1813 Campaign in Germany – Battle of Goerlitz ends the War!

Prussian and Russian forces combined today in a major battle at Goerlitz in eastern Saxony.  On the southern end of the field, Barclay de Tolly pummeled the Saxons and Bavarians with massed artillery followed by a charge of the Grenadiers that drove the French allies back in precipitate retreat. 

Immediately to the north of this encounter Wittgenstein was confronted by Bertrand.  A bloody see saw cavalry fight ensued that at first looked like it was going the way of the French but some brave resistance from the Russians led to the green French troops starting to waiver.  Only the intervention of Napoleon himself saw the French in this sector finally prevail, and as night fell the tired French conscripts were relieved to see the defeated Russians retreating in disorder.

In the centre of the field, Marshal Ney faced off against Miloradovich in a battle that was slower to develop.  The Russian general held his ground and challenged the impetuous French marshal to dig him out of a strong position.  After much maneuvering and counter moves, Ney was reinforced by a division of Guard cavalry that had force marched to the battlefield, and was able to force a breakthrough and drive the Russian troops back until they eventually broke.

In the northern end of the long battlefield, the campaign was decided where the Prussians under Blucher were soundly beaten by General Vandamme.  The battle in this sector of the field seemed to be in the balance until the arrival of the Old Guard who had been marching all night to get to the field in time.  Blucher’s conscripts fought bravely but a determined assault by the Guard punched a whole in the Prussian centre which, supported by an attack on the left, rolled up the Prussian line.

Despite Barclay’s victory in the southern sector, it was clear to the Allied commanders that they had suffered a grievous loss.  Napoleon still had a strong force of cavalry to hand and these kept up the pressure on the retreating allies, not allowing them to regroup.  Hearing of this victory in the east, Schwarzenberg’s Austrians prudently withdrew southwards.

The Allies had been unable to achieve a significant victory over the French but had suffered a number of defeats, culminating in a major defeat at Goerlitz. 

With Berlin seemingly under siege by Marshal Oudinot and the Russians and Prussians in retreat in the east, the Austrians have announced their intention to seek terms from Napoleon.  At the same time, the Tsar has ordered his forces to withdraw across the Niemen to regroup which while not constituting a request for terms has effectively left the Prussians isolated.  The King of Prussian has accordingly sent emissaries to the French Emperor.  Celebrations have been ordered across France and a victory parade through the capital is being planned.  It would appear Napoleon’s throne is once again secure.

1813 Campaign in Germany – bulletin 6 – Events covering 30-31 August including the Battle of Lauban

After failing to inflict a knock out blow on the Allies at the Battle of Liegnitz, Napoleon ordered the army to retreat on Bautzen.  The Allies were quick to grasp the new situation and gave chase with the impetuous Field Marshal Blucher leading the way.

General Vandamme is rumoured to have threatened to challenge both Ney and Marmont to duels for abandoning him at the river Quiess where he was almost overwhelmed by three Allied forces.  The wily French general was able to extricate himself but for some reason headed south towards Lauban and not east to Goerlitz where the rest of the army had retreated to.  For a while it looked as if he was going to be surrounded by converging Allied armies.  Fortunately for him, General Bertrand had spotted an opportunity to inflict a bloody nose on Osten-Sacken’s isolated cavalry corps which was near Lauban and so had also marched on that town.  Two concurrent battles were fought at Lauban as described below.

Cavalry encounter west of Lauban

General Osten-Sacken stumbled into Bertand’s cavalry corps and realised he would not be able to extricate himself without a battle.   Slightly to the east, Wittgenstein promised to send him the Russian Guard cavalry division, but nevertheless it was with much trepidation that the cautious Russian general gave battle.  He started by throwing out a strong screen of Cossacks to slow the French advance. 

Bertrand ordered his artillery forward to drive off the Cossacks.  On the French left, artillery attachments fire in bombardment and close range fire to drop the Cossack twice.  Accurate fire from the French guns completely disrupted the Cossacks and seeing this the French charged with two divisions of cavalry. 

