Russia 1812: Battle of Loubino

It's been a while since I posted anything related to our Russia 1812 campaign as I've missed a few games due to other commitments. However last weekend I was able to take part in the Battle of Loubino or Valutino Gora.

The real battle took place on the 18th of August after the battle of Smolensk when the retreating Russian troops needing to pass the crucial junction at Loubino fought a successful rearguard action against French forces commanded by Ney. Barclay de Tolly defended the river Stragan against a frontal attack by Ney. He was able to hold the assault long enough for most of the Russian forces to pass before withdrawing when dusk arrived. The French had an opportunity to trap the Russians as Marshal Junot had crossed the Dnieper with his forces and was in perfect opportunity to flank the Russian forces. However he refused to do this without explicit orders from Napoleon even when the sound of gunfire could be heard from a few kilometers away and requests for assistance were made personally by Murat.

Another account of the battle can be found on the blog of one of my clubmates Jaakko. Black Powder: Battle of Loubino (Valutina Gora)

Our scenario started with relatively small forces on the table immediately with one Russian division as a rearguard faced by 3 French divisions attempting to cross a river and drive them off before they could be reinforced. Some of Ney's divisions would arrive later as would Junot's Corps that would require a 5+ roll at the start of every turn to be able to activate.

The initial French advance on the left and center were fast with the stream being quickly forded and battalions pushing in to Russian positions and close combat. The French right flank was slightly lagging with the cavalry commander having difficulty understanding the rushed orders from Ney and Junot refusing to act.

The initial French assaults were very effective with the assault in the center and right flanks on the ridgeline devastating the Russians and pushing them back quickly. However on the French left a brigade of Russian Jägers however was holding on strong even while the French army bypassed them on the other flank.

On the extreme right flank a brigade of infantry had to be diverted to secure the flank against looming cossack and hussar threat as the French cavalry was still confused with their orders.

Just as the French are ready to push through to the second crossing point Russian reinforcements can be seen arriving from the direction of Loubino over the River Jarovina. They quickly form into a battle line waiting to repel the attacking French.

The lone surviving Jäger brigade from the first rearguard division continues to hamper French advances and even launches attacks against the rear of those French troops that have already bypassed them along the road.

With the first French troops crossing over to attack the Russians a fierce firefight breaks out between the opposing forces with artillery firing canister shot at near point blank range and both sides suffering heavy casualties. With darkness fast approaching the French renew their attack and try to push the Russians away with their bayonets. Casualties start to mount up with multiple battalions breaking on both sides as the close combat moves back and forth along the road.

The French cavalry on the right flank had finally shaken away their confusion and made good pace moving in to threaten the Russian right flank alongside Razout's infantry. However the timely arrival of a fresh Russian division of 8 battalions on the flank stopped the French advance.

With darkness coming down over the battlefield the fighting starts to quiet down as visibility drops. The Russians have successfully defended the road towards Loubino and denied the French any possibility of cutting off their retreat. However this came at a heavy cost with the Russians losses being high compared to any French losses. Junot's inability to act really hampered the French, but he did end up threatening the Russians in the end with his Corps moving up to striking distance. However it was too little too late and the de Tolly would be able to retreat towards Moscow ready to make a stand at Borodino.

Another great game with quite a lot of troops on the table (roughly 130 battalions). The next one will be fought in a few months time to allow for more troops to be painted as Borodino will really require massive forces. After that it's towards the retreat with at least Berezina to be played as a scenario.

Russia 1812: First Battle of Polotsk

Clearing up some backlog from my silence with a few pictures from our third Russia 1812 campaign game. This time back on the northern front with the First Battle of Polotsk. Not many pictures here as I simply forgot to take pics in the heat of the battle, but more can be found at Napoleon Complex Gaming with a more indepth AAR as well.

The real battle took place after Oudinot had retreated to Polotsk after the Battle of Klyastitzy. General Wittgenstein attacked a Bavarian force that was slightly separated from the main French body in an attempt to destroy it before the French could react. In the heavy fighting that took place Marshal Oudinot himself was wounded and the losses to the Bavarian troops were very heaving including the loss of much of their General Staff. In the end the French forces would prevail, but the attack by Wittgenstein in effect put an end to the northern advance towards St. Petersburg.

Our game was slightly altered as we didn't really have too many Bavarians in our collections and my freshly painted Swiss and Croatian troops yearned for battle. Historically the  Swiss 9th Division was mainly a reserve force during the battle being stationed across the river in the town of Polotsk separated from the main battle that raged around the town of Spas which the Bavarians defended.

The battle concentrated around the small town of Spas with the Russian and Swiss forces being engaged in a constant point blank firing and close quarters fighting. Casualties were heavy on both sides with the opposing divisions in the area being in effect decimated. The game ended with both sides having to withdraw due to heavy losses. Being on the French side I naturally considered it a moral victory as my Swiss troops were able to hold the Russian bear at bay.

