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| 95th Rifles |
Captain Sharpe has been sent on a mission by General Wellesley to find a possible route around the French flank. Doing so would enable to General to maintain his advance into Spain. Sharpe is to reconnoiter the river crossing near the village of Inglesia por El Rio(Church by the river) where it is rumored there in an unguarded river crossing. If the opportunity exists, Sharpe is to seize the bridge and ford crossing at the Cala de Mierda stream and hold them till reinforcements arrive.
For this task, Sharpe has been given a platoon of his trusted 95th Rifles, a platoon of the 89th Infantry (survivors from the Fuengirola debacle) and a troop of the doubtfully effective rocket artillery. Sharpe suspects the latter were provided only to get them out of Lord Wellesley's way. In addition to these troops, a band of Guerrillas under the unremarkable leader "El Calvo" (the bald man) is to guide Sharpe to Inglesia por El Rio and assist in securing the crossings.
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| Irish Legion |
As it turned out, this was not one of Sharpe's better days as his command approached the stream, he found his way blocked by French Troops. A platoon of Irish Legion troops guarded the ford on his left. On the bridge was a French 8 pounder manned by green-coated artillerist which he had not seen before. El Calvo told him they were Polish artillery, but what they were doing in Spain he could not guess. Backing up the 8 pounder was a platoon of what El Calvo told him was French Young Guard!
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Sharpe, somewhat befuddled by the appearance of these improbable troop types, made the rash mistake of deciding to attack. He El Calvo toward the ford and backed them up with the men of the 89th., thinking (falsely as it turned out) that the regulars would provide morale support and keep the irregulars from running away. Toward the bridge he dispatched his rifles under the command of Ensign Abhers while he waited for the rocket battery troop to show up. It seems that had been issued some new equipment and were delayed from managing the extra load on the poor roads. See Map 1
As mentioned before, it was not one of Sharpe's better days and he appeared to be in some sort of daze. He told Harper that he had been having dreams of being sent on strange suicide missions, being killed and then somehow miraculously resurrected and starting all over again. As Harper tried to console Sharpe and raise his spirits, his troops advanced toward the Cala de Mierda stream. Sharpe reached the edge of the plowed field when the action began.
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| French Young Guard |
El Calvo dispersed his troops into skirmish order and advanced into the woods opposite the ford. From there he opened fire upon the Irish Legion troops who had deployed on the opposite side of the stream. The 89th, commanded by an inexperienced officer, advanced slowly behind the Spanish, but in column formation. The Polish 8 pounder, knowing a good target when they see it, open fire on the column and succeeded in decapitating two hapless fellows with a long-range shot. ( In our rules for ball shot, all figures cover by the line of flight are casualties on a roll of 1-10 on a D20). Seeing his mistake, the young officer of the 89th quickly ordered his troops into open order to the right of the Spanish. The guerrillas traded fire with the Irish Legion, initially obtaining the upper hand with some effective fire which killed the Legion's Officer. The Irish maintained their morale however and continued their firefight with the Spanish. See Map 2
The Rifles opened fire on the Polish artillerist, killing one with some long-range fire. They moved forward toward the church and the graveyard hoping to take advantage of the cover they offered. The French moved the Young Guard up to the stream on both sides of the cannon to give it support. The combined effect of canister fire and Young Guard musketry caused several casualties among the Rifles and they moved inside the church for cover. Meanwhile in front of the ford, the Irish Legion dispatched El Calvo just as he was about to lead his men in a charge. The guerrillas now leaderless, failed their morale and routed back about halfway to the road. The 89th moved up to maintain the fire upon the Irish Legion and keep them from advancing across. The guerrillas tried one more time to rally, but without their devoted, but uninspiring leader, they failed and promptly routed off the battlefield. The 89th and the Irish, traded musketry fire, both whittling each other down to half strength with the Young Guard now providing fire support.
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| Rocket Artillery |
The rocket Battery finally showed up and Sharpe, somewhat recovering from his foul mood, sent it up to support his rifles now ensconced in the church. The new improved D10 rockets proved their worth, the first shot hitting on the bridge and killing one of the Poles. The Poles rate of fire was now reduced, but they conscripted a couple of fellows from the Young Guard and renewed their fire. Targeting the rocket battery they killed one of the gunners with the draw of a face card. Back at the church, a single lucky shot from the Young Guard managed to hit the only available target at the church, Ensign Abhers, who was foolishly standing in the doorway on the stream side if the church. Now leaderless, the Rifles routed out of the church back to the plowed field. The Young Guard advanced across the bridge and took control of the church.
The Irish Legion, fearing they would soon become ineffective, decided to charge across the stream and attack the 89th who were also greatly decimated. Unfortunately, they didn't quite make their charge distance and were promptly shot down to the last man. The 89th however failed a critical morale check and moved back through the woods having had enough for the day. See Map 3
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| Irish Legion Colors |
Sharpe managed to rally the rifles and seeing his chances slipping away, decided in a last ditch effort to charge the Young Guard in the church. He successfully managed to lead them up to the front door of the church where they attempted to break in. The canister fire had taken its toll as they charged however, and they were slightly outnumbered. The Young Guard had no trouble keeping the Rifles out, even managing to wound Harper in the melee. Sharpe now enraged, took his turn at the door and managed to bull his way in. He successfully dispatched 4 of the defenders and it looked like he might single handedly defeat the entire squad of Young Guard. That was not to be however. The 5th Young Guard to fight Sharpe gained the upper hand and drove him back out the door. See Map 4
Sharpe knowing he had been defeated, decided enough was enough as he carried the wounded Harper back away from the Church. He ordered the rocket battery and the remnants of the 89th and Rifles to retreat. The Spanish guerrillas were nowhere to be seen. The French who also had taken a beating, were in no shape to pursue and contented themselves with having held the river crossing and making obscene taunts at the retreating British. As he pondered the day's events and what he would say to Lord Wellesley, Sharpe reflected that if he could not come up with a reasonable excuse for his performance today, he truly would be up the Cala de Mierda without a paddle.
The End
