set in Spain during the 1808 French Invasion!
Spanish armies are smashed again and again...will you be able to halt the French juggernaut before it reaches ANDALUSIA?
Based on C.S. Grant's Table-Top Teaser #14 below
Another in the series for wargamers by C. S. Grant
Introduction
Over the past two articles on "Neutral Ground" we have looked at one way in which local population may effect the outcome of two other armies fighting in the former's country. This month we will took further at the contribution of the local populace. On this occasion however, we are concerned with the effects of these locals to assist their own army to oust an invader. Such a situation is more than likely to turn one's thoughts to the Peninsular War. Indeed, it is my intention to set this teaser specifically in that period though, as will be revealed, it does not have to remain there. Regrettably, there is neither the time nor the space in one teaser to cover even a proportion of the scenarios, lessons and peculiarities of this war. For this reason I have attempted to include only two of the many possibilities available.
My first aim in writing this teaser was to try and portray the situation early in the Peninsular War when comparatively small and reasonably experienced French armies, led by seasoned commanders, were able to take on and beat considerably larger Spanish armies. To this end some special morale consideration was required to provide the Spanish army with the appropriate disadvantages and this will be studied in more detail.
Without weighing the odds too heavily against the French I also wanted to include something of the guerrilla element on the Spanish side. This would be more of an inconvenience than a real military threat to the French for the purposes of this teaser. In fact, if one desires a teaser which concentrates more on the guerrilla operation, teaser nine "Ambush" or with some modification teaser two "Wagon Train" are both suitable. With these two ingredients to the fore I will begin
Period
As has already been said this teaser has been specifically written as a "Peninsular Conflict" in the Napoleonic Wars. There is however nothing to prevent it being used with minor modification for any other "horse and musket" period game. Moreover, by changing the types of armies, it could well serve as an ancient or medieval game. While on the subject of period it is also worth noting that the guerrillas are very much an optional extra and could well be dropped if they are anachronistic for the period chosen.
Terrain
The setting is "somewhere in Spain". The map shows the main road which passes through the outskirts of a fairly large Spanish town. Some orange groves are north of the town. The road then moves east and, at two points, goes through the mountain range which runs roughly north-south. There is a small farm at the northern gap. The mountains are fairly low at this crossing point and are represented by two contour levels. The first level represents the low ground at the foot of the range and provides the usual height and impetus advantages without restricting movement or disrupting formation. The second level reduces all movement by 1 and disorganises cavalry formations.
Forces
Red Forces - Spanish
Five regiments of Spanish Infantry.
One regiment of Spanish dragoons.
One battery of two Spanish guns.
Detached - one unit of Spanish guerrillas (about a quarter to a third of a regiment in strength).
Blue Forces - French
Three regiments of line infantry.
Two regiments of dragoons.
One battery of two guns.
Opening Scenario
The year is 1808. The French Imperial armies are pushing relentlessly into the heart of the Peninsular. The Spanish armies, ill trained and ill prepared, can do little to halt the advance. Troops are being trained, grouped and prepared but time is against the defenders. One of the natural obstacles to the French advance is the mountain range, a crossing point which features in the terrain above. A Spanish force is already at that crossing point.
The French are pushing forward at best speed and are therefore strung out along the road with an advance guard ahead. That advance guard, a day's march ahead of the remainder, is the Blue force given.
