Busaco (Reyniers Assault) - 27th September 1810 - Part Two

The French right, where the Irishmen of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards have forced my volitgeurs in square, damn their eyes

When last we saw the French army, things were not looking good for Brother John. Les Roastbifs had planted themselves on a hill and we had been obliged to hurl ourselves at it. Now in actuality, the French did do that, but did not strike the British position straight on. This allowed the British line to shoot up the French columns for rather longer than would have been the case. Unfortunately this is only really possible when the French are in some doubt as to where the British position is. Given arms that remain stubbornly 33 inches long, there is no real point in playing a game where half the board is unused - I would need a bigger board and a bigger house.

One would have thought that hundreds of years of folk memory would have put the Frenchers off attacking British troops in positions of their own choosing. It took them two generations, if not more, to figure it out in the Hundred Years War - would I be able to turn the situation around.

The Halberdiers go down fighting

If you remember from the first half of this report, I had skirmished with my cavalry on my left, hoping to punish the vulnerable Portuguese infantry on the heights, refused the centre and placed all my hopes on a victory of my right flank. My infantry had managed to make a dent in the British line, but the inevitable counterattack had done considerable execution. I still had several battalions in hand and time would tell whether they would be sufficient.

The absolutely crushing volley from the 31ieme Legere that did for the Halberdiers.

As you can see, the Legere did some damn fine shooting, but of the four battalions I had, one was so whipped as to be almost useless, the Voltigeurs were in square and being harried by cavalry. So while it was good to have bundled the Halberdiers out of the way, I was not feeling as confident as all that.

The 22ieme Ligne try to shift the 57th off the ridge

They fail to do so (i.e. their melee attack does some damage, but doesn't force the 57th to retreat or wipe them out) and they bogged down in a close range volleying match. Meanwhile the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards move forward to threaten by weakened battalion and pin the Voltigeurs in square again. Damn.

The 15ieme Dragoons move forward finally, throwing the 7th Portuguese line into square.

I had hoped that this would have been my opening gambit, but Du Gourmand forestalled me by cunning use of a Short of Supply card. With three infantry units on this side of the table, it was entirely possible that I could either wipe one or two of them out if he refused to form square or I could pin all three, severely limiting his ability to maneuvre.

The Dragoons make short work of my weakened battalion and thunder into the sharp shooting 31ieme Ligne

It was looking like the wheels were about to come off the cart on the right flank. I just could not seem to injure those damned Irish dragoons.

The Chasseurs move up to serve the Portuguese infantry in their turn

This was what had been hoping for and I was finally able to do it. I was unlikely unless I was very unlucky that Du Gourmand's Portuguse infantry would be able to deal with my cavalry once I had them all pinned in square. This would take three cards from his hand and leave him scrabbling for a response when I got my centre and right moving.

Victory?

And this is where it got interesting. Du Gourmand didn't form square with the second infantry battalion who were promptly ridden down by the Chasseurs. This was a puzzlement as Du Gourmand must of have known it was the likely outcome and he would be be unlikely to surrender a unit lightly. The only explanation could be that he had drawn a very good card which he didn't want to risk losing.

That did not bode well.

Meanwhile, I finally got my centre moving, hopefully to give the Portuguese 

infantry hiding in the village the boot

So, what did Du Gourmand have up his sleeve?

With tragic inevitability, he threw down Bayonet Charge! This was very bad news for me as I had to battalions in square on my right. They were safe when all that could hit them was the Irish dragoons, but things soon changed as the British infantry came into play.

The Second Battalion 7th Portuguese surround my gallant Frenchmen while

 the 57th hit them in the front.

My column in the centre was getting so close....

The rolling platoon volleys begin to crash down the line and it's all over.

The Fourth Foot watch through the roiling gunsmoke as the French 

infantry break and run for the rear. 

General Du Gourmand - magnanimous in victory as always

On the whole, I was happy with the game. It played out rather like the real battle went, French columns reaching for British lines and not quite making it. In retrospect, in view of the lack of British artillery in the centre, I should have formed up my troops there so that when the assault on the right came, they would be in a position to support them. As it was, the British were able to concentrate their men and defeat the attack in detail.

