Line, column, square … the tactical formations available to infantry of the Napoleonic Wars, South American Wars of Liberation, and Carlist Wars. Line is pretty straight forward but I thought I’d describe the others, in particular column. People think of columns as long and thin, and some were, but most columns of the Napoleonic Wars were usually stubby. I use the post 1808 French as the main example because the Spanish followed their lead, but the other nations were similar.
Liberal Wars
From 1826 to 1834 the Portuguese fought a civil war, known as the Liberal Wars (or the Portuguese Civil War, the War of the Two Brothers, or Miguelite War). Fought between the Liberals, under Pedro IV, at times King of Portugal and Emperor of the Brazil, and the Absolutists or Miguelistas after their leader Dom Miguel (Pedro’s brother). The Liberals supported a Constitutional Monarchy, and their leader also wanted to secure the Portuguese throne for his daughter Dona Maria II. The Absolutists, in contrast, believed in Miguel’s divine right to rule. (I’m very grateful to Nuno Pereira who got me inspired to write up the Liberal Wars and who kindly sent me quite a lot of background material.)
Horse and Musket Crossfire – Crossfire for the Horse and Musket Era
I wrote this about five years ago because a couple of my projects, i.e. Albuera in the Peninsular and Sipe Sipe in South America, had stalled because I didn’t like any of the available horse and musket rules. Inspired by Roland’s WW1 experiment I wondered if I could make a horse and musket variant for Crossfire. These rules have now remained raw and unplayed for some time. I stopped work on them because I decided I had bent the rules so far that it is no longer Crossfire. But rather than having it lurk on my hard drive any longer, and because Jamie asked about it, I thought I’d share. What do you think?
Terrain Cards – Random terrain placement for pick up wargames
In our recent game of Tilly’s Very Bad Day Chris observed that, as the defender, he could exploit the terrain placement rules to his advantage. This is my proposal to address Chris’s concern. These rules allow randomised terrain for pick up battles in any period.
The terrain placement rules described here borrow heavily from Terrain Cards for a ECW Campaign.
Sources for Portugal’s Liberal Wars
Annotated bibliography for the Portuguese Liberal Wars.
Belgian Corps 1832-35 in Portugal’s Liberal Wars
Nuno Pereira surprised me by explaining that Belgium contributed four battalions – the Belgian Corps – to the Liberal Wars.
Timeline of Portugal’s Liberal Wars
Timeline for the Portuguese Liberal Wars. The events described here are part of the build up to, and the early part of, the First Carlist War.
Painting Guide for Portugal’s Liberal Wars
A short painting guide for the Portuguese Liberal Wars.
Order of Battle in Portugal’s Liberal Wars
The orders of battle for various Portuguese forces during the Liberal War and the First Carlist War: