Hill Line Defence... after action report

I played the Hill Line Defense I described here. Just as a reminder, the Russian Army under Benningsen is defending some hills, while the French are massing against one of the Russian wings.

The battle started with the French artillery massing fire against the leftmost Russian division, causing heavy casualties, while Ney's Corps advanced. 

The Russian division broke early as soon as the French Light troops arrived at skirmish range. The hole allowed Ney's Corps reached the hilltop easily, with the French Light Cavalry engaging its Russian counterpart in an inconclusive and prolonged struggle which saw no real winner.

The Programmed Blue Orders stated (roll of 6) that the Russians would be willing to lose part of the hill as long as they held at least part of it, uniting their forces - which meant that they would contract the front to a more manageable defensive line. In addition, the Programmed Blue Response (roll of 5) indicated that Benningsen would weaken the center to reinforce the threatened flank. Both these response fit the stated Russian goal to protect its route of retreat, between the two hills.

The Russian Imperial Guard therefore moved from its reserve position to the hill, and the Guard Cuirassiers charged the French infantry repeatedly. They were unable to break them and only managed to stop its advance.

Then the Guard Cavalry fell back and it was the Russian Foot Guards' turn to counterattack. Despite being outnumbered in the area, the Russian Guards pushed back the French columns several times and even repulsed a counterattack, effectively retaking almost the whole hill alone.

However, they were then subject to enfilade fire from French batteries brought forward on their flank. As Ney launched another attack, the stalwart guards repulsed it again, but they couldn't resist anymore to the short range artillery fire and broke. Meanwhile, in the centre, Lannes' Corps saw the opportunity to attack the Russian Line infantry and Grenadiers holding the farm and hedges. The Grenadiers repulsed the first attack, but a second one managed to clear the position, and the Russian troops were forced to retreat. Bagration had also decided to threaten Lannes' left flank, but the French Dragoons there kept them in check. 

Lannes' artillery managed to rout the enemy light cavalry, and a general advance on the rest of the front finally broke the Russian army, which had hoped to resist until dusk. With more light cavalry remaining, the French were able to mount a limited pursuit, granting them a major victory.

Austerlitz 1805 - Battle Report

I finally managed to play the Austerlitz 1805 scenario I described here. Lots of proxies and a few map distortions to make it fit the limited space... but it worked!

Set up from the French side

Set up from Davout's entry point (lower left)

Set up from the Bagration (lower left) vs Lannes (lower right) side

The game started in an historical fashion, with Buxhowden's wing racing to the Goldbach while the French main force (with Bernadotte's I Corps and Soult's IV Corps at the front) attacked the enemy center. However, an unique string of die rolls actually allowed the Allied army to coordinate better: I rolled "1" three times in a row for pulse determination, which meant that turns 1-3 only had 1 pulse each! Thanks to this, the French command superiority faced a decent Allied army command, with Buxhowden even activating by initiative once!

In short, Kollowrath and Lichtenstein managed to build a solid defensive line at the top of the Pratzen and check Bernadotte's advance, while Buxhowden pressed its attack. On the Allied right, Bagration actually managed to stop Lannes' advance and even push him back a little.

Kollowrath and Liechtenstein manage to (briefly) check the French advance

However, disaster struck on turn 4, which followed a more traditional pattern (3 impulses played). Bernadotte was able to resist the Austrian Kuirassiers charge, while Soult's IV Corps stormed the top of the Pratzen pushing back Kollowrath's recruits.

Soult gets to the top of the Pratzen, while Kollowrath's
wekeaned recruits try to establish a new line.

Kollowrath tried to re-establish a new defensive line but was wounded. He returned shortly after, but was killed by another bullet, and his replacement decided to launch an ill-fated counterattack, which was easily defeated by the French. Murat's Cuirassiers then charged the weakened Austrian center to seal the victory, while Soult's troops, with the help of Devout, rolled Buxhowden's troops that failed to take Sokolnitz despite repeated attacks. On the Allied left, Bagration was getting the upper hand against Lannes (Walther's cavalry routed and Caffarelli's division was effectively spent), until the French Imperial Guard Cavalry charged the Russian Jagers and routed them in turn, stabilizing the situation.

