The Adventures of Henri Bonhomme - Episode 2: The Battle of Blasthof Bridge

Previous Episodes

Episode 1: The Affair at Seusslitz

The Battle of Blasthof Bridge - 22 September 1813

Henri Bonhomme was pleased that not only had he secured a tidy haul of artwork from Schloss Seusslitz, but the fighting around the town had been conducted with minimal loss. Since the Austrians appeared not to be pursuing he sent word ahead for the rest of the division to press on while he and his small force would catch up. His temporary delay in the retreat would probably go unnoticed by higher command.

His little column had left Seusslitz at 1:30 PM the previous day and marched until 5:30, when he halted for the night. With Baillard he viewed and then carefully packed the treasures that had been gathered at Schloss Seusslitz for transport back to France. Baillard would accompany them back to the estate near Bordeaux, but there were still more treasures with the divisional train that would need to be packed first. They planned to merge the collections when they got to Leipzig.

Bonhomme consulted with Colonel de Serville about the best route to take to rejoin the division. De Serville said they would have to cross the Pizzlewitz River. 

"It's not wide", the colonel explained, "but it is steep banked and there are few practical places to cross the guns and the wagon. With the Austrians behind us the nearest good bridge is at Blasthof".  

Bonhomme instructed him to set off at daybreak to secure the place. He then settled down to sleep for the night.

*******

At 44 years of age Major General Helmut von Pannewitz had been a soldier for 20 years. He had suffered the humiliation of 1806 and had reluctantly gone to Russia when Bonaparte forced Prussia to supply a contingent for the 1812 campaign. Now with Germany rising against the French he was desperate to get at them. An opportunity had come his way as a result of the affair at Seusslitz.  Rumour has it that bumbling the Austrian Hockmiseter sent a single landwehr battalion to Seusslitz when he should have send a full brigade. The landwehr had been roughly handled and the French were free to move towards Blasthof, where the nearest bridge of any substance stood. Pannewitz sought to intercept them if they made for the place.

*******

Bonhomme had his troops up before dawn and as the skies lightened had them on the road. Blasthof was only three kilometers away so he should cover the distance in less than an hour and be across the river an hour later. From there it was a relatively short march to catch up with the rest of the division. But the column had been on the road for no more than twenty minutes when smoke was seen up ahead. De Serville rode in shortly after reporting that Russian cossacks riding far forward of their main body had beaten him to Blasthof and fired the bridge. The first of his troopers had ridden up as the locals were damping out the last hot spots.

Fortunately only the centre span had been damaged, but repairs were required to permit the troops to cross. 

De Serville went on to report that the Austrians at Seusslitz had been reinforced and were moving slowly forward, while Prussian troops had been reported moving in from the Northeast.

“Is Blasthof defensible?” Bonhomme asked.

“Yes”, was the reply. "The town itself is quite compact and the ground to the north and east is broken so any attacking force would struggle to form up. But it's exposed to the south.”

Bonhomme though for a moment. There was no choice he had to go on, repair the bridge and get across the river. He ordered that the head of the column pick up the pace and secure the town while the remainder of the column, with it slower moving wagon, continued.

*******

Pannewitz recieved permission from his divisional commander to move on Blasthof, but his brigade was make up was less than optimal. His most reliable troops were a unit of jägers, while the reminder of his brigade was made up of four battalions of landwehr and two reserve battalions. He had managed to convince his senior to assign him a half battery and a regiment of landwehr cavalry. It was hardly a strike force, but he had heard that the bridge at Blasthof had been destroyed so if he could get there quickly the French would be forced to attack him in a fixed position.

*******

Albrecht Hockmiseter was annoyed that his afternoon with the lovely Helga had been interrupted by that affair at Seusslitz. His subordinate, Holzinger, had panicked when he encountered a small French force and called for reinforcements. A battalion of infantry was sent to support him and the French retreated. Where was the problem? That evening he was ordered to push those French harder. Unwilling to allow Holzinger’s panicking to further interfere he decided to take is entire division after the French, giving orders to Holzinger to locate and hold the French in position, but not engage them seriously until he could bring up the whole force.

*******

Bonhomme arrived in Blasthof shortly after 8:00 AM. He could see the damage and was pleased to see that the supports were intact, but it would take some time to make repairs sufficient to allow troops and traffic to cross.

He had with him 1st and 4th Battalions, 33rd Legere, a company from 3rd Battalion and three squadrons of de Serville’s Chasseurs a Cheval. The rest of the column was a good 45 minutes to one hour behind. He sent the cavalry out to the north and east to watch for Prussians and put the two battalions in position to cover the northeastern approaches of the town. The men from the single company he assigned the task of rebuilding the bridge, instructing them to take the timber from an abandoned barn nearby. 

Then he sent back to the main column to send the remainder of 3rd Battalion and the regimental guns forward at the double.

De Serville soon made contact with the leading elements of the Prussians and fell back slowly in the face of superior numbers.

