This scenario was developed by Mike Campbell.

Background

Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia offers a few battles which oppose the Russians with various allied contingents of the French. The battle of Gorodetschna is one such, with Austrians and Saxons attacking the Russians. The Austrians Auxiliary Corps and the Saxon VII Corps of the Grand Armee were operating under command of the Austrian Feld Marshal Prince Schwarzenberg. Opposing them was the Russian 3rd Army of the West under General Tormassov. Tormassov’s army had only just completed the reorganisation that all the Russian forces had undergone in the first half of 1812.

The allies had already pushed the Russians out of one of their major magazines at Prujnay, and Tormassov was resolved to slow their advance on Kobrin. He set his troops on a ridge behind a swampy river, with 2 lines of infantry, plus cavalry and guns covering all possible lines of advance.

Reynier and Scwarzenberg saw that a frontal attack would be extremely risky, and bloody even if successful. Reynier suggested a manoeuvre against the Russian left/rear, and Scwarzenberg agreed, detaching 2 brigades of Austrian cavalry to support them.

The Battle

The Russian flank guard was not small - 4 Infantry Regiments, 1 Jaeger Regiment and a position battery from 18th Division, and 2 Dragoon Regiments and another position battery from other formations. Kamenski immediately counter attacked the Saxon light infantry which crossed the stream on the road from Poddoubny, and established a 24-gun battery commanding that crossing.

Reynier personally directed the successful main attack by the Saxon cavalry at a dry crossing further south. The leading elements stopped as soon as they were over the stream and faced the Russians, as more Saxons and Austrians passed behind them. This continued for some time, with troops stopping and facing north as they emerged from behind the existing line, a manoeuvre reminiscent of Nelson’s tactics at Copenhagen. By 11 am the Saxons and Austrians were completely across the swamp, and formed up to the rear of the Russian position!

Leaving troops to watch Gorodetschna, Tormassov ordered the 9th Division and the Cavalry Corps to redeploy alongside the 18th Division. A furious cannonade was kept up by both sides - the Saxons to cover their deployment, the Austrians on the far side of the river against the Russians opposite them, and the Russians against the Saxon units guarding the deployment.

The race for the Zavnice is reminiscent of the WWI race for the sea, with both sides using newly arrived units to extend their line. The Saxon cavalry by the river was replaced by Sahr’s Brigade, and moved towards the road. The Russians won the race by virtue of having more troops immediately available, and the Cavalry Corps and two Hussar Regiments arrived near Zavnice and immediately attacked the Saxon 21st Division on the end of the Allied line. The Saxon infantry held without trouble, and their cavalry drove the Russians off and captured 150 prisoners. Reynier then ordered the Allied cavalry to advance on the Kobrin road, but they were driven back by the Russian Hussars.

Meanwhile Russian Dragoons repeatedly charged Sahr’s brigade next to the river. The 2nd Light Infantry formed a line with its ends anchored on squares of the 2 Grenadier battalions, a most unusual but effective formation. Two skirmishing companies of the 2nd Light Infantry lost heavily to the Dragoons, although they formed "klumpen" and fought bravely.

As the day wore on Sahr’s brigade resumed the attack on the Russian right, supported by troops from the 21st Division and by the advance of two Austrian battalions across the swampy river. The Austrian attack was stopped by the presence of the Russian cavalry. To support the stalled attack two more Austrian regiments advanced into the swamp, and artillery fired across the river. One of the regiments in the swamp formed battalionmasse to counter the cavalry and the remaining Austrian cavalry brigade also moved across in support, driving the Russians back as night fell.

In the north, Frimont had noticed the Russians withdrawing troops to reinforce the fighting in the south, and at about 5pm he resolved to attack the original Russian positions. He advanced into Gorodetschna with 2 battalions a battery and a cavalry regiment. The Russians advanced a Brigade of infantry to the village post office, supported by 16 guns and several squadrons of cavalry, but it is unclear if any fighting took place. Seeing masses of Russians moving in the hills behind the swamp, Frimont decided the position was still too tough to attack, and withdrew.

The Aftermath:

Total numbers on each side were approximately 31,000 Russians, 25,000 Austrians and 13,000 Saxons. The action was not very intense compared to later battles of the campaign, and Tormassov had directly engaged only 18 of his 48 battalions, 48 of his 66 regular squadrons and possibly as few as 5 batteries. Much of the Austrian Corps also saw little or no action.

Casualties amounted to 4000 Russians killed and wounded plus 500 captured, and 2000 Austrians and 900 Saxons killed, wounded or missing. The Saxons had also lost 5 guns in the artillery duels throughout the day, 3 from a single horse battery.

