Cordova Campaign – Change Order of Battle

 

Start of Battle of El Carpio

This campaign phase was designed to test play a new Order of Battle for the Spanish Army.  

In all previous campaign phases both armies had three corps per side, each consisting of 4 infantry brigades, 1 cavalry brigade and corps artillery.   This worked well for the size of wargames table because one corps occupied each of the nine scenic squares.

The exception was the campaign in Southern Spain, where historically the regular armies always lost set piece battles.   The main problem for the French was not to defeat the Spanish armies, but to maintain their lines of supply and fight the guerrilla war.

Over the years I have tried different orders of battle for the Spanish army to recreate this type of warfare.   The most successful was using guerrilla brigades to force the French to detach infantry and cavalry brigades from their field army to guard their lines of supply.    This was usually done by a roll of dice to determine the outcome of these small combats.   However it had little effect on the main battles, which were fought as regular wargames.

The whole aim of the campaign is to provide interesting battles to wargame.   This is achieved in the other four campaign areas by having equally balanced corps and armies on each side.   All corps are 4 infantry brigades, 1 cavalry brigade and 1 corps artillery.  The outcome of each wargame is largely based on the luck of the dice.   This system works well for my wife and I, who have wargamed together for many years.   It means  that each of us has an equal chance of winning each wargame.

My latest attempt to solve “The Spanish Problem” was to ignore the guerrilla war, but give the Spanish more infantry and artillery and the French more cavalry.   The French troops were better trained, particularly the artillery.   The Spanish gunners were C class, to balance their four corps artillery to the three French.   It looked promising in theory, but as always the true test would be on the wargames table.

After three games it has become apparent that it is not going to work.   It was immediately obvious that it would be difficult just to deploy four corps in line on the available play area (see map above). 

I experimented with having three Spanish corps in line, and one in reserve.   However it was difficult to effectively use them in the available time.   It also caused big problems trying to keep track of them once they were committed.

When they were deployed four abreast, as in the battle of El Carpio, it was difficult for the French to counter the fourth corps.   If they created a large reserve to fight the fourth Spanish corps, the other three French corps were too weak to attack the other two objectives.

So I have decided to rethink the whole concept.   Normally I would do this at the start of a campaign phase, but I don’t want to waste the next three battles in this campaign phase.   Also each campaign phase takes about three months, so it will be a year before we return to Southern Spain to play test the new concept.

The new concept is to have three armies of three corps each.   The Spanish will have 12 infantry brigades, two cavalry brigades and three corps artillery.   The French will have 9 infantry brigades, two cavalry brigades and three corps artillery.    This is because I only have two Spanish cavalry brigades in my collection.   When I designed the original figure collection I wanted the Spanish to have one regular and one guerrilla cavalry brigades, for historical reasons.  This has proved a mistake for practical reasons.  The easy answer would be to paint up some new Spanish cavalry, but I have not painted a figure for 20 years and do not want to start now.

The campaign justification for this wholesale reorganisation is as follows.   Having taken the first three Spanish towns, the French will detach three infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade to protect their lines of supply.   The Spanish, who have lost a lot of casualties, will use their fourth corps in each army to make up the battle casualties.

The end result will still give the Spanish more troops, each army will have 12 infantry brigades to the 9 French brigades.   The Spanish infantry will be slightly less well trained than the French, but the gunners and cavalry will be the same.  

I am not at all sure how this will work out, but I will have three games to play test it.   Don’t be at all surprised if there is a completely different organisation for the next campaign phase in Southern Spain.

 

Cordova Campaign – Battle of El Carpio

Battle of Carpio – table at start of game

Both armies start the game on the table.

