Rivoli: An Executive Summary of Battle

Fierce fighting on the Rivoli Plateau

The sun sets on the Rivoli Plateau and the battlefield is shrouded in darkness.  With darkness covering the battlefield, fighting slackens as visibility decreases quickly.  As the wounded, lost, and bewildered turn toward self-preservation in the cold January night air, I call a cessation to hostilities.

The battle began in the morning with Austrian General Alvintzi attacking south toward Joubert's exposed division situated upon on the Rivoli Plateau.

Alvintzi attacks Joubert

The initial troop dispositions were situated as shown in the figure below:

Initial dispositions

The battle began at 0830 and ended at sunset at 1700. Seventeen turns were put into the logbook. After fighting throughout the day, most formations neared exhaustion and the 1630 turn saw particularly heavy casualties as commanders attempted one last decisive push before nightfall.  The day-long battle raged over the heights that overlooked the Adige River valley and on the plateau upon which the town of Rivoli sits. Like two prize fighters, the armies bludgeoned each other repeatedly but neither wanting to yield.

The two opposing generals opted for different approaches to victory.  The French chose to go for a knock-out punch and win by Sudden Death.  The Austrians chose a double envelopment to cut the French army in half.  The initial plans looked something like this:

Initial battle plans

Each combatant was issued a situation briefing.  These briefings are provided in detail below:

French Briefing:
The Austrians have launched another relief effort for Mantua. Three attempts have failed before. This one should be no different. Alvintzi needs to break out of the Adige Valley into order to bring his superior numbers to bear. The only way to break out of the valley is to attack on the Rivoli Plateau.

Joubert was posted to the north of Rivoli and while fighting hard, has been pushed back to Rivoli and takes up positions along the Trombolare Heights. Reinforcements are on the way and will continue arriving throughout the morning. Holding the Osteria Gorge is critical. If the Gorge can be held, the large Austrian columns confined to the valley will offer no assistance to the Austrians on the plateau. If the four Austrian columns on the heights can be defeated before reinforced from the valley below, the battle will be won. The goal is the destruction of the Austrian army before it can break out and relieve Mantua.

Napoleon faces several problems. They are:

• Joubert’s position could be flanked on the west allowing the Austrians to break out towards Lake Garda.
• Joubert is initially outnumbered and spread thinly across the front but his troops are hard fighters and he has support from artillery and cavalry.
• If the Osteria Gorge can be forced then both flanks could be in jeopardy and the Rivoli position could become untenable.
• While the Osteria Gorge position may hold, the Adige could be bridged in a few places below Rivoli.

Game length: 0830 to 1900 (actually ended at 1700)
French Command Rating: Efficient
French Maneuver Doctrine: Impulse
French Reinforcement Schedule:

0900 Massena, Brune, 32nd Line, 29th Line arrive on road from Verona to Rivoli.

1000 Massena’s two batteries arrive on road from Verona to Rivoli.

1030 Monnier, 18th Line, 75th Line arrive on road from Verona to Rivoli.

1400 Rey, 58th Line arrive on road from Verona to Rivoli.

1530 8th Dragoons, 15th Dragoons, Rey’s batteries arrive on road from Verona to Rivoli.

Austrian Briefing:
With plans to relieve Mantua (fourth time’s a charm!), Alvintzi has set off down the Adige Valley with thoughts of breaking out into the more open territory in which his superiority in numbers can weigh heavily against the weaker French.

Alvintzi faces several problems. Almost too many obstacles, really. They are:

• To break out toward Verona and Mantua, his army must overcome Joubert’s division blocking his approach.
• The Adige River is unfordable and the nearest crossing is several miles to the north.
• Climbing out of the Adige Valley in order to make an attack against Joubert in the mountains requires that his cavalry and artillery be left behind.
• To access the Rivoli Plateau directly from the Adige Valley requires his army to pass through the Osteria Gorge. This is a narrow defile and easily defended. Reuss must overcome this obstacle to unleash his large column out onto the plateau.
• Until the Osteria Gorge can be taken, communication between Alvintzi on the plateau and his troops in the valley is nearly impossible. Therefore taking the gorge defile is key to the entire operation.
• His four columns on the plateau have been moving and fighting through most of the night and early morning. Austrian punches have not been as nimble as French counter-punches.
• Vukassovich’s column on the east bank of the Adige River is prevented from moving south through another defile by French troops. No possibility of overcoming the defenders guarding this defile. Vukassovich does carry along a pontoon train that can be used to bridge the Adige in a few places.

