Historical Background

Victoria was the crowning allied triumph in the peninsular war. The French were swept from Spain in chaos, a victory celebrated by the allies across Europe. Beethoven was moved to compose his famous "Wellington's Victory." The battle shows Wellington at the height of his powers, leading the biggest and best arm v he will ever command, against a dispirited French army on the run from Madrid. Although casualties were not severe on either side, the French army was utterly routed, leaving behind over 150 guns and a vast sum of treasure: the accumulated spoils of Joseph Bonaparte's star-crossed reign as king of Spain.

Despite his spectacular victory at Salamanca, the year 1812 had ended in frustration for Wellington, who was forced to retreat to Portugal to rest his exhausted army. The winter of 1812-13 was spent rebuilding the allied army, and for the coming Spring campaign, Wellington would have numerical superiority over his French foes for the first time. In addition to the excellent British and Portuguese Forces, the British had trained and equipped a new Spanish army -- a vast improvement over previous Spanish forces.

Altogether Wellington could muster over 100,000 men. The French were in a very different situation. Although most French troops in Spain were by this time seasoned veterans, Napoleon had pulled troops out of Spain to rebuild his shattered Grande Armee in Germany. (Most of the best soldiers in the Spanish theatre were taken away for the reconstituting of the Imperial Guard.) French forces were scattered across northern and central Spain in various small "armies." They had long since lost the South. Joseph's throne in Madrid was no longer secure, and he was planning an evacuation North to Valladolid. Knowing this move would tempt Wellington to pursue, Joseph and his military chief, Marshal Jourdan, hoped to prepare an ambush for the allied army in the hills of northern Spain.

It was Wellington, however, who was planning to ambush them. By this point the French were absolutely swarmed by Spanish guerillas -- so much so that any supply convoys required entire French divisions for escort. The allies thus knew the location and movements of the French as the two armies moved North, but the French were nearly blind. Joseph's forces prepared to make their stand in the valley around the town of Vittoria, but even though they were there two days ahead of Wellington, the French were negligent at blowing bridges, scouting the region, or preparing for much beyond an allied frontal assault. Wellington, however, had planned a huge four-column envelopment.

Wellington's plan did not come off perfectly, and the French infantry resisted fiercely, but by mid-day on the 21st, the flanking allied forces, led by Longa's Spaniards (which shows how much the Spanish had improved) had cut the French main road and path of retreat. Outnumbered and under pressure from three directions, General Gazan quit the field without orders, exposing the other two French corps to annihilation. It is a measure of the leadership quality of French general officers that D'Erlon's and Reille's corps were not totally overrun in the envelopment that resulted.

As the French army collapsed, Wellington's great victory was spoiled by the huge amounts of loot found in the French baggage trains. The British infantry became so drunk that there was no effective pursuit after the battle.

Battle of Vittoria 21 June 1813 Wargame Scenario

Historical Background
Scenario
Orders of Battle