HAHGS Waterloo Campaign - Prussian Pride, Imperial Fancy, and the Waterloo Journal

A few words from the Prussians:

To King Frederick William III of Prussia,

Since my last letter that provided our recent preparations of the 1^st through 4^th Prussian Corps in Belgium, our forces have encountered the French Army, along with its newest invasion attempt.  Yet do not fear whatever rumors that may have arrived to your ears, for it is with great pleasure that I send along news of the positive progress we have made towards the defeat of Napoleon, his army, and their most recent assault against the rest of the world.  Additionally, my headquarters has most recently moved from the town of Namur to the town of Ligny, and as the current military campaign continues, it won’t be long before this changes again, as the Prussian army closes in on its goal to aid the Anglo army and its allies in destroying what remains of the French forces accordingly.

It seems from the reports I have received, that not long ago the French Army managed to assemble at and around the French town of Beaumont, before primarily crossing well to the east of General Ziethen’s 1^st Corp, somewhere along the Sambre River, and upstream from the town of Charleroi.  This should not be of much concern though because both the Prussian army was ready, along with its British counterpart, along with their sundry allies, and we have moved into action to defeat the dastardly foe.  It appears the bulk of Napoleon’s effort was moved to hit at the right flank of the British army, marching through Mons in their approach of Ghent and Brussels, seemingly in an attempt to get at communication and supply lines of the Duke of Wellington and his soldiers.  There are those that claim the success that Napoleon has had in accomplishing this objective is significant, and yet the Duke of Wellington has also managed to hold Napoleon and the French forces in the general vicinity of a small town called Waterloo.  Word has also arrived that not only is Napoleon’s army stuck in at this location, and I have seen such myself, but that Wellington has sent twice as many soldiers towards the coast as the French have sent, to come in behind the relatively limited marauding French soldiers traipsing off in that direction, and there by resolve the threat such forces might present.  Meanwhile the Prussian Army is prepared to continue our efforts at defeating the right flank of the French, and cut Napoleon’s own lines of communication and supply as we come in on Wellington’s left.  Yet perhaps I get ahead of myself.

It has been only a couple of days since the start of Napoleon’s most recent invasion of Belgium.  General Ziethen’s 1^st Corp was able to confront the French at Charleroi, and maintain his position at Ligny, while seeing heavy fighting in doing such.  Although the French have fought well in that location, General Ziethen has performed his role effectively, and it has provided the Prussian Army the time we’ve needed to get into the excellent position that we are currently experiencing.  General Pirch’s 2^nd Corp initially maintained their position at Namur, although led a portion of his cavalry and artillery across the Sambre River to the village of Fosse to draw as many French forces as possible away from crossing at Charleroi. It appears that this drew an entire French Corp in an easterly fashion.  However, it seems they got a bit carried away, and in typical Napoleonic fashion extended themselves to the point where they crossed the Meuse River at the villages of Dinant and Yvoir.  Here they met General Thielmann’s 3^rd Corp, who promptly recaptured both locations, crossed the Meuse in return, and despite the stiff resistance encountered, the French are in retreat, and our advance has begun towards Phillippeville, Beaumont, and other parts to the west, where I intend to bring about with the eventual surrounding of what remains of Napoleon’s soldiers in Belgium with Your Majesty’s forces.

Meanwhile, General Von Bulow’s 4^th Corp has arrived from Liege, and after serving in reserve at the town of Ramilles, has since marched to Namur.  General Von Bulow was then ordered over the river to Fosse, where his 4^th Corp has joined General Thielmann’s 3^rd Corp, and the advance along the southerly side of the Sambre River.  At the same time, General Pirch’s 2^nd Corp has moved from Namur to General Ziethen’s right flank at Ligny, reaching there in time to reinforce and bring to an abrupt halt any French effort at progress there.  Both together will push forward and crush what remains of the French forces holding Napoleon’s left flank at Charleroi and Quatre Bras.  This will bring the Prussian army even closer to the Duke of Wellington’s forces, and with Von Bulow and Thielmann’s Corps performing so well in their flanking maneuver, and French resistance crumbling as a result, it won’t be long before Napoleon will once again be defeated.  A lone man can escape such place as Elba, and perhaps too, the southerly area of Belgium, but with his army defeated and in ruins, Paris will be our next stop, and the war will be over.

