Campaign Map on 9 October 1813
2nd Austrian and 10th
Bavarian corps both reorganise and resupply
Both are non-operational after the
battle of Walsenburg
Oudinot is still reorganising his
depot and supply system.
All corps have been brought up to
2-3 days supplies
But the depots at both Wassenburg
and Rosenheim are empty
Schwartzenberg can delay his
counter attack on Rosenheim no longer
Even though he is outnumbered he
orders an attack on the city
Battle of Rosenheim
Table at start of battle
It was immediately obvious to
Schwarzenberg that he would have to attack in the centre, between the woods and
the farm. However to do so would
require some redeployment.
4th corps, on his left,
was weaker than 12th Baden corps which opposed them. In addition they would have to advance
through the woods to reach them.
1st corps, in the
centre, was also weaker than 11th Bavarian corps opposite them.
3rd corps, on his right,
was the strongest, but was opposite the strongly held city of Rosenheim.
Table end of move 3
Schwartzenberg has created a new
reserve by taking command of three infantry brigades from 3rd corps,
and the cavalry brigades of 1st and 4th corps. Together with 1st corps this will
be the attacking force.
He has ordered 4th corps
to hold the woods on the left, and 3rd corps those on the
right. All four corps artillery are
deployed to support the main attack
Table end of move 10
The
Austrian concentration has won the day.
The
two flanks are held with minimum casualties
In the centre five Bavarian
brigades are in rout
Campaign Notes
It is only recently that we have
amended our wargame rules to allow the CinC to create a new corps by taking
personal command of infantry, cavalry or artillery from subordinate corps.
There is the obvious advantage that
he can concentrate his main strength at the point of attack. However there is also the disadvantage that
he cannot exercise as much control over the rest of his army. He must remain within 8” of all elements of
his new corps to maintain command. This
means that he cannot move to issue orders or support another corps. He can send new orders by ADC, but this
usually takes two to three moves to be effective.
There is also the obvious
disadvantage that the corps he has taken brigades from are much weaker, and the
enemy commander can take advantage by attacking one or more of them.
But in this battle it worked
well. The terrain provided good
defensive positions for his weakened corps.
Because he was in the centre he could quickly react to an enemy counter
attack on one of his flanks (corps commanders cannot do so).
In this battle the Bavarians still
had 4 infantry brigades, one cavalry brigade and one corps artillery in the
centre. The Austrians had concentrated
5 infantry brigades and two cavalry brigades to attack. But in addition all three corps artillery
were positioned to support the attack.
The result was a much needed
Austrian victory.
Well that shakes things up! And 10th Corps now looks a little isolated up there, asuming Oudinot retreats back across the river.
ReplyDeleteThe Austrian are back (baby)! So the campaign goes on!
ReplyDeleteHi Yuri
ReplyDeleteOudinot could keep 7th corps in Rosenheim, but has to retreat 11th and 12th corps. This is to reestablish the one square distance between all troops not in contact. But that would leave the 7th corps greatly outnumbered and almost certain to be forced to surrender.
So it looks like 10th corps will indeed to left isolated. However they have suffered less casualties than 2nd Austrian corps, and they hold a strong defensive position on the left bank of the river.
regards
Paul
Hi James
ReplyDeleteA serious setback for Oudinot, and it certainly opens the campaign up again.
However the Austrians now face a difficult decision. They can hold the right bank of the river Isar, including Rosenheim. But that will allow the Bavarians to recover from their defeat and will result in a draw for the campaign.
Schwartzenberg is in a strong temporary strong position and will be tempted to follow up his decisive victory.
Not too hard to guess what option he will take!
regards
Paul
What a great campaign, with the Frence being unable to exploit their initial advantage and the Austrian proving much more robust than one might have expected,
ReplyDeleteI has been a very interesting campaign to follow.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. It is always nice to hear from you.
Glad that you are enjoying the campaign, much as we are
The river makes a huge difference to the overall campaign.
Because of the bend it is reasonably easy to cross and force the enemy to retreat
But you then become very vulnerable, particularly if you have to fight off a counter attack.
Supplies are also a problem, and it takes a couple of moves to recover from a battle, even one that you win, and to establish a new supply depot.
We now enter the really intereting part of the campaign. Both sides have suffered considerable battle casualties. Many have been replaced, but all corps have brigades with 10% casualties. This makes them very brittle when forced to take a morale test. And just one hit can cause a rout, and subsequent loss of morale in other brigades within supporting distance.
best regards
Paul