Confusion in Southern Germany

[Soosh]

After I finished my first campaign of Empires in Arms yesterday I thought it’s time for a change. So instead of playing a game set during the Napoleonic Wars, I’m gonna play… another game set during the Napoleonic Wars.

I will try something I haven’t really done before, that is, playing with full fog of war. And with this being my first AAR I choose the 1805 standard scenario as the French, no extended campaign (to keep it short).

So without further ado, let’s get it on!

Version: 3.05
Scenario: 1805: Ulm and the Danube Campaign
Campaign: No
Game type: France solitaire
Handicap level: Neutral
Level of fog: Reports only


2nd October 1805

Initial orders: (Napoleon attached to Soult’s corps)

Lannes & Ney, advance to Giengen.

Murat, advance towards Gunzburg and scout area.

Bernadotte, march to Augsburg via Nurnberg – Pappenheim - Donauworth, block crossings over Lech River. Detach one divison to occupy Augsburg, detach another division to hold eastern bank of southern river crossing. Deploy rest of corps on eastern bank of northern river crossing.

Marmont, follow Bernadotte and stay in Donauworth.

Davout, march towards Gunzburg via Rothenberg – Kraisherm – Ellwangen.

Soult, march towards Gunzburg via Ellwangen.

[Soosh]

October 3, 1805

From : Ney
Troops under my command have captured Giengen
Captured supply stocks : 0
Requisitioned supplies : 8

* Intelligence Report ***

Enemy forces reported near Enns : 33000
Enemy forces reported near Gunzburg : 89000
Enemy forces reported near Lambach : 24500
Enemy forces reported near Linz : 76500
Enemy forces reported near Olmutz : 26500
Enemy forces reported near Passau : 14500
Enemy forces reported near Prerau : 31000
Enemy forces reported near Schaerding : 34000
Enemy forces reported near Ulm : 218500
Enemy forces reported near Vienna : 18000
Enemy forces reported near Wagram : 26000

October 3, 1805
*** Intelligence Report ***

Enemy forces reported near Goding : 1500
Enemy forces reported near Gunzburg : 136000
Enemy forces reported near Lambach : 43500
Enemy forces reported near Neubourg : 50500
Enemy forces reported near Passau : 28500
Enemy forces reported near Prerau : 28000
Enemy forces reported near Schaerding : 35000
Enemy forces reported near Ulm : 110500
Enemy forces reported near Vienna : 25500
Enemy forces reported near Wagram : 33000

Note: I have absolutely no clue why I’ve got two different intelligence reports here. Pretty sure the first one is not from 2nd October, because I forgot to check on that date… I’m confused (yeah, I’m the best commander-in-chief there is [8|]).

And we have spotted the first Austrian units (stack of two) just SW of Giengen.

Orders:

Lannes, move to Gunzburg and defend. March to the guns.

[Soosh]

October 4, 1805
From : Lannes (V) / Ney (VI) / Murat (CavR)

Sir, I have engaged the enemy at 4,14 (Giengen)
I was supported by other units
The battle lasted 5 rounds
Our plan was a counter-attack
Their plan was a escalating assault
Infantry Strength : 81
Infantry Losses : 5
Cavalry Strength : 15
Cavalry Losses : 0
Artillery Strength : 14
Artillery Losses : 0
Enemy Infantry Strength : 34
Enemy Infantry Losses : 33
Enemy Cavalry Strength : 3
Enemy Cavalry Losses : 3
Enemy Artillery Strength : 4
Enemy Artillery Losses : 1
My men forced the enemy to withdraw

First blood! All three commanders involved sent the same report, so I assume the numbers are not exaggerated. In that case the Austrian forces south of Giengen have ceased to exist. Excellent! That’s what you get when you order your commanders to march to the guns. Only problem now is to secure Gunzburg, Lannes’ actual objective. Don’t want to send Murat on his own without infantry support.

*** Intelligence Report ***

Enemy forces reported near Braunau : 9500
Enemy forces reported near Goding : 31500
Enemy forces reported near Gunzburg : 129000
Enemy forces reported near Lambach : 3500
Enemy forces reported near Neubourg : 103000
Enemy forces reported near Passau : 28000
Enemy forces reported near Prerau : 15500
Enemy forces reported near Schaerding : 76500
Enemy forces reported near Ulm : 42000
Enemy forces reported near Vienna : 12000
Enemy forces reported near Wagram : 36500

Note: Just checked my notes for the next turn and got the same numbers as above. I think I made a mistake and mixed up the dates. Or did I? More confusion…
Yoda says: The generalship is not strong with this one.
Ah, shush Yoda… I know, I know… haven’t played CotD in a while and should’ve checked the manual. But there’s no turning back now.

[Soosh]

5th October

No reports.

