The Battle of Donauworth & Heidenheim - Part 4

 The Battle is Lost, Retreat towards the Danube

Turn 9

At the start of turn 9, the French morale is at 7 and the Austrian morale is at 1. The Austrians are in desperate need of reinforcements to boost morale and provide fresh brigades with which to fight the French.

Even with the arrival of Napoleon, the momentum of the French army seems to fluctuate across the battlefield. This causes issues all across the French army command, resulting in failure to launch a full scale coordinated attack that involves both the fresh reinforcements and the troops currently engaging the Austrians. Doing what they can, the French launch attacks hoping to finally break the Austrian morale. The tipping point comes when the 8^th Chasseur Regiment is ordered to charge the Austrian III Corps 3^rd Infantry Division. This charge is desperately needed to help the lone remaining brigade of the French II Corps 2^nd Infantry division. The hard charging Chasseurs slam into the already unsteady #17 Grenzer Regiment shattering the regiment and forcing them to flee from the field handing victory to the French. This charge is not the last act in the battle, but it is the moment from which point the Austrians began to break from the engagement on mass as von Werneck tries to organize a withdraw of the remaining intact brigades of his command. His troops are going to have to fight their way out of this situation to get back across the bridges.

Figure 1 -The 8^th Chasseurs Charge into the Austrian Infantry.

The Battle of Donauworth & Heidenheim - Part 3

 The Battle at Midday: The French Reinforcements Arrive, where is Mack?

Turns 5-8

At the start of turn 5, the French morale is at 6 and the Austrian moral is at 3. At the end of turn 6, reinforcements can start arriving for both the Austrians and the French.

Shocked into action by the sudden Austrian counterattack, Marshal Marmont is finally able to get his corps moving again. However, he is now forced on to the defensive in the face of Austrians cavalry charges. Marmont sees that he is in the same situation the Austrian’s had faced earlier in the battle, with a gap in his lines and Austrian cavalry charging into the breach. Marmont issues orders instructing his 1^st Infantry Division redeploy and close the gap, the men of the 18^th Légère jump to the task wheeling about and marching towards the fray. The Batavian cavalry charges again as nearby French infantry open fire on the Austrian Dragoons. Hoping against all odds, the Batavian cavalry seek to force back one of the Austrian Dragoon brigades. This sacrificial charge fails to deal significant damage to the Austrian Dragoons and breaks the Batavian cavalry as result, dealing a blow to the French morale. Hopefully, this sacrifice has bought the French II Corps some time.

Figure 1 – The French II Corps Redeploys to Meet the Austrian Breakthrough.

The Battle of Donauworth & Heidenheim - Part 2

 The Morning of Battle: The Opening Shots

Turns 1-4

The battle opens with both French corps moving to attack the Austrians. Marshal Marmont orders that his corps should attack in echelon by division, starting with his 1^st Infantry Division leading the start of the maneuver. The goal is to break the Austrian troops guarding the road to Ulm, potentially hindering the arrival of reinforcements from the rest of the Austrian III Corps. A normal attack in echelon attack would typically have started on the opposite end of the French line from the intended target, but Marmont is hoping to throw off the Austrian general and get him to concentrate on the wrong objective, as the link between the two Austrian Corps on the field is just as important as the road to Ulm.

Figure 1 - French II Corps Advances in Echelon to Attach the Austrians

The Battle of Donauworth & Heidenheim - Part 1

 

The Battle of Donauworth & Heidenheim Overview and Setup

Battle 1 – During Turn 7 of the Campaign.

French: Attacker

Objectives drive Austrian army from the field and seize both Donauworth & Heidenheim.

Austrians: Defender

Hold both Donauworth & Heidenheim until the end of the battle.

Figure 1 - Battle Area as it Pertains to the Campaign Map