*******

Pannewitz rode forward to the of crest of the hill that overlooked Blasthof. He didn’t like what he saw. The French held the town and at least two, maybe three battalions and an undermined number of guns. Less than 300 paces from the edge of the town stood a two small woods and a small farm. The area in front of the town was swarming with French skirmishers, protected by several squadrons of cavalry.

“My God,” the thought. “There is nowhere to form up that will be safe from fire!” He looked to the south where there was space, but he would have to swing wide to get there and he could see French troops there too, at least two battalions and some cavalry. Maybe bring the guns and the jägers up by the farm, hold the French in the town in place then swing south to hit that second group before they could get to the town....

He gave the order. The landwehr cavalry and five battalions would extend to the left, with the sixth battalion as liaison between the flankers and the jägers. His plan was to get in between the two French bodies, destroy the smaller one and then move on the town. If he could keep the pressure on them he might be able to hit them before the bridge could be rebuilt.

The columns moved smoothly and swiftly to the left and he watched them with pride. Way to the south, in the distance, past the French he saw something. He focused the telescope. 

“AUSTRIANS! ” he thought. “Damn it! That bumbling idiot Hockmeister coming up to claim the glory. Well not today!” Pannewitz hurried on to the head of the column. He ordered the colonel of the cavalry to deploy then advance as quickly as he could and strike at the French infantry column on the road.

*******

Bonhomme watched as his light companies skirmished with the Prussians around the farm while the rest of the column progressed slowly. Fearing that the Prussians might swing south he ordered de Serville to leave one squadron in support of the battalions facing northeast and send the other two back towards the column on the road.

The chasseurs had only just cleared the town when the Prussian squadrons wheeled into line. De Serville deployed two squadrons en-echelon between the town and the column, the second squadron some 50 paces behind the first. The third squadron, that was with the marching column, formed almost at right-angles to the other two squadrons. Both French and Prussian squadrons were wary. Bonhomme watched nervously. He had known de Serville for years and knew him to be a skilled cavalry officer, but after the losses of the Russian campaign the cavalry in 1813 was not the cavalry of earlier years. 

The infantry escorting the wagon were equally nervous. If the French troopers failed the Prussians could spill through onto them. The 2nd Battalion, that was in the lead, formed square while the 5th Battalion, escorting the wagon, passed behind them.

Suddenly it was all on. The Prussian troopers surged forward en-masse. De Serville counter-charged with his lead squadron and although outnumbered the French troopers slowed the Prussian attack. When the second squadron charged the Prussian troopers were halted. Then finally the third squadron slammed into the flank of the Prussians.

*******

Pannewitz was amazed that the cavalry had surged forward in one mass. Wisdom said to commit squadrons sequentially. He watched in horror as the French drove in the flank. 

The Prussian horsemen came thundering back with French cavalry in pursuit. A landwehr battalion fearing the worst broke and fled to the woods, but the two reserve battalions behind them coolly formed square. Some of the French troopers plunged out of control into the wall of bayonets, but most managed to rein in and fall back on their own infantry.

Pannewitz scrambled to stabilise his line, but it was no easy task to settle the nervous landwehr. By the time he had sorted out the battalions, the French of the marching column had reached the town and were forming up. 

*******

With relief Bonhomme watched his wagon reach the shelter of the town. 

All of the infantry was soon safely positioned around the town and de Serville's Chasseurs à Cheval were reforming along the river bank. The bridge repair was progressing, albeit slower than he wanted, but within the next hour or so it would be strong enough to take traffic.

He was happy with his position. It was strong and difficult for the enemy to get at him, but what concerned him was that there was a column of Austrians coming up from the south and if they possessed artillery they could interfere with the crossing and possibly damage the fragile bridge repairs. 

As midday approached the Prussians had established a fighting line of four battalions faced by the reformed chasseurs next to the river. Seeing that de Serville's troopers could achieve little in their position Bonhomme brought them inside the town limits. As he watched the last of the chasseurs pass though the battle line there was a burst of musketry to the south. It started with a spattering of skirmisher fire, followed by a crashing volley. The Prussians were surging in.

*******

Pannewitz had ordered the jägers and the artillery create distraction. They were to increase their fire and make it look as though an attack on the northeastern side of the town was immanent, while he organised the troops to the south.

The landwehr battalion that had fled to the woods was reformed and left there. The battalion that had been in the woods as the liaison with the jägers was brought forward, The two reserve battalions were formed in line in the front with three landwehr battalions in column to the rear. A few groups of of Frei Korps riflemen covered the front.

He looked to the south and could see the Austrians getting closer. It was time to strike and he gave the order to advance.

The riflemen were quickly engaged is a heavy skirmish with the French voltigeurs, who fell back in the face of the Prussian advance. When the advance got to within 200 paces of the town limits, the French light infantry fell back into their lines. The French opened with a noisy, but ineffective volley. The range was too great and Pannewitz pushed the battalions on. The reservists were doing well. When they got to within 100 paces he ordered them to halt and fire. The line was quickly shrouded in smoke and he could not judge the effect of the fire.

