Glory is Fleeting: Battle report: 1813 Allied armies in France vs Russo-Finnish Army

1814: Following failed talks at the Treaty of Vienna, the CZAR OF RUSSIA, ALEXENDER I has sent his land armies into WESTERN EUROPE. Prussian and Austrian armies have been defeated, and with the French suing for peace, nothing stands in the Russian way to the Rhine.

The DUKE OF WELLINGTON, fresh from his victories against the French in the Peninsula and France, has been sent towards the Rhine in a desperate attempt to stop the Russian onslaught. His trained and veteran British troops are joined by Portuguese infantry and cavalry, along with  untrained and conscripted Spanish units, to hold the line of retreat.

As the Allied army approaches a town to their North, the sound of Russian drums beating to quarters and the shouts of Cossack cavalry can be  heard. However, the allied army is walking into a TRAP, with three Russian divisions approaching on their flanks.

The Duke is a very experienced commander, and commits only one division to probe the enemy defenses, and has already been alerted to the Russian plans....

I played a game a few weeks ago against Dave - one of the top 5(?) ranked players of FOGN/Glory is Fleeting in the world.  We were once again playing the Draft 2023 July rules for Glory is Fleeting, which should, come out this year, a standard 1000 point game.

I tried something new- an 1813 Allied army in Spain and France. This is the combined British, Portuguese and Spanish army that went to defeat the French in Spain, enter France and defeat every French army it came across. There's going to be an 1813-15 1 day tournament next month I plan on going to. 

The army is very expensive - with 18 battalions of Superior Veteran British troops are required and 4 battalions of Portuguese. However, I had acquired some Spanish troops during COVID and with the vastly easier allied division rules in Glory is Fleeting, I wanted to try them out too. You can choose from the better 1813 Spanish, or the...bad (poor) 1808 Spanish army list. The poor ones only need 10 battalions of conscripts or poor line troops, and you can get lancers (which are just so cool). The (poorly) trained Spanish are very cheap and help fill out the army. Note I don't have any Lancers ready yet, so British Hussars will act as stand in's.

I planned on using them ONLY has a line of communication defence, so only got an inert allied general. Only after the battle started did Dave point out to me, that inert allied generals get 0 ADC's, meaning that cannot react or do any complex maneuver tests, unless you have a top level corps commander. Which I did not. Uh Oh. 

I didn't know anything about the Russian-Finnish army Dave was commanding, but I could see it was very large - I estimated it outnumbered my army 2 or 3 to 1. I would have to put my faith in superior British shooting and excellent light troops, with a brigade of Super Heavy Shock Cavalry with a brilliant commander to act on one flank. I expected to be also outnumbered by the feared Russian Artillery.

The British 1st Division commander, looks towards the Russian lines to the north

I forgot to get a picture of the battlefield, but it was in Western Europe. I got an extra road, which turned out to be pointless - in the new rules only the primary highway put down in the centre can act as your Line of Communication, so you can't hide you LOC in a corner anymore. I approve of this rule  change - no more corner hugging. 

The battlefield had 3 towns (1 big, 2 small), 2 large rough forests, one large orchard, a large gentle hill and a short river in a corner (rivers can no longer cross the entire battlefield, either vertical or across the table,  and can still be forded very slowly). The river rule change is another good one - max 3 foot rivers and 6 foot streams can still be used, but don't block off the table anymore.

With a Skilled Corps Commander, I blocked a Frontal Attack and something else. I was very worried that I could not block an enemy Flank attack, so decided to do another Probe mission. Probe gives me intelligence meaning I know which flank or where reinforcements are going to come in, and the size of the Russian army combined with my small one meant it was going to be very dangerous to me and very likely for Dave to choose it.

I had one very large super division that I wanted to use aggressively, with 2 much smaller divisions to follow up. The cavalry division would have the speed to move to the front quickly, and the Spanish would merely hold my LOC, hopefully long enough for the main force to take the enemy LOC and cause enough casualties to win.

After Dave revealed he indeed had done a Flank attack and deployed his troops, he revealed he was going to do the classic double envelopment and come in on both deep rear flanks. With the way the terrain was laid out, I figured there would be one division come in on both sides. 

