Facing West, a much smaller but very determined army of Swedish infantry and cavalry. There were no artillery pieces amongst these formations as their General, Rehnskoild had decided on a very rapid advance.
The two armies differed in composition. The Swedish army had all the cavalry and very little infantry. The Saxons along with their Russian allies had the infantry and guns, but very few cavalry.
Why was this?. Further East, the Swedish army led by their King, Charles 12th, besieged the Russian held town of Grodno. He had most of his infantry with him. The Saxon commander King Augustus " The Strong" had taken most of his cavalry in an attempt to break the siege.
General Schulenburg, the Russo- Saxon General left Saxony to attack what he thought would be a very weak Swedish battle group. On that cold February morning he had a very rude awakening.
Rather than retreating, that weak Swedish army led by a very resolute General had decided to attack!!
This is the opposing forces;
Saxony-Russia.
10,300 Saxon Infantry and artillerymen.
2,700 Saxon Cavalry.
40 Field Guns.
5,000 Russian Infantry.
Total: 18,000 = 18 points x 3 = 54 points.
The Saxons;
8 stands of Line Muskets @ 2 points each = 16 points.
2 stands of Pikemen @ 3points each = 6 points.
4 stands of Heavy Field Guns @ 2 points each = 8 points.
4 stands of Line Cavalry @ 2 points each = 8 points.
1 General ( Schulenburg ) @ 1 point.
The Russians;
4 stands of Line Muskets @ 2 points = 8 points.
1 stand of Pikemen @ 2 points = 2 points.
1 stand of Grenadier Muskets @ 3 points.
1 General ( Goltz ) @ 1 point.
The Swedish Army;
6,000 Cavalry.
4,600 Infantry.
Total; 10,600 = 10.6 points x 3 = 32 points ( rounded up).
1 General Rehnskoild @ 2 points.
1 General Von Krassow @ 1 point.
1 General Hummerhelm @ 1 point.
6 stands of Line Muskets @ 1 point each = 6 points.
2 stands of Pikemen @ 3 points each = 6 points.
8 stands of Line Cavalry @ 2 points each = 16 points,
Here is a map of the battle;
NOTES:
With a battle such as this where there are a disparity of forces special rules have to be introduced. The circumstances themselves played a part also.
● The Swedish stands are moved first on every Game-Turn.
●The Swedish Army gets the Initiative Point every Game-Turn.
● On every Game-Turn every Stand of the Swedish Army can be moved if desired. Before the Saxon-Russian Army can move, a 12 sided die is thrown. The result of the throw is the number of stands within the Saxon-Russian army that can be moved including Command stands. The type of stand to be moved is at the discretion of the player.
This rule is used because, during the actual battle there no clear command decisions being made within the allied army.
● The only stands that cannot be moved are the Russian Guns. If a gun stand suffers a " Move Back" as a result of firing it is given a "cannot fire" marker ( or a marker of any description ) which remains in play for that Game-Turn. If the Gun Stand suffers a "Move-Back as a result of Combat, it is removed from the table altogether. ( the crew have been killed and the gun dragged out of position).
● During the Firing Phrase of every Game-Turn, the Swedish Army always fires first, with every stand that can fire. The Saxon-Russian Army has a 12 sided die thrown for it. The result will show the number of stands that can fire. Any Artillery stands that are to fire are included in that number.
● Combat is played out as normal. The Swedish horses did not have shoes fitted so a number of them fell over on the icy ground during the advance,but this did not seem to effect their attack.
Removing a Defence-work;
The front of the Russo-Saxon army was cover by sections of Chevau-de-Frise. If a Swedish infantry stand is adjacent to a section at the start of a Game-Turn with no enemy stand adjacent to the same section, the Swedish stand can try to remove it.
Roll a 6sided die. If the result is 3,4,5 or 6 the section of defence work can be removed.
Final thoughts: When I read about this battle, French Grenadiers and line infantry were mentioned as being present in the Saxon ranks but as there was no further information on the actions of these units I have not included them in the initial deployment.
The battle was fought on a 3 foot x 2 foot ( 90cm x 60cm ) table of 2 inch ( 50mm ) squares.
The Winner.
This will be the side with the lower number of stands lost at the end of eight Game- Turns.
If both sides are equal in the number of stands lost, the Winner will be the side which lost the least total of points in stands lost.
CREDITS;
The figures are a mixture of Miniature Figurines and Peter Pig. The Chavau-de-Frise sections are from Irregular Miniatures.
The flags are pieces of masking tape roughly hand painted by myself.
The buildings were painted and supplied by Total Battle Miniatures.
The trees were from Amazon and decorated with a snow paint by Tamiya and a snow kit from www. Scenics.com
The log sections were from Blotz ( I think?)
The snow field, river and roads were made from sections of thin cardboard bought from Wilkinson and The Works ( two local stores).
The backdrop and square 40mm bases were made from picture-framing cardboard supplied by The Works.
Finally. The round 40mm command bases were supplied by Minibits.
● The only stands that cannot be moved are the Russian Guns. If a gun stand suffers a " Move Back" as a result of firing it is given a "cannot fire" marker ( or a marker of any description ) which remains in play for that Game-Turn. If the Gun Stand suffers a "Move-Back as a result of Combat, it is removed from the table altogether. ( the crew have been killed and the gun dragged out of position).
● During the Firing Phrase of every Game-Turn, the Swedish Army always fires first, with every stand that can fire. The Saxon-Russian Army has a 12 sided die thrown for it. The result will show the number of stands that can fire. Any Artillery stands that are to fire are included in that number.
● Combat is played out as normal. The Swedish horses did not have shoes fitted so a number of them fell over on the icy ground during the advance,but this did not seem to effect their attack.
Removing a Defence-work;
The front of the Russo-Saxon army was cover by sections of Chevau-de-Frise. If a Swedish infantry stand is adjacent to a section at the start of a Game-Turn with no enemy stand adjacent to the same section, the Swedish stand can try to remove it.
Roll a 6sided die. If the result is 3,4,5 or 6 the section of defence work can be removed.
Final thoughts: When I read about this battle, French Grenadiers and line infantry were mentioned as being present in the Saxon ranks but as there was no further information on the actions of these units I have not included them in the initial deployment.
The battle was fought on a 3 foot x 2 foot ( 90cm x 60cm ) table of 2 inch ( 50mm ) squares.
The Winner.
This will be the side with the lower number of stands lost at the end of eight Game- Turns.
If both sides are equal in the number of stands lost, the Winner will be the side which lost the least total of points in stands lost.
CREDITS;
The figures are a mixture of Miniature Figurines and Peter Pig. The Chavau-de-Frise sections are from Irregular Miniatures.
The flags are pieces of masking tape roughly hand painted by myself.
The buildings were painted and supplied by Total Battle Miniatures.
The trees were from Amazon and decorated with a snow paint by Tamiya and a snow kit from www. Scenics.com
The log sections were from Blotz ( I think?)
The snow field, river and roads were made from sections of thin cardboard bought from Wilkinson and The Works ( two local stores).
The backdrop and square 40mm bases were made from picture-framing cardboard supplied by The Works.
Finally. The round 40mm command bases were supplied by Minibits.
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