Sunday 4 September 2022

Kufstein Campaign Day 7


27 May 1813 - Southern Germany - Day 7

Massena fights second day at Obersdorf

7th army fight to defend Obersdorf

8th army regroup and resupply at Kufstein

9th army regroup and resupply at Worgl

 

Schwarzenberg orders continued attack on Obersdorf

1st army attack Obersdorf

2nd army regroup and resupply at Sankt Johann

3rd army regroup and resupply at Kitzbuhel

Battle of Obersdorf – Second Day – Move 6

7th Bavarian army retreat to join the garrison of Obersdorf

1st Austrian army continue the attack for a second day

 

This photo was taken half way through the game.  

On the right 1st Austrian corps have defeated and routed 9th Bavarian corps.

On the left 10th Bavarian corps have defeated and routed 2nd Austrian corps

The Bavaians are swinging left to support the garrison of Obersdorf

In the centre the Austrian reserve and 1st corps artillery are bombarding the town

 

Over the next four moves the Austrians would take the right hand section of the town

9th Bavarian corps counter attack would rout the Austrian reserve including those in the town.

 

Casualties were very high on both sides

Bavarians have lost 15 infantry, 3 cavalry and 2 artillery casualties (6500 men)

Austrians have lost 10 infantry and 5 cavalry casualties (4500 men)

 

Comment

Against all the odds, and my forecast at the end of the last post, the Bavarians have won!

 

It is quite hard to explain why without going into massive, and probably boring, detail.

It was mainly because both sides had suffered heavy casualties in earlier battles

It would only take one casualty for a brigade to rout, often taking others with them

And this would largely depend on who “moved” first .

 

In our wargame rules each commander has a poker chip

They are placed in a bag at the end of each move

Next move the first chip drawn determines which corps will move first

This allows them to fire on the enemy, possibly cause a casualty often resulting in a rout

They can also initiate a cavalry or infantry melee, allowing them an “impact” bonus

This can be enough to swing the melee in their favour

 

This, and the influence of dice, is what makes our games so interesting – at least for us

It also makes them very unpredictable.   The game can often be won or lost in the last move.

 

It is rather boring to say that this was yet another very interesting wargame.

It often surprises me that even after 52 years married and gaming together Jan and I can still surprise each other.

At least on the wargame table.

2 comments:

  1. Thistlebarrow,

    Well, that was a bit of a stunner of a battle! It sounds as if things could have gone either way … and luck was with the Bavarians on this occasion.

    To an outsider, it looks to me as if both sides are in danger of fighting each other to a standstil, and one wonders what will happen next.

    All the best,

    Bob

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bob

      Glad that you enjoyed it.

      It was a great game to play, particularly as it turned out completely against expectations. I commanded the Austrian army, and I felt quite sorry to Jan having to play a game where she was "sure to lose". How wrong can you be!

      We are definately moving to the end of this campaign phase. Behind the scenes the Austrian supply system is in a mess. Both armies have considerable battle casualties and most corps are very fragile becaue of that.

      best regards

      Paul

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