The French returned fire, this time with good effect. Both sides began to trade volleys. Losses amongst the reservists began to mount and they began to give ground.

Pannewitz knew he could not win a fire fight here, the French were too well positioned. He ordered the three landwehr battalions forward. They were to carry the village at bayonet point.

*******

Bonhomme watched the developing action to the south with concern. The activity to the northeast did not look serious so he bought the five companies of 3rd Battalion back from that front to the southern end of the town as a reserve. Then he rode over to where the bridge builders were at work.

“When will it be ready?” he asked the captain in charge.

“Soon Sir.” was the reply. “We have just some boards on the central section to secure now.”

“As soon as you can, get that wagon across, then the cavalry.”

The captain nodded and Bonhomme headed for the southern part of the town.

*******

The landwehr surged passed Pannewitz as he urged them on. Their columns passed through the stalled reserve battalions into the deadly final 50 paces in front of the town.

Immediately two crashing volleys and canister from the regimental guns tore into the Prussian columns that staggered to a halt a mere 30 paces from the French position. The Prussian officers urged the men to push on, but the advance had stalled. The columns were too tightly grouped and they could not form line to meet the French fire that tore into them again.

*******

Bonhomme arrived at the line to the south just at the Prussian advance was brought to a halt. He called on the men to reload and fire as rapidly as they could. Some companies continued with volley fire while others opened independent fire, but the fire was maintained and he could see that the Prussians were staggering backwards. The ground before them littered with dead and wounded.

After a few moments he saw that they were in a disordered retreat. His lines had held and the immediate threat was removed. But through the smoke, behind the retreating Prussians he could see more troops coming up.

He glanced back at the bridge and saw the first of de Serville’s chasseurs crossing, leading their horses, but the wagon was still on the near bank. “Damn it,” he thought. “I said the wagon first!”. But there was nothing to be done now.

*******

Pannewitz was astounded at how quickly the landwehr had been repulsed. They came streaming back in complete disorder. Some were running in full panic. Many were without weapons. He was immediately fearful that the French would counterattack. He rode into the mass of retreating men and tried to rally the companies that were still in good order. Some men rallied but the vast majority headed for the high ground beyond the woods.

Having built something of a line he was relieved to see that the French we not following. But he was deeply annoyed to see that the Austrians were beginning to deploy.

*******

During the previous evening Holzinger had received word from Hockmeister that the division would follow the French at daybreak, but he was to await the arrival of the main body before commencing his advance. However, Holzinger had no intention of waiting and set his column in motion at daybreak. Shortly after 9:30 he heard gunfire ahead and send a squadron of hussars forward to scout. The hussars quickly reported that the Prussians were engaged with the French at Blasthof.

Anxious to avenge the embarrassment of the previous day Holzinger pushed on. By 10:00 he had deployed about 1,000 paces south of Blasthof and was watching the last of the Prussians retreat from a failed attempt to storm the place when Hockmeister galloped up.

“Why didn’t you wait for me?” Hockmeister demanded.

“I moved at first light, as instructed sir. Locate and hold were the orders. There they are, sir and I am positioned to hold them,”, Holzinger replied.

“I don't want to start a fight until the main body to arrives,” Hockmeister said. "I don't want a repeat of yesterday."

Smarting under the insinuation that he had bungled the previous day's fight Holzinger asked “what am I to do, sir? If we wait for the main body, they will get away”

Hockmeister paused, then said “we have to attack and drive them into the river!”

“Do you think that wise, sir? They look to be in a strong position and it seems that they have just driven off an attack by the Prussians. We only have three battalions, a battery and some hussars. They look to have a five or six battalions, but don’t seem to have many guns, so might it not be better to sit back for a while and bombard them. We might even be able to do some damage to the bridge that they are working on.”

Hockmeister thought on the matter. After a minute or so he said’ “what we will do is hold position here and soften them up with gunfire. See if you can direct fire on that bridge.” And with that he turned and rode back towards the main body, the head of which was visible two or three kilometers back.

“Idiot,” Holzinger said under his breath and rode off to see the battery commander.

*******

Bonhomme was pleased that the Prussians had been beaten off so easily, but the sight of the Austrians deploying behind them was alarming. He looked back at the bridge and the chasseurs were still crossing and his wagon was standing by. He rode back to hurry things along.

As he arrived at the bridge the last of the chasseurs were crossing. He sought out the supervising captain.

“Get that wagon across the bridge now,” he demanded.

The captain nodded and called to his men to get it moving. Just then the Austrian battery opened.

The first shots fell amongst the infantry, but Bonhomme knew it would only be a matter of time before the gunners would take aim on the bridge - its what he would do - and now that his precious wagon was lumbering its way across the rickety bridge he needed to make preparations to extract the rest of his command.

