You assume the role of General Sir John Moore, in charge of British troops sent to oppose Napoleon’s army in the Iberian Peninsula, where the Spanish and Portugese have mounted a fierce resistance to the French occupation of their country. Outnumbered, you must choose a course of action to weaken and ultimately defeat the Little Emperor’s force. A mistake could result in a disaster from which the British army would not recover for years.
Download the map from the link above, and make your pivotal decision.
This Scenario is easy for me. best way to defeat an enemy that outnumbers you is to be bold yet tactful, even a little devious. Moore didn’t have to retreat, he just needed to use the terrain to his advantage. He gave up a huge tactical advantage, and could have used the Cantabrian Mountains and the rivers Sil and Minho. Looking at the terrain, Moore could have lured and entrapped the French between Nogales and Ponferrada using the Rivers as to shore up his flanks, and the mountains behind them to seal them in, artillery on the high ground, and opposite river banks covering 3 sides of Soult’s forces, and the british infantry division advancing from Orense to push them up the valley with a division and reserve pushing from Lugo would force the french to make a tactical retreat and attempt to find good ground to make there stand, meanwhile a division of troops would emerge from the north hidden in the Cantabrian Mountains and take Ponferrada, springing the trap, cutting the french off. Surrounded, and by Superior firepower and no chance of escape, the French would have been forced to Surrender or be slaughtered by artillery. By defeating General Soult and the French, The english could have reinforced via Portugal ports.
hey man that sounds like a good idea (probably better than something i came up with), the one think though is that maybe you assume too much will work in your favor, you are talking about a lot of variables that would have to all work pretty well in order for that to succeed
Moore would have probably won a battle at Astorga with his numerical superiority, but that still leaves 100,000 well trained French around Spain. A fighting withdrawal would cut down the French numbers but would then dishearten the Spanish and Portugese because the only solid force to oppose the French will have left. I would pull back to around the Cantabrian Mountains, all the while dispersing my men into guerilla units. Use the terrain to my advantage to attack Soult’s flanks and supplies, and then disappearing back into the terrain. This will cut down Soult’s numbers and create minimal losses to my forces, and gain continued support from the Spanish. Soult will be forced to retreat.
nah dude for guerilla warfare to work u gotta blend in with the people, but you cant do that if you are a bunch of redcoats, it would be a disaster like no other
I say combine two together. I would send gen. Edward Paget’s men in front of the main force to train guerrilla’s in Corunna. While my main force would concentrate around Lugo. There they would fortify their position as well as train guerrilla’s. After that
I would leave gen.Baird’s men to hold the position for a week(this
would b to deceive the French into underestimating my force. how ever once I would send out patrols to draw the French in to my position. Which i would abandon once there is word of a French attack. Then I would retreat gen.Baird’s men to Corunna where they would train guerrilla’s and build fortifications. After
deceiving the French at Lugo, I would easily defeat the French attack. I would not however fully retreat to the fleet as I would turn Corunna into an a garrison allowing for advance into
western Europe with secured and fortified area and it would put a thorn into Napoleon’s side because he would need to take men away from other fronts. As well if after after 9 month’s there is no need for the stronghold a withdrawal from the area would be put into action. Therefor freeing up British forces for use elsewhere.
Nothing works unless you get the flakey Spaniard and portugal armies to come to the defense of their own country and join the civilian guerrilla’s who are doing the work for them. Enlist the civilian fighters – who apparently have more courage and interest to kick the French out of their country, into British services and use them to disrupt the French with well-planned and organized attacks. Follow-up with British units to drive the French into entrapments and where they can be surrounded and cut down. Keep striking with successive civilian guerrilla attacks coordinated with British clean-up. Move the striking forces around, keep the French guessing where they will be hit next.
Armchair General is the INTERACTIVE history magazine where YOU COMMAND and decide the course of action!
Armchair General (ACG) and ACG online feature a unique, interactive editorial approach that invites the reader to decide the course of action in challenging historical scenarios, to step into the shoes of a battlefield commander. Leading historians and contributors lend integrity and credibility to this fresh presentation of historical and contemporary events.
