Burgos Campaign – Day Three

 

 

28 August 1813 – North Spain – Day 3

British attack Cuellar
1 British army – regroup and resupply at Quintana
2 British army – occupy Santa Maria
3 British army – attack Cuellar

French lose battle of Santa Maria
10 French army – regroup and resupply at Picuerga
11 French army – retreat to Burgos
12 French army – defend Cuellar

Battle of Cuellar – End of Move 12

This was the third battle of the Burgos campaign. The French had won the first, the British the second. The British must win this battle if they are to continue to advance towards Burgos. If they fail they will have to retreat west and abandon their campaign.

Picton fought an aggressive battle, and all three battle objectives were soon engaged.

On the left Oswald’s 9th corps quickly took the two northern sections of woods, but was unable to make any progress against the two southern sections. Munsier’s Italian corps fought back and routed all six British brigades. The gunners rallied and took shelter in the village, but were unable to man their abandoned guns. Oswald was unable to rally any of his four infantry and one cavalry brigades.

Picton took command of half of 8th British corps in the centre. They routed the cavalry and three infantry brigades of Joubert’s Vistula corps, but were unable to take the woods which dominated the road junction. The one remaining Polish infantry brigade still held the woods at nightfall.

On the right Halkett’s 7th corps aggressively attacked Villatte’s French corps. The French were forced to retreat, but kept hold of the village. Villatte launched a counter attack which routed three British brigades. Halkett continued to attack, but the French still held the village at nightfall.

Both armies suffered heavy casualties. The British lost 20 infantry and 7 cavalry casualties (8700 men) and ten brigades in rout. The French lost 18 infantry, 5 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (7800 men) and twelve brigades in rout.

At nightfall the French held all three game objectives and had won a convincing victory

Comments
 game resulted in an unusually high number of casualties on both sides. Normally this only happens in the second half of the campaign, when both sides start the game with existing battle casualties. The reason for this is that both sides were able to rally routed brigades and launch counter attacks.

The morale tests are decided by one D6 roll. Points are added for elite troops, generals within 4” and supports within 4”. If a brigade has 10% casualties and is disordered they lose two points. The plus and minus points often cancel each other out. A dice roll of 4 or more is a pass. 3 is disordered, 2 shaken and 1 rout. Both shaken and routed brigades lose two points on subsequent morale tests.

If a brigade is routed early in the game it is quite possible that they will rally and return to the fighting before move 12. This happened to both sides during this game. The result is that the brigade runs the risk of more casualties in the final stages. In this particular game a large proportion of brigades ended the game in rout with 30% casualties.

This is the second British defeat out of three battles. They are the aggressors, and must now abandon their campaign to take Burgos. It is likely that the defending French army will pursue the retreating British army and invade Valladolid district.

This would be another first since the campaign started in 2009.

Burgos Campaign – Day Two

27 August 1813 – North Spain – Day 2

British attack Santa Maria
1 British army – retreat to Quintana
2 British army – attack Santa Maria
3 British army – observe border

French win battle of Pisuerga
10 French army – concentrate on border
11 French army – defend Santa Maria
12 French army – advance to border

Battle of Santa Maria – End of Move 12

The battle opened with one French corps deployed on the centre objective. The other two corps were either side of Santa Maria. All three corps would be able to move at the start of move one.

The British were off table, but all three corps would arrive at the start of move one.

On the right 31st French corps arrived at the bridge before 4th British corps. Half of their infantry were on the left bank with the corps artillery. The other half were on the right bank with the cavalry. The British light division were on the right bank, supported by the corps cavalry. The CinC commanded the other two infantry brigades and the corps artillery; he also took command of 5th corps cavalry. The British forced the French on the left bank to retreat, and redeploy their cavalry to support the light division on the opposite bank. They now held both ends of the bridge and continued to do so until the end of the battle.

The British had a much harder task in the centre. Neither side could use their cavalry on the hills either side of the main road. The British captured the hill on the right by late afternoon, and then the hill on the left just before nightfall.

The battle for the woods on the left was the most complicated. All four sections of the woods had to be taken and held to control the third objective. The British quickly took the two northern sections, but struggled with the two southern ones. By late afternoon they had taken three of the four sections. The French then launched a counter attack on the bottom right section, and routed the defending highland brigade. The British brigades holding the other three wooded sections had to test their morale because of the rout. All three failed and joined the rout. At nightfall the French held the bottom right section with a shaken infantry brigade. But there were no British reserve to counter attack and the French held the objective.

