Pages

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Mollwitz, A Battle Report

On the anniversary of the battle, the two armies once again take to the field.  This time, the outcome would be settled in a remote game against Chris (Horse and Musket Gaming).  Today's contest would be Chris' first game of Honours of War (HoW) but not his first remote game.  Chris chose to command the Austrians.  I would lead the Prussia army.

As a refresher, the two armies facing each other were deployed as shown below:

Initial dispositions
View from behind the Prussian lines.

The primary objective for the two armies is to either break their opponent or occupy Mollwitz.  Would Chris, at the head of the Austrian army, reverse history and see a victory for the Whitecoats or would the Prussian infantry, once again, carry the day?

Calm in the Austrian lines before the Prussian attack.

We will see.

Austrian cavalry advance.
Seizing the initiative, Neipperg orders both cavalry wings to advance upon the enemy.  The goal is to defeat the Prussian cavalry wings before the Prussian infantry can reach the Austrian infantry lines deployed in front of Mollwitz. 
Austrian cavalry advance continues.
On the Austrian left, Romer squares up his large cavalry wing in preparation to overpower Schulenburg's weaker cavalry.  The Prussian infantry plods forward through the snow.  On the Austrian right, Berlichingen's cavalry crosses the frozen stream and challenges the Prussian hussars defending the crossing.  The hussars put up little resistance despite the timely arrival of support.
Clash at the crossing.
Prussian cavalry driven back in great disorder.
While the Prussian infantry in the center march forward, some of Romer's cavalry out on the left wing take fire from both guns and grenadiers.  Romer draws up his massive formation in preparation for an attack against the Prussian right.
Cavalry clash on the Prussian right.
Romer prepares to attack.
The Austrian cavalry formations taking fire retire out of harm's way as Romer launches a cavalry charge into Schulenburg's cavalry.  Outnumbered and outclassed, Schulenburg's cavalry recoil. 
Romer attacks!
Schulenburg's cavalry wing is crushed in the attack and scattered.   Only grenadiers remain in Schulenburg's command.  Frederick has seen enough.  He leaves the battlefield concerned for his own safety.  Schwerin takes over command of the Prussian army.
Schulenburg isolated on the battlefield.
Having destroyed the Prussian right cavalry wing, Romer turns his attention to mopping up the grenadiers and artillery that remain.  The Prussian right has been turned.  Ignoring the growing threat, Prussian infantry continue their advance upon Mollwitz.  They have yet to reach the enemy lines.
Grenadiers and artillery with nowhere to hide.
Unable to respond, the Prussian right is attacked viciously.  The artillery and grenadiers, isolated by the destruction of their brethren, are attacked. To add insult to injury, the Prussian second line is attacked.
Prussian right crumbles.
Prussian infantry march toward Mollwitz
while the Austrians await.
All three attacks meet with success and the Prussians are scattered at the hands of Romer's jubilant cavalry.  Seeing the destruction of the Prussian right and the slow progress of the Prussian infantry, Neipperg shifts his second infantry line to the right as the front line comes under musketry fire.  Can the Austrians shift to their right without becoming entangled? 
Austrian second line shifts as
Romer mops up stragglers.
After dispatching the Prussian left cavalry wing, Berlichingen crosses back over the stream to threaten the main body.  Both Prussian infantry lines come under pressure as they attempt to turn to meet this unexpected threat. 
Prussian left is attacked!
Action on the Prussian left
as Berlichingen crashes into the Prussian infantry.
Even with pressure mounting on the flanks, the Prussians could win the day if the Austrian infantry to their front can be destroyed and Mollwitz taken.

That is not to be.

Uncharacteristically for the poorly trained Austrian, they let loose many volleys with devastating results.  All along the line, Prussian infantry are stopped and then repulsed. 
Prussian center repulsed!
Prussian fight a desperate rear-guard action.
Romer's cavalry are repulsed in great disorder.
The Prussians suffer mightily within reach of Mollwitz.
The Prussian army has broken.  The battle is over.

Chris and the Austrian army hold on to gain an impressive victory on the field at Mollwitz.  Well played.  Masterfully executed.  Chris demonstrated how the Austrians can win at Mollwitz.  While I have witnessed a few close calls by the Austrians, this is the first bona fide victory in my books.  Congratulations to the victor!

Great fun.  Hopefully, I will meet Chris on the field of battle again.

35 comments:

  1. Superb battle report and a well deserved victory for the Austrians

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the battle report! Yes, the Austrians accomplished a well-deserved victory.

      Delete
  2. That is one fine looking game, a history changer too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Much appreciated, Phil! Yes, Chris overturned the historical applecart on this one!

      Delete
  3. A fine looking game and a nice win to Chris. The pressure on both flanks looked decisive and very hard to overcome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Yes, a comprehensive win for Chris. He was decisive on both flanks and then my center was compromised. I could not get the Prussian infantry to close fast enough. Too many failed activations for my liking. After that, well, you see what happened.

      Delete
  4. Excellent report of a great game. Kudos once again on the troops and scenery....looks very believable as troops moving and fighting. Nice inclusion of your opponents face on some of the shots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Joe! Good to see that these reports are read and enjoyed.