Spanish forces are even now on the march from the east to strengthen the garrison at the crossing point but these will not arrive until early tomorrow. Red Force's Aim (Spanish) "Your aim is to hold the mountain crossing point until reinforced tomorrow." Blue Force's Aim (French) "Your aim is to defeat, or drive off, the enemy and secure the crossing point through the mountain pass by last light today." '
Red Force's Considerations
The Red force (main army) begins the battle in the positions shown on the map. Once orders have been given he may of course change his formation to suit himself. While the Spanish are numerically superior to the French in this battle there is the morale factor to consider. Now I do not intend to justify the reduced morale status and ability I give the Spanish force by lengthy references. Furthermore I may say that as a general principle I do not believe in the idea of imposing "National characteristics" as they tend to be called these days, on an army. Nor do I do the same for commanders - unless there is a particular and isolated purpose. Heavens above, most of us are quite bad enough without rules to make us worse! If anyone takes umbrage against the fact that the Spanish are penalised in this teaser, then there is plenty of text on the Spanish army of 1808 to give grounds for this penalty. Of course, there are occasions when they did splendidly but these were rare at this stage. If this still rankles, then please accept that it is a necessary device to provide balance from imbalance in this teaser.
How then to provide this disproportionate morale and ability? This depends entirely on the rules used. At Dover we use the Grant rules (Napoleonic Wargaming by Charles Grant published by MAP Ltd) which takes a morale index based for example on an infantry battalion having five morale scoring officers. These are the colonel (two points) and four company officers (one point each). A unit with all officers therefore scores six points. Points are deducted from the total for officers lost (obviously), a percentage of casualties from the unit, whether the unit is under fire, retiring, what the enemy is doing against it - and so on. Points may, of course, be added for favourable circumstances such as friendly support, cover, etc. The result of these deliberations is found in a chart; for example, "if the final score is four or less - if the unit is advancing, It will halt and stand fast; if being charged it will break and run; if already at the halt, it will remain so, etc."
There are two major ways in which this morale system can be adjusted for the Spanish force. The first is simply to make a reduction in its officer points, either by reducing the number of officers by one, or by calling the mounted officers of value one point only. The second method would be to increase the values of the enemy hostile action. An example would be to make the deduction for "the unit under musket fire or rifle fire" a two instead of a one. My inclination is to go for the latter rather more complex but more realistic system. I am sure that many sets of rules can be converted in this manner and thus can be used to deal with the morale factor. For rules that work the morale of a unit in a different way, other devices can be found. The guide I feel should be to decrease the Spanish morale rather than to increase the French.
Regrettably, you may say, I have not finished penalising our poor Spanish army yet. It is possible that the standard of training and discipline of the Spanish army will result in a less effective musketry fire. This can be represented as a reduction in the fire factor, or in the numbers calculated to fire. I believe that once at close quarters there will be little difference between the armies, and I therefore do not suggest that any allowance is made in hand to hand fighting. In general, what I will do however, is to increase the length of time taken to respond to a new order or change in formation. The latter will be done at half the normal speed while there will be a two period pause to digest orders before acting.
I think we have successfully covered the "bad news" for the Red or Spanish army.
Now for the good news. In the town, in a sub-unit of about twelve in numbers, are guerrillas. They are located hidden in the houses on the extreme north and south of the town. They are commanded by a sub-commander, briefed by the Red commander at the start of the game and have no further contact with the main Spanish force. They operate as independent light infantry but with only two-thirds range (caused by antiquated weapons) and require no morale factor - they are fanatic! They may operate as their commander sees fit.
That, I think, completes our considerations on the defender's force and we can move on.
Blue Force Considerations
The Blue force moves onto the table in the centre of the town, shown where the road is on the west side of the map. They must be led by a regiment of dragoons after which they come on unit after unit at the commander's discretion. The commander must himself reach the outskirts of the town to observe the enemy position before giving orders. Having seen the array, the commander should be aware of the Spanish morale disadvantages, at least in general terms, so that he has a healthy disregard for his enemy.
The Blue commander will then assess the situation, make his plan and launch the attack.
Winning the Game
For the French to win the game, the Spanish army must be destroyed or dispersed and the French must have both routes through the pass secure by last light. If only one pass is secure and the Spanish hold the other, then the game is drawn. If the Spanish still contest both passes at last light then they will be reinforced at dawn and are therefore victorious. I think we have the makings of an interesting battle here. It is not over-complicated and should for once give the umpire a chance to relax a little. We will see how it transpires when the play is reported next month in the meantime why don't you try it?
