Battle of Celle

24 September 1813 – Northern Germany – Day 1

The campaign opens with a Prussian surprise attack on Hannover district

The Prussians are deployed to the east of the Hannover-Brunswick border
They are out of sight of the French, but are concentrated ready to attack
1st Prussian army – attack Celle
2nd Prussian army – observe Lehtre
3rd Prussian army – observe Peine

The French are deployed to the west of the Hannover-Brunswick border
One corps from each army is deployed on the border
The remainder are in reserve for ease of resupply
1st French army – defend Lehtre
2nd French army – defend Peine
3rd French army – defend Celle

Table at start of battle

French are deployed at the top of the photo
HQ, 7th and 9th corps are in and around the walled town of Celle
8th corps is in front of the town either side of the main road

The Prussians are marching towards Celle at the bottom of the table
Blucher has taken command of half of 2nd corps on the left of the main road

There are three battle objectives
Woods on the left, hill in the centre, village on the right
The army who occupy at least two objectives at the end of 12 moves will win the battle

French HQ, 7th and 9th corps cannot move until the start of move 2

Table at end of battle

On the left the late arrival of 9th French corps allowed the Prussians to take the southern half of the woods, and their cavalry and artillery forced the French to deploy north of the woods. They continued to hold the woods throughout the battle.

8th French corps occupied the hill in the centre at the start of the battle, and bore the brunt of the Prussian attack. 2nd Prussian corps advanced between the woods and the hill, supported by Blucher with cavalry and artillery from 1st corps. Two infantry brigades stormed and took the hill. However a late counter attack by the grenadier brigade from 8th French corps took it back in the closing moves of the battle.

On the right the French occupied the village before the 1st Prussian corps could reach it. Murat took command of the village and 7th corps cavalry. His independent command played a major role in holding the village throughout the battle.

Comments

The late arrival of two of the three French corps allowed the Prussians to attack all three objectives before the French could fully deploy. This allowed them to take the woods on the left and the hill in the centre. The village on the right was further north, and the French occupied it before the Prussians could.

By move 8 the Prussians held the woods and the hill, and were deployed to attack the village on the right. They only needed to hold two of the three objectives to win the battle, and that outcome seemed to have been achieved.

However the attack on the village was foiled by Murat’s bold counter attack. He held the village with two infantry brigades, and the cavalry in support. As the Prussians approached the village he led the French dragoons forward. The Prussian hussars charged to hold them, but lost the melee and routed. The dragoons then charged the nearby artillery, forcing the gunners to seek shelter in a nearby square and the attack Prussian infantry to halt and form square. The Prussian attack was in disorder and the village held until the end of the game.

On the hill in the centre two Prussian infantry brigades had routed the two French brigades and secured the hill. 8th French corps had been soundly beaten and three of the four infantry brigades were in rout. The northern end of the hill was very narrow, and only one Prussian brigade would deploy there, which they did facing north towards the retreating French infantry. The defeat of the Prussian attack on the village allowed 7th French corps to send their grenadier to retake the hill. They managed a flank attack on the Prussian brigade, which was an automatic rout. The supporting landwehr brigade failed their morale test and also routed. During move 12, the last of the game, the French grenadiers took control of the hill.

At the last moment victory was snatched from the Prussians by this daring counter attack.

The French have lost 12 infantry, 2 cavalry and 2 artillery casualties (5200 men)
The Prussians have lost 6 infantry, 1 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (1000 men)

Despite winning the battle the French are in a very dangerous position, and in no condition to fight a second day. They have lost twice as many casualties as the Prussians and their centre has gone. As night falls Murat orders a general retreat and abandons Celle.

This ws a really enjoyable game, even for me as the Prussian commander.