I’ve put together a few ideas on the Spanish Orders of Battle for the Battle of Medina de Rio Seco (14 Jul 1808) for Shako.
Historical, Shako Field of Glory, Steven
I’ve shown the most likely regiments to have been present based on Partridge and Oliver (1998), how these correspond to the Shako Orbat from Fields of Glory (FOG), and my own suggestions (Steven).
Teniente-General Don Gregorio Garcia de la Ceusta (Capt-Gen of Castilla) was Commander in Chief and led the Army of Castile. Teniente-General Joachín Blake (Capt-Gen of Galicia) led the Galician 1st and 4th Divisions.
Division | Unit | Type | Men | FOG (1) | Steven |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brigada Vanguardia (Brig. Conde Maceda) | 2o Rto Ligero Cataluña | Light Inf | 685 | 1 LI | 1 LI |
Ligero de Gerona | Light Inf | 575 | 1 REG | 1 LI | |
Ligero de Barbastro (1/2 Bn) | Light Inf | 530 |
– (2) |
1 LI | |
Rto de Buenos Aires | Colonial Inf | 350+ | 1 REG | 1 REG | |
1a Galician Division (Mariscal de Campo Felipe Jado-Cagigal) | Rto del Rey (2o & 3o Bns) | Line Inf | 900 | 2 REG | 2 REG |
Rto de Mallorca (1 Bn) – with Grenadiers detached | Line Inf | 580 | 1 REG | 1 REG | |
Rto de Hibernia (2o & 3o Bns) | Foreign Inf | 830 | 2 REG | 2 REG | |
Milicia de Mondoñedo | Militia | 600 | 1 SR | 1 SR | |
Rto de Zaragoza (1o & 2o Bns) – with Grenadiers detached | Line Inf | 1,040 | 2 SR | 2 REG | |
Granaderos Provinciales de Galicia | Militia | 790 | 1 SR | 1 SR | |
Sharp shooters from other units | Line Inf | 1 SK | 1 SK | ||
Rto de la Reina (2 Escn), Rto de Montesa (1 Escn), and/or Dragones de la Reina (1/2 Escn) | Line Cav/ Dragoons |
550 | 1 SRc | 1 SRc | |
4a Galician Division (Mariscal de Campo El Marqués de Portago) | Rto del Principe (2 Bns) | Line Inf | 1,510 | 2 REG | 2 REG |
Rto de Toledo (2 Bns) | Line Inf | 1,360 | 2 SR | 2 REG | |
Rto de Aragón (1 Bn) – with Grenadiers detached | Line Inf | 450 | 1 SR | 1 REG | |
Milicia de Santiago (1 Bn) | Militia | 800 | 1 SR | 1 SR | |
Milicia de Lugo (1 Bn) | Militia | 500 | 1 SR | 1 SR | |
Granaderos Unidades (2 Bns) – the combined Grenadier companies of Zaragoza, Mallorca, Aragon, and de la Corona (4) | Line Grenadiers | 400 | 1 REG | 1 El (3) | |
Sharp shooters from other units | Line Inf | 1 SK | 1 SK | ||
Attached to any of Vanguardia, 1a or 4a Divisions | 4o Rto de Artilleria (12 guns), Artilleria de Marina (6 guns) | Art | 18 guns | 2 FtG | 2 FtG |
Ejército de Castilla (Cuesta) | Rto Ligero Vol. de Navarra (3 Bns) | Light Inf | 783 | 1 SR | 1 LI |
Rto Voluntarios de Leon (3 Bn) | New Inf | 3,150 | 3 SR | 3 SR | |
Rto Voluntarios Literarios de Valladolid (1 Bn) | New Inf | 500 | 1 SR | 1 REG (5) | |
Rto Escolares de Benavente (1 Bn) | New Inf | 800 | 1 SR | 1 SR | |
Rto de Covadonga (2 Bn) | New Inf | 1,500 | 2 REG | 2 SR | |
Sharp shooters from other units | New Inf | 1 SK | 1 SK | ||
Artilleria a Caballo | Art | 4 guns |
– |
1 HsG |
Notes:
(1) Totals from FOG:
1 General
3 Division Commanders
12 Regular Battalions
1 Light Battalion
15 Second Rate Battalions
3 Skirmishers
1 Second Rate Regiment
2 Foot Batteries
(2) I assume in FOG the men of this regiment has been merged into the other rather weak regiments in the Vanguard.
