Spring 1813 Campaign in Germany: The GM’s report

 “The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that
chaos, both his own and the enemies”
Napoleon Bonaparte
1813 

Spring Campaign in a Day: The GM Report 

    Some may say chaos goes naturally with Snappy Nappy. The Fog of War, the 1813 maps, the
Cossacks! And of course the GM adding these new rules about tables and movement. The
challenge for these generals was to try and take control of the chaos. 

    Most people know the big Napoleon battles of Austerlitz, Waterloo, and likely Leipzig in the Fall
of 1813. But not many know how important the spring battles of 1813 were to the future of
Napoleons empire and how it set up the Leipzig campaign in the Fall of 1813. The dire situation
of the military retreat from Russia and depth of political intrigue that followed was fascinating. 

    I wish to express immense thanks to Peter and Mark for advising & helping me from the very
beginning of this journey to the actual game day GM work. Also thanks to James for his help
and confidence building, and for Russ’s sage advice. My goal was to create a Historical,
playable event. Keeping true to & teaching the history is very important and I wanted to share
that history in a fun manner. I hope my efforts left a bit better understanding of the situation in
1813. 

The History & Development

    I decided to do the Spring campaign which revolved around the 2 main battles of Lutzen &
Bautzen. Both French victories, but they suffered many more casualties. The lack of cavalry
also hindered the pursuit and allowed the Allies to retreat and get away without the Austerlitz
type battle Napoleon so desired. The French needed to go on the offensive to reestablish control
over the German states and more importantly convince Austria Kaiser that another beating was
going to be had from a victorious French army if they entered on the wrong side. The campaign
lent itself nicely to a historical start and a finish. Napoleon entered the theatre in mid-April and
an Austrian brokered Armistice occurred early June. 6 week timeline.

    I read several books and many web pages, magazines and pulled some information from games,
such as War & Peace (yes The Mark “I am Ney” Mclaughin 1980’s version) , Lutzen, and sadly
the unpunched counters from Struggle of Nations. George Nafziger book Lutzen and Bautzen:
Napoleon’s Spring Campaign of 1813 was an immense amount of detail and numbers. I also
read Michael Leggiere’s book Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany, Vol 1. I thoroughly
enjoyed this book and took a lot of political inspiration from it. 

The Forces

    I found and used rosters from George Nafziger, a really fantastic collection of months of actual
troop strengths coming out of Russia in 1812 thru 1813. The French OOB was pretty straight
forward, divided into Corps that were steady throughout the campaign. The Allies were a
completely different story. The Russians and Prussians brigades were actually intermixed into
Corps or Armies or wings. And each battle from March to June saw a different OOB command
structure. The numbers of troops for these brigades was not clear either, but I was able to
triangulate several sources to determine starting strengths from the battle of Lutzen and Bautzen.
I then created a Coalition Army which was a combination of both battles. And for game OOB, I
made 3 Prussian only Corps, and 5 Russian only Corps. There were 12 French Corps, one of
which was a two-unit 2nd Cav Corps that remained in reserve the whole battle.

    The French army was in bad shape and needed to be rebuilt. It consisted of many conscripts,
National Guard, Marines & sailors, and a mix of Spanish veteran cadres. Few veteran and elites.
The Russians while all veterans, had suffered many casualties in 1812 and continued to
campaign through winter at the Czars insistence. As such in Saxony they were a long way from
their supply sources, so these veterans were understrength and I made these troops seasoned
instead of veteran. The Prussians had just built their army mostly from scratch as they had about
20,000 troops supporting the French in Russia. But they had instituted the Krumper system
which continually rotated troops into the ranks to be in accord with the strength restrictions that
Napoleon had set upon them as since the 1807 treaty. As such these troops were not conscripts,
but a bit better and I made them a combination of seasoned and veteran. Each side also had
Guard units. I limited the “Guard” value to one unit each per the above rational. The rest were
Elite or Veteran. The Artillery was surprisingly even in number of cannons, easy to balance both
Armies. The real difference was the lack of French Cavalry due to the losses in the Russian
Campaign. The Allies had a 3:1 advantage in the number of Cavalry units. I was interested to
see how that would play out, being that the burden of attack was upon the French. The French
had about 200,000 men in theatre, while the Allied Coalition had about 130,000 men of slightly
higher quality. I used a points system based on James’s analysis of combat strength using unit
quality and combat power, for a points ratio French to Allied of 1.1 to 1. 

The Map & Table Mechanics 

 Taking advice from the above Snappy Veterans, my goal was to try to create a campaign of
maneuver. I was going to need a lot of tables. Every starting table was going to require a bit of
marching, and except for Blucher everyone got to some other tables. I had 15+ tables, utilizing
every one that the Portal had. To enhance the maneuver of Corps, I watched a video that Russ Lockwood sent last year about a Spanish Snappy Nappy campaign run by an Australian gaming group.
They used additional “transit” tables (X) inserted between actual tables. I added time delays
mostly 5 minutes to simulate the time it takes to march across an actual table. I had 11 of these
8.5 X 11” tables. These “X” tables also had a road network which players had to make decisions
to determine which direction to go based on the large overall map. I used 62 index cards to
designate road movement between all tables. The players figured this system out pretty quickly
with Mark’s watchful eye early on helping. I used a logbook for Generals to record when they
entered a transit table, and when they left. What a gold mine of information to track the troop
movements it provided! On the Bad Duben X table, the Prussians entered 1st, left, came back. Before
leaving again to search another table, they bounced the French 1st Cav who had to retreat back to
his same starting table. It was 30 minutes later that the Cav successfully again entered and left
Bad Duben transit town and headed north toward Berlin. 

 The 15 game tables were great looking, and I thank the team of Peter, Mark, Russ & James for supplying
the terrain. One of the dilemmas I had, and was cautioned about, was the use of Major rivers on
tables. There were 4 major river crossings that the French absolutely needed to own. My
intention was to spread the French Corps out to prevent a massing of armies on a single table. I
think it worked, we at one point had 6 tables with battles raging, and had 4 separate table battles
going on at the conclusion of the campaign. (GM objective achieved!) But the issue of the
bridges still posed a problem if the Allies chose to defend them or destroy them with the
engineering units. So I made the Wittenburg bridge a deployment zone, of which the French
would own it just by entering the table. The Magdeburg bridge was actually a transit table.
Historically Eugene destroyed the bridge over the Elbe, and a fort protected the surroundings
preventing any other bridge building. No crossings could occur here, funneling the armies to the
south. The Dresden bridge actually was 3 bridge crossings on the table. The French needed to
take only one to earn the point. The last bridge was actually being held by a Neutral Saxon
Corps. I did not tell the players about this ahead of time and they needed to discover this during
the game, that the bridge was occupied. The French could earn the VP by convincing the Saxons
to join the French side. And, as it turned out, the 1st French Cav unit that captured Bautzen did
just that.

Victory & Diplomatic Objectives

    Pre campaign I wanted both C in C’s to ponder the options presented to them. I created a series
of table objectives (13 pts) that the French had to capture to reflect the fact that they had the
burden of attack. They started with one objective. If they gained no more Napoleon would have
gone straight to the isle of Elba. The objectives were spread out, north and south, and along the
Elbe to hopefully prevent either side from concentrating all forces on a single table. This clearly
placed the burden of attack on the French, but I did not want the allies to sit back, as historically
they went on the attack even though they had the smaller force. So I created Diplomatic point
incentives for the Allies to have an opportunity to get Austria on their side. A +4 VP incentive
could almost guarantee a victory if they could only take Jena or Magdeburg. Not an easy task,
but it would have taken quite a lot to convince the Kaiser to leave his neutral position.
Historically the Austrians stayed neutral until after the June Armistice ended in August. The
French took Breslau historically, but were defeated before Berlin. Historically the French had a
minor victory at 9 pts. Our French generals did one better scoring 10 pts for a tactical victory,
but not quite good enough to prevent the Austrians from joining later in the summer and going
on to winning the battle of Leipzig. 

Some additional twists to the basic game

Roving Cossacks were stealing French orders/messages, and sending them along to the Russian CinC before routing message
back to the intended French commander.
Kutuzov died right before we started (historically he died April 28, but not before setting the
allied strategy in motion.) The Czar appointed Wittgenstein to replace him. However, several
senior Russian generals refused to follow his orders. I did not want to be totally cruel to the
Allied CinC, so I invented the Scharnhorst rule. He was Bluchers chief of staff, but very
influential in setting up the entire campaign strategy. I would allow messages to be sent as long
as he was alive. Historically he died after the battle of Lutzen as he was shot while leading a
charge. I rolled a D10 to see if he was killed on each message sent. (normal D10=10). He did
not die this day. 

    The French conscripts historically were not used to marching great distances. I had a rule that
the 2nd French Corps to enter on their starting table would be strung out and could only move at
½ speed until the 1st French Corps exited the table. However, in the early chaos, since we started
late, I did not enforce this rule. 

     All the Prussian generals could earn a +1 to their leadership skills if they occupied Jena, as a sort
of revenge to the 1807 humiliation they received in defeat. Kind of an incentive to put their neck
in a noose. 

    Czar Alexander is obsessed with beating Napoleon. The Russian Tormasz Corps with Alexander
attached must move west until they contact French Army. This requirement ends when Czar sees
combat. (Or out numbered 3 to 1 Corps on a table). I did not have to implement this rule, as
Tormasz did receive orders (from Kutuzov) to cross the Elbe and seek battle. 

   If the allies Beat Napoleon in an early battle (before noon), (-1) DP for French. 

    If a French Corps retreats off a table with Napoleon present before noon, it is seen as a sign of
French weakness in the eyes of minor allies and Austria. This would have earned the Allies a
Diplomacy point.

