On 22 September 2021, I presented this paper the Society of Army Historical Research Centenary Conference at the National Army Museum, Chelsea. My final rehearsal was captured on video and can be seen on my Youtube Channel;

My wargame of Lincelles is shown in this video

My chapter 'Maucune's Division at Salamanca' in Helion's 'Glory is Fleeting' has been well received by the expert on Salamanca, Rory Muir;

What can I say? https://t.co/9s1Gyxg7eR

— Caseshot Publishing (@Caseshotpublish) July 24, 2021

Here are a couple of illustrations from the chapter.

Amongst other things I suggest that the 5e battalion 66e Ligne lost its new all green battalion fanion to the 11th Foot in the closing stages of the battle. This illustration from the National Army Museum, just might be that flag;

I also included an analysis of the story and myths of the captured eagles and other trophies taken from the French at Salamanca. A separate article on one of those myths can be found on the Helion website using this link;

The History of a Salamanca Myth

Since my previous post I have undertaken some more detailed research into the French troops that held Linselles and Le Blaton when Lake's Guards brigade attacked.

From the French perspective, the action at Linselles on the 18^th August 1793, was led by three French Generals, Macdonald, Jourdan and Béru. Dupuis gives the order of battle for the French Army on the 30th July 1793. The infantry is largely organised into provisional demi-brigades comprising an old regular battalion combined with two Volunteer battalions.

The Camp of Madelaine to the north of Lille contained 8 such demi-brigades. In addition a new Division was created under the command of General de Brigade Béru. This division comprised the following units;

5^th de Vosges Volunteers; 1^st Bn/45^th Infantry Regiment; 10^th Paris Volunteers

10^th Seine-et-Oise Volunteers; 1^st Bn/47^th Infantry Regiment; 2^nd Vienne Volunteers

2^nd Paris Volunteers

1^st St. Denis Volunteers; 1^st Bn/19^th Infantry Regiment; 6^th Paris Volunteers

Company of Light artillery with two 12pdrs, two  8pdrs and two howitzers

12^th Chasseurs à Cheval

6^th Cavalry

of these, on the 18th, the demi-brigade comprising the 1^st St. Denis Volunteers; 1^st Bn/19^th Infantry Regiment; 6^th Paris Volunteers together with the 3^rd Franc battalion and the 15^th Light Infantry battalion, from Jourdan's command were dispatched to attack Roubaix under the command of General Desroques.

Chef de Brigade Etienne Jacques Macdonald advanced from Le Quesnoi to take Le Blaton from the Dutch, presumably with his own demi-brigade comprising the 5^th l'Aisne Volunteers, 2^nd Bn/2^nd Infantry Regiment & 40^th National Volunteers. Also present were the 2^nd Finistere Volunteers.

It is known that Jourdan himself led the demi-brigade of the 1^st/45^th Regiment to Linselles, including the 5^th Vosges and 10^th Paris Volunteers.

This left Béru with the demi-brigade comprising the 10^th de Seine-et-Oise Volunteers,  the  1^st/47^th Regiment  &  the 2^nd Vienne Volunteers, together with the 2^nd Paris Volunteers.

The 2^nd Bn/12^th Infantry Regiment and the 1^st d'Allier Volunteers were sent by Adjutant General Dupont from the Camp de Madelaine, while the third battalion of the demi-brigade, the 8^th Paris (Sainte Marguerite) Volunteers were at Mouvaux on this day.

The French sources thus suggests that they had 4 battalions at Le Blaton and that Jourdan and Béru had 9 battalions at Linselles itself.

The strengths of the 9 battalions at Linselles can be estimated from the Situations reproduced by Depuis;

To close here are some photographs of another game at a recent Sons of Simon de Montfort club night. In this game the French forsook the shelter of the defensive works in an attempt to overwhelm the Guards Brigade;

Sources: V. Dupuis, La campagne de 1793 à l'armée du Nord et des Ardennes,.... De Valenciennes à Hondtschoote, 1906, p. 10, 14-15, 199-214 V. Dupuis, La campagne de 1793 à l'armée du Nord et des Ardennes,.... D'Hondtschoote à Wattignes, 1909, p. 100 G. Dumont, Bataillons de volontaires nationaux (Cadres et historiques), 1914, p. 15, 104, 251, 363 C.L. Chassin & L. Hennet, Les Volontaires Nationaux pendant la Revolution, 1899 & 1902, vol. 1, p. 226-7 & vol.2, p. 114 L. Brayard, SEHRI, Les Bataillons de Volontaires et de Rde Réquisitions de l’Allier (1791-1803), Jan. 2017, p. 8, available at LINK