Murat's cavalry breaking through the Allied center on the Pratzen,
while Kollowrath's command is broken.

Vandamme and St.Hilaire (Soult's IV Corps) rolling the Allied left

When turn 4 ended, Lannes was able to rally Walther's light cavalry, but the Allies were unable to rally any of their routed units due to the French being too close. With 9 units routed, the Allies had to check for Army morale (their Break Point being 5).

Routed allied troops

The Army Morale check was failed (roll of 9 + 4 turns + 4 routed units beyond the Allied break point of 5 = 17) and the Allies routed. The Austro-Russians still held a slight advantage in light cavalry, which prevented a French pursuit, but the French victory was undeniable.

Some post-game thoughts:

• Balance: the game favors the French, but is not so skewed as to be pointless for the Allies. Some key combats could have easily gone in a different way, and Bagration showed that a reckless French advance can be met successfully. However, the Allies were favored by the first 3 turns lasting only 1 round each, which mitigated their command issues. Still, the game is fun and not easy to win. If playing with a newbie, let him play the French: he will have fun but still face a challenging, stimulating situation.

• Light Cavalry: the French can dominate but still fail to have enough light cavalry to pursue the fleeing Allies when they break army morale. Therefore the French player has to be careful in when (or if) commit them. The Allies most likely will need to use at least part of their light cavalry, or will be thrashed early. Probably this is part of the scenario balance too.

• Allied command decisions: the Allies have some very interesting command decisions to take. Using CPs to keep Buxhowden under control is useful to be able to keep forces on the Pratzen, but this costs a lot and might be pointless if a turn lasts for more then 2 pulses (you won't have CPs to sustain it). In addition, having his wing take Sokolnitz quickly may be useful to put additional pressure on the French if they are checked on the Pratzen. Kollowrath and Liechtenstein are, instead, probably the keys to the Allied battle plan: Liechtenstein can either go to an historical position to check the French I Corps advance and still have the powerful Russian Guard in reserve, but this will leave Kollowrath's forces with no reserves. This is what happened in my game: ultimately the French broke Kollowrath, splitting the Allied army in two. Or, if the Allied cavalry remains behind Kollowrath, this will create a powerful center, but Bernadotte's I Corps will have an easier time in flanking the Pratzen, and the Russian Guard will have to enter the fight (it may need CPs to keep Constantine active), with no-one else behind it as a last-ditch reserve. Tough choices.

• Lannes vs Bagration: yes, it's almost a side battle. I'm wondering if eliminating them will let me expand the rest of the battlefield a bit and make it less crowded. Somehow I'm hesitant, because they were a part of the battle after all, and if one of them wins quickly, it will create new battle dynamics. But eliminating them can be an option, especially if play space is limited.

• Overall judgement: the game was good and had a great Austerlitz (and Napoleonic) feel! I loved it!

Battle of Saguntum (Battle Report)

I've played the Battle of Saguntum scenario. At first the battle unfolded on mostly historical lines: Zayas' Expeditionary Corps advanced towards the French Left Wing, while O'Donnell's Valencians and Mahy's Murcians proceeded to attack the hills defended by the enemy Right Wing. However, it remained effectively two distinct fights, with little influence on each other.

Spanish point of view (Zayas)

Spanish point of view (O'Donnell, Mahy is on the left)

French positions (Right Wing)

Overview of deployment

On the Spanish left (O'Donnel and Mahy), problems with command control led the two sides to close fast, but the Spanish couldn't coordinate properly. They did some damage with the horse guns, but the French skirmishers made short work of the Murcians. The Valencians had some more success when Miranda's division forced the Poles back and briefly gained the top of the hills, but both sides ended up weakened and still facing each other. Once Robert's brigade had eliminated the Murcian infantry alone, it moved to hit the Valencians on the flank, sealing their fate.

