The Battle of Lehtre

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.

Designing campaign maps

 

Table at the start of a wargame

The wargames table is the starting point for both my wargames and the maps of my fictional 1813 campaign.   It is 6x6 foot and has space for nine 2x2 foot squares.   This area would represent one map square on my stragetic maps, and nine map squares on the tactical one.   The above table shows the area I mean.  

For the campaign to work I had to be able to transfer any battle fought onto the wargames table.   So first I had to decide how I would use the 2x2 foot scenic squares to create the wargame terrain.

Campaign map master

The best way to describe this is to explain how the campaign map is created.

The area covered is from the attacking army depot to the defending army depot, which is always the campaign objective.

There are 108 squares, divided into 12 squares each three wide by three deep.   This area is one days march on the campaign map and also one wargames table.  

The map is four tables wide and three deep.

In the campaign each French and allied army has 3 armies each of 3 corps.   At the start of the campaign the two armies are deployed either side of the District border (the dotted purple line in the middle of the map).   A maximum of 1 corps can occupy each of the smaller squares, and on the wargames table one corps can fit in one 2x2 foot scenic squares.

The master campaign map starts with nine buildings.  The centre building at each end is a city and the army depot.   The other 7 are towns.   Each is an objective in both the map campaign and on the wargames table.  

Campaign map for Hannover campaign

This map shows the completed map with the location of each French and Prussian corps at the start of the Hannover campaign.   Three types of roads have been added, major are red, secondary yellow and tracks brown.

Cities and towns have been named.   Hills, woods, villages and farms have also been added. 

Most  important each small square now has a number, and this corresponds with a 2x2 foot scenic square.   This is how it is possible to transfer every small square on the campaign map to the wargames table.

Next week I will cover making the 2x2 foot scenic squares and the scenery that goes on top of them.

Planning the armies of the 1813 campaign

 

Typical corps

 

I explained last week how I found myself with a large collection of painted figures, from which I now wanted to create all of the major armies of the 1813 campaign.

I had a very clear idea what I wanted to achieve, but not how to do so.

I wanted to use every figure in my collection in a series of campaigns

So do so I wanted to use them in sequence, with one allied nation in each campaign

I had 160 infantry, 16 cavalry and 4 guns in each allied “army”.    This was to be a fictional campaign based on 1813.  But I wanted to make it “feel” and look like a Napoleonic campaign.   So the basic army had to be a corps.  It would be very unusual for a French army to have just one corps, so my existing figures would have to represent three or four corps.  My wargames table was built by using nine 2x2 foot squares.

They were three wide and three deep.   I found that if I divided each army into four corps they would fit one corps to one square.    Thus I could have three corps wide and one corps in reserve for each army.

Fortunately my armies provided 4 infantry, 1 cavalry and 1 gun for each of the new four corps.   You will see what I mean in the photograph above.   Each corps would have 4 brigades of 8 infantry, one brigade of 4 cavalry and one corps artillery of one gun.   The four infantry figures left over would provide skirmishers if required.

I based the infantry and cavalry two figures to a stand.    This means that my infantry brigades could form column of march, column of attack, line and square.    My cavalry could form column of march and line.   I had to get used to 8 figures representing a brigade of infantry, but that was an acceptable compromise.  

Before leaving the UK I had discovered Le Feu Sacre (LFS) rules, which I really liked using.  However they are designed for a one corps game, with 12  infantry figures representing a battalion.  I decided to design my own rules, relying very heavily on the principles of LFS.   The only difference was that I replaced their orders of battle with my own 8 infantry figure brigades, 4 cavalry figure brigades and 1 gun for corps artillery.

These rules rely on command and control very heavily, which I liked.  It rewarded historical Napoleonic tactics.   Their command figure was brigade and division.   Mine would be corps and army.

I am very pleasantly surprised to find that the original planning back in 2008 has largely survived 18 years of frequent Wargaming.   We always have a game on the table and have a couple of moves four or five times a week.  It usually takes us about 10 to 14 days to complete a 12 move game.

The only major adjustment is that we soon adapted to three corps games.   This meant that each mini campaign order of battle would consist of slightly different armies as I switched the four corps to provide armies of three corps.

Next week I will consider designing the wargames table, which would be the foundation of the orders of battle and the campaign maps.

