Peninsula Campaign in a Day Again, but with me as GM

Having thoroughly enjoyed the last three (or more) campaigns Darren has run (and not only because I got to play but better still use a lot of my figures) I wanted to give Darren a chance to experience a campaign in a day.  Having done the prep work back in June for the game then, we were ready to go, just the challenge of scheduling it in.  We made it!

The forces, players and starting locations:

Coalition

British Army Wellesley - Russell (Lisbon)

Anglo-Portuguese Army Beresford - Simon (Lisbon)

Spanish Army Norte - Stephen (Leon)

Spanish Army Sur - Darren (Cadiz)

French

Army of Madrid - Lee (Madrid)

Army du Nord - Stefan (Unknown, but was Avila)

Army du Centre - John (Unknown, but was Caceres)

Army du Sud - Karl (Unknown, but was Jaen)

The three French armies starting at unknown locations was something I initiated assisted by some random dice rolls.

The Players' Map

This is all the information the players start with.

At each location there are one or more roads leading somewhere and an indication of north.

Six locations were represented by tables, although it was not always obvious what the name of the nearest town was. But you could ask and work it out eventually.  

Not on the coast, but actually Cuidad Real,

roads look nice and quiet...

Avila, is there any movement?

Lisbon looking well defended...

Huelva looking very peaceful...

Bragancia looking abandoned and it stayed that way...

Madrid, would the Spanish be able to recapture it?

The non table top locations representing transit points.

One enhancement might be to include those locations that are tables in this system as well,

especially when no enemy forces are present.

The road network.  Armies or scouts moved here, waited the allotted time and then moved to the location noted on the back of the road sheet.  This was generally 5 or 10 minutes on a honour system.  Compared to on table moving or when an actual battle started it was very quick.

There were a lot of roads and even mountain passes and a fleet to aid movement.

Start

First contact was scouts from the Army du Nord spotting the Spanish Norte entering Leon.

0940

The French Army du Nord lays in wait for their Spanish counter part.

The Spanish Norte came, saw and withdrew.

0950

The French Army of the Centre and the British army look set to have an encounter battle at Huelva.

0955

I am adding in times to help me arrange the images and also line up my notes.

The Spanish Sur army arrives at Madrid.

The French Army du Sud arrives at Huelva to join the Army of the Centre in its fight against the British.

Scouts from the French Army du Nord find the Spanish Sur at Madrid. 

Intercepted message that kind of gives the flavour about what was happening and continued to happen.

This was guerilla activity at 1100

The French Army du Nord arrive behind the Spanish Sur army.

The Spanish Sur abandons their attack on Madrid

1114

Image supplied by Spanish Sur commander (and manipulated by me)

Shortly after the Spanish Norte is detected behind the French Army du Nord.

The Spanish Sur has a narrow escape 

as the French Army du Nord enters the environs of Madrid.

1128  

At 1130 guerilla activity is judged to delay the Spanish Norte.  This was my call as they had perhaps been a bit too hot on the heels of the French Army du Nord.  In addition we needed to make space for them on the Madrid table.

The Spanish Norte arrives at Madrid just as the Spanish Sur escapes.

They choose to retire (it was lunch time after all).

1224

The French Army of Madrid (right hand side of the above image) failed to intercept the Spanish Sur.  The French commanders were unaware that the other two French armies had engaged the British and Portuguese armies at this point.

Back at Huelva the French Army du Centre and the Army du Sud

are now facing the British and Anglo Portuguese armies.

1224

Same battlefield and times as above but from a different perspective.

Image provided by Spanish Sur commander.

An image provided by the Spanish Sur commander depicting the main action of the whole campaign, the clash between the Anglo Portuguese army and the French Army du Centre.

1300 The chase is on with the Spanish using mountain paths to elude the French.  There is a transit of the Cuida Real table (shown below in an image provided by the Spanish Sur commander) by both the French Army du Madrid and the Army of Madrid.  Note: They are exiting on different roads.

