The following is a scenario for the popular skirmish rules in the black powder era Sharp Practice published by TooFatlardies in the context of the Salamanca campaign in 1812 won by Wellington's allied forces.
Background
Before the actual battle of Salamanca (or “de
los Arapiles” as it is known in Spain) was fought, on 21st of July
1812 the British and the French armies spent several weeks following closely
each other looking to exploit a moment of tactical advantage to defeat the
enemy in force.
Since the end of June 1812, the theatre of
operations had moved north of Salamanca, to the Duoro river line where both
armies try to outmanoeuvre the enemy during several weeks.
Marshall Marmont finally caught Wellington out
of step in a faint move in which the French crossed to the southern bank of the
river, posing a flanking threat to Wellington and also potentially cutting the
line of retreat to Salamanca and further afiled, to Portugal.
On July 17th, Wellington ordered the
army retreat towards Toro; the objective was to move from there via the north-south
road that links this city with Salamanca. The retreat continued during the 18th
reaching by mid-afternoon the line of the Guareña stream, a small tributary of
the Duoro. The British crossed this small river unopposed and formed a line
along the west bank, supported on the village of Vallesa on the right.
Considering the position sufficiently secured and
the late hour (around 4PM), the British were ordered to prepare the camp for
the night.
However the French thought differently and spotted
a good opportunity to cross the Guareña at a lightly defended position on the
left of Wellington’s line. This move if correctly executed will allow a flank
attack on the British and allied forces.
