Jean Campaign – Day Five

Campaign Map

Main French depot at Hellin – 36 days supplies

French attack Linares
Guerrilla brigades active

13th French army – attack Linares
14th French army – regroup and resupply at Jodar
15th French army – rally, regroup and resupply at Huelma

1st Spanish army – defend Linares
2nd Spanish army – regroup and resupply at Jean
3rd Spanish army - rally, regroup and resupply at Alcaudete

14 guerrilla brigade – attack convoy to Mortalalla – fail and rout – guerrilla lose10%casualties
15 guerrilla brigade – attack convoy to Minateda – fail and retreat – no casualties

Battle of Linares – End of Move12

French start with 9 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery
Spanish start with 14 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery
Both sides have battle casualties, but the Spanish more than the French
Two of the Spanish infantry brigades are militia

The French cannot afford to lose too many casualties, particularly cavalry or artillery
They are only half way through the campaign, and will have to detach more brigades as garrisons
The battle plan is to concentrate artillery from 37 and 38 corps as a reserve grand battery
This will leave 37 corps (on the right) too weak to attack, they hope to pin 1 Spanish corps

The French are reluctant to use their cavalry against the Spanish artillery
And even the grand battery is unable to weaken the Spanish gunners
So the attack on the left and in the centre is slow to develop

The French do rout 2nd Spanish corps in the centre
They then attack the woods on the left and in the centre
The Spanish infantry put up a stiff defence and hold both woods to the end of the battle
There are no sufficient French infantry to attack the farm on the right
The Grand Battery do pound it, and cause 20% to the garrison
But the garrison hold their position and the farm at the end of the battle

Throughout the battle the Spanish withdraw as necessary to avoid the French artillery
But they mass behind the woods on the left and centre
They then counter attack as soon as the French infantry enter the woods, and mask their guns
Two French brigades are repulsed, and one Spanish brigade routs
But the Spanish continue to hold at least one section of woods at the end of the battle

This is a well deserved Spanish victory

Comments
The campaign is going exactly as planned.
It is anticipated that there will be 6 to 9 battles, and this is the fourth.

The French have to detach increasing numbers of infantry brigades to garrison captured towns
They also have to detach one of their cavalry brigades to protect their lines of supply
This means that as they advance they become weaker and weaker

The Spanish military garrison of each town become a guerrilla band when the town is captured

This means that they become stronger and stronger as the French advance.
The French have the same number of cavalry and artillery as the Spanish
But they are heavily outnumbered in infantry brigades

The French normally concentrate their artillery to batter the area of attack
They then send their cavalry to defeat the enemy cavalry, and hopefully their artillery
If this fails they used their concentrated artillery to out gun the Spanish gunners
The more cavalry and artillery casualties they receive the harder it is to do this

These tactics mean that the French get weaker as they advance and capture enemy towns
At the same time the Spanish get stronger, and attack the French lines of supply

In addition the Spanish have finally come up with a winning battle tactic
They keep their corps intact, and deploy their artillery to cover open ground
This means that the corps opposite the French without artillery will have an advantage
They keep their infantry behind cover of the three game objectives
By doing so they avoid artillery casualties, but can counter attack as the French advance
They keep their best infantry behind each objective to make the counter more effective
It worked to perfection in this battle, leaving the French unable to take even one objective

I was the French player in this game, but I was still very pleased with the outcome.

Organising our Wargames Army

Wellington’s Army of four corps

Over the years I have collected and replaced my 20/28mm wargame figures many times since I bought my first box of Airfix in the mid 1950s.   Generally the older figures were replaced with better and dearer ones, and the old collection was always sold to help pay for their replacements.   There were four major manufacturers, but many more collected over the years, including a brief attempt to make my own.   First were Airfix, second Hinton Hunt, third Minifigs, and fourth Front Rank.

There were also many orders of battle over the years.  My first collection was what was available and what I liked the look of.   It was about 1971 that I found a book in the library about collecting 54mm figures which may have been called “Collecting Model Soldiers”.  It had chapters on organising armies and resulted in my first attempt to write an order of battle.

I experimented with Airfix Ancient Britons v Romans, but my real love has always been Napoleonic.   I started with British and French, and gradually extended to Prussians, Russians and Austrians.  Then came French allies such as Polish, Bavarian, and Italians etc.   I think the last was Spanish.

For many years my wargaming was inspired by Wellington and Waterloo.   As the years passed I became interested in all things Napoleonic, and started to study Napoleon’s campaigns.   I knew about Wellington in the Peninsula, but not much about the Spanish battles.

