Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Talavera 208 is the culmination of a three year project to accurately model the Battle of Talavera at a figure to man ratio of one figure to thirty men and a ground scale of one inch to fifty paces or four feet to the mile.
Talavera 208 is a wargame with over 2,000 figures painted and grouped together to recreate the historical formations that fought the battle two hundred and eight years ago on the 27th and 28th of July 1809 at Talavera de la Reina, a town in the valley of the River Tagus in Spain about 65-70 miles south west of Madrid.
The battle was also the culmination of the first offensive into Spain by Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington as he attempted to drive the French forces of Napoleon out of Spain in support of the Spanish people fighting to liberate their country from the invading Imperial armies.
The battle was a bloody victory for the Allied Anglo-Spanish armies who had possession of the field at the end of the day and would see Sir Arthur Wellesley created Viscount Wellington of Talavera.
What became known as the Peninsular War would last six years and see the the Duke of Wellington drive Napoleon's forces back into France in 1814 part of the allied armies that forced Napoleon into exile.
A core of the British Peninsula army was with Wellington when Napoleon returned to France leading to the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium and defeat of the Emperor Napoleon once and for all, ending the Napoleonic War in 1815 and bringing a much needed peace to Europe.
The game will be played several times in 2017 using a set of computer moderated rules, Carnage & Glory II, each time with a group of different players commanding the various armies who themselves will be donating to the charity.
Each game will be documented and reported on the blog page JJ's Wargames, where you will be able to see reports on other games created in the run up to this specific project, plus more about Talavera 208 and the modeling that has gone in to create it plus painting and modeling tutorials for those interested in doing something similar .
http://jjwargames.blogspot.co.uk
In addition we plan to take the game out to wargaming shows where there will be an opportunity to see the collection live and see how the game is played.
The games played will also serve as a test of the game scenario itself as part of plans to collate the collection of games, in the series that recreate the fighting at Talavera over the two days of battle in 1809, into a scenario book for others to use.
http://jjwargames.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/talavera-series-of-linked-battles.html
Over the coming months leading into the first half of 2017 I will publish updates and links here illustrating the units completed to date together with progress on finishing off the last few units required to produce the first game planned to be played in June 2017.
Many veterans of our armed services are wargamers and are able to express their interest in military history through it which, as well as playing historical games, encompasses, painting, modeling, reading and research, exploring historical sites and enjoying long lasting friendships that comes with a very sociable hobby.
What started as a pure hobby project has now become Talavera 208, a large game designed to promote the great aspects of wargaming that can benefit the very people Combat Stress is there to help and support, as well as demonstrating the fun that can be had exploring history with our hobby.
If you agree with the sentiments of this project and like the production of this game, then please show your support by making a donation to Combat Stress via the Talavera208 JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
Thank you for your support.
Jonathan
