KLYASTITZY (1812) Battle Report
The battlefield after initial deployment.
With Napoleon and the main body of the Grande Armee bearing down on Smolensk, Marshal Nicholas Oudinot screened the northern flank of the invasion. It was Oudinot's task to both protect the northern flank while also threatening St. Petersburg if possible. Wittgenstein lured the French deep into the motherland, before offering resistance near the town of Jakobovo. During the night of July 31, the Russians concentrated their full force to surprise Oudinot in the morning....
This scenario takes place in a very small geographic area with a high density of troops. The thick woods further limit movement options, which makes the battle something akin to a knife fight in a phone booth.
7:00am: The French begin the morning deployed along the road to Jakobovo, with the Russians entering table edge in a fairly small area. In our opening turn, the French attempt to concentrate into a stout defensive position, while Wittgenstein deploys his dense columns into an attack formation. The Russians are clearly out-numbered in the early going.
7:30am: Wittgenstein advances steadily toward the plateau where Legrand's division waits. The Russian batteries unlimber to commence a bombardment...but the French are gone! Legrand appears to be retreating in a slow, deliberate manner. His men disappear behind the crest of a hill, conceding the ground to Wittgenstein.
This scenario takes place in a very small geographic area with a high density of troops. The thick woods further limit movement options, which makes the battle something akin to a knife fight in a phone booth.
7:00am: The French begin the morning deployed along the road to Jakobovo, with the Russians entering table edge in a fairly small area. In our opening turn, the French attempt to concentrate into a stout defensive position, while Wittgenstein deploys his dense columns into an attack formation. The Russians are clearly out-numbered in the early going.
7:30am: Wittgenstein advances steadily toward the plateau where Legrand's division waits. The Russian batteries unlimber to commence a bombardment...but the French are gone! Legrand appears to be retreating in a slow, deliberate manner. His men disappear behind the crest of a hill, conceding the ground to Wittgenstein.
8:00am: The Russians are in no mood to allow Legrand's men time for a leisurely withdraw. Two brigades charge headlong up the hill and crash into the French, locking them in combat. The opening round is not decisive, but it does prevent Legrand's division from vacating the Jakobovo plateau unmolested.
Oudinot responds with a cavalry charge against the Russian left, successfully routing a brigade of hussars and driving deep into Wittgenstein's flank. [Right: Oudinot rushes to concentrate his army near Jakobovo, seen on the plateau in the center of the line.] |
8:30am: Wittgenstein deploys his own cavalry reserves to drive back the French chasseurs and restore his flank. Meanwhile, the dogged Russian infantry are slowly driving their French counterparts down the hill. But the French delaying tactics have bought enough time for Verdier's division to arrive in force, evening the balance of power.
9:00am: A French heavy cavalry division is now deploying across from the Russian left flank, which could threaten to unhinge the Russian line. Wittgenstein can see the predictable, gallant charge of the French horsemen coming, so he pushes three batteries of guns into position to oppose them. The guns are backed by a small reserve of Russian grenadiers--Wittgenstein's last reserves. If he cannot stop the French with these men, his army could be in grave danger of collapse.
9:00am: A French heavy cavalry division is now deploying across from the Russian left flank, which could threaten to unhinge the Russian line. Wittgenstein can see the predictable, gallant charge of the French horsemen coming, so he pushes three batteries of guns into position to oppose them. The guns are backed by a small reserve of Russian grenadiers--Wittgenstein's last reserves. If he cannot stop the French with these men, his army could be in grave danger of collapse.
9:30am: In the center, the Russian infantry continue to get the better of their French adversaries. The battle swings back-and-forth without much ground traded, but French casualties are mounting. Already, over 3,000 French are out of action, at the cost of only 1,500 Russians.
On the Russian left, the decisive hour arrives. With all the glorious predictability of Murat (who is not present, of course) Doumerc's heavy cavalry division thunders across an open field to deliver the crushing blow to Wittgenstein's left. But the crushing blow is what awaits the French cuirassiers, as 36 Russian guns blast an entire brigade of Frenchmen off the field. Another French brigade is routed off the battlefield by Russian dragoons, and Doumerc's final brigade slinks away to save themselves from a similar fate. In one brilliant flash, half of Oudinot's cavalry has been carelessly thrown away.
10:00am: Reinvigorated by success, Wittgenstein orders a frontal assault in the center. The weight of numbers are similar, but the French resolve is clearly broken. Once again, the losses are lopsided, in favor of the attacking Russians.
[Below: Wittgenstien's final assault drives Legrand's division off the Jakobovo plateau.]
