Pages

Friday, July 22, 2022

Bassignana, A Battle Report

Having passed out Battle Briefings and set the table, it was time to rev-up the engines for the first of hopefully a few refights of the 1745 Battle of Bassignana.  First test would fall upon the shoulders of the UK-based Monday Night Group.  The battle would be fought remotely with five players in attendance.

As a reminder (see On the table today is), the battle layout is, 

Battlefield and initial dispositions.

The Franco-Spanish objective is to either destroy the Austro-Piedmontese army or seize the villages on the north bank of the Tanaro River.  While the outnumbered defenders are primarily Piedmontese, Austrians reinforcements may arrive late in the battle with a bit of luck. The Piedmontese need to hang on to avoid defeat.  Will the Austrians arrive in time to turn the battle?  The commands were split two Piedmontese players to three Franco-Spanish players.

View of battlefield from east.
View of the Spanish from behind Piedmontese left.
View of the French from behind Piedmontese right.
The Spanish (flying French colors). 
The French.
Let's see how the battle played out.  Note that much of the battle will be relayed through screenshots as I once again was too pre-occupied to stop and snap more photos.  As in other BatReps, white arrows suggest movement, yellow arrows denote retreats, and red arrows show combat.  I apologize that the player overlays occupy the right portion of the screen obscuring that part of the battlefield.
The French poised to splash across
 the Tanaro River on the attack.
With de Gage's Spanish on the Franco-Spanish right having the honors to step off to battle first, off they go, smartly stepping off toward the bridge over the Tanaro.  On the left, Maillebois' French cautiously advance toward the river while artillery in the center provide some covering fire.  To counter de Gage's advance, Emanuele pushes troops from his left, forward toward the Tanaro.  With the Tanaro only knee-deep in most places, crossing may not present much of an obstacle to an advancing army.  Hitting the enemy as it emerges from the river looks like a solid plan. 
The battle begins.
As de Gages' command reaches the river, a firefight erupts east of Rivarone.  Both sides suffer casualties as the crossing slows.  The Spanish find themselves in a chokepoint that must be broken if they are to make progress.  Piedmontese lay in wait expecting to pounce when the first Spanish cavalry reach the north bank.
de la Chiesa's defenders of Rivarone.
On the French left, de Grammont's brigade pushes across the southern fork in the river.  Liguane's dragoons counter this maneuver by moving across the north fork to challenge the French.  Senneterre's lead infantry battalion wades across the river to confront the Piedmontese defenders in Montecastelle.  Artillery fire from the guns atop the hill at Montecastelle disrupt Senneterre's second infantry battalion as it awaits orders to cross.
The Franco-Spanish breach the Tanaro.
Arambou's infantry battalions on the Spanish right attack across the river only to be bloodily repulsed for their efforts.  To add insult to injury, these retiring battalions are subjected to artillery bombardment as they reform in the rear. Ouch!
Heavy fighting near Rivarone.
De Gages' cavalry cross the bridge and splash across the river to engage the lone enemy cavalry to their front.  Meanwhile, on the French front, Maillebois orders his command to cross the river.  At the end of the French line, de Grommet is tasked with both forcing a crossing of the Tanaro and preventing a flanking maneuver by Liguane and his dragoons.  
Spanish cavalry strike!
The battle heats up with de Gage crashing into the defending Piedmontese horsemen.  The defenders are driven back from the river and retire back to the heights.  Given some breathing space, Arambou's infantry attack to the west of the bridge while de Gages' infantry attack across to the east of the bridge.  Facing overwhelming odds, both defenders are scattered.  A huge hole opens up on the Piedmontese left.  Seizing this opportunity, Spanish cavalry are sent rushing toward Bassignana.  Wisely, Emanuele sends Piedmontese back to occupy the Bassignana fortifications.
The Tanaro is breached and the race is on.
Seeing Spanish cavalry making a beeline toward Bassignana and the vital pontoon bridge over the Po, the Piedmontese cavalry, recently sent packing back onto the heights, whirl about and take up the chase.  It may be a race back to the Po.  If the Spanish arrive first, Austrian reinforcements are unlikely. 
The Tanaro, knee deep in French and Spanish.
In the center of the Piedmontese line, firefights reach a crescendo as the militia battalion defending Rivarone takes a pounding.  So far, the militia holds in its salient at the foot of the hills.  Senneterre attacks Montecastelle but makes little headway against the defenders.  Maillebois pushes French cavalry across the Tanaro ignoring the unpleasant destruction of one of his cavalry formations at the hands of enemy dragoons.  The French left looks vulnerable.
Heavy firefights in the center.
Remaining with the fight at Rivarone, Arambou's infantry assault the guns.  The guns are overrun in the attack and de la Chiesa goes down in the fighting.  The Piedmontese left and center are crumbling.  Still, the defenders of Montecastelle and Chiesa de San Germano hold firm.  Realizing that attacking these two strongpoints is risky, Maillebois sends de Grammont's infantry and cavalry out to the left in an attempt to flank the Chiesa de San Germano position.  As a diversion, Senneterre is sent in against Montecastelle. 
The Piedmontese left crumbles.
de Grammont attacks Chiesa de San Germano
Senneterre launches an attack.
Attacks against these two strongpoints are both repulsed although casualties are light.  On the Spanish flank, de Gages' pushes infantry toward Bassignana.  With no sign of Schulenburg's reinforcing Austrians, time may be running out for them to successfully intervene.  Caught in the valley between San Germano and Montecastelle, French cavalry suffer mightily at the hands of Piedmontese volleys.  Their only hope is to continue running the gauntlet to escape the valley at the north end.
The Piedmontese right holds
as the left is under heavy pressure.
Even though the Piedmontese right is holding up against repeated attacks, the Piedmontese left and center are dissolving.  De Gages' infantry secures Bassignana just as Spanish cavalry reach the pontoon bridge over the Po.
Bassignana falls and the race to the Po.
As Schulenburg approaches the pontoon bridge from the north, he witnesses the bridge fall into Spanish hands. With the Piedmontese army shattered to his front, he refuses to fight across the Po.  The battle is over.
The Piedmontese defense thwarted.
Positions at end of battle viewed from east.
Despite seeing unfavorable odds for the defending Piedmontese, Bassignana produced a most enjoyable battle refight.  Outnumbered, the defenders still had opportunities to gain a victory albeit tough.  Fate did not smile upon the Piedmontese since their allies, under Schulenburg, failed to arrive in time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.  They held out long enough to give the Austrians a chance to arrive but, alas, Schulenburg and his Austrians made an appearance only near battle's end.  An arrival one turn earlier would have allowed the Austrians to secure the pontoon bridge and begin to bring troops across.  It was not to be.  Still, a very exciting battle with a lot of ebb and flow throughout with D-Aix's command throwing back every French assault.  Once again, history repeats itself.

