Nap Campaign: 2nd Battle of Youngsport - Part 5 of 5, Turns 13 to Conclusion

Soult was dumbfounded on seeing his precious infantry columns disintegrate on contact with the thin Portuguese line. With just one hour of daylight left (4 moves) there was absolutely no prospect now of breaking through the allied lines to unleash his cavalry. Even with more time his infantry was now in no state to carry on.

A priority now was to prevent his army falling apart and withdrawing in good order. He therefore issued orders to all infantry brigades to retire. His artillery and cavalry would cover the withdrawal.

Turn 13

The 2nd Cavalry Corps began redeploying to cover the withdrawal. A routing and a retreating battalion both rallied to great relief of their commanders.

Continued -

The French rolled exceptionally well when changing orders but 2 infantry and one cavalry brigade failed to respond. Here one of those, the brigade of Mazarny, was still engaging the Portuguese.

The rather threadbare French centre!

Another scare for Soult. Schoeffer's brigade failed a brigade morale test and broke. This caused another battalion to flee the field but more concerning was the triggering of another army morale check. Fortunately for Soult it was passed with ease.

Another brigade who did not receive the message to withdraw was Rome's who continued to exhange fire with Adam's brigade.

French horse artillery continued to exact a heavy toll on the 52nd Light infantry. A small consolation for the French.

What was left of Simmer's 19th Division (3 battalions!) began to withdraw. Vinot's dragoon brigade had yet to receive his orders to redeploy to screen the infantry withdrawal.

Turn 14

Parting shots as the French withdrew. The 52nd Light infantry now pulled back out of canister range with the threat from French infantry gone.

Rome had now received his orders and began to withdraw.

Mazarny had also now received his orders and ordered his battalions to retire (top right).

A last look at the Portuguese who conducted a heroic defence of their lines.

An overview as the French gradually disengaged.

The final shots of the battle.

Wellington observed the French withdrawal and decided their was little point in continuing the action. He ordered cease fire. There was no prospect of mounting a pursuit in the face of such a strong screening force of French cavalry. He could not believe what had been achieved and had to reappraise the fighting quality of his Portuguese allies. They exceeded his every expectation and in so doing probably saved their country.

Picton arrives and wonders what all the fuss is about!

CASUALTIES:

As you have probably gathered, the figures in bold are the unit strengths after casualties have been deducted. Two Generals were KIA and have had replacements appointed. Tests are conducted to establish the quality of these replacements. One D6 is rolled. 1 is poor, 2 - 5 average and 6 is excellent. As if was not bad enough for the French, Thevenet's replacement is an idiot!

I neglected to mention during the AAR that the 3/95th Rifles captured the eagle of the 1/30th Line. For the former this will mean a +1 on all morale rolls in the next battle they are involved in and for the latter a -1. These modifiers only apply to one battle reflecting the temporary boost in morale of those capturing it and the despondency of those losing it.

A couple of Portuguese battalions have been upgraded in recognition of their outstanding performance. The 1/18th Line in particular who saw off repeated attacks and never wavered. Had they been defeated it is quite possible the outcome of the battle may have been different.

Soult must now consider the ramifications of this defeat. With more British forces disembarking in Youngsport he dare not attack Wellington's defensive line again. He must lure Wellington out to ground of his choosing where his advantage in cavalry and artillery will count. He has an additional problem of a large Spanish force building to the north. Does he target them first before they have the opportunity of uniting with Wellington? One piece of good news for Soult arrived by messenger. A Confederation of the Rhine/Duchy of Warsaw division is expected to land soon and will be sent to him as reinforcements.

Wellington could breathe a sigh of relief. A defeat would almost certainly have lead to the fall of Portugal with a ripple effect that could have lost the allies the war. Now he had the luxury of waiting for his reinforcements to disembark before taking the fight to Soult.

Postscript. A few of you may be wondering how the outnumbered Portuguese could have so easily seen off the French when, on paper at least, they should have been easily rolled over. Did I cheat? For solo-gaming to have a degree of unpredictability, and hence fun, the temptation to re-roll the dice when the result is not what you would want must be avoided at all costs. There have been numerous times when I have thought "just this once, it won't matter". Once you start though it is all too easy to carry on 'cheating' and it then becomes all too predictable. 

In this game the French struggled to put together a co-ordinated attack in the face of stiff Portuguese resistance. When it did look as though breakthrough had been achieved, they did not have enough time to reinforce their bridgehead before determined attacks by the Portuguese drove them back out.  

Whinyates - Dusted himself off and surveyed the wreckage. Among the tangled and smouldering gun frames and wheels he found his beloved rocket tubes. They were still serviceable. Gathering up his handful of dazed survivors he set about resurrecting what was left of his battery. His 6pdr cannon were utterly destroyed but he had his rockets! 

NEXT: Battle of Grazzbenn (Prussia)