Halle Campaign – Day 6

Campaign Map on 7 November 1813

Russian 3rd and 4th corps rally and resupply at Konnern

French 5^th and 6^th corps rally and resupply at Halle and Landsberg

Wiedemar depot is moved to Landsberg

French 2^nd and 14^th corps attack 1^st and 2^nd Russian corps at Gerbstedt

Battle of Gerbstedt move 2

Davout leads the attack with 2^nd French and 14^th Westphalian corps

He creates an artillery reserve by taking command of both corps artillery

Wittgenstein is not present, 1^st and 2^nd Russian corps act independently

However they are supported by 19^th brigade, the garrison of Gerbstedt

The Westphalians open the battle, and lose the initial cavalry melee

They are supported by the reserve artillery and mount an infantry attack

An extended infantry melee is the result, which masks the artillery

The Russians lose and withdraw

The Westphalians are too disordered to pursue

2^nd Young Guard corps wait for the attack on the right to develop

When the infantry melee starts the reserve artillery redeploy to support them

However 2^nd Russian corps withdraw to a new position before they can attack

At nightfall both armies are battered, but neither are defeated

The Russians still hold the town, and 2^nd corps is largely intact

A second day of battle will have to be fought to decide the winner                                     

Campaign Notes   

It is very, very unusual to have a drawn battle with my rules.  

Of the 312 wargames fought during this campaign only one other has been a draw

The Westphalians lost a cavalry melee during move three

Not only lost, but were routed with 30% casualties

The cossacks did not lose any casualties

This is also a very unusual result, and largely down to good dice

This would usually signal the end of the game

It is almost impossible to attack equal numbers of infantry without cavalry

Particularly when the defenders still have the use of their cavalry

However Davout had created an artillery reserve by taking artillery from both corps

This allowed the Westphalians to attack, with strong artillery support

The attack quickly developed into a prolonged infantry melee

This meant that the artillery could no longer support

The Westphalians eventually won, but suffered heavy and could not pursue

The French artillery then redeployed to support the opposite flank

Here the Young Guard corps had kept out of artillery range to await developments

By the time they moved forward, again with artillery support, it was too late

The Russians withdrew to a strong defensive position in support of the town

Night fell before the Guard could complete their attack

Davout claimed a victory. 

But the Russians were not beaten, and they still held the town

A second battle would be needed to decide the rear winner