Introduction to the campaign in North Germany

Campaign areas of Germany

There are three campaign areas in Germany

North - 1^st French army v Prussian army

Centre - 2^nd French army v Russian army

South - 3^rd French army v Austrian army

This map shows the location of each army at the start of the campaign

North Germany

There are three regions in north Germany

Osnabruck region is the rear area for First French army

Berlin region is the rear area for the Prussian Army     

Brunswick region is the disputed area between them

Brunswick Region

This is the region where the campaign will be fought

 

There are nine military districts in the region.  

Each campaign phase will take place in one region

 

At the start of the campaign First French army is in Hannover district

The Prussian army is in Magdeburg district

The first campaign phase will be Brunswick district      

First French Army

Emperor Napoleon

1^st Old Guard corps

13^th Polish corps      

4^th French corps

Reserve corps

There is a detailed order of battle at Label 11

Prussian Army

General Blucher

1^st Prussian corps

2^nd Prussian corps

3^rd Prussian corps

4^th Prussian corps

Reserve corps

There is a detailed order of battle at Label 12

Campaign Diary

 

The French Grand Army was destroyed during the 1812 Russian campaign

Napoleon had to create a new Army of Germany to fight the 1813 campaign

 

1 February 1813 - Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia declared war on France

1 February 1813 – Napoleon ordered the formation of First French army in Osnabruck region under his personal command

19 February 1813 – First French army declared operational.

20 February 1813 - Prussians moved into the Brunswick region

25 February 1813 - Prussians occupied the city of Brunswick

26 February 1813 - Napoleon advanced into the Brunswick region

28 February 1813 – French occupy the city of Hannover

1 March 1813 - Start of Brunswick 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

10 - Introduction to the campaign in Northern Germany

11 – 1^st French Army order of battle

12 - Prussian Army order of battle

13 - Daily diary for the campaign in Northern Germany

14 - Battle reports of all battles fought in Northern Germany

15 - Summary of campaign in Northern Germany

 

Introduction to 1813 Campaign in Spain

Map of Spain

There are two campaign areas in Spain

North – 4^th French Army v Anglo/Portuguese Army

South – 5^th French Army v Spanish Army

Military regions of Spain

Each campaign area consists of three military regions

In each area the French occupy the western region, and the allies the eastern one

The centre region is where the 1813 campaign will be fought

This map shows the location of each army at the start of the campaign

 

Allied plan of campaign

On 1 January 1813 the allied nations of Austria, England, Prussia, Russia and Spain met to plan for the declaration of war on France.

It was agreed that the Anglo-Portuguese army would cooperate with the Spanish army to drive the French out of Spain.   The English would operate in the north and the Spanish in the south.

 

French plan of campaign

The French Grande Armee had been destroyed in the Russian campaign of 1812.

In January 1813 Napoleon issued orders for the creation of a new Army of Germany.   It would consist of the survivors of the Russian campaign, half of the Army of Spain and the rest would be made up of conscripts.

On 10 January King Joseph was ordered to transfer of 50% of troops in Spain to Germany to help form the new Army of Germany. They would be replaced with an equal number of conscripts.   This would greatly reduce the combat efficiency of the Army of Spain.

During the reorganisation 4^th French army would concentrate at Burgos.  

5^th French army would concentrate at Toledo

Start of the 1813 Campaign

The allies declared war on France on 1 February 1813

 

Introduction to 1813 Campaign in Germany

Map of Germany

There are three campaign areas in Germany

 

North – 1^st French Army v Prussian Army

Centre – 2^nd French Army v Russian Army

South – 3^rd Bavarian Army v Austrian Army

Military regions of German

Each campaign area consists of three military regions

In each area the French occupy the western region, and the allies the eastern one

The centre region is where the 1813 campaign will be fought

 

This map shows the location of each army at the start of the campaign

 

Allied plan of campaign

On 1 January 1813 the allied nations of Austria, England, Prussia, Russia and Spain meet to plan for the declaration of war on France.

 

It was agreed that Prussia, Russia and Austria would combine to drive the French out of Germany and then invade France.