Russian Deployment:

A brigade of Russian troops is defending to the North West behind a wood

Another two brigade are deployed west of the occupied town with an artillery battery and a brigade of light cavalry behind in support

A third brigade is next to the western half of the town, ready to move into occupying it

Another large brigade is to the North East, ready to occupy the eastern side of the town with another artillery battery

A unit of marauding Cossack's is far to the north east lurking behind a gentle hill

The Russian defenses in total - Two divisions in position to defend the town and main highway north. An orchard is to the left behind a small farm and a heavily wooded forest is forward of a gentle hill

Allied Deployment:

The Allied 1st Division probes forward. A VERY large division. Highlanders on the left, the light brigade to their right, the 1st and 2nd British Brigades with artillery batteries, the Guard brigade leading the Portuguese and the KGL infantry on the far right

This one division is made of up seven brigades. or 32 battalions. This is MUCH larger than a normal division of 2-4 brigades. It was lead by a skilled division commander, and between him and the skilled corps commander would have enough ADC's to do complex moves. All but one unit (the Portuguese) are Superior Veteran, meaning they can maneuver on their on own outside 6 inches of the enemy and have the 3 dice to roll and another re-roll for firing, combat,  morale and complex tests (needing a 5+ to do it). So I was confident they could take on anyone and anything. 

Allied Plan:

I needed to move fast to take the Russian defended town and take their LOC. As I had deployed to the left of centre, and there was a river on my right, I expected only the left (western) side Russian flanking attack to arrive before the battle was over. At least, that was the plan. 

My cavalry was in reserve so could arrive quickly with Spanish division acting as  reinforcements. I hoped the Spanish would arrive soon before any Russian flanking attack got close to the highway. The Russian left flank looked weak to my cavalry division so I would commit them there.

1st Division moves forward up the highway as a division, securing the crossroads

I finally had my LITKO markers for a battle - after completely losing my first ones. I generally dislike markers on the field but it vastly easier to know which unit is which. Even once I get flags put on, I still want to use them.

What I really want is some sort of stand I can put them on - maybe a single flag bearer on a small mount would be perfect now that now that think of it. I will have to order some from Eureka Miniatures. 

I don't have Spanish ones, but I have ordered them for next time.

The Highlanders are in position to take the farm to their front, with the  attached orchard behind it

Looking north towards the Russian lines, the Guard Regiment leads with the Portuguese in their support, the KGL to their right

The Battle Starts:

The western Russian brigades advance past the orchard towards the farm

In the centre, the Finnish Jagers secure the orchard with their light cavalry in support and a large infantry brigade moving next to the town with a gun battery

 

 

Another large unit occupies the town

The north eastern infantry brigade moves onto the hill with the Cossack's moving over it

Alerted to an enemy column approaching from the west, the Highlander regiment and light brigade turn 90 degrees to face the expected threat and refuse the flank of the 1st Division

I knew there was at least one division come in from the left, and one right. I figured it might be one infantry and maybe one cavalry division. I moved two brigades to cover it, and hoped the Spanish would arrive fast enough to hold it.

The rest of the 1st division continues to advance north. They are confident that well trained and veteran British troops will be able to take the town, and they also outnumbered the defenders

I committed to my plan and sent the rest of the division north. I outnumbered the enemy and decided to assault the town and go for the enemy LOC.

1st Division's commander looks towards the Russian defenses

The allied cavalry division arrives and immediately advances towards the low hill to the north east, which has a brigade of infantry and Cossack's on it

I brought in my reserve cavalry division and sent it on my right, as planned. I know another enemy unit would be coming down the road and crossing the river, but I thought I'd have time to get ahead of it. 

If an enemy cavalry division came down this side, I would be in a lot more trouble, but figured I could turn around if needed. I was confident my Super Heavy Shock Horse could handle any other unit.

The 1st Division approaches the town, while refusing it's left western flank. Enemy Jagers move into the orchard

A large mixed enemy division arrives down the road to the west - a cavalry brigade, two large infantry brigades and a light infantry brigade with supporting artillery!

Uh Oh.

Another smaller division arrives down the eastern road. An infantry unit comes north of the river and 4 infantry brigades south of it, moving to cross at the ford, with the allies outnumbered 3-1 on this flank!

Uh Oh!

And the Russian forces outnumber the British 4-1 on the western flank!

That was a LOT bigger than I expected, and arrived as soon as possible. I had no time to delay, I needed to win in the centre before both flanks were overwhelmed.