Busaco (Reyniers Assault) - 27th September 1810 - Part One

I've written about the Battle of Busaco before, but for those you without photographic memories.

"The Battle of Busaco is not one of those Napoleonic battles that live in my imagination particularly. I have no strong feelings about, it lacks the resonance of Waterloo, the romance of Assaye, the miniature quality of Maida or the piractical flair of Vittoria. I shall give the barest of outlines and then get down to the meat of the matter. 

It is in some ways the stereotypical Peninsula battle, the British are on the defensive and deploy the majority of their force in a reverse slope defence, which was then assaulted by the French. But I am getting ahead of myself and falling into that newspapermans trick of telling the end or at least the middle of the story at the beginning. The strategic situation is as follows; it is 1810 and the French hold Spain more or less. Wellington has retreated from Spain into Portugal, where the French have far more limited options as to how they may approach. Napoleon ordered Massena, the French commander, to drive Wellington out of Portugal. This makes sense if you imagine that Spain is a square, while Portugal is a smaller square in the bottom left hand corner, the edges of which are made up of the sea and mountains. Without these mountains, there is every possibility that Portugal would simply have ended up as more Spain. 

The French advance and take after siege several forts along the border and then begin to march on Lisbon. Wellington picks a position, Busaco ridge, and meets the French upon it. The French are unable to properly scout the position or establish where the British troops are concentrated. They launch an attack in the centre under Reynier thinking they are hitting the flank of the British position. They become heavily engaged and are beaten back. Ney on the French right, hears this and believing that his comrades are winning launches another attack which is driven off in turn with a volley and a  bayonet charge. 

The French then withdrew to their original positions and proceeded to attempt a flank march, while Wellington fell back towards the Lines of Torres Vedras, a huge line of fortifications."

The battle we're talking about here is Reyniers assault which opened the battle.

General Du Gourmand surveys the scene

I was in an uncharacteristically generous mood and decided to allow General Du Gourmand to play the British for a change as I'd made him play the baddies the last few times we'd played. I knew that I would have to play aggressively to win in this scenario, but thought that my best course of action would be trying to focus on the weaker Portuguese units. I also hoped to use my cavalry superiority to hamper his ability to manoeuvre.

With that in mind, I sent a squadron of Dragoons and one of Chasseurs splashing though the river in order to threaten the isolated Portuguese brigades on the British right.

Du Gourmand countered by pushing his artillery and light infantry forward on his left, ready to light up my troops as soon as they closed.

None daunted, my brave lads carried on...

...while Du Gourmands redcoats held their fire.

My rivers prove again that they are not to be trusted as they come apart while the Dragoons take up residence in the Bodega

The Royal Horse Artillery start to shell the advancing French columns...

...but swiftly run out of ammunition (are effected by a Short of Supplies card) and have to return to the baseline to "bomb up".

Sadly, General Du Gourmand serves me in my turn and due to a botched order the Dragoons are sent packing.

The view from the British left, steady boys.

The Portuguese on the British right breath a sigh of relief as the Dragoons disappear back over the river. The Chasseurs retire to the Bodega, there was obviously something good in there...

Vive l'Empereur! 

I throw my French battalions forward, taking a double move with a Bayonet Charge card. This move would make or break my plan, if it succeeded there was every liklihood that General Du Gourmand would be unable to muster a suitable response.

Success! 

But at what a cost, I wiped out two British battalions, but the battle backs left one of my units very vulnerable. It was good, but would it be good enough?

The French "break in" further into the British position, driving back, but not wiping out the Fourth Foot. Meanwhile the 4th Dragoon Guard hover menacingly on the other side of the hill.

 

The British counter-attack when it came was brutal. 

I'd advanced my light infantry into the cottage in the foreground, where they were shot by the Portuguese and then charged by the Connaught Rangers. The Rangers didn't manage to evict them and were bogged down, trading volleys, but elsewhere General Du Gourmand managed to extract his weakened units before I got to them and hit my advanced battalion, the 8ieme Ligne I think, causing some casualties. 