You assume the role of General Sir John Moore, in charge of British troops sent to oppose Napoleon’s army in the Iberian Peninsula, where the Spanish and Portugese have mounted a fierce resistance to the French occupation of their country. Outnumbered, you must choose a course of action to weaken and ultimately defeat the Little Emperor’s force. A mistake could result in a disaster from which the British army would not recover for years.
[...] January 2009 Fighting the Armies of Napoleon in Spain, 1808 PDF Pullout [...]
This Scenario is easy for me. best way to defeat an enemy that outnumbers you is to be bold yet tactful, even a little devious. Moore didn’t have to retreat, he just needed to use the terrain to his advantage. He gave up a huge tactical advantage, and could have used the Cantabrian Mountains and the rivers Sil and Minho. Looking at the terrain, Moore could have lured and entrapped the French between Nogales and Ponferrada using the Rivers as to shore up his flanks, and the mountains behind them to seal them in, artillery on the high ground, and opposite river banks covering 3 sides of Soult’s forces, and the british infantry division advancing from Orense to push them up the valley with a division and reserve pushing from Lugo would force the french to make a tactical retreat and attempt to find good ground to make there stand, meanwhile a division of troops would emerge from the north hidden in the Cantabrian Mountains and take Ponferrada, springing the trap, cutting the french off. Surrounded, and by Superior firepower and no chance of escape, the French would have been forced to Surrender or be slaughtered by artillery. By defeating General Soult and the French, The english could have reinforced via Portugal ports.
hey man that sounds like a good idea (probably better than something i came up with), the one think though is that maybe you assume too much will work in your favor, you are talking about a lot of variables that would have to all work pretty well in order for that to succeed
Moore would have probably won a battle at Astorga with his numerical superiority, but that still leaves 100,000 well trained French around Spain. A fighting withdrawal would cut down the French numbers but would then dishearten the Spanish and Portugese because the only solid force to oppose the French will have left. I would pull back to around the Cantabrian Mountains, all the while dispersing my men into guerilla units. Use the terrain to my advantage to attack Soult’s flanks and supplies, and then disappearing back into the terrain. This will cut down Soult’s numbers and create minimal losses to my forces, and gain continued support from the Spanish. Soult will be forced to retreat.
nah dude for guerilla warfare to work u gotta blend in with the people, but you cant do that if you are a bunch of redcoats, it would be a disaster like no other
I say combine two together. I would send gen. Edward Paget’s men in front of the main force to train guerrilla’s in Corunna. While my main force would concentrate around Lugo. There they would fortify their position as well as train guerrilla’s. After that
I would leave gen.Baird’s men to hold the position for a week(this
would b to deceive the French into underestimating my force. how ever once I would send out patrols to draw the French in to my position. Which i would abandon once there is word of a French attack. Then I would retreat gen.Baird’s men to Corunna where they would train guerrilla’s and build fortifications. After
deceiving the French at Lugo, I would easily defeat the French attack. I would not however fully retreat to the fleet as I would turn Corunna into an a garrison allowing for advance into
western Europe with secured and fortified area and it would put a thorn into Napoleon’s side because he would need to take men away from other fronts. As well if after after 9 month’s there is no need for the stronghold a withdrawal from the area would be put into action. Therefor freeing up British forces for use elsewhere.
Nothing works unless you get the flakey Spaniard and portugal armies to come to the defense of their own country and join the civilian guerrilla’s who are doing the work for them. Enlist the civilian fighters – who apparently have more courage and interest to kick the French out of their country, into British services and use them to disrupt the French with well-planned and organized attacks. Follow-up with British units to drive the French into entrapments and where they can be surrounded and cut down. Keep striking with successive civilian guerrilla attacks coordinated with British clean-up. Move the striking forces around, keep the French guessing where they will be hit next.
Hello,
I would like to get the names of spanish generals that Napoleon had. Where can i get that information?
Thank you!