By 1980 I had a collection which included all of the major nations involved in the Napoleonic Wars, and many of the minor ones.  I also became more interested in the battles of the Iberian Peninsula, and with it my knowledge of the Spanish army increased – as did my collection of Spanish wargame figures.

In 1998 I began my final reorganisation.  I created an order of battle which would include all of the major nations and decided to collect them in three scales.  The 6mm figures would be Heroic and Ros, 18mm would be AB and 28mm Front Rank.

The order of battle for all three scales was designed to fit my 12x6 foot wargames table.   There would be 8 infantry units of 36 each, 4 cavalry of 8 each and 4 guns with 4 gunners.   Minor nations, such as Polish or Bavarian, would have 2 infantry and 2 cavalry plus 2 guns.   Small nations, such as Italy, Westphalia, would have 1 infantry and 1 cavalry and would use French guns.

It was 2004 when I finished painting and basing the last figure, just about the time we started thinking about moving to Spain for our retirement.   A permanent wargames room was always an essential part of our retirement plans.  But it soon became clear that we would probably not want to run a wargames club, so a smaller table was more appropriate.   We decided that we would settle on a 6x6 foot table.   However our order of battle was too large for this smaller table.   After much consideration I decided that the ideal number of figures for such a table was half of our current order of battle.   Each nation would have 4 infantry units of 36 figures, 2 cavalry of 8 and still 4 guns.   This would give us 144 infantry, 16 cavalry and 4 guns for each major nation.   I considered that this would be just right for the proposed 6x6 foot table.   However it did mean that I would have to sell off half of my three different scale armies.   Fortunately they were all popular manufacturers, newly painted and almost unused.   Also being in the UK postage was not a problem.   It took just over a year to sell them all, but the last one went a few months before we moved to Spain.

We had bought our Spanish house “off plan”.   This meant that we had a lot of say in the interior design of the house, and we were able to create an under build to house our wargames collection and table.  

We found that our order of battle of 144 infantry, 16 cavalry and 4 guns per side fit just right on our table.  Our 4 infantry units would be battalions, regiments or brigades depending on what size of wargame we wanted to fight.   All worked well until I decided to create a campaign to provide us with battles to wargame.   Given how comprehensive our collection was, we decided that 1813 would be the most suitable.   However our order of battle was not.   We wanted to play multi corps sized battles, and 4 infantry units of 36 figures did not make sense.

I was determined not to paint any more figures so I was stuck with the numbers and nationalities I already had.  I wanted to be able to use all of my model soldiers, and also all of the terrain on the shelves.   So I decided to have infantry brigades of 8 figures, cavalry brigades of 4 figures and corps artillery of 1 gun and 4 figures.  This would give me 18 infantry brigades, 4 cavalry brigades and 4 artillery.   From this I would create four corps, each of 4 infantry, 1 cavalry and 1 artillery brigades.

This left me with quite a few unwanted infantry figures.   However my original infantry units included skirmish figures.  So there was very few left over when I converted them to 8 figure brigades.   The infantry and cavalry were already two figures to a stand, so no rebasing was necessary.

The whole reorganisation for the new order of battle took a few months, and I was using them on the wargames table long before I had completed work on my 1813 campaign.   Their first appearance on our new wargames table was in June 2006, just three months after we left the UK.   The photo below shows Jan taking part in that first wargame we played in Spain

Jan playing first wargame in 2006

 

Jean Campaign – Day Four

 

Campaign Map

Main French depot at Hellin – 48 days supplies

French attack Alcaudete
Guerrilla brigades active

13th French army – rally and resupply at Ubeda
14th French army – occupy Jodar
15th French army – attack Alcaudete

1st Spanish army – rally and resupply at Linares
2nd Spanish army – retreat to Jean
3rd Spanish army - defend Alcaudete

9 guerrilla brigade – attack convoy to Elche – capture 3 supplies – escort lose10%casualties

Battle of Alcaudete – End of Move 6

The French start the battle outnumbered in infantry by 12 Spanish to 9 French brigades.
French have 3 infantry and 1 cavalry battle casualties
Spanish have 7 infantry battle casualties

The French must weaken at least one of the three Spanish corps before they can launch an attack with any hope of success. This is usually done by the artillery, but can also be achieved by the cavalry. However one of the two French cavalry brigades have casualties, both Spanish brigades are full strength.

The Spanish start the game deployed on the three game objectives. The winner must hold at least two of them at the game.

The Spanish artillery have two 12 pounder and one 6 pounder guns. The French have one 12 pounder and two 9 pounder guns. The 12 pounders have longer range than the 9 pounders and the 6 pounder the shortest range.