Planning My Napoleonic Wargames Army

Table at the start of a wargame

I am fortunate that I have had a permanent wargames table for many years.
Before we moved to Spain my garage was converted to a wargames club room.
I had a wargames group of 4 to 8 for many years, and a 12x6 foot wargames table
This was long enough for 4, or even 6 at a pinch, but not for 8.
I came to appreciate that a playing area of about 4x3 foot per player was about right
I came to this conclusion after many years of weekly wargames.

When we were planning to move to Spain we bought our house “off plan”
This meant we had some input about the size of rooms, within reason
Our major priority in choosing a house was having a wargames room.
We had a large room with enough space for a 6x6 foot table
This was the first building block in my planning the wargames room

During our last couple of years in the UK I replaced all of my 28mm armies.
So I was able to plan the number of infantry, cavalry and artillery required
This was in 2004, before the popularity of 8 figure infantry units.

I decided infantry units would have 20 figures, 4 of which would be skirmishers
Cavalry units would have 8 figures and artillery 1 gun and 4 figures.

Each allied army would have 8 infantry, 2 cavalry and 4 artillery units
This would give me 160 infantry figures, 16 cavalry and 4 artillery
This would give me a good balance of arms, and scope for different types of troops

The French would have four such armies, old guard, young guard and two line
There would be 6 Bavarian units, 1 each Baden, Polish, Vistula, Wurtemberg and Italian.

I had no firm idea about orders of battle, or indeed which rules I would use
For many years I had used “house rules” based on “In the Grand Manner”
So brigades, divisions and corps were very flexible.

I completed painting the new figures just before we moved to Spain in 2006.

My first year in Spain was spent making the wargames table and storeage shelves.
We also played a lot of wargames, getting used to the table and the armies.

By 2008 I was getting bored with “one off” wargames.
We fought a series of games based on Wellington in the Peninsular
These were a series of stand alone games, not a campaign
I then tried something similar with Napoleon in Italy, but it did not work so well
That is when I decided to create my own fictional wargame campaign.

I wanted a campaign which would provide an endless supply of battles to wargame
I also wanted to be able to use all of the figures in my collection
There was only one historical campaign which would fit the bill – namely 1813.
The historical campaign covered both Germany and Spain
It was also the first time that Napoleon did not have an advantage in troop quality.

Next time I will explain how I created armies and corps out of this collection.

The Battle of Peinne

25 September 1813 – Hannover Campaign – Day 2

French advance to the border
Prussians attack Peine

The Prussians occupy Celle and attack Peine
1st Prussian army – occupy Celle
2nd Prussian army – observe Lehtre
3rd Prussian army – attack Peine

1st and 2nd armies move to border, 3rd army retreat
1st French army – advance to border
2nd French army – advance to border
3rd French army – retreat to Soltau

Table at the start of the battle

French are deployed at the top of the photo
5 corps occupy the hill in the centre of the table
4 and 6 corps are either side of the town
All three corps may move at the start of move 1

Prussians are deployed at the bottom of the photo
7 corps on the right
8 corps in the centre
9 corps on the left

The three game objectives are in the centre of the table
Woods on the left, hill in the centre, farm on the right
The army which holds at least two objectives at the end of 12 moves will be the winner

 

Table at the end of the battle

On the right 7th Prussian corps are in firm control of the farm.
4th French corps have been forced to retreat to the woods
Their grenadier brigade launched a last minute counter attack which failed
Two infantry and one cavalry brigade are in rout (blue stars)

Both army commanders have taken command in the centre
Yorck has captured the right hand hill with half of 8th corps
The other half has captured the left hand hill
5th French corps have withdrawn to Peine where they have rallied
Victor holds the area between the town and the woods with three brigades
Two infantry and one cavalry brigades are still in rout behind the town

On the left fighting for the woods continued until the last move
The Prussians took the woods by move 8 (of 12)
6th French corps counter attacked and took two of the three sections
At the start of the last move the Grenadier brigade had just taken the last section
A badly damaged, but well placed, Prussian brigade counter attacked
They caught the grenadiers in flank and routed them, taking back one section
Two French brigades were in position to attack the right hand wood section
Before they could attack they suffered casualties by supporting Prussian artillery
One French brigade routed, the second attacked the woods
Despite 20% casualties the Prussian brigade won the melee and held the woods

At nightfall the Prussians held two game objectives, the third was still in dispute
Consequently the Prussians won the battle.