This week I took this small scenario to a club meeting of the Sons of Simon de Montfort, Loughborough. Here are some photos of the game in action, together with some of the background research;

The Background

Rather than proceed with an invasion of France directly, the Duke of York chose to divert his army towards the objective of Dunkerque. Earlier in the day on the 18th, some Dutch forces had occupied the villages of Linselles* and Blaton, to the north west of Lille. In response, the French sent a large and overwhelming force, which recaptured both villages. In response to a Dutch request for help, the Duke of York dispatched the Guards brigade under Major General Gerard Lake to assist them. On his arrival Lake found that the Dutch were not able to assist in retaking the villages, but undaunted, he decided to launch an assault himself.

While future Marshal of France, Étienne Jacques Macdonald, then a chef de brigade (lt. colonel), held Blaton, General de Brigade Antoine Anne Lecourt de Béru, held Linselles. Another future Marshal, General de Division Jean Baptiste Jourdan arrived in Linselles to support Béru.

It is clear that Lake's force comprised the 1100 men of the 1st Foot Guards, the Coldstream Guards and the Scots Guards, without their Flank battalion, but with their light 6 pdr battalion guns, commanded by Major Jesse Wright. However the size of the French force is not so clear; various sources suggest that the position was held by 12 battalions with a total strength of 5000, but this probably includes Macdonald's command at Blaton.  Wright wrote that the French were three times the size of the British, which suggests the French strength at Linselles was in the range 3,300 - 3,900. The French position was reinforced by a two redoubts and other earthworks, containing approximately 12 guns. These guns are variously described as 16 pounders (France Militaire) or a mixture of 6 pounders (in the redoubt attacked by the  1st Foot Guards) and 9 pounders (in the redoubt attacked by the Coldstream Guards) as reported captured by the Guards (History & Origins of the First Regiment of Foot Guards, p. 286).

Major Jesse Wright (1st Battalion, Royal Artillery, KIA May 1794) provided the following account of the action;

The troops sent on this service were the 3 regiments of the Guards under General Lake, and the 6 guns belonging to them, which I command.  The officers with me are De Ginkle [1^st Guards], De Peyster [3^rd Guards] & Watson [Coldstream Guards], the whole number of us altogether did not amount to more than 1300 men, and the enemy were more than 3 times the number, strongly intrenched in and about the village of Lincelles.  The action began about 6 o’clock in the afternoon and lasted until it was quite dark.  The Guards gallantly stormed the intrenchments under a dreadful fire and retook the village, together with 12 pieces of cannon, with their horses, and many prisoners.  They lost about 12 officers and near 200 men killed and wounded, among the former is Colonel Bosville [Coldstream Guards].  De Peyster is killed; he behaved with a great deal of bravery and spirit.  He was wounded by a grapeshot that hit him in the temple and died very soon afterwards.  There are about 6 artillerymen killed and wounded, and 6 horses; most of these losses took place with the two guns of the first regiment that I was with; we were situated part of the time in an orchard.  De Ginkle, who was the officer with me, behaved to admiration,” ......”it was a miracle that De Ginkle and myself escaped being killed or wounded; the quantities of grapeshot that fell about us would surprise one; we had both several men killed and wounded so close to us that I cannot conceive how we escaped”....”I have got Lt Hughes to my guns in place of de Peyster”.

Scenario

For the scenario I have assumed that Jourdan and Béru led 8 battalions of infantry, supported by a battery of 8 pounders and one of 4 pounders. The French generals had difficulty in getting their men to stop pillaging the village and to face the British assault. For this reason all eight battalions were given the Wavering and Unreliable special rules and suffered -1 to their Melee, Shooting and Stamina factors. By contrast the 3 British Guards battalions were given the special rules First Fire, Reliable & Elite as well as +1 to their Melee & Stamina factors, reflecting their performance on the day.

The game starts at 6 pm and ends when darkness came at 10 pm, 16 moves in all. To win the British had to either take the redoubts or break 5 of the French battalions. The French win if they broke two of the Guards Battalions. Given that the Guards suffered almost 20% casualties on the day, we allowed Lake to rally his "Shaken" battalions, even after losing one battalion.  Given that Jourdan described the defeat of the French as a "rout", any French battalions that left the table could not be brought back on.

Finally Lake had a Staff Rating of 8 with one bonus attack, while both French generals had a Staff Rating of 7.  Overall in terms of points the British had 335 and the French 348, so it was more balanced than originally expected.

