BATTLE THE FIRST Reported by Hiller My corps consisted of three divisions. Kottulinsky (E) and and Jellacic (D) commanded fine divisions of four regiments each with two attached 6 pdr batteries. Vincent (D) commanded the Advance Guard division with a regiment of hussars (fighting as two 4 sqdn half regiments) a grenz regiment and two batteries of three pdrs. I believed a French corps was advancing upon my position and resolved to conduct an opportunistic defense of my position. (see map) I anchored my center by deploying the croats in the village of Gimstadt. My left lay along a ridge overlooking a stream shrouded by a woods extending about a hundred yards on either side of the streambed. I ordered Kortulinsky's division to deploy along the crest of this ridge. The rest of Vincent's division (minus the Croats) and Jellacic deployed on my right in the open fields stretching away from Gimstadt. My plan was to have Vincent advance to contact the French. Once I ascertained the French dispositions I would order Vincent's advance guard to press ahead in a firefight assault. If things went well Jellacic would then have die opportunity to launch an assault to break the French center. At 7am the french columns were sighted and I issued my orders. Kottulinsky and the detached Croats were to defend while Jellacic and Vincent advanced to contact. Barely had my couriers sped on their way when Massena's skirmishers broke from the woods at the bottom of the ridge Kottulinsky held. Within twenty minutes they had shot Kottulinsky's skirmishers to pieces and were hovering just out of grapeshot range while the columns behind unsnarled themselves after coming out of the woods. (several of the French battalions failed the discipline checks; IX d10 versus the units morale number 7 for ligne and 8 for legere required when exiting difficult terrain). vRiding over to check on the situation I saw a general rippling motion in the columns of Kottulinsky's lead brigade as rear ranks surged forward to replace the losses caused by the French skirmishers. Dead gunners were sprawled around the divisional batteries. When the French columns started up the ridge the battery limbered and withdrew. (The French won a major skirmish victory causing several hits to the Austrian columns and forcing the artillery batteries to take discipline checks in order to fire close support fire. They both failed.) I rode along the rear ranks of Kottulinsky's brigade exhorting the men to hold their ground. Soon two routed battalions poured over the crest of the hill, closely followed by the rest of Kottulinsky's front wave, withdrawing in some disorder before the French assault. (The Austrian lead brigade failed its defense wave assessment.) The French skirmishers gained the crest of the ridge and commenced shooting apart the second wave of Austrian columns. Soon disorder (a negative combat modifier) spread through the Austrian ranks. (Note: according to LOG's authors this is the reason that continental commanders did not employ reverse slope tactics. They rarely were able to outskirmish the French and it was extremely unpleasant to have a skirmish line shooting down at you while listening to an unseen assault force thundering up the other side of the ridge.) Despite this Kottulinsky managed to deploy half his wave into line. Their volleys and the disorder accumulated by the French passing through the woods resulted in three defeats for the French wave when it crested the ridge. This broke the French impetus and checked their assault at the ridgeline. As Kottulinsky's first wave had rallied in the rear I judged it safe to return to my right. By now it was after 8 am and neither of my GTF's on the right had moved. A battalion of Croats were taking heavy casualties from French artillery, but our guns had in turn half destroyed one of the lead French battalions. At last Vincent's division took it's first steps forward. Almost at that moment word came that Kottulinsky had been forced to withdraw from the table. The French assault had reformed and renewed with the support of a light cavalry brigade. After two more rounds of defeats Kottulinsky's FML had dropped from 6 to one. With my flank fatally compromised and a third French division marching into the gap I had hoped to assault with Jellacic's division, I was forced to accept that the day was lost with two thirds of my troops uncommitted. BATTLE THE THIRD By their third encounter Massena and Hiller were much more confident and the game sped along. We here reprint Massena's report on the first two hours, followed by Hiller's notes upon the crisis of the day. Massena: I have come up against a sizeable Austrian force blocking the crossroads at Mein Grosshorn. Estimates from our light cavalry screen place this force at about corps strength, outnumbering the two infantry and one heavy cavalry divisions I have immediately to hand. An early morning reconnaissance reveals two Austrian Divisions drawn up in front of me, one occupying slightly elevated ground to the west of Mein Grosshorn and a second occupying a longer ridge of high ground to the east. Dust clouds to the north suggest the approach of more Austrians as the day wears on. On the face of it, this is no place for a fight. But I have a division of Wurtemburgers coming up from the east who may reach the Habsburg flank by mid-afternoon, and I am confident our troops present on the field can handle the Austrians to our front until then. I resolve to engage the enemy, fixing him in place until the Wurtemburgers can arrive. My plan is relatively simple: I intend to launch a pinning assault with my leftmost division, with the Austrian advance guard division as my target. Once this assault is in place, the Habsburgs will have to commit their reserves to reinforce the area around the village, and then I can attack with Boudet to bend their left flank back. Our reinforcing Wurtemburgers, in conjunction with Nansouty, can then rupture the line at it's hinge and we'll be on the way to Vienna, with its loot and pretty girls! Ah, this brings back memories of the old days in Italy... 