90,000 vs 50,000 at the Nivelle (1813)

The battle of the Nivelle took place in November 1813, by which time the Peninsular War had crossed over into France. It was one of the last major actions of the campaign (there were to be two more at the Nive and Toulouse). It will be one of the scenarios in the BBB Peninsular War campaign book currently in preparation.

Marshal Soult was trying to defend a 20-mile line in front of the Nivelle river with 50,000 men - too few, even with numerous fortifications in rugged country, against the Allies' 90,000. Wellington's plan was to demonstrate against the French left and right, then attack in the centre with the aim of cutting off the French right wing in the coastal sector.

Wellington's Spanish allies had been misbehaving and exacting revenge on the French populace for French depredations in Spain. He therefore intended to leave them behind after this battle and press on with his British and Portuguese troops only. This and previous losses meant he was wary of incurring too many casualties on his British units, a factor which Mark's scenario reflects nicely by stipulating that the Allies lose an Objective if at least one British unit becomes Spent or destroyed. That certainly affected the Allies' tactics in the game.

Apart from that, victory in the game is determined by a conventional formula. There are 12 Objective locations (mostly redoubts or fortified villages, plus one important bridge). The Allies need to take 7 for a draw or 8 to win. Seven annotated photos below illustrate the action. If you just want to read my reflections on the game, skip to the end.

Panorama looking north from behind the Allied lines. Black lines are contours as the hilly terrain slopes down towards the River Nivelle. White counters mark the Objectives.

The Light Division is on the highest peak (the 'Grande Rhune') lower left, facing a French redoubt immediately in front of it on the Petite Rhune, which is supported by the substantial works around the Signal Redoubt on the heights upper centre. The rest of the Allied troops on table are in an arc from centre of left edge to bottom right corner; about a quarter of the Allied army has yet to arrive and will enter in Turns 1-3.

The French are thinly spread. They will receive a couple more divisions top left on Turn 2, plus they have a chance of bringing on Foy's division from the upper right edge at some point.

The French redoubts are armed with a motley assortment of cannon from the Bayonne arsenal, giving them 2 points of artillery firepower. When several were able to combine against a single Allied unit in their crossfire, this did cause the Allies some grief.

The Light Division would be the first to taste the pain of French redoubt(able) artillery. The assorted Riflemen, Cacadores and Lights seen here are about to lose a base to French fire as soon as they advance against that redoubt. Counters indicate unit Attributes: green = Aggressive, orange = Devastating Volleys. (Figures 6mm Baccus from Mark's collection. No, I don't think he's ever going to flock the bases, he likes the boardgame look.)

Our attack develops in the centre. (Mark took the Allied left. I had the Allied centre/right. Dave W commanded the French.) See that empty fortified village centre of pic? A French division held that long enough to make me deploy my guns and prepare my assault, then fell back smartly to join its friends in the redoubt top centre before I could crush it. A clever fighting withdrawal by Dave.

As Mark's Light Div and supporting Portuguese have been rebuffed by the Petite Rhune redoubt (yellow cubes indicate Disrupted), I have had to wheel a large Spanish division onto its flank to help when they try again. Wellington himself observes, unimpressed.

Meanwhile, on the Allied right, a similar story: a French division held the empty earthwork in the foreground long enough to force us to deploy early, then fell back on its supports. Besides, it had taken an age for the Allied right wing to cross the Nivelle - lots of poor dice. And we still have to climb that steep slope (the black line) before we can get at the French. To make things worse, Dave rolled the 6 he needed to bring on Foy's division (top left) at the first opportunity, Turn 2. This would keep my potent 6-base unit, 6th Division (top right), busy for the rest of the game. On the plus side, bringing on Foy did reduce our victory target to 6 Objectives for a draw or 7+ for a win.

The dam is breached: although it has cost us several thousand men, we Allies have now taken the Petite Rhune and the Signal Redoubt (the former's garrison now trapped between them), taken the village of Sare (foreground), crossed the abattis (right edge) and stormed the redoubt in front of Amotz. That's four of the Objectives we need right there, with no real prospect of the French retaking any of them.

What you can't see is the action in the coastal sector on our left. There Mark had captured two Objectives (Ascain and Olhette) but Dave launched a vigorous counterattack that not only retook the latter but also smashed a brigade of British 4th Div, costing us another Objective. Hence we were back to needing to hold 7 Objective locations for a draw or 8 to win - and now we only had 5.

Fortunately, my right flank attack finally got into gear against those additional three Objectives we needed. The French 2nd Div was expelled from the extreme leftmost redoubt (centre right edge), from where we would go on to roll up 3rd Div in the next redoubt along, as well as seizing the bridge Objective. Victory to the Allies - but (in classic BBB fashion) only just, and on the last turn.

Reflections

A Scenario with a Difference. Scenario special rules are one of those good things you can have too much of. In this case, Mark hit the sweet spot with his redoubt artillery. The French fortifications were not a continuous line that could have forced us to conduct a boring frontal assault. Instead, they were a patchwork that gave the battlefield depth and texture and made defeating them - with their intrinsic firepower - an interesting tactical challenge.

The Art of Counterattack! Part of the joy of playing battles on this scale is the ebb and flow they enable. In smaller games, a defender might have one reserve unit and therefore one decision to make - i.e., when and where to commit it. At BBB's scale, there is the time, space, and number of units to conduct more than one counterattack, or repeated efforts. Dave's active defence exemplified this, incorporating not only his timely fighting withdrawals but also a couple of important counterattacks. One failed but the other actually put him in a winning position for a while. It certainly caused some palpitations on the Allied side.

Learning Some History. I knew nothing of this episode before Monday night. Mark's game brought it to life for me in a way that reading a book could not. Thanks, ref!