Also, I have not only been in contact with the Duke of Wellington, but also visited with him on the field of battle at Waterloo.  He has again proved to be an effective commander of his troops, and his soldiers have performed quite admirably.  I have shared with the Duke the plans that are being implemented by the Prussian army just to the south of the British army’s current position.  It appears that Napoleon has committed his Guard troops to assaulting the British Army’s superior location, and this last ditch effort to win a fight may have blinded him, at least temporarily, to how much his rearward position is currently at threat from the Prussian Army.  It may not be long before the threat is discovered, and yet with Pirch’s 2^nd Corp backing up Zeithen’s 1^st Corp, and the arrival of Von Bulow’s 4^th Corp to join Theilmann’s 3^rd Corp, it won’t be long before Napoleon’s position becomes untenable, as we continue to seek it’s eventual destruction.

My King, may this letter find you and your family well, and its contents bring a sense of security for you and Prussia, knowing that our nation’s best soldiers are performing their duty with honor and success.  I will be in touch again as the situation continues.

Sincerely your’s,

Feld Marshall Gebhard von Blucher

 First I'd like to thank all that put this event together and the venue. It was a great game and I enjoyed very much.    I was Prussian (Pirch 1, 2nd Corp), the Corp was setup in/around Namur along with Blucher. On turn 2 I probed to Fosse with 3 cavalry units and a horse battery and discovered elements of French infantry and Heavy cavalry. My units were in Fosse but retreated back to Namur when the French advanced their infantry and artillery. I later was ordered to the aid of Ziethen's 1st Corp at Ligny and push the French. I ended the game aiding  Ziethen's 1st Corp and defending Ligny, I think numbers would have driven off the French with the arrival of my fresh 2nd Corp.

  I wish I had been more aggressive when I first saw the French on the Fosse table and committed my whole Corp to go after Vandamme's Corp before he could set up a defensive  line which he did when fighting Thielman's and Bulow's Corps later on. But I held back until Blucher could get a better picture of what/where the French were doing.

Thank You, Scott Monteith


And finally, The Emperor himself (Robert Painter) speaks

Malmaison, Juin 15 1834

Les Mémoires de l'Empereur :   Campagne Finale Contre la Coalition

Aside from myself, loyal Drouot may the man to whom France may owe its present stability of government. He was made The Prince of Brussels, and now that my poor brother is gone, he is the King of Holland today, and still the honorable commander of my old grumblers.  The fiery Marshal Vandamme bathed himself in glory, and Marshal Gerard did as well. That is not to say all the generals under my command during those fateful June days in 1815 did not perform as well or better given their orders- they did. Reille, Lobau, Milhaud, Kellerman, Pajol…All have their Batons, living and dead, and they are immortalized on the arch forever.

Much has been written about the campaign against the Anglo-Allied forces in Belgium, by others.  Now I shall write the history of those days as I remember them, as I fought them in sickness and in triumph, and as I won for France her place as the First State of Europe.  Yet despite my decisive way of war, I was vexed.  How to beat the English and Prussian apart?  My commanders, bold in adversity, were strong in their opinions, and to this end I will say now that with the passing of time this was the campaign that engendered even greater wisdom, rather than simple superior intelligence, in your Emperor.  I listened to my great warriors, winners of so many tests- and used their counsel in a decisive manner.  The result is now known, but on the night of June 15 those many years ago, our victory was not yet secured. It would be.

