Campaign Eckmuhl 1809

[Marshal Lannes]

The Battle of Austerlitz...



Screen 24. Austrian Gun Battery......




Screen 25a.

Charge of the 5th Hussars - against 600+ infantry.




Screen 26.
8.40am. Bosenitz.

Gen. De Brig. Picaud directly leads the 5th Hussars Regiment against a Russian formation, which has emerged from the fog, on the Olmutz road. It has been caught by surprise and is in line formation. A juicy target to be tested........... The results are not so great.....the enemy battalion has been routed but took down a fair number of French cavalry men. This early in the battle..........fervour is overriding discipline.



Screen 27. - Tellnitz - Sokolnitz. 8.40am.

The Austrians now have 12 guns pounding the 3rd Ligne regiment. The 3rd Ligne have also suffered an attack by 2 battalions of Austrian infantry , who were repelled. Both sides had heavy loss with the Austrian commander being captured......Maj.Gen. Carneville.
Four companies of the Tirailleurs de Po are desperately defending the village of Sokolnitz against ever increasing numbers of Russians...................No sign of re-inforcements......

 

[Marshal Lannes]

The Battle of Austerlitz.


Screen 28.

Tellnitz- 8.50am. Gen De Brig. Heudelet arrives at Margaron's gun position. Margaron informs him that the 3rd Ligne regiment is under constant attack by Austrian infantry and guns. Although holding well; their situation is becoming more desperate. The nearest French infantry to help are still half an hour away.
French cavalry south-east of Tellnitz are still un-disordering.

Sokolnitz - Russian militia infantry try to force their way into the village of Sokolnitz and are repulsed heroically by the 4 companies of the Tirailleurs Du Po the price of this valiant stand comes with the rout of half their men.




Screen 29.

Kobelnitz - 8.50am.
Russian attacks begin against Sokolnitz Castle and the pheasantry gardens. The Tirailleurs de Corse join in the fight.



Screen 30.

Bosenitz - 8.50am.
Two regiments of enemy infantry and one of cavalry have emerged from the fog.....the 5th Hussars have impressed one of them to the extent that they have quickly formed a square formation.



Screen 31.

Pratzen - 9.00am.

Soult's attack formations make steady progress towards the Pratzen Heights. This has been rudely interrupted by the extreme right of St.Hilaire's formation walking into a fire-fight with a strong enemy force of about 3000..................before the village of Pratzen. An advance squadron of the 3rd Dragoons Division has crossed the pratze stream about a mile west of the village, and so far has no sight of the enemy.....?

 

[Marshal Lannes]

The Battle of Austerlitz.



Screen 32.

Tellnitz -9.00am. - Misfortune strikes............slightly unexpected. Two battalions of the 3rd Ligne Regiment have broken. The Austrians have totally decimated the 3rd battalion, while the 2nd has routed, leaving the 1st, under the direct command of Colonel Hulot, in a disordered state.....to stand alone. French cavalry are still un-disordering and facing off their Austrian counterparts, who are happy to remain idle.

[ The game system can be cruel - the French 3rd battalion could not rout and retreat, as the 2nd battalion was blocking it's path, and so was decimated....about 302 men. I will assume that half have been taken prisoner, which means that a low strength Austrian cavalry squadron will have to be detached ,to escort them to the rear.....definitely possible in AAr terms or even general play.....]. ...



Screen 33.

Victory Points Table - 9.00am.

​

Intermezzo: ...... " Awwooooooooo....Cha...Cha.......Chaaa ! "...........

 

[Marshal Lannes]

The Battle of Austerlitz. Anomaly.



OK ....so I click the end of the Allied player turn and I get a rout message of 2 battalions of the 3rd ligne Regt.....and I scroll down to the Tellnitz area and whoopseedoo.............the 3rd battllion of the 3rd ligne Regt. has risen from the dead. There it is routing with the 1st battalion while the 2nd had gone from rout into disorder in the village. Did the 3rd get lost in the fog or were they abducted by grey aliens ???..............they disappeared for one turn..........the vagaries of war.
Good news anyway, as losing an entire battalion this early is not good, especially as they were routing..........Sheeeeeeeeesh !.......

 

[Marshal Lannes]

The Battle of Austerlitz.



