Historical Background
In 1810 the French Army of Aragon, lead by Marshal Suchet had attempted to take the Spanish port city of Valencia. The siege was a failure, partly due to a deficiency of siege batteries, and the French army withdrew to Aragon.
In 1811 Suchet received fresh orders from Napoleon to conquer Valencia. This time the French marshal planned thoroughly the campaign.
In order to move his siege train he first had to eliminate the Spanish fortress of Sagunto, which commanded the main roads from Aragon and Catalonia into Valencia region. The siege started in earnest after an initial failed French assault, with proper siege lines defined in October. In spite of the heavy bombardment the 2.500 men Spanish garrison repulsed more assaults.
With the garrison in Sagunto being unable to withstand any longer, the commander of the Spanish Army of Valencia, General Blake, decided to confront the French army in order to relieve the siege. The Spanish Army had recently been reinforced by the divisions of general Zayas and Lardizabal from the Army of Extremadura. These troops had received extensive training, and had performed extremely well at the battle of Albuera, where they defeated the French.
The battle lines of both armies in the morning of the 25h of October extended into the nearby mountain range. The French left was denied movement close to the shore, thanks to a Spanish flotilla of oared and small sailing vessels, supported by a British fleet. Suchet decided to make his stand in a thin stretch of coastal plain, close enough to the siege lines and fortress for the troops there to witness the battle. Suchet hopes rested in his superior cavalry in flat ground, and he placed himself almost in the vanguard. Blake, on the contrary, remained behind his lines with a reserve in El Puig, a natural chokepoint in case of a retreat south towards Valencia.
The fight in the center was extremely fierce, with both armies striving to hold a small knoll just in the middle. The knoll changed hands several times but the French were finally defeated with two French generals wounded, and a French artillery battery taken. Under pressure Suchet galloped back towards his last reserve, the heavy cavalry of the 13th cuirassiers. At this point he was wounded by a Spanish bullet in the back, but still managed to bring the cuirassiers into the fight. The charge of this heavy cavalry finally broke the Spanish center by retaking the knoll.
The Spanish defeat did not develop into a rout thanks to the spirited fighting withdrawal of Zayas division, and the reserve troops at El Puig. The retreat ended with the Spanish army reentering Valencia. French and Spanish casualties totaled about 800 men dead and wounded on each side.
The Spanish garrison at Sagunto surrendered one day after the battle. The Spanish army had lost around 7.000 men as prisoners of war. The stage was set for the second and final siege of Valencia.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?
Battle Notes
Spanish Army
• Commander: Blake
• 4 Command Cards.
• 2 Tactical Cards.
• 3 guerrilla counters
• Move First
French Army
• Commander: Suchet
• 5 Command Cards
• 5 Tactician Cards
Victory
15 Banners
Special Rules
• Spanish infantry and cavalry units of the Army of Extremadura are represented by equivalent Portuguese and Prussian blocks.
They are especially well-trained, and veterans from Albuera. Their fighting performance must be rated as that of a Portuguese force (grenadiers 1 extra die in melee combat).
The units of Army of Extremadura are identified by a Spanish victory banner.
• The British horse artillery unit is in fact a Spanish one, and behaves the same.
• The terrain is limited on the French left by the Mediterranean Sea. Any French unit that enters any shore hex is targeted immediately with two artillery ranged fire dice. It will also continue to receive this penalty during the Spanish turn, as long as it remains in the hex. This represents the combined effect of the British - Spanish flotilla that anchors the Spanish right.