The Cossacks fled in the face of this combined arms assault, exposing the advancing Russian hussars who suddenly found themselves faced by French heavy and light cavalry.  To make matters worse they were thrown into disorder by the retreating Cossacks.  The French cavalry made short work of this second Russian line who were soon fleeing to the rear.  Osten-Sacken realised the battle was lost barely an hour after it had begun and sounded the retreat, using all his powers of persuasion to rally enough Cossacks to cover his retreating force.  For the second time in two weeks the dispirited Russian troopers found themselves in headlong retreat after a bloody encounter with the French.   

Blucher & Wittgenstein corner Vandamme

Meanwhile at Lauban, Blucher had aggressively pursued Vandamme and forced him to give battle. In turning to face Blucher advancing from the north, Vandamme also unwittingly exposed his flank to Wittgenstein commanding the Russian Guard advancing from the east.

Both sides deployed their artillery to open the battle with long range bombardments. Blucher took up position on a dominating hill in the centre of the action personally directing his grand battery of guns with strong wings of redoubtable Prussian infantry on each side, most being recent recruits.  The bulk of the cavalry were deployed to their left except for a unit of the elite Lieb Hussars which were positioned on the right. The French likewise deployed the bulk of their foot to either side of their guns with their cavalry in reserve in the centre.  A brigade of conscripts held the village to their right.

The Prussians opened with a great volley of shot that forced the heavy French guns back and continued to pressure them throughout the battle. While the French guns replied, they concentrated on the Prussian right.

Vandamme ordered his cavalry forward to attack the battered Prussian right.  However no sooner had these troopers begun their advance when the Russian Guard began to appear on the French left.  In a bold attempt to force victory against the odds, the French cavalry, charge the Russian Guard.  However the Guard held steady and a charge by the Prussian Lieb Hussars was enough to send the French cavalry reeling backwards. 

The arrival of the Russians gave the green Prussian troops new heart and they charged forward into the reeling French lines.  Vandamme, realizing the battle was lost gave orders to retreat.  What started as a orderly retreat soon dissolved into panic as the Prussian cavalry pursued the fleeing French conscripts mercilessly.  Only the arrival of the victorious Bertrand and his cavalry corps fresh from their victory only a mile away saved Vandamme’s corps from annihilation. 

1813 Campaign in Germany – bulletin 5 – Events covering 26-29 August including the battle of Charlottenburg

Following his bloody victory at Liegnitz and on the back of reports of Austrian forces threatening to cut his lines of supply around Bautzen, Napoleon has ordered his forces to fall back west.

The Allies, bloodied but unbowed have pursued them with vigour and a number of skirmishers were fought between the respective rear and advance guards but the French were able to withdraw in good order. Vandamme reportedly has challenged both Marmont and Ney to duels for failing to support him as agreed. Vandamme turned to stand and fight at Bunzlanu on the Bober river against the combined Russo-Prussian forces pursuing him, believing he had the support of the two French Marshals. Instead he found himself desperately holding off a force three times his size and was saved only by the strong position he had taken on the river, while Ney and Marmont had instead continued their retreat west to Goerlitz. Vandamme finally managed to extricate himself and fell back south west towards Lauban, hotly pursued by Field Marshal Blucher.

Further west General Lauriston has been playing a cat and mouse game with the Austrians south of Bautzen. Latecomers to the campaign, the Austrians have been very tentative in their advance. However, their presence was suddenly very apparent when they briefly cut the French lines of communication east of Bautzen. Schwarzenberg’s triumph was short-lived however as he found himself confronted by Napoleon with the Guard arriving from the east and Lauriston advancing on him from Bautzen in the west. Suddenly the Austrians showed that they can actually move at pace and they very quickly scuttled away south with the Guard in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile in the north on 27 August a desperate battle was fought just outside Berlin at Charlottenberg. On the 25th Oudinot had almost managed to get past Yorck and Bernadotte to seize Berlin but a rapid counter-march by the Prussians had saved the day. Yorck then advanced out of the city to fight Oudinot. The French general was happy to give battle having discounted the risk of Bernadotte coming to Yorck’s aid. However, the Crown Prince surprised everyone by actually getting to the battle on time. While Oudinot was able to inflict a bloody nose on the Prussians with a bold attack on his left wing, he was horrified when he learned that the dust clouds to his right was the arrival of the Swedes. A desperate fight ensued and the brave French with their allies were able to hold off the Swedes for long enough before nightfall allowed them to slip away, tactically triumphant but strategically relieved they had avoided being completely overwhelmed.

