AUSTERLITZ (1805) Battle Report
To play a scenario as large as Austerlitz, our local club spent an entire Saturday fielding every miniature we collectively owned on a huge 6' by 10' tabletop. The Austerlitz scenario is not available on this website for free download, because it's provided in the official Age of Eagles rule book by Col. Wilbur Gray. Our battle featured three French commanders and three allied commanders, with both sides devising very a-historical battle plans before the scenario got underway. Here's how Austerlitz unfolded in 2010:
FRENCH Pre-Battle StrategyNAPOLEON (Greg): At our council of war before the battle, we agreed that the presence of heavy fog could be used to our advantage early on. Masked by the thick morning fog, we would use our edge in speed and initiative to isolate and destroy the advanced right wing of the allied army. Soult's (Dave's) corps would hold the line in our center and right flank, while the rest of our reserves concentrated to exploit the gap in the allied line and encircle Bagration's wing. Reinforcements like the Guard and Davout could deploy later, as needed.
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RUSSO-AUSTRIAN Pre-Battle StrategyALEXANDER (Tony): We decided to push the French center, intending to drive it back preventing their reinforcements from being able to effectively deploy while we shattered their forward corps in that sector. Dieter, commanding the large left wing, would refuse the flank while pressing home in the middle. My two small corps would push forward to close the gap in our center and drive on the French. Keith’s right wing, also driving towards the French center would thus trap the enemy left in the process, preventing them from gaining our flank.
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The Battlefield at 8:00am--The French are deployed in the valley to the left, with the Russians to the right.
8:00am: Napoleon's left wing marches forward, making way for Bernadotte's corps to enter the battlefield from their reserve position. Soult's thinly stretched corps cautiously probes ahead into the fog, as well. Atop the Pratzen Heights, the Russian army advances in a steady line. Tsar Alexander orders his reserve cavalry to concentrate with Constantine's guards behind Bagration's wing..
8:30am: Though fog still marks the battlefield, it is now clear that both sides have adopted a similiar plan, focusing their main bodies at the northern end of the Pratzen Heights. Bagration's advance cavalry races forward to threaten the French left flank, but cannot see through the morning mist that Murat's entire cavalry corps is arriving in force behind Lannes! 9:00am: At the southern end of the field, Buxhowden and Soult warily creep closer to each other, each unwilling to commit to a full-scale advance into combat. Both armies appear thin in the center, choosing instead to direct their reinforcements to the northern edge of the battle, where a serious showdown looms. The fog remains heavy, but the leading divisions of Lannes' corps are already trading musketry with Bagration's front line. The Russian cavalry on the far flank now appear in danger of being enveloped by Murat's horse. |
9:30am: From their respective command posts, Napoleon and Alexander listen to the roaring crash of cannon and muskets at the northern end of the field. Lannes and Bagration collide head-on in the dense fog, inflicting devastating casualities in close quarters. Batteries of artillery are now being wheeled directly to the front line and loaded for grapeshot. Nearby, the first wave of Murat's cavalry stampede over a horde of Russian cossacks.
Upon seeing the dense line of Russian infantry advancing down from the Pratzen Heights, Marshal Soult requests that Napoleon release the Imperial Guard from the reserve. The Emperor reluctantly concurs and orders the guard closer the front to bolster the center of the French line.
10:00am: The southern end of the field, thus far quiet, finally erupts into a heated engagement, with Soult driving back Buxhowden's wing. Fearing a flanking maneuver around the Sachsen Lake, Buxhowden conducts a tactical withdraw, contracting his line into a more defensive stance. In the center of the field, Kutusov's Russian infantry bear down on the French position, and the situation here appears grim for Napoleon. The belated arrival of Davout's corps buoys French spirits.
Though the fog has lifted from the battlefield, the northern end remains shrouded by billowing smoke from artillery and musketry. Fully 45,000 men are now engaged at the northern sector, and the blood-letting is ghastly. Infantry surge back-and-forth indecisively, all the while suffering devastating blasts of point-blank artillery fire from dozens of guns. Both Bagration and Lannes took advantage of the morning fog to line up many of their batteries wheel-to-wheel, concentrating terrifying firepower.
But on the farthest edge of the field, Murat's more maneuverable cavalry corps continues to best their Russian counterparts. And the French advantage is now becoming ever clearer....
10:30am: While the fighting intensifies on the southern and central fronts, a true moment of decision has arrived in the north. Entire Russian and Austrian brigades begin to wither under the weight of French firepower. And spearheaded by their elite cuirassiers, Murat's cavalry is busy turning a victory into a rout against the Russian cavalry reserve.
