Campaign
Map on 28 October 1813
To keep the French off balance Wellington
orders all guerrilla bands to attack French depots of Oviedo, Astorga and
Sanabria
6th guerrilla attack Sanabria. They suffer 800 casualties and rout
7th guerrilla attack Oviedo. They suffer 800 casualties and rout
8th and 9th guerrilla
both attack Astorga.
They capture the town and rout the garrison
with 400 casualties
They also take 2 days supplies
Unable to attack in the north, Soult orders 8th
corps to attack Santiago
He also orders the reserve cavalry and
artillery to support the attack
Santiago is Wellington’s main depot
2nd British corps is deployed just
east of the city in a strong defensive position
They hold their own for most of day, but are
eventually broken and routed
General Cole orders them to rally in Santiago
Battle of
Santiago
Cole deploys his corps at the mouth of the pass
on the left
Two infantry brigades hold the heights on
either side of the pass
Santiago is off table on the left
8th corps deploy immediately in
front of the pass
Reserve cavalry and artillery move to attack
the British right flank
However they are held between the hill and the
farm until late in the day
The infantry on each hill make it very difficult
for the two French wings to concentrate
But once they do so they quickly break the
British centre
Campaign
Notes
The French outnumber the British two to one in
cavalry and artillery.
Despite less infantry than the British, it is
only a matter of time before they win
Far more interesting was the guerrilla activity
With the French concentrated at Ribadeo, Lugo
and Ponfererada the three rear towns are left at the mercy of the guerrilla
bands.
Each guerrilla only has a maximum of 3 days
supplies, and they must move to a farm or village to resupply. This means that most of the time they are
moving to supply, or halted doing so.
However on this day there are four guerrilla in position and ready to
attack.
The outcome is decided by the roll of 1D6. The guerrilla must roll 6 to rout the
garrison and take the town. A roll of
1, 2 or 3 will result in them taking casualties and routing or retreating.
At Oviedo and Sanabria they both roll 1. Both guerrilla suffer 20% casualties (800
men) and rout.
However at Astorga two guerrilla attack at the
same time. Each need 5 or 6 to rout the
garrison. The first dice is 3, the
second is 5. The garrison rout,
leading behind two days supplies.
The French victory is very important. The loss of Santiago with its three days
supplies is a blow to Wellington. Worst
still his lines of communication to Portugal are cut.
However Astorga is also the French main depot,
and commands their lines of communication back to Salamanca, Valladolid and
Madrid. The loss of two days supplies
is equally serious. Even more so is the
loss of all supplies from Salamanca.
Until Astorga is retaken they will have to rely entirely on what they
can forage.
It will be interesting to see who can open
their lines of supply first, and what they will have to abandon to do so.