10:00 AM: My aides-de-camp race off bearing orders to the division commanders. Molitor is ordered to begin his assault, while Nansouty and Bouder are put in reserve to await events. To ensure we get started on time I ride over to Molitor to give him a nudge, and the assault kicks off on schedule. No time to wait for an assault prepared by artillery we must strike the whitecoats before their glacially slow-minded commanders can react. 10:20 AM: Molitor's skirmishers make contact with the Austrian Advance Guard Division, screened by wave upon wave of Jaegers and Freikorps. Our front wave is about to make it's attack when two half regiments of Austrian hussars bear down on Molitor's right flank, forcing several battalions to form square and bringing the assault to a temporary halt. (The Austrian light cavalry was attached to the advance guard as permanent support cavalry. This allowed the Austrian Divisional commander to activate it when his front was threatened. Once activated, support cavalry automatically charges the nearest enemy.) To clear the way for Molitor's continued assault, it will be necessary to secure his right flank against any further interference by enemy horse. I send a trusted aide with a message directing Nansouty to charge on Molitor's right, sweeping the enemy cavalry aside and pinning the Advance Guard Division's Front wave. 10:40 AM: Peering through the smoke I see the Austrians haven't done much more than sit in place so far. Not surprising their staff work is poor and their divisional commanders slow as molasses in responding to new orders. Molitor successfully repulses the Austrian cavalry's second wave of charges and the assault resumes its progress. Satisfied with this, I ride over to see what's doing on the right flank, noticing as I do that Nansouty's officers are being very deliberate (i.e. tardy) forming up their troopers to charge. (Massena was low on command points and could not risk spending his last few to spur this charge along, as a reminder, command points represent the ability of the staff to send messengers and provide direction to subordinate commanders) 11:00 AM: The battle between Molitor and his Austrian counterpart is really heating up now, with both sides taking losses. Our skirmish advantage didn't help us as much as I'd hoped, since the Habsburg Advance Guard is rich in light troops. One French battalion disorders and another routs, and General Molitor pays the price for inspirational leadership by getting his head shot off. (Molitor had attached himself to the front wave of his division, giving each battalion a tactical bonus). But the Austrian front has taken a pounding also, and shortly after Molitor's death the Advance Guard limbers it's guns and withdraws in some disorder about a mile. (The Austrians, due to front wave casualties, failed a wave assessment and were forced to retreat.) Molitor's division pauses to catch its breath and appoint a new General de Division before renewing the attack. I begin to rue having ordered this division to press its opposition, (via a sustained assault order) since it will now follow up the Austrians unless I countermand the order. Furthermore, Nansouty has still not charged yet! I wonder whether my courier has become lost in the confusion, and momentarily consider halting the attack due to lack of coordination. But what the hell, we might as well keep up the pressure. The Austrian staff will never get its act together in time to react to quickly changing events. Seizing the moment, I decide the time has come for a general assault, and gallop quickly over toward Boudet to call his division into action. 11:20 AM: Sacre bleu! the Austrians across from Boudet have launched an assault, messing up my careful plan. Now Molitor will continue his assault with a wide open flank. To make things worse the tardy Nansouty launches his overdue charge, and since I specified the now-retired Austrian Advance Guard as a target he's got a long way to go. Cursing the Habsburg commander for launching his assault, I yet have time to admire his courage in doing so he is a daring man, for an Austrian. With the battle not going to plan, I urge the staff on at breakneck pace to reach Bouder before the Austrian attack strikes home. 11:40 AM: The thunder of hooves is punctuated by dashing steel and hoarse cheers of Vive I'Empereur! One of the assaulting Austrian battalions gets in the way of Nansouty's much awaited charge and is sabred, losing a color (In a neat touch, LOG allows for the capture of trophies, which figure in calculating final victory.) and dispersing in a cloud of fleeing white backs. Nansouty also beats off a countercharge by the spent hussars. However the cuirassiers have little effect on the Grenzers of the Advance Guard division, who repulse their charge by forming battalionsmasse. The Cuirassiers fatigue and retire in a milling herd back toward our lines. One the right flank, Boudet has better luck. Since the Austrians have no skirmish support other than companies detached from the line battalions, they are shot up fearfully by our tirailleurs as they advance across the valley. (A decisive victory in skirmish combat for the French resulted in numerous hits on the front line of the advancing Austrians.) Their first wave breaks against a torrent of grape and musketry, falling back in disorder, but the second wave comes on with commendable verve. Fortunately the Austrian supporting cavalry is wandering around the rear of the assaulting division trying to reach its left flank; with Nansouty out of the battle for now we might have trouble otherwise. 