The Russian Imperial Armies under Barclay de Tolly clashed with the French Grande Armee led by the Emperor "Napoleon at the Gates of Smolensk" on August 7, 1812... This is the story of that tragic encounter that left thousands dead and ended with no clear victor... (In actuality this is the account of the Napoleon's Battles 15mm miniatures game officiated by Danny Dodson on Saturday, November 14th, 1998 at Fort Worth Wars... Barclay de Tolly was played by Faron Bell and Napoleon was played by James Boyd...) THE CAST OF PLAYERS WERE: Russian 1st and 2nd Imperial Armies: 1. Barclay de Tolly, Commander of the 1st Army of the West.....Faron Bell (who also played) Uvarov, Commander of the Guard Light Cavalry, Depreradovitch, Commander of the 1st Cuirassier Corps, Constantine, Commander of the V Guard Infantry Corps 2. Baggovout, Commander of II Infantry Corps......Curtis Bentley, (Wow, all the way from New Mexico!) 3. Tuchkov, Commander of III Infantry Corps.....Mark Mullinix (who also played) Kalhoffski, Commander of the 1st Cavalry Corps, Korff, Commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps and Pahlen, Commander of the 3rd Cavalry Corps 4. Ostermann-Tolstoi, Commander of IV Infantry Corps.......Steve Monserrat (who was honored by his team as "MOST VALUABLE RUSSIAN PLAYER" for his valiant defense of the Fortress of Smolensk - winning a copy of Tolstoi's works sponsored by the GM) 5. Docturov, Commander of VI Infantry Corps....Tom McBrayer (who also played) Matthew Ivanych Platov, Commander of the Cossack Cavalry Corps, Raevsky, Commander of Corps VII, Borosdin, Commander of Corps VIII, Knorring, Commander of 2nd Cuirassier Corps, Sievers, Commander of 4th Cavalry Corps and finally, Wassilezikov, Commander of 27th Division 6. Smolensk Fortress Commander.....Al Fox (Al was largely responsible for filling the Fortress chock full of Russians) French Players: 1. Napoleon, Emperor of the French - James Boyd 2. Marshal Davout - Gerry Lane (who was honored by his team as "MOST VALUABLE FRENCH PLAYER" for leading the assault of the "Terrible 57th" agains the fortress walls - winning a collection of "Musik de la Revolution" sponsored by the GM) (Gerry also played) Marshal Murat and Junot 3. Prince Poniatowski - John Payne 4. Marshal Ney - Kenny Nichols EVENT NAME: Napoleon at the Gates of Smolensk - 1812 GM: Danny M. Dodson WHEN: A two-period game Saturday, November 14th, 1998 (8am-12pm & 1pm-5pm) RULES: Napoleon's Battles # of PLAYERS: 10+ EXPERIENCE LEVEL: ALL Levels OK SCALE: 15MM DESCRIPTION In 1812 Napoleon's infamous "Continental (embargo) System" was failing in part because Russia refuses to enforce restrictions on commerce with Great Britain. In anger Napoleon invaded Russia with the largest allied European army ever massed intent on a quick victory over the scattered and poorly organized Imperial Russian Armies. The stoic Russian foe robbed Napoleon of a quick victory, but at last at the gates of the ancient city of Smolensk, Napoleon discovered the Russian 1st and 2nd Armies had turned to fight. Confident of victory, Napoleon quickly concentrated his masses to crush the covering Russian armies and wrestle from them their holy city of Smolensk. Stand at Smolensk The town of Smolensk was surrounded by an ancient brick wall and towers, all of which proved to be an excellent defense against the French. Barclay sent Bagration east to Dorogobuzh to secure the line of possible retreat. When Barclay later sent for Bagratian to return to Smolensk to assist in the defense, Bagratian procrastinated in making a decision to turn his divisions about. He was destined not to appear during the battle. For the main defense of the Fortress of Smolensk, Barclay posted the II Corps and IV Corps in the city of Smolensk and guarded the approaches to the city from the Dnieper Rivers with the attached I, II and III cavalry corps. His plan called for one infantry Corps to rush out of the fortress and occupy the suburbs surrounding the fortress; once the French made their intentions known. The forces in the fortress were supported by the Russian Imperial Guard infantry and cavalry posted well to the North of Smolensk on the St. Petersburg Road. All along Barclay feared Napoleon might advance south to Dorogobuzh, then advance eastward turning the Russian left flank and blocking the route of retreat back to Moscow. To counter this possible turning movement, he posted the III Corps of Tuchkov including Pahlen's Cavalry on the road to Moscow near a ford of the Dnieper. Napoleon had a sound plan for the reduction of Smolensk, but did not anticipate the difficulties he would encounter deploying for the assault on the Fortress of Smolensk. Initially there was confusion as critical paperwork was lost by an incompetent French courier. Almost two hours passed before Napoleon was able to determine exactly which of his forces he had at his disposal for the initial assault. Luckily for Napoleon, Barclay had similar problems organizing his armies to defend the fortress. But, to make matters worse for Napoleon, the wooded terrain south of the city hampered an approach of a large modern army. It was broken up by significant wooded sections through which cavalry and artillery could not pass. The artillery was therefore funneled down narrow paths to the front, quickly got trapped behind their infantry and cavalry, and took almost two hours to reach positions where they had clear fields of fire. Napoleon, nevertheless, was able to mount an impressive attack against Smolensk from the Western face of the fortess of Smolensk. The attack included the entire III Corps under Ney and part of the V Corps under Poniatowski. The Wurtemburg infantry and cavalry of III Corps led the attack up to the walls of the Fortress. The Wurtemburgers opened the conflict with the cavalry of III Corps immediately threatening the Russian cavalry and artillery posted to the North and West of the city to guard the approaches to Smolensk from the river. This was a bold stroke on behalf of the Wurtemburgers and came close to success. But after one hour of hard fighting under the fortress walls, the Russian