French attack Manching and occupy Bergheim
7th French army – rally and resupply at Lauf
8th French army – occupy Bergheim
9th French army – attack Manching
Austrian defend Manching and retreat to Ingolstadt
1st Austrian army – regroup and resupply at Buxheim
2nd Austrian army – retreat to Ingolstadt
3rd Austrian army – defend Manching
3rd Austrian army, commanded by General Mervedt, defend Manching
Bavarian have 9 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
3 infantry brigades are detached on garrison duty
They have 1 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (200 men)
Austrian have 10 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
2 infantry brigades are detached on garrison duty
They have 2 infantry, and 3 cavalry casualties (1100 men)
The Bavarians start the battle with just two days supplies, the Austrians have 4 days
If Ney is defeated, his army will have to retreat with just one day’s supplies
If they run out of supplies they will suffer attrition casualties (400 men per day)
The Austrian army occupy the three objectives at the start of the battle.
They also outnumber the Bavarian infantry
Their battle line is further north than usual, to support the hill on the left
The battle opens when the Austrian reserve cavalry charge the enemy guns
The gunners evade to nearby supporting infantry squares
The Bavarian cavalry then charge, and rout both Austrian brigades
On the left 7th Austrian corps has more infantry than 25th Bavarian corps
They move forward to attack, led by their cavalry brigade
The Bavarian light horse charge and rout the Austrian hussars
Without cavalry support the Austrian infantry are forced to retreat in square
With no support the garrison of the inn also retreats.
8th Austrian corps in the centre hold their ground
But without cavalry support the infantry are forced to form square
26th Bavarian corps advance forcing the Austrians to retreat
9th Austrian corps have two infantry brigades on the hill
They are attacked by three Baden brigades, lose the fire fight and are routed
Comments
I expected the Austrians to win this battle.
They outnumbered the Bavarian infantry ten to nine brigades
Both sides started with battle casualties, but neither had any advantage
The Austrians were unlucky to lose all three cavalry melee.
This forced their infantry to form square, and left their artillery vulnerable to attack
The Bavarians were quick to exploit their advantage
The Austrians lost two cavalry melee in the centre, due to poor dice
However they might have recovered with their attack on the right
But luck was against them again, when they lost the third cavalry melee
Without cavalry support the Austrian infantry were forced into square
This left them with no defence against Bavarian artillery and infantry in column
When charged by Bavarian cavalry, their gunners all ran to the nearest square for safety
The only exception was the hill on the left
Cavalry cannot fight on hills, and guns are ineffective
Two good Austrian infantry brigades held the hill
They were deployed in line, which should have held their own against enemy columns
But the Bavarian infantry did not charge the hill
They halted and sent their skirmishers forward
Again luck deserted the Austrians
They lost the first round of skirmish, and never recovered
An interesting game, but I feel the Austrians were particularly unlucky
And in Wargaming, as in life, there is no real answer to excessive bad luck.