The Battle of Dva Kholma

Yesterday, for the first time in months, I took part in a wargame!

Thanks to the good offices of Gary Sheffield, I was able to take command of the Russian forces in an online battle that he organised. He has developed an advanced Corps-level set of Napoleonic rules based on the rules in THE PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME, and this battle gave me the opportunity to see them in action ... and mighty fine they are!

The rules place greater emphasis on Command and Control than the originals and are designed to be used on a much larger gridded surface. Yesterday's game was fought on a squared grid that was 14 grid areas x 14 grid areas (see map below), and the 'extra' space made it possible to field two large Corps per side and yet to still have plenty of room to manoeuvre the units.

I took on the role of General Lev Yashin, Commander of the Rear-Guard Corps of the Army of the West. I had the following units under my command:

• 1st Grenadier Division (Elite): 4 Brigades @ 3 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 2nd Line Infantry Division (Average): 4 Brigades @ 2 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 3rd Line Infantry Division (Average): 4 Brigades @ 2 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 4th Heavy Cavalry Division (Elite): 3 Brigades @ 3 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 5th Cossack Division (Poor): 3 Brigades @ 1 SP each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 6th Artillery Regiment: 3 Batteries @ 2 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• Total Strength: 70 SPs
• Exhaustion Point: 24 SPs

My opponent was General Thierry Henri (who bore a remarkable resemblance to Gary Sheffield!), Commander of the Advanced Guard of the Army of the Grand Army. He had the following units under his command:

• 1st Line Infantry Division (Average): 4 Brigades @ 2 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 2nd Light Infantry Division (Elite): 4 Brigades @ 3 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 3rd Parisian Municipal Guard Division (Average): 4 Brigades @ 2 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 4th Saxon Division (Poor): 4 Brigades @ 1 SP each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 5th Swiss Division (Average): 4 Brigades @ 2 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 6th Heavy Cavalry Division (Elite): 3 Brigades @ 3 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• 7th Artillery Regiment: 2 Batteries @ 2 SPs each + a subordinate commander (3 SPs)
• Total Strength: 80 SPs
• Exhaustion Point: 27 SPs

My orders were to delay the French advance for a day (15 turns) to allow the rest of the army to concentrate around Smolensk. The French orders were to push up the Smolensk road as quickly as possible to disrupt the chance of a Russian concentration. The stage was set for the Battle of Dva Kholma!

The battlefield

I concentrate most of my troops on and behind the larger hill (G3 to G5 & H3 to H5), but detached the Cossack Division, which I placed behind the smaller hill (I11 to I12 & J11 to J12). The French advanced up the road to Smolensk (A10 to N10).

The battle

Although neither of us kept detailed records of events, from my point of view the battle unfolded as I had hoped. My Cossacks were able to harass the advancing French units until the French were able to destroy them, having first skirmished with the French Heavy Cavalry in order to break out into the open country in the bottom right area of the map.

I menaced those French units that reached the uppermost end of the road with my elite units (1st Grenadier Division [which was under my personal command] and 4th Heavy Cavalry Division), thus halting the French advance. The French attempted to attack the troops I had positioned on and around the hill, but after some fierce fighting in the town (G6 & H6), they were no able to achieve their goal of driving my troops away.

By Turn 10, it was becoming apparent that the French advance was stalled, and by Turn 12 the battle was effectively over. The Russians had achieved their objective, and despite the loss of the Cossack Division, had inflicted great casualties than they had suffered.

A view of some of the French and Russian units in action.

The situation at the end of the battle.

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This was an excellent battle, well umpired by Gary, and which proved to my satisfaction that his changes to my original rules have considerably enhanced then without detracting from their simplicity. I look forward to crossing swords with him again in the near future!

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Please note that the map and photographs featured above are © Gary Sheffield.

For his version of events, please see his recent Facebook post on The Portable Wargame Facebook page.