1813 Campaign: Battle of Braunschweig

We played the latest battle in our 1813 Campaign this last weekend, this time between the Army of the North (Russians) and Le Grande Armee (nord). The strategic situation has changed considerably since the beginning of the campaign (as is expected, of course). The French have made considerable gains in the south, taking the Base of Operations of the Army of Bohemia at Prague in Turn 9. In the north, the Army of the North under Bennigsen has been slowly but steadily pushing back the French northern wing, commanded by Marechal Ney, centered on Erfurt. Looking on the map below, you can see the original starting positions of the armies on the bright green lines and the current positions along the yellow lines (note: these are generalized positions).

Farthest north, a Russian force under General-Leutnant Osten-Sacken has been pushing against an isolated French force under General de Division Sebastiani, commander of 2e Corps d'Armee. Osten-Sacken was finally able to bring Sebastiani to battle at Braunschweig. First up, the order of battle:

Army of the North
CinC: General-Leutnant Osten-Sacken

IX Corps

• 15th Divsion (infantry)
• 9th Division (infantry)

XI Corps

• 10th Division
• 16th Division

I Cavalry Corps

• 1st Division (dragoons)
• 2nd Division (hussars)

Le Grande Armee (nord)
CinC: General de Division Sebastiani

2e Corps d'Armee

• 10e Division (infantry)
  
• cavalerie (light cavalry)
  

Division Lefol (infantry/cavalry: division de marche)

Garrison (infantry)

Battle of Braunschweig: First Phase

The French commander elected to try and hold the high ground in the center of the field with the garrison troops while threatening the Russian right flank from the village on the opposite bank of the river. While the French command was superior in quality to the Russians, the troops were another matter. Sebastiani's divisions had been beaten before and, to make matters worse, were out of supply. The previous defeats and the supply situation produced a number of "down" modifiers when calculating the unit characteristics. Conversely, the Russians had received a number of "up" modifiers. The Russian plan was fairly simple: pinning the French light cavalry while assaulting the high-ground position in the center. The Russian attack developed quickly and the French annoyance on the opposite river bank proved nothing more than a mere itch that needed a quick scratch.

A view along the Russian lines (figures from the collection of Steve Thomson).

Battle of Braunschweig: Second Phase

The French cavalry was quickly routed from the field and the garrison troops in the center overwhelmed by numbers and combined arms. The French division on the opposite bank quickly turned and moved back out of harm's way when it saw the tide of battle fast approaching.

In this Decisive Victory, the French lose 35 National Will Points and the Russians gain 3 NWPs. The French divisions will receive a"downgrade 2 units" modifier and another "downgrade 2 units" modifier for the pursuit (the available Russian cavalry outnumbered the French cavalry by more than 2:1). All the Russian divisions receive an "upgrade 2 units" modifier. The French must retreat to either Hanover or Gottingen.

1813 Campaign: Battle for Prague

We played the latest battle in our ongoing 1813 campaign yesterday at the club. This was a follow-up battle to the one last turn at Pilsen where Napoleon served up a sound thrashing to Schwarzenberg and his army of Bohemia. Schwarzenberg had fallen back on his Base of Operations at Prague after the fight at Pilsen, whereupon Napoleon quickly followed up. At Prague, Schwarzenberg did not have the benefit of a large garrison or extensive earthworks (though small amounts of both were available for this battle) as he had enjoyed at Pilsen. His army was also suffering under some serious negative modifiers that downgraded the quality of a number of units. Here you can see on the campaign map where the Battle of Prague took place (bottom right of the map):

I have no photos of the game this time so maps and narrative will have to do. First up, the orders of battle.

Army of Bohemia
CinC: FML Prince Schwarzenberg

I ReserveKorps (GdK Hessen-Homburg)

• 1st Division (grenadiers)
• 2nd Division (cuirassiers)

I ArmeeKorps (GdK Merveldt)

• Light Division (infantry/cavalry)
• 1st Division (infantry)
• 2nd Division (infantry)

IV (Russian) Cavalry Corps (GL Vasilchikov)

• 1st Division (light cavalry)
• 2nd Division (light cavalry)

Grande Armee (sud)
CinC: Emperor Napoleon

Garde Imperiale (Napoleon)

• 1er Division (infantry)
• 2e Division (infantry)
• 3e Division (cavalry)
• Artillerie de la Reserve

3e Corps d'Armee (GD Bertrand)

• 8e Division (infantry)
• 11e Division (infantry)

1er Corps de Cavalerie (Marechal Murat)

• 1er Division (dragoons)
• 2e Division (cuirassiers)

So, on with the Battle of Prague.

Initial Deployments and First Phase

Schwarzenberg chose to deploy the majority of his infantry along the bank of the swampy river on his right flank. These divisions were fronted by earthworks (although these are not represented on the maps). His reserve grenadiers were deployed in the central woods. This was a solid deployment that restricted the frontage of any French attack and protected the vulnerable infantry divisions (which had taken some serious damage in the last battle). Interestingly, all of the Allied cavalry was deployed off-table on the left flank. This was not necessarily a flawed deployment choice but these three divisions, a potent strike force, were destined to sit the entire battle without moving on-table (more of that anon).

Napoleon ignored the possibility of moving through the nasty terrain on the Allied right flank and concentrated his effort in the center (as Schwarzenberg had anticipated and for which he ahd prepared). The Emperor hoped to bring as many guns forward to bear on the earthworks and blast a hole in preparation for a massive cavalry and infantry assault. Thus, the infantry and cavalry of the line corps were deployed centrally, using the swamp to safeguard their left flank. The entire Imperial Guard was placed on the right flank, prepared to swing around and contact the left flank of the Allied line (the location of the Allied cavalry was unknown to Napoleon at this time...in fact for the entire battle...but more of this anon).

Second Phase

The French attack moved forward and the Imperial Guard artillery unlimbered within range of the Allied infantry hiding behind their earthworks on the far side of the stream. The artillery commander (with Napoleon's blessing) took a great chance by unlimbering his guns so close to the Austrian grenadiers hiding in the woods but it was thought that the accompanying guard infantry and cavalry could foil any attempts to disrupt the gun-line. Unfortunately, the grenadiers darted out from their concealment (as only Austrian troops can dart) and forced two of the three guard batteries to abandon their pieces. before themselves being chased off by the presence of the old guard infantry. Unfortunately, the guns had been silenced for the remainder of the battle. The gamble had not paid off for Napoleon. And now, the sun was beginning to set. The Emperor had little time left to crush Schwarzenberg's army once and for all.

