A training exercise - Anglo-Portuguese vs Anglo-Portuguese Meeting Engagement (LoA Tournament game #4 Jan 2021)

A  British Army training exercise - Anglo-Portuguese Army vs Anglo-Portuguese Army

 (LoA Tournament game #4 Jan 2021)

 

 With LISBON safe and secure following three successful defenses of the LINES OF TORRES VEDRAS, Lord WELLINGTON has decided to conduct a TRAINING EXERCISE.

 

The exercise is designed to test the offensive power and maneuvers of his ANGLO-PORTUGUESE army. 

 

Two different corps of troops will conduct a MEETING ENGAGEMENT while umpires will observe and report the results...

 

Portuguese, British and Scottish troops observe the approaching "Red enemy force" from a hill top.

For my 4th game in the League of Ancients January 2021 tournament,  I played another Anglo-Portuguese Peninsula army 1809-11 army  Dave has defeated me multiple times, though I did get one victory when he was/is teaching me the game in my 2nd ever game.

Dave literately wrote the book on how to win Field of Glory Napoleonic battles...and he was using the same basic army list as I was. I did not go into this battle with much confidence...

Dave, knowing full well my love of a  redoubt defence, blocked my 4th use of it in this tournament of using a prepared defence. I blocked his ability to do frontal and prepared attack. We both choose to do a PROBE mission.  As Richard had told me in the first game, probe is a good choice for smaller armies, as it allows you to see where the enemy deployment is, and know where any flanking advance will come from. 

So effectively we had the oldest, more favorite scenario I have ever had in wargaming - THE MEETING ENGAGEMENT.My first computer wargame I ever got was Kampfgruppe in '88 on the Amiga 1000. Meeting engagements were my favorite scenario from then on. I've never been much good at it...

A strong, defensible position. the hills on my right flank were rough with a marsh to their north. The village sat on my right flank and a forest and a gentle hill on my left. A difficult forest was to me far left. Another village was to the north. A minor river, rough, was to the far west.

As we both had a Probe mission, we had to roll who was the attacked and Dave won, so I still ended up being the defender. I decided to try and fight on a narrow front with one flank covered. I ended up with some rough hills and a village on my right that would make it well nigh impossible for anything to come that way. 

My left had a forest I wanted to move my light infantry into (I have 3 brigades of light infantry). 

I decided to hold the centre. The Light Division reserve would arrive first and deploy to the left where the forest and hill were, and the Cavalry Division reinforcement would arrive later at some future point, all in the centre.

The First Division deploys in depth.

With a narrow gap to defend, and working on the assumption that Dave would be advancing on me, I placed my two large British units on the road, blocking it completely. Behind them I put the Portuguese conscripts with the Highlander's to the right, able to enter the forest if needed. The Portuguese line infantry defended the town. 

I should have put the Highlanders behind the main units, and the Conscripts in the town. The Highlanders are the divisional reserve, and the conscripts would have been a better "lure" in the town, though I strongly suspected Dave would ignore the town anyway. Putting the conscripts in the town also means they guard a flank and not be near anyone else.

Two Angelo-Portuguese divisions advance.

Dave had 4 divisions, which is useful in a probe mission. I'm glad I didn't try and attack!

My left flank is weak

Dave was obviously going for my left flank. 

Corps Command looks over the infantry line towards the Red force. Some of the conscripts behind him aren't sure which way to face, which is perfectly in character. 

The attacking "Red" force moves on my left flank

The very obvious advance on my left confirmed my choice to bring on the light troops there.

The Light Division arrives from reserve. The Loyal Lustarian brigade on the left, the 95th in the centre on the hill. The Spanish guerrillas in the rear. The Highlander unit is on the right, as the other Highlander unit moves into the forest.

I decided to sit on the hill - Dave didn't have much more artillery than I did, and no dedicated corps level artillery unit. 

What I SHOULD have done is move down the hill and lure him forward. Then have my cavalry come through and change beyond it.

More enemy "Red" units arrive - enemy cavalry

Dave's cavalry division moved into the centre on the road, but his KGL veterans with officer moved to support his infantry.

Uhhh...what where which way now?

Dave's attack then made a massively complicated change. Units started going every which way and facing every direction. 

It looked to me that the centre would be vulnerable if I could flank his forces moving around the forest...

Forward out of the position!

It looked to me I had a chance of getting on the flank of his advance, so moved out of my defensive position and moved my (now arrived as soon as possible) reinforcement cavalry up to directly support the infantry. 

I would to attempt to flank him as he moved forward and use my cavalry to cover my right flank. The Light division would hold the hill and forest on the left.

Forward!

Dave's troops form line.

