Battle of Sombrero 1818 - Replacement Map and Wargame Scenario suggestion

The battle of Sombrero (1818), was a mostly infantry affair, where the better trained Spanish regulars outfought and outmanoeuvred the Patriot Army of Simon Bolivar. There is an excellent account of the battle written in the book "Conquer or Die" by Ben Hughes. The only problem is that they have the wrong map in the book (on page 87).

A replacement for the map was posted up on Flickr a while back, so I thought I would share it with you here. The beauty of this battle is that it presents a perfect scenario for a small scale, infantry only battle. Contesting a river crossing (Charles Grant could even have written it if it was not an actual historical event), Bolivar attempted to take the field by head on attack across the Guarico River. The Spanish were waiting in ordered ranks on a slight rise on the other side. Unsurprisingly they wreaked havoc on the Patriot army, and cut them down crossing the river with their musketry.  After several failed assaults across the river, the coup-de-grace for the exhausted Patriot army came from a Spanish flank attack, which shattered the Patriot attack, and caused the army to fall back, some units routing. Full destruction was only avoided by the Spanish lacking sufficient cavalry to follow-up, the Patriot Llaneros cavalry covering the retreating troops.

As I said, this makes for a perfect wargame scenario. The Spanish had 3 battalions of 800 men each, and 2 companies of the Castilla battalion (roughly 200 men). Using my preferred rules (General de Brigade), with a 1:20 figure ratio, this would give you 3 battalions with 40 figures each and 10 flank company figures for the Castilla battalion. The small Spanish cavalry detachment played no role in the battle, so can be left out.

Similarly for the Patriot army, the 3 battalions of Bravos de Apure, Barlovento, and Anzoategui's Honour Guard can be represented for a game by the same numbers of men and 1:20 ratio, so 40 figures for each Battalion. The Llaneros cavalry also did not participate, so do not need to be included.


The Spanish army size could be reduced slightly to make the game more interesting, though they should be ranked as 2nd line in quality, except the 2nd Navarra Battalion which can be ranked as regular line infantry. The Patriot army can be ranked as Conscript, except Anzoategui's Honour Guard which contained several veterans from the British Legion so should be ranked as 2nd Line. All the Patriot battalions will also have the "Enthusiastic" unit modifier of +1 on morale rolls (this reflects their greater commitment to the cause and to fighting).

I've managed to glean a lot of new information about this and other battles, thanks to a kind contact in Venezuela who recently sent me a copy of the above book published in Caracas. This lists details of all the battles in Venezuela from 1810-1824, and is written by Edgar Esteves Gonzalez. It's in Spanish, so if you get your hands on a copy, a dictionary should be enough to get you through the battles. I will certainly post up more scenario ideas in the near future as I plough through it.

Once our new Spanish figures are released in the next week or so, we will have available all the figures necessary to re-fight this battle :-) (a shameless plug I know...)
 

The figures can be purchased directly from our webstore here:  

http://www.orinoco-miniatures.com/

Further reading, and scenarios for wargaming the South American Wars of Liberation

The South American Wars of Liberation are a fascinating part of overall the Napoleonic wars, and provide the potential for very colourful Napoleonic battles in the New World. Set in the period starting in 1810, and running up to 1830, these wars covered the breadth of Spain's crumbling American empire, with the key campaigns set in the North around modern day Venezuela, in the South in Argentina, Chile and finally in the North West/centre in Peru, as well as in Mexico.

I wanted to provide a list of books and sources which I think can provide a quick and entertaining introduction to the period, the tactics and ideas about how to wargame them. Probably the first book I came across was The Armies of Bolivar and San Martin by Terry Hooker. This Osprey book is a great little introduction to the period, and gives a broad outline of the campaigns and uniforms (and the illustrations are excellent).

The masterpiece in terms of it scope and depth of detail for the Wars of Liberation has to be "Liberators" by Robert Harvey. This covers all the major campaigns and battles from Mexico to Tiera Del Fuego, from the beginning of the Republican movement under Miranda to the death of Simon Bolivar in 1830, and the abdication of the Emperor Pedro in Brazil in 1831. I cannot recommend the book enough as a Tour de force history of the wars.

 

Of more specific and recent interest is the newly published "Conquer or Die!" by Ben Hughes. Focusing solely on the exploits of the British (and Irish) Legions in the wars. This is clearly geared towards military historians (and wargamers), and presents each of the battles and campaigns of the Legion in its various forms and amalgamations, including detailed battle maps and orders of battle (OOBs) where available.

Here you can see one example for the Battle of Boyaco. I would recommend this book, especially for the depth of essential detail it provides for gamers.

Last, but not least, are the excellent series of books and supplements by John Fletcher over at Grenadier Productions. Again the first book titled "Liberators" really gives a very good overview of the war in the South and the campaigns of San Martin and Bernardo O'Higgins. it provides a wealth of uniform information for the Argentinian, Chilean and Spanish Armies, with details of all the major battles, with maps and OOBs included. This is a must for the wargamer or Military historian.

There is also an additional Supplement that goes along with this that you can purchase as a PDF.

The other book focuses on our heroes again in the British and Irish Legions. There is again a nice overview of the history of these units followed by some uniform guides, and then more details of battles. There is also then several nice tactical and skirmish level scenarios presented. Again, good for use with the smaller battles that were most common during these wars, as well as for Skirmish games ideal for the Sharp Practice rules or other sets.
I believe John Fletcher has another book in the pipeline that will focus solely on the Northen campaigns of Simon Bolivar and his generals. These can be purchased directly from Grenadier Productions (see link on left).