Danzig Report

Played: June 20th 10am to 3:30pm
Length: Played 16 turns
Commanders: Mike (Russian) and Jeff (Prussian) vs. Eddie (CiC, Rabbe, and Coqueugniot) and I (Breyer, Robert, and Jeanin)
General de Brigade Deluxe

Our game based on the Russian attempt to relieve/resupply the besieged garrison at Danzig was a victory for the French side, but only by the narrowest of margins. Eddie commanded the French side while Mike and Jeff led the Allied troops. Having a strict deadline (3:30pm) pushed the Allies to strike rapidly in order to have units in the "victory zone" by the appointed time. This dispensed with the usual, lengthy, opening bombardment that has become standard fare in our games.

General course of the battle

While Jeff struck quickly with Von Rembow's and Loptev's brigades, Mike struck out on a rapid march to turn the French right wing. In support of the flank march, the guns of HMS Falcon hammered away at Rabbe's and Coqueugniot's brigades as they sheltered in the sparse cover of the woods. This allowed the three Russian brigades to move to the road virtually unmolested.

The Prussians of Von Rembow, supported by fire from Fort Weichselmude, drove the Saxons of Breyer back into the woods. Von Rembow's brigade soon came under fire from the French batteries on Holm Island and "Fort Vistula" which stalled any momentum that the Prussian attack had. The Prussian cavalry was hit several times before it tried to charge the French Chasseurs a Cheval who had moved to fill the open flank to Breyer's left. The Prussian charge was hurled back as the Prussian horsemen ROUTED and were lost for the rest of the battle. Meanwhile, Rabbe's Gardes de Paris were holding Loptev's brigade at bay with a succession of hard-hitting volleys (Eddie constantly rolled 9 or higher when firing) that left the Russians disorganized and unable to press home an attack.

While Breyer's, Robert's, and Rabbe's were holding off two Allied brigades, the French brigade of Coqueugniot was left to watch the rapid march of three Russian brigades on the French right wing. Luckily for Coqueugniot's troops, the HMS Falcon had moved to a position were it could no longer hit them (the ship had done exceptionally well given the range that it was firing at) and the Russian commander had trouble getting his troops making the flank march to turn and head for a new objective point. It took Mike 3 or 4 turns to roll well enough to give each of his three brigades new orders. That was just enough time for Coqueugniot's men to move to a position along the stream and defend the bridge. Once the Russians got moving again they began to launch a series of furious charges at Coqueugniot's brigade. Much to everyone's surprise, the Russian attacks were repulsed and the battered French line continued to hold.

At this point there was a bit of a lull as both sides regrouped and positioned themselves for the final act. The Russian flank force soon renewed the assault with a new round of charges that pushed Coqueugniot's brigade back and opened the road for the Cossacks to begin sweeping behind the French lines. Luckily for Coqueugniot, Rabbe's brigade was able to stave off the charges by Leptov's brigade. If Leptov's attack had carried through then it is likely that Rabbe's and Coqueugniot's men would have been routed or captured by the Russians. Von Rembow's Prussians were pressing closer to Breyer's Saxons but they were suffering under combined firing from Breyer's brigade and the artillery at Holm Island and "Fort Vistula".

In a last effort to decisively win the day, the Cossacks launched a charge at the small Chasseur a Cheval regiment that had moved to block access to the Allied "Victory Zone". Though outnumbered by the Cossacks the Chasseurs were able to break the Cossacks and drive them back (lucky roll in Melee Resolution!) at the cost of the Chasseur unit DISPERSING due to casualties. This combat had slowed the advance of Berlizeev's and Leontyev's brigades just enough so that there were only 3 Russian units in the Victory Zone when 3:30pm came to pass. With three Russians in the Victory Zone, Eddie rolled a die 6 and the resulting roll of a 5 gave the victory to the French!

In all, it had been a tense and competitive battle throughout the day. Both sides were rolling exceptionally well during the shooting phases which left many of our units teetering on the edge of rout or dispersal. The HMS Falcon was a considerable force, until it was finally driven off by the combined efforts of three batteries, given the fantastic rolls that Jeff made each time the ship fired.

If you feel moved to attempt this scenario just be sure that the Allies have a real chance to march directly across the table from deployment zone to victory zone in a short time. Our games usually run about 12 - 15 turns so the distance on our table was 6 turns worth of movement. This gave the Allies time to fight and still make it in time. The ship could fire across a bit more than half of the table and the forts had a similar range.

Formatting issues

Apologies for the "unusual" formatting in my earlier post. I am working on getting the unit rosters layed out properly but they are not cooperating so far...

