Jean Campaign – Day Seven

Campaign Ma

Main French depot at Hellin – 18 days supplies

French occupy Je
Spanish attack Huelma
Guerrilla brigades active

13th French army – regroup and resupply at Ubeda
14th French army – occupy Jean
15th French army – defend Huelma

1st Spanish army – regroup and resupply at Linares
2nd Spanish army – retreat to Martos
3rd Spanish army – attack Heulma

5 guerrilla attack convoy Hellin to Tobarra – fail no casualties
9 guerrilla attack convoy Hellin to Elche – fail no casualties
13 guerrilla attack convoy Mortalalla to Huelma – fail no casualties

Second battle of Heulma – End of Move 2

15th French Army commanded by Marshal Augereau defend Heulm
3rd Spanish army commanded by General del Parque attack Heulma

French have 9 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigade, and 3 corps artillery
3 infantry and 1 cavalry brigades are detached to protect lines of supply
They have lost 3 infantry and 2 artillery battle casualties (500 men)

Spanish have 12 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigade, and 3 corps artillery
They have lost 7 infantry, and 1 cavalry battle casualties (2900 men)

Marshal Augereau was defeated at the battle of Alcaudete on 5 August
He retreated to Heulma where he rallied, regrouped and resupplied
This was the first French defeat of this campaign
General del Parque is determined to repeat his victory and retake Heulma

Comments

This is the first time in the campaign that the Spanish have attacked the French. Recent changes to the campaign mean that the French have to defend longer lines of supply and that the campaign does not end as soon as the French occupy the main Spanish city. They now have to be able to defend that city against a counter attack.

On the left 45th French corps have to hold the woods against 9th Spanish corps. The French outnumber the Spanish and they have 9pdr guns against Spanish 6pdr. The French hold this objective, but are unable to support the centre and right.

In the centre 44th Westphalian corps has to hold the woods and road junction against 8th Spanish corps. They do so until the last two moves, when the Spanish artillery weakens the infantry in the woods, who are then routed by an infantry attack.

On the right 43rd Italian corps have to hold the farm against 7th Spanish corps. The Spanish attack on the far right, and rout most of Iranian infantry and artillery. They then attack the farm, which is held by the elite 1st infantry brigade. Despite 20% casualties from close range artillery, the garrison hold, but are finally routed by an infantry attack. By then the farm is surrounded by Spanish infantry and casualties, and the garrison is forced to surrender.

The battle was won by infantry attacks, but decided by superior artillery. The Spanish had two 12pdr and one 6 pdr guns, the French had one 12pdr and two 9 pdr guns. The French started the battle with 10% casualties on two of their corps artillery, the Spanish were full strength. This gave the Spanish a considerable advantage in counter battery fire, which they took full advantage of. They could then move their artillery into close range of both the woods in the centre and the farm on the right. This allowed them to inflict heavy casualties on the defending infantry before their own infantry attacked.

A very interesting game resulting in a Spanish victory. But also enjoyable because it was not decided solely on the luck of the dice. The Spanish threatened with their weak 9th corps on the left, and attacked with their superior artillery in the centre and right. The Spanish commander took command of 8th corps artillery, which he used to support 7th corps attack on the farm, and then 8th corps attack on the woods. The result a well deserved Spanish

Campaign Maps

Germany 

My campaign has been designed to provide interesting battles to wargame, with the minimum of administration.   To this end I have created a fictional map of Europe, where historical boundaries have been replaced by military regions and districts.   You will see from the map that there are nine regions in Germany, each consisting of 9x9 squares.   Each square is a wargames table.  

The Erfurt region is outlined in white.   There are nine major towns in the region, including the city of Erfurt in the centre of the map.   Each town has nine squares, and each would have a named town.   Each town would be the subject of a battle/wargame.

The campaign is divided into a series of phases.  The objective of each phase would be to take and hold one of those nine towns.   There is the possibility to fight nine different battles, but normally six would be sufficient

Central Germany – Stage 1

Erfurt Region is part of Central Germany.   On this map the city of Erfurt is outlined in white.   This map shows the main roads (red) connecting major cities and secondary roads (yellow) connecting towns within the Region.   It also shows major rivers.   In addition it shows the borders of historical regions, such as Westphalia, Bavarian etc.   These are not important in the campaign, but are used to help place my fictional military regions within historical boundaries.

When I started the campaign my intention was to fight a series of campaign phases within one military region.   Erfurt Region would be the disputed area to be fought over.   Dusseldorf Region would be the French rear area and Dresden Region the Russian rear area.

