Napoleon Meets His Match : Jena & Auerstadt refought

 

On a sunny Saturday in Hong Kong the monthly meeting of the Hong Kong Society of Wargamers saw the armies of Napoleon and Davout go head to head with the 6mm armies of Hohenlohe and Brunswick (freshly painted by Chris Doran).  Given the competition from other games from colonial India to the depths of outer-space, only four generals could be assembled for this two table encounter.  We drew for commands, Chris ending up with Brunswick against George as Davout.  I drew Hohenlohe, finding myself facing off against my son as Napoleon and his cohorts under Lannes, Soult, Murat, Old Uncle Tom Cobbley and all.

The rules being used were Sam Mustafa's 'Blücher'.  The scenario was worked out by Chris, overlaying old battle maps on Google Maps to get the relative positions of rivers, streams and settlements right.  Both battles began in fog, limiting visibility to 2 base widths.  This would lift by turn 13 at the latest but the French would roll at the start of their turns and it would lift earlier if a 6 was rolled.  A special restriction for the Prussian force at Jena was that Grawert's reserve division could not move until the fog lifted.  Hohenlohe could only communicate with Brunswick after the fog had lifted as well, reducing the chance of collaboration.  

The main restriction on the Prussians was a rule that they could not make any Corps activations.  All actions would have to be either by individual bases or by a Commander activation of any bases within command range, such activation precluding any further actions in the turn.  The French had no such restriction.  Indeed, Napoleon's excellent staff work trait and Soult's vigorous trait gave them very high mobility.  On top of this, French units would be allowed to rally - using command pips to remove losses, provided the unit is more than 2 base widths away from the enemy - while the Prussians could not.

Starting positions at Jena.  The Prussians might get Ruchel's big division arriving on the far left south of Kotschau from turn 16 but would have to roll for arrival. An infantry and a cavalry base under Holtzendorf would arrive earlier on Turn 8 between Nerkewitz and Rodigen (top right).  Behind Lannes, all arriving through Jena, would be divisions from each of IV and VII Corps on Turn 1, the rest of those two Corps and the Guard on Turn 9, Ney's advance guard on Turn 13,  Murat's Reserve Cavalry on Turn 17 and the rest of Ney's Corps on Turn 19.

Victory conditions for the French at Jena were to break the Prussian army by destroying 7 units (rising to 9 if Ruchel arrived).  They would be given an historic victory if they could do this without involving the Guard or Reserve Cavalry.  The Prussians needed not to be broken and still be holding the road running north to Apolda at the end of Turn 30.

Starting positions at Auerstadt.  Gudin's Division is in Hassenhausen but not yet garrisoning it.  Blucher is on the road leading to Hassenhausen from Poppel, followed by Schmettau and Wartensleben.  On Turn 8, the Prince of Orange arrives on the road from Apolda behind Wartensleben.  On Turn 16 the Prussians start to roll for the arrival of Kalkreuth along the same road.  For the French, Friant's division arrives on Turn 7 along the road from the right, followed by Morand's division on turn 13.

Victory conditions for Auerstadt was for whoever broke the enemy army - French break point was 4, Prussian's 6, rising to 8 after Kalkreuth's arrival.  If neither army broke then the army holding Hassenhausen would be awarded the victory.

Given the pressure I was put under at Jena I had little time to take pictures of what went on at Auerstadt, so what follows is slanted towards the former part of the action.

Jena : Hohenlohe lines up behind the low ridge of the Dornberg hill - the scenario rules prohibited them taking forward positions garrisoning the villages in front.  Lannes Corps lined up at the top of the picture.

Jena : Birds Eye view showing the Saxon Division facing the advance guard of Augereau's Corps - neither seeing the other because of fog.  In the centre Lannes' Corps has moved up but remains on the opposite side of the ridge to the Prussians who hold their position.  Gewart's stationary reserve division is at the top of the picture.  Out of shot at the top right is Soult's advance guard working around the end of the woods.

