Wargaming the period of Louis XIV has always been a favorite of mine because of the diversity of opponents, abundant reasons for having a war and the various technological and theoretical changes that set the stage for a variety of political circus acts. The following account is based on a battle that we created and played out to a conclusion within 5 hours using the Rules Ridiculous Vanity.
At right: Maybe the French did get to join the Russians at Eisendorf! Rgt. De Roi in front of Eisendorf. Figures are an example of Imperialist Enterprises' new Demi-Brigades figures. Painted by Chris von Fahnestock, Photo by William Keyser.
After several reverses and the war against Russia not going as well as Charles XII of Sweden had hoped, Charles made a pact with the Austrian and English crowns under the pretext that Peter was being manipulated by Louis XIV. There was talk of Russians marching south through Poland and attacking Austria in conjunction with France. After much debate, it would appear that Charles XII had managed to convince the Austrian Crown, with the coercive aid of King George I of England, that this potential new force in Russia would pose a threat to the balance of power already in jeopardy in Europe thanks to Louis XIV.
October 4th: Charles set his main army under his personal command east towards Moscow and with the support of the southern army, an Anglo-Austrian force, into Courland. In their ever conniving way, the Anglo-Austrian force had orders to maintain their position only to support Charles' main army and never to march beyond the borders of Courland. They never had the intention of marching into Russia as their purpose was to ensure that Peter would be intimidated enough to seek peace terms with them. This was unknown to Charles who based his plans around having Peter surrounded. Upon learning of the Anglo-Austrian force from a Cossack patrol, Peter immediately detached his Guard cavalry brigade and force marched to hit this new threat. Peter's Army was joined by General Marselovich's Army group marching north from the Volga where it awaited a possible Turkish invasion. By Oct. 23rd, word had reached Charles' command post of the Russian movements, but it was too late for the Swedish army to react in time and Charles still faced an Russian Army to his front of unknown strength. Oct. 25th, 7am: Peter's army had arrived the night before and had observed the Anglo-Austrian force building defenses. It would appear that Peter's arrival had been noticed by the Austrians and were determined to defend their ground and offer Peter a costly battle. This was something that Peter could not afford in men or material. It had snowed the night before and a light snow continued into the morning which delayed Peter's brigadiers from deploying by 8am as we shall see and offered limited visibility making Peter's artillery nearly useless as the gunners could not see their targets. Peterdetermined that a swift assault on the Austrian controlled towns of Eisendorf and Bremor would determine the course of events. The morning was terribly cold and offered limited visibility. Russian Plan: Peter intended to outflank the Austrians on the left at Bremor while a pinning action by the Infantry in the center would keep the Austrians busy. On the Russian right, Peter hoped to assault the town directly while his Cossacks engaged the Austrian Dragoons. He determined that by 2pm in the afternoon, the town of Eisendorf would be his and the Austrians would be forced to retreat in fear of being surrounded and trapped.
Anglo-Austrian Plan: At the FeldMarshall's tent, British General Fitzmorris convinced Von Pratzen to allow his Army Group to attempt an outflanking maneuver. This would entail marching out until reaching Schloss Fursten and then come through the rear of Peter's Baggage train. Von Pratzen intended to limit his exposure and, of course allowed the rash suggestion of his British ally. After fortifying (Heavy Cover) the town of Eisendorf with two brigades and some artillery, he placed his artillery and reserve brigades in the center. Expecting Peter to strike at Eisendorf , the key to his defense, Von Pratzen placed his Hungarian Brigade at Bremor(medium cover)to defend the position with no artillery.
8 A.M: Peter's messengers where sent to the brigadiers with their battle orders, with most understanding what they needed to do. On the right flank, unfortunately, General Laszov was unable to muster and General Krukovich did not understand the order and was requesting confirmation. Von Pratzen did not fair tter. His Generals, mostly aristocrats and members of high birth refused to deploy their forces this early as the weather proved inhospitable. Since Von Pratzen expected this level of response, he allowed the Generals in question to deploy the night before at their respective defenses so that there would be no delay in deploying for battle when the enemy approached. The sounds of distant marching and drumming was heard around the 1.5 mile front, visibility was limited to 800 yards as light snow continued to fall. The Russian left flank deployed without a problem as General Alexandrovich and Menshikov marched in column toward Schloss Fursten to begin their outflank maneuver. The Russian center began marching toward the as yet invisible enemy. Peter, not content by remaining in his command tent, moved his flag toward the center near General Pushminar's Brigade to ensure that his assault on Eisendorf was not outflanked by an Austrian counter-offensive.
