Wednesday, September 4, 2019

San Martino Battle: Game 2 Part 2

The most recent Battle of San Martino begun in July was fought to conclusion a few weeks ago.  The first part of the battle report can be found at Battle San Martino Game 2.

At the stopping point in the first battle session, Benedek and his Austrian Corps held the central position and controlled the tempo of the battle.  By acting aggressively, the Austrians gained all of the Objectives on and around the San Martino Heights early on.  Pushing beyond these objectives, the San Martino Heights were soundly in Austrian hands.  As Sardinian reinforcements reached the battlefield in a piecemeal fashion, Benedek was able to rebuff each reinforcing column's progress one at a time.
Situation at 10:30am
When the battle resumed on the 10:30am turn, the situation finds Durando's Sardinian division pressing upon the Austrian left, threatening the objective of Madonna del Scorpeta.  Heavy with grenadiers, Durando makes headway against his Austrian counterparts.  Koller and Gaal's Austrians, detached from the 5th Corps fighting to the south, are pushed back through the woods.  Mollard's third brigade to reach the field under the command of Morozzo begins to deploy as his brigade reaches the railway line.  With Mollard's recce column practically destroyed in the early morning fighting around San Martino, wresting control of the heights falls upon Morozzo's shoulders.  Cucchiari's two-brigade division takes on a similar task.  With Benedek holding all of the objectives and switching over from offensive operations to a strong defensive mindset, would the Sardinians have the force to throw the Austrians out of their strongpoints?
Durando's Sardinians pressing the Austrian left
Austrians form a defensive line as
Sardinian reinforcements arrive
Facing a tough white wall of Austrians, the Sardinians swallow hard and step off towards the Austrians lines.  Almost immediately, Morozzo's brigade finds itself under pressure on the approaches to San Martino as the Austrians wheel in on the left of his Sardinians.  As the Austrians swing in, a few Sardinian battalions are sacrificed in an attempt to refuse the flank and establish a more defensible position.
Morozzo under pressure early
On the Sardinian right, Cucchiari's 5th Division is hit by repeated volleys from the longer-ranged Austrian rifled muskets before the smoothbore carrying Sardinians can close.  The lead battalions in Pettinengo's brigade are all shaken by the hail of lead.  Luckily, Gozani's brigade reaches the village of Centenaro, defended by Austrian jagers, almost intact. 
The Austrian reinforced line looks formidable
Sardinians suffer in the advance
At this point in the battle, the situation is mixed.  Durando's Division continues to pressure the Austrian left with Koller and Gaal giving up ground begrudgingly.  The Sardinians are well placed on the ridge but losses continue to mount as the Austrians stand back and blast the Sardinians as they emerge from the cover of the woods.  The contact point between Cucchiari and Durando is becoming tenuous.  With Austrian resistance mounting on this front, Sardinian troops must flip to a defensive posture.  
The hinge linking Cucchiari and Durando weakens
Seeing the momentum shift in the valley, the Austrians waste no time.  Collecting a force of both infantry and cavalry, the Austrians strike into the weakening Sardinian position between the intersection of the two Sardinian divisions.  Already shaken from earlier losses, the Sardinians crumble when facing the cavalry and break.  The Sardinian gun narrowly escapes as the Sardinian position collapses  
An Austrian breakthrough
Not realizing that the Austrians have affected a split between his own division and Durando, Gozani attempts a similar ploy by concentrating and attack against the hinge of the Austrian line.  His hope is for a successful breakthrough.  Still ignorant to threat to his flank, Gozani attacks.  If the successful Austrian breakthrough turns upon his flank, Gozani may find himself in serious jeopardy.
Overall situation about 11:30am
Not seeing the Austrian breakthrough off to his right, Gozani begins his assault against Centenaro.  Gozani's brigade experiences surprising success as first the jaegers are pushed from the village and then a gap appears in the Austrian line as an Austrian battalion withdraws from the fighting.
Gozani attacks the defenders of Centenaro
The Austrians take more casualties and disruption as battalions are forced back onto their supports causing more battalions to waver.  Have the Sardinians finally found and exploited a weakness?  If the Sardinians could gain the initiative before the Austrian gap is plugged, this breach could turn into a breakthrough.  Of course, Gozani, still does not recognize that his own line has similarly been breached.
Sardinians breach the Austrian defenses
Despite the breach in the line, the Austrians coolly fall back and reform.  Bringing up the reserve artillery into the second line of defense, this line looks more imposing than the original.
Austrian second line forms
Will every attack upon the Austrian positions stymied and Berger's Austrian division threatening to envelop Mollard on the Sardinian left, the King calls off the attack.  Benedek performed his job superbly on this day preventing both the Sardinians from linking up with the French to the south at Solferino and cutting off the Austrian line of retreat. 
Situation at end of battle
That was a hard-fought battle with the Sardinians coming up short throughout the day.  Having never seized the initiative made the Sardinian situation one of reaction rather than action.  Being back-footed throughout the battle was agonizing.  The larger, Austrian battalions coupled with their superior rifled-musket made for a tough day on the field of battle.  Casualties were severely lopsided.  The Sardinians suffered greatly while attempting to get within smoothbore range.  In the few situations where they did manage to get in close, close combat saw some success.  The Sardinians must realize that in these situations the bayonet is a friend.  Closing with the more powerful Austrians proved nearly impossible.  Even Austrian cavalry saw success when it attacked weakened units and drove them from the field.  In the final analysis, the Austrian infantry were likely over-rated in this contest.  The combinations of their Combat Effectiveness, size, and weapon superiority were too much to overcome.  Next time these troops take to the field, I will give the Austrian infantry a downgrade and see if that improves play balance.  

