The Bridge at Almaraz - 18/19 May 1812
Historical Background
By late April, 1812, the Duke of Wellington had successfully captured the strategic border fortresses of Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo. He was now poised to move into central Spain and to liberate Madrid from the French. Crucial to his success was denying the two major French armies in the area a chance to combine against him. The major obstacle separating them was the Tagus River. The Tagus is wide and flowed east - west, effectively bisecting Spain. There were few bridges across the Tagus. In the Fall of 1809, in order to shorten their lines of communications, the French built a pontoon bridge at Almaraz. The bridge was about 200 meters long and was built with heavy pontoons. The center span was a light boat, designed to removed at night for security. The bridge was protected by several fortifications-- in game terms a fortification on both bridgeheads and a castle nearby. Moreover, there was a garrison of reinforcing infantry and artillery in the nearby town of Almaraz. The British army sent a classic raiding party against the Pontoon bridge on 18-19 May to destroy it.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?
Thank you to the author for sharing this scenario. HERE you can find the link to the original webpage.
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Set-Up Order
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Battle Notes
British Army
Commander: Hill
Command Cards: 5
Tactics Cards: 5 (Optional)
Move First
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| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
French Army
Commander: Aubert
Command Cards: 4
Tactics Cards: 3
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| 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Victory
British: 4 flags. 1 Flag (equivalent) for destroying bridge.
French: 4 Flags, 1 Flag (equivalent) for delaying British victory until reinforcing LN infantry arrive. Play until Turn 6.
Special Rules
The British objective is threefold. To engage the garrisons at Ragusa and Napoleon as primary targets, and occupy the bridge for two turns. It is assumed that the RI3 has a small engineering detachment along with them to help destroy the bridge. Destruction rules: RI3 occupies the bridge hex
for two turns.
French side OFF MAP, enters at upper left hand corner: 2 LN, 1 HA, Colonel Aubert . These will enter at scenario turn 4.
