Saxony 1745 Campaign - The Battle of Plauen, 13th December

A dramatic battle was played out in the early afternoon and late evening today. Play was interrupted when the Margravina returned from her supervision of the gardens of the Invalidenhaus. Your correspondent, ever the attentive spouse, attended upon his lady until she retired for the night.

So here, with text beneath the pictures, is an account of the battle fought near Dresden.

The view looking north along the Weissritz from Eckersdorf to Plauen (where the channel splits at the top). The Prussians under Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau are advancing from the west. The hills in the middle distance on the right become steeper and inaccessible to cavalry where the snow covered trees are. Grünne's Austrians guard the southern flank on the high ground.

Closer view of the main Prussian lines

The Saxon position in the centre

The Prussian left's view. Plauen in the background.

Looking along the main Saxon lines

Turn 10 (4 turns = 1 hour for campaign purposes, with a maximum of 8 hours). Action is joined in the centre as Prussian cavalry sweep round on the right. Prussian infantry and cavalry crossing the Weissritz is engaged by Saxon chevauxlegers.

Austrian hussars join in the attack on the Prussians crossing the stream.

Turn 13. The action becomes more general along the stream. Losses are beginning to mount on both sides (note the round bases). The Prussians have successfully crossed the stream in the south (at a cost). Firefights along the banks of the stream will go on for most of the battle.

Close up of the centre. The Austrian hussars have been repulsed (right) but are keen to have another go.  A face-to-face fight is going on between the Prussian musketeers and Saxon guard and grenadiers (centre) which the Saxons will win.

Turn 15. Overall, losses have been even, trading brigade for brigade as the trans progress. It is slow going for the Prussian cavalry trying to cross the hills in the south (foreground) but the Saxon position is beginning to look vulnerable on this flank.  In the centre however, the Prussian infantry is on the verge of disappearing. This will present Rutowski with a great opportunity to roll up either flank of the Prussians. However, will he be able to take advantage before the Prussians roll his army up from the south? 

A close up of the hole emerging in the Prussian centre. Each circular base represents a loss. 3 losses and an infantry brigade (2 bases) is removed from play. Incidentally, I had to pad out the Saxon foot with Bavarians (hence the light blue coats). Cavalry is represented by Austrians and Prussian Bosniak Lancers (as Uhlans).  I have enough Saxons for the SYW but I clearly NEED many more for the WAS.

Next turn, that gap in the Prussian line has become more obvious as the forward unit has been chased off.

But over on the right only 1 battered Saxon cavalry unit remains. What is left of Grünne's wing is retreating across the hills. This wing survived a couple of Wing Morale tests before finally crumbling.

Turn 18. Whilst 2 Saxon infantry brigades cross to the Prussian side of the stream to exploit the gap, the guard/grenadier brigade has been attacked in the flank by Prussians and has been routed.

Soon after, the Saxon centre fails a Wing Morale test. Grünne's Austrians are making their way to Dresden, when their morale also fails. They must have been spooked by the collapse of the Saxon centre.

2 wings down out of 3 and the Saxon army must take an Army Morale test. A failure! Here we see just the Prussians remaining.

The Saxon losses. In the box, bottom, are the units removed through cumulative losses/routing. The ones outside the box are those units who routed following failed wing/army morale tests. In campaign terms the majority of the latter are eligible for use again, whilst smaller proportion of the latter will return.

Prussian losses inside the box top. Most of these would be available again in the campaign, but the Prussians would lose a couple more bases for losses still on the board.

So overall a decisive victory for Leopold in 'not quite Kesselsdorf'. Will it be enough to win the campaign. I've assumed many of  the Saxons and Austrians make it in to Dresden. Elsewhere, Charles is 2 marches away with 18,000 Austrians and Saxons, but so is Frederick with another 30,000 Prussians. The Prussians have a clear advantage in numbers now. I'll run through some more campaign moves tomorrow (1 January).

Which just leaves me to wish you all a Happy New Year, and thank you all for following, commenting and supporting during 2025.

Saxony 1745 Campaign - Moves from 25th November to 13th December

From the campaign diary for today's moves.

25th November

Frederick takes Görlitz. Leopold receives the order to invade Saxony.

Contact between Buchner and Ziethen north of Zittau at Leube by the Lausitzer-Neisse. Ziethen routs the Saxons (see previous post).

Up north Grünne inches closer to Berlin.

26th November

Grünne is now on the outskirts of Berlin when he gets news of Frederick’s incursion from Silesia. He spends a day re-organising his supplies and resting his troops for the march back south.

Charles retreats into Bohemia.

Diemer reaches Leipzig.

27th November

Frederick marches to Zittau (rolled a 5: 1,2 = Weissenberg, 3-6 = Zittau).

Grünne reaches Königswesterhausen.

28th and 29th November

Not much happens other than Grünne marching via Trebbin to Jüteborg

30th November

Frederick despatches Lehwaldt to Meissen (rolled a 6 on 27th to determine which day Lehwaldt leaves the main army).

