Battle of Dresden

  

                                   Battle of Dresden, by Thomas Charles Naudet

Was it the battle of Dresden that set the stage for the apocalyptic clash at Leipzig where the supernatural beast made it's appearance? Did the clash of cannon over the two-day battle raise the monster from the depths? I won't know until I write the story, but I have my suspicions. In the meantime, here's some information about the battle of Dresden:

Fun Fact: The Battle of Dresden

August 1813. The summer armistice has ended. Austrian has joined Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Great Britain against France. The Army of Bohemia, consisting of 230,000 Russians and Austrians under the command of Prince Schwarzenberg, accompanied by the Tsar and the King of Prussia, advanced on the capital of Saxony, whose King was a firm supporter of Napoleon. Gouvion St. Cyr's XIV Corps was the only French force near Dresden. The Emperor rushed away from his pursuit of Blucher toward Dresden, followed by elements of the Imperial Guard, Vandamme's corps, Marmont, and Victor.

Informed that St. Cyr could not hold against the massive force while a flanking attack developed, Napoleon advanced to Dresden with the Guard Cavalry, Marmont, and Victor, leaving Vandamme to conduct the outflanking maneuver.  When the Allies learned of The Emperor's arrival, they had second thoughts about attacking, but their troops marched forward before their orders could be canceled. 

St. Cyr held his defensive line throughout the 26th, and  Napoleon's counterattack with the Guard in the later afternoon regained those positions which had been lost earlier in the day. During the night, Victor and Marmont arrived to increase the French force to 120,000 men. Schwarzenberg's strength increased to 270,000, but he had to siphon of troops to meet Vandamme's approach. 

On the 27th, Schwarzenberg massed his troops to smash the French center, while Napoleon planned to hold the center with only 50,000 while delivering attacks on the flanks.  At 6:a.m. he moved first, crushing the Allied right wing with Mortier's and Nansouty's attack on Wittgenstein. At the same time, Murat drove off the Allied left. Schwarzenberg, having lost 18,000 troops with but limited success against the French center, elected against fighting a third day.

                   By Friedrich Rudolf von Rothenburg - Schlachtenatlas, Public Domain 

 

If you want some more Napoleonic conflict with a touch of Egyptian magic, check out my story, "Seventh Hussar and Aide to the Mage." 

 

 

French Cavalry and an Interview

Wellington confirmed that the French cavalry was the strongest on the European continent during the Napoleonic era.

The heavy cavalry mounted frontal charges during battle to break enemy infantry or route their cavalry.

The medium cavalry performed charges like the heavy cavalry and also acted as ‘mounted infantry.’ (See the picture below, Detaile's "Charging French Dragoons").

The light cavalry conducted reconnaissance before battle and pursuit of the routed enemy after battle.

--Napoleon's Cavalry, Artillery, and Technical Corps 1799-1815 by Gabriele Esposito

Why these bland tidbits of Napoleonic tactics that are well known to every student of the era? I'm glad you asked. I'm assembling facts and details for a short story featuring my three favorite fictional cavalry officers of La Grande Armee: Beaujeu the dragoon, Pichon the chasseur-a-cheval, and Gavrel the hussar. These three sprang to life in a story I wrote set in Egypt. Although that story remains unpublished, the three cavalrymen delighted readers in "Seventh Hussar and Aide to the Mage," published by Raconteur Press in the Wyrd Warfare anthology edited by Chris DiNote, in which they fought at the battle of Borodino.

The story in progress has them at an engagement shortly after the Egyptian campaign and long before the Russian campaign. It's an interesting battle and has been a fun one to recreate in all the various games I've played based on the battle. Naturally, our brave cavaliers will play a pivotal role that may not be well known to history. Spies, dark magic, and the desperate struggle between exhausted forces combine to threaten Bonaparte's position and demand more dangerous deeds for these heroes behind the official proclamations of victory.

Speaking of dangerous deeds, I dared to meet with The Halfling and the Spaceman to discuss writing and Accidental Pirates. I had a great time with the genial hosts.

A week or so ago, I met for another interview with another vlogger, but technical difficulties prevented anything more than a brief visit. We'll reschedule that one. Additionally, I've been invited for the Blasters and Blades podcast early next month. Of course, I'll post a link when it happens.