French lost 11 infantry, 2 cavalry and 2 gunners (4800 casualties)
Prussians lost 6 infantry, 1 cavalry and 2 gunners (2700 casualties)
7 French brigades were in rout and 3 Prussian brigades

Comments

The second battle of the campaign was a more convincing win for the Prussians. They clearly held two of the three battle objectives, and were clear winners

The French had suffered almost twice as many casualties
However numbers alone can be misleading.
As often happens, the game was won (or lost) in the last 4 of 12 moves

The first four moves are usually getting in position and preparing to attack

The next four are artillery and cavalry trying to achieve an advantage for the attacker
It is during the last four that the infantry attack and hold, or lose, the objectives

This game was no exception to that general rule
The infantry skirmish and melee actions are very dependent on the dice
The attacking army usually attempts to take two of the three objectives
If the CinC has created a reserve this is often now committed
So the attacker may well have an advantage in the final two moves

If is during moves 11 and 12 that most casualties occur
The winning side has easy pickings are the losers break and retreat
This is why the casualties are often very one sided

In this game the French appeared very strong on the left and right on move 10
They were well placed to counter attack the farm and the woods
Both sides rolled both good and poor dice during those two moves
But the Prussian good dice came at the right time
The French were less lucky.

Another tense and very enjoyable wargame.

Wargaming the French Imperial Garde

French First Army at (fictional) battle of Hildesheim

I suspect that most, if not all, Napoleonic wargamers have at least one unit of French Garde, probably Old Guard grenadiers. I also suspect that most struggle to actually have a wargame with them. Their historical role was to form a strategic and tactical reserve under Napoleon’s personal command. They consisted of the best soldiers in his army, and were too valuable to risk in battle.

When I created my 1813 campaign my aim was to wargame with ALL of my model soldiers and use all of my scenery. This meant I had to find a role for both Napoleon and his Imerial Garde.

My Napoleonic order of battle consists of five Army Groups. There is one allied and one French in north Germany, Central Germany, Southern Germany, Northern Spain and Southern Spain.

Each army group has three armies. Each army has three corps. Each corps has 4 infantry and 1 cavalry brigades, plus corps artillery. There are 45 French corps, of which one is Old Guard and four are Young Guard. Each army group has one Guard corps. The Old Guard corps is part of First French army, which is commanded by Napoleon.

                                                   1st French (Old Guard) corps

1 Guard Grenadier brigade CA FB SC

2 Guard Grenadier brigade CB FB SC

3 Guard Chasseur brigade CB FC SB

4 Guard Chasseur brigade CB FC SB

1 Horse chasseur brigade CA Light

2 Guard foot artillery CB 12 pounder

C(lass) is morale, F(ire) is musket fire, S(kirmish) is skirmish ability
A is excellent and plus 1, B is average, C is poor and minus 1)

 

2nd French line corps

25 infantry brigade CA FB SB

26 infantry brigade CB FC SB

27 infantry brigade CC FC SB

28 infantry brigade CC FC SC

2 cavalry brigade CB dragoons

3 foot artillery CB 9 pounder

2nd and 3rd French corps have similar orders of battle

The Old Guard corps has slightly better morale than other corps.
Their musket fire is less effective than other corps
Grenadiers have poor skirmish ability, Chasseurs are average.

Each of the other corps in First Army have slightly lower morale
Their musket fire is less effective than other corps
Their skirmish ability is average because they are French troops.

You will see that the Old Guard brigades are only slightly better than other brigades
And the brigades of the other two armies are slightly worse than other armies

Each battle/wargame is decided by who wins at least two of three objectives.
Each objective is held, and attacked, by one corps
So at best the Old Guard brigade has a slightly better chance to taking the objective
But this is balanced by the other two corps having a slightly worse chance.

The explanation has proved more difficult than I anticipated, but I hope it makes sense. It is much more simple on the wargames table, where even the Old Guard grenadiers can be defeated by a Prussian landwehr brigade, if the dice is favourable to the Prussian player.

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.