Dresden. Saint-Cyr tries to break the siege: The AAR

I have uploaded to the main site, the Scenario and the AAR and pictures of this combat.

The result of this solo-refight with Lasalle, was similar to the real one: Saint-Cyr achieved an easy victory that the arrival of night transformed in a draw. against an enemy of very inferior quality. The Opolchenie infantry behave indifferently, and they do not achieved any significant victory: The 1/1st Ryazan Opolchenie achieved a minor success by drawing a combat with the French, but as they were the defenders to they won the combat.

The Cossacks  behave like the irregular troops that were. The home-rule allowing them to charge enemy units in march column after passing a moral check was not of real application here, because the riders of the steppes were confronted with regular light cavalry, so they fell back  continuously before the enemy advance. They only scored a victory by breaking the 7th Chevau-Legers Lanciers, the old Polish 1e Regiment de Lanciers de la Vistule.

And now for an (almost) all-cavalry battle!

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Altenburg: the next Lasalle project

The habitual followers of this blog, already know my Argentinian friend Armand d'Arc which, acting like my resident Jomini, is always proposing me new and colourful Scenarios, to be played in the game table. Armand lives at Buenos Aires, and when he is not frantically painting new units for the big annual battle of his post-Napoleonic Serenghetti War, he is delighting us with his humourous wisdom pearls about history and wargaming, in the Hat or The Miniatures Page Forums.
Some time ago, Armand proposed me to re-fight the raid or combat of Altenburg, a small affaire that took place on 28 September 1813 near Leipzig, with the participation of many colorful units for both sides, Imperial and Allied. According to Wikipedia:

 "The raid at Altenburg on 28 September 1813... was carried out by the Streifkorp under the command of Saxon General Johann von Thielmann (see the above picture) commanding seven regiments of Cossacks, a squadron each of Saxon Hussars and Dragoons, and a detachment of Saxon Freikorps numbering about 1,500 cavalry. The objective of the raid was to attempt harassment of the French lines of communication 25 miles (45 km) south of Leipzig shortly before the Battle of Leipzig.
Thielmann completely surprised and routed a larger force of French cavalry, including Cavalry of the Imperial Guard and a small force of 2nd Baden Infantry Regiment (Infanterie-Regiment No.2 ‘Markgraf Wilhelm’) nominally under the command of Lefebvre-Desnouettes numbering some 6,500. The French, completely surprised, broke and fled from Altenburg losing a third of their number (2,100), in the process running over the Baden infantry which was taken prisoner despite attempting to resist. Thielmann's force lost about 200 in casualties."

The raid is also mentioned in the books of Nafziger (Napoleon at Leipzig) and Digby Smith (Napoleonic Data Book) but significant differences between the OOB's, led to me to search help in the Napoleon-Series Forum. Almost at the instant, several very interesting threads developped in the Forum about the subject (see some of the threads here and here), with the help of some of the habituals of the Forum: Steven Smith, Hans-Karl Weiss and many others, including Digby Smith himself! These gentlemen kindly provided me with very useful information, maps included, extracted from contemporary sources and/or unavailable books. A very fine example of internet comradeship!
Using all the accounts, the combat of Altenburg was a fighting retreat, fought bewteen a French force commanded by Lefebvre-Desnouettes and composed mainly from cavalry (6,000 men) and the Streifcorps of Thielmann and Platov (5,500 men), also composed almost exclusively by cavalry. The infantry contingents were very small: the 1/2 Baden and the 3/35e Legere battalions for the Imperial side, and one batallion of the Wallach Grenzer for the Allied.. The artillery was also scarce and the cavalry quality was medium-low.
All in all, and because of the small size of the involved forces and their cavalry-biased composition, this small affaire is a challenge for any Napoleonic ruleset!

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Dresden (and IV): The combat is finished

The French pressure is continuous all along the line, and the Allied units are retiring from the field still facing the enemy, but sunset is approaching fast. The Allied have formed a new line with the help of the Austrian infantry, although the 2/1 N. Novgorod Opolchenie battalion is isolated behind the French lines (another candidate to the Surrender! rule).

