Snappy Nappy 2023: Crisis on the Danube, 1809 - French Reports

Report of Marechal Lefebvre, Duc d' Danzig

    I deployed my fine  Bavarian  Corps around Neustadt covering the bridges and roads. I was redeploying when cavalry from FML Ludwig's 5th  Korps showed up in the distance near Siegenburg, followed by the rest of the Korps. As the enemy was arriving, Napoleon appeared and gave my troops a big boost in morale.

The Marshal's sketch map of the Neustadt area.

The Bavarian Corps deployed to cover all the approaches to Neustadt. 

Bavarians redeploying, as the vanguard of FML Ludwig's 5th Austrian Korps appears near Siegenburg.

The rest of Ludwig's men aren't far behind. 

    I maneuvered my 4 artillery batteries to cover the bridge closest to the enemy and crossed the other bridge with cavalry and infantry. The enemy screened his force using his cavalry but got too close to the bridge. I fired a few times and his cavalry was destroyed. FML Ludwig decided it was time to withdraw when he saw two more French Corps coming towards Neustadt from Vohburg and Geisenfels  (Lannes & Vandamme respectively). Ludwig couldn't know it, but Vandamme's troops were only his light cavalry. The 5th Austrian Korps bustled away.

Ludwig's advance, and Bavarian reaction.

The Emperor arrives from Ingolstadt!

The advance of Ludwig's 5th Korps

Ludwig's cavalry shot in the flank!

Auf wiedersehen, Österreichische Kavallerie!

Auf wiedersehen, Erzherzog Ludwig!

    Meanwhile, Lannes came marching thru Abensberg, and kept on going towards Arnhofen. Napoleon accompanied him.  It turned out that Vandamme was just scouting with his cavalry.

    I waited to see if the Austrians would return, and also for new orders from the Emperor. I used my cavalry to scout towards Pfaffenhausen and they reported that Ludwig continued to retreat. I then scouted towards Au, but my cavalry  found  no one there except a small French garrison. . I finally received orders from the Emperor to march to Pfaffenhausen,  and thence on to Landshut. 

The Bavarian Corps has departed Neustadt, leaving behind a small garrison for security. 

Sketch map of the Pfaffenhausen area.

     As I was nearing Pfaffenhausen I saw Austrians marching towards me from the South. They turned out to be the small but elite 2^nd Reserve Korps under FML Kienmayer. I started across the bridge and took Pfaffenhausen. 

Bavarians marching South towards Pfaffenhausen, whilst the Austrian 2nd Reserve Corps appears from the South. 

Lefebvre and Kienmayer's troops both maneuver.

The Bavarians are outclassed, but the Austrians ae outnumbered.

The phal of Pfaffenhausen.

Crossing the Gross Laber, Lefebvre prepares to deploy for the attack on Kienmayer.

As I did that another Austrian arrived on my flank and behind me. It was GDL Liechtenstein and his elite 1^st Reserve Korps. I had to redeploy and leave my dragoons across the river to guard my flank. While redeploying the 1^st attacked me. As they committed to battle, we all saw the cavalry of General de Division Oudinot . The battle was fierce. But in the end, while my brave Bavarians suffered significant losses, the 1^st reserve suffered even greater losses. The Austrian 1^st Korp retook the town of Pfaffenhausen, and destroyed my Dragoons. The 2nd Reserve Korps advanced somewhat from the South, contributing to the action. 

Liechtestein arrives with the vanguard of his elite 1st Reserve Corps! 

Austrian Grenadiers to the front, flank and rear. What's a Marshal to do? 

More whitecoats where they came from!

Die schlact bei Pfaffenhausen.

Oudinot's cavalry joins the fight, and not a moment too soon!

The tide of battle  turns!

Bavarians on the road again!

    As the battle was almost over, the cavalry of General de Division Vandamme arrived with some of the rest of his Wurttemberg Corps. The Austrian Korps both retreated, the 1^st Reserve towards Rottenburg and the 2^nd Reserve towards Landshut. 

Vandamme and the Wurttembergers arrive as the Austrians retreat. 

I moved South once again, and retook the town of Pfaffenhausen for the second time. . I then moved off the road to regroup and let Vandamme's Corp move towards Landshut followed by Oudinot's cavalry.

After rallying, Lefebvre's Bavarians resume the march!

    I then moved towards Moosburg. I destroyed the garrison unit of Grenzer infantry left there and took the town. 

Moosburg and environs. 

The depleted Bavarian Corps advances on Moosburg

Refusing to surrender, the Austrian garrison of Moosburg is eliminated. 

