Sunday Game - Carlist Wars Scenario

As already reported by my good friend Mark at "1866 and all That", our group had a major Carlist Wars stoush at Barry's place yesterday.

I have removed some of the images I took as they were not 100% in focus but still seem to have over thirty left.

I commanded some of my own figures - two British Auxiliary Legion, two Spanish and a Royal Marine rocket unit - plus some Royal Marines, four battalions of French Foreign Legion and two cavalry provided by Mark from his extensive collection. Chris and Paul joined me on the Isabelina side, whilst Mark, Rick and Barry took commend of the Carlist forces. I faced off against Mark on our left wing and a very frustrating job he made it too!

In the second or third round of play, his lancers destroyed my French equivalents, leaving me with a single unit of Raw British lancers to oppose two units of well trained Spanish lancers. The result was that my infantry had to constantly maneuver based on the possibility of a flank attack by the said cavalry, particularly after my crappy Brits were destroyed by artillery fire! Our plan had been for Chris and I to attack the Carlist from both flanks whilst Paul demonstrated in front of the village that the Carlists were bound to reach first and occupy. However, my contribution to this strategy was pretty much stymied by the fact half my troops had to keep one eye over their shoulders for Marks cavalry. At the end of the game, I had only lost the two cavalry units but most of my Brits had not been in any action at all - they just moved around, forming lines and squares as the cavalry skulked in the wings, waiting for a chance to pounce. I did launch an assault on the junction between Mark and Barry with the four French battalions, my best quality troops, but they were opposed by too many Carlists and although they drove back two batteries of artillery, after a round or two of combat, all four were heading back to their start line in various stages of disintegration!

My colleagues in the centre and other flank were much more decisive however and although at three o'clock, when we first decided we should finish, it appeared the game was heading towards a draw, with the Carlists ahead on points, by three thirty when we actually stopped, I think we all agreed that the Isabellinist forces had the upper hand!

Here are the images

My own small contribution - two units of BAL and two Spanish infantry battalions - all rated as Raw

Advancing from the flank - FFL in four columns were my better grade troops

French lancers v's Carlists - my unit was driven from the field

Marks Carlist advance

My initial deployment, preparatory to advancing against Marks position

Ricks Carlist cavalry on the other flank

Chris's Isabellina Infantry advance against Rick

The FFL move through the British line to advance up hill towards Mark

In the centre, Barry occupies the village

Clash of the cavalry on the other flank - Chris wiped the floor with Rick!

Isabellina infantry advance behind the cavalry screen

View from the Carlist side of the village

As the French advanced, Mark withdrew his infantry towards the centre…..

….and his cavalry headed off to ride around my exposed flank.

Meanwhile, the inexorable advance of Chris's troops continues

And Paul moves up close and personal with Barry's troops occupying the village

Chris's advance slightly broken up by the intervening stone walls and patches of scrub

Marks cavalry caused the BAL to adopt a defensive posture, preventing them from assisting the FFL with our planned assault

Face off on the other flank - Chris's cavalry backed by infantry confront a wall of Carlist infantry

The FFL go in - but were defeated by this lone Carlist unit!

Paul's Isabellinists advance against the village

The other two FFL battalions successfully assaulted two Carlists guns, driving off one and destroying the other - however, they were then left in a very exposed position

Birds eye view of action around the village

Marks victorious Carlist unit assaults my BAL Scots and pushed them back

That bloody cavalry is still there - but I now had the rocket troop and artillery positioned to fire on them, so they had to pull back out of range

"La Legion recule!" - the FFL having received a bloody nose scramble back to their starting point

View from the hill, from whence Chris's artillery wrought considerable damage on the Carlists

Struggle for supremacy between Chris and Rick/Barry

The infantry melee went on..and on..and on! We had about three or four rounds that resulted in a draw

The view from the Carlist side at the junction between Mark and Barry's forces

The FFL back at their original position, licking their wounds

The view down the road from the position occupied by Marks cavalry

In the last move, Paul successfully assaulted one of the houses in the village, whilst Chris had destroyed Ricks entire force bar one unit.

It was hard fought game and I did not feel I had contributed much to our victory - maybe my presence prevented Mark from reinforcing the centre, but I think that would probably be over stating my role. Twenty minutes from the end, I would have said it was at best a draw and probably a moral victory for the Carlists - but we carried on for a couple more turns, and things changed dramatically. Certainly not an overwhelming defeat for the Carlists, but I think they had the worse of things!