Over the Hills Scenarios

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Battle of Barrosa March 5th, 1811


The Battle of Barrosa (known as the Battle of Chiclana by the Spanish) was fought near the Torre de Barrosa on the Gulf of Cadiz on March 5th, 1811.
Following the Battle of Ocaña the Spanish had been driven from the south of Spain with the Supreme Junta finally taking refuge in Cadiz. Bolstered by British and Portuguese troops and aided by the British Navy the city went into a state of siege as Victor surrounded it with troops and emplacements on the landward side.
A plan was developed to break the siege by sending an Allied force to Tarifa deep behind the French lines to the east. Under the incompetent command of the Spanish general Manuel la Peña, with Sir Thomas Graham in command of the British/Portuguese rearguard this force landed and began to make its way towards Cadiz.
Victor became aware of the Allied approach and set a trap, blocking the way forward to Cadiz with Vilatte’s division while Ruffin and Laval were sent to fall on the Allied flank and rear. Graham, wanting to leave a strong rearguard on the high ground of the Cerro de Puerco was ordered by la Peña to join the main Spanish force to the northeast instead. Moving along a track through a pine woods rather than the coastal road, Graham became aware of the French force approaching behind.
Realizing that Victor’s trap could well send them all into the sea, Graham took the initiative to ignore la Peña’s orders and turn to confront the enemy behind. By this time the Spanish rearguard under Cruz Murgeon had also abandoned the high ground so Graham, in a desperate attempt to forestall the French while he got his force turned around, sent Dilke’s light battalion under Browne to attack Ruffin’s division forming up on the high ground. To the same end Barne’s massive light battalion along with the Portuguese were sent to the northwest through the woods to block Laval. And so the battle commenced.

Combat of the Côa, July 24th, 1810


The Combat of the Côa was a running skirmish battle between Crauford's Light Division and Ney's
6th Corps. It was the first clash between Wellington's forces and Marshal André Masséna's newly created army of 65,000 that had been raised to invade Portugal.
Ney's orders were to seize the border fortress town of Almeida. Crauford, rather unwisely (and against the implied wishes of Wellesley!) had elected to shield Almeida with his Light Division, a mere 3,500 men supported by1200 horse strung out over three kilometres between the east bank of the Côa and the fortress. For months he had been playing cat and mouse with Massena's forces and was over confident that he could slip away if threatened.
However Ney, hoping to trap the Light Division on the east bank, managed to bring the full weight of his corps against Crauford's smaller force, taking him by surprise on the morning of July 24th, 1810. As Craufrod's pickets came rushing back from Ney's advance cavalry, Crauford, underestimating the size of the force confronting him, originally thought he would make a stand. He rapidly realized his mistake and began a hurried withdrawal to the river, sending his cavalry, guns and supply wagons ahead, followed by his infantry as he attempted to escape over the Coa.

The Combat at Sabugal was an attempt by Wellington to encircle and defeat Reynier's II Corps, on the left flank of Masséna's army as they retreated from Portugal in April 1811. The plan might well have succeeded if it wasn't for the fog and rain that caused elements of the Anglo-Portuguese army to be delayed, lost and disoriented. This scenario covers the attack by the Light Division on Reynier's II Corps and has a refereed and non-refereed version. The refereed version tries to recreate the confusion and unknowns associated with this battle as both sides attempt to determine exactly what they are up against! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a4qLOJ8wYS8i_j4ddx6yweZE7G4mPTFE/view?usp=sharing

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