 I was heading to Landshut on the far side of the river Isar to hit the Austrian position there in the flank, whereupon I  received news the Austrians were everywhere in full retreat across the Isar.  I must offer my high praise for the performance of the troops of the King of Bavaria, that I was fortunate to command.

Vive l' Empereur!

Marechal Lefebvre

Report of  the Wurttemberg Corps, General de Division Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Compte d' Unseburg, played by Steven Currie

    I began the campaign at Ingolstadt with his excellency Napoleon, and Marshal Lannes. I received direct orders from Napoleon to defend Ingolstadt at all costs. Marshall Lannes suggested I occupy all of the buildings in the city with my 12000 German infantry. Napoleon moved out down the road toward Neustadt. Marshall Lannes began scouting roads around us while I distributed my Corps around Ingolstadt covering every route into the Town with musketry, cannon, and cavalry.

Vandamme and his Wurttembergers confer with Marshal Lannes near Ingolstadt

 

    Soon Lannes was back and gave me vital information about our Corps positions and where enemy seemed to be concentrating. Soon Lannes moved off down the road to what I believed to be the area of Neustadt. Lannes counseled as he left to use my cavalry to patrol the roads and find the enemy. This advice I made haste putting into effect.

Marshal Lannes cavalry has left, but his infantry and artillery are mostly still near Ingolstadt. 

    I sent my cavalry out, first following The Emperor’s path. Arriving in the area of Neustadt, I found a battle brewing. It looked like Austrians and Bavarians fighting. Far away Lannes had appeared with cavalry. Napoleon, having seen my cavalry arrive questioned the commander and asked him why he had followed him. The cavalry commander replied that he was scouting the roads. Napoleon dismissed him and my cavalry returned to Ingolstadt.

General Vandamme at Ingolstadt; the one unit of Wurttemnurg Jagers zu Pferd are seen heading out on their long scouting ride! 

Ride, Jagers, ride!

For some hours I sent my cavalry down the roads branching out. Eventually I went down the route to the other side of Neustadt towards Pfaffenhausen. The Austrians were getting beaten. Napoleon, the Bavarians, my cavalry and I believe Lannes were all present. The Austrians were doomed. My cavalry withdrew and reported the great news of the victory at Pfaffenhausen.

General Vandamme maintains his correspondence with The Emperor

 

When my cavalry returned I sent them to Pfaffenhofen which they had checked previously. They proceeded from there to Freising. At Freising a very large battle was raging. Although the Grand Army appeared to outnumber the Austrians, our French forces seemed to be in a stalemate. A battle was raging over a bridge. The terrain was terrible for our forces. Many cannons seemed to be on the field. My cavalry encountered Marshall Oidinot. The cavalry returned to Ingolstadt.

I realized that my position at Ingolstadt was safe. There appeared to be no Austrian forces on any road threatening my position. In fact, it appeared we were winning. I sent a message to our Emperor. I told him I had scouted all routes, and no enemy was nearby. I asked if the emperor had additional orders for me under the circumstances.

Soon a dispatch arrived from his excellency, reiterating my orders to protect Ingolstadt at all costs. Soon after I received a message from Marshall Ouidinot, asking for my artillery to be sent to Friesing. The Marshall indicated that he needed them badly. After some hard thought, I decided I would go personally, taking my artillery and cavalry, but leaving all of my infantry in the Town.

The Wurttemberg infantry remains at Ingolstadt, but the Artillery and cavalry have moved on.  

General Vandamme headed South by way of Au. 

Arriving after a time in Friesing, things seemed worse. Oudinot updated me on the situation. I had my artillery advance toward the enemy. Soon Oudinot wanted me to travel with him to where some of his Corps was engaging Austrians. We checked our routes to the location involved and I suggested I pick up my infantry. Now I felt sure that the Austrians were not anywhere close to Ingolstadt and that combing with Oudinot’s forces and sweeping down the line through Neustadt and straight to Landshut was the best plan.

Feeling certain that Ingolstadt is secure, the garrison is reduced to just 2 infantry brigades.  

I gathered forces which took some time. I arrived some time later at Oudinot’s position, seeing with great delight that an Austrian force was withdrawing down the road heading towards Landshut. At this time I had under my command a Brigade of  Wurttemberg cavalry, 3 Brigades of  Wurttemberg infantry,  and Myself. Other French forces were also there.

Wurttembergers headed South through Pfaffenhausen by way of Neustadt.

