A Tale of Two Battles (2)

 

Our second visit was to the battlefield of Lutzen, fought on May 2nd 1813. This time we were on our way home and having travelled from near Salzburg to here was a fair drive. As we had a restaurant booked, we only had about 90 minutes or so to have a quick look round. This time it was more of a whistle stop tour as my wife gamely drove from key point to key point whilst I leapt out of the car to take a few snaps. All a bit hectic but again well worth the effort (for me at least!!).

The starting point for any tour of the Lutzen bttlefield has to be the Monarch's Hill. I thought that the allied leaders were simply at the top of a long slope leading down to the French positions around the quadrilateral of villages that were the focus of the battle. Not so. As you can see from the first photo it is an actual mound. Another lesson that there is no substitute for walking the ground.

As is clear from the next two photos it offered a superb view of the positions of the French army. 

The first village we reached was Starsiedel, which was on the French right flank, where Marshal Marmont's 6th Corps was deployed. The church here was the one I used as a reference for TM Terrain's project on my own German church.

Nations In Arms: Another Present to Myself!

The central "quadrilateral" of villages: Gross and Klein Gorschen, Rahna and Kaja were next on the list. Here is the church of Klein Gorschen as it would have appeared in 1813

The churchyard, surrounded by a wall on three sides and a row of houses on the fourth was the scene of terrible fighting as the village changed hands during the course of the battle.

Inside a memorial to the Hessian Leib Regiment, part of  General Marchand's 39th (German) Division of Ney's 3rd Corps, which was deeply involved in the to and fro fighting, suffering heavy losses.

In Gross Gorschen a plaque giving an overall view of the fighting and some points of interest.

A memorial to the Prussian dead in the battle.

A memorial to General Scharnhorst, reformer of the Prussian army after the Jena debacle. He was wounded in the foot at Lutzen. Unfortunately complications developed and he died several weeks later.

The village of Rahna, also the scene of very heavy fighting. The solidly built houses and farms must have presented serious difficulties to an attacking force.

The smallest of all was the hamlet of Kaja. The track to it was cobbled and extremely rough - my wife had to drive at a snail's pace to spare the car's suspension!!

The village of Eisdorf was on the extreme French left and was fought over by the troops of Marshal MacDonald's 11th Corps and Russians under Eugene of Wurtemberg. The eventual French success here and a massive counter-attack in the centre by the Young Guard threatened the entire allied position and forced their retreat.

Lutzen (or Gross Gorschen as the Prussians call it), is one of the most interesting and hard-fought battles of the Napoleonic Wars in my opinion. We have fought it as a wargame several times and it is always a great punch up. 

It was nice to be able to walk the ground, albeit for a short time and I would very much like to go back and take a couple of days to do it properly.

Interestingly on the very fringes of the battlefield is the village of Rocken, north-west of Starsiedel, birth and final resting place of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Anyway I hope you have found the last couple of posts an interesting diversion from the usual wargaming fare. Now I am back home and in the swing of things again, there will be a lot more WWII, Napoleonic, AWI and so on. I am also (finally) closing in on getting at least phase 1 of the 7YW project on the table. Bagration to Berlin is also progressing nicely, so more on that too.

A Tale of Two Battles (1)

 

Whilst on a two week driving holiday in Europe, I managed to fit in a couple of (very) quick visits to battlefields that have always interested me. The first was the battle of Froeschwiller on August 6th 1870; we had driven all day to get there, but managed to spend a very interesting 90 minutes doing a quick tour of the central part of the battlefield around the focal points of Froeschwiller and Elsasshausen. It really is a fascinating battlefield and full of tactical interest for the Franco-Prussian enthusiast - so much so that I am hoping to go back for a week next year to do a more detailed walk over the ground with a view to doing a book on the battle.

The best vantage point was from the top of this imposing monument built in honour of the Prussian 11th Artillery Regiment in 1913. From here you get a great view over the central and southern sectors of the battlefield.

Here are three shots of the village of Froeschwiller itself. Apart from modern traffic the village looks very similar to the way it would have appeared in 1870.

