BATTLES FOR WARGAMERS The Peninsular War: 1813 by Terence Wise

I paid $4.95 for this a long, long time ago.  I have dipped into it occasionally for inspiration and now I think it's time has come (almost).

Published in 1974

It covers a set of semi connected, less well known battles of this period and area of operations (basically the Pyrenees), after the Allied victory at Vittoria.

It starts with Castalla on the Spanish east coast and not involving Wellington or Soult, as the other five do.  Each battle has information on the forces engaged, a description of the fighting and aftermath as well as a decent map and an inspirational picture of a refight using Airfix figures.  Delightful!

The six chapters cannot really be called scenarios, and they are certainly rules agnostic.  Basic information is provided for organization and uniform painting guide with the notable omission of the Spanish.

The west coast battles focus on Soult's invasion in July 1813 and cover Maya, Roncesvalles and Sauroren and the subsequent French attempt to cross the Bidassoa in late August to relieve the siege of San Sebastian and then the Allied crossing on 7 October to invade France.

The battles involve divisions attacking through difficult terrain, often against much smaller opponents.  There is often a bit of preliminary marching and also for the defender when bringing up reinforcements.  I think this makes them challenging to stage, but a good test of a ruleset's ability to simulate Napoleonic warfare as against set piece battles.  Perhaps too small for a campaign, but the Scharnhorst (part of the Blucher rules) or Snappy Nappy might provide some kind of framework.

Anyway, lots of food for thought and having visited some of these battlefields I am certainly keen to see if I can develop some scenarios for Napoleon's Battles.