Wellington's War: the Peninsular Campaign 1809-1814

WELLINGTON'S WAR presents the entire Peninsular Campaign using wooden blocks on one 32 inch by 48 inch map. The 12 six-month turns cover 1808 to 1814. The 100 blocks represent the military forces ofGreat Britain, Spain, Portugal, and France.

Combat involves dice rolling for hits (No CRT or Battle board needed). The Supply and logistic rules are meant to model the Peninsular War adage that: "In Spain large armies starve, and small ones get beaten". Winter attrition in the wrong areas can be brutal. Control of areas is key to victory and the French player in particular will contend with conflicting needs of garrisoning key areas while maintaining a sufficiently strong field force.

The map covers Spain, Portugal, and southern France at about 35 miles to the hex. Depicted are the various provinces (rated for political and supply value), the major rivers, mountain ranges, and the key fortresses and towns. Each turn represents 6 months of real time (12 turns in game) and is broken down into Event, Operations, and Administrative phases.

The wooden blocks represent the major military formations that took part in the war generally depicted as Spanish field armies, French divisional and corp sized formations, Anglo-Portuguese divisions, and British expeditionary forces. Leaders include Wellington, Moore, Soult, and even a special guest appearance by Napoleon himself. Special blocks include Major guerrilla formations, The Lines of Torres Vedras, Popham's Naval Squadron, and key fortress garrisons.

A set of 30 event cards allows for random events, historical chrome, and political background. They also help regulate the various nation's force levels in the game. A sampling includes: "The Convention of Cintra", "Supreme Junta", "The Emperor Strikes Back", and "Russian". War. The game also includes 30 operations cards.

The game has a 12 turn Campaign game scenario, a five turn short game scenario, and a set of optional rules that provide more chrome or can be used to favor one side or the other.

Go to www.justplain.com for the publisher's website.