25 September 1813 – Battle of Peine

Tactical map of battle area

The second battle of the campaign is in the south, when the Prussians attack the border town of Peine.

The town is defended by Second French Army, which is commanded by Marshal Victor. He has 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery under command. The French have one corps on the border with two more in reserve at Celle, which have been ordered to move up to the border.

Third Prussian Army, which is commanded by General Yorck, plan of attack is to cross the Hannover/Brunswick District border and take the town. He has 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery under command. All three corps are deployed in and around the town of Meinersen. Under cover of darkness they will advance to the border ready to attack at first light.

The French are aware of the battle of Celle, and are expecting an attack. 4th and 6th will advance to support 5th corps at first light

Table at start of battle

French are deployed at the top of the photo
5 corps occupy the hill in the centre of the table
4 and 6 corps are either side of the town
All three corps may move at the start of move 1

Prussians are deployed at the bottom of the photo
7 corps on the right
8 corps in the centre
9 corps on the left

The three game objectives are in the centre of the table
Woods on the left, hill in the centre, farm on the right
The army which holds at least two objectives at the end of 12 moves will be the winner

End of move 2

French 4 and 6 corps advance to support 5 corps
CinC has taken command of right half of 5 corps
4 corps deploy around farm on the right
5 corps occupy left half of hill, artillery open fire
6 corps advance towards woods on the left

Prussians advance towards all three objectives
CinC taken command of right half of 8 corps
7 corps advance towards farm on the right
8 corps advance towards hill in the centre
9 corps advance towards woods on the left

 

End of move 4

French artillery fire on enemy gunners
CinC hold between hill and farm
4 corps fire on gunners, no casualties
5 corps artillery receive 10% casualties, pass morale test
6 corps prepare to attack woods

Prussians occupy woods
CinC advance to attack right half of hill
7 corps fire on enemy gunners, no casualties
8 corps artillery hit enemy gunners
9 corps occupy woods

 

End of move 6

French attack woods on the left
CinC cavalry lose melee and rout
4 corps cavalry hit by artillery and rout
5 corps withdraw from front of hill
6 corps attack woods

Prussians infantry attack hill
CinC win cavalry melee, rout infantry on hill
7 corps artillery rout cavalry
8 corps advance to attack hill
9 corps fight to hold woods

End of move 8

French attack woods
CinC routed from right half of hill
4 corps withdraw to rear of farm
5 corps withdraw to rear of left hand hill
6 corps attack woods

Prussians attack hill and farm
CinC capture left half of hill
7 corps advance to attack farm
8 corps advance to attack left half of hill
9 corps artillery routed, fight to hold woods

End of move 10

French attack woods
CinC attempts to rally routed brigades in Peine
4 corps garrison routs from farm
5 corps lose melee and rout from hill
6 corps capture two of three woods sections

Prussians capture farm and hill
CinC supports attack on left half of hill
7 corps rout garrison and enter farm
8 corps win melee and capture left half of hill
9 corps lose melee and two of three woods sections

End of move 12

French hold half of woods
CinC holds area between town and woods
4 corps counter attack on farm fails
5 corps rallies inside town
6 corps attack on woods fails

Prussians hold hill and farm
CinC holds right half of hill
7 corps beats off counter attack on farm
8 corps holds left half of hill
9 corps counter attacks woods

Summary

On the right Prussians beat off a desperate French counter attack on the farm.
4th French corps were forced to retreat to the woods north of the farm to rally
At nightfall 7th Prussian corps were in firm control of the farm.

In the centre Prussians force 5th French corps to retreat to Peine
8th Prussian corps are in firm control of the hill and pass in the centre

On the left the woods are in dispute until the last dice was thrown
9th Prussian corps captured all three wooded sections by half way through the battle
The French abandoned the woods, but did not suffer many casualties in doing so
6th French corps launched a determined counter attack, which almost worked.
At the start of the last move they held two of the three wood sections

Their attack on the third section was defeated by Prussian artillery support
A weak Prussian brigade rallied and counter attacked the left hand section
They surprised the full strength French grenadier brigade who had just taken it
The Prussian flank attack routed the surprised grenadiers who broke and routed.

The “knife edge” battle for the woods provided an exciting end to the battle
But it did not make any difference, because the Prussians held two objectives

French lost 11 infantry, 2 cavalry and 2 gunners (4800 casualties)
Prussians lost 6 infantry, 1 cavalry and 2 gunners (2700 casualties)

7 French brigades were in rout and 3 Prussian brigades.

A convincing Prussian victory

25 September 1813 – Hannover Campaign – Day 2

French advance to the border
Prussians attack Peine

The Prussians occupy Celle and attack Peine
1st Prussian army – occupy Celle
2nd Prussian army – observe Lehtre
3rd Prussian army – attack Peine

1st and 2nd armies move to border, 3rd army retreat
1st French army – advance to border
2nd French army – advance to border
3rd French army – retreat to Soltau

24 September 1813 – Battle of Celle

 

Tactical map of battle area

The campaign opens in the north, when the Prussians attack the border town of Celle.