Screen 34.

Bosenitz 9.00am.
The 5th Hussars reiment is attacked by a Russian Hussar regiment holding it's ground with heavier loss. It decides to withdraw, as Suchet's 3rd Division makes it's way to the road fork. Two Russian infantry regiments have formed square; intimidated by the presence of French cavalry to the south-west.



Screen 35.

Tellnitz -9.10am.

Marshal Davout arrives at Margaron's gun battery position with his aides. He can clearly see large groups of French infantry scurrying to the North-west. He calmly orders his aides to ride after them with his plumed hat; to show and announce the arrival of the 3rd Corps. He is appraised of the current situation directly by Margaron. Margaron points his riding crop towards the smoke plumes emanating directly to his front. " The remnants of the 3rd Ligne....a few hundred at best, serve the honour of France still...! ".;he is interrupted by an artillery discharge which fells two dozen Austrians.





Screen 36.

Sokolnitz-9.10am.

Fighting still continues in Sokolnitz village, before the castle and in the pheasantry gardens. The Tirailleurs de Corse are moving up more men to help the defenders of the castle. The 26th legere regiment were surprised by a fast moving squadron of cossacks who moved blindly into their path. Forty horsemen and 20 mounts fell in one volley alone. They were probing the trackway and seem to have been distracted by the firing further south. The French infantry were kneeling until the last moment, before standing and firing into the hapless horsemen...............this proved effective as nearly all the musket balls hit something.





Screen 37.

Pratzen.9.10am.

The 36th Ligne regiment adds it's fire-power to the engagement. Vandamme's division marches forward with a degree of caution. A large body of cossack cavalry eye the solitary French dragoon regiment with interest but seem reluctant to move forward. The sight of further French dragoons to the North-west puts paid to any bravura they may have indulged themselves with. Hopefully, these irregular cavalry are the only opposition to the 3rd Dragoons Division.

 

[Marshal Lannes]

The Battle of Austerlitz.



Tellnitz. 9.20am.

The village has fallen........one final push by the Austrians has destroyed the tired defenders of the 2nd Battalion. The 1st and 3rd battalions have rallied which will give Davout 4 Infantry battalions to fight with. The task of re-taking the village will be costly.
Visibility has increased to 1000 metres which should aid the French a little more.

Screen 38.



Screen 39.

Sokolnitz. 9.20am.

The cossacks north of the Pheasantry have routed, while more russian infantry formations present themselves before the 26th Legere Regiment



Screen 40.

Pratzen. 9.20am.

St.Hilaire now has 3 of his regiments engaged. They are giving a good account of themselves. Enemy guns are being deployed in the village itself which will prove to be a formidable obstacle. The Russians are already sending shells into the ranks of Frewnch cavalryy trying to reface.



Screen 41.

Bosenitz. 9.20am.

Both sides are deploying with increasing numbers; watching each other warily..

 

[Marshal Lannes]

The Battle of Austerlitz.


Screen 42.

Tellnitz - Supplemental. 9.21am.

So - I press the end of the French player turn and I get a 9 unit rout for the Allies.............the most important rout is at Tellnitz........the previously victorious Austrians have 3 battalions routed, 3 battalions running in panic...........this turn in fortune can be attributed directly to the constant barrage inflicted by Margaron's horse artillery battery of 5 guns. A commendation will be given after the battle by Davout personally to Captain Gilles. Now Davout has 4 French battalions ( two fresh ) facing only 2 Austrian ( weakened ).

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Screen 43.

Tellnitz - 9.30am.

Colonels Hulot and Higonet lead three French battalions towards the southern half of the village of Tellnitz. A rider from the 26th Chasseurs confirms to Davout, that a mass of Austrians have fled eastwards. He is sent back with instructions for both of the southward cavalry regiments to engage and drive off the opposing Austrian cavalry. ( The 8th and 26th cavalry regiments still have one squadron apiece , who are in a disordered state.....delaying any action........the Austrian cavalry seem happy to sit idle. )





Screen 44.

Sokolnitz 9.30am.

The village has fallen to the Russians, while scattered pockets of skirmishers still engage in an uneven contest. The 26th Legere Regiment fires disciplined vpolleys into the columned enemy, who will try to use bayonets and numbers at the earliest opportunity. General Legrand sends another infantry battalion southwards; he can spare no more.