Final Phase

The Allied position now seemed relatively secure but General de Division Walther, commander of the guard cavalry division, had witnessed impotently the silencing of his artillery brethren and decided to hasten the issue. He trotted before the ranks of his Imperial Guard troopers, waving his sword in the air and launched them toward the enemy earthworks. This charge of Europe's finest cavalry was awe-inspiring, crashing violently into the redoubts and quickly punching a hole in the enemy line. Caught up in the excitement, Marechal Murat, commanding the cavalry reserve, was not to be outdone and led his cuirassiers in support. Murat's troopers poured through the breach caused by the guard cavalry and began to turn inwards on the hapless Austrian infantry.

But the sun had set and darkness descended quickly on the field. Napoleon was not able to take advantage of his success; darkness and the lurking Allied cavalry prevented any adequate pursuit. The Allied cavalry was fresh; in fact, it hadn't moved an inch the entire battle. If Schwarzenberg had chosen to move his three divisions of cavalry on-table, they would have been perfectly placed to threaten the French right flank. Undoubtedly, Napoleon would have needed to redeploy his guard cavalry and at least some of the guard infantry to counter this threat. The power of the guard cavalry would then have been directed away from the more-vulnerable infantry divisions.

Schwarzenberg has lived to fight another day, despite the battering his army has undergone in the last two battles. He has now lost his Base of Operations but can still draw supply from his Temporary Supply Depot at Chemnitz.

On to Turn 10.....

1813 Campaign: Battle of Pilsen

Friday night at MIGS we played another campaign battle in our 1813 campaign, involving Le Grande Armee (sud) and the Army of Bohemia. Napoleon (Michael) had made an aggressive move across the Danube at Ratisbon, challenging Prince Schwarzenberg (Alex) to come out and fight. Rather than face the Emperor close to the river, Schwarzenberg had opted to fall back on the heavily fortified supply depot at Pilsen. Napoleon quickly followed up and attacked with the forces at hand. You can see the strategic map below. Pilsen is near the bottom right of the map. To give a general outlook on the strategic dispositions, the French armies cover the line of the River Saale in the north (although the Russians have breached this line near Aschersleben and Weimar) and have pushed on from the Danube near Ratisbon in the south toward Pilsen.

1813 Campaign: Strategic Map with battle locations.

Battle of Pilsen

Le Grande Armee (sud)
CinC: Emperor Napoleon

Garde Imperiale (Napoleon)

• 1er Division (infantry)
• 2e Division (infantry)
• 3e Division (cavalry)
• Artillerie

3e Corps D'Armee (GD Souham)

• 11e Division (infantry)
• 8e Division (infantry)

1er Corps de Cavalerie (GD Latour-Maubourg)

• 1er Division (heavy cavalry)
• 2e Division (heavy cavalry)

Infantry of 3e Corps d'Armee and dragoons of 1er Corps de Cavalerie.

Army of Bohemia
CinC: Prince Schwarzenberg

I ReserveKorps (GdK Hessen-Homburg)

• 1st Division (grenadiers)
• 2nd Division (hevay cavalry)

I ArmeeKorps (GdK Merveldt)

• Light Division (infnstry/cavalry)
• 1st Division (infantry)
• 2nd Division (infantry)

IV (Russian) Cavalry Corps (GL Vasilchikov)

• 1st Division (light cavalry)
• 2nd Division (light cavalry)

Garrison

Not only did the Austrian army enjoy numerical superiority, it was also ensconced behind a veritable cornucopia of earthworks. But all was not rosy and good for Schwarzenberg. More than half of his infantry was raw class and for the battle he was himself a d8 commander (the lowest of the low) and was using a poor card deck (next to the worst). Facing him was Napoleon on a great day (a d12+1 commander) using an excellent deck (the very best). Note: all rule references are to Field of Battle.

Battle of Pilsen: Opening Phase. The French launch their attack on Pilsen and the Austrians begin to move their massive left wing forward.

Napoleon was able to inspect the defences of Pilsen carefully and observe Schwarzenberg's dispositions. The Emperor chose to confine his deployment to a narrow frontage to maximize his assault potential (besides, he didn't have enough troops to cover the entire Austrian deployment). The river bisecting the table was a tremendous help as the Emperor based his right flank upon it and left the rest of the battlefield to the Austrians with the exception of one unit: 2e Division/1er Corps de Cavalerie was seriously understrength so it was sent on a wide sweeping movement toward the Austrian left flank. This was intended as no more than a demonstration designed to divert as many enemy troops as possible. In the event, it proved to be more than successful.

Battle of Pilsen: Second Phase. The French cavalry move to the Austrian left flank to begin wreaking havoc. The Pilsen garrison comes out to confront the French attack and the French guard artillery moves to the river line.

The French began the battle by moving on the outskirts of Pilsen near their left flank. The outlying buildings of the city and their attendant earthworks were manned primarily by the raw class infantry and artillery of the Austrian garrison. The French attack was slow and tentative at first but began to cause damage as the garrison and a neighbouring Austrian line division moved out to confront the attackers. This movement out of the fortified area was partly explained by the need to relieve some serious over-crowding. In the outskirts of the city, inside the earthworks, were deployed five batteries of artillery and 12 battalions of infantry (all within approx. 24" x 18").

On the Austrian left flank, a mass of cavalry and supporting infantry began to move forward with what looked like the intention of turning the French right flank. The Austrian defensive stance had quickly shown itself as only a springboard for an attack on the outnumbered French. Unfortunately, the quality of the Austrian commander and the card deck would make this a risky venture. Poor quality commanders with inefficient decks are best confined to simple, uncomplicated plans and large sweeping attacks using multiple component commands does not fall into this caetgory! The French, on the other hand, had a great commander with the a very efficient deck. This allowed Napoleon to send the single cavalry command out on its flanking move without any serious worry.

The Emperor had originally thought to deploy his guard artillery reserve against Pilsen and its earthworks but upon seeing this mass of horseflesh across the river he diverted the guns and had them deploy along the river. They smartly changed direction and soon began wreaking destruction among the tight-packed ranks of cavalry and infantry.

