Bautzen - 20 & 21 May 1813 - replayed 20 Dec 2024 & 3 Jan 2025

 Mike and I decided to skip the battle of Lutzen (2 May 1813), as we've played it a couple of times before, moving swiftly to the battle of Bautzen.  The Russians and Prussians dig in behind the Spree river - Napoleon frontally assaults on day one whilst Ney attacks the right of the Allied line on day two.  

In this battle the French get bridging trains (one per Corps), so it's not just a charge across the bridge.  If only I had some suitable pontoon bridge models!  

Here is the map - Napoleon to the left, Ney at the top, Allies in the middle.  Having got used to playing with Veteran French in the last few battles, I now found that in taking the French I was mainly playing with trained troops - less likely to charge home if fired upon, they go spent on fewer casualties.  

The Set up

Here is the table ready for the start.  The on table troops in the foreground are Soult (left) & Marmont, who will advance to the Spree and cross it.

On the other flank McDonald, the Guard & Oudinot prepare to assault across the bridge and pin the centre.

Mike had troops in Bautzen, with his main defence line dug in further back.  I didn't expect to do well with the frontal assaults, I hoped that my flanking manoeuvres would do better.

Move 2

After two moves things are hotting up.  On the right Oudinot has pushed his troops in column to take on the defenders of Jenkwitz.  In the middle Mcdonald has taken Bautzen and is heading for the main line of resistance.  

On the left Soult and Marmont have crossed the river.  One of Napoleon's challenges in 1813 was a lack of cavalry.  Mike added to my troubles on the day by long range artillery sniping, which took out Soult's cavalry....

Move 3

By the end of move 3 the battle had split into 3 sectors.  On the right Oudinot squared off against Gortchakov.  Neither side had quite the numbers to kill anything, but steady Russian fire kept the French infantry from charging and the cannon from being deployed.

In the middle Macdonald & Marmont, supported by the Guard, attacked the defensive lines.

On the left Soult was left to his own devices.  The Russians lined up on the hill and brought up their guns.  The French assaults were disrupted and never developed, but the Russians were not willing to counter-attack and give up their defensive advantage.  They did try a sneaky flank attack (just above the six islands in the river) but were held off.

Move 4

On the French right we have Oudinot - he has formed "block" in preparation for another charge - to his right rear is his supporting artillery, driven off by the pesky Ruskis again!

In the middle the French throw in the Guard against the dug in Allies.

On the left the Russians hold the hill.  The French hang about at the bottom of the hill, whilst Soult diverts a division to avoid the outflanking Russians.  If only the cavalry were still around!

A close up of the central battle - The Guard to the right, Marmont & Mcdonald to the left.  The line in foreground are re-grouping after losing an earlier assault.

At the end of move 4 night fell, in the real world we had a cup of tea (Yorkshire, of course!) before resuming play at the start of day two.

Move 6

2 moves into day two, things have started to improve for the French.  

On their right flank Oudinot has broken through, aided by the Guard cavalry doing a flanking charge on the brave defenders of Jenkwitz.  In the centre the French assault the defences, throwing in masses of troops and the Guard.  

On the left flank Soult is joined by Ney.  A series of low movement rolls means the French advance slowly (or not at all, in some cases!) but Mike responds by building a defensive line and holds the hill.  Those 4 lakes act as some sort of "super moat" - breaking up the French attacks.

Move 8

On the right the French drive a massive wedge into the Allies and start taking VP (Victory Point) villages (red exploding markers).  

On the left the French take the big hill (worth a VP) but fail, so far, to get the last remaining VP village or the road exit.  If only I had not lost my cavalry!  I did manage to capture more non-VP villages...

Move 9

On the right the French broke the Allied line, but were too far away to get troops to the road exit.  It had been a long hard slog to get this far!

On the left the French failed to get the VP village across the stream but did hound the Russians away from the important VP hill.

At this point Mike and I called it a day.  The final French turn saw them masters of the battlefield and in possession of 3 VP, but with no further moves left to take further VPs and Mike too depleted to attempt to take any back, it was a draw.

Once again an exciting game with ups and downs, decisions to make and engaging to the end.  A couple of thoughts:

1. French troops are no longer veteran - and the enemy has skirmishers.  The French superiority margin is wearing down and thinner than earlier battles.

2. Cavalry - as French, you don't get much.  The Guard cavalry did a great job, but I lost 2/3 of my cavalry early on and that meant I could not exploit at the end of the game.

Once again, a well written and finely balanced scenario gave rise to an interesting and engaging game.

