Talavera Campaign Phase

Map of Europe

As I explained previously, the 1813 campaign has continued uninterrupted as we play tested the new wargame rules.   We devoted the Bayreuth campaign phase to that project.   We have completed the play test and the rules have replaced our previous wargame rules.

The next campaign phase will be set in northern Spain and feature Talavera.    Most of you will be aware that this is not a refight of the historical battle on 28 July 1809.   No attempt has been made to recreate the historical orders of battle or the terrain it was fought in.

This will be the 88^th campaign phase since the campaign began in 2009.   It will be the 14^th in the sixth revision which started in 2020.

The campaign map shows battles fought in the sixth revision.   Talavera is the white star.   Each square is approximately 30x30 miles, is a military region and the area of a campaign phase.

Map of Spain

This map shows the military regions in Spain.   British v French in the northern half, Spanish v French in the southern half.  Talavera is the white star.  The other stars record which army won the previous five campaigns fought during the sixth revision. Each square on this map is approximately 10x10 miles and is a military district.   Each square is also a wargames table.

Madrid Region

This is a more detailed map of the Madrid region.   It shows major towns, main roads, rivers and mountain ranges.   This is used for strategic planning, and to decide what sort of terrain each campaign phase should have.   For example in the Talavera campaign the river Tagus flows between Talavera and Madrid.   The north of the river there is a mountain range, but flat ground south of the river

Talavera Campaign Map

Note that this map does not show the entire Talavera district.   It shows the area between Talavera and Madrid, with the district border in the centre of the map.  This is because the French are attacking Talavera.   The French base and main depot is at Madrid.   This will be subject to attack by Spanish guerrillas during the campaign.   Each square on this map is also a 2x2 foot square on the wargames table.  This map shows all of the terrain which will appear on the table, including towns, villages, farms, woods and small hills.  This map is used to create the wargames table and transfer a campaign battle to a wargame.

General

The new wargame rules have upset the balance between the national armies, and particularly between the British and French in northern Spain.   All armies in the campaign are designed to have national combat advantages and disadvantages.  For example Russian armies have more effective artillery, but less effective skirmish ability.   The aim is to make both armies more or less equal in combat ability, but require the wargamer to make use of their strengths, but guard against their weakness.   Nowhere is this truer than in Spain.   I am currently working on an order of battle which will balance the historical strength of the British army against the less effective French.  

More about this next time.