The Game

The British started off by advancing in March Column for three moves;

The view of the French end of the 3ft x 2ft table;

By move 4 the Guards Brigade had closed up on the French position and a charge by the Scots Guards in the centre dispersed the French skirmishers. The Scots Guards then advanced to outflank the redoubt on the French left;

A French reserve battalion however managed to counter this move and a close combat ensued, after which both battalions where shaken and then broken. A great hole thus appeared in the British line (Move 6); The British Guards had also suffered significant casualties and consequently retired out of medium artillery range in order to rally for a couple of turns.  In game turns 10 & 11 the British Guards advanced again to assault the redoubts. At which point things started to go wrong for the French. First one of the central reserve battalions was forced off the table by the accurate fire of the Coldstream's battalion guns, due to the break test caused by the Wavering special rule. In response, Jourdan led forward the other central reserve battalion to take on the Coldstreams but this too was quickly broken by the British fire power.

As the Coldstream Guards turned to support the attack of the 1st Guards, they presented an open flank to the remaining French battalions on the right flank. Jourdan saw his chance to end the game with a Follow Me charge from the flank, only to Blunder. The battalion involved, having seen the Coldstream Guards advance, immediately left the table to their right!

This move ended with the French having 5 battalions lost or broken and the British being declared the victors, despite not capturing either redoubt.

The scenario worked well and fitted into a club night with ease. Related links; The Dutch at Linselles Battalion Guns in the Netherlands and Flanders

 

(*Linselles is the correct spelling; the spelling Lincelles, which features in the Guards battle honour, is blamed on the Duke of York's campaign map on which the "s" was obscured and the Duke read it as a "c" when writing his dispatch of the 19th August 1793 - Source; A.H. Burne, The Noble Duke of York, 1949, p. 67.)

Taken from the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, vol. 28, 1950, p.137 "Field Pieces for the Infantry, 1803 - 8th June 1803 To General Sir David Dundas, The Commander-in-Chief directs me to inform you that it is generally his intention that each regiment of the Line shall have two small field pieces attached to it." (W.O. 3/36)

Defended a ford for several hours against a brigade of French Infantry at  the Battle of Villamuriel, 25th October 1812, during the retreat from Burgos. Lost almost half his battalion, was captured briefly but escaped.

Continuing my interest in the Duke of York's campaign in 1793-5 in Flanders and the Netherlands, I visited the Pubic Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast. Included in their archives is Arthur Brooke's diary of his war experiences between 1794 and 1814. His diary is more famous for his account of his participation in the 1812-14 war with the USA, but also includes his experiences in the Mediterranean theatre during the Napoleonic Wars. Unfortunately his diary for 1794 & 1795 deals more with the dreadful retreat than the fighting, but is still of great interest;

“On the 31st of October 1793 got my first commission in the 44th Regiment as Ensign, & joined it in Dublin Barracks, where I was quartered till the 25th April 1794, when I embarked at the Pigeon House for England. Landed at Liverpool and marched from thence to Dartford & Gravesend, marched through London. The year 1794 embarked at Gravesend for Ostend to join the Duke of York’s army. Went from Ostend to Antwerp. Antwerp a beautiful town, the church an elegant structure. I there saw a fine picture of Christ ascending to Heavan. Marched from Antwerp to Breda from thence to Bois-le-Duc & from there to Nuimegon[sic] on the banks of the Waal, where we took up our position till late November, when the British army retired[?] across the Rhine , I never saw a more dreadful retreat. Men women & children were froze to death & the greater part of the Army lost; this dreadful weather lasted till March, when we arrived at Hamburgh and in April embarked for England, when I arrived on the 25th of May 1795 at Sunderland, in the north of England.”

(Source: PRONI D3004D/1, p. 1)

Although he doesn't mention it in his diary Brooke was promoted to Lieutenant on the 26th November 1793 (Source: Army List 1795, p.142). Lt Brooke left the UK with Lord Moira's force which was sent to reinforce the Duke of York's army. Thus, Sir Arthur Brooke would have fought at Boxtel with the 44th Foot in Wellington's First Battle.

Biography

 

Following on from my article regarding the use of howitzer shells in long guns in the 1793-5 campaigns in Flanders, here is the full text from the experiments during the siege of Gibraltar;

"(Sept. 25) An experiment was recomd. by Capt. (now Major) Mercier, 39 regt., viz.: to fire out of guns 51/2" shells with short fuses, which was tried on 25 Sept. and found to answer extremely well. These small shells, according to Mercier's method, were despatched with such precision, and the fuses calculated to such exactness that the shell often burst over the enemy and wounded them before they could get under cover. This mode of annoyance was desirable on many accounts: less powder, and the enemy more seriously molested. The former was an advantage of no small consequence since it enabled the Governor to reserve, at this period, what might probably be expended to greater benefit on some future occasion; it will also account for the extraordinary no. of shells which were discharged from the Garrison. The enemy attempted this practice, but never could bring it to perfection."

