Hildesheim Campaign – Day Two

 

20 August 1813 – Northern Germany Day 2

The Prussians attack Seesen and retreat to Langelsheim
1st Prussian army – attack Seesen
2nd Prussian army – observe border
3rd Prussian army – retreat to Langelsheim

The French advance to border
1st French army – concentrate on border
2nd French army – advance to border
3rd French army – defend Seesen

Battle of Seesen – End of Move 2

The French were not fully deployed at the start of the battle.
8th corps were in and around the woods in the centre
7th and 9th corps were either side of Seesen, but could move at the start of move 1

The Prussians were off table at the start of the game, but would arrive start of move 1
3rd corps would have to move over the hill on the left, which would delay their arrival

The French occupied all three objectives before the French could get anywhere near
7th corps the hill on the left, 8th corps the woods in the centre and 9th corps the farm on the right
On move 4 the French cavalry in the centre charged the Prussian artillery
The gunners abandoned their guns and ran to the nearby infantry square
As the French cavalry swarmed around the abandoned guns, the Prussian cavalry charged
The French lost the melee and routed with 20% casualties.
8th French corps would never recover from this set back

The Prussians were delayed by the hills on the left and right
So it was late in the day when they could launch their three attacks
With only one move to go all three combats were undecided
But on the last move the French took the hill on the right and the woods in the centre

The French lost 7 infantry and 2 cavalry casualties (3000 men)
The Prussians lost 3 infantry and 1 artillery casualties (1300)

Comments

I wish I could convince all serious wargamers to attempt the sort of simple games which Jan and I enjoy. I am sure that many would be put off by how simple the mechanics of our rules seem. Everything is decided by the roll of 1D6. This means that all combats and morale tests are very unreliable.

There are a small number of plus or minus points for both combat and morale. This reflects elite, regular or conscript troops. They also reflect firepower and skirmish ability. And of course casualties affects both combat and morale. Morale is also affected by the position of the corps commander, if he is within 4” of a brigade they get plus 1.

So the rules are not as simple as they at first appear. But if one side rolls a one, or a six, for either combat or morale it will have a dramatic effect.

I suspect that luck plays a larger part in my wargame than it did in real life. However it is a game, and when both players are very experienced and rarely make a mistake it can easily become predictable and boring. This enhanced element of luck changes all of that.

I can honestly say that I enjoy our wargames now more than I have ever done in the past. Not many could say that after Wargaming against the same player for more than 55