Napoleonic Scenario

Hello friends!

It has been too long since I have posted anything here. Some trying health problems have disrupted my family's life as my mother has been ill and we have been looking after her. Happily, she is doing better at the moment so I have found a bit of free time to play a few wargames and even a few minutes to write about them.

My painting and modeling projects have all been idle for quite some time so I have little to report there.

My most recent game was played at our club on Saturday 22 June. It was a Napoleonic game set during the siege of Danzig. I borrowed the scenario from Jim Arnold's Battles for Empire Napoleonic Wargame Scenarios book. It is a very useful source for generating scenarios! It is available from http://www.napoleonbooks.com/ . I converted the scenario to play with our favorite rules, General de Brigade (Deluxe) and combined some of the smaller units in the scenario to fit our rules.

The game played out at a fast pace as the allied troops of Russia and Prussia drove across the battlefield in order to reach the objective by the designated 3:30pm end of game. We played 16 turns in @5 hours. Mike and Jeff commanded the allied troops while Eddie and I let the Saxon, French, and Polish troops.

Below is the scenario set up. I will add a report on the course of the battle very soon...

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Count Kamenski Rolls the Dice: The Relief of Danzig 15 May 1807

(Scenario by James Arnold)

Due to its location at the mouth of the Vistula River, Danzig linked Poland's interior with the outside world. The French had begun siege operations against Danzig in January but the Eylau campaign had interrupted the effort. After the battle of Eylau all field operations came to a halt and attention once more focused on the vital city. Napoleon needed to capture Danzig in order to open the Vistula to supply and equip the Grande Armee for a late spring offensive. The Prussians needed to hold the city for political and military reasons.

Laying siege to Danzig is Marshal Lefebvre's X Corps, a polyglot mix of French, Polish, and German troops. General Kalckreuth led the Prussian defense. The surprising message that the defenders were desperately low on ammunition prompted the Allies to send a relief force as quickly as possible. Russian General Nikolay Kamenski was chosen to command the effort. The difficulties in working within an alliance nearly derailed the effort but Kamenski was able to get his force delivered to a landing point on the Vistula estuary on May 11, 1807. The landing caught the French by surprise. Kamenski's element of surprise soon passed as he awaited reinforcement from von Rembow's Prussians. This delayed his attack until May 15^th and allowed the French to reinforce the positions that the Russians would attack. Napoleon also ordered Marshal Oudinot to send additional units to drive the Allied troops back onto their transports.

Our game will focus on Kamenski's attempt to open a corridor into Danzig to allow supply and reinforcement for the Prussians trapped inside. Kamenski's attack must try to brush aside the French defenders in order to reach a strong position that would break the French siege lines and allow the Allies to stabilize the Prussian hold on the vital city. Oudinot's French reinforcements are beginning to arrive in the area and their arrival on the battlefield will determine who is the victor.

DEPLOYMENT:

Russian/Prussian units deploy in NW area of map.

French deploy in woods and in designated works. Some French units will arrive on table during the battle.

TERRAIN:

Birch Woods – the Birch Woods is GOOD TERRAIN for movement purposes. The wood patches will block LOS and will provide cover for units sheltering within. Cavalry units may NOT charge into, or out of, and woods.

Marsh – this is DIFFICULT TERRAIN.

Forts – Fort Weichselmude and Fort Vistula are treated as SEVERE TERRAIN if attacked from their face and count as -4 Buildings cover when shot at.

Hasty Works – these are DIFFICULT TERRAIN when defended. If undefended, they do not effect movement. They offer -2 cover to units defending them from inside the works. Units on the “wrong side” of the works gain no cover advantage if fired upon.

OBJECTIVES/VICTORY:

The Allies are driving SW. To win the game the Allies will count the number of units that are in the “victory zone” at game's end. The French will roll 1D6(-1) to reflect the number of Oudinot's units that begin to arrive on the battle field. If the number of Allied units is greater than the number rolled then it is an Allied victory. If the number rolled is more than the number of Allied units then the French can declare victory.

