Worst Case Scenario #13 - The Assault on the Aspern Churchyard - May 21, 1809

For quite some time I've been wanting to put on a large Sharp Practice game, focusing on the struggle for the Aspern churchyard within the Battle of Aspern-Essling. 

The battle of Aspern-Essling is an engagement that I find both fascinating and exciting. It was epic (HUGE), very close run, and resulted in Napoleon's first significant humiliation on the battlefield. 

Other reasons I was particularly keen to put this on twas that it features Sylvain’s lovely hand-built terrain of the Church and Rectory of Aspern which he made for me several years ago, AND it is graced with many beautiful 28mm Austrian figures from Greg’s collection.

Scenario Background

On May 20th, 1809 French troops began crossing the Danube, just a few miles east of Vienna. They were pursuing the Austrian army, led by Archduke Charles, after a grueling, fast-paced campaign which had been initiated by the ill-stared Austrians.

The lead elements of the French force, under Massena and Lannes, quickly moved onto the Marchfeld plain, establishing themselves in two villages separated by about a mile of raised road. The villages were called Aspern and Essling. They positioned themselves, awaiting the rest of their comrades who were lined up for miles on the opposite side of the Danube, queuing to cross the bridges to the northern bank.

The river's current was fast and in full spring flood. In the midst of the French crossing on the 20th, their pontoon bridges were swept away by debris purposefully launched upriver by the Austrians. This situation created an emergency which left a significant portion of Napoleon's army separated and isolated in hostile territory. Undeterred, the French Emperor was confident that the Austrians were still in withdrawal, so he maintained his position, awaiting repairs to his bridges. 

But the Austrians were not withdrawing. Archduke Charles had massed his Hauptarmee in a broad crescent in the Marchfeld, just out of eyesight of the French. The next morning, the 21st of May, sensing a rare opportunity, the young Austrian aristocrat ordered his army to advance on the French positions around the villages. His columns would strike first at Aspern...

Maps by Jeff Berry @ Obscure Battles

 

This scenario depicts the assault of Hiller’s VI Corps on the 67th Ligne's positions in the Aspern churchyard (the leftmost extremity of Napoleon's tenuous position on the Marshfield). Both the Austrians and French knew that the churchyard was a key tactical feature of the battle and did their utmost to gain and maintain control of it. 

The basis of the scenario is derived from 'Fondler's Waterloo' in the Too Fat Lardies scenario book 'The Complete Fondler'.

Close up of the Churchyard and assaulting Austrians

The action takes place in the mid-afternoon on the 21st, after the French have ejected the Austrian screening force in Aspern. Marshal Massena has just seen Regiment No. 10 Anton Mittrowsky supported by Regiment Klebek approaching from the west and orders Molitor to defend the village to the final extremity.

The table will have the French in possession of the church, rectory and graveyard of Aspern, all ringed by a chest-high stone wall. They will have a defined force, members of the 67e Ligne, to hold the position. The Austrians will assault the position with four waves of infantry from Regiment No. 10 Anton Mittrowsky, supported by Regiment Klebek and heavy artillery support. They have been tasked to overwhelm the defenders and seize the churchyard.

French Force = 144 men TOTAL (18 Groups including Eagle guard) 
8 Command Cards
This force is divided into 3 separate commands, each with it’s own morale rating of 10. 

13 Officers / NCOs:
1 Status IV
3 Status III 
6 Status II 
3 Status I

Each French command is composed of:

1 Status III 
1 Status I 
2 Status II
_______________________________________________

Austrians Assault Force = 104 men for each of 4 waves (13 Groups including one command group) 
7 Command Cards

7 Officers / NCOs
1 Status IV
2 Status III
2 Status II 
2 Status I

The Austrian force (each wave) is composed of one single command, with it’s morale rating being 10

Special Scenario Rules  

- The Austrian guns are abstracted into three 'beaten zones', each with a 10 inch frontage. When fired upon they throw 24 attack dice.

- If the artillery targets a single section of wall it can be reduced by hits on 10 ‘misses’. (original misses are re-rolled and any hits are accrued)

- When the Austrian Artillery card is drawn, randomly determine which of the three batteries will fire.

- The Austrian artillery will be masked by any Austrian troops within 6” of the walls or 6” of the church.

- The Austrian first wave starts at the table edge (they can select any 3 sides to enter). 

