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Background:
At Brienne on 29th January 1814 Napoleon had given the Allies, and Blucher in particular, a severe fright even though he gained only a tactical victory and had not, as he intended, smashed the Army of Silesia to the extent that it was incapacitated for any extended period. The quality of his men was not what it had been even twelve months earlier. After the battle Napoleon said "If I had veteran troops I might have done more, but with the troops I have, I am happy with what occurred".
Blucher fell back on Trannes a few miles to the south where the high ground with open fields of fire in front made a strong position. Schwarzenberg ordered III and IV Corps of the Army of Bohemia to support Blucher and I Corps was directed toward Troyes to prevent Mortier moving around the Army of Bohemia's flank. Barclay de Tolly's Reserve of Russian Guard Cavalry, V Guards Corps and III Grenadier Corps was brought forward to follow up on the expected defeat of Napoleon.
The weather continued foul with intermittent rain and snow with the clay roads almost impassable.
Uncharacteristically Napoleon spent two days at Brienne inactive while the Allied Corps moved on him. On the 31st Napoleon decided on his next move. His army would march to Troyes, joining Mortier from where it could strike the flank of either allied army if it attempted to move on Paris by way or Arcis-sur-Aube. Unfortunately the damaged bridge at Lesmont meant he could not begin this move for another 24 hours. Meanwhile Marmont responded to orders to join Napoleon at Brienne by way of Morvilliers.
Scwarzenberg, seeing the French still inactive on the Brienne battlefield, decided to attack. Field command for the attack was again given to Blucher who had directly available to him Sacken's, Olsuviev's, Gyulai's and Wurttemburg's Corps while Barclay de Tolly held the Russian reserve. Wittgenstein and Wrede's Bavarians were ordered to St Dizier to prevent intervention by MacDonald. Wrede suggested that Wittgenstein was strong enough to achieve this task and that he should move on Brienne from the east. Thus the scales tilted even more against Napoleon.
Unknown to either Napoleon or Blucher a crushing Allied victory was not what Schwarzenburg or his Austrian masters wanted. Blucher's control of events was limited as unknown to him Gyulai and Wurttemburg had orders not to pursue beyond Brienne and Wrede's plans were unknown. Politically everyone would be pleased if Blucher won, but not decisively. In many respects another defeat for the Prussian marshal would be welcomed by the high command as a way of gaining control over his single minded intention to take Paris.
Nonetheless Napoleon with 45,000 faced 80,000 with another 30,000 threatening his flank. The murky stage was set. It was noon on 1st February.
Orders of Battle:
FRENCH ARMY, 30,000 infantry, 13,500 cavalry, 132 guns. Emperor Napoleon (AC, Monarch)
Army Troops. Artillery Reserve, Genl Drouot (DC)
'Corps' Marshal Ney (CC)
Corps Troops
1st Voltigeur Division, Genl Meunier (DC) (Exhaustion=4)
2nd Voltigeur Division, Genl Decouz (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
2nd Tirailleur Division, Genl Rottembourg (DC) (Exhaustion=5)
Young Guard Cavalry Division, Genl Laferriere-Laveque (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
'Corps' Marshal Victor (CC)
Division Duhesme (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
Division Forestier (DC) (Exhaustion=4)
1st Guard Cavalry Division, Genl Colbert (DC) (no exhaustion)
2nd Guard Cavalry Division, Genl Guyot (DC) (Exhaustion=4)
V Cavalry Corps, Genl Milhaud (CC) (subordinate to Marshal Victor's corps)
9th Light Division, Genl Pire (DC) (Exhaustion=2)
5th Heavy Division, Genl Briche (DC) (Exhaustion=2)
6th Heavy Division, Genl L'Hertier (DC) (no exhaustion)
'Corps' Genl Gerard (CC)
Corps Troops
Division Dufour (DC) (Exhaustion=4)
Division Ricard (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
'Corps' Marshal Marmont (CC)
Cavalry Dvision Genl Doumerc (DC) (Exhaustion=2)
Division Lagrange (DC) (Exhaustion=5)
French Army Notes
1. Each French infantry brigade of Victor's and Gerard's Corps (Divisions Duhesme, Forestier, Dufour and Ricard) may detach 1x1-5 skirmisher. Joubert may detach 2 which begin the game in Petit-Mesnil and La Gibervie.