*** Intelligence Report ***
Nope, they just confuse me at the moment.

Orders:
No additional orders this turn.

Now I have to decide what to do. Should I send orders to Ney to push towards Ulm and pursue the shattered remnants of those Austrian units? And what about Lannes and Murat? I could change their stance from Defend to Engage, or should I wait until Napoleon and Soult have arrived?

Then there’s Bernadotte and Marmont, who are just north of Pappenheim, if I can trust the map. Thing is, playing with full fog of war means you sometimes don’t even know where your own units are, because the map only shows their last known positions.

Decisions, decisions…

[Soosh]

Addendum to previous post

Orders:

Ney, defend Giengen, do not march to the guns
Murat & Lannes & Soult, march to and defend Gunzburg, march to the guns

Losses and VP's:

[Soosh]

6th October

From : Murat (CavR)

Sir, I have engaged the enemy at 6,15
The battle lasted 5 rounds
Our plan was a withdrawal
Their plan was a hasty attack
Infantry Strength : 0
Infantry Losses : 0
Cavalry Strength : 36
Cavalry Losses : 6
Artillery Strength : 0
Artillery Losses : 0
Enemy Infantry Strength : 37
Enemy Infantry Losses : 0
Enemy Cavalry Strength : 40
Enemy Cavalry Losses : 4
Enemy Artillery Strength : 8
Enemy Artillery Losses : 0
My men were forced to fall back

From : Marmont
Troops under my command have captured Pappenheim
Captured supply stocks : 0
Requisitioned supplies : 23

So Murat had to withdraw. Hm, I’m wondering why neither Lannes nor Soult, who were nearby, didn’t come to his aid, despite them having the March to the guns order. Is it because they’re in a defensive stance?

Well, at least Marmont reached Pappenheim, with Bernadotte not far behind (I hope, because hardcore FoW).

*** Intelligence Report ***

Enemy forces reported near Goding : 22500
Enemy forces reported near Gunzburg : 101000
Enemy forces reported near Neubourg : 149000
Enemy forces reported near Nikolsburg : 3000
Enemy forces reported near Passau : 40500
Enemy forces reported near Schaerding : 46500
Enemy forces reported near Ulm : 34000
Enemy forces reported near Vienna : 7500
Enemy forces reported near Wagram : 7500

There’s supposedly 135,000 enemy soldiers in and around Ulm + Gunzburg, with a gazillion more in other places. I somehow doubt those numbers.

Orders:

Soult, Lannes & Murat, engage the enemy at Gunzburg

[Soosh]

7th October

From : Soult (IV)

Sir, I have engaged the enemy at 5,15
I was supported by other units
The battle lasted 5 rounds
Our plan was a withdrawal
Their plan was a escalating assault
Infantry Strength : 41
Infantry Losses : 4
Cavalry Strength : 26
Cavalry Losses : 5
Artillery Strength : 5
Artillery Losses : 0
Enemy Infantry Strength : 79
Enemy Infantry Losses : 3
Enemy Cavalry Strength : 30
Enemy Cavalry Losses : 2
Enemy Artillery Strength : 12
Enemy Artillery Losses : 0
My men were forced to fall back

From : Marmont
Troops under my command have captured Donauworth
Captured supply stocks : 0
Requisitioned supplies : 48

Hm, I’m wondering again: where on earth was Napoleon? He’s attached to Soult’s corps, but I couldn’t take control of the battle. This is a land of confusion. [&:]

But Marmont and Bernadotte are now in and around Donauworth. At least some good news.

Orders:

Marmont, advance along the northern bank of the Danube towards Gunzburg and engage the enemy, march to the guns

Ney, advance towards Ulm

[Soosh]

8th October

No reports.

Augereau arrived. I completely forgot about the reinforcements. Quick, let’s check the screen.

** Reinforcement Schedule **

Guard corps under Bessieres
will arrive near Giengen in roughly 4 days

And now the situation changed and I have to change Marmont’s orders

Orders:

Marmont, march back to Donauworth, turn south and hold bridge south of Donauworth

Bernadotte, take Augsburg and hold bridge west of city

Augereau, march to Ulm and support Ney

[Soosh]

9th October

Reports:

From : Davout
Troops under my command have captured Gunzburg
Captured supply stocks : 0
Requisitioned supplies : 11

From : Ney
Troops under my command have captured Ulm
Captured supply stocks : 0
Requisitioned supplies : 61

Bernadotte has reached the outskirts of Augsburg, while Marmont is on the way to his new objective. Not long and the Austrians will be trapped.

[Soosh]

Losses and victory points so far:

[Soosh]

9th October cont.