Attack by O'Donnell (right) and Mahy (left)
on French positions

Villacampa attacks the French positions, but will be repulsed

On the Spanish right (Zayas), at first Loy's cavalry had the upper hand against the French Dragoons, as historically, but were then routed by the Cuirassiers. These too routed when hit by Spanish artillery, but it was the Spanish veterans that definitely underperformed (compared to historical results). Lardizabal troops faced both Harispe and the Italian infantry and were unable to advance much, while Zayas' division took the worst from Habert's troops. The Spanish first suffered the enemy skirmish fire, then they were counterattacked by the fierce French who scored 6 hits out of 9 dice rolled, while the Spanish only scored 1. They Spanish "veterans" were routed and failed to rally at the end of the turn (it was turn 3). Hebert then attacked a Spanish horse battery and routed it too. At the end of turn 3, with 5 units routed and not rallied (Zayas' division, Villacampa's Valencians, all the Murcians and one other artillery), I halted the battle as it was getting late.

Loy's cavalry routs the French Dragoons...

...but is then routed by French Cuirassiers, who then
face the Spanish artillery while Lardizabal's division attacks

Lardizabal and Villacampa are repulsed (the latter will be
routed shortly after), but Miranda presses the Poles.

I have to say I wasn't impressed with the scenario at first. I knew it was hard for the Spanish, but play balance wasn't the real issue: the battle saw little maneuver, also because of terrain and restrictions to cavalry. Still, it has some interesting challenges: the Spanish player has some interesting decisions to make: it has few CPs and using them on Zayas and O'Donnell looks like the best choice (they are his best troops), but Mahy's Murcians are really weak and due to Mahy's Aggressive status they tend to charge the enemy anyway, which makes them even more vulnerable. They should be kept behind, but this requires using lots of CPs on them and making O'Donnel (in particular) more prone to not activate as desired. This time, the Spanish mitigated this with several good initiative rolls, but it also led to some stops in the advance which favored the hard-pressed French.

For the French, quality is superior but a fresh Spanish division is still hard to face, so it needs to weaken them with skirmish fire at first, and the evaluate when to counterattack. Deciding where and when to commit his reserves (which are very few, mainly the Italian infantry brigade on the Left Wing) could be relevant, also because it risks having his forces effectively isolated from each other. Options are limited however.

Not sure I'll play this scenario again due to the general lack of options for maneuvering, but at least it was useful to test the rules again, which was positive.

Battle of La Coruna (Battle Report)

I've played the Battle of La Coruna scenario I've recently modified (see here). It was a fun battle, and helped me test my modified fast Grande Armee rules (more on this later). I have a heavy green cloth to cover the table and books under it as hills. The weight of the cloth allows it to give the whole battlefield a very natural look of hills and valleys, with hillsides gradually degrading from the top. I didn't have anything to make the river on the French right / British left, but I had a turn record sheet there, so anyway there was no chance of units inadvertently moving there.

View of the battlefield, showing elevations (and the turn record sheet)

Another view from above

The battle started in a mostly historical way. Mermet's division on the French left started its attack towards Elvina and Baird's division on the heights, while the rest of Soult's troops advanced more slowly and less coordinately towards Hope's troops.

View from the French (Soult's) positions

View from the British (Sir John Moore's) position

British Artillery alone routed one French brigade but the rest of Mermet's troops pressed on. A furious skirmish battle erupted along the line. Still, the British forces were progressively suffering losses too and despite heavy casualties the French ultimately gained the top of the hill. It was brief however, as they were then routed by a counterattack by Werde's British Guards.

Start of French attack

The other side

Overall view of the French advance

French right flank slow, while action unfolds on the left

Around Elvina

The French have stormed the top of the hill...

...but get repulsed by the Guards' counterattack

Things went mostly likewise on the British left/French right. Delaborde however moved more slowly (Soult was concentrating on the fight on the left) and the skirmishing was more protracted.

Another view of the struggle on the hill

Once the French managed to organize a full assault, it was fierce. Faced with a strong British defence from the top of the hill, Delaborde led his troops personally with great valour but was shot and killed just as one of his brigades managed to open a hole in the British line, threatening to rout the entire enemy position. Hope quickly intervened to stabilize the line and repulsed one other French brigade, but he too was severely wounded and had to leave the field, leaving this part of the battlefield involved in a confused struggle. Ultimately the French managed to briefly storm the top of the hill, but they too were repulsed, this time by Crawfurd's reserve brigade.