Imperial Guard artillery reserve deployed along the river's edge.

Meanwhile, the French cavalry sent out on its lonely flanking movement was making its presence felt. It was able to quickly move to the Austrian left flank (excellent deck v. poor deck began to make a difference here) and seriously damage the enemy infantry there. It was even able to get in amongst the mass of Austrian cavalry and cause more damage before it was itself overwhelmed by numbers. A small cavalry contingent had seriously slowed an enemy force many times its size. Although it was lost, it had served a valuable purpose. While it was annoying the Austrian attack force, the guard artillery reserve had unlimbered along the riverbank to unleash its own hell.

Battle of Pilsen: Third Phase. The Imperial Guard is unleashed upon the garrison of Pilsen.

In Pilsen, the French attack had begun to show results and it was at this moment, knowing that his right flank was secure, the Emperor moved forward Les Grognards of the Old Guard infantry and cavalry. The Old Guard Grenadiers and the cavalry division of the guard moved smartly across the field and flung themselves upon the hapless garrison of Pilsen. The raw garrison troops put up a stout but ultimately futile resistance. The guard was soon in possession of the town and it was clear to Schwarzenberg that his position was untenable. His army seemed to agree and when the next Army Morale card appeared, it promptly said adieu to the French and hustled away.

Old Guard infantry await the order to assault Pilsen.

The river that had shielded Napoelon's flank now worked to hamper severely any pursuit of the Austrian army. Of course, the masses of Austrian and Russian cavalry that had done little in the battle were available to cover any pursuit the French may have been able to mount. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the French who gained six National Will Points. That was dwarfed, however, by the 52 National Will Point lost by the Austrians (Pilsen had also been a supply depot for the Army of Bohemia). I ArmeeKorps suffered four destroyed units that are removed from the campaign order of battle. As well, the Allied force in the battle receives some serious negative modifiers for any future battle.

On then to Turn 9 and Napoleon's pursuit of the seriously crippled Austrian army. More to come!

1813 Campaign: Battle of Aschersleben

It's been a while since my last post (life just seems to keep getting in the way). In the meanwhile, we've fought two battles from the campaign. In Turn 7 there was another battle between Le Grande Armee (sud) and von Bulow's II Prussian Corps. This followed on the heels of the Prussian loss at Bayreuth in Turn 6 (see here for a synopsis of the Battle of Bayreuth) whereupon von Bulow retreated his battered corps to the fortified town of Zwickau. The commander of the Army of Bohemia had ordered some serious fortifications to be built at Zwickau and as Bertrand, commanding 4e Corps d'Armee, moved to the environs of the town, he realized the proportions of the task before him. Facing him was von Bulow's Prussian corps (battered, yes...ineffective? hardly) and a sizeable garrison firmly entrenched behind 60" of earthworks (the maximum possible for any town/city in the campaign). The Army of Bohemia had indeed been busy! The tabletop game was duly set up and 2e Corps proceeded to dance around the Prussian entrenchments, attempting to find a weakness. Unfortunately, darkness descended and decided the battle as a draw. The French had fulfilled their orders from the Emperor by continuing to press von Bulow without inviting serious damage or casualties. Because the game was really just a matter of the French dancing around the outside of the Prussian defences, I'm not going to chronicle it here any further beyond offering the pictures below.

1) The Hesse-Darmstadt division (with Fronk Rank grenadiers in the foreground) probing the Prussian defences; 2) Part of the Allied garrison behind their earthworks; 3) The Allied garrison in Zwickau.

On to Turn 8, and some more serious movements and developments. The Army of the North has forced the retreat of Le Grande Armee (nord) back across the River Saale to Weimar. Bennigsen followed up this retrograde movement, gaining a solid brideghead on the western bank of the Saale in the process. There is defintely a battle pending here! (Weimar is just east of Erfurt and west of Naumburg)

Enlarge the map to see battle sites in the campaign to this point.

Meanwhile, to the north at Aschersleben, General-Leutnant Osten-Sacken has finally converged his Russian forces in the vicinity of Ascherseleben and is ready to attack the French forces there. It is at Ascheresleben where the first battle of Turn 8 occurrred. Osten-Sacken had been able to amass an impressive force near Ascherlesleben while the local French commander was scrambling to find enough troops to counter this dangerous Russian thrust across the river.

Army of the North
CinC: GL Osten-Sacken

IX Corps (GL Olsufiev)

• 1st Division (infantry)
• 2nd Division (infantry)

XI Corps (GL Osten-Sacken)

• 1st Division (infantry)
• 2nd Division (infantry)

I Cavalry Corps (GL Korff)

• 1st Division (dragoons)
• 2nd Division (light cavalry)

Le Grande Armee (nord)
CinC: GD "Bill" (long story, see below)

• 10e Division (2e Corps)
• Division de Cavalerie (2e Corps)
• Division Lefol
• Aschersleben Garrison
  

I should probabaly elaborate on the OBs at this point. The Russian order of battle is quite straightforward (as it usually is). Because Bennigsen is somewhere to the south, GL Osten-Sacken, as senior officer present, had assumed command of this wing of the army. The French OB is somewhat more haphazard. There were two elements of 2e Corps d'Armee present: 10e Division and the corps light cavalry division. Unfortunately, the Corps commander, General de Division Lauriston, was nowhere to be found. Equally unfortunate, the cavalry division of 2e Corps, although listed in the OB, was foraging in the area of Aschersleben when the Russians attacked and thus did not take part in the battle. Also in the area was a Division de Marche, commanded by GD Lefol. This formation had recently arrived at the front and was comprised of reinforcments destined for various formations in the army. The division's component marche formations had not yet been dispersed throughout the army. All of this was commanded by the (un-named) commander of 10e Division. He was dubbed "Bill" for lack of a "campaign" name (no need to ask why, even though there was nobody named Bill playing in the game). In lieu of specific orders, General "Bill" decided that his best option was to hold Achersleben as long as possible and extricate his force with the least amount of damage possible.

Battle of Aschersleben, Opening Phase.

