Durenstein 1805 AAR


After-action-report for the Durenstein 1805 scenario.

At Dürenstein a combined force of Russian and Austrian troops trapped a French division commanded by Théodore Maxime Gazan. The French division was part of the newly created VIII Corps, the so-called Corps Mortier, under command of Édouard Mortier. In pursuing the Austrian retreat from Bavaria, Mortier had over-extended his three divisions along the north bank of the Danube. Mikhail Kutuzov, commander of the Coalition force, enticed Mortier to send Gazan's division into a trap and French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns.
French Aim: Hold off the Russian attacks
Russian Aim: Destroy the trapped French forces
Durenstein is a major objective.
Game Length: 22 turns (8am to 7pm)
Scale 50: Infantry unit=600 men, Cavalry unit=200 men, Artillery unit=6 guns, 1 mm=2.1 m

Terrain: The mountains and the Danube River are inaccessible by any units.

Strik’s and Dokhturov’s columns will randomly arrive from the start of the game with a 1/12 chance. This reflects the nature of the route they marched and the possible effects of terrain and weather. In the actual battle, snow and terrain were a factor in delaying their arrival by almost half a day.

Initial setup (below)

Durenstein 1805 AAR

Turn 1

The Russians are on Attack orders and  advance on the French position around Rothenhof, pushing their light cavalry up on the right flank to threaten the French left.
Graindorge’s French are on Defend orders.
The Russians fail their rolls for Strik and Dokhturov.

Turn 1 continued
Campana, on Move orders, pushes up his half-brigade to support Graindorge. The French are wary of the possible intervention of Russian troops through the mountains and maintain a defense in depth back to Durenstein.

Turn 2

The Russians again fail their rolls for Strik and Dokhturov.
Miloradovich rolls poorly and tentatively pushes his flanks forward. He has received 2 bonus command markers ready for an assault next turn.
Campana pushes his Dragoons up to keep the Russian light cavalry honest.

Turn 3

Miloradovich opens the attack with his artillery scoring a hit and 2 retreats on the central light infantry battalion. The adjacent Brigade commander, Graindorge, allows the unit to ignore one of the retreats and the unit is pushed back 1 hex.
Russian Grenadiers move around the village and the French Grenadiers retire to reform a defensive line and shoot ineffectively at the advancing Russians.
With command points to spare, Graindorge rallies the light infantry back to full strength.
Still no sign of the flanking Russian columns.

Turn 4

With 6 command dice this turn, Miloradovich roll a perfect set of orders to drive home the attack.
Continuing Russian battery fire is ineffectual. However, the Russian Grenadiers gang up on their French counterpart around the village in a pincer move. The French unit held firm on the initial assault, scoring several hits on the Russians. The second assault from the other Russian unit was decisive enough to rout the French elite unit. The Russian Grenadier battalion then advanced into the flank of the French line.
Thankfully the French have plenty of space to give ground and Graindorge will likely give up the Rothenhof position and fall back on Campana’s second line at Unterloiben.
A very historical outcome so far, with
Miloradovich doing his job and the other Russian columns nowhere to be seen!

Turn 5

Graindorge successfully disengages his brigade and has rallied the grenadiers.
The Russians consolidate their hold on Rothenhof but fail to roll orders for their artillery and Miloradovich errs on the side of caution and holds his advance. Without artillery support, the French look too strong, and there is still no sign of the other Russian columns.

Turn 6

Miloradovich's Russians get the early initiative and have a maximum allocation of command points to play with. The temptation is too great and the grenadiers are sent in again to attack the retiring French battalions. The attack goes in successfully and a French battalion is routed while the other retires back to the village. If only the other columns would arrive now with the French on the back foot.

Turn 7

Strik's Russian column appears at the head of the path through the mountains!
The French pull back into a strong defensive line and Graindorge also manages to rally his grenadiers.
Miloradovich has done his job very well and consolidates his forces while bringing up his artillery.

Turn 8

Strik rolls a great set of command dice and the whole column rushes out onto the foothills. Campana orders 2 battalions to block the newly arrived Russians. The vineyards constrain the available suitable terrain but the Russians have put their Jagers into skirmish formation in preparation.

Turn 9

Strik's Russians get a change in orders to Attack and charge through the vineyards and are met with a solid musket volley. Both sides hold firm. Miloradovich moves his line up to engage the French front.
Graindorge has now managed to fully rally all his troops and al battalions are back to full strength.

Turn 10

Strik's column breaks through the blockade between the vineyards and the French are now in full retreat. Miloradovich advances his grenadiers to take the vacated village at top of picture.

Dokhturov's column arrives with a near perfect set of rolled orders. The Russian battalions reach the outskirts of Durenstein in a single move! The French are caught napping as they expected to have at least 1 turn to prepare for any attack from that direction. With the forward French forces in retreat things look precarious for Mortier. The French can only hope that reinforcements arrive early in turn 12 (still 2 turns away).

Turn 11

The Russians bottle up the French defenders in Durenstein with a series of attacks that rolled very well, inflicting 2 hits on each of the defending units. The Russians are relatively unscathed and have a stream of battalions coming onto the board.
In the background, the rest of the French are in full retreat back to Durenstein. The Russians rolled very well on some close range musket fire and routed another French battalion.
The French can only hope to move back fast enough to form a defensive line in front of Durenstein, or try and fight their way through.

Turn 12

The Russians continue to get exceptional combat rolls and route two of the defending units in Durenstein, leaving a sole battalion to hold the town. The French forces are quickly being hemmed into a small pocket against the Danube. There is no sign of French reinforcements either.
While the Russian columns arrived later than planned the three-pronged envelopment has worked perfectly.

Turn 13

The French form a last ditch defensive line with their backs to the Danube and Durenstein on their flank. The Russians move in for the kill.
 In Durenstein itself, a lone French battalion fights to hold the town against overwhelming odds.
Dokhturov's forces also form a defensive line in preparation for any French relieving forces which failed to arrive this turn.

Turn 14

The Russians occupy Durenstein and Campana's brigade is close to breaking with 2 battalions decimated. The Russians even dared to charge the French cavalry with their infantry and forced the French dragoons back to the river. The Russians have now brought their artillery up and it now seems only a matter of time. Not even the arrival of French reinforcements could change the tide now.

Turn 15

The French relieving force arrives! But the Russians have a strong hold on Durenstein and pull back to form a solid defensive line while the rest of the Russian army finishes off the French trapped against the Danube.

The situation looks hopeless for Mortier now. Campana's brigade has broken and the Russians have taken the remaining village (at bottom of picture).
Mortier surrenders the trapped French force and the Russians have won a major victory.

Comments

  1. An excellent battle report, and a very interesting scenario. A tough one for the French, certainly. Difficult to see how they can hold out, unless their reinforcements are lucky enough to arrive on turn 12 and Strik’s column doesn’t appear until turn 8. I wonder if falling back as quickly as possibly and consolidating around Durenstein would work? Or maybe Graindorge could try to knock out Kutuzov/Milioradovich with a bold attack (probably suicidal). A scenario with great replay potential for sure.

    Your new terrain mat is looking lovely by the way. And thank you for sharing your rules. I’m a big fan of Commands & Colors but would like to play something with a little more complexity (but still easy enough for solo play). Yours look ideal. And your terrain set-up is very impressive. My own attempts to construct a hex system for my miniatures is still evolving. Using a printed fleece like yours seems a great idea. Cheers, Kevin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comments. I find myself continually evolving the rules after each game trying to find that balance between simplicity and realism.

      Delete
  2. Thanks, enjoyed your table and AAR.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment