I thought I'd set up a little 6mm game (no pun intended) this weekend and opted to re-fight the first day of Eckmuhl (21st April 1809). This was a rearguard action by Austrian IV Korps, being pressed by Davout with part of III Corps and Lefebvre with part of VII Corps. The set up at 10am is shown below, looking eastwards from behind the French entry line
On the left, facing the wooded hill is Friant's division, in the centre is St Hilaire's division and the III corps reserve artillery. These comprise Davout's immediately available troops. Supprting them on the right is Deroi's bavarian division in and around Schierling and Demont's division of French conscripts advancing south of the stream. These two division are commanded in the game by Oudinot (a slight change from the historical situation)
The defending Austrians have taken position on the hills in the centre of the battlefield, using the villages of Ober- and Unter-laiching as bastions to break-up any French attacks. Grenzers have been pushed onto the wooded hill in the north to resiste Friant and the southern flank is held by light infantry and elite light cavalry. The battle will last from 10am until 8pm and vistory will be decided by a combination of villages held (3 pts per base) and casualties inflicted (1 point per eliminated base & 3 pts for each ene,y command demoralised)
11:15 am
After the first two turns, the situation is shown below:
On the French left, Friant has pushed towards and around the wooded hill. An initial assault into the woods was repulsed by the Grenzers who were then steadied by Rosenberg himself, while the french regrouped. Rosenberg has started to bring a regiment of infantry from the centre to support this flank.
In the centre, St Hilaire is holding to observe the events on each flank before committing his division to the fray
On the left, facing the wooded hill is Friant's division, in the centre is St Hilaire's division and the III corps reserve artillery. These comprise Davout's immediately available troops. Supprting them on the right is Deroi's bavarian division in and around Schierling and Demont's division of French conscripts advancing south of the stream. These two division are commanded in the game by Oudinot (a slight change from the historical situation)The defending Austrians have taken position on the hills in the centre of the battlefield, using the villages of Ober- and Unter-laiching as bastions to break-up any French attacks. Grenzers have been pushed onto the wooded hill in the north to resiste Friant and the southern flank is held by light infantry and elite light cavalry. The battle will last from 10am until 8pm and vistory will be decided by a combination of villages held (3 pts per base) and casualties inflicted (1 point per eliminated base & 3 pts for each ene,y command demoralised)
11:15 am
After the first two turns, the situation is shown below:
On the French left, Friant has pushed towards and around the wooded hill. An initial assault into the woods was repulsed by the Grenzers who were then steadied by Rosenberg himself, while the french regrouped. Rosenberg has started to bring a regiment of infantry from the centre to support this flank.
In the centre, St Hilaire is holding to observe the events on each flank before committing his division to the fray
Great battle report! I am looking forward to the next installment, especially as I am collecting forces based on this battle in 6mm (but Adler figures). Will the French reinforcements be arriving at some point?
ReplyDeleteLet's see how day 1 goes! The historical reinforcements arrived for the 22nd.
ReplyDeleteIf I continue to day 2, I might consider allowing the Austrians access to III Korps, Grenadier reserve and cuirassiers, as otherwise the French are likely to be overwhelming.
The blue and red arrows work a treat on these images!
ReplyDeleteBest, Sean.
Thanks, Sean
ReplyDeleteI quite like a few simple arrows, and it is a lot quicker than trying to explain everything with text!
The pictures are done in photoshop, with the arrows on a separate layer that is then faded to 50% intensity.
I now need to practice skewing them to get the perspective right!
cheers
Steve
Superb! Those figure bases blend so well with the terrain :-)
ReplyDeleteLee.