Campaign
Map on 27 October 1813
Wellington expects the French to attack Corunna
He orders 3rd corps to support 1st
corps there
He also orders supplies from Ourense to
Santiago
7th French corps retreats due to
losing the battle of Corunna
In doing so they use up the last of their
supplies
Soult orders 16th Italian corps to
join them at Ribadeo
This is to secure Ribadeo
He will not be able to attack for at least two
days
He also orders 8th and Reserve corps
to prepare to attack Ourense
Campaign
Notes
7th French corps fought the battle
of Corunna with just one days supply
Because they lost they had to retreat, reducing
their supplies to zero
If they do not halt and resupply next day they
will start to lose attrition casualties
When a corps runs out of supplies it loses 400
infantry men each day to attrition
The CinC can decide which brigade will lose
those men
They will continue to lose 400 infantry for
each day they remain out of supply
To resupply they must be within three squares
of a friendly supply depot
They must also remain stationary and can not
initiate any combat
If attacked they must retreat, causing them to lose 400 attrition
casualties
For this reason most corps will resupply before
they reach one days supplies
However if they are attacked, and can not
retreat, they can not resupply
For example if ordered to hold and resupply,
they must fight if attacked
This is what happened to 7th corps
at Corunna
Having fought a very successful campaign, the
French have run into a series of supply problems.
This was partly caused by guerrilla activity.
It is starting to have a serious impact on the
French campaign.
The consequences is that they have lost the
initiative, which has been taken up by Wellington.
Paul,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting turn around, although it’s too early to assume an eventual Allied victory.
It’s nice to see the important role played by the guerillas.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob
ReplyDeleteI am really pleased with the way the campaign is developing, and particularly the influence of the guerillas. Mostly due to luck of the dice, but quite historical for all of that.
regards
Paul
Hi Paul,
ReplyDeleteAs Bob said, these past few campaign days have been a very interesting twist to what seemed to be a cakewalk for the French.
If I read everything correctly, the British 1st and 3rd Corps are in good shape and supply right now, while the French 7th is in a shambles. Can Wellington pursue aggressively towards Ribadeo before the French have the opportunity to rally and resupply?
Hi Yuri
ReplyDeleteAt nightfall on 27th October 1st and 3rd British corps each have three days supplies
7th French corps was out of supply and forced to retreat. They would have to evade any British pursuit, find a supply depot and be given at least 24 hours to rally and resupply.
So at that time it looked certain that Wellington could pursue with either 1st or 3rd corps and destroy 7th French before they could rally.
However. On 28th October the French attacked and captured Santiago. This is Wellington's main supply depot, and commands the lines of supply to Portugal. He could ignore this, but would then have to rely on forage to keep his Army going long enough to defeat the rest of the French army.
Interesting how both commanders seem to be on the verge of winning the campaign, only to have it taken away from them by unforseen circumstances. In this case a very lucky guerrilla attack on the main French depot at Astorga.
regards
Paul