 

The Prussian army would concentrate in the Berlin region in preparation for the invasion of the Brunswick region.

 

The Russian army would concentrate in the Dresden region in preparation for the invasion of the Erfurt region.

 

The Austrian army would concentrate in the Vienna region in preparation for the invasion of the Munich region

 

French plan of campaign

The French Grande Armee had been destroyed in the Russian campaign of 1812.

 

In January 1813 he issued orders for the creation of a new Army of Germany.   It would consist of the survivors of the Russian campaign, half of the Army of Spain and the rest would be made up of conscripts.

 

The Army of Germany would be divided into three army groups, to meet the threat from Prussia, Russia and Austria.

 

First French army would be formed in the Osnabruck region.

 

Second French army would be formed in the Dusseldorf region

 

Third French army would be formed in the Freiburg region

 

Start of the 1813 Campaign

The allies declared war on France on 1 February 1813

1813 Campaign Areas

Map of Europe

Europe if divided into five campaign areas, three in Germany and two in Spain

Each of these areas has one French and one Allied army

Each army has four corps

North Germany – 1^st French and Prussian armies

Central Germany – 2^nd French and Russian armies

Southern Germany – 3^rd French (Bavarian) and Austrian armies

North Spain – 5^th French and Anglo-Portuguese armies

South Spain – 6^th French and Spanish armies

Military Regions of Europe

For the campaign Europe has been divided into 33 military regions.    Each campaign area has 3 regions, outlined in red on this map.

Each campaign area has 3 regions.   Each region has nine military district.   Each square on this map is one district.   Each district has nine towns (not shown on this map) and each town is a wargames table.

Each square is a military district, which is the area of one campaign phase.

 

Military Regions of Germany

Germany is divided into nine military regions.

There are three campaign areas in Germany, each of three military regions.

This map shows the location of each army at the start of the campaign

 

Military Regions of Spain

Spain is divided into six military regions

There are two campaign areas in Spain, each of three military regions

This map shows the location of each army at the start of the campaign.

Introduction to the Sixth 1813 Campaign

Map of Europe showing campaign areas

 

Aim of the Campaign

This is a fictional campaign, loosely based on the historical 1813 campaign.    This campaign has been chosen because it involves all of the armies of the Napoleonic Wars.   It is also a period when all of the national armies were more or less equal in organisation, morale and combat ability.

The campaign is designed to provide interesting for my wife and I to wargame.   In doing so I wanted to be able to use all of the model soldiers, and model buildings, in my collection.

Organisation of the Campaign

All of the maps have been designed to make it easy to transfer battles from the campaign map to the wargames table, and back again. 

The orders of battle have been designed to make use of all of my model soldiers.   They were bought before the campaign was designed, and the types and quantities were to suit orders of battle from previous rules.    They covered all of the major, and most of the minor, armies of the Napoleonic period.   They consisted of 4 infantry battalions of 30 figures, 1 cavalry squadron of 10 figures and 4 guns and 16 gunners.

The smallest nations, such as the Polish, consisted of 120 infantry, 10 cavalry and 4 guns and crew.   Most nations, such as British, had four such formations.   The largest nation, the French, had 8 such formations (including one to represent the garde.

I wanted to fight multi corps battles, so each corps had to be the same size as one of those formations.   I settled on 4 infantry brigades of 8, 1 cavalry brigade of 4 and 1 gun with crew of 4 to represent each corps.

You will find a full order of battle for each nation in the list of labels opposite.   For example 11 is the French, and 12 the Prussian, for north Germany

Campaign Areas

Europe if divided into five campaign areas, three in Germany and two in Spain

Each of these areas has one French and one Allied army

Each army has four corps

North Germany – 1^st French and Prussian armies

Central Germany – 2^nd French and Russian armies

Southern Germany – 3^rd French (Bavarian) and Austrian armies

North Spain – 5^th French and Anglo-Portuguese armies

South Spain – 6^th French and Spanish armies

Campaign Phases

I wanted to use each of the armies in rotation, and avoid the whole campaign becoming too complicated and confused.   So I decided to introduce a campaign phase, or a mini campaign within the main 1813 campaign.

