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Monday 29 August 2022

The Franco-Prussian War of 1810: The Battle of the Northern Frontier (Part 1: The northernmost battle)

On Thursday afternoon Professor Gary Sheffield and I were able to fight the second and third battles of this campaign online via Skype. On this occasion he took command of the French (as General Lucas in the first battle and General Dupont in the second battle) and I commanded the Prussians (as General von Kluck in the first battle and General Lettow in the second battle). We used the revised draft of my FP3x3NapPW rules and fought the battle on a 3 x 3 grid of 6-inch squares.


Situation

Two French divisions (1st and Imperial Guard Divisions) had crossed the northern frontier between France and Prussia. They were faced respectively by two Prussian divisions (1st and Guard Divisions).

The northernmost French force was the 1st Division. It was commanded by General Lucas and comprised:

  • 1st Line Infantry (Average)
  • 2nd Line Infantry (Average)
  • 3rd Light Infantry (Average)
  • 4th Light Infantry (Average)
  • 1st Artillery (Average)
  • 1st Hussars (Average)

The northernmost Prussian force was the 1st Division. It was commanded by General von Kluck and comprised:

  • 1st Line Infantry (Average)
  • 2nd Line Infantry (Average)
  • 3rd Line Infantry (Average)
  • 4th Line Infantry (Average)
  • 1st Artillery (Average)
  • 1st Dragoons (Average)

The Terrain

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


The Battle of the Northern Frontier: The northernmost battle

Initial positions

General von Kluck deployed his artillery unit on the hill in the centre of his army's position, with an infantry unit on each flank. He placed himself with his artillery unit as this gave him an excellent view of the battlefield.

General Lucas chose to position himself and his artillery unit on the hill that was on his left-hand flank, and deployed two infantry units to his right, one of which was in column.

Turn 1

The French artillery unit fired at the Prussian infantry unit directly in front of it, but its fire had no effect.

The French infantry column on the right advance towards the Prussian infantry unit facing it.

In reply, the Prussian artillery unit fired at the French infantry unit in column, but despite the dense target it presented, it inflicted no casualties.

Turn 2

For a second time, the Prussian artillery unit fired at the French infantry unit in column, and again inflicted no casualties.

Likewise, the fire from the left-hand Prussian infantry unit also failed to cause any casualties on the French infantry unit in column.

In order to support the advance of their infantry unit in column, the French artillery unit fired at the left-hand Prussian infantry unit, but its fire proved to be ineffective.

The French infantry unit in column charged forward and engaged the left-hand Prussian infantry unit and inflicted a loss of 1 SP on it.

Turn 3

The Prussian artillery unit fired at its French counterpart and inflicted the loss of 1 SP.

The fighting between the left-hand Prussian infantry unit and the French infantry unit in column continued, but things were going against the Prussian infantry unit, which lost another SP.

To counter this, General von Kluck brought forward a second infantry unit for his Reserved Area to support the seriously weakened left-hand Prussian infantry unit.

In response, the French artillery unit fired at its Prussian opponent, causing it to loss 1 SP. More importantly, the artillery fire also hit and killed General von Kluck!

At the same time, the French infantry unit in column finally overcame and destroyed the Prussian infantry unit it had been fighting.

Turn 4

General Lucas now brought forward his cavalry unit from the Reserve Area to support the French infantry unit in column.

This allowed the French infantry in column time to regroup and recover from its recent success.

The French artillery unit continued to fire at its Prussian counterpart, and destroyed it!

The recently-arrived left-hand Prussian infantry unit fired at the French infantry unit in column, but missed.

A new Prussian infantry unit entered the battlefield from the Prussian Reserve Area, and occupied the hill in the centre of the Prussian position.

Turn 5

The threat of a cavalry attack forced all the Prussian infantry units to form squares.

The newly-formed Prussian infantry unit in square on top of the hill proved to be too tempting a target for the French artillery unit, which fired at it and inflicted the loss of 1 SP.

Turn 6

Supported by the French cavalry unit, the French infantry unit in column attacked the left-hand Prussian infantry unit in square, but the fighting was indecisive.

General Lucas now chose to bring forward a third infantry unit in column onto the battlefield from his Reserve Area.

The left-hand Prussian infantry unit in square attempted to throw back the French infantry unit that was in column, but failed ... and at this point the leaderless Prussian troops began to withdraw, leaving the French in possession of the battlefield.

The battle had proved to be a costly one for the Prussians, who had not only lost a general (General von Kluck) but also 8SPs. The French had only lost 1 SP, and were still a formidable fighting force, quite capable of continuing the invasion of Prussia.


Afterthoughts

The amended rules certainly gave the battle a more Napoleonic flavour, and the only further changes we decided that were required was to make columns more effective against infantry in squares and to impose a one turn 'regroup and recover' penalty on all units that have been involved in Close Combat.

4 comments:

  1. An interesting battle report, and hard luck for the Prussians. I've noticed in this battle report that both sides kept a large part of their forces in reserve at the start of the battle. This made for something of a stop and go kind of fight while the French waited for reserve units to come up. I usually commit more heavily to attacks, but one can't argue with success. I'm looking forward to the next battle report.

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    Replies
    1. Mark Cordone,

      I think that both sides were being rather cautious, hence the reluctance shown by either side to mount a full-blown assault on the other. The Prussians (me) were always going to be on the defensive, and I wanted the French (Gary) to attack me so that I could defeat him piecemeal. He chose to probe my defences, and once he had some sort of advantage, to exploit it. As it was, the loss on my artillery and my general left me at a major disadvantage, and had I kept my troops on the field, he could have picked off my remaining units one at a time. The threat of cavalry meant that I had to form my infantry in squares, which were very tempting targets for his artillery.

      It was an interesting battle to fight, and as you will see from the next battle report, may well have influenced Prussian tactics in their next encounter with the French.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. I found this battle to be very interesting and enlightening since it was played very differently than my games usually are. In my games one or both commanders are usually very aggressive, and taking a step back and examining it I think that is primarily a reflection of my own preference. After reading your report I'm thinking I aught to occasionally play one or both sides more cautiously. It will make for some different and interesting games.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark Cordone,

      I am by nature a cautious, defensive player ... and it certainly affects the way my battles unfold. I probably am a bit slow to exploit my enemy's weaknesses, but I like to keep a substantial reserve to plug holes in my own frontline in preference to smashing holes in my opponent's!

      I really must try to be a more aggressive 'general' sometimes; it might well win me a few more battles!

      All the best,

      Bob

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