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Sunday, March 8, 2015

19th April 1814 – Battle of Waremme


Waremme Campaign area
13th French corps is cut off from the rest of the French Army
They have lost heavy infantry casualties, spread through three brigades
They also have only one days supplies left
If they run out of supplies, they can not resupply
They would then have to surrender.
19th  and 13th corps are both ordered to attack Waremme
If successful 13th corps will be able to rejoin the main Army
However 4th Prussian corps have been ordered to engage 13th French corps

Prussian - 16000 infantry, 2000 cavalry and 60 guns
French - 25200 infantry, 2000 cavalry and 60 guns
Table at start of wargame
Prussian Brigades   4 infantry      2 cavalry       2 artillery
French Brigades      7 infantry      2 cavalry       2 artillery

13th and 19th corps arrive on table at the start of move 1
Move 1 – 0800 to 0900
13 and 19 French corps arrive on table
Move 2 – 0900 to 1000
Both French corps start to deploy north of the town
1 Prussian artillery limber and move between town and woods

Move 3 – 1000 to 1100
Both French corps advance to engage Prussians north of town
19 French cavalry advance to charge Prussian artillery
Move 4 -1100 to 1200
1 Prussian artillery fire on cavalry and miss
2 Prussian cavalry charge cuirassiers, who are poised to charge gunners
Cuirassiers lose melee and retire shaken
2 Prussian artillery hit infantry, who fail morale and rout
Nearby infantry fail morale and are shaken
Move 5 – 1200 to 1300
1 Prussian artillery fire on shaken cavalry, who rally with 10% casualties
19 French artillery fire on cavalry, who pass morale with 10% casualties
4 Prussian artillery hit gunners, who pass morale with 10% casualties
13 Polish infantry test morale for shaken, fail morale and rout
Two nearby brigades (each with 30% casualties) fail morale and join rout
Polish Rout
All four Polish infantry brigades have routed
Their artillery are disordered with 10% casualties
Only the lancer brigade remains formed and able to cover the retreat

Game Casualties
French lose 100 cavalry
Prussians lose 800 infantry, 100 cavalry and 100 gunners

Game Summary
13th Polish corps is cut off from the main French Army
They have run out of supplies and have heavy casualties from an earlier battle
19th French corps is ordered to take Waremme and rescue 13th corps
Waremme is held by 1st Prussian corps, which is full strength
4th Prussian corps is ordered to support them, but has only one infantry brigade
19th French corps order their cavalry to charge the Prussian gunners
This is a risky move, but necessary in order to break through and reach 13th corps
Prussian cavalry charge them, save the guns and forces the cuirassiers to retreat.
4th Prussian artillery hit the nearest Polish infantry brigade, causing them to rout
A nearby Prussian brigades lose their morale and join the rout
The panic spreads to two Prussian brigades in reserve, each with 30% casualties
All four Prussian infantry brigades break and run away

With the rout of 13th Polish corps the battle ends
19th French corps abandon their attempt to break 1st and 4th Prussian corps

13th Polish corps remain cut off from the main army
They have run out of supplies
All of their infantry have routed
General Decouz has no option but to surrender

With the loss of 13th Polish corps Marshal Macdonald accepts defeat

The Prussians have won the Hasselt phase of the campaign


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

Prussian 6000 infantry and 300 cavalry.   Three brigades in rout
French 6400 infantry, 200 cavalry and 100 gunners.   Four brigades in rout


1 comment:

  1. A rather evenly fought campaign. Possibly the Prussians were a bit lucky to hold Warenne. But of course the it had to be tried, with the outcome of the campaign for the french riding on the result. Thanks for the chance to participate, Paul. Took me a while to get the hang of the process, but it was enjoyable, all the same.

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