Napoleonic Game

For today's regular Sunday game I organised a Napoleonic game set in 1813.

The background story is that all the armies are converging on Leipzig. The French were retreating from Dresden with the Austrians and Prussians in pursuit. The French suddenly became aware that the Allies were advancing much faster than expected and Napoleon was concerned that two corps might trapped east of the Mulde river. He turned back three infantry and three cavalry divisions with instructions to hold the Austrians back at all cost. The Austrian commander, Schwarzenberg, saw the opportunity to rob Napoleon of 30,000 men and ordered his leading corps to push forward hard. At nightfall contact is made. Two brigades of French light cavalry are facing an Austrian light brigade and a Prussian infantry brigade.

Below is my sketch map of the table, with positions of the forces from the evening before (Allies are on the upper edge, French the lower edge).

As the game starts a heavy mist lays over the field. Both sides were able to move their pre-deployed forces any where along their table edge, within 400mm of the edge, but once they do it the roll 1xD6 and a score of 4+ means the relocation has been detected. Each side then sketched their deployment a then deployed. 

The forces are:

• Austrian - one light brigade, two line infantry and one grenadier divisions,  a cuirassier brigade and a light cavalry division 
• Prussian - one infantry brigade and a cavalry division
• French - two line infantry and one combined grenadier divusions, two cuirassier and one light cavalry division.

And here is how it played out.

Neither side chose to redeploy their preliminary forces. The French deploy their biggest division (17 battalions), supported by the light cavalry in the centre, the grenadiers (10 battalions) and one cuirassier division on the right, the remaining infantry division (12 battalions) and the second cuirassier division on the left. The  reserve artillery were deployed between the centre and the left. The Allies placed the Prussian cavalry on the extreme left. One Austrian line division (12 battalions) and the grenadiers (4 battalions) held the centre with the cavalry in support. The final Austrian division (12 battalions) formed on the right of the light brigade.

The Austrian extreme right at the beginning of the game of the game.

The full length of the allied line, with the Prussians in the distance

The Prussians on the left.

The French left deployed in a restricted space.

The Prussian cavalry re-deploys to the right of their infantry 

The Austrian light cavalry moves forward

The Austrian infantry surge forward in the centre.

On the French right a lone cuirassier regiment engages some Prussian uhlans

The Austrian grenadiers manoeuvred, ready to attack. 

The Austrian centre surged forward.

The French  clung on to the edge of their hill, repelling two assaults, but the Austrian forces came on again.

The Carabiniers looked pretty, but were not engaged 

The Austrian grenadiers looked equally pretty, but were driven off by French artillery and infantry.

On the French left the fight seesawed...

But in the centre the Austrian made a determined final assault and they carried the edge of the ridge.

So who won? Well, both sides could claim that they had achieved their objectives.

For the Allies, their centre had suffered heavily - all four battalions of the grenadier division had been destroyed and of the line division perhaps seven of the twelve battalions had been mauled. The Austrian right and the Prussians, however, were in good shape.

Arguably the French were on top...they had held their ground and bloodied the Allies. While they had losses, most of their command in tact: the Grenadiers and the two cuirassier divisions were hardly touched. Of the other divisions they had lost about one third of their strength, although the loss among the artillery in the centre was heavy. The Emperor would have been happy not only because time had been gained for the army's retreat, but more than half of the defending force, particularly the six valuable cuirassier regiments.