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International Napoleonic Wargaming Club Founded - 08-21-2002 |
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International Napoleonic Wargaming Club Founded - 08-21-2002 |
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Copyright 2004 Greg Colman (Anglo-allies) & Andy Barnes (France) Game: Peninsular War (NIA-Engine) / Scenario: Vittoria
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The sound of gunfire
could be heard coming from the direction of Villodas,a sleepy Spanish town
on the banks of thr River Zadorra.Dust clouds were to be seen rising from
the valley beneath the town......"Your majesty Les Anglais have
crossed the Zadorra in force,and we have recieved a despatch from General
Mancin at Puebla that a large force of British,Portuguese and Spanish
troops are advancing towards the Puebla heights."informed General
Gazan exitedly ______________________________________
"This morning, 21 June 1813, at approximately 8:45 Spanish time His Majesties forces and various other allied elements under the overall command of General Arthur Wellesley, crossed the Rio Zadorra in force hell bent on kicking the frog out of the Iberian Peninsula once and for all. General Wellesley is reputed to have over 60,000 troops at his diposal which he feels is "probably the most complete machine for its numbers now existing in Europe." The question on everyones mind now is can the frogs hold on?? ______________________________________
General LG Alten,was enjoying a mug of tea kindly donated by a driver of one of the supply wagons. "What do yer reckon General Sir,are the Froggies gonna put up a
fight?"asked Jenkins the train Sargeant-Major worriedly. "Sir dont you think we ought to get near a freindly battalion General
Sir?" Sargeant Major Jenkins made to reply but all that happened was his mouth
opened and closed like a goldfish out of water struggling for
air,"whats up Jenkins cat got your bloody tongue?"laughed the
General.Suddenly Jenkins vomitted a huge gobbit of blood covering the
Generals chest in a massive stain of red."Good God man " the
General whitened with shock and disgust. "Pierre you will get a medal from the Emperor himself for this look
who we have here ,a real English General and hes still drinking Tea haaaaa
haaaa" The stunned and pale faced General could only nod.. ______________________________________
Lieutenant-General
Sir Wellington, eye to spyglass atop the bluffs of Nanclares stood
watching Vandeleurs Brigade clearing the sleepy village of Villodas and
pressing the Frogs back towards Margarita when to his chagrin Vandeleur
crumpled in his saddle. "Gad man, one cawnt make the bleedin' omelet
without breaking the bloomin' eggs, eh what?" Turning to a convenient
subaltern the Genaral barked "You there, ride for all you're worth
over to Vandeleurs Brigade and give the Colonel commanding my complements." ______________________________________
Pascal Blanc lifted
his right buttock from the brown leather saddle and with all his might
squeezed a massive fart from his bottom which ,startled the brown mare and
its rider Patric Declerc ...."Mon dieu you filthy bastuard
Pascal!!!" grimaced Declerc,"Save your dirty bottom for the Red
coats,pooooh that is disgusting man. "That, mon Amis is a delicate Spanish bean fart!!grinned
Pascal"Your nag nearly nuts herself for fright "chuckled the
wily dragoon."You are such an uncouth piece of Marseille nuts Blanc
countered Declerc. The two riders were out on a knoll above the Zadorra river on the look out for any British movement in that area."I hope the shopkeepers dont come zis way my freind!exclaimed the surly dragoon,"theyll have our balls on a plate if they catch us here! Pascal swatted a horsefly from his face annoyingly," i hate this f**king country,nothing but flys and pignuts,i cant wait to get home to my little Marie you know?and to exagerate he made an obscene movement with his pelvis to emphasise his point. " You realy are a primitive piece of Southern scum Blanc,Marie must have been mad marrying a stinking fisherman like you,taunted Patric,"what she sees in an ugly piece of Wolfs nuts like you ill never know " Just as Pierre was preparing to let of another massive fart in Patrics
direction he froze as he suddenly saw the gleam of thousands of bajonetts
flashing in the Spanish sunlight."Holy mother of a wolfs arse Patric
,look over there" Patric stared in dismay." The stiff necks are
coming alright i count at least five battalions so far,how about you?" "You are right my friend lets get the hell out of here and report
back before we run into their light dragoons". "Patric?" shouted Pierre grimly Pierre lifted his arse and let rip with another massive rip roaring fart and fell into a stupor of hysterical laughter."You are a stupid piece of dung Pierre" grumbled the dragoon ______________________________________