Orders:

Murat, take Neubourg and defend
Ney & Augereau, engage enemy

>> End orders <<

Reports:

October 9, 1805
From : Soult (IV) / Davout (III) / Lannes (V) / Murat (CavR)

Sir, I have engaged the enemy at 4,17
I was supported by other units
The battle lasted 5 rounds
Our plan was a escalating assault
Their plan was a withdrawal
Infantry Strength : 128
Infantry Losses : 5
Cavalry Strength : 16
Cavalry Losses : 1
Artillery Strength : 18
Artillery Losses : 0
Enemy Infantry Strength : 44
Enemy Infantry Losses : 19
Enemy Cavalry Strength : 33
Enemy Cavalry Losses : 7
Enemy Artillery Strength : 7
Enemy Artillery Losses : 1
My men forced the enemy to withdraw

October 9, 1805
From : Bernadotte
Troops under my command have captured Augsburg
Captured supply stocks : 0
Requisitioned supplies : 64

October 10, 1805
From : Murat
Troops under my command have captured Neubourg
Captured supply stocks : 0
Requisitioned supplies : 9

Napoleon must be on vacation or something. He’s still attached to Soult’s corps, which took part in the battle, but again couldn’t intervene. I’m pretty sure that the player, even with full fog of war, was able to choose the battle plan and watch the battle unfold, as long as the Napoleon counter is present. Moving on…

*** Intelligence Report ***

Enemy forces reported near Deggendorf : 99000
Enemy forces reported near Landau : 63000
Enemy forces reported near Passau : 14500
Enemy forces reported near Pressburg : 21000
Enemy forces reported near Schaerding : 2000
Enemy forces reported near Straubing : 3000
Enemy forces reported near Wagram : 24000

All places far away, so of no concern to me. Apart from Landau perhaps, but even that is 16 hexes away from Augsburg.

[Soosh]

10th October

No reports.

Orders:

Augereau, march to Neubourg via Giengen

I attach Napoleon to Davout’s corps to see, if it makes any difference.

[Soosh]

11th October

No reports.

*** Intelligence Report ***

Enemy forces reported near Deggendorf : 29500
Enemy forces reported near Eckmuhl : 2500
Enemy forces reported near Landau : 55500
Enemy forces reported near Passau : 22000
Enemy forces reported near Pressburg : 33500
Enemy forces reported near Schaerding : 2000
Enemy forces reported near Straubing : 500

Should keep an eye on these reports, there seems to be something in Landau.

** Reinforcement Schedule **

Guard corps under Bessieres
will arrive near Giengen in roughly 1 days

And the guard should arrive next turn.

Orders:

Murat, move south and defend
Engineers, place your unit between Marmont and Bernadotte

[Soosh]

12th October

No reports.

*** Intelligence Report ***

Enemy forces reported near Deggendorf : 4500
Enemy forces reported near Landau : 5500
Enemy forces reported near Passau : 126500
Enemy forces reported near Pressburg : 46500
Enemy forces reported near Schaerding : 75500
Enemy forces reported near Straubing : 2000

If there was indeed a decent sized enemy unit in Landau, it’s gone. I’m a bit worried now.
And the Austrians seem to move towards the river crossing near Augsburg. I will send Marmont to reinforce Bernadotte.

The guard arrived.

Orders:

Marmont, move to Augsburg and support Bernadotte
Bessieres, move to Gunzburg

[Soosh]

Due to those earlier intelligence reports of 50 – 60,000 enemy troops in Landau I decided to detach Marmont’s cavalry and send it to the junction NE of Augsburg, just to be on the safe side. The lone cavalry unit won’t be able to do anything in case of an enemy advance towards Augsburg, but at least I’d know their intentions (if the report reaches me in time, that is).

Orders:

Marmont, detach Lacoste and send him to junction 18 km NE of Augsburg

[Soosh]

13th October

Not much movement going on. There was hardly any movement at all this turn, to be honest. Bloody rain.
And it doesn’t help that five of my army corps are using the same road, congesting everything.

[Soosh]

14th October

Finally some movement on the southern road! But that cavalry unit hasn’t moved to the junction and is currently in the same hex as Marmont’s and Bernadotte’s corps. I send the order again.

[Soosh]

15th October

It's only a matter of time until the Austrians completely collapse and surrender. They’re surrounded on three sides, with no way to escape.

[Soosh]

16th October

Marmont’s cavalry still hasn’t moved. That’s it! I reattach it and send the engineers instead. They haven’t got anything to do at the moment and just sit north of Augsburg doing nothing. Perhaps not the best use for a unit that likes to blow things up, but I just want someone to scout that area near the junction. I could send Bernadotte’s cavalry instead, but changed my mind and want to block that river crossing with everything I can spare, in case the Austrians try to break through.

Plus Augereau and Bessieres have arrived in Neubourg. Together with Murat I’ll send them south.

The rest will push east.

[Soosh]

17th October

Coalition confidence is down to 1. No surprise really, those losses are just brutal. And the pocket is getting smaller and smaller.