Well played by all!

Look for more Bassignana refights in the weeks to come.  Plenty of new approaches to try and plenty of play left in this battle.  Thanks again to AndrĂ© (Wackenshofen Anno Domini) for bringing this battle to my attention and inspiring this effort.

50 comments:

  1. Excellent battle report and a tough assignment for the Piedmontese

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Neil! A tough assignment, for sure, but not all battles are even matches. I think the Piedmontese have a fair shot at victory given victory conditions.

      Delete
  2. A very enjoyable battle; Thank you, Jon.

    Regards, Chris.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome! Your command of de Gages was brilliant.

      Delete
  3. As always a wonderful looking battle Jon and a very detailed and informative AAR, that's a full seven course meal with three wines! The Piedmontese had a hard job and obviously could not rely on their tardyvAustrian allies. How was the arrival time decided...a D6 roll from turn X onwards, becoming gradually easier to achieve, or as it determined another way?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the battle report and a special tip of the hat for your glowing comment.

      The Austrians began rolling to arrive in Turn 5 with an increasing probability to arrive oneach turn.

      Delete
  4. A particularly attractive table, the birds eye view looks fab.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Looks great as usual Jonathan, and an exciting AAR. If only those Austrian reinforcements had arrived a couple of turns earlier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Much appreciated, Lawrence! Yes, a turn or two earlier arrival could have turned the tide.

      Delete
  6. A lovely table, and a good fight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Greg! Yes, it was a good fight. Chris, as de Gages was especially pleased with the outcome.

      Delete
  7. Wonderful looking game with beautiful figures and terrain and an engaging and entertaining report, as ever, Jonathan.
    Regards, James

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. James, you are most kind. Thank you! Good to see you stopping by for a visit.

      Delete
  8. A report showcasing well painted units, great terrain intelligently shown on table, an interesting set of victory requirements. You have certainly set and maintained a high standard for remote games.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joe, you really are very kind. Thank you! The players seemed to enjoy themselves.

      Delete
  9. A splendid looking game. Your remote wargaming setup never ceases to impress, and a free movement game makes it a bit more tricky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Peter! Glad you like the look of the remote games. Let me know when you are up for another one.

      Delete
  10. Fantastic looking game. Sounds like there were lots of exciting moments. How many cameras do you run for a game like this? Are the closeups from stills you shoot, or from the video feed? Have you done a post on your remote gaming setup?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Dave! There were a number of memorable events in the game all along the battle front from breakthroughs to repulses.