The French artillery must move into effective range before they can unlimber and open fire. This means that the Spanish guns will always fire first, possible more than once. To achieve a hit on gunners requires a roll of 6, using 1D6.

Move 4 the Westphalian artillery receive a hit, fail their morale and retreat shaken.
The Spanish dragoons charge the French artillery, receive 10% casualties and rout.

Move 5 French artillery receive a hit, fail their morale and rout. The nearest infantry brigade has to test their morale because of the rout, fail and also rout. The Westphalian gunners fail their morale for being shaken, and now rout

Move 6 both French and Westphalian gunners, and the infantry brigade, fail their morale test and rout a further full move.

Just half way through the game the French have lost two of their three corps artillery. Worse still the gunners fail their morale and continue to rout for two moves. Even if they rally on move 7, it will be too late when they return to their guns to take any effective part in the campaign.

With only two casualties (200 men) the French commander has no choice but to halt the attack, and prepare to retreat. The Spanish are now so much stronger that they are quite likely to take the offensive and attack.

Comments
A very striking example of the weakness of rules which rely on 1D6 for combat and morale. The Spanish artillery rolled two 6s on their first two rounds fired. The French gunners rolled 1-3 in six morale tests.

Using 1D6 results in a fast moving and decisive wargame. Normally it works well, with both sides having their share of good and bad luck. When things do go wrong, as in this game, it is tempting to ignore the dice roll and roll again. But we never do. I was the French player in this game, and must confess to a short outburst at my bad luck. But you have to take the bad with the good. And the Spanish are overdue a win.

Hoping for better dice in the next game.

Jean Campaign – Day Three

Campaign Map

Main French depot at Hellin – 60 days supplies
French attack Ubeda
Guerrilla brigades active

13th French army – occupy Ubeda
14th French army – attack Jodar
15th French army – rally and resupply at Huelma

1st Spanish army – retreat to Linares
2nd Spanish army – defend Jodar
3rd Spanish army - rally and resupply at Alcaudete

4 guerrilla brigade – attack convoy – capture 6 supplies – escort lose10% casualties

Battle of Jodar – Move 2

At the end of move 2 the Spanish are in position on the three game objectives.
These are the bridge on the left, the woods in the centre and the village on the right

The French enter the table at the start of move 1, and are delayed by the difficult terrain.
The CinC has taken command of most of 42 corps and is between the river and the hill

On the right the Spanish cavalry charge the French gunners as they emerge from the woods. The gunners take shelter in the woods, and the rest of the corps halt. 4 Spanish corps advance to pin them in the woods, and they remain there throughout the battle.

In the centre 41 Baden corps advance through the pass. They pin 5th Spanish corps between the woods and the village, and attack and take the woods.

On the left 42 Polish corps has two brigades on the left bank, and the remainder on the right bank commanded by the CinC. 6 Spanish corps have 6 pounder artillery, which are easily outgunned by the heavier French 9 pounders. The first attack in on the left bank, where the two Spanish brigades lose the melee and retreat. The CinC then moves forward his artillery, and the cavalry pin the infantry on the right bank. The squares take heavy casualties and the whole corps breaks and runs back to the town.

Having taken two of the three objectives the French have won the game

The French lose 1 infantry and 1 artillery casualties (500 men)
The Spanish lose 5 infantry, 1 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (2200 men)

Comments

The French have won the first three battles, as was expected. Despite having detached 6 infantry and 3 cavalry brigades they are as strong as they will ever be. They have the advantage of surprise, and the Spanish army is not deployed at the start of the campaign.

During this period the Spanish guerrilla capture another supply train, killing 10% of the escort brigade and capturing 6 more supplies.

As the French advance they will have to detach more infantry to garrison the three towns they have taken. They will also have longer lines of supply, and be even more at risk from guerrilla attacks. In three days the French have lost 9 days supplies, leaving just 60 days for the rest of the campaign.

The French started the campaign with 90 days supplies. Each day they need 9 days, one for each of the 9 corps. The loss of 9 days to guerrilla means that they must complete their campaign in 8 days instead of  9.

In addition the supplies lost will have to be replaced from the main depot at Hellin.  It will take three days to reach Ubeda from Hellin, and each day they are subject to guerrilla attack. Of the 6 days supplies they lost today, 3 were to replace those lost yesterday. Clearly this will have a major impact on the mobility of 13th Army as they advance to take Linares and Andjuar.

To capture a convoy the guerrilla have to roll 5 or 6 with 1D6. If they roll 1 or 2 they lose 10% casualties. A 3 or 4 results in no casualties, the supplies continue to their destination and the guerrilla have to retreat to their base.