First he ordered the 3rd Battalion, its bridge building company having rejoined it, to take post nearer to the bridge that it could cover the withdrawal of the other battalions. Then he ordered the 2nd and 4th Battalions, east of the town to begin to withdraw, stepping back one after the other, and to detach their voltigeur companies and send them to the southern edge.

He glanced across the bridge and saw that the wagon was on its way across, but the Austrian gunners were trying to get a line on the bridge, their roundshot splashing in the water.

It was time to go. He called the 1st and 5th Battalions back with instructions to screen the withdrawal with the voltigeurs.

As soon as the battalions began to move back the Austrians began to advance. This might be close run thing.

*******

Holzinger saw the French infantry start to withdraw and saw his chance he ordered the jägers and the grenz battalion to push forward. One section of the battery was tasked with firing on the bridge, while the other three threw shot at the retreating French. The landwehr battalion was held back in reserve. He wanted to take the town and capture as many French as he could before the idiot returned.

********

Bonhomme watched with relief as the wagon reached the further bank. He then ordered the regimental guns across to be followed by 2nd and 4th Battalions. The commander of the guns was instructed to place charge in the centre of the bridge that would be blown when the last troops crossed. He then went to the 3rd Battalion near the bridge to make sure all was well.

Three battalions were gathered here and five companies of voltigeurs were covering them deployed in the houses and gardens of the town.

The Austrians were closing in. These were good troops, jägers and grenz infantry, experts in this type of fighting. He could see them moving is small groups, house to house, yard to yard. He heard firing on the left and reports came that Prussian jägers were entering the town from the east. He looked back and saw the last platoons of 4th Battalion start on the bridge. He ordered the 1st Battalion to move off, it was going to be at least another half hour before the town was cleared.

He could do little more now. He called the commanders of 3rd and 5th Battalions to him and instructed them to fall back across the bridge as soon as it was clear. The voltigeurs were to continue to cover the retreat then cross themselves.

With those instructions given he rode across the bridge with the 4th Battalion.

*******

The Austrian jägers entered the town first. They quickly secured the first group of houses but then became engaged in a sharp fire fight with the French voltigeurs. The grenz battalion was slow in coming up, but when they entered the fight the Austrian superior numbers began to tell and the French began to give ground. Holzinger was forward with the jägers and to the right he heard German voices. He soon saw Prussian jägers moving to their support. The French were falling back rapidly through the town. Holzinger joined the lead company of the grenz battalion in the square near the bridge, where a mass of French troops were preparing to cross. He tried to form the company to charge the French and capture as many of them as possible, but before he could get them into line they were struck by a fearful volley.

 *******

From across the river Bonhomme could see that the last two battalions had not yet cleared the bridge and, seeing the voltigeurs retreating at pace, they began to panic and run. The officers tried to calm and slow them, but their efforts were to no avail. Bonhomme began to fear that the bridge would not hold up. 

Looking back across river he saw the first Austrians enter the square.

"My God," he thought, "they could cut off an entire battalion."

A roundshot from the Austrian battery plunged into the water too close to the bridge supports for comfort. He ordered the regimental guns to unlimber and see if they could distract the Austrian gunners.

Then from across the river he heard the crash of musketry. He quickly trained telescope on the end of the bridge and to his delight saw that the grenadier company from 5th Battalion had turned about and fired at the Austrians. Then he heard a shout and saw the grenadiers advancing rapidly with bayonets levelled. The Austrians were not properly formed and  broke before the advance, running back into the streets, obstructing the others trying to push forward. The grenadiers halted, then facing the town began to step back across the bridge that was now clear of other troops. 

As the grenadiers made it to the half-way point the Prussian jägers appeared at the far end and began to fire. Several grenadiers fell and the jägers pressed forward. Another roundshot splashed near the bridge, then another struck it taking down several grenadiers. The survivors began to run across the bridge. The river bank was now lined with French infantry and the Prussians thought better than to try to push any further forward. 

As the grenadiers neared the end of the bridge, with their comrades cheering them on, an artillery sergeant lit the fuse to the charge and sprinted back. No sooner had he reached the river bank than the charge blew, sending the timbers flying into the air.

*******

With some annoyance Holzinger watched the French move away from the river bank, out of the range of his guns. The French skirmishers had put up a good fight, gaining just enough time for them to withdraw. He had only just managed to escape from the attack of the French grenadiers himself by diving across a fence by the tavern.

Doubtless the idiot Hockmeister would find fault with his actions. If the gunners had been able to hit the bridge he might have been able to capture some of them, but there wasn't much else that he could have done. He ordered that pickets be placed and then had the rest of the force go into bivouac.

*******

It was a satisfactory day for Bonhomme. He had managed to extract the brigade from an awkward position for the cost of no more than 150-170 casualties. More importantly his wagon load of loot was safe. It was just past 1:30 PM  when he got the column back on the road. Within a two or three hours he would be back with the rest of his division.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

Hohenzollen Chevauxleger Regiment, Number 2

This six figure unit completes the Austrian cavalry expansion. It is small because it is using up the spare figures from the two boxes of cavalry that made up the recently created cuirassier regiments. As a small unit it will probably serve as an escort squadron or an artillery support squadron.

