17th April 1814 – Battle of Waremme – Day Two

Waremme Campaign area

1 and 4 Prussian corps have orders to attack Waremme

13 Polish corps has orders to hold Waremme

1 Prussian and 13 Polish corps have fought for possession of Waremme throughout 16 April 1814.   At nightfall the Prussians hold the western half of the town and the Polish the eastern halt.   Both have orders to fight a second day

4 Prussian corps has orders to support 1 corps.

Prussian - 19200 infantry, 2000 cavalry and 60 guns

Polish - 10400 infantry, 1000 cavalry and 30 guns

Table at start of wargame

Prussian Brigades      5 infantry         2 cavalry           2 artillery

Polish Brigades            3 infantry         1 cavalry           1 artillery

1 Prussian and 13 Polish start on table

4 Prussian arrive start of move 5

4 Prussian have two brigades detached and one with 70% casualties

So in effect they have one infantry and one cavalry brigade, plus artillery

Move 1 – 0800 to 0900

 Prussians have replaced garrison with a new brigade

Artillery fire on garrison, no casualties

Garrison skirmish, no casualties

Cavalry advance to engage lancers

Polish have replaced garrison with a new brigade

Artillery fire on garrison, no casualties

Garrison skirmish, no casualties

Lancers withdraw

Move 2 – 0900 to 1000

Lancers charge again and win melee, hussars retire shaken

Battle for the town continues

Both garrisons receive casualties

Both pass morale test with 10% casualties each.

Move 3 – 1000 to 1100

Prussian hussars retire behind square and rally

Artillery fire on garrison, no casualties

Polish artillery hit garrison, who pass morale with 30% casualties

Move 4 -1100 to 1200

Prussians send in fresh brigade to replace garrison

Remainder advance south of town

Polish move south of town to counter Prussian attack

Move 5 – 1200 to 1300

1 Prussian hussars charge lancers, melee is a draw and both brigades disordered

Landwehr brigade replace garrison.

Artillery fire on garrison, no casualties

4 Prussian arrive (top centre)

13 Polish continue to move south of town

Move 6 – 1300 to 1400

1 Prussian hussars continue melee, once more a draw and both disordered

Artillery fire on garrison, no casualties

Infantry skirmish garrison, no casualties

4 Prussian continue to advance towards town

Blucher moves to join 1 corps

13 Polish deploy south of town

Move 7 – 1400 to 1500

1 Prussian artillery fire on garrison, no casualties

Skirmish garrison, no casualties

4 Prussian deploy to attack town

13 Polish garrison skirmish, attackers fail morale with 20% casualties and are shaken

Artillery fire on infantry, no casualties

Lancers win melee, Prussian hussars withdraw shaken

Move 8 – 1500 to 1600

1 Prussian artillery fire on town, no casualties

Shaken cavalry pass morale rally

Shaken infantry fail morale and rout

2 Prussian artillery fire on town, no casualties

13 Polish artillery fire on square, no casualties

Cavalry retire to protect line of retreat

Blucher abandons any hope of storming garrison

He orders both corps to hold their position

He will attempt to take the eastern town section by artillery fire alone

Move 9 – 1600 to 1700

1 Prussian artillery fire on town, no casualties

4 Prussian artillery fire on town, no casualties

13 Polish artillery fire on square, no casualties

Move 10 – 1700 to 1800

1 Prussian artillery fire on town, no casualties

4 Prussian artillery fire on town, no casualties

13 Polish artillery fire on square, no casualties

Move 11 – 1800 to 1900

1 Prussian artillery hit town, garrison pass morale with 20% casualties

4 Prussian artillery hit town, garrison pass morale with 30% casualties

13 Polish artillery hit town, garrison pass morale with 10% casualties

Move 12 – 1900 to 2000

1 Prussian artillery fire on town, no casualties

4 Prussian artillery fire on town, no casualties

13 Polish artillery fire on square, no casualties

Shaken garrison pass morale and rally

Polish abandon town and retreat under cover of darkness

Game Casualties

Polish lose 1600 infantry

Prussians lose 2400 infantry

Game Summary

After a full day of fighting the Poles hold the eastern section of the town

The Prussians hold the western section. 

Both decide to fight a second day

The Poles hold their own, and even repulse 1^st corps attack

However they had not expected 4^th corps to join the battle

Blucher arrived with 4^th corps

He now outnumbered the Poles in artillery and cavalry

But his infantry had suffered in the morning attack

He decided to take the town by artillery fire alone

By late afternoon the Polish garrison had suffered 30% casualties

But they managed to hold until nightfall

Under cover of darkness they abandoned the town

Total casualties, including from earlier battles,  at the end of the battle

French 5,600 casualties  

Prussian 6,000 casualties and one brigade in rout