Background
The Battle of Cassano took place on 16 August 1705, during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Cassano d’Adda, in Lombardy, Italy. It was fought between a French army of 22,000 commanded by the duc de Vendôme and an Imperial force of 24,000 under Prince Eugene of Savoy.
In October 1703, Victor Amadeus II repudiated his treaty with France and joined the Grand Alliance. By August 1705, the French had occupied most of the Savoyard state, with the exception of its capital Turin. With Savoy on the brink of defeat, Imperial general Prince Eugene tried to relieve the pressure on Turin by crossing the River Adda at Cassano, and threatening Milan. Although taken by surprise, the French managed to hold the bridge after several hours of combat, both sides suffering heavy casualties.
A deep and fast-flowing river, the Adda had limited crossing points, especially for large bodies of men. The town of Cassano was on the right bank, with a stone bridge protected by a small fortification or redoubt. The area was also divided by numerous small streams and irrigation channels, the most significant being the Retorto, an irrigation canal running parallel to the Adda. This was connected to the left bank by another bridge, protected by another strongpoint.
Assuming Prince Eugene was heading for Mantua, Vendôme ordered his brother to leave Cassano, and take up blocking positions at Rivolta d’Adda, a village about 10 kilometres away on the left bank of the Add. One suggestion is his decision was based on deliberate misinformation from a Spanish officer serving in the French army who was in reality an Austrian agent. After marching overnight from Romanengo, Imperial troops were already nearing the crossing point when they were spotted by a French cavalry patrol early next morning; realising their intentions, Vendôme hurried towards Cassano with around 2,000 cavalry, ordering the rest of his army to follow as quickly as possible.
Nearly 25% of those engaged became casualties, Vendôme losing around 5,000 killed or wounded out of 22,000, his opponents over 4,500 killed, wounded or captured from 24,000. French military historian De Périni suggests French casualties of 2,728 killed or wounded, with Imperialist losses of around 6,000, including nearly 2,000 taken prisoner. In his own account, the Chevalier Folard, a French officer who was badly wounded in the battle, reports similar casualty figures of 3,000 and 5,000 respectively; he also suggests that if Vendôme had called on the troops left at Rivolta d’Adda, he might have won a significant victory.
The battle is generally viewed as inconclusive since while Vendôme prevented him crossing the Adda, Prince Eugene achieved his primary aim of delaying their assault on Turin until 1706. Vendôme and many of his troops were recalled to France after the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706, allowing the Imperialists to break the Siege of Turin in September; fighting in Northern Italy ended with the March 1707 Convention of Milan.
The Game
I am still settling in from my last travel event, so I was glad when one of my buddies wanted to run a game of Twilight of the Sun King during our monthly horse and musket game day. I just had to show up! He decided to run TotSK as the rules and decided on setting up the battle of Cassano using his 10mm miniatures. He set up all the terrain and gave us our respective forces. Each side had two wings and was able to set up as they wished.
The battlefield was covered with some streams and a canal. The streams slowed down movement (3+ activation to cross) and the canal was the same when the water was down. We had to roll each turn to see who controlled the sluices of board (5+) to determine this.
The French set up defending all the crossing points and in front of the Austrian left wing. The Austrians set up in front of both bridges (one with cavalry and the other with infantry) to pin the French and their main forces to attack towards the left and center.
We had a time limit on how long we could play, so we set that as the end of the scenario. We got going with the Austrian attack, as the French awaiting the attacks in their defensive positions along the canal.
The Austrian attack on the right got into contact first and engaged the French. This attack bogged down, with an unexpected rout to start off the assault! Still they pressed forward. While the Austrian infantry got into their slog, the center cavalry attacked the left bridge, to see if they could overcome the outnumbered French. This also turned into a grinding attack, with the French also holding firm.
The main Austrian attack on the left slowly closed with the enemy and sent their cavalry across the canal the water was down). They had luck on their side and were able to defeat the French cavalry holding the wing. The Austrian infantry then stepped into the assault, with the artillery in support. They were able to grind through the thin gay line of French and roll up the remaining cavalry. The way was clear to the objective!
Now it was about the clock. Could the Austrians get to the objective before time ran out and the right wing Austrians were crushed? It was looking bleak, as the Austrian casualties started to pile up. The Austrian left wing had to start rolling for morale, but passed their roll. The Austrians were able to break the French right wing at this point. The French did not pass their check and also failed their army morale. With the French quitting the field, the Austrians squeaked out the victory, with five minutes to spare.
- Manteuffel
Great game!