The completion of this unit also flattens the lead/plastic pile.

The Adventures of Henri Bonhomme - Episode 1: The Affair at Seusslitz

Way back in the Dark Ages, about 1980, my wargaming style moved from competition and club roll-up games to playing in a small group that played scenario based games with a strong feeling for history. We would meet on Friday nights at one member's home at 7:30 PM and play on until 1:00 or 2:00 AM.  Each attendee brought along a bottle of wine and over a glass or two we would show off our latest purchases, tell stories of the week and play our game. Supper was served at 10:00. They were very civilised evenings.

In either 1981 or 1982 one of the group created a series of Napoleonic games set in Germany in 1813. It centred around a character called Étienne Legrand, an imaginary French divisional commander with a with a taste for plunder. Three other imaginary characters, a Russian (General Knockerov), an Austrian (General Schwartzenfartzen) a Prussian (General Schulze), and a host of non-player characters opposed him. 

The first game was a small action with just a few dragoons and hussars looking for some 'collectables' that Legrand had plundered, but had been misplaced during the retreat. Subsequent games developed into larger and larger actions culminating in game representing a part of the Battle of Leipzig. It was a series of four of five linked games, often referred amongst the players to as the Legrand series, that I have long considered one of the most enjoyable sequences of games I have played in.

Members of the Legrand family have featured in a number of our games over the years: Étienne's grandson fought in one of our Franco-Prussian War games, while his great-great grandson led a company in a 1914 game.

I have decided to recreate the Napoleonic series as a solo campaign. The names have changed but the concept is the same.

So here goes...

Episode One: The Affair at Seusslitz

21 September 1813 - 09:00 Hours

From the crest of the hill a group of French officers surveyed the valley before them. In the centre of the group was Henri Bonhomme, 35 years of age and looking every bit a general de division in Napoleon's army. 

A native of Bordeaux, Henri came from humble beginnings. At the age of 18 he was swept up in the Revolutionary fervour and joined the army as a soldat, rising quickly through the ranks. Commanding a battalion he went with Bonaparte to Egypt where he developed a passion for collecting antiquities. By 1812 he had fought in many of Napoleon's campaigns, earning promotions at Austerlitz, Wagram and Eylau, and went to Russia in command of an infantry division, fighting at the Battle of Smolensk. Placed in command of the city after it fell, he was spared most of the horrors of the Russian campaign. Instead he installed himself in superb villa and spent much of his time acquiring artwork from the abandoned churches and houses of the Russian aristocracy then shipping it home. He fought in the early battles of 1813 and during the withdrawal to Leipzig he heard tell of a fine collection of the Dutch masters at a Schloss near the village of Seusslitz, just five kilometres off this line of march. 

Yesterday morning, 20 September, Bonhomme sent his faithful servant Baillard with a wagon and a company of infantry on a detour to Schloss Seusslitz to secure what he could. Late in the day he received a message from Baillard reporting that he had made it to the Schloss and he had secured some wonderful pieces, but advance elements of the Coalition forces had appeared he had been compelled to hold up in the Schloss and could he send some help please. Bonhomme could not leave Baillard, and more importantly the loot he had gathered, to the enemy. Although it meant turning back in the face of advancing Coalition forces, he halted the Division and at dawn on the 21st took one infantry brigade and a regiment of escorting chasseurs à cheval  back toward Seusslitz. Shortly after 9:00 AM the head of the column arrived about a kilometre east of the Schloss.

From the hill Bonhomme had a clear view of the valley before him. It was a pretty valley through which a narrow stream flowed around the sleepy village of Seusslitz. A number of small fields ready for harvest stretched beyond a narrow wood of that separated the village from the Schloss.

The Schloss was attractive enough in the distance, a bold white building surrounded by lofty trees, its gilded domed spire glinting in the sun, but it was a Schloss in name only. It was really a large walled church with a residence in the grounds. Its walls were built more for decoration than defence.  

Bonhomme watched as a platoon of chasseurs à cheval edged their way forward. When they signalled that the way was clear he would ride forward to extract Baillard and his cargo. As the troopers reached the point where the road curved around the wood he saw a puff of smoke and a second later heard the sharp crack of a rifle. The officers all looked around. Telescopes were quickly trained on the spot.

"Anyone see anything?" Bonhomme asked. No one answered. "I guess not," he thought. He continued to sweep the area with his eye to the telescope. Then, through the trees, he saw a movement, a flash of yellow. "A flag?" he thought. Then he saw it again, definitely a flag. An Austrian flag.

At that instant someone cried out "cavalry!" And then he saw them, maybe three squadrons...probably hussars - definitely Austrian - coming around the end of the wood. The chasseurs à cheval vedettes were coming back at speed.

Bonhomme turned to Colonel de Serville of the chasseurs, "get the rest of your troopers forward Colonel...but put them in two groups...make them think you have more than you really do". He looked to the infantry brigadier, "Zentz, bring your infantry up on the hill, just two battalions and the regimental guns. Leave the other three battalions where they are - let's not show them everything we have just yet!"

