The Franco-Prussian War of 1810: The Battle of the Leipzig Gap

After a much, much longer than expected break (the last blog post about this campaign was in September 2022!), I can finally write a battle report about the most recent battle of the Franco-Prussian War of 1810 that Gary Sheffield and I managed fight, the Battle of the Leipzig Gap.

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Situation

In the south, The French had moved three divisions (2e, 3e, and 4e Divisions d'Infanterie) into Prussian. Two of them (the 2e and 3e Divisions d'Infanterie) were within striking distance of Leipzig, and in response, the Prussian 3. Infanterie-Division/3rd Infantry Division had moved forward to block their advance. This brought them into contact with the French 2nd Division near to the Leipzig Gap.

The French force was the 2e Division d’Infanterie/2nd Infantry Division. It was commanded by General Lapointe and comprised:

• 5e Régiment d’Infanterie/5th Infantry Regiment (Average)
• 6e Régiment d’Infanterie/6th Infantry Regiment (Average)
• 7e Régiment d’Infanterie légère/7th Light Infantry Regiment (Average)
• 8e Régiment d’Infanterie légère/8th Light Infantry Regiment (Average)
• 2e Régiment d’Artillerie/2nd Artillery Regiment (Average)
• 2e Regiment de Hussards/2nd Hussar Regiment (Average)

The Prussian force was the 3. Infanterie-Division/3rd Infantry Division. It was commanded by General von Horn and comprised:

• 9. Infanterie-Regiment/9th Infantry Regiment (Average)
• 10. Infanterie-Regiment/10th Infantry Regiment (Average)
• 11. Infanterie-Regiment/11th Infantry Regiment (Average)
• 12. Infanterie-Regiment/12th Infantry Regiment (Average)
• 3. Artillerie-Regiment/3rd Artillery Regiment (Average)
• 3. Dragoner-Regiment/3rd Dragoon Regiment (Average)

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The Terrain

The French Reserve Area was on the left of the map and the Prussian Reserve Area was on the right.

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The Battle of the Leipzig Gap

Initial positions

General Lapointe deployed his artillery (2nd Artillery Regiment) on the hill on his left flank and his two infantry regiments (5th and 6th Infantry Regiments) in contiguous columns in the centre, with his two light infantry regiments (7th and 8th Light Infantry Regiments) in contiguous columns on his right flank. He kept his cavalry (the 2nd Hussars) is the Reserve Area. He took up position with his artillery.

General von Horn deployed his artillery (3rd Artillery Regiment) opposite the French artillery. In the centre he deployed the 9th Infantry Regiment in line and the 10th Infantry Regiment in column, and on the left he placed the 11th Infantry Regiment in line and the 12th Infantry regiment in column. Like his opponent, he positioned himself with his artillery.

Turn 1

The French did not wait to be attacked but took the initiative.

The two contiguous infantry columns moved forwards (i.e. the 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments in the centre and the 7th Light and 8th Light on the left) with the left-hand column taking possession of the hill.

The French artillery fired ineffectually at the opposing Prussian artillery and the 2nd Hussars advanced onto the battlefield from the Reserve Area.

In response, the Prussian artillery fired at the French column in the centre and hit it, causing both regiments to lose 1 SP.

The situation at the end of Turn 1.

Turn 2

Maintaining the initiative, the French artillery continued firing at the Prussian artillery opposite them, hitting them and causing the lost of 1 SP. Despite being collocated with his artillery, General von Horn escaped injury.

In the centre of the battlefield, the front rank of the contiguous French infantry column fired at the Prussian 9th Infantry Regiment, devastating them with the loss of 2 SPs.

The French infantry on the hill also fired at the Prussian infantry in front of them but failed to cause any casualties.

In reply, the Prussian 9th Infantry fired at the oncoming French column, forcing the French 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments to fall back.

The Prussian artillery hoped to exploit this by firing at the column formed by the French 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments, but their fire was too inaccurate to cause any casualties.

The situation at the end of Turn 2.

Turn 3

Despite the recent setback, the French retained the initiative, and their artillery fired at the Prussian artillery, destroying it! Luckily, General von Horn was untouched and remained in command of his division.

The French 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments advanced to their former position and fired at the Prussian 9th Infantry Regiment, causing it to fall back into the Reserve Area.

The right-hand French contiguous column on the hill advanced and engaged the Prussian 11th Infantry Regiment in Close Combat. Although the fighting was fierce, neither side was able to prevail.

The French 2nd Hussar Regiment moved forward to support the French column in the centre of the battlefield.

In response, the 10th Prussian Infantry Regiment moved forward and engaged the French 5th Infantry Regiment, in Close Combat, losing 1 SP in the process.

In addition, the Prussian Cavalry charged forward from the Reserve Area and engaged the central French column in Close Combat, but the French stood their ground and suffered no casualties.

The Close Combat on the Prussian left flank continued, resulting in the Prussian 11th Infantry Regiment losing 2 SPs.

The situation at the end of Turn 3.

Turn 4

The French 2nd Hussars, seeing General von Horn isolated on top of the hill formerly occupied by the Prussian artillery, set off to capture him, but he managed to escape into the Prussian Reserve Area

The Close Combat in the centre of the battlefield continued, and the Prussian 3rd Dragoons lost 1 SP, and on the Prussian left flank the continuing Close Combat there saw the Prussian 11th Infantry forced to retreat into the Prussian Reserve Area.

The Prussian 9th Infantry, accompanied by General von Horn, moved forward from the Reserve Area and fire at the French 2nd Hussar Regiment, causing them to lose 1 SP.

The Prussian 12th Infantry Regiment swung onto the flank of the right-hand French column, and in conjunction with fire from the returned 11th Infantry Regiment, forced the French to retire to their former positions atop the hill.

In the centre, the intense Close Combat continued and saw the Prussian 10th Infantry Regiment forced to retired to their Reserve Area whilst both the French 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments suffered the loss of 1 SP.

The situation at the end of Turn 4.

Turn 5

At this point, General von Horn erroneously thought that the tide of battle was beginning to swing his way. He ordered the Prussian 12th Infantry Regiment to attack the French column formed by the 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments ... but in the resulting Close Combat the 12th Prussian Infantry Regiment lost 1 SP.

At the same time, the depleted Prussian cavalry continued to engage the French 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments in Close Combat and were destroyed in the process.

The Prussian 11th Infantry Regiment fired at the French 7th and 8th Light Infantry, hitting them, and causing them to each lose 1 SP.

The Prussian 9th Infantry Regiment fired at the French 2nd Hussars, but despite being collocated with their commanding General, they caused no casualties.

In return, the French cavalry charged the 9th Prussian Infantry, causing them to retreat into the Prussian Reserve Area. General von Horn fled with them, leaving the French in command of the battlefield.

General La Pointe allowed the remaining Prussian troops to retreat from the battlefield. His troops were tired and depleted from the intense fighting that had taken place, and his cavalry were unable to harass the remaining French troops.

The situation at the end of Turn 5.

The battle casualties were a lot more evenly balanced that might have been expected. The Prussians lost 9 SPs and the French lost 7 SPs ... but the Prussians had lost yet another battle and would be hard-placed to replace their losses whereas the French had other divisions nearby who could exploit this French victory.