God, we will remember them!

Both sides of the hill: Beaune-la-Rolande (1870)

A seriously big battle is not necessarily the same thing as a seriously big game. After all, the whole point of BBB is to fit the biggest battles - Gettysburg, Solferino, Königgrätz and the like - onto a normal-sized table and into a single afternoon or evening session.

However, smaller battles still tend to produce smaller games. One particular advantage of these arises when they are small enough to swap sides and play the whole thing twice in a session from opposite viewpoints.

Such was the case last Monday, when Crispin rolled out his battlemat for Beaune-la-Rolande. This little skirmish involving fewer than 100,000 men was one of the first battles of the so-called 'republican phase' - the second half of the Franco-Prussian War, after Napoleon III was captured at Sedan. I remembered this being one of the first BBB scenarios Crispin wrote, but I was still taken aback when he said he created it ten years ago, in 2015. With four players (plus Dave W refereeing), we started setting up at 6:30, fought the battle twice, and were packed away by 9:30.

Here's a full photo-AAR of Game 1 in a dozen photos, then just a short verbal account of Game 2, then some Reflections.

This is what the battle was about: the town of Beaune-la-Rolande in the centre of the German defensive line, which the Germans had fortified heavily. (Figures are Pendraken 10mm from Dave's collection. Buildings handmade by Crispin. All terrain provided by Crispin.)

The French have two corps of their newly-formed Army of the Loire. Here we see General Crouzat with the six brigades of his 20th Corps. The unit with the flag is one of only two decently trained formations on the French side (composed mainly of zouaves). The rest are either régiments de marche (hastily organized from depot battalions; figures in red kepis and pantalons) or garde mobile (poorly armed and barely trained levies - régiments de poubelle? figures all in blue).

The troops of the Prussian X Korps are twice as good but there are half as many, so it's a fair fight. Here we see Stülpnagel with the two brigades of his 5th Division, in greatcoats against the November weather, backed up by Hartmann's 1st Cavalry Division. Note that each unit includes a base of green-jacketed Jäger, indicating that it has the Skirmisher attribute.

View of the whole bleak autumnal battlefield from the French side. Germans have deployed a brigade in Beaune-la-Rolande itself and two others on its left (upper right of pic), relying on 5th Div to arrive on the other wing. Green patches are villages, grey ones are towns. White counters indicate objectives. Beaune itself is worth two. The French need to take four to draw or five to win. Note that the Germans have adopted a forward position to contest Les Cotelles and Juranville (right centre of pic).

Close-up of the German centre and left, dug in with artillery support. Mark commanded this German wing.

I took Crouzat's 20th Corps on the French left. Crispin marched on with 18th Corps on the right. We agreed to attempt a double envelopment and win by isolating Beaune rather than storming it. Here's my left hook arriving on Turn 2. Red and yellow counters show my attempt at setting up a grand battery is already suffering from German counter-battery fire.

Better fortune on the right, where black 'Low Ammo' counters and vacated trenches show how effectively Bremond's 18th Corps has shaken out and blasted the German first line. Mark made a swift command decision to extract the survivors, concede the two forward villages, and fall back to hold Longcourt.

Back to me on the left wing. Next turn sees patient progress as my columns continue to march around the German right. Next stop; the objective village of Batilly, with La Pierre Percée just visible beyond it. No sign of German 5th Div yet.

Wide open spaces on our right wing as Crispin extends to envelop the German left, while the Germans reorganise their line. Our advance is slow because in this scenario (as in many FPW battles) the inexpert French army labours under the 'Passive' movement penalty.

On Turns 5 and 6, the action hots up on our left. The German cavalry has arrived and hastened across to reinforce Mark on the German left (out of shot right of pic). The two brigades of 5th Div have dashed forward to the town of Borville (grey patch) to try to retake La Pierre Percée from my zouaves (green village upper right). They've driven back one of my régiments de marche (yellow and blue indicates Disrupted and Spent) but are about to suffer an awful lot of incoming fire. Meanwhile, at top left, their newly-deployed gun line on the base line is taking flanking fire from some gardes mobiles.

