Southern Germany
The next campaign phase takes us to southern Germany with the colourful uniforms of the Austrian and Bavarian armies. The light blue of the Bavarian infantry, and the white and blue of the Austrian Hungarian infantry are amongst my favourites.
Start of Campaign
Kufstein district is right in the middle of the Tyrol area of southern Germany, between Innsbruck and Salzburg. Obviously a very hill terrain, and not particularly well suited to Napoleonic battles.
When I first considered this campaign phase I played around with the idea of including guerrilla bands of Andreas Hofer style irregulars. I do not have any suitable figures, but the irregular combat would not be included on the wargames table. And when a garrison was required I could use Spanish guerrillas. But he was shot by the Austrians in 1810 and the Tyrol became part of Bavaria.
I am never sure whether to make the field armies responsible for the garrison of towns and depots, or whether to have a reserve army charged with this task. If the field army is responsible it makes them weaker as they take new towns, but it reduces the size of corps on the wargames table. In this campaign I have compromised by giving both sides a reserve corps of six brigades. That is sufficient to provide garrisons on their own side of the border. But if they capture a town from the enemy they will have to provide a garrison from the field army
The Austrian campaign objective is to take and hold Kufstein (centre far left). So they will have the initiative and the campaign will start when they cross into Kufstein district.
The Bavarian objective is to hold all of Kufstein district.
Lots of hilly terrain making movement and deployment difficult, especially for the attacking Austrians. And the river Inn cuts communication between both armies.
Looking forward to this campaign.
Sounds like an interesting set up. I think you are wise to exclude Hofer's operations, they involved a lot more than guerilla bands and really deserve their own campaign if included at all. A minor correction: it was the French - or the Italians acting in the name of Napoleon - who shot Hofer, not the Austrians.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike
DeleteThanks for your comments.
I include the Spanish guerrilla activity in my campaign phases set in Spain, because it played such a large part in the Peninsula. But it has little mention in histories of the 1813 campaign in Germany.
I didn't realise that it was Italian troops who shot Hofer. Many years ago I spent a holiday walking Napoleon's (or rather Bonaparte's) battlefields in Italy. When visiting the fortress of Mantua I saw a plaque to mark the spot where Hofer was shot. I took a photo of the fortress, but not the plaque. Shame, it might have confirmed it was Italian rather than French troops.
I know that it was Italian soldiers who captured him, and transferred him to Mantua. So it makes sense that it was the same nationality who formed the firing squad.
regards
Paul
This looks like an interesting campaign as is your comment/question concerning garrisons for town. My reading of campaigns is that a Division might be taken out of the line for garrison/protection duties. I think it adds to a campaign as in reality there would be lots going on in the rear areas including supplying fodder, foraging for food, engineering tasks, protection of supply lines, control of POWs etc. The army would also have gendarmes - maybe you could allocate a notional few battalions for this purpose.
ReplyDeleteA nice part of the world to be fighting a war!
Hi Bob
DeleteThanks for your comments
The purpose of my campaign is to provide interesting battles to wargame, so I try to keep the administration of the campaign to a minumum. However I do want it to bear some resemblence to the historical 1813 campaigns in Germany and Spain. Therefore supply and communication has to play a large part in the campaign (rather than the wargaming).
I completely agree that rear areas played a dominent part in all military campaigns, not least in Spain. Having to protect their lines of communication/supply made it impossible for the French to concentrate their armies for any length of time.
But because the aim is to provide interesting wargames, rather than campaign strategic and logistic problems, it can not be allowed to reduce the field army too much - even if that did happen in real life.
I have tried many different ways to replicate this in the campaign, and currently I have a reserve army to provide garrisons and protect lines of supply. But all of that is a "paper exercise" and does not interfere with the wargames.
My order is battle is based on the brigade, and the reserve army has six to garrison the six friendly towns in their rear area. The field army has to detach one brigade to garrison each town that it captures. This is a very simplified answer to a pretty complicated problem. But it does reduce the winning field army, and makes up for the heavier casualties usually suffered by the losing army.
regards
Paul