Russian infantry of 15th Division, IX Corps moves forward to the attack.
(Old Glory figures from the collection of Steve Thomson)

The Russian commander received a "Flank Attack" card in his draws from the Battle Deck (see campaign rules here) and decided to exercise this option by placing I Cavalry Corps and IX Corps on the right flank. The French commander realized the overwhelming odds against him and chose to deploy around the few buildings in the outskirts of Ascheresleben. Immediately the battle began, the Russian cavalry on the right flank jumped forward to pin the French infantry until their Russian counterparts could move forward and engage. The French had deployed on the rear slopes of the long ridge, making the dangerous Russian artillery for the most part impotent (in fact, the Russian artillery on the right flank would not fire a single round in the entire battle). On the Russian left flank, XI Corps moved forward to pin the French right wing in place.

Battle of Aschersleben, Second Phase.

9th (infantry) Division, IX Corps and the dragoon division of I Cavalry Corps rush forward to engage the French-held ridgeline.
(Front Rank and Old Glory figures from the collection of Steve Thomson)

As the rest of the Russian army pinned the French garrison in the outskirts of Aschersleben and the French 10e Division along the ridgeline, the dragoon division rushed forward and quickly engaged the French infantry behind the ridge. Without cavalry support (and the divisional artillery pinned by the flanking Russian cavalry), the French infantry was quickly overrun. The mass of IX Corps and I Cavalry Corps then turned to face the town where XI Corps was hotly engaged with its garrison.

Battle of Aschersleben, Final Phase.

The Russian dragoons division of I Cavalry Corps after clearing the ridgeline of enemy infantry and looking for new targets.
(Front Rank figures from the collection of Steve Thomson)

Having done away with the French infantry on the right flank, the mass of the Russian army turned to face Aschersleben. Here, XI Corps had suffered a bloody nose at the hands of a determined and skillful French garrison. Unfortunately, the valiant defence of the town was in vain as the French commander ("Bill") decided that, having lost an entire infantry division on his left flank, it would be prudent to remove what was left of his force from the field.

The Army of the North achieved a Decisive Victory at Aschersleben and the Russians gain 6 National Will Points. More significantly, the Allies now have substantial forces across the river at two points and are poised to spread mayhem and chaos! The French lose 36 National Will Points for the loss and all the engaged divisions receive a "downgrade 2 units" modifier for the loss and a further "downgrade 2 units" modifier for the pursuit (the Russian cavalry outnumbered their French opponents 7:2).

We have one more battle to adjudicate in Turn 8, this time at Pilsen in the south. The Emperor has amassed his attack force (including the Imperial Guard) and Schwarzenberg has entrenched his army thoroughly. This battle will see 8 divisions v. 8 divisions and will be played on a 6' a 16' table!

1813 Campaign: Battle of Bayreuth

I've been somewhat busy at work lately and I haven't been able to update the blog or, especially, our Napoleonic campaign (damned career keeps getting in the way of my hobby....must realign the priorities!).

Turn 6 in the campaign has come and gone and another battle was fought, this time between elements of the Army of Bohemia and le Grande Armee (sud). Napoleon had pushed his 4e Corps d'Armee into the mountains in northern Bavaria to, it seems, secure the northern flank of his push into Bohemia and Prague. General de Division Bertrand, commander of 4e Corps, had followed the Emperor's orders and was confronted at Bayreuth by an advancing enemy force made up of the entirety of II Prussian Corps, commanded by General-Leutnant von Bulow. This Prussian move had been ordered by Prince Schwarzenberg in order to discover any French presence near Bayreuth (seems they found it!).

The campaign map: Bayreuth is on the eastern end of the map, north-west of Prague.

Not only did Bulow find an enemy presence but immediately resolved to attack the French as they moved on Bayreuth. Bertrand's cavalry patrols, more numerous than the Prussians, discovered von Bulow's movements and Bertrand was able to maneuver his divisions to effect a flanking movement on the unsuspecting Prussians. As the game began, the Prussians were on the defensive in response to Bertrand's flank surprise.

French Army
CinC: General de Division Bertrand

4e Corps d'Armee (Bertand)

• 31e Division (Berg)
• 35e Division (Berg)
• 39e Division (Hesse-Darmstadt)
• Cavalerie Division (Berg/Hesse-Darmstadt)

Part of the cavalry division of 4e Corps: Berg and Hesse-Darmstadt light cavalry). Front Rank figures from the collection of Andy Lunny, painted by Steve Thompson.

Allied Army
CinC: General-Leutnant von Bulow

II Prussian Corps (von Bulow)

• 1st Brigade (infantry)
• 2nd Brigade (infantry)
• 3rd Brigade (cavalry)

Bayreuth Garrison (1 Garrison Point)

The Prussian commander decided to deploy with his right flank anchored on the dominating hill and town, occupied by the resident garrison troops. The French deployed to face the town and their flanking forces, one division of infantry and the light cavalry division, moved to hit the Prussian right flank. The French deployment seemed, at first, to be a little disjointed with such a large gap between the two wings of the corps. But the first French moves showed that the initial deployment before the hill and town was only a ruse to pin the Prussian left flank. Bertrand immediately began moving the two infantry divisions facing the town laterally towards the flanking force.

As the French were making their lateral movement, the Prussian commander saw an opportunity and began moving his cavalry and left-most infantry division forward to try and interdict the French move. Initially, this movement proved successful. Bertrand's infantry divisions moving across the front of the town and hill were pinned by the rapid Prussian cavalry movement. The future looked bleak for the French infantry, especially the right-most division. At this moment, the Prussian cavalry commander was felled and the impetus of the attack stalled. This proved to be the pivotal moment of the battle. The French were able to recover and continue the movement to link up with their flanking comrades. Meanwhile, part of the French cavalry division on the flank moved to the north of the hill to attempt to counter the Prussian cavalry. They arrived just as the Prussian commander went down and were able to push back the confused Prussian cavalry.

Once the impetus had left the Prussian attack, the French were bale to quickly recover and continue their attack. The combined arms of the French made the Prussian response static (the Prussian cavalry had been made practically useless with the loss of their commander and the interdiction of the French light cavalry). Von Bulow saw the writing on the wall and resolved to pull his already battered corps from the field. Unfortunately, his force was becoming more and more confused and the orders did not reach all. Most units, to their honour, stood resolutely in the face of increasing French pressure. Eventually, the Prussians fled from field, but not after causing some heavy casualties on the French as well.

The German cavalry of 4e Corps again, with accompanying horse artillery.

Tactically, the Prussian player played the game well, daring to move out against the initial French lateral movement in front of the town and hill. If his cavalry commander had not been killed at the most important point of the attack, the game would have been markedly different. But these are the moments upon which the fates of nations ride!

