19 September – Battle of Hellin

Tactical map of battle area

The French are deployed to secure their supply depots

The Spanish launch a surprise attack

French – 38400 infantry, 2800 cavalry, 87 guns

Spanish – 53600 infantry, 1900 cavalry, 114 guns

Table at start of battle

Only 7^th French corps, and garrison of Hellin, on table at the start of the game

15^th Polish and 16^th Italian corps arrive as shown at the start of move 1

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Spanish corps arrive as shown at the start of move 1

4^th Spanish corps arrives centre bottom at the start of move 5

Move 1 : 0800-0900

7^th French corps moves to Hellin and sends an infantry brigade to support garrison

15^th Polish and 16^th Italian corps arrive top left and right and move towards Hellin

Both send their cavalry forward to protect flanks

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Spanish corps all advance towards centre in column of march

Move 2 : 0900-1000

Both French and Spanish continue to advance towards Hellin

Move 3 : 1000-1100

7^th French deployed in and around Hellin

15^th and 16^th corps continue to advance either side of town

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Spanish corps continue to advance towards Hellin

Move 4 : 1100-1200

Italian and Polish corps continue to advance

                                       

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Spanish corps start to deploy

Move 5 : 1200-1300

7^th corps artillery open fire and hit Spanish column

15^th and 16^th corps start to deploy

                                      

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Spanish corps start to deploy

4^th corps arrives on table

Infantry brigade with artillery casualties past morale test

Move 6 : 1300-1400

French army deployment complete

Artillery in position and ready to open fire

Spanish army is still deploying

Artillery open fire, but no casualties

4^th corps still moving into position

 

Move 7 : 1400-1500

French artillery fire on approaching Spanish infantry

Polish lancers (right) charge and rout Spanish militia cavalry

                                       

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Spanish corps all advance to attack

4^th corps continue to advance towards town

Two infantry brigades receive artillery casualties

Both pass morale test and continue to advance

Move 8 : 1500-1600

French artillery fire on approaching infantry, no casualties

Spanish artillery fire on woods and town, no casualties

1^st Spanish corps attack woods on left

Dragoons charge French cavalry, melee is a draw and both disordered

Infantry skirmish with French in woods, no casualties

2^nd Spanish corps attack woods on right

Infantry enter woods and charge defenders, melee is a draw and both disordered

Spanish cavalry fail morale test and continue to rout

3^rd Spanish corps advance towards town and prepare to attack

                                                                                  

4^th Spanish corps start to deploy

Move 9 : 1600-1700

Spanish attack left of cross roads

1^st Spanish corps cavalry continue melee, still a draw

Infantry attack woods but fail to take a foothold

3^rd Spanish corps attack left section of town      

Garrison hold, but with 20% casualties

Reserve brigade receive more artillery hits, pass morale with 20% casualties

4^th Spanish corps advance towards town and start to deploy

2^nd Spanish corps lose melee in woods and fall back shaken

Reserve brigade receive artillery hits, pass morale test with 20% casualties

Cavalry brigade fail morale test and remain in rout

Move 10 : 1700-1800

Spanish attack continues along the whole front

French start to crack and retreat

1^st Spanish corps win cavalry melee and French retreat shaken

Infantry advance and commence melee at edge of woods

Light casualties on both sides, both sides continue melee

3^rd Spanish corps win melee for left hand town section

French garrison rout into centre of village

Supporting infantry and cavalry test morale and also rout

4^th Spanish corps continue to advance and start to deploy

2^nd Spanish corps continue melee for woods

Replace brigade in combat, French do the same

Move 11 : 1800-1900

Spanish attack continues and moves towards the crisis

                         

On the left 1^st Spanish corps have taken the woods

16^th Italian corps starts to break up and retreat

In the centre 3^rd and 4^th Spanish corps attack Hellin

The French garrison of the left hand section has routed

On the right 15^th Vistula corps have held the woods

Three Spanish brigades are in rout

The fourth brigade continues to hold the near edge of the woods

Move 12 : 1900-2000

Both armies suffer heavy casualties

                          

On the left 16^th Italian corps lose the woods and retreat

1^st Spanish corps have taken the woods but are too weak to continue

In the centre 7^th French corps lose left half of Hellin

But they continue to hold the right half of the town

3^rd Spanish corps have taken the left half of the town

4^th Spanish corps fail to take the right half of Hellin

On the right 15^th Vistula corps have taken the woods

2^nd Spanish corps has broken and is in rout

Blue stars are French brigades in rout

Yellow stars are Spanish brigades in rout

Conclusion

At night fall the French still hold half of Hellin

They also hold the woods on the right

The Spanish have taken half of Hellin

They also hold the woods on the left

Both 16^th Vistula and 2^nd Spanish corps are destroyed

The Spanish have lost much heavier casualties than the French

They have also lost half of their artillery and all of their cavalry

The remaining brigades all have casualties and are fragile

With just one days supplies left they face the destruction of their whole army

The French have lost 5900 casualties and 6 brigades in rout

The Spanish have lost 9700 casualties and 10 brigades in rout

At nightfall Giron orders the Spanish army to retreat south

The French have won the battle and the campaign