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Thursday, October 3, 2019

Take One Aspern...

The taking of Aspern
and call me in the morning. I know, I know...

Scott hosted an Age of Eagles (AoE) Napoleonic game but the battle remained nameless until we arrived.  When I entered the game room, below is the sight I saw:
He asked if I could guess the battle.  Trivial question.  Looked like Aspern-Essling to me.  Beautiful layout!

Kevin, ever the Francophile, wanted to command the French under Napoleon while Scott and I split the larger attacking Austrian army.  I took command of the Austrian left and Reserve while Scott commanded the Austrian right.  My focus would be on taking Essling.  Scott's goal was to take Aspern.  The French would receive reinforcements but not until Turn 8 of the battle.  Could Napoleon be pushed into the Danube before reinforcements arrive?  That was the Austrian goal and my hope.
Austrian Left poised to attack Essling
Austrian Right with sights on Aspern
While the Austrian Reserve awaits activation, the ponderous Austrian Army lurches into motion.  On the Austrian Left, the troops advance cautiously toward the stronghold of Essling.  Being Linear infantry under AoE, Austrians in line move slowly.  Very slowly.  
Austrians advance upon Essling
On the Austrian right, no time is lost.  Scott mounts an aggressive attack from the onset of battle.  Aspern and its French defenders are under pressure immediately.  The defenders hold a hot-hand early on in repelling their attackers but the weight of the enemy force is undeniable.
Initial assaults on Aspern
Soon, Austrians are attacking in depth and enveloping the well-defended town.  In rapid succession, block after block of the village falls to the White Menace.  Action is very hot on the Austrian right while the French positions are bending but not broken.  
French defense of Aspern collapses
Back on the Austrian left, progress is slow for my Austrian commands as they methodically advance upon Essling.  With their backs against the Danube and re-enforcements forced to enter over a sole bridge, the French will be in a pickle if Essling falls too soon.  My objective is to press on Essling and cut the French line of communications and its retreat.
Austrian left advances upon Essling
With three large Austrian battalions closing to within musketry range of Essling, the two Austrian battalions on the extreme left attack.  Softened by artillery fire, the French are pushed back.  The French battery on the road is driven off allowing for a bit of relief to the attackers. 
French right is pushed back
Casualties to the Austrians on the French right are light.  The Austrians opposite Essling are hesitant to assault without having first softened up the defenders.  Musketry is mostly ineffective against the walled defenders.  On the French far-right flank, the French defenders continue to fall back from the threat of the two Austrian battalions.  A French battery is over-run in a failed stand following a breakthrough charge.  A few French battalions are pushed back into the swamp.  With luck, the swamp will slow the pursuit of their attackers.  
French Right softens.
As the French right bends back, a second approach to Essling is unveiled.  With the added weight of two batteries finally in position to support the attack on Essling, the defenders begin to waver.  In the center between the two villages, French hussars attack.  Successful in their first clashes with the Austrian cuirassiers, the troopers are dealt a deadly blow and break back toward the river.  With three of four Aspern town blocks taken on the Austrian right, Scott, with hands clasped, watches on as the action around Essling heats up.   
With Aspern 3/4 taken,
Scott watches on to the action at Essling
Having finally disordered Essling's defenders, the Austrian attack!  With attacks all along this axis, the French are unable to be everywhere at once.  This may be a pivotal point in the battle.  If the French can be dislodged, one town sector may fall and the second may be in jeopardy.  Tension is high as melees for the town begin.
Austrian attack on Essling
Austrian fusiliers assault Essling
The wavering defenders can not withstand the determination of their attackers.  Both assaults against Essling succeed as the survivors clamber over debris to reach safety of the second Essling town block.  The French extreme right is driven back even farther into the swamp.  A second French battery is at significant risk of loss as it remains on the road outside of Essling.  The second Essling town block nears envelopment. 
One block of Essling falls
At this point in the action, we stopped for a lunch break.  We expected to return in the afternoon to complete the battle but the lure of participating in a trivia contest at the pub was too much.  The game will be fought to conclusion on Sunday.
Battle overview at end of gaming session
What about the current situation?  My sense is that the French are in real trouble.  While I have not seen Austrian casualties suffered in the assaults on Aspern, Austrian casualties on the left have been very light.  My recollection is that only two or three stands have been lost in taking all of this ground.  All units are still Fresh and able to dish-out and absorb punishment on an offensive.  When we reconvene, Game Turn 6 will begin.  French reinforcements arrive on Turn 8.  That leaves two turns to push the French back from Essling and cut the bridge.  Is this realistic?  I think it may be.  French units around Essling have suffered greatly.  When French reinforcements do arrive, they will be lucky to debouch from the swamp and out onto the Marchfeld unmolested.  