      Typically, I run two cameras but sometimes three. Yes, the close-ups are from stills I shoot outside of the streaming video. I do not recall doing a post on my remote gaming setup. I will check. If not, that is a great idea!

      Delete
  11. Oh Sweet Lord! Excellent looking report sir!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Splendid looking game and the Monday night gamers sound terrific fun.
    Alan Tradgardland

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Alan. The MNG group is terrific fun. Luckily, they adopted an American (me!) during COVID lockdowns for remote gaming.

      Delete
  13. Fantastic looking battle Jon and I guess one the majority of wargamers know little about, I certainly didn’t. Super impressed by your ability to run such large games remotely with multiple people đŸ¤¯

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you like the battle, Matt! As for running large, remote games, you would be surprised how natural the task becomes with repetition.

      Delete
  14. A cracking sounding and looking game Jonathan…

    All the best. Aly

    ReplyDelete
  15. An excellent report on an excellent looking game Jon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ray! Very pleased to see that you enjoyed the battle report!

      Delete
  16. Great AAR Jonathan and lovely table as well!

    Christopher

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow! That was a tough call for the Piedmontese! The speed at which the Spanish right advanced to the Po is remarkable. A great well done to all the players, especially Chris on that Spanish right flank.

    As usual, great table and figures. Your dedication to the hobby is remarkable Jonathan. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike, this is a toughie for the Piedmontese but they are not without options and opportunities.

      Well spotted on Chris' powerful attack with the Spanish against the Bassignana flank. He cut through the defenders seemingly on that one turn. after that, the road was literally open to the pontoon bridge.

      Your encouragement on the presentation much appreciated. Is this a battle that you might be interested in tackling?

      Delete
    2. Sorry for the late reply Jon but we were visting our daughter in the UK and that got me distracted. I wouldn’t mind a shot but we have some works planned at home and I expect to be rather busy. Can we pencil in sometime later next month (assuming the table is still set up by then)?

      Delete
    3. Hey, never too late for a reply, Mike! After three days, I turn moderation on to catch-out any later-arriving SPAMMERS.

      Hope you enjoyed your visit to the UK and did not get snarled up in travel SNAFUs.

      My table is patient and so am I. I have had some interest from others to give the scenario a try. Perhaps I can coordinate a game with several others?

      Delete
  18. That's a great report. Thank you for your report and for the link to our blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, André! Very happy to see that the battle meets with your approval. Thank you for providing the details and inspiration for this recreation.

      Delete
  19. Excellent battle and you continue to be the remote host with the most! You’re remote gaming group has really taken off. Well done. đŸ˜€

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked the battle report, Stew!

      Over the past nearly two years of remote gaming, I have had plenty of opportunities to game remotely with a wide variety of wargamers from all over the world.

      Delete
  20. A splendid spectacle and an engaging battle report (thanks for putting this together). I have to say that I have an aversion to river crossing scenarios (they provide few real options and often play out very much like WWI in 1917: attacker beating itself to death against obstacles--but this one seems to have risen above the genre and provided some actual maneuver and put the result in question: well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ed! You are most kind. We both know the effort required to produce these battle reports so it is encouraging to receive such complimentary support.

      Bassignana was not a "true" river crossing scenario, well except for the unfordable Po which never needed to be crossed by the Franco-Spanish, since the Tanaro was only waste deep and could be forded everywhere. With not enough troops to defend everywhere, the Franco-Spanish could maneuver to choose the points to cross.

      Our recreation turned out to model the historical outcome quite closely. Will the next one as well?

      Delete
  21. Hmmm, my post has not appeared for some reason yet I have received comments from this post Jon! Confused? I sure am.

    Anyway, a superb game and AAR and a really nice scenario too. Shame that the Austrians couldn't quite cross the Po in time to join the action, but maybe a re-play will allow them to have a play.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Steve. This is the first post of yours to hit this post. I checked SPAM box but nothing of yours is there. I am confused too!

      Glad you enjoyed the battle report and scenario. We will see if the Austrians make a timely appearance in the next game.

      Delete
  22. Wow, riveting report Jon! The Piedmontese certainly had the odds stacked against them. I am interested to see what will happen when the Austrians roll to enterthe contest earlier in the planned future Bassignana refights.
    Regards,
    Vol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vol! Great to see you back! Hope all is well for you.

      Glad you enjoyed the battle report. We will see if the Austrians make an appearance at the next battle. Next game up on Tuesday.

      Delete
  23. Great looking game, it's a difficult one for the Piedmontese to do well isn't it?
    Best Iain

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! We will see if the Piedmontese can improve their earlier performance. Game #2 begins in two hours.

      Delete