Leopold leaves Halle and arrives at Schkeuditz. Diced to see if Renard and Diemer stand and fight. The Saxons have a slight numerical advantage in infantry but are inferior in cavalry and are outgunned. 1-4 retreat, 5,6 retreat. Rolled a 5 but the -1 for S-W still being in command, urging caution). Renard and Diemer retreat on the Torgau route to Dresden (1-4 via shorter Grimma route, 5,6 via Torgau).

Grünne reaches Luckau.

1st December

Leopold arrives before Leipzig and calls for it to surrender. Frederick remains at Zittau ensuring Charles has well and truly passed through the mountains into Bohemia.

Grünne rests at Luckau after 4 days of marching.

Lehwaldt arrives at Bautzen.

The end of a hard day's marching on the sandy soils of the Brandenburg-Saxon border lands for Grünne's Austrian force. The Sun sets early in December.

2nd December

Leipzig surrenders to Leopold.

Lehwaldt arrives at Königswartha.

Renard and Diemer reach Riesa on their march to Dresden

Frederick marches to Löbau but leaves Ziethen with 20 squadrons of hussars to watch Zittau.

Grünne reaches Übigau.

3rd December

Renard and Diemer join together Meissen, just one march short of Dresden. Meanwhile Grünne reaches Grossenhain.

Hearing that the Austrians are heading down from Brandenburg and the Saxons control Meissen, Lehwaldt remains at Königswartha, not wishing to get trapped (i.e.I rolled a 1 when a 3-6 would have resulted in an advance to contact Grünne).

Leopold collects the abandoned Saxon stores at Leipzig. Frederick reaches Bautzen. Zithen edges up to Löbau, having left strong patrols in the pass south of Zittau.

4th December

Leopold leaves Leipzig for Torgau.

Grünne crosses the Elbe Meissen. Diemer and Renard reunite with Rutowski at Dresden giving them a force of 45 s, 4 pulks of uhlans, 22 heavy guns and 31 battalions, excluding Grünne’s 8000 Austrians.

Ziethen joins Frederick at Bautzen. Lehwaldt moves forward to Grossenhain.

5th-7th December

A quiet few days generally. Leopold marches into Torgau on 5th and spends the next day organising supplies. On the 7th the Old Dessauer (Leopold) arrives at Riesa

8th December

Grünne blows up the bridge over the Elbe and leaves Meissen to avoid being caught by the superior forces of Leopold. Leopold enters the town after the Austrians have left. Lehwaldt arrives at the Elbe opposite Meissen.

9th December

The bridge demolition has been bungled in Grünne’s rush. Repairs can be effected within a day. (i.e. I diced for the effectiveness of the charges, and as in the historical case, the bridge can be repaired quickly).

Grünne joins with the combined Saxon army at Dresden. The Austrians and Saxons hold a council of war in the Saxon capital and elect to target Leopold first before tackling Frederick (History repeats itself on a roll of 3!). Frederick decides to take the northern route to Dresden via Meissen rather than risk a contested crossing of the Elbe.

10th December

Lehwaldt finally crosses the Elbe and joins Leopold.

11th December

Leopold's combined force advances on Dresden. Rutowski opts to wait for the Austrians. Frederick at arrives Grossenhain, just one march from the Elbe at Meissen.

12th December

Frederick reaches Meissen.
 Meanwhile in Dresden, Sachsen-Weissenfels is removed as effective commander-in-chief by the Elector-King.

Emboldened by having his fetters removed, Rutowski decides to march out to confront Leopold before the two Prussian armies can concentrate.

13th December

As Charles re-enters Saxony at Königstein (just two marches from Dresden), Leopold and Rutowski fight the Battle of Plauen.

The area southwest of Dresden. The distance from Plauen in the northeast of the map to Eckersdorf in the southwest is about 1 German Mile or c 4.7 English Miles. Part of the battlefield of the historical battle of Kesselsdorf can be seen at the top left (Kesselsdorf right at the edge below Zöllmen).

Campaign map on 13th December before the Battle of Plauen

Saxon 1745 Campaign - The Action at Leube, 25th November

I fought out the small scale action midday today. It didn't last even as long as I expected.

First, the Saxon cuirassiers acting as a rearguard are charged from two directions by the Prussian hussars. The Saxons stand for the first charge and do not buckle with the initial impact, but as the ranks break down into a series of individual combats, the superior numbers of hussars overwhelm the Saxons. The Saxon cavalry break. 

The Saxon infantry manage to get across the Steinbach and are marching through the village of Feld Leübe when they are caught in column. After a brave resistance the Saxon infantry crumble under pressure from Prussian hussars in the north and cuirassiers in the west. 

The victorious Prussians swarming round Feld-Leübe.

Ziethen leads the Prussian cavalry regiments from the west.

An unsurprising result, but more of a walkover than I expected.

After the tabletop game I made several campaign moves and stopped at the next major combat. Of that, more anon.

Saxony 1745 Campaign - First Moves

Monday 29th saw the first moves of the campaign. I made less progress than I expected due to 'Real World' intrusions. But still, it's started. Here is the campaign diary with a couple of maps showing relevant stages.

