Spanish Civil War Game and Salamanca

 Phil very kindly invited me for a virtual game last weekend, they are fun to put on but it is nice to sit quietly with a cup of coffee and play as well, less to pack up afterwards. It also meant I got to command some of his lovely Spanish civil war collection. A period I quite like and has a slightly romantic feel to it, although as I already do Russian Civil War I don’t think I need a new 20th C project.

We had a fairly simple scenario and played using bolt action, I understand Phil normally plays nationalists so we swopped over and I could play as the ‘bad’ guys. The photos I have taken were captured screen shots so quality is limited, for a closer look check out Phils Blog NEWS FROM THE FRONT.

Lovely Spanish civil war set up, the objectives for my Nationalists is simple, kill as many revolutionary dogs as I can, get across the railway and if possible capture the Railway station. The set up was hard for the revolutionaries as they came on from a single corner, this put them at a bit of a disadvantage from the start. The nationalist force split into three from left to right, 3 infantry units supported with light machine guns look to get to the wall to cover any movement across the battlefield. 2 mortars get into the vineyard hoping to cover enemy on the bridge. The rest look to get down the right flank through the wheat field.

Covering fire across the railway into the woods. In the distance the revolutionary’s  spread across the table

If a plan is working stick with it !

Finally the mortars are in place and can open up but nothing hit initially, we have made it across the table to capture the railway station. Confidence is high so the left flank starts to advance as well, overwhelming the Revolutionary’s 

Final shot, the Pzl as drawn fire from the Revolutionary howitzer. In the end it was pretty much a sacrifice that needed to be made to protect the men but eventually it is hit and bursts into flames. On the left the gun crew and attacked in revenge and tackled in hand to hand combat.

We didn’t need an extra turn to decide the victor, the Nationalists had overwhelmed the Revolutionary’s on this occasion. We agreed the setup had been harsh for the defenders but it was a very enjoyable game and fun to play. Looking forward to the next and probably tougher context !

Also played the next Pennisular battle Salamanca phase one attack on the French left.

Thinking this was the rear guard the french attack only to find it was half of the British army !

The french advance down the left and the British counter on this occasion with a determined cavalry assault on the french. It turns out to be an even battle and no clear advantage is gained.

The french then turn to their right flank and wipe out the British rifles who had moved onto the hills

The overall position, french pushing on the right, stalled on the left, but the British ahead 4 to 3 so they send forward the Portuguese division

Nervously the french play a reform card allowing them to carry out a quick but significant adjustment to their battle line and focussing everything they have on the right

The french overwhelmed the British light infantry on the far right and have to flee, but they are still countering effectively with the Portuguese infantry in the centre, a very close battle with 5 to 5 and victory needing just 6 flags !

The french throw everything in the get to grips with the Portuguese high risk and are lucky not to be wiped out

The french lucky for a change are able to charge home with bayonets and rout the Portuguese claiming victory !

Two in a row for the french but it was the dice that helped in the final couple of turns.

Thanks for looking a unit nearly painted this week and hopefully another AWI outing. Lockdown is a real drag but hobby stuff is keeping me going, looking forward to summer and I am officially part-time now. Not certain my wife is as happy with that as I thought she would be, perhaps i should have said it would give me more time to do jobs around the house rather than painting soldiers 🤣

KBO