Each phase would be designed to provide a 6-10 day mini campaign, similar to the Waterloo campaign.   Each should provide 4-6 battles to wargame.   Each would be a stand-alone campaign, starting with each army being full strength and with four days supplies for each corps.

History of the Campaign

The campaign started in April 2009.   Since then it has run nonstop, though it has been amended and redesigned six times.   This was because I improved the maps, or I wanted to run it as a PBEM rather than solo campaign.   Twice I have restarted it because I reached December 1813.

First a solo campaign from April to October 2009, had 3 phases and 14 battles

Second PBEM from October 2009 to July 2013, had 9 phases and 52 battles

Third PBEM from July 2013 to March 2015, had 27 phases and 95 battles

Fourth PBEM from March 2015 to February 2016, had 15 phases and 58 battles

Fifth Solo from February 2016 to May 2020, had 21 phases and 98 battles.

So far the campaign has provided 75 campaigns 321 battles to wargame

All of these campaigns concentrated on each phase, with no attempt to coordinate the overall 1813 campaign.   They worked perfectly well to provide the battles to wargame.   However I now want to introduce an overall strategic element to the campaign, to coordinate all five campaign areas, and to link all phases within each area.

 

Map showing military regions of Europe

To achieve this I have designed a whole new series of maps divided into fictional military districts in place of nations and counties.   Europe has 33 military regions.   Each campaign area has 3 regions.   Each region has nine military district.   Each square on this map is one district.   Each district has nine towns (not shown on this map) and each town is a wargames table.  

Campaign Diary Blog

A complete history of the campaign has been recorded in a series of blogs, starting in October 2009.   Each campaign day has been recorded and each battle has a wargame report with photos and description.   There are 14 blogs, all listed on the right under My Blog List.

This current blog started in February 2015, which was the start of the Fifth campaign

Start of Sixth 1813 Campaign

On 1 February 1813 the allied nations of Austria, England, Prussia, Russia and Spain declare war on France.

Summary of Central Germany Campaign

Regional areas of Central Germany

There are three regions in Central Germany

Dusseldorf Region is the rear area for Second French army

Their main depot is in Dusseldorf

Dresden Region is the rear area for the Russian Army

Their main depot is in Dresden                 

Erfurt Region is the disputed area between them

 

 

Diary of Central German Campaign

The French Grand Army was destroyed during the 1812 Russian campaign

Napoleon had to create a new army to fight the 1813 campaign

 

1 January 1813 - Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia declared war on France

 

10 January 1813 - The Russian army concentrated in the Dresden region

 

1 February 1813 - Napoleon ordered the formation of Second French army in Dusseldorf region under the command of Marshal Davout.

 

26 February 1813 – Second French army declared operational.

 

28 February 1813 - The Russians moved into the Erfurt region and occupied Gera

 

2 March 1813 - Davout entered Erfurt region and occupied Gera

 

14 March 1813 – Start of Erfurt campaign phase

 

21 March 1813 – French win Erfurt campaign phase

Erfurt Campaign - 14 to 21 March 1813

Davout won four of the six battles fought, including the final one

Wittgenstein won the remaining two

 

Davout took and held the city of Erfurt and therefore won the campaign

 

The campaign started on 18 August 2020 and ended on 27 December 2020                                    

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 – 2^nd 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

21 March 1813 – Central Germany – End of Erfurt Campaign

Battles fought during campaign phase

Davout won four of the six battles fought, including the final one

Wittgenstein won the remaining two

 

Davout took and held the city of Erfurt and therefore won the campaign

 

The campaign started on 18 August 2020 and ended on 27 December 2020

 

During this campaign we experimented with finding a new role for the CinC.   Previously he had only given orders to each of the corps commanders

We allowed him to take command of one or more brigades to form a reserve

This added a new, and welcome, element to the wargames.

Erfurt Region

Weinstein ordered his army to retreat to Gera

He established his headquarters in the city

 

Davout ordered his army to deploy around Erfurt

He moved his headquarters to the city