"Good Gawd
Almighty, what is that infernal smell?" ______________________________________
French troops have inflicted heavy casualties on what is to believed to be a brigade size formation of Portuguese troops,near the village of Arrangiuez.The Portuguese were caught in a flank attack and were brutally handled.French losses were light.Elsewhere,French light infantry continue to harass allied troops advancing on a wide frontage towards the town of Vittoria.Reports of a planned massive French counter-attack in the Puebla Heights district have been denied by French sources." We have the enemy in sight and will deal a deathly blow when the time is right" commented and aide to King Joseph. ______________________________________
HURRAH...HURRAH...HURRAH!!!! ______________________________________
"Here Mon Amis,drink this" Papi Mouton carefully held his canteen to the lips of his dying friend Jean Claude. Mouton poured some cognac into his comrades mouth. "Merci my friend! I knew you would not leave me alone to die" grimaced Jean Claude as another spasm of pain shook his body.A cannon ball from a British gun had smashed Jean Claudes left leg to a bloody pulp.It had been such a unlucky shot for the French Voltigeur.The two men had been a team ever since the battle of Austerlitz and had lived through so many terrible battles,Jean just could not believe his luck that he should now have to die in this god forsaken hot and dusty country to a stray cannon ball! "Oh mon dieu,Papi!What a rotten piece of luck,we nearly made it my
friend didnt we?"wimpered Jean Claude tears streaming down his powder
blackened face. "That we did Jean,that we did!Do you remember the promise we made at
Eckmuhl?We both swore that either we both made it back to Paris and opened
a tavern or we both would go down fighting." "We were so young then and ready to take on the whole Austrian army
alone" Jean smiled grimly at the thought."But you must live now
my friend,live to build that Tavern you must do that for me
Papi!!"pleaded Jean Claude Spanish militia were advancing steadily up the slope not far from the rocky outcrop behind which the two men sheltered the Spanish took no prisoners and any they found would suffer a slow death . "Papi im cold Papi dont leave me" cried Jean Claude Jean Claude let out a dying sigh ,his body went limp in the arms of his comrade and friend Papi. "Sleep tight mon amis sleep tight " cooed Papi lovingly to the dead Voltigeur."I will not break my promise Jean,i will not!" With that Papi slid the long steel bajonette from its leather sheath on
his belt and attached it to his muskett The Spanish troops were weary from the climb up the slope they didnt notice the two Frenchman as they past the rocks where they were hidden.They were militia poorly trained and raggedly dressed,most wore no shoes. The first Spaniard to die was an old man he was smoking a claypipe on which he now bit in agony as Papi rammed the long steel bajonette through the Spaniards back forcing the point to emerge from the mans chest in a blood spouting exit.Papi howled like a demon and certainley the Spaniards thought this blackened and blood smeared creature emerging from the rocks was a demon from hell."YAAAAAAAAAAAH DIE YOU SPANISH SCUM" Papi screamed,He placed the flat of his foot on the old mans backside and kicked the body free from his bayonette.Moving with incredible speed he fired the musket point blank into the face of the next Spaniard a lad barely 16.The ball exploded from the back of the Spaniards head spraying brain and gore into the petrified men behind him.The Spaniards were still stunned by the surprise attack and seemed frozen to the spot as Papi brought the stock of the musket in an upward swing crashing it into the jaw of his next victim.A sickening crunching sound was heard as teeth and bone were smashed to a pulp of the Spanish sargeant.The man fell unconscious to the ground.Papi reversed the musket so that he was able to swing the gun like a mighty club and with terryfying force split the skull of his next victim ..the mans head seemed to crumple like an egg shell under the force. Captain Juan Rodrigo finally recovered his stunned senses.He pulled his
pistol a gift from a british dragoon, His legs crumpled beneath him ,Papi knew he had little time left to
live.Like a wild animal he grappled the leg of a terrified militiaman and
pulled him too the ground,The dying Frenchman clawed and gouched at the
Spaniards face,sheer brute force ripped the nostrils of the Spaniard
spraying blood onto the ground.Papi rammed his thumb into his opponents
right eye popping it like a ripe grape,the Spaniard screamed in agony and
begged for his life. "Here is another one "Capitano shouted one of the Spaniards as
the body of Jean Claude was found."Hes Dead" ______________________________________
