Battle Of Roliça Part Two - French Playthrough: Setup & Turn One

THE fourth scenario in Mike Lambo's Battles Of Napoleonic Europe is part two of the Battle of Roliça, which is fought from the French side.

The human player, in addition to General Delaborde, receives three units of infantry and one each of cavalry and artillery, all of whom have to be placed below the blue dashed line

To win the battle I must have three units survive to the end of turn 10.

It is hard to know what else to do but occupy the high ground and hope the Allies do not coordinate their attack very well

The AI gets Sir Arthur Wellesley, along with six units of infantry, four of cavalry and one of artillery.

The dispositions of the allied infantry and cavalry are fixed - only the starting positions of the commander and the artillery are randomised 

TURN ONE

My three activation dice give me 6 and two 1s. I reroll a 1, getting 3, which means that, by changing the wildcard 6 into a 2, I can activate units in areas 1, 2 and 3, which covers all my units - not that there is much to do so early in the battle.

I start by firing my artillery at the infantry in their line of sight. My three dice are increased by one through being on higher ground and a further one for being next to the general. I score three hits by rolling three 5s, along with 3 and 1, eliminating the allied unit. Delaborde stands still.

My left-flank infantry advance a hex and fire at the allied infantry ahead of them. My four dice are increased by one for being on higher ground, but reduced by one for firing after moving and one more for firing through trees. I roll two 6s and 4 - the 6s reduce the allied unit to one-strength, and the 4 forces it back a hex. My other infantry in area 1 stay where they are, as do my units in area 3.

The Anglo-Portuguese right flank has suffered a setback 

The AI's four activation dice are 6, 4, 3 and 2. The 6 is rerolled, becoming 1, meaning all of the army but the left-flank cavalry in area 5 will be activated.

The three-strength infantry in area 1 advance and fire at my furthest-forward infantry. Their four dice are reduced by one for firing after moving. They roll 6, 5 and 4, reducing my men to one-strength and forcing them back a hex. The other infantry in area 1 move behind the larger unit.

The infantry in area 2 advance into the trees. Wellesley advances a hex to be adjacent to three units.

Both infantry units in area 3 advance a hex, with the further-forward unit firing at my infantry on the central hill. Their four dice are reduced by one for firing after moving, and they roll 3, 2 and 1, which means no hits. The artillery also advance.

The forward cavalry in area 4 roll 1, meaning they stand still, but their comrades roll 4, and so move along the river to get closer to my infantry on the central hill.

I almost lost a unit on the first turn, which would have been a severe blow