November 14th, 1998 at Fort Worth Wars 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... The key Russian role of Barclay de Tolly was played by Faron Bell from Midland, TX. The antagonist role of Napoleon, Emperor of the French was played by James Boyd of Abilene, TX.) THE CAST OF PLAYERS WERE: Russian 1st Army of the West and 2nd Army of the West: 1. Barclay de Tolly, Commander of the 1st Army of the West.....Faron Bell Faron also played the 1st Army reserve as follows: 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.....Al Fox Al was largely responsible for filling the Fortress with Russians and played the role of: Smolensk Fortress Commander 3. Ostermann-Tolstoi, Commander of IV Infantry Corps.......Steve Monserrat (Steve was honored by his team as "MOST VALUABLE RUSSIAN PLAYER" for his leadership of the Minsk Infantry Regiment in its valiant defense of the Fortress of Smolensk - winning a copy of Tolstoi's works sponsored by the GM) 4. Docturov, Commander of VI Infantry Corps......Curtis Bentley (Curtis came all the way from New Mexico for the convention!) 5. Tuchkov, Commander of III Infantry Corps.....Mark Mullinix Mark played the Eastern flank of the Russian line as well as: Kalhoffski, Commander of the 1st Cavalry Corps Korff, Commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps and Pahlen, Commander of the 3rd Cavalry Corps 6. Prince Bagratian, Commander of the 2nd Army of the West....Tom McBrayer Tom also played: Ferentonpov, the leader of the now notorious Smolensk Mob 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 French Players: 1. Napoleon, Emperor of the French - James Boyd James also played the French Imperial Guard: Lefebvre, Commander of the Old Guard Infantry Bessieres, Commander of the Guard Cavalry 2. Marshal Davout - Gerry Lane (Gerry was honored by his team as "MOST VALUABLE FRENCH PLAYER" for leading the assault of the French 57th Ligne Regiment over walls of Smolensk against overwhelming odds - winning a collection of "Musik de la Revolution" sponsored by the GM) Gerry also played the role of overall cavalry commander including: Marshal Murat, Cavalry Wing Commander Nansouty, Commander of I Cavalry Corps Montbrun, Commander of II Cavalry Corps Junot, Commander of VIII Westphalian Corps 3. Prince Poniatowski, Commander of the V Polish Corps - John Payne 4. Marshal Ney, Commander of the III French & Wurtemburg Corps - Kenny Nichols BACKGROUND 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 Army of the West under Barclay de Tolly and 2nd Army of the West under Bagratian 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. THE RUSSIAN STAND AT SMOLENSK The city of Smolensk covering about one square mile lay on both sides of the River Dnieper that flowed from East to West. Downstream of the city the steep gorges of the Dnieper were not fordable, but upstream and East of the city the river was much more shallow. Most of the city and its main fortification were on the South side of the river composed of ancient buildings, brick walls and towers. In spite of its age, this fortification proved to be an excellent defense against the French. However, because the French were attacking from the South, the Russians were forced to support the fortress from the North bank of the Dnieper. This made possession of bridges and fords crossing the Dnieper into Smolensk essential to the Russian defense. Several days before the battle, Russian Emperor Alexander had given Field Marshal Barclay de Tolly command of both the 1st and 2nd Armies of the West. After some initial heated disagreements over strategy, Barclay sent Prince Bagration and his 2nd Army eastward along the Moscow Road 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 angrily procrastinated in making a decision to turn his divisions about. Bagratian was destined not to appear during the battle. There was great confusion in Barclay's Headquarters caused by typically inefficient Russian staff work. Almost two hours passed before Barclay positioned his forces about Smolensk. Fortunately for Barclay, Napoleon was enjoying similar difficulties organizing an assault of the fortress. For the main defense of the Fortress of Smolensk, Barclay posted Baggovout's II Infantry Corps and Ostermann-Tolstoi's IV Infantry Corps inside the city of Smolensk and guarded the approaches to the city from the Dnieper Rivers with the attached I, II and III Cavalry Corps. Barclay's plan called for elements of the II and IV 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 Docturov's VI Infantry Corps posted behind the fortress and on the opposite bank of the river Dnieper. Well to the North of the fortress the Russian Imperial Guard infantry and cavalry were posted on the St. Petersburg Road as the ultimate reserve. 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. That was his primary motivation for sending Bagratian in that direction. To counter a possible turning movement closer to the city, he also posted the III Corps of Tuchkov including Pahlen's Cavalry about one mile east of the city on the road to Moscow near a shallow ford of the Dnieper. With these dispositions and not knowing that Bagratian's 2nd Army would never appear, Barclay de Tolly was confident he could defend Smolensk successfully. 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. According to some accounts, the courier was later shot. Almost two hours passed before Napoleon was able to determine exactly which of his forces he had at his disposal for the initial assault. 