 

 

Russia 1812: Battle of Gorodeczna

We played the second game of our Russia 1812 campaign last week which saw the reluctant combined Austrian and Saxon armies attacking a Russian rearguard in support of the main French advances which were threatened by the attacking forces of General Tormassov in the south.

Another report of the game can be found through the blog of a fellow club member Jaakko: Napoleon Complex Gaming

Historically Tormassov had defeated Reynier's Saxon Corps in the south and threatened the French flank. To counter this Napoleon ordered Austrian Prince Schwarzenberg to unite with Reynier and defeat Tormassov. Schwarzenberg had avoided battle with the Russians, but was now forced to fight. Tormassov gradually retreated south and deployed his men across a marshy plateau close to Gorodeczna.

Our game saw the combined Saxon and Austrian army try to push through the defending Russians and attacking with roughly a 2-to-1 advantage in manpower. The Saxons were deployed on the far right conducting a flanking attack, while two colums of Austrians were to attack the Russians over a river front.

The game began with the Saxons slowly advancing towards the defending Russians. The plan was to tie down the Russian flank before Seighenthal's and Frimont's divisions would attack over the river. However due to the slow advance of the Saxons an attack on the Russian lines was started by both Austrian commanders before the Russian flank was occupied.

In the center Jägers forced a crossing over the river and deployed protecting the attack columns. Initial assaults weren't immediately successful and a bloody hand-to-hand combat began. On the left flank Frimont's attack wasn't making headway with one brigade being routed almost immediately.

 

Relentless Austrian attacks were making headway with Nasimov's Russians starting to waver due to heavy casualties from close combat and close range firing from Austrian Jägers and infantry. Their flank was also threatened with Austrian light cavalry making a flanking move ready to run down any retreating Russians. Saxons on the right flank also finally made contact with the Russians and started grinding them down. Saxon and Russian cavalry made each other effectively useless through repeated assaults and counter-assaults.

After hours of heavy fighting a breakthrough was finally made in the Austrian center with Nasimov's whole division routing and creating an opening for Austrian cavalry to exploit. However due to communication failures they were not immediately in position to do so and had to maneuver into position.

To salvage the situation Russian dragoons were positioned in the middle to hinder the Austrian advance and prevent a complete breakthrough. Heavy fighting ensued between the cavalry of both sides that saw both taking heavy casualties.

At this point we had gotten through the 10 turn limit and stopped the game. The Russians had managed to slow down Austrian and Saxon advances, but had taken fairly high losses and were under the risk of being encircled. Russian left flank was in dire trouble and their center was destroyed. On the right flank most of their troops were in fairly good condition, but needed retreat to avoid being encircled. Austrian troops on the left flank had taken heavy losses and were unable to continue an assault. In the middle most troops had taken casualties, but were still mostly combat effective. Roughly half of the Austrian cavalry was still completely fresh and ready to start causing havoc in the Russian rear. Finally on the right flank the Saxons started to really make contact and were in position to push through defending Russians and close the pocket before they could retreat.

Another fun game, though the deployment of the Saxons meant that they couldn't really get to grips with the Russians before the end of the game. The first shots fired between Russians and Saxons was on round 6 if I remember correctly, so things could have gone very differently had they been in combat earlier like they were historically.

Next up the first battle of Polotsk where my Swiss and Croat troops will make their debut.

Painting progress on the Russia 1812 campaign

I've been a bit quiet here on the blog in the last week or so. Still it doesn't mean that there hasn't been anything hobby related going on. I've played a few games with my EW Germans losing both, but learning quite a few valuable lessons. I've also managed to get started with the French 9th Division for our Russian campaign. I need to have everything painted up in the end of May with the first battle of Polotsk being played then, so 2 months time to finish 13 battalions.

I've got the 3rd Provincional Croatian Regiment all painted up, but still missing basing and their flags. Pictured here is the 2nd battalion all done and glued on their bases.

I'm leaving for our summer cottage for easter holidays and after some negotiation I managed to sneak in some painting equipment as well. I've prepped up the 4th Swiss Regiment that was in the same brigade with the Croats. So 3 battalions of Swiss and the brigade commander with his aide. These are slightly smaller with only 18 men per battalion instead of the 24 that I had on the Croats. We only use 18 in our 15mm games, but in my opinion 24 look better when in march column so I have an extra base for that. After the Croats I decided to be smart and only paint the extra base when all the 13 battalions are finished.

During prep I also learned a valuable lesson in airbrushing again. Check what's behind even if it's not directly in the line of paint. With the brush sometimes pointing somewhere else than the table there can be some misplaced spray. This time my paintbrush rack was conveniently close. Luckily it was only the bottom parts of the brushes that got some overspray. At least now I will instantly recognize my brushes if I ever go to the club to paint something :)

But with that I wish everyone a Happy Easter! Even for a godless heathen like me it does give a much needed break from work with the few extra free days that we have here. So no rest for my brush arm as there's plenty of time for painting :)