As the Sardinian commander, I was outplayed, outwitted, and outlasted...but it was fun!

45 comments:

  1. Great game Jonathan, sometimes it just doesn't go your way......

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    1. Thanks, Ray! When fighting against my friend, Jake, a victory is rare.

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    2. Not that rare. Admittedly I have had a fairly good streak over the last year, but it is not all roses. Although we tend to go down in flames when we play on the same side a lot.

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  2. An entertaining report Jonathan. Austrian battalions are difficult to wear down, and their being armed with rifles seems like it would be a very difficult task.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the report, Lawrence!

      The Austrians were very tough in this one. The White Menace may have been over-rated a bit. Of course, my opponent is a seasoned veteran at the game table and makes few mistakes.

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  3. Looks beautiful and intense...Great report!

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  4. You may have lost but it sure read and looked as a cracker of a game!

    Christopher

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    1. Thank you very much for your encouragement, Christopher!

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  5. Great looking game, the Austrians sound tough, sounds like fun whatever the outcome!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain! Pushing troops across a big table in good company is always fun no matter the outcome.

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  6. Just caught up with this, now that is wargaming, splendid stuff.

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    1. George! Glad you found the time to catch on this two-part battle report and doubly happy that you enjoyed it!

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  7. That was a lovely looking game and certainly one full of action. You may have lost, but you enjoyed yourself which is the most important thing.

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    1. Very glad to see that you enjoyed the battle report, Steve! Having a fun gaming session with friends is paramount, for sure.

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  8. Really nice game, enhanced by the narrative of different things happening in different places on the battlefield, with one fought in ignorance of the other- nice touch.

    For the sake of the game / scenario a tweak with the Austrians seems the way to go. In the period, would the Austrians have so confidently and roughly handled the Sardinian forces?

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    1. Thanks for your comments, Norm. Much appreciated!

      While in the actual battle the Sardinians were not so roughed up, the outcome was similar to this game. That is, the Austrian Corps prevented the Sardinian army from accomplishing its mission of destroying Benedek and cutting off the main Austrian army's line of retreat following the defeat at Solferino.

      Historically, the Sardinians attacked piecemeal sending each brigade or division into the fray when it arrived onto the battlefield. They never did manage to make a concerted attack until Benedek began withdrawing from the field after receiving word of the defeat at Solferino.

      Next time, the Austrians will be given a slight downgrade.

      Note in the San Martino game fought earlier in the year with different generals, the Sardinian army had great success against a more timid Austrian commander. Results go both ways and rely upon each army's battle plan and success in carrying it out.

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    2. Thanks Jonathan, a tweak looks to have more than just game justification. I like gaming and post game analysis and draws these sort of things out.

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  9. Boo for the Austrians! Hiss! 😀

    What are all the chit markers for?

    Nicely written conclusion to the battle and great fun to see all the units and the whole battle lines. Very pretty. 😀

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    1. The Austrian took the upper hand and held on firmly. My opponent played well and gave me a thrashing fair and square.

      Glad you like the look of the game and the AAR. Thanks for sticking through it!

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    2. The numbered chits denote a unit's current Combat Effectiveness Value. Typically these range from 1 to 5. When it drops to 0, the unit is scattered and removed from the field.

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  10. Lovely game and captivating narrative. Having to assault an enemy who enjoys superior quality weapons is a real bummer. I feel your pain.

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    1. Mike, pleased to see that you enjoyed the narrative. Writing up battle reports takes a lot of effort for me. Seeing appreciation provides the encouragement I need to continue.

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  11. A most entertaining game judging by your game report and narrative. I liked the overhead photos of the game in progress.

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    1. This was a satisfying conclusion to the game. The rules played smoothly and provided a very useful play test. The overhead photos help me to reconstruct the battle after the fact.

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  12. Great report Jonathan, but every time I read a report of this conflict it makes me want to collect even more!

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  13. Well done to Benedek. Nice to see the Austrians come out on top, even if it was a loss for you Jonathan.

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    1. Benedek commanded masterfully on this day. I’ll get him next time...

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  14. Austrians big units and the cult of white uniforms!

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  15. Great looking game and report, Jon. Jake is a formidable opponent... even with Austrians under his command! :-)

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    1. Thanks, Peter! Jake is a formidable opponent, for sure, but I wish it no other way. Every game is a challenge and a victory well earned.

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  16. Excellent write-up and scenario design to boot. I really was able to sink my teeth into this one, and the outcome was not nearly as one sided as it appears. Several of those initiative rolls were nail-biters with things sitting on the edge as the battle developed. The battle over Madonna del Scorpeta was really the crux for the entire battle that seemed to develop at of nowhere. Exciting time and an excellent experience as always. I am still chomping at the bit to try the Sardinian side at some point as well.

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    1. Thanks on both counts, Jake!

      San Martino provides interesting situations, challenges, and opportunities to both the Austrians and Sardinians. The Sardinians "almost" turned the flank at Madonna del Scoperta but not quite.

      This replay brought up a few situations that will be addressed next time. Only a slight mod. to the QRS needed to reduce the Austrian power a bit. We can pull the troops from the boxes and tackle this one another time.

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  17. Been reading through your posts on this and the background history. Not a period I was familiar with. Large and impressive setup for the game, it looks great Jonathan!

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    1. Thanks, Mark! Pleased to see that you took the time to go back and read up on old posts on San Martino.

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  18. A lovely looking and sounding game Jonathan... as always.

    It has made for a good breakfast read... ;-)

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Hi Aly! Glad the battle report provided an enjoyable breakfast read!

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