Thursday, August 18, 2011

La Battaile de la Moscowa, Update

The next session of the game, we ran another hour, or three game turns. Eugene finished brutally shoving the jagers out of Borodino, then spent the next two turns reorganizing those troops and bringing up another division to mass for an assault on the Russian line, covered by a few batteries on the hill above Borodino. Pot shots by the French batteries resulted in the odd casualty until the French batteries were put out of action by the Redoubt's counter battery fire. Here's the situation at 8:00 AM:


Meanwhile, Davout is filtering artillery into his front line and the Russian Reserve artillery are building grand batteries in the center. Left center are four batteries partially behind the Converged Grenadiers line, but as Davout's artillery destroys one battalion after another, more and more of this gun line has a field of fire. To the right are five more batteries on the ridge above Semanovskaya. One is completely obscured by friendly cavalry in the ravine (can't fire over the head of friendlies) and another can only support the Converged Grenadiers, blocked from supporting the Grenadier Division by the same cavalry.


Here's what it looks like to Davout and Ney, a frontal assault on tough troops and too much artillery:


It's not all that bad, while keeping the pressure on the Converged Grenadiers and Grenadier Divisions, Davout has moved Friant and Desaix's divisions around the CG's flank. In the meantime, the French artillery to the left of Desaix has just about punched a hole in the CG line, though the 2 Army West Curaissier Division has moved up to block any breakthrough by the French I Corps Cavalry Division. 'Oops' is a III Corps battalion accidentally swept up in the, uhmm, ....sweep to the right. UPDATE: Gary says that Girard and Morand have been detached to Eugene's IV Corps on the French left, so Davout's 1st Corps is deployed Compans (gold lower half of the counter) on the left with the Corps Artillery, Desaix (white lower half, grey-yellow-grey stripe) engaging the Converged Grenadier Division and stretching to the right with some Guard artillery, and Friant (grey lower half, yellow-green-yellow stripe) working around the flank. Desaix and Friant have become a bit intermingled during their attacks.


Part of the Russian III Corps 21st Division has moved forward through the brush to extend the flank, but in reaching for better ground have left themselves in for trouble. Davout's huge corps is still extending and will overlap them. Here's a look at the French extreme right at 8:00 AM


I have a casualty report as of the start of the 8:00 AM turn we see in these photos but do not have the notes with me. I will update this post when I get them in hand. The French have suffered much heavier casualties till now, but things may even out soon.

UPDATE: Casualties as of 8:00 AM, after 6 turns:

The French and Allied forces have lost 5 leaders, including two of Napoleon's Aides de Camp, Armand Caulaincourt and Louis-Alexandre Berthier. 4 artillery batteries have been put out of action, 2 infantry battalions and 4 small cavalry regiments have disintegrated.

The Russian forces have lost 2 officers (IV Cav and 12 Cav Brigadier), a 12 Cav regiment routed and still running (flippin' cowards), 2 batteries and 1 battalion.

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