1330 The Spanish Norte arrives at the northern edge of Huelva battle.  

1400 The Spanish Sur arrives at the southern edge of the Huelva.  The French Army du Nord, having taken the quicker route not involving traversing mountains, arrives at the eastern edge of the battlefield.

Almost all armies have converged on Huelva.

The Coalition are advised that enemy scouts have been seen on the road to Lisbon.

The Spanish say who cares and Beresford says he will deal with it shortly

having just whipped the French Army du Centre.

Plenty of time he says.

1429

The well marched Spanish Sur (image supplied by its commander)

1430 Spanish guerillas attempt to assassinate the French commander of the Army of Madrid.  They damage his coat.  

1500 The French Army du Centre breaks. 

The French scouts turn out to be a full cavalry brigade.

But wait, there is one French army unaccounted for...

Yep, it's on the way to capture Lisbon.

Off table movement is much faster than on table when there are seven armies and players and discussions to consume time.

1532

The French Army of Madrid arrives at Lisbon.

These two images provided by the Spanish Sur commander.

Aftermath

The French Army du Nord helped the remnants of the French Army du Centre and Army du Sud to retreat back to Madrid.  French losses had been heavy.

The French Army of Madrid occupied Lisbon (it had been left ungarrisoned).

This lead to the signing of the advantageous Convention of Sintra which allowed the British to avoid capture and take with them "the weapons and baggages" and the loot their army had managed to gather. 

The Spanish celebrated their success at not losing and having in fact seen Madrid which is almost the same as capturing it, but not quiet.

The Portuguese however were furious.  They had done all the fighting if not the marching.  Worse their departure from the Huelva battlefield had been delayed by their erstwhile allies constant chattering, inane discussions and rules bickering (harsh I know, but there has to be blame laid somewhere).  

Game Comment

Table time and transit time needs some kind of harmonisation. Or rather action on table needs to proceed at a faster pace.

Current set up has defined tables rather than setting up a table when a conflict occurs.  At least tables should be represented as a transit point if there are not enemy forces present.

The tables at 6x4 seem to be much larger than what is required (possibly only a 3x4).  This is important when infantry even in road column only move 12 inches.  We allowed, but somewhat arbitrarily I fear, units to deploy from march column to column when entering or exiting the table.

Edge of the table problem occurred a few times.  If smaller tables were used they could be placed in the middle of a bigger table if extra space was needed. 

The Real Map

The actually army movements looked something like this:

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 10

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

14 February 1943

The naval invasion of central Philippines launched (1).  Initial progress looked very promising but Japanese reinforcements swung the balance against us.  Further ANZAC reinforcements were required to have any chance as the initial wave was driven off.  Success was finally achieved by our reinforcements but it was a very close thing. 

Japanese control of certain seas succeeded in blocking many further invasion attempts.  A few further naval invasions did launch, perhaps as the Japanese navy was temporarily refueling or refitting. 

A naval invasion of Iwo Jima launched and was taken unopposed (2).

A naval invasion of southern Philippines launched but was driven off by the port's defenders.

A naval invasion of Okinawa was planned but the Japanese fleet repositioned and so it was cancelled.  Instead, southern China was successfully invaded and a beachhead was established in a small port (3). 

Siam entered the war on the Axis side, whether from Japanese pressure or from a misguided sense of adventure is not clear.  As they were surrounded and outnumbered by British units in Burma, Malaya and Indochina, they were quickly overwhelmed and surrendered. 

ANZAC strategists ponder their options given their relatively small armed forces.  How can they tempt the Japanese navy to relax their grip, even if momentarily, on key sea areas to allow further naval invasions?  Will the Chinese beachhead quickly break out before Japanese reinforcements arrive and so help turn around the slow retreat of the Chinese?  Or will it become a quagmire that generates large casualties in a strategic sideshow as superior Japanese numbers are brought to bear?  Only time will tell…

Here I Briefly Stood

Last Friday we settled into another game of Here I Stand, having allocated the whole day and a follow up day. I was England, Simon the Ottomans, Mike the Hapsburgs, Jeff the Papacy, Stephen the French and Richard the Protestants.