 The Saxon garrison is neutral & blocks Torgau bridge crossing to both sides.
Negotiations with the King of Saxony must take place. You must roll a 10 on a D10.
Command rating added.  Napoleon adds +7. Alexander adds +0 

    +1 to Coalition if troops are on Jena table. 

    +1 to side which controls Leipzig. 

    If a Corps reached Exhaustion Level = 75% casualties ( stands lost) then that would provide a VP
to the other side. I wanted this in the back of the Corps commanders minds before taking a high
risk move. 

 “History is written by the winners” 

– Napoleon Bonaparte 

Napoleons approach march through the Thuringerwald.

Game On or Campaign On! 

     The spring campaign begins approximately April 20, 1813 with Napoleons arrival from Paris a
few days earlier. The French Armée of the Elbe, commanded by his step son Prince Eugene,
occupies the fortress of Magdeburg and its surroundings, behind the Elbe and the Saale Rivers.
They are about 50,000 strong. Approximately 250 miles to the south at Wurtzburg, Napoleon is
concentrating the new French Armée du Main. The 160,000 men are screened by the Thuringian
Forest
. Maréchal Ney is assigned the advance and takes his large III Corps east to search for a
good place to bring the Allies to battle. Napoleon issues orders to the Armée du Main to march
thru the forest. The Guard Cavalry leads the IV corps on the northernmost road to Erfurt, the
supply source. Their objective is twofold, to meet up with Eugenes forces and take the important
city of Leipzig. The Guard Infantry is ordered to meet and follow the III Corps, which is at Jena.
The VI Corps takes the southernmost route thru the forest toward Hof, with orders to get to
Dresden. XII Corps coming from Bavaria follows VI Corps to Hof. The French are unaware of
the Allies locations, only getting some unreliable Austrian newspaper reports of potential
whereabouts. The lack of cavalry is hurting the gathering of intelligence. Since Eugene is so far
away from Napoleon, Eugene has issued orders to the French 1st Cav, V Corps and his own XI
Corps to advance en mass toward the Wittenburg bridge, and cross over to head to Berlin.

    The Prussians under Blucher are eager to keep the French as far away from Berlin as possible.
Blucher has crossed the Elbe and after marching thru Leipzig and has positioned his Corps and
Winzingerode Russian Corps at Altenburg, in anticipation that the French may be coming from
the south. The rest of the Allies are on the east side of the Elbe. Wittgenstein has the Allied right
wing, consisting of Blucher, Yorck, Bulow and Berg Corps. They are positioned north of
Wittenburg, with Bulow closer to Berlin. The Russian main army commanded by Tormasov is at
Bautzen, with the Advance Corps under Milleradovitch at Dresden. The Allied Coalition about
130,000 men is under the command of Kutuzov. He orders all the corps to the west side of the
Elbe to seek out battle. April 28th, Kutuzov dies. The Czar chooses Wittgenstein to continue the
campaign. However, there is a problem with this choice. 3 Russian commanders are senior to
Wittgenstein and refuse to follow his orders. That is Tormasov, Milleradovitch and Barclay de
Tolly with 15,000 men is still weeks away marching to Saxony. But all is not lost, as the brilliant
Prussian Chief of staff Scharnhorst is able to coordinate allied orders and convince the Russians
to follow. That is as long as he is alive. Scharnhorst is part of Bluchers command, and could
possibly get himself killed in the heat of battle. If that happens, only the meddling Czar could
intercede with these 3 Russian commanders. Speaking of meddling, the Czar insists the
Tormasov Corps continue to advance to the west until he sees battle. His intention is to push
Napoleon back to Frances natural borders. 

Starting positions and table locations – 11:30 AM

    The Allies have the advantage in scouting since without much French Cavalry the Cossacks have
free rein to roam the Saxon countryside. Some advanced scouting did indeed find some Bavarian
infantry at Hof, confirming Bluchers suspicions. Additionally the Cossacks are capturing French
couriers and their messages, giving the Allied CinC the advance info before the actual intended
French commander. 

   The Thuringian Forest does delay the French a bit, but Ney has the 3rd Corps marching toward
Altenburg. They collide with Winzengerode & Blucher, and begin a very long battle that will
last until the end of the campaign. The French XII Corps appears on the Allied left flank and the
weight of numbers steadily forces back the Allies. Blucher does a masterful job of maintaining a
fighting withdrawal back to Altenburg. Millderadovitch briefly arrives as reinforcements, but is
eventually called to go defend Leipzig. Ney’s battle plan creates a grand battery and makes
steady forward progress. 

Situation at 12:00

    Eugene’s Armée du Elbe advances past Bernberg on the way to Bad Duben. However, the 1st
Cav is bounced back to Bernberg by Yorck’s Prussian Corps. As Eugene prepares for battle, the
Prussians make their way to Halle looking for an opportunity to get to Magdeburg or Erfurt.
Following Yorck, Berg and Bulow cross the Wittenburg bridge and head to Bad Duben and set
up a defense at Leipzig. Bulow makes a brief reconnaissance to Torgau, and is surprised to find
it is garrisoned with Neutral Saxons. He sends note to his commanding officer that the Czar
needs to come and negotiate alliances with the Saxons. The Czar is busy watching battles vs the
French. 

Situation at 12:30

    The French Guard Cavalry & IV Corps, with Napoleon leading the way, leave Erfurt with a small
garrison and head to Namburg and overlook the Lutzen plains. The Guard Cav head to Leipzig, but
are met with a solid defensive line and return to inform Napoleon. He decides to try to find
another way and heads north to Mersberg & Halle. There they find Yorck’s Prussians chasing
away Eugenes small advance reconnaissance. IV Corps forms line of battle and attacks. At
same time XI Corps arrives from Bernberg in the north putting the Prussians in bad situation.
Yorck quickly evaluates the situation and decides that heading back to Bad Duben is in order.
Before Yorck marches out, the French 1st Cav and V Corps find Bad Duben unoccupied and
proceed to head north over the Wittenburg bridge.

Close up of the early development of the battles of Altenburg and Wittenburg

    Meanwhile in the south, the French VI Corps with the Bohemian Mountains on their right flank follows the main highway toward Dresden and Breslau. XII Corps is right behind them. VI Corps scouts every road to ensure no Allies can cut him off on his mission to take Dresden. XII Corps decides to head north to Altenburg and joins the fight there with III Corps vs Blucher & Winzengerode.

    Milleradsovitch had crossed the Elbe at Dresden and headed to Rochlitz & then Altenburg,
remaining in reserve there. Tormasov left Bautzen and followed Millerdovitch all the way to
Altenburg. However, he soon received orders from Wittgenstein, via Scharnhorst, to return to
Dresden. He got there in the nick of time, as VI corps was just arriving. VI Corps seeing the
large force there decided to return to Chemitz with the hope of finding another route. 

    Far to the north at Wittenberg, V Corps & 1st Cav find no resistance on the east side of the Elbe.
1st Cav decides to head out the north eastern road and V Corps takes the North western road both
looking for Berlin. V Corps sends a detachment toward Gross Beeren and Berlin. 1st Cav finds
Juterbok, Lukau, Spremberg all unoccupied. Finally they arrive at Bautzen to find an infantry
garrison. The Veteran horse artillery does quick work and scatters the defenders. The Cav then
occupies Bautzen and then Gorlitz. This has the effect of convincing the Saxons at Torgau to
join the French. It also captures the Russian supply depot and puts the Russians out of supply.
Barclay de Tolly finally shows up from his long march via Frankfurt and chases the Cav away
and re-establishes the Russian supply line. 

    Now the rotary at Bad Duben begins to see a lot of traffic. Berg and Bulow are ordered back
north to defend Berlin. They are met at Bad Duben by Yorck. Berg crosses 1st, now trying to cut
off V Corps to the eastern flank. Next Yorck crossed the Elbe and faces off vs V Corps. Back at
Halle, the French don’t chase Yorck but find an alternate route that leads to Leipzig just as
Napoleon wanted. Leipzig is unoccupied, with the rear guard of Bulow heading to Bad Duben.
Bulow retraces his steps and comes back to race the French to Leipzig. He will lose this race.
Back at the rotary known as Bad Duben, French reinforcements in the form of VII Corps pass
thru on the way to Torgau, where they are able to pick up the Saxons. VII Corps heads to
Leipzig and puts Bulow in a French sandwich. Unable to retreat, because French XI Corps was
at the rotary awaiting opportunity to come in behind Yorcks Corps. As Bulow valiantly tried to
hold off 3 French Corps, Millerdovitch showed up south of Leipzig, but it was too late for poor
Bulow. His Corps became exhausted. They are however able to decapitate Bertrand IV Corps
commander. But the French even the score by knocking off C in C Wittgenstein. Millerdovitch
now picks up the race to occupy Leipzig. His battle almost succeeds, but the French Guard cav
and IV corps infantry are able to push back the attack. One Victory objective secured for the
French. 

    Tormasov, in the middle of all this action, is ordered to send troops to Bautzen if possible, and to
Leipzig which is under attack. He splits his force. The French 1st Cav at Bautzen destroys the
small Russian relief force before Barclay de Tolly showed up. The other contingent sped off to
Leipzig. However, Tormasov then received orders to return to Dresden, as Marmont’s VI Corps,  seeing Dresden occupied by a small garrison, saw his opportunity and began the attack on that
Saxon Capital city. Tormasov arrived again in the nick of time to meet VI Corps on the plain
before Dresden. They fought it out until Marmont’s VI Corps artillery accuracy was too much
for the Russian Guards. The surprise appearance of the French 1st Cav on the eastern side of the
Elbe, and VI Corps taking Dresden gave the French two victory objectives. 

