3 September 1813 – Nordhausen Campaign - Day 2

 

 

French retreat to Weringerode
4 French army – retreat to Weringerode
5 French army – defend Sangerhausen
6 French army – defend Heldrungen

Russian attack Sangerhausen
1 Russian army – occupy Halberstadt
2 Russian army – attack Sangerhausen
3 Russian army – observe border

3 September 1813 – Battle of Sangerhausen

Tactical map of battle area

Fifth French army is commanded by Marshal Moncey
Russian army is commanded by General Constantine

French – 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
Russian – 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery

The fighting on 2 September warned Moncey that the Russian invasion has started
He orders his three corps to take up position in front of Sangerhausen

Table at start of battle

Fifth French army is deployed at the top of the table
Russian army is deployed at the bottom of the table

There are three game objectives in the centre of the table
Woods on the left
Cottage in the centre
Hill on the right

End of move 2

French advance and deploy out of artillery range
CinC takes command of half of 15 corps
13 Corps cavalry charge gunners, infantry move onto hill
14 Corps deploy out of artillery range
15 Corps deploy behind northern woods

Russian advance and deploy out of artillery range
CinC takes command of half of 6 corps
4 Corps gunners evade to square, infantry move onto hill
5 Corps deploy out of artillery range, artillery move to the left
6 Corps deploy behind southern woods

End of move 4

French withdraw on left and right
CinC cavalry lose 10% to artillery fire and retreat
13 Corps attack hill, both brigades 10% casualties, first round of melee a draw
14 Corps advance towards cottage in the centre
15 Corps cavalry lose 10% to artillery fire and retreat

Russian artillery success against French cavalry
CinC prepare to advance between woods and cottage
4 Corps melee on hill, two brigades lose 10%, first round a draw
5 Corps artillery force cavalry to withdraw
6 Corps advance into woods

End of move 6

French wide spread fighting
CinC withdraw towards town
13 Corps lose melee on hill, hold to right of hill
14 Corps withdraw towards town
15 Corps lose melee for woods

Russian getting the upper hand
CinC capture right of woods
4 Corps win infantry melee for hill on the right
5 Corps advance to left of main road, pinned to right of road
6 Corps capture left of woods

End of move 8

French retreat and abandon all three game objectives
CinC attempts to rally troops in town
13 Corps lose counter attack on hill and retreat
14 Corps retreat to town
15 Corps retreat to woods left of town

Russian occupy all three objectives and win the battle
CinC occupy right half of woods on the left
4 Corps occupy hill on the right
5 Corps occupy cottage in the centre
6 Corps occupy left half of woods on the left

Summary

Russians occupy all three game objectives
French retreat and attempt to rally at Sangerhausen

French have lost 11 infantry, 2 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (4700 men)
Russians have lost 7 infantry casualties (2800 men)

French have 6 brigades in rout
Russians have 4 brigades in rout

3 September 1813 – Nordhausen Campaign - Day 2

 

French defend Sangerehausen
4 French army – retreat to Weringerode
5 French army – defend Sangerhausen
6 French army – defend Heldrungen

Russian attack Sangerhausen
1 Russian army – occupy Halberstadt
2 Russian army – attack Sangerhausen
3 Russian army – observe border

2 September 1813 – Battle of Halberstadt

Tactical map of battle area

The campaign opens with a surprise attack by First Russian Army on the border town of Halberstadt.

Fourth French army is commanded by Marshal Davout
First Russian army is commanded by General Wittgenstein

French – 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
Russian – 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery

Both armies are at full strength and have no campaign casualties

Table at start of battle

Both armies are on the table at the start of the battle
The French are at the top of the table, in front of the walled town of Halberstadt
The Russians are at the bottom of the table and have orders to advance
Because this is the surprise attack the French will not move until the start of move 2

There are three game objectives, all in the centre of the table
The farm on the left, the woods in the centre and the hill on the right
The winner will be the side which occupies at least two of them at the end of 12 moves

