Background:
Spain, 1813, and a French brigade commander is assigned to do reconnaissance in force to see if the road to Vitoria is open. It isn’t; his forces meet the deployed brigade of from a newly-arrived British division. Although his orders were just to recon and not to engage, he engages anyway. During the fighting his troops spot the British forces. This will make the French army commander decide to alter his march the next day to outflank the British forces. Although Vitoria was a loss for the union it could have been much worse if the French commander had stuck to his original plan.
We will ideally need three gaming mats, but two would do if space is a problem. There is a river running across the centre of the table (we will need Sada's rivers), but is is fordable in the middle.
French:
Infantry brigade: (untried, freshly raised fourth battalions)
4 regiments
1 artillery battery
1 battalion of infantry in reserve with the brigadier. Reliable.
Command rating 7
Brigade light infantry can be converged into one unit, if desired.
British:
Infantry brigade:
2 regiments: untried, freshly raised
1 Light infantry battalion (small) crack
1 artillery battery
Command rating 8
British Divisional HQ: command stand
1 regiment reliable infantry
Command rating 7
The French will deploy 4 regiments in column formation on their side of the ford. The gun is deployed on the hill (foot artillery )
The British gun is deployed on the other hill.
The British commander will deploy one regiment in skirmish formation within the tree line behind the hill. The other regiments are deployed in line behind the tree line.
Objectives:
The French must reach the British side to see if the British army has arrived. The French will at first assume it is just an outpost defending the crossing. If he spots the approaching division (the army commander stand) he will know this is part of a bigger force and will have to report this to his HQ
French strategic victory:
At least one regiment spots the enemy and is able to reach the French side of the river in non-disordered and non-shaken condition. Once a regiment reaches the French side within these conditions the strategic victory will be won, but the game continues.
French tactical victory:
They break the British before their own brigade breaks.
British strategic victory:
The French are not able to spot the enemy and/or is not able to carry the message home
British tactical victory:
They break the French brigade.
Special rules:
To the rescue: The British divisional command stand and its supporting cavalry regiment will arrive at the table at the end of turn 6 on the road leading down to the ford. The unit will be placed at the table edge. The next turn he may freely move and participate in the battle.
Spotted: A French unit on the British side of the table within 24”from the cavalry regiment, which is able to draw a line from it’s commander to the British divisional commander stand, without any obstacles (trees, regiments, hills) in the way will spot early and may take the message home.
Fording: As soon as a unit touches the ford it may be positioned on the other side in the same formation as entered. The unit will become disordered and will stay disorderd till the end of the next turn.
Surprise: The French are not expecting any opposition and would be completely surprised. The very first volley of his brigade will -2 from the firing dice (excluding the cannon)
The game ends one full turn after all French regiments left on the table are returned to the French side of the river.
