Portugal 1808/09 (Project)

Where to begin?

I found the British army positioned at Coimbra in late spring of 1809 would serve as an ideal start point for this project for two reasons, one it was small enough to collect and two; both British and Portuguese troops are represented in the organization. This was the time of the second invasion of Portugal with Soult capturing Oporto only to halt his campaign there in early April.

Prior to the capture of Oporto by the French, the Portuguese army had engaged the invaders in a series of battles in northern Portugal; these are on my list of scenarios to design for DBA-HX3. Building both British and Portuguese troops will require some time, but it will give me an opportunity to research the early conflicts of 1809.

Further plans to expand the collection are up in the air and I am aware of the fact that Wellesley did fight at Talavera which would also require Spanish troops. However, there are more than enough events taking place in Portugal that would make interesting scenarios; the uprising at Ulhão, the siege of Chaves, the Battle of Braga, the Battle of Porto (1^st), the Battle of Grijó and to round off the campaign year of 1809, the Battle of Sobral.

Looking below at the table of organisation of British forces positioned at Coimbra there are two brigades of cavalry and nine of foot. Those highlighted in red will be collected and painted first and when completed a subsequent order to increase the Portuguese strength will be sent off.  

British Forces in Portugal, May 6, 1809

At Coimbra, Sir Arthur Wellesley

Cavalry

1^st Brigade (Stapleton, Cotton)

14^th, Light Dragoons, 16^th Light Dragoons, 20^th Light Dragoons, 3^rd Light Dragoons K.G.L.

2^nd Brigade (Fane)

3^rd Dragoon Guards, 4^th Dragoons.

Infantry

Brigade of Guards (H. Campbell)

1/Coldstream Guards, 1/3^rd Foot Guards, 1 co. 5/60^th

1^st Brigade (Hill)

1/3^rd Foot, 2/48^th Foot, 2/66^th Foot, 1 co. 5/60^th

2^nd Brigade (Mackenzie)

3/ 27^th Foot, 2/31^st Foot, 1/45^th Foot.

3^rd Brigade (Tilson)

2/87^th Foot, 1/88^th Foot, 5 coys 5/60^th, 1/1^st Portuguese.

4^th Brigade (Sontag)

2/97^th Foot, 2^nd bn. Detachments, 1 co. 5/60^th, 2/16^th Portuguese.

5^th Brigade (A. Campbell)

2/7^th Foot, 2/53^rd Foot, 1 co. 5/60^th, 1/10^th Portuguese.

6^th Brigade (R. Stewart)

1/29^th Foot, 1^st bn. Detachments, 1/16^th Portuguese.

7^th Brigade (Cameron)

2/9^th Foot, 2/83^rd Foot, 1 co. 5/60^th, 2/10^th Portuguese.

King’s German Legion Brigade

1^st Line bn., 2^nd Line bn., 5^th Line bn., 7^th Line bn.

Unattached Troops (Lisbon)

2/24^th Foot, 2/30^th Foot., Independent Light co. K.G.L.

Artillery

British, King’s German Legion, Wagon Train attached

Cavalry                 3,134

Infantry              18,881

Total            23,115 (including Artillery, Engineers and wagon train)


This list is sourced from The History of the Peninsular War, vol. II by C. Oman, (p. 640). Compare this with the second link offering an overview between June 1808 - April 1809, The British Army in Portugal by Ron McGaigan.