10. Battle of Vimerio - 21st August 1808

Our Glorious Highlanders

Nice picture of them marching away from the fight.

Yeeeaaahhh... there were a lot of Brits sitting on Wellesley's left flank doing not much at all. Either old Big Nose was playing it cool or he secretly hates Lord Hill.

I have a special for my AXIS friends 2 for 1 Jamon de Belevedere and takers? This should make me owner of the Gold Clud since it is possible that they will die from the Estramadura delicacy!!

They were marching towards the fight that never came at our supposed "perilous left". They later on saw action on the right. You see Mark a reserve is a unit u send in to refuse a flank and so on. Which is exactly what Ferguson and his bagpipers did. Oh you should have heard the bagpipes when the French retreated down the hill, marvelous!

Hill did his job, see my posts above for how I credit him, I hold no ill will, I gave him that task because it was the toughest and I knew he could do it. My original plans would have had him in reserves but Hays didn't show. Perhaps the deployments were tricky but I wanted to try and play it close to the historical version since we don't get those chances often.

Considering I lost one of my best generals, had no one directly controlling the cavalry (by brigade), and I had to manage a division while commanding a corps (which I haven't done in forever) I'd say we did a hell of a job.

We have more troops and the high ground so I don't see what the French are boasting for, but such is their way I suppose.

While Kevin was fighting for his life, Baldwin was taking pretty pictures.

Well done.

You have offended my honor! There is only one way to settle this Junot!

As for the importance of tea over coffee...

Offended!

I cannot think of a more honorable action than leaving Kevin on his own to face certain doom.

I see your goal is to try to cause dissent among our ranks, very clever, you French are dastardly sneaky with diplomacy and cloak and dagger ploys. Well last time there wasn't enough action, now it's too much! Which is it man? How much carnage is just the right amount? You think this over. I suppose next time we all hurl all of our troops in one big glob at each other -- tactics be damned, that is your way isn't it? Maneuvers, reserves, flanking, apparently you don't have the patience for a long campaign. You guys went outside the boundaries if you look at the replay, I don't know what the penalty is but do try to follow the rules next time. If it's just hurling all our troops in the center than I'm afraid I came here for tactics and strategy not such a childish game as that. If you look at the replay I sent troops to help Kevin, so all this sacrificial lamb talk is nonsense. I also sent word to Moresy to shift to his right much sooner when I realized it was all out attack there. Our casualties were equal at the end, I could boast we were killing you at a 2:1 ratio at the start, so why would I sound the alarm until it was necessary? You didn't see everything from my command and don't know how it all played out. Also this game is by couriers so the reserves take awhile to arrive. I also thought we had the same number of troops so leaving my left open at the start would have been foolish as well. It's all perception, and we should be happy we met a foe who is equal to our challenge. Perhaps I expected too much from Wellington's actual deployments, they didn't fail miserably though either, it just wasn't a decisive victory but still a strategic one I believe as we have high ground, more troops and can't be flanked on the right (rocky terrain). I think losing Longstreet and Hays hurt me the most, but I made due with what I had.

I cannot think of a more honorable action than leaving Kevin on his own to face certain doom.

Well I suppose I had it coming. But I'm sure Gen. Georgia will have an opportunity at some point, to send Gen. Eden, once again, into glory.

Loved the Blackadder clips, brilliant!

As Baldwin rightly states 'it just wasn't a decisive victory but still a strategic one I believe as we have high ground'. We all know how important gound is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZT-wVnFn60

"I see your goal is to try to cause dissent among our ranks, very clever, you French are dastardly sneaky with diplomacy and cloak and dagger ploys. Well last time there wasn't enough action, now it's too much! Which is it man? How much carnage is just the right amount? You think this over. I suppose next time we all hurl all of our troops in one big glob at each other -- tactics be damned, that is your way isn't it? Maneuvers, reserves, flanking, apparently you don't have the patience for a long campaign. You guys went outside the boundaries if you look at the replay, I don't know what the penalty is but do try to follow the rules next time. If it's just hurling all our troops in the center than I'm afraid I came here for tactics and strategy not such a childish game as that. If you look at the replay I sent troops to help Kevin, so all this sacrificial lamb talk is nonsense. I also sent word to Moresy to shift to his right much sooner when I realized it was all out attack there. Our casualties were equal at the end, I could boast we were killing you at a 2:1 ratio at the start, so why would I sound the alarm until it was necessary? You didn't see everything from my command and don't know how it all played out. Also this game is by couriers so the reserves take awhile to arrive. I also thought we had the same number of troops so leaving my left open at the start would have been foolish as well. It's all perception, and we should be happy we met a foe who is equal to our challenge. Perhaps I expected too much from Wellington's actual deployments, they didn't fail miserably though either, it just wasn't a decisive victory but still a strategic one I believe as we have high ground, more troops and can't be flanked on the right (rocky terrain). I think losing Longstreet and Hays hurt me the most, but I made due with what I had."

Relax, Baldwin. It's all in good fun and 99% of what I've said is gibberish. I wasn't REALLY insulting your strategy.

1:24 to 2:34, miss out the rest.

I'm sure one of those bouffanted and rouged gentlemen behind Rod Steiger Napoleon is none other than our very own Murat.

"...we will be slaughtered the minute we mince up that hill..."

Yes Grog that's one of my favorite scenes, I believe the bit of land thousands will die over near Vimeiro will be fairly close to that one shown in the clip. Inversely, the trench in between is "no man's land".

"Now then..then now..then,then!"

Back to business... I can confirm that despite somewhat heavier losses, Vimerio was a minor victory for the Sepoy General. Junot needed to cut the British supply road behind them or at least push the British back to their beaches but a stand-off result was a win for the British, in strategic terms.

Junot has been obliged to withdraw into Lisbon and with Lt-Gens Sir Hew Dalrymple and Sir Harry Burrard coming ashore at the very end of August, both of whom outrank Wellesley, offers to discuss surrender have been dispatched by Sir Hew to Lisbon.