Opening positions at 20 November 1745.
A = Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau; F = Frederick; L = Lehwaldt; Z = Ziethen
R = Renard; D = Diemer; R = Rutowski; G = Grünne; C = Charles

20th November

Saxe-Weissenfels is confirmed CinC of all Saxon forces (i.e. -1 to all Saxon rolls for forward movement).

Rutowski wants Diemer to advance to Leipzig but Saxe-Weissenfels, fearful of committing himself too early, overrules Rutowski. (i.e. the die roll was too low).

21st November

Grünne continues to Luckau. Charles remains at Zittau guarding his eastern flank.

22nd November

Grünne advances to Jüteborg.

23rd November

Grünne reaches Trebbin.

Frederick crosses the border into Lusatia at Naumburg. Frederick’s and Charles’ advance guards miss each other.

24th November

Grünne moves to Königswesterhausen.

Still no large-scale contact between opposing advance guards in the Görlitz region, but hearing Frederick greatly outnumbers him Charles retreats to Zittau (rolled a 4 when 5,6 = stand, then a 1 when 1-4 =-3 move to Zittau or 5,6 = to Weissenberg).

25th November

Frederick takes Görlitz. Leopold receives the order to invade Saxony. 

Grünne inches closer to Berlin.

Contact between Buchner and Ziethen at Leube by the Lausitzer-Neisse! This leads to the first tabletop action. I studied the detailed map of the area north of Zittau on the road from Görlitz and found a place that looked suitable

Positions on 25th. Grünne is heading off the map. Anhalt-Dessau has not yet moved from Halle.
In the southeast Ziethen clashes with Buchner at a place called Leube north of Zittau. PS, I added a few more points on the map than the first version above since it was looking too sparse especially on the east.

Prussians enter from the top near Nicker and Bertschdorf. The Saxons are on the high ground near Nider-Leube

20 squadrons of hussars and 10 squadrons of cuirassiers under Prussian general Ziethen pour down from the north. The Saxons (2 battalions and 6 squadrons) guard the road by Nieder-Leube. The Lausitzer-Neisse (unfordable) is the right-hand table edge. Saxons will seek to retire off the table on the road.

The table here is 100x60cm representing roughly 1.5 x 1 mile.

So the table is set for a short game on Tuesday. After some pondering I decided to use Twilight of the Soldier Kings for this action, even though it is small, rather than the WRG 1685-1845 rules. The latter would provide a more interesting game I think, over less quickly, but it would take too long given my aim to complete the campaign over the holidays. However, following a suggestion months ago from David-in-Suffolk, I doubled up on the number of bases. For example, normally, 2 battalions would only be 1 base. It is still 2 bases per unit - a 'regiment' instead of a 'brigade'. Move distances and ranges will also double.

Merry Christmas!

 

Think I've got something in my eye. Must have blown in when I was watching this video........

Saxon Campaign Inflection Points

Further pondering of how I'm going to handle the various decision points led to, after an abortive attempt, the creation of a table of decision points for each commander.  On relevant dates decisions on options are taken by rolling a dice, e.g. what date does Leopold capture Leipzig. Some decisions are about direction: "after Leipzig, does Leopold head for Torgau or does he take a more direct route towards Dresden?". The historical outcome has odds weighted in its favour. In the last example, Leopold heads to Torgau (the historical course) on a 1-4 and more direct to Dresden on a 5 or 6. Sounds more complicated than it is.

Snapshot from the table:

Date	Frederick	Lehwaldt	Leopold	Charles	Grünne	Rutowski
20 Nov				Charles crosses border at  Zittau	Heads for Berlin at 15 miles a day.
21 Nov
22 Nov
23 Nov	Frederick crosses the border into Lusatia at Naumburg (Silesia - Now Nowogrodziec, Poland).
24 Nov	Frederick takes Görlitz:  1 24th;  2,3,4 25th;  5,6 26th		Leopold gets orders:  1,2 24th 3,4 25th 4,5 26th		Dice for when he gets news of Frederick crossing border: 1,2 24th 3,4 25th 5,6 26th
25 Nov
26 Nov
27 Nov	F despatches Lehwaldt to Meissen: 1 27th 2,3 28th 4,5 29th 6 30th	Lehwaldt marches towards Meissen: 1,2 same day 3,4 +1 day 5,6 +2 days
28 Nov
29 Nov			Leopold leaves Halle +/- 1day
30 Nov			Leopold captures Leipzig +/- 1day			When Leopold captures Leipzig dice for whether R concentrates ‘forward’ or ‘back’ 1,2 Forward 3-6 Back -1 if S-W is NOT CinC

In addition there are some 'standing orders' such as, Saxons and Grünne if forced back always head towards Dresden. Charles, if forced to retreat, will attempt to retreat back to Bohemia via the last route he used.

The next preparation step is to prepare the map. Then I think I'm ready.

My last foray into 'Saxony 1745' The Battle of Kesselsdorf. I can't believe this was over 4 years ago.