End of move 2

French not allowed to move during move 1
10 Corps infantry reach the edge of the hill on the right
11 Corps infantry reach edge of woods in the centre
12 Corps infantry reach edge of farm on the left

Russian reach all three objectives before the French
1 Corps advance along hill on the right
2 Corps enter woods in the centre
3 Corps enter farm on the left

End of move 4

French winning battle on the left and right
CinC moves to join battle on the hill
10 Corps winning battle on hill, cavalry melee a draw
11 Corps lost cavalry melee in the centre
12 Corps winning battle for farm and cavalry melee

Russian winning battle in the centre
CinC leads grenadier attack between farm and woods
1 Corps two brigades rout on hill, cavalry melee a draw
2 Corps occupy all of woods in the centre
3 Corps lose battle for farm on the left, and cossacks rout

End of move 6

French retake farm on the left
CinC lose infantry melee on hill and retreat
10 Corps retreat in square
11 Corps lose melee in woods and retreat
12 Corps retake farm on the left

Russian take woods in the centre and hill on the right
CinC win infantry melee between farm and woods
1 Corps take hill and ground to the right
2 Corps take woods and area to the right
3 Corps lose melee and rout from farm

Summary
At the end of six hours the Russians have taken two of the three objectives
The French have held the farm on the left, the remainder of their army is in retreat
The Russians have won this battle

French have lost 8 infantry and 5 cavalry casualties (3700 men)
Russians have lost 9 infantry and 3 cavalry casualties (3900 men

There are 11 French brigades in rout (blue star) and 5 Russian brigades (green star)

2 September 1813 – Nordhausen Campaign - Day 1

French defend Nordhausen/Halle border
4 French army – defend Halberstadt
5 French army – defend Sangerhausen
6 French army – defend Heldrungen

Russian attack Halberstadt
1 Russian army – attack Halberstadt
2 Russian army – observe Sangerhausen
3 Russian army – observe Heldrungen

2 September 1813 – Central Germany – Nordhausen Campaign

  

                                                                   Map of Europe

There are five campaign areas in Europe

North Germany – French v Prussians
Central Germany – French v Russians
Southern Germany – French v Austrians
North Spain – French v British
South Spain – French v Spanish

This is the 23rd phase of the sixth campaign
Each star shows the location of a campaign phase
Nordhausen is the white star

Map of Germany

There are three campaign areas in Germany

North Germany – First French and Prussian Armies
Central Germany – Second French and Russian Armies
South Germany – Third French and Austrian Armies

This is the 14th campaign phase to be fought in Germany
Each star shows the location of a campaign phase
Nordhausen is the white star

Map of Central Germany

There are three regions in Central Germany

Dusseldorf Region – French rear area
Erfurt Region – campaign area
Dresden Region – Prussian rear area

This is the fifth campaign phase to be fought in North Germany
Each star shows the location of a campaign phase
Nordhausen is the white star

Map of Erfurt Region

There are nine districts in Erfurt Region
There have been 23 battles fought in this region
The French have won 15 and the Russians 8
Each star shows the location of a battle fought

Campaign Map

The Nordhausen campaign is fought between the cities of Halle and Nordhausen
The French Army of Central Germany is deployed to the left of the district border
The Russian Army is deployed to the right of the district border
The Russian objective is to take and hold the city of Nordhausen
Each block represents one corps

Typical French corps

Each corps has 4 infantry brigades,1 cavalry brigade and corps artillery

The French Army of Central Germany - Marshal Davout

Fourth French Army
10th Young Guard corps
11th French corps
12th French corps

Fifth French Army
13th French corps
14th French corps
15th Italian corps]

