Rules booklet - Victory Point Games

28 Fuentes de Onoro 20 Exclusive Game Rules v1.0In addition to a fellow marshal “examiningand criticizing” his every move, Massénaalso had to contend with fractious anddiscontented generals who were notcommitted to his renewed offensive. Thetroops were eager, but their leaders lacked“that complete devotion” necessary to fostercooperation, energy, and stamina. Therefore,though he outnumbered Wellington ininfantry and especially in cavalry (the Britishhad an edge in artillery), Masséna’s armysuffered from significant weaknesses.Advancing from Ciudad Rodrigo, the Frenchencountered Wellington in a strong defensiveposition on 3 May. Heavy fighting erupted asthe French stormed Fuentes de Oñoro, but themen of VI Corps were unable to evict thedefenders. The following day (4 May) wasspent in reconnaissance as Masséna searchedfor a way to dislodge the British. His cavalrydiscovered that the British right was weak, sothe Marshal planned a daring flank march for5 May. Wellington had also noted thevulnerability of his right, but only reinforcedit with the 7th Division, his smallest andleast experienced division.When the French flank attack struck, theBritish and their Spanish irregular allies nearPoço Velho were quickly pushed back.Fortunately for the British, self-sacrificingcharges by their cavalry and a superbperformance by the Light Division gaveWellington time to form a new front facingsouth. Daunted by the imposing Britishposition and reports that some units werealmost out of ammunition, the Frenchadvance stalled.Efforts to storm Fuentes de Oñoro also cameto naught and II Corps’ feeble feints againstWellington’s right did nothing to distract theBritish commander. Masséna remained infront of the British position on 6 May, butammunition had not come up andWellington’s troops had entrenched duringthe night. Discouraged, the Marshal withdrewto Ciudad Rodrigo the next day.Before departing, Masséna sent instructionsto General Brenier, the garrison commanderin Almeida, to blow up the fortress andescape. Brenier and his men accomplishedthis task with great skill on the night of 10/11May, returning safely to French lines asheroes. That same day, however, Massénalearned that he was being replaced byMarshal Marmont; Fuentes de Oñoro thusbecame the last battle in his long career.The fighting on 3 and 5 May cost the Alliessome 1,700 men and the French more than2,800. Although the French attempt to relieveAlmeida was repulsed, the savage nature ofthe combat and the peril to the British wasrevealed in Wellington’s statement, “IfBoney had been there, we should have beenbeaten.”We employed several new rules inFuentes de Onoro 20 to simulate thespecific features of the actual battle: those forthe Allied Fieldworks, the French NightMarch, and Supply Column.The creative approach to the Army of theNorth simulates the problem of Bessière’suncooperative participation in the campaign.Additionally, we borrowed the Steep SlopeHexsides introduced in Bussaco 20 torepresent the impressive defensive terrain onWellington’s left flank. We also employed amodified version of the Garrison Rule fromDresden 20 to abstract the role played byBrenier’s troops occupying Almeida.French Event Cards feature a lot of “ill will”among the generals, ammunition problems,difficulties in ordering the Guard Cavalryinto action, and Masséna’s weak supervisionof his subordinates. On the Allied side, cardshighlight the excellent performance of theCavalry and Light Division.– R. Nicasio Garcia and Jack GillGAME CREDITSGame Design: R. Nicasio Garcia andJack GillSeries Design: Joe MirandaSeries Developer: Lance McMillanProducer: Alan EmrichArt & Graphics: Tim Allen, Alan Emrich, RichardStarkePlaytesting: Rick Barber, Mike Bowen, AndreasE. Gebhardt, John Gibbins, Grant Gill, KevinMcHale, Kim Meints, David Moody, JoeOppenheimer, Hugh TracyProofreading: Stig Morten Breiland, Ian WakehamSystems Development by Alan Emrich and Lance McMillan