 

Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle

  

 General Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle led the Infernal Brigade (the 5th and 7th Hussars) in the 1806 campaign against Prussia. The brigade moved rapidly through enemy territory in search of information and supplies. Lasalle and his 500 hussars arrived at the fortified city of Stettin following the Battle of Jena. A garrison of 5,000 and over 150 cannon guarded the fortress. Lasalle pretended the entire French army was with him and demanded the surrender of the city or 50,000 troops would assault the town. His bluff succeeded, and the city surrendered without resistance. Napoleon wrote that if the light cavalry continued to capture fortified towns, he would have to melt down his artillery and discharge his engineers.

Tactical creativity and audacity marked the hussars, and the daring Lasalle was the perfect commander for this flamboyant cavalry. The general was known for his wit, charm, and personal exploits, including affairs and duels; he remarked that any hussar who wasn't dead by the age of thirty was contemptible. Serving in the army of Italy, he was captured and eventually released. Bonaparte elevated him to the rank of major, rather than court martialing him, after he gathered important intelligence by leading a contingent of hussars inside enemy territory to his lover's house. On the way back, his men were surrounded by 100 Austrian hussars. He escaped by leaping his horse over the bridge wall. He led his men through the enemy, became isolated but escaped, wounding four of the Austrians, losing his horse, and swimming the river to rejoin the rest of his men. At Rivoli, his squadron captured an entire Austrian battalion. 

He went to Egypt with Bonaparte and distinguished himself at the Battle of the Pyramids, thereafter advancing to the rank of colonel. At the Battle of Remedieh, he rescued General Davout as he was about to be cut down by Mamluks, cutting off the hands of one attacker and breaking his sword over the head of the Mamluk leader. He restored order and drove the enemy back. 

At Marengo, he served as on of Napoleon's aides-de-camp. 

On an occasion when Lasalle had gambled away a huge sum of money the emperor had awarded him, instead of punishing the general, Napoleon ordered he be given the amount again to pay for his wedding. Napoleon indicated that a prefect could be created with the stroke of a pen, but that twenty years were required to create a Lasalle.

 During the Battle of Heilsburg in 1807, in command of a cavalry division, Lasalle saw Murat in trouble, surrounded by Russian dragoons. He led a charge to rescue Murat, who returned the favor later during the same battle.

After serving in Spain under Bessieres, now 33 years old, he returned for the 1809 campaign on the Danube. At the Battle of Wagram, he sensed that his death was imminent. He sent a petition to Napoleon asking him to take care of his children after Lasalle's death. He wrote a letter to his wife, telling her that his heart was hers, but his blood belonged to the emperor, and his life to honor. On the night of the second day, he received permission to pursue the enemy. Lasalle became separated from his own division, but led a charge of cuirassiers against Austrian infantry. Although he was shot in the chest, the general continued to charge and the enemy broke and fled. However, as the charge carried on, a second shot hit Lasalle between the eyes, killing him instantly.

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On the writing front, I remain unwounded in spite of my numerous charges against the blank pages of the battlefield. I have completed 25 chapters of the sequel to Accidental Pirates - just 5 more chapters to completion. Adventure, battle, and a final twist await.

 

 

Battle of Raab and a giveaway

 

 In June of 1809, about 40 miles from Vienna, while Napoleon's main force and those of Austria's Archduke Charles maneuvered for battle on the Danube, Eugene de Beauharnais commanding French and Italian troops engaged Archduke John near Raab. John had deployed his troops--mostly militia and landwehr with cavalry and artillery--in a defensive position behind the Pancza stream. Beauharnais attacked and after a back and forth battle for the farm at the bridge near the center, concentrated fire from the French guns drove back the Austrian artillery and allowed the French cavalry to ford the river and threaten John's left flank. The French then retook the farm again and John was forced to withdraw.

We replayed this battle, and finally finished it yesterday. In the photo above, taken on the next to last turn, the French are on the left and the Austrians on the right. Our battle differed in the details from the historic conflict. First, I enhanced the quality of a couple of the Austrian brigades to make things more interesting. Second, I deployed the French without much thought, just as I took them from the travel box--this was an away game in a friend's basement pantry. That placed the Severoli's Italian division on the far left and the divisions of Durutte and Seras on the right with Pacthod's division in the center with Grouchy's cavalry in reserve.