 

The Austrians were pursued all the way to Landshut. The road was clogged with men and horses. Soon Landshut appeared in the distance.

Landshut ho! 

When we finally came onto the field, an Austrian host appeared before us, with another beyond the river in the City of Landshut. I sighed with relief seeing that Lannes was there. We deployed our troops. Austrian artillery fire was hitting my men but we kept going. Fighting went on up and down the line. It seemed that the Austrians were stuck with a single bridge to reinforce their position. Even worse, if they wanted to withdraw, they only had a single bridge to use to escape. Finally, my cavalry moved to my right to flank the enemy Artillery. Suddenly, the enemy sent a request for terms and the battle was over. Several French Corps were at Landshut, including Napoleon, Oudinot, Lannes and I. I am unsure of the other commands.

Wurttembergers enter the fray (upper left).

Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme  

The Campaign-in-a-Day was great! I loved the idea of a Campaign Map made of Tables. Russ Lockwood has created a fantastic set of rules to play “the Big Picture”. Thank you, James, Peter and Brian. It was a great game and well run. Here in Upstate New York I am telling everyone about it!

Steve Currie (Vandamme)

Report of Marechal Davout and General de Division St. Hilaire:

The Battle of Regensburg, April 1809

 

    Davout’s III Corps protected the left flank of the L' Armee d'Allemagne, for  L' Empereur Napoleon.  The anchor of this flank was the fortress of Regensburg.  Davout was asked to be aggressive and if the opportunity arose to threaten Landshut from the East.  Davout consulted with his two wing commanders, Gen St. Hilaire (Mike-me) and Gen Morand (Kevin).  III Corps would seek the enemy and try to destroy an Austrian Korps quickly, and attempt to move on Landshut.  Regensburg, although isolated from the rest of the French army, was a strong position and a source of supply, so a garrison was necessary to ensure that III Corps could maintain the offensive.  It was decided that the two wings would operate in concert.

    The III Corps split.  Morand went to Teugen and St Hilaire was to garrison the fort and send bulk of his force to Eckmuhl, with the hope the two wings could catch an Austrian Korps in flank if there was a road connecting these two  villages (tables).  

 

    The Austrian army was able to gain a night march before III Corps could move into action.  The Austrian I Korps Commanded by Bellegarde ( Rob ) showed up North of Danube without pontoniers. Hmmm…. Generals  Morand & St Hilaire agreed that the garrison could hold.    Gen Morand left quickly, while the road to Eckmuhl was a bit longer, and would require a bit more time to travel. Several assaults over bridge on the Fort were repulsed with heavy losses.  Perhaps the Fort could tie them up all day?  So far plan was working!

Well, the plan began to fall apart while it was still warm...

 

   The Austrian III Korps showed up on Teugen table. Morand had to give battle to prevent the Austrians from moving on the Bavarians left flank.   And before St Hilaire could get in deployment zone, Rosenburg’s Austrian IV Korps (Brandon) showed up on south side of Danube, from Eckmuhl.  An Austrian sandwich had occurred with St Hilaire in the middle.   Gen Moran was not going to be able to assist until he took care of business in his front!

     St.  Hilaire had deployed his two 8#  Artillery batteries facing north, to combat the Austrian I Korps who had 3 Artillery batteries.  To the south he deployed 5 of his 8 infantry Battalions with cavalry on the flanks.  He used the village of Egglosheim in the middle of the line, and Elite light troops on either side to create a stout defense. 

 

     Rosenberg and his Austrian IV Korps began forming a long line, 7 Battalions of infantry, 3 squadrons for cavalry, and 4 artillery batteries, including a horse artillery and a 12 lber.   Austrian cavalry & horse artillery soon began to move around the French Right flank.  St. Hilaire quickly decided that a left flank Cav charge could disrupt the Austrian right flank, and threaten the Artillery in the center of the line.  Two successful charges with St. Hilaire attached routed two battalions, and forced the Artillery to unlimber to the flank.   This slowed the advance on the French left and center.  But the right  flank pressure continued.  A French cavalry charge on the right failed to duplicate the success on the left, as the Austrian regulars formed hasty square.  More French reserves had to be sent to the right flank.  These came from stripping the fort of infantry.

 

 

    The battle raged all afternoon.  The Austrians cannon from IV corps began to wear down the French center.  His cavalry was thinning the right side of the French line. So far the casualties were 4 units each between French and Austrians.  Then IMPENDING DOOM HAPPENED!  A Bridge engineer showed up.   I Korps was in position to immediately cross over,  and attack the sole Artillery defending this section of the south side of the Danube.  And on the 1st roll he succeeded in laying the 1st section!  The pressure on III Corps was building.   On the 3rd attempt the bridge was complete and it looked liked curtains for the over stretched III Corps wing.  Gulp! 