    Back at the Bad Duben “Rotary”, XI Corps is finally able to come in behind Yorck, who thought
that Bulow had his rear area covered. But the fog of war was thick with smoke. Now it is
Yorcks turn to become a French sandwich. V Corps, loaded with conscripts, out performed
this campaign, holding off cavalry attacks by Berg, and a determined attack by Yorck to try and
open the road to Berlin back to the Prussians. XII Corps is able to make steady progress on
Yorck until the Metternich brokered Armistice ends the fighting. The action here results in the French capture of  Wittenburg, a
French Victory objective. 

     But before the Armistice is declared, the Saxons of VII Corps make a forced march to the gates of Berlin via
the Juterbok road. There they are met with 2 Brigades of entrenched Prussians. They outflank
the position, routing the Prussians and laying siege to Berlin…another French Victory objective.

Overall Table Map

     The armistice was sorely needed for both Armies suffered many casualties. But the allies
suffered a bit more, 2 of their Corps reaching the 75% exhaustion level vs one French Corps
becoming exhausted. A French Victory objective obtained. 

    Overall it was a well fought campaign. The tide began to turn late in the campaign. The French were
able to obtain 10 VP, for a tactical victory, but it was not enough to change history and prevent
the Battle of the Nations in the fall of 1813. 

Thanks once again to all the players, and to The Portal game store for hosting the event for 10 years now!

Spring 1813 Campaign – Player Reports

 

Time for the reports by the various players whop were inclined (or could be strong-armed!) into providing an account of the Campaign from their individual perspectives. 

French


IV Corps – General Bertrand (later Drouet)

    General Bertrand and the IV Corp began their March at Erfurt with the Imperial Guard Cavalry as a vanguard up the main road out of the Wurttemberg. Emperor Napoleon joined the March as the army made its way toward Leipzig. Minimal Cossack activity was seen until the combined forces arrived at Lutzen. The scouts of the imperial guard cavalry made directly for Leipzig only to report back a large Prussian force was well entrenched at the city, making direct assault a folly. Napoleon directed the IV Corp to redirect north towards Magdeburg, hoping to link up with the forces there and pose a stronger threat to Leipzig. 

    Arriving at Mersburg and Halle, the IV Corp found Prince Eugene already engaged with an allied force in Halle. Seeing the larger French host arriving to the battlefield, the allied forces retreated, leaving behind a small garrison in the town. The French batteries made short work of the remaining garrison as the IV Corp made its way to Leipzig. During this March, the garrison at Lutzen reported Cossack sightings from the direction of Leipzig. The Imperial Guard cavalry returned to Lutzen with haste to meet any potential Allied force, only to find the Cossacks had retreated. The Guard cavalry then reported back that their pursuit had led them back to Leipzig via Lutzen and discovered only a small Jager force garrisoning the town. With haste, Bertrand made way to Leipzig. Upon arrival, a Prussian Corp [von Bulow] had arrived to relieve the garrison from the north. However, Bertrand’s arrival caught them by surprise and on their flank. The Prussians barely had time to assemble battle lines as the IV Corp attacked. General Bertrand himself led the 1st Provisional Croatian Regiment directly into the fray, upon which he was promptly decapitated by cannon fire. Fear not, the French promptly rallied around General de Division Jean-Baptiste Drouet, as well as Emperor Napoleon himself, and continued to engage the Prussians. By that time, the Imperial Guard Horse Artillery had routed the Leipzig garrison and turned their attention to the Prussian host from the north. 

    The garrison of Wurttembergers that had been left at Lutzen was called up and occupied Leipzig to prevent the Prussians from dashing to the town. With the help of the Imperial Cavalry as well as General Reille with some new  Saxon allies arriving from the East, the Prussians were routed and forced to retreat north. 

    This victory was all too timely as a Russian force [Milleradsovitsch]arrived from the south late in the day. Napoleon himself rallied the tired and leaderless IV Corp as they pivoted to meet this new enemy. With the cover of the town and the Guard cavalry on their flank, the French were able to hold until nightfall when the Russians were forced to withdraw, thus taking the day. 

-General Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d’ Erlon

Snappy Nappy 2024 after action –
Steve Tarro [aka Prince Eugene/Marshal MacDonald]

Another year, another Snappy Nappy
event hosted at the Portal in Manchester CT. I believe this is my
fourth consecutive event attended and I must say without
embellishment that it has been a better experience every time! This
year the organizers, game masters, and everyone who had a hand
involved in making the game happen put in significant effort and it
was all to be appreciated. The inclusion of central cross roads as
retaining pools made for a clearer traversal of the map and a simpler
system of managing time penalties. I was very pleased to see the
inclusion of a travel ledger and clock at the cross roads.

My action did not begin until after
lunch time but that was neither a surprise or detractor from my
enjoyment, Snappy Nappy is a game of long term maneuvering and simple
but brutal combat. This year delivered on that premise!

XI Corp entered Wittenburg close to the
rear of the Prussian II Corp [von Yorck, Russ Lockwood]. Upon arrival the situation appeared to
be that a large French Militia Force [Lauriston’s Corps – Sean Seiber – with a LOT of conscript units!]was about to be engaged by the
II Corp and Russian Hussars (correct if this is wrong, I forgot to
actually note the forces [von Berg’s small Russian Corps – Kevin Roller]).

This was dumb luck but perfect timing
on my part as the Prussian corp had to immediately turn 180° to face
me. I messed up the initial picture but I P1 shows our lines after
the first bloody round of combat. Both my opponent and I have some
experience with Snappy Nappy, my opponent possibly more so [I should say so… he write the rules, LOL!]. Our lines
held a tight formation for support, our cavalry both broke off to my
right, leaving near equal infantry and guns to do the dirty work.

With little room between us I ordered
charges which were repelled, to my luck this did not shatter my men.
Denied the unlikely swift melee I opted for the next grisliest
action, move my cannons into grape shot range.

Over the delightfully fast paced turns
that followed our lines shredded each other. This event was Snappy
Nappy at its best, multiple tables full of cheers and energy, the
shouts of joy and groans of agony emanating from my own table and
those around me. Truly this is what wargaming is about, and a
privilege to be a part of. My ally at the other end of my field,
locked in his own desperate fight with the Russian cavalry, exchanged
words of encouragement and calls of concern as our combats continued.
The fight was either sides at any time, each roll for initiative
tensely watched by four players. Round after round small chips were
made at each other’s units, building up to the inevitable break.

The climatic moment was beyond any
commander’s anticipation; finding a clear shot across the sectors,
the militia heavy guns fired once into the Prussians and destroyed a
battery with a single salvo. Now that my guns outnumbered the
Prussians my opponent knew that he had to break off the combat and
create distance between us or else be picked apart. One of the final
actions before the game was concluded saw Prince Eugene, an
independent unit, caught by the Prussian cavalry and wounded moments
before time was called.

 

Was it a personal victory? I don’t
think so, it was a group effort that saw the Prussian lines break, a
single cannon salvo from the rear changed the fight entirely. Had the
militia not held so defiantly against the Russian cavalry the combat
may have gone differently. Regardless, all the forces on the table
were bloodied to near combat ineffectiveness, our contributions to
the battle at large would certainly not have extended beyond our
field.

This was a great event, again I want to
thank the organizers, game masters, and all participants for taking
the time to travel and play a day long event. It’s my hope and
anticipation that Snappy Nappy will return again!

Steve Tarro

Report of General Jacques Alexandre Bernard Law, Marquis de Lauriston, of the V Corps

    I started the campaign at Madgeburg, along with Prince
Eugene and his bodyguard, Marshall McDonald and his XI Corp and with
General de Division Latour-Maubourg’s I Calvary Corp. After conferring
with the Marshal we agreed to move south towards Bernburg as a
group.

   After moving through Bernburg, my Corps
developed a slight traffic jam due to its size, 12 units. My Corps headed towards Dessau to secure the supply route. Travelling there I
noticed a curious path across the river Elbe. Informing Eugene, he
assigned the bridging team to me. Building the bridge took several
attempts, costing precious time. While bridge building, I Calvary
Corp was bounced back to the table. Upon seeing them I mustered the
majority of my army to form a line facing the deployment zone facing
southwest. I Calvary Corps formed my right flank. While waiting for
any enemy that did not appear the bridge was completed. Scouting
forces from Eugene also revealed that enemy forces had been sited in
Halle. Seeing this I Calvary Corp and I travelled back through the
zone from which they were bounced. The sapper at the edge of their
command radius decided to brave the wilderness and explore the
deployment zone across the Elbe. An uneventful journey through Bad
Duben brought us to Wittenburg. Table empty. The Sappers arrived at
the same time through the fields, a neat pathway. Early reports
indicated an open path to Berlin. Our troops advanced onward quickly. I
Calvary I instructed to take the path south and I would go north to
reach Berlin due to my advantage of Cannon and Infantry. I Calvary
Corp was the first to leave the table. I informed the Emperor that
the capture of Berlin was imminent… perhaps somewhat prematurely.


Lauriston Panics:

   Your Majesty, I report
that before I left for Berlin, the city which we so greatly desired, a Russian Corps under Generallieutenant von Berg appeared from whence
I came,  namely Wittenburg. My conscript garrison left to monitor the Town
and Bridge was confused by the mass of troops arriving at Wittenberg, and were
quickly overwhelmed by cannon shots.

   Despite the loss of our brave men, the
time that the sacrifice of the garrison provided was greatly appreciated. In this time I
sent 2 infantry brigades and some artillery to attempt to reach Berlin. Reports
from the distance of dust clouds indicated a second and even third
unknown Corp approaching. Upon learning of this I informed Calvary
Corp and the Emperor himself of this intelligence hastily before the whole situation could
be assessed.

  My Cannon and
Infantry sent ahead of the force arrived in Gross Beeren to sight
only Prussian reserves holding the road to Berlin. We attempted to
march with great haste towards them but our lack of an officer,
growing danger of running out of supply, and the arrival of enemy
forces caused a hasty return to my V Corps to the Wittenburg
battlefield, and thus the abandonment of the assault on Berlin.

