Weissenfels, 29 April 1813

The war for the liberation of Germany begins. Sensing weakness after Napoleon's defeat in Russia, his allied European opponents attack his Germanic empire. Bonaparte, however, has pulled together a large but untested new army and plans to drive back his enemies. A French spearhead pushes towards the main Coalition force in Leipzig- the village of Rocken must be taken from the defending Russians.

French cross the Rippach Stream.

I played Général d'Armée 2* with my opponent's glorious 18mm AB figures. Each figure is 20 men, each base is a company, each unit a battalion in a brigade. We refought the clash near Weißenfels early in the German campaign, from the 1813 supplement. 

The French Général de Division Souham has four infantry brigades and a cavalry brigade to take the village of Rocken. The Rippach Stream, however, is a major obstacle and can only be crossed at the villages of Stroßwitz, Göhren, and Rippach.

I was the Russian General Winzingerode. I only had two infantry brigades to cover the three crossings, and three cavalry brigades to cover gaps. Can I slow the French advance to Leipzig?

The Russian defenders' view. The stream separates the combatants.
I defended Göhren and Rippach and trusted the cavalry
to hinder advances from Stroßwitz. The ultimate French objective is Rocken.

I've broken the battlefield into three sectors to aid the reader:

1. The Russian left- The clash outside Stroßwitz

Cavalry canter across the fields opposite Stroßwitz,
as French infantry appear in the distance.

Untested French conscripts march throught Stroßwitz to the ford.

The Russian cavalry advances-
how will the conscripts respond?

They fail to form square, and fall back across the stream!
The cavalry trots back to offer a repeat challenge.

Nearby, an artillery battalion exchanges fire with
French cannon on a distant rise.

A second battalion crosses, and meets the hussars.
The French have a toe across the stream- can they break out?

2. The Russian right- crossing at Rippach

On the right, Chasseraux's infantry brigade at Rippach.

Skirmishers harry the Russians across the stream.

The French are across!

The French deploy into line...

... and exchange volleys with the Russians.

More French cross the bridge and deploy.

Both sides are being whittled down...

... but have they noticed the flanking dragoons?

The French form square and repulse the cavalry,
but will they be able to reach Rocken in time?

3. The assault on Göhren

As the French cross at Rippach,
the Russians have garrisoned nearby Göhren.

The French are slow to advance to this important objective.

The first wave advances...

... and is repulsed.

After a pause, the second wave crashes...

... and takes the village! But is it enough?

At this point, we had to call the game due to time as General Winzingerode had to collect his toddler from the military academy. We were on turn 7 of 14, and the French were across the stream but still a very long way from Rocken and victory. Can the Russians still hold them?

Game end state. I have cavalry on both flanks, off-camera.

My cossacks, somewhat unreliable and didn't move all game,
but too nice not to photograph.

Our previous clash was with Général de Brigade (was it really 2021? how time flies.). I found Général d'Armée 2 a more abstracted ruleset and much less fiddly. Both sides struggled with hesitant and untested units. It was challenging for the French with limited crossing spaces forming bottlenecks, and also for the Russians with limited defenders unable to defend in depth.

We estimated 700-800 figures on the table.

Behind the cossacks, General Winzingerode commands in Rocken.

* I don't care; I'm putting the accents back in because it's cool.