That night Tormossov decided it was too dangerous to remain, and withdrew, allowing the Allies to occupy Kobrin two days later. About this time word reached all sides about this time that Turkey had made peace with the Russians. This had freed Admiral Tchichagov’s Army of the Danube, which was fast approaching the area, causing Schwarzenberg to stop his pursuit within a week of the battle.

Tormassov’s delaying tactics had prevented Schwarzenberg from joining Davout, and caused many Polish troops to remain in garrison in Poland rather than being used to support rear areas of the Grand Armee. I shall leave it to others to speculate on what might have happened had the French been able to achieve these two aims.

What if:

The 3rd Corps reached Tormassov the night before the battle. You may wish to make life a little easier for the Allies by assuming it was delayed a day and was not present at the battle. Of course this then has the possibility of making for a 2-day battle, with the 3rd Corps arriving from Kobrin during the night.

The Game

Game Length:

The battle starts with the 0600 turn, and continues until the end of the 1800, or until both players agree to stop if earlier. The Allied player moves first.

Victory Conditions:

The burden of attack is on the Allies. They gain a minor victory by having at least 10SP of unexhausted troops in control on the Russian side of the river. A major victory occurs if the Allies secure any part of the road to Kobrin south of the Russian positions or occupy the hills overlooking the road to Gorodetschna in addition to achieving the minor victory conditions. There is no additional bonus for securing both objectives. An allied victory is degraded 1 lever (major to minor, minor to draw) if any allied divisions have had a morale collapse, or if the Allies have more exhausted divisions than the Russians.

The Russians win if the allies have no unexhausted troops in command on the Russian side of the river. This is a major victory if the Russians have fewer exhausted divisions than the Allies, otherwise it is minor.

It is a draw if the Allies have unexhausted troops in control across the river, but less than 10SP of them.

The historical battle was a minor Allied victory.

Infantry vs Cavalry:

Austrian infantry used battalionmasse at this battle, the Saxons used "Klumpen". The Russians had a "quick square" as part of their drill. Russians are also only morale 4, so the modifier for cavalry would make them 3 if not stationary, which is way too low. Therefore there is no morale deduction for non-stationary infantry meleed by cavalry. Note that the tie break modifiers for being stationary or non-stationary both still apply, as properly formed squares were still superior to the various hasty versions.

Russian Infantry:

I have chosen to rate the Russian infantry as morale 4 and give them a 60% exhaustion level. This is due to the reputation they had as stubborn defenders but, at best, as ordinary in the attack. The large number of "brigades" in each division should ensure they do not become exhausted too quickly from routs, and makes maintaining command a bit difficult. Rallying might keep the Corps commanders busy!

The Russian Converged Grenadier battalions were not elite troops. They were the best available troops out of the 3rd (depot) battalion of each infantry regiment, so were the best of the recruits. The performance of the Converged Grenadier brigades at Borodino shows they were as brave/stubborn/ stupid as the rest of the line infantry, so I have graded them the same. The few in this battle were nominally a separate division, but there’s not a lot of point in a 1-brigade division with an exhaustion level of 3 out of 4 SP, so I have made them corps troops.

In 1811 a 4th battalion was raised for each Russian infantry regiment. These were intended solely as reserve/reinforcement cadres, but were formed into reserve divisions together with the remnants of the depot battalions of the same regiments. These divisions were then used as extra field formations before being split up for reinforcements. As with the converged grenadiers, the performance of reserve troops in other battles indicates they were certainly brave enough, so they have the same morale and exhaustion. However the best troops had been removed from the 3rd battalions, and the 4th battalions were recently raised, so they count as having no grenadiers and as poorly drilled.

Russian Cavalry:

Russian cavalry used 3 ranks instead of the 2 more common elsewhere. Apparently their drill required troops to remember exactly where they were from the left - something difficult to do after a few casualties, and the units were liable to fall into confusion if manoeuvred in combat. Accordingly all Russian cavalry, regular and irregular, is considered poorly drilled.

Until 1812 Russian cavalry regiments had 5 field squadrons if Dragoon or Cuirassier, and 10 if light cavalry. In 1812 this was reduced to 4 and 8 respectively, with the missing squadrons being used to bring the remaining ones up to strength and then turned into depots. The depots were then converged into reserve cavalry regiments and divisions! With the best of their troops removed these must be considered as lower morale than normal line units.

Cossacks and other irregular cavalry are rated as light militia.

Lancers:

I remain unconvinced that there is any reason to have a lance bonus at all - lances may have out-reached bayonets, but they didn’t out reach musket balls or canister!