    With all of my forces united on
the battlefield, the time for action was now. By now I had retreated my long
column through the woods in between the hills to form up on the town
nearest to the Berlin exit. There was debate whether to leave the table and
head to Berlin in force, but the fear of supply loss determined my decision
to stay. The secret path from which my Sappers came, was all that saved me and my Corps from starvation, the main bridge over the Elbe at Wittenburg being in enemy hands. By now the Generallieutenant von
Yorck and his large Prussian Corps had arrived.

    Forming a line
behind the wood-line, it became apparent the allies were not
expecting me to be there. The Russians advanced on my left. The
Prussian force sent an infantry to occupy the woods and Calvary to
fill the gaps with horse artillery support. My reserves filled my
left flank to face the Russians. More could have been committed but
confused and panicked officers sent more troops to face the woods.
This would result in a slow response. However, the bulk of Von Yorck’s forces faced Wittenburg. Another force arrived… it was not more allies, but
Eugene and Marshal Macdonald! Lines formed in front of Wittenburg. I advanced
my conscripts towards the woods. My left flank skirmished with
Cossacks and Russian infantry forcing them back in a panic. The conscripts made a
grand assault into the woods led by Lauriston himself, while Eugene
engaged Von Yorck in a back-and-forth battle. The Prussians in the
wood make a miraculous defense, routing another conscript brigade. My remaining
troops formed line and engaged in musketry. On the left flank, Berg
began a sustained cannon barrage through gaps in the tree line. A
combined calvary charge was repulsed as well. A steady advance and
combined musketry and cannon kept Berg’s Infantry and remaining
Calvary well occupied. On the Von Yorck’s side, cracks began showing. My forces
began pressing the advance to exploit his weak rear. In addition,
a 12lb cannon shot hit the powder of Yorck’s horse artillery,
scattering them beyond recall. Prince Eugene by this time had routed almost
all of  von Yorcks force, with only a little more than a quarter remaining. The Prussian infantry in the woods were near to being surrounded. Berg’s forces
other than his cannon and remaining infantry, were close to breaking.
Before a great victory could be achieved, night ( game time end)
came.


Respectfully

General Marquis de Lauriston

An account of the Affairs and Actions Marechal Bessieres and the French Guard Cavalry during the recent Spring1813 Campaign.

We started on the road from Gotha to Erfurt. We were leading the way for General of the Division Bertrand’s IV Corp and the Emperors entourage. The people of Erfurt cheered as we rode through their town, probably happy to see us leave. As we were clearing the next town, Cossacks appeared and I could see many of my light troopers drawing their swords, only waiting for a 
chance to even the score from the ordeal of the last year; this time on 
more favorable terms. But very quickly they withdrew.

No one in our way except some noisy Cossacks who decided not to outstay their welcome.

We followed them all the way to Lutzen, whereupon they rode out of 
sight. Not wanting to get too far out ahead of IV Corp, we ensured that the heavy cavalry kept up to our Chasseurs a’ Cheval. This would allow the infantry to support the cavalry and my cavalry to pave the way for the infantry’s movement toward Leipzig and a linkup with Prince Eugene’s soldiers in Magdeburg and the IV Corp soldiers as well.

As our orders were to get to Leipzig, I moved all of the Guard Cavalry to the road leading to that city (right of picture).The road to Halle is in the top middle ground (important later). 

However, as I did a reconnaissance in force leading to Leipzig, it was there I discovered two full Corps of Prussians and Russians, all waiting and focused on that particular road. The Emperor in his brilliance
had ordered me to scout that route out but gave me freedom of  action to alter my route if it was untenable. I remember him saying, “You must think quickly on your feet (although, I am sure on horseback would be an acceptable alternative.)

Brandon (aka Prussian General von Bulow) with a million Allied soldiers just hoping I would make a mistake and (actually) enter the table.

So I returned with my status report and because of this the column (minus some IV Corp units left to secure the supply line at Lutzen)was diverted to Halle. Now IV Corp led the way and my cavalry 
followed. Halle had a number of roads leading to it and to the north were (I believe) Prussian cavalry.

Prince Eugene’s troops start to deploy onto the Halle board
Still another picture of the Halle Board. This one with the Prussian Commander (von Yorck) happy to see the French.  Russ, smiling as the first IV Corp units enter the table.

Initially, we only had a few units. But quickly, and somewhat to my surprise, we had more troops arrive. Within a short period of time there was a link up of IV Corp, the Guard Cavalry as well as at least two other Corps coming into Halle from the opposite direction, having come from Madgeburg. Seeing this, Russ, having a very good feel for the rules [hint: he wrote them] decided to do what I did on the Leipzig table and withdrew, giving up the Conscript unit in Halle.

Russ  at Halle – occupied w/ enemy troops… Lots of Russ’s troops!

But it was obvious (at least to me) that the road network would not support 3 full Corps+ of units and with one of our two primary missions already fulfilled (the link up of the Magdeburg Corp with Napoleon) I went back to see about Leipzig.

When I went back to Leipzig I found only one Prussian unit in the city. I was able to deploy artillery on the outskirts and shell that unit. I could not take control of Leipzig before additional Prussian units attempted to relieve the city. It would become apparent to me that those relieving units would total a 
full Corp and have a full complement of artillery. The Guard Cavalry is strong – but not that strong and I planned to demonstrate in front of Leipzig; and then bolt (as I had previously done).

[Note to Readers: Unfortunately, the sketch artist assigned to the Corp did not get a sketch of this portion of the action. His (lame) excuse was that there was too much going on at the time (he was 
with the Guard Chasseurs a’ Cheval) and they rode around Leipzig after destroying the Pontoon Bridging Unit of the Prussians.]

As mentioned earlier – I was planning to withdraw my troops. But that was not to be. I do not know why (or how), but the French IV Corp entered to my left (east of Leipzig). A little later, I believe it was 
Rich who showed up with VII Corp (and later some Saxons), which entered from the west. The Prussians were caught in a vice. By this time my artillery had eliminated any Allied units in Leipzig and the garrison troops of Lutzen arrived as well – eventually taking the city.

Sorry, no picture of Rich, who was stalwart with his VII Corp and the Saxons. A lot going on and the sketch artist said there was too much artillery smoke to get a good likeness of him from a distance.

                   
The IV Corp Commander, Nate (General Bertrand),                             Where we entered.
who arrived from out of nowhere and saved the day 
on this board (as I was going to withdraw).

The Prussian commander wanted to retreat but couldn’t as there was another French Corp (Prince Eugene’s, I believe) trying to hit his rear. He was stuck and only the arrival of reinforcements could save him. My belief is that, given the situation, the Prussian Commander was in an untenable position. Literally surrounded by overwhelming forces, and with no friendly forces in the vicinity and likely to help them.

Historically they would either try to break out or surrender as they were not defending a town, village, or city. Brandon fought on and did well but the odds were certainly against him! In truth, the French infantry took a lot of casualties, mainly from the Prussian artillery. Some of those, however, were rallied back as Napoleon was with us. 

For my part, the Guard Cavalry had a day of  which legends are made & stories are told. While it does not appear that the Prussians are severely outnumbered, they actually are. Most of the IV Corp off map in the bottom left. The Saxons will appear top left to reinforce VII Corp which is already there, Prince Eugene has cut their supply to the rear, and most of my force is to the bottom right (only the heavy cavalry are seen in the picture).
The Prussians had two light cavalry units. Both were charged by the Guard Cavalry (heavy cavalry) with me leading them. Both charges were successful with the lights taking 4 Casualties each. With both 
virtually destroyed, the Chasseurs a’ Cheval dispatched one unit of Prussian riders that were straggling; shortly thereafter the Heavy  Cavalry eliminated the other.

The big thorn in our side was the Prussian artillery. They destroyed at least two units in the north as well as one in IV Corp. I tried to avoid them or have closer units mask my cavalry formations. Eventually, there were bloody charges between the Prussian infantry and IV Corp. Both forces took a beating as each charged the other but the French had supporting units whereas Brandon was only now starting to get a Russian Corp coming on to the board on the far right. Unfortunately for Brandon, far too distant and far too late to help him.

At this point, my cavalry charged the flank of the lone Prussian infantry (at least facing IV Corp). They successfully formed square! It didn’t matter as the square was broken and the center was 
destroyed.

As IV Corp recovered its strength and shifted to support the units in Leipzig and face the new threat of the Russians, the Guard Cavalry went to aid the Saxons. Time was of the essence as there was no 
other French cavalry to face the two units of Russian cavalry. I once again charged the flank of the Prussian infantry. Yet again they formed square (and those I believe were Conscript troops)! Once 
again it didn’t matter as they were crushed. The Prussians were left with only one unit in their Corp & some artillery. I would’ve thought they would’ve surrendered. They did not. The artillery was destroyed 
by the Saxons & IV Corp. The last Prussian infantry unit again formed square but my cavalry was able to break it in a charge.

The Allies sent a Russian Corp to help save the Prussian Corp but, they were too late. Still, it was possible the Russians might retake Leipzig.  However, right at that time I got word that a number of Russians were falling out of formation (perhaps due to supply problems). [About half the Russians lost a man from their formations]. Honestly, I thought General Miloradovitch did a remarkable job saving half of those formations as many had very high save numbers (lots of 8, 9 & 10s!]

Rolando (General Milloradsovitsch) at Leipzig
The Guard Cavalry charge a square while the heavy cavalry eliminate the last Prussian Light Cavalry unit.

The Prussians still had some infantry remnants left and the Chasseurs a’ Cheval then charged three infantry squares in succession. Each square was destroyed without my cavalry taking a casualty. It was time to turn and face the Russians. The Guard Artillery was already adjacent to Leipzig when Cossacks moved close to the city (probably scouting as to which French units were behind the barricades). But they came too close and my artillery opened up on them; almost decimating them and they were done for the day.