Below is the battle report from Oudinot that he sent to the Emperor.

“The terrain was sparse with a stream on the Prussian left. He deployed giving nothing away , a large infantry Division on each flank , guns and cavalry in the centre. I opted to hold the bases line village with my Bavarians and attack with everyone else down my left flank ,thinking the stream would slow any redeployment 

My left launches against his withheld right. Two French Light Cvalary on the flank, guns, then infantry . Two large conscripts hold the centre advancing to fix his Dragoons while the Bavarian light cavalry help out.

Then I see dust on my right! Ah ,here comes his 4th Division was my first assumption. This force is is slowed through  the stream, while my left pushes. I pin their right with my cavalry as he was cunningly falling his line back to buy time. My guns unlimber while he brings up cavalry to threaten my infantry attack .

How I see the enemy reinforcements starting to arrive. Wait, they’re not Prussians! A Swedish Division arrives on my right. The treacherous Bernadotte has force marched to attack me! The Swedish infantry advance towards the Bavarians in the town , the Swedish Guard  and artillery march down the road, aiming at my centre . I’m still thinking I can win this, but then I see more dust – there are still more Swedes arriving!

I throw in my reserves against the Prussians to try and finish them off before the Swedes numbers start to count. My attack develops on my left with my cavalry charging a disordered square however it doesn’t go well. His square wavers but holds, and the French cavalry are bounced.

Meanwhile the French dragoons rout the Prussian hussars in the centre but then charge after them uncontrolled! He charges my Dragoons with his Landwehr cavalry and the Dragoons are driven back.  

Another Division of Swedes arrives! Swedish Guard Light Cavalry , Prussian Heavy Cavalry and Russian infantry. And I can still see more dust! I realise then that it must be the whole Swedish army!

His large Swedish battery deploys in the centre next to a Prussian battery, ta grand battery of 40 or so guns . The French conscripts are wilting under this fire just as the Prussian infantry are forcing past the town towards them

But at last the Prussian right breaks from French volley fire just as night is falling and more enemy are pouring onto the right flank. The French are able to disengage and fall back to the West . The Prussians are mauled, the French are retreating and typically Bernadotte is left holding the field without a scratch on his precious Swedes!”
End of Report from Oudinot

1813 Campaign in Germany – bulletin 4 – Events covering 24-25 August 1813

Following the Battle of Liegnitz, the Prussian and Russian forces were forced to fall back towards Breslau.  However, although they were bloodied they were far from beaten and it wasn’t long before they began to push west again.  At the same time the victorious French were left licking their wounds in and around Liegnitz but without the strength to maintain pressure on the Allies. 

Reports are coming in of columns of French troops heading west.  Having failed to achieve a decisive victory, could the Emperor be pulling back to get closer to his supply depot in Dresden and also closer to the recruiting depots?  The two victories have been bloody for both sides and the Allies seem to have a stronger flow of recruits filling the gaps than the French do.

Napoleon may also be considering the reports he has been receiving of strong Austrian forces starting to appear from the south in the direction of Dresden.  He risks being cut off from his supplies if this old enemy is left unchallenged.

Meanwhile up north in Berlin, residents of that city would have been relieved to have seen columns of Prussian infantry under Yorck entering the city.  Rumours had been rife that the French were on the verge of taking the Prussian capital which could have been diplomatically disastrous.  It appears Berlin may have been saved by the weather which slowed the young French recruits.  There is also a rumour that the French have occupied Charlottenberg, southwest of the capital.   Napoleon will be chuckling into his cognac when he hears that the Prussians are furious with Crown Prince Bernadotte.  The Gascon was closer to Berlin than Yorck, has still failed to appear with his Swedish army, leaving it to the Prussians to do the hard marching, and now probably the hard fighting. 

Will the alliance hold for long enough to drive the French out of Germany?