In campaign terms, the Prussians suffered a Decisive Loss and lost 35 National Will Points and French gained six NWPs. This is not the worst result (that being a Crushing Loss), mainly because the Prussians were able to inflict a fair number of casualties on the French to mitigate the final result somewhat. Perhaps the worst part of the loss for the Prussians is that five units were destroyed and removed from II Prussian Corps order of battle. There is a mechanism for their replacement but it is dependant upon a number of factors and is definitely not a reliable source of reinforcement. For the time-being, II Prussian Corps is severely mauled and has received some heavy negative modifiers (it also suffered from the pursuit, since its cavalry contingent had been knocked about severely).

You can see the entire battle report and OBs (and the campaign rules) here.

1813 Campaign: rule addition

After our first campaign battle (see here), I noticed that I had made a fairly significant omission in the rules, pursuit! I have subsequently added the following rule:

4.10 Pursuit

At the end of the battle, count the number of non-routed, non-destroyed cavalry units remaining in each army. If the defeated army has more, there is no pursuit. If the victorious army has a 1.5:1 advantage, all divisions in the defeated army receive an extra "downgrade 1 unit" modifier. If a 2:1 advantage or more, all divisions in the defeated army receive an extra "downgrade 2 units" modifier.

As always, the full rules can be seen here.

1813 Campaign: rules discussion & additions

A couple of additions to our Napoleonic campaign rules (which can be seen in their entirety here):

In order to prevent armies from deploying on the edge of the baseline and immediately retreating off-table from a battle they never wanted to fight but were perhaps forced into, the following rules now apply.

4.9 Ending the Tactical Battle

An army may not voluntarily retreat off-table during the first two turns of the game. Starting on the third turn, when an Army Morale Check card is turned, a player may voluntarily make the roll and abide by the results as normal. If a player voluntarily rolls on the Army Morale Check card (i.e. his army is not yet at 0 AMPs), all participating divisions will be assessed an extra "downgrade 1 unit" modifier, in addition to any other modifiers from the loss/victory. This will apply even if the player fails the roll by less than 4 and only part of the army starts to retreat. In other words, exercising this option automatically adds the extra modifier, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the battle.

4.6 Deployment

The defending army has a deployment zone 24" in from the baseline and 18" (12" if on a table shorter than 12') from either flank line. The attacker has a deployment zone 18" in from the baseline and 18" from either flank line. A maximum of 50% of an army's units may be deployed within 1/3 of the deployment distance from the baseline. This does not affect an army's ability to deploy up to 25% of the army's divisions off-table along the baseline. The former is assessed by unit, the latter by division.

As well, a short discussion from a recent email exchange about how we use the defensive die type in Field of Battle for melee rather than the normal offensive die type:

I've tried to reconcile some issues I've been having with melee in FoB. I have no problem using the defensive die types for melee calculations and everyone seems to have accepted this modification over the last months fairly well. Another modification we've been using sees "down" modifiers past d4 assessed as "up" modifiers for the other side. I think this may be causing some misconceptions about possible melee outcomes (i.e. if too many "ups" are added to the opposite side, a d4 melee contestant will have little or no chance of winning). This is true but doesn't eliminate the possibility of winning against the odds except when one of the protagonists is seriously damaged or otherwise out-manoeuvered. This was always one of the charms of Piquet systems in that a battered militia unit still had a chance to best a fresh Old Guard unit in melee (however remote the chance). It didn't happen often but for the player with the d4 unit, it meant, at the very least, an outside chance of performing a miracle. Here are a couple of examples:

Example (1) A 10/4 Prussina Landwher battalion is charged by 12/10 Old Guard infantry. Both are in column and both are full-strength (i.e. no stand losses). The Landwher receive "up 1" for column , so d4 up to d6. The OG unit receives "up 1" for initiating melee and "up 1" for column, so d10 up to d12+1. Thus we have d12+1 Old Guard v. d6 Landwher. Not good odds but far from impossible.

Example (2) A 10/4 Prussina Landwher battalion is charged by 12/10 Old Guard infantry. Both are in column and the landwher unit has two stand losses and is disordered. Looks like a lost cause for the Landwher. The Landwher receive "up 1" for column but "down 2" for the stand losses and down 1 for disordered, so d4 doesn't change. The OG unit receives "up 1" for initiating melee and "up 1" for column, so d10 up to d12+1. They receive an additional "up 2" because of the Landwher's "downs" past the d4. Thus we have d12+3 Old Guard v. d4 Landwher. The latter cannot win. The best result would be a tie. I see no problem with this. A militia unit of questionable stability, seriously damaged and disordered, is charged by a fresh unit of some of the best troops in Europe.

Recently, we experimented with using the defensive die type only when cavalry is involved. Otherwise the offensive die type is used. I think this was a mistake. The modification was tried, I think, because of a misconception that using the defensive die types, coupled with the d4 "downs" turned into "ups" for the other side, would produce situations where there is no chance of winning. Isn't that the point? If the aggressor can get his opponent into a "negative" situation, all the more power to him!

1813 Campaign: Battle of Teinitz

In the ongoing saga of our current Napoelonic campaign, our first battle was fought this weekend. To see the preamble to the campaign and the rules, look here.

After four turns of movement, as players tried to consolidate their armies and scout the enemy, a battle took place on the southern front between the Army of Bohemia and Napoleon's Grande Armee (sud). From the beginning of Turn 1, Napoleon and Schwarzenberg had been banging into one another near Ratisbon (see map below). Schwarzenberg initially pushed I ArmeeKorps (minus the Advance Guard Division) across the Danube at Ratisbon in an attempt to quickly establish a bridgehead there. The small French garrison tried in vain to destroy the bridges leading to Ratisbon but the Austrian advance was too sudden. But when Schwarzenberg approached Ratisbon with I ArmeeKorps, he realized his objective might not be so easy to take. In the campaign, Ratisbon is a major walled city and because the Austrian force was crossing a river to attack the city, the French were able to take advantage of substantial earthworks for their defence. As the Austrian commander pondered his next move, Napoleon moved parts of the Imperial Guard corps and I Cavalry Corps into Ratisbon to reinforce the garrison. Seeing the futility of attacking such a formidable force, Schwarzenberg began moving I ArmeeKorps back across the river towards Teinitz. It was in this small town that Napoleon was able to catch up to the 2nd Division of I ArmeeKorps which had lagged behind the remainder of the Korps.

