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.