I was talking to John Fletcher and he mentioned most people who play Liberators choose the 1817-18 campaign of the War in the South, like I did. So I’m determined to refight other battles, hopefully all of them eventually. But to start with here is a catalogue of the scenarios.
Scenarios and games
Here are all the Liberators scenarios I know about. The links are to scenarios, or scenario notes, on my site. Books have the normal book reference although in reality these are the three books by John Fletcher – War in the South (2005); Supplement for War in the South (2006); Adventures of the British & Irish (2011).
| Date | Battle / Combat | Scenario(s) | Game(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jun 1811 | Huaqui | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 23 Sep 1812 | Tucuman |
Fletcher (2005) Liberators HOTT |
Liberators HOTT |
| 23 Sep 1812 | Alternative Tucuman | Liberators HOTT | Liberators HOTT |
| 20 Feb 1813 | Salta | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 1 Oct 1813 | Vilcapugio | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 14 Nov 1813 | Ayohuma | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 5 Dec 1813 | Araure | Araure at Salute 2015 | |
| 6 Aug 1814 | Samaipata | Fletcher (n.d.) | |
| 1 Oct 1814 | Alternative Rancagua | Fletcher (2006) | |
| 5 Dec 1814 | Urica | Fletcher (n.d.) | |
| 29 Nov 1815 | Sipe Sipe | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 12 Feb 1817 | Chacabuco | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 13 Feb 1817 | Alternative Chacabuco |
Fletcher (2006) Lasalle March Attack Liberators HOTT Liberators QPR A Live Free or Die |
1. Liberators QPR 2. Liberators HOTT 3. Liberators QPR 4. March Attack 5. Liberators HOTT Mass Battle 6. Live Free or Die 7. Bolivar’s Very Bad Day |
| 5 May 1817 | Gavilan |
Fletcher (n.d.) Liberators HOTT Liberators QPR |
1. Liberators HOTT 2. Liberators QPR |
| 6 Dec 1817 | Assault on Talchuano | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 19 Mar 1818 | Cancha Rayada |
Fletcher (2005) Liberators QPR |
Liberators QPR |
| 5 Apr 1818 | Maipo |
Fletcher (2005) Lasalle Liberators QPR |
1. Liberators QPR 2. Liberators HOTT 3. Portable Wargame |
| 27 Mar 1819 | Gamarra | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 19 Apr 1819 | “What If” Storming Fort San Juan | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 30 Apr 1819 | Portobela | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 25 Jul 1819 | Pantano de Yargas | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 7 Aug 1819 | Storming of Agua Santa | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 8 Aug 1819 | “What If” The Full MacGregor | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 8 Aug 1819 | “What If” Assault on Cumana | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 5 Oct 1819 | Riohacha | Fletcher (2011) | |
| Nov 1819 | “What If” Turbaco | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 6 Dec 1820 | Cerro de Pasco | Fletcher (n.d.) | |
| 7 Apr 1822 | Bomboná (Rifle’s Flank Attack) | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 28 Apr 1820 | La Plata | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 25 May 1820 | Laguna Salada | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 6 June 1820 | Pitayo | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 10 Sep 1821 | “What If” Lima | Fletcher (2006) | |
| 12 Sep 1821 | 2nd Huachi | Fletcher (2011) | |
| 7 Apr 1822 | Ica | Fletcher (2006) | |
| Torata | 19 Jan 1823 | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 19 Jan 1823 | Variant Torata | Fletcher (n.d.) | |
| 21 Jan 1823 | Moquegua | Fletcher (2005) | |
| 21 Jan 1823 | Variant Moquegua | Fletcher (n.d.) | |
| 25 Aug 1823 | Zepita | Fletcher (2006) | |
| 14 Jan 1826 | Puquillihue and Bellavista | Fletcher (2006) |
References
Fletcher, J, (n.d.) The Battle of Cerro de Pasco – December 6, 1820. Grenadier Productions.
Fletcher, J, (n.d.) The Battle of Gavilan – May 5, 1817. Grenadier Productions. [Available on-line at Liberators – South American Independence Wargaming Facebook Group in the Files page.]
Fletcher, J, (n.d.) The Battle of Samaipata – August 6, 1814. Grenadier Productions. [Available on-line at Liberators – South American Independence Wargaming Facebook Group in the Files page.]
Fletcher, J, (n.d.) The Battle of Urica – December 5, 1814. Grenadier Productions. [Available on-line at Liberators – South American Independence Wargaming Facebook Group in the Files page.]
Fletcher, J, (n.d.) Variant of the Battle of Moquegua – January 21, 1823. Grenadier Productions.
Fletcher, J, (n.d.) Variant of the Battle of Torata – January 19, 1823. Grenadier Productions.
Fletcher, J. (2005). Liberators! Volume 1: The War in the South. Grenadier Productions.
Fletcher, J. (2006). Liberators! Supplement 1: The War in the South. Grenadier Productions.
Fletcher, J. (2011). Adventures of the British & Irish Legions in South America 1817-1824: Gamers guide and sourcebook. Grenadier Productions.
That’s a really helpful list, mostly battles in the South, apart from the Battle of Pantano de Varga, which was in New Granada/Colombia, and was the prelude to the Battle of Boyaca. If you are interested, there are maps, orders of battle, and description of the actions for the following battles of the Northern Campaigns of Simon Bolivar in Ben Hughes’ excellent book on the British Legion “Conquer or Die”. There are descriptions and OOB’s of many other battles as well, but without maps, especially the later campaigns and final battles in Peru.
The battles are as follows:
The Battle of Calabozo – 12th February 1818
The Battle of Sombrero – 16th February 1818
The Battle of Semen – 17th March 1818
The Battle of Pantano de Vargas (Vargas Swamp) – 25th July 1819
The Battle of Boyaca – 7th August 1819
The Battle of Carabobo – 24th June 1821
Hopefully John Fletcher will bring out his much awaited book on the Northern Campaigns soon,
Best regards,
Mark
I’ve got “Conquer or Die”. A great read. Like you I’ll be very happy to see John’s Northern book. It would make wargaming the north so much simpler.
I’ve played Huaqui, Tucuman, Salta, Vilcapugio, Chacabuco and Maipo from that list. I’ve also tried Pichincha and Araure, but the information I had was limited, so I have no real idea how close to the actual battles my games were. I enjoyed them, though 🙂 At some stage I am going to try some of the actions in ‘Conquer or Die’, since they look pretty simple to set up.
In terms of rules I’ve used Principle of War (didn’t really work for any of the games I played), Rocket’s Red Glare (which worked OK) and my own Liberated Hordes HOTT variant (which has become my ‘standard’ set). I can see Black Powder working OK as well, even for the smaller battles but haven’t tried it yet.
Thanks for sharing Captain. I also find my HOTT variant the best all round set. Mind you fast play is a big plus for me.