At nightfall the British held two of the three game objectives and won the battle.

Comments
At the end of move 10 (of 12) it seemed certain that the British would take and hold all three game objectives. They held the bridge on the right. They also held the right hand hill in the centre, and were about to attack the left hand one with three brigades against two. They held three of the four wooded sections on the left, and had just routed the French brigade in the fourth section

The British took and held the hill on the left and thus secured the second of the three objectives

During move 11 they secured the fourth wooded section, and thereby held all three game objectives. However at the start of move 12 the French counter attacked the bottom right section of woods. The result was a draw, but the British had lost 10% casualties. In each move we draw a poker chip to decide which corps moves next. The French had come first to counter attack, it was all down to the outcome of the second round of melee when the British chip was drawn. Another draw, this time both brigades suffered 10% casualties. The French passed their morale test, the British failed and routed. The other three wood sections were within 4” and each of the British brigades holding them had to test their morale. All three failed and joined the rout!

The British still won the game, because they held two of the three game objectives. But Jan (the French player) felt she had won a moral victory by routing all four enemy brigades and retaking the woods.

All of this is possible because of the simple morale rules we use. All brigades who have taken part in a melee or received casualties have to test their morale, even if they have won the melee and not received any casualties. This is decided by the roll of 1D6. It is very unusual to have such a dramatic failure of morale, particularly on the last move of the game. But the fact that it is possible means that no game is ever decided until the chip for the last corps is drawn at the end of move 12.

Burgos Campaign – Day One

 

 

26 August 1813 – North Spain – Day 1

British attack Pisuerga
1 British army – attack Pisuerga
2 British army – observe border
3 British army – observe border

French win battle of Pisuerga
10 French army – win battle of Pisuerga
11 French army – hold Santa Maria
12 French army – hold Cuellar

Battle of Pisuerga – End of Move 2

The campaign opens with a surprise attack by 1st British army on the border town of Pisuerga.

29th French corps is deployed between Pisuerga and the border
28th French and 30th Polish corps are in reserve either side of the town
They will not be able to move until the start of move 2
The British will enter the table at the start of move 1

On the left the Poles deploy their artillery and one infantry brigade on the hill.
The remainder of 30th corps are behind or to the left of the hi
3rd British corps have lost their artillery to the army reserve
They attack the hill, but quickly withdraw in face of the Polish artillery

The main British attack is in the centre
Wellington has taken command of the artillery from 2nd and 3rd corps
They advance to the left of the main road in support of 2nd corps
2nd corps have orders to attack the road junction in the centre of the table

Despite being outnumbered 29th French hold the road junction throughout the battle
Both sides suffer heavy casualties.

On the right 1st British corps send three infantry brigades to attack the village
28th French corps have one brigade in the village and two in reserve
The remainder of the corps is deployed to the right of the village
The British take and hold the village

At nightfall the French hold two of the three game objectives and win the battle.

Comments

Wellington took command of the artillery and one infantry brigade from 2nd and 3rd corp
He used this reserve to support his main attack on the road junction with 2nd corps
Despite this he failed to take and hold the road junction.

Without their artillery 3rd British corps were unable to take the hill on the left
The Poles reached the hill first, and moved their artillery onto the hill
Cavalry are unable to fight on hills, and without artillery the British infantry withdrew

On the right the majority of both 1st British and 28th French corps were inactive
Only one brigade can be inside the village, but two brigades can attack either side
The British were confident they could take and hold the village with infantry alone
They pinned the rest of the French with their cavalry and artillery, plus one infantry brigade
The French should have attacked, and thus forced the British to reduce their attack on the village
However they concentrated on holding the village, and lost it.

The main attack in the centre was interesting. The British won an initial advantage with their superiority in artillery. They routed half of the French corps holding the road junction.
However they could not redeploy quickly enough to engage the other half.
An extensive infantry melee would decide the outcome, and the French had better luck (dice)
During the melee I (as British player) rolled three 1s and one 2 out of four dice!

The French won, but they lost more casualties than the British. So in their next battle they will start with more casualties than the British. Battle casualty replacements bring all brigades up to strength less 10%. The French have casualties to six infantry and one cavalry brigade. The British have casualties to four infantry and one cavalry brigade. The French casualties are spread between two corps, the British confined to one corps. All of this will put 29th French corps at a disadvantage when they next meet up with 2nd British corps.

