Men of Honour Part 1 The Year 1808

The Peninsular War is famous for battles such as Talavera, Salamanca and Vitoria, in which British troops played a crucial role. Less well known are the 30 or so battles in which the French faced regular Spanish troops. These battles often ended in Spanish defeat. There were, however, also some hard-fought victories that gave the Spaniards the courage to continue the struggle against the French invader.

Men of Honour, Part 1: The Year 1808 offers wargame scenarios for the battles of Alcolea, Medina de Rioseco, Bailén, Zornoza, Valmaseda, Gamonal, Espinosa de Los Monteros, Tudela, Cardedeu and Molins del Rey. The author visited every battlefield to become familiar with the terrain. In his research, he consulted British, Spanish, French, German and Dutch sources. Each scenario represents a divisional or corps-level engagement that took place in 1808. Future parts will cover the Franco-Spanish battles in the subsequent years of the Peninsular War.

The scenarios are rules agnostic and can therefore be used with different Napoleonic rule systems. Each scenario offers briefings that start with the commanders’ personal histories. The orders of battle are based on the most reliable sources. Both sides can try to use Stratagems to improve their historical starting position.

Now it’s time to deploy your colourful French and Spanish Napoleonic armies on the wargames table. Can you perform better than your historical counterpart?