Clash at Sippitz Bridge, 1812 - Part 1 (Blucher BatRep)

I had some free time tonight to do some more demo games of Blucher, and so far it is a blast. Very impressed by how well the rules play, and the feel of a Napoleonic battle it provides. Of course, I am playing this one out solo again. Also, I am using 3 cm BW for this battle, played on a 2' x 3' area. Hope to get some bigger unit battles in later when I am more use to the rules. For now this is perfect for testing out the rules.




A grand look at the forces deployed. French are the defender holding the BLUE markers; Russians hold
the single white objective.

Small battle really. Just decided to throw down what seemed interesting. A basic rundown is as follows:


French

-Cavalry Corps: 3 x Dragoon and 2 x Hussar brigades

-Infantry Corps: 5 Infantry brigades, 1 x Hussar brigade, and a massed battery of foot guns

-Saxon Corps: 3 x Infantry brigades and a massed battery of foot guns

 

Russians

-Cavalry Corps: 3 x brigades of cavalry

-Infantry Corps: 6 x Infantry brigades

-Infantry Corps: 2 x Infantry, 2 x grenadier, and 1 x cavalry brigades

-Massed Artillery: 2 x massed batteries of foot guns

Once again I was using a deck of 12 cards instead of rolling dice for each sides MO dice. A nifty SOLO rules I picked up from the Honour Games forum. Small battle, so instead of rolling 2d6 for each sides MO I drew the proper number of cards instead. One Joker was in the deck: if drawn the MO has been reached and the Move phase comes to an end.

The Initial Moves...



The French infantry corps along the river bank.

 

The Saxons deployed and looking on. The French cavalry corps can be seen in reserve.

 



The Russian cavalry corps rides forward to screen the infantry advance while scouting the enemy positions.

On the Russian right, the infantry advance on the bridge while under the guns of the French, grenadiers in reserve.

 Cavalry Clash!

The fight on the French right was interesting. The Russians advanced all their cavalry up to scout out my Saxons. In response, I sent up the Hussars from reserve to screen them. This resulted in some grand melees in the center between both sides cavalry. The Russians managed to win this, out numbering the French 3:2. However, the Saxons were able to put down some good musket and cannon fire in support. The French were forced to commit another unit from the cavalry reserve - Dragoons in this case - in order to cover the Hussar withdrawal and prevent the Russian horsemen from flanking the Saxon line. On top of this, the Saxon guns had wasted a great deal of their ammo firing at these cavalry. Not a good thing as the Russian infantry - three brigades worth - were about to get in range! The fight here would be interesting in the upcoming turns. But at the moment, the Saxons were firmly in control of the objective, backed up by the French dragoons.

This stage of the battle also saw the first loss of the battle: a French Hussar brigade was broken - and the second about to be retired!

French Hussars move up to screen the Saxons.

 

The opposing cavalry skirmish each other as the Russian infantry close in. The Saxon guns engage the Russian cavalry
with some success.

 

The Russain cavalry strikes! A swirl of horseman engage, the French out numbered.

The French withdraw what remains of their Hussar brigades. The Russian numbers were too much.

With the Russian cavalry exposed, the Saxons open up with close range volley fire, causing considerable discomfort
 to the enemy. Note on the far right some French dragoons have moved from reserve to cover the Saxon flank
and retreating Hussars.

Attack on the Sippitz Bridge

Meanwhile, over on the French left, the battle was heating up! The Russians made a few mistakes and couldn't get their cannon in range quick enough to support their advancing infantry - I forgot to use the reserve move for them!

 

The Russian musketeers advanced quickly to attack the bridge directly, supported by grenadiers in the rear. A brigade of Hussar threatened the French left of the bridge. This forced the French to show their hand and commit their reserve to prevent a break through on the left of the bridge.

 

At this point the Russians moved up more infantry to engage the French all along the river itself. Although the Russian cavalry attempting to out-flank the French by crossing the river early was repulsed, the battle could go either way in this sector. The next few turns should tell what will happen next

Intense fighting at the bridge!

Note the French hussars cover the left flank of the bridge, spotting the enemy cavalry and a brigade of grenadiers
 advancing.

The Russians keep up the pressure by sending forward more infantry to support the assault on the bridge.

The French defense along the river is engaged on all fronts.

A look at the battlefield after 8 turns.

After eight turns, and both side having completed four each, the French only have a reserve of TWO dragoon units - backing up the Saxons; the Russians have a couple infantry units - at least one is grenadier. The battle is now well underway, and the next few turns will be bloody.

Here is the link to PART TWO of this battle. :)

Stay tuned for the next few turns to follow :)