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.
Thistlebarrow -
ReplyDeleteI do feel you are onto something with your game design and army organisations as they now stand. I would be inclined to suggest a tweak to the victory conditions.
The battle you have just described look to me like a French victory. Although the Spanish held one objective (was it still being contested though?), and the issue was still in doubt come nightfall - no an unusual outcome of battle, it seems to me that the battering they have taken might have induced the Spanish army to withdraw overnight.
Th close of the action saw the French with more brigades still in action than there were Spanish, Spanish losses were far higher, and considerably more than half the army was out of action - just 5 brigades out of 16. Somewhere in there there might be found a further criterion for determining the battle's outcome.
The impression I am getting is that these battles are pretty tense affairs!
Cheers,
Ion
Hi Ion
DeleteThanks for your considered comments.
Each campaign phase is expected to provide six battles/wargames. The first three have full strength armies on each side. In other theatres (where the two armies are more evenly balanced) the French take a lot of risks in the first three battles, to ensure that the enemy are driven back from the border. They are then usually at a slight disadvantage in the second three battles, where they often have more casualties at the start of each battle/game. To make for a more evenly balanced game, all casualties are replaced before the second three battles/games, except for one casualty (10%) on each brigade affected.
In these games the French have to be much more careful in the first three battles/games. All casualties, less 10% per brigade, are replaced. So the Spanish will keep their higher number of brigades, but those with casualties will become even more brittle. Most of the Spanish infantry brigades are conscript, which means minus 1 on morale and combat tests. If they take on a further 10% from previous battle casualties, they will be minus 2 on morale and combat tests.
However this also applies to the French, though most are elite or trained. So they will only suffer 10% from battle casualties. The real crunch comes when either side fails morale and routs. All brigades within 4" then have to test their morale, with minus 1 for a rout within 4". What will be interesting is to discover whether the Spanish defence in depth will allow them to use their reserves against the weakened French brigades.
You are right the battles are pretty tense affairs. The Spanish player fears every morale test will spreak to other brigades within 4". The French player is trying to attack, but not risk high casualties.
The result, so far, is very interesting wargames.
regards
Paul
Thistlebarrow,
ReplyDeleteAnother very interesting battle, and one wonders just how much more punishment the Spanish can take before they begin to collapse.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment
As always you highlight the essence of the change of order of battle. it will take quite a bit of play testing to determine whether the balance between low quality troops, but more brigades and artillery, is right. The real problem is that so much depends on the luck of the dice. But both of us accept that this element of chance, which might well be too much for many players, suits us both very well.
regards
Paul