Battle Of Bremen 1815
A First Empire Wargame
Scenario Refought
by Major J W Drage RA, UK
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Long term readers of First Empire will remember Ian Barstow's wargame scenario of the Battle of Bremen in Edition 23 of Jun./Jul. 95. As a long time Napoleonic wargamer, I have refought many of the great battles of the period. Ian's post Waterloo "what-if" setting offered me the chance to utilise my British and French armies and pit Napoleon against Wellington again, whilst throwing in uncertainties such as an Italian corps, Austrians fighting for the French and variable times and directions of arrival. I will not repeat Ian's scenario at length; most of the readers will be able to refer to the original. However, for newcomers I hope that Ian and the Editor will permit a quick summary. SituationBack in Belgium, Grouchy's wing succeeded in holding up Blucher sufficiently for Napoleon to turn Wellington's flank and cut off his withdrawal through Brussels. The Dutch, Belgians and other smaller Allied contingents make separate paths for home or sue for peace. The Prussians feel abused and head off east to regroup, feeling that Gniesenau was right all along! Wellington, with two corps and the cavalry, planned his escape route from Europe through Bremen. Napoleon is in pursuit with II, III and IV Corps, II and IV Cavalry Corps and the Guard. Further afield, Barclay de Tolly was advancing westwards through northern Germany and agrees to assist Wellington's evacuation with three infantry and a cavalry corps. This sounds fairly straightforward for Wellington and Barclay, but those wily Austrians have switched sides and Schwarzenberg is approaching Bremen from the east with an infantry and cavalry corps. To complement this force, Eugene has resurrected the Army of Italy, comprising Italian and Polish divisions. ORBAT (in brief)FRENCH - Napoleon - 113700 men and 224 guns. Guard - Drouot - Old Guard, Young Guard, Cavalry.
Army of Italy - Eugene - Neapolitan Division, Italian Division, Polish Division + Cavalry Division I Austrian Corps - Schwarzenberg and Klenau - three Divisions + Cavalry Division ANGLO-RUSSIAN - Wellington/Barclay - 77000 men and 196 guns. VIII Russian Corps - Yermolov - Guard Division + two Divisions IX Russian Corps - St Priest - three Divisions
Terrain and Timing
Deployment and Early MovesGiven that the British were seeking to embark from the docks north-west of Bremen, Wellington placed Hill's Corps in Bremen, barring both bridges into the city. The Russians held the exposed eastern flank with St Priest and Raevski in Rotemburg and the woods to its NE and SW. Gallitzin' s cavalry guarded the left flank. A strong reserve was maintained in dead ground in the centre with Cole, Uxbridge and Yermolov. Artillery was well-placed to strengthen urban and wooded positions. Fortunately for Napoleon, though perhaps not surprising given Austrian and Italian marching prowess (!), the French group was the first on the field. (I decided to leave Gerard's IV and Exelmans' II Cavalry Corps out of the battle to even things up a little, as the French Army was the first to arrive - there was always the option of allowing them to arrive later if the battle became unbalanced.) As they breasted the high ground SW of Bremen, there was no sign of either Eugene or Schwarzenberg. What was very evident was a strong defensive position behind a river, the Royal Navy approaching the docks along the Weser estuary and a queue of red coats on the docks. If Napoleon waited for numerical superiority or even parity, the elusive British could escape from under his nose. A battery was established to command the sea approaches and pound the docks. This prevented the Navy closing up and beginning the embarkation. Napoleon knew that Wellington expected the arrival of the Austrians and Italians and was therefore fixed to a degree to the south and east. This allowed him to attack Bremen from the west and south, risking the unlikely concentration of the whole Angle-Russian force against him. Thus Reille was launched at the western end of the city attempting to gain a foothold across the bridge, which would begin to isolate the British from the docks. Despite support from the grand battery of the Guard artillery, his own Corps' artillery and the Old Guard, early attempts were thwarted by Alten's Division. Shortly afterwards, Vandamme's Corps swung alongside Reille on the southern side of the city attacking across the river and the bridge. In an attempt to disrupt this attack, Uxbridge unleashed Vivian's hussar brigade into their right flank. This was counted by the III Corps' cavalry under Demon. Impetus gave the success to the British, but the hussars were no match for Milhaud's cuirassiers who sent them packing back across the river. Vivian's flight stymied the other Angle-Russian attempt to disrupt the French advance. St Priest had sent two divisions forward to hold the central hill south of the river. Surprisingly they were rattled by the sudden success of the French cavalry and the sight of Vandamme pressing beyond their right flank into Bremen. Denied the freedom of manoeuvre by Milhaud and the Guard Cavalry, they opted to pull back into their positions around Rotemburg. This allowed Vandamme to push back Prince Frederick's defenders of the eastern end of Bremen after intensive house-to-house fighting. Lefol's Division captured Hill's Corps artillery. So far so good for Wellington: it was past midday, there was no sight of Schwarzenberg or Eugene, and Reille and Vandamme were tiring against Hill's defence of Bremen. The loss of Vivian and the withdrawal of St Priest did not materially alter his position. His reserves of Cole's and Yermolov's Corps were uncommitted and still hidden. Nightfall would allow embarkation. Only the proximity of the French to the docks caused concern. The Austrians ArriveNapoleon needed some pressure to be applied from another direction before he could have confidence that the Cavalry Reserve or the Guard would achieve success in