Game length: 0830 to 1900  (actually ended at 1700)
Austrian Command Rating: Functional
Austrian Maneuver Doctrine: Linear

Austrian Reinforcement Schedule: None

Victory Conditions:
Sudden Death (Assessed at end of each turn):

• Austrians win the battle and play stops immediately if all units from two columns have exited the southern board via either Rivoli-to-Verona or Affi-to-Verona roads. To count, each column must still maintain half of its units neither eliminated nor Demoralized.
• French win the battle and play stops immediately if at least three Austrian columns have been destroyed. To count as destroyed, all of the column’s units must be either eliminated, Shaken, or Demoralized.

If no sudden Death then points will be awarded.

Winning on Points (Assessed at end of game):

2 VPs for each enemy unit eliminated.

1 VP for each enemy unit demoralized.

3 VPs (Austria only) for controlling Rivoli-Verona road exit.

3 VPs (Austria only) for controlling Rivoli.

5 VPs (Austria only) for controlling Affi.

5 VPs (Austria only) for controlling Zuanne.

At the end of fighting, the situation looked like,

Situation 1700

As seen in the battle photo above, the French nearly destroyed two Austrian columns in the north while the Austrians nearly completed their double envelopment of the French.  The Austrians had a chance at snagging a Sudden Death victory by exiting Lusignan and Liptay off-table at Affi but chose to maintain their double envelopment and help spring Reuss from the gorge bottleneck.   

The Austrian column under Reuss, having battled hard all day to break through the Rivoli Gorge, finally succeeded.  The arrival of fresh troops for the French saw these Austrian gains onto the Rivoli plateau short-lived.  As daylight faded, Reuss' Austrians suffered reverses and their foothold upon the plateau became untenable.

In the north around Lubiana, the end of the day saw Koblos and Oksay retreating in disarray.  Based upon Alvintzi's earlier instructions and plan of battle, Koblos and Oksay withdrew back to the north to preserve the army.  Much of Lebley and Vial's commands were equally battered and in no condition to pursue vigorously (or effectively!).

The Austrians performed better than their historical counterparts but based on casualties suffered, I lean toward declaring a minor French tactical victory since the Austrians were unable to successfully break out onto the plain below Rivoli.  My long term plan is to collate all of the correspondence and combat results into a more detailed battle report at some point.  Perhaps this will include a series of posts highlighting portions of the battle?  The mounds of dispatches to sift through are daunting and much of the action will need to be condensed unless I plan on writing a book on this battle.  By the time I re-examine all of the data and tally casualty returns, the final result may edge back toward a draw.  It really is that close.

I know I asked a lot from the players in this venture and appreciate their diligence in feeding in their orders and dispatches. This battle has waged for over two months now and I am very grateful to all whom participated. The decisions made by the generals produced much enjoyment for me and generated an interesting narrative.  Not something I could have experienced on my own.  I was surprised many times and tried to follow the intent and spirit of each order.  It is fair to say that this undertaking would not have been the same without their generous and helpful contributions. Some of the dispatches were very entertaining. Some were very methodical. All were greatly appreciated as the players' participation added greatly to the battle refight.

I sincerely thank all participants for making this a very enjoyable game. I hope players found this enjoyable as well and this exercise provided some insight into the historical battle, itself.  All are worthy commanders.  Each turn, with limited information, they assessed the situation and made some profound and insightful inferences. Chapeau to you all!

Should they so choose, I would enjoy reading the thoughts, impressions, and perspectives of commanders whether as a reply here or on your own blog.

Rivoli: Setting the Stage

Initial deployments

The call to arms in my last post, announcing a possible, solo refight of the Battle of Rivoli, netted a group of nine willing participants.  Fabulous response, I think.  With nine remote commanders writing orders for my tabletop maneuvers, this will be an interesting exercise.  Commands have been allocated among the participants.  There are four French commanders and five Austrian commanders. 

After allocating commands with consideration for player preferences in both nationality and level of command, I set to work writing an Instructions to Generals guide outlining the scenario, victory conditions, and explaining the order writing and submission process.  Also drafted were two briefings, one for the French and one for the Austrians.

Already, the CiCs are at work formulating plans to defeat the other.  Within the next few days, I expect to see orders beginning to trickle into my mailbox.  I am anxious to see what each has concocted as the key approach to victory.

