Tactical
map of battle area
Background
to battle
All four Prussian corps have orders to attack
1st Prussian corps is pinned by 3rd
French corps
Table
at start of wargame
HQ Prussian arrive
move 1
2 Prussian start
on table
3 Prussian arrive
move 1
4 Prussian arrive
move 1
HQ French start on
table
1 French start
on table
4 French start
on table
13 French arrive
move 5
0800-0900
Napoleon orders 1st corps to hold the top and
centre bridges.
Blucher orders 4th corps to attack the top
bridge, 2nd corps the centre one
and 3rd corps the bottom
one.
1st French corps start to redeploy
All three Prussian corps advance
0900-1000
French redeploy to hold the whole river line
Prussian corps
advance
1000-1100
French continue to redeploy
4 corps send two brigades to occupy Magdeburg
Prussian continue to advance
4 corps start to
deploy
1100-1200
Both sides continue to deploy
4 Prussian artillery open fire, no casualties
French guard artillery open fire, hit column
4 French move artillery north of town to cover centre of
river
1200-1300
13 Polish corps arrive (bottom left)
Napoleon orders them to deploy to the left of the guard
4 Prussian corps starts to cross river (top left)
Artillery exchange fire, no casualties
1300-1400
Prussians must press home their attack before 13 Polish can
deploy
3 and 4 Prussian corps cross river
2 Prussian are too weak to cross in the centre
1400-1500
13 Polish lancers force 4 Prussian infantry into square
2 Prussian artillery hit guard cavalry, who retire out of
range
All three Prussian
corps cross river
1500-1600
3 Prussian infantry skirmish town, no casualties
4 Prussian infantry skirmish and force guard artillery to
retire
13 Polish lancers charge dragoons, melee is a draw, both
disordered
1600-1700
3 Prussian artillery hit square
3 Prussian infantry ordered to attack town
Town garrison win skirmish
2 Prussian artillery hit guard square
Guard infantry and 2 and 4 Prussian infantry
firefight is a draw
1700-1800
13 Polish deploy and advance to attack
Guard square is shaken by 2 Prussian artillery
2 Prussian dragoons charge and rout shaken square
Polish lancers charge and rout 4 Prussian infantry
4 French cuirassiers charge and rout 3 Prussian gunners
4 French artillery and garrison rout 3 Prussian infantry
attacking town
Conclusion
The Prussians have failed to take Magdeburg
With the arrival of 13 Polish corps Blucher orders a
general retreat
The Prussians have lost 3600 infantry, 200 gunners and 100
cavalry
In addition two infantry brigades, one cavalry and 3 corps
artillery are in rout
The French have lost 2800 infantry and 100 cavalry
In addition one guard infantry brigade is in rout
Outcome
The French have won this battle
They have held Magdeburg and forced the Prussian to retreat
over the river
Battle
Summary
The Prussians start the battle with odds of three to two
However to win the battle they have to cross the river and
take Magdeburg
They must do so before 13 Polish corps arrive at 1pm
By mid morning all three Prussian corps are in position and
start to cross the river
The French Guard have to hold the river line against 2 and
4 Prussian corps
In doing so they suffer heavy casualties
However they hold their position until the Poles arrive
3 Prussian corps is ordered to attack Magdeburg
In doing so they expose their left flank, which is charged
by 4 French cuirassiers
The Prussian artillery and one infantry brigade are routed
and the attack is defeated
There is not sufficient space for 13 Polish corps to deploy
in the centre or right
They have to move through the pass to attack 4 Prussian
corps
The Prussians increase the pressure to break the French
Guard
However they manage to hold until the Poles start to deploy
Unable to take Magdeburg, or hold his position on the west
bank, Blucher retreats
The Prussians have lost 3900 casualties and have four
brigades in rout
The French have lost 2900 casualties and one brigade in
rout
The French have won the battle
No comments:
Post a Comment