Cordova Campaign – Day Five

13 September 1813 – Southern Spain – Day 5

French attack Montilla
13 French Army occupy Muriano
14 French Army regroup at El Carpio
15 French Army attack Montilla

Spanish defend Montilla
1 Spanish Army retreat and leave campaign
2 Spanish Army retgroup at Cordoba
3 Spanish Army defend Montilla

Battle of Montilla opening positions

15th French Army commanded by Marshal Augereau attack Montilla
3rd Spanish army commanded by General Del Parque defend Montilla

French have 9 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
3 infantry and 1 cavalry brigades are detached to protect lines of supply

Spanish have 12 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
12th corps has been disbanded to bring other three corps up to full strength

Comments

Having lost the battle of Muriano 1st Spanish army have two choices
They can occupy the city and accept a siege
Or they can retreat, abandon the city and leave the campaign.
Having lost 5700 men, against 2500 French, they have no choice but to retreat.

If the result had been more even I would have allowed the Spanish to accept the siege
The campaign is designed to produce a series of battles to wargame
In the past I had considered allowing siege, which happened quite often in the Peninsular
However they are better suited to a solo campaign than to this type of campaign.

In the past I have been tempted to run a siege as a project, but have always resisted the urge.
It would require a lot of preparation and I don’t have any suitable figures
I have not painted a single figure in 20 years, and doubt if I still have the skill and ability to do so
I could run the siege as an abstract paper exercise, but that does not really appeal to me
Finally it would detract from my long running campaign, and I am reluctant to allow that

So for the present I will have to accept one side retreating off the map at the end of the phase.