Somehow, I had these figures and needing some Spanish infantry I thought it would be good to paint them up. Rather than create a "perfect" unit, I decided to paint all the figures I had (hence two command stands, one of which is configured for taking a casualty marker).
There are one or two non-Essex figures in this unit, but the Essex figures are ones that I have had since the 1990s if not earlier. Finished now and constructed so I can make a variety of Napoleon's Battles brigade units - 2x16, 1x20, 1x24 or 1x28. Spare figures made it easy to make up casualty bases.
Another unit completed. Perhaps not the best pose for wargames figures, but they sure look like they mean business. I've been wondering what to do with these figures (I have quite a few more in this pose) and I thought the late war British in Belgic shakos would make fine early war Cacadores.
More Old Glory stove pipe British repurposed as Portuguese.
While working on the Vittoria OOB I found I was a few generals short. This is now fixed.
Excessive Essex British infantry figures, a need for some Spanish units and inspiration from Military Dress of the Peninsular War.
I've made a first draft of an Allied OOB for Vittoria and set out what troops I have.
I'm short eleven units at the moment. 20 SpLN are currently ready to be based.
Next is to see what's on the lead mountain.
I have left out artillery for the time being and also need a closer look at how the Allied army was divided into corps/wings etc, otherwise Wellington is going to be very busy.
I will be lucky to get this completed this year, but there are other scenarios I can look at in the meantime.
I am pretty sure I have no shortage of French troops.
In working out an OOB for the Battle of Orthez I realised I was quite a few command stands short. This has now been fixed (almost I think).
It's not just all reading, I'm actually actively creating more units for my Peninsula related army.
I've had this book for thirty years, give or take, I may have read it in the past or dipped into it, but a recent post in the Napoleon's Battles user group provided the necessary inspiration for me to read this book cover to cover.
It was first published in 1925 and reprinted in 1994. My copy had a stamp saying: "This book was warehouse damaged and is now being sold at a special price." Not sure what the damage was, but the book does have two flaws. The images included are very poor quality (the one on the cover is probably the best). This is a pity as the author went to some trouble to photograph the battlefields. Maybe the 1925 edition had better reproductions. However, more serious is that there are no maps at all. Given the subject of this book, I found it a serious disadvantage. Not to be at a loss, I searched my library for suitable books that might have maps as well as a Google search.
In the last and least likely book I found just what I was looking for:
The inspiring post was a scenario for the Battle of Orthez, February 27, 1814. It can be found here:
At this time it also lacked a map, and part of my reading was an attempt to work out what the terrain was like. The answer appears to be rolling hills with spurs and ravines. Perhaps significant at a battalion level, but perhaps less so at the brigade level represented by Napoleon's Battles (and at one inch is 100 yards).
While reading this book I was constantly distracted by ideas for a campaign and how to represent the various overarching aspects. These included:
The weather (obviously given the campaign season).
The need for Wellington to wait until funds arrived (and also to hold ports at which such ships could arrive in safety given the weather) noting also that funds were needed to pay the muleteers on which the Allied army depended for its transport.
The risk that Spain would come to a separate peace with France (which would make for a very interesting situation).
The need to keep the Portuguese happy (they were demanding their own army structure, rather than being just brigades attached to British divisions).
The bulk of the book is providing background (and importance of securing various places by siege or storm) and the manoeuvring leading to the battle. Hence my need for a map.
It took me a while to understand "the Gaves." It was not defined in the book, or in the map and it is not a word you can Google. My old French/English dictionary came to my rescue and provided the obvious answer: (n,m) torrent, mountain stream (in the Pyrenees). Just as an aside, the same word (n,f) means crop (of birds). I will go with the former meaning, but continuing the French lesson: le gave and la gave have two distinct meanings, but les gaves requires context.
The actual battle, like some others when Soult had not been forced to retire by being outflanked on his right), was initially hard fought with the Allied attacks held until they were able to break through the centre. There was then a successful rearguard, but it eventually fell apart leading to a rout, with the French saved by nightfall and lack of allied cavalry to lead an active pursuit. The terrain was both an aid and a hindrance.
My thinking had gone from trying to conceive of a Snappy Nappy style game to a more Scharnhorst (of the Blucher ruleset) pregame map manoeuvre. There is still the idea of being able to portrait various encounters with differently scaled rulesets, from something like Songs of Drums and Shakos for very small-scale skirmishes, through to Napoleon's Battles for the big battle. Other rules popular at the club (if I was to go that way) are Sharp Practice and General d'Armee.
At the very least I am now painting my way through a heap of Portuguese infantry, picking regiments based on locations I visited last year. The particular interest in this campaign is also aided by having visited the area as part of a battlefield tour in the mid 1990s (for which I must find my photos). The tour was more about Soult's counterattack across the Pyrenees in 1813.
Now I am reading A Guards Officer in the Peninsula.
Determined to get closure, Stefan (Austrians) and I (French) played on.
4th Ed self-rally used (but I failed to remember that a 10 causes an additional rout) 10.3 page 79.
4th Ed self-command gives cavalry plenty of scope as even if they fail, they still have a half move 10.4 page 80.
Artillery is essential in clearing BUAs. Perhaps range rules should be used, along with weight of shell for impact on BUA (as in close range shouldn't benefit from canister). As it is the OOB for artillery is a bit problematic as is the treatment by Napoleon's Battles rules in only depicting horse artillery and corps level foot batteries.
The small units are very brittle.
Using extra stands for maintaining track of casualties and command label is of mixed value. I think best if part of the unit's bases and then using an extra maker to show formation if needed.
I think I might look at an OOB based on the 3rd Edition unit sizes.