The town is defended by Third French Army, which is commanded by Marshal Murat
He has 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery under command. The French have one corps on the border with two more in reserve at Celle

First Prussian Army, which is commanded by General Blucher, plan of attack is to cross the Hannover/Brunswick District border and take the town. He has 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigades and 3 corps artillery under command. All three corps are deployed in and around the town of Meinersen. Under cover of darkness they will advance to the border ready to attack at first light.

The French are not expecting an attack. 7th and 8th corps will not be able to move until they receive notification of the Prussian attack.

Table at start of battle

French are deployed at the top of the photo
HQ, 7th and 9th corps are in and around the walled town of Celle
8th corps is in front of the town either side of the main road

The Prussians are marching towards Celle at the bottom of the table
Blucher has taken command of half of 2nd corps on the left of the main road

There are three battle objectives
Woods on the left, hill in the centre, village on the right
The army who occupy at least two objectives at the end of 12 moves will win the battle

French HQ, 7th and 9th corps cannot move until the start of move 2

End of move 2

French Murat, 7th and 9th corps advance towards the objectives
CinC is moving towards 7th corps
7 corps have reached the village on the left
8 corps are withdrawing nearer to Celle t o join their supports
9 corps are approaching the woods on the left

Prussian are approaching all three objectives
CinC has halted outside artillery range, but advanced his artillery
1 corps are advancing towards the village on the right
2 corps have reached the hill in the centre
3 corps are approaching the woods on the left, cavalry are protecting their right flank

End of move 4

French all three corps now in position
CinC takes command of cavalry and one infantry from 7th corps
7 corps occupy village
8 corps artillery hit enemy gunners
9 corps halt and deploy short of woods on the left

Prussian deploy out of artillery range
CinC gunners receive 10% casualties, pass morale but reduced firepower
1 corps deploy in front of village, wait for infantry on left to catch up
2 corps move onto hill in the centre, prepare to attack
3 corps occupy two of the three wooded sections on the left

End of move 6

French fight to hold hill in the centre
CinC hold right flank
7 corps withdraw infantry out of artillery range
8 corps infantry on hill both suffer 10% casualties, pass morale test
9 corps deploy to attack woods on the left

Prussian attack hill
CinC move artillery to engage cavalry
1 corps artillery fire on infantry, no casualties
2 corps skirmish and melee hill in the centre
3 corps artillery fire on infantry, no casualties

End of move 8

French withdraw under pressure
CinC cavalry advance to threaten artillery
7 corps gunners receive 10% artillery casualties, pass morale test
8 corps infantry lose melee on hill and rout
9 corps cavalry lose melee and rout, gunners receive 10% casualties

Prussian capture hill and woods
CinC force artillery to retreat
1 corps infantry advance between hill and village
2 corps capture hill and advance between hill and woods
3 corps capture woods and win cavalry melee

End of move 10

French withdraw but hold village
CinC counter attack and rout attack on village
7 corps withdraw but hold area between village and hill
8 corps withdraw and abandon hill
9 corps withdraw and abandon woods

Prussian attack all three objectives
CinC force French to withdraw between woods and hill
1 corps attack on village fails infantry rout
2 corps secure hill
3 corps secure woods

End of move 12

French retake hill in the centre
CinC withdraw to right of village
7 corps hold village on the right
8 corps recapture hill in the centre
9 corps abandon woods on the left

Prussian lose melee to hold hill in the centre
CinC withdraw to area between woods and hill
1 corps withdraw from village on the right
2 corps lose melee to hold hill, two brigades rout
3 corps hold woods on the left

Summary

As night falls 9th grenadier brigade of 8th corps attacks the hill in the centre
The two brigades holding the hill are caught by surprise
The landwehr is struck in flank, and immediately routs
The light brigade in support lose their morale and join the rout

The French now hold two objectives and win the battle

The French have lost 12 infantry, 2 cavalry and 2 artillery casualties (5200 men)
The Prussians have lost 6 infantry, 1 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (1000 men)

There are 3 French and 5 Prussian brigades in rout

The French win the battle. But they have lost twice as many casualties as the Prussians, and their centre is broken. They are in no condition to fight another battle the following day. At nightfall Murat orders a general retreat and abandons Celle.