Then a miracle occurred.   The Archduke Karl ( or Charles) ordered both Korps to fall back, to protect Landshut.  General Morand and his men then showed up to hasten that withdrawal and take out a few of IV Korps infantry and Artillery.  St Hilaire was saved from sure destruction. 

 The plan really did work.

Your most humble servant, 

General Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire

I want to thank Kevin, Rob and Brandon for an excellent game and great sportsmanship , making this a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.  Thanks to Peter for creating a terrific campaign and Mark for your help as always and the pizza of course. 

 

Report of his Majesty, Emperor Napoleon I

    I arrived by fast coach at Ingolstadt, and remained for a short time, but quickly realized that I didn't need to carry out holding there, given that the German (Wurttemberg) troops were going to hold there very well. So I headed almost immediately to aid Lefebvre's corps as they had been under pressure and driven back. I arrived there in turn 2 of the game, and then the Austrians moved in. Using the initiative effects, perhaps 2 turns of the battle we gained initiative, and 2 of the turns we lost initiative; his artillery smashed the Austrian cavalry, and the Austrians pulled out. Lefebvre moved his corps off to attack, following the Austrians, meanwhile, the German (Wurttemberg) auxiliary cavalry was scouting about, same with Lannes' cavalry in the meantime, trying to find out who's where.

The Emperor arrives at Neustadt, and inspires the Bavarian Corps with his words and presence. If the Emperor is here, surely the Guard cannot be far behind?

    These were small light cavalry brigades moving around scouting for enemy forces, but not really engaging, them. Lefebvre moved his corps off to attack towards Pfaffenhausen and Landshut, following the Austrians... soon he had smashed an Austrian spearhead. In the meantime, Morand's command at Teugen was under heavy pressure, so as it turned out, I and Lannes ended up moving in to aid him. Wonder of wonders: we caught the Austrians in a pincer, as "Lannes" said, "an Austrian sandwich".  We caught them in a double-sided attack; and as it turned out,  one Austrian Corps (the 1st Reserve Corps)  pulled out safely, the other (the 3rd Austrian Corps) was practically obliterated; they lost their cavalry, and the bulk of their infantry in the battle at Feking. 

    Morand moved off seeing as he had heavy cavalry, but no light cavalry. However, he persuaded myself to go towards Landshut aiding Lannes with morale and initiative effects. Morand moved off to aid Davout in Regensburg; seeing as Davout had the same benefits in initiative and morale as I did; so we separated so he could aid in turning the tide there, whilst Lannes and I moved off to attack the Austrians on the way to Landshut. Marechal Lannes he kept his "sword in the back of the retreating Austrians" . So we caught the rest of the retreating Austrian 3rd Corps at Rhor, and practically obliterated them.

    We then moved on towards Landshut, as Lefebvre moved through Pfaffenhausen and duked it out against the Austrians on the battlefield. Marshal Lannes and I soon moved into Landshut, so the two sides clashed at the same side of the river Isar in front of Landshut. The end result was that the Austrians there were overwhelmed by not one, not two, but three French Corps (Lannes, part Oudinot, part Vandamme)  and Napoleon himself. Karl's command didn't last long, in the end, his units were caught on the same side of the river as we were, and in a position where he might just be able to escape into Landshut, but he knew he couldn't win; so he ended up capitulating; in the final phase, he was known to be issuing directives to the Austrians who were fighting at Fresing to pull back to Landshut.

Now this played into my hands; as standing directives to the French Corps Commanders was to be opportunistic and take the initiative in pushing, following, and destroying the Austrians whenever possible.  

    Initially, the French battle plan was to form hunter-groups and for Davout to hold Regensburg as a secondary supply base, and if the Austrians followed the plans I most feared, to smash their supply lines and overrun them.

Then, in correspondence with Massena, I realized that his best plan would be to attack towards the Austrian supply base, with aid from the cavalry corps... that didn't work out all that well, Hiller  was able to hold off his attacks at Freising, even when desperate, but that tied up Austrian troops, and I realized that it seemed as though both supreme commanders had the same battleplan generally: a reinforced refuse the left and a general enfilade right; but seeing as the Austrian frontal assault had failed, we launched out counterattack. In the final phase, I was considering using the Wurttenbergers in combination with artillery bombardment of the Austrians to cover bridge-building across the Isar to generally demolish the Austrian militia gathered at Landshut. Meanwhile Lefebvre was moving his corps up the same exact side of the Isar that Landshut is mainly on. In short, this be a disaster for the Austrians.