- Austrians decide if they wish to withdraw a wave and commit a successive wave. This will involve leaving one group as a marker of the 'highwater' mark of the assault. 

- If a wave is broken it will give a -1 to the 'Army Morale' of succeeding waves. These minuses are cumulative.  

- Marshal Massena has set up his observation post in the graveyard. His presence can help the French troops ignore up to 20 points of Shock. Once the 20 points are 'absorbed' his aides convince him to pull back to a less exposed position. 

- Charles will give one assault wave a +(2D4) to its force morale and also the Aggressive bonus.

- When activated, junior officers/NCOs of both sides can 'nod' to their commanding officer. Four 'nods' will activate that commander. This is in addition to the normal card activation for the commanding officer.


Can the French hold the churchyard? Will the Austrians sweep the French defenders away and award their Archduke with a victory at Aspern?

Here are a few pictures of our run at the scenario.

It was a fun, hard-fought game, with the Austrians slowly wearing down the French over their four assaults. The third attack was accompanied by the Archduke himself and that battalion took the French defenders' eagle before withdrawing to allow the final assault to pass through. A real hammering for both sides but still resulting in a decisive victory for the Austrians.

It was great game with many of dramatic moments running through it. My thanks to all the guys who participated, especially Sylvain for his terrific buildings, and Greg, who brought out his beautiful Austrian figures and who took the majority of these pictures.

 

Guest Post - 28mm Austrian Infantry Officers from GregB

28mm Austrian foot officers from Wargames Foundry

Hello again to the good folks who visit Analogue Hobbies!  It is nice to be back and intruding again with a little guest post here on Curt's blog.  Curt had a recent post featuring some 28mm French infantry officers, and I'm here to foreshadow some opposition to those fellows - featuring a group of stoic, hard-marching and (probably) hapless Habsburg officers from the Austrian Army.

Nice action in this sculpt - more variety would have been nice, but considering the huge range the Perrys did overall for Foundry, it's pretty amazing

I am painting these as I will be visiting Regina this weekend and Curt will be introducing me to "Sharp Practice" from the TooFatLardies. I find the Lardies' rules can at times be an acquired taste, but overall I really like how they embrace different approaches to different rules and settings ("Chain of Command" in particular is brilliant). My 28mm Austrians will be making another trip west down the TransCanada Highway to tangle with Curt's beautiful Napoleonic collection.  I'll save the scenario details for Curt to share, but suffice to say I am pretty psyched for the game!

This fellow is a Hungarian officer, but I snuck him in with some white pants - the big coat covers things up nicely :)

These castings are from Wargames Foundry, sculpted by the Perry twins.  These models are pretty old, and have that slightly plump look which defines a lot of the Foundry castings, versus the leaner look I personally see in the sculpts the Perrys have released under their own name in more recent years.

Love this rotund fellow saluting by doffing his helmet

Unfortunately the posing is not so varied in these Foundry Austrian officer packs so there is a bit of a monopose when they are all together, but overall they still look the business. It has been several years - at least two, maybe more - since my brushes have worked on any Austrian figures, so it is nice to be back in the groove a bit.  It was slow going at first, trying to remember how to approach the white coats etc. but having painted a good size pile of these fellows already, my memory caught up pretty quickly after the first figure.

A mix of facing colours are present - hopefully to help differentiate in the game

I left the groundwork neutral and barren - if I enjoy "Sharp Practice", I'll add more detail to it, but otherwise I will dig them out of the bases and use them for other purposes related to my 28mm forces, probably starting as a cadre to get another big 40-casting battalion started...

I know my toy Hapsburgs are looking forward to another tangle with Napoleon and his pretentious lackeys!  We can make Austria Great Again! And I can't wait to see Curt and the folks in Regina once more!

There was word of some snow in the forecast today...that has me thinking it will not be long until the next Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is upon us? How many points would this have been worth...?

From RobP: 28mm Revolutionary War Austrian Grenzers (70 points)

From Rob: 

Here is a new entry for the Challenge. A 14-piece unit of Revolutionary Wars Austrian Grenzer. A colourful bunch to paint. I have chosen to paint them in the early uniform colours, still wearing their white coats. 

These excellent skirmishers/marksmen will prove to be big trouble for MikeF´s early French that he is  painting up and of which we hopefully will see more of in the near future... 

Our group's team effort to get into the Revolutionary Wars is getting shape with JaccoK also painting up Austrians and MikeF and another member taking care of the French.. 

