Portable Montereau February 1814 (1)

 

Against the Allied invasion of France in 1813, Napoleon had, in a flurry of combats and battles, forced the Army of Silesia, commanded by Feldmarschall Blucher, back, away from Paris. By this time, Prince Schwarzeberg's Austrians and German allies had reached Mormont, just 20 miles - 32km - from the capital. Catching the advanced elements literally napping - or at least barely wakened from the night's bivouac - the French attacks scattered formations (if they could still be so called) of Russians, Austrians and Germans.  At once Schwarzenberg called for a retreat through Montereau to the south bank of the Seine. The Corps of Prince Wurttemberg - a mix of Wurttembergers and Austrians, with a small formation of Bavarians - was ordered to maintain a bridgehead at Montereau, and to hold the crossings. 

Montereau was precisely the where Napoleon chose to concentrate his army before a decisive strike. 

The leading pictures show the table battlefield, the following map forming the 'blueprint' for the layout.
For an introduction to this action, check out 'Yet Another Portable Wargame' from 4 December.

The opening French attacks formed a species of pincer movement. General Pajol's Provisional Corps advanced from the west, through the Bois de Valence and Dragon Bleu. His rather polyglot formation, comprised three brigades of cavalry and one infantry Division, backed by a sizeable park of artillery, horse and foot. The cavalry comprised a mix of chasseurs, hussars and dragoons.  From the east through Courbeton, came the V Cavalry Corps of General Milhaud, and II Corps under Marshal Victor.

The following pics show the location of the scattered elements of Wurttemberg's command. The accompanying map will identify the various formations: The Bavarian Brigade at Piat Buisson, Advance Guard in Villerton (Wurttemberg light infantry with a skirmish element) and in the scattered wood between there and Dragon Bleu; Schafer's Austrians at St Martin, with Doring's Wurttembergers close by near Surville.  The rest of Koch's Division, Hohenlohe and the artillery, are some distance off, on the south bank of the Seine. Kirsch's Austrians are on the south bank also, west of Montereau itself, along with one of the two Austrian batteries. The other, horse artillery, are close by Jett's cavalry, near St Maurice. 

Bavarians at Piat Buisson.  In the distance, Stockmeyer's
light infantry at Villeron, and Wasleben's light horse and guns 
blocking the road from the west. The Division commander 
seems to be conducting a personal reconnaissance.

Schafer's Austrian Brigade at St Martin. Close by, at Villeron,
Wurttemberger light infantry (I'm using Nassauers as proxies)

On the east bank of the Seine: Hohenlohe's Brigade, Wurttemburg artillery,
Austrian horse artillery and Jett's Dragoons and mounted Jager.

View from behind the Seine, as Marshal Victor's
Corps pushed down the river bank from Courbeton.

Turn One. French (White die) win the initiative.

St Martin and Villeron.

The action opens: General Pajol's Provisional Corps, comprising Pacthod's National Guard Division, stiffened (presumably) with 'Le Terrible' 57th Regiment; two brigades of light horse (chasseurs and hussars), and one of dragoons, emerging from the Bois de Valence.  The cavalry fan out whilst the infantry and guns continue down the road toward Surville and Montereau.

General Pajol himself leads the chasseurs through Dragon Bleu, whilst the hussars push down alongside the infantry on the road, and the dragons sweep around the north side of the hamlet. Facing them is Walsleben's light horse - Austrian hussars - and Wurttemberger Jagers zu Pferd. The latter have dismounted some of their number as skirmishers.

Off the the east, Marshal Victor's II Corps marches down the road directly towards Surville. General Milhaud's V Cavalry Corps takes the parallel road heading towards St Martin.

As Victor's infantry, preceded by a cloud of skirmishers, trundle toward the town and its river crossings, Allied artillery open up from the south side of the river.  Luckily, their first salvos are not very effective...

Milhaud's cavalry - two small Divisions of dragoons and one of chasseurs à cheval, swing northwards, almost as far as Luat, to make room for Victor to expand his front to attack Surville and St Martin, both.

At the other end of the battle front, the Allies set up a road block of artillery, supported by the mounted Jager skirmishers. Although Walsleben himself stands with the road block, his excellent light horse take on Pajol's chasseurs, led by the Corps Commander himself.  In this battle, the Austrian Hussars are rated 'elite', Pajol's cavalry - inexperienced and indifferently mounted - as 'poor'.*

The French hussars cross the road to reunite with the rest of the corps cavalry, causing a delay to Pacthod's infantry column.

Turn Two. Allies win the initiative.

The Allied artillery have plenty of attractive targets to begin procedings.  East of the town, safe from any counteraction by the French, Koch's foot and horse artillery enfilade Victor's columns pushin towards the town.

Walsleben's guns, under their general's eye, pounds the French column on the road.

The first clash of sabres begins at the crossroads west of Villerton. Unexpectedly, the inexperienced chasseurs get the better of the fight, and the hussars take some loss...

Meanwhile, anxious to permit the passage of reinforcements from the south bank - Jett's Cavalry and Kirsch's Austrians - Doring's Brigade, having themselves moved through the town to face Victor, begins a counter-attack that sweeps aside Duhesme's skirmishers. Pushing on, the Wurttembergers inflict casualties upon Duhesme's main body as well.

From small beginnings, the cavalry battle near Villeron drew in the whole of Pajol's mounted arm.  Whilst the chasseurs held the hussars in front, the dragoons and hussars came in from left and right.  This ought to have swept the Austrians aside, but, after such an inauspicious beginning, the latter recovered their fighting aplomb. The French hussars were forced to break off, and the dragoons took some losses as well.

Probably now would have been a good time for the Bavarians, watching the roads north for the arrival of another French column - Napoleon was up there somewhere - to have inserted themselves into this cavalry action. They did eventually, but by then events had overtaken them.

As yet the battle was just beginning. Though Duhesme's Division of Victor's Corps had been intercepted on the road - and was taking enfilading fire from Allied artillery, General Gerard's Paris Reserve Division (long on Strength Points but short on 'quality') was bringing St Martin under close assault. They were to find the defending Austrians stubbornly hard to shift.

In an effort to relieve the Divisional columns of Duhesme and Chataux from the gunfire incoming from across the river, Victor ordered his own guns to deploy for counterbattery action. In the event, this did little enough to help the infantry...

So far, the overture.
To be continued...

* The 'poor' rating of Pajol's cavalry belies their performance in the actual battle. Ordered into a charge, they swept all before them, all the way into the town, apparently because the troopers could not control their mounts.  Experienced cavalry commander as he was, Pajol counted upon precisely this lack of riding experience when he ordered the charge!