holding action at leubnitz (august 28, 1813)
A "programmed wargames scenario" ADAPTED for divisional napoleon's
battles
INTRODUCTION
This fictional combat is an adaptation of the Scenario No.4
of the C.S. Grant's book "Programmed
Wargames Scenarios"
(Wargames Research Group, Goring-by-Sea, England, 1983).
"The date is August 28, 1813. The Army of Bohemia has been routed at
Dresden by Napoleon himself and the Allied Sovereigns have decided
that retreat into Bohemia is the better option. The Prussian Klux’s
9th Brigade (Kleist’s 2nd Prussian Corps) has been
ordered by Wittgenstein to act as rearguard and cover the Army’s
retreat through the mountains. Urged by Napoleon himself, the
Maréchal Gouvion Saint-Cyr is pursuing the Allied with his XIV Corps
and finally his 43me Division
has caught the retreating Prussians deployed near Leubnitz on the
road towards Kulm".
The Scenario is loosely based upon this action and is intended for
Divisional Napoleon’s
Battles
(NBd). The French and Prussian orders of battle were
adapted from the Nafziger's book 'Napoleon
at Dresden. The Battles of August 1813'. Oliver Schmidt from the
Napoleon-Series Forum and
Herbert from the
Benno's Figures Forum, kindly
provided for the names of the Prussian Regimental officers of the
Klux's Brigade.
TABLE-TOP ADAPTATION
|
|
 |
NBd Scenario for Leubnitz (pdf
file) |
 |
| The real
Leubnitz (taken from the
Alison's Atlas) |
|
Game map |
| |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
The Prussian line of
retreat |
The French arrival road |
High ground at Prussian
left |
DEPLOYMENT
The deployment and subsequent actions from both sides, are strongly
depending from the die rolls proposed by the Scenarios's designer.
Prussian delaying force (Klux's 9th Brigade)
Its mission is “to cause the enemy the maximum delay without
taking unacceptable losses”, higher than 30%. The Force (including
Light Infantry elements) must be deployed behind the line marked in the
map. It will be divided into a Main body (90%) deployed at both sides of
the main road occupying the high ground if necessary, and a Reserve
(10%, 26 figures, i.e. one battalion). One infantry unit must be
deployed in the village. The defence will be static on the single narrow
front across the pass. A breakthrough by 2 or more French units will be
followed up by the pursuit by the Prussians, off the table, using his
nearest cavalry unit. General retreat will be ordered when
casualties reach 22.5%.
French pursuing force (Claparede's 43me Division)
Its mission is “to break through the Prussian forces as quickly as
possible and continue the advance on the route heading south-east”.
The force is divided into four task-forces:
Advance guard: 14th Hussars, 3/29me Legere, 2/100me Ligne, 1/2
Horse Artillery Battery
Left flank guard: 2 Italian Chasseurs-a-Cheval, 3/27me Legere (Enters
one turn after Advance guard)
Right flank guard: 7me (Polish) Chevaux Legeres-Lanciers, 2/27me
LigneL/1 (Same turn than the Advance guard)
Main-body: Claparede, St-Cyr and the rest of the 43me Division (Three
turns after Advance guard )
The Claparede’s battle plan is: The advance guard will attack quickly
straight down the main route hoping to break through the centre orders
are: The Main force will advance rapid1y, in support of the advance
guard. If the later has made little progress then the line of attack
will be directly up the road. Any isolated Prussian position or strong
point will be to bypassed and any single French unit will take the
opportunity to break through should it appear.
All die rolls were made with an ad-hoc
EXCEL
spreadsheet as outlined in the
Utilities for
Napoleon's Battles page.
VICTORY POINTS
From the book ”Programmed Wargames Scenarios”: The criteria for
victory in this scenario are complex and a draw or more precisely
failure by both sides is possible. The first point is "what is maximum
delay"? A time limit must be set after which Blue (the Prussians) will
have caused that delay. He may of course achieve the delay but lose
unacceptable casualties. In this case Red (the French) will not have
broken through, Blue (the Prussians) will have sacrificed too much for
the delay and will not have won. On the other hand Red (the French)may
have broken through but with little of his army left to continue or he
may have taken too long to achieve his breakthrough. In short the
balance between victory and defeat is a fine one and it must be left to
the player, players or umpire to be the final arbiter when all the
factors are considered.
HISTORICAL OUTCOME
St-Cyr attacked the Prussian rearguard with his habitual
indecision and only after urged by Napoleon himself. The Prussians were
able at last to continue their retreat and St-Cyr was recalled by
Berthier and addressed to other point. The Klux’s brigade will arrive at
the French rear area during the second day of the battle of Kulm, thus
decisively contributing to the French rout (See the
Kulm Scenario).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nafziger G. ‘'Napoleon
at Dresden. The Battles of August 1813”, The Emperor Press, Chicago,
1994
The Napoleon-Series Forum
The Benno's Figures Forum
THE BATTLE IN PICTURES
Scenarios for NB
