Battle of Abensburg – April 20, 1809

 Elements of the 2^nd Bavarian Division vs Austria’s 2^nd Brigade, Light Division.

 

About 11am on the 20^th of April 1809, leading elements of the 2^nd Bavarian Division, under Lieutenant-General Karl Philipp von Wrede, engaged an advance guard Radetzky’s brigade of the Austrian Light Division, under Feldmarschall-Leutnant Emmanuel von Schustekh-Herve.

In the pre-dawn darkness of the morning of 20 April, Napoleon mistakenly assumed that the bulk of Archduke Charles' army lay in front of him. Accordingly, he gave orders for a drive southeast in the direction of Landshut. Lannes' mission was to turn the Austrian right flank by pushing south toward Rohr. General of Division Dominique Vandamme would attack Siegenburg with his small Kingdom of Württemberg corps. Lefebvre's other VII Corps divisions, together with General of Division Joseph Laurent Demont's Reserve Division of the III Corps, would link Lannes and Vandamme. Napoleon ordered Masséna's IV Corps to capture Landshut and the Isar River crossings, cutting the Austrian line of communications.

Having found an easy crossing of the Abens, Wrede’s men were somewhat ahead of the general advance, approx. 3kms west of Kirchdorf and north of Siegenburg. The morning light glinted off the Bavarians accoutrements of war as they began crossing fields toward the small village a Picard and the waiting Austrians. On their right flank the Austrians 2^nd Uhlans moved forward, supported by a battery of horse artillery and a battalion of Grenz. The Bavarian commander, Rechburg, in the centre, immediately ordered to veer left toward Picard, allowing the following 1^st Dragoons and 1^st Chevauleger room to advance.

Opening move by the Bavarians

As viewed by the Austrians.

The Austrians respond. Uhlans and horse artillery move up, Grenz in support.

The Austrian Brigadier of the right flank ordered his skirmish line forward, accompanied by the General’s aide-de-camp, for extra encouragement. “Steady your aim, boys. Let ‘em have it!”

With urging from their officers, Bavarian left (brigade) surged forward (Forward tasking)

The Bavarian skirmish line close in on the Austrian skirmishers, seeking to throw them back.

In response, the Uhlans move up to charging range, threatening the Bavarian’s right flank. 

The Austrian skirmishers fall back in front of the cannon of the Bavarian 1^st brigade. The ADC stayed with them and was very satisfied to see an artillery man fall to the accurate skirmishers volley.

Wasting no time with polite introductions, the Bavarians charged, led by 2^nd battalion. In the face of some spirited defensive fire (2 casualties), the Bavarians halted and returned desultory fire (0 casualties). [Note: We should have split the casualties with one of the supporting battalions, as per the rule for multiple targets. However, the lead unit will always get the most hits.]

As feared, the Uhlans lowered their lances and charged. Note that the infantry had already formed into squares, having won initiative in this moment. The artillery had also moved aside. These maneuvers were to leave the 2nd Brigade out of position for the course of the battle.  [We expected to see a modifier in favour of the Lancers vs normal cavalry, but this is not the case. They are rated as Battle Cavalry however, which may be due to their lances.] 

The 1^st Chevaulegers galloped forward to support and the spinning melee was inconclusive. A second round was needed. The 1^st Dragoons elected to Stand and Fight!, knowing they had support. The Uhlans had made their mark (scoring 3 casualties to their 2) however and chose an orderly withdrawal. 

Unperturbed by the Austrian musketry, 1^st battalion took the lead, charging unsupported on the far left. The Austrians had warmed to the task scoring 4 hits. Again, the Bavarians halted and returned a smattering of ineffective fire. (Note that the smoke here is for the photo only and does not represent a loss of fire discipline). 

The points go to John so far, but this fight has just begun.

Both sides spent a turn in finessing their dispositions. 

The Bavarians Dragoons charged. There was a question about charging the Uhlans instead, but the guns were the priority target, so the die were cast, so as to speak. Unfortunately for the Bavarians, the defensive fire was appallingly effective, resulting in 5 casualties. Not too many troops can make a successful charge after that, and the Dragoons were thrown back. (Note that the smoke here is for the photo only and does not represent a loss of fire discipline). 

Meanwhile on the other flank, the 2nd was ready to lead the charge again, with the ADC urging them on (with an Infantry Assault tasking). Again, the Austrians denied them, adding another casualty.

This is how the battlefield looked after turn 4. Note the Austian skirmishers covering the gap between the village and the woods.

Winning initiative for turn 5, the Austrian limbered up his horse artillery from the left sending toward the gap, where the skirmishers were advancing. The Bavarian commander elected to take his cat, in the form of the Chevaulegers, and throw them at the Austrian pigeons. Squares became fashionable and good rolling not so. The skirmishers, which had fled with alacrity, failed to hit and the battery defending the hill suffered a fatigue casualty. 

There was more to like here for the Bavarian as the big ol' Austrian line lost all discipline. 

Even better for the Bavarian, the 2nd brigade artillery was finally in a position to fire (at the Uhlans) and their opening volley was worth the wait.

Sensing victory, the Bavarians charged the Austrian right again, with Elan. In confusion the Austrians became unformed. "We have them now!" an overconfident infantry officer was heard to exclaim. John got his dice back on track. Well played, sir.

 

Ooops! Spoke too soon. Another loss of fire discipline. This time the Bavarian C-in-C stepped in to give troops a boost. This time the Austrians were sent packing and this is where we called it. 

Thanks to John for setting up this rule test. Throughout the two days of play we consulted the rule book and made unbiased determinations based on the rules as we read them. We found the forums were another way of checking any 'stickier' situations. Looking forward to our next test.