Battle of Polotsk

Background

The refight here is that of the first day of battle, taking place near the city of Polotsk on Napoleons advance into the Russian interior between the 17th and 18th August 1812. The Russian army under the command of Wittgenstein fought a combined French, and Bavarian, (under Wrede), force under the overall command of Oudinot, who had just retreated from Klyastitsy.

On the morning of the 17th the army led by Wittgenstein attacked the French/Bavarian positions near the village of Spas, and forced the French to retreat. Subsequently, Oudinot brought in additional units to bolster the attack and further counterattacked the Russians in the centre. By nightfall both forces managed to maintain their positions.

As always, the rules used were "In the Name of Glory" by David Marks. Figures by Adler miniatures.

Order of Battle

Russia:

Wittgenstein; veteran,

Brigade commanders; regular,

8 battalions infantry, line/veteran mixture,
1 battalion of Jager, line/veteran,
2 battalions of militia, line/conscript
2 regiments of dragoons, line/regular,
1 regiment Kuirassiers, line veteran,
2 artillery batteries, foot/line/veteran

France:

Oudinot; veteran,

Legrand; regular,

4 battalions, line/veteran mixture,
1 regiment Cuirassier, line/veteran,
1 artillery battery, foot/line/regular

Deroy; veteran,

5 battalions, line/veteran mixture,
1 Cuirassier regiment, line/regular,
1 dragoon regiment, line/veteran,
1 artillery battery, foot/line/veteran

Bavarian:

Wrede; veteran,

4 battalions, line/regular/conscript mixture,
1 artillery battery, line/regular

All other brigade commanders; regular

Tabletop refight

The Russian set up was on the northern edge of the field amongst some open woods. While the Bavarians held the village of Spas in the centre, Legrand the left flank and Deroy approached the centre from the southern edge of the battlefield.

Initial contact was made at the village of Spas, which was inevitable really since it controlled one of the few crossing points and was key for the victory conditions of the game. For the Russians time was of the essence they needed to attack quickly while the reinforcing troops of Deroy were still some distance away.

From the start, credit must be given to the performance of the Bavarian troops and their commander, they did not run in face of overwhelming Russian odds throughout the battle.

Meanwhile the French left flank clashed with the Russian cavalry resulting in a protracted melee, while another Russian cavalry unit tries to form into line as a support - this did not work so well in the end since they changed formation too late to be of use. Similarly a tenacious melee was fought between two opposing infantry battalions, this also became an on-going fight over several turns. This action although not decisive, proved to be in the Russian's favour since it delayed a more serious advance by Legrand on the Spas village.

The Bavarians at Spas at this point were starting to suffer badly, one unit of Russians entered the village from an exposed flank and essentially surrounded a Bavarian unit, which subsequently surrendered, (lowering morale did not help its case). Turning to face the village to prevent further disaster the Bavarians shrugged off the loss and bravely fought on. In the foreground help is on its way in the shape of Deroy and his forward units.

About now the Bavarians suffered a further blow by losing a commander in hand to hand, which lowered morale even further for the remaining troops. With the pressure on Wrede, he held his nerve and continued to fight on, undoubtedly invigorated by Deroys appearance. Grim determination alone kept the Russians at bay as the village was won and lost several times.

With Legrand fought to a standstill on the French left flank, attrition of both forces was the only outcome with Legrand being the most probable winner. Eventually, the Russian Kurassiers broke leaving the unformed Russian cavalry well exposed. Similarly the infantry melee also resulted in a Russian defeat and they too routed.

A last minute burst of grape shot from the Bavarians convinced Wittgenstein that it was time to withdraw his troops before nightfall so that there would be enough of them remaining to fight again the next day.

The final actions of the day saw the left flank Russian cavalry rout leaving the militia to cover the general retreat in the hope that they too would survive the night.



The game followed, within reason a similar path of the actual battle, couple of commanders wounded, troop loss of approximately the same magnitude, (for the first day), and a similar outcome. The second day of battle was not fought but I suspect Wittgenstein would fight to the same conclusion. The only reason for not fighting the second day was the lack of cavalry for the Russians - these are currently undergoing refit to even out the available bases, with a little paint re-touching.

Casualty Breakdown

French;

Infantry - 808 men

Cavalry - 584 men

1 brigade commander

Bavarian;

Infantry - 817 men

1 Brigade commander

Russian;

Infantry - 1518 men

Cavalry - 231 men