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winterbadgerOur local AOE group played Mark Piper's scenario for Fuentes d'Onoro today. We played all 9 turns in about 4.5 hours, coming pretty close to 1:1 time scale. We had one British player and two French players (one commanding the cavalry, the "8th Corps" division, and most of 6th Corps, and the other commanding 2nd Corps, Ferey's division of 6th Corps, and the "9th Corps" division). I had goosed the British slightly (I thought) by giving them an extra Portuguese cavalry brigade (Conscript LC, 4/-/3) and adding a brigade of Portuguese infantry (R 7/5/4 SK) to the 6th Division. Little did I know how much I would later curse that decision!
The French led off by moving in their cavalry from the SW and beginning to deploy. The British decided to challenge them and sent out the Portuguese cavalry to impede them. Thinking the Iberians would prove little obstacle, the French cavalry division commander sent a brigade of elite heavy cavalry to ride them down. They bounced off instead. Another brigade attacked, and the conscripts drove back these heavies as well. Eventually the Portuguese defeated no less than four separate attacks, and only went down when struck from two sides at once while disordered. In the meantime the rest of the British cavalry had become engaged and effectively prevented the French left wing from advancing for almost two (game) hours.
Mermet's division of 6th Corps passed through Poco Bello and encountered the Light Division, intending to push them slowly back with the support of Marchand and Solignac. Instead, Craufurd attacked violently, completely destroying Bardet's brigade in one round of musketry and close action and stalling.
The French had better luck in the center, as they bombarded Fuentes d'Onoro briefly, then assaulted it with Ferey's division and smashed the Portuguese who had been holding it (Ashworth's brigade) and drove up onto the ridge behind. The British rallied and fought back, eventually driving Ferey back into Fuentes (with the loss of Power's brigade to enfilading artillery fire from the French main line) and holding the line north of the town. But they were unable to recapture Fuentes from the French. (Ashworth's brigade eventually left the field entirely.)
Montbrun was eventually able to defeat two of the Allied cavalry brigades, after which the third withdrew to hold the allied right flank. The Light Division was largely decimated, but the 7th drew back towards the ridge, and the French were unable to capitalize on the withdrawal, with the British 1st Division standing strong along the southern edge of the heights.
With the loss of the Light Division and most of Cotton's cavalry, and unable to regain a foothold in Fuentes d'Onoro, the British had suffered a serious defeat, but at the end of the game they still held all of the hilltop and had a strong line opposing the French advance. But while Ashworth's Portuguese had proved feeble and unwilling to stand the fight, the Portuguese cavalry contingent, added to the OB at the last minute, had withstood the best the French could throw at it for several hours.
I had wondered whether the British would be able to hold out given the severe imbalance in forces. In fact, given the nine-turn limit and the high level of their musketry and morale, the British stand a very good chance of holding their position, though they will be bloodied (as, historically, was the case). In our playing, if they had been able to regain the town, that would have overridden the disparity in p.17 VP totals (17 for Wellington v. 34 for Massena). The 50-point boost for Fuentes d'Onoro, together with the bonus for fresh French units on the ridge, will pretty much decide any scenario; players should decide ahead of time whether they wish this to be the decisive element of the scenario, or if they want to lower this award somewhat.
We were puzzled by the reference to woods in the terrain notes, as we could see none indicated on the map. We took "marsh slows movement" to mean it should be treated as rough terrain.
The French led off by moving in their cavalry from the SW and beginning to deploy. The British decided to challenge them and sent out the Portuguese cavalry to impede them. Thinking the Iberians would prove little obstacle, the French cavalry division commander sent a brigade of elite heavy cavalry to ride them down. They bounced off instead. Another brigade attacked, and the conscripts drove back these heavies as well. Eventually the Portuguese defeated no less than four separate attacks, and only went down when struck from two sides at once while disordered. In the meantime the rest of the British cavalry had become engaged and effectively prevented the French left wing from advancing for almost two (game) hours.
Mermet's division of 6th Corps passed through Poco Bello and encountered the Light Division, intending to push them slowly back with the support of Marchand and Solignac. Instead, Craufurd attacked violently, completely destroying Bardet's brigade in one round of musketry and close action and stalling.
The French had better luck in the center, as they bombarded Fuentes d'Onoro briefly, then assaulted it with Ferey's division and smashed the Portuguese who had been holding it (Ashworth's brigade) and drove up onto the ridge behind. The British rallied and fought back, eventually driving Ferey back into Fuentes (with the loss of Power's brigade to enfilading artillery fire from the French main line) and holding the line north of the town. But they were unable to recapture Fuentes from the French. (Ashworth's brigade eventually left the field entirely.)
Montbrun was eventually able to defeat two of the Allied cavalry brigades, after which the third withdrew to hold the allied right flank. The Light Division was largely decimated, but the 7th drew back towards the ridge, and the French were unable to capitalize on the withdrawal, with the British 1st Division standing strong along the southern edge of the heights.
With the loss of the Light Division and most of Cotton's cavalry, and unable to regain a foothold in Fuentes d'Onoro, the British had suffered a serious defeat, but at the end of the game they still held all of the hilltop and had a strong line opposing the French advance. But while Ashworth's Portuguese had proved feeble and unwilling to stand the fight, the Portuguese cavalry contingent, added to the OB at the last minute, had withstood the best the French could throw at it for several hours.
I had wondered whether the British would be able to hold out given the severe imbalance in forces. In fact, given the nine-turn limit and the high level of their musketry and morale, the British stand a very good chance of holding their position, though they will be bloodied (as, historically, was the case). In our playing, if they had been able to regain the town, that would have overridden the disparity in p.17 VP totals (17 for Wellington v. 34 for Massena). The 50-point boost for Fuentes d'Onoro, together with the bonus for fresh French units on the ridge, will pretty much decide any scenario; players should decide ahead of time whether they wish this to be the decisive element of the scenario, or if they want to lower this award somewhat.
We were puzzled by the reference to woods in the terrain notes, as we could see none indicated on the map. We took "marsh slows movement" to mean it should be treated as rough terrain.
