1806 - Prussia vs. France

Over the long Memorial Day weekend we had six players available to gather for gaming and barbeque.  I had an unblooded contingent of Saxons to support my existing 1806 Prussian army, so it only seemed natural to take them under Prince Louis against Marechal Massena, using Empire.  For those unfamiliar, it features a 60:1 figure ratio, national characteristics and a critical command and control system.  While a solid army with great cavalry, the Prussians will be utterly outclassed by French historic commanders and their artillery.

Pre-game view.  At this scale the newly planted fields and streams
are cosmetic.  Woods are light, buildings are stone.

Initial deployment with Prussians on the left, Saxons in the center,
and more Prussians on the right.  All French across the way.

A better view of the majority of the Prussian/Saxon army.

The Prussian left with an intentional gap between them and the
Saxons.  Would the French take the bait?

Because of the command liabilities the Prussians largely have to make a plan and execute it, as changes will be very hard to make.  Prince Louis is one of the very best Prussian commanders for the time period and Empire still rates him a "Poor" commander.

After 1st grand tactical movement.  The Saxons declined to advance!

The left wing commanders interprets my orders differently than
intended and faces a storm of cuirassiers.

The Advance Guard division advances but gets tangled up.

The long view of the table and "man cave."

The French cuirassiers have driven off gunners and broken
a battalion.

Urban renewal to allow for shifting figures within the built up area.
Cavalry does not belong there but had to make way for infantry.

Prussian infantry and cavalry make an appearance the 2nd hourly
round.  The Saxons still refuse to more!

Prussian dragoons and cuirassiers arrive as Louis leads the Saxons
forward personally.

Having finally gotten the Saxons moving on the third grand
tactical movement, a view of the scene.

Linear action with columns in support.

Other Prussian cuirassiers have easily stabilized the left, driving
off the fatigued French heavies.

About now we took a break to grill burgers and brats with a delightful assortment of side dishes.  Adult beverages and cigars rounded out the meal for some.  The good Lord graced us with a beautiful day.

A French heavy cavalry division, headed by la Garde, tries to
turn our right.  We face them with heavies.

In Empire one dices each "hour" to see which side holds the initiative, then each infantry and cavalry formation rolls to see how active they would be.  To my great surprise and pleasure, the Prussians seized the initiative in two of the six hourly rounds played.  This was particularly critical the hour the fresh heavy cavalry on both sides met.

To and fro action in the right with neither side gaining a major
advantage.

The Prussians that arrived on our left take an hour to redeploy
on a flank that offers potential.

With the initiative the Prussians rout the French Guards before
they can deploy into line.

Trying to push the crack Saxon grenadiers forward, but the
regimental army classification is a killer.

The French push into the woods briefly, but a charge of the Saxon
Chevau-legers and volley fire drive them out.

The French keep trying to cracks open the corner on our left.

The Prussian hussars are essentially destroyed but follow-up
infantry are in support.

The stalemate continues on the right.

It became pretty obvious that barring flukey dice, neither side was going to break the other.  The French cavalry facing our left was scattered and beginning to stand down to rest and rally.  Their fresh(er) infantry was making some progress but the majority had to advance carefully in the face of the fatigued but still dangerous Prussian cuirassiers.

In the center the Saxon light cavalry had gotten lucky, breaking two French battalions and also a square.  In their breakthrough they shattered two heavily fatigued French cuirassier regiments.  Unfortunately that left them deep in French territory and they were shot to pieces.  The Saxon infantry had held firm, though the French were not pressing them hard.

On our right the Advance Guard division had lost three of four hussar regiments but the crack infantry was doing okay and another infantry division waited, should they falter.  With four veteran players and two newbies we played slower than usual be given the large number of figures in play it was reasonable.  In round numbers each side represented around 40,000 men.  A good weekend of gaming and socializing as we remember real veterans lost.