This unit will provide the light troops in my Austrian Brigade... Now I can get started on my next line  battalion. The figures shown are form Eureka Minis and they certainly are excellent in sculpting and are a joy to paint. They match perfectly with Perry minis and also with my other (Trent) Austrians. 

This entry will bring me over my initial goal of 500 points and takes the pressure of painting against a deadline and I can spend the last week on some fun stuff on the painting table. Or try to improve my photographic qualities since for some reason I do not manage to get good clear pictures anymore.... 

Ah, but friendly deadlines can be good Rob - look at all the marvellous work you've managed to finish during the past three months. Your excellent Chasseurs a Pied, the Sudanese Bazingers, AWI Minutemen, your Nuns and lets not forget the most excellent Rubber Duck - all of these during the Challenge. Wonderful stuff. Nonetheless, now that your deck is clear, I look forward to seeing what you come up during our last few days of the Challenge.

These fine Austrian Grenzers will give Rob 70 points. Congratulations on reaching your target and emerging victorious in your side duel with the other lads from the DWD*

(*The Dutch Waterbicycle Detachment)

From AndyM: 25mm Imagi-Nation Grenadier Company Officer of the Savage Swans (5 points)

Andy marches onto the Challenge points roster with this great Grenadier Officer.

From Andy:

Well, I say entry. It's only one figure! I've been meaning to rebase (and paint the extra figures needed) for my Savage Swans from my Altefritzenburg ImagiNation for quite a while and finally got round to it. I'd hoped to get them done before the Challenge started. And I did. Except when I started basing them I realised I was a figure short!!! 

So here he is. Officer for the grenadier company. Figure is 25mm RSM SYW Austrian (as are the whole unit). I've included a picture of him in his place in the line.

It's a start! :)

Well Andy, every journey begins with a single step and now you're officially on the path to your 1K target. This very fine officer of the Savage Swans (I really like his green cuffs and turnbacks) will give Andy 5 points for his entry onto the roster. Well done Andy! 

Napoleonic AAR - Black Powder Blast

Present! Fire!

Hello again to the followers of the Analogue Hobbies Blog!  I was fortunate to host Curt in my neck of the Canadian Prairies last week.  In addition to fun food and wine we were able to throw down some really great gaming.   For old times' sake we had a game of Epic 40k during the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts' regular get-together.  Then on Saturday night Curt was kind enough to put his stunning 28mm French Napoleonics on to the table to challenge my stubborn, charming and poorly-led Austrians and run a game of Black Powder.

Austrian line before battle is joined

French commanders Byron and Bill get instructions from Curt and scheme to overload the Austrian flank

Attack columns anyone?

We did not busy ourselves with undue application of background.  It was the 1809 campaign.  A French force was looking to open the way forward by knocking an Austrian blocking force out of the way.  The road to Eggmuhl? Teugen-Hausen? Aspern-Essling? Raab? Wagram? Why worry about it? Sometimes it is fun to just throw down and play, even in a period as "serious" as Napoleonics.  The French would have eight turns to break the Austrians. That was that!

Austrian dragoons at the far left of the Austrian line

The French advance, led by infantry on their left

French officers blunder their way forward...

To determine victory Curt adjusted the victory conditions process somewhat. The army break point would be determined by the removal of various units through battle, as usual, but we applied the Army Morale feature from Sam Mustafa's "Maurice", where the effect of this would be somewhat random.  An excellent mechanic that fit well with the scenario.

We also tilted the initiative mechanic on its head - it would be harder to maneuver near the enemy, not easier, so free initiative moves were limited to units at least 24" away from the enemy, not within 12" of the enemy.

A dire and ominous concentration of French troops assault along the flank of the table

Another view of the French assault.  Behind the lines, Cam contemplates just how small Dallas' chance for success is...

The French force consisted of six battalions of infantry, a regiment of Carbiniers, a regiment of Cuirassiers and an artillery battery.  The Austrians met them with a similar force - six battalions of infantry, a regiment of Cuirassiers and a regiment of Dragoons.  They would face off along the opposing long edges of a 5' x 8' table.

Curt's 28mm French are a sight to see on the table!

The extreme right of the Austrian line - Dallas holds out...