24 September 1813 – Hannover Campaign – Day 1

 

 

The campaign opens with a Prussian surprise attack on Hannover district

The Prussians are deployed to the east of the Hannover-Brunswick border
They are out of sight of the French, but are concentrated ready to attack
1st Prussian army – attack Celle
2nd Prussian army – observe Lehtre
3rd Prussian army – observe Peine

The French are deployed to the west of the Hannover-Brunswick border
One corps from each army is deployed on the border
The remainder are in reserve for ease of resupply
1st French army – defend Lehtre
2nd French army – defend Peine
3rd French army – defend Celle

24 September 1813 – Northern Germany – Hannover Campaign

1813 Campaign Map

This is a fictional campaign loosely based on the 1813 campaign
It started in April 2009 and consists of stand alone campaign phases
Each phase is similar in size to the Waterloo campaign
This is the 100th phase, each of which is shown on the above map
There have been six major adjustments to the campaign
The following maps are used for the Sixth Campaign, which started in June 2020

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 campaign phase 26
Each star shows the location of a campaign phase
Hannover 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 16th campaign phase to be fought in Germany
Each star shows the location of a campaign phase
Hannover is the white star

Map of North Germany

There are three regions in North Germany
Osnabruck Region – French rear area
Brunswick Region – campaign area
Berlin Region – Prussian rear area

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

Map of Brunswick Region

There are nine districts in Brunswick Region

There have been 30 battles fought in this region
The French have won 15 and the Prussians15
Each star shows the location of a battle fought

Campaign Map

The Hannover campaign is fought between the cities of Hannover and Brunswick
The French Army of Northern Germany is deployed to the left of the district border
The Prussian Army is deployed to the right of the district border.
The Prussian objective is to take and hold the city of Hannover.

Typical French corps

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

French Army of North Germany – Emperor Napoleon
1st Old Guard corps
2nd French corps
3rd French corps
4th French corps
5th French corps
6th Westphalian corps
7th French corps
8th French corps
9th Polish corps

144000 infantry, 9000 cavalry, 270 guns

Typical Prussian corps

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

Prussian Army – Marshal Blucher
1st Prussian corps
2nd Prussian corps
3rd Prussian corps
4th Prussian corps
5th Prussian corps
6th Prussian corps
7th Prussian corps
8th Prussian corps
9th Prussian corps

144000 infantry, 9000 cavalry, 270 guns

Campaign Diary

01 February 1813 Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia declared war on France
01 February 1813 Formation of First French army in Osnabruck region
19 February 1813 First French army declared operational.
20 February 1813 Prussians invade 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
01 March 1813 Start of Brunswick campaign phase
08 March 1813 French win Brunswick campaign phase
12 April 1813 Start of Lubeck campaign phase
19 April 1813 French win Lubeck campaign phase
31 May 1813 Start of Goslar campaign phase
07 June 1813 Prussian win Goslar campaign phase
11 July 1813 Start of Wismar campaign phase
18 July 1813 French won Wismar campaign phase
19 August 1813 Start of Hildesheim campaign phas
25 August 1813 French win Hildesheim 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 – French Army of Northern Germany 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

Summary of Southern Germany Campaign – 23 September 1813

 

Regional areas of Southern Germany

There are three regions in Southern Germany
Strasbourg Region is the rear area for Third French army
Their main depot is in Strasbourg

Vienna Region is the rear area for the Austrian Army
Their main depot is in Vienna
Munich Region is the disputed area between them

Diary of Southern 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

01 Feb 1813 Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia declared war on France
01 Feb 1813 Formation of Third French army in Munich region
25 Feb 1813 Third French army declared operational
28 Feb 1813 Austrians moved into the Munich region
30 Mar 1813 Start of Branau campaign phase
11 Apr 1813 Austrians win Branau phase
20 May 1813 Start of Kufstein phase
30 May 1813 French win Kufstein phase
03 Jul 1813 Start of Landshut phase
10 Jul 1813 Austrians win Landshut phase
12 Aug 1813 Start of Ingolstadt phase
18 Aug 1813 French win Ingolstadt phase
16 Sep 1813 Start of Ratisbon phase
23 Sep 1813 French win Ratisbon 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
30 - Introduction to the campaign in Southern Germany
31 - 3rd French Army order of battle
32 - Austrian Army order of battle
33 - Daily diary for the campaign in Southern Germany
34 - Battle reports of all battles fought in Southern Germany
35 - Summary of campaign in Southern Germany

23 September 1813 – Southern Germany – End of Ratisbon Campaign

Battles fought during campaign phase

On 16 September Marshal Massena crossed into Ratisbon District with orders to defeat the Austrian army and capture their main depot in the city of Ratisbon.

The Austrians won the first battle at Prettendorf, but were forced to retreat when the French won the next two at Abbach and Rittendorf. The Austrians redeployed in front of Ratisbon, but were defeated at Kofering, Lappersdorf and Ratisbon itself.

The Austrians crossed to the west bank of the river Danube and abandoned the campaign. This left Massena the winner of the campaign

The campaign started on 27 May and ended on 15 July 2026

Munich Region

This map shows the location of the 31 battles fought in the Munich Region since the start of the Sixth campaign in June 2020. The French won 16 and the Austrians 15.