12:00 AM: Depressed by the evident failure of Nansouty's charge in their support, Molitor's weary boys plod up towards the Austrian Advance Guard with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. The reformed Grenz regiments meet them with a hail of bullets. Obviously spent and unwilling to close, the division breaks off the assault and retires sullenly to reform. On the right, Boudet stops the Austrian second wave dead in its tracks in the same old way, and their assault stalls. Their vagrant cavalry finally arrives on our right flank however. Without any effective cavalry to counter them I hesitate to launch a counter attack off our ridge position. Again, this turn was characterized by two wave assessment failures. LOG effectively simulates the ebb and flow of whole divisions, rather than individual battalions, through these tests. 12 PM - 2PM: Hiller reporting: Jellacic's assault on the French right stalled and continued to receive a pounding from a battery of twelve pounders in the center of the French line. When his support cavalry (4 sqdns of hussars and 6 sqdns of chevaulegere,) activated, the French had no trouble forming square and hurling them back. I had no choice but to spend precious command points withdrawing the assault. As a result, I was unable to hurry along Kottulinsky, who continued his leisurely deployment to the rear of Klein Grosshom. Both batteries of 12 pdr reserve artillery were attached to Kottuhnsky's division. This firepower was much missed when a division of Wurttemburgers engaged Jellacic division as he attempted to withdraw to a defensive position to the east of the town. By one o'clock Jellacic's division's FML had dropped to 2 and when the reformed French cuirassiers supported by Boudet smashed into the flank the entire division routed and collapsed into a mass of fugitives. The only bright spot was the bravery of the divisional artillery. They stood by their guns and unleashed an intensive close range fire that blew away a hussar regiment that was attempting to follow up the Cuirassier charge. (Intensive fire is a tactical option that allows artillery to inflict horrendous casualties at the price of becoming fatigued and low on ammunition.) The division fled with their guns through the gaps in Kortulinsky's fine. Despite his E rating, Kottulinsky had not wasted his time entirely, and had his entire division in battalionsmasse except for two volley lines supported on each flank and a grand battery of two heavy and two medium batteries. The firepower of this formation exacted a small measure of revenge for their sabred comrades. The Curassiers suffered 14 hits among the two leading regiments and retired to reform in the rear of the French. (In LOG hits are suffered in combat and cause severe tactical penalties until they are turned to casualties at a varying ratio during rally phases I casualty per two hits for French troops and a slightly less favorable percentage for Austrians.) The Wurtemburgers reformed and rallied after carrying the ridge and deployed along the crest. Boudet's division, which had suffered lightly, deployed behind a grand battery that began bombarding Kottulinsky's men. The third French division renewed it's assault on the Advance guard which gradually withdrew. With my cavalry spent and my artillery depleted I had no choice but to begin a withdrawal. This commenced at 4pm and continued into the early evening. Unfortunately, a battalion of Croats had been left behind in Mein Grosshom and fell captive to the French. It was a bitter evening full of recriminations in my headquarters. If jellacic had only deployed his support cavalry on the open flank where it could have chased away the French skirmishers and kept their forward wave from deploying his assault might have carried the ridge and split Massena's forces in two. On such small errors do battles turn. Still, by the next morning spirits were brighter in the Austrian camp. We commenced our march to put the Danube between us and the French. There would be another day of reckoning. A final note on the rules. These games represented a learning process that is necessary to master LOG. But the authors believe the rules are well worth the trouble. There was much mutual headscratching, interpretation and, we are sure, many errors in these encounters. LOG may not be the holy grail of rules perfection that so many Napoleonic gamers carry in their hearts, but it is a rewarding simulation that lets you make a Marshal's decisions in a hobbyist's time frame. LOG requires no rebasing of troops so it is perfect for those dusty forgotten armies these battles were fought with Der Kreigspeilers 20 min figures. Wargaming with Legacy of Glory Rules Back to Table of Contents -- Courier # 61 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com