      If you look closely at the screenshots showing Chris, you can also see the view from the second webcam showing the table from the Prussian perspective.

      Delete
  5. Great looking game as always and glory for Austrians!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Michal! Yes, Glory for the Austrians on this day.

      Delete
  6. Great report and excellent game Jonathan. History changed too, though it was nice to see that the final result was still in the balance, though with both flanks collapsing an Prussian victory seemed distant. In this situation Frederick was right to leave early. A very enjoyable read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Much appreciated, Richard!

      Yes, Chris overturned history and in a decisive manner. Had the Prussian line not been stopped just short of Mollwitz, the Prussian Army might still have salvaged the day. Perhaps not!

      The Prussian flanks collapsed quickly. Too quickly to prevent the Prussian infantry from being harassed before they could close with the enemy in front of Mollwitz.

      Delete
  7. Many thanks Jon for being a great host. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

    Great AAR. And the pictures look fab. As for the Austrian tactics, it was fairly obvious what they should do. It’s just a question of can the cavalry do enough damage to the Prussians before the infantry gets overwhelmed. In the game the Austrian infantry gave a good account of themselves with some good/lucky shooting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome! Glad to see you enjoyed the battle. I sure did.

      At Mollwitz, both armies have definite strategies that ought to be employed for success. Unfortunately for the Prussians, your Austrians performed much more efficiently in their outing than did my Prussians.

      This asymmetry in strategy and tactics makes for an interesting game.

      Delete
  8. Lovely looking game and a great result for the New Malden kaiserlichs!
    Best Iain

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am unsure whether you at being modest about your own conduct in this game Jon, but the report reads like a very one sided affair....did the Austrians have a significant numerical advantage here? The two cavalry actions on the wings seemed like one way traffic and were settled decisively very early in the game, which seemed to be the pivotal actions that swung the battle the Austrians way....I would be interested to read your opponents perspective of the game!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It wasn’t as one-sided an affair as it appears Keith. The Austrian cavalry was both more numerous, and better quality than the Prussians’, which obviously helped with a decisive re-creation of the historical cavalry actions. This racked up 6 or 7 VPs.

      First blood actually went the Prussians way when I foolishly let my hussars be blasted away to little effect. I then proceeded to shuffle back my infantry, to delay the inevitable onslaught of the blue coated hordes (more of them and better quality than the Austrians).
      By the game end I had a lot of units close to collapsing (both horse and foot), so whilst the win was clear in terms of units destroyed, one more turn might have radically altered the balance. In trading space for time, I also came dangerously close to Mollwitz, one of the Prussian objectives.

      Delete
    2. Keith, the action on the wings was decisive, for sure, but a little luck in the center may have seen Prussian infantry in Mollwitz with their Austrian counterparts running for the hills. In the center, it was a footrace to reach Mollwitz before the Austrian cavalry could turn back toward Mollwitz and disrupt the Prussian juggernaut.

      For my opponent's perspective, see Chris' (nundanket) reply.

      Delete
    3. Chris, I agree with your assessment.

      Just as nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, nobody expects 1741 Austrian infantry to stand toe-to-toe with Prussian infantry and see them off!

      Delete
  10. Beautiful figures and table, and the result was surprising but welcome!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a cracking game and wonderful to see Chris and the Austrians pulling off a famous win:). As you say, over time I've seen games where the Austrians have come close, but not close enough for a win.

    I agree that the Austrians need an early and decisive win by their cavalry on both flanks for them to stand a chance. Chris' plan of trading space for time was a sound one, which again is almost a prerequisite to prevent the Austrian infantry succumbing to the superior Prussian infantry.

    Hopefully a re-match might be in the offing whilst these troops are set up on the table?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was a real battering for the Prussians!

      Chris played the command perfectly and destroyed the Prussian cavalry wings before the Prussian infantry could close. Even when the Prussian infantry were in musketry range, Chris shot them to pieces!

      Good to see the Austrians CAN win at Mollwitz; just not be me, I guess...

      A replay may be in the cards although I have a second Mollwitz battle raging with David that ought to see a conclusion on Friday.

      Delete
  12. Looks great and sounded like a good, tight, exciting game! I'm getting just a tad nostalgic for the days of massed 15mm armies!
    Must go lie down in a dark room till I feel better :) ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The game was fun, for sure. Made even better by a having a very cunning opponent. Maybe during your rest, you can have visions of massed 15mm armies parading through your head?

      Delete
  13. Lovely to see the nicely organized battle lines shift and change over the course of the battle. One of the things that makes linear type warfare fun to watch bc you can see the battle. Nice job on the report! 😀

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Stew! Good to have your approval on the look of the battlefield!

      Delete
  14. A great looking game - and always good to see the Austrians (the "good guys" ;-)) win. I shall leave Jon to report on the 2nd Battle of Mollwitz which we fought to a finish today after a pretty gruelling contest for both sides. It was a Near Run Thing!

    Cheers,

    David.

    ReplyDelete