I am presently entertaining envoys from Austrian Kaiser Francis I, seeking terms. I hear he has some pretty daughters...

Emperor Napoleon I

Report of Marechal  Massena and General de Division Molitor: 

The Battle of Freising


The French overall plan was to attempt a coup de main on the Austrian supply base at Landshut. If practicable, one of Davout's two forces (III Corps, consisting of St. Hilaire/Mike Siebert or Morand/Kevin Carroll) would shoot down the Danube and swing southward at Straubing to hit Landshut from the north. Meanwhile, Massena (IV Corps, yours truly & Sean Siebert) starting at Pfaffenhofen (see pict #1), assisted by Oudinot (II Corps, Steve Torro), would simultaneously force march through Freising and attack Landshut from the south. A masterful pincers cutting off all Austrian supply lines at one stroke!!

Massena's Initial Starting Position at Pfaffenhofen

Alas, no such plans could possibly be. Davout was thoroughly tied down in the north at Regensburg and Massena and Oudinot entered the Freising table to find Hiller (Russ Lockwood, 6th Korps) already taking possession of Freising and its highly defensible position protecting the one road to Landshut. And let us not forget to mention, Hiller had FIVE (YES!!! FIIIIVVVVEEEE!!!) artillery batteries, along with his other troops, to defend what could easily be as small as a two-foot long front.


Hiller's Position and French Approach March

Initial Entrance by Both Sides

Our Landshut move was clearly thwarted. It would probably take all day to defeat the Austrian opposed to us even if he chose to simply stand in place and die. However, Freising constituted a gateway bottlenecking access to the rear of both armies, making the position as important for us to hold as it was so for the Austrians. So battle we joined. And joined. And joined.

With the odds we had against Hiller (maybe two-to-one overall), we might have eventually worn him down. But before we could even engage in more than long distance cannon fire, Archduke Ludwig (5th Korps, Alex) arrived to reinforce with a further FOUR batteries and other forces nearly doubling the Austrian overall strength.

Archduke Ludwig (5th Korps) Arrives at Freising

So..., uhm, let's do the math - nine batteries on defense, each battery three inches wide, needing to cover the  3-foot or so front Hiller & Ludwig had adopted.  Oh - and did I mention the Austrian batteries (and most of the Austrians) were all on the far side and protected by the Ammer River?

Perhaps the only thing that saved the French from slaughter under an unremitting Austrian cannonade was the incredibly clogged nature of the terrain the Austrians cowered behind, severely limiting their lines of site excepting the relatively open ground on their left flank.

St. Cyr (Sean) on the French right attempted to swing wide to stretch the Austrian line. But terrain, damnably accurate Austrian artillery and a failed cav charge slowed and largely thwarted St. Cyr's deployment.

At one point before Archduke Ludwig's arrival, Massena rode over to his left to confer with Oudinot, suggesting there might be a gap on the Austrian extreme right Oudinot's cavalry could with luck exploit. However, the Archduke arrived shortly and Massena had to concede that, given the nature of the terrain facing him, Oudinot's cavalry could serve no useful function in the battle to come.

For hours the French inched forward, a few charges made from both sides, each beaten back. Long-ranged artillery from both sides harassed opponents. The French in the center under Molitor were able to secure the central bridge and a small bridgehead. In the meantime, Massena, so caught up in the minutiae of the battle, was completely unaware Oudinot had withdrawn all his cavalry. Massena had to constantly send out messengers to locate Oudinot and find what orders he had for his troops back at Freising. Goof-off general!! Napoleon was going to hear about this continued absence of Oudinot's!


Late Afternoon Positions (French have taken center bridge)

Final Positions as Night Fell

However, as night was falling at Freising we received word of the great victory at Landshut. Later that evening Oudinot himself appeared, obviously exhausted from his riding to and fro from one battlefield to another. He apologized for his extended absences from Freising, but he had been all over the map using his magnificent cavalry, seeking and destroying enemy.

That night, over the campfire with his staff, enjoying some fine Austrian port from the Archduke's captured wagons, Massena suddenly realized: Oh. Guess Oudinot must have been doing something good with his cavalry since it was useless at Freising.

Yes, indeed, Massena mused, he could soon imagine a Marechal's baton in Oudinot's saddle bags.

Marechal Massena

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