The allied cavalry division advances quickly to the base of the hill. Their objective is the enemy line of communication (and retreat)

I decided I couldn't slow the enemy down much faster than the river crossing would, and I didn't want the Cossack's to link up, so pushed forward as fast as I could with the cavalry. They might be the ones to take the enemy LOC.

The 1st Division deploys to assault the Russian defended town, as Russian units close in on both flanks

26 Battalions vs 20 British and Portuguese. But mine are much better quality, including a Guard brigade that can't go down more than 1 level of morale each phase.

The refused allied flank falls back to trade space for time

The veteran troops prove their worth by being able to maneuver without a division commander around. I did what the historical precedent is when facing Russian forces in western Europe - trade space for time. I needed the Spanish division arriving soon!

The Highlander brigade looks out towards the oncoming horde of enemy troops

The eastern Russian division deploys into march column to move more quickly down the road

The Russian north eastern cavalry fall back over the hill while their infantry comes in behind the allied cavalry. The Russian infantry brigade falls back to occupy the eastern half of the town to their north

The allied infantry prepare to assault the town. The attached artillery batteries have caused some causalities to the defenders

I got lucky and my two artillery batteries with the large units did some damage to the town. Looking back, I needed veteran artillery to get a reroll for them too.

The Russian western attack moves forward, occupying the farm and coming through the orchard. The light cavalry brigade falls behind them in support

One good thing about my left flank is that there were so many Russians, they got in each others way. Two brigades had to fall back to squeeze in the rest, but now I had 3 divisions closing in on 2 brigades.

The British 1st brigade bombards the Russian light cavalry to the west of the town, causing them to be disrupted and unable to advance

This is about the only thing infantry can do to stop enemy cavalry charging them to form square. I only had 2 batteries in my army, and they were only drilled. I needed both firing at the same target to do anything with them.

The allied cavalry division crests the hill and the Portuguese cavalry charge down into the Russian horse at its base!

It looked like I was going to be able to take the enemy LOC. The Russians really needed a cavalry division here to stop my division, but had elected to take mixed divisions instead. My cavalry were doing the traditional role of holding a flank of the attack. The enemy infantry had to move into the town to stop my troops walking into it to the left.

The Dragoon Guard looking west towards the assault on the town

The assault goes in! Three brigades lead by the Guard charge forward into gunfire

I had left the Portuguese in support of the Guard troops, but Dave pointed out that rear and flank support don't count for town battles. Lesson learnt. Still, having the Portuguese as a reserve was no bad thing, and they were far enough back they probably wouldn't be hit by any fleeing units.

Unable to help in the attack, the Portuguese brigade swings right to guard their right flank, and the 1st brigade pivots left to hold the left flank

The Guard and KGL are disrupted, but the Russian defenders are wavering!

I was lucky with the enemy firing, but I think they were conscripts, so were poor shots. I got a good number of hits in, but not enough to rout them.

The Guard brigade rallies and prepares to continue the assault

On the left, the 1st Brigade wins the skirmish battle vs the Finnish Jagers

Superior British training wins the light infantry skirmishing.

The Spanish Lancers arrive from the south! Behind them (off camera) comes two untrained and I untested infantry brigades

I was very lucky and the Spanish arrived just in time.

The Finnish Jagers charge out of the orchard into the 1st brigade, and the light cavalry move closer towards the 2nd, but do not charge, so as not to block the line of fire from the large Russian brigade with artillery to their north

I think attacking an enemy unit when you're smaller and they have rear support and artillery fire, and and are not having any morale effects, isn't a good idea unless you have no other alternative. I've done it myself!

The Russian western division advances into musket range of the Highlanders. Spanish lancers are to their left with 2 more Spanish infantry brigades hurrying to their support

I think Dave made a mistake here, he had the numbers to move these large units in column, and I didn't have any artillery to make him regret that. It would have given room for his other northern unit to come in, and given him rear support for the attacking units.

The Spanish division commander looks to the east, with his conscript brigade to his front and poorly motivated line infantry to his right. In front of the conscripts are a unit of Spanish Lancers.

British Hussars are standing in for Spanish Lancers I don't have ready yet.

The Russian North-Western division comes in to support the Finnish Jagers

The Portuguese cavalry defeat the Russian light cavalry who flee to the north east! The Russian infantry brigade that was occupying the eastern side of the town, evacuates north to move to defend their line of communication

I think Dave got overconfident here, and let my (poor) Portuguese cavalry get in an attack on his Cossacks. A move he will not allow to happen again.

