Spanish Field Army
Our
current campaign phase is coming to an end, and I have started work on the next
phase, which will be set in Spain.
Each
phase is a mini campaign set within the larger 1813 campaign. There are five campaign areas, each with a
different allied and French army. The
current one is set in southern Germany and pits a Bavarian and Baden Army
against an Austrian Army.
The
next phase will be set in southern Spain and will feature a Spanish Army v a
mixed French, Polish and Italian Army.
Given that it is set in 1813 it is reasonable that there is not a lot of
difference in the ability of the two armies.
The French Armies in Spain had lost many of their best soldiers to
rebuild the veterans lost in Russia the previous year.
This
will be the fourth phase set in Southern Spain. The Spanish have won two of the previous
phases, leading me to ponder whether I have the balance between them and the
French correct.
The
Spanish infantry are mostly of poor quality, the same as the conscript brigades
in the French and Polish corps, and also most of the brigades in the Italian
corps. The Spanish cavalry are also
poor, and the French cavalry average.
The gunners on both sides are average.
The
campaign is designed to provide interesting wargames to play, rather than to
recreate the historical 1813 campaign.
This campaign was chosen because there was much less difference in fighting
ability between the French and their enemies.
So it suits me very well that the Spanish are not predisposed to lose
every battle.
However
I do want to give a phase set in Spain a Spanish feel to it. To do so I have made the Spanish field army
smaller than the French. But they also
have a militia brigade in each town, a total of nine. This is a lot of infantry, as each corps has
only four brigades. When a town is
captured by the French the militia brigade becomes a guerrilla band. They are poor quality and usually lose
against even a poor French brigade. But
they do causes disruption of supplies and have to be countered by detaching
brigades from the French field army.
As
always a lot will depend on the luck of the dice. Because the two sides are of similar
effectiveness a wargame is usually decided by good, or bad, dice. However over a campaign of 6 to 8 battles
this should even out.
The
main advantage of the Spanish in the campaign, as in the historical campaign,
is the effect of the guerrilla. As the
French advance they have to detach more and more infantry to guard their lines
of communication and supply.
The
task now is to fine tune the difference in fighting ability. Each infantry brigade is graded on firing,
skirmish and morale. I want the French
to have a slight edge, but not too powerful.
That is really difficult to achieve when each combat is adjusted by a
dice throw.