At the top the Spanish are deployed in front of El Carpio
The three French corps are deployed with one corps in each square

There are three game objectives
Inn on the left, woods in the centre, bridge on the right (must hold both ends)
The side which has possession of at least two objectives a t the end of 12 moves will win

The Spanish CinC has taken command of the cavalry brigades of 5th and 6th corps
He has deployed them behind the woods in the centre
5th corps hold the inn on the left
6th corps hold the woods in the centre
7th corps hold the area between the woods and the bridge
8th corps hold the area on the right bank of the river

On the left 40th French corps hold both sides of the southern bridge
In the centre 41st Polish corps are ordered to take the woods
On the right 42nd Italian corps are ordered to take the inn

End of move 12

The French plan of battle is to take and hold the inn and the woods
They are heavily outnumbered on their right, and hope to pin 7th and 8th Spanish corps

On the left the Spanish do not have any cavalry, which gives the Italians a big advantage.
They use their lancer brigade to force the Spanish to withdraw towards the hill
Their infantry, supported by the artillery, quickly take the inn

In the centre the Polish cavalry face the Spanish dragoons and lancers
They find it harder to push the Spanish between the inn and the woods back
When they do so the Polish infantry take the woods, but the reserve brigade is in square
The Spanish counter attack, but the Polish infantry hold despite 20% casualties
 
On the right 40th French corps are outnumbered by 8 to 4 infantry brigades
The Spanish also have two corps artillery against one French 

The Spanish commander moves the cavalry reserve between the woods and 7th corps 
The Dragoon brigade charge the Polish lancers, the Spanish lancers threaten the gunners  
The melee is a draw, with both brigades suffering 30% casualties

This leaves the Spanish with the lancer brigade and the Poles without any cavalry
The gunners seek shelter in the nearby infantry square and both brigades retreat
7th and 8th Spanish corps are ordered to attack, and the French withdraw to the southern bridge
40th French corps rally on the left bank between the hill and the southern bridge
They come under heavy Spanish artillery fire, but are saved by nightfall

Comments
At nightfall the French hold two of the three objectives and win the battle
But they have lost the right half of the battlefield to the Spanish attack

As 40th French corps retreat the Spanish pursue with caution
This allows the French on the right bank to cross the river at the south bridge
The Spanish do not have sufficient time to attack, but do some damage with their artillery

The Spanish commander supports 6th corps counter attack on the woods
One brigade from 7th corps attack the woods at the same time
The French light brigade holding the woods suffer 20% casualties, but hold
Had the Spanish right attacked two or three moves earlier they would probably have won

The French were fortunate to escape with such light casualties.
Throughout the game the French rolled better dice than the Spanish
Particularly for critical morale tests.
The large number of Spanish brigades in rout reflect their lack of luck with the dice

A very interesting game which highlights how difficult it is to counter four corps with three.

Cordova Campaign – Day Three

 

11 September 1813 – Southern Spain – Day 3

French occupy Espinal
13 French Army regroup at Montoro
14 French Army attack El Carpio
15 French Army occupy Espinal

Spanish win battle of Espinal
1 Spanish Army regroup at Muriano
2 Spanish Army defend El Carpio
3 Spanish Army retreat to Montilla

Battle of Espinal – Move 12

At nightfall the Spanish hold the farm on the left
They also hold half of hill in the centre and three quarters of woods on the right
The French hold half of hill in the centre and one quarter of woods on the right

Neither side hold two of the three game objectives
The Spanish hold one and most of the other two
The result in a draw, but the Spanish declared the winners

French have lost 5 infantry and 1 cavalry casualties (2100 men)
Spanish have lost 17 infantry and 3 cavalry casualties (7100 men)

6 French brigades in rout
11 Spanish brigades in rout

Comments
Neither side held two out of three objectives.
But the Spanish held more than the French and were declared the winners.
However the Spanish lost 3 men to each Frenchman lost, and had twice as many in rout
So the following day the Spanish had to retreat once again.

This was only the second game using the new Spanish order of battle, which gives them four corps to three French. It is already clear that the new system is not working well.

The evenly balanced armies allowed the game to work as planned. Each of the three corps fought their own battle, and the side who won two battles (and took two objectives) won the game.

Now the Spanish have a large enough reserve that they can retake a lost objective
The French then do not have sufficient time to regroup and counter attack

The number of Spanish figures on the table is also more of a problem than I anticipated.
There is not enough room for the fourth Spanish corps to deploy, and they are placed in reserve
However they are then too far from the section of the table where they are required.

I will experiment with using the fourth corps to reinforce each of the other three Spanish corps before the battle starts. They would then have five infantry brigades to each corps, against the four brigades in each French corps. This would make each of the three Spanish corps slightly stronger, but still allow the French to gain a decisive victory It would also be possible for the Spanish CinC to create a grand battery to make most use of his four corps artillery against the French three.