Start of Burgos Campaign Phase

Campaign map of Europe

There are five campaign areas in Europe, as shown on the map above

North Germany – French v Prussians
Central Germany – French v Russians
Southern Germany – French v Austrians
North Spain – French v British and Portuguese
Southern Spain – French v Spanish

This is a fictional campaign and is based loosely on the historical 1813 campaign.

The campaign is divided into campaign phases
Each phase is self contained and starts with both armies at full strength
Each phase is about the size of the historical Waterloo campaign

The map of Europe is divided into squares, and each square is a military district
Each campaign phase is fought for possession of one of those districts

The aim of my campaign is to allow me to use all of my model soldiers and scenery
To achieve this each campaign phase is fought in a different campaign area

The sequence is

North Germany
North Spain
Central Germany
South Spain
South Germany

This sequence was chosen to allow maximum contrast with uniforms and scenery.
For example we have a series of buildings for north Europe and Spain
The bland Prussian uniforms are followed by Wellington’s red coats
Bland Russians come next
Followed by the very colourful Spanish regulars and guerrilla brigades
And finally white Austrians, before we return to bland Prussian again

North Europe battlefield – Goslar campaign phase

The table is a collection of 2x2 foot scenic squares which replicate the campaign map.
The buildings, woods etc are placed on top of these scenic squares
6x6 inch fabric square are sued to show the area of the farm, village or town
A farm or village has one of these squares, a town two and a city four

On the photo above there is a farm top left, with a green square
Top right is a fortified farm, similar to Hougoumont or La Haye Sainte
Bottom left is a second fortified farm; normally this would be a village
Bottom is the city of Goslar, represented by four scenic squares

No attempt has been made to make my city look anything like the actual town of Goslar
To do so would require a lot of effort to make specific buildings or features
Just not worth the effort for a two month wargame campaign

Spanish battlefield – Merida campaign phase

You will see that I use the same scenic squares to create the wargames table
I live in Spain and have visited most of the major, and many of the minor battlefields
There are parts of Spain which are barren, particularly in the summer
But most of the country is similar to the UK, certainly in Valencia comunidad where I live
So I feel it is acceptable to use the same colour green for the base of each scenic square

The town buildings are all Hovels, of which I have a large and varied collection
The villages and farms are all homemade, from card.
My wife Jan did the artistic work, I did the basic painting
The town’s buildings are all light brown, to reflect the better construction
The farms and villages all white, which is very common on rural buildings

When there is a river involved there are less villages or farms
This is because I never have two buildings in adjacent squares
I have found that this allows a more open battlefield, which is more challenging
I also have eight squares with hills, which allows a good variation
And finally five river sections, including two bends.

This photo illustrates well the reason I use fabric squares to show the area of buildings
In the centre of the photo the city of Merida is represented by four such squares
The two nearest to the camera have been removed to show fighting inside the city

Burgos campaign map

I used to restrict the campaign phase to the area covered by the district being attacked.
In this came it would have been the nine squares with Burgos in the centre
But I had a problem when the attacking army lost the early battles and had to retreat
So I changed the campaign map to include the area either side of the district boundary
In this case the British base of Valladolid is on the left
The French base, and the campaign objective, of Burgos in on the right

I always have a twinge of regret when my fictional campaign involved a historical objective.
Some years ago my wife and I spent a week exploring Wellington’s 1812 siege of Burgos.
I know the ground extremely well, and would love to recreate the siege
But, again, that is not possible in a two month wargame campaign

Nor is the general area anything like the physical area around the city of Burgos
The river Douro does flow through the Burgos area, but not the city itself
And I am quite sure no resident of the area would recognise the route of my river
I long ago came to realise that the most important part of creating a wargame campaign is compromise

Conclusion

I don’t think I have any favourite campaign area.
The important thing for me is the wargame itself, which must be enjoyable
I have left behind the desire to recreate historical battlefields and battles
Or to attempt to make my tabletop battles just like “the real thing”

In my early years of Wargaming I read Don Featherstone’s Wargamers Newsletter
Don had fought through WW2, and had experience of “the real thing”
His approach was that Wargaming was an enjoyable recreation experience
He know only too well that it was impossible to recreate the horror of real war
And who in their right mind would ever want to do so

So I am looking forward to a couple of months of moving my French, British and Portuguese model soldiers around my well used wargames table. And when my wargame campaign visits a village or town which I actually visited I will have happy memories of the real thing, and not spoil the fictional wargames experience.

