NAPOLEONS WHEEL: DANUBE CAMPAIGN, PART I

1-OSG210

BATTLES SIMULATED

Ulm, Napoleon's Wheel, 9-15 October

General Mack's plan was to attack across the Danube at Napoleon's exposed lines of communication. He had concentrated his forces at Ulm for this purpose and ordered Kienmayer to move towards him to support the attack.

Mack wasn't wrong about the strategic value of Ulm. He assumed that this conferred on him a strategic victory in the old 18th century book of strategic thinking. From this point he would be able to maneuver in any direction, without being cut off from supplies, etc. The deep flaw in his thinking was revealed by Napoleon's Wheel around Ulm. In the 18th century such a move would not have been possible. There was no operational level to their thinking in those days. What had changed was a new network of post roads. The Battles of Gunzburg, Elchingen, and Ulm are all covered on one of the two full-size maps. Napoleon managed to seal off the Austrian army's escape routes to the south and east, while Mack was fed erroneous news that revolution had broken out in France. Mack sent Reisch down the left bank of the Danube toward Donauw?rth. Ney crossed to the north bank of the Danube and attacked Riesch's corps at Elchingen. The French captured the heights and drove the Austrians west toward Ulm, taking many prisoners. Although Austrian light troops remained on the north bank, Mack's army would soon be surrounded.

Durrenstein, Kutuzov's Trap, 11 Nov. Mortier had over-extended his three divisions along the north bank of the Danube. Mikhail Kutuzov, commander of the Coalition Army, enticed Mortier to send Gazan's division into a trap and French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns. They were rescued by the timely arrival of Dupont's division. Both sides claimed victory. The French lost more than a third of their participants, and Gazan's division lost over 40 percent.

Schoengrabern, Bagration's Rear-Guard, 16 November Bagration was assigned the role of rear-guard to provide the retreating Coalition Army some elbow-room. In the evening, Oudinot's grenadiers attacked and carried the village. Oudinot was wounded and lost 2,000 men. Bagration lost 2,400, but withdrew in good order.

Austerlitz, Napoleon's Apogee, 1-2 December The Austro-Russians occupied the Pratzen Heights, the dominating feature of the battlefield. Their plan required a flank march in the presence of the enemy. Napoleon's deliberately-weakened right was a tempting target and, at the outset, the attack had the French on the ropes. A weak division under Davout arrived in time to check the enemy for the remainder of the day in a terrible struggle at Sokolnitz. As the Russians marched off the plateau to reinforce the south, Napoleon unleashed the IV Corps into their vacated center. Miloradovich attempted to plug the gap, and the battle entered its critical phase. The Russian left wing under Buxh?wden was driven back upon the lakes and decimated. The Austro-Russians lost about 26,000 men and 191 guns; the French about 8,000 men.


CHaslach, Elchingen, Durnstein, Schoengrabern, Austerlitz
Contents: Four maps, 2 counter sheets, 2 rulebooks, 15 player aid cards.