All over Turn Three after the Hapsburgs had been all over the world exploring, conquering and colonising.

At least England had a healthy heir and Scotland was part of the realm.

And now we have a brief commentary from the Richard who briefly played the Protestants.

Revue Culinaire by Fr. Richard

Today I had the misfortune to try and dine at Hapsottogaul, named for its most infamous dish. It's very,very hard to get a reservation and one must book weeks, if not months in advance. I was eager with anticipation, having only secured the reservation the week before and I was very hungry too!

The restaurant was full. It normally seats six, however, only three were hungry today and only one left sated.

It's signature dish, turned out, however, to be one which can leave a bitter taste, even if one doesn't eat it.

Entree:

Hungarian Goulash - devoured by the Ottomans.

Assorted Metz on a plate. -Unable to be digested by France in a single sitting and then coughed up. Eaten whole by the Hapsburgs. Eew!

Haggis - Cut into small pieces by England and then eaten after three chews.

Florentines - normally served as a dessert, warmed up by the Pope for France to eat later.

Episcopal Wafer - A bland dish shunned by the Protestants who preferred to go hungry.

Main Course:

F(r)egato ała venesiana - a costly dish, the Ottoman Galleys had trouble cutting up the f(r)egato and left the Pope's favourite, to be gobbled up by him with gusto.

Andrea Dory a la Genoa

A normally rare fish encountered in the Mediterranean. Ordered by France, but found to be Hor's Menu. Superior tipping by the Hapsburgs secured the last tasty morsel.

Exotic Fruits from the New World - Not shared by the Hapsburgs. Boo!

Here I must digress from the fayre on offer to comment on the (lack of) decorum in the restaurant.

Normally dessert would be served next, however, with the Protestants, Papacy and England still waiting for a table, the Hapsburgs asked France and the Ottomans to leave early so they could finish their dinner alone. (Perhaps they just weren't that hungry or maybe they were sated by the scraps the Hapsburgs left for them - the famous Hapsottogaul,a dish for three which only one eats).

As if this at wasn't bad enough, in a most, and please excuse the pun, unsavoury, final insult to his holiness the Pope, with whom they had just broken bread, the Ottomans "knocked over" the Papal tip jar on their way out of the restaurant as they ran off to the sedan chair rank to await the arrival of the Hapsburgs after whom they entered, to take the second place.

This left the Hapsburgs alone in the restaurant and they were presented with 11 menus to choose from. With the lackeys gone and three hungry souls still outside, it was certainly a leisurely way to dine as they scanned the cornucopia of tasty options still available.

With so many choices and drunk on new and old world treats alike, they had neither appetite for Goulash nor Mezze nor Fromage and certainly not Eels - Eeeew! They decided, instead, on Electoral Bratwurst!

No one interrupted them, not even the English waiting outside, whose purse, whilst meagre, could still have a bought a Belgian Chocolate or two. Yes, it was late, but there could have been enough time for another course even with France and the Ottomans having left already. Nevertheless, there was a short delay to the service after the hired help left unexpectedly and whilst initially a little hard to grasp, the Bratwurst was soon caught and consumed.

At this point the Hapsburgs, nearly completely sated, could barely move, who said gluttony was a sin? (certainly not the Pope who had barely eaten) and with Treachery still in his hands, they reached for the last piece of Amazonian Cayman and dinner was finished.

I cannot in good conscience recommend this establishment, however, please don't try the Hapsottogaul; if you aren't hungry, don't go out to dinner.

As a dining experience, I give Hapsottogaul 1 *.