The eastern Russian flanking division starts to march down the road  and crosses the river (getting into a traffic jam in the process), while one brigade moves north of the forest to get closer the main action

The Jagers recoil from their assault!

The 2nd brigade is disrupted from the fire to their north, but is not wavering

The second assault into the town occurs, and the defenders flee!

Not surprising, and I can see why Dave got a bit desperate there.

The Russian light cavalry recoils and is spent

I think Dave believed later, that ordering that charge, may have cost him the battle.

The Guard occupy the town, while the 2nd brigade falls back and is disrupted, along with the KGL

The Guard take the western end of the town!

Under heavy fire the 2nd brigade is wavering!

As does the Highlander brigade on the left flank, and they fall back!

The Portuguese cavalry continue their pursuit and force the Russian light cavalry to the north east to retreat

This is my problem with Marauders- irregular light cavalry. Nothing will ever catch them!

The Spanish lancers charge in, but the Russian infantry form square!  They are disrupted by the charge.

With the Highlander brigade retreating I needed to slow the Russian advance down. I knew the Lancers wouldn't do much, but I needed time to get the Spanish infantry in position.

But force the lancers to fall back, spent! This also disrupts the Spanish conscripts they fell back through. Note also the Highlanders are still wavering and now have enemy skirmishes attacking them

An overview of the western end of the battlefield. The western side of the town has fallen  and the Guard have advanced past it towards the enemy line of communication to the north. The KGL has occupied the town. The 2nd brigade is to the towns south and the 1st brigade to their left, with enemy units closing in on 2 sides, but with British Riflemen and light troops slowing them down.  To their south, the light brigade and highlanders have fallen back while the Portuguese brigade comes to their support to their north and the Spanish division forms a line to their south. The Russian advance in the south has been delayed by needing to form square and are still recovering from the charge of the Spanish lancers

With the line now forming, I felt a lot better. I'd broken the enemy centre and got enough space traded for time to form my flank. I had the Portuguese coming over in support.

Under heavy artillery gunfire, the 2nd brigade starts to waver, but elite British light and rifle troops pin down all three enemy brigades

I got lucky with the skirmish battle.

The Guard and Dragoon Guards close in on the enemies line of retreat

I decided taking the LOC was more important than dealing with the Russian's to the west and moved the Guard out to take it with the Dragoons. 

I needed to rally the Guard (but didn't) and should have faced the Russian troops directly.

The 2nd brigade recovers somewhat but the KGL are now under assault and have not had time to defend the town from the enemy brigade assaulting from the west!

I really needed to have the large unit in town, but had to send the smaller KGL unit in. And there were already disrupted.  This is why you have more than 1 division!

The Highlanders start to recover

But are then still being fired upon by enemy skirmishers.

The Jagers in the orchard start to get disrupted by the well trained and experienced British Rifle skirmishers

The Russian eastern division slowly marches towards the sound of the guns, still not having completed their slow crossing of the river

The Cossack's simply...walk away from the Portuguese cavalry, who are incapable of catching them

In the western side of the town, the Russian attackers overwhelm the KGL who retreat from the town , while the other large unit charges the guard in the flank!

The 1st Brigade holds off 3 enemy units, with a Russian cavalry unit returning to the fray to their north

The Russian western attack moves into musketry range once more of the Highlanders

The KGL is thrown out of the town and is wavering!

The guard fall back and are disrupted by the charge into the flank. They are now cut off from their division AND corps HQ

The Russian musketry fire causes the Highlanders to start to waver again!

But to their north, the 1st brigade charges the enemy infantry coming out of the orchard

Who rout! The Jagers to their north are now wavering

The Cossack's far to the east continue to unhurriedly walk away from the frustrated Portuguese horse

But the western enemy infantry division has finally come into sight of the Allied line of retreat

To the north, the Dragoon Guards take the enemy LOC! News of this sweeps the Russian army!

The new rule is that if you lose the LOC, you lose one dice for morale tests. Meaning conscripts can't recover at all, but veterans still get 2 dice on a 5+.

With their line of retreat cut, the Russian unit advancing from the east approaches the rear of the allied army, whose units are disrupted in front of the now re-occupied Russian held town

I'd taken the LOC but now I had to defeat more Russian units before time (and the approaching division from the east) ran out.