Screen 45.

Pratzen - 9.30am.

Russian militia infantry have routed from the extreme left flank of the enemy position. The Rusians react to this by setting up a defensive line behind the south flowing Pratze stream; which is also being covered by a large battery of guns sited 400 metres behind. French Dragoons move forw

ard , watching for possible targets. Vandamme's lead brigade now extends the curtain of musketry fire over a mile east of the Pratzen village. The enemy have chosen their line of defence , which now allows Marshal Soult the luxury of where to break it.





Screen 46.

Bosenitz - 9.30am.

A Cossack attack has been repulsed by Colonel Curial commanding the 1st battalion of the 88th Ligne. The encounter was quick and showed the complete ineptitude of the enemy who broke into small groups while facing disciplined company lines who took turns in firing into them.

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Screen 47.

Tellnitz - 9.40am.

The French attack formations have reached the western edge of the village and receive a small amount of fire from the buildings before them. An enemy gun battery tries to quickly unlimber to meet the threat. Margaron's gun battery keep one enemy battalion cowered in their same position. to the south-west; the 26th Chasseurs have charged Austrian cavalry with no substantial result. Marshal Davout has decided to send all of the remaining Infantry of Friant's 2nd Division to attack the village of Sokolnitz , as the Emperor had decreed 4 days earlier.



Screen 48.

Sokolnitz - 9.40am.

Russian forces have fanned out from the Sokolnitz village. The Italian troops desperately defend the environs of the Sokolnitz castle, but are being slowly outnumbered and whittled down. Further north; the 26th Legere are holding steady but one battalion is low on ammunition causing it to give ground.



Screen 49.

Pratzen - 9.40am.

Colonel Pages has led a charge of the 12th Dragoons regiment against an enemy formation with limited success , but it is hoped that the other regiments will have more impact. The enemy guns at Pratzen have made shattering volleys into the ranks of the 2nd battalion/ 14th Ligne who have hastily repositioned.





Screen 50.

Bosenitz - 9.40am.

French cavalry attacks against enemy cavalry have begun, with the enemy holding well. A cavalry charge against a Russian battalion in line proves effective, forcing them back with heavy loss.

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Unfortunately - I accidentally deleted my Battle of Austerlitz Folder - you know , when you are deleting other files and you forgot that it was highlighted. Good news is that I have only lost the 9.50am turn; so the 9.50am and 10.00am turn will be combined into one. Annoying it is............

Also just completely finished this book.........very entertaining and an easy read.....which gives good flavour.......especially with the personal recounts.......head and limb loss all over the place.

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Unable to upload screenshot images...................upload a file does not work............

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Never under-estimate the usage of artillery; not just for blasting but shattering a strong attack momentum; nullifying it to give time to respond and bring up your own lines.

It is only game turn 5 in the full battle of Borodino. Eugene's two Italian Divisions look impressive moving on the hamlet of Borodino with good artillery support leaving Russian skirmisher dead in abundance behind the stream.

Only a limited resistance left; which will be isolated by 4 Italian battalions marching along the south-side of the hamlet to take the bridge ( off-screen ).

The enemy guns rumble and the blasts are added too by some resolute Russian Jager troops still holding out in a small corner house. The Italians decide to run, infecting others nearby resulting in 8 battalions and 2 skirmisher companies fleeing to the rear..................even with Staff officers involved.

The bravado of elan and numbers at the start of the battle is super-ceded by random breaking of will and spirit. The lesson is learned...............keep reserves and spread your officers out. In other words - do not be lazy against the A.I. or play lazily.

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Greetings Nappy fans...............................time sure does drift by................I am currently playing company level Ligny.............just over a quarter of the way through and things are starting to hot up with the arrival of the Emperor himself. I am really testing the A.I.................I believe that depending on circumstance; you can get to about turn 16.....before you have to give them a helping hand. I have not played this in a long while and forgot how sneaky the Prussian deployment is in the Saint Amand- (upper) and the hidden ground feature is a real stinker.

I was watching a video of the La Bataille series on Ligny which sparked my interest yet again. I as always love having hordes of units to move............



