15 March 1813 – Battle of Wolfenbuttel

Tactical map of battle area

Background to battle

Two Prussian corps have orders to attack three French corps

All corps come under the command of the wargame commander

All four Prussian corps will join the attack as they enter the battle area

The French have 9 shaken or routed brigades

I gave each of them one chance to rally and join the battle

3 rallied, the remaining 6 will not take part in the battle

Any brigade with 30% casualties will not take part in the battle

French – infantry 24000, cavalry 4000, artillery 68

Prussian – infantry 50000, cavalry 4000, artillery 120

Wargame

The Prussians outnumber the French by 2 to 1

The battle is decided by Campaign Rule 09

Dice roll 7 = 800 Prussian casualties, 1600 French casualties

0800-1200  

Blucher orders 2,3 and 4 corps to move south and attack

1^st corps is ordered to support

1,3 and 4 French corps are on hold

13 corps is ordered to move north and join the battle line

The French start the battle with many fragile brigades due to earlier casualties

Despite this they hold their own throughout the morning.

1200-1600  

The arrival of 1 Prussian and 13 French increases the intensity of the battle

The French are taking much heavier casualties than the Prussian

French brigades start to break and withdraw

1600-2000 

The rout spreads throughout the French army

All four corps break contact and retreat south

Conclusion

By nightfall the French are in full retreat

The French have lost 1600 casualties

The Prussians have lost 800 casualties

Outcome

The result is a crushing defeat for the French

The Prussians have suffered reasonably light casualties and are in pursuit

Battle Summary

The French did not want to fight this battle

They badly needed to rest, rally and resupply

The Prussians opened the attack with two corps

But quickly reinforced them with two more corps

Napoleon was aware that the loss of Wolfenbuttel would mean defeat

So he ordered his battered corps to hold their ground

When they were forced to retreat it quickly turned to rout

The French lost 1600 casualties

The Prussians lost 800 casualties