Summary of 1813 Campaign

 

1813 Campaign map

The campaign started in July 2009. 

The campaign has been reorganised six times since then, either because it ran out of days in the year, or when it changed from a solo campaign to PBEM (play by email).   Within each campaign there are varying numbers of “mini campaigns” or “campaign phases”.   Each campaign phase is a self contained mini campaign consisting of 5 to 10 (usually 6) battles fought as wargames.

There have been 95 campaign phases, each lasting about two months.    This map shows the location of each phase and the colour indicates the winner of the phase.   The campaign has also produced 507 battles which were fought as wargames.   There are a series of blogs covering the whole campaign from July 2009 with a continuous diary and battle reports with photographs of each battle fought.

Sixth Campaign map

The current campaign (The Sixth) started in June 2020.   This was the first campaign to use the new fictional maps of Europe with military regions and districts.   I decided to create a fictional map of Europe having spent 11 years trying to create a map which I could divide into squares which I could then transfer to my wargames table.   Trying to scale down my master map (a road atlas of Europe) to a series of wargame tables proved too difficult (for me anyway).  So I decided to scale up a wargame table to create a fictional map of Europe.   Each square on this map is a military district.   Each district is divided into nine towns, and each town is a wargames table.    Nine districts make up a military region.

 

There have been 21 campaign phases each of which is shown on this map.   These have provided 134 battles to wargame.

Hildesheim Campaign Phase

When I started the Sixth Campaign I fought each campaign phase on a map showing the nine towns of that military district.   However I soon decided it would make more sense to show the area either side of the district border and include the administrative HQ of each army.   In this case the French HQ is Hildesheim and the Prussian HQ is Goslar.   The district border is the purple dotted line in the middle of the map.

There were six battles fought during this campaign phase, and the location of each is shown by a coloured star.   French victories are in blue and Prussian in Grey

When I started the 1813 Campaign in July 2009 I never thought that it would last so long.   I had run quite a few solo campaigns before then, but each were based on an historical campaign, rather than a fictional one designed to provided battles to wargame.  The great advantage of a fictional campaign is that you can develop it as much as you like. 

The objective of the campaign has always been to provide interesting battle for my wife and I to wargame, using to the full our collection of model soldiers and scenery.   In 2009 that included identical armies in 6mm, 18mm and 28mm.   However we soon found that we preferred to use the larger figures, and the 6mm and 18mm were soon gathering dust on the shelves.

The maps and the orders of battle have changed over the years, but the objective has never changed.   Being able to restructure the maps and order of battle has allowed me to created different scales of battle so we never get bored with the actual wargames.   It also allows me to undertake lengthy projects, such as the fictional maps, to add interest to the campaign itself.

When I wrote the original campaign rules I also wrote a set of rules loosely based on  “Le Feu Sacre” Napoleonic rules.    Both have changed drastically over the years, and now bear little resemblance to those used in 2009.   But this also has maintained our interest in Wargaming. 

The beauty of designing campaign and wargame rules for yourself if that you don’t have to justify them to anyone else.   It has certainly worked well for us, and I would strongly recommend it to other wargamers.

Hildesheim Campaign – Day Seven

25 August 1813 – Northern Germany – Day 7

The Prussians retreat to Hildesheim-Goslar border
1st Prussian army – retreat to Seesen
2nd Prussian army – retreat to Holle
3rd Prussian army – hold Harsum

The French hold Hildesheim and win the campaign
1st French army – regroup at Hildesheim
2nd French army – hold Springe
3rd French army – occupy Alfeld

Comments
The failure of the Prussians to take Hildesheim created a problem as to who had won the campaign. They had won four of the six battles fought during this campaign phase. But the campaign objective was to take and hold the city of Hildesheim.

Having failed to take Hildesheim 2nd Prussian army has to retreat to Holle, just south of 3rd Prussian army at Harsum. This left 1st Prussian army isolated at Alfeld, so they had to retreat west to Seesen, bringing them into line with the other two Prussian armies. This allowed 3rd French army to retake Alfeld.