The Russian General, Rolando (Milleradsovitsch), like Brandon before was (kinda) left in a 
lurch as he arrived with no one supporting him.  The Russians had a heavy cavalry unit – the last cavalry unit of that Russian Corp. I (Bessieres) led the Guard Cavalry into a charge and virtually destroyed the Russian unit (4 casualties).

During the same time period the Russian infantry charged a unit holding Leipzig. The Russian unit was destroyed for its efforts. With the Russian artillery needing very high numbers to put a dent into Leipzig and with lots of infantry support arriving, it was at that moment that it was recognized by those involved that the French would hold Leipzig, and the campaign came to an end.

This is my account as best as I can recall.

Sincerely,

Marshal Bessieres (Mitch Abrams)

Some things of Note:

1. I witnessed one Marshall and one Commander lose their heads (literally) as a cannonball decapitated them. Marshal Bessieres was in at least 6 cavalry melees and was not decapitated in this battle . . . unlike in real life.

2. There are not many units of the Guard Cavalry, but what few there are, are powerful. Total amount of dice rolls in this campaign by me was less than 20, two of which were morale checks. Both of those were passed. They are a fun unit to play but if placed in the wrong situation or just played incorrectly, you could be sitting out the game by noontime.

3. There should be a rule as to when a unit will surrender. Not all units take on the characteristics of a Messina in Genoa. Most, depending on the capabilities of the general (if there is even one 
there) the quality of the troops and the forces arrayed against them as well as whether there a viable retreat path or not will surrender. Without this is a consequence players will fight on to the last 
man – not particularly realistic or true to the times.

During the game, for those that want to trace our route these were the boards we traversed.

Report of General de Division
Latour-Maubourg 1st Cavalry Division


I started at Madgeburg along with Prine
Eugene and his bodyguard, Marshal McDonald and his XI Corp and with
General de Division Lauriston and his V Corp. After conferring with
them I moved south towards Bernburg followed by V Corp and then XI
Corp.


After moving thru Bernburg I headed SSW
towards Bad Duben and I got bounced back because of Yorcks Prussian
Corp. I waited a short time and tried again. I arrived at Wittenburg
Followed by V Corp. No enemy sited and I then proceeded to Zahna. I
conferred with General de Division Lauriston; He would move towards
Berlin to siege it and I would scout towards Luckau.


I Captured Lackau no enemy around. I
then moved towards Lubben. I scouted towards Frankfurt and then moved
south.


Moving south I came upon Bautzen and
encountered Russian Inf garrisoning the town. I proceeded to
unlimber my artillery and pounded the inf till it routed. I took took
Bautzen. I proceeded to Gorlitz and found more inf garrisoning the
town. I unlimbered my artillery and pounded the garrison till they
routed. I captured the town and cut the Russian supply line. I was
not able to siege Breslau I had no inf. While holding Gorlitz one inf
regiment and one Cossack regiment arrived. I chased off the Cossacks
and routed the inf.


I received a message from General de
Division Lauriston requesting I come back and support him as he was
engaged with a Prussian Corp, But I was nowhere near him. I did send
a message to the Emperor for Inf and artillery support to siege
Breslau. None came. I held Gorlitz for as long as I thought I could, and then I moved SW. My scouts informed me that a Russian Corps was on
its way.

I came to see Neustadt and across the
river the city of Dresden. I also saw that Marshal Marmont and his VI Corp was
engaged with General of Cavalry Tormasov and his Russian Reserve army. I
repositioned to protect Marshal Marmont’s flank. Soon as I was
repositioning Barclay de Tollly and his Army of the West arrive
following me. As he arrived he was able to witness the Russian Reserve army get mostly routed. Then Marshall Marmount took Dresden and my
force was the bridgehead across the Elbe River.



Barclay de Tolly had a choice to make. To withdraw, or turn and engage my force then being hit in the flank by VI Corps, or Face VI Corps and have my force hit him in the flank, or engage both our forces. Unfortunately, at that point, the campaign ended.

Respectfully

General de Division Latour-Maubourg


MARMONT’S VI CORPS AAR

Marmont’s mission from the Emperor was to cover the campaign’s extreme southern road
network. Marmont’s VI Corps (6xInf, 4xArty) started rather east of Wurzburg and a bit south
of Hof. The whole campaign VI Corps stayed on and headed along the southernmost road
to Dresden. As he progressed, Marmont reconned every road and byway, accurately 
recording the campaign’s southern road network (some troops even espied the distant 
towers of Prague). But the reconnaissance cost precious time (dang near an hour, of 
actual game time, probably).

While passing through Zeikau – an “off-map locale” located midway between Hof and 
Chemnitz and also while at Chemnitz, Marmont’s reconnaissance spotted a huge force 
of Prussians and Russians in the Gera-Altenburg area (SCARY they were that far forward
that quickly).  Even though it was the direction of “the sound of the guns”, Marmont didn’t
really want to commit himself there as it was clearly going to be an all-day slog fest, and 
more importantly, would leave Marmont’s supply line dangerously exposed at Chemnitz. 
His obvious alternative was heading east from Chemnitz to take Dresden. Even so, 
Marmont was quite aware his supply line running back to Hof was still dangerously 
exposed to any southward thrust by the Altenburg enemy. Still, in war chances must be taken.

Marmont twice tried probing Dresden but was daunted by the presence of strong enemy 
forces covering the city. However, Marmont kept probing throughout the afternoon.  
Suddenly at mid-afternoon there was but a single garrison unit holding Dresden. Seeing 
the obvious opportunity, Marmont marched his force down the Dresden road, leaving an 
infantry unit to garrison Chemnitz in his rear. Note: Another unit had been left to garrison 
Zweikau – the “off-map” area between Hof & Chemnitz – but it apparently went AWOL at 
some point and disappeared, probably into another French player’s OB…).

Once at Dresden, the French launched a furious cannonade on the city (three artillery 
batteries at three-inch range), but to no avail (the veteran defenders ducked every 
cannon ball!). Clearly Dresden was only to be cleared by determined assault. Marmont 
massed three infantry columns to act as a fist to smash the city defenders.

Just as final assault preparations were all but ready, an army of Russians arrived 
(at least two corps – Tormosov  & Barclay de Tolly, I believe), unexpectedly appeared 
and deployed from multiple directions, all but surrounding the VI Corps.  Seeing his 
obvious peril, Marmont ordered an immediate retreat back towards Chemnitz,
expecting he would likely be forced to fight a rear guard action to survive.

However, on Marmont’s retreat, Barclay de Tolly immediately turned around and 
returned the way he had come (towards Bautzen??). That left Marmont facing just 
Tormosov, a force he could fight (Tormosov with 3xInf, 3xArty, 3xCav + the Dresden  
garrison unit vs. VI Corps’ 4xInf& 4xArty). For a solid hour both sides bombarded 
each other, the combat mostly an artillery duel as both opponents had plentiful
artillery and well-protected flanks (table-edge woods on one flank and the bulk of 
Dresden on the other). Ultimately, first the Russian cannoneers and then the infantry 
buckled under the intense French fire (uhm…, Brian had REALLY bad morale dice…). 
Final desperate Russian cavalry charges, while threatening, were handily repulsed by
the massed French artillery and French infantry columns. The net result was 
Tormosov’s remnants retreating off the field and leaving Marmont
in possession of Dresden.  This all being finished by 4pm in the afternoon.

One last note – in the midst of the battle, Latour-Marbourg’s Cavalry Corps arrived 
on the far side of the river Elbe from the direction of Bautzen (how the heck did he 
get there??), but closely pursued by a superior Russian cavalry force (which itself 
soon gave up the chase of the French cav). It should be noted that Latour-
Marbourg’s arrival inspired Marmont’s men to redouble their efforts in destroying
Tormosov, putting great heart into the VI Corps (really good morale dice…).

At the  end, Marmont’s possession of Dresden and Latour-Marbourg’s
presence on the far side of the Elbe providing an Elbe bridgehead gave the French 
the VP points leading to French marginal victory.  While we appreciate our small 
part in this huge battle, what great deeds must have been done elsewhere!

Vive l’Empereur!


Summation by Napoleon, French C-in-C:
I made two errors that I know of:
1.): not using *all* the roads of approach to pick up the rate of approach, a corps of the French Army at that time, if properly lead, could blow through almost all types of foes, and if they put some kind of a barrier on one of the roads; the other roads would end up cutting off their supply lines; and…
2.): When I was informed of the opportunity to take Breslau, I didn’t send off some troops post-haste if I could- I’d *probably* have the clout to do so, command structure and the like, but I didn’t take advantage of that.
What value was the engineer unit that was just brushed out of the area with the cavalry rush, pray tell?
Victories: I had overall arranged the general grinding down to nothing of the Coalition armies; one major element was when the Army of Germany’s 1st Cavalry Corps caused the Saxons to join my side, thus cutting off the final uncontested supply line for their troops West of the Elbe River.


ALLIED REPORTS

Springtime
for Napoleon:
Snappy
Nappy

SnapCon X

by
Russ Lockwood


The
10th anniversary of the SnapCon
Snappy
Nappy

Campaign-in-a-Day convention proved a closely-fought battle across
1813 Germany. Napoleon and the French, reeling from 1812’s
catastrophic invasion of Russia, sought to stabilize the line and
bring the Russian horde to a halt. Prussia declared for the Allies
and marched with the Russians. Meanwhile, Austria declared neutrality
and withdrew its armies from the French side and the Saxons seemed on
the edge of leaving the French.

A
big thanks to The Portal, the game store in Manchester, CT, that
allowed us to use the back room and all its tables for all 10 of the
SnapCons.

Campaign
Wrinkle: Transit Tables

Umpire
Mike pulled together the scenario. Besides the usual OOB balancing
and terrain research, he decided to add a wrinkle to our usual
Campaign-in-a-Day mechanics.

