AAR: Teugen-Hausen
Monday, 9. March 2009, 02:21:03
In April 1809, most of the Grand Armee was tied up in Spain. Austria,
seeing a chance, launched its army into Bavaria to wipe out the
scattered French and Allied units before Napoleon could gather his
forces. One of those French units was III Corps, under Marshall
Davout. Unlike the other units in the area, it was among France's
best, filled by veterans of the Revolutionary Wars and early successes
against Prussia and Austria.
Isolated along the Danube when the Austrians invaded, Davout struggled to rejoin the gathering French army, while a cordon of Austrians stood between them. The crucial moment came along the forested ridge between the villages of Teugen and Hausen, where the Austrian III Korps stood in their way. Davout had three of the finest infantry divisions in the French army, but Hohenzollern stood in his way with a combined arms force occupying a superior defensive position; behind him waited Charles himself, with the Austrian grenadier reserve. Would Davout's veterans bludgeon their way though to safety before a thunderstorm rolled in or would Hohenzollern pin him down while Austrian korps on either flank moved in for the kill?
Kent and Steve took the French. Jay, Mark (who provided the excellently painted figures) and Chad took the Austrians, shown here setting up.
The game started with “Emperor” Casciato readying St. Hillaire’s division to charge head-on into the Austrian advance guard, while Chad’s white-coated reinforcements streamed forward.
Unfortunately, that tactic only works when the target has been softened up with skirmishers and artillery fire. Since the French artillery was delayed off-map by muddy roads, well, that didn’t happen. The “terrible 57th” and the other valiant brigades of St. Hillaire’s division discovered that charging up hill against good order enemy units waiting under forest cover is not quite as easy. When all was said and done, two brigades ended up trapped under constant bombardment from the Austrian artillery park while the others routed away. The next time our photographer found Emperor Casciato, he was being rallied by his co-commander Kent, while his troops huddled around Davout for inspiration.
But these weren’t lily-livered Germans, these were III Corps, pride of the French army, and they were far from done. At the same time, Kent was bringing General Friant’s division against the Austrian Flank, surprising Mark’s Austrians. As the ponderous Austrian regiments tried to turn, Kent showed the advantage of attacking from the flank--concentrating immense firepower on a unit that can barely fire back.
But these Austrians weren’t the lost sheep of 1805-6, either. This time, Marks’ outnumbered men surrendered their ground grudingly, giving as good as they got. On their left flank, Chad brought St. Julien’s division into battle, maintaining parade ground-quality formation to keep them all four regiments in command.
The only French successes came in the center, where Steve reformed St. Hillaires’ depleted brigades--most of them having taken 25% casualties or more. After seeing off Jay’s lone unit of Austrian cavalry, the 57th and 108th charged back into the fray to support their comrades, who had pinned the Austrian center at the cost of their own lives. Out for revenge, Steve used their used their superior firepower (and better dice rolling this time) to disperse Jay’s Grenzers, who had done such grievous harm during the first impetuous assault. On the Austrian right, Mark’s two divisions are staving off twice their number of French, and Chad’s troops are forming a double line on the Austrian left. In the center, only a pair of isolated artillery units stand in the way of Steve's bloody veterans drive up the road to Hausen.
Soon after, though, an early thunderstorm (i.e. family conflicts) brought an end to the battle. Sensing the approaching weather ahead of time, Kent charged Gudin’s division into Chad on the Austrian left, and was roundly thrashed for his trouble. On the Austrian right, however, Friant’s men finally dispersed one of Marks’s regiments, and Steve’s men turned their fire on the other one--joining what would have been 6-on-1 next turn.
With Mark's regiment under such heavy fire, only the approaching grenadiers of I ReserveKorps under Archduke Charles himself could save the day for the Austrian right. What would have happened if rain had held off for a couple of hours? I say it was still too close to call. A large-size version of the final picture is here.
Interestingly, the scenario developed fairly close to the historical outcome. In reality, St. Hillaire and the Austrian center engaged in a see-saw battle that left the Austrians thinking they had the upper hand, until Friant unexpectedly appeared on their right and turned the flank. Fighting moved back and forth across the wooded ridgeline for the rest of the day. Around 6:00 a strong thunderstorm rolled across, ending the battle. Even though the Austrians won a tactical victory, bottling up Davout, the...err, "prudent" Austrian leadership ordered a retreat, allowing the French to link up with the rest of their army. Eventually, III Corps would provide a vital piece of Napoleon’s victory at Wagram.
