A Near Run Thing

Background
My armies, scenery and rules are designed to wargame my 1813 campaign.
For many years all of my games have been based on the campaign.
There is a considerable amount of work to do between campaign phases.
This results in a, for us, long period between games.
This is an attempt to fill that gap, and allow us to fight a non campaign battle.
Our first attempt had to be Waterloo.

Table at start of battle

The table is loosely based on Waterloo.
The orders of battle are the same as for my campaign.
The three British corps have three British infantry and one Portuguese brigades.
The Portuguese represent the Dutch Belgian troops at Waterloo
The French have one Guard corps and two line corps.

There are three game objectives.
On the left Hougoumont, in the Centre La Haye Sainte, on the right woods.
The side which holds at least two of the three at the end of the game will win.

End of move 2

French have advanced towards the three objectives
Napoleon centre right has no command
1 corps advance towards La Haye in the centre
2 corps advance towards the woods on the right
3 corps advance towards Hougoumont on the left

British advance to support the three objectives
Wellington left of cross roads has no command
1 corps hold Hougoumont on the right, cavalry advance
2 corps hold La Haye in the cente, cavalry advance
3 corps hold the woods on the right , cavalry advance

End of move 4

French advance to attack objectives
Napoleon leads two infantry brigades in attack on La Haye
1 corps cavalry lose melee and rout
2 corps gunners 10% casualties and rout
3 corps artillery rout hussars

British vacate all three objectives to avoid artillery fire
Wellington takes command of Hougoumont
1 corps cavalry rout, gunners flee to square, garrison withdraw from Hougoumont
2 corps cavalry fail morale and rou t, garrison withdraw from La Haye
3 corps artillery hit gunners who rout, garrison withdraw from woods

End of move 6

French enter Hougoumont
Napoleon wins infantry melee between La Haye and woods
1 corps advance between Hougoumont and La Haye
2 corps rally infantry and gunners, cavalry retreat to regroup
3 corps advance and enter Hougoumont

British cavalry rally
Wellington prepares to counter attack Hougoumont
1 corps cavalry rally
2 corps cavalry rally, two infantry brigades rout
3 corps cavalry rally

End of move 8

French attacking all three objecties
Napoleon infantry melee in La Haye
1 corps advance between Hougoumont and La Haye
2 corps attacking woods on the right
3 corps infantry melee in Hougoumont

British counter attack all three objectives
Wellington regroup three infantry brigade behind Hougoumont
1 corps counter attack Hougoumont
2 corps counter attack La Haye
3 corps defending woods

End of move 10

French take Hougoumont
Napoleon attack on La Haye fails, old guard rout
1 corps young guard hold be tween Hougoumont and La Haye
2 corps attack woods
3 corps occupy Hougoumont

British retake La Haye
Wellington prepares counter attack on Hougoumont
1 corps four brigades in rout
2 corps retake La Haye, rout old guard
3 corps cavalry rout, infantry fight to hold woods

 

End of move 12

French hold Hougoumont and woods
Napoleon rallies guard to the right of the main road
1 corps withdraw infantry out of artillery range on the left of main road
2 corps capture woods at the end of move 12
3 corps hold Hougoumont

British hold La Haye Sainte
Wellington attempts to rally routed 1 corps
1 corps one infantry brigade in square covers rout of corps
2 corps hold La Haye Sainte
3 corps lose woods at the end of move 12

French casualties 6 infantry and 1 cavalry (2,500 men)
British casualties 8 infantry, 3 cavalry and 1 artillery (3,600 men)

Hougoumont from the allied side

1st British corps have abandoned Hougoumont and are in rout
One infantry brigade has formed square to hold off the French cavalry
The other three brigades, plus the cavalry are all in rout

La Haye Sainte from the allied side

2nd British corps hold La Haye and are concentrating behind it
The French Imperial Garde have retreated to regroup
French and British artillery exchange long range fire

The woods from the allied side

3rd British corps are intact and grouped behind the woods
The gunners have abandoned their guns to seek safety behind the infantry
The highland brigade have just broken and routed from the woods
The supporting infantry have all passed their morale test caused by this rout
One brigade has formed square on the left to hold off the French cavalry.

Summary
The French hold two of the three objectives and win the battle

But the outcome was decided with the last dice thrown in the game
The British held the woods on the right throughout the game
The highland brigade held the woods with 20% casualties
An elite French brigade charged the woods at the start of move 12
The French rolled a 6 for combat and a 5 for morale
The British received their third casualty and an automatic rout with 30% casualties
The French passed their morale test and held the woods.

