Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Battle of Talavera refight

Hello There! After a long hiatus I have started to edit the photos I have from a few previous games and visits. The New Buckenham Historical Wargamers put on a game refighting the Battle of Talavera on a Friday evening and Saturday.


This is an overview of the battlefield. The left hand side is the attacking French forces and the defending Allies line the hills on the right. At the top of the table the German division advance towards the Spanish forces behind a wall.



There are many colourful units on  the board, for example the Front Rank Wurtemburg Jager zu Pferde who were standing in for the Westphalian Light Cavalry.


The French forces soon closed in on their enemy ready to break into their lines


Here Allied artillery pour fire into the advancing columns


French dragoons added a bit of colour with these pink facings


Here is a close up of the Spanish light infantry who were defending the wall at the top of the first picture


The figures for this game came from a number of different club members collections. Here Poles from Murawski Miniatures close in on the Allies




French foot artillery accompanied their advancing forces


Polish troops completed the French forces



From the lower part of the battlefield, (from the first picture in this post), the French repeatedly attacked the hill but were unable to take it.



A band accompanied the Spanish forces, probably to ensure they stayed fighting!







These converted British hussars


Some of the Allied troops occupied a redoubt in the centre of their position








The French forces were an impressive sight as they advanced up the slopes.





The victorious division of General Leval took the wall defended by the Spanish and drove them off 






Here you can see the backdrop that we use for the wider angle photos we take





Further pictures of the battle as it progressed. A full after battle report can be found on the wargames Facebook page link at the end of this post


Here was the battlefield plan for the initial set up of the battle









Overall this day was very enjoyable and was down to the great company and the drive to recreate a bit of Napoleonic history.

Further photos are here on the wargames club Facebook page




6 comments:

  1. Magnificent looking wargame spectacle, Stephen. Inspiring game and photos.

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  2. Thank You Jonathan. The game when contrary to history with the Allies having to quit the field after being pushed back off the ridge after some poor dice rolls. The Photos on the New Buckenham Facebook album have further close up photos of many of the figures involved in this game.

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    1. Not a FBer so your display is all I see. Your photos are terrific. I need no more.

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    2. Your decision is understandable considering some of the exchanges I have seen on there. I will see if I can get some photos from the club site and move them across for you

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  3. Lovely stuff! I haven't seen any update from the New Buck FB page for a while. FB seems fluky these days.

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  4. What a magnificent looking game...beautifully dressed table and lovely figures....just a pity about the end result! 😀

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