2. Milhaud's Cavalry Corps. I originally had this broken down to brigade stands but most of them were 1 str point so I combined these to produce the single stand divisions seen above. Unlike at Brienne the corps was quite split up in the battle and I don't think it's appropriate to combine it into a three stand corps with only Milhaud represented as a CC.
3. The French cavalry was very active in the battle and as the small formations are brittle, I have rated the two weakest as 'no exhaustion'.
4. Rottembourg's Tirailleur division was composed of raw recruits.
5. 2nd Guard Cavalry Division (the original Old Guard Cavalry) has been rated very seriously indeed.
6. Note very weak battalions of Pelleport's brigade of Ricard's division. These battalions averaged about 100 men. Although they were veterans, and would normally rate 6, I have downrated them and ignored their grenadiers. Their small size indicates 'abandoned' units that have not seen replacements for some time.
7. Fournier's brigade of Lagrange's division contains sailors from the fleet. That's why this and Pelleport do not have grenadiers - a measure of slightly lower capability.
8. Key to codes: d-sk = brigade may detach a skirmisher; g = grenadiers present; hv = heavy (either artillery or cavalry); l = lance armed cavalry; lt = light (either artillery or cavalry); md = medium (either artillery or cavalry); pr = poorly trained regulars; st = shock troops.
French Deployment & Arrival:
Facing South -
Facing E -
Marching -
Arrivals -
French orders are to hold the line Dienville-La Gibervie-Chaumesnil and inflict serious losses on the enemy. They win decisively if they still occupy all 5 towns/villages along this line by midnight and have 2 commands unexhausted. They win tactically if they occupy at least 2 of these places and still have 5 commands unexhausted.
ARMIES OF BOHEMIA & SILESIA, 84,000 infantry, 16,500 cavalry, 348 guns. Feldmarschall Blucher (AC)
ARMY OF BOHEMIA, 45,000 infantry, 12,500 cavalry and 192 guns
III (Austrian) Corps, Feldmarschalleutnant Gyulai (CC)
Corps Troops
2nd Division, Genl Hohenloe-Bartenstein (DC) (Exhaustion=7)
3rd Division, Genl Fresnel (DC) (Exhaustion=8)
IV (Wurttemburg) Corps, Kronprinz Wurttemburg (CC)
Advance Guard, Genl Stockmeyer (DC) (Exhaustion=5)
1st Division, Genl Koch (DC) (Exhaustion=6)
Cavalry Division, Prinz Adam (DC) (Exhaustion=2)
Austrian Advance Guard to Bavarian Corps, Genl Frimont (CC)
Corps Troops
1st Division, Genl Hardegg (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
2nd Division, Genl Spleny (DC) (Exhaustion=5)
Bavarian Corps, Count Wrede (CC)
Corps Troops
1st Division, Genl Rechberg (DC) (Exhaustion=6)
2nd Division, Genl Beckers (DC) (Exhaustion=6)
3rd Division, Genl La Motte (DC) (Exhaustion=7)
Russian Reserve Cavalry Corps, Barclay de Tolly (CC)
1st Cuirassier Division, Genl Depreradovitch (DC) (Exhaustion=4)
2nd Cuirassier Division, Genl Kretow (DC) (Exhaustion=2)
ARMY OF SILESIA, 39,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 156 guns
VI Corps, Genl Scherbatow (CC)
7th Infantry Division, Genl Tallisin (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
18th Infantry Division, Genl Bernodossow (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
IX Corps, Genl Olsuvieu (CC)
9th Infantry Division, Genl Udom II (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
15th Infantry Division, Genl Karnielov (DC) (Exhaustion=3)
Cavalry Corps, Genl Wassiltschikov (CC)
Converged Division, Genl Lanskoi (DC) (Exhaustion=2)
Attached Cossack 'Division', Genl Karpov (DC) (Exhaustion=2)
Including Prince Biron de Courland's 'Flying Column'
V Guard Corps, Genl Yermalov (CC)
Corps Troops
1st Guard Division, Baron Rosen (DC) (Exhaustion=10)
2nd Guard Division, Genl Udom (DC) (Exhaustion=9)
III Grenadier Corps, Genl Rajevski (CC)
Corps Troops
1st Grenadier Division, Genl Tschoglokow (DC) (Exhaustion=5)
2nd Grenadier Division, Genl Paskevitch (DC) (Exhaustion=5)
Allied Army Notes
1. Each Russian jager brigade may be split into skirmisher stands.
2. Light cavalry brigades may be split into skirmisher stands.
3. The Russian Reserve Cavalry Corps, V Guard Corps and III Grenadier Corps should be preserved as long as possible. They are the final reserve of the Allies 1814 campaign.