It was determined in my council of war at Beaumont, on the 14^th of June, that the original plan to drive a wedge between the English and Prussians along the axis of the Brussels road from Charleroi to the capital was fraught with potential delay and confusion.  Barring indecisive movement by the Prussians,  the risk of several corps stagnant at the bridges and being hemmed against the Sambre at Charleroi was too great to chance: the open roads to Mons afforded better movement.  At the urging of some of my fine officers, I dispatched aides to remand previous orders of march and move the bulk of the army West toward Mons, rather than North-East toward Quatre-Bras.  At this juncture Vandamme brashly contradicted my intentions for his corps to move West, and made his plea for Eastward movement to engage the Prussians.  He saw the need for more force to hold the enemy on our right.  As we know, he was correct in this assumption, and deadly in the execution of his plan.  He may have been mistaken in his estimation of enemy strength and location on occasion, but I urged him to perservere- and he aquitted himself in the most honorable manner.  He bears the title of Prince of the Meuse for his actions that day, though the brave scoundrel has nearly lost it several times! Well, well, these stories during The Peace are famous, and do not bear repeating here. Victory is a jailer’s key!

On the 15^th, The Great Army of the North, set in motion, choked the crossings and roads wherever it went.  So often the commanders would entreat me to send them in different directions, to avoid the congestion, but I could not, at first, lest I divide our army in the face of the enemy without better knowledge of the English dispositions. Never the less, when it became clear Wellsley  was consolidating his forces to the Brussels road, the move to threaten English communications became viable.  Our lead elements drove off  Allied advance forces above Mons, and the bulk of our army pursued their  forces East. Comte D’Erlon held our left in reserve. Drouot and My Guard were in reserve, waiting with impatience to get into the fray.  In the end, they made all the difference. The critical knowledge of the enemy arrived. They had left their line of communications uncovered.  On instinct Drouot  moved to take advantage, even as my orders to do so were dispatched. When the order to take Brussels and fall on the Allied right and rear at Hal was delivered to him, he was already in motion. D’Erlon marched West, thrilling and terrifying the Belgians, and drew a collapsing army desperate to reverse the impossible behind him.  The local inhabitants flew the Tricolor, the English ran for their ships.

It must be emphasized that nothing of this movement North and East to hook around the Anglo-Allied right would have been possible, safely, without the precise employment of Gerard at Charleroi in our center  with the 4^th corps, and the 2^nd & 4^th cavalry divisions, while Vandamme with his corps alone was fighting against all odds on our left flank. Gerard fought all day and bettered his opponents, preventing Prussian movement West.  He was superb in tactical command, and frustrated the Prussian immensely while inflicting disproportionate losses amongst his foes. Vandamme fought against ever increasing and overwhelming odds, and did the same. By their superb and skilled leadership, they allowed the English to be disrupted.  To our relief, the Prussian movements were over cautious and slow. They failed to concentrate until it was too late in the day to overwhelm us on the right and save the Anglo-Allies. This allowed us to regroup undercover of night and prepare again to delay their Westward movement while drawing them in that direction as we fell on them from the North.

Both Wellsley and Blucher lost their nerve.  At Waterloo, what the English had left was over whelmed on its flank and rear and destroyed by the Imperial Guard, with our main force to its front.  Wellsley was forced to withdraw with his entourage to Antwerp, and would not support the Prussians. The Prussians alone were left, and still a powerful, if confused foe, they were in position to threaten us by interdicting our line of communications.   Captured letters indicate Blucher had a plan to do just this which he communicated to his King, but in the face of my triumph over the English this timid ruler, so unlike the Queen, took the advice of others and recalled his armies back across the Rhine until they could be reinforced. Blucher, in his usual rash manner, pressed West on Charleori and south of the Sambre, only to find the French army coming from the North upon them.  Realizing his line of supply and communications was threatened, he reluctantly withdrew east toward the Rhine and safety. It was on this withdrawal that Herr Blutcher suffered the malady of the brain that eventually killed him, a result of a fall from a horse. A fitting end to the old bandit!

Our knapsacks were filled with the bounty of the countryside and the larders of Brussels, and they weighed upon us, but not so much to slow us.  Nothing could be as light a feeling as victory. Davout came from Paris, and the victorious Rhine campaign that shattered the will of the coalition commenced.