The Austrian commander was seriously outnumbered and out-classed in this first campaign battle. Unfortunately, the campaign rules force a tabletop army to remain on the tabletop for a minimum of two full Field of Battle turns. After that, the army may attempt to retreat off-board (not always an easy thing to do...in the game or historically).

Army of Bohemia

CinC: Feld-Marschall Furst zu Schwarzenberg

I ArmeeKorps: General der Kavallerie Merveldt

• I Korps/2nd Division (infantry)
  

Grande Armee (sud)

CinC: Emperor Napoleon

Imperial Guard: Napoleon

• 1st Division (infantry)
• 2nd Division (infantry) [scheduled to arrive as reinforcements]
• 3rd Division (cavalry)
• Artillery Reserve

I Corps de Cavalerie: General de Division Latour-Maubourg

• 1st Division (dragoons)
• 2nd Division (cuirassiers)

Although the expected result of the battle was agreed by all to be a foregone conclusion, it is precisely these small battles upon which the campaign can hinge. Repeated jabs at isolated enemy divisions can lead to an increasing loss of National Will Points. The most the Austrian commander could hope for here was a marginal loss.

As can be seen, there was not alot of tactical subtlety in this game. The French commander chose to move his cavalry forward to pin the Austrian infantry while the guns of the Artillery Reserve unlimbered within canister range.

Elements of the Imperial Guard cavalry division move forward to pin the Austrian infantry.

The guns of the Imperial Guard artillery have unlimbered and begin to pound the Austrian squares that were necessitated by the approaching French cavalry.

Napoleon's "beautiful daughters" unlimber in preparation for the storm they are about to unleash on the hapless Austrian squares.

The game proved to be rather short, which was not unexpected. Once the French artillery began to fire at close range on the Austrian squares, casualties quickly mounted and Schwarzenberg failed his first Army Morale Check miserably. But actually it was to his benefit. The Austrian army (such as it was) broke and ran before any more serious damage could be inflicted upon it. The Austrian division receives a "downgrade 1 unit" modifier in addition to permanently losing one infantry unit from its order of battle (destroyed during game play). All of the involved French divisions each receive an "upgrade 1 unit modifier." You can see the rules here for detailed explanations of these modifiers.

1813 Campaign

The first turn of our 1813 campaign finished up in rather dull style, but that was not unexpected given that all the players are still consolidating their forces and scouting out the enemy. It seems all of them want to gain some knowledge of what they're up against before committing any major forces (can't understand why...insert wry grin here). You can see a copy of the map below. Unfortunately, I can't add any unit icons since this is a public forum. Can't have the players peeking now can we? Generally speaking, the French army is holding the line of the river Saale and the Allied armies are arrayed to the east of that river. Once things start to heat up and the opposing armies begin running into one another, I can post game reports.

As our Napoleonic campaign is beginning, I've been tweaking the rules for not unexpected problems. Or, I should say, issues that had potential to be problematic. One such issue has to do with garrisons. Garrisons are a fairly new concept in our campaigns so this is a learning process. I've listed below some very recent changes in how garrisons are handled in combat etc. To see the rules in their entirety, click here.

4.1 Garrisons in Combat

A force made up entirely of Garrison Points may not initiate a battle.

An Engage in Battle card is not necessary for initiating a battle against a force made up entirely of Garrison Points. Simply move a force into the same town/city and declare an intention to attack the garrison.

If a force made up entirely of Garrison Points is engaged in battle by an enemy force, and the garrison is outnumbered by 4:1 or greater odds (in terms of opposing divisions), the garrison is removed from play and no battle is fought. For purposes of determining this ratio, divide the GPs by four, rounding down to the nearest whole number (i.e. 4 GPs = 1 division; 6 GPs = 1 division; 9 GPs = 2 divisions). A garrison of anything less than 4 GPs counts as one division.

If a force made up entirely of Garrison Points is engaged in battle by an enemy force (at any odds), the controlling player may opt to cede the town/city to the enemy without fighting a battle. The garrison is permanently removed from play and the ceding player loses NWPs for the size of the town/city lost (see National Will Point losses below). The margin of defeat for this calculation is based upon the size of the garrison in the ceded town/city: 1 division or less = marginal; 2 divisions = decisive; more than 2 divisions = crushing (see garrison size determination above).

One garrison point = 1 raw infantry unit + ½ raw artillery unit* + 4” Class III earthworks

* One (1) stand, or half-battery, of artillery.

Garrison units may be deployed anywhere in the defending force’s deployment zone during the

deployment process (although the earthworks need not be deployed with the garrison units). Half batteries may be combined into two-stand units. Garrison units in a town/city will constitute their own divisions (see above) with average commanders in any battle.

Napoleonic Campaign: rule amendments

After a Napoleonic bash today at MIGS (our local gaming club), and some discussion with three of the four principals in the campaign, several rule amendments have been introduced. I have listed them below in no particular order and with the number and title of the relevant section in the rules (which can be downloaded here).

5.2 Supply

Out of supply divisions may move a maximum of one movement leg, regardless of the movement points rolled.

(Note: I/we realized that most divisions move on average a maximum of two legs anyway so cutting the out of supply movement back to one seemed appropriate.)

4.6 Destroyed Units

If any unit is destroyed during the tactical battle (infantry 5 stand losses, cavalry 4 stand losses, artillery 3 stand losses), it is marked as destroyed in the order of battle and is no longer available in the campaign. Destroyed units may be replaced by raw class units in the order of battle by using the Successful Recruitment card.

(Note: This is to allow the physical/numerical deterioration of an army. It also gives those non-battle light cavalry something to do in the tactical battles. In short, they can perform their historical function of pursuit of routing units and, in game terms, causing that last stand loss to force destruction.)

4.7 Imperial Guard Units

When any French Old Guard infantry unit or any Russian Imperial guard infantry unit suffers a stand loss in a tactical battle, two Army Morale Point losses are assessed to the army.

French Old Guard infantry, artillery and cavalry units and Russian Imperial guard infantry and artillery units may not be replaced with the Successful Recruitment card.