Napoleonic Wargaming Society: Peninsula Campaign in a Day 2023

I should have posted this on my blog as well. Here I have tried to cross post from the NWS blog and I'm not sure it has worked as I expected... It didn't include the link to the video, but a link to the link to the video.  Here is the direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBxhMswchmo

Napoleonic Wargaming Society: Peninsula Campaign in a Day 2023: 

Darren has now completed the video of the game the club had back in June.  Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBxhMswchmo&ab_chann...

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 9

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

9 July 1942

ANZACs have moved from defence to offence against Japan, both at sea and on land.

In the war with Japan, the Australian navy (Ed, predominantly submarines) has sunk 473 convoys, 1 aircraft carrier and 2 other ships.  They have lost one destroyer.  Initially, the convoys were mostly sunk around the Indonesian archipelago but the Australian navy is now engaging further north and the carrier was lost around Truk.

There have been three successful ANZAC naval invasions that were uncontested by the Japanese navy.  The first was from northern Malaya to capture the port near Phnom Penh.  This was followed up by the capture of Saigon, which cut off Japanese supply, and a push north to link up with the British coming south from Hanoi.  The second was from near Hanoi to Formosa, which was not garrisoned.  The third was a short hop from Guam to Saipan. 

Politically, New Zealand has followed Australia in losing its Dominion status and becoming fully independent.  Using its Maori heritage, it is also drawing effectively on manpower from the Pacific islands it controls or liberates.

After these successes, planners are considering their options for the next steps.  Iwo Jima and Okinawa are the next islands.  The Philippines is a natural target.  Though it is still strongly defended by the Japanese navy in the south and Manila is garrisoned, the centre looks lightly defended.  A naval invasion of occupied China could greatly assist the embattled Chinese.  Or should local strong points be bypassed and an invasion of the Japanese main islands be contemplated?  Only time will tell…

Nikephorian Byzantines verse Later Parthians

A club competition game against Russell's Parthians.

Quiet a lot of terrain: two woods, a gentle hill and an impassable lake.

Byzantines advance.

Byzantines get in some lucky shots.

Byzantine luck holds.

Parthians in trouble.

Game over.

Hearts of Iron - Australia and New Zealand - Part 8

From the desk of the NZ PM, the Right Honourable Mr Bruce.

3 January 1942

Japan declared war on the Allies.  With years of war experience in China, the Imperial Japanese Army is expected to be battle hardened, formidable and aggressive.  That shifts the focus from Africa to the Asia/Pacific region and from offence to defence.

In political developments, Australia declared its independence to better mobilise its resources and convinced the Dutch government in exile, which has its homeland occupied by the Germans, to transfer effective control of its East Indies colonies to Australia.  New Zealand is 94% of the way to losing its Dominion status – it just needs a bit more successful fighting.

ANZAC forces defend Malaya and Singapore with 14 divisions, which is also close enough to assist with the expected defence of the oil fields in Borneo, Sumatra and Java.  Three Australian divisions are in Rabaul and Port Moresby.  The remaining six divisions are guarding the homelands but ready for quick deployment overseas to counter expected invasions. 

Japan invaded and conquered the Phillipines but never ventured further south.  Was it deterred by the ANZAC defence?  While the Australian navy has sunk about 300 Japanese conveys around the East Indies, ANZAC ground forces have not yet been engaged.

Instead, there is fighting around Hanoi where the British are pushing for a port to get supply.  In the Pacific islands, most of the contest is around Truk and Guam (shown by the square), which New Zealand decided not to defend but has been occupied by many US and UK units. 

Where shall the ANZAC forces strike?  The Pacific islands around Truk and Guam don’t yet have the Allied naval supremacy needed for relative safety.  What about the shorter and less-contested route from the East Indies to Palau?  Or what about an invasion from Malaya to Cambodia across the Gulf of Thailand to eventually link up with UK forces around Hanoi?  Only time will tell…