(Source: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution, vol.29, 1902-3, p.93)

The Great Siege Stewart and Shells for long guns in Flanders

James and I had a great day demonstrating "Wellington's First Battle" at Salute this year. Again we used Blackpowder(TM) to run the game of Boxtel in 1794. The Gallery shows the game as it unfolded on the day. James played the French, he quickly advanced Daendels' brigade to crowd the British Guards. The subsequent firefight developed with both sides becoming close to broken. Eventually it was the Guards brigade that was broken. The retreat of the British thus mimicked the real events at least with respect to outcome.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by for a chat.

 

My thanks to several attendees whose photos I have added to this gallery to complete the story. Their blogs contain many other excellent photos of the games at Salute;

Shedwars
Onelover
Lee Hadley:
Ten Figures a Week
Asienieboje Wargaming Blog

On Saturday 15th June 2013, we took our Wellington's First Battle demonstration game to the Phalanx Show run by the Spartans - the St. Helens Wargaming Society.

Although a long drive it was a great day out. The venue is large and was well laid out with good supporting materials. We were fortunate enough to win both the "Best Demonstration Game" and the "Best in Show" prizes - so the drive home seemed a lot shorter!

The game resulted in a French victory for James, after Colonel Vyse became a bit too ambitious and got his fragile cavalry brigade broken. The combat was however close as the British Guards brigade were successfully holding off the superior numbers of Daendels brigade;

The presentation

The British left on the final move

The result of the somewhat disastrous British Cavalry charge

The trophies on proud display

On a snowy 24th March 2013, I attended the new Cannon show at Retford. The show is hosted by the Retford Wargames Group and is named after a Crimean War cannon that is a key feature in the town. The game generated a high level of interest from attendees both young and old. Here are some of my photographs of the venue and game, which was played using Black Powder; Nice light and airy venue - the other upstairs hall was splendid The table set up with plenty of room for supporting materials As the British emerge from Schyndel they can see the French vedettes in the early morning mist Daendels brigade is struggling to get forward as it can't use "brigade moves" in the first two turns The British Light Dragoons advance boldly to drive off the French Hussars ..... ... only to be broken in the ensuing cavalry combat and resulting sweeping advance. Meanwhile Daendels finally gets his brigade moving forward - his battalion guns looking for the convenient bridge. The French Hussars are driven off by the advancing British Guards Wesley's brigade looks on from their position in reserve near Schyndel The French infantry arrive to drive back the British Guards, breaking the First Foot Guards Some links featuring other photographs of the game; Meglomanic's blog Retford Wargames Group The Retford Wargames Group's website is; Retford Wargames Group

On a very sunny December 1st we took our demonstration game of Wellington's First Battle to Pudsey Civic Hall near Leeds in the UK. The strong sun dispersing the mist rather quicker than happened on 15th September 1794, revealing the British emerging from Schyndel on the right, while the French are deployed to the left, their hussars keeping close to their supporting light infantry. Although the action is known to history as the combat of Boxtel, that town is actually two game board lengths away from the heart of the action. The French deployment with most of their strength not directly visible from Schyndel. Daendels' 6 battalion brigade deployed behind Chassé's advanced guard. The British advance with the Light Dragoons moving ahead of the Guards brigade with Wesley's (i.e. Wellington) 3rd Brigade bringing up the rear. Delmas trying to bring up two reluctant battalions which failed successive Black Powder command rolls. The Guards light companies facing off the French light infantry on the right, supported by the 44th Foot. The crisis approaches as the Guards brigade deploys across the main road to Boxtel, repulsing the French attack by breaking Daendels' brigade. Each pair of battalion guns on both sides are represented by a model gun with a single crew figure and reduced Black Powder fire effect.

My first article in a series on the British Artillery with the Duke of York in the Austrian Netherlands and United Provinces in 1794, has just been published in Issue 4 of the Smoothbore Ordnance Journal.   This article focuses on the correspondence of Colonel John Stewart, Royal Artillery.

Stewart was the artillery commander of Lord Moira's force which joined the Duke of York's army in the Austrian Netherlands in June 1794.   Stewart stayed with the Duke of York after Moira's return to the UK.   Stewart is an interesting individual who was promoted from the ranks, having joined the Royal Artillery, as a Mattross, in 1747.