(3) Given the Grenadiers successfully assaulted a massed artillery battery I would think they had some morale advantage over the Fusiliers. After all, that is why they were brigaded together, to give the army a strike force.
(4) It would seem only the Grenadiers of de la Corona were present at the battle.
(5) My justification for the REG status is that the cadre of the Rto Escolares de Benavente were the only troops to fight heroically at Cabezón. Otherwise they’d be SR like the other volunteers and militia.
Shako Pick up versus Shako Medina de Rio Seco
This table compares the order of battle for a Shako Pick Up Battle to the order of battle described for Medina de Rio Seco. I’ve included the +20% extra forces (REG battalions) that the Pick Up Battle rules give to an attacking force in a Pick Up battle. The Pick Up battle compares quite closely to my orbat for Medina de Rio Seco.
Shako Type | FOG’s Medina de Rio Seco | Pick Up Battle | Steven’s Medina de Rio Seco | Historical Units from Steven’s Orbat |
---|---|---|---|---|
EL | – | 1 | 1 | Granaderos Unidades (2 Bns) – the combined Grenadier companies of Zaragoza, Mallorca, Aragon, and de la Corona |
LI | 1 | 5 | 4 |
2o Rto Ligero Cataluña Ligero de Gerona Ligero de Barbastro (1/2 Bn) Rto Ligero Vol. de Navarra (3 Bns) |
REG | 12 |
17 (11 + 6 for attacking) |
14 |
Rto del Rey (2o & 3o Bns) Rto de Zaragoza (1o & 2o Bns) – with Grenadiers detached Rto de Aragón (1 Bn) – with Grenadiers detached Rto de Mallorca (1 Bn) – with Grenadiers detached Rto del Principe (2 Bns) Rto de Toledo (2 Bns) Rto de Hibernia (2o & 3o Bns) |
SR | 15 | 7 | 10 |
Granaderos Provinciales de Galicia Milicia de Mondoñedo Milicia de Santiago (1 Bn) Milicia de Lugo (1 Bn) Rto de Covadonga (2 Bn) Rto Voluntarios de Leon (3 Bn) Rto Escolares de Benavente (1 Bn) |
SK | 3 | 2 | 3 | Sharp shooters from other units |
SRc | 1 | 6 | 1 | Rto de la Reina (2 Escn), Rto de Montesa (1 Escn), and/or Dragones de la Reina (1/2 Escn) |
HyG | – | 1 | – | |
FtG | 2 | 3 (2 + 1 for attacking) | 2 | 4o Rto de Artilleria (12 guns), Artilleria de Marina (6 guns) |
HsG | – | 1 | 1 | Artilleria a Caballo |
Painting Guide
Very rough notes for painting these.
Type | Uniform | Unit | Shako Units |
---|---|---|---|
Light Inf | Green Hussar and Helmet | 2o Rto Ligero Cataluña | 1 LI |
Light Inf | Blue Jacket and Bicorn | Ligero de Gerona | 1 LI |
References
Leach, C. (1997). Fields of Glory: Napoleonic Scenarios for Shako Rules. NY: Quantum Printing.
Patridge, R., and Oliver, M. (1998). Battle Studies in the Peninsular, May 1808 – January 1809. London: Constable.
Steve, What colors did the Rto de Covadonga wear? Since they were a new unit were their uniforms faced in red? Noel
Your guess is as good as mine. Covadonga was raised 27 May 1808, so just after the revolution started. That doesn’t tell us much but does mean they could have worn anything. Most likely options:
– Regular army uniforms or out dated older style uniforms from military stores (in either case a white uniform)
– Brown local cloth because it was cheap and available
– Fanciful uniforms, which were common early in the war, and dreamed up by the guy who formed the unit
Red was certainly the most common Spanish facing colour throughout the war, but certainly not the only option.