Anglo-Iberian Ill Fortune, or "I'm Sick of Playing Spanish!"

Last Friday night saw NWA's sale-night, but due to Rosbif's short commons, I didn't buy anything, despite there being some good stuff on offer with club members flogging unwanted gear and traders selling their wares. Oh, well, when the junior Rosbifs are off our hands and I'm enjoying my retirement, I intend on blowing my superannuation on my hobby (that is if Greece doesn't drag the world's economies and superannuation funds down with it !).

I'd organised a game with Andrew S. and had created a 1200 point list, then was told Pete E. was a last minute inclusion on the allied side, so Andrew bumped his French forces up to 2000 points, only to find out that Pete decided not to play after all! Not wanting to waste Andrew's quick effort of mental arithmetic, I volunteered to increase my forces to match, filling the remaining ~800 points with my Spanish. 

Bad choice! I should have stuck to my guns and said we'll stay with the 1200 points, thanks! Expanding my Allied forces by padding out with a Spanish division (my only option) replaced quality with quantity, badly diluting quality in the process. My British division spent the battle relatively inactive, while my poor Spaniards copped a pasting that even the inclusion of the Walloon Guards and my converged grenadier battalion could do nothing to stop!

The highlights of the game were the French blowtorch immediately applied to the feet of the Spanish in the shape of Andrew's hussars, quickly followed up by his elite infantry, and my spectacular success on my left flank with a brigade charge by my light dragoons against Andrew's newest unit of French cuirassiers. Otherwise there was just a bit of artillery firing in the centre and a skirmish attack by my rifles and light bobs that inflicted less damage than it sustained!

As you can see, I used the denim roads for the first time, but in the intervening time, they've got a mite crumpled! I'll have to cut them into shorter lengths and store them under something flat and heavy to get them back to a useable state.

Again the pictures are from my phone, as although I remembered my camera, I didn't remember to check to see if the batteries were fully charged, so apologies for the non-expandable photos!

Spanish deployed on the right with Portuguese and British Lights in the foreground

British forces on the left flank

Initial deployments of forces

Rifles lead the way with the line regiments following close behind

The Spanish units on the right flank form into square as soon as the hussars are spotted

Andrew's infantry moves up over the abandoned redoubt and into the field

the central brigade moves forward

One Spanish battalion occupies the southern BUA while two others form line in rear support

The converged grenadier square moves up to try a flank shot on the hussars, who sneer at their effort!

On the left flank, the light dragoons and cuirassiers face off

Things look grim for the Spanish flank as the infantry turn up!

 

The French occupy the northern edge of the field

The Spanish 9lber did some useful work on the ridge, while the 2 French 8lbers kept the majority  of the infantry on the reverse slope

My horse gun battery on the left hand ridge kept the infantry and second cuirassier regiment  on the reverse slope. The artillery sparked the devastating charge of my light dragoons!

Trying to stem the flood with an anchored line. Possibly should have tried closed columns, rather than squares on the flanks?

Andrew's hussars move further around the flank allowing the infantry to face the square. i tried to move the whole formation further back, but it was just like moving the deck chairs on the Titanic!

I thought that the skirmishers should keep the French in the centre busy and add a few disorders to them  before they tried an attack. They managed to disorder the French, but copped a savaging from the artillery. Only their high morale status saved them!

The French advance on the Spanish-occupied BUA

The guerrilleros actually did something more than lend colour to the game: they succeeded in adding a disorder to the oncoming French. I needed to roll a 1, and that's what I did!

Rifles and light bobs about to meet their maker!

After the artillery wounded the French general, I decided that the time was ripe for a brigade charge on the cuirassiers. I took a bit of consideration as to whether or not to take the charge, but you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs!  With my luck with cavalry, I fully expected a disaster! 

Luckily the second cuirrassier regiment was out of range for an opportunity charge in support, so I got to smash  his new cuirrassiers with my massive overlap!

I had grand visions of pinning his flank with one cavalry regt and sending the other on a wild rampage around hi rear, but events overtook me.

He deployed his infantry in square on to protect his cavalry flank. I wanted to bring up my guns to blast them, but...

...things started getting crook on the other flank. My right hand square on the anchored line was charged  by a  French infantry column.

Things looked up briefly during the pre-melee morale test...

...and looked even better when Andrew rolled this!

Still he forced the square to retreat and the line of Walloon Guards to retire :(

That opened the way for more unpleasantness!

Finally the way was cleared...

...for the hussars!

My flank was well and truly broken and the whole Spanish division routed. Not even my highlanders would be able to  stem this rout!

I think the decision is clear for what I need on concentrate on as my next painting project: More British and Portuguese infantry! Hill's 2nd Corps circa 1813 it is!