Delaborde killed

As dusk neared, the French attack had been defeated along the whole line despite heavy British casualties. On the French far left / British far right the French cavalry and Paget's reserve division effectively nullified each other, but in the end this helped the British by avoiding a French flank attack on Baird's battered troops.

Technically the French routed, but the British had no cavalry to pursue and anyway were more interested in covering the embarking troops. The British could then embark without further French interference. Both sides suffered more than historically, thanks to the fact that this time Soult managed to attack on almost all front, even if a certain lack of coordination made his attacks less effective, and his lack of reserves proved vital, but the game had a mostly historical flavor.

It was a fun game, with a great Napoleonic feel that I hadn't felt in a long time. I'm very pleased with how the Grande Armee rules worked, especially with my modifications making them faster. I'm wondering if using the unit quality/rally rules would add much more time, because - contrary to my previous judgement - I now feel they could be useful to give a bit more flavor. At least, I'd like to try them once. I'll probably play a test game including them, to see how they work. If not, I will leave them aside.

One Hour Wargames Scenario 6: Flank Attack

Salamanca lite...

I played One Hour Wargames Scenario 6: Flank Attack (1), which is inspired by the battle of Salamanca. Salamanca was a battle driven by surprise, and this element can't be attained in a wargame scenario, so the scenario is slightly different from reality.

I used this battle as a sort of playtest for my fast Grande Armée rules. I left Command and Control rules aside, including the impulse system, and I just tested the skirmish, artillery, movement and close combat rules. The game was therefore played with the normal OHW turns.

French forces on the march, while British troops threaten their flank

Seen from the other side, with the British blocking force

The French had 3 infantry (5SPs Sk2 each), 1 cavalry (6 SP) and 2 artillery units (Medium). The artillery units in particular were badly suited to a battle where they would have had to move fast. The British instead had 4 infantry (5 SPs SK2 each), 1 light infantry (6SPs Sk2) and 1 cavalry (5SP) unit: the lack of artillery means they have to get close to the French to stop them.

In short, the French had to sacrifice 1 infantry and 1 artillery unit to fend off the larger British flank force, while the rest faced the small blocking force. The initial French attack was repulsed, but 1 artillery and the cavalry unit arrived (the cavalry having previously repulsed their British counterparts) and a new attack managed to open the hole needed to break through and allow 4 units to exit the north edge, given them victory.

The French attack on the British blocking force

In hindsight, the British had to deploy the flanking force closer to the blocking force: this would  have allowed them to be in a better position to stop the French. Instead, the flanking force was farther, and they were too far away to avoid the enemy breakthrough.

The Grande Armée rules worked well, especially the skirmish, artillery and close combat rules: they were easy to play and fast. Regarding movement, I gave up variable movement quite early, and chose fixed movement: turning takes 1/4 of the movement, moving backwards while keeping the front to the enemy takes 1/2 movement, difficult terrain takes 1/2 of the movement.

Probably the same battle could be played inverting the army composition.

I hope to test the command and control rules soon, including the variable impulse turns.

Radetzky's March Battle Report

After the short review of Radetzky's March, I played the main historical campaign.

It was really fun. The Piedmontese kept 4th Div (Ferdinando) east of the Ticino, threatening Abbiategrasso and Magenta, and this forced the Austrians to send the full I Corps (Wratislaw) north to face it. Appel's III Corps also went north, but then turned west and crossed the Ticino at the ford (then bridge, thanks to pontooners) near Bereguardo.

The few units from Ramorino's 5th Div actually performed admirably, slowing the Austrian advance and allowing Piedmontese reinforcements to get to Mortara and Vigevano, with Bes' 2nd Div actually getting as south as S.Siro (roughly as historical). Perrone's 3rd Div followed Bes as support, while Solaroli's Independent Brigade reached Vigevano to both act as rearguard and protect the nearby Ticino crossing (to ward off any attack from Wratislaw who was fighting Ferdinando on the other side).