(Note: These rules will, hopefully, cause those commanders with these troops to consider more carefully the use of these valuable troops in battle. The inability to replace them reflects their....hmmmm, irreplacability.)

2.3 Campaign Card Definitions

Successful Recruitment: The logistical and administrative elements of the army have been successful in moving newly recruited units to the area of operations. 1d6 garrison points are added to the Garrison Pool. Alternatively, a player may opt to replace 1d6 destroyed units in the order of battle. Replacement units are raw class, regardless of the class of the units they are replacing. French Old Guard infantry, artillery and cavalry units and Russian Imperial guard infantry and artillery units may never be replaced. Garrison point additions and unit replacements may not be combined in one die roll.

(Note: This presents another decision for a commander; create fragile replacements or bolster the garrison pool.)

1.4 Division Modifiers

Possible division modifiers:

downgrade 1 unit
downgrade 2 units
downgrade 3 units
upgrade 1 unit
upgrade 2 units
upgrade 3 units

(Note: I have changed these from the 10% downgrade style because most divisions are 3-6 units strong and there is little or no difference between 10% and 30% of most divisions. This modification is more in line with the original intent.)

New Napoleonic Campaign

After the quick end of my last Napoleonic campaign with Vidal, I decided to go ahead with another campaign project that I've been puttering away at for a while. This one's a little more ambitious but quite different in approach. I was able to find some wonderful maps built with Campaign Cartographer, a CAD-like program used to...you guessed it... build maps. I have the program and I was planning at some point to produce some campaign maps for point-to point movement but these were shown on TMP as a part of another Napoleonic campaign and the creator graciously allowed me to use the map for our campaigns. He has created several maps to cover all the major campaigning areas in Europe and the one chosen for our current campaign attempt is below.


The purple and yellow lines are the general starting positions of the French and the Allies, respectively. Our campaign will be based loosely on the 1813 campaign in Germany. Our group's 28mm Napoleonic collection is quite large but doesn't reflect the 1813 orders of battle well, except to show that we have French, Russian, Austrian and Prussian contingents. The campaign is large enough that I could have used the historical OBs and when a battle is fought we could merely plug in our units to fulfill the necessary on-table OB. I could give a whole host of excuses why I didn't do this but it's sufficient to say that for this part of the project I was rather lazy. I decided to use the OBs of the forces we have and make them reflect the general 1813 situation (although, as I write this I'm rather regretting this decision....maybe there's time to go back and re-work the OBs...hmmmm?). There is another reason for the ahistorical OBs. As the game-master and map steward, I didn't want to get too bogged down in the logistics of moving all the icons on the map the historical OBs would demand. Granted, I use Photoshop and that allows me to streamline the process enormously. But this is our first test of the new rules (more of them in a moment) and I thought that smaller OBs would be better to try them out.

A sample of the unit icons used on the campaign map.


As for the rules, these are again another try at merging Piquet's Field of Battle and the campaign system Theatre of War. Vidal and I were able to fairly easily play the card system in ToW via email (although it could be awkward and clunky at times). We were able to do this because there were only two of us and we both have extensive experience with Piquet products. The concepts and mechanisms were familiar to us and there was little time lost in mis-interpretations. For my current attempt, I wanted more players and unfortunately, I have yet to come up with a comfortable method of playing a ToW-based campaign via email with more than two players. So, the current attempt at campaign rules uses some basic FoB and ToW ideas and mechanisms but the initiative rolls have disappeared and the campaign and battle decks have been separated and altered alot. You can see them here (file name FoB_ToW_1813_rules_2.1). I should note that I make little or no attempt here or in the rules to explain basic Piquet philosophies or mechanisms.

Unfortunately, I can't publish the OBs for the campaign but I can show a sample of the order submission form that I created for players to submit their moves etc each turn. This is a simple Excel spreadsheet that utilizes drop-down selections for ease of use. At the beginning of each turn, each player will receive an updated map and this form with any pertinent information. The players simply input the necessary movement and order information and email the file back to me.

So, it's off to the races and hopefully we'll see some interesting battles. The players are currently preparing their initial deployments and moves. Hopefully, by the end of the week the first campaign turn will have been made. Tally-ho!

The Good and the Bad

The Good first! While I was at Vidal's house on Wednesday playing 15mm WWII, I was able to take some pics of his new 28mm Carlist Wars figures. We almost have enough finished to try out a small game.

Carlist infantry with a very cool bugler!

Carlist skirmishers. Gotta' love those tams!

Now the Bad. While at Vidal's, we had the opportunity to adjudicate the current turn of our Theatre of War Napoleonic campaign. The French were able to follow up on their last victory and catch the same Austrian battlegroup as they were attempting to retreat northwards to safety. The resulting battle we didn't even fight on the tabletop since there were 28 French units to three Austrian (not even worth setting up for). We agreed that it would be a "Crushing Victory" for the French and the resultant loss in National Will Points for the Austrians brought their total down to zero. Thus the campaign is over!

I think that for future versions I need to adjust the National Will Point totals to more effectively synchronize with the size of the map. Low totals for small maps and and larger totals for the big ones. Otherwise, it's almost impossible to traverse a large map, fighting battles along the way and staying in the fight.

My next attempt at a Napoleonic campaign will involve point-to-point movement , more players, and a more streamlined hybrid of Theatre of War and Field of Battle. But more of that anon...

Theatre of War: Turn 2

Another update to our Napoleonic campaign. As can be seen from the strategic map, most of the action took place around Oberdorf. After losing the battle at the end of turn 1 near Oberdorf, the losing French battlegroup retreated back to Oberdorf, carefully transporting the wounded Emperor. The Allies advanced upon Oberdorf with the hope of taking the French Base of Operations at that place, despite the fact that the only available Allied battlegroup was only Strength Point 1 (of a possible 4). The resulting battle was a tense affair that started well for the Allies but rapidly degenerated into what could only be characterized as a disastrous rout.

the situation at the end of turn 2

Again, the French were able to bring some of the guard to the battle (which makes sense, since it is the army's Base of Operations and Napoleon was in the town recovering from his wounds). This time, however, it would be the French who fielded no artillery.