11:00am: Bagration's wing wavers by a thread when Oudinot's grenadiers suddenly emerge through the smoke with fixed bayonets. The French surge is too great to resist, and Bagration's entire wing now crumbles. But Alexander does not realize the extent of the unfolding disaster, because he is busy directing the allied assault in the center of the battlefield. Under the Tsar's watchful eye, Kutusov's infantry succeed in driving back the thin French center under Bernadotte. The French bend, but do not break. The battle hangs in the balance! [Left, the thin French center braces for the Russians advancing down from the Pratzen Heights, seen in the background] |
11:30am: Sensing that his moment has arrived, Alexander commits his only remaining reserve, Constantine's guards, toward the central axis. Here, Kutusov's men continue to pressure the French center, but the presence of nearby French artillery helps delay the Russian attack. Generals Miloradovich and Kollowrath personally lead their men forward but are both captured by the enemy. Messangers from Bagration's wing now inform the Tsar that his right wing has all but collapsed, and panic begins to spread through the allied ranks....
12:00pm: Alexaner's recent succes in the center has left his army in a precarious position. The Tsar's right flank has been turned, with Lannes and Murat gathering their men to roll down the Pratzen Heights. And the Tsar's left flank under Buxhowdeon is now threatened by the arrival of Davout's corps and the imminent engagement of Napoleon's Imperial Guard. Desperate for a miracle, Alexander throws Constantine's guardsmen deeper into the center of the French line, but the miraculous breakthrough falls short of its lofty goal. It is only noon, but already the allied army has lost over a third of strength--30,000 men.
12:30pm: Exhausted and panic-stricken, the Russo-Austrian army begins to flee the field and Tsar Alexander's emissaries ask Napoleon for an armistice. The war of the Third Coalition is over, and the French have achieved a decisive victory by noon of December 2, 1805.
Victory Objectives:The allied players conceded defeat after completing 8 scenario turns, which took us over 5 hours to play. It was a decivsive French victory when we stopped playing, and likely would have turned into a total rout had we continued the game.
In a full day's fighting in 1805 the allies lost 27,000 men and the French lost 9,000. During our battle--which included only the morning of Austerlitz--the allies lost 30,000 men and the French lost 14,000! A very bloody affair! |
Tsar Alexander's Report
Late in the scenario, we met with some success in the center, as the French brigades were thrown back and our troops broke through, driving the enemy second line back as well. The Imperial Guard Corps was poised to follow up when we ruptured the French lines. Dietrich’s wing (Buxhowdeon) pushed the enemy all along his large sector. At one point his cossacks charged the Old Guard artillery position. They met a glorious end which inspired our troops and for a moment it looked as if we may yet gain a victory. Sadly, such was not the case. Once again the enemy’s mastery of battlefield control played against us. The French troops were able to rally and reform, shift around behind the lines much better than us. The enemy had begun to mass guns in the center and our batteries engaged them in an artillery duel. By now our right was on the verge of collapse. Keith’s infantry (Bagration) was all gone, his cavalry harried from all sides.
All was lost, only one last chance for glory remained. With the center corps faltering, we launched a final vainglorious assault with the Russian guard grenadiers and chevalier guard. Across the front of the French batteries they charged, taking horrible casualties as they hurled themselves onto the hated foe--but alas, it was for naught. By 12 PM we had lost over 25,000 troops killed, wounded or captured along with 3 batteries and Generals Miloradovich and Kollowrath, both of whom were lost leading assaults. With further fighting serving only to increase the loss of life we were forced to yield and surrendered to Napoleon.
All was lost, only one last chance for glory remained. With the center corps faltering, we launched a final vainglorious assault with the Russian guard grenadiers and chevalier guard. Across the front of the French batteries they charged, taking horrible casualties as they hurled themselves onto the hated foe--but alas, it was for naught. By 12 PM we had lost over 25,000 troops killed, wounded or captured along with 3 batteries and Generals Miloradovich and Kollowrath, both of whom were lost leading assaults. With further fighting serving only to increase the loss of life we were forced to yield and surrendered to Napoleon.
Emperor Napoleon's Report
Our original battle plan was sound, but it resulted in a costly bloodbath when the Russians adopted a very similar plan. With each side directing the bulk of its reinforcements to the same axis of advance, the battle quickly devolved into a meat-grinder. Fortunately, Murat's cavalry corps managed to turn the enemy flank and this maneuver made the Russian position untenable by noon.
During the course of the battle, our greatest fear was that Buxhowden's wing would press an aggressive advance early in the day. The Russian infantry on this wing outnumbered Soult's corps by a considerable margin, and we had already decided to commit our reserves to the opposite end of the battlefield. Fortunately, the Russians did not press their attack here (probably for fear of over-reaching, as Alexander did historically in 1805). But by adopting a more conservative approach in 2010, the Russians allowed us to concentrate on annihiliating Bagration's wing in detail.
During the course of the battle, our greatest fear was that Buxhowden's wing would press an aggressive advance early in the day. The Russian infantry on this wing outnumbered Soult's corps by a considerable margin, and we had already decided to commit our reserves to the opposite end of the battlefield. Fortunately, the Russians did not press their attack here (probably for fear of over-reaching, as Alexander did historically in 1805). But by adopting a more conservative approach in 2010, the Russians allowed us to concentrate on annihiliating Bagration's wing in detail.