Background
The Battle of Loubino (Valutino) took place on 19 August 1812, between a corps of French and allied troops led by Marshal Ney, about 30,000 strong, and a strong rear-guard of General Barclay de Tolly’s Russian army of about 40,000, commanded by the general himself. The Russians were strongly posted in marshy ground, protected by a small stream, about 20 Kilometers east of Smolensk. The French, attacking resolutely, captured the Russian position in the face of considerable physical obstacles.
Napoleon’s hopes of trapping General Barclay’s army were dashed when he discovered that the Russian force awaiting the French was a rearguard under General Tutchkov. Barclay’s main force of three infantry and one cavalry corps was strung out near Smolensk, trying to get away from the French after the Battle of Smolensk. They then turned around to fight the French on the Stragan river.
After a heavy bombardment, Ney launched an assault against the Russians, crossing the Stragan but failing to capture the crest. Murat’s cavalry attacks were bogged down in marshy ground and accomplished nothing. General Junot’s force was close to the battlefield and was urged to attack the Russians by Murat. Junot did not engage, and the opportunity for a decisive victory passed.
A few hours later, Ney launched the last French attack. General Gudin led the assault and was killed when a cannonball removed his legs. The French managed to capture the crest after hard fighting. By that point the majority of Barclay’s army had escaped and was heading towards Lubino.
French casualties stood at around 7,000. The Russians lost about 6,000. Napoleon was furious after the battle, realizing that another good chance to trap and destroy the Russian army had been lost.
The Game
Setup was generally per the scenario book with the Russians setting up first and the French executing their first move as they placed their formations on the table, with Ney’s reinforced infantry corps on the left and the two French cavalry corps on the right. However, contra to the written scenario, the first two of Junot’s Westfalian divisions (the light infantry division under Ochs and the cavalry division) started on the table deployed on the French right flank, to reflect their earlier arrival. Junot’s third division, ofline infantry, would have to roll an 11 or higher to enter the table, which it never did. To further hamper Junot’s ability to move his corps, each turn he had to pass an activation test of 8 or higher to move the light infantry,and if that test was passed, Junot could roll again to try to move the cavalry,also needing an 8 or higher. This produced a very historical result,mirroring Junot’s lethargy on the day. On the French left flank, Morand’s infantry division would enter on a roll of 8 or higher, which it finally did on the fifth turn of the game.
The French used their first move to assault all across the line. Three French infantry divisions and two cuirassier divisions slammed into four Russian infantry divisions and one of Korf’s cavalry brigades. After skirmish and artillery fire and close combat, Ledru’s French infantry division and one cuirassier division were forced to retreat, as was Korf’s cavalry brigade on the Russian side. The remaining formations on the front line stood, mutually damaged.
Turn 2 saw the French using their superior skirmish ability and numerous committed artillery batteries to achieve what close combat could not The Russian grenadier division was forced to retreat with a very bad assessment result after receiving a lot of hits, and the other Russian formations also received fatigue. The other Russian front line formations voluntarily withdrew on Turn 3 in accordance with their orders. Using Baggehufwudt’s fresh infantry corps to strengthen their right flank, the Russians formed a new defensive line behind the stream. The French used the respite to inspire and rally their formations that had previously been forced to retreat. The French also pressed the advance with their tiring infantry divisions,and sent fresh cuirassier divisions forward to lead the cavalry advance. Junot’s corps started to stagger forward on the French right. On the French left, there was still no sign of Morand.
The mid-game saw mutual attrition between the French and Russian infantry formations all along the line. The fatigued French formations had difficulty ordering their committed and unlimbered artillery to displace (or recall) and move forward, which diminished their available firepower. After a few turns of exchanging fire, Gudin’s French division was forced to retreat by one of Baggehufwudt’s Russian divisions. However, French hopes were sustained by Morand’s belated arrival and swift advance against the open Russian right flank, and with the return to action of Ledru’s inspired and rallied division, which took the place of Gudin’s division in the firing line. The Russians only had a small dragoon brigade to oppose Morand’s advance,which was duly ordered to charge. This charge was met by the hasty deployment of five of Morand’s legere battalions and was forced to retreat after combat. The battered line of Russian infantry thus found itself with no remaining reserves and a right flank being held only by their reformed and much diminished grenadier division, outnumbered three-to-one by Morand’s rampant division.
At the same time, the fresh French cuirassier divisions advanced against the weakened Russian left and crushed all before them, their natural superiority being enhanced by much better dice rolls. Then the fresh French light cavalry came forward and pressed the advance across the stream, scattering the remnants of the Russian cavalry that they faced. The final act on that flank saw the Westfalian light infantry driven back by a charge of the hussars of the Russian guard cavalry division, which were charged in turn by the Westfalian cavalry division. Although the Westfalian cavalry was also defeated, the accumulated fatigue forced the Russian cavalry to retreat (this is exactly what happened to Junot’s corps in the historical battle). With the retreat of the Russian guard cavalry, there was no hope of any Russian formation being able to survive the remaining five turns. We called the game at the end of the ninth turn, after four hours of play.
- Mantueffel