You will see that the French have been unlucky, not only to lose two convoys but for both of them to belong to the same army. The main depot at Hellin can divert supplies from 14th and 15th Army Groups, but they will still have to travel at least three, and possibly four, days to reach 13th Army.

It is very early days, but I am quite pleased how the new rules are affecting the campaign. I doubt that it will continue to have such an impact, but you never know!

Jean Campaign – Day Two

Campaign Map

Main French depot at Hellin – 81 days supplies
French attack Ubeda
Guerrilla brigades activated

13th French army – attack Ubeda
14th French army – hold Elche
15th French army – occupy Huelma

1st Spanish army – hold Ubeda
2nd Spanish army – advance to border
3rd Spanish army - defend Huelma

5 guerrilla brigade – attack convoy – fail – no casualties
10 guerrilla brigade – attack convoy – fail – no casualties
14 guerrilla brigade – attack convoy – capture 3 supplies – escort lose10%casualties
15 guerrilla brigade – attack convoy – fail – no casualties

Battle of Obeda – Move 2

The game objectives are the three hills in the centre of the table
The winner will be the side who holds at least two of them

The game open with 3 Spanish corps in position on the centre hill
1 and 3 corps are either side of Ubeda, they may move at the start of move 1

The French army will arrive on the table at the start of move 1

By move 2 all corps were on the table, and it was clear that the Spanish would reach the game objectives before the French could. However the French were able to prevent the Spanish cavalry and artillery from taking up forward positions, and this would play an important role in the game

Only infantry could fight on the hills, and both 37 and 39 French corps infantry reached their objective without any artillery casualties, and without any threat from Spanish cavalry. The Spanish defenders put up a good fight, but the French took both hills.

Because 3 Spanish corps were deployed on the centre hill at the start of the game, their artillery were well placed at the entrance to the pass. This made it very difficult for 30 French corps, and their infantry could not advance until their artillery had forced the Spanish gunners to withdraw towards Obeda

At the end of the game the French had taken two of the three game objectives, and had won the game.

Comments
On this second day the Spanish were aware of the French invasion, and had issued orders for 1st and 2nd Armies to move up to the border. Both French and Spanish moved at the start of move one, and this allowed the Spanish to occupy all three objectives before the French could reach them

But the more aggressive French cavalry prevented 1st and 2nd Spanish corps cavalry and artillery from deploying at the French end of the two valleys, and this allowed the French infantry to attack without any danger from the Spanish cavalry or artillery.

On this second day of the campaign the Spanish guerrilla brigades were activated. Only four were able to attack convoys, but one of them managed to capture the convoy from Minateda to Mortallalla (in the south) and three days supplies.

For the first time I have limited the number of supplies available to the French. They have 90 days supplies, which is sufficient to resupply all nine corps for 10 days. It would take a minimum of 9 days for the French to reach all nine towns in Jean district. So they have only enough spare to supply all nine corps for one more day. When a corps runs out of supply it must immediately retreat until it can find supplies, and it has attrition losses of one casualty (400 infantrymen or 100 cavalry or artillery decided by a dice roll) for each day.

The French have already lost 1 day’s supplies for three corps to guerrilla activity. Not only will this disrupt the smooth arrival of supplies to 15th French army, it will also reduce the overall supplies for the campaign.

Jean Campaign – Day One

Campaign Map

The campaign opens with a surprise French attack on Huelma

French main depot – 90 days supplies
13th French army – hold Riopar
14th French army – hold Elche
15th French army – attack Heulma

1st Spanish army – hold Ubeda
2nd Spanish army – hold Jodar
3rd Spanish army - defend Huelma

Battle of Heulma – Move 2

The battle opens with all three Spanish corps on the table, but 7th and 9th corps either side of the town and not allowed to move until the start of move 2. To win they must hold all three game objectives (in the centre three squares). Village on the left, small woods in the centre and large woods on the right. 8th corps is in and around the centre woods.

The French enter the table at the start of move 1. They engage 8th corps before the other two Spanish corps can arrive, but are unable to reach the other two objectives before the Spanish.

The battle is very even during the first six moves. On the left the Spanish hold the village and keep the French at bay. In the centre there is a prolonged fight for the centre woods. On the right each side holds two of the four sections of woods.

During move 7 the French attack the woods in the centre and drive out the Spanish defenders. Meanwhile they have occupied two of the four sections of wood on the right.

During move 9 there is extensive fighting for the village on the left and the woods on the right, but the French gradually gain the upper hand.