Close up of the end of Grawert's line, looking across the fields to Hohenlohe's forward line on the Dornberg (but fog still covers the field under the scenario rules)

Auerstadt starting positions, French to the left.

On the arrival of the Guard and the bulk of Soult and Augereau's Corps, Lannes commits himself to an attack on Tauentzein's Division but finds the geometry of the battlefield prevents a supporting attack on Prittwitz.

By advancing over the ridge, the French give up their advantage in skirmish range action and have to face the disciplined Prussian volleys at close range, to rather unpleasant effect.

An attempt to shake the Prussian line with cold steel fails and almost the whole of Lannes' Corps falls back badly shaken.  The difficulties of Prussian command - and the consideration that their duty is to be a rearguard, not to take the fight to the enemy, holds the Prussians back.

As the smoke from the Prussian volleys cleared, so did the fog.  Hohenlohe could now see the huge mass of French forces still advancing on his position and was allowed to send a message to his C-in-C Brunswick.  He advised that despite his initial success, his present position would inevitably be turned so he aimed to make a steady withdrawal, holding back the French as long as possible, unless he could be reinforced.

The majority of Soult's Corps advances to relieve Lannes while Augerau's men start pushing through the woods on the Prussian Right.

Soult's advance guard moving round the woods to the left of the Prussian position are intercepted by Holtzendorf's small force.  Here, the Prussian's musketry was not up to par, nor did a charge help them and the French repulsed them.

To win some time, Hohenlohe sent in his Saxon Grenadiers to blunt Augerau's outflanking move.  It was a great success, one unit being destroyed and another driven back deep into the wood.

Hohenlohe has no answer to Soult bringing one of his brigades onto the flank of the Prussian main line

Hohenlohe begins to retreat before the flood of Frenchmen can engulf him.  The narrow space enables him to command most of his men, but the heroic Saxons are left abandoned in the woods.

By Turn 22 Hohenlohe is back on his support line covering the Apolda Road and safe from encirclement.  He finally succeeds in rolling for Ruchel to arrive off to the right and receives a message from Brunswick that Kalkreuth has been sent back to help him.  Perhaps he can hang on until nightfall?

Knowing that Ruchel is about to arrive, raising the breaking point of the Prussian force from 7 to 9, hesitant to face the Prussian muskets again and still shaken by the treatment dished out to Lannes, Napoleon held back his men and the guns here fell silent, allowing the sound of gunfire to the north around Auerstadt to reach the ears of the men at Jena.

By the time Hohenlohe received his message about Kalkreuth's return, Brunswick lay dead upon the field of battle but his men were fighting on in a sweeping battle of individual manoeuvre.

A gigantic melée at Auerstadt.  The French hold Hassenhausen after recapturing it from the Prussians.

The final turn at Auerstadt.  The badly battered Prussians manage to co-ordinate another attack on Hassenhausen, succeeding in recapturing it and eliminating another French brigade, tipping the tired French over the breaking point.

So, the day ended 2-0 to the Prussians.  As we packed up, we thought that the scenario settings had been pretty good.  The outcome at Auerstadt was not unexpected but good troop handling did allow the French to contest the battle right up to the final turn.  At Jena, the terrain constrictions on the French deployment were realistic.  Impatience at the delay these imposed cost the French dearly.  It is unlikely that Hohenlohe would have had the command capacity to manage Ruchel and Kalkreuth's men if they had come on to the field but the chance of the French breaking his position was very low by the end.  I appreciate the subtleties of the Blücher rules more each time I play them - this is now my third game with them - but still struggle with the geometry of movement and remembering terrain effects.  It is good to be able to fight large battles in an afternoon but maintaining the concentration needed when in sole control of an army is taxing on me.

Complements to Chris Doran for the scenario and for his beautifully painted Prussians.  All he has to do next is paint up some proper pre 1808 French!