Campaign Map
Main French depot at Hellin – 0 days supplies
French have no more reserve supplies
French occupy Linares
French attack Martos
Spanish retreat to Andjuar
Spanish attack Jean
Guerrilla brigades active
13th French army – occupy Linares
14th French army – attack Martos
15th French army – regroup and resupply at Mortalalla
1st Spanish army – retreat to Andjuar
2nd Spanish army – attack Jean
3rd Spanish army – regroup and resupply at Huelma
4 guerrilla attack convoy Tobarra to Riopar – fail no casualties
8 guerrilla attack convoy Elche to Jodar – fail no casualties
15 guerrilla attack convoy Hellin to Minateda – fail 10% casualties
Battle of Martos – Start of battle
14th French Army commanded by General Saint Cyr attack Martos
2nd Spanish army commanded by General Elio attack Jean
French have 8 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
4 infantry and 1 cavalry brigades are detached to protect lines of supply
They have lost 4 infantry and 1 artillery battle casualties (1700 men)
Spanish have 13 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
They have lost 6 infantry, 2 cavalry and 1 artillery battle casualties (2700 men)
The French are running short of supplies, there are none left in their base at Hellin. St Cyr is ordered to attack Martos and destroy 2nd Spanish army before the campaign grinds to a halt.
To win the campaign the Spanish must retake their base at Jean. They have more infantry than the French but have suffered more casualties to their cavalry and artillery.
Neither command is aware that their opponent is under orders to attack. The result is an encounter battle between Jean and Martos.
Comments
The Spanish have three more infantry brigades than the French. They have two 12 pdr and one 6 pdr guns. Both of their cavalry brigades have casualties.
The French have to detach one infantry bridge to control Martos. They have one 12 pdr and two 9 pdr guns. One of their cavalry brigades have casualties
Both armies start the battle with considerable casualties, so neither can afford to risk unnecessary casualties, which might prompt wide spread loss of morale. This applies particularly to the cavalry, who are restricted in what they can attempt. In particular a charge on enemy artillery is unlikely to succeed.
The French must take the initiative to delay the stronger Spanish infantry occupying all three game objectives. They decide to attack the bridge on the left and the woods in the centre. They will not attempt to take the woods on the right, but will deny it to the Spanish.
The two best Polish infantry brigades attack the left side of the bridge, but struggle to defeat the two defending Spanish brigades. They do eventually take the bridge, but at the loss of 3 casualties, rendering them pretty useless for the remainder of the game.
On the right the French infantry are heavily outnumbered, and lose one of their three brigades to Spanish artillery fire. They are fortunate to be able to prevent the Spanish taking the objective.
The French choose the centre because 6th Spanish corps have 6 pdr guns, and also have 1 casualty. The attacking Poles have 9 pdr guns, and no casualties. This means that the Spanish gunners are ineffective against enemy artillery at longer than short range (which is 4” on the table). The Poles keep their gunners out of range and force the Spanish to withdraw from the bridge to avoid artillery casualties. The Polish cavalry and artillery, under the command of Saint Cyr, then support the attack on the woods in the centre.
The Spanish have no answer to the French tactics, but due to particularly bad luck (in the form of very low dice rolls) it takes much longer than expected for the French to win.
It is possible that if the Spanish had fought a more aggressive battle they might have won. But they could just as easily have suffered casualties attacking resulting in the whole army failing their morale and running away. This is the danger when poor quality troops start a battle with considerable casualties spread throughout the whole army. But it was the only way they could have won.
Strangely a rather dull game, particularly for the French player who had to play a very cautious game and avoid the temptation to risk an aggressive attack for a quick victory.