Normally,
when you exited one table, the Umpire immediately escorted you and
your troops to a linked table. Umpire Mike set up one central “table”
that added multiple “traveling” tables to the mix using an
ingenious card system.

When
you exited a table, the deployment zone (i.e. enter and exit point)
had a number. You brought your troops to the central table and
flipped over a 3×5 card with that number.

This
card told you which transit table (in reality an 8.5×11-inch sheet of
paper with historical info on one side and a map on the other) you’d
arrive on. It also noted if the transit was immediate or if you had
to suffer a 5-minute delay.

And
yes, Umpire Mike put a clock on the table and had a sign-up sheet
that you would fill in. I’m guessing this would help Umpire Mike
reconstruct who went where when.

Fortunately,
Assistant Umpires Mark and Peter were there to iron out any confusion
— and I believe I can claim one of the first confusions.

I
picked up the appropriate card, placed a marker on the appropriate
transit table sheet, and proceeded to exit to the wrong table.
Fortunately, Mark caught my error and directed me to the correct
table. And I only did it once more, which Mark watched me plop on the
wrong transit table sheet and corrected me again. He was certainly
within his rights to call me out on it, but he’s a tolerant and
patient umpire.

Campaign
Wrinkle: Diplomacy

Umpire
Mike gave a variety of city objectives that would affect the
neutrality of Austria and perhaps bring it into play on one side or
the other. In addition, Saxony had a chance to join the French or the Allies.

Alas,
Poor Yorck, What Will You Know?

Assigned
to command von Yorck’s corp, my original orders stated I would go to
Torgau and defend the river crossing. Alas, Umpire Mike decreed my
initial position was in line formation near Wittenburg, which is
across the six-foot table from the road that I needed to use.

So,
the first turn was just getting onto the road and switching
formation. I had the bulk of my Corps on the road, but sent a cavalry
unit through Wittenburg onto another table. We all just read how that
went…but the scouts continued on. Meanwhile, I received an order to
go to Halle via Wittenburg, so I reversed course and headed to Halle.
Annnd, we all just read how that trip via the transit tables went…

Now,
remember, the first two turns are synchronized across all tables.
Then came the third turn. I ended up scouting a table with a lot of
French corps…and in bouncing back, I finally figured out how to use
the transit card/table system. Mark must have heaved a sigh of
relief.

And
also remember this all took time for Yorck’s Corps to go this way
and that.

I
remember thinking I was like Lobau at Waterloo — ordered one way,
then the other, and then back the original way. I wish I had taken
better notes about the timing.

Meanwhile,
my corps marched to the Halle table from the east.

Order.
Counter Order. Disorder? Datorder?

I
found Halle to be in French hands, a mere cavalry unit and leader
hopping from town to town to disrupt Allied supply lines. Who is this
French interloper? None other than Eugene. He sees me and immediately
starts to head down the road to exit north towards Bernburg.

North?
Bernburg? How did he get to Bernburg?

My
guess is probably when I was reversing course to head to Halle.

Well,
I’m having none of that. I started to peel units off the march to
head Eugene off at the deployment zone to Bernburg.

Next
thing I know, Eugene brings an infantry unit onto the table from
Bernburg. That’s when another French corp showed up on the south side
of the table coming from Lutzen.

Hmmm.
Two against one, but I have the central position. Not impossible if I
can crunch Eugene before this new French Corp can march across the
table.

Then
Napoleon showed up from Lutzen!

And
that likely means the Imperial Guard is following from Lutzen.

Hmmm.
Three against one? That would be difficult normally, but when one of
the three is the Imperial Guard, meinen goosen is cooken.

And
that’s when I received an order to turn around and head back to
Wittenburg. It was a reversal order I heartily agreed with!

So,
half movement to turn the road march column around and I headed back
to Wittenburg. A slow rearguard withdrawal took a couple hits from
Eugene’s cannons that enter before I can exit.

I
left one unit as a garrison in Halle. It would take time to winkle it
out. They eventually blew it out of the town and pummeled it with
artillery fire into oblivion, but it had bought time.

Back
I went to the Duben transit table — apparently my second favorite
table in all Germany behind the Wittenburg table.

I
also learned that another Prussian Corps was right behind me at the
Duben transit table to Wittenburg.

Arriving
at Wittenburg, I found a Russian Corp [von Berg] chasing a French Corps [Lauriston] that was
on its way to Berlin.

How
did a French Corps slip behind? Ah, the mysteries of the multi-table
campaign.

Indeed,
when I arrived, the French Corps commander was worried about his
supply line.

Supply
Lines And Consequences

A
word about the supply line mechanic. On the hour, Umpire Mike and
Assistant Umpires Mark and Peter checked supply lines for each corp.
If your supply line is cut, you take one Morale Check (maximum loss
of only one Unit Status and NOT the usual MC roll until you pass or
the unit routs).

Peter
came up with this rule for his Iberian game years ago.

Back
To The Action

The
French commander knew he had a limited time to reopen the supply
line, so he turned his command around and began to form a line.

My
Russian ally, who had more cavalry than I did, swung up the road to
outflank the French while I headed best I could off the march
straight at the French.

Next
thing we knew, two French infantry and an artillery showed up,
obviously recalled from their Berlin blitz. They swung around to meet
the Russians.

With
a two on one advantage, we should be able to crush the French Corp.
And a Prussian Corps [von Bulow] was behind me to make it a three to one.

So
I thought.

Only
the next Corp to arrive in Wittenburg was a French Corp, led by my old
friend Eugene!

Fluffengankenpollen!
That may not be an exact German translation of what I said.

So
where was the Prussian Corp?

Eugene
shrugged. “Wasn’t any when I got to the Duben transit table.”

I
can only guess it was diverted.  [GM note – von Bulow headed back to counter the threat to Leipzig]

A
Word About Wittenburg

Unlike
all other urban areas, Wittenburg was located inside the deployment
zone. Umpire Mike was quite clear about that. This meant neither side
could garrison it. I’m guessing he wanted it to be fought over
outside of the urban area. If so, that certainly worked. It also
meant I couldn’t garrison it the way I did in Halle and delay the
arrival of any French onto the table.


The
Wittenburg Sandwich I

If
it is intentionally difficult to pull off a rearguard action, getting
caught in an enemy sandwich is far worse. Now what?

I
considered my options. I had difficult terrain in between me and the
original French. I had open fields in between me and the new French
under Eugene.

I
spun most of my corp around to create a main line as best I could. It
was not in a unit sequence I would have preferred, but you fight with
what you have in the spot you have it.

I
sent one infantry unit into a woods and a cavalry unit to cover an
open gap in my rear. I pulled back the horse artillery to my main
line.

Meanwhile,
my Russian ally [von Berg] worked his forces into a line to match the French
line forming against him.

Eugene’s
line was far better organized by mine. He roared out of the
deployment zone as soon as he could. My cannon fired. His cannon
fired. Infantry took hits and lost morale levels. The lines became
ragged. Some routed away. It was just the sort of pounding firefight
you’d expect.

Then
Eugene’s infantry charged. My troops fired and fired, repulsing the
first charge.

The
original French Corp [Lauriston] advanced against me, sending a pair of units in
column against my one unit in line in the woods. Once again,
firefight gave way to charging and in the melee. Once again I
prevailed, in part because my seasoned troops were against
lower-rated conscripts. One entire conscript brigade routed away as I
kept a tenuous hold on the woods.

The
Russian commander played for time to deploy. At one point in time, on
the hour, he was informed that his supply line was cut. He rolled
morale checks for each unit and failed most of them. The Russian
units sprouted markers testifying to their lack of supply.

The
Wittenburg Sandwich II

My
troops and Eugene’s troops continued their grim exchange of fire. I
concentrated artillery fire on French troops. French cannon
concentrated on my cannon. The French had a slight advantage with one
artillery unit over mine, but otherwise, this was an even-up fight
between veteran troops.

Eugene
did have one big advantage: He had a second leader, which helped with
unit rallies.

He
also snuck a cavalry brigade out the side of Wittenburg and headed
around my own cavalry that was pre-occupied with the infantry in
front of it. Eugene personally led the French cavalry.

Slowly
my cannons succumbed to French fire. Slowly, his infantry succumbed
to my cannon fire. But I could see which way the battle was
progressing. I needed to do something bold or I would be timidly
pounded into a pulp.

I
yanked the cavalry brigade out of the gap and sent it after Eugene
and his cavalry. It was out of my reach, but it was threatening. Then
I swung the cavalry out of my main line and sent it after Eugene as
well. It was perfectly positioned for a charge into the rear of
Eugene’s cavalry brigade — if us Allies won the initiative.

Alas,
the French held onto the initiative and Eugene slipped away enough to
turn and face my cavalry.

Russian
Charge

Give
the Russian commander credit, he charged his cavalry against a line
of infantry and cannon. He fared better than expected, but didn’t
break the French line.

He
did swing an artillery unit to cover the now empty gap once held by
my cavalry and pounded a Russian [? French] infantry unit.

Cavalry
Scrum

With
a slight advantage, I charged my cavalry into Eugene’s cavalry and
luck was with me. I won and forced morale checks. Here, Eugene’s luck
ran out. The brigade became panicked as it failed morale check after
morale check.

More
importantly, Eugene rolled not one, not two, but three “1s”
for MCs. Not only did that lower the unit’s Morale Status, it also
forced him to roll three times on the Leader Loss table. His three
d10 rolls ended with one no effect and two “9s” — wounded,
remove from game. Eugene slumped off his horse and was lifted to
safety by his staff, but his day was over.

In
Snappy
Nappy

terms, loss of a leader means one turn without a leader and then a
“0”-rated leader replaces Eugene.

Now,
if you don’t have a leader, all units must roll a Morale Check in
order to move. So, that could have halted his attack in its tracks.

