Shock by the Saale! Seydlitz's Saxon Shame

No, not a reference to the anti-social disease he picked up from a lady of easy virtue*, but an allusion to the appalling performance of his cavalry in this re-fight of Rossbach. In the first contact of the day the Prussian cuirassier brigades were charged and repulsed by the French cavalry. Then the dragoons were chased off by the Austrian cuirassiers. Because Seydlitz, Prussian cavalry commander on the day, was rated 'Inspiring', his whole command were classed as 'Determined'. This meant they could take an extra loss before routing. They were therefore resilient, which was just as well as they took a pasting. The Prussians never fully recovered from the shock. 

* For those of you not into the SYW, Seydlitz was the rising star of the cavalry arm. Rasied in the saddle from a young age, he was the image of the dashing cavalryman, looking 'as if he had been poured into his uniform'. He had everything going for him, except one weakness which led to the aforementioned infection. When wounded in reality, the infection slowed his recovery denying Frederick of his services longer than necessary.

Ultimately, the Prince de Soubise was able to order a feu de joie to the glory of King Louis' arms, and a te deum was declared for the following day. Hildeburghausen fell in action, and never really recovered from his wounds. This was convenient for a forgiving empress, as she did not need to demote him for the loss of the Reichsarmee. Frederick spent the night in Leipzig where Field Marshall Keith's Finnish mistress, Eva Martins, managed to spirit up a chicken soup. He soon left Saxony travelling east with his Garde and a small cadre to pursue his business with the Austrians in Silesia. Keith was given instructions to hold on to as much of Saxony as possible through the winter. Frederick needn't have worried about Saxony. Soubise concluded that the French had done enough as auxiliaries to the Empire and retreated into winter quarters. This decision was endorsed by Louis, who, after all, did not want the balance of power in Germany to tip too much towards Austria.

The game was played this afternoon. It took 26 turns in 3 hours. To be fair, the first dozen turns whizzed by as the allied columns moved around Frederick's flanks in double moves. The photos below show how the game.

The Allied columns approach Zeuchfeld. This took about 4 moves. St.Germain  guards the flank in the foreground. Loudon with his Grenzers, is on the left.

Several moves later. The Austrian cavalry (left foreground) has outstripped the foot as in reality. Failure to get the infantry columns to turn immediately caused delays. Right foreground, Seydlidtz has made good speed around the Janus Hill. The Prussian infantry column follows on the right, whilst two brigades of French cavalry are on the right hand ridge.

A clever ploy! As the village of Pettstädt caused further delays to the Allied foot, Prussian hussars approach in a threatening move. Not wishing to be caught in column, the Allies begin to form line. Yet more delays! Eventually these nuisances are routed by a brigade of French heavies - the hussars flee on the first charge, in another case of bad dice rolling on the Prussian side.

The Unexpected Happens. The three brigades of Prussian cavalry have all been bounced by the French (top) and Austrians (bottom left). Circular bases are loss markers.

Round two of the cavalry battle. Austrians have been repulsed and now recover behind the Imperial cuirassiers. The Prussian Garde cuirassiers fight the French again in the middle, whilst the large Prussian cuirassier brigade reforms at the back. Normally cavalry brigades are eliminated on two losses (3 for a large brigade), but the Determined status in this battle gives the Prussians an extra 'life' each. This kept them in the game long enough to attrit the Allied cavalry and prevent them from rolling up the infantry.

Allied infantry columns finally get into action (approaching from the left) and top. Two Prussian brigades (bottom left) successfully assault the French batteries. Their action prevents the Allied infantry from marching straight into Reichardtswerben (one of their objectives). Just on the edge at the top right, St. Germain's infantry assault the village of Schortau where a battalion of Freikorps exceeds expectations, seeing off one brigade and badly damaging a second.

Losses begin to mount. 4 Prussians (blue die), 2 Imperial (yellow die) and  4 French (white). Only 1 Imperial unit in the tray because the 2nd was Hildeberghausen himself - the command base was recycled as a subordinate took over.

Another turn sees each of the three armies lose two more brigades/generals.

One more turn sees the Imperialists lose their last cavalry brigade to close range artillery fire. This brings their losses to 5 brigades and break point, leaving a gap on the ridge above. One Prussian musketeer brigade remains to confront one French brigade and their remaining battery.

But it's too late for the Prussians. Having lost their replacement cavalry general (after losing Seydlitz) an infantry brigade in the centre melts away under French pressure. In their part of the turn, the Prussians fail to inflict the requisite two further brigade losses on the French. After 26 turns it's game over for Old Fritz! 

The final positions. Each side has only one cavalry brigade left. The French have 9 foot brigades and 1 battery, the Prussians but 4 foot brigades including he Freikorps and one large battery.

Another view of the end - from the Prussian left flank.

Reflexions on the game.

Well that was a shock! The ease with which the French beat the Prussian cavalry left me scratching my head and consulting the rules. What 'Seydlitz' in his confidence had failed to do, was order his men into two lines. That way, if the first line was defeated they would have supports to rally behind. Instead they were chased off almost into the arms of the Austrians coming from the other side. Mind you, the French were guilty of the same mistake but got away with it. Without their cavalry, the Prussians really had a tough game not heir hands. They're close to snatching a draw at the death. A couple of hits were inflicted on the French in the last turn, and low dice rolls in each case could have led to routs.  This was the first time I've played a game with Twilight of the Soldier Kings rules that hasn't followed the historical outcome.

It was not to be. But in the words of a British cavalryman in the Charge of the Light Brigade film, "Go again sir!?  A re-set is in order as Monday is a public holiday here in England!