If you insist on using the lancer bonus then Russian Hussar regiments had their front ranks armed with lance, and the sole Allied lance unit (Prinz Clemens Uhlans) is brigaded with a Chevauxleger (light horse) regiment. Both would count as lance armed. The Russian Tartar Uhlan regiment is also lance armed.

Austrian Corps Artillery:

The Corps artillery consisted of 4 x 6-lb batteries (probably 2 horse and 2 foot) each of 4 guns and 2 howitzers, one 6-gun battery of 3-lb guns, and one of 12-lb guns. The 12 lb and one 6 lb position batteries are converged in the heavy bn assigned to Frimont. The 2 x 6lb horse batteries were also assigned to Frimont, and the remaining 3-lb and 6lb guns are the Corps reserve field bn.

Battalion Guns:

Saxon line infantry regiments had regimental artillery batteries of 4 guns per regiment. The two Brigades including these are marked on the order of battle. I am unconvinced that there is a case for slowing down infantry equipped with these guns, as they had horse teams and don’t seem to have suffered from them at all. Therefore they are allowed to move at the normal brigade rate. If you disagree then by all means play the rule as written.

Infantry Skirmishers:

All infantry skirmishers are optional, ie they can change between close order and skirmish order at will as described in the rules. I suggest that they be fielded on regimental sized bases instead of skirmisher sized bases, but using only a few figures in open order. The bases then do not need to be separated from others in order to count as skirmishers. Use skirmisher sized bases when in villages, ie a skirmisher moving into a village would have its "regimental" base replaced by a "skirmish" base. A skirmisher leaving a village must be replaced with a "regimental" base if detached from a brigade, or can chose to be formed or skirmishing if a 1-pt brigade. Another method of achieving the same end is to use regiment sized blank bases for skirmishers in the open.

In 1810 the two Saxon light infantry regiments were formed based on two existing rifle battalions. I do not know if these troops retained their rifles or if the new battalions were equipped with them, but a reference in an Osprey book refers to two Jaeger and two Schutzen battalions. Since Schutzen was the term for rifle detachments it seems there were 2 distinct troops types, presumably 1 battalion of each in each regiment. The Austrian light brigades each comprise a half battalion of Jaegers and 1 of Grenz. All these brigades can therefore field 1 element of skirmishers as sharpshooters.

The Saxon Brigades can field their sharpshooter provided the brigade has at least 3 strength points left and the sharpshooter element has not been eliminated somehow else. The Austrians can field theirs as long as the Brigade has at least 2 SP left. Saxon brigades should lose skirmish strength points alternately with normal ones, unless the skirmishers are destroyed while detached.

Saxon Artillery:

Saxon artillery was apparently not well regarded, so has the same morale as the other Saxon troops, whereas the Austrian and Russian artillery has higher morale.

Grenadiers:

The Austrians still brigaded grenadiers out of the line regiments into separate battalions. The Saxons had done so until 1809, when they established the Grenadier Battalions as separate units in their own right. During this campaign the Grenadier battalions were distributed among some of the brigades at 1 or 2 battalions per brigade. Brigades without a grenadier battalion count as having "no grenadiers". All Austrian brigades have no grenadiers, except for the single base of grenadiers. The Saxon brigade v. Nostitz does not have grenadiers, but the other Saxon Brigades do.

There are no "shock troops" in this scenario. I believe the "shock troop" rating is far too powerful, especially where the differences in training & equipment are negligible. Elite reserves in this period were best used when the enemy was exhausted or near to it, and sending them in too early could be ruinous, even if they did "win". Not using the shock troop rating makes it much more important to commit your reserves at the right time.

Cavalry Skirmishers:

There are no cavalry skirmishers allowed in this scenario. Cavalry skirmiehers in this period were not for massed use on the battlefield, they were for patrolling, harassing outposts, reconnoitring, etc.. Skirmishers were sometimes used on battlefields, but only as screens for formed troops or as picquets and outposts, so are outside the massed use represented by separate stands..

Mixed Cavalry Brigades:

There are two mixed-weight cavalry brigades, one on each side. The Russian Brigade is mixed Dragoon/Cuirassier, and is treated as if heavier than medium. If there weer any heavies in the battle it would count as lighter than them. The Austrian one is Hussar/Dragoon, and is treated as heavier than light, but lighter than medium.

Set Up:

The Saxons set up above the their position noted on the map, anywhere along the road running parallel to the river. The Austrians set up Trautenberg’s and Frimont’s divisions at the Austrian position noted. The remainder of the Austrians set up on the road running parallel to the river, anywhere between Frimont and the Saxons.

