Battle of Lindenau 1813, a scenario using General d'Armee

 It has been some time, but I have eventually sorted out a further test run for the General d'Armee rules.  This Lindenau scenario came from Steve Shann's book "Lets fight Leipzig".  A review of this book can be found on the Yarkshire gamer you tube channel .  The scenarios in the book provide all you need to play the game, a map, order of battle, objectives and terrain detail.

The Austrian General Guylai was attacking the village of Lindenau which sat astride Napoleon's line of retreat from Leipzig.  His troops were in three separate columns and he planned a concentric attack which would overwhelm the defenders of the village ( a small independent division under the command of General Margaron).  Some redoubts had been erected to strengthen the defence, but Margaron's troops were stretched.  Fortunately for the French, reinforcements were on their way.  Bertand's IV Corps  consisted of the infantry divisions of Morand and Fontanelli and the cavalry brigades of Quinette and Jett. These are on the table as the Austrian columns arrive.  On the Austrian left is Hessen Homburg with 6 battalions of infantry and a 'streifkorps' of light cavalry and cossacks.  In the centre is the column commanded by Guylai  with 5 battalions of infantry and two regiments of cavalry.  Finally on the right is Csollich with 9 battalions of infantry and a 'streifkorps' of light cavalry and cossacks.

Csollich prepares to advance on Plagwitz on the French left

The Austrians' objective for a complete victory is to hold at least half of Lindenau by the end of the game; holding Plagwitz and the three redoubts will give them a tactical victory.  Failure to achieve either of these objectives gives victory to the French.

The scenario special rules create the chance of a uncoordinated attack by the three Austrian columns by making them dice to see if they arrive.  In our case this worked and it took Hessen Homburg three turns to arrive giving the French right ample time to prepare themselves and also meaning that the French commander could concentrate his Adc's on helping Margaron and the artillery.  Csollich's skirmishers took heavy casualties from  Margaron's skirmishers and also the artillery facing them , meaning  he had to deploy one of his light battalions to bolster the line.  nevertheless his battalions moved forward.  In the centre Gyulai was also making progress, though his troops were also taking heavy casualties from the artillery in the redoubts.  His skirmishers tried to pick off the gunners, but suffered severely from the volleys of canister.  The infantry battalions began to engage Margaron and Morand's battalions but made little progress, both sides losing their fire discipline.

Morand's troops move through Lindenau

Hessen Homburg's troops had now arrived and deployed to attack Fontanelli  and Quinette.  

Csollich's leading battalions moved to the left of Plagwitz, pushing back the French skirmishers, but this opened them up to attack by Jett's light cavalry  This caused them to halt and form square stalling the advance.

The Austrian right flank Plagwitz

The developing attack on Lindenau

Csollich at last deployed for attack and  stormed the redoubt to the right of Plagwitz.  His men captured the redoubt but were disorganised in the process and were vulnerable to counterattack.

The Plagwitz redoubt falls

The village of Plagwitz was also attacked and after a prolonged struggle the Austrian infantry forced their way in and ejected the French defenders.

Plagwitz falls

As Hessen Homburg advanced he was attacked by Quinette's dragoon brigade.  Von Mensdorf's light cavalry tried to hold them off but were defeated.  Quinette wanted to push on, but the serried ranks of the  Austrian squares deterred him.

Quinette's dragoons drive off the Austrian cavalry

Gyulai had also managed to capture a redoubt in the centre so the Austrians were edging towards a minor victory.  However, there were still several game turns to go and their gains were vulnerable to counterattack.

It was at this point we ran out of time so a draw was declared.  In retrospect the scenario as I put on was perhaps too big for a 6 x 4 table.  The Austrian deployment areas in particular being too cramped.  Once again the rule mechanism regarding Adc's caused severe problems.  All too often a brigade would advance one turn and then the next would become hesitant.  Now I appreciate that the Napoleonic battlefield, with all its smoke and noise could cause confusion; but once an order to advance had been received and initiated, why would the troops stop, especially if they were outside musketry range and were not threatened by cavalry?  Just getting the adcs in the first place proved difficult for both sides; then there is the additional hurdle of  managing to roll 3+ on a d6 once you have managed to get your adcs.  Both commanders had multiple occasions when a brigade would go hesitant in successive turns, even with an adc attached to give a re-roll.

It will be interesting to see what GdA 2 is like when it is published.