Sipe Sipe – A Bolivar’s Very Bad Day Scenario

I’ve been working on Battle of Sipe Sipe (29 Nov 1815) for a while now. So I thought I’d write a scenario for Bolivar’s Very Bad Day, my Liberators variant of Tilly’s Very Bad Day. This is a large game on a large table.

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Mission

Setting: Sipe Sipe / Viluma, Upper Peru (i.e. Bolivia); 29 Nov 1815

In the third campaign in Upper Peru, the Argentine Army of the North under José Rondeau invaded Royalist held Upper Peru. The Royalist commander-in-chief in Peru, Brigadier Joaquín de la Pezuela, received reinforcements – a division under the command of Ramírez and loyalist troops from Chile – and then launched a counter-offensive.

27 Nov 1815 found the Argentine Army of the North camped in the Sipe-Sipe plain, between the city of Sipe-Sipe and the town of Viluma. Rondeau had placed his troops in a strong defensive position facing west, expecting the Royalists to march down the main road from the Viluma massif. However, Pezuela didn’t fancy his chances so spent two days manoeuvring his army through the steep foot hills, and then around Rondeau’s right flank. To reach the battlefield the Royalists had to descend the difficult terrain “like cats”.

On 29 Nov 1815, with his right flank turned, Rondeau just had time to reorient his own army as the Royalists advanced.

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Map/Terrain

Key features:

• The table is 45 TUM x 30 TUM (6′ x 4′)
• The large partial hill (12 x 6 TUM) extends to the table edge; this is low and gentle with a ridge line running along the centre
• A road which crosses the stream at a bridge
• The stream is dry but still counts as difficult, unless attack column or march column across the bridge
• Narrow band of woods near the stream with four small features (one 3×4 TUM; three 3×5 TUM) and two medium (3×6 TUM)
• The neutral zone is 8 TUM deep
• The Royalist deployment zone is 8 TUM deep
• The Patriot deployment zone is 14 TUM deep

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Pre-game set-up

There is not much to do here as most of it is given by the scenario:

Pre-game 1. Agree game size – Big
Pre-game 2. Recruit army and organise commands – given by scenario
Pre-game 3. Scouting – the results of scouting are factored into the scenario
Pre-game 4. Determine attacker – Patriot
Pre-game 5. Place terrain – given by scenario

So you start here …

Royalist player chooses either Tactician or Tactical Flexibility for Pezuela.
Pre-game 6. Deployment
Pre-game 7. Bombardment

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Patriot Player (Defending)

Deploys first command and concedes initiative in first turn.

Objective

Defeat the Royalists and hold the ground.

Forces Available

I’ve used Steven’s 1815 Argentine Army on Big Bases which is based on my own analysis of the Order of Battle for Viluma / Sipe Sipe 1815. My main sources are Fletcher (2005) and Pedrazzolli (2009, 2011). These are very much tertiary sources as they are themselves based on secondary works in Spanish. John Fletcher has told me his order of battle is based on that within “Historia de la Nacion Argentina” (Levene, 1947). Pedrazzolli (2009) appears to have based his order of battle on the more recent “Historia y Campañas del Ejercito Realista” by (Luqui-Lagleyze, 1997). Unfortunately, I don’t have either of the Spanish texts so have to rely on the tertiary sources in English.

Rondeau had two Patriot divisions under de la Cruz and Zelaya.

Substitute units where I don’t have the right figures:
For Rondeau use Belgrano
For Cazadore Battalion use Cazadores de los Andes from the 1817-18 Chilean Campaign
For 6th (Pardos & Morenos) Infantry Regiment] use 7th Infantry Regiment from the 1817-18 Chilean Campaign
For 12th Infantry Regiment use 11th from the 1817-18 Chilean Campaign and another battalion.
For Peru Dragoons use Argentine Granaderos a Caballos

Commander Attributes:

• Brave[+]: Hit on 3-6 in melee not 4-6
• Hesitant[-]: -1 modifier to initiative roll
• Kind Joe[-]: Being a Jose bueno invites insubordination; once during the battle the enemy (Royalist) can move a single friendly (Patriot) unit at the end of the enemy (Royalist) movement step

Deployment

The Patriots deploy south of the blue line. All infantry and guns must be at least partially in the central sector.

Players alternate deploying commands, with Patriots deploying first. The unaccompanied C-in-C is deployed last, in lieu of a third command.

Reinforcements

None.

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Royalist Player (Attacking)

Deploys second command and takes initiative in first turn.

Objective

Defeat the Patriots and drive them from the field.

Forces Available

I’ve used Steven’s 1815 Royalist Army on Big Bases which is based on my own analysis of the Order of Battle for Viluma / Sipe Sipe 1815. My main sources are Fletcher (2005) and Pedrazzolli (2009, 2011). These are very much tertiary sources as they are themselves based on secondary works in Spanish. John Fletcher has told me his order of battle is based on that within “Historia de la Nacion Argentina” (Levene, 1947). Pedrazzolli (2009) appears to have based his order of battle on the more recent “Historia y Campañas del Ejercito Realista” by (Luqui-Lagleyze, 1997). Unfortunately, I don’t have either of the Spanish texts so have to rely on the tertiary sources in English.

The Royalists had Pezuela’s IV Division supplemented by troops from Peru and Chile.

Substitute units where I don’t have the right figures:
For Voluntarios de Castro Battalion use Chiloe Battalion as Castro is on the island of Chiloe
For 1st Infantry Regiment use Conception Regiment (blue uniform with red facings)
For San Carlos Dragoons use Frontier Dragoons
For Cazadores a Caballo use Concordia Hussars; okay the Cazadores wore a green uniform with red facings and the Hussars had in red uniforms but hey

Commander Attributes:

• Tactician[+]: +1d6 scouting dice
• High Initiative[+]: Before initiative roll, choose either -1 or +1 modifier; if both sides have High Initiative, they cancel out
• Tactical Flexibility[+]: If win initiative can give it to the enemy
• Old Man[-]: Hit on 5-6 in melee not 4-6

Deployment

The Royalists deploy north of the red line on the map. All infantry and guns must be at least partially in the central sector.

Players alternate deploying commands, with Patriots deploying first.

Reinforcements

None.

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Victory Conditions

Either side wins immediately if it destroys 1/3 of the enemy army to break it. There are 10 game turns.

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Special Rules

Artillery on hills

Artillery can deploy on the hill. Any such guns can only fire ball shot, and not canister. A gun on the hill cannot shoot at a target on hill. But a gun on the hill can shoot overhead of friendly base(s), which are both within canister range and on the flat, at a target at least 4 TUM beyond the friendly base(s).

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Notes

Nominal unit size: Infantry base = 210 men (Battalion = 420 men); Cavalry base = 110 men; Gun base = 4 cannon/howitzers

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References

Borotti, J. A. (n.d.). Batalla de Sipe Sipe – El Regimiento de Granaderos a Caballo en tiempos de la emancipación hispanoamericana 1812 – 1826. La Columna de José Borotti, TV Mundus.

Fletcher, J. (2005). Liberators! Volume 1: The War in the South. Grenadier Productions.

Levene, R. (1947). “Historia de la Nacion Argentina”.

Luqui-Lagleyze, J. M. (1997). “Historia y Campañas del Ejercito Realista”. Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano.

Pedrazzoli, F. D. (2009). Viluma 1815: The revolution beheaded. Madrid, Spain: Regimentos de America.

Pedrazzoli, F. D. (2011). Pezuela’s Army Uniforms: Infantry – Upper Peru 1813-15. Madrid, Spain: Regimentos de America.