Zentz and de Serville acknowledged the order and moved away to their commands. Bonhomme returned his focus to the action in front of him. In a short time de Serville's chasseurs à cheval, operating in pairs of squadrons, deployed in the open fields. The Austrian troopers, he could see now that they were definitely hussars, halted in the face of the French troopers.  While Zentz brought up his infantry Bonhomme observed more activity in the trees where he had seen the flag. What looked like a full battalion of infantry emerged from the tree line.

"Merde!", he thought. Brown coats and blue pants. Grenz troops, he had faced them before in 1809 and knew them to be tough fighters.

Half an hour passed quickly. More Austrian cavalry appeared, maybe another two squadrons. He watched the chasseurs à cheval and hussars jockeying for position. Zentz soon had his two battalions deployed across the crest with the four light pieces of the regimental artillery between them. The remaining three battalions stood in column of divisions out of sight behind the hill. 

The Austrians showed no inclination to advance. Then off to the left there was a puff of smoke followed by a dull thud. A second later an artillery round shot whizzed by high and about 100 paces to his left. Looking through telescope he could see a gun past.  "Damn..." he thought, "how did I not see that?" 

The Austrian gun threw a few more rounds his way, but the gunners seemed to be having a problem finding the range and the shots were all too high and sailed harmlessly overhead. Soon an hour had passed and he saw de Seville riding back.

"There is not much there, sir," de Serville reported. "A few squadrons of hussars, an infantry battalion, a couple of guns and a few companies of jägers. When you get beyond the village it's all open fields. There are some jägers watching the castle, everything else you can see in front of you."

"A foraging party?" Bonhomme questioned.

"Maybe, but there are no signs of wagons. Probably just a scouting party"

"Can we drive them?" Bonhomme asked.

"Easily. We can pass behind the woods, cross the stream and then drop into a hollow, across the stream again and straight into the village. They won't see us approach."

Bonhomme thought for a moment then turned to Zentz, "push two battalions forward on the left Colonel. Make some noise and keep those people in front of you busy. The other three battalions will go with Colonel de Serville to the right across the stream and approach the village from the south. We will flank them and open the route to the Schloss. We need to do this quickly though, someone will have heard that gunfire and we could catch some unwanted attention"

In no time the troops were in motion.

Preceded by a wave of skirmishers Zentz sent two battalions forward to engage the Austrian infantry, while three squadrons of de Serville's chasseurs à cheval massed on their right flank, opposite the enemy hussars forming a liaison with the flanking column.

The remaining a squadron of chasseurs à cheval led the other three infantry battalions across the stream  and into the hollow. 

As the Austrian gun opened again Bonhomme's concern that they would draw attention increased. He rode off to join the flanking column. He had a plan.

*******

General Baron Albrecht Hockmeister commanded a mixed division in the Austrian advanced guard. Putting him in the advance was an odd decision because he had little military experience. Known as a ladies man he spent most of his formative years in the cafés, bars and less reputable institutions of Vienna and Venice. His father had died in 1806 when Albrecht was just 22 leaving a title, a vast estate and the inhabership of Regiment Hockmeister. When Austria joined the Sixth Coalition the Emperor had called on him to lead his regiment in the campaign in Germany. Despite his total lack of military experience his social standing demanded a significant command and he was given not only his own regiment, but a force of divisional strength that included a brigade of two line regiments, a brigade of two combined grenadier battalions, and a light brigade. In all he commanded eleven battalions, a hussar regiment and three batteries.

On the afternoon of 20 September, as he was sampling the delights of Helga, the barmaid in the village of  Grossenhain, he received a note from Field Marshal Klum that a small French force was plundering the country home of a wealthy and influential Prussian merchant at Seusslitz and to get over their and sort it out. Seeing the matter as an unnecessary distraction to his afternoon's activities, Hockmeister ordered General Holzinger with the light brigade to Seusslitz, and returned his attention to the lovely Helga.

*******

A career soldier General Bernt Holzinger was glad to get away from Hockmeister. He considered the man to be a total idiot. He made good time in his march to Seusslitz arriving there just before 5:00 PM with his brigade that consisted of the Hesse-Nassau-Homberg Hussar Regiment, Grenzer Battalion Sankt-Georger, Jäger Battalion No 6 and a wurst battery. Just as they arrived a French infantry company escorting a heavily ladened wagon was making its way from the Schloss towards Seusslitz. When the French saw the hussars they beat a hasty retreat to the Schloss and barred the gates. Holzinger was no rush to resolve this problem and decided to deal with it in the morning. Two companies of jägers were sent to watch the Schloss and prevent the French escape while the rest of the brigade went into bivouac near the village for the night where a hearty meal of pork knuckle and saurkraut was found for the senior officers.