Dragoons and 12# guns firing from the Citadel got the upper hand. The Wurtemburg cavalry was virtually destroyed and as it retreated carried away the Polish cavalry that had come up from Poniatowski's V Corps in support. In the melee, the Russians captured Polish General Kiminski as he valiantly tried to rally the Polish light cavalry which was retreating in disorder. By now, several Russian horse batteries of Barclay's army had established themselves on the river banks opposite the French western approach and were making it uncomfortable for the French infantry that were in squares facing the Russian Dragoons at Smolensk. These French regiments had no artillery with which to respond to this fire. At the same time an artillery duel was well underway all along the fortress walls as some 50 Russian 12# guns fired from various towers and bastions down upon the approaching Wurtemburg and Polish masses. This was a one-sided affair as the French artillery was still trapped in the crowds of friendly infantry. In the midst of this artillery duel, suddenly, a plume of dense smoke rose from the interior of the fortress giving rise to the belief on both sides that the city was on fire. The Russians in the fortress immediately set about to control the fire and in the process encountered a mob of civilians under the leadership of one Ferentonpov. It seems Mssr. Ferentonpov was a carpenter gone insane who was burning everything in sight to keep it from falling into the hands of the French invaders. As it turned out the mob had fewer patriots and many more outlaws as they looted and pillaged their way through Smolensk. The fire spree soon ended, however, as an entire regiment of Russian Grenadiers turned about fire a volley at the mob... Many of the mob were killed including Ferentonpov. Without their charismatic leader the mob quickly dissolved into the streets to fight no more. Even though there was some confusion inside the fortress, outside the fortress the French assault seemed to lose momentum. A Russian Infantry Corps in the Fortress took the opportunity to burst forth in a stream of infantry and artillery quickly taking possession of the suburbs lining the South face of the fortress. This very aggressive Russian move further destabilized the French assault in the Western side sector. As French artillery finally came into the line of battle, it was immediately tied down responding to the fire coming from the Russian guns in the suburbs and was unable to focus on the more dangerous Russian artillery in the fortress bastions. It seemed dismal for the French, but Napoleon had yet to play his trump card. As he anxiously peered through his telescope towards the East of Smolensk his aides heard him exclaim "Vive l' France!" Napoleon saw Davout's I Corps erupt from the traces and roads South of the Fortress and quickly press towards the Dnieper on a wide front. Davout's vast Corps immediately impacted on the fortress and pushed back Tuchkov's Russian Corps which was caught in the act of moving forward from its post guarding the Dnieper ford east of Smolensk. However, it was at the fortress walls that the real drama unfolded. Davout pressed his I Corps forward against light resistance outside the fortress. The 57th Ligne Regiment under General de Brigade Teste rushed forward to crash into the walls of the fortress by coup de main. They used make-shift scaling ladders to clamber to the top of the thirty foot high fortress ramparts where hand-to-hand fighting swayed to and fro for over an hour. After losing nearly 500 men and killing even more Russians, the tenacious French finally got the upper hand. The Russian Minsk Infantry Regiment fell back from the wall in disorder abandoning the artillery towers on that face of the fortress. French voltigeurs from the 57th Ligne hustled up the stair cases in the towers to capture in all some six 12# guns that were perched atop the towers. In the next hour as Davout struggled to hold onto his breach in the fortress, Junot's VIII Corps broke out of the forests further east and on the Russian side of the Dnieper. From this position Junot suddenly threatened the extreme left of the Russian positions and might have swung the battle in the favor of the French. However, this was not to happen. For night quickly fell on the battlefield. Darkness and smoke from the burning city obscured the views of both Napoleon and Barclay. Also, Junot had for efficiency split his corps into two columns of route, which got widely separated and were unable to make an impression on the Russians before the daylight faded away. As night fell upon the battlefield, Napoleon still hoped for a renewed battle the next day. He had formed a breach in the fortress even though it had been contained by the Russian defenders. He was confident that he could expand that breach and subdue the remaining walls that continued to defy assault even against a bombardment of French 12-pounder guns. As the wooden houses of Smolensk burned, the night took on an erie glow and scorched fruit hung on the garden trees in the city. Barclay on the other hand was satisfied to end his Army's work, and continue the retreat towards Moscow. He decided to break off contact and fight another day. Quietly, under cover of the smoke and darkness, and to the total surprise of the French attackers, the Russian 1st Army withdrew from the city leaving only a rear guard. Tuchkov's Corps also withdrew from its positions before Davout's I Corps, and in the darkness slipped quietly back across the ford of the Dnieper to join the retreating Russian 1st Army on the road to Moscow. Once again, the Russian Bear had slipped from Napoleon's grip. Napoleon would have to seek another opportunity to fight and destroy the Russian Army. He lay prone with ink pen in hand peering at a pin-speckled map of Russia for some time before impulsively circling a small village on the map. The name of the village was Borodin. Back to Tornado Alert #34 Table of Contents Back to Tornado Alert List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Tornado Alert! This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com