This seemed the most reasonable solution. The Prussians occupied the three border towns, reflecting their success throughout the campaign phase, in that all three were within French held Hildesheim District.

In truth the result of this campaign phase was a draw. Both armies had suffered considerable battle casualties, and neither were in any condition to continue the campaign. Both would need a week or so to regroup, resupply and reinforce. All this would be easier to do were the Prussians to move further west into Goslar District. But I could not convince myself that this was a decision Blucher would have made in similar circumstances.

It is perhaps a little surprising that this sort of compromise is not required more often. Given the unpredictability of our wargame rules one would imagine that it would happen more often. But in fact the “obvious winner” almost always takes the campaign objective of the enemy city and rightly wins the campaign phase.

So a rather unsatisfactory conclusion to an otherwise enjoyable campaign phase. Not a great problem, because the aim of the campaign is to produce interesting and enjoyable battles to wargame, and it has certainly done that.

Hildesheim Campaign – Day Six

24 August 1813 – Northern Germany – Day 6

The Prussians attack Hildesheim
1st Prussian army – occupy Alfeld
2nd Prussian army – attack Hildesheim
3rd Prussian army – regroup Harsum

The French retreat
1st French army – defend Hildesheim
2nd French army – regroup at Springe
3rd French army – retreat to the west

Battle of Hildesheim – End of Move 2

The city of Hildesheim is the administrative centre of Hildesheim military district.
It is also the main supply depot for the French army.

2nd Prussian army, commanded by General Bulow, attack Hildesheim
They have12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
They start the battle with 4 infantry casualties (1600 men)

1st French army, commanded by Emperor Napoleon, defend Hildesheim
They have 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
They start the battle with 6 infantry, 2 cavalry and 2 artillery casualties (2800 men)

On the right the Imperial Garde hold the hill and area to the left. As the Prussians approach the artillery move forward to delay their deployment. The Prussian infantry are forced to advance through the fortified farm, causing considerable delay. The Prussian artillery deploy at short range on the flank of the Garde gunners, causing them to withdraw. This allows the Prussian infantry to attack the hill. After an initial success the Garde counter attack and rout the Prussian infantry

In the centre the Prussian reserve cavalry charge the French cavalry. They lose and are routed, allowing the French cavalry to threaten 5th corps and force them to form square. The Prussian cavalry rally, again charge the French cavalry and this time win the melee.

Only then can 5th Prussian corps advance and attack the woods. They quickly take the woods, and supported by the reserve cavalry break the French centre

On the left 6th corps infantry advance on the hill, causing considerable delay. Their cavalry and artillery pin the French to the left of the farm. The Prussian infantry take the farm, but are drawn into the melee for the centre. This allows the French to counter attack and retake the farm.

At nightfall the French hold two of the three game objectives and despite suffering much heavier casualties they win the game.

The French have lost 15 infantry, 4 cavalry and 2 artillery casualties (6600 men)
The Prussians have lost 11 infantry and 1 cavalry casualties (4500 men)

There are 7 French brigades in rout
The Prussians have 4 brigades in rout

Comments

The French started the game with more casualties than the Prussians. This prompted the latter to launch a very aggressive attack. Both CinC had created a cavalry reserve of two brigades. This often results in a stalemate, with both sides reluctant to risk a melee. However in this game the Prussian cavalry advanced early in the game and charged the weaker French. Much to my surprise (as Prussian player) the French won, and routed both Prussian brigades.

The French cavalry then charged the nearby Prussian artillery, forcing the gunners to abandon their guns and seek shelter in a nearby square. This left the French cavalry in possession of the centre, and forced 5th Prussian corps to form square. Fortunately the routed Prussian cavalry rallied, returned and again charged the French cavalry. This time they won and turned the tables on the French. It was now the Prussian cavalry which dominated the centre.

For most of the game it looked like the Prussians would win. In fact at the end of move 10 they occupied all three objectives. However the French counter attacked and retook two of the three objectives.

Despite suffering many more casualties the French were clear winners at the end of the maximum 12 moves. They had lost 2nd corps in the centre, but firmly held both the farm on the left and the hill on the right.

A fast moving and very enjoyable wargame. The rules are working really well, and allow for unexpected reverses – such as the late French counter attacks. This is the main advantage of using our simple, but effective, combat and morale tests with just one D6.