But…Eugene
had a second leader with this Corp [Marshal MacDonald]. In effect there was no real
effect.

My
main line disintegrated further as troops and cannon fled to the
rear.

Elsewhere

I
don’t know. That’s the beauty of a multi-player game across multiple
tables. I have no idea how any other Allied Corps fared. I know there
was a big battle on some table because I saw lots of players and went
over there to take a pic, but other than that, no idea.

End
Game

Umpire
Mike went around to each table and looked at supply status, routed
units, and locations. At that time, to my mind, the game was over. It
certainly was on our table. I only had four units left out of nine,
and except for the cavalry, they were all in a precarious position.

Based
on all the tables, here’s Umpire Mike’s decision: “It was a
close call. At 4pm it was a draw…and by 4:30pm the French besieged
Berlin to earn a minor victory.”

There
you have it, another hard-fought
Snappy
Nappy

Campaign-in-a-Day tabletop battle.

Thanks
to Umpire Mike for crafting the scenario and umpiring. Thanks to
Assistant Umpires Mark and Peter for helping make it go smoothly, a
double thanks to Peter for bringing the troops, a double thanks to
Mark for buying pizza (oh, and the coffee, too), and a triple thanks
to Mark and Peter for creating the terrain and setting up the night
before. Add James, Rich, and Sean for helping set up on Friday night,
too.

And
finally, thanks to all the gamers for a marvelous day of Napoleonic
gaming.

Extracts from Gen. Von Hunerbein “
Always Forward -My Career Under Blucher “

as translated by Colonel Sir John
Keane ,94th foot.

As the orders had come to break camp
and advance to Jena ,after a hearty breakfast( and a final game of
Skat ) I stirred from our rough lodgings at Gnandstein castle and
bade farewell to our hosts.

With the sun nearly peaking above the
horizon my Brigade had started along the road to Jena – as usual
the Hussars were prancing about and galloping to and fro. We met
briefly with the Russian officers who were in command of the scouting
forces and the division protecting our left flank , Gen.Blucher
addressed the gathering of officers and said that in front of us was
the chance to revenge ourselves and all of Prussia upon the inbred
Corsican and his French lackeys .

In mid morning I noticed that their was
more than the usual activity from our cavalry, Noticing that the
usually laconic Russian Hussars were agitated I started to issue
orders that we would be seeing action shortly . They reported seeing
a French corps marching towards us along with the imperial guard and
miles of artillery.

It was at that time I noticed that his
Majesty Frederick William III was on the battlefield and watching us
. General Blucher rode up to us and announced that we were to have
the honor of being the first to contact the enemy and that the King
had sent a Schnaps -Fass for us

As we rushed along the road to confront
the French ,I sent our Jaegers to occupy the town on our left and
set up our battery of 6#’s with the the brigade of infantry in line
as support . The Cavalry and its artillery was further to our right .

When the French arrived in front of us
-they pulled up short and sloppily spread out to battle formation We
heard their cries of alarm and confusion even over the distance .

After a few artillery shots they
hurriedly pulled back ,while a few took the opportunity to throw away
their arms and desert to us . We learned from them that the Imperial
Guard and attached artillery were behind them and a reinforced
Bavarian Division was advancing on our Left. Trusting to our Russian
allies to be able to deal with ,I turned my attention back to the
French in front of us . Send a messenger to Gen. Blucher informing
him of the enemy activity . He personally delivered his response ,
informing me that he expects the French advance to be delayed while
they bring the artillery to the fore and then it will be slow and
uninspired ,which will allow us the time to fend off their superior
numbers and not allow them to support the Bavarians . All this came
to pass – showing F.M. Bluchers masterful grasp of the French
military mind and their willingness to let their allies die without
help . This would be repeated throughout the coming campaign .

As the numerous French batteries rolled
forward and unlimbered , we counted at least 8 batteries , 6 more
than we had and most heavier than ours . We were able to glimpse the
bearskins of the Imperial guard behind them, using their bayonets to
force the French conscripts reluctantly forward .

My initial deployment allowed Blucher
to deploy additional troops on the Major hills half a league behind
us.

A Russian brigade formed up on our left
as did a Russian cavalry brigade much further to their left .

The hub to hub French artillery opened
fire and put us under an intensive bombardment . While it did inflict
a few casualties -it merely solidified our will to resist.

As more and more Frenchmen appeared on
the battle field ,it soon became clear that I needed to start to fall
back .

A stout and slow withdrawal by my
brigade forced the legions of French to slow down even more from
their fear of a possible counter attack .

I received a message that the Russian
cavalry to our far left had maneuvered onto the French right flank ,
as the battle went on this cavalry would prove to be a thorn in the
paw of the French that could not be removed .

As we fell back to our positions on the
hill – I could see that the Cavalry of the Imperial guard was
moving lethargically forward – at this time FM Blucher made his way
to our command along with a small brigade of Hussars . With a mighty
cheer and the shouted command of VORWARTS!!! the Hussars leapt
forward towards the enemy cavalry . FM Blucher started forward with
them and had to be physically restrained from continuing.

With Pride in our hearts we watched the
small brigade of cavalry head towards the hardened battle veterans of
the Guard . Hoping for the best ,but expecting to not see any of the
Hussars again .

We watched as they crashed into the
enemy lines and actually pushed them back . The enemy reformed and
counter attacked and the result was the same – The Hussars had
repulsed the Guard . A cheer went up and carried across the
battlefield . Back and forth the cavalry melee went – companies
failing back and reforming then rejoining the swirling cavalry melee
and then it was over . Our Hussars had forced the French cavalry to
retreat . With the oncoming French infantry advancing to support it
was prudent for the hussars to withdraw to our lines .

The sun had started to begin its
inevitable descent and the French to our front seemed determined to
force my brigade of true German heroes off the hill. I saw the
Imperial Guard infantry form up and advance towards us , But even at
a distance I could see that there was hesitation in their movement,
it was as if they could sense our determination and they could feel
their doom as they approached . It was a magnificent display as they
advanced across the fields in a line over a mile wide . Flags flying,
their drums and trumpets playing- It might very well have affected
men of a lesser resolve than my fine German infantry .

As we waited for the impact of the
first line of infantry – the enemy became more and more
uncoordinated ,partly by the plowed fields they had to cross , the
hill they had to ascend and by their own hesitancy to cross bayonets.

Instead of a solid line of infantry
coming to blows along my brigades whole line – it was a series of
attacks

Our battery poured round after round
into the units in front of them – until those enemy broke and ran,

The French hit our right flank with 2
brigades -1 of whom never reached our lines due to being checked by
musket fire , The other crashed into the front of the Brandenburg
infantry regiment and was speedily repulsed by the good Prussian
steel resolve and iron bayonets.

On my left the French attack was lead
by the Baden Guard -who unlike most of the French were willing to
face us in mortal combat . While I do admire their bravery ,they too
fell back in rout after testing our mettle .

As I was re-establishing our front line
preparing for another attack , I received a message from FM Blucher
that he and the Russian division on our left flank had completely
destroyed the Bavarian and their French masters, routing them off the
field and taking many prisoners and trophies including 2 batteries
and numerous flags .

As the sun was going down the French
to my front seemed to have had enough and were content to let the day
of fighting end . The officers we captured were happy to let us know
that while they had failed

to drive us from the field as the
Emperor insisted upon , the other Allies had failed to do their duty
and numerous cities and depots had fallen to the French .

Unfortunately this meant that we were
forced to fall back to another location – we , and our Russian
compatriots were directed to Leipzig.

We did our duty in front of Our King
and under the direction of the FM Blucher himself . I have no doubt
that it was solely due to him and his brilliant battle plan that we
were triumphant against the ocean of enemies who outnumbered us by at
least 2 to 1 in all arms. I can say with an open heart and clear mind
that our Russian allies on this battlefield acquitted themselves
excellently and if all of the other Russians were commanded like
that we would not be retreating.

I could feel it in my heart that we
would soon exact revenge upon the nefarious invaders.

Austrian Hussar Regiment #2, Erzherzog Joseph Anton

While I await a few items to complete the player write ups from the 1813 campaign, let’s return to newly painted units!

These rather colorful fellows are from the 2nd Austrian Hussar Regiment.

Their Inhaber was Erherzog (Archduke) Joseph-Anton, who was also Prince Palatine of Hungary (and the Inhaber of the 12th Hussars as well, under that title).

They were recruited in Transylvania (Siebenburg).

In 1809 the regiment fought at Sacile, The Piave, and Raab. 

The combination of light blue dolman, pelisse, and trousers with bright red shakos is quite something; all of that is further set off by the black and yellow braid and plumes. !

These are Piano Wargames figures; the next Piano Wargames 1809 Kickstarter is due to launch any day now!

Spring 1813 Campaign, Endgame

 

Refueled by Pizza, the 1813 Campaign in a Day reaches its climax and resolution…

The continuing Battel of Wittenburg from the perspective of one wing of General Berg’s Russian Corps.

and the other wing of Berg’s Corps,. opposing part of Lauriston’s Corps. 

General von Bulow’s constricted position and much diminished Prussian Corps outside of Leipzig.

The pace of the French advance quickens at Altenburg, where von Blucher, although heavily outnumbered, holds his own with some Russian support. 

Overview of the involving Battle of Wittenburg; von Yock’s position is rapidly destabilizing. 

The newly arrived Russian press on towards Leipzig; perhaps they can wrest control of the key city from the French while they are distracted by mopping up the remnants of von Bulow’s Corps?

The French position around Leipzig. 
The situation remains fluid at the Battle of Dresden. 
“Man down!” The French Guard cavalry tries to polish off the rest of Von Bulow’s men. 
A charge by von Berg’s Russian cavalry at Wittenburg!