I suspect that at the end of the experiment we will return to the three corps per side. But I will have to find a way of giving the Spanish a small edge in numbers, and also increase their cavalry from two brigades to three.

Cordova Campaign – Battle of Espinal

Battle of Espinal – table at start of game

Both armies start the game on the table.

At the top the Spanish are deployed in and around Espinal
All four corps are deployed on the three objectives
The CinC is behind the hill with both cavalry brigades

The three French corps are deployed with one corps in each square

There are three game objectives
Village on the left, hill in the centre and large woods on the right
The side which has possession of at least two objectives a t the end of 12 moves will win

End of move 12

The battle opened with 45th French corps attack on the village on the left.
11th Spanish corps had no cavalry support and quickly withdrew from the village
They deployed their artillery to engage the village and prepared to counter attack
The Westphalians left one infantry brigade and the cavalry to hold the village
The remainder attacked the ridge on their right

The Spanish centre was held by 10th and 12th corps, 8 infantry brigades and 2 corps artillery
The hill was far too strong for a frontal attack by 44 corps
The Westphalians took half of the hill, and 44 corps advanced to support them
But the right half of the hill remained in undisputed control of 12 Spanish corps

Between the hill and the woods both CinC faced each other with two cavalry brigades
The French advanced and the Spanish counter charged
The leading French heavy brigade routed the Spanish lancers
But the reserve brigades were fought to a draw

On the right 9th Spanish corps abandoned the southern half of the woods
43rd French corps fought hard to take the northern half, and routed all Spanish brigades
The Spanish CinC counter attacked with two brigades from 12 corps
At nightfall the Spanish held three of the four sections of the large woods

At the end of move 12 neither side held two of the three game objectives
The Spanish held one, and more than half of the remaining two
The result was a draw.

French have lost 5 infantry and 1 cavalry casualties (2100 men)
Spanish have lost 17 infantry and 3 cavalry casualties (7100 men)

6 French brigades in rout
11 Spanish brigades in rout

Comments
Another game where the Spanish won, but lost three times as many casualties as the French.
They also had almost twice as many brigades in rout.

It is becoming obvious that the game is not long enough for the greatly outnumbered French to defeat the Spanish in detail. The Spanish have 16 infantry brigades to the French 12. They also have four guns to the French three. This makes it very difficult for the French to win a frontal attack, and there is not sufficient time for a flank attack to be exploited.

The Spanish command and control is also difficult. Normally there is one corps to each 24” square of terrain. This is sufficient space for the corps to deploy and fight. With four corps to three squares is becomes very crowded, and one rout can take many more brigades with them.

We will continue to test play the new Spanish organisation for the rest of this campaign. But I am not confident that we will use it again in future campaigns.

Cordova Campaign – Day Two

 

10 September 1813 – Southern Spain – Day 2

French attack Espinal
13 French Army occupy Montoro
14 French Army observe El Carpio
15 French Army attack Espinal

Spanish win battle of Montoro
1 Spanish Army retreat to Muriano
2 Spanish Army hold El Carpio
3 Spanish Army hold Espinal

Battle of Montoro – end of move 12

Comments

Although the Spanish won the battle of Montoro, they had suffered so many casualties that they had to retreat the following day. They suffered 21 infantry casualties (8500) against 15 French (5300). They also had six brigades in rout, against four French. 2nd Spanish corps had suffered particularly with all four infantry brigades in rout.

They won the battle because they held two of the three objectives at the end of 12 moves.

Most of the Spanish casualties were concentrated in 1st and 2nd corps, who bore the brunt of the fighting for the woods in the centre and the woods on the right. 3rd corps abandoned the farm on the left without any serious fighting. 4th corps were the Spanish reserve and only committed at the end of the battle to retake the woods on the right. They suffered light casualties because 37th French corps were shaken by the earlier fighting and had no casualties.

The lighter French casualties are spread more evenly between their three corps. This will make it easier to rally and regroup to fight a second day at Montoro if the Spanish did not retreat.

