"Peninsula War - Thoughts on Starting Project" Topic

Looking for thoughts on what to look at for a core of Peninsula War armies.

In terms of a few parameters I will either have or would like -

1. 18mm AB Figures – so whatever they have available will be a limiting factor.

2. Some variation in uniforms. I'd like to have some mix of forces, allowing use of Spanish, Portuguese and some French Allies.

3. I will model after a historical battle. Table space and other things will have me looking at 3-4 Divisions per side.

At the moment, Peninsula War is my weakest area of the Napoleonic Wars. Just started my first book – Weller's Wellington in the Peninsula. If someone has a better suggestion, let me know.

I have some understanding that I will have to chose early or later periods because of meaningful uniform changes.

I've read a few threads on similar discussions, but appreciate thoughts of those who have done such a project and what they'd do the same or different.

There is a lot more to the Peninsular War than Wellington.

My own 28mm Peninsula project was based on the battle of Castalla in 1813. Anglo-Italian force with Spanish allies against Suchet's army of French, including the only French cuirassiers in the Peninsula. I've also added some of Suchet's other units (Italians, Neapolitans) that were nearby but not at the battle.

So, if you want variation, it's there. Heck, the "British" force included KGL and even the Brunswick Hussars.

link

Good luck! Enjoy!

Personally I like the German and Italian troops in Spain.

About a third of Wellington's Peninsular Army was Portuguese, integrated into divisions with the British from about 1810 onwards.

Where uniforms were concerned, it was a time of transition, and for the British in 1812-14, you have to look at almost a regiment-by-regiment basis to know what uniform and headgear they were wearing. Some regiments stayed in old uniforms, some got new uniforms at some point, some came in new uniforms,and some came in the old uniforms, rather than wear the new ones out. And of course, accounts vary.

I am slowly building out the two principal antagonists in Western Spain, the British Peninsular Army and the French Army of Portugal. Trying to model each at its organizational height so I can deduct units to play other years: late 1813 for the British, 1810 for the French. For what you want, Albuera may be good, as it was basically a wing of the Peninsular Army plus a good sized Spanish detachment, versus Soult's corps. Albuera was 1811, so no false-fronted British shakoes or light dragoons in bell-topped shakoes.

When and where the Italian and German allies mostly around?

The Spanish Ulcer by Gates. Quick read but fairly thorough. I imagine several on here have read, and probably recommend. It's very good.

I'm certainly not an expert but my understanding is there is a question mark over whether the 'Belgic' shako was worn at all during the Peninsular War, so I wouldn't have thought it would be a problem to have all your British infantry in stovepipes, at least until the end of 1813. For British cavalry the changes start to come in towards the end of 1812 but you are still fine, I would say, to have them in the old style uniforms as late the end of the Salamanca campaign.

Gates is excellent for a readable overview.

However for more in depth coverage see Sir Charles Oman's monumental work "A History of the Peninsular War", plus if you can read Spanish D. Jose Gomez de Arteche y Moro's 14 volume work titled "Guerra de la Independencia historia militar de España de 1808 a 1814". NOTE Both works are downloadable from the internet.

For the French there is no equivalent but many good works dealing with shorter time periods or specific campaigns. Will post more later once I can access my records.

Nick Lipscome's "The Peninsualr War Atlas" is also an excellent work to have in your collection.

Italians, Neapolitans, Poles & many Germans fought in Eastern Spain.

Lots of uniform variation at Talavera (27-28 July 1809):

Allies: Probably the last hurrah for the pre-war Spanish uniforms, including light infantry in dark blue, foreign regiments in light blue, and horse cazadores in green. Not as much variety in the British but you do have riflemen in green (the 5/60 variety and the KGL variety).

French: Pretty fair assortment of allied troops, from Poland, Nassau, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Holland, and Westphalia (plus the "loyal" Spanish, although I don't think they were engaged).

If you want to know more about the Germans allied to the French in the Peninsular War then the following would give you most of it:

link

link

I have these so if you specific questions let me know.

BTW I am doing a 20mm Peninsular project based on the fighting in the East (Catalonia, Aragon & Valencia) so Spanish with a few British allies vs the French.

Lipscombe's book is one of the most useful pieces of property a Peninsular gamer could own. It has a lot of order of battle data and contoured maps. I don't know if he's a gamer, but he certainly wrote a book that's helpful to them.

BillyNM

My forces are 25/28mm but have have been tempted by 20mm for a long time. What figures are you using?

I liked "The Spanish Ulcer", also"The Peninsular War" by Charles Esdaile is excllent.

Salamanca and Medina de Rioseco give you a good base for French, British, Portuguese and Spanish armies

This is a good site for nooks on the Peninsular War

link

I always advise a broad approach. You can always nail a single battle with sufficient research, but unless you only ever refight that single battle, uniforms will be a little off, and you won't have quite the right units. Cut yourself enough slack that in the end you'll be happy with the appearance and history of the units chosen, and have the troop types, if not always the precise regiments, to do a range of battles.

But the point of a hobby is that you should be happy with the result.

A cheap 10 dollar bargain bin at Barnes & Nobles score me Ian Robertson's impressive "An Atlas of the Peninsular War". Surprisingly good with excellent maps, obviously- atlas.

Hope that helps OP.

As a start to a project, Talavera and the campaigns around it work pretty well.