Spanish armies are smashed again and again...will you be able to halt the French juggernaut before it reaches ANDALUSIA?
Based on C.S. Grant's Table-Top Teaser #14 below
Another in the series for wargamers by C. S. Grant
Introduction
Over the past two articles on "Neutral Ground" we have looked at one way in which local population may effect the outcome of two other armies fighting in the former's country. This month we will took further at the contribution of the local populace. On this occasion however, we are concerned with the effects of these locals to assist their own army to oust an invader. Such a situation is more than likely to turn one's thoughts to the Peninsular War. Indeed, it is my intention to set this teaser specifically in that period though, as will be revealed, it does not have to remain there. Regrettably, there is neither the time nor the space in one teaser to cover even a proportion of the scenarios, lessons and peculiarities of this war. For this reason I have attempted to include only two of the many possibilities available.
My first aim in writing this teaser was to try and portray the situation early in the Peninsular War when comparatively small and reasonably experienced French armies, led by seasoned commanders, were able to take on and beat considerably larger Spanish armies. To this end some special morale consideration was required to provide the Spanish army with the appropriate disadvantages and this will be studied in more detail.
Without weighing the odds too heavily against the French I also wanted to include something of the guerrilla element on the Spanish side. This would be more of an inconvenience than a real military threat to the French for the purposes of this teaser. In fact, if one desires a teaser which concentrates more on the guerrilla operation, teaser nine "Ambush" or with some modification teaser two "Wagon Train" are both suitable. With these two ingredients to the fore I will begin
Period
As has already been said this teaser has been specifically written as a "Peninsular Conflict" in the Napoleonic Wars. There is however nothing to prevent it being used with minor modification for any other "horse and musket" period game. Moreover, by changing the types of armies, it could well serve as an ancient or medieval game. While on the subject of period it is also worth noting that the guerrillas are very much an optional extra and could well be dropped if they are anachronistic for the period chosen.
Terrain
The setting is "somewhere in Spain". The map shows the main road which passes through the outskirts of a fairly large Spanish town. Some orange groves are north of the town. The road then moves east and, at two points, goes through the mountain range which runs roughly north-south. There is a small farm at the northern gap. The mountains are fairly low at this crossing point and are represented by two contour levels. The first level represents the low ground at the foot of the range and provides the usual height and impetus advantages without restricting movement or disrupting formation. The second level reduces all movement by 1 and disorganises cavalry formations.
Forces
Red Forces - Spanish
Five regiments of Spanish Infantry.
One regiment of Spanish dragoons.
One battery of two Spanish guns.
Detached - one unit of Spanish guerrillas (about a quarter to a third of a regiment in strength).
Blue Forces - French
Three regiments of line infantry.
Two regiments of dragoons.
One battery of two guns.
Opening Scenario
The year is 1808. The French Imperial armies are pushing relentlessly into the heart of the Peninsular. The Spanish armies, ill trained and ill prepared, can do little to halt the advance. Troops are being trained, grouped and prepared but time is against the defenders. One of the natural obstacles to the French advance is the mountain range, a crossing point which features in the terrain above. A Spanish force is already at that crossing point.
The French are pushing forward at best speed and are therefore strung out along the road with an advance guard ahead. That advance guard, a day's march ahead of the remainder, is the Blue force given.
Spanish forces are even now on the march from the east to strengthen the garrison at the crossing point but these will not arrive until early tomorrow. Red Force's Aim (Spanish) "Your aim is to hold the mountain crossing point until reinforced tomorrow." Blue Force's Aim (French) "Your aim is to defeat, or drive off, the enemy and secure the crossing point through the mountain pass by last light today." '
Red Force's Considerations
The Red force (main army) begins the battle in the positions shown on the map. Once orders have been given he may of course change his formation to suit himself. While the Spanish are numerically superior to the French in this battle there is the morale factor to consider. Now I do not intend to justify the reduced morale status and ability I give the Spanish force by lengthy references. Furthermore I may say that as a general principle I do not believe in the idea of imposing "National characteristics" as they tend to be called these days, on an army. Nor do I do the same for commanders - unless there is a particular and isolated purpose. Heavens above, most of us are quite bad enough without rules to make us worse! If anyone takes umbrage against the fact that the Spanish are penalised in this teaser, then there is plenty of text on the Spanish army of 1808 to give grounds for this penalty. Of course, there are occasions when they did splendidly but these were rare at this stage. If this still rankles, then please accept that it is a necessary device to provide balance from imbalance in this teaser.