4. Army of Silesia's VI and IX corps and cavalry corps suffered a defeat 3 days ago at Brienne. They have been downgraded as a result.
5. Key to codes: d-sk = may detach 1 skirmisher ; g = grenadiers present ; hv = heavy (either artillery or cavalry); l = lance armed cavalry; lt = light (either artillery or cavalry); md = medium (either artillery or cavalry); st = shock troops
Allied Deployment & Arrival:
Turn / Point
Allied orders are to inflict a reverse on Napoleon and force the French from their position. The Allies win decisively if by midnight they occupy the 5 towns/villages of the French line and they still have 8 commands unexhausted and no more than 4 French commands are unexhausted . The Allies win tactically if the French still occupy any 2 of their front line towns/villages or 3 or more of their commands suffer morale collapse or if more than 5 French commands are unexhausted. Russian Reserve Cavalry, V Guards or III Grenadier Corps are under personal command of Barclay de Tolly and are the Allies Final Reserve in this campaign. Blucher must request their release from the Umpire.
Scenario notes:
1. Movement. The ground was soft in places and snowfalls varied randomly all day from sleet to impenetrable blizzard, therefore:
2. Visibility. Brief but heavy snow flurries were a feature of the battle. On occasion gunners laid their pieces on a target only to loose it in the 'soup'. This particularly affected the Russian reserve artillery which was sited too cautiously. After targets have been allocated but before firing is resolved, roll a die for each firing unit: 1-2 visibility is 4", 3-4 visibility is 8", 5-6 visibility is normal. There were several instances of artillery being overrun by cavalry charges, both limbered and deployed. This seemed to hamper the gunners but not the cavalry charge, hence visibility for moving to contact is not affected by the above visibility rule.
3. Firing. The Russian infantry in front of La Rothiere found that the snow had dampened their powder. Deduct one die roll from each infantry brigade firing unless in a town or village. This does not apply to skirmishers who are assumed to use small areas of cover and shelter such as copses and isolated farms and who are considered to posess enough initiative to keep their power dry.
4. Turn 1 is 1:00p.m. Dusk descends on game turn 6 (6:00 p.m.) when visibility reduces to 8". Darkness falls on game turn 7 (7:00 p.m.) when visibility reduces to 4". The last game turn is 13 (1:00a.m. 2nd Feb). The Allies are the attackers.
5. The river Aube is unfordable. North of Dienville it forms the west map edge. All woods are 'open'. The French have loopholed and prepared Dienville, La Rothiere, Petit Mesnil, La Gibervie and Chaumesnil for defence. Attackers receive a -1 morale modifier when meleeing defenders in these places.
Umpire notes: (information not to be given to either side)
For political reasons the Allied high command gave tactical command of the battle to Blucher. While the Allies sought to inflict a reverse on Napoleon, they did not want Blucher to soundly beat him since he would then have more fuel for his personal fire to get to Paris and occupy it. Even a reverse for the Allies (such is the strangeness when politics influence the battlefield) would not be unwelcome since another defeat for him would lessen Blucher's political clout. Therefore the Allies win decisively if by midnight they occupy the 5 towns/villages of the French line, they still have 8 commands unexhausted, no more than 4 French commands are unexhausted and no stands of Russian Reserve Cavalry, V Guards or III Grenadier Corps have made attacks and/or advanced more than 18" from the south map edge. The Allies win tactically if the French still occupy any 2 of their front line towns/villages or 3 or more Allied commands suffer morale collapse or if more than 5 French commands are unexhausted. If any stands of Russian Reserve Cavalry, V Guards or III Grenadier Corps have made attacks, the Allies may only draw, regardless of the success on the ground.
If an umpire is not available I suggest the three Allied Reserve Corps are deleted from the Allied OOB. To use them without limitation will result in a walkover.
The Map
This scenario has been developed by Martin Soilleux-Cardwell, comments on this scenario can be sent to Martin by email.