The Russian western attack comes forward again to engage in close range firefights, but the 1st Brigade turns south to flank them as the Portuguese and Light brigade pour fire into them

If the Spanish can hold long enough, I can flank the enemy from the North.

Which causes the unit to rout!

And to their south the Highlanders are now wavering

And the Russian units charge home!The Spanish line infantry forms square and is disrupted by the enemy horse charging them. A large Russian brigade charges the wavering Highlanders

The Russian eastern division starts to shake out into battle order in their interminable march

The Highlanders flee, opening a hole in the allied lines!

However, the allies lines stabilizers and the Russian attackers need to recover from their assault

Quality overcomes quantity.

An overview of the entire battlefield. The Russian line of retreat is cut but in turn the Guard are cut off and unable to rally. The Russian counter attack has retake the town and has closed in to the British and KGL units outside. However, the Russian centre has a hole in it south of the Orchard, and the British, Portuguese and Spanish are holding a line south. Only the spent Spanish Lancers are available to delay an entire Russian Division coming in from the east. Far to the north east the Cossack units runs rings around the Portuguese cavalry who are completely incapable of catching them

The 1st Brigade turns north

I figured the west flank was now secure and I could move the 1st brigade north to threaten the town. This was a mistake - I should be reinforcing success, not failure! 

The Dragoon Guards, lead by a brilliant commander, charge into the Russian conscripts, who form square and are disrupted by the charge

I got annoyed here - The heaviest cavalry you can get...and the conscripts just form square and I bounce off. Granted they needed to succeed in a roll to do it but it's not great that charging cavalry into the flank or rear of an enemy unit...can not do anything.

In turn to the south, the Russian light cavalry charge the Spanish Foot, who form square and force them off, but are wavering! A large Russian brigade charges the light infantry brigade. With the news of the line of retreat being cut, Russian units start to have difficulty rallying

Still, I got to do the same thing here, though forming square was better for me than standing and firing that the British troops could have done instead.

The Russian units recoil from the experienced veterans of the light brigade who win the hand to hand combat

The light brigade cheers their victory and can sense the the tide is turning. However both Spanish brigades are disrupted

To add insult to injury, the light brigade gets skirmish fire on the retreated Russians

South of the town, now defended by Russian troops again, the 2nd brigade turns around and attacks the Russian infantry who had been sneaking up on them

To the south, the Russians assault the Spanish conscripts, and break them!

This now leaves the Allied LOC open, with only the wavering Spanish regulars barley holding it! The Spanish lancers to their rear try and delay an entire enemy division closing on them off camera to the east

The Cossack's continue to waltz away from their Portuguese pursues 

The Spanish lancers waver from the enemy artillery fire

Allied rifle and light infantry pin down and disrupt the Russian forces to the west, with all three units getting pinned down by accurate rifle fire

To the north, the sneaking Russian infantry fall back from British steel, while the fire from the town is too inaccurate to have an effect

I was lucky here- getting shot at in the flank by a large unit with artillery should have hurt.

With the Russian eastern division now wavering, the British move to close range

They rout under disciplined British volleys. The entire Russian right wing is disintegrating 

Though the Russian pincer movement on the allied LOC continues

The sneaking Russians rout from superior British firepower

The Russian eastern division closes in on the last wavering Spanish unit holding the allied line of retreat single-handed

The allied left flank turns towards the remains of the Russian western attack

While the last Spanish unit continues to barley hold on by their fingernails!

The Russian rear moves towards surrounding the Guard, who will not be able to withstand such an assault

The Russian eastern division still needs to move forward to be able to engage fully

...and with that...the Russian general orders the retreat. Too many units have fled or been destroyed by allied bayonets, muskets and rifles. With their LOC cut and unable to rout the last Spanish unit, the Russians throw down their arms and discuss terms of surrender. The Battle is over!

The battle was over. I'd done enough damage and routed enough enemy units, without losing enough of my own, to win. The game lasted about 3.5 hours, pretty normal for a GiF game. 

My plan had worked, though I'd as usual made a number of mistakes. However, I think Dave's plan failed when the eastern division took too long to reach the front, though it was always going to be constrained by the terrain, and it was still a close run thing. A few bad or good rolls either way would have changed the outcome. 

More post battle thoughts and a copy of my army list were previously posted here.