The Allies broke contact leaving Rapp master of the field, securing for France a stunning victory in the last pitched battle of the Napoleonic Wars. According to Rapp the charge splattered enemy troops all over and penetrated two leagues where the Allied baggage trains to include Friedrich’s personal belongings were plundered and declared French property. right back into and through the closely packed Wurttemburg foot and artillery crossing the bridge close behind. The impact caused their cavalry to recoil, then break. Rapp then placed himself at the head of Merlin’s cavalry (remember, shot 25 times) and charged, hitting the Wurttemburgers before they had a chance to deploy or countercharge. He immediately refused the two relevant flanks of the infantry divisions so that they caught the enemy horse in a blistering crossfire. A nightmare to some, to Rapp this was an opportunity to excel. Wurttemburg cavalry poured across the bridge which lay right at the juncture of Rapp’s two infantry divisions, guns and infantry right behind. He deployed and battled Friedrich’s Austrians, Hessians and Wurttemburgers along the River Souffel just north of Strasburg, holding firm until the latter forced a crossing of the Brundt Road bridge heading directly for the city. Rapp’s little army consisted of about 30 thousand, not including a nearby Garde Nationale formation, formed into two infantry divisions and a single cavalry division under General de Division Christophe Antoine Merlin. Thus in the conduct of his duties he finally met the Allies in battle on 28th June 1815, in this case the Allied III Armeekorps under the command of the Friedrich, Kronprinz von Wurttemburg, about 40,000 men in all. Until then several independent corps were deployed to slow down the advance of the invaders, to include the Armee du Rhin ( V Corps d ‘Armee) under General de Division Jean Rapp, former ADC to Napoleon, a top notch battlefield commander, and as he had already been wounded in combat 25 times, brave to the extent of lunacy. The main French army would destroy Wellington and Blucher’s forces in Belgium, then immediately swing southeast (picking up replacements and new formations along the way) to deal with what he hoped was a thoroughly hesitant set of Allies. Napoleon’s overall strategy was based on his famous concept of the Central Position. The campaign in Belgium was not fought in a vacuum, but was part of a larger campaign that additionally involved the invasion of France by armies from Austria, Russia, Bavaria and many minor, if unenthusiastic, German states to the tune of 750 thousand soldiers. The cry la Patrie en Danger has been heard across Paris once again so let the drums roll and the march to glory begin.
Scourge of war waterloo french strategy mod#
A user mod covering the entire mod has just dropped, its free and well worth a return to the computer. If you own Scourge of War Waterloo, you’re covered.
Scourge of war waterloo french strategy pdf#
The Battle of La Souffel is known by few and covered by less in the wargaming world, perhaps an add-on JTS digital scenario or Keven Zucker hex-based offering, not to mention my own free PDF download for miniature wargaming in support of an article I wrote. While the campaign of 1815 is often defined by the quad battles of Quatre-Bras, Ligny, la Belle Alliance and Wavre, there was one more pitched battle to be fought, a triumph for France some 10 days after the debacle of Waterloo. Wait, shouldn’t that be Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo by Feldmarschal Blucher and the Royal Prussian Army of the Lower Rhine (ably assisted by an able British commander nicknamed “Beef” to be sure)? Actually, no.
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