Abensberg, 1809 - Napoleonic Battle Report

Brought out my Austrian, Bavarian and French Napoleonic collection today for a game.  It has been some time since the Austrians and Bavarians have seen the light of day as we've been playing mostly Peninsular battles with the French and British.

The battle today was based on the battle of Abensberg which took place on April 20th, 1809.  You can read more about the battle here.  My intention was to create a scenario that saw a lot of troops put into a small area that would force players to make tough decisions.

Abensberg, 1809

Side note --- when I did my Austrian army I included two banners in each unit.  Originally they represented brigades and the logic was that the multiple banners represented the fact that the unit was multiple regiments.  It also looked nice and used all the banners I had bought ... but I'm also fully aware that each regiment only actually carried one of their regimental banners into battle (leaving the other at home).

Austrian Order Of Battle

Commander:  Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann von Hiller

VI Armeekorps: Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann von Hiller
1 x Jager Companies, 1 x Grenz Infantry, 4 x Line Infantry, 1 x Artillery, 2 x Heavy Cavalry

V Armeekorps: Feldmarschall-Leutnant Archduke Louis
1 x Jager Companies, 1 x Grenz Infantry, 4 x Line Infantry, 1 x Artillery, 1 x Light Cavalry

II Reserve Armeekorps: Feldmarschall-Leutnant Michael von Kienmayer
3 x Grenadier, 1 x Heavy Cavalry, 1 x Artillery

French & Bavarian Order Of Battle

Commander:  Napoleon I of France

Provisional Corps: Marshal Jean Lannes
4 x Line Infantry, 1 x Light Infantry, 1 x Artillery
3 x Heavy Cavalry, 1 x Horse Artillery

VII (Bavarian) Corps: Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre
4 x Line Infantry, 1 x Light Infantry, 1 x Artillery

Württemberg (later VIII) Corps: General of Division Dominique Vandamme
3 x Line Infantry, 2 x Light Infantry, 1 x Artillery
2 x Light Cavalry, 1 x Heavy Cavalry

The Game

We strayed away from Black Powder today and used a modified version of the This Hallowed Ground rules we use for ACW.  There are significant changes and we worked out lots of little details here and there but overall the game was great.  We played four turns and there was a minor victory in favor of the French after a bloody battle.  The Austrian left flank broke first which was what tipped the scales.  The Bavarian brigade broke after some unfortunate order results and shooting.  

Pictures below of the battle.

More games coming up over the Christmas break so stay tuned for more battle reports.