For a perspective from the Austrian right, see Scott's account at Game Day - Aspern Essling.

48 comments:

  1. Great looking game. Highly readable report. Looking forward to hearing the results. I imagine pushing the french down the road and through the forest might be tricky, but that reinforcements will struggle to deploy on the battle side of the river. Cliff hanger!

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    1. Thanks, Dave! Your encouraging comments are good motivations. This is a Cliff Hanger only due to having not yet played out the remainder of the battle!

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  2. Lovely looking game and a great description of the action. Things look good for the Austrians, but I've seen too many battles swing the other way after a lunch break! Fingers crossed for the Austrians (my favourite 18th & 19th centuries army) in part 2.

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    1. Much appreciated, Steve!

      At present, the outcome looks favorable to the Austrian cause, for sure. Will it maintain that position, we will see when play resumes.

      The Austrians have always been one of my favorites, as well, for 18th and 19th Century armies.

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  3. How can you leave us in suspense like that?! It is warming my Austrophile heart to see them beating the French like this!

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    1. Hi Nathan! Leaving the battle in suspense was the only option since we have yet to conclude the game! With luck, we will reconvene on Sunday to conclude this fight.

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  4. I do love a battle over a real objective - like a town - rather than meeting engagements over well manicured open golf courses! What a lovely mess, that assault on the town!

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  5. Great report and fine looking game - thanks for this. You're obviously an expert at AoE, which rules are unfamiliar to me - any comment on the rules?

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    1. Thank you, Tony! Good to hear from you!

      I am no expert at AoE by a longshot. Looking back through posts, AoE was last seen on the gaming table back in June 2013. More than six years!

      We were a bit rusty at the beginning of the game but game mechanisms and proper tactics returned in no time. If you are familiar with the original Brigade Fire & Fury (BFF) ACW rules, you will be quite familiar with AoE. AoE is a direct descendant of BFF.

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  6. That is a fantastic looking game, and sounds like you're stuck right in it. Looking forward to the conclusion!

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    1. Thanks, Markus! Scott set up a fine looking table. I look forward to the conclusion too. We may have the French on the ropes or on the Danube as the case may be.

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  7. Great looking table and maneuvering troops, Jonathan. I suppose one could say, Aspern gave the French a headache. :)

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    1. Thanks, Dean! Yes, I am certain the attacks on Aspern gave the French a headache. Good one!

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  8. Wonderful looking game. I love the 1809 campaign and in particular Aspern-Essling. Glad this is being gamed to a conclusion and that things are still so open!

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    1. The 1809 campaign is one of my favorites as well. The battle will be fought to a conclusion on Sunday, hopefully ending in success for the Austrians.

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  9. Very nicely done battle report, easy to follow, keeping up with pictures and text. Quite stolid, waiting overnight to finish.

    Of course, an extra day to enjoy the troops!

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    1. Thanks very much for your encouraging comments! We will not be fighting Part 2 of the battle until this weekend so you have few days to enjoy Part 1.