When Erfurt district became the next campaign phase I would produce a detailed campaign map showing the nine squares.   The French would start the phase deployed within the Erfurt district, the Russians within Gera, but mostly in the three squares forming the border between Fulda and Erfurt districts.  The campaign would start when the Russians crossed the border into Erfurt district.  The campaign objective would be the city of Erfurt, and the army which took and held the city would be the winner.

It soon became obvious that there was a major flaw in this deployment.   If the Russians were unable to fight their way into Erfurt district, or if they were forced to retreat out of it, there was no campaign map to allow this to happen

Central Germany Stage 2

This map was the result.   It shows the cities of Erfurt and Gera.   The campaign objective would still be Erfurt, but if the Russians were driven back the French could now cross into Gera district and continue the campaign.  The map is slightly bigger, with 12 squares in place of the earlier 9 squares. 

After a while I realised that if the French lost Erfurt and were forced to retire, they had to move off the map.  This meant that it would not be possible for them to regroup and counter attack in an attempt to retake Effort.

Central Germany Stage 3

The latest map includes a larger area.    All of Erfurt district is now included, and also half of Gera region so that both cities are shown.   There are now 15 squares on the campaign map, allowing the possibility of 15 different battles.

One major advantage of this larger map is the opportunity to show the lines of supply/communication between the major cities.   This aspect has not played a major role in my campaigns to date, except in Spain.   However I want to have the possibility to include them should I wish to do so.   It allows an extra dimension to the campaign which is always useful.

It may well also result in longer campaign phases.   I have also found that because there is now a very real possibility of the French army launching a counter attack to retake Erfurt, the Russian commander is much more careful to avoid heavy casualties in the early part of the campaign.

In most campaign phases the attacker takes casualties to take the three squares adjoining the border.   He is then much weaker when he attempts to take the next three, which include Erfurt.   But it is worth taking extra risks because once the city is taken he has won the campaign phase.   With the possibility of a counter attack, or if he runs out of supply, he must now ensure that his army is capable of holding the city, not just taking it.

Jean Campaign – Day Six

Campaign Map

Main French depot at Hellin – 27 days supplies

French attack Jean
No Guerrilla brigades active

13th French army – retreat to Ubeda
14th French army – attack Jean
15th French army – resupply at Huelma

1st Spanish army – retreat to Linares
2nd Spanish army – battle of Jean
3rd Spanish army - resupply at Alcaudete

Guerrilla brigades have no opportunity to attack French convoys

Battle of Jean – End of Move 4

French have 9 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigade, and 3 corps artillery
3 infantry and 1 cavalry brigades are detached to protect lines of supply
They have lost 1 infantry and 1 artillery battle casualties (500 men)

Spanish have 13 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigade, and 3 corps artillery
They have lost 3 infantry, 1 cavalry and 1 artillery battle casualties (1400

There are three game objective
The bridge on the left, the woods in the centre and the farm on the right
The army which holds at least two at the end of the battle is the winner

On the right 40th French corps have to cross the hill to reach the farm
They are outnumbered by 4th Spanish corps, but manage to capture the farm

In the centre 41st Baden corps are also outnumbered by 5th Spanish corps
They fight their way into the woods, but are routed by the Spanish infantry

On the left 42nd Polish corps match two infantry brigades on the left bank
The CinC takes command of the rest of the corps on the right bank
They force 6th Spanish corps to withdraw and secure both ends of the bridge

Having taken two of the three objectives the French win the battle

Comments
Once more the French had to avoid unnecessary casualties
They were also at a severe disadvantage, having detached 3 infantry and 1 cavalry brigades
They put the best two Polish infantry brigades on the left bank of the river, and took the bridge

On the right bank they forces the Spanish to retreat, but were unable to inflict serious casualties

In the centre they had a similar problem, but routed the Spanish cavalry with artillery fire
This allowed their infantry to enter the woods, but they were routed by a counter attack

On the right the French were attacked as they attempted to deploy between the farm and the hill
It was only when the Spanish cavalry were routed in the centre that they could attack the farm
After two rounds of melee the French infantry had to retreat into the centre of the farm
But they managed to rally and keep hold of the farm until the end of the battle.

This battle was decided by the infantry melee for the woods and the farm.
In both, the French had committed their elite brigades to the attack
However due to really poor dice (three 1’s out of four rolls) they lost the melee
They were driven out of the woods, but managed to just hold the farm

Another very enjoyable wargame, but it has made me ponder whether I should replace my D6 for D10 to determine combat and morale. No decision yet, I need some more play testing to confirm whether it is just bad/good luck, or the odds need to be wider.