Early the next morning Holzinger rode around the Schloss to see if there were any specific weak points he could exploit, but there were none. He had the numbers and could probably storm the place with ease, but saw no point expending lives to protect some Prussian merchant's house and he didn't want to pound it with the artillery because he knew would lead to an ear bashing from Hockmeister about why he felt the need to damage the place, and he didn't think he could stomach that. He wrote a short note to the French officer commanding demanding he surrender, which was quickly rejected. Instead he thought he would bring his full force into view of the Schloss. Surely they would see the futility of their situation and surrender. 

At that moment the report came back that enemy cavalry was sighted to the west. Holzinger rode back to the woods beyond the village to see the situation himself. As a precaution he called the troops to arms. From the edge of the woods he could see a thin cavalry skirmish line approaching, but why were French cavalry advancing here when everything else in the last week indicated a retreat to the west? Was this a change in the situation?

As the French troopers came within 50 paces of the trees a lone jäger on the edge of the wood fired on them and they halted their advance. When three squadrons of the hussars advanced in the open in full view the French began to fall back rapidly. Holzinger continued to look west. He saw a group of officers on the high ground and soon after saw more French cavalry approaching in two district groups. It was difficult to determine their strength, but he thought maybe eight squadrons - two regiments. Then on the hill he saw infantry and artillery forming. At once called the other three squadrons of hussars forward, ordered the Grenz battalion to show itself and the artillery to fire a few rounds. He needed to see what was happening and the gunfire would surely put nearby units on alert.

Within half an hour the situation began to develop. The French infantry began to push forward, maybe two full battalions with cavalry on the flank. A small battery was posted on the hill. Soon the pop of musketry could be heard along the line as the skirmishers exchanged shots. 

Holzinger knew he could hold here. From what he saw the French were not in significantly greater numbers and he held a good position, but as a precaution he left one company of jägers to watch the Schloss, brought the other up as a reserve and sent a courier off to Hockmeister. Then suddenly things took a turn for the worse.

*******

Bonhomme halted his flanking column at the end of the hollow. He climbed the slope to upper edge of the hollow and confirmed that de Serville was correct. He was behind the Austrian position. All that stood in front of him were a few jägers, maybe a company or two. He made his arrangements quickly. The squadron of chasseurs and two companies of infantry were sent on to the Schloss. Two battalions were formed into line to the left while the remaining half battalion formed a reserve.

He led the infantry up of the hollow with the voltigeurs thrown forward. They quickly crossed the stream, making for the village in the rear of the Austrian position.

The Austrian hussars began to wheel to face the infantry that were perhaps two hundred paces away, their officers looking for the opportunity to charge. But when de Serville's chasseurs began to advance the hussars thought better of it and retreated behind the jägers while the French voltigeurs opened at long range with little effect.

The jägers, seriously outnumbered, fell back with the hussars. Bonhomme watched with interest as the action began to swell. To his left the two battalions had pulled in their voltigeurs and were exchanging crashing volleys with  the Austrian Grenz troops.

The Austrian guns, masked by their own troops had ceased firing and were looking to turn towards Bonhomme's flanking battalions. Bonhomme turned to an aide, "ask Colonel de Serville if he can do anything about those guns." The captain nodded and rode off. Bonhomme looked to the right and saw the small force he had sent towards the Schloss was almost at the gates. What looked like a company of jägers was moving away from them. "Good," he thought, "we'll be out of here soon".

*******

Holzinger was alarmed at how quickly the situation had changed. Where things had looked so promising a few minutes earlier, they now looked decidedly grim. He had been flanked by a much larger force. The hussars had fallen back in disorder and the three companies of jägers, his only reserve were giving ground in the face of two or three French battalions. The guns had started to turn to face the threat to the left flank, but with the French cavalry lurking nearby they fell back through the village, followed by the hussars. 

Now the Grenz battalion was under pressure and Holzinger ordered it back into the trees and called the remaining company of jägers back from the Schloss. The situation was serious.

He looked back in the direction of Grossenhain in the vain hope that someone had heard the gunfire. To his utter surprise there was something there. He drew out his telescope for a closer look. They were Austrian...maybe Hockmeister wasn't the bumbling idiot he presumed and was marching to the sound of the guns. But there only seemed to be one battalion and it was wearing grey coats...landwehr...why would he send a single landwehr battalion...he revised his view of Hockmeister. 

Still, with this battalion, the jägers and the grenz he would have 3,000 men on hand could form a formidable line. With the guns and the cavalry in support it should be enough to hold either until reinforcements came up or nightfall, whichever comes first.

*******

Bonhomme viewed the arrival of the new Austrian infantry will caution. He called de Serville back and ordered Zentz to call back his infantry. He did not want to be responsible for starting something bigger here. Afterall he wasn't really supposed to be here. Swinging his telescope toward the Schloss saw to his relief a heavily laden wagon and a company of infantry exiting through the gate, preceded by a group of chasseurs. 