I failed to make much headway in my turn, whereupon General Du Gourmand visions of Knighthoods dancing before him, set to work dismantling my attack. Where the Irishmen of the  Connaught Rangers had failed, the mongrels of the Kings Royal Halberdiers succeeded. The second battalion 8ieme Ligne was broken and the first battalion taken in the rear.

To add insult to injurty the Fourth Royal Dragoon Guards had decided to join us and were now threatening the 31ieme Legere.

All in all it was looking rather grim for Johnny Frenchman.

The Battle of Busaco (Neys assault)

 The Battle of Busaco by Simkin

The Battle of Busaco is not one of those Napoleonic battles that live in my imagination particularly. I have no strong feelings about, it lacks the resonance of Waterloo, the romance of Assaye, the miniature quality of Maida or the piractical flair of Vittoria. I shall give the barest of outlines and then get down to the meat of the matter. 

It is in some ways the stereotypical Peninsula battle, the British are on the defensive and deploy the majority of their force in a reverse slope defence, which was then assaulted by the French. But I am getting ahead of myself and falling into that newspapermans trick of telling the end or at least the middle of the story at the beginning. The strategic situation is as follows; it is 1810 and the French hold Spain more or less. Wellington has retreated from Spain into Portugal, where the French have far more limited options as to how they may approach. Napoleon ordered Massena, the French commander, to drive Wellington out of Portugal. This makes sense if you imagine that Spain is a square, while Portugal is a smaller square in the bottom left hand corner, the edges of which are made up of the sea and mountains. Without these mountains, there is every possibility that Portugal would simply have ended up as more Spain. 

The French advance and take after siege several forts along the border and then begin to march on Lisbon. Wellington picks a position, Busaco ridge, and meets the French upon it. The French are unable to properly scout the position or establish where the British troops are concentrated. They launch an attack in the centre under Reynier thinking they are hitting the flank of the British position. They become heavily engaged and are beaten back. Ney on the French right, hears this and believing that his comrades are winning launches another attack which is driven off in turn with a volley and a  bayonet charge.

The French then withdrew to their original positions and proceeded to attempt a flank march, while Wellington fell back towards the Lines of Torres Vedras, a huge line of fortifications. The battle described here is Ney's attack launched at the British left, an earlier scenario covers Reyniers assault. This was an unusual battle, as General Gorman and I played it after finishing a 30km trek as training for our charity Boyne walk in July. We were certainly footsore, but a certain stubbornness meant that we'd be damned before we'd let the opportunity of a game pass.

Several turns have already passed, the French centre has advanced and wiped out the Portuguese Cazadores that were occupying the woods in the foreground. My 60th Rifles have retreated to the building on the right.

The aftermath of another disaster, I had advanced my Grenadier Guards into the building, where they were wiped out by a statistically extremely improbably volley from the French. The plan been to use these titans to hold up the left. The heavy cavalry would sweep forward and pin some unfortunate Frenchmen in square, while the Grenadiers would shoot them down. Sadly, it was not to be and General Du Gormand took another victory point by wiping out the Grenadiers and then occupying the building. You can see the French general attached to the unit having a bit of a forward reconaissance.

It was all looking grim and Du Gormand was beginning to look like a man who was in for the long haul. He was hedging his bets in the centre, moving up fresh reserves while readying himself for a push on the left. In a bid to seize back the initiative, I decided that I would throw my centre off the hill and launch them in a bayonet charge towards the weakened French units in the centre. If I gave him time, he would simply pull them back and replace them with fresh ones, while getting the cavalry on his right into play.

The counterattack went well as the redcoats charged down will, knocking out two French units before General Du Gormand was able to react. Things were looking decidly dicely for General Ferey, who was struggling to rally the remnants of his force.

But too late, the Halberdiers and the Connaught Rangers crashed into him, routing the French battalion. General Ferey died at the head of the column, slain by a ball through the heart. I had played my two strongest cards and was relying on drawing anything that would allow to keep up the momentum.

Sadly, it was not to be despite having put myself within an ace of victory, General DuGormands counter attack was competant, well executed and lucky. Firstly the light infantry in the woods (right) smashed the 4th Foot.

