26 September 1813 – Hannover Campaign – Day 3
French abandon Peine
Prussians attack Lehtre
The Prussians occupy Peine and attack Lehtre
1st Prussian army – regroup at Celle
2nd Prussian army – attack Lehtre
3rd Prussian army – occupy Peine
The French retreat to Laatzen and defend Lehtre
1st French army – hold border
2nd French army – retreat to Laatzen
3rd French army – regroup at Soltau
Table at the start of the battle
All three French corps are deployed on and around the objectives
1st Guard corps on the right, 2nd corps in the centre and 3rd corps on the left
Prussian corps are deployed closer to the camera
4th corps on the right, 5th corps in the centre and 6th corps on the left
There are three game objectives
Woods on the left, hill in the centre and fortified farm on the right
The army who holds two at the end of 12 moves will be the winner
Table at the end of the battle
On the right the Imperial Garde are firmly in control of the walled farm.
Early in the battle their cavalry charged and routed the Prussian dragoons.
Without cavalry support 4th Prussian corps could not hope to take the farm
In the centre Napoleon has taken command of two brigades from 2nd corps
He holds the hill throughout the battle, despite a Prussian attack
As night falls 5th Prussian corps regroup and again attack the hill
This time they break and rout the French defenders
2nd French corps holds the area between the hill and the woods
Their artillery cause 20% casualties to the Prussian gunners, who rout
Without artillery support the Prussians cannot hope to attack
On the left the battle for the woods is undecided at nighfall.
Throughout the battle the Prussians have attacked.
But they are unable to take all three sections of woods
At night fall the Prussians hold one section, and the French hold two
The Prussians have been unable to take two of the three objectives
The French win the battle.
The French have lost 10 infantry, 1 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (4200 men)
The Prussians have lost 7 infantry and 2 artillery casualties (3000 men)
There are 5 French and 5 Prussian brigades in rout
Comments
In most battles the attacker selects two of the three objectives to attack
He may move forward to attack all three, but usually abandons one objective
In this battle the Imperial Garde held the farm on the right
So this was always going to be the most difficult objective
Early in the battle the French cavalry charged and routed the Prussian dragoons
Without cavalry support the Prussians were content to observe and pin the French
Napoleon could have attacked with the Garde, and would probably have won
However it was too early in the campaign to risk the Imperial Garde.
In the centre Blucher took command of 5th corps.
His gunners were twice routed by the French artillery
Without artillery support he was unable to attack
The most interesting part of the battle was the woods on the left
This was the first Prussian attack, and it continued throughout the battle
There are three wooded sections and the Prussians would have to take all three
They managed to take two sections, but the French attack retook one section
At nightfall the French held two sections and the Prussians one.
Neither side managed to hold two of the three game objectives.
At nightfall they each held one objective, with the woods in debate
However to win the attacker must take two out of three
In a draw the defender is the winner
And in this case the French held two of the three woods sections.
An interesting wargame and the French player (Jan) deserved to win.
Thistlebarrow,
ReplyDeleteAs someone whose second favourite Napoleonic army is the Prussian one (my first is the Brunswickers at Waterloo as it’s a complete all-arms mini-army), I was pleased to see them in action.
Anyone taking on the Imperial Guard is always going to have an uphill battle and the French acquitted themselves well, although the cost in casualties seems to indicate that it was no push over.
I look forward to seeing what happens next.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob
DeleteMy feeling, though it may be wrong, is that the Prussian army is not everyones first choice., despite fighting in more battles that any other opponent of Napoleon. It is probably the least colourful army, being mostly dark blue and grey.
I have always had a Prussian army and quite like the combination of regular and landwehr troops.
Its unfortunate that in my campaign poor old Blucher is always going to be up against Napoleon anhd the Imperial Garde. Though using my rules neither have the advantage that they seem to have in most commercial wargame rules. And the Garde is only one corps amongst nine in northern Germany.
regards
Paul
The three-objective setup made this a tense read, since the Prussians had to take two of the woods, hill and fortified farm while the French only needed to hold on. The early cavalry charge that routed the Prussian dragoons clearly decided the farm fight before it really started. Blucher's gunners being routed twice is a brutal detail, and it explains why the centre attack stalled. I came across a useful link while reading: https://gachanebulaapkmod.com/
ReplyDeleteThanks for the detailed campaign report and for spelling out why the draw went to the defender.
Hi Julia
DeleteThank you for your comment
I found it difficult to achieve a clear cut winner for a wargame that only lasts 12 moves. That number is decided by the 12 hour movement in the campaign. For quite a long time we had indecisive games, where the attacker had clearly defeated the defender, but had run out of time to actually take the objective, which used to be the town. The three objective game not only made the winner more obvious, it also allowed a lot of opportunity for tactical moves to take two objectives and pin the third.
The other thing which greatly increased our enjoyment of the game was the decision to use one six sided dice for all combat and morale tests. You mentioned the dragoon melee, which is a good example. It also ensures that there is never a "clear winner" until the last move has been played. So often the side which looks like winning at the end of move 11 loves everything during move 12. It only needs a couple of poor dice throws for the "obvious winner" and/or a couple of good dice for the "apparent loser". Having only two players, who both accept and indeed enjoy this type of game, helps a lot too. Many players would feel "robbed" by this type of result
regards
Paul