Hildesheim Campaign – Day Three

21 August 1813 – Northern Germany Day 3

The Prussians attack Holle
1st Prussian army – occupy Seesen
2nd Prussian army – attack Holle
3rd Prussian army – regroup Langelsheim

The French retreat to Alfeld
1st French army – defend Holle
2nd French army – retreat to Alfeld
3rd French army – regroup at the border

Battle of Holle – End of Move 2

The French, commanded by Napoleon, occupy the three game objectives at the start of the battle
Old Guard woods on the right
2nd French corps road junction in the centre
3rd French corps farm on the left

The Prussians, commanded by Blucher, arrive at the start of move 1
4th corps attack the woods on the right
5th corps attack the road junction in the centre
6th corps attack the farm on the left

4th corps, on the right, never look like taking the woods
They capture and hold one section, but the French hold the other two

5th corps in the centre, is the main Prussian attack
Blucher takes command of half of 6th corps to support them
They break, and rout, all of 2nd French corps

6th corps, on the left, pin the French holding the farm on the left
With the centre broken, Blucher attacks the farm with artillery and two brigades
The French hold the farm for three moves/hours, but eventually retreat

At nightfall the Prussians hold two of the three game objectives and win the game

Comments

Another very enjoyable wargame, with the advantage moving from one side to the other
The game lasts a maximum of 12 moves, and could go either way until move 8

The French cavalry were unlucky, and lost all three melee, though the guard rallied
The Prussian cavalry could then threaten the Prussian artillery and force them to withdraw

The massed Prussian infantry attack on the three objectives started on move 6.
Only one brigade could occupy or enter each game objective
Both sides had committed their best infantry brigades to hold and attack
So it required a prolonged fight to determine the outcome

However the Prussian cavalry could pin the French reserve infantry
This allowed the Prussian infantry to bring their full strength to bear

The French have lost 12 infantry. 4 cavalry and 2 gunner casualties (5400 men)
The Prussian have lost 7 infantry casualties (2800 men)

A decisive Prussian victory

Feeling My Age

 

I don’t often have a moan on any of my blogs, because I usually feel that I have a lot to be grateful for and know only too well that there is a lot who would happily change places with me tomorrow.

However.......

Last June I turned 80 which is one of those critical birthdays which it is more difficult than usual to ignore.   We moved to Spain in my early 60s, and I remember thinking “60 is the new 50”.   It may not be true, but there is an element of truth in it.   My wife and I were still quite fit and made the most of moving to this lovely part of Spain.   

A month after we arrived a new U3A was formed in our local town, and we were amongst the first members.   This introduced us to hundreds of ex pats who had taken the decision to move to Spain for our retirement.   In 2006 there was a real surge of brits moving to Spain, encouraged by the many TV programmes such as “A life in the Sun” and the free four day visits paid for by local estate agents to encourage the move.   It was a very exciting time and great to be surrounded by like minded people of a similar age.   Everyone was new, so everyone wanted to make friends.

We took full advantage of the many coach trips organised by the U3A for four day trips to Madrid, Granada, Seville, Barcelona and Saragossa – plus many many more.

We also discovered hill walking with a local walking group, a hobby which we have enjoyed ever since.   For ten years or so we walked as part of a group, but as they got older we started our own walking group.    This not only kept us fit, but widened our circle of friends.

Equally important we built our first custom made wargames table.   Our house was bought “off plan”, which meant we had a large say in how the rooms could be adopted.   We were able to expand an underbuild to provide us with a space large enough for a 6x6 foot table, and an adjoining room for shelves to hold the model soldiers and model buildings

A third project was to make a large collection of model houses to populate our wargame tables spreading from north Germany to southern Spain.   And in two scales, one for 28mm and a second for 18mm.    My wife was the artistic one who designed and built the card buildings.   I got to paint them.   This kept us busy for a couple of years.

My 70^th birthday passed by almost unnoticed.   I have never been one to celebrate birthdays or occasions.   Nor do I particularly enjoy eating out, despite the many excellent and relatively cheap restaurants available locally.   I would rather have a favourite meal on our naya (balcony) on a warm June evening with a cold glass of wine followed by brandy and coffee.

However 80 years old demanded my attention.   As it approached I became aware that many of our walking friends had given up hill walking.   Being in the U3A there is always a supply of new arrivals eager to join in new activities, particularly walking which is not only healthy but also a great way to meet new friends, even if your are not a natural mixer.   However the group was remaining the same age (average 70ish) but we had gone from the youngest to be far the oldest.

