Post by Otto von Bismarck on Mar 31, 2010 3:15:32 GMT -5
ITS A TOUGH GAME BUT A INTERESTING ONE,FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD 
The Strategic Situation
In June 1808, the British government received word of the Spanish uprising against the French. The British had a tradition of supporting the Portuguese and used the Spanish insurrection as an excuse to send an expeditionary force to Portugal. Their mission was to expel the French Army, under the command of General Junot, from Portugal. The initial British force would be under the command of a young general who had made his reputation in India: Sir Arthur Wellesly.
The first British troops landed at Mondego Bay on 1 August 1808 and 4 days later Wellesly had 13,000 troops ashore. The British were re-inforced with 2,000 Portuguese troops who were placed under the command of a British Officer: Colonel Nicholas Trant.After a week spent organizing his commissary, Wellesly began his march on Lisbon.
The French commander in Portugal, General Jean-Androche Junot, received word of the British landing and sent General Henri-François Delaborde to observe ". . . and, if possible, contain Wellesly, till Junot should have concentrated his whole field-army and be ready to fight." Delaborde advanced to Alcobaça, but could not find a suitable defensive position. He withdrew to Roliça, where he placed his force on a low hill just west of the town. About 2 kilometers to his rear was a ridgeline that ran east-west. There he waited for the British.
THE MAP
GENERAL DELABORDE
SIR ARTHUR WELLESLY
Wellesly's planned to trap the French forces using a double envelopment. According to Charles Oman:
"On the right Colonel Trant, with three battalions of Portuguese infantry and fifty horse of the same nation, moved along the foot of the western range of heights, to turn the Roliça position by a wide circular movement. On the left General Ferguson, with his own brigade, that of Bowes, and six guns, struck over the hills to get round the eastern flank of the French. In the centre the remainder of the army -- four brigades of British infantry, 400 cavalry, half English and half Portuguese, with the battalion of Cazadores and twelve guns, advanced on a broad front in two lines. . . Hill's brigade formed the right, Fane's the left, Nightingale's the center, while Catlin Crawfurd's two battalions and the Cazadores acted as the reserve."
The Strategic Situation
In June 1808, the British government received word of the Spanish uprising against the French. The British had a tradition of supporting the Portuguese and used the Spanish insurrection as an excuse to send an expeditionary force to Portugal. Their mission was to expel the French Army, under the command of General Junot, from Portugal. The initial British force would be under the command of a young general who had made his reputation in India: Sir Arthur Wellesly.
The first British troops landed at Mondego Bay on 1 August 1808 and 4 days later Wellesly had 13,000 troops ashore. The British were re-inforced with 2,000 Portuguese troops who were placed under the command of a British Officer: Colonel Nicholas Trant.After a week spent organizing his commissary, Wellesly began his march on Lisbon.
The French commander in Portugal, General Jean-Androche Junot, received word of the British landing and sent General Henri-François Delaborde to observe ". . . and, if possible, contain Wellesly, till Junot should have concentrated his whole field-army and be ready to fight." Delaborde advanced to Alcobaça, but could not find a suitable defensive position. He withdrew to Roliça, where he placed his force on a low hill just west of the town. About 2 kilometers to his rear was a ridgeline that ran east-west. There he waited for the British.
THE MAP
GENERAL DELABORDE
SIR ARTHUR WELLESLY
Wellesly's planned to trap the French forces using a double envelopment. According to Charles Oman:
"On the right Colonel Trant, with three battalions of Portuguese infantry and fifty horse of the same nation, moved along the foot of the western range of heights, to turn the Roliça position by a wide circular movement. On the left General Ferguson, with his own brigade, that of Bowes, and six guns, struck over the hills to get round the eastern flank of the French. In the centre the remainder of the army -- four brigades of British infantry, 400 cavalry, half English and half Portuguese, with the battalion of Cazadores and twelve guns, advanced on a broad front in two lines. . . Hill's brigade formed the right, Fane's the left, Nightingale's the center, while Catlin Crawfurd's two battalions and the Cazadores acted as the reserve."