Move 10 is a bad one for the Spanish. One rout near the village spreads and all of 9th corps retreat. On the opposite flank there is a similar panic, leaving the French in possession of three of the four sections of woods. In the centre the French hold the small woods, but are unable to make any further progress. But the retreat of 7th and 9th Spanish corps forces 8th corps to do the same.

Comments
French start the game with two infantry brigades detached for garrison duty, and one cavalry brigade patrolling the lines of supply. The Spanish are full strength, plus one militia brigade in the town.

For this campaign the Spanish gunners have been increased from C to B class, making them the same as the French. In addition they have two 12 pounder and one 6 pounder guns. The French have one 12 pounder and two 9 pounder guns. This imbalance calls for caution where one side has the longer range guns.

The detachment of one cavalry brigade from each French army is new. One in three Spanish corps has always been without cavalry, and this change means that in each army only two of the three corps have cavalry support. This allows both sides to opt for the CinC to create a cavalry reserve to gain a local superiority. However in this game neither side do so.

This game was also the first to use the new maps. On the regional maps each square is a wargames table. They also show woods, rivers and mountains. The Huelma square is shown as wooded. The above photo illustrates how this would appear on the wargames table. The table appears quite open, but in fact there are different sized woods on six of the nine scenic squares. On a normal table there would usually be one or two.

This game was a good start to the campaign. It is unfortunate that the Spanish fell apart towards the end, but it could have happened to either side. It would take pages to explain exactly what happened, but it was a case of a low dice for a combat, followed by another low dice for the resulting melee. This resulted in one brigade routing, causing all friendly brigades within 4” to test their morale. Yet another low dice caused a second brigade to rout. That is half of the four infantry brigades in a corps, so the effect is a general retreat.

New Campaign Supply Rules

Campaign Map

During the Jean campaign phase I will be play testing new rules for the French supply system in Spain.

The main difference is that the French will start the campaign with sufficient supplies to allow them to attack all nine towns held by the Spanish in Jean military region, plus one day in reserve. As soon as they run out of supplies the campaign will end.

The French must detach one infantry brigade to garrison each town they capture. In addition each army (of three corps) must detach one cavalry brigade to patrol their supply routes.

The more supplies that the guerrillas can capture, the less time the French will have to reach and attack all nine towns.

Initial Deployment
The map shows the location of each HQ, corps, garrison and guerrilla brigade at the start of the Jean campaign phase.

The French have three armies, each of three corps. They have detached 6 infantry brigades to garrison the six towns east of the Jean-Hellin border. They have also detached 3 cavalry brigades, one from each army, to patrol their lines of communication and supply.

The Spanish also have three armies, each of three corps. In addition they have 15 militia brigades to garrison each of the 15 towns and cities on the map. When a town is occupied by the French, the militia garrison becomes a guerrilla group. They must operate within the nine squares surrounding their town and their task is to attack French supply columns. The nine militia brigades west of the border are still in garrison, the six east of the border have moved to nearby villages and operate as guerrillas.

French Army
At the start of the campaign each corps has 4 days supply
Each friendly town has 3 days supplies
The main depot receives 9 days supplies each day

The campaign will last a maximum of 10 days
The main depot starts the campaign with 90 days supplies

To resupply a corps must halt for one full day
It must be within one days march (3 squares) of a town.
It can resupply up to 4 days, providing the town has sufficient supplies

Spanish Army
There is no Spanish supply system and consequently no convoys
Each corps will be supplied by the nearest town
The town will collect these supplies from nearby farms and villages

The Spanish have a maximum of 3 day supplies per corps, or independent brigade. This is to reflect their lack of a formal supply system. This is one less than the French, and means they must resupply more often

At the start of the campaign each corps, and militia brigade, has 3 days supplies.
Resupply for regular troops is the same as for the French

Militia brigades in garrison will always maintain 3 days supplies
When the town is occupied by the French the garrison becomes a guerrilla brigade
They must always remain within the nine squares around the town

Guerrilla Brigades
Their role is to attack French supply columns
They can only do so if there is no French corps within one days march (3 squares)
Or a cavalry brigade within one square
They must be adjacent to the convoy to attack it

Due to limited supplies they can only ambush a convoy once in four days
Day 1 – move to set up ambush
Day 2 – attack the convoy
Day 3 – return to their village/hideout
Day 4 – rest and resupply

Attack Convoy
Guerrilla brigade roll 1D6
Minus 1 for each casualty

1 or 2 Guerrillas lose 10% French save convoy
3 or 4 No casualties French save convoy
5 or 6 Guerrillas take convoy French suffer 10%