Then the stronger units in the centre advanced and drove off the Rangers and the Halberdiers, who had just run out of puff. I had been unable to draw anything that would allow them to answer back. Crauford died, much like Ferey at the head of his men. This French counterattack equalised things on paper, but it changed the nature of the engagement.With the flower of my British infantry shot down and having to rely on my Portuguese troops, I was unlikely to be able to attack.

This left General Du Gormand sure that barring something really astonishing, he would have the time to pick and choose the place and time of his next attack. There was still a possibility that things could become unhinged but it was unlikely. He started by pulling the badly rattled French centre back and making space for his cavalry, in which he had a decisive advantage, to move forward and threaten my centre and left. He took his time and made sure to concentrate quality and numbers at the decisive point.

His cavalry, back by the Legion Irlandaise, swept forward crunching a weakened second battalion of the Fourth Foot as he did so. The Chasseurs charged the battery in classic Du Gourmand style, while the Hussars of Conflans took it in the rear.

The Chasseurs were bloodied by the Royal Artillery, who managed to rake their ranks with grape. Hope which springs eternal, made it possible to hope that if the Hussars were unsuccessful, there was every chance that I'd be able to wipe them out, surround them with infantry and squeek a victory.

Sadly, it was not to be and the last gunner died manfully, firing to the last. The scoreline was 7-5, which I think demonstrates how close the game was. There were runs of luck on both sides, with my desperate charge which brought victory within reach, being made necessary by the supernaturally good French musketry in the opening turns.

A good game, hard fought and worthy victory to General Du Gormand.

Busaco

Busaco, the calm before the storm

The chaps came over last week and we got a game of Command & Colours Napoleonics in. It was our first time trying the Overlord rules and rather than using any of the variants used based on Ancients, we used the Overlord for Memoir '44 and adapted them as we went along.

The chaps look over the field of battle,

From left to right Minion for Hire, General Du Gorman, Savage, Mr E & BRO

A brutal and licentious soldiery

The Battle of Busaco in 1810 was in many ways what could be considered a typical Wellingtonian battle. The Duke was retreating from the French after the fall of the fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida. The Duke hid his army behind a hill while the French under Marshall Massena pelted it with columns. The columns made some progress until they were driven back by a British counter-attack. Ney hearing gunfire and assuming the attack had been a success, battered his troops to pieces in another attack and eventually the exhausted French withdrew.

You can read a proper account here.

Our game didn't quite work out like that

The French push forward on the right

French push forward on the left

The French attack on the left withers under an Allied counter attack

Mr E looks away in disgust as his counter attack falls apart

The Frogs mull over their assault while General Du Gourmand (Massena) turns to drink for inspiration

Mr E (Pack) turns to BRO (Wellington) for help with his disintegrating right

But to no avail, Savage with a typically Gallic gesture appeals to

General Du Gourmand for cards on the right

Savage pauses to put the boot into the British right

With the British right crushed and the left driven in, the redcoats slink away leaving the field to the Frog eaters

We played the Busaco scenario from the CCNapoleonics website. This is essentially the two scenarios from the basic book stuck together to form a whole. It was a lengthier process then we expected taking about two hours playing time, but it didn't flag at any point and the players were all engaged.

My main concern was a desire to test out a new wrinkle in the command rules. Most of the C&C games have a "taking the initiative" mechanic which involves rolling a die and moving a unit of the type indicated on the die. I have experimented with a rule which allows a player who does not play a card to activate a unit attached to or adjacent to a Leader. This seems to work well and it did mean that the players were thinking very carefully about where to put their Leaders.

I had anticipated adding a rule allowing each Leader to "lend" an activation to an ADC figure, but the players felt that in a six player game this was an additional complication that took more time than the added value warranted. After watching them play, I agree.

The score line of 7-13 was rather harsh on the British as a few lucky cavalry charges allowed them to pick off several weakened units while screening or withdrawing their own one or two strength units. The general feeling was that the scenario was relatively balanced and the game was closer than the score line indicated. However, I am going to have to work on some bespoke hills and sharpish if we're going to play it at Gaelcon.