On the Russian left, the decisive hour arrives. With all the glorious predictability of Murat (who is not present, of course) Doumerc's heavy cavalry division thunders across an open field to deliver the crushing blow to Wittgenstein's left. But the crushing blow is what awaits the French cuirassiers, as 36 Russian guns blast an entire brigade of Frenchmen off the field. Another French brigade is routed off the battlefield by Russian dragoons, and Doumerc's final brigade slinks away to save themselves from a similar fate. In one brilliant flash, half of Oudinot's cavalry has been carelessly thrown away.
10:00am: Reinvigorated by success, Wittgenstein orders a frontal assault in the center. The weight of numbers are similar, but the French resolve is clearly broken. Once again, the losses are lopsided, in favor of the attacking Russians.
[Below: Wittgenstien's final assault drives Legrand's division off the Jakobovo plateau.]
10:30am: The Russian assault has succeeded beyond Wittgenstein's hopes...perhaps too well? Two Russian brigades are exposed in poor position, ripe for counter-attack by Verdier's fresh division. But at this hour, our local store is closing, forcing the game to slightly premature conclusion. The morning has belonged to the Russians, though a solid counter-punch by Oudinot could still even the ledger of losses. Neither army is in any immediate position to achieve it's stated scenario objectives of capturing key geographic features. |
Victory Objectives:Neither side completed it's full scenario objectives, although the day is far from over and casualties are already running higher than the historical battle. In just one morning of combat, the Russians have lost over 2,500 men and the French have suffered almost 7,000. Approximately 1,000 of these are light cavalry that retreated off the table edge. The game clearly ends in a Russian tactical victory.
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Marshal Oudinot's Report
My Emperor,
I deeply regret to inform you of our defeat today at Jakobovo. On the morning of August 1st, I awoke with some consternation to discover Wittgenstein's army concentrated before me. How they gathered so quickly and so suddenly, I could not say. It was my intention to withdraw our advance division away from the enemy, buying time for a concentration of Verdier's and Doumerc's divisions.
I then hoped the enemy, in his blind enthusiasm, would overextend his left to wrap around the Jakobovo plateau. Once extended, I planned to crash into his flank with full force and rout him from the field. But Wittgenstein did not comply, instead feeding men into the center and refusing his left.
Doumerc's heavy cavalry could not restrain themselves at the sight of the enemy, unwisely--but boldly and gloriously--charging across half a mile of open ground into the Russian guns. This courageous action, which surely would have made you proud of our valor, cost us grievous losses in heavy horse. The morning did end with Verdier's division in position to pierce the Russian center, but by this time we had already endured over 6,500 casualties, and I felt it wise to withdraw from the field.
In light of this shameful performance, I offer you my marshal's baton. And my deepest regrets.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Nicholas Oudinot
I deeply regret to inform you of our defeat today at Jakobovo. On the morning of August 1st, I awoke with some consternation to discover Wittgenstein's army concentrated before me. How they gathered so quickly and so suddenly, I could not say. It was my intention to withdraw our advance division away from the enemy, buying time for a concentration of Verdier's and Doumerc's divisions.
I then hoped the enemy, in his blind enthusiasm, would overextend his left to wrap around the Jakobovo plateau. Once extended, I planned to crash into his flank with full force and rout him from the field. But Wittgenstein did not comply, instead feeding men into the center and refusing his left.
Doumerc's heavy cavalry could not restrain themselves at the sight of the enemy, unwisely--but boldly and gloriously--charging across half a mile of open ground into the Russian guns. This courageous action, which surely would have made you proud of our valor, cost us grievous losses in heavy horse. The morning did end with Verdier's division in position to pierce the Russian center, but by this time we had already endured over 6,500 casualties, and I felt it wise to withdraw from the field.
In light of this shameful performance, I offer you my marshal's baton. And my deepest regrets.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Nicholas Oudinot
General Wittgenstein's Report
"Wittgenstein at Klyastitzy: A tale of dreadful carnage in a very small space."
The initial Russian position is shaky, with only Koulnieff deployed around Okhova, facing Oudinot’s entire corps. Berg and Kakhoffski can enter at any time, so I brought them on immediately. This particular battlefield was confining, with very dense woods on either flank, a hill immediately to my fore (occupied by Legrand, deployed around Jakobovo) and a LONG way to go to seize the crossing over the Nitschtscha.
My Russians were in dire peril if they allowed themselves to be bunched up on the board edge, with no where to go. They would be slightly outnumbered for the entire battle. More critical, they would be significantly outnumbered for the first 6 turns, until Sasonov arrived. I had more (and, being Russian, better) batteries, but that hill prevented any long range shots. In short, my only option was to act aggressively, gaining space, and hoping to inflict some casualties along the way.
