Background
By late summer, Napoleon’s Grande Armee stood poised to capture Smolensk, deep in central Russia. But to the south of Napoleon’s advance, the Third Russian Army of West took to the offensive, and on July 27 General Tormassov defeated Reynier’s Saxon corps at Kobrin. With the right wing of his advance now threatened, Napoleon had no choice but to order Prince Schwarzenberg’s Austrian corps to unite with Reynier and counter the Russian advance.
While Napoleon held Prince Schwarzenberg in high esteem, it was generally understood that Austrian involvement in the campaign was for political more than military support. To date, Schwarzenberg had avoided any serious engagement with the Russian army, but in August Napoleon issued a direct order for Schwarzenberg to attack Tormassov without delay. Gradually retreating south, General Tormassov–a savvy veteran commander in his own right– deployed his 20,000 men across a defensible plateau, sheltered by rugged, marshy ground.
Upon Reynier’s suggestion, Schwarzenberg detached much of his force to outflank the Russian left. General Tormassov shifted his defense appropriately, utilizing the rugged terrain to the best of his ability. As Schwarzenberg’s line grew longer, Tormassov sensed an opportunity to counterattack in the center. A sharp contest ensued, until Austrian reinforcements stabilized the line and forced the Russians back. By the end of the day, Tormassov knew he was outnumbered and elected to retreat south. The Russians lost roughly 3,500 men out of 20,000 engaged, while the Austrian and Saxon forces lost slightly fewer men.
The Game
We set up the game based on a scenario we found for Age of Eagles online. This was tweeked a bit, so we could play the game using Bloody Big Battles rules, which our out current preferred system for to play full sized battles in the 19th century.
SCENARIO RULES
- LAMBERT and von FUNCK are Charismatic.
- The marshy stream is not fordable by cavalry or artillery. Infantry may ford at a cost of half their movement and an automatic “disorder.” Bridges must be crossed in column formation.
- Any units in the marsh areas are always considered “disordered.”
- The Russians deploy first.
- Schwarzenberg held out a large portion of his army until late in the battle. Beginning at 12:00pm (Turn 3), the Austrian commander should roll a D10 at the start of each turn. On a roll of “10,” FRIMONT’s corps is released at point “A” on the battle map in road column formation. Every turn the Austrian player should add an additional +1 to his roll. Over time, it will become more and more likely that these reserves will be released.
- Kamensky, a Russian corps commander, was ill at the time of the battle, so Prince Tcherbatov functioned as temporary corps commander.
- SCHWARZENBERG is -1 for initiative rolls, and TORMASSOV is +0. Austrians begin with initiative on the first turn.
Terrain and Weather: The gaming table should be six feet long by four feet wide, laid out according to the accompanying map. The battlefield terrain was rugged, including marshes, streams, hills, and woods. Urban areas offer +2 advantages to defending units in melee and a -2 benefit when under fire. Movement along roads offers full movement benefits. The weather is warm and clear.
Deployment: Units set up according to the accompanying map in whichever formation the commander sees fit. Batteries may begin limbered or unlimbered, and commanders must be deployed within 12 inches of their commands. On the first turn of the game, REYNIER’s corps enters at “C.” ZECHMEISTER may elect to arrive with Reynier, or wait until 11:30pm (Turn 2) at enter at “D.” At 12:00pm SEIGENTHAL arrives at point “B,” active for combat. The remainder of FRIMONT’S corps adheres to Scenario Rule #5.
Game Play: The Russians tried to set up in a covering arc to cover the full front. The allies seeing how stretched out the Russian position was, opted to go full out attack and mass against the Russians before they could better consolidate their positions. This quickly developed into a bum rush and finally a sweep of the Russians. The allies ended up smashing the Russian forces and exiting units of the table. The game resulted in an ahistorical allied major victory!
- Manteuffel