Of this, again, others have written. Soon I shall do so as well.

                                                                             N

As much as I'm generally a Francophile. I must say that I rather doubt that, even with a major victory in Belgium, Napoleon would have been able to prevail over the coalition. But perhaps that is grist for another Campaign and another day, eh?

The Waterloo Journal

This is a listing of all the surviving messages sent during the game in chronological order, and color coded by Army. When I first considered on table communications, I set them as allowed verbally only if the two officers in question had their stands touching. Sleeping on it overnight made me immediately realize that would be hard to enforce, and more importantly, just plain not fun. So we went to the other extreme and allowed unlimited verbal exchange between players  as long as their command figures were on the same table. There is of course no record of these. Messages were handed to the GM or assistant, time stamped, and delivered after a delay of typically 15 - 20 minutes. Having dedicated C-in-C's meant that the physical location mattered - personal reconnaissance was used to some degree by all three C-in-C's. The Anglo Allied army was pretty concentrated, and I imagine that a lot of the orders for that army were given verbally face to face. The same was likleyu true for the main French advance around Mons. A C-in-C's figure can traverse an empty table much faster than 20 minutes; not so if there are friendly troops, and even less so if there are enemy ones present.

TO	FROM	TIME	MESSAGE
Vandamme	Napoleon	11:30	Detach some Lt cav from II Corps to Fosse on approach to Charleroi
Blucher	Ziethen	11:55	Grouchy and cavalry formations crossing at Charleroi
Napoleon	Pajol	11:58	Destination after Mons?

TO	FROM	TIME	MESSAGE
Empereur	Vandamme	12:04	My Corps (III) has reached Philipesville, end Turn 1
Napoleon	Gerard	12:05	Milhaud into Charleroi. Prussians (I KOrps) are outside this town, deployed. Will be difficult to expand out and might be repulsed.
Napoleon	Vandamme	12:08	Best Effort to block Prussian Movement East
Blucher	v. Bulow	12:08	Changing Defend to Maneuver; moving to Wareme
v. Bulow	Blucher	12:15	French crossing at Charleroi; proceed to Hannnut!
Blucher	Ziethen	12:15	10 Cav, 3 Horse Arty @ Charleroi; seems to be leading edge. I am Defending
Napoleon	Gerard	12:17	I am entering Charleroi. The Prussians have left some room to deploy - so we will have a battle here. We will try to outmaneuver and overwhelm, but it will be a challenge.
Napoleon	Gerard	12:18	Bucher on Battlefield. Prussians holding - but we have first blood. Will take several turns, but we can defeat this Korps.
Napoleon	Vandamme	12:20	Prussian Lt Cav arrive on secondary road next to Fosse heading towards Laneffe
Napoleon	Pajol	12:20	British LCV x 2 approach Mons from N. - Ath and Enghien.
Gerard	Napoleon	12:20	Do your best to hold the Prussians in place and delay any enemy movement eastward
Blucher	Pirch I	12:20	cav an Inf West of Fosse, and from Phileppesville to Given
Blucher	v. Bulow	12:31	Arrived Wareme. Leaving table next turn, heading West
v. Bulow	Blucher	12:33	Upon Arriving at Hannut, proceed to Ramilles… and let me know!
Blucher	Ziethen	12:33	3 units of Infantry now lined up behind Charleroi; Defending.
Ziethen	Blucher	12:37	Continue to Delay the French!
Blucher	Wellington	12:42	I have moved to Waterloo with my 2nd Corps, 46Sopignes with 1st Corps. My Cavalry Screens have not reported anything yet, so I believe the French will contact you first.
Blucher	Ziethen	12:42	Now 6 French Infantry at Charleroi. Defending.
Blucher	Thielmann	12:46	There is no enemy activity at all at Ciney
Wellington	Hill	12:45	Have reached Hal. Awaiting Orders.
Napoleon	Vandamme	12:45	1 Prussian Light cav division passing Laneffe; III Corps deploying to repel. IV Corp around Charleroi; II cav Corps also at Charleroi - can hear the sounds of the guns!
Napoleon	Gerard	12:47	Will be able to deploy fully w/ Milhaud and Kellerman against Prussian I Korps.
Wellington	Blucher	12:52	We are currently holding at Charleroi with Ziethen 1st Korps, and delaying more French at Fosse, but most of 2nd Korps at Namur. 4th Korps en route to Ramilles, 3rd Korps at Ciney
Vandamme	Napoleon	12:52	Observe Cav with a detachment. Probe for infantry Korps coming fr9om Ciney via Yvoir/Fosse/Laneffe. Advise if infantry found moving on Fosse and towards Laneffe if able. Protect your right flank South of Giver
Gerad	Napoleon	12:55	Report situation
Uxbridge	Wellington	12:58	French Lt Cav in Mons. Infantry behind heading North. Disengaging as quickly as possible, but am under attack now.
Napoleon	Vandamme	12:59	Prussian Light cavalry Division defending Laneffe