11A.M: The snow covered ground slowed the advance of the advancing Russian columns until around a little after 11am when the snow stopped coming down and the troops where within sight of the enemy positions were they allowed to deploy into line in the center. The Russian right, the spearhead of Peter's battleplan, had not developed. General Laszov did not organize his brigade until right before noon and still had not advanced to catch up with General Krukovich who had by noon deployed into line after being fired upon by the Austrian medium guns from Eisendorf. General Krukovich sent messengers to General Laszov and Tzar Peter to find out what had happened to General Laszov and whether the plan was still valid since his infantry support had not arrived and his flank was exposed to his left. This forced General Krukovich to halt his advance until he received a reply. The Cossack Brigade on the extreme right by 11am had engaged the Austrian Dragoon brigade. In the center, Generals Pushminar, Tschitsov and Gologov had by a little after noon deployed into line and were within visual range of the Hungarians defending Bremor and the open Austrian center. Their troops were impressive. Battalions in line abreast for nearly half a mile long and 16,000 men strong. Peter had received reports from the right flank of the assault not happening and falling apart. In a fit of fury and realizing that the day could be lost, by noon he had issued new orders to the troops in the center command and the artillery on the right to begin a coordinated assault on the center between the two fortified positions. Peter's personal command and influence was responsible for ensuring the center's proper deployment. Much to the surprise of Generals Alexandrovich and Menshikov, two large cavalry formations in red uniforms were surprised near Schloss Fursten. General Fitzmorris's cavalry columns were surprised to see Russian cavalry columns to their front. It came down to a series of cavalry charges over the hill that Schloss Fursten rested upon. Charge after charge was initiated as the line formations smashed for control of this hollowed ground. Each seeking to out maneuver the other. By 1 p.m., the situation was still in question as the Russians were able to concentrate their advantage in numbers better in individual fights even though the opposing forces were matched in numbers. The British force maintained the morale and skill advantage with Elite and Grenadier class cavalry units such as the Scots Greys capturing two standards before themselves being routed and attempting to rally. 2 P.M: The situation looked grim for the Austrian center. With banners unfurled and the drummers pelting the air with their monotonous rhythm, Peter ordered a general advance. Feldmarshall Von Pratzen, having just been informed two hours later of the threat in the center, ordered the Austrian heavy brigade from the center rear into the left flank of the Hungarian brigade. His orders were specific: "March to the support of General Nybo's left flank and engage the enemy forthwith." By 3:30, General Schellenberg's Heavy cavalry brigade of 3000 horse had deployed in line abreast and had sounded the "Charge!." The Russian right was still in confusion. General Laszov had still not arrived to support the assault on Eisendorf and General Krukovich, by 3pm had deployed in line in preparation to begin the assault. He did receive a confirmation from Peter to continue the assault and for General Laszov "be damned!" The Cossack brigade under Lieutenant General Pudikin, had by 3pm encircled the Austrian Dragoons and been engaged with them in a most bloody of battles. The Dragoons had been charged from all side with four squadrons of dragoons being destroyed to a man. The Dragoons did manage to chase off some of the Cossacks, but not before they had rendered the dragoons combat ineffective. Von Pratzen could not see even from his position on the hill, the battle that could compromise his flank. Of the 12,000 British and Russian mounted troops engaged on the Russian left flank, by 4pm, the decision had been made. General Alexandrovich's brigade had taken the worst of the beating, but was able to hold its ground verses the English horse. General Menshikov came in to support and was pursuing the retreating British horse back to their camps. The English foot battalions that were supporting the left flank of the English cavalry and the right flank of the Hungarians, had formed Schiltron(square) to defend themselves of the now ever present danger of being charged by several squadrons of Russian dragoons. Von Pratzen was unaware of his crumbling right flank as news of the Cossack successes against his left flank came in. 4 P.M: By 4pm, General Schellenberg personally led the 4th Cuirassiers along with the whole brigade in a frontal charge of the advancing Russian center. The Russians halted and issued several volleys into the oncoming mass of horses. The death that welcomed many spewed out from the cold Russian muskets as eight Austrian squadrons wavered and halted their charge. With a thundering clap of steel and flesh, the remaining squadrons of Cuirassiers succeeded. The melee was fierce as three Russian battalions shattered on impact regardless of their formed bayonet line. The Russian advance was halted. By 4:30 p.m., three battalions of General Pushminar's Brigade were in full rout with the disordered Cuirassiers in full pursuit. Four squadrons broke off their assault and fell back because they were disordered coming in and were unable to smash through. By this time the Russian Grenadiers on the right flank of the Russian infantry line in the center had begun their advance to capture the Austrian artillery park in the center. Reports came in to Peter that Menshikov and Alexandrovich were pursuing the retreating British and by 5:30 p.m. had taken the British encampment and many prisoners. The British had ordered a general retreat.