My wife Jan had had an accident on the mountains, which made her very wary to tackling the harder climbs.   We had always walked together, and I just didn’t enjoy the walks so much without her.   So I decided to start a new walking group, but this time easy 9km valley walks.   We both enjoyed them, and within a few months it was just as popular as our previous more challenging mountain walks.   But it was an admission that we were both finding the walks we previously enjoyed very challenging.

In March last year my optician confirmed that I had cataracts of both eyes which now needed attention.   I was quite shocked to discover that I had lost 20% of the sight in both eyes in just a few months.  I visited our local GP and was referred to the local hospital.   But, as in the UK, there would be a long wait.   With all the elderly Brits living locally there is a lot of call for replacement knees and hips plus of course cataracts.   It would take 9 months to get the hospital appointment, and another 5 months to get a date for the first operation.   Fortunately my sight did not get worse during this long wait – at least until a few weeks ago.

In late May I became aware that I could no longer read paper size print without eye strain.   I managed ok with the computer, until a few weeks later when I found that becoming difficult too.

Then a week ago I caught a bad cold/flu from my wife, causing me to worry that the operation might be cancelled if they realised when I turned up for the operation.   Finally four days ago an early heat wave arrived without warning.   Temperatures rose from a pleasant 24-26c to a very uncomfortable 34-36c.  

So for the past few days I have been feeling very sorry for myself.   Unable to spend so much time on the computer, feeling too ill to either walk or want to wargame and the approaching operation on my eyes which I would rather not think about too much.

Tomorrow is the first cataract operation, and the weather forecast is for lower temperatures next week.  So hopefully when the next blog comes along I will be feeling much more my normal self and not feeling so sorry for myself.

To celebrate the above I have updated my blog photograph.   The earlier one was taken in about 2008, this one was June 2025.   Our walking group surprised me with a birthday cake and a photograph of Jan and I after one of our walks.  I was starting to feel a little dishonest positing the earlier photo and can feel that I am being more honest with this one.

Hildesheim Campaign – Day Two

 

20 August 1813 – Northern Germany Day 2

The Prussians attack Seesen and retreat to Langelsheim
1st Prussian army – attack Seesen
2nd Prussian army – observe border
3rd Prussian army – retreat to Langelsheim

The French advance to border
1st French army – concentrate on border
2nd French army – advance to border
3rd French army – defend Seesen

Battle of Seesen – End of Move 2

The French were not fully deployed at the start of the battle.
8th corps were in and around the woods in the centre
7th and 9th corps were either side of Seesen, but could move at the start of move 1

The Prussians were off table at the start of the game, but would arrive start of move 1
3rd corps would have to move over the hill on the left, which would delay their arrival

The French occupied all three objectives before the French could get anywhere near
7th corps the hill on the left, 8th corps the woods in the centre and 9th corps the farm on the right
On move 4 the French cavalry in the centre charged the Prussian artillery
The gunners abandoned their guns and ran to the nearby infantry square
As the French cavalry swarmed around the abandoned guns, the Prussian cavalry charged
The French lost the melee and routed with 20% casualties.
8th French corps would never recover from this set back

The Prussians were delayed by the hills on the left and right
So it was late in the day when they could launch their three attacks
With only one move to go all three combats were undecided
But on the last move the French took the hill on the right and the woods in the centre

The French lost 7 infantry and 2 cavalry casualties (3000 men)
The Prussians lost 3 infantry and 1 artillery casualties (1300)

Comments

I wish I could convince all serious wargamers to attempt the sort of simple games which Jan and I enjoy. I am sure that many would be put off by how simple the mechanics of our rules seem. Everything is decided by the roll of 1D6. This means that all combats and morale tests are very unreliable.

There are a small number of plus or minus points for both combat and morale. This reflects elite, regular or conscript troops. They also reflect firepower and skirmish ability. And of course casualties affects both combat and morale. Morale is also affected by the position of the corps commander, if he is within 4” of a brigade they get plus 1.

So the rules are not as simple as they at first appear. But if one side rolls a one, or a six, for either combat or morale it will have a dramatic effect.

I suspect that luck plays a larger part in my wargame than it did in real life. However it is a game, and when both players are very experienced and rarely make a mistake it can easily become predictable and boring. This enhanced element of luck changes all of that.

I can honestly say that I enjoy our wargames now more than I have ever done in the past. Not many could say that after Wargaming against the same player for more than 55