An Italian brigade began the fight with and attack across the bridge at the top of the picture; they were repulsed by the defenders, and finally destroyed by artillery fire. The other Italian brigade maneuved farther to the Austian right where they threatened to cross the swamp and stream to attack from the flank. Shortly after that, the Austrian players pulled their troops back from the stream on the French right to strengthen the center and Austrian right. That left the Austrian left wide open. Seras' division and part of Durutte's division waded the Pancza. The Austrians responded with cavalry and artillery. The French withstood both, repulsing the cavalry, and finally taking the farm at the center from the flank. The Austrians reached their break point but successfully inflicted some losses on the French, eliminating both brigades of Seras' division with their grenadiers and an enhanced brigade before ending the game.

We had a good time, but my poor positioning at the start kept me from concentrating my artillery fire, and the French cavalry never did anything more than threaten the Austrian center. It was a delight to open the purple testament of war, push painted men about the field, and roll the bones to determine their fate.

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In honor of the French victory, or for Halloween, perhaps, I've got a giveaway going. Enter to win an autographed book - a choice of either any the Rac Press anthologies featuring one of my stories, or one of the books from the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series.  

I finished going over the edits on my adventure book for boys. I'll get it back to the editor this week after I insert a dedication. Look for it in November in ebook and paperback.

 

Marengo

 

 A little Pub Battles Marengo from CommandPost Games this week.

The Marengo Map spreads out large and beautiful. The year is 1800. France is at war with Austria. Bonaparte deftly handled the Austrians in Italy a few years before. Now he has risen to the position of First Consul of the French. With part of his army across the Bormida River from Alessandria, where General Melas has massed an Austrian army nearly double the size of Bonaparte's force, Napoleon has blocked Melas' supply lines. Melas must attack or maneuver away. A double agent man, for whom I know neither the name nor number, provided false information that Melas would maneuver. Based on that information, Bonaparte sent part of his forces away to monitor other possible avenues for Melas.

Instead of Maneuvering away, Melas attacks the divided French force.

 I've never been disappointed with any game I've played that is a re-fight of Marengo. I've played with Napoleon's Battles and a few other miniature rules, including my own homebrew sets. However, Pub Battles Marengo has the advantage of being playable in an hour or so. The game sets up quick and it plays quick. As you can see in the picture below--the final positions of the game I played last week--the game uses wooden blocks. They're much easier and quicker to use than the chits or counters or miniatures used in other games I've played.

What makes this battle such a ripping good time to play? The Austrians cross the river in overwhelming force against the French advance forces under Vandamme and Lannes. These generals have have to delay the Austrians so that Napoleon, who's back at the other end of the long battlefield, can bring the reserve to the fight. The reserve is also a small force but includes the idominatable Consular Guard. Additionally, Murat and some French cavalry, including Kellerman's formidable cuirassiers, are on hand to lend assistance. Even with the reserve and the cavalry, the French are outnumbered. 

Napoleon may have an ace, or at least a face card up his sleeve. He has sent for Desaix's division to return at the double time with no dawdling along the way. Can Lannes and Vandamme delay the Austrians without being crushed and dooming the French army to defeat? Can Napoleon prevent Melas from reopening his supply line? Will Desaix arrive in time to save the French from the Austrian war machine?

Below is scene from midway through this week's game. I randomly altered the Austrian order of battle for greater uncertainty for the French. The lone white block just to the right of the upper center is an Austrian baggage train. That blue line extending toward it is an attempt by the French to get to that baggage train. If successful, the French will win the game. If unsuccessful, they may at least force Melas to divert troops from the French baggage train that he is threatening. Because of the nature of the game, neither can be certain that the units they're threatening are in fact baggage trains. It's a gamble.

What's so special about baggage trains? First, if you lose one, you lose the battle. If you have a line of supply, you can unpack the train and use it to rally troops, so they can live on and fight another round. However, once they're unpacked, the trains can't move. If you have to pack one of them up after you've unpacked it, you lose. I find this adds even great urgency and uncertainty to the battle.

Below is a picture from later in the battle. As you can see, the French didn't get to Melas' baggage train, but they did force him to defend it, relieving the threat to one of their own baggage trains. Bonaparte is blocking the left hook by the Austrians shown on the lower right of the map, and Desaix has arrived and advanced at the far left edge.

However, Bonaparte's baggage train is under threat. The French unpacked the trains earlier, so they can't move. They're committed to the battle and can't retreat without devastating losses.

