I wanted to build some Peninsular War Armies for Shako based on a historical Order of Battle. And to my way of thinking you can’t do the Peninsular justice without a Spanish army.
Peninsular War
My interest in the Napoleonic Wars is largely restricted to Spain and Portugal, plus their Central and South American Colonies. The continental part of these conflicts (1808 – 1814) was known as the Peninsular War to the British and the War of Independence to the Spanish. The effects of the French annexation of Spain lasted long after Napoleon was removed from the European Stage for good (1815). During the period 1810 – 1824, the Spanish colonies were wracked by revolution in the South American Wars of Liberation.
Jose San Martin Wargaming Project for the Peninsular War
I wanted to build some Peninsular War Armies for Shako based on a historical Order of Battle. For the French army I wanted mostly French troops as the allies could form Bonus Selections. And to my way of thinking you can’t do the Peninsular justice without a Spanish army.
British Shipments to Spain during the Peninsular War
Britain sent a lot of uniforms to Spain during the Peninsular War. Some Spanish divisions were wholly equipped by Britain. In 1809-10 the uniforms were dark blue, sky blue, grey, and white (Chartrand, 1999a). By 1811 the uniforms were exclusively blue; sky blue predominated at the start but dark blue quickly took over. It was on 12 Dec 1811 that the so called “English” uniform became the national uniform.
Peninsular War Painting Guide: British Allies
A rough guide to painting British Allies that served during the Peninsular War – at least those that had unique uniforms. Those allies that served in British uniform are covered by the British Foot painting guide.
Peninsular War Painting Guide: Spanish Infantry
The Spanish Infantry uniforms basically went through four styles, with a constant ragged Campaign option. It is possible that all uniform styles were worn in the same army at the same time.
Peninsular War Painting Guide: Spanish Cavalry
This painting guide covers the Spanish Cavalry of the Peninsular War:
Shako Orders of Battle for Albuera
Shako offers a default orders of battle for the Peninsular and Fields of Glory (FOG) – the Shako scenario book as opposed to the rules – has some Peninsular scenarios, including Albuera. I thought it would be interesting to compare these to each other and to the Historical Order of Battle.
Albuera Wargaming Project for the Peninsular War
I wanted to build some Peninsular War Armies for Shako based on a historical Order of Battle. The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) seems a reasonable starting point or perhaps finale since it requires three armies: Spanish, Anglo-Portuguese, and French. The two overall commanders (Beresford and Soult) were competent and several significant others were also present including Joaquín Blake y Joyes who commanded the Spanish, José de San Martin who was one of the famous Liberators in the South American Wars of Liberation , and José de Zayas who was arguably the best of the Spanish divisional commanders during the entire war. The French and Anglo-Portuguese are roughly the same numbers (ignoring the Spanish). The orders of battle are close to those in pick up lists for Shako.
Sources for the Peninsular War
An annotated bibliography for the Peninsular War.
Timeline of the Peninsular War
The timeline of the Peninsular War. It is a pretty rough lists of actions at the moment.