Historical Background The Duke of Wellington's army of 25,000 British and the same number of Portuguese halted their retreat toward Torres Vedras at Bussaco to make a stand along the crest of Bussaco Ridge. As Massena's army of 65,000 approached the British position, he was uncertain of the exact disposition and strength of the enemy, for Wellington had adopted his favorite tactic of hiding his true strength from the enemy by deploying his forces on the reverse slope of the ridge.
Though Marshal Massena could not ascertain the true Allied position, it did not prevent him from attacking anyway. He planned a two-phase attack, first with Reynier's Corps on what Massena believed was the British right flank, followed by Ney's Corps attacking the left after Reynier met with success. Massena kept Junot's Corps in reserve to exploit success wherever it happened.
Reynier did attack first, but his uncoordinated attacks only achieved early success with some of his troops occupying part of the ridge. These disorganized French troops came under heavy fire, and were thrown back by the shock of a British infantry charge. The major fighting in this sector of the battlefield was at an end.
Upon hearing the heavy gunfire from the other flank, Ney assumed Reynier's men were enjoying success and ordered his attack. Ney sent Loison's and Marchand's divisions against the British left. As the French neared the British position, Crauford ordered his Light Division to pour murderous volleys into Loison's columns. Within minutes, Loison's Division was streaming back down the hillside in full retreat. Meanwhile Marchand's Division had advanced to the foot of the ridge, but after several unsuccessful assaults up the hillside Ney called off Marchand's attack. Massena accepted the futility of making any further attempts to storm the ridge and withdrew. The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?
Battle Notes
British Army
* Commander: Wellington (Iconic)
* British player prior to the battle may redeploy one or more units up to a maximum of four hexes total from their starting positions.
• 6 Command Cards
| Allied Corps Commanders | Right | Center | Left |
| Command | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Tactician | 4 | 4 | 4 |
French Army
• Commander: Massena
• 5 Command Cards
• Move First 
| French Corps Commanders | Left | Center | Right |
| Command | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Tactician | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Victory
16 Banners
Special Rules
* The British player gain 1 Temporary Victory Banner at the start of the British player’s when no French units occupy any hill hexes of Bussaco Ridge Line. The British start with 1 Victory Banner.
* The four hill groupings that make up Bussaco Ridge, each group forms a Temporary Majority Group Victory Banner worth 2 banners for the French
when French units occupy an absolute majority of a group at the start of the French player’s turn.
* The French gain 1 Temporary Victory Banner at the start of the French player’s turn when they occupy 5 of the 7 town hexes.
* The stream is fordable.
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