Pretzen 1807 Report
Played: April 12th 10am to 2:30pm
Length: Played 16 turns
Commanders: Mike (von Netting and
Dohorov) and Jeff (Ushakov) vs. Gary (Ferey), Carl (Amey), and myself
(Vivies, Artillery, and Durousnel)
So, with a quick moving game in mind,
we played out our battle on Saturday April 12. Mike began the battle
as the sole Russian commander as Jeff was a bit late. Each side set
up 24” in from the table edge while the 3 objectives were lined up
along the center line of the table. Not very complicated and
certainly not very original!
 |
| Starting positions and general course of battle. |
It became obvious early on that each
side was employing a similar strategy. Both sides rushed to gain the
village in the center while attempting a right hook to flank the
enemy. As it turned out, the Russians won the race to the village and
seized control of it while Vivies deployed his Legere battalions into
a skirmish screen to spar with the village occupants. In concert with
this, the French guns deployed to the righ t of the village to hammer
away on von Netting's Russians while Ferey pressed the Russian flank.
At the other end of the French line
Amey's troops were trying to hold the hill against Ushakov's larger
brigade. The fact that Ushakov had artillery support and Amey's men
did not quickly began to tell. Amey's units suffered a series of
lucky Russian volleys and heavy fire from the Russian guns. Soon, the
Frenchmen began to waver under the weight of fire.
By turn 6 it was becoming apparent
where any reserves would go as Ferey and the artillery was battering
von Netting's Russian brigade at the same time that Ushakov's
Russians were beginning to push Amey's Frenchmen backwards. The
Russian reinforcement proved to be a single Hussar Regiment
(VETERANS) while the French drew 2 Chasseur Regiments (LINE). The
Russian cavalry galloped towards von Netting's wavering wing while
Durousnel's Chasseurs moved as quickly as possible to support Amey's
crumbling brigade.
As soon as they arrived on the wings
the cavalry units went onto ASSAULT orders and formed to charge. The
Russian cavalry charged into Ferey's troops as a battalion of the 46e
was FALTERING. This put the French battalion into flight as it
RETREATED while the Russians pulled up before hitting the hastily
formed squares of the remaining French units. This charge stalled
Ferey's advance for a long time as the French had to organize
themselves against the lurking cavalry.
Menawhile, true to my form, I attempted
to charge the flank of the Russian Lithuanian Musketeers with both
Chasseur regiments and both failed to charge! This gave the Russians
time to form squares which relieved some of the pressure on Amey's
shrinking battalions. The Russians began to break off from Amey's
brigade as they organized to repel cavalry. After reorienting
themselves, the Chasseur brigade charged the Russian artillery on the
hill. After a weak blast of defensive fire the artillery was swept
over by the French cavalrymen. Ushakov's units were now pinned in
between the remnants of Amey's infantry and Durousnel's cavalrymen to
their rear.
Such was the situation when von
Netting's units finally began to succomb to the ongoing fire from the
French artillery and Ferey's volleys. While von Netting's brigade did
not break, which would have emptied the village and ensured a French
victory, it was now a shambles and it would soon be compelled to
leave the field.
At this point the battle was declared
over. The French cavalry and Ushakov's infantry were jointly
occupying the hill on the French left wing. Amey's brigade was
retreating back towards the French center having lost @ 50% strength.
Vivies' units were still sparring with von Netting's infantrymen in
and around the village. Ferey had swept von Netting's men off of the
right wing hill and were ready to press on towards the Russian's
center.
The battle was judged to be a minor
Russian victory since they still held the village and everyone felt
that the numerous Russian squares could, sloooowly, push the French
cavalry off the hill. Due to the relatively small number of units
involved the battle was a tense affair as each shot, morale check,
and move had a bit more importance. For once, I think we remembered
enough of the important rules during the game that nobody felt like
we missed out on something that may have been a “game-changer”.
If Gary shares some of the photos that
he snapped then I will try to post them later...