6th French Army
16th French corps
17th Polish corps
18th Vistula corps

144000 infantry, 9000 cavalry, 270 guns

Typical Russian corps

Each corps has 4 infantry brigades, 1 cavalry brigade and corps artillery

Russian Army - General Wittgenstein

First Russian Army
1st Russian corps
2nd Russian corps
3rd Russian corps

Second Russian Army
4th Russian corps
5th Russian corps
6th Russian corps

Third Russian Army
7th Russian corps
8th Russian corps
9th Russian corps

144000 infantry, 9000 cavalry, 270 guns

Campaign Diary
01 Feb 1813 Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia declared war on France
01 Feb 1813 Formation of Second French army in Dusseldorf region
26 Feb 1813 Second French army declared operational.
27 Feb 1813 The Russians moved into the Erfurt region
28 Feb 1813 Davout entered Erfurt region and occupied Fulda district
14 Mar 1813 Start of Erfurt campaign phase
21 Mar 1813 French win Erfurt campaign phase
01 May 1813 Start of Gera campaign phase
09 May 1813 French win Gera campaign phase
16 Jun 1813 Start of Bayreuth campaign phase
24 Jun 1813 Russians win Bayreuth campaign phase
26 Jul 1813 Start Halle campaign phase
01 Aug 1813 Russians win Halle campaign phase
02 Sep 1813 Start Nordhausen campaign phase

Reference
The campaign diary contains comprehensive details of the whole campaign.
The labels on the right are an index to various parts of the campaign.

01 - Introduction to the1813 campaign
02 - Five campaign areas
20 - Introduction to the campaign in Central Germany
21 - Second French Army order of battle
22 - Russian Army order of battle
23 - Daily diary for the campaign in Central Germany
24 - Battle reports of all battles fought in Central Germany
25 - Summary of campaign in Central Germany

Summary of Northern Spain Campaign – 1 September 1813

                                                     Regional map of Northern Spain

There are three regions in Southern Spain
But unlike Germany, the French do not have a secure rear area
All of Spain is in revolt against the French, who only control the area they occupy

Fourth French army are in Burgos
Their main depot is in Bayonne

The Anglo/Portuguese army is in Valladolid
Their main depot is in Oporto

French Strategy in Spain
King Joseph is the commander in chief of all French troops in Spain.
However he commands no respect from either his army commanders
Both Soult and Suchet are determined to remain independent commanders
Suchet wants to invade southern Spain and become King of Andalusia
Soult wants to defeat Wellington and become King of Portugal
All three agree that Soult will drive Wellington out of Spain
Suchet will invade Andalusia and take Seville
He will then detach two of his four corps to support Soult
Soult will invade Portugal and drive Wellington out of the Peninsula

Anglo-Spanish Strategy in Spain
Wellington is the commander in chief of all allied troops in the Peninsula
However all Spanish generals deeply resent this appointment
Giron is determined to take Madrid and become the hero of Spain
Wellington is well aware that he cannot rely on his Spanish generals
To defeat the French he must first take Madrid
To do so the Spanish army must hold southern Spain to pin Suchet
Most importantly the Spanish must avoid a comprehensive defeat
This would allow both French armies to concentrate against Wellington

Diary of Northern Spain Campaign

1 February 1813 Austria, Britain, Prussia, Russia and Spain declared war on France
20 February 1813 Anglo/Portuguese army operational in Oporto Region
27 February 1813 Fourth French army operational in Burgos Region
22 March 1813 Start of Valladolid campaign phase
29 March 1813 British win Valladolid campaign phase
10 May 1813 Start of Llanes campaign phase
19 May 1813 British win Llanes campaign phase
25 June 1813 Start of Talavera campaign phase
2 July 1813 French win Talavera campaign phase
19 July 1813 Start of Santander campaign phase
25 July 1813 British win Santander campaign phase
26 August 1813 Start of Burgos campaign phase
1 September 1813 French win Burgos campaign phase

Reference
The campaign diary contains comprehensive details of the whole campaign. The labels on the right are an index to various parts of the campaign.

01 - Introduction to the1813 campaign
02 - Five campaign areas
40 - Introduction to the campaign in Northern Spain
41 – French Army order of battle
42 – Anglo/Portuguese Army order of battle
43 - Daily diary for the campaign in Northern Spain
44 - Battle reports of all battles fought in Northern Spain
45 - Summary of campaign in Northern Spain