In the central sector, the 1/27th Jager surrendered to the enemy so all Racknitz is now in French hands. The French columns are leaving the village, trying to cut the retreat line of the Russian Opolchenie and Cossacks.

In the left, the Cossacks are keeping their composure, protecting their foot comrades from the French light cavalry.

However sunset has arrived (i.e. not more additional turns were allowed!) with neither side having reached their Moral breakpoint. Although the Russians were left to only a single point of their moral break, the battle is a DRAWN. The night has saved the Russians form a sure rout!

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Dresden(III). The French attack

The French have launched an attack along all the front. The 1/43th Jager is broken by a joint attack of the French infantry, whereas the 2/43th jager and the Russian Opolchenie run to close the gap in the line.

The Austrian reinforcements have arrived and also advances to face the French and momentaneously stopping them.

However, in the center of the line, the French are breaking Russian battalions one after another. First the 2/Neutchlotizsky IR is taken in flank and broken.

And the 1/1 Ryazan suffers the same fate.

Racknistz is almost in the French hands, although the 1/27th Jager has been left behind and isolated (a sure candidate to test the new Surrender! rule)

Last, the situation in the left flank is becoming also dangerous for the Russians. The Cossacks are retiring befor the advancing French light cavalry, and covering the retreat of the foot Opolchenie.

Only a miracle could save the Russians!

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Dresden (II)

The fight in Dresden is becoming very fierce. 
The joint attack of several battalions of the Cassagne's 1e Division, has turned both flanks of the 1/43th Jagers forcing it to fall back. However, the Russian Position Battery #15 has destroyed Zschernitz, breaking the 1/12e Ligne, but the heights of the Russian right flank are now in French hands.

Meanwhile, in the central sector, the Russian 1/Neutchlovsky IR has been routed by another joint French attack, and also must to give way.

Last, in the Russian left flank, the Cossacks are moving back away from the Italian-French-Polish Light cavalry, that also has forced the Russian Horse Battery to limber up and to retire.

The French are sweeping away the Russians along all the line!

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Surrender! An optional rule for Lasalle

Lasalle is a very vicious ruleset and no chances are given to units wishing surrender to the enemy. 
Evidently, as pointed out by Mycenius in the Lasalle Forum, "...surrender is part of the existing combat mechanic - it's just abstracted into the results so when a unit is eliminated it isn't necessarily wiped out to a man, it's simply no longer combat effective... Some or all may be dead or wounded, some deserted, some or all have surrendered, and the rest, if any, suffering from failed morale or will to fight... ". I agree but, there are situations in which an explicit call to surrender would be more feasible than the habitual fight. 
A such situation arisen during the play of Dresden: A Russian Jager battalion (see the accompanying picture) was left isolated and behind the French front line, when garrisoning a built-up area. The batallion was only one point away for break and it was surrounded by enemy units. A call for terms would be adequate. 
My home-rule (first approach) is to add 'Surrender!' as another allowed reaction to be taken during the Reaction phase.

REACTION: Surrender! 
WHEN/IF: An enemy unit charged your unit, is now in contact and you are surrounded by enemy units, so fall back is not posible. 
DISCIPLINE TEST REQUIRED: If a Superior Commander is also surrounded, add the general's vigor. If out of command, automatically add a -1 modifier. 
If it passes the discipline test, and the enemy accepts the surrender, the unit is broken and removed from play as usual, but it loses only ONE-HALF of its morale points (i.e. a normal unit will lose 1 point, a large one 1.5 points and a battery 0.5 points) 

In that way, a surrounded unit would have an incentive to surrender (taking away victory points from the enemy!). The other side, the previsible winner of the combat, will have a chance to avoid own losses and also to be civilized and magnanimous!
Any idea?

 

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9/11 Ten years later

We don't forget!