So far this year, Mark’s Austrians and my Prussians have each taken a shot at the French, without clear success. As I write this, though, I can hear drumbeats from my Redcoats, demanding their turn...
Isolated along the Danube when the Austrians invaded, Davout struggled to rejoin the gathering French army, while a cordon of Austrians stood between them. The crucial moment came along the forested ridge between the villages of Teugen and Hausen, where the Austrian III Korps stood in their way. Davout had three of the finest infantry divisions in the French army, but Hohenzollern stood in his way with a combined arms force occupying a superior defensive position; behind him waited Charles himself, with the Austrian grenadier reserve. Would Davout's veterans bludgeon their way though to safety before a thunderstorm rolled in or would Hohenzollern pin him down while Austrian korps on either flank moved in for the kill?
Kent and Steve took the French. Jay, Mark (who provided the excellently painted figures) and Chad took the Austrians, shown here setting up.
The game started with “Emperor” Casciato readying St. Hillaire’s division to charge head-on into the Austrian advance guard, while Chad’s white-coated reinforcements streamed forward.
Unfortunately, that tactic only works when the target has been softened up with skirmishers and artillery fire. Since the French artillery was delayed off-map by muddy roads, well, that didn’t happen. The “terrible 57th” and the other valiant brigades of St. Hillaire’s division discovered that charging up hill against good order enemy units waiting under forest cover is not quite as easy. When all was said and done, two brigades ended up trapped under constant bombardment from the Austrian artillery park while the others routed away. The next time our photographer found Emperor Casciato, he was being rallied by his co-commander Kent, while his troops huddled around Davout for inspiration.
But these weren’t lily-livered Germans, these were III Corps, pride of the French army, and they were far from done. At the same time, Kent was bringing General Friant’s division against the Austrian Flank, surprising Mark’s Austrians. As the ponderous Austrian regiments tried to turn, Kent showed the advantage of attacking from the flank--concentrating immense firepower on a unit that can barely fire back.
But these Austrians weren’t the lost sheep of 1805-6, either. This time, Marks’ outnumbered men surrendered their ground grudingly, giving as good as they got. On their left flank, Chad brought St. Julien’s division into battle, maintaining parade ground-quality formation to keep them all four regiments in command.
The only French successes came in the center, where Steve reformed St. Hillaires’ depleted brigades--most of them having taken 25% casualties or more. After seeing off Jay’s lone unit of Austrian cavalry, the 57th and 108th charged back into the fray to support their comrades, who had pinned the Austrian center at the cost of their own lives. Out for revenge, Steve used their used their superior firepower (and better dice rolling this time) to disperse Jay’s Grenzers, who had done such grievous harm during the first impetuous assault. On the Austrian right, Mark’s two divisions are staving off twice their number of French, and Chad’s troops are forming a double line on the Austrian left. In the center, only a pair of isolated artillery units stand in the way of Steve's bloody veterans drive up the road to Hausen.
Soon after, though, an early thunderstorm (i.e. family conflicts) brought an end to the battle. Sensing the approaching weather ahead of time, Kent charged Gudin’s division into Chad on the Austrian left, and was roundly thrashed for his trouble. On the Austrian right, however, Friant’s men finally dispersed one of Marks’s regiments, and Steve’s men turned their fire on the other one--joining what would have been 6-on-1 next turn.
With Mark's regiment under such heavy fire, only the approaching grenadiers of I ReserveKorps under Archduke Charles himself could save the day for the Austrian right. What would have happened if rain had held off for a couple of hours? I say it was still too close to call. A large-size version of the final picture is here.
Interestingly, the scenario developed fairly close to the historical outcome. In reality, St. Hillaire and the Austrian center engaged in a see-saw battle that left the Austrians thinking they had the upper hand, until Friant unexpectedly appeared on their right and turned the flank. Fighting moved back and forth across the wooded ridgeline for the rest of the day. Around 6:00 a strong thunderstorm rolled across, ending the battle. Even though the Austrians won a tactical victory, bottling up Davout, the...err, "prudent" Austrian leadership ordered a retreat, allowing the French to link up with the rest of their army. Eventually, III Corps would provide a vital piece of Napoleon’s victory at Wagram.
So far this year, Mark’s Austrians and my Prussians have each taken a shot at the French, without clear success. As I write this, though, I can hear drumbeats from my Redcoats, demanding their turn...
WIDGETIZE
Anonymous # 9. March 2009, 07:40
Thanks for the complements on my figures. It was a very fun game.
Anonymous # 9. March 2009, 16:26
Again, a very fine day of pushing lead and well run game!