Zorndorf: Russian Right Attacked!

Manteuffel's grenadiers march off toward Russian lines 

Having reset the starting positions following the Zorndorf game in August, the troops have been awaiting patiently for a second battle since then.  With no Zorndorf replay in September and October half past, I tried a solo replay of a portion of the battle on Sunday.  This replay will focus on the first Prussian attack against the Russian right between Zabern-Grunde and Stein Busche.  See Zorndorf: A Tale of Two Battles for a recollection from that first battle fought on the 260th anniversary date).  Rules in use are Honours of War (HoW). 

In the first battle, Russian artillery on the Russian right could not take the counter battery pounding from the massed, Prussian guns.  Before Manteuffel's Prussian Advance Guard got close to the Russian line in its advance, the Russian guns were forced to withdraw.  The Prussian guns, greater in number, eventually overpowered the fewer, opposing Russian batteries as massed artillery fire was concentrated upon one Russian gun at a time.  After the Russian guns withdrew from the battle line, Prussian artillery could be directed towards the infantry.

While the Prussian gunners seemed to have the Russian batteries dialed-in during the first battle, perhaps an adjustment was in order despite the Prussian luck.  Looking at the HIT TABLE, the Prussians must have rolled a high proportion of '5's to cause the Russian guns to withdraw so quickly and effortlessly.  Even if die roll results were more moderate, four guns, massed could produce a similar result.  It would be more difficult to achieve, however.

To mitigate some of this carnage, two changes were implemented in my solo attempt.  Well, one change and one re-reading and interpretation of the rules.  With the historical terrain undulating with many a dip and dead zone, the first change was to provide Light Cover (-1 DRM) to all targets fired from Effective or Long Range.

The second mitigating factor was brought about by a careful study of the TARGET PRIORITIES section.  Having four guns fire on one target allowed enough hits to accrue during one fire phase to either destroy or force back an unfortunate target before any hit could be rallied off.  The TARGET PRIORITIES section states that,

if enemy units within the firing zone are close together, fire may have to be split between them...Distribute hits evenly.  

There are other restrictions on this but this passage suggests incoming fire is not so precise as to allow picking only one target from two that are in close proximity.  Putting this rule into effect limits the amount of damage one unit can take since a nearby unit must absorb half of the hits.  Actually, absorb every other hit with the primary target receiving the first hit in a multi-hit cannonade.  Is my reading and interpretation correct?  Even if not, I like the result and intuitively, I can buy into this notion.  Taken together, these two modifications may reduce the impact of artillery fire at greater than Canister Range in uneven terrain.

Will these changes make a significant difference to the outcome?  Time will tell but I think these changes are a step in the right direction to reducing the long range effects of artillery fire when artillery is distributed disproportionately along the battle line.  Could the same result still materialize as witnessed in the first game?  Of course!  It may not be quite so predestined or likely, though.

As mentioned up front, this scenario focuses only on the initial Prussian assault against the Russian right.  Manteuffel, Von Kanitz, and Marchall will be assigned the task of assaulting elements of Saltykov's 1st Line with elements of the Russian 2nd Line in support.  The action is documented in the series of captioned game photos below. 

At start positions

After preparatory bombardment, Manteuffel passes
 through the Prussian gun line with a double move.
Von Kanitz follows in support.

Long range artillery causes a few casualties

The Russians await

Artillery fire continues as the Prussians
 advance toward the Russian lines

Prussians close to battalion gun range as Marchall's
 cavalry move up to support the right.

Enemies face-off 

Casualties mount but exchanges are not decisive

Rather than facing a first fire from the Prussians,
 Saltykov's grenadiers charge into Manteuffel.
Few of the Prussians successfully countercharge.
Marchall countercharges into support.

Galytsin's 2nd line fails to move up in
support of Saltykov.  Grenadiers go in alone.

The clash!

Saltykov's grenadiers suffer from volley fire
 but shrug off the losses and go in.
Four melees see fierce fighting with heavy casualties.

In the four melee clash, three Prussian regiments
 are Done For against two Russian regiments lost.
A fourth Prussian regiment retreats.

Supports on both sides step up entering into the fray.

Prussian grenadiers on the left retreat
with heavy casualties

while a third Russian grenadier regiment is Done For.

Frederick calls off the attack.

With two Prussian regiments trying to reform, the lead grenadier regiment wavering, and Russian guns still threatening his assault, Frederick calls off the attack.  The Russian right held but only just.  While Saltykov lost all three Russian grenadier regiments, Galytsin's 2nd Line stepped up to plug the gap.  Manteuffel lost half of his brigade.  Had the fight continued, his remaining two regiments would have likely been spent too.

One of Marchall's dragoon regiments sacrificed itself with a frontal charge against a Russian musketeer regiment in order to prevent that regiment from lending support to another melee.  In those two clashes, all four participants were Done For.  Was the destruction of a Russian musketeer regiment in exchange for a Prussian dragoon regiment worth the sacrifice?  Ask the widows and orphans.  

Melees in HoW are decisive with exchanges continuing until one of the combatants is either forced back or destroyed.  Musketry and artillery fire can be decisive too especially if multiple fires can draw a bead on a single, unsupported target.  

What about the end result of a Prussian repulse?  The result seems plausible.  With Manteuffel stepping off before the Prussian bombardment could bear fruit, the Russian line was not suitably softened before the attack.  Even then, the Prussians nearly broke the Russian right.

What about Saltykov's taking the initiative and assaulting Manteuffel as the Prussians came up within battalion gun range?  That was a gamble.  Since Manteuffel's brigade was advancing, it would suffer a fire penalty during the Russian Charge Phase.  With the distance between the two formations close, Saltykov gambled that some of the Prussians would fail to countercharge (50% change to succeed).  Those Prussians failing to respond would suffer in the ensuing hand-to-hand combat.  In that first clash, Saltykov's bet paid off as few of the Prussians responded.

What about the rule modifications?  Decreasing lethality of artillery at long range when the ground is lumpy seemed reasonable.  This is a rule that I will likely maintain when the terrain warrants.  As for the targeting priorities, I like that interpretation a lot as it effectively spreads out the damage allowing units an increased chance of survivability.

Manteuffel's attack on the Russian right was a fun exercise and a perfect size and situation for a solo replay.  With a full battle refight set for this weekend, we will see if these changes affect the outcome.