Previously there have been several references to "our Austerlitz" and I would like to explain this battle to you and explain why it was a landmark in our wargaming careers. Some of the details here may be a little patchy but that is due to how long ago the battle was fought.
The French had 45 infantrymen, 3 Generals, 4 artillerymen and one cannon. Facing them were 16 Russians and 30 Prussians (we had no Austrians) with one cavalryman. Though these numbers may sound meagre, at the time this was the largest battle we had fought in our wargaming careers. In fact, it is still our largest infantry battle to date.
Now for the battle:
The battle started when the Russian drums started and the troops marched blindly towards the French. Now Thomas didn't want to waste valuable men holding off the Russians, so he simply moved his cannon and crew onto a nearby hill. This cannon originally had a 30cm firing range, but after putting it on a hill Thomas suddenly had a super-powerful cannon with a 50cm firing range.
I on the other hand prioritised crossing the bridges by the town to secure a hill and farmhouse. I loaded that hill up with 18 of my best troops to be a forward defence post.
The Russians also captured a farmhouse until seconds later when it was destroyed by the French cannon. Seeing no alternative, the Russians marched at the gun supported by a single cavalryman while it spat cannon balls into the helpless men. The entire army was killed off so rapidly there was no time for them to even get in range. A single man did survive the slaughter and reached the gun only to be shot by the infantry.
With no army left to command, the Russian General committed suicide.
On the Prussian front however a total of 24 French troops were massing just out of range of my infantry. Then the first wave attacked.
12 French infantry charged at my hill losing all of their men and killing 8-10 of mine. Then came the second wave. 12 more infantry chatged my line, losing 10 of their own but successfully killing all Prussians on the hill to gain... nothing! In that single engagement the French lost 22 out of 24 men to kill 18 Prussian infantry on a hill with no strategic value. Half of the French casualties from the entire battle came from that fight.
However this battle crippled the Prussian army and the Field-Marshal evacuated when he heard the hill was lost. The rest of my infantry were spread out in small pockets throughout the battlefield and the new Prussian commander decided that defence was the best option.
He ordered his men to withdraw from the bridges and take up defensive positions in the town for a guerrilla-style defence. It didn't work.
The French army marched swiftly past the defences and massacred the Prussian general staff behind the town.
The French may have won this battle but the allied armies didn't retreat like real life, but instead held their ground until death.
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