This was a much more interesting game that I had expected
It had a flavour of Waterloo, because the result was uncertain until the end
Either side could have won and it was appropriate that the dice decided.

Between Campaigns

 

There is always a lot of admin to be completed at the end of one campaign phase and the start of the next.   None of this work can be done until the final battle has been decided, which means that there is always a long gap between wargames at this stage.   For someone who is used to having a game in play all of the time, this can be frustrating.

It is all the more so this time because we are in the middle of a heat wave here in Spain, and we have very little energy for anything, let alone a lot of paperwork to prepare the next campaign phase.  In addition we have my son’s family with us for their annual three week holiday.   It is lovely to have them here, and having visited for 18 of the previous 20 years (thanks to covid) they are very little trouble.   But our normally quiet house catering for just two of us is suddenly required to cater for 7.   Our tranquil self centred routine is replaced by bedlam.   I hide in my office, but it is really difficult, if not impossible, to concentrate on anything as complicated as organising a campaign.

In the week before they arrived I decided to try a one off game to fill the time.  This would be the first non campaign game I have played in about 15 years.   I settled on Waterloo, but not the Waterloo that the world knows so well.   This one would have to fit into my campaign orders of battle and my rules.   They are finely developed to deliver the type of games we like to play, with a strict 12 move game to meet the 12 hour day in the campaign.   The result is the table you see above.

My first attempt included the ridge on the allied side and high ground on the French right.  It also included a woods in front of Hougoumont and no terrain features on the allied left.   The objective would be the cross roads and the road running left to right.   However just four moves made it clear that my rules would not allow a historical refight.   Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte quickly fell to French artillery and infantry.   The table was set up once more as shown above.   The game objective would be Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte and the woods on the right.   All three objectives were placed much closer to the road where the allied army was deployed, this would make it easier for them to support the objectives.

Not at all sure how it is going to work out, but already regretting that I did not just do the hard work of setting up the next campaign and setting up the first  campaign battle.

Ratisbon Campaign Day 7

22 September 1813 – Southern Germany – Day 7

The French occupy Ratisbon
7th French army – occupy Lappersdorf
8th French army – occupy Ratisbon
9th French army – occupy Kofering

The Austrian retreat east of the river Danube
1st Austrian army – abandon campaign, retreat east
2nd Austrian army– abandon campaign, retreat east
3rd Austrian army – abandon campaign, retreat east

Summary

On 16 September Marshal Massena crossed into Ratisbon District with orders to defeat the Austrian army and capture their main depot in the city of Ratisbon.

The Austrians won the first battle at Prettendorf, but were forced to retreat when the French won the next two at Abbach and Rittendorf. The Austrians redeployed in front of Ratisbon, but were defeated at Kofering, Lappersdorf and Ratisbon itself.

The Austrians crossed to the west bank of the river Danube and abandoned the campaign. This left Massena the winner of the campaign

The campaign started on 27 May and ended on 15 July 2026

Comment
So the campaign ends with the Austrian army in full retreat, and the Bavarian army in possession of Ratisbon. At this point is all seemed so predictable, with Massena winning five battles out of six. It is easy to forget that after the first battle it looked like he would be forced to abandon the campaign and retreat himself.

It is also easy to forget that each battle was a hard fought wargame, and that all could easily have gone either way. With our rules on move 10 the outcome is often in the balance, with either side likely to win. Then one player is lucky and either moves first, or rolls a 6. This then has a knock on effect resulting in a seemingly overwhelming victory. It is unfortunate that in this campaign the Bavarian side seems to have an unfair share of that luck. But when Wargaming each battle that was not the way it felt.

Looking back we have had six enjoyable and challenging wargames, which is the whole aim of the campaign. The winner of the campaign is less important than both players having an enjoyable experience playing the games.

21 September 1813 - Battle of Ratisbon

 

Campaign Map

8th Bavarian army, commanded by Marshal Mortier, attack Ratisbon
2nd Austrian army, commanded by General Klenau, defend Ratisbon

The Bavarians have 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery
The Austrians have 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery

Ratisbon is the campaign objective

Table at start of battle

8th Bavarian army are furthest from the camera
22 corps on the right, 23 corps in the centre, 24 corps on the left

2nd Austrian army are in the centre between the city and the Bavarians
6 corps on the left, 5 corps in the centre, 4 corps on the right

There are three game objectives
Farm on the left, woods in the centre and bridge on the right
The army who holds at least two of these at the end of 12 moves will win the game.