TO	FROM	TIME	MESSAGE
Blucher	Thielmann	1:04	Still no sign of the French; do you want me to continue defending Ciney?
Wellington	Uxbridge	1:11	Hanover Brigade A-B destroyed. Estimate 6 French Cvalry Brigades. 8 French Infantry Brigades, 3 8# batteries. Under Attack.
Napoleon	Vandamme	1:15	Prussian Lt Cav Div. heading away from Fosse towards Namur
Gerard	Napoleon	1:15	Excellent work General!
Vandamme	Napoleon	1:15	You are possibly facing Prussian III Korps if they are following the Cav. Try to determine location of Prussian III Corps. Assist IV Corps at Charleroi if possible
Blucher	Thielmann	1:22	French units approaching from Giver and Phileppesville, heading to Dinnant and Yvoir. At least 3 Regiments, but I expect many more
Wellington	Blucher	1:25	At  Charleroi French have 3 Cav Corps, maybe 2 or three Infantry Corps.French turning Prussian 1st Korps. WE are defending Ligny! French have passage thru Quatre Bras to Waterloo!
Vandamme	Napoleon	1:29	Push them out!  I trust your expertise!
Blucher	Thielmann	1:29	Outside Fosse and Giver: 25 Ligne - 12 Ligne - 7 Ligne - 21 Ligne
Napoleon	Vandamme	1:30	1 or 2 Prussian Corps at Namur. 1 more Prussian Corp at Ligny. 2 Prussian Corps at Dinant.
Napoleon	Gerard	1:35	Pirch’s Korps is being reinforced by Picton’s. Situation still OK.
Vandamme	Napoleon	1:42	Press for best advantage before nightfall (5PM). Major engagement at Mons
Napoleon	Vandamme	1:43	Facing Two  Prussian Corp at Ciney
Napoleon	Vandamme	1:43	Repulsed Probe from Namur
Napoleon	Vandamme	1:47	Holding Dinnat and Yvoir (not for very long)
Napoleon	Vandamme	1:56	Lost Yvoir; Dinnant under pressure. Screening Fosse and Giver. 1 Corp vs 5 is too much audace!
Vandamme	Napoleon	1:58	Defend against Prussians coming from Dinnant at best adavantage. River line on the Thiria at Laneffe?
Uxbridge	Wellington	1:58	FRENCH STRENGTH: Infantry - more than 25 Brigades! Cavalry - at least 28 Brigades!  Artillery Horse 10 batteries, Foot 8 batteries. NAPOLEON ON THE BATTLEFIELD!