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Dresden (I)

The battle of Dresden (well, really the combat of Racknitz, but only the Saxons know of this little village!) is proceeding according to the script. The two French divisions are approaching their respective targets. The 1e division is ready to assault Zschernitz, occupied in haste by the Russian Opolchenie, and the nearby redoubt garrisoned by the Russian Jagers.

On the other hand, the 43e Division is ready to attack Racknitz, protected by the Russian artillery. The Russian guns are firing with their habitual inefficience and have failed miserably to inflict the sufficient number of losses on the advancing French infantry.

Last, in the center, the 43e division is also ready to assault the deployed regular Russian infantry and its Position battery.

The moment of truth is arriving!

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The armies deploy at Dresden

The opposing armies are ready for the battle.  

Ostermann-Tolstoi, the Russian C-i-,C has deployed his army in the heights, anchoring his left flank in Racknitz and the redoubt behind the village, whilth the cossacks watching the open terrain. The Russian open right flank is anchored on a redoubt garrisoned by regular Russian infantry. All the Russian artillery is in the front line while the Opolchenie is in reserve behind the first line or in the left flank.

The French army can be seen in the background, with the stronger 43e Division advancing from Dresden and facing Racknitz, whereas the 1e Division is facing the Russian right flank. Saint-Cyr hopes to smash the Russians with his infantry and finish the affaire with the cavalry.

Below you can see a battalion of the Russian Penza Opolchenie (Prussian reserve in disguise!) garrisoning a redoubt. 

For the Tsar and the Holy Mother Russia!

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Dresden. The terrain and the rules

The terrain for the next Lasalle battle has been designed from the narrative in the page 323 of the Nafziger's book 'Napoleon at Leipizg. The battle of the Nations 1813'. I have chosen the area near Zschertnitz and Räcknitz, because these villages were the targets of the 1st and 43rd French infantry divisions, extracted from the map of Dresden in August 1813, found in 'A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars' by V.J. Esposito and J.R. Elting.
Although I own the book, an internet downloaded copy was used instead. There was no terrain scale in the internet map, but with the help of Google Earth, I was able to measure the lenght of the Grosse Gartens, a characteristic terrain feature of the zone, as approximately 1,92 km. This value was used as a guide to enlarge the map until a scale near 1:1,000, that is the scale of Lasalle when using my 6 in. infantry units. See the blue rectangle in the following map:

The chosen area is dominated by a line of heights traversed by the main-road. The villages of Zschertnitz and Räcknitz are on the heights ans a more higher peak is located near the last village. villages. Neither the Esposito-Elting's map nor the rest of Dresden internet maps, show any other additional significant terrain feature, so no woods, no fields. Räcknitz was significantly larger than Zschertnitz, so my ubiquitous cemetery was placed near the first village. Some redoubts used by the Opolchenie, are mentioned in the Nafziger's book, and were placed on the heights crest. A stream (actullay located out of the table) was included to add some tactical problem to the Russians. The resulting map was:

Scenario rules
The Scenario is very simple so there are not too many special rules.
Reinforcements
Use 2D6 for the Arrival Turn (p. 91 of e-Lasalle). The units arrive in march column or attack column as desired.
Allied (Austrian) Reinforcements: Arrival Turn: 2D6; Arrival point D3-D4-D5-C5 (10%/20%/50%/20%)
French (10th LC Division) Arrival Turn: 2D6; Arrival point A1-A2-A3-A4-A5 (20%/30%/20%/20%/10%)
Opolchenie units
Opolchenie units have Unpredictable esprit and can begin the game in Entrenchments in Line formation. (See p. 117 of e-Lasalle)
Optional rule for Cossacks (and other irregular cavalry)
(1) Irregular cavalry units may charge enemy units standing in 'march column' formation.
(2) Irregular cavalry units must to pass a 'Discipline' test to initiate the charge.
(3) If routed in 'decisive combat' the irregular cavalry unit is immediately broken.
Victory conditions
As per Lasalle rule-book.

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