Busaco 27th September 1810 - Introduction

The next game in my Peninsular War project is Busaco. Napoleon ordered Massena to drive the British from Portugal and during his move south he met Wellington positioned on the 9 mile long ridge at Busaco. It was Wellington's aim to delay the French advance long enough for the defensive Lines of Torres Vedras to be completed to the north of Lisbon.

My game represents the area where the main action occurred. That is the central and northern end of the ridge.

Table Size: 6'9" x 4'6"
Figures: Baccus 6mm
Rules: General de Brigade

Continued -

Rules Adjustments:

Some rules adjustments had to be made to take into account the early morning mist and the severity of the Busaco ridge slope.

The allied army was formed up on the reverse slope and therefore not visible to the approaching French. Only skirmishers in forward positions could be engaged at the start.

The entire ridge is classed as a steep slope. The slope itself is difficult terrain with good terrain at its base and at the top. The slope measures 20cm from bottom to top (I have marked its base with foliage which extend out beyond my model hills). 

Infantry charging uphill receive no charging modifier. They have the option of moving at normal speeds but must take a Formation Test and if they fail they must halt unformed taking a turn to reform. Roads, tracks and the ridge summit are good terrain.

I have treated 'The Spur' (a hill extending out from the ridge to the south of Sula) as good terrain which is probably dubious. But the French will still be faced with the steep slope of the ridge proper to reach the British lines.

Any units on the ridge defending the slopes gain a +1 morale modifier.

Any allied batteries placed on the slope are static for the duration of the battle.

Early morning mist restricts artillery to effective range only. Mist clears by turn 9.

Barnes' Brigade tests for arrival as follows: dice roll 5 or 6 - Turn 6. 4,5 or 6 - turn 7. Arrives automatically on turn 8.

I have chosen to use historical deployments along with Massena's initial orders (which Ney opposed) to attack the ridge on company wide dense columns. When the mist lifts on turn 9 I will then be free to deviate from history.

Victory Conditions

French: A decisive victory if the Allied/Portuguese troops are driven from the ridge by the end of the day (32 turns). A partial victory will occur if at least one brigade of infantry successfully seizes and holds part of the ridge.

British: To retain total control of the ridge until the end of the day.

Orders of Battle

Reynier's Corps:

Ney and Junot's Corps:

Views of the Anglo-Portuguese deployment:

This will take some time to play through and as with my earlier large games, posts will be broken down to more digestible chunks. For those not familiar with General de Brigade, it was designed for 2 to 3 brigades a side and hence will definitely not be 'quick play' for a game of this size. I will be away on holiday for 1 week at the beginning of May so will be dark for a while. I will otherwise hopefully be able to maintain reasonably regular updates.

The next post will see the early moves as Massena once again attempts to eject the British from the Peninsular.