The book Talavera by Andrew Field is a great one-volume source.

You have the main big battle, which is multiple French Corps against a roughly equal British and Spanish force on terrain that pretty classically matches the mental picture of the Peninsular war. You can also do Alamoncid, which took place a few weeks later with some of the same French troops against a Spanish army. It's smaller by half than Talavera but is a good building block.

Going even more specific, I'd start with the French 4th Corps, which contains standard French Line and Light infantry as well as the "German" Division which includes a variety of colorful allies.

The British have cavalry and the KGL by this point, and the Spanish are in a whole wide mix of uniforms.

Featherstone's "Campaigning Witwh Wellington" has OBs for most of the larger battles with British troops involved and is fun to read. For the good guys; Brits, KGL, Portuguese and Spanish cover the ground (not to forget the Brunswick-Oels Jaegers!). Until Vittoria the Brits seem to have faced mostly French with the occasional Pole.

As promised though only a selection – all downloadable via the Internet unless specified:

Histoire de la guerre de la Péninsule sous Napoléon : précédée d'un tableau politique et militaire des puissances belligérantes (4 volumes plus atlas – note the atals is not folded out, though the maps can be found in Lachouque's Tranie's & Carmigiani's "Napoleon's War in Spain – the French Peninsular Campaigns 1807-1814") by Maximilien-Sébastien Foy, – this was intended to be a history of the whole conflict but he died before its completion. His wife published what he had written. There is also an English translated version of Foy's work.

Memoirs du Marechal Suchet (2 volumes plus Atlas) – note there is also an English version.

La guerre d'Espagne (1807-1813) (3 volumes) by Capitaine A. Grasset

Campagne de l'empereur Napoléon En Espagne (1808-1809) 5 volumes plus Atlas by Commandant breveté Balagny – covering the period when Napoleon was in Spain

Conquête de l'Andalousie campagne de campagne de 1810 et 1811 dans le midi de l'Espagne by Edouard Lapène

Memoir Annexed to an Atlas Containing Plans Of The Principal Battles, Steges, And Affairs, In Which The British Troops Were Engaged During The War In The Spanish Peninsula And The South Of France, From 1808 To 1814 – also an Atlas by James Wyld

L'Évacuation de l'Espagne et l'invasion dans le Midi, juin 1813-avril 1814 – 2 volumes by Joseph Vidal de La Blache

Atlas des plans et cartes pour servir à l'intelligence des marches et positions du 7e Corps de la Grande Armée, pendant la campagne des années 1808 et 1809

Relation des sièges et défenses d'Olivença, de Badajoz et de Campo-Mayor, en 1811 et 1812, par les troupes françaises de l'armée du Midi en Espagne by Jean-Baptiste-Hippolyte Lamare

Neuf mois de campagnes à la suite du maréchal Soult. Quatre manoeuvres de couverture en 1813 et 1814 : I. Pampelune ; II. Saint-Sébastien; III. Bayonne ; IV. Bordeaux, Orthez, Toulouse by Jean-Baptiste Dumas

Campaign of the Left Wing of the Allied Army, in the Western Pyrenees And South of France, in the Years 1813 by Captain Batty (contains contoured maps)

Événements militaires devant Toulouse, en 1814 by Edouard Lapène

Estados de la organización y fuerza de los ejércitos españoles beligerantes en la península, durante la guerra de España contra Bonaparte – contains order of battles

Journaux des sièges faits ou soutenus par les Français dans la péninsule de 1807 à 1814. Tome 3 / rédigés, d'après les ordres du gouvernement, sur les documents existant aux archives de la guerre et au dépôt des fortifications (4 volumes and an atlas – the latter doesn't appear to eb downloadable)), by Jacques-Vital Belmas

Further addition:

Storia delle campagne e degli assedj degl'Italiani in Ispagna dal 1808. al 1813. da Camillo Vacani (5 volumes plus an atlas)

Thanks all

I have Featherstone. Can't believe I forgot that. I'll try and dig it out.

I forgot these, which are useful for some of the German troops:

Les Allemands sous les aigles françaises; essai sur les troupes de la Confédération du Rhin, 1806-1814 Tome 1 – Frankfurt

Les Allemands sous les aigles françaises; essai sur les troupes de la Confédération du Rhin, 1806-1814 Tome 2 – Baden

Les Allemands sous les aigles françaises; essai sur les troupes de la Confédération du Rhin, 1806-1814 Tome 4 – Duche de Saxe

Les Allemands sous les aigles françaises; essai sur les troupes de la Confédération du Rhin, 1806-1814 Tome 6 Hesse and Nassau

You may well find Tomes 1 & 2 combined for a download.

I'm doing. Vintage 20mm project, so it uses whatever I can get from eBay. Hinton Hunt is what I aim for but often have to make do with: knock-off home castings from the 70s; Der Kriegspielers; Alberken; Scruby; Les Higgins; Lamming; and even, S-Range Minifigs.
It all involves a lot of cleaning, repairing and modifying of figure, especially as Spanish figures were never popular back in the day.
I personally don't like the soft plastic 1/72 figures are made from, so if I weren't on this nostalgia trip (seduced into it by the ‘Hinton Spieler' and ‘Miniature Minions' blogs) I'd go for Newline figures.
For me 15mm is too small for a figure to have much character and 25/28mm too big for my table making 20mm is the Goldilocks scale.