Also tried Saalfeld 1806 . 3 times....which is a surprisingly interesting engagement for a quick play-through. ( A.I. is adequate ). I tried to beat my own score with the A.I as the Prussians on 3 occasions. My best score was the first one when I played for fun rather than the third wherein I was concentrating too much.

Hopefully ; I will be buying some of the new games in the not too distant future.......Leipzig and Eylau being top of the munchie list.......................

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Battle of Ligny - Game turn 12-13...........the Prussian demise.................



If you can do better.....then you are a good General or you are cheating; using the advantage slider. It is also gamey to take the 25 victory points at the northern road map-edge.........so the point total should be 830. A major victory is possible but takes some play, as the more you commit and force; the more loss you take.............double- edged sword.

 

[Marshal Lannes]

A new game has been munched !...............................................................................that's my weekend catered for....?...

 

[Marshal Lannes]

1. Marshal St. Cyr charged with the defense of Dresden.

Leipzig Campaign Game.............1813

The Battle of Dresden 26th - 27th August..........


The Battle of Dresden has 13 scenarios- unlucky for the Allies. Four 200 turn scenarios -
One which has fixed units to reflect periods of inactivity in historical terms and the lack-lustre performance of the Allies at the start. One that allows a free form battle which gives a stiffer fight for the French quite early on. One that acts as a meeting engagement and the last which slightly amends the orders of battle. There is a 132 turn scenario for the major part of the battle and the remaining scenarios are from 28 to 50 turns of play. If you use the John Tiller update 1.02 - be careful as the scenario with larger Dresden map with forces at Pirna are no longer there and the map is a bit shortened.


My experience of the Battle of Dresden in gaming terms is almost negligible - I once had a crappy brigade level game which was really limited in scope. I have looked at the La Bataille series game of the battle with envious eyes.........but now I have a battalion/skirmisher model to play with. A larger battle-map.



All good things come to those who wait..................and on top of that ; I have the battle re -creations of Leipzig - Lowenberg - Katzbach - Gross- Beeren - Goldberg - Hagelberg - Gorhde - Hartenberg - Kulm - Dennewitz - Kosen - Hanau - Siege of Danzig and more........including operations against Berlin. A bit hard to please because of gum bacteria; well - there are bonus scenarios which include additional forces and more turns etc...there are some company level scenarios and th Campaign game system can see you fighting around the city of Frankfurt or other scenarios which could happen within the field of operations....Even a moderate chipmunk brainer would be impressed with that........a lot of stuff to deal with. Horrendous and delicious at the same time............late night electricity bills will rise in proportion to your eyelids in the morning.

Dresden is a novelty as it portrays Napoleon having to defend a city - the usage of redoubts and barricades and em-placed artillery make for a different sort of battle. Apart from that - you do not have such a psychological constriction on what you plan or do. It is probably better to play it raw without reading too deeply........beforehand,apart from the general strategic situation. This cannot be done with the more popular Napoleonic battles unless you are a newbie.


Battle map six times bigger than the La Bataille board-game......................?

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Frontispiece...........( Von Bulow )...




Battle of Frankfurt- Campaign Game System.

I opted for Napoleon heads north - there are 4 options available in the Fall Campaign. He takes the guard and a cavalry corps to join Oudinot in the Berlin field of operations. I got the result of facing a Prussian/Russian/Swedish force holding the environs of the city of Frankfurt. I am not going to go into detail about the battle as there are some hidden units etc. - so do not want to do a spoiler.

The initial impression for the French commander is of an easy cake-walk over the enemy but hold on to your pantaloons..............double-battery Russian guns are something to behold - I will leave my opinion there............the battle has layers of interest; primarily being the fact that as the French commander.......you have little knowledge of overall enemy dispositions............this being somewhat critical as the battlefield is separated by a river into 2 engagement zones. The French have superior numbers on the left but what of the enemy strength.

There is an issue with the Russian cavalry on the right flank facing Oudinot's Corps which comprises ten full regiments- mostly dragoons; who seem to be sitting out the battle in observation. I am only on game turn 19 and apart from the deployment of 2 horse batteries which were overrun by French cavalry....they sit and wait....I have a screen shot of this episode. They could at this point roll up Oudinot's flank as I have severely depleted cavalry; thanks to the Russian guns - only 3 regiments and a few battalions of infantry. Playing as the French; I am glad that the Russian cavalry is inert but if they do not move within the next few turns... I will move them myself or send my weak cavalry in to wake up the A.I. system.