Hopefully, this will prove to be an entertaining exercise for the participants as well.  If nothing else, we all may learn more about the Battle of Rivoli.

Below are a selection of photos from the game table, in silence, before the battle begins.   

The massive Austrian columns marching down the Adige Valley

French and Austrians face off on the Rivoli Plateau

Austrian view of Joubert situated on the Trombolare Heights

The defenders of the Osteria Gorge

Battlefield from behind the French lines

Joubert on the Trombolare Heights

The board of French reinforcements

We may be off and running very soon.

Call to Arms: Generals for Rivoli

Napoleon at the Battle of Rivoli, by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux

Back in a November post, I mentioned the desire to refight the Battle of Rivoli near the anniversary date of the battle (14-15 JAN1797) in a solo exercise.  With many of us still in various levels of lockdown and self-quarantining, I figured that an opportunity to stretch many a homebound, armchair general's command abilities may be just the remedy in overcoming any post-holiday or pandemic malaise.  I will fight the battle on the gaming table in 15mm while carrying out instructions from the Remote Player Commanders (RPC).

Those RPCs volunteering to take up command will issue orders to their subordinates as subordinates attempt to carry out orders and issue dispatches up the chain of command to their superiors.  Superiors will only be able to react to situations within sight or through information provided in dispatches.  Lag times between dispatch transmission will vary dependent upon distance between commanders and whether couriers can find the last known HQ location.  Reports that are not delivered in-person between commanders travel at the speed of light horse.  RPCs may not be able to react timely to all battlefield situations.  Coordination between commands may not always be possible.  All of these communications will be accomplished via email.  I will be the central email regulator.  Generals will receive dispatches and situation reports to aid in assessing their actions and reactions for the next turn.  

If this sounds interesting, please read on.

The Situation

The Battle of Rivoli occurred as a result of the Austrian Army attempting to break out of the Adige Valley and marching out into the open countryside where Austrian superiority in numbers could overpower the inferior French army.  The goal of the Austrian operation is to relieve the siege at Mantua.  This would be the fourth attempt to lift the siege.  The Austrians are marching in six columns under the command of Alvinzti.  Austrian forces total about 28,000 men.  Having intelligence of this Austrian operation, Napoleon orders Joubert and his 10,000 man division to strike the Austrians before they can debouche from the Rivoli Plateau.  Contesting the advance of the Austrians in the early hours of the morning, our battle opens up with Joubert's French, having been pushed back by the advancing Austrians, situated upon the Trombalore Heights awaiting an attack by four of the six Austrian columns.

The remaining two Austrian columns are moving down the Adige Valley from which they plan to attack up and onto the Rivoli Plateau through the Osteria Gorge.  Most of the Austrian artillery and cavalry could not pass over the mountainous terrain to reach the plateau so all of these assets are in the Adige Valley.  Communication between these two Austrian forces is nearly impossible until the Osteria Gorge can be forced.

While Joubert is initially outnumbered, his division consists of hard fighters with a number of veteran light infantry.  As the morning wears on, Napoleon will be sending reinforcements north in order to help Joubert hang on to the heights.  From a tactical perspective, the French hold interior lines with fewer but better troops while the Austrians are more numerous but without all arms on the Rivoli Plateau.  Communications for the Austrians on the plateau and down in the valley are nearly impossible until the Osteria Gorge can be taken.  

Can Joubert and the French be crushed on the Rivoli Plateau before Napoleon and Massena intervene?  Will Joubert maintain his central position and thwart all Austrian attacks and threats until reinforced? As the boxes of Avalon Hill Wargames often suggested, YOU take command to change history.

The Battlefield

The battle will be fought out over a roughly 6'x6' battlefield with general troop dispositions as shown.

Initial dispositions

The Forces

The two armies are detailed in the OB below with each line item representing one Basic Maneuver Unit (BMU).  Generals are rated from ' 1' to '4' with '4' being best.  Infantry are rated by maneuver doctrine (French style or Prussian style) and skirmish capability (from '0' to '2' with '2' being best).  Artillery and cavalry are rated as Light (LT), Medium (MED), or Heavy (HV).  Non-leader BMUs are graded from 'Poor' to 'Elite'. 

