5 June 1813 – Northern Germany – Day 5
French
attack Harzburg
In the
north surprise French attack on Harzburg
In the
centre French prepare Liebenburg for a siege
In the south both armies regroup and resupply
Second battle of Harzburg Move 12
The
French plan was to pin the Prussian left
The main
attack would be in the centre against Harzburg
The
Guard would crush the Prussian right and support the centre
The
Prussians put up a fierce resistance and held their centre and left
Their
right was broken, but delayed the Guard until it was too late to take the town
At
nightfall they still held Harzburg and won the battle
Comment
The situation is
becoming desperate for the French
The Prussian
army has crossed into Goslar district and is poised to take Goslar itself.
Fortunately the
city is defended by 1st French army, including the 1st
Guard corps.
Napoleon orders
1st army to attack 2nd Prussian army at Harzburg
The aim is to
break the Prussian centre, or at least disrupt their plans to attack Goslar.
The attack
quickly becomes bogged down.
On the right 3rd
corps are quickly repulsed and only just hold the flank
The main attack
in the centre is a dismal failure, including the reserve commanded by Napoleon
But on the left
the Imperial Garde brush aside 4th Prussian corps and attack the
city
Unfortunately
the run out of time and the Prussians still hole Harzburg at nightfall.
I commanded the
French, and it was a real pleasure to see the Imperial Garde on the table
The dice rolled
well for them, and allowed them to crush the Prussians as you would expect them
to do
However it was
only fair that they failed to take Harzburg
For Jan, who
commanded the Prussians, defeated two thirds of the French army
And without
doubt deserved to win the game.
I am really
pleased with the type of game provided by the larger armies
In effect there
are three games being fought at the same time
And it is most
unlikely that one side will win all three
Often the game
is won by the side who win the centre of the three battles
They can then
move to support whichever flank is having the most success
However, as in this case, it is often too late to take the objective within the 12 moves allowed.
Thistlebarrow,
ReplyDeleteHaving been away, I’m only just catching up on events in this campaign.
It looks as if the Prussians are doing far better than one would have expected, and holding the Imperial Guard up for long enough for them not to be able to perform their normal breakthrough role is very commendable; Iron Crosses all round I hope!
All the best,
Bob
PS. Due to the need to
a) downsize my collection
b) dispose of the figures that have developed lead rot over the past year or so
I am looking at copying your organisation system. It will mean rebasing quite a lot of figures BUT I’m going to have to do that anyway to deal with the lead rot. It might take a long time, but it will keep me busy once my other projects are completed.
Hi Bob
DeleteI have been following your adventures on your blog. It seems that cruise was just what you needed.
The Prussians are doing remarkably well. Even when I change sides they still win!
I read about the lead rot on your blog, what a terrible thing to happen. I have not heard any mention of it for many years. Back in the 70s there was a lot written about it, and the best way to avoid it. I can't think of anything worse to happen to your treasured collection.
You could always adjust my organisation system to your current basing system. I only used eight figures to a brigade because it suited the basing system I already had. My infantry were based in 32 figure units, so each unit became four brigades of eight figures each. And the same 32 figures, with four cavalry and one gun, became a corps.
Anything to avoid having to rebase
regards
Paul
Paul -
ReplyDeleteI have always liked the type of Army Level OOBs that you and Bob Cordery have created. I am impressed also with the manner in which your battlefields, though having a distinctively 'thistlebarrow' look, never become stereotyped.
Cheers,
Ion
Hi Ion
DeleteThanks for your comments
I think you are aware that my OOB are the result of the figures already in my collection. I have never added even one figure to create the new orders of battle. But I never expected that they would work as well as they have. There can be few wargamers who fight more games using the same orbat and basic scenery. The secret is the campaign, which gives an extra dimension to the wargames.
The great advantage of wargaming is that you could set up the same battle on the same table ten times, but each game would be slightly different. The influence of the dice throw is so important, that the sequence of a whole game can change just because of one particularly good, or particularly bad, dice throw.
best regards
Paul