While doing the research for Wellington's First Battle in the National Archives, I discovered a letter from Stewart detailing a request for ammunition for the army's artillery (National Archives, Kew, WO 1/170 p.869).   This document gives the numbers of guns with the army in October 1794 and the required ammunition.  Curiously,  the list of guns excludes two "curricle 3 pounder" cannon that Stewart brought with him and that were still with the army in January 1795.  The ammunition requirement has created some discussion, as it includes 4⅖ inch shells for firing from the 12 pounder long guns, to the extent of 14% of the total ammunition (which implies that it was used as often as half the frequency of caseshot).  This use of shells in long guns, thereby anticipates the first use of Shrapnel's Spherical Caseshot by approximately 10 years, but it fits in nicely with Stephen Summerfield's timeline for the firing of shells from long guns which stretches back to 1744;

Napoleon Series

My complete article can be found at;

Smoothbore Ordnance Journal Issue 4

On Sunday 27th May, I took my representation of the combat of Boxtel on the 15th September 1794, to the Partizan show in Newark, UK. It was very well received. On this occasion the game was played using the Black Powder rules. Here are some photographs of the game in progress.

Here are some photos of my latest project; A view of the the table, please imagine it is actually in the middle of the night; Dugommier's "Division" assembled for the assault, including the young Napoleon, Victor, Junot and Marmont; Victor assaults the Saint Louis Redoubt; Brule advances to attack Fort Mulgrave itself; and finally J.O.B's print showing Napoleon leading the reserve troops into the redoubt

In celebration of the 1812 anniversary year, I am posting an article first published in "First Empire" Number 106 in 2009. This article describes a wargame scenario for a mini-campaign inspired by reading Denis Davidov’s book “In the service of the Tsar against Napoleon”, as translated by Gregory Troubetzkoy.  The scenario is based on Denis Davidov’s time as a partisan leader during September and October 1812.  The game is comprised of 30 campaign days during which Denis patrols the region around Viazma and Ghatsk looking for French convoys to attack.  Denis gains victory points by intercepting and destroying or capturing French troops and supplies, and by raising militia units in the villages and towns through which he passes.  The French gain victory points by avoiding contact with Denis, by escaping from his ambushes and by destroying Denis and his partisans.

Note on Names

For the main body of the article I have used names as written in Gregory Troubetzkoy’s translation.  My campaign map, however, has been assembled from a variety of sources and I have intentionally used both modern and 19^th Century names and/or spellings. Where I have clear identification of the places shown on the map with the places mentioned in the Memoir, I have used the spelling as given in the translation.  On the other hand, in those cases where I think I have identified a place mentioned in the translation, but I am not sure, I have used the modern spelling.  To date I have yet to identify all of the places mentioned by Denis.

Historical Background

This section is largely based on Denis Davidov’s Memoirs as published in the book “In the Service of the Tsar Against Napoleon, 1806-1814” by Gregory Troubetzkoy (Chapter 6 is devoted to the 1812 campaign). In 1812, Denis Davidov was 28 years old and had served in the Russian army for 11 years(1) . In April 1812 Denis was assigned as Lieutenant Colonel of the Akhtyrka Hussar Regiment, participating in several engagements and skirmishes as the Russian armies retreated towards Moscow. Denis decided that he could be more usefully employed as a leader of partisans and wrote to his benefactor Prince Bagration claiming that partisan warfare was more suited to “my age, my experience and …..my daring!” . On 21st August 1812, Denis was summoned by Prince Bagration. During this interview, Denis persuaded Prince Bagration to present his proposal to General Kutusov, the Commander-in-chief. Kutusov was sceptical about the chances of success but agreed to send one detachment around to the rear of the French Army. Kutusov agreed that Denis should command the detachment but, because of his scepticism, assigned only 50 hussars and 150 cossacks to the detachment. Denis was very disappointed as he wanted a thousand cossacks, and in this he was supported by Prince Bagration, who believed that if it was worth doing at all, it was worth doing properly with a 3000 strong detachment. However Denis agreed to take on the command, hoping that some early successes would convince General Kutusov to reinforce his detachment. In the event, the detachment comprised only 50 hussars and 80 cossacks. The Hussars were taken from Major General Vassilchikov(I)’s brigade(2) and the Cossacks from Major General Karpov(II)’s brigade(3,4).

With this force, Denis set off for his first base of operations at Skugorevo, which is approximately 30 miles south west of Borodino and 24 miles south of Gzhatsk on the main Old Smolensk highway. Denis arrived in Skugorevo on or about 29th August at which time the French advanced guard had reached Viazma. According to Denis, “innumerable carts, transports, convoys and marauding bands followed them on both sides on the road for a distance of 30-40 miles”.

Denis chose Skugorevo because “it was situated on a hill which overlooked the neighbouring area, so that on a clear day one could see out to a distance of 7 or 8 miles” (5). See the map below. Denis described his objective for the coming weeks as follows; “I felt that my duty was not to defeat vagabonds but to destroy the French army transports of food and military equipment”

Sometime before 13th September the Governor of Viazma (M. Poincaré(6) ) deployed 2000 cavalry to hunt down Denis Davidov and clear the area between Gzhatsk and Viazma. This detachment was led by General de Brigade Charles-Joseph Evers (a 39 year old from Brussels, who was promoted to General de Brigade in March 1812 (7)). In terms of garrisons, at about this time, the French had the 2nd Battalion, 5th Westphalian Line Infantry at Viazma and the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Westphalian Line Infantry at Gzhatsk(8) .

The following table is a list of the contacts that Denis Davidov’s force made with the French plus some other key information points drawn from the Memoir.

Date	Place	Russian Force	French Force Encountered	Result from Denis’s Pespective	Ref.
2/9	Tokarevo	50 hussars & 80 cossacks	marauders	160 prisoners & some wagons captured	p.88
2/9	Tsarevo-Zaymische		250 cavalry & some wagons	119 prisoners & 10 wagons captured	p.89
5/9	Andreyevskoe		marauders	30 prisoners captured	p.90
6/9	Federovskoe		50 men accompanying 200 Russian prisoners of war	Reinforced by 60 ex POWs	p.90
8/9	Uknov	300 cavalry & 170 infantry	none	Reinforced by 170 infantry and 2 regiments of cossacks	p.90
12/9	Viazma		376 men, 20 wagons & 12 artillery caisons	100 French killed,270 prisoners and all wagons etc captured	p.93
14/9	Tepulkha		72 men	Captured 72 prisoners	p.93
15/9	Tepulkha		260 men & 20 wagons	All men & wagons captured	p.93
19/9	Yourenev		3 Polish battalions (600 men?) and 1000 Russian prisoners of war	120 infantry captured at the cost of 35 men killed	p.95
19/9			Artillery park	24 carriages captured	p.96
19/9	Pokorovskoe		170 men and 400 Russian prisoners of war	All French captured and prisoners released	p.96
20/9	Gorodistche	Force is now 923 men	none		p.96
21/9	Znamenskoe		none	2000 milita raised	p.113
23/9	Gorodistche		400 marauders	335 men captured	p.115
26/9	Monin			127 light infantry, 42 wagons & 10 artillery carriages captured	p.116
1/10	Andreyani	Reinforced by 500 cossacks, 700 cossacks in total	none		p.116
4/10	Luzintsov		1 battalion 4th Illyrian regiment	202 men captured	p.117
4/10	Vopka	Approximately 300 cossacks	Wagon train & escort of approximately 300 men	41 wagons and escort captured at cost of 15 cossacks killed	p.118
4/10	Semlev		Wagon train	Wagons captured	p.118
5/10	Krutoy		~750 men	378 French infantry captured and a similar number killed	p.120
6/10	Losmino		~550 cavalry	150 French killed and 405 captured at the cost of only 4 killed and 17 wounded	p.121
11/10	Tepulkha		Wagon train	231 men & 70 wagons captured, 68 Russian prisoners released	p. 127
14/10	Losmino		General de Brigade Evers with 2-4000 cavalry	Russians escaped without significant loss.	p.128

Of these several actions I have picked four examples which I hope will illustrate the whole; 2^nd September - Tsarevo-Zaymische:  Denis discovered that a convoy of some munitions wagons and 250 cavalrymen were staying in this village.  In his own words the attack proceeded as follows; “In order to take this force completely by surprise, we left the road and cut across fields, taking cover in clumps of woods and small valleys.  Three miles short of the village, however, as we reached open space, we encountered some 40 enemy foragers.  Seeing us, they fled immediately towards their unit.  We had no time for tactical manoeuvres, and leaving 30 hussars…. ….to serve as our reserve, we gave chase to the enemy with the remaining 20 hussars and 70 cossacks.  We galloped into the village on the heels of the fleeing enemy, taking everyone by surprise……On our appearance everyone scattered.  We took some Frenchmen prisoner without weapons or even clothes, others we dragged out of barns.  Only one group of about 30 soldiers tried to put up a fight, but they were routed and quickly cut down.”(9) This raid resulted in the capture of 121 men and 10 wagons of food and ammunition. 19^th September – Yourenev: Expecting to liberate 1000 Russian prisoners at the village of Yourenev, Denis approached the village via the village of Nikolskoe, stopping just short of Yourenev an hour before sunrise.  However, unknown to Denis, instead of the prisoners and their escort, 3 weak battalions of Polish infantry had occupied the village (these were possibly the third battalions of the Vistula Legion infantry regiments which had been in Smolensk at the beginning of the month(10). One battalion was in the village proper and the other two were bivouacked behind the church.  Attempting to surprise and surround the “escort group” in the village, the initial infantry assault force was decimated by the musket fire of the Polish battalion in the village.  Eventually Denis’ infantry managed to surround the village and set fire to it, thereby driving the defending Polish infantry out of the buildings at which point the Chechensky detachment took 120 men prisoner.  At this point the other two Polish battalions appeared on the scene and Denis ordered a “gradual retreat”(11). 4th October - Vopka; On the 3^rd October Denis divided his force into three groups.  One of these groups was led by Company commander Alexander Chechensky and comprised approximately 300 cossacks.  Denis described their exploits as follows; “Company commander Chechensky came upon a wagon train with provisions which was passing the night in the woods on the way from Vopka to Viazma.  When the enemy spotted our Cossacks, they tried to form the carriages into a semicircle and put up a defence.  But Chechensky did not give them time to carry out this move and captured the transport.  Then the escort of infantry headed for the centre of the wood and kept up a heavy fire. Chechensky, enraged ordered his men to dismount, pursued the enemy and charged them with fixed bayonets.  This brave action completed the defeat, but cost us fifteen of the best Bug regiment cossacks, badly wounded or dead.”(12) 14^th October – Losmino; At this time and place, General de Brigade Evers caught up with Denis and a more conventional cavalry contest ensued; “My vanguard crushed its enemy counterpart but was in turn overwhelmed by the assault by the assault of two enemy squadrons.  Instead of withdrawing in scattered formation towards on of the flanks….they continued to mix with the enemy and rode back in disarray towards our main body.  If I had not veered hard to the right, they would have been in our midst and created total confusion.  Luckily thanks to this quick manoeuvre, we corrected the situation, because we outflanked the enemy chasing our vanguard and quickly put them to flight …….. I realised that the enemy were not in the least upset by the challenge to their vanguard,….. they were moving resolutely forward. I decided therefore not to oppose their advance and to fall back in order, or to be more precise, disorder….So I called for a scattered withdrawal and designated the village of Krasnoe….. as the new rallying point.”(13)

The Game

Denis Davidov’s Force

At the beginning of the game the Russian player rolls one D6 to determine the size of the initial force; This simulates the reality that there was considerable debate regarding the strength of the force that should be allocated to Denis.  These troops should all be considered as Veterans as Bagration ordered that Davidov be given the best troops(14).  Each hussar squadron should be approximately 100 men strong (i.e. 3 figures at 1:33 ratio and 5 figures at 1:20 ratio) and each cossack sotnia should be approximately 60 men strong ( i.e. 2 figures at 1:33 ratio and 3 figures at 1:20 ratio).

Map Movement

Although by no means essential, the players have the option of using map movement on the campaign map, in which case Denis will move each day at a rate determined by the composition of his force; Cavalry only = 24 miles per day or 4 map squares Including Infantry, Artillery & Wagons = 18 miles per day or 3 map squares Denis starts the game at Skugorevo. The French will however not need to use map movement.

Reinforcements & Rest Days:

At the start of each day the Russian player rolls a D10 and on a score of 10 can add 1 battalion of infantry or 2 squadrons of hussars or 6 squadrons of Cossacks to his force with immediate effect. NB: Unit strengths(15); “Raw” Infantry Battalion:  400 men; (12 figures @1:33 or 20 figures @ 1:20) “Trained” Cavalry Squadron:  100 men; (3 figures @1:33 or 5 figures @1:20) “Trained” Cossack Sotnia: 60 men; (2 figures @ 1:33 or 3 figures @ 1:20) If, on the other hand, the score is 1 or 2, the Russian force must rest for 1 day and the French force will score 50 Victory Points. Denis can also add half of any liberated prisoners of war (POWs) to his force as infantry.

