BATTLE OF CARRION, TURN 25

     The battle continued the other night on Turn 24, which saw building, but minor activity on the Allied right flank.

     Meanwhile, on the Allied left flank, the French 3/36eme Ligne charged the 3/1st Foot and forced them to fall back.  The cavalry melee between the 22eme Dragoons and the 7th Hussars was also resolved, also resulting in a fallback, which led to the entire brigade's morale failing and the remaining units then falling back as well.

     At this point, Moore had had enough.  Although the Merle's Division and Franceschi's cavalry had been roughly handled, the French right flank was unbroken and Soult's Corps remained in control of Carrion.  Under the cover of his reserves, he was able to extricate his army and deftly made his way back to Benevente where Napoleon finally caught up with him.
     Casualties for the battle were as follows:

French

1st Division
-1980 infantry
-45 gunners
-3 guns dismounted

2nd Division
-360 infantry

Franceschi's Cavalry Division
-routed with heavy casualties

TOTAL
-2340 infantry
-1500 cavalry
-135 artillery
-Total = 3985

Allies

1st Division
-2280 infantry

2nd Division
-2160 infantry

Cavalry Division
-600 cavalry

Spanish Division
-300 infantry

TOTAL
-4740 infantry
-600 cavalry
-Total = 5340

This was a much closer battle than may have been portrayed in the posts.  At their zenith, the British had captured half of Carrion and were threatening to crush the French right flank.  Only the critical arrival of Lorge's Dragoon Division and some inopportune morale failures saved Soult from a terrible defeat.  I look forward to running future "what-if" battles based upon real campaigns.

BATTLE OF CARRION, TURN 23

More fighting the other night in our fictitious battle for a small Spanish town in early 1809.  On the Allied right, the French continue to pressure Romana's Division but the latter is shifting cavalry to deal with that problem.

On the French right, the British attack has been slowed as Manningham's Bde has two units out of action and everyone awaits the outcome of the cavalry melee between the French 22nd Dragoons and the British 7th Hussars.

In the centre, the valiant attempt by Baird's Division to take Carrion has collapsed as first one, then two brigades faltered, triggering a division morale check which they also failed and were then forced to fallback from.  The next few turns should tell whether the Allies can recover from these setbacks to get back into the battle.

BATTLE OF CARRION, TURN 21

It was another night of twists and turn in our fictional battle between Moore and Soult.  On the Allied right, the French have pushed across the river and are doing what they can to menace the Spanish, drawing first blood in the process.

Over on the French right, the British to continue to press Merle's Division back against Carrion, though some of the threat has been removed by the counter-attack of the French reserves.

Still, the British continue to press across with their reserves in sight just by the convent in the distance.

The battle is still very much in the balance and still no Delaborde!  Did they sleep in this morning?

BATTLE OF CARRION, TURN 18

More gaming this last week with us now at Turn 18.  We finally saw some action on the French left with the latter plunging across to harass the Spanish troops facing them.  Could this be the precursor of the arrival of Delaborde's Division?

In the centre, the Baird's Division has valiantly pushed across the river and now occupy half of Carrion! French dragoons detached from Lorge's Division have temporarily pushed them back, but there are still a lot of British converging on the gap to try and widen the breakthrough.

Lastly, on the French right flank, Hope and Paget's Divisions have pressed the French into a tight pocket and are also threatening to turn the entire flank.

It is still a closely fought battle and the Allies still have the initiative overall.  Although the French have lost one division (the cavalry of Franchesci), they still have plenty of fight left in them.  But the battle isn't even at the half way point, so there is still a lot of fighting to be done before this battle is resolved.

BATTLE OF CARRION, TURN 17

We played another three turns last Wednesday.  Is it getting repetitive to say that things were still quiet on the French left..?

Over to the French right where it was a bad night to be under the host's command.  First off, Giradin's Chasseur Brigade took a cue from Debelle's Brigade and under performed, breaking after losing two separate melees against their British counterparts.  If this wasn't bad enough, the 2nd Leger, which had been doing a credible job holding the centre of my line, broke after losing a lowly skirmish fight against the 95th line!  You can see the end result in the photo below.

The entire French right is now in some jeopardy and it will be interesting to see if they can hold in the face of the well-coordinated British onslaught.

BATTLE OF CARRIOR, TURN 14

More close battle on last Wednesday night.  The French, jealous of the great Spanish parade on the Allied right, have gone one better by adding in a musical ride of their own with Lorge's Dragoons.

 Meanwhile, the French cavalry continue their sub-standard performance, winning an initial melee but then blowing the 90% chance of victory that they had in the follow-up attack.  The British have also broken into the centre of Soult's position, even occupying part of Carrion with a battalion.

Things are heating up, but Delaborde continues to take the scenic route in his march towards the battle.

BATTLE OF CARRION, TURN 10

     We have now played up until Turn 10 of our 45 turn game.  The Spanish continue to hold firm on the right of the Allied Army, but have just witnessed the arrival of Lorge's 5th Dragoon Division behind the French front line.

     Meanwhile, the British continue their pressure on the French right.  Debelle's cavalry brigade has been driven from the field and the 4th Legere almost cut off, facing both infantry and cavalry on its flank.

And, if things were not bad enough, the Spanish have just unveiled their secret weapon - a gigantic, smooth-bore mouseket.

Could things get any worse?