Over on our right, the Germans have fallen back from Longcourt to rally around the central high ground above the Beaune bastion, relying on artillery to keep Crispin's French at bay. However, once Phil's counterattack at La Pierre Percée failed, Mark realised they needed to hold Longcourt or lose, so he pushed a brigade forward into it again. Crispin massed all he could and launched assaults from two directions on the last turn. Could victory be ours? Mark rolled his firing dice - and repelled both assaults. Foiled, we had to settle for a draw.

Situation at game end. Just three German infantry units remain: in the town of Borville (top left), in Beaune (centre) and clinging on against huge odds in Longcourt (upper right).

How the second game went

We swapped sides. Crispin and I also swapped wings. I took the German left, facing Mark, while Crispin commanded the German reinforcements on the right to fend off Phil.

We decided not to repeat the forward defence. Instead, we posted two brigades in and next to Longcourt, behind the reverse slope of the hills. However, we did mass 72 guns (3 artillery units) on the high ground on our extreme left, where they could pummel Mark's advance.

The French similarly decided to try a different plan, partly because of ours, but partly just for the sake of seeing how it worked out. They responded by sending only a couple of brigades (plus their small cavalry division) up their right-hand touchline, and a couple up the opposite side to face our reinforcements, while all the rest of their force converged to form a big arc focusing on Beaune-la-Rolande.

The French plan worked only in that their concentrated fire inflicted grievous casualties on the Beaune garrison. However, the French were unable to mount an assault to actually take the place. The German plan had worked better: our reverse slope force didn't need to fire a shot all battle; our Grossbatterie stalled the French right flank infiltration and then hurt their mass in the centre; then when 5th Division arrived it rolled up the lefthand end of the French arc around Beaune. The French only held one village at the end - an emphatic German win. 

Reflections

Two games in an evening = more than double the fun. There are those who like to savour a game over several sessions totalling 10, 15, 20 hours or more. I have happily acknowledged elsewhere that there is a particular pleasure to be had from the looong game. Nevertheless, the particular wargaming pleasure I mainly seek is that of making plans and high-level decisions and seeing how they work out. There are only so many such decisions to make in any given battle. If I can spend my 15 hours playing five games rather than one, that's a lot more big decisions, hence a lot more of that particular mental pleasure. This time we managed to fit two games into three hours and work through two alternative pairs of plans for the same battle. Not only did we have the direct pleasure from each game, there was also the pleasure of comparing the two - the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.

The other side of the hill. When I commanded the French left, I was very conscious of how brittle my army of Raw Fragile régiments de marche and garde mobile was: a single casualty would render a brigade Spent and largely combat-ineffective; those Krupp guns were very capable of inflicting such casualties; we had to cross a lot of open ground under their fire. The French task seemed very daunting (especially after failing at a similar task in a game of Coulmiers the week before). However, when I swapped my kepi for a pickelhaube, it didn't look any easier! Being outranged by twice our numbers of rifles wasn't a happy prospect, even with some entrenchments to hide in. Where to deploy was quite a tricky puzzle and we were fortunate it worked out so well. In short: it's a challenge for both sides, in very different ways - a tribute to Crispin's scenario design.

Fortifications in BBB. It seems too easy for an attacker to shoot defenders out of trenches. I'm not sure why it's taken me 10 years to reach this conclusion ... anyway, my thought is that a good house rule would be that units in fortifications can only be fired on a) by artillery, b) by units within 3", c) in Offensive Fire Phase if the target unit fired during the preceding Defensive Fire Phase, or d) in Defensive Fire Phase if the target unit declares it wants to fire in its Offensive Fire Phase. What do you think? (Maybe something for 2nd edition!) 😉.

The scenario is available from the BBB io group files here (you need to join the group to gain access).