The Russian cavalry were massed on our left flank, to counter the French cavalry there. In the center, Russian infantry stormed the hill, driving back French infantry in several places. Indeed, as the French voluntarily withdrew (obviously hoping to consolidate with their troops further back… perhaps somewhere with a little more room to deploy), both sides seemed to agree to allow the Russians to advance.
Most of my infantry were fed into the fray, which led to a gap on my left. I deployed batteries to cover this gap (four total), bringing Bistroms’s Grenadiers up into protective support. The massed guns prompted an impetuous charge from French Cuirassiers. Attacking from a distance, flensed by point blank defensive cannon fire, the Cuirassiers were trounced and completely eliminated.
With so little room for lateral movement, I really could only advance straight ahead (the woods were much too restrictive), or remain in static defense. Overall, I was happy with my individual actions, successfully attacking at advantage many times. I could have coordinated better than I did… but in my defense, the melee was confused, a real furball.
Approaching this scenario again, I may have tried harder to form a cohesive line to cross the crest of the Jakobovo hill. This would have included taking my batteries across the crest (supported by infantry), in order to bring more of them to bear on the masses of French infantry advancing towards me. In this game, I failed to get even a single battery on the “French” side of the hill… and the only infantry to cross the crest did so as individual regiments, during breakthroughs.
The game was called (for time) at the end of the sixth turn. Sasonov would have arrived on turn 7, to bolster my strength and close that dangerous gap on the Russian left. There was opportunity for the French to exploit that gap, perhaps breaking through or attacking Russian infantry from the flank or rear. Still, in the end, the casualties told their own story. The Russians had lost relatively few men and cavalry (about 2500 total), and no guns. The French had lost two entire cavalry units, and thousands of infantry (nearly 7000 men total, including some guns). The battle was still raging, the French remained quite dangerous, and the river was still far away…but, the Russians had cause to be optimistic.
The initial Russian position is shaky, with only Koulnieff deployed around Okhova, facing Oudinot’s entire corps. Berg and Kakhoffski can enter at any time, so I brought them on immediately. This particular battlefield was confining, with very dense woods on either flank, a hill immediately to my fore (occupied by Legrand, deployed around Jakobovo) and a LONG way to go to seize the crossing over the Nitschtscha.
My Russians were in dire peril if they allowed themselves to be bunched up on the board edge, with no where to go. They would be slightly outnumbered for the entire battle. More critical, they would be significantly outnumbered for the first 6 turns, until Sasonov arrived. I had more (and, being Russian, better) batteries, but that hill prevented any long range shots. In short, my only option was to act aggressively, gaining space, and hoping to inflict some casualties along the way.
The Russian cavalry were massed on our left flank, to counter the French cavalry there. In the center, Russian infantry stormed the hill, driving back French infantry in several places. Indeed, as the French voluntarily withdrew (obviously hoping to consolidate with their troops further back… perhaps somewhere with a little more room to deploy), both sides seemed to agree to allow the Russians to advance.
Most of my infantry were fed into the fray, which led to a gap on my left. I deployed batteries to cover this gap (four total), bringing Bistroms’s Grenadiers up into protective support. The massed guns prompted an impetuous charge from French Cuirassiers. Attacking from a distance, flensed by point blank defensive cannon fire, the Cuirassiers were trounced and completely eliminated.
With so little room for lateral movement, I really could only advance straight ahead (the woods were much too restrictive), or remain in static defense. Overall, I was happy with my individual actions, successfully attacking at advantage many times. I could have coordinated better than I did… but in my defense, the melee was confused, a real furball.
Approaching this scenario again, I may have tried harder to form a cohesive line to cross the crest of the Jakobovo hill. This would have included taking my batteries across the crest (supported by infantry), in order to bring more of them to bear on the masses of French infantry advancing towards me. In this game, I failed to get even a single battery on the “French” side of the hill… and the only infantry to cross the crest did so as individual regiments, during breakthroughs.
The game was called (for time) at the end of the sixth turn. Sasonov would have arrived on turn 7, to bolster my strength and close that dangerous gap on the Russian left. There was opportunity for the French to exploit that gap, perhaps breaking through or attacking Russian infantry from the flank or rear. Still, in the end, the casualties told their own story. The Russians had lost relatively few men and cavalry (about 2500 total), and no guns. The French had lost two entire cavalry units, and thousands of infantry (nearly 7000 men total, including some guns). The battle was still raging, the French remained quite dangerous, and the river was still far away…but, the Russians had cause to be optimistic.