The Allies, on the other hand, were able to finally bring forward their lost guns and fielded a battery of British 6 pders and for added surprise, a Royal Horse Artillery rocket battery. This is one of those units that is really more flash than substance. Rarely in games have I seen a rocket battery make any significant contribution. The rockets are very cool nonetheless and I always look froward to having them in a scenario. I've run several versions of The Battle of Baldensburg from the War of 1812 where rockets are really in their element. Throwing these chaotic and unpredictable weapons at American militia never fails to produce a positive result. In the battle of Oberdrof, however, they were not facing unsteady farmers and shopkeepers in fancy uniforms.The opening moves of the Battle of Oberdorf again saw the Imperial Guard cavalry trying to make an end run and outflank the Allied army (is there no creativity in the French army?). The British cavalry attempted to counter this move but the abysmal nature of the Allied command structure prevented this from happening in anything but a lethargic manner. The Allied commander was not the best of the lot in an army of sub-par leaders. Not only was he naturally below average on any given day, on this day in particular he was rated as Abysmal (the lowest rating possible) and his card deck was also the worst. On the flip side, the French commander was rated as Superior with an excellent deck (both the highest possible ratings). It was the Allied commander's hope to come out of the encounter with a Marginal loss given the odds against him (that would be me, by the way...wishful thinking as it turned out).

first phase of the battle

While the guard cavalry was off on its merry jaunt, the bulk of the French army moved to secure the small town on the Allied left flank. The Allied commander had placed his weakest troops in the town, hoping the natural cover of the buildings would help to redress the imbalance in troop quality. At first, this was a successful move as the Wurttemburgers and the Old Guard infantry attempted multiple times to break into the town. Through canny re-positioning of units and the naturally strong position, the Austrian infantry in the town was able to hold out for quite a period.

second phase of the battle

Unfortunately, this stiff resistance eventually came to an end as the Austrian infantry was unceremoniously bundled out of the town. Coupled with the French guard cavalry's successful foray against the Allied right flank the fate of the Allied army was sealed. Having lost the town and with the guard cavalry bearing down quickly upon them, the troops holding the center of the Allied line soon found the position untenable and without further ado ran screaming from the field like little girls. So much for the hoped-for marginal defeat. Once all the calculations were finished, the Allies had lost 39 National Will Points (a substantial part of their whole) in this Crushing Defeat and received a "30% downgrade" modifier. To add insult to injury, the last die roll of the game saw the Allied battlegroup commander disappear in whiff of grapeshot. Probably for the best after his dismal performance!

third & final devastating phase of the battle

With any luck (and forethought), I may be able to post some pictures of the next game. That would, of course, require Vidal and I to bring a camera and put down our wine glasses long enough to frame the shots!

Theatre of War: Turn 1

It's time to get caught up with the Theatre of War campaign currently underway. The French began to move their forces into the operational area from the south and south-east. Napoleon placed his administrative and logistical resources in Oberdorf, declaring it his Base of Operations. Looking on the map you can see the blue and red arrows, showing French and Allied movements in Turn 1 respectively. The numbers beside each arrow (i.e. 1-2) indicate the turn number and the initiative. The large red numbers indicate Victory Points for important areas on the map. As the French moved north to Oberdorf, the Allies (me!) fell back but simultaneously moved forces south from Grasselfing to investigate the reported French movements near Oberdorf. It was here, just to the west of Oberdorf that the Allied movements ran into an enemy force under the command of Napoleon himself (French "A" on the map). Thus was the first battle of the campaign created.

The situation at the end of turn 1.

Napoelon brought along a respectable force, including some of the Imperial Guard (drat!). See the French OB below:The Allied Order of Battle was somewhat less spectacular:

The astute observer would notice that the Allies had no artillery present in this battle group. The artillery commander had been late in reacting to his orders to march south and thus was far behind the lines when the battle began. In fact, his lethargy would deprive the Allied commander of much-needed fire support for the entire battle. A map was generated as per the rules (link) and seemed to favour the Allies, in that it was well-clogged with terrain features that would theoretically inhibit the effectiveness of the French guard cavalry and artillery. The initial dispositions and first moves can be seen below:

first phase of the battle

As you can see, the Allied cavalry decided that it might be a good idea to test their mettle and move boldly against the French guard cavalry. In fact, one unit was actually able to catch the Imperial Guard Chasseurs a Cheval fully in the flank. Unfortunately, it was like watching an apple thrown at a brick wall. The chasseurs calmly watched the pieces of the Austrian lancers fall limply to the ground and proceeded to trample the remains under their horses' hooves. Meanwhile the rest of the French army advanced to take on the remainder of the Allied army. The British infantry in the center moved to take the bridge and also advanced boldly against the Old Guard infantry. Here, the result was more favourable to the Allies as the steady lines of redcoats held Les Grognards in place.

second phase of the battle

La Garde Recule! Yes, it's true, the Old Guard infantry found it prudent to back off from the stubborn redcoats. It could be characterized by a precipitate withdrawal more than a rout (the guard never routs!). Unfortunately for the Allies, this unexpected success in the center was tempered by the complete collapse of the Allied left wing. Meanwhile, the guard cavalry was following up on its success against the Allied light cavalry.

third & final phase of the battle

In the final phase of the battle the Allied left wing was able to re-establish itself (albeit , further back) and the French advance in that sector ground to a halt. In the center, the guard cavalry was beginning to make its presence felt but it was too late. With the withdrawal of the guard infantry, the British infantry and cavalry in the center were able to counter the threat. At this point, the French were dangerously close to failing an Army Morale Check and to make matters worse, the Fates decided at that moment to serve the French army a serious blow. The Emperor suddenly reeled in his saddle and fell to the ground wounded by a stray musket ball. Surgeon Larrey rushed to his side and decided that His Majesty would need to be removed from the field immediately. The army, seeing (or sensing) the fall of their glorious leader decided that enough fighting had been done for one day and prudently surrendered the field.

In strategic terms, Napoleon was rendered hors de combat for three full turns (i.e. he will come back into action at the beginning of campaign turn 4). The battle group involved in the battle was assessed a "10% downgrade" modifier for all future battles. This means that whenever this battlegroup is engaged again and after all the units are graded, a random 10% of the units in the battlegroup are downgraded one level. The Allied battlegroup received the opposite "10% upgrade" for this Marginal Victory. The French also lost 17 National Will Points (when an army's National Will Point total is reduced to zero, the campaign is over).

Overall, a satisfying result for the Allies, given that they were faced with the best troops in the campaign. My thanks to Vidal, my campaign mate and my sympathies for the wound he received!