The picture below shows the end of the battle.

Thanks to the daring charges by the French cavalry and the valiant efforts of the infantry, the Austrian losses exceeded their will to fight. They broke with 50% casualties to their infantry. Although Bonaparte's and an Austrian baggage train were seriously threatened, the Austrian army broke before either could be taken.

 

 

 

For a ration of pure fun, I recommend this book

The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a compilation of stories told by the fictional narrator, Etienne Gerard, of his adventures in Napoleon's Conflans Hussars. Gerard tells the stories in his old age, and humility has not dimmed the recollection of his fantastic exploits in the service of the Emperor. I suppose action adventure comedy would be the proper term to apply to the compilation. Much of the comedy arises from the narrator's bravado and false sense of modesty. 

The actions here are not the great deeds in the big battles of the era, but brave and gallant adventures, missions for the Emperor that occur on the fringes of the historic events. A few of the stories are remarkably similar to the adventures of Bernard Cornwell's Richard Sharpe character. By following a French hero, Doyle lets the reader romp about Europe instead of being confined to the peninsula. We see Gerard not only in Spain and England, but also in the east fighting Cossacks and outwitting his Prussian counterparts, carrying messages and state secrets through enemy troops, and charming women along the way. Although he is always brave and resourceful, he is not always entirely successful.

Gerard is hilariously unaware of his own vanity. These two quotes illustrate the conceit of the brave Gerard:

"It is true that I have had to depict myself sometimes as brave, sometimes as full of resource, always as interesting; but, then, it really was so, and I had to take the facts as I found them."

"I am an excellent soldier. I do not say this because I am prejudiced in my own favour, but because I really am so."

Those who fail to see the humor may find the narrator's conceit too much, but I think Doyle struck the perfect chord with this character. I find Gerard more entertaining that Sherlock Holmes. You will not see great depth of character or detailed descriptions in these stories. You will find exciting adventure and amazing exploits told with the skill of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle projected through the lens of the British military ideal as well as the stereotypical concept of French bravado, elan--and conceit.

Nature changed her mind. She had written a wonderful spring week with abundant sunshine filling days with the warm supple feel of a baby's smooth cheek. She had brought not only green but striking yellow hues about which bees and assorted other insects turned to and fro in their ecstatic aerial dances. She had a change of heart on Friday. She ferociously rewrote, adding plot complications that included gray skies which brooded in a dark funk above the landscape before lashing out with furious winds and unleashing airborne oceans to remind us that April is a capricious child prone to sudden (and sodden) tantrums. Nature is all about character development. She writes in epic colors with the voice of thunder and tempest without ever forgetting the details that bring her characters to life--and yet she is not nearly so eloquent as the empty tomb.

In other words, it was too wet to mow and too wet, windy and rainy to spray the weeds. I did manage to repair a cabinet door and launch into a game of Song of Drums and Shakos (Large Battles) on Saturday while the wretched wetness reigned outside. The Austrians were supposed to be fighting a defensive battle but they seized the initiative and have relentlessly taken the fight to the French. It's a fun and fairly simple game. It's not quite as fun as the wild beast I created by combining Age of Eagles with elements of Rogue Stars, but it is simpler and quicker--although, I think the rules could have been more clearly written that they were.

I should have been writing but I made my thousand words per day during the week. I'm at 19,000 words. That's nearly a quarter of the way through Power to Hurt, the sequel to Threading the Rude Eye. I still expect to have it ready by the end of July this year.

Given recent events, I've included a few pics of Notre Dame Cathedral taken when we were there in May 2017. My other pictures of the place would be from 1983 or 84 (I'll have to find them).

The Duellists

A scene from one of my favorite movies, and in my opinion, Ridley Scott's best work. The Napoleonic wars provide the setting for this enigmatic story of a series of encounters between two officers of the hussars. It is based on Joseph Conrad's book The Duel, A Military Tale. My copy of the book was published in 1927; the copyright date is 1908. It is also my favorite of Conrad's works..but I've only read three or four of his books. 

I wrote a short story or two set in the Napoleonic era (after reading Arthur Conan Doyle's The Glorious Hussar), but they have all been lost...and weren't very good. The novel I had started years ago, set in the 1796 Italian Campaign, may be forever imprisoned on a defunct computer; I'm probably the only one who would have been interested in reading it.