Cordova Campaign – Battle of Montilla

Battle of Montilla – table at start of game

Both armies are full strength at the start of the game
Each army has three corps
The Spanish have 12 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry and 3 corps artillery
The French have 9 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry and 3 corps artillery
The French infantry are better quality, the cavalry and artillery the same quality

There are three game objectives
The woods on the left, the hill in the centre and the villa on the right
The Spanish occupy each objective with one corps

The French start the game on the table, but out of artillery range of the Spanish
One corps is allocated to attack each game objective
The CinC has taken command of the corps artillery of 43 and 44 corps
He has placed this reserve between the two corps to support either as required

End of move 12

On the left 46 Westphalian corps advance against the woods
Their cavalry charge and rout the Spanish cavalry and then threaten their artillery
The Westphalian infantry and artillery deploy to attack the front two sections of woods
The Spanish cavalry, and the infantry in the front line, withdraw to the rear wood sections
The Westphalian infantry quickly occupy the southern section of woods
But their cavalry and artillery have to redeploy to threaten the northern woods
The Westphalian attack takes three wooded sections, but are unable to take the fourth

44 Baden corps are supported in their attack on the hill by the reserve artillery
The Spanish gunners on the road withdraw to the rear of the hill/pass
The Baden infantry take the left hand hill, but are unable to take the right hand one
Once more the Spanish have held part of an objective

43 French corps are delayed by having to cross the hill to reach the villa
This allows the French reserve artillery to redeploy to support their attack
The villa is a strong defensive position, and the French need to attack more than one side
However the Spanish artillery and cavalry make this impossible
The French reserve artillery cause casualties to the garrison
The French grenadier brigade then attack the villa and rout the garrison

The French have only taken one of the three objectives

The Spanish have lost 4100 casualties to just 900 French
There are also four Spanish brigades in rout and only one French
But the Spanish have managed to hold part of two objectives

The French have only taken one, and thus lose the battle

Comments

The new balance between the French and Spanish armies seems to be working well
Being outnumbered in infantry the French cannot afford to take any risks
They must win the cavalry and artillery battle before commiting the infantry.
However the Spanish gunners and cavalry are just as good as the French

The Spanish held the forward locations, supported by cavalry and artillery
Their infantry were safe behind the objectives

The French deployed to attack the front line, and the Spanish fell back to the second line
This meant the French had to advance and redeploy, which wasted precious time
There are only 12 moves to each battle, and this does not allow time to redeploy

The Spanish deserved to win this game