 

Table at end of battle

Summary

On the left 24 Bavarian corps have taken the farm
6 Austrian corps have retreated to the hill to the left of the city

In the centre 23 Bavarian corps have occupied the woods
5 Austrian corps have retreated to Ratisbon

On the right the bridge over the river Danube is still in dispute
22 Bavarian corps have taken the east end of the bridge
4 Austrian corps still hold the west end of the bridge

Having taken two of the three objectives the Bavarians have won the battle

The Austrians have lost 16 infantry, 1 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (6,600 men)
The Bavarians have lost 7 infantry and 3 cavalry casualties (3,100 men)


6 Austrian and 3 Bavarian brigades are in rout

Ratisbon Campaign Day 6

 

21 September 1813 – Southern Germany – Day 6

The French attack Ratisbon
7th French army – occupy Lappersdorf
8th French army – attack Ratisbon
9th French army – hold Kofering

The Austrian defend Ratisbon
1st Austrian army – abandon campaign, rereat east
2nd Austrian army – defend Ratisbon
3rd Austrian army – regrjoup east of Danube

Situation
In the north 7th Bavarian army have occupied Lappersdorf
1st Austrian army have withdrawn from the campaign

In the centre 8th Bavarian army have orders to attack Ratisbon
2nd Austrian army have orders to defend the city

In the south 9th Bavarian army have occupied Kofering
3rd Austrian army have withdrawn from the campaign

The Bavarians have already won the campaign.
1st and 3rd Austrian armies have left the campaign and cannot return
However the Austrians still hold Ratisbon, the campaign objective
The capture of Ratisbon is largely symbolic
Even if the Austrians win this final battle they will have to retreat

20 September 1813 - Battle of Lappersdorf

Campaign Map

7th Bavarian army, commanded by Marshal Massena, attack Lappersdorf
1st Austrian army, commanded by General Schwartzenberg, Lappersdorf

The Bavarians have 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery
The Austrians have 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery

Table at start of battle

7th Bavarian army are furthest from the camera
19 corps on the right, 20 corps in the centre, 21 corps on the left

1st Austrian army are in the centre between the town and the Bavarians
1 corps on the left, 2 corps in the centre, 3 corps on the right

There are three game objectives
Farm on the right, small woods in the centre, large woods on the left

The army who holds at least two of these at the end of 12 moves will win the game.

Table at end of battle

Summary
On the left 3rd Austrian corps hold the woods and have done so throughout the battle.
21st Bavarian corps lost their artillery to counter battery fire
Despite this they pressed home their infantry attack, but failed to take the woods
Without artillery support they were forced to withdraw out of artillery fire.

Both Massena and Schwartzenberg created a cavalry reserve in the centre left
For most of the battle they observed each other, but did not engage
Towards the end of the battle the French cavalry advanced and charged
Both sides lost one brigade in rout, leaving the reserve brigade to decide the melee
The Austrians lost and routed, however the Bavarians failed their morale test and also routed

In the centre the Austrian infantry were forced to retreat from the woods
However their artillery prevented the Bavarian infantry from taking possession
It was only after the cavalry melee that the Austrian gunners were forced to retreat
The Bavarian infantry then took and held the woods

On the right three Bavarian brigades attacked and captured the farm
Austrian grenadiers counter attacked, but were outnumbered and forced to withdraw

At nightfall the Bavarians held two of the three objectives and won the battle.

Ratisbon Campaign Day 5

 

20 September 1813 – Southern Germany – Day 5

The French attack Lappersdorf
7th French army – attack Lappersdorf
8th French army – regroup Nittendorf
9th French army – occupy Kofering

The Austrian defend Ratisbon
1st Austrian army – observe on border
2nd Austrian army – regroup at Ratisbon
3rd Austrian army – retreat east of Danube

Situation   
In the north 1st Austrian army have orders to defend Lappersdorf.
7th Bavarian army has orders to attack Lappersdorf

In the centre 2nd Austrian army is regrouping at Ratisbon.
8th Bavarian army is regrouping at Nittendorf.

In the south 3rd Austrian army has left the campaign and retreated east
9th Bavarian army has occupied Koffering.

The Bavarians have secured the southern flank and occupy Kofering
3rd Austrian army has retreated east of the river Danube.