Victory Results:
 42 %
Record a victory for BOTTOM ARMY  58 %
Total plays 62 - Last reported by Pevans on 2024-03-23 16:40:56

Historical Background
Four days after Wellesley’s initial clash at Rolica, General Jean-Andoche Junot, with an army of 14,000, attacked the Anglo-Portuguese army of 17,000 troops. Junot wanted to defeat the invaders before reinforcements could arrive by sea. The battle of Vimeiro began with three brigades of French advancing to take Vimeiro hill and the town, while a fourth brigade had swung right to turn the British left flank. Unfortunately for Junot, his frontal attacks were uncoordinated, and failed to pin the British troops in the center. Wellesley was able to redeploy his army to face the threat on his left. The French column attacks in the center were finally forced back by sustained British volleys and soon afterwards the flank attack was also beaten back. Covered by his cavalry, Junot retreated towards Torres Vedras and the British did not pursue.
Following the battle, the British senior commanders Generals Dalrymple and Burrard worked out a deal allowing Junot’s army to leave for France on British ships, taking all their guns and equipment. This deal, not surprisingly, caused a massive outcry in Britain.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?

 

Set-Up Order

Forest Hill Town River RiverBend RiverBridge Town
9 22 4 - 7 7 1 3 1 7

Battle Notes

British Army
• Commander: Wellesley
• 6 Command Cards
• 5 Tactician Cards

  

Line Infantry Light Infantry Rifle Infantry Light Cavalry Foot Artillery Leader   Line Infantry Light Cavalry Leader
11 2 2 1 1 1 3 5   4 1 1 1

French Army
• Commander: Junot
• 5 Command Cards
• 3 Tactician Cards
• Move First

 

Line Infantry Light Infantry Grenadier Infantry Light Cavalry Heavy Cavalry Foot Artillery Leader
10 3 3 2 2 1 2 6

Victory
13 Banners

Special Rules
• The French gain 2 Temporary Victory Banners at the start of the turn for each town hex of Vimeiro occupied.
• The British gain 2 Temporary Victory Banners at the start of the turn, if the French do not occupy any town hexes of Vimeiro. The British start with 2 Victory Banners.
• The town hex of Ventosa is a Temporary Victory Banner worth 2 banners for the side that occupies it at the start of the turn.
• The French gains 1 Temporary Victory Banner at the start of the turn for occupying the Vimeiro bridge across the stream.
• The Maceira River is impassable except at the fords.
• The entire Toledo brook is fordable. In addition, the shallow fords do not stop movement.