It took almost a full half hour for Baillard and the wagon to reach him. By this time he had made preparations to depart. Zentz had gathered all of the voltigeur companies from the battalions and quickly formed them under the senior captain. This combined battalion formed a heavy skirmish line and was to join de Serville's Chasseurs à Cheval as the rearguard. About 1:30 PM Bonhomme set the main column back on the road to rejoin the rest of the division with the rearguard in position on the hill west of the village. De Serville held his position for an hour and then fell back. The Austrians showed no intention of following.

It had been an interesting day. The whole affair had cost two men killed and 21 wounded, one seriously, but Baillard and, more importantly, five beautiful works by the Dutch masters, a dozen other paintings and some wonderful oriental pottery, had been secured.

....TO BE CONTINUED...

 

Pea Ridge - A Special Post for Stew

When I posted recently about my twelve year blogiversary, Stew very rightly pointed out that I had not included a single ACW post in my list of featured posts. I have to admit that this was a serious omission because as we all know (as Stew has reminded us from time to time) that the ACW is the best civil war. So this special post looks to address that error.

Over the past twelve years we have played many ACW games, but the one that stands out best in my memory is one that precedes the birth of this blog. It took place in July 2005 at our annual Tarawera gaming event and there is a bit of a back story to it.

I have told stories of our Tarawera event many times on this blog. The event started back in 1985 and ran right through without a break until 2020. For a variety of reasons the event has sadly fallen away and is unlikely to resume. I had attended every event up until 1995, but around that time I had a general weariness of the hobby (I was working in the industry 6 or 7 days a week and needed time away from it), I got married, bought a house, changed careers, and did not attend for the next eight years. In early 2004 a chance encounter with one of the group saw me invited back to the 2004 event and I was hooked back in again, attending every event from there on to 2020. I volunteered to do one of the games for the 2005 event.

Just prior to this I had read the book "Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West" and this provided the inspiration for the game. To give the players some historical background I decided to create a pre-battle web game that would lead each player through the campaign that lead up to the battle. At each stage of the game players would be able to make choices that could affect the set up of the battle - well so they thought. In reality while their decision might have taken them down a different road it was carefully engineered to get them to the same place and we would still be fighting the Battle of Pea Ridge...but they believed that they had a degree of control and they better understood the background to the battle.

The armies already existed as we had thousands of ACW figures between us all, but the terrain was a slightly different story. The big thing about the Pea Ridge (or Elkhorn Tavern) battlefield is that it was heavily wooded. Now we have plenty of trees in the collection of the group, but the battle was fought in the depth of winter and images of the area in winter showed that the majority of trees were deciduous whereas all our trees have full foliage. There was a need then for bare trees. I bought a pack of 20 Woodlands Scenic tree armatures but it soon became apparent that I was going to need as many as 200 trees to cover the wooded parts of the table and that to do them with the Woodland Scenic pieces would be cost prohibitive. So I started to make trees using wire armatures coated with toilet paper (a tutorial for which I have posted some months ago). I made around 130 of these trees and another member of the group made about 50 more. 

The next consideration was the buildings, of which there were only a few: Elkhorn Tavern, two small farms, a store and a few rough clapboard buildings to represent the hamlet of Leetown. The Tavern and some of the Leetown buildings were custom built while those from existing collections filled out the rest.

As an interesting aside, a couple of months before the game I had to attend a conference in Atlanta. On the way home my flight took me to Denver and onto LA. I had a window seat on a clear day and as we flew the first leg I saw us approach the Mississippi and could identify Memphis. Since I had studied the campaign carefully for my pre-game I was very familiar with the geography of the area and was then able to pick out the city of Springfield, Missouri, and then southwest of there Bentonville (which was a small town at the time of the battle, before it became the headquarters of Walmart) and I suddenly realised that I was looking down on the battlefield as though I was looking at it on Google Earth.

On the day of the game the players were presented with some deployment options resulting from their pre-battle manoeuvring that either would lead them to the historical deployment or a couple of alternate scenarios. To my surprise they all opted for the historical options, the armies were deployed accordingly and the battle was fought along more or less historical lines. 

And so to the few pictures I have of the event.

Above and below - the Union troops in camp around Elkhorn Tavern at the start of the game

Looking from Leetown towards the Tavern (top left)

The start of the Battle of Leetown

A Union battery heading for the Tavern

The Union supply train clearing out as the Confederates  (top of the image) approach the Tavern

The Tavern

The Confederate advance on Leetown

The Confederate take Leetown

The Union forces consolidate

The Confederates surge through the woods

Above and below, the Union troops push back

Confederate troops march through the winter gloom

Here is where things get hazy for me because (the game was played twenty years ago), but I seem to recall that the result was pretty much as happened historically and the Confederate attack was repulsed.  What will be remembered by all who played is those wire trees. Because the ends of the wire (and hence the end of each 'bough') was simply cut with a pair of side cutters, they were sharp and everyone was speared at least once. Cries of "those bloody trees" were heard all day!

Well so much for a bit of gaming nostalgia on my part and I hope it makes up for my omission Stew.