Between British And French The place is Spain in 1812. The British under Wellington are raiding deep into Spain setting the French reeling to recover in time to forestall disaster. The lead element for the French commanded by Marmont with Foy and Clausen, the British rear guard under Wellington with Picton. Morale on both sides is excellent and both are in supply. Bessieres is marching to the sound of the battle, or so Marmont believes. Wellington must count on suspect Spanish support, he must win a quick victory over Marmont before the French arrive. The setting and strategic situation for the battle make it somewhat atypical of the actions fought in Spain because the two sides were roughly equal in size and each had a similar mission. This battle was an arranged affair between two sets of players with the goal of having a good time and testing a new variation on Napoleonic rules. Although the little lead commanders on the field and the little soldiers they led failed, we achieved our objectives and had a good time. The players included John Bill, Trip Alford, Ken McCoy, Rich Byrd, and me. These men represented the finest martial and intellectual skills of the deep south. The battle was played at Trip's "Napoleonics Center" using an excellent table system that allows the armies to maneuver at will as Trip adds new tables to the flanks or removes old ones as needed. This allows multi-corps actions with wide flanking maneuvers. The battle field we fought over was twenty four feet long and twelve feet wide. Trip could have added more if we needed it. (Note that Trip has agreed to write an article on this system for a future issue of THE COURIER.) Back to the issue at hand. We were testing the new EMPIRE IV' rules which Trip evaluated elsewhere in this issue. The two forces were organized as follows: BRITISH AND PORTUGUESE Br. Cav. Bde.2 regt. Battle Cavalry (BC) , 1 coy. RHA, 6 lb. 6 guns Br. Cav. Bde. 3 regt. BC Port. Cav. Bde.3 regt. DUB cavalry Port. Inf. Bde. 5 Bn. Inf. Port. Inf. Bde. 5 Bn. Inf. 1 coy. Art. Howitzers, 6 tubes British Div. Inf. Bde. 4 Bn. Inf. Inf. Bde.4 Bn. Inf. including Highlanders, 1 Coy. RA, 9 lb. 6 guns British Light Div. Inf. Bde. 3 Rifle Bn., 1 Coy. RHA 6 1b. 6 guns Inf. Bde. 3 Rifle Bn. British Div. Inf. Bde. 4 Bn. Inf. Inf. Bde. 4 Bn. Inf. including KGL. , 1 coy. RA. 9 lb. 6 guns FRENCH I CORPS Cav. Bde. 4 regts. non-BC Inf. Div. 1 coy. Light horse art. 4 lb. 6 guns Inf Bde. 5 Bn. Inf. Inf. Bde. 5 Bn. Inf. Inf. Div. 1 coy. Med. Art. 8 lb. 8 guns Inf. Bde. 5 Bn. Inf. Inf. Bde. 4 Bn. Inf. , 1 coy. Med. Art. 8 lb. 8 guns II CORPS Cav. Bde. 2 regts. non-BC Inf. Div. Inf. Bde. 4 Bn. Inf. Bde. 6 Bn. Inf Div. Inf. Bde. 6 Bn. Inf. Inf. Bde. 4 Bn. Inf., 1 coy. Hvy. An. 12 lb. 8 guns Ind. Cav. Bde. 2 regts. of Dragoons. BC. The quality of the British force more than offset the slight advantage the French possessed in numbers. The French and English encountered each other just outside the small Spanish village of Villa Costa, which was centrally located near the center of the playing area (see map 1). A number of terrain markers (indicate type of terrain - muddy, gullies, etc. Turned over and acted on when troops arrive at them. See article comparing Empire III & IV in this issue - ED.) were placed out in various locations on the table as hidden terrain obstacles. One of these would produced dire results for the French on the first turn. Villa Costa was dominated by a number of hills to its north, west, and south. Despite the hills, the French player ordered his I Corps to seize the village and refuse the flank to the west. He ordered his II Corps to the east and to roll up the British I inefrom the hill overlooking Villa Costa from the north. The British player developed a plan that was remarkably similar to the French plan. He elected to refuse his left and sent one division supported by a British cavalry brigade to roll up the French line from the east. He sent his Portuguese cavalry to his left to slow up the French and he kept the Light Division in a deep reserve. The rest of his force moved forward to occupy the Garcia villa north of Villa Costa. In EMPIRE, units move great distances per turn until tactical contact is made, this occurs when they come within eight inches of a hostile force. Infantry units move 40 inches, while cavalry moves 60 inches. However, in this case the British and French both ran into difficulties. The French swung to the right and turned over a terrain marker. They found themselves confronted with a series of drainage ditches that cut the movement rate in half and disordered their cavalry. The British encountered some steep gullies and hills that reduced their rate of march. The center units easily occupied the two built-up areas and started to bombard each other. Unfortunately for the French, the Portuguese Cavalry on the British left had no difficulty and made tactical contact with the French before their cavalry could reorder itself after crossing the ditches. Normally the French cavalry would easily brush the Portuguese aside but in their disordered condition it was a fair fight that lasted two turns. The French won but the Portuguese had removed one French regiment and weakened two more. The British player failed to reinforce the Portuguese so the French right advanced again. Meanwhile, the British Infantry was still struggling through the hills to the west. French cavalry occupied the summit of the hill to the west of Villa Costa but pulled back when threw afew rounds of shells their way. Both sides continued their bombardments in the center with the edge going to the French. The French II Corps occupied