After finally eliminating the delaying units, the Austrian organized their advance west of the Ticino in this way: Appel's III Corps on the right aiming for S.Siro and then Vigevano. D'Aspre's II Corps in the centre aiming for the main road to Mortara, but helping Appel's Corps with some troops (this ended up slower than planned, with almost 1 division being held up by Piedmontese troops near S.Siro for almost one day), Thurn's IV Corps on the left, making a wide flanking march to reach Mortara from the south and, in the meantime, screen Ramorino's off-map Div. In the rear, Wocher's Reserve Corps moved late and slowly to support the attack. It then detached some troops to mask Ramorino (freeing IV Corps troops) while the Cavalry, Grenadiers and Artillery supported the main effort, especially towards Vigevano.

West of the Ticino

East of the Ticino

In general, the slow Austrian advance allowed the Piedmontese to concentrate, slowing the Austrian advance considerably more, but the Piedmontese, in turn, were forced to feed more and more troops, especially in front of Vigevano where the battle was fierce around Borgo S.Siro. Both Bes and Perrone had to be put in first line. Ultimately, the arrival of Wocher's Reserve Corps Grenadiers and more focused attacks by Appel's III Corps allowed the Austrians to break the enemy line and defending units became interspersed. Solaroli's brigade was moved south to check the enemy advance on Vigevano, while a Reserve Div brigade of cavalry held the town. Rest of the Reserve held the center in front of Mortara, blocking D'Aspre's II Corps, but ultimately Benedek broke through at the end of the 2nd day.

Austrian breakthrough

At this point, third day, the battle became one of survival for the Piedmontese. 2nd and 3rd Div lost many troops and Solaroli's Brigade too. Austrian troops advanced towards Vigevano. It was a slow crawl, as defenders held on with all their valour, but ultimately couldn't stop the enemy, superior in number.

Finally, Appel's III Corps surrounded Vigevano and it fell. As the third day closed, the Austrians prepared to march towards Novara, sending some cavalry north to try to cut enemy supply lines (I probably did a gameplay error, not checking their supply status - you can't move a unit voluntarily out of supply). Both Bes and Perrone were able to rally one brigade each to re-establish a sort of line north of Mortara which still held, dspite Durando's 1st Div (reinforced by some units of Vittorio Emanuele's Reserve Div) being ultimately hard pressed by Thurn's IV Corps.

Austrian have almost surrounded Vigevano

General situation at end of battle. Austrians took Vigevano,
while Mortara still holds

Detail of situation at Mortara, with Durando still holding on
and remnants of Piedmontese units rebuilding line of
defense just north of it

Detail of situation near Vigevano. Austrian units swarm
north, pursuing the remnants of Bes' 2nd Division

East of the Ticino Ferdinando, good like his real counterpart, fought a brilliant action against Wratislaw's I Corps. 4th Div repulsed the enemy advance, took Abbiategrasso and sent one brigade (two full-strength units) east towards Milan. Even without these troops, Ferdinando was able to keep Abbiategrasso until the end, even if after the fall of Vigevano probably he would have had to return to the west bank of Ticino to protect his lines of communications. Wratislaw however was still able to send one brigade towards Vigevano across the Ticino.

Across the Ticino: Ferdinando vs Wratislaw

End of battle across the Ticino: Ferdinando still controls
Abbiategrasso, even without two units that had marched
towards Milan

It was the end of the 22nd, and I chose to end the battle. Actually, counting losses I think the Austrians had won earlier than this, due to difference in casualty levels. But it was fun to go on until darkness. The Piedmontese army was defeated, with 2 divisions shattered and one independent brigade destroyed, and losses to several other units. General tactical situation was compromised too, with Ferdinando's successes the only bright spot, and not enough to change the main battle. There had been no battle at Novara proper, and this would probably go down in history as the Battle of Vigevano, something more similar to the original historical Piedmontese plan: stop the Austrians at Vigevano and Mortara (historically, the unexpected loss of Mortara then forced the Piedmontese to redeploy near Novara)

In summary, the main action saw roughly 3 Austrian Corps (II, III and Reserve) facing off against 3 Piedmontese Divisions (2nd, 3rd, part of Reserve and Solaroli's brigade), with side battles at Mortara and around Abbiategrasso.

As in history, this time too King Charles Albert would abdicate to his son Vittorio Emanuele. This time too, Marshal Radetzky triumphed. This time too a rematch would be seen in 1859... but in the meantime, I'm sure to play this again! Great work on this game Sergio!