How then to provide this disproportionate morale and ability? This depends entirely on the rules used. At Dover we use the Grant rules (Napoleonic Wargaming by Charles Grant published by MAP Ltd) which takes a morale index based for example on an infantry battalion having five morale scoring officers. These are the colonel (two points) and four company officers (one point each). A unit with all officers therefore scores six points. Points are deducted from the total for officers lost (obviously), a percentage of casualties from the unit, whether the unit is under fire, retiring, what the enemy is doing against it - and so on. Points may, of course, be added for favourable circumstances such as friendly support, cover, etc. The result of these deliberations is found in a chart; for example, "if the final score is four or less - if the unit is advancing, It will halt and stand fast; if being charged it will break and run; if already at the halt, it will remain so, etc."
There are two major ways in which this morale system can be adjusted for the Spanish force. The first is simply to make a reduction in its officer points, either by reducing the number of officers by one, or by calling the mounted officers of value one point only. The second method would be to increase the values of the enemy hostile action. An example would be to make the deduction for "the unit under musket fire or rifle fire" a two instead of a one. My inclination is to go for the latter rather more complex but more realistic system. I am sure that many sets of rules can be converted in this manner and thus can be used to deal with the morale factor. For rules that work the morale of a unit in a different way, other devices can be found. The guide I feel should be to decrease the Spanish morale rather than to increase the French.
Regrettably, you may say, I have not finished penalising our poor Spanish army yet. It is possible that the standard of training and discipline of the Spanish army will result in a less effective musketry fire. This can be represented as a reduction in the fire factor, or in the numbers calculated to fire. I believe that once at close quarters there will be little difference between the armies, and I therefore do not suggest that any allowance is made in hand to hand fighting. In general, what I will do however, is to increase the length of time taken to respond to a new order or change in formation. The latter will be done at half the normal speed while there will be a two period pause to digest orders before acting.
I think we have successfully covered the "bad news" for the Red or Spanish army.
Now for the good news. In the town, in a sub-unit of about twelve in numbers, are guerrillas. They are located hidden in the houses on the extreme north and south of the town. They are commanded by a sub-commander, briefed by the Red commander at the start of the game and have no further contact with the main Spanish force. They operate as independent light infantry but with only two-thirds range (caused by antiquated weapons) and require no morale factor - they are fanatic! They may operate as their commander sees fit.
That, I think, completes our considerations on the defender's force and we can move on.
Blue Force Considerations
The Blue force moves onto the table in the centre of the town, shown where the road is on the west side of the map. They must be led by a regiment of dragoons after which they come on unit after unit at the commander's discretion. The commander must himself reach the outskirts of the town to observe the enemy position before giving orders. Having seen the array, the commander should be aware of the Spanish morale disadvantages, at least in general terms, so that he has a healthy disregard for his enemy.
The Blue commander will then assess the situation, make his plan and launch the attack.
Winning the Game
For the French to win the game, the Spanish army must be destroyed or dispersed and the French must have both routes through the pass secure by last light. If only one pass is secure and the Spanish hold the other, then the game is drawn. If the Spanish still contest both passes at last light then they will be reinforced at dawn and are therefore victorious. I think we have the makings of an interesting battle here. It is not over-complicated and should for once give the umpire a chance to relax a little. We will see how it transpires when the play is reported next month in the meantime why don't you try it?
