Rear Guard at Heidenheim - Part 3 Conclusion

 Turn 3

A break in the smoke covering the battlefield brings a new beat to the sound of battle as a full brigade of French Cuirassiers charge the waiting Austrian Dragoons. Marshal Marmont has finally managed to get General of Division d'Hautpoul moving with his entire Cavalry Reserve Division. The French heavy cavalry lead the assault to break the center of the Austrian line while the remaining light cavalry of the 6^th Hussars and the 8^th Chasseurs charge the lines of retreating Austrian infantry.

The impact of the French Cuirassiers is immediately felt as half of the Austrian #2 Dragoons Hohenlohe regiment breaks immediately and disperses from the field. The other half of the regiment is locked in a vicious melee of rearing horses and slashing sabers.

Figure 31 - French Cuirassiers Break the Austrian Lines

Rear Guard at Heidenheim - Part 2 The Battle

 Turn 1

The rear-guard action starts with both von Werneck and Marmont issuing orders to their ADCs to be passed on to the division and brigade commanders. Marmont focuses on calling up his artillery and ordering his 1^st Infantry Division to assault the Austrian grenadiers to their front. Von Werneck orders some of his ADCs to seek out General Mack while the rest of his ADCs hurry to issue orders to the grenadiers facing the French advance. Word quickly comes back to Marmont that the II Corps Artillery is moving up and will arrive on the field shortly and that the infantry assault of the 1^st Division will commence immediately. Much to Marmont’s frustration, General of Division d’Hautpoul commander of the Cavalry Reserve, seems to have only ordered one of his two brigades forward, instead of moving the entire division forward as was ordered. This will slow down the planned French attack on the Austrian center.

Von Werneck does not fare much better, as no word seems to have come back from the ADCs about the status of General Mack’s reinforcements. There is also some hesitation in a few of brigade commanders on the field due to the situation at hand, causing a delay in the withdrawal of the Austrian 3^rd Infantry Division towards the Danube River.

Following his newly arrived orders from Marmont’s ADC, General de Brigade Soyez commander of the 2^nd Brigade in the French II Corps 1^st Infantry Division orders his battalions to charge the opposing Austrian Grenadiers. The 2^nd Battalion of the 35^th Line and the 1^st Battalion of the 11^th Line lead the charge with the remaining two battalions in the brigade lending support to the attack. As the assaulting battalions clear the brigade’s skirmisher screen the waiting Austrian grenadiers fire off volleys of well-coordinated musketry into the advancing French columns. The result is devastating on the already worn-out battalions of Soyez’s brigade and the attacking battalions break instantly under the brutal fire causing panic in the entire brigade. The attempt to quickly brush aside the exhausted Austrian grenadiers has failed for the moment and Soyez is forced to try and rally his brigade to avoid a general route of his two regiments.

Figure 1 - Austrian Grenadiers Hold off the French Assault.

Rear Guard at Heidenheim - Part 1 Game Setup

 Battle 2 – During Turn 7 of the Campaign, late afternoon.

Attacker: French

Objectives: Take the town of Heidenheim. Capture or destroy as many Austrian units as possible

Defender: Austrians

Objectives: Withdraw from the battlefield with more than 60% of remaining troops intact.

Special Objectives: Should General Mack arrive with sufficient forces, hold Heidenheim until game ends after turn 12.

Battle End conditions: 50% or more of the remaining Austrian brigades are routed off the field or after 12 turns.

Figure 1 - Battle Layout.

This battle takes place immediately after the end of Battle 1 – The Battle of Donauworth & Heidenheim, that was fought using the Blucher rules. At the start of this battle portions of both the French and Austrian armies are engaged in combat based upon where the previous battle ended. The French are still attempting to capture the town of Heidenheim and destroy as many Austrian units as possible while the Austrians are attempting to withdraw from the battlefield since there have been no reinforcements from the rest of the Austrian III Corps.