Almanza Scenario (Draft)
| Almansa, Spain |
25 April 1707 |
Historical Situation
King Charles wished to sit on the defensive during 1707, so kept his Austro-Calalan forces in Barcelona. None-the-less the British commander in the peninsular - the Earl of Galway - decided to take the offensive unaided. Although already out numbered by the Franco-Spanish forces of the Duke of Berwick, Galway wished to defeat Berwick before he was reinforced by the Duc D'Orleans. As Berwick fell back, Galway took Yecla and Montalgre. But then it was Galway's turn to withdraw. Galway was held up at Villen by a small enemy garrison, and Berwick managed to threaten his communications at Almanza. Still hoping to prevent Berwick and Orleans joining, Galway chose to confront Berwick. On the morning of 25 April 1707 the Anglo-Portuguese marched across rough ground to the ridge south-east of Almanza; 19 km over broken ground, during the last hour of which the battalions were deployed in line, meant the Galway's men were exhausted when they reached the ridge just after 1100 hours. As the Anglo-Portuguese rested, Berwick redeployed his men. The French and Irish faced the English and Dutch, and the Spanish faced the Portuguese.
Terrain
Key features are:
- The battle was fought on a plain about 6 km by 3 km (the long axis)
- Hills surrounded the plain, forming a kind of bowl.
- Almanza - fortified town on a hill in the centre of the north-western long side of the bowl.
- Small ravine just in front of the Franco-Spanish centre and right (effectively south of the town).
Anglo-Portuguese Player
Objective
Forces Available
I've added in the Austro-Catalans as the Anglo-Portuguese were considerably outnumbered in the real battle.
Anglo-Dutch (Earl of Galway)
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2 British Infantry Brigades
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1 Dutch/Huegenot Infantry Brigade
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1 Anglo-Dutch Horse Brigade
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1 Anglo-Dutch Dragoon Brigade
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2 Artillery Battalions
Portuguese (General Das Minas)
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3 Portuguese Infantry Brigades
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1 Portuguese Horse Brigade
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1 Portuguese Dragoon Brigade
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1 Artillery Battalion
Austro-Catalans
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4 Austro-Catalan Infantry Brigades
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3 Austro-Catalan Horse Brigades
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1 Austro-Catalan Dragoon Brigade
Deployment
Deploy first on the south-east side of the bowl.
Reserves Off-table
None.
Franco-Spanish Player
Objective
Forces Available
French
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5 French Infantry Brigades
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1 French Horse Brigade
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1 French Dragoon Brigade
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2 Artillery Battalions
Spanish
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5 Spanish Infantry Brigades
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2 Spanish Horse Brigades
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1 Spanish Dragoon Brigades
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1 Artillery Battalion
Deployment
Deploy second, before Almanza, on the north-west side of the bowl.
Reserves Off-table
None.
Victory Conditions
Game Length
Scenario Special Rules
Notes
- Based on
- Grant, C. S. (1986). From Pike to Shot: Armies and Battles of Western Europe 1685 to 1720. Wargames Research Group.
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Historical Orbat:
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The Franco-Spanish, had 25,400 men, 11,900 French, the rest Spanish. 52 battalions, 77 squadrons (~26 regiments), 24 guns. 4-5 gun batteries.
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There is considerable dispute over the number of Anglo-Portuguese present. Officially the two armies should have been evenly matched, but many sources have the Anglo-Portuguese considerably under strength (Condray, 1992). According to Grant, the Allies had 15,500 men, 4,500 horse, 11,000 foot - including 22 Portuguese, 5 Dutch, 13 English battalions. Had ~8 guns per battery. Portuguese horse refused to charge and ran when charged.
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Each gun was serviced by 10+ men.
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The Franco-Spanish army beat the Anglo-Portuguese army in the largest action in the Peninsular.