The French Forces

On each campaign day, when the Russian force is not resting, the French player should roll one D10.  The resultant French force is dependent on how close Denis is to the main highway, after he has made his map movement.  If the game is being played without the campaign map, the Russian player is allowed to choose where his forces are. Infantry Company: 66 men; (2 figures @1:33 or 3 figures @1:20) Infantry Battalion:  400 men; (12 figures @1:33 or 20 figures @ 1:20) Cavalry Squadron:  100 men (3 figures @1:33 or 5 figures @ 1:20) Cavalry Regiment: 400 men (12 figures @1:33 or 20 figures @1:20) Cavalry Brigade: 800 men (24 figures @1:33 or 40 figures @1:20) Thus, the French score victory points each time Denis fails to find any French troops. For each French unit, then throw 1D6; If a French force is discovered, a battle may be fought between Denis’s force and the French force.  At this point, Denis can choose not to engage the French, in which case the French are awarded the maximum Victory Points available. On the other hand, the French can choose to surrender, with the Russians getting maximum available Victory Points.  The French force will attempt to cross the battlefield and escape from the opposite side of the table.  It is assumed that the French are moving along a road. The battlefield will be approximately 2500 paces square, which in my case is 4 feet by 4 feet as I use 15mm scale troops.   The terrain for the battlefield is established using the following system.  First use the score of a D10 to determine the number of terrain features.  For each terrain feature throw a D10 to determine what it is; Then each item should be placed on the table as determined by the score of 1D6; For streams and the road that the French are moving along, throw 2D6 to determine the entry and exit sectors. Weather Chart;  For each battle, roll 1D20 to determine the prevailing weather for the day;

Force Deployment

The Russians will then throw 1 D6 to determine their deployment square.  The Russians can be deployed in their formation of choice.

Raising Militia

Once the Russian player has captured wagons, he can start to raise militia companies.  This is achieved by spending one campaign day in a village or town.   The Russian player needs 6 wagons for each attempt to raise militia. The size of the militia and the victory points scored are determined by the score of 1D6; The militia so raised, are “RAW” musket armed infantry, each company is comprised of 100 men (3 figures @33:1 or 5 figures @20:1).  One of the companies raised must remain in the village but any others can be added to Denis’s force.

Victory Conditions

If Denis Davidov is killed or captured at any point in the game, the French are declared the winners. Alternatively at the end of 30 days campaigning, the side with the most victory points is declared the winner based on the following schedule;

Concluding Remarks

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this article and that it inspires you to look a little closer at Denis Davidov’s contribution to the defeat of Napoleon.  At a time when a lot of Napoleonic wargaming is focussed on the big battles, it is easy to overlook the little ones.  I would welcome any input into the game design and corrections of any mistakes I have made.

Bibliography

The following books were consulted during the preparation of this article; “In the Service of the Tsar against Napoleon, The Memoirs of Denis Davidov, 1806- 1814” Translated and Edited by Gregory Troubetzkoy,  1999. “1812 - The March on Moscow” – Paul Britten Austin, 1993 “1812 – Napoleon in Moscow” – Paul Britten Austin, 1995 “Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia”- George Nafziger, , 1988 “The Russian Officer Corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars” - Alexander Mikaberidze, 2005 “1812 Napoleon’s Russian Campaign” - Richard Rhein (1991) “1812 Napoleon’s Fatal March on Moscow” – Adam Zamoyski (2004)

References

(1) Alexander Mikaberidze, The Russian Officer Corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (2005), page 66 (2) Alexander Mikaberidze, The Russian Officer Corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (2005), page 424 (3) Alexander Mikaberidze, The Russian Officer Corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (2005), page 182 (4) George Nafziger, Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia, (1988) page 541 (5) Gregory Troubetzkoy, In Service of the Tsar against Napoleon, (1999), page 89 (6) Paul Brittan Austin;1812 Napoleon in Moscow(1995) page 167 (7) Geert van Uythoven, CAVALRY OFFICERS OF THE NETHERLANDS available at http://home.wanadoo.nl/g.vanuythoven/Cavalry%20Officers%201813_15/Cavalry%20Officers%201813_15%20E.htm - NB; this is now a dead link, see also; Oeuvres diverses du baron de Stassart, Goswin Joseph Augustin de Stassart (baron) , 1854, p.431-2 (8) George Nafziger, Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia, (1988) page 531 (9) Gregory Troubetzkoy, In Service of the Tsar against Napoleon (1999) page 89-90 (10) George Nafziger, Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia, (1988) page 532 (11) Gregory Troubetzkoy, In Service of the Tsar against Napoleon (1999) page 95 (12) Gregory Troubetzkoy, In Service of the Tsar against Napoleon (1999) page 118 (13) Gregory Troubetzkoy, In Service of the Tsar against Napoleon (1999) page 128-9 (14) Gregory Troubetzkoy, In Service of the Tsar against Napoleon (1999) page 86 (15) Richard Rhein, 1812 Napoleon’s Russian Campaign (1991) page 477 (16) Richard Rhein, 1812 Napoleon’s Russian Campaign (1991) page 478