The second French attack is in the south, where marshal Augereau is ordered to attack Espinar. The French strategic plan is to force First Spanish army in the north, and Third Spanish army in the south to retreat. They will then attack Second Spanish army at El Carpio on the east bank of the river Guadalquivir and destroy them before they can retreat to the west bank.

For this plan to work they will have to defeat Third Spanish army at Montoro.

Cordova Campaign – Battle of Montoro

Battle of Montoro – table at start of game

Start of move 1
Both armies start the game on the table.
At the top the Spanish are deployed in and around Montoro
1, 2 and 3 corps are in front of the town, 4 corps at the rear
The three French corps are deployed with one corps in each square

There are three game objectives
Farm on the left, small woods in the centre and large woods on the right
The side which has possession of at least two objectives a t the end of 12 moves will win

End of move 12

On the right 39th Vistula corps have taken the farm, 3rd Spanish corps is in rout
The Polish advance was delayed by having to move through the large woods
They then pinned the Spanish to the left of the farm, and attacked the farm itself
This was achieved without much help from their lancer brigade, who failed their morale and routed
2nd Spanish orps did not have any cavalry, so this was not the disaster it might have been
After a short fight all four Spanish brigades routed (see yellow stars) and abandoned the farm

In the centre 38th French corps had a more difficult task. 2nd Spanish corps was supported by artillery from the reserve, and also cavalry from 1st corps. No attempt was made to engage this strong force, so the attack on the small woods at the T junction had to a frontal one. The French did eventually take the woods, but were unable to hold it against an attack by two brigades from the reserve 4th corps.

37th young guard corps attacked the large woods on the right. 1st Spanish corps held the two northern wood sections, and were positioned to counter attack any French who entered the two southern sections. This meant that the French artillery were unable to engage the Spanish infantry. They therefore exchanged fire with the Spanish artillery, but lost the engagement and routed with 10% casualties. The battle for the woods was therefore an infantry affair. Not surprising the French young guard took the woods and 1st Spanish corps retreated. But the French has no reserve to counter a counter attack by two brigades from 4th Spanish corps.

The French lost 13 infantry and 1 artillery casualties (5300 men)
The Spanish lost 21 infantry and 1 artillery casualties (8500 men)
The French had four brigades in rout, the Spanish had six

The Spanish held two of the three objectives at the end of 12 moves and won the battle

Comments

This was the first battle of the Cordova campaign, it was also the first time that the Spanish outnumbered the French in infantry and artillery.

The French had 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery
The Spanish had 16 infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigades and 4 cavalry.

The Spanish deployed half of their artillery, and all of their cavalry, in the centre. The French dare not attack such a powerful force, and directed their main attack at the two flanks. They created a reserve of two cavalry brigades, one artillery and one infantry brigade to pin the Spanish centre.

The attack on the left went well, but losing their artillery on the right flank was a serious blow to the French. The loss of a lancer brigade on the left flank was not so serious because the Spanish did not have sufficient cavalry to take advantage of their loss.

The main difference was the much more powerful Spanish infantry. The French took all three objectives, but were then too weak to withstand the counter attack by four brigades from the Spanish reserve.

This game was the first test of the stronger Spanish army, and too soon to come to any conclusions.

Cordova Campaign – Day One

9 September 1813 – Southern Spain – Day 1

French attack Montoro
13 French Army attack Montoro
14 French Army observe El Carpio
15 French Army observe Espinal

Spanish hold Cordova-Jean border
1 Spanish Army hold Montoro
2 Span
3 Spanish Army hold Espinal

Comments

The campaign opens with both armies facing each other at the regional border between Cordoba and Jean.

The French campaign strategy is to defeat 1st Spanish army in the north and 3rd Spanish army in the south and then pin 2nd Spanish army in front of El Carpio against the river Guadalquivir and destroy them.

In the north Marshal Suchet attacks the town of Montoro, which is defended by General Giron.
Giron has four corps, three on the border and one in the town itself. Suchet has three corps.

In all previous campaigns both commanders had equal numbers of infantry, cavalry and artillery. The campaign model was that both would have an equal chance of winning. This model worked well in the other four campaign areas, but not in southern Spain. This area has always been the most difficult to recreate the historical problems encountered by the French. They always defeated Spanish field armies, but suffered from long lines of supply which were vulnerable to attack by the Spanish irregular troops. This type of campaign works well as a map exercise, but does not transfer to the wargames table.