Latour-Maubourg puts some distance between his cavalry and the arriving Russian’s of ? Barclay de Tolly’s command. 
The opposing  lines at Altenburg.
It is Wittgenstein, the Allied C-in-C, who is hors de combat at Leipzig. The French Imperial Guard Chasseurs a Cheval have trampled another allied square; a badly damaged square of Prussian Grenadiers is almost all that is left of the Prussians at Leipzig. 
Battle lines at Dresden – Marmont vs Tormasov, mano a mano; the Russians still hold the city. 
That’s a lot of French (and some Badeners), including the Imperial Guard infantry moving on von Blucher’s position at Altenburg. 
At Wittenburg, Lauriston’s infantry have repulsed the charge of the Russian cavalry, and von Yorck’s Corps is continuing to crumble under the pressure of being attacked from 2 directions.
Another view of this half of the Wittenburg battlefield. 
Millerasovitsch’s advance on Leipzig, which is held by 2 Wurttemberg brigades.
Charge of the Russian Cuirassiers, including the Chevalier Guards, at Dresden. 
The remnants of von Bulows Prussian Corps arrives on the road to Torgau. It is garrisoned buy some Saxons, who have returned to their alliance with France. 
Some more Saxon infantry returns to Torgau from Leipzig. 

Barclay de Tolly’s Corps deploys opposite Dresden, as Latour-Maubourg marches off. The might Elbe river can only be crossed at bridges. 

The French close in on von Blucher’s positions at Altenburg; an Allied cavalry charge attempts to slow their advance, but is met by conscripts in a hasty square. 
Mortier and von Blucher look on. 
With von Bulow’s men gone, the French march to the defense of Leipzig!
Lauriston’s infantry attack von Berg at Altenburg. 
More French and Saxons arrive at Torgau, accompanied by General Reille himself. 
Reille advances on the last of  von Bulow’s Prussians; the Saxons have a long standing gripe with the Prussians, dating back to the their forced participation as Prussian “allies” in the wars of Frederick the Great, and then again in 1806.
Marmont is gaining the upper hand against Tormasov at Dresden. 

Latour-Maubourg crossing the Elbe!

Prince Eugene, Viceroy of Italy and Napoleon’s stepson, lead a charge of the 5e Chevau-Leger Lanciers at Wittenburg.
Von Yorck’s command is disintegrating, but Lauriston’s conscripts have suffered heavy losses… and yet, they are pushing back von Berg’s Russians. 
The race for Leipzig!
The Battle of Altenburg continues; here’s a rare cameo of Napoleon in the background,  enjoying a break from the burden of command – although that doesn’t seem to be his beloved Chambertin that he is consuming!
Reille has dispatched von Bulow’s small force, and now heads off to… ?
Battle of Dresden continues; the Saxon Guard du Corps are supporting Marmont’s attempt to regain the Saxon capitol. 

Crunch time is nearing at Altenburg. That’s a YES!
The Wurttemberg garrison of Leipzig is under attack by Milleradsovitsch!
Marmont is gaining the upper hand over Tormasov at Dresden. What are Barclay’s men doing? 
Lauriston’s close battle with von Berg proceeds at Wittenburg. 
The Prussians have defeated Eugene’s charge, but their position is becoming completely untenable. 

French coming to support the Wurttembergers at Leipzig. 

French closing in on von Blucher’s position. 
One Russian attack succeeds at Leipzig, whilst the other is repulsed. Marechal Bessieres is back in the saddle again, leading a charge of the Grenadiers a Cheval of the Guard. 
The battle between Lauriston and von Berg ebbs and flows at Altenburg. 
Overview of the filed at Altenburg. 
Assistant GM Mark records the action for posterity. 
As the daylight fades and the environs of Altenburg are covered with clouds of thick, black smoke, the French Imperial Guard infantry attack!
Reille’s Saxons arrive on the Grossbeeren table. 
Milleradsovitsch assaults Leipzig again. 
Barclay’s Corps advances on Dresden… but it has already fallen to Marmont! To make matter’s worse,  Latour-Maubourg threatens his flank with shot and saber!
Von Blucher hangs on at Altenburg. 
Two Prussian Infantry brigades guard the road to Berlin!  Reille has the combined arms advantage, with a battery and 2 Saxon infantry brigades. In order to lay siege to Berlin, he must exit at least 2 infantry and one artillery unit via the dark brown deployment zone with the yellow strip and the supply marker. 
Reille sets to the task at hand. 
The Prussians are driven back with losses!
One Saxon brigade is heavily damaged, but the remaining Prussian infantry is is still worse shape!
Wie gefällt dir ein Lederstiefel in deinem Arsch? The Prussians are crushed, and Reille’s Saxons lay siege to Berlin. Turnabout is fair play, eh?  This signals the end of the day’s action. 
GM Mike held a debriefing at the end of the event, revealing the map scheme and connections (which will be divulged in a future posting). All the players applauding GM Mike’s extraordinary effort in putting together a great scenario! Many of the attendees, myself included, took the opportunity to do some shopping at The Portal gaming store. Even with that, I had all of the troops and my terrain, etc., packed up and was on the road home by 6 PM, literally driving off into the Sunset on my way West through Hartford. 
The following post will have write ups of the experience from the standpoint of all the players who submit them, and then finally a post with a summation of the day by GM Mike will follow that. 
Next October, in Manchester! 

Spring 1813 Campaign, Later Phase

The action of the Spring 1813 Campaign in a Day continues! 

Decisions at Dresden: as Mamont advances on the city, one Russian Corps marches off, whilst Tormasov and the Russian Guard Corps arrives!

The French continue to slowly expand their positions at Altenburg. Note the large black “God Die”, used for resolving thorny rules dilemmas!

Milearsdovitch decides (or General Wittgenstein decides for him), that his Corps might be more usefully employed elsewhere. and prepares top march away from Altenburg. 

Tormasov moves out of the deployment zone, while Marmont changes face to meet him. 

Fancy maneuvering to get the French line established. 

Latour Maubourg, at Bautzen, writes to Napoleon. 

MacDonald/Prince Eugene deploys opposite von York’s Prussians at Wittenburg… but von Yorck also has to contend with Lauriston’s Corps to his rear, and Lauriston in term has to contend with von Berg’s Russians on his flank. Sacre bleu!

Von Bulow fights on doggedly outside Leipzig, but his numbers are dwindling steadily. 

Another view of the situation at Dresden. 

Von Blucher seems to be pulling back instead going Vorwarts, evidently trying to trade distance for time at Altenburg. 

Milleradsovitsch’s Corps on the march on the Luckau table.

The uneven battle at Leipzig continues; although in an unenviable position, von Bulow’s artillery has taken a substantial toll on the French. 

Von Yorck’s position at Wittenburg from the Front…

and from his rather exposed rear!

The other wing of Lauriston’s Corps, and the opposition by von Berg at Wittenburg… who seems to have mostly cavalry. 

von Bulow’s men fight and die at Leipzig. 

The Russians still garrison and hold Dresden.

Wittgenstein oversees the march of Milleradsovitsch’s Corps through Luckau. 

The Corps formerly commanded by General Betrand is now lead by Jean-Baptiste Douet, Comte d’Erlon. Facing him as well as  Bessieres and Reille, von Bulow’s Corps is near collapse at Leipzig. 

Mac Donald and Prince Eugene press the attack on von York at Wittenburg. 

Lauriston and von Berg face off at Wittenburg. 

Latour-Maubourg awaits orders at Bautzen. 

The Battle of Dresden shapes up. 

With von Bulow’s Corps fading, a new Russian force makes an appearance outside Leipzig (uipper left), the footsore troops of Milleradsovitsch!

The French continue their slow but steady advance at Altenburg. 

Grinding combat between mac Donald and von Yorck at Wittenburg. 

The continuing Battle of Dresden between Marmont and Tormasov. 

One of many glorious charges by the Imperial Guard Cavalry and Marechal Bessieres at the Battle of Leipzig. 

Wittgenstein himself has taken command of a force to retake Bautzen!

Latour-Maubourg’s cavalry make use of their superior speed to exit Bautzen table, doing the Shuffle off to Boef et Merlot!

Russians control and garrison Bautzen once again – this time supporting the position with artillery against the return of the pesky Latour-Maubourg and his Horse artillery!

Witttgenstein redirects the remainder of his force elsewhere. 

A cavalry charge to delay the accelerating advance of the masses of Frenchmen at Altenburg. General von Blucher is becoming seriously outnumbered, but keeps his cool. 

Altenburg from behind the Prussian lines. 

Attacked from 2 directions, von Yorcks Corps is gradually melting away at Wittenberg. 

View of Lauriston’s part of the Battle of Wittenburg.

Milleradsovitch’s Russian Corps deploys, and will attempt to retake Leipzig. 

They are too late arriving to succor von Bulow, however! The Remaining Prussians begin to think about how best to save a few of their skins!

The Saxon Heavy cavalry joins Marmont’s battle at Dresden… 

whilst the ever mobile Latour-Maubourg’s Cavalry Corps makes their arrival on the other side of the Elbe!

Remnants of von Bulow’s Corps at Leipzig. 

The Battle of Dresden continues.

Von Blucher’s Corps has pulled back to a new defensive position at Altenburg, supported by the remnants of Winzingerode’s Russian Corps; the French are enjoying some breathing room at last. Marechal Mortier and the Imperial Guard infantry, Marechal Oudinot,  and the two commands of Marechal Ney, Generals Souham and Girard, make a verty imposing sight!

Lauriston’s attack on von Yorck’s rear is taking it’s toll at Wittenburg. 

Nom de Dieu! Still more new arrivals at the Battle of Dresden!

Von Bulow prepares to extricate what’s left of his Corps at Leipzig, as Reille, having called up the Saxon infantry from Torgau, pepares for his own departure. 

The Battle of Wittenberg proceeds apace. 

The situation  remains fluid at Dresden.