Talamanca 1714

Last week was the anniversary of the fall of Catalonia to the bourbons, and to remember all those fallen in defence of our liberties we replayed a battle from that period, the last victory of the Catalan army at Talamanca before the final defeat. 

A mix of catalan regulars and militia were deployed in the village of Talamanca waiting for the best chance to pounce on the besiegers of Barcelona

Being surprised and attacked by a bourbon column under the count of Montemar in the 13th of august

With both sides separated by a small stream it is the bourbons who take the initiative 

Crossing the river with their cavalry under heavy fire

The sometent milita forms in square as spanish regulars march to the front

In the center dragoons and catalan cuirassiers clashed in a match that would last most of the battle

While on the right the regulars dispersed the austriacist militias

The second sometent unit held their own against the bourbon cavalry however, falling back behind some regulars instead of routing

Time was running out and as night fell a last bourbon charge failed to rout the catalan riders

Ending the battle in a tie similar to the historical outcome but with far greater losses on the catalan side

British 6 pounder gun

 

A british 6 pound antitank gun paintrd for my dad's bolt action army

Siege of Barcelona 1714

 

Today marks the 308th anniversary of the fall of Barcelona to the bourbon army at the end of the War of Spanish Succession, and to celebrate we've replayed the siege using my own Lasalle supplement. My father, suitably dressed, took command of the catalan defenders while I led the armies of Philip V

The siege begins with the desultory fire of the catalan guns, that bombard the franco-spanish forces while they excavate the first approaches

After a month the first parallel is opened to provide cover for the artillery while the bourbon trenches sneak their way closer to the city

By now the besiegers have come within close range of the enemy, and a rain of canister fire causes the first losses amongst them

With he guns in place all is ready to batter down the walls of the catalan capital

While cannons and muskets trade shots another battle is raging below ground, where french sappers tunnel down to blow up the walls

Effective counter battery fire keeps the bourbon siege guns pinned for several weeks

It is now August, and the second parallel is dug to prepare the assault once the fortress is breached

Two mines blow up under the Portal Nou bastion, opening the way for the besiegers

That decimate the garrison with concentrated fire prior to the assault

In a stroke of good luck for the besiegers the catalan player decides to abandon the Santa Clara bastion and the adjacent wall to form up behind Portal Nou

Another mine has reached the walls by then, opening yet another hole on the walls of Barcelona

Under the eyes of the Duke of Berwick the bourbons escalate the empty ramparts and launch their first assault on Portal Nou 

The french annihilate the defenders and take the bastion

But are immediately pushed back by a charge from the Diputació regiment

Berwick then reforms his reserves to gun down the defenders

While sending even more men over the walls to seize the buildings inside the town

A first attempt is made to shift the sometent militamen from the wall breach, but the bourbons are pushed back

Realizing that he can garrison the houses the catalan player sends two units to occupy any free real state

The remaining defenders form up in a corner behind the breach

Concentrated fire destroys the Diputació regiment inside one of the buildings

And finally two charges are launched against the Coronela militia, that inspired by the holy flag of Santa Eulàlia hold on despite impossible odds 

Despite this last act of defiance the fate of the city is sealed, and the catalans surrender after three months of nail-bitting siege

Barcelona, 11th September 1714

 Closing in the tricentennary of the fall of Barcelona at the hands of Spain and France here I give you the reenaction played with the lasalle rulebook and old glory's 15mm.

Two bastions conform the center of the catalan defence: Santa Clara in the foreground and Portal Nou in the background, between both there is the kingly breach wich had been mined by the defenders in advance, and to the right of Sta Clara is the second breach wich we will call llevant's breach since it's next tot the llevant basiton.

The objective of the battle is control of the four breaches if each side conntrols two it's a draw if one controls three or more achieves victory.

 The numerous breaches in the walls of the city are guarded by regiments of all the territories of the Corona d'Aragó, here we see some valentians.

 And here the regiment of "la diputació"

 Some artillery also, wich maintained the uniforms of the austrian army in wich they were created.

 The battle begins and the bourbonic forces advance, while their cannon shot from the redoubts. But first blood goes to the catalans that inflict one wound in a spanish unit.

 The "seguiçi de prohoms" a moltey collection of coronela, nobles and people in arms advances to man the second barricade behind the cannons.

 The first unit touches the wall, la couronne frenchmen against verge dels desamparats valentians!

 Santa Clara is also under attack

 By nothing less than a normal and a big unit!

 The cannons rain canister upon the spaniards that climb over the rubble in Portal Nou

 The frenchemn are repelled from llevant's breach with some loss

 The struggle continues in Sants Clara, looking bad for the spaniards

 But in Portal Nou the things are looking better...

 And a spanish unit routs the catlan artillery, at the cost of three wounds

 The forces in the second barricade open fire, taking the fourth wound of the unit and routing it in turn

 But the bourbons posess inexhaustible reserves, each unit destroyed may be depolyed again inmediately!

 A second unit climbs portal Nou, not spaniards this time, but irishmen in service of the king of Spain, the Ultonia regiment!

 After a long struggle, the valentians finally rout the attackers of llevant breach

 The kingly breach is attacked, but the first wave suffers two wounds when the mines explode, another one when charging the rubble and lose their fourth and last in hand to hand, being destroyed in an amazingly short time. Behind, the spanish marines advance imperturbably across such slaughter

 In Santa Clara the invader is also repulsed

 But the relief of the defenders doesn't last for long, since the big unit charges upon them with fresh forces.

 The marines close upon the breach led by none other tant the Duke of Berwick the CIC of the combined army

 While The CIC of the ctalans, Villaroel supervises the destruction of the irishmen

 Against all odds the defenders of Sta Clara hold in the face of superior numbers

 Berwick is killed when the routing marines trample over him

 As the big unit in santa Clara is repulsed, the battle comes to an end with a resounding catalan victory!

The battlefield at the end of the fight, all breaches have held against the bourbonic forces, and history has been changed with a victory fort the defenders.