Historical Perspective After the engagement at Eckmuhl (21 Apr) the French advanced against the tired and worn retreating Austrian Army. At the Ratisbon River this battle could have occurred. Situation Archduke Maximillian with 12 Battalions of Landwehr, and 1 Battalion of Garrison Infantry, and 1 6lb Brigade Battery compose the Army of Inner Austria. They are supported by 3 Regiments of Insurrection Hussars and 1 Regiment of Frelkorp Uhlans. Their orders are to hold as long as possible to secure the bridges for the approaching I Corps, and elements of the Reserve Corps of Grenadiers. This Is the advance guard of Archduke Charles and the main army. Marshal Victor has 4 Divisions plus Reserve Cavalry Division. Three Divisions are minor allies (Saxons, Bavarians, Baden-Wurttemburgers), and one French Line Division (23rd). His orders are to secure the vital bridges on the Ratisbon near the village of Aderkla. The French Army of Germany is advancing with the Imperial Guard in the van. Game Setup Two maps were drawn, one by a young player, one by an experienced older player. This was to ensure one good map and one poor map, the commanders diced for which map they got. The good map was to represent one drawn by a topographical engineer, and one drawn hastily on horseback by a low-level officer. The French commander won the die roll and got the good map. The Austrians were allowed to set-up 1 foot from the French entry edge and wood remain hidden until they moved or fired (or until spotted by enemy units within 12" for open terrain, 6" for cover). He could deploy his 3 Infantry Brigades freely, but had to assign specific orders on how long to hold out in those positions. He had to request release of the cavalry from the Archduke Charles (referee).  The French commander had to assign specific objectives for each of his Divisions, and request release of Reserve Cavalry from Napoleon (referee). Both sides knew that reinforcements would eventually arrive, but didn't know how soon. The commanders also knew that requests for reserves would have to be handled with tact, as the referee would only consider the last request, and too many pleas would reduce their chances for troops. The commanders were told that their orders must be VERY specfic to their sub-commanders, or the referee would severely penalize the arrival of the reinforcements. Every terrain feature was assigned an objective number (1-9) except the bridges for easy reference in orders and victory determination. The game was planned for a 5-6 hour period in one day. None of the players had played the rules before (the referee was well experienced) and the game was meant as a learning experience for THEM. It was expected that both sides would make a number of tactical mistakes in learning the rules, and that the initial troops would be expended early, with all those being acceptable losses as training experience. They would then be assigned new troops from the reinforcements for the REAL game. Therefore It was encouraged for both sides to USE the troops to learn the rules early. The Austrians deployed the 1st Brigade in Fortress Landstrum the 2nd Brigade in the woods (obj #5), and the smaller 3rd Brigade on the hill (obJ #3). Austrian Commander's Orders 1st Brigade hold Fortress Landstrum until relieved. 2nd Brigade hold woods for 6 turns turn retire to the rear. 3rd Brigade hold hill (obj #3) until relieved or given new orders. The French advanced with the Bavarian Division on the left (facing obj #5), the Saxons in left center, the Wurttemburg-Baden Division In right center, and the French on the right facing Fortress Landstrum. French Commander's Orders Bavarians clear woods (obj #5) and sweep around left of it to bridge at ford. Saxons sweep around right of the woods (obj #5) and take hill (obj #3) overlooking bridge at ford. Baden-Wurttembergers move rapidly forward to take main bridge on the road over the Ratisbon. French take Fortress Landstrum (obj #7) then advance on the right of Baden-Wurttemburgers. The first turn was relatively uneventful with all the Austrians but the 3rd Brigade remaining hidden. The Austrian battery began Its daylong sniping at the small German cavalry units. The second turn saw the 2nd Brigade firing Into the exposed flank of Saxon cavalry, and opening volleys against the advancing Bavarians. Two Insurrection Hussars were released by Charles to cover the bridges. The real action began with the third turn, as the troops in Fortress Landstrum (1st Brigade) opened up. The Bavarians assaulted the woodline of objective 5 with minor success (winning 2 of 5 melees). The Saxon and Bavarian cavalry began to really feel the effect of the losses due to the infantry fire from the woods (obj #5) and the single battery. They now had 4 units unorganized (25% losses) and a unit disrupted (50% losses). One more Insurrection Hussar was released to the Austrians. Turn 4 the Bavarians made it into the woodline, as the 2nd Brigade fell back doggedly. The French, and Wurttembergers unlimbered guns to soften up the Fortress. Assaults against the Fortress made little headway. Cavalry from both sides meleed In the field between the Fortress and woods. The Insurrection Hussars did well, but the numbers prevented any exploitation. The Freikorp Uhlans were released to cross the bridge over the ford. Turn 5 the Bavarians were fully half-way through the woods as the 2nd Brigade fell back too fast to catch. The Saxon artillery unlimbered to fire, but had no targets (limited to 1" fire into woods). The French made progress against the Fortress capturing one side after bloody melee combat. The Saxon and Bavarian cavalry overran the battery on the hill and trampled a Landwehr square. Cavalry meleed between the hill (obj #3) and the Fortress. The small German cavalry units were beginning to disappear, but the numbers had done their Job, as the Austrian cavalrywas now exhausted and 3 of 4 units below T5% strength. In Guard du Corp., units which are 50% strength or below, and not Morale Grade 8 or above, are removed from non-campaign games. The French had 4 units thus removed. Turn 6 was the transition turn, which saw the Austrians abandon the Initial positions. 1st Brigade decided to withdraw from the Fortress, as they could not retake the one side. 2nd Brigade began to stream out of the woods to the rear. Both positions were now in danger of being surrounded, and the timing was perfect for withdrawal. The French assaulted the Fortress and trapped 2 withdrawing units of Landwehr. The Bavarians and Saxons were unable to catch any of the units of the 2nd Brigade, being hampered by the woods. The Saxon cavalry now firmly controlled the hill (obj #3). The Baden-Wurttembergers had established a strong line between the hill (obj #3) and the Fortress. The French now controlled the Fortress and were only 2 moves from the vital road bridge over the Ratisbon. During this turn, the Saxon Guard Cavalry overran the Garrison Infantry square, but were repulsed by the Freikorp Uhlans. The Freikorp Uhlans were In turn destroyed by Saxon Hussars in front of the bridge over the ford. The Insurrection Hussars were defeated by French cavalry In front of the main bridge and sent fleeing over it! All was not lost however, as the dust seen on the roads by objectives 1 & 2 revealed 2 fresh Austrian Divisions. The lead elements of the 1st Corps had begun to arrive! Turn 7 saw the overwhelming of most of 2nd Brigade caught In the open between the woods (obj #5) and the hill (obj #3). The 1st Brigade, now at half-strength (3 battalions) suffered a similar fate in front of the main bridge. Landwehr fight respectfully only when in good defensive terrain, and In the open are the dismal troops everyone expected. The two Divisions of regulars were rapidly approaching the bridges, and dust now appeared to the rear of the French on the road'. The first phase of the battle was now over, with both sides effectively controlling the opposite sides of the Ratisbon and the bridges. Unfortunately, all had not gone as planned by the referee (me), as the time for gaming had ran out. We had played 4 1/2 hours and only completed the 1st phase of the planned battle. There was discussion as to whether to continue or call it quits for the day. It was mutually decided to end the game. It would have really gotten Into a bloody hard fight over the vital bridges, and would have taken another 2 1/2 - 3 hours to resolve. Analysis The game took much longer to develop than planned by the referee. I don't know if that was my fault, or the players' slow moves. The attacks seemed to develop very slowly, and I hope that was due to learning new rules (and not languishing tactics). It did however, teach the players the mechanics of the rules. The players did enjoy the game. Overall, it was a successful game (keeping in mind the original objective). Victory Strategically it was a draw, as neither side controlled the vital bridges. If either side could have controlled just 1 bridge, it would have made their position much better in phase 2 of the game. The control of 1 bridge=Marginal Victory, 2 bridges =Decisive Victory. Tactically, it was a marginal French Victory, with the Landwehr effectively destroyed before they could Join the main Austrian army. The loss of most of the small German Cavalry (Saxon, Bavarian, Wurttemburg) did show the weakness of small cavalry units (4-8 figures). The Insurrection Hussars fared much better because of their size (12 figures). Back to PW Review July 1988 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1988 Wally Simon This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com