1813 Campaign Report on the Battle of Liegnitz (23 August 1813)

The forces of Prince Barclay de Tolly and Field Marshal Blucher combined to overwhelm the isolated corps of General Vandamme east of the town of Liegnitz in Silesia.  However, the wily French general retreated in the face of superior numbers towards Liegnitz and combining with Marshal Marmont and his corps of Saxons, turned and confronted his pursuers.  At the same time, both sides sent out frantic requests for support from their forces nearby.  Wittgenstein for the Allies and Ney for the French responded with alacrity and arrived at the southern end of the battlefield almost simultaneously.

The battle started on the northern end of the field with an aggressive attack by Barclay’s Grenadier corps.  They were met by a combination of Saxons and Bavarians.  A bold charge by the Russian Grenadiers sent the first line of Saxons fleeing to the rear while a mass of Russian light cavalry forced the Bavarians into square.

Slightly south of this engagement both armies deployed powerful grand batteries that inflicted long range casualties and stymied attempts to attack from both sides.  Meanwhile Blucher’s Prussians were gradually arriving on the field and threatening to punch through the French centre.  However, their advance was slowed up by a large marsh in the centre of the field and it took a while for their presence to be felt. 

At the same time in the south Wittgenstein’s threw in his freshly arrived divisions against Ney whose own troops were only just starting to arrive.  This set off a running fight that see-sawed throughout the day.  Initially the Russians attacked aggressively forcing the French onto the back foot, but as more of Ney’s forces arrived, including a division of veteran Poles, the French Marshal was able to counter-attack.  The tired Russians gave ground gradually to avoid being outflanked. 

Back in the north, the triumphant Russian Grenadiers now found themselves isolated as the second line of Saxons including their Guard pushed forward over the bodies of their fallen comrades and drove the Grenadiers back.  The Russian cavalry on the right flank of the Grenadiers, unsupported by either infantry or artillery, were forced to retire in the face of the steady Bavarian squares.

However, south of the grand batteries, the French were starting to be overwhelmed by large numbers of Prussians.  A bold charge by the Saxon Guard Cuirassiers smashed through an Allied square but was then itself forced back by the weight of numbers ahead of them.

With Barclay being driven back on their right and Wittgenstein falling back on the left, Blucher was left with no option but to pull back with them, despite his preponderance of numbers in the centre.  As night fell long columns of Allied troops could be seen marching off on the road to Breslau.  The French and their German allies were left holding the field, bloodied but triumphant.  However, while the French had been able to defeat the Allies, once again they were unable to inflict a knock-out blow. 

The Emperor had not made it to the battle, but would now be forced to assess his strategic situation.  With reports to Austrian forces starting to mass in the south and threaten his lines of communication and more Russian reserves arriving from the east, will he be forced to retire or will he gamble one more time on achieving a decisive victory?

1813 Campaign in Germany – Bulletin 3 – Events covering 22-23 August 1813

The eastern part of the theatre continues to be where the fighting is.  Marshal Django Blucher, after a slow start has joined forces with Andrew Barclay de Tolly’s Russians and pursued (been drawn in by?) General Stubbs/Vandamme’s retreating corps to Liegnitz.  Here Vandamme has met up with Marshal Mark Marmont’s corps of Saxons and the French force has turned to give battle.   As with the battle of Goldberg two days ago, the armies on the battlefield are hoping to be joined by reinforcements through the day.  But will the men be able to march fast enough after their bruising at the previous battle?

Meanwhile, further west, reports of clashes between Austrian and French scouts south a Bautzen are being reported.  The Austrians have been slow to join the campaign but might they now be threatening to cut the French lifeline back to Dresden.  The Emperor has gambled everything on a knock out blow in the east.  His supporters will be hoping he achieves it this time.

In the northern theatre, carriages packed with precious belongings and family members are said to be streaming out of Berlin as the rumour-mongers create panic with reports of a French force about to descend on the capital.  General Tyler Yorcke and Crown Prince Jael Bernadotte have been tasked with holding the Prussian capital so how can this be true?  Could the French have stolen a march on them?

The next report will cover the outcome of the Battle of Liegnitz.

The Battle of Goldberg, 20 August 1813

With the summer armistice ending on 18 August, Napoleon wasted no time in launching his rejuvenated forces at the Allies, precipitating the first battle of the autumn campaign just outside Goldberg, east of Bresalu and close to the Silesian border.