Allied Order of Battle

General Kamenski (AVG)

1x AdC Col. Solnyev (AVG)

Russian Brigade of Light Troops Gen. Loptev
21st Jagers Regiment 1st Battalion	20 Figures	Line	2nd Class Skirmisher
21st Jagers Regiment 2nd Battalion	20 Figures	Line	2nd Class Skirmisher

Russian Infantry Brigade Gen. Arsenyev
Navagin Musketeers	24 Figures	Line
Tobol Musketeers 1st Battalion	20 Figures	Line
Tobol Musketeers 2nd Battalion	20 Figures	Line

Russian Infantry Brigade Gen. Leontyev
Mohilve Musketeers	24 Figures	Line
Polotsk Musketeers 1st Battalion	20 Figures	Line
Polotsk Musketeers 2nd Battalion	20 Figures	Line

Russian Corps Specialists Col. Berlizeev
Archangel Musketeers	20 Figures	Line
1st/20th Pioneers	8 Figures	Line
Cossacks	12 Figures	Line

Prussian Mixed Brigade Major General Szabginsky von Rembow
Fusilier Battalion Nr.23	20 Figures	Line	2nd Class Skirmisher
Musketeer Regiment Nr.14	20 Figures	Line
Dragoon Regiment Nr.5	8 Figures	Line
Foot Artillery 6x 6lb	(3 models)

Fort Weichselmude Battery Col. Lamm
Prussian Foot Artillery 6x 8lb Guns	(3 models)	Line

Special 1. Russians have a Foot Artillery Battery of 6x 6lb guns (3 models) (LINE) that MUST be attached to an infantry brigade. The guns are a unit in the brigade and count towards Brigade Tests. Further, these guns have limited ammunition and will go to Ammo Low then Out of Ammo on any roll that is EVEN. This represents regimental guns that were dragged by infantry units and thus lack any ability to resupply.

Special 2. Fort Weichselmude houses a Prussian Foot Artillery Battery of 6x 12lb (3 models). They are limited in range.

Special 3. Allies choose either HMS Dauntless or HMS Falcon to support the attack. The Dauntless fires carronades equal to 6x 12lb Foot Artillery (3 models) but may only fire cannister. The Falcon fires guns equal to 6x 8lb Foot Artillery (3 models) at all ranges. Dauntless has 4 hit points while Falcon has 3 hit points.

French Order of Battle

GdD J.P. Adam de Schramm

1x AdC Col. Brante (AVG)

Brigade Brayer
2nd Legere	24 Figures	Vet	1st Class Skirmisher
Saxon Regiment Maximillian	20 Figures	Line
Saxon Grenadier Regiment Sussmilch	20 Figures	Vet

Brigade Coqueugniot
1st Legion du Nord 3rd Battalion	20 Figures	Line
1st Legion du Nord 4th Battalion	20 Figures	Line
French Foot Artillery 6x 4lb	3 Gun Models	Vet

Brigade Robert Col. Robert
19th Chasseur a Cheval	8 Figures	Vet

Vistula Redoubt Col. Levandowski
French Foot Artillery 6x 8lb	3 Gun Models	Vet

Brigade Rabbe Col. Rabbe
Garde de Paris
1st Battalion	20 Figures	Line
2nd Battalion	20 Figures	Line

Brigade Holm Island
Off Board Artillery
French Foot Artillery 8x 8lb	4 Gun Models	Vet
French River Battery 8x 8lb	4 Gun Models	Vet

Brigade Jeanin Col. Jeanin
Saxon Regiment Prince Anton	20 Figures	Line
Saxon Larrische Grenadiers	16 Figures	Line
12th Legere	24 Figures	Vet	1st Class Skirmisher

SPECIAL RULES

Ship:

For our purposes, the wind will always be blowing North to South during the battle. The ship moves up to 1 foot per turn if moving with the wind. It may move up to 6 inches against the wind. The ship may fire and move on any turn that it is not moving against the wind. The ship has a 180 degree arc of fire. Range for ship's guns is measured from shoreline to target and not from the ship model to the target. Once a ship suffers a number of hits equal to its hit points it will withdraw from the battle.

Forts Weichselmude and Vistula:

The “forts” cannot be damaged enough in the time span of our game for damage tracking to be a concern. The guns and gunners in the forts can be hit if you wish to spend the time shooting at them. Guns may not be moved out of the fort.

Forts Holm Island and Floating Battery:

These forts are “off board” and cannot be damaged enough in the time span of our game for damage tracking to be a concern. The guns and gunners in the forts can be hit if you wish to spend the time shooting at them. Guns may not be moved out of the fort.

Timing/Reinforcements:

French units will appear at varying points during the battle.

1	2	3	4	5 Prince Anton arrives
6 Larrische Grenadiers arrives	7 12th Legere arrives	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15

Victory:

The assessment for victory will be made at the end of whatever turn is being played at 3:30!

To win the game the Allies will count the number of units that are in the “victory zone” at game's end. The French will roll 1D6(-1) to reflect the number of Oudinot's units that begin to arrive on the battle field. If the number of Allied units is greater than the number rolled then it is an Allied victory. If the number rolled is more than the number of Allied units then the French can declare victory.

Danzig Scenario Map