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Pevans replied the topic:
5 days 15 hours ago
It's my turn to play the French after Evert won 13:11 as the French. I started with our favourite (?) card, "La Grande Manoeuvre", which I used on the right to occupy Ventosa and bring the artillery forward. This let me engage the forward Allied units on my next turn, while also skirmishing on the left as Evert brought rear units forward.
A "Fire and Hold" on the right brought me first blood, eliminating a British Line infantry. At the same time, I used a "Bayonet Charge" on the left to throw the British off the hills in front of Vimeiro, taking out the Light infantry under General Austruther. The General escaped, but the score's now 4:2 in my favour (I have two banners for holding Ventosa, Evert two as there are no French units in Vimeiro.)
The Allies advanced left and centre, so I threw in the French Light cavalry. On the left, this took out the battered British artillery and then the equally damaged Light cavalry - 6:2. In the centre, the Rifles formed square against the French cavalry.
An onslaught from the Allies (Evert played a "General Advance" and a "Take Command") saw Evert eliminate the two French Grenadiers on the hills on the left while General Hill won his little battle with General Chariot (across the ford on the left edge), removing the General and the Line infantry under his command. And suddenly it's 6:6.
My retaliation saw the removal of the British Heavy cavalry and Rifles in the centre, bringing the score back to 8:6. And then my Heavies overran a British Line only to be pushed back by the British musketry - 9:6.
A "Cavalry Charge" saw the French horsemen eliminate the British artillery and a Line infantry centre left, bringing the French close to Vimeiro and the score to 11:6.
Evert pushed Gen Acland and his Line infantry forward in the centre and took out Gen Thomiere and his battered unit. That's 11:8.
A final thrust on the left from my French saw Gen Austruther go down with his troops, while Light cavalry trotted into Vimeiro - insurance as the score goes to 13:6 as Evert loses the two banners for no French in Vimeiro - though they're still shown in the picture below.
That was a bit shorter than our previous game, both in terms of turns (17) and time (3.5 hours) - though still spread over two evenings. The French won both times (ahistorically) with the aggregate score 24:19 to me.
And the Epic game was thoroughly enjoyable. The larger size gives both sides plenty of scope and playing two cards a turn means you're not often stuck for something to do. There is definitely more thinking, though, as you need to look for the best combination of cards to play.
I have also posted this report on my BGG blog (with pictures!): boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/158967
Pevans replied the topic:
1 month 4 days ago
Evert fancied trying an Epic so we've been playing this one over the last few weeks. Evert took the French to begin with and started moving his troops towards the Allies. I pushed the British forward on the right to cover Ventosa and engaged the French in the centre with my long range Rifles. Evert used a "Bayonet Charge" in the centre to chase the Rifles off the hills in front of Vimeiro while starting to engage the British on the left. (I'm using right and left as in the set-up picture, not according to each army's point of view.)
First blood went to the Allies as the infantry on the left fired back at the advancing French and removed a Light infantry. Evert immediately retaliated with a "Force March" on the left, taking out a British Light infantry, while also attacking on the right. This makes the score 3:1 to the Allies (with the two for the French not occupying Vimeiro).
I played a "Force March" on the right to occupy Ventosa and eliminate the French Line infantry that was furthest forward (4:1). And used "Bombard" to mass my artillery centre left in front of the town.
My turn for a "Bayonet Charge", which I used on the left for infantry under Generals Hill and Austruther to throw the French back off the hills and eradicate a Line infantry (5:1). At the same time, I sent my Heavy cavalry into the centre, putting a French Line into square and then damaging it with artillery. With the two banners for Ventosa, the score's now 7:1.
The French attacked left and centre, re-taking the hills on the left, taking out a British Line infantry and killing both Generals into the bargain. That's now 7:4. (Lucky, lucky Evert!) In the centre, he pushed back my cavalry and attacked the hills with his Light cavalry, a British Line forming square.
"Give Them the Cold Steel" for the British on the left did no (!) damage and I lost two Line infantry to the battle backs. Ouch! At least my artillery finished off the French square in the centre, while the Rifles drove off the French cavalry. That's 8:6.
Our favourite (?) card, "La Grande Manoeuvre", now came out, Evert using it to re-position his troops on the right ready to attack Ventosa. However, General Nightingale "Took Command" of the British around Ventosa, removing two French Line to take the score to 10:6.
The French still cleared Ventosa, though, and eliminated a British Line infantry on the left as they moved closer to Vimeiro. Losing the two banners for Ventosa means it's 8:7.
I re-took Ventosa with a "Force March" that brought up the Portuguese to join the British and take out a French Line infantry. While on the left, my artillery removed the infantry that had been advancing on Vimeiro. 10:7 (with another two pending for Ventosa).
Evert then deployed another "La Grande Manoeuvre"! This time using it on the left to push forward and occupy one hex of Vimeiro. His other card was "Elan", to attack Ventosa, but only resulted in a Portuguese Line forming square against the French Heavy cavalry.
As I added back the two banners for holding Ventosa but lost the two for the French not being in Vimeiro, I flung the Portuguese cavalry and British infantry at the French cavalry in the centre. This didn't work, so Evert gained two banners for the hex of Vimeiro and then took out the Portuguese cavalry. This made the score 10:10!
It went to 11:10 as I hit the French artillery pushed forward in the centre, but Evert countered around Vimeiro, removing my artillery and finishing off the British Light cavalry. And the French cavalry punched through the middle to eliminate Gen Acland who was just minding his own business. That's 11:13 and a famous French victory. Wow!
That was 4 hours of playing time (over two evenings), which is not surprising, given that we're playing on a much larger board with a lot more pieces. However, the game was only 21 turns in all (11 French, 10 Allies). That's actually fewer turns than many of our standard games. I think playing two cards a turn and potentially moving lots of units compensates for the bigger size. What does add to the time taken is deciding what combination of cards to play each turn – choosing between 5-6 cards in hand and 3-5 in the Courier rack to find the best pair (and maybe taking a card from the rack that you don't want your opponent to have).
The return match is in progress...
I’ve also posted this report on my BGG blog – with pictures! You’ll find it at boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/158286
bartok replied the topic:
3 months 1 week ago
Played this Friday afternoon 3 on 2, the British won 13-5 in 11 turns. The British move their troops to capture Ventosa, flipping the score by four points when was near the even. but a French leader killed and a Portuguese Bayonet Charge killing 2 more french units to crash the battle in the left flank.   (British 2+2+9/ French 5)                                                                                                                               
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Garcia replied the topic:
4 months 3 weeks ago
The Portuguese: Forced Marchs, Take Commands, Bayonet Charge! And good dice rolls! They took Ventosa, rolling the French Right. 8-2
French were recovering and slowly pushed the center, taking the Vimeiro Bridge, but to no avail. 13-10
GG replied the topic:
3 years 11 months ago
Great battle experienced 3vs3 online with 2 English + 2 Spanish + 2 French = GG
Pevans replied the topic:
4 years 3 months ago
Played this at MidCon last month, losing as the British - I blame my subordinates. ;-) Full report on my BGG blog: boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/97536
Mark-McG replied the topic:
5 years 7 months ago
fixed
shuri5 replied the topic:
5 years 7 months ago
error : british line infantry exist 11.
g1ul10 replied the topic:
5 years 9 months ago
Played today for a French victory 13 to 11. Nine units eliminated on each side but the control of two Vimeiro hexes gave the French the victory. It was a one vs. one battle that took a bit more than 2 hours. We really enjoyed it.
steelcamp replied the topic:
7 years 1 month ago
Played this yesterday 3 on 3 the British won 13-10. The French used the grenadiers to great effect driving killing many British and were poised to enter the town of Vimeiro and held Ventosa till the very end when a spirited British attack regained the town. This attack on Ventosa won the game by flipping the score by four points. Also of note two French leaders were killed while leading their units after only suffering light casualties.
Bayernkini replied the topic:
7 years 6 months ago
Played it twice (with Mark) and i think, this one is a good one, to introduce/learn the epic rules.
Comparative less units, and units/rules, which should be known from the basic game.
So you can concentrate you for the epic rules, and it´s still a lot to lookup (most the many combinations/rules with the TC´s).

We played each games in about 3-3,5 hrs, so this is reasonable as a 2-player epic game.