Introduction

This battle took place on turn 3 of a Play-By-Email (PBEM) Napoleonic campaign of which I am the referee. The campaign is set in Bavaria in March-April of 1809. The background is that Archduke Charles has sent an advance corps under General Rosenberg to occupy as much of Bavaria as possible and drive back Marshall Davout. Both sides are trying to occupy (or hold on to) strategically important cities in order to set up advance lines of communication, or to deny these lines to the enemy.

The game covers about four weeks of time. Each turn represents three days, and the game lasts 12 turns. The Austrians and French are moved strategically by two players in different parts of the country, one in New York and one in Texas. Battles are played by local gamers, each assigned one general for the duration of the campaign. The strategic players do not know the identities of the local players. Hopefully they will assess the capabilities of these generals by noting their actions during battles.

Events Leading to the Battle

The game started with the Austrians appearing concentrated on the middle road head of the eastern map edge. They could have appeared in as many as three places, but chose to put all their troops in one spot. They quickly drove the French back to the northwest, but made no attempt to spread out and occupy cities. Apparently they had decided to destroy the French army first then gobble up cities at their leisure.

However, the French chose to stop their retreat at the line of the Danube. They had fortified the bridge across the Danube at Neustadt, halfway between Ratisbon and Ingolstadt. Here they would prevent the Austrians from crossing the river. The Austrians accepted the challenge and decided to force their way across.

A day of battle is 24 turns. A battle lasts either until nightfall or until one side has half its figures dead or routed off the table. At that point its "army morale" breaks and the game ends.

The Course of the Battle