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  10. As mentioned above, a real cliff hanger! Look forward to finding out how it plays out.

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    1. I look forward to seeing how it all turns out too!

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  11. That’s a fine game you’ve got going there Jonathan. The Austrians are one of my favourites as well. However, you might want to check that 1809 Austrians are listed as Columnar in AoE. The Linear category only applies to the earlier armies. That should improve your movement but will reduce your firepower.

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    1. That is an interesting point about the Austrian doctrine. Given my abysmal musketry thus far, I would gladly exchange firepower for speed. The Austrians under my command have been much more eager to go in with the bayonet rather than engage in a fire fight.

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  12. Hopefully the French will need an Aspern or two by the time you have finished. I find Austrians very hard to use, especially as they remain linear in our rules until 1813, although the rifle-armed Jagers are very nice

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    1. Hi Lawrence. Strange but there are no Austrian Jaegers on the field in this battle. Well, at least none on the Austrian left or Reserve. Maybe there are light formations in the Austrian formations on the right? I was so busy during the fight, I rarely made it down to that end of the table to check up on actions.

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  13. I do love everything about the French and Austrian battles of the Napoleonic Wars Jonathon. A splendid looking table and figures.

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    1. I am with you, Carlo, regarding the 1809 battles. Thanks for the visit!

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  14. Best post title of the year candidate--for one :)
    Pushing toy soldiers being interrupted by a trip to the pub, such wonderful dilemmas you have there!
    Looking forward to the resumption of activities.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the title, Ed! I am sure it generated a few groans when read.

      It was a fun day at the tables with the guys. Looking forward to a resumption of the battle this weekend.

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  15. Great report Jonathan. You certainly seem to the the French on the ropes.

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  16. Lovely looking game, your surely up at the end of the first half, let's hope there is no come back!
    Best Iain

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    1. I don't plan on giving the French a chance for a comeback!

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  17. A fabulous looking game Jonathan. Congratulations to you all and particularly to you for the excellent reportage. I really like that a visit to the pub has made it a two-day affair!
    With a bit of luck, the French will hold for two more turns and upset the Austrian cheer squad amongst the commentators above! :) (Apologies to you, of course!).

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the battle account, James! Good to see you back in the comments section too!

      With the Austrians as the seemingly perennial underdogs, perhaps, others are hoping to see the Austrians pull one out. AoE seems a pro-French set of rules so we will see if the French can turn it around.

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  18. I think it’s pretty neat to be able to ID a battle just from the set up. Not sure I would be able to say that but maybe this is one of those Nappy scenarios that everyone plays all the time.
    Sounds like a great weekend in progress. If I ever got into naps I think AoE would be the rules I would start with. Are these 15s or 28s ? Can’t tell from the pics.
    I would not be tempted away from miniature gaming by trivia, since I’ve always been bad at trivia. I guess I’ve also always been bad and miniatures but there you go! I’d go for the drinks and friends. 😀
    Great post and good luck on closing in on your victory.

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    1. Stew, we reconvene tomorrow (Sunday) to decide the battle. Can the French hang on and back a come-back? We will see. Glad you are enjoying the battle account.

      As for skipping the remainder of the days' gaming to participate in a pub trivia contest, well, there was a bit of ego involved and we figured we could knock out any competition in a trivia contest. What we didn't expect was how poorly the three of us are at pop culture...

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  19. Great report and game. Ah, took me a bit, Asprin, lol, it's early.

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  20. Excellent job and yes obviously Aspern-Essling, one I'm planning at the moment also :)

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    1. Thank you! I will be looking for your Aspern-Essling.

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  21. Looks great; with the bridge broken and the planned reinforcements very late, Aspern is a very difficult battle for the french to even draw... as it should be!

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    1. Thanks! The battle and troops were all of Scott’s handiwork. The bridge had no chance of going out in this game so the French did not have that possibility to worry about. It would be fun to refight this and see if the same result occurs.

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