Some Hungarians in Dallas' brigade hold out under heavy French pressure

To further reflect the national attributes of the forces involved, the French troops were rated as "Superbly Drilled", meaning they could always count on some kind of action even in the event of a flubbed command roll by an officer (although they could not charge on their own).  The Austrians had some command penalties to reflect the indecisive nature of their command structure, but their battalions were large and ready to accept some abuse in stoic defence of the Holy Roman Empire!

The assault is joined! Dallas' infantry goes down fighting...

My artillery battery provided limited support to the Austrian line...but made the C-in-C feel better....

Mike's assault in the centre moves ahead

Byron and Bill took command of the French, while the Austrian command, true to the flavour of the period, was a touch top-heavy, with Dallas taking command of an infantry brigade on the right, Mike F. taking command of an infantry brigade in the centre, and visiting Conscript Cam leading the cavalry brigade on the Austrian left, while I played the role of Austrian C-in-C, with direct control of the artillery (and a pressing concern for a lute I may have left in Vienna).

Dallas' right is broken

Dallas' remaining troops under pressure.  The French gun on the left is about to unlimber...

The French, being the squeezers they are, overloaded their infantry toward the Austrian right.  Dallas looked a little forlorn as his thin spread of three infantry battalions faced five french battalions, supported by artillery, racing to crush his men.  His troops held on grimly, with Dallas hot-rolling numerous saving throws to hold back the French.  Ultimately, in a slight departure from Hapsburg character, he sent his right-most battalion directly forward into the advancing French, thinking it was better to go down in flames charging rather than waiting for the inevitable.

Curt's stunning French Carbiniers

When you roll like this, you will never, ever charge....

Dallas' troops held out for a long time (considering what he was facing), but at the end of the day it ended in tears, and over the space of three turns two of his battalions were routed.  His stand was prolonged by the French command's tendency to roll blunders, slowing their advance through some random, awkward movements.  Dallas also hit hard with his musketry, and my desultory artillery fire added a little support.

French Cuirassiers run over the Austrian dragoons

On the left flank we braced for an epic cavalry clash.  In between bouts of Hapsburg vapours, I was careful to remind Cam on multiple occasions that the fate of our whole stand depended on his horsemen.  Cam was thankful for the pressure (he may have referred to it as "pre-blame", I can't exactly recall) but he embraced the role with a suitably Austrian vigour.

Victorious French heavy cavalry threaten the Austrian left flank

And the results were...very Austrian...a prolonged standoff, extended by multiple failed command rolls, multiple failed "Follow Me!" attempts...it was really something!! For several turns, the four regiments stood there nose to nose, waiting for someone - anyone! - to get a damn charge roll off the ground.  In the end I was successful first - but only via a blunder!!!

This lone French battalion held the French centre

But once unleashed, it was a hard core battle!  Cam's Austrian heavy cavalry were able to break the French Carbiniers after two rounds of hard fighting.  It did not go so well for the Dragoons, who proved to be little more than a speed bump for Napoleon's Cuirassiers.

Mike rolls out against the Austrian centre

In trouble on the left, and in trouble on the right.  It was pretty dire....but in the centre - wow! Mike's Austrian infantry brigade steadily and methodically shredded the French battalions in front of them.  He did so well he was able to advance forward into the middle of the French line, threatening the flank of the French infantry blocks on the Austrian right, and safe from the dreaded French cavalry on the left.

Mike's three battalions had solid momentum

The Austrian high command was jazzed about the possibilities of this advance, but in true, cautious, conservative fashion, we withdrew.  Remember those army morale rules we mentioned? Well, we rolled high when checking for the demise of each Austrian unit lost to that point, and rolling high is bad.  Our army morale broken, the Austrians ceded the field, leaving the French a little bloodied and a little baffled...

The French centre faces disaster...those Carbiniers at the top of the photo are already beaten....

It was great fun to play Black Powder again, but in the Napoleonic context it is easy to see the numerous irritations - saving throws from artillery, aaarrrrgh so stupid! - which motivated Curt and his crew to develop their own variant for the period.

Mike's successful assault moves to threaten the French main thrust, just visible to the right

Nonetheless, the game looked awesome, the company was great, and it was a real thrill to get my Austrian lads on to the table against Curt's stunning French troops.

Only Austrians would maneuver to this point, and then fall back...

I want to thank Curt again for putting on the game - he had done a presentation at a conference that morning, made it back to my place just in time to get the game set up and then helped us bludgeon our rusty way through the game.  That takes a lot of energy, and it was greatly appreciated!  Thanks very much dude.  I look forward to the next game!