After all the complicated and mystifying maneuvering, Dave had got everything right where it needed to be.  I do not think I could have performed such a complicated change in direction. 

What I should have done is STOP HERE and get my light infantry into the forest and hit than angle he has north of it.

Under fire.

I'd advanced forward and my one large unit was under fire from two small units, but not in arc to fire back. 

I can't recall or workout why the Conscripts behind them were also disordered. The large unit to their front might have taken two hits.

The armies line up. In the back right cornor you can see a Portuguese Division arrive for Dave's as reinforcements.

My Light Division was holding the hill. I should have moved forward, but there was ONE cavalry unit on that flank that was scaring me from advancing. My cavalry was all tangled up on the right behind my Portuguese troops. I had my heavy cavalry moving left.

I should have advanced anyway. What I really needed was to get the light infantry in the forest and hit his angle.  And I needed my heavy shock cavalry to move faster left.

The British and Portuguese light cavalry move right, tangled up behind the Portuguese Line infantry.

My line was all wrong, I'd advanced to far forward with the left large unit, I should have moved it only 3 inches and the unit to the right 6. And the Portuguese needed to be further right to allow the cavalry space. If my cavalry was in FRONT I could have perhaps moved my infantry to close range.

The large unit on the left, despite having a charismatic commander with them, couldn't reform from their disordered state. 

Note Dave's infantry is not in a straight line but is deployed in a staggered formation.

On the left flank, his advance has stopped.

I was hesitant in moving my infantry forward, but I had cavalry support right behind them. I'd got two units into the forest but the Spanish irregulars weren't going to hit much.

My line unit is wavering!

I couldn't re-form my unit despite getting 3 dice to do it a turn and his heavier firepower of and my split firepower wasn't doing anything against him. I didn't have enough room to pivot the unit as it would move it further away and I couldn't advance closer as a wavering unit either!

My left flank moves forward.

I got my left flank moving forward, now I had my cavalry unit here. I needed to engage this flank before my centre fell apart. The Loyal Lusterian brigade turns right to get into the forest.

The center isn't working either.

My unit is still wavering (still failing every morale roll!) and my troops in the forest aren't through it yet. I'm shooting at his elite light infantry unit and not causing enough damage to worry it. 

What I should have done is put my unit into deep tactical and free up room on the right of it.

Right flank is still tangled up

I'd finally got my light cavalry untangled but now it faced a super heavy shock Dragoon unit!

CHARGE!

With my left infantry unit wavering the elite Red Force Riflemen charged, as did his Heavy Dragoons. This was going to be bad. Neither of my units was getting flank support, though the infantry was getting rear support. The Hussar's weren't getting that because the Portuguese dragoons needed to be behind them. I can't recall if they were giving flank support but the shock heavy's were hitting on 4's and were most probably going to win.

Light Cavalry, vs Super Heavy Cavalry

Elite Troops charge into wavering foot infantry

RUN AWAY! EVERYONE RUN AWAY! E V E R Y O N E

 .

The results were catastrophic. Both large line units, the Hussars, the Portuguese Dragoons ALL ROUT. Half the units chain rout and failure cascade from seeing their comrades cut to pieces.

This is as bad as it looks.

M

Both remaining units left in the centre and now wavering and going to be very easy meat even if they manage to rally. 

Dave had lured me out of my defenses once again INTO A TRAP.

Way to late to do anything

My left flank was way to late to do anything. 

Wikipedia tells me:

In general, the force that gains and retains the initiative in a meeting engagement wins. 

Something I need to keep in my mind next time I fight a Meeting Engagement.  

What I did consider, but decided not to, was have my cavalry come in on the far left, behind the river. Then sit tight, want for him to commit to my left, THEN get my light division onto the hill and get the cavalry in his rear when he attacked it. Next time Dave...next time.

 

Complete Defeat!

Of the 4 battles at this tournament, this was the only one that I lost in a complete rout. According to the score I did some damage or rout one unit(?) but I don't recall seeing it. 

Dave would complete the Tournament coming 2nd. As a result he is the 4th best FOGN tournament player world wide!

 

Dave's army. It came 2nd in the tournament!

Dave's army list has 4 divisions to my 3 . The Portuguese division is small and cheap and was used to guard his Line of Communication. 

The Light Division is his damage dealer- the light infantry has artillery AND cavalry so will win most fire fights though it's very expensive. 

The 1st Division I think acts like mine - holds the line and acts as a good pivot for the army to move around.

The Cavalry is like mine mostly but his light cavalry unit is a veteran so can work by itself on one flank

After this battle, I retooled my army list to be more like it, and a return to 4 divisions, now I am more used to using ADC's. I am lacking heavy shock cavalry though, which I will need to experiment to see if that can work.