The Allied commanders had been hoping to use their superior numbers to isolate and destroy a French corps and at first this appeared to be what they had achieved with Dumoustier commanding the French Guard finding himself facing the combined forces of Wittgenstein and Osten-Sacken.  However, according to the official bulletin sent back to Paris, this was all part of the French Emperor’s master plan.  Not long after the first shots were fired, the advance division of Betrand’s cavalry corps began to arrive on the Allied right flank forcing a realignment of Osten-Sacken’s cavalry corps.  What resulted was a mighty cavalry conflict that initially looked like a bad match up for the French as their lead units were all green units of light cavalry facing a strong force of Russian heavies.  However, the French heavies weren’t far behind and gradually their quality and numbers started to tell (not to mention their better dice rolls!). 

Meanwhile in the centre, Dumoustier was under strict instructions not to lose his Guard in the first battle of the campaign and the French commander uncharacteristically hung back waiting for his opponent Bennigsen to initiate matters in the centre.  For his part, Bennigsen knew Wittgenstein wasn’t far away from descending on the exposed French right so refused to commit in the centre.  Instead he pushed aggressively against the French right supported by a grand battery that battered the French Guard artillery who were forced to retire and redeploy further back.  To defend his right, Dumoustier used his Guard cavalry to fight a delaying action.  The green but enthusiastic troopers of the Gardes d’Honor supported by the Big Boots of Grenadiers a Cheval fought valiantly to stem the Russian advance. 

It wasn’t long before Allied reinforcements began to arrive in the form of Wittgenstein’s corps.  Leading the way with his cavalry division, this force combined with Bennigsen’s flank attack to send the French Guard cavalry into retreat and the French Guard were in danger of being rolled up from the right.

It was at this moment that the lead units of Ney’s corps began to trickle onto the field on the French rights and behind the victorious Russian cavalry.  Napoleon had sent Ney urgent orders to force march to the sound of the guns and uncharacteristically this commander had done exactly what he was told and arrived in the nick of time.  More typically of him though he arrived on the wrong road.  Instead of arriving on the rear flank of the Allied army where he could have cut off their retreat, he arrived closer to Dumoustier which had the immediate effect of relieving the pressure on the French Guard but meant the Allied line of retreat was left clear.

Seeing these reinforcements arriving and the cavalry fight on their right flank going against them, the Allied commanders conferred and agreed to break off the combat.  As night began to fall, columns of Russian infantry could be seen retreating into the dark protected by a screen of ever present Cossacks.  Bertrand pushed his victorious cavalry to mount an aggressive pursuit, but the exhausted, green troopers soon lost touch with the Russians in the dark.

Most of the casualties fell to the cavalry on both sides, but these were losses the Allies could better afford than the French. 

1813 Campaign in Germany – Field of Glory Napoleonic

We’ve kicked off our FOG N 1813 Autumn campaign and with first orders in, it looks like we won’t be waiting too long for there to be a battle.  With 15 players it should be a fun few weeks of map moves and table top battles.

The French, under the evil Corsican “Alex” Bonaparte, may be outnumbered but have the benefit of a unified command and interior lines.  Reports from the Allied camp are that communication has not been great between the four nations of the alliance, despite their access to e-horses.  In scenes reminiscent of the famous rampage of the Mongols at Liegnitz in the 1240’s, reports of swarms of French cavalry in the vicinity of the famous city are being delivered to the Allied commanders.  The official overall commander of the Allied forces, “Martin” Schwarzenberg, is still far away marshalling his forces in Austria.  Reports of Austrians preparing to march over the passes into southern Saxony have reached the French commander in Dresden.  However, they are too far away for now to impact events further east in Silesia where “Dave” Wittgenstein and “Django” Blucher will be scrambling to coordinate a response to the aggressive French moves just as the summer truce expired.  Already on both sides, orders have been lost, marches delayed due to bad weather and at least one Chief of Staff has been shot for incompetence.

Meanwhile in northern Germany, somewhat unseasonally, the sun is shining and the combined forces of Crown Prince “Jael” Bernadotte and “Tyler” Yorck are anxiously sending out scouts to find out where the expected French onslaught will come from.  The politically important Prussian capital cannot be allowed to fall, but is it defensible?

Weekly news updates to follow.