On the infamous Russian right flank, General Krukovich had finally begun his assault on Eisendorf by 5pm and was being supported by the finally active Artillery battery that had spent most of the day deploying. General Laszov had finally organized his troops and began to march toward his prescribed position by 6pm. The Cossacks on the extreme Russian right had managed to give the Austrian Dragoons an education and were following up a retreating foe. Dusk: By 6:30 Peter reluctantly ordered the army to withdraw to its early morning positions and prepare for a second day. The Guard cavalry had managed to capture the Austrian artillery in the center, but had to regroup to the rear as the order came in to fall back. With the remnants British army clogging up the road to Koenigsburg, Feldmarshall Von Pratzen had no choice but to withdraw his army at night. With most of the Anglo-Austrian horse destroyed or dispersed for miles, Von Pratzen could not hope to hold his flanks if another mounted assault were to be launched. Even with his limited success in the center, only the light hussar brigade remained fresh. Peter, after a calm drink in his tent, realized that to pursue the enemy at this stage would threaten the life of mother Russia with an advancing Swedish Army still on the road to Moscow. His army had failed to secure any of his objectives and were it not for Alexandrovich and Menshikov, his army would have been flanked and possibly dispersed by an assault from the rear. General Laszov blamed the weather and the lack cooperation by Krukovich for his lack of action. Peter reassigned him shortly after returning to Moscow.
Peter had lost nearly 4,000 men either killed, captured, wounded or dispersed. His mounted arm was blown and would need several days to recover before another assault like the one around Schloss Fursten could be mounted.
Peter would leave the next morning to rejoin his main army facing Charles XII the boy king which within a year would receive his worst setback in the war at Poltava. Austria would never again venture east to support Sweden's campaign and with the flower of English horse lying dead, captured or dispersed in the snow, General Fitzmorris would spend a year rebuilding before rejoining Marlborough at Ramillies. Fitzmorris was knighted after his successful withdrawal of the potentially surrounded British Expeditionary Force.
Rules considerations The Russian Army of the Volga under General Marselovich joined Peter's army and his role was reduced to that of Aide de Camp. His rating is a D leader. When using Ridiculous Vanity to fight this battle, we had each 12 figure battalion equal 1000 men or a paper strength unit and 4 horse figures for each unit of 2 squadrons or 500 mounted men. The visibility optional rules were used to simulate the conditions when fighting in late October near Koenigsberg. All of the Politics was played out using the campaign rules in Ridiculous Vanity.
Rules Considerations
General Marselovich (D leader) became an aide de camp. A 12-figure bttn equals 1000 men, and a 4-figure Horse squadron equals 500 cavalry. Politics were played out using ridiculous Vanity rules. Optional visibility rules were used to simulate conditions of late October.
C-In-C Peter Alexavich I Tzar of all the Russias B
Right Wing
Center
Left Wing
Total Russian Force: 14,000 horse; 29,000 foot; 42 field pieces
C-In-C FeldMarshall Von Pratzen F
Right Wing English Wing Commander: General Fitzmorris B
Center
Left Wing
Total Anglo-Austrian force: 12,000 horse; 26,000 foot; 30 field pieces
Fall 1705 - Political Situation
Order of Battle
Russians
Army Of St. Cyril1.Artillery Btry Nicovich D 3 Gun Models or 18 pieces VET.
2 Bde Isonov F :Dragoons 3000 horse or 12 sqds VET
3 Cossack Bde D:2500 Mtd skirm. or 10 squadrons MILITIA
4 Bde Krukovich F: 6000 Infantry VET.
5 Bde Laszov F: 7000 Infantry VET.
6 Bde Tschitsov E: 6000 Infantry VET.
7 Bde Pushminar F: 6000 Infantry VET.
8 Bde Gologov D: 4000 Grenadiers ELITE
9 Artillery Btry Butikov 4 Gun Models or 24 pieces VET.
10 Bde Pudovich F: Guard Cav. 2000 horse or 8 sqds GUARD & GRENADIER11 Bde Alexandrovich C: Dragoons 3000 horse or 12 sqds VET.
12 Bde Menshikov F: Dragoons 3500 horse or 14 sqds VET.Anglo-Austrians
13 Bde Winslow D: 2500 horse or 10 sqds (includes the Scots Greys) ELITE & GRENADIER
14 Bde Kirkpatrick F: 2000 horse or 8 sqds & 2000 inf. ELITE15 Bde Nybo D: 4000 Hungarian inf, 3000 Croatian inf, 1000 Grenzers CONSCRIPT
16 Bde Schellenberg E: 3000 Cuirassiers (Extra Heavy) or 12 sqds VET
17 Bde Von Stiller E: 1500 Hussar Mtd Skirm or 6 sqds CONSCRIPT
18 Artillery Btry Le Purier: 3 Hvy Gun Models or 18 piece VET19 Bde Krause F: 4000 infantry VET.
20 Artillery Btry Von Pritz: 2 Gun models or 12 pieces VET
21 Bde Bettencourt: 5000 inf VET and 3000 Grenzers CONSCRIPT
22 Bde Lauzenberg: 4000 infantry VET
23 Bde Von Colden: Dragoons 3000 horse or 12 sqds VETMap
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