Each French corps has four infantry and one cavalry brigades, plus corps artillery. Two Spanish corps have the same, but the other two have no cavalry. In each battle the Spanish will have 16 infantry brigades, two cavalry brigades and four corps artillery. The French will have 12 infantry brigades, three cavalry brigades and three corps artillery.

During the campaign I will command the French, and will be able to test how well the small cavalry superiority works, and whether it makes up for the infantry and artillery imbalance. If necessary I will adjust the Spanish troop types to reduce their combat and morale status.

Start of Cordova Campaign Phase

 

Central Germany – Campaign Phases 

Cordova is set in southern Spain and follows the French invasion under the command of marshal Suchet and the Spanish defence led by General Giron.   This is the fifth phase to be fought in southern Spain.   The French won three phases and the Spanish only one.

Of all five campaign areas this is by far the most difficult to model.   As you know my 1813 campaign is designed to provide interesting battles to wargame.   That means giving both players a reasonable chance of winning each of the wargames fought.

In previous phases I have tried to weaken the French by including the guerrilla war, which played such an important role in the historical campaign.   The French had to detach large numbers of men to protect their lines of supply, which were under constant attack by the Spanish irregular forces.  

This war within a war had a critical strategic bearing on the campaign.   French supplies had to travel hundreds of miles, and were under constant attack.  However by and large they did arrive.   However the French commanders had to disperse their armies in order to supplement these supplies by living off the land.

It did not however have any real tactical effect.   I can’t think of any battle in the Peninsular which was affected by the guerrilla war.   And my primary interest in the campaign is the wargames which is produces.

Gaming the lines of supply and the guerrilla war has taken up a lot of time and effort, for relatively little reward.    And as the French won three of the previous four campaign phases it clearly did not balance the French and Spanish armies on the wargames table

Cordova Campaign Map

For this campaign is am trying out a new idea.   The Spanish will have considerably more brigades than the French.  There will be nine French corps against 16 Spanish corps.  

All armies are based on the number and type of wargame figures on my shelf.   Apart from the Spanish all French and allied corps (in wargame figures) have four infantry brigades of 8 figures, one cavalry brigade of 4 figures and corps artillery of 1 gun and 4 figures.   So all corps have the same number of infantry, cavalry and artillery.

The Spanish have two such corps, but the other two do not have any cavalry.   Many years ago, long before I created my 1813 campaign, I replaced my Minifigs 28mm figures with Foundry figures.   This allowed me to buy exactly the number and type of figures I wanted at the time.    My infantry units 16 figures, 4 skirmishers and 1 mounted officer.   My cavalry were 8 figures.  

For some long forgotten reason I did not apply this logic to the Spanish.   They included a mixture of regular, militia and guerrilla figures.   But they only had two cavalry units of 8 figures, unlike the other nations which had four such.

Spanish corps (including cavalry brigade)

In each wargame the French will have 9 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades, 3 corps artillery

The Spanish will have 16 infantry brigades,2 cavalry brigades, 4 corps artillery

This is a huge advantage in numbers .    To balance the infantry will be almost entirely conscript and poor quality skirmishers.   The cavalry will be trained, as will the gunners.   Otherwise both would be virtually useless, particularly in later games when they have casualties.

I anticipate that the major difference will be artillery.   The attacking French will always be outgunned.   Yet to press home an attack they will have to advance and risk artillery casualties.   Their slight advantage in cavalry will help, but probably only in the early games of the campaign.

The main Spanish disadvantage will be the poor quality infantry.   If the French can rout one brigade there is a good chance any supporting troops within 4” will fail their morale and join them.

However if the Spanish guns can cause casualties to any of the three cavalry brigades, or the three corps artillery, the French will be unable to deliver an attack with any hope of success.

I have no idea how all of this is going to work out.   As always it will depend on the luck of the dice.   I suspect I may have to reduce the quality of the Spanish cavalry, which would be correct in historical terms.   Hopefully I will not have to do the same for the Spanish gunners.   My understanding is that they were the best of all three arms in the Spanish army.   But more important it would make it very difficult for the Spanish player to win.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming campaign.