Rivoli OB

Depending upon the number of RPCs who volunteer, commands will be assigned from the top down.  For example, with only two RPCs, Napoleon and Alvinzti will be the only active commanders.  With four RPCs, the commands could be logically split into Joubert and Napoleon (and everyone else) for the French and Alvinzti (and columns I-IV) and the two columns (V and VI) in the Adige Valley for the Austrians.  All orders to any non-player commands will be carried out by me and then sent through the command chain.  As more players take commands, more commands will become active to participation by RPCs.

Time commitment expected is not large on the part of RPCs.  As each turn is played out on the table, reports will be sent to participants.  Participants will need to evaluate these reports and dispatches, and write any orders when warranted.  More details on order writing and expectations will be provided at the start of battle  Order writing will be standardized with specific elements required but additional details are welcome.  No knowledge of the rules in play is needed but familiarity with wargaming and Napoleonics will be beneficial. 

If interested in taking an active command, please declare as a comment and by email to let me know.  In an email to me, please provide your preferred contact email address, preference for either France or Austria, and whether you have a command preference within that choice of nationalities.  My email address is listed in My Profile link on this page.  If your interests lay in commanding the armies and setting overall direction, pick either Napoleon or Avintzi.  If your interests lay in middle management, select one of the French division commanders.  If guiding tactics at the lowest formation level and carrying out orders from above is preferred, choose either a French brigadier or one of the Austrian Column commanders.  Perhaps list Top Three choices to help resolve any ties.  For more information, please send me an email on that too.

Those expressing an interest in participating from the November announcement were:

Norm S.

Andrè H.

Matt C.

Peter A.

Pascal B.

If any of the five above are still interested in participating, please give me another shout out to confirm.

Thank you!

Pharsalus: Caesar v Pompey

My second solo battle of Pharsalus in which pitted Caesar against Pompey is in the books. The earlier battle (see Pummelling Pompey) saw Caesar come out with a convincing victory.  In a rematch, can Pompey even the score?

As in the earlier battle report, the battle is fought out on the Commands & Colors: Ancients (CCA) board using 6mm figures.  Play-by-play is embedded within each photo.  To view as a slideshow, click on one of the photos to activate. 

Well, Pompey came close to victory and certainly provided a much better opponent for Caesar than in the first game.  The battle featured much back and forth with punch and counter-punch a common feature.  Still, poor Pompey came up short but victory was within his grasp on more than one occasion.  CCA, again, produced a very fun solo challenge.  For now, the 6mm Ancients armies are packed away until next time. 

Pummelling Pompey, Pharsalus 48BCE

Pompeian troops stand at the ready

As alluded to in the previous post, I refought the Battle of Pharsalus as a solo exercise using Commands & Colors: Ancients (CCA) and my 6mm ancients.  In an earlier, F2F battle, Pompey pulled out an upset victory with a 7-6 win.  This time, it will be ego in ego.  The Julian Legions Rule is in effect for both armies as is the Julius Caesar Rule.  The Julius Caesar Rule is especially powerful since it allows a unit led by Caesar to move two hexes and still battle and battles with one additional die.  For solo play, I play the two hands of cards with an unbiased and optimal card selection.  When I draw a card from the deck for each player, I never look at the new card until it is that player's turn.  Cards that can be played to interrupt the opposing player are removed from the hand and turned face up as a reminder that these cards can be played at the optimal time.

For this replay, I try something different.  Rather than having dialog of the play-by-play separate from the relevant game photo, dialog has been embedded within the photo, itself.  For this situation, embedded description seems a good idea since one can sequence through the photos and read the dialog without referring back to the separate text.  I am curious to read opinions on this technique rather than my normal battle report format.  White arrows denote moves, yellow arrows denote retreats, and red arrows denote combats.  Anyway, on to battle.

This was a convincing win for Caesar.  I figured Pompey's early massive cavalry attack, under the leadership of Labienus, upon the Caesarian right would be a successful gambit.  If successful, the attack would open up the game before Caesar's preponderance of heavy infantry could close with the Pompeian battle line.  With Caesar's light troops evading and Caesar, himself, repulsing an attack, Labienus was stopped short of his objective.  Caesar then turned the tables and launched a series of attacks against Labienus.  After a few turns, the Pompeian left was in tatters.  It was Pompey's flank that had been compromised, not Caesar’s!  Great fun and an eye-opener to the power of Caesar when leading troops into battle.

Perhaps, I ought to give Pompey another chance?