The Russian 9th & 19th Divisions and Cavalry Corps set up as indicated, except for any troops detached positioned by the 18th Division.

None of the units of the 3rd Corps are specifically mentioned in the battle, so I assume they form the "masses" of troops Frimont saw on the hills above the river. They set up between the 9th and 19th Divisions. If playing the option that they arrive the night after the battle, then they set up on the road to Kobrin before the first turn on day 2.

The position noted for the 18th division contains only 3 infantry brigades (1 light, 2 normal) and a light battery. Behind the 18th division is any 1 Dragoon Brigade (not mixed) and any 1 other artillery battery. The remainder of the 18th division sets up on the main road between the rest of the army and Zavnice.

All troops start stationary.

Scale:

Here’s the problem - the original map has no scale.

My best guess is that the 18th Division position should be 4" from the swamp, which should itself be 4" wide at that point. The gap between the 18th Division hill and the hill eventually occupied by the Saxons should be 10", and the "Saxon" hill should be about 30" long. The swampy river may have been 3 miles long between the table edges.

Hopefully I’ll get to put all this down as a grided map sometime soon!

Sources

The idea for this battle came from George Nafziger’s "Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia" (Presidio, 1988). This work is very interesting, but often maddeningly contradictory and/or incomplete. It has a map of the battle, although there is no scale given!! Nafziger has also published "The Russian Army 1800-1815" (RAFM, 1983), and an OOB for Gorodetschna as part of his "Nafziger Collection" which both proved useful. I used "Napoleonic Armies, A Wargamer’s Campaign Directory 1805-1815" by Ray Johnson (Arms & Armour Press, 1984) for most of my info on likely battalion sizes, and for comparison of organisations with Nafziger. Various Osprey publications on the Austrian & Russian Armies, Flags and artillery equipment provided snippets too.

Strictly Fantasy

Jerome had been directed to take charge of the troops in Poland if the Russians launched a pre-emptive attack. These comprised the Poles (V Corps), Saxons (VII Corps) and Westphalians (VIII Corps). This combination might provide a colourful "what if" match against the Russians.

Order of Battle

The Allied command structure at this battle is significantly different to the theoretical order of battle of the two corps involved. Several Austrian units and generals were assigned to Saxon formations or reassigned within the Austrian Corps. For example the Saxon light cavalry brigade included two Austrian Regiments and was commanded by an Austrian.

Frimont, originally the Austrian cavalry division commander, was nominal commander of the troops left watching the original Russian positions. These comprised the advance guard division and a brigade of two regiments from another division. He does not rate as a corps commander.

Prince Schwarzenberg: Army and Corps Commander (AC)

Corps Troops:

• Foot battalion (2-6) field

Division: Fieldmarshal Lieutenant Trautenberg, exhaustion 7 (Advance Guard)

• Detachments of Kienmayer Hussar and Reisch Dragoon Regiments (2-5) light/medium
• l/St. Georg Grenz Regiment & 4 co’s Jaeger Bn #5 (3-5) ng, skirmishers including 1 SP of sharpshooters
• Duka Inf Regiment (4-5) ng
• Beaulieu Inf Regiment (4-5) ng
• Foot battery (1-6) field

Division: Fieldmarshal Lieutenant Frimont, exhaustion 6 (attachments)

• Kirchbetter & Brezinski Grenadier Bn’s (3-6)
• Davidovich Infantry Regiment (4-5) ng
• Esterhazy Infantry Regiment (4-5) ng
• Foot battalion (2-6) heavy
• Horse battalion (2-6) field

Division: Fieldmarshal Lieutenant Bianchi, exhaustion 9

• Simbschen Infantry Regiment (Hungarian) (5-5) ng
• Alvinzy Infantry Regiment (Hungarian) (5-5) ng
• Hiller Infantry Regiment (4-5) ng
• Colloredo-Mansfeld Infantry Regiment (4-5) ng
• Foot battery (1-6) field

Division: Fieldmarshal Lieutenant Siegenthal, exhaustion 7

• Czartoryski Infantry Regiment (2-5) ng
• Sottulinski Infantry Regiment (4-5) ng
• Prinz de Ligne Infantry Regiment (4-5) ng
• Jaeger Bn #7 & l/Warasdiner Kreutzer Grenz Regiment (3-5) ng, skirmishers including 1 SP of sharpshooters
• Hesse-Homberg Hussar Regiment (2-5) light
• Foot battery (1-6) field

Cavalry Division:, von Frolich, exhaustion 3

• Kaiser & Blankenstein Hussar Regiments (3-5) light
• Riesch & Levenwhere Dragoon Regiments (2-5) medium

