Military History | Liberators | Scenarios
Gavilan Scenario for Liberators QPR

Posted 29 Jan 2012

Setting: Gavilan Hill, Conception, Chile; 5 May 1817

John Fletcher published a scenario for the Battle of Gavilan on the Liberators 1810-1830 Yahoo Discussion Forum (in the files section).

The scenario is nominally for Liberators Quick Play Rules however I written up a few supplementary notes on how to play it.

Map

The published map is at a scale of 1" on table is 10 yards in reality. At that scale the table is 12' x 8', which is quite big by anybody's standards.  I've shrunk it to 8' x 5' 6", which is 1" = 15 yards. 

Order of Battle

I have changed the figure to man ratio to match the ground scale (1" = 15 yards) is:

  • 1 infantry stand = 40 men
  • 1 cavalry stand = 25 men
  • 1 gun stand = 1 gun

At the normal troop scale for Liberators Quick Play Rules the units are infantry battalions (200-800 men), cavalry squadrons (70-200 men) and artillery batteries (4-8 guns). At the reduced scale of this scenario the units are now infantry divisions (one or two companies), cavalry companies, and gun sections (2-3 guns).  

I've revised the order of battle to reflect these changes and to correct a couple of typos in the original.

So the Liberators QPR order of battle becomes:

  • Patriots
    • Commander: Col. Las Heras [6/6/6]
    • Subordinate Commander: Lt. Col. Freire [6/6/6]
    • Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment
      • Cazadores [2 stands 5/5/4 Sk]
    • Argentine 8th Infantry Regiment
      • Cazadores [1 stand 5/5/4 Sk]
    • Argentine 11th Infantry Regiment
      • Fusiliers [6 stands 6/6/5 s]
      • Fusiliers [5 stands 6/6/5 s]
      • Elite Companies / Grenadiers & Cazadores [4 stands 5/5/4 Sk]
    • Chilean 1st Infantry Battalion [2 stands 7/7/6]
    • Chilean Compania de San Fernando [3 stands 8/8/7]
    • Argentine Horse Grenadiers, 3rd Squadron
      • Company [5 stands, -/5/4]
      • Company [4 stands, -/5/4]
    • Chilean Dragoons
      • Company [2 stands -/8/7]
      • Company [2 stands -/8/7]
    • 4 x 4lbrs [4 stands, 6/7/5]
    • 2 x 32lbr howitzers [2 stands, 5/7/5]
    • Reinforcements arrive at 1000 hours
      • Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment
        • Fusiliers [5 stands 6/6/5]
  • Royalists
    • Ordonez's Column
      • Col. Ordonez [5/5/4 +1 initiative] - nominal overall commander
      • Conception Battalion
        • Fusiliers [5 stands 6/6/5 s]
        • Fusiliers [5 stands 6/6/5 s]
        • Elite Companies / Grenadiers and Cazadores [4 stands 5/5/4 Sk]
      • Chillan Dragoons *
        • Mounted option
          • Mounted Company [3 stands -/7/6]
          • Mounted Company [3 stands -/7/6]
          • Mounted Company [3 stands -/7/6]
        • Dismounted option
          • Dismounted [5 stands 7/7/6 Sk]
      • 2 x 4lbrs [2 stands 6/7/5]
      • 1 x 3lbr [1 stand 7/7/5]
    • Morgado's Column - Reinforcements: roll during initiative phase, arrive on 1-2 on 1d10
      • Col. Morgado [6/6/6]
      • Ad Hoc Infantry Battalion **
        • Fusiliers [5 stands 6/6/7]
        • Fusiliers [5 stands 6/6/7]
      • Frontier Dragoons ***
        • Company [3 stands -/7/6]
        • Company [3 stands -/7/6]
        • Company [3 stands -/7/6]
        • Company [2 stands -/7/6]
      • 2 x 4lbrs [2 stands 6/7/5]
    • Martinez's Column - Reinforcements at 1000 hours
      • Col. Martinez [6/6/6]
      • Los Angeles Infantry [4 stands 7/7/6]
      • Indians on foot with assorted weapons [2 stands -/8/7]
      • 1 x 4lbr [1 stand 6/7/6]

* The Chillan Dragoons skirmished on foot at Maipo so I give the option here. They are either mounted or dismounted for the entire battle.

** The Ad Hoc unit was formed from a mixed bag of survivors from Chacabuco that had spent some weeks at sea attempting to flee to Peru. Their morale has be lowered as a consequence. The number of stands has been increased from 3 to 10 aid game balance.

*** The Frontier Dragoons had six companies in the battle but I only have four units so distributed the same number of men (278) amongst the four units.

In his scenario John Fletcher has the artillery at 2 guns per stand and mentions rules for half stands. I've ignored that and gone for 1 gun per stand.

Commanders

I have included all the sub-commanders, both Patriot and Royalist, in the order of battle. 

Colonel Las Heras is normal army commander and can influence and rally any Patriot troops.  Lt. Col. Freire can attach to any Patriot unit and can only influence that unit while attached; he cannot rally routed troops.

The Royalist column commanders - Colonels Ordonez, Morgado and Martinez - can only influence troops in their own column. They rally their own routed units.  None of them, including Ordonez, can influence or rally units from other columns.  

Separating Companies from Units

Stands, and groups of stands, can be separated from the parent unit as per standard rules. For example, the grenadier, 2nd, 3rd (only 40 men) and 4th companies of the Argentine 11th Infantry Regiment operated away from the main body at various times during the real battle.

Game start

As per John's scenario... Patriots deploy first. Battle begins at 0700 hours. Royalists deploy second and have initiative on first turn.

Patriot Fort

Although the map has a fort on Gavilan Hill John Fletcher notes that it was little more than a sentry post so I have ignored it for game purposes.

Victory Conditions

An army wins if it forces the enemy to abandon the field and has not itself abandoned the field.

The Patriot army abandons the field if, at the end of a turn, half of its units have routed.

A Royalist column abandons the field if, at the end of a turn, half of its units have routed. The Royalists army abandons the field if two columns have abandoned the field.

A routed unit that subsequently rallies still counts as routed for these purposes. 

References

Fletcher, J, (n.d.) The Battle of Gavilan - May 5, 1817. Grenadier Productions. [Available on-line at Liberators 1810-1830 Yahoo Discussion Forum in the Files page.]