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 therefore had to be funneled down narrow paths to the front. Napoleon, nevertheless, was able to mount an impressive attack against Smolensk from the Western face of the fortress 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 spearheaded the attack up to the walls of the Fortress. Ney's 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 and came close to success. But after an hour of hard fighting under the fortress walls, the Russian Dragoons and 12# guns firing from the Citadel got the upper hand. Ney's 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 Ney's western approach and were making it uncomfortable for the III Corp's infantry that were in squares facing the Russian Dragoons. These French regiments had no artillery with which to respond to the Russian fire. At the same time a one-sided 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. Most of the III Corps and V Corps artillery was still trapped in the rear of their own 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. Baggovout was startled and took a personal interest in determining the source of this smoke and immediately set his patrols in motion. His regulars quickly encountered a mob of civilians under the leadership of one Mssr. Ferentonpov. It seems Mssr. Ferentonpov was a carpenter gone insane who was burning everything in sight to keep anything of value 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 Baggovout's Russian Grenadiers turned about to 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. The Russian II Infantry Corps inside the Fortress took the opportunity to burst forth in a stream of infantry and artillery quickly taking possession of the suburbs lining the exterior South face of the fortress. This very aggressive Russian move further destabilized the French assault in the Western side sector. As French III and V Corps artillery finally came into the line of battle, it was immediately tied down responding to the fire of the Russian guns in the suburbs, and was unable to focus on the more dangerous Russian artillery in the fortress bastions. The situation 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 le' 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 one mile front. Davout's vast Corps immediately impacted on the fortress and overlapped 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 the left flank of I Corps forward against light resistance outside the fortress. On the extreme left of I Corps, the 57th Ligne Regiment under General de Brigade Teste rushed forward underneath the fortress guns to crash into the walls of the fortress held by the Russian Minsk Infantry Regiment. Discovering that the Russian tower guns could no longer threaten him, Teste determined to breach the walls by, "coup de main." His infantry used makeshift 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 of the towers to capture in all some six 12# guns that were perched atop the towers. During the next hour as Davout attempted to consolidate his hold on the new 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 was able to threaten the extreme left of the Russian positions and might swing 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 observation of both Napoleon and Barclay. Also, Junot had for efficiency split his corps into two columns of route, which got widely separated in the wooded trails 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 eerie glow and scorched fruit hung on the garden trees in the city. Barclay on the other hand was satisfied to end 1st Army's work and continue his retreat towards Moscow. He was rightfully feared that Bagratian was not coming to his assistance and that Napoleon would be able to bring overwhelming forces against Smolensk the following 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 of Guard Jagers and Platov's Cossacks. Tuchkov's III 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 be forced to seek another opportunity to fight and destroy the Russian Army. That evening, as Smolensk burned, Napoleon lay prone with ink pen in hand peering at a candle-lit pin-speckled map of Russia for some time before impulsively circling a small village on the map. The name of the village was Borodin. TwisterCon No. 7 Announcement From: YNosdod@aol.com I would like to inform you or remind you about a upcoming historical gaming convention in Oklahoma City, OK. In particular, I would like to invite you to consider attending so you can play in a very large historical replay of the Battle of Smolensk (styled "Napoleon at the Gates of Smolensk"). If you think you might be interested, please read on... ABOUT THE SCENARIO SCENARIO TITLE: Napoleon at the Gates of Smolensk - 1812 GM: D. M. Dodson WHEN: Saturday, March 20, 1999 from 8am to 5pm WHERE: TwisterCon #7 in Oklahoma City, OK. RULES: Napoleon's Battles # of PLAYERS: 10-14 EXPERIENCE LEVEL: Six experienced players needed, but novices are welcome SCALE: 15MM Miniatures (provided by the game master) DESCRIPTION: In 1812 Napoleon's infamous "Continental (embargo) System" is failing in part because Russia refuses to enforce restrictions on commerce with Great Britain. In anger Napoleon invades 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 robs Napoleon of quick victory, but at last at the gates of the ancient city of Smolensk, Napoleon discovers the Russian 1st and 2nd Armies of the West have turned to fight. Confident of victory, Napoleon quickly concentrates his masses to crush the covering Russian armies and wrestle from them their holy city of Smolensk. Assume leadership as one of the many colorful personalities on both sides of this collossal struggle for power in the 19th Century, take on the personae and then fight ferociously for your life and your nation. Prizes will be awarded. Contact: Danny M. Dodson: YNosdod@aol.com Back to War Lore: The List Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Coalition Web, Inc. 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