SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
A Spanish Peninsular War scenario for Command & Colours Napoleonics: the first of two for this rule system.
The battle of Cardedeu isn’t one that immediately leaps to mind when thinking of the Peninsula War. That is probably in no small part to the fact that it is an entirely FrancoSpanish affair with no British troops involved, which is always a recipe for obscurity in the English speaking world.
It is one of the tragedies of the historiography of the Peninsula war that so often the Spanish end up as bit players in their own drama. I think, to an extent, that a lot of that is due to the fact that people like the ‘big show’: the drama of the pitched battle and we zero in on that. This understandably focuses attention on Salamanca, Vitoria, Talavera, et al but ignores the huge contribution played by the Spanish in their own liberation.
To paraphrase John Milton, they also serve who stand and wait and maintain an army in being, despite repeated defeats in the field, only to die, rally and rise once again to face the foe. That’s probably not going to make a stellar ending to a sonnet, but it’s a pretty good summary of the Spanish experience in the Peninsula War: often beaten, they were, however, dogged and unrelenting.
Which brings us to our battle: I came across this in David Gate’s excellent book The Spanish Ulcer, but you’ll find further details in Oman and Colonel Liscombe’s Atlas. As always, I will try to keep the potted history short, as Wikipedia will give you the highlights.
BACKGROUND
December 1808
After failing to take Gerona in August 1808, General Duhesme found himself in a bit of a pickle. Not only were Spanish Somatenes harassing his rear, but the Royal Navy was attacking his men on the coast roads. Badgered and beset on all sides, he destroyed his guns and heavy equipment and fell back to Barcelona, where he was promptly stuck.
This presented the Spaniards with the possibility of recreating Bailen, capturing another French army, and setting church bells ringing across the continent.
This would have rather put a spoke in General Bonaparte’s wheel and he sent more men led by General Saint Cyr to put his stamp on Catalonia. Saint Cyr moved with typical determination and invested the fortress at Rosas, which was held by a motley assortment of Spaniards and Royal Navy personnel. This was swiftly taken and Saint Cyr marched on Gerona with 17,000 troops. Gerona was a far more forbidding prospect and Saint Cyr realised that he had not the force to take it in time to relieve Barcelona, whereupon he made a characteristically bold decision.
Saint Cyr sent his baggage and guns to the rear and bypassed Gerona, marching over mountain tracks and making for Barcelona. This forced march took the officer tasked with reducing Duhesme,
General Vives, quite by surprise. He had been taking his time over the siege and does not seem to have considered the threat with due seriousness. Vives detached General Reddings Division and dispatched them to intercept Saint Cyr near Cardedeu.
ENGAGEMENT
The Spanish forces were deployed on a steep wooded ridge in the Besos valley. Saint Cyr understood that troops had been sent from Gerona to attack him and was acutely aware that his army had only the food, supplies and ammunition that it had in its knapsacks. He settled on a plan which put his faith in the strength of French arms and the comparative weakness of Spanish infantry. He formed his men into one giant column and charged – bald headed – at the Spanish positions.
It was a high stakes gamble predicated on the fact that his men had no supporting artillery and did not have the ammunition required for a long fight. Saint Cyr bargained that – by relying on a bayonet assault on a narrow front – he would prevail. He was almost proved wrong when the officer commanding the head of the column, General Pino, disobeyed orders and began to deploy his men rather than descending on the Spaniards in a rush. This initial attack was repulsed until Saint Cyr took personal command and led the column on, so that the Spanish line was breached. The Spaniards fled and were ridden down by the French cavalry, losing 2,500 men.
The French marched on and then entered Barcelona on the 17th December. General Duhesme rather churlishly tried to maintain that his position had not been as precarious as all that, until Saint Cyr replied by handing the man one of his own despatches pleading for relief.
WRITING THE GAME
In the writing of this scenario I’ve had to struggle with two particular conundrums, firstly the sources differ on exactly how many men Vives sent to intercept Saint Cyr. David Gates reports that he had about 8-9,000 infantry, approximately 600 cavalry and half a dozen guns, while other sources, like Liscombe, report a more substantial force of 14,000 men. Given the fact that Spanish troops are awful in Command & Colours Napoleonics (herein
C&CN) and that I am determined to make a game of it, I have plumped for the larger figure.
Secondly, the Spanish general has a ticklish problem on his hands. He has the smaller force; his troops are less experienced and contain a high proportion of raw recruits. The French player could quite easily brush him aside contemptuously. With that in mind, I have pitched the victory conditions in such a way that it is not strictly necessary for the Spanish player to win a pitched battle. He can win if he delays Saint Cyr sufficiently that the forces from Gerona could catch him or if he manages to maintain sufficient of his force in good order to remain a threat.
ORDER OF BATTLE
Spanish: Vives
Total: 9000 regulars, 5000 guerillas
Left Wing: Vives
Granaderos Provincales de Castilia la Nueva (2) Soria(2)
2nd Almeira Voluntararios de Tarragona 2nd Tercio de Miqueletes de Vich Tercio de Miqueletes de Valles Hussars Espanoles (2 squadrons) 6 guns
Right Wing: Reding
1st Baza
Voluntarios de Palmas
3rd Suizo Reding
Castilla la Vieja (2 Battalions) 1st Tercio de Miqueletes de Vich Tercio de Miqueletes de Igualada Hussars of Granada (3 squadrons) 7 guns
Milans Irregulars
Tercio de Miqueletes de Lerida Tercio de Miqueletes de Manresa Tercio de Miqueletes de Granollers French: Saint Cyr
Total: 16,500 men
Souham
1ieme Leger (2 battalions) 3ieme Leger (2 battalions)