No Duke of Montebello

Richard joined me in a one-on-one remote game to refight the 1800 Battle of Montebello.  While Richard is familiar with the rules of engagement from earlier WAS/WPS battles, it has been a long time since we last played.  Shuffling through the archives shows that the rules were last in action back in October fighting over the fields at Quistello.  A few amendments needed to go into the latest iteration of the rules in order to account for the use of infantry squares.  The rules remained much the same with those exceptions.  After reading the Battle Briefing, Richard opted to take command of the attacking French Army under General Lannes.  The Austrian Army deployment was shared before the battle began.

Montebello battlefield

Montebello is quiet with Casteggio in background

Montebello was a pivotal vanguard clash in Napoleon's 1800 Italian campaign during the War of the Second Coalition, setting the stage for Marengo five days later.  On the evening of 8 June, Ott reached Voghera, ordering O'Reilly to hold Casteggio on the Alessandria-Piacenza highway.  Lannes planned to march west through Santa Giuletta toward Stradella expecting a weak foe.  Early 9 June, French patrols spotted Austrians east of Casteggio.  Watrin's 6th Light Infantry attacked immediately, igniting the battle despite initially being outnumbered 2:1.  Both sides misjudged enemy strength, leading to five hours of brutal fighting before Victor's reinforcements tipped the scales.  Montebello secured the defile, temporarily, forcing Melas to consolidate at Alessandria and fight at Marengo on the 14th.

Initial dispositions

The stage is set.   Let the battle begin!

Lannes holds the initiative automatically on Turn 1 and the lead elements of Watrin's Division arrive along the road heading west.  O'Reilly deploys his division in and around Rivalta with his jaegers taking up position in the village, itself.

O'Reilly at the ready!

Jaegers holding Rivalta

Watrin advances upon Rivalta.

Advancing upon a broad front, Watrin descends upon Rivalta and O'Reilly's position.  Marching through the tall rye (brown hexes), Watrin leads a supported attack against the jaegers in Rivalta.  To his right, French infantry sends volleys into the Austrian light infantry to the north of Rivalta.  Either unaware or unconcerned with the proximity of Austrian hussars, the Frenchmen do not form square.  Watrin's supported attack fails to dislodge the defenders and the French fall back through the rye fields.  Rivalta holds for now.  Seeing enemy infantry in line to their front, the Austrian hussars charge in.  The Austrian charge is repulsed as the Frenchmen form square at the very last minute.  Damn!  The hussars fall back upon supports.  Reinforcements are on the way to O'Reilly as Vogelsang crosses the River Coppa and pushes on toward Rivalta.   

Watrin goes in against Rivalta...

and is repulsed.

French push on south of Rivalta.

Vogelsang crosses the River Coppa.

After his initial setback at Rivalta, Watrin redoubles his efforts to take the village.  He forms up his eight battalions for a massive attack all along the Rivalta axis.  Watrin's attacks are ferocious.  To the south of the village, the French too easily scatter the grenz and overrun a battery.  O'Reilly's position is crumbling fast.  At Rivalta, the jaegers, once again, repulse the attack.  In the rye to the north, the Austrian light infantry unit is destroyed.  One battalion of the victorious French advances but is immediately attacked by enemy hussars.  This time, the French cannot form square before the cavalry hit.  The Frenchmen are cut down where they stand.  Still, the number of O'Reilly's losses is enough to break his division.    

Attack against Rivalta gets serious...

and O'Reilly looks isolated.

Seeing that Lannes has now reached the field with hussars and 28th Line, and that the road to Montebello has been cut by the enemy, O'Reilly decides that abandoning Rivalta is his only option.  What remains of his formation retires to the west. 

O'Reilly falls back from Rivalta.

With Watrin bringing his force through Rivalta, what remains of O'Reilly's comand continues falling back toward Casteggio.  Watrin does not let up the pressure.  His infantry continue pressing on into Voglesang's command, trying to turn the northern flank.  Those French attacks are initially repulsed.  By now, Lannes manages to bring his hussars around the hills to the south as his 28th Line moves west down the highway in support of Watrin.  Vogelsang garrisons Cascina il Giardina as his division begins shaking out into a defensive posture.  Ott, who is now moving with Vogelsang, receives reports that lead elements of Schellenberg's division has reached Montebello.

Watrin clears out Rivalta.

Vogelsang brings his troops up...

as Schellenberg reaches Montebello.

Seeing that Schellenberg has arrived and that his own reinforcements under Victor are only now reaching the battlefield, Lannes goes for broke.

Mounting repeated assaults against Cascina il Giardina on the heights, the 28th Line throws the defenders out of the stronghold after very heavy fighting.  Lannes, now at the head of two squadrons of hussars charges down from the heights and into a battalion of Austrians that never sensed the danger they were in.  Unable to form square in time, the conclusion was never in doubt.  Lannes slices through the enemy and continues his pursuit.  In the confusion of mopping up Austrian infantry and sabering a retiring Austrian battery, Lannes falls on the field, dead.  Actually, Lannes manages to die twice!  The first time, Richard rolled the dice for Lannes and the result was KIA.  I stopped the action and suggested that the defender (me!) ought to roll the leader casualty die.  I rolled the die and Lannes was KIA again!  It was destiny, I suppose.       

Lannes swings into action!

Seemingly out of nowhere two squadrons of Austrian dragoons appear.  The Austrian horsemen crash into the remnants of Lannes' hussars and scatter them to the four winds.  Perhaps this danger has been neutralized?  No!  Swinging behind the cavalry melee to its front, the third body of French hussars smashes into a supported line of enemy infantry.  

Austrian dragoons charge in!

Surprised by this sudden turn of events, the Austrian infantry cannot form up into square before the hussars close.  In the initial clash, both suffer casualties but neither can gain an upper hand in the fighting.  As an aside, if the French lose the next round of combat, Lannes' formation will break.  If the Austrians are defeated, Vogelsang's formation will break.  If Vogelsang breaks, then the Austrian Army will be compelled to quit the field.  High stakes!   

With only a single combat point remaining for the hussars, the second round of combat unfolds.  Each causes a morale check upon the other.  The hussars pass their check.  The Austrians fail!  Losing the melee, the Austrians are hacked apart.  Vogelsang breaks!  Ott's army retires!   

The breaking of Vogelsang.

Wow!  That was an exciting battle that ended in high drama.  With only one point remaining on his hussars in the last melee, Richard not only needed to score a hit with a single die roll on the Austrians but needed to pass his morale check while seeing the enemy fail his.  That is what came to pass.  There was much rejoicing in the French camp.  Actually, there was rejoicing in the Austrian camp as well.  This was a helluva tense game and most enjoyable.  

As for the Butcher's Bill, losses tipped heavily in favor of the French as seen below.  With Lannes dead on the field, there will be no Duke of Montebello unless awarded posthumously.

Butcher's Bill

Congratulations, Richard, on a well-played game.  You managed to crack the Austrian army before their overwhelming numbers could be brought into play.  I failed to overturn the historical result and see an Austrian victory at Montebello.  The Austrians will be falling back to Alessandria.  I think the Austrians are capable of mustering a better defense.

Thank you for a great session!  Perhaps I deserve a rematch???

Oh, please visit Richard's account of the battle at Battle of Montebello AAR.  Game duration was a little under three hours.