TO	FROM	TIME	MESSAGE
Blucher	Ziethen	2:00	Wellington at Ligny. Says main French attack is to West. Wellington concentrating on Hal and Waterloo. Picton only at Quatre Bras temporarily. Pirch coming on to my Right.
Gerard	Napoleon	2:01	Strong Reinforcements (2 Corps) heading toward Ligny from Gembloux. Can you determine if they are headed towards Quatre Bras or Charleroi?
Blucher	Thielmann	2:04	Dinnant is clear of French 12 Ligne is now nervous
Vandamme	Napoleon	2:05	Your task is to delay Eastward movement of the Prussian South of the Sambre as you see fit.
Napoleon	Vandamme	2:07	Lost Dinnant. Rallied since Prussians did NOT follow. Prussian Korps at Namur are on the move towards Ligny.
Blucher	Thielmann	2:08	we are crossing at Rochefort, and Dinnant
Gerard	Vandamme	2:11	Holding Fosse and Giver. Bounced out of Namur,. Dinnant, and Yvoir. Prussian Korps (at least 2) heading from Namur to Ligny. Big battle at Mons.
Vandamme	Napoleon	2:16	Carry on!  You are facing 2 or 3 Korps, not Five! I hope for your success.
Napoleon	Gerard	2:18	Picton starting to deploy and engage at Quatre Bras - which I hold. Pirch holding steady but lost 3 Inf, 1 Cav so far. Our losses 1 Cav.
Napoleon	Vandamme	2:25	Prussians are swamping us, heading for Fosse and Giver
Wellington	Blucher	2:25	Tried catching you at ligny… oh well! 1st Kopr defending Ligny, 2nd Korps coming in on right of Ligny. 3rd Korps attacking Fosse. 4th Korps Reserve attacking Fosse.

TO	FROM	TIME	MESSAGE
Blucher	Ziethen	3:05	Picton has left Battlefield, Moving North from Quatre Bras
Napoleon	D’Erlon	3:08	GM says I can’t go off the board in that direction. Going to Ghent!
Blucher	Ziethen	3:20	My Right collapsing. Holding Ligny. Pirch entering battle on my Right
Napoleon	Vandamme	3:32	Fosse almost lost. Center collapsing. Giver threatened.
Uxbridge	Wellington	3:35	French attacking us at Ninove and Ghent. One column French troops moving towards Hal - 3 Brigades Infantry. Moving on Ghent now:  French Cav 9 brigades, Infantry 15 brigades, Artillery 4 batteries.
Gerard	Napoleon	3:53	Prussians moving east from Fosse & Dinant. III corps withdraws east. Hold the Prussians as best you can from moving east.
Napoleon	Vandamme	3:58	Prussians halfway to Phileppesvlle. Little left to stop them in center.

TO	FROM	TIME	MESSAGE
Napoleon	Drouot	4:00	Brussels is taken. Where to now?  - The Guard.
Vandamme	Napoleon	4:15	Withdraw to Charleroi as best you can. Excellent work - you delayed 2 x your numbers!
Napoleon	Gerard	4:50	Picton has left the table. Bulow is starting to engage. Pirch has lost 6 inf, 2 Cav, 2 guns so far. We have lost 1 cav, but fight is still ebb and flow as Bulow starts to engage. IV Corps, Milhaud (Cavalry) Kellerman (Cavalry) present. I have not seen any reinforcements that you mentioned.

Finally James refined my Maneuver maps:

Once again, I';d like to thank all the players for the great turnout, excellent sportsmanship, and a just all around great time. Special thanks to Marshal who brought along doughnuts for all the players and GM's, and  Mark who fronted the money for the mid  afternoon Pizza. An army marches on its stomach, you know! This event would have been impossible without the fantastic miniatures gaming space at The Portal, and the support of Ken and the Time Machine staff. Thanks two for the Snappy Nappy rules and the "Campaign in a Day" concept by Russ Lockwood - not to mention his enthusiastic participation in the game as Compte Vandamme. Finally, my fellow Hartford Area Historical Gaming Society members - Greg, James, and Joe, who provided many of the troops, did the terrain for 2-3 tables each, assisted with the publicity for the event, and the planning, and running of the game. It would not have never gotten of the ground without your time, hard work, painting, map making, enthusiasm, and friendship!

So when do we do the next one?  :-)

Peter