Photoshoot

French Chasseurs of the Guard

Guard artillery + line = Grand battery

Italians charging up the hill!

Guard Cavalry backing up an infantry charge

My Middle/Young Guard - in this case loads of Veteran stands lumped together.  Proper troops have been painted and await warmer weather for basing.

Berezina, 26 to 29 November, refought 6 & 20 December 2024

Berezina is the next battle from Dr Mark Smith's "Bloody Big Napoleonic Battles" Scenario book.  I had played it before as part of a playtest, my regular opponent Mike was new to this battle.  It's an interesting battle, with two separate areas of combat, logistical challenges and many strategic decisions to be made.

The French army has retreated from Moscow and is now heading West through the snow.  The French formed army is disintegrating and is accompanied by a huge number of military stragglers and civilians.  

The French task is to cross the Berezina river and avoid being trapped by two Russian armies.  The river is not passable, but two emergency bridges have been created.  One bridge can carry infantry and cavalry, one can take all forms of traffic.  The scenario has 6 bases of transport, representing the logistic train that needs to cross the river.  The bridges keep breaking down and must be diced for each move to see if they are passable.

The Russian task is to take a number of locations on the ground and to stop the French withdrawal of combat & logistic units.  The French thus need to get the transport across the Bridges to gain Victory Points, which requires troops on the East bank, but are penalised if these troops are still on the East bank at the end of the game.

Here's the map:

Set up

Here's the table as set up, with troops in their initial deployment.  The Russians can choose to use the road and go straight North, or take Borisov (to the left) and loop through the countryside to hit the bridges.  

As the French, I needed to take Strakov (centre of photo) and hold on (or retreat slowly) on the West bank whilst screening the mob of troops/stragglers on the East bank.

Move 2

To the South, my right, The Russians pushed up the road to seal the Western bridge exits.  Mike, as Russian, also stormed over the bridge and threw his troops at the brave French defenders of Borisov, wiping them out.  I advanced Victor's troops to the South, hoping to buy time for the rest of the army to escape.

The battle for Stakhov commences, with New and Oudinot making a defence line North of the village in the woods and Marsh, not being fast enough to get to the village before the Russians.

Victor's troops form a defensive line.

Davout takes up defensive positions and the Guard cross the river to bolster the Western French forces.  One wagon can be seen on the road heading north for the exit.

Move 4

On the West bank, the Russians main thrust goes up the road.

Into the French defenders!

With Guard in support

On the Eastern bank, Victor's troops have been beaten by the Russians - destroyed or run away...

The Eastern bank 2nd line gets ready...

Whilst the stragglers/transport mill about as the bridges fall apart - again!  5 units wait to cross.  The purple "1" indicates a broken bridge.

Move 6

By move 6 the Russians had closed up on the Eastern bank and were advancing to the French bridgehead.  My rubbish die rolls meant I could extricate some infantry and cavalry, these were deployed to the South West, where both sides were extending their lines.  I could not get any artillery or transport across, however.  The Guard with artillery and cavalry were deploying in the West bank woods.  

Move 8

By move 8 the Russians had worn down the Eastern Bridgehead, taking losses but demolishing the French defenders.  On the West bank, both sides fought hard in the woods but no real progress was made.

The Western woods - hard fighting

The bridgehead - one transport unit (Austrian forge wagon, bottom left) has crossed the bridge.  Davout's command is down to one viable unit.  The French heavy cavalry is positioned on the North bridge.  Mike and I agreed that the Russians could not attack them as there were still thousands of carts, wounded and dead in the way!

Move 9 - end of game

At the end of the game the French firmly hold the woods on the Western bank and stalemate has been achieved, with neither side able to decisively defeat the other.

At the bridgehead the Russians are now having problems concentrating too many attackers against the French rearguard.  The Heavy cavalry continue to use the stragglers as a barrier.  The forge wagon heads North.

Conclusion

It was a tense game to the end, but my poor bridging rolls meant that the transport elements were trapped on the East bank at the end of the game.  This, and my failure to get and hold Stakhov, meant it was a Russian victory.  

I was pleased with the West Bank troops and deploying the Guard there early on meant the Russian assault up the road stumbled.  

On the East bank, my troops were able to slow down the Russians, assisted by the much further distances Mike's right hook needed to travel.  It was only towards the end of the game that he threatened the bridgehead.

I thoroughly recommend this as a challenging game for both sides - one I am very happy to replay!  Thanks to Mike for two days of excellent gaming, banter & bacon sarnies, thanks to Dr Mark Smith for the balanced & challenging scenario.

xxxx