Los Pollos Hermanos - Spain, 1809

Spain, 1809: The British army, based in Portugal, is facing stiff resistance from the French occupying forces. Without the aid of the Spanish population, fighting against the french as guerrillas, the war would be over before it begins.

Suddenly, chaos erupts in the British high command as word arrives that the small town of Los Pollos Hermanos has declared for Bonaparte! The city governor, a capable general of the Spanish army named Esposito, has been usurped by his dastardly younger step-brother, the self-styled Marshal Martinez. In an apparent power grab, Martinez has promised the regions loyalty to King Joseph in exchange for French support to his claim as governor. 

An otherwise insignificant speck on the map, Pollos lies on a strategic road and is the regional centre of a heavily-populated farming district. In French hands, it represents a back door by which Napoleon's scheming Marshals can invade Portugal and throw the British army back to the English Channel.

General Esposito has promised his allegiance to the British if they can help him defeat his brother's army and reclaim his position as governor of the town. With no time to waste, General Wellesley has dispatched a sizable force to aid Esposito's assault on the town. French forces in the area are already moving to reinforce the city. 

Can the French forces hold the town until their reinforces arrive, or will they be thrown out by the British? We rolled some dice to find out!

In this scenario, the town of Los Pollos Hermanos is held by Marshal Martinez's Spanish forces. A French army is reinforcing them, but the II Corps has not yet arrived. 

The British army has arrived in full strength with their own Spanish allies and is intent on claiming the town to incite an uprising against the French. 

The French II Corps will arrive one division at a time beginning from the second turn.

Both armies include an equal number of Spanish infantry. To win the battle, one side must hold the town with their Spanish troops.

Terrain - in VnB terminology, the battlefield featured towns and villages. The single river counted as a stream, all woods were classes as forest and the fields blocked line of sight but didn't impede movement. We didn't allow for crop fields to be 'trampled down.'

Here are the orders of battle for both sides in Volley & Bayonet format:

Deployment: The view from the British lines, starring the two French commanders pondering their battle-plans. 

The British right flank was held by two divisions of infantry, including several brigades of the Guards.

The British left included a large infantry division and the single division of cavalry.

Martinez's Spanish troops holding the town and surrounding fields.

The British advance, claiming the heights overlooking the town.

The French I Corps, with two infantry divisions holding the left, hopes to hold off the British until II Corps arrives to reinforce their position.

Spanish troops holding the town start to worry about getting surrounded...

The French advance, with a heavy force on their left.

British turn 2: The cavalry division on the British left moves to out-flank the French, while a division of infantry assaults the town. 

In a hard-fought battle, the British repel the Spanish defenders and take the city.

The French counter-attack, screening their left wing with cavalry as they charge the British troops crossing the ridge...

...and push back the lead British division. 

However, the right flank doesn't go so well. A division of the Young Guards charges the British infantry...

 ...but is thrown back in disorder. 

Fortunately, a fresh division of infantry arrives to reinforce the right flank.

Some of the French cavalry trying to screen the right flank are driven back by musket fire.

British third turn - the infantry divisions continue to attack against the French left, but the lead British division is seriously running out of steam and is mostly pushed back. The Guards division forms up in a solid defensive line holding the ridge.

 

The French begin to out-flank the British forces on the left, maneuvering their cavalry around behind British lines. Meanwhile, the French have begun to bring up heavy artillery to bombard the town in order to shake the defenders loose.

The British commit the Guards division in an attempt to stop the French advance on the left, and in the rear the British reserve cavalry charges the French chasseurs behind their lines, driving them off.

Send in the Guards!

Meanwhile a division of their Spanish forces relieve the British troops to take the town.

But disaster strikes! The British forces are repulsed in force.

The French left is starting to look strangely empty of British defenders...

On the right flank, the French light cavalry deploys into skirmish orders and escapes into the forest. Meanwhile, finding themselves surrounded, the Young Guards charge the British infantry on the ridge. A division of Grenadier Guards arrives to shore up the flank. 

The British go all in against the French right flank.

French right flank: The British cavalry charge destroys the puny French infantry division attempting to hold them back. 

The battle raging around the convent becomes bloodier as the British cavalry division charges in and crushes an entire French infantry division, wiped out to a man!

Fortunately for the French, their dragoon division arrives to counter the British cavalry advance, exhausting the British but being forced back in the process. 

The French dragoons arrive, charging into the exposed Royal Horse Artillery battery and hitting the British cavalry in the flank.

The French troops go all-in to retake the town, with Spanish and French troops charging in to clear out the British-allied defenders.

With time running out, the French throw everything they have at the town. The desperate defenders do what they can, but they need to roll two sixes on their last two dice... 

...and they roll TWO SIXES! 

The French attack is repulsed, and the Spanish rebels hold firm in the town.

The gods of warfare had abandoned the French and their allies this day, and Martinez's political ambitions were crushed by the British onslaught. General Esposito would be reinstated as regional governor, and the people of Los Pollos Hermanos would be sure to rise up against the French occupation of their country.

A victory for Wellesley's forces!

Thanks to Josh, Dave, Michael and Chris for a great game. 

The final assault - French and Spanish troops attempt to storm the town.