the centre. He knew he had not even crossed swords with a single Russian yet and those doughty warriors of Mother Russia are at their best in static defence. For once, Schwarzenberg's Austrians put in a timely appearance from the east. It took time for them to concentrate from their march formation which was further hindered by a large wood. They faced a strong line of Russian infantry and Gallitzin's cavalry guarding their northern flank. These horsemen seized the initiative, attacking the Austrians' left, pinning them back on their start line. Only once Schwarzenberg concentrated his own cavalry in the north did the infantry make any progress against Raevski's Corps. The will to win seemed to be lacking from the men in white. Yermolov's VIII Corps were still in reserve and the fight raged on in Bremen, but by this time decisions were being forced elsewhere. A Change of FortuneAt last, Eugene's columns hoved into view from the south-east and immediately began to threaten the seemingly open Angle-Russian centre. The Poles linked with the Austrians and stormed into Rotemburg, forcing Raevski back towards the ridge. The Italians, between the Poles and the Weser, were even more successful. St Priest was bundled out of the southern wood back towards the ridge. "Now, Yermolov, now's your time," cried Wellington and the Russian Guard moved onto the ridge with Cole's infantry on their right. An awesome sight awaited them
The Closing MomentsAfter this disastrous hour, only darkness could save Wellington and Barclay. Hill's heroes were still battling in Bremen, somewhat oblivious to the panic occurring to the east. Reille did finally force a passage over the Weser in the west and the city was under pressure on three sides. Hill was able to withdraw north with Cole under the cover of darkness, leaving Reille and Vandamme in possession of the battered city and its docks. The Russians were in worse order. Only Raevski and the cavalry held firm, but they were sufficient to provide a stout rearguard for their withdrawal along the coast to the east, harried by Milhaud. As if in rehearsal for another famous escape 124 years later, the beleaguered British Army was able to embark across beaches in the Weser estuary under the noses of those who should have secured its destruction. Perhaps, at the age of 46, Napoleon was losing his touch? Comment on the WargameThe progress of this battle will be heavily influenced by the order and timing of the arrival of the three elements of Napoleon's force. Unfortunately for the Anglo-Russians, the French arrived first. This immediately threatened the departure route and pinned half of the British Army. Had the Russians been given the responsibility for the whole front, including Bremen, Wellington may have escaped behind them, but it was unlikely that Barclay would have agreed to this division of labour. There was no sense in the British and Russians switching flanks. Given another order, the British could have at least begun their departure. This would have put the Russians under extreme pressure, especially as their withdrawal route is to the east, through the Austrians. Could Wellington have been more aggressive? He is severely hindered by his uncertainty over arrival times. Troops committed to the offensive could find themselves outflanked. The western flank offers no opportunity for attack, but is a natural defensive bulwark. However, during the delay before the French were reinforced, the weakening French infantry could have been beaten back by a decisive counter-attack by the reserve. An advance in the centre by the Russians could be pinched off but might create space and time for Wellington to extract his force. The half-hearted advance by St Priest did prevent French momentum from carrying them across the Weser as they swung around Bremen and routed Vivian. Defensively minded, they risked isolation and withdrew. Only in the east is there a feasible option. In this battle, with hindsight, the Austrians could have been defeated in detail by a concerted attack by the three Russian corps while Hill held Bremen and Cole and Uxbridge lined the central ridge. But Wellington did not know that there was time before Eugene's arrival. Should the Austrians arrive first, then the gamble may well be worth it. Could Napoleon have done better? He could have risked committing Milhaud and the Guard to the centre earlier? This might have split the Russians from the British but the weight of numbers would not favour the French. You will recall that I chose to leave Gerard and Exelmans out of the battle. Their presence would have made this aggression more feasible, with the prize of isolating and trapping the British around Bremen. However, overall the balance was about right without them and I suspect that this would apply whatever the time of the French arrival. SummaryThe hypothetical scenario produced a cracking battle. I recommend it to you and perhaps the Editor would print results in the letters page, showing the effect of different arrival times and perhaps a stauncher Russian performance. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #47 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |
The Anglo-Russians deploy north of the River Weser and of the village of Achim. The arrival of Napoleon (between A-B), Eugene (C-D) and Schwarzenberg (E-F) is decided by dice. One group is randomly selected to be in place at the beginning. The other two groups are diced for to determine their time of arrival. The result of this is not disclosed to the Anglo-Russians. Due to extreme drought, the Weser is fordable by cavalry and infantry.
Milhaud's cuirassiers, supported by the Guard Cavalry, had crossed the Weser pushing Somerset's heavies back. The British began to form squares. Worse followed. St Priest's Corps, already on the back foot, broke under the weight of Italian pressure from the front and the threat of cavalry on their flank. Panic spread amongst the advancing Russian reserve, which turned on its heels and fled north. Finally, the pressure had told.