A reminder of  the starting positions of the two armies. 

The two French Infantry Divisions aggressively pursue the attack on the superior numbers of Spanish on the ridgeline. Recall that the Artillery on both sides was not allowed to fire in the early phase of the battle. I had the far right Spanish Infantry Division, Kevin had the middle Infantry Division and the Spanish Dragoons and Line Cavalry, whilst Sean had the leftmost Spanish Infantry Division and the Spanish Light cavalry. Kyle had the leftmost French Infantry Division opposite me, and the French Light cavalry, while Mike had the other French Infantry Division and the Dragoons. 

French Dragoons advancing rapidly on their right, whilst the French Light cavalry decides to threaten the Spanish infantry on the Ridgeline. An early end to Turn 1 meant the Artillery was in action relatively soon, and the Spanish could form Square sooner than might have been anticipated. 

Kyle’s French infantry badly out-rolled my Spanish at most opportunities; you will note three of my 5 infantry regiments doling their impression pf “Run Away!” very early on!

French Light cavalry charging up the hill. 

First charge by the French Dragoons as well.

The Spanish battery is overrun and destroyed by the French cavalry, but otherwise the charge was indecisive. 

French Dragoons defeat two of the Spanish Light cavalry regiments, the Spanish general being laid hors de combat!

In the center, Mike’s general is hit by a stray cannonball!

Kyle’s Division has pulverized mine, and he is planning to wheel in upon the Spanish Center. 

Facing a bunch of Spanish squares, the French Light cavalry call off any further attacks, and try to move around the Spanish left flank. The Spanish heavier cavalry gives as good as they get in a series of melees with the French Dragoons..  

Cavalry situation later in the game. 

Another view. 

The infantry battle sees new Spanish routers from the center command!

With the last unit of my command now either routed, destroyed, or retreated off the table, my commander seems to have fallen upon his sword rather than face the Junta’s inquisition as to his conduct!

General Virues (yo!) in an appropriately Spanish red cap shortly before my untimely demise, with Kevin (playing Generals Garcia and Butron) looks on. 

The Spanish lost all their Morale points by about halfway through the game, but survived THREE Army Morale tests. Still by games end, these were all of our Morale points that the enemy had NOT taken. A pretty decisive result in Field of Battle terms!  We Spanish claimed moral victory, as the army did not break and considerably outperformed the historical result, with the performance of the Spanish cavalry being strikingly better than in history. We were happy to slink away under the cover of an early February sunset….

He entered the service of Sweden in 1608; by 1627 he was a full Colonel, and was knighted by the King of Sweden.

Leslie enjoyed the trust of Gustavus 2 Adolphus, and in 1628 he successfully defended Stralsund as  Sweden entered the 30 Years War. In 1631, he organized the Scottish troops in Swedish service. He was present at the Battle of Lutzen in 1632, where Gustavus Adolphus perished in battle. 

Alexander L:eslie was made a Marshal of Sweden in 1636, and was one of the commanders at the Battle of Wittstock later that year. By 1637, he had returned to Scotland. He lead the Covenanter armies very successfully during the first and second Bishop’s Wars, and  was created 1st Earl of Levin by King Charles I in 1641. 

Leslie was senior commander at the Battle of Marston Moor, when the Scottish army combined with 2 Parliamentary armies under Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester decisively defeated the Royalist army under Prince Rupert. He had charge of Charles I when the King surrendered to the Covenanter forces 1646,  subsequently transferring the King to his Presbyterian allies in Parliament.  He retired in 1647, and took no active part in the disastrous Dunbar campaign against Cromwell. 

Figures are by Old Glory, coats are painted Delta Wedgewood Blue, a light to medium grey with a very strong blue tone. 

The old Portuguese army was largely destroyed in the French invasion of  Portugal in November of 1807, and had to be recreated when the British arrived in August 1808. 

The British chose William Carr Beresford to lead the army, with a rank of Marshal in the Portuguese Army. Unusually, he was moderately fluent in Portuguese. His efforts over time greatly increased the size and effectiveness of the Portuguese army, from roughly 25,000 men in 1809 to 50,00 in 1812; by that time Wellington acknowledged that the Portuguese troops were every bit as good as the British. 

The 1st regiment had a dark blue collar and white cuffs. Belong to the Center Division organizationally, it had white piping, turnbacks, and white mixed with dark blue cords on its shako. 

The King’s color is by Adolfo Ramos flags. The figures are Old Glory 2nd edition British painted as Portuguese. 

The Regimental color would have been white, for the Center Division. 

The 1st Line regiment was brigaded with the 16th Line Infantry, and, from late 1810, the 4th Cazadores. That particular Brigade spent most of the war in independent actions.

The Old Glory pack of Scots Artillerymen has a huge 30 figures in it!

I painted about half of them earlier this year; this is the other half!

I probably now have more Scots ECW Artillery than I will ever need!

Still, I had ‘em, so might as well paint ‘em!

Obviously, they need some guns to serve.

Viola, here they are! I actually painted all of the ordonnance back when I did the first batch, so I had 3 extra guns. 

I also made this small unit of Scots swordsmen. 

Once again, it was formed from spare figures. 

More Tartan practice!

Waste not, want not -spoken like a true Scotsman! 🙂

The Loyal Lusitanian Legion was first formed in England in 1808, initially raised from Portuguese who had fled the country as a result for the French occupation in late 1807 and early 1808. 

The Legion was to consist of 3 battalions of 1,000 men, a battery of 6 guns, and some cavalry; it does not appear that the later were ever raised. There was initial talk of red uniforms, but that choice was unpopular with the Portuguese, so dark green uniforms reminiscent of the British rifles were ordered. 

When the core of the Legion arrived in Oporto in August 1808, it recruited additional men in Portugal. Most but not all of the officers were British. The Legion was paid by the United Kingdom, and fought at Alcantara, Talavera, and Busaco. It was commanded by Colonel Robert Wilson, who was given the rank of Brigadier General in the Portuguese army as well. Much of its service was  spent in independent actions behind the French lines or supporting the Portuguese and Spanish militias. 

The LLL was disbanded in May 18111, and used to form the new 7th, 8th, and part of the 9th Cacadores. 

The flag was taken from the internet; I cannot vouch for its accuracy, but it looks good at least!

The figures themselves are Old Glory 2nd edition British line, painted as the Legion. There is an excellent account of the Legion’s history and actions on The Napoleon Series, here.