Elsewhere I have had a reasonable fight with the A.I.- the Prussians being stubborn opponents. I have learnt over the years to play the A.I. in a mostly fair fight fashion; unless I want a position or need to inflict heavier loss. I initially took heavy loss through lazy play and seeing a huge number of my troops displayed....a sense of security. I am going to start this battle again as it has the potential to be an interesting fight with minor tweaking - I already have a major victory at game Turn 12 but I want less loss, especially cavalry and try to inflict greater loss. I was surprised at the coming Prussian counter-attack which developed after the Young Guard Division had pushed back a mass of Prussian Infantry. Overall a nice engagement which may still hold a surprise or two with reinforcements.

The Campaign game system throws in a level of uncertainty as you do not know the enemy strength or on what field you will fight...you are not guaranteed to get the Frankfurt battle either.............and I certainly did not know where all the enemy forces were....holding the main or secondary bridge becomes crucial to reinforce either side.... the HTH experience would make the bridges more important than anything else.......there seems to be a slight anomaly with the sysytem as it is hard to get the Frankfurt battle as an option. I think it would be a good idea to stick it into the main program folder as a separate battle scenario with easy access.



Screen showing options..................



The Russian cavalry issue seems to have been resolved by game turn 24. I moved the French infantry to firing range and fired at them and then they would withdraw one or two hexes and I repeated the process 4 times until finally....the A.I. of it's own volition launched a half dozen cavalry charge routing and destroying the French flank..............Well done A.I. ?.



Good that the woods look more woody now.................?.




and the swamps look more swampy.......?.

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Frontispiece..............



Bertrand's force approaches and fights for the village of Blankenfeld; south-east of Gross- Beeren.

The Battle of Gross-Beeren - Blankenfeld.

You spend the first 30 turns of 60 fighting in and around the village of Blankenfeld; the rise beyond and within the woods. The Prussian A.I. is quite aggressive, so do not expect an easy time of it, especially at the start. The double-gun Prussian batteries are not as formidable as the Russian, taking one and at worst two infantry assaults to take down.

The Prussian skirmishers are a real pain - which is good. Initially; the engagement at Blankenfeld gives greater French loss, until that is, the guns are dealt with and the French have all their artillery available. Prussian cavalry seem to be uninspired by their commanders; Prussian infantry remain stubborn............you will have more of your skirmishers routing than they do.

Overall a good engagement for a relatively short game against the A.I.....you can stop at 30GT and assess your losses, continue or start again. .



Victory point table at Game Turn 30. This was my first attempt..........1 to 3 loss rate is acceptable. Please note the lack of even a single French cavalry loss....remarkable.....but easily explained by the fact that the French force has no cavalry whatsoever.....which makes this a slightly different fight. also explains the pesky Prussian skirmishers which would be overrun en masse , if I had just one cavalry regiment. C'est la vie.................. .

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Today feels like a Marshal Ney day......don't ask me why.....it just does......?? and apart from that......I am feeling munchy again while I am still trawling through the Campaign Leipzig game.....there is a lot to go through; no doubt about that and maybe I should not be distracted from that. Waiting patiently for the graphics update which is pending.

It is impossible to play favorites with these campaigns but on a jam packed level; this particular game ticks all the boxes......you could spend years dissecting this baby in detail and I am sure I will.........................Merveilleux ! ...?.

Happy Marshal Ney Day !...........................................................

 

[Marshal Lannes]

Another thing I have been munching over is dipping my toes back into board wargaming. There is a degree of nostalgia element but you cannot beat getting a new box with pristine maps and counters, rule-books and charts etc. It only adds to the overall enjoyment. I will eventually go to town with books too..........................this KevinZucker game looks interesting. I remember having the Strategy and Tactics 2 magazine game map of the Abensburg /Eckmuhl Campaign 1809 but the map was too detailed. The counters here are great and the map is huge enough to get me drooling.




Abensburg/Eckmuhl map.....................................Humungous...............








Niiiiiiiiice.............and it is a quadrigame so you can play all the other battles too. Naptastic level 9/10. ?