Simon Bolivar`s victory at Carabobo assured the independence of Venezuela. It was a victory bought at the cost of the bravery and sheer military excellence of Bolivar`s British Legion. Of 350 men who started that morning, 11 officers and 119 men paid the butchers bill from a total Patriot casualty list of of 200 fallen. SCENARIO The Patriot Army moving down the Carabobo valley finds it`s path blocked by Royalist forces commanded by General La Torre. The Royalists have taken up a superb defensive position atop a grassy plateau with excellent fields of fire. To break through the defenders, Bolivar`s men must first force a passage across the Carabobo brook, over some low hills, before having to tackle the steep slopes falling from the plateau under a blazing South American sun. THE ROYALIST ARMY Miguel de la Torre, 5,000 men M: 1st Btn de Valencey N: Light Btn del Principe O: Btn La Reina P: Light Btn del Barbastro Q: Light Btn del Hostalrich R: 2nd Btn del Burges S: Light Btn de Infante don Francisco de Paula T: Husares de Ferdinando VII U: Dragoones Leales a Fernando VII V: Lancers del Rey 2 Horse Artillery Pieces with unit M THE PATRIOT (REPUBLICAN) ARMY Simon Bolivar / General Paez, 6,000 men A: Btn. Anzoategui B: Btn Vencedor en Boyaca C: Btn Granaderos D: Btn Rifles E: Btn Vargas F: Regt 1st de La Guarde (mixed unit) G: Btn Boyaca H: Btn Tiradores I: Btn Cazadores Britanicos (British Legion) J: Btn Bravos de Apure K: Regt. Lancers de Honor (mixed unit) L: Regt. Husares de Paez The mixed cavalry units are represent several brigaded squadrons. No artillery No guns Map WARGAMING Viva Napoleonics! The Royalist troops should look like later Spanish / Portugese whilst the Republicans were very definitely French in appearance, with the exception of the British Legion who were to all intents and purposes Wellington`s redcoats, even the Rifle Btn wore their old 95th Rifles uniforms!!! See Men At Arms 232 The Armies of Bolivar....for more details. I used 6mm Napoleonic blocks and assorted cavalry / light infantry strips from Irregular. choosing US/Mexican War generals - for Bolivar in his widebrimmed white hat. Rules were the The Ebb & Flow of Battle : Peninsular Module - unit ratings based upon the French and Spanish forces at Medellin. I assumed that the British, riflemen, grenadiers and all cavalry had best morale ; followed by Light battalions then the rest of the armies. Especially suitable for more fun Napoleonic rules such as those by Charles Grant`s, or Paddy Griffith`s . Bolivar won again, but I felt the dice were loaded. Such is war, eh ? Back to The Gauntlet No. 9 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com