This just in from the
Spanish Front: ______________________________________
"Mary mother of God save our souls" screamed a spanish infantryman in terror.His scream was cut short as his head was sliced clean from his shoulders by the razor sharpe sword of a French Dragoon sargeant. Blood erupted from the neck of the headless torso spraying the flank of the dragoons battle maddened steed. The dragoons wreaked carnage on the stricken Spanish troops.Surrounded on all sides over a thousand men were butchered under the scorching Spanish sun.Men were cut to pieces,trampled in the dust like rag dolls. A single Spanish battalion had managed to form square the men stared in shock at the massacre all around them.Some desperate wounded survivors tried to make their way to the safety of the Spanish square.The battalion commander Colonel Rafael could see what would happen if these men tried to get into the square,they would open a hole and invite the slashing sabres and trampling hooves of the French cavalry among them.Rafael knew what he must do. " Shoot at the wounded dont let them near the square its our only chance FUEGO,FUEGO FUEGO" the commander roared at his men.Musket fire ripped into Spaniard and French Dragoon alike.The men on foot were ripped from their feet by the ferocity of the Spanish volley.Dragoons and horses were shredded by lead.The stragglers were cut down were they stood. The dragoons sheared away from the square in search of easier pray.Rafael
and his men reloaded and stood,stunned by what they had just done.Rafael
crossed himself and murmered "Forgive me Lord ,Forgive me." The panicked steed caused a mass disorder and a stampede of horses carrying their French riders away from the allied troops.A reserve force was able to attack the allies and cause some damage. Elsewhere other massed French cavalry although suffering some quite heavy casualties succeeded in surrounding and annialating two Spanish battalions a total of over a thousand men. Allied forces have taken a number of small objectives .French troops
continue to fight an ordered withdrawl.
______________________________________
A mere scratch! A
triffling piffle! But the Frog will pay dearly in the end. We shall
advance till the Union Jack hangs over Paris, by God! ______________________________________
General Maransin and what was left of his command trudged wearily onward .The sun was blisteringly hot and merciless. " We held them well my children ,im very proud of you" " Now we must rejoin the rest of the army men" ______________________________________
(The battle is unfolding,wait out) ______________________________________
"Reload" barked Lieutenant Duprey at his gun crew.The gun was manhandled into
position at the same time one man swabbed out the barrel of the gun with a
sponge ensuring that no smouldering powder deposits were left in the bore
that could prematurely ignite the new charge.A bag charge of powder was
rammed down the barrel followed by the solid shot.The firing hole was
primed.This was all done at an amazing speed.Duprey took a look down the
barrel his trained eye satisfied in what he saw. "Good shot men"Duprey congratulated his crew."Reload" ______________________________________
(Hey Greg this story is getting onesided!! How about a paragraph from you next time?) General Pack lay face down in the dust.His body was broken and crumpled like a broken doll.The remnants of his brigade had been running for their lives when they were caught and over-run by French Dragoons. But the tide seemed to be turning.The French had been fighting a viscious
and bloody withdrawl.The French Cavalry had played a magnificent part
charging ,reforming and charging time and again at the now growing Allied
re-enforcements.It was only a question of time before this gallant fight
would end!!! ______________________________________
French forces lauched a strong counter-attack at the village of La Hernadad today.D`Erlons forces retook the orchards to the front of the village and captured an English battalion.British artillery to the rear of the village aprrox 20 guns,escaped capture very narrowly!! Spanish troops loyal to the French also took part in the attack.To the north of the battlefield French cavalry continue to try and hold the Allied advance,but face inreasing difficulties.Elswhere the French forces are continueing to withdraw in contact with the enemy. The ring around Vittoria is tightning. A small heroic French force continues to hold the castle at Puebla. ______________________________________
French forces have stunned the allied high command today.Commanders Picton ,Anson ,and Dalhousie were lost on the field of battle in a series of daring counter-attacks by French forces.The French still continue to withdraw in good order. ______________________________________
Three cheers lads.
