Bagration vs. Lannes

Russian OOB

by Chris J. Hahn

Notes on Russian Order of Battle:

1. There were three very under-strength battalions making up the 6th Jaeger Regiment. SHAKO "allows" for infantry / cavalry representation in basic units of 400-800 men. I decided that this regiment of infantry might be best depicted by a single stand of Jaegers. Further, the unit would rate as "reduced" Regulars, in order to reflect their status on that December morning.

2. I considered briefly, increasing the Unit Morale Rating of the Musketeer Battalions to reflect the additional fire power of the Battalion Guns. It seemed that keeping track of the status of these guns would be difficult. Therefore, I "lumped" the Battalion Guns into a Battery of six pieces for each Regiment. The Bowden text (Appendix I, page 503) reports that these cannon were either bpd pieces or 10pd Licornes. I elected to have 2 "batteries" of 6pd pieces and 1 "battery" of Licornes.

3. The battle cavalry of Bagration's Advance Guard consists of two regiments of Dragoons and one regiment of Cuirassiers. At least I believe these troopers to be Cuirassiers. The map of the Russian Line of Battle (page 386) lists them as "Leib Hussars." In the narrative account, they are called "Leib-Cuirassier." I don't at present, have a translation of the word "leib." However, it would strike me as pretty odd if the word were to mean "false" or "like." Per the SHAKO ratings then, I considered this regiment of horse to be heavy cavalry.

4. The Cossacks of the Advance Guard were rated Unreliable as opposed to Second Rate. Again, this decision based on the numbers reported for each regiment on the field. It's very much a judgment call, as one could argue that Cossacks are fierce in combat and so deserve at least the Second Rate classification. One could also argue that this fierceness was best shown in guerilla-type actions and not in formed battle. I elected not to include the Cossacks of V. Column in this reconstruction.

5. Both the horse artillery of the Advance Guard and of the Cavalry under von Essen II were "large" batteries. That of the Advance Guard was depicted with two stands of guns (6pd and 10 pd Licornes respectively). That of the Cavalry "wing" was depicted with three stands of guns (two of light 6pd guns and one of 10pd Licornes).

6. The Uhlan Regiment and Hussar Regiment of V. Column were large regiments and so, are given a + 1 to their SHAKO Frontal MR.

7. The Guard Jaeger Battalion, Horse Battery and Fusilier Battalion may be considered "independent" or grouped with the command of von Essen II.

8. The Bowden text reports a total force under Bagration of 11,750 (excluding artillerists). Cavalry accounted for 4,012 of this force. The Infantry then, numbered 7,738. I elected not to include (or provide stands for) the Austrian Horse Batteries that arrived on the field later in the day. Bagration's force had 30 pieces of ordnance.

Adding to these totals, the numbers from von Essen's Cavalry (again, minus any Austrian regiments as historically, they did not play a role in this action), Artillery and the detached battalions of the Russian Imperial Guard, one arrives at the following figures:

Cavalry 2,766 + 4,012 = 6,778 Infantry 1,000 + 7,738 = 8,738 Artillery 24+30 = 54 guns

Bagration vs. Lannes Shako Treatment of Right of Austerlitz

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