the ridge line east of Garcia villa and the British player dispatched his remaining British Cavalry to tie them up. However the French dragoons arrived about the same time and an extended clash of sabers supported by a few timely volleys from the II Corps ended the combat to the advantage of the French. Once again, although the British Cavalry had performed well and the RHA had crushed the French, the lack of support for the British led to their departure from the field. The situation on the British left was becoming critical. The French were poised to cut their communications and line of retreat (see map 1). On the British right, the flanking units made contact on the hill. Here British battle cavalry faced French lights. To the surprise of the I Corps commander, his troopers held their own. The I Corps adjusted its two divisions to meet the single British division as ordered and refused the flank. Likewise, the British player pulled his left flank back from the hillside towards Garcia Villa. The result of this move was to expose his line of communications even further and to pull his units out of supporting range to his flanking division. The British light division was ordered forward to cover the rear of his army. The French commander now had some choices. He had one division yet uncommitted from the 11 Corps, he could attack down the hill into the two British divisions and two Portuguese Brigades; he could move to cutoff the British line of retreat; or he could attack the flank of the British division attacking the French left and cut it off from the rest of the British army and destroy it. While he pondered, the British acted and attacked the ridge where the French II Corps' first division was beginning to bombard the British lines. The British attacked piecemeal with the two Portuguese brigades. After the Portuguese were defeated by the French, the remnants of a British Brigade was thrown at the ridge and they too failed. The Light Division, the best British division, watched. The British flanking force was also having problems, French numbers and, dare I say it, fire power was thinning their ranks. The British player now realized that things were serious and drastic action was required. He pondered, he poised and he ordered a general withdrawal. The French player pushed the II Corps forward but despite the British situation they managed to hold off the attack and extricate the bulk of the Allied force. The flanking force covered its withdrawal by sacrificing several battalions and a battery of guns. The French, for their part, were too weak to pursue all out and elected to follow with the II Corps at a safe distance (see map 2). The British and Portuguese had lost the field. In so doing, they had lost two British battalions and a Royal Artillery battery as well as one cavalry regiment. Additionally, they suffered 50% losses in two other cavalry regiments and four infantry battalions. Their Portuguese allies had 50% casualties in three cavalry regiments and six battalions along with other losses. The light division was stilt intact but the rest of the army had suffered a stinging defeat. The French had several cavalry regiments with losses of 50%. The French I Corps had lost 50% in several battalions as had the II Corps in one. The French, however, would recover a greater percentage of their losses. The battle had lasted a little over six hours in real time and we had played the equivalent of seven hours of combat. The rules had worked reasonably well. The sweeping maneuvers of both sides were simulated effectively and the battle unfolded in a realistic manner. The EMPIRE' system is very effective in multi-corps actions with lots of terrain and space. The system loses its elegance when it is played on a caid table between two divisions or between single corps. It is not well suited to small unit actions. In setting up the battle, Trip wanted balanced forces and achievable objectives. As a Francophile he wanted the French to win, and they did. This was a meeting engagement which resulted in the frequently observed "pinwheel" effect as each side attempted to out flank the other in the same manner. The French player was fortunate due to the mistakes of the British player. Essentially, the British player failed to make his flanking attack strong enough or support it once it went in. Likewise he failed to occupy the key ground on his left, the ridge overlooking his left flank. He did commit two cavalry brigades to his left but committed them piecemeal which led to their destruction. Once the French occupied the ridge, he delayed his counterattack and committed it piecemeal as well. The French also made mistakes, but as in real war the winner is not so much the most brilliant but the least foolish. The French failure to occupy the hill to their left could have spelled disaster if the British had acted aggressively in the center and sent a stronger flanking force. The British player needed to ensure that both flanks possessed a combined arms capability, the (DUB) cavalry on his left lacked the staying power to slow up the French materially. If not for the ditches they would have lasted even less time. I enjoyed my part in the battle. The figures and the terrain were excellent. The companionship was outstanding. Note: Empire rules classify cavalry in three categories, battle cavalry, non battle cavalry, and DUB or Deplorable un-battle cavalry. Battle cavalry is considered suitable for shock action and heavy combat. The others are light cavalry suitable for screening and reconnaissance and not battle field use. 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