End of Nordhausen Campaign Phase

Central Germany – Campaign Phases

Nordhausen was the fifth campaign fought in central Germany since the Sixth campaign began in June 2020.   The Russians won three of the five campaign phases.   Out of a total of 29 battles/wargames fought, the Russians won14.   All of this would appear to indicate that the balance between armies is about right.    However in the Nordhausen campaign the Russians won all six battles/wargames.

Central Germany – Battles Fought 

This is the first time this has happened since the 1813 campaign began in April 2009.   Since then there have been 97 campaign phases and 519 battles fought.   I can’t remember a since phase when one side won all of the battles.   Even in southern Spain the French did not manage to do this even once.   Most Spanish victories were of a technical nature, with the French failing to achieve the battle/game objectives within the 12 hours/moves allowed.   But this is allowed because the relative strengths of the two armies make it necessary to set an artificial target, rather than the destruction of the enemy army.

I spent a lot of time pondering why this happened during my recent Christmas and New Year spent in the UK, but can find no obvious reason.   None of the battles started with an obvious winner or loser likely.   During the first three battles both sides were full strength.   During the last three both had casualties, but the Russians tended to have more because they lost the first three battles.   But the French casualties were often on elite infantry brigades or cavalry brigades. This is because those suffered the most casualties by doing most of the fighting.

I came to the conclusion that it was just a matter of luck.   I considered changing the rules, but could not see any obvious way to ensure a more equal outcome.   Once more I have to put it down to the luck of the dice.   All six games were enjoyable for both players, and the decisive melee often decided the winner and loser.   As far as I can remember there was no particularly bad run of luck for the French.  

The next campaign will be in southern Spain, which is always a challenging campaign to plan.   I have made major changes in the order of battle for this next phase, but more about that next week.

Christmas Holiday

We have just returned from the UK, where we spent Christmas and New Year with our family.   All of my wargame and campaign is on my desktop, so I have to go “cold turkey” when we are in the UK.  

It is lovely to visit the family, and we always have a very enjoyable time with them.    But after a few days I find it quite difficult to find things to do.    Christmas in Northumberland can be quite a shock after spending the rest of the year in the Costa Blanca.   It is often wet and cold, though this year we were very lucky with the mild weather.  And we returned just as the heavy snow arrived.

It made me realise just how much I rely on my computer, and how difficult it is to replace it.   My IPad and mobile phone makes it easy to keep up with news and what friends are up to, but it does not replace the couple of hours each day I spend on joint hobbies of Wargaming and my Monday Ramblers walking group.  

You will all know about my 1813 campaign, and that I spend a couple of hours most days either Wargaming, updating the campaign or writing the two blogs.   Some years ago, when it was a PBEM campaign, I transferred everything on to my laptop and took it with me.   However I found it impossible to concentrate without appearing unsociable, and of course I could not fight the battles as a wargame.   Now I just switch off until we return to Spain.   Fortunately I can keep up with wargame blogs and forums, but it is not the same.

I miss my walking group just as much.  It is a U3A group, which I have run for the past ten years.  We started as a hill walking group, but as we got older we found the hill climbing too much of a challenge.   A couple of years ago I converted it into a more gentle valley walking group.  There are 30 regular members, and we meet each Monday for a three hour walk.   I am fortunate to live in the very popular walking area in and around the Jalon valley.   I have created 30 walks, including a few easier hill walks, which we do in sequence.   We are all friends, and we miss them a lot when we are in the UK.

In addition to walking each week, I also do a blog post of each walk.  I have always recorded my walks by taking photographs and started the blog 20 years ago to keep friends and family in touch when we moved to Spain.   In recent years I have also started a group Facebook page to recruit new members.   Two years ago a friend suggested that I do a YouTube version of the blog, and I now post a video about once a month.   All of this requires an hour or so each day.

So when I return after two weeks in the UK there is a lot of work to catch up on.   All of this is a work of love, so I am not in any way complaining.   But it does explain why I have not posted for two weeks, and why I have to find a non wargame subject whilst I try to catch up on the wargame campaign.

Happy New Year to you all.