The position offered fantastic observation and fields of fire to the defending French as can be seen here:

The tiny hamlet of Elsasshausen, also a focal point in the battle seemed hardly to have changed and I was surprised to see what a strongpoint it must have been. I hadn't appreciated how sharply the ground fell away from it and how difficult it must have been to attack. Walking the ground really gives you a feel for the nuances of the terrain that maps cannot hope to match.

We stayed in the small village of Morsbronn on the southern edge of the battlefield. Although only lightly held by French outposts, which quickly withdrew in the face of overwhelming numbers of Prussians, it was the scene of one of the most dramatic and tragic episodes of the day. As the French right wing was forced back, a brigade of French Cuirassiers was sent in to buy time. Charging over completely unsuitable agricultual ground, they were met by a murderous fire and swerved away, many of them riding into the streets of Morsbronn itself. Once there they found the road blocked by barricades and many of the riders were shot down by Prussian infantry in the houses and gardens. Our room overlooked the main street and may well have featured in these events as the house was in existence at the time. It was strange to think that Prussian infantry may have fired down into the struggling mass of French cavalry from that very window!

Our hotel:

Anyway, a bit of a change from the usual wargaming fare and I hope you found it of interest.

Tiger Tiger!

 

The first of a planned "battalion" of four Tiger Is finally ready to take the field. Another excellent PSC vehicle with plenty of detail. The crew are Caesar soft plastic figures in cold weather gear. Four vehicles is a pretty small battalion, but seems about right for the final year of the war. I also have a couple of Tiger IIs, which could provide a third company. One of the scenarios features just such an understrength unit supporting elements of a regular Panzer division up against a Soviet tank brigade with IS2s attached.

The scenarios (all 18 of them) are now pretty much firmed up and work can begin on fine tuning. There is also still a lot to do on the terrain, vehicles and figures for the photos, but progress is definitely being made. 

WWII AAR

Regular wargaming partner Roj has uploaded a really good After Action Report on a recent WWII game we played at my house whilst play testing "Bagration to Berlin". Well worth a read. I am usually so busy managing the rules for the game that I don't get to take any photos or make notes, so thanks Roj.

You can find the report at: Great Northern War Gaming & Other Projects: WW2 German Assault

More Germans

 

A few additional Germans for the collection. First up, a very nice 3D printed PAK40 purchased on EBAY with a mixed German crew. I am trying to make my late war Germans a bit careworn with a good variety of clothing hence the greatcoats and zeltbahns. Quite like the result. I must admit to being a big fan of Britannia WWII figures. Granted they are not the most anatomically correct, but they are full of character and a pleasure to paint.

Another German truck from PSC. In my home brew rules riding around in soft vehicles under fire is a very risky undertaking, but they are still useful in many scenarios.

A lovely S Models kit of an Sdkfz 253 OP vehicle. The observer is AB.

A Zvezda 88, likewise a lovely model; detailed but relatively easy to put together. Crew are also from AB.

I am getting through the backlog of German vehicles quite well, but still a long way to go. The main area lacking is in half tracks (251s and 250s) and I could do with finishing some armoured cars so I can field a recce unit.

Some More WWII German Vehicles

 

Hot of the Nibelungenwerk production lines are a few more vehicles for the Germans. Firstly an EBAY purchased Jagdpanther re-done in ambush camo - painted up a couple of these.

Another EBAY purchase, this time an sdkfz7 with quad 20mm repainted and crewed with a mix of AB metal and a plastic figure in camo dress from I can't remember where; just that it was a very useful box set which will be appearing in other vehicles later on.

Yet another EBAY purchase simply re-painted and weathered. Managed to find 4 of these Panthers, which should be enough for most games.

And finally a Plastic Soldier Company Raupenschlepper Ost towing a 3D printed PAK40 past another German house conversion.

Have also been pretty busy with their Soviet counterparts, which I hope to feature soon. Work on the book is progressing well, with most of the scenarios sketched out. Once they are all done, I can move on to refining and testing them out, so still a fair way to go.