VII Corps, Corps Commander: Reynier

Corps Troops:

• Heavy artillery bn (2-5) heavy
• Field artillery bn (2-5) field

2lst Division: Generallieutenant Le Coq, exhaustion 5

• von Steindel’s brigade (5-5) bg
• von Nostitz’s brigade (4-5) bg, ng, 2 skirmishers incl 1 sharpshooter
• 4th Foot Battery Rouvroy (1-6) field

22nd Division: Generallieutenant von Funck , exhaustion 2

• von Sahr’s brigade (4-5) 2 skirmishers incl 1 sharpshooter
• 3rd Foot Battery Bonniot (1-6) field

(Klengel's brigade of the 22nd Division was captured at the battle of Kobrin.)

23rd Light Cavalry Brigade: General Zechmeister (Austrian), exhaustion 4 (treat as a division)

• Saxon Hussar Regiment (2-5) light
• Polenz Chevauleger & Prinz Clemens Uhlan Regiments (2-5) light
• Hohenzollern & O’Reilly Chevauxleger Regiments (3-5) light (Austrian)
• Horse artillery bn (2-5) field

Russian 3rd Army of the West, Army Commander - Generallieutenant Tormassov

Army Troops:

• Position Battery #34 (2-6), heavy

1 Corps, Corps Commander: General of Infantry Kamenski

Corps Troops:

• Converged Grenadiers of the 9th, 15th & 18th Divisions (4-4)

l8th Division: Prince Tchervatov, exhaustion 12

• Tambov Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Vladamir Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Dnieper Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Kostroma Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• 28th Jager Regiment (3-4) skirmisher
• 32nd Jager Regiment (3-4) skirmisher
• Pavlovgrad Hussar Regiment (2-5) light, poorly drilled
• Position Battery #l8 (2-6) heavy
• Light Battery #34 (2-6) field
• Light Battery #35 (2-6) field
• Horse Battery #ll (2-6) field

2 Corps, Corps Commander: Generallieutenant Markoff

l5th Division: Nasimov, exhaustion 11

• Kourin Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Kolyvan Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Koslov Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Vitebsk Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• l3th Jager Regiment (3-4) skirmishers
• l4th Jager Regiment (3-4) skirmishers
• Position Battery #l5 (2-6) heavy
• Light Battery #28 (2-6) field
• Light Battery #29 (2-6) field

9th Division: Generalmajor Udom, exhaustion 12

• Riajsk Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Apcheron Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Iakout Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• Nacheburg Infantry Regiment (3-4)
• l0th Jager Regiment (3-4) skirmishers
• 38th Jager Regiment (3-4) skirmishers
• Alexandria Hussar Regiment (2-5) light, poorly drilled
• Position Battery #9 (2-6) heavy
• Light Battery #l6 (2-6) field
• Light Battery #l7 (2-6) field
• Horse Battery #12 (2-6) field

3 Corps, Corps Commander: Generallieutenant Sacken

Corps Troops:

• Position Battery #33 (2-6) heavy
• Horse Battery #l3 (2-6) field

38th (36th?) Division: Generalmajor Sorokin, exhaustion 7

• 1/Reserve Battalions of the l5th Division (3-4) ng, poorly drilled
• 2/Reserve Battalions of the l5th Division (3-4) ng, poorly drilled
• 1/Reserve Battalions of the l8th Division (3-4) ng, poorly drilled
• 2/Reserve Battalions of the l8th Division (3-4) ng, poorly drilled

llth Cavalry Division: Lasskin, exhaustion 3

• Reserve Squadrons of the 2nd Cuirassier, 4th & 5th Cavalry Divisions(3-4) medium/heavy, poorly drilled
• Loubny Hussar Regiment (2-5) light, poorly drilled

Cavalry Corps Corps Commander: Generalmajor Lambert

5th Cavalry Division: ??, exhaustion 3

• Tver & Starodoub Dragoon Regiments (2-5) medium, poorly drilled
• Jitomir & Arasmass Dragoon Regiments (2-5) medium, poorly drilled
• Tartar Uhlan Regiment (2-5) light, poorly drilled

8th Division: Generalmajor Tschapliz, exhaustion 2

• Taganrog Dragoon Regiment (2-5) medium, poorly drilled
• Vladimir & Serpuchov Dragoon Regiments (2-5) medium, poorly drilled

Irregular Division: ??, exhaustion 3

• Cossacks (2-5) light, militia
• Cossacks & Bashkirs (2-5) light, militia
• Kalmuks (2-5) light, militia
• Tartars (2-5) light, militia

Map

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