Puebla Castle has fallen!!! ______________________________________
French forces lost a great commander today when General D`Erlon was killed leading an attack against British forces.Although DŽErlon was killed the attack was a success and a battalion of Riflemen estimated at 700 were either killed or captured.The village of La Hermandad was partly retaken after a 3 battalion attack of Spanish troops loyal to the French also wiped out another battalion of Riflemen.Fierce hand to hand fighting is expected as 900 Scottish and Portuguese Troops are now cut off.The battle is really evolving into a butchers shop. ______________________________________
Bit sticky at La
Hermandad, what? ______________________________________
Major General Kempt ran for his life!! The Riflemen around him were bieng attacked from all sides by French forces.Men were falling to his left ,his right,behind him and in front.His command was dissolving slowly but surely under the relentless French attacks.Kempt staggered as a French musket ball shattered his left elbow.The pain was agonising and blood flowed freely from the wound."Hold them men we have to get back to the river beyond these olive trees"screamed the General! The men were again attacked from the left forcing them to change their direction.The riflemen were like sheep the french were the sheep dogs.A look of disbelif came over Kempts face as he and the remnants of his command emerged from the olive grove and were confronted by six French guns. The British were torn to shreds by the French cannon.No one survived!! The allied attacks toward Gomecha and La Hermandad have been a costly failure.Puebla castle has fallen,the French defenders were finally overwhelmed by massive allied attacks.King Joseph was moved to tears when he heard of the heroic deaths of his men ______________________________________
Hack and slash, cut
and parry...yet another bloody encounter. Heavy losses, but the French
must go! ______________________________________
Lieutenant General
Graham couldnt believe his own stupidity in bieng captured.He had been so
sure that the French Cavalry had been bluffing.The General had been
over-run with a skirmisher unit to far forward of the main force.The
Spanish cavalry captain who captured the General couldnt believe his
luck.Further south The British cavalry had suffered badly,the elite unit
the Life Guards and Princess Dragoons had been slaughtered.The French
command could be pleased with the defensive withdrawl so far.! ______________________________________
Too damn many
Frenchies in Spain, what? Press on lads! ______________________________________
"Vite ,Vite mon Amis" hurried Captain deLancey his men,the men formed line as they had done so a thousand times before.The approaching Spanish coloumn came on towards them.The French men took aim,the Spaniards so close now that the fear of the leading men could now be seen on their faces,they knew what was to follow."FIRE" 450 muskets splayed their deadly projectiles into the tightly packed Spaniards.Men were thrown back from their feet,uniforms were ripped to shreds,blood sprayed from bodies.The front rank of the Spanish coloumn disappeared!The Spaniards march was halted.Men stood frightenend and confused."Reload"bawled Captain DeLancey .............would the Spanish hold or run? ______________________________________
They shall HOLD,
dammit all! They shall grab onto the froggies beards and kick their
bloomin' arses over the Pyrennees! Impudent scoundrels! ______________________________________ ...to be continued |
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