Thursday, 1 January 2026

Saxony 1745 Campaign - Closing moves

I totted up the troops remaining to Leopold and Rutowski after the battle and came up with the following numbers of bases (2 bases making up a brigade):

Rutowski

Cuirassier 4

Dragoon 3

Hussar 3

Uhlan 2

Grenadier/guard 4

Musketeer 7

Grenzer 2

Heavy Artillery 0

Leopold

Cuirassier 8

Dragoon 6

Hussar 4

Grenadier 1

Musketeer 11

Fusilier 2

Heavy Artillery 3

With Frederick's arrival on 14th the Prussian totals are:


Total

Observation Corps

Field Army

Cuirassiers

12

0

12

Dragoons

10

2

8

Hussars

8

2

6

Grenadiers

5

1

4

Musketeers

18

8

10

Fusiliers

2

2

0

Artillery

5

2

3

The Observation Corps under Leopold* remained before Dresden whilst Frederick took the field army to tackle Charles. 

*Frederick decided the old boy need a rest, though cynics said the King was jealous of his old Field Marshall's success.

Against Frederick Charles could only muster:


Charles

Cuirassiers

4

Dragoons

2

Hussars

2

Uhlans

0

Grenadiers

2

Musketeers

12

Grenzers

0

Heavy artillery

2


Fairly even in infantry but massively outnumbered in cavalry. Charles opted to remain within the environs of the Königstein fortress. However, by the 16th heavy snows began to threaten to block the passes. Fearing the icing up of the Elbe, Charles elected to retire into Bohemia before his supply lines were cut. He would tell the court he had done everything he could on behalf of his sister-in-law, the Empress-Queen, to succour the Elector-King (the Elector of Saxony was also King of Poland).

The Saxons were left to negotiate a peace with the Prussians.
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18 comments:

  1. Jonathan Freitag1 January 2026 at 19:57

    Very interesting campaign, Chris. I am amazed at how quickly you can churn one of your campaigns out and play to conclusion.

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    1. Anonymous1 January 2026 at 20:29

      It’s quite straightforward really, as decisions are governed by dice rolls. Having done all that work in advance on tables of events and key decision points could be, and generally being organised helped. Also having uninterrupted time due to Mrs P being at work whilst I was off helped!
      Chris

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  2. Steve J.1 January 2026 at 20:18

    A nice way to round off the campaign and rather believable too, with forces being forced into Winter Quarters far earlier than we might expect, due to the reliance upon horses and fodder to feed them etc, but not forgetting the PBI of course!

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    1. Anonymous1 January 2026 at 20:39

      Cheers Steve. It seemed more realistic to end it without another battle. The Austrians under Charles wouldn’t stand a chance given the disparity in strength. If he lost an army that would make for a very uncomfortable family Christmas!
      Even then I let the dice decide. I gave low odds for Charles to accept battle.
      Chris

      Delete
  3. The Jolly Broom Man1 January 2026 at 22:11

    I think that was a sensible way to round things off actually Chris, so kudos for keeping it real so to speak. The campaign certainly flowed well, so all that hard work pre game was obviously well worth it, and it probably helped that as a solo affair you weren’t waiting on others. Top stuff.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2 January 2026 at 09:37

      Cheers Mark. Yes, having total control certainly helped.
      It also helped that I’d chosen a historical campaign of such limited duration in the first place.
      Chris

      Delete
  4. Ben Cato2 January 2026 at 01:16

    A fun campaign Chris.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2 January 2026 at 09:39

      It was diverting while it lasted. Maybe too few decision points as a player on reflection though.
      Chris

      Delete
  5. Anonymous2 January 2026 at 03:22

    Great work at ending a campaign without a final, bloody but almost useless battle. One of the advantages of solo gaming is the malleability of time and space to solve intractable problems.

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  6. Matt Crump2 January 2026 at 07:05

    Well done for running the campaign through to completion, not always easy to maintain the motivation, I would certainly struggle.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2 January 2026 at 09:41

      Cheers Matt. Having such a limited scope/duration certainly helped. Actual play only extended from Monday to Thursday (with very little done on the Thursday). So not having it drag on avoided it going stale.
      Chris

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  7. caveadsum14713 January 2026 at 11:33

    Sounds like a believable conclusion to the campaign, oh and Happy New year!
    Best Iain

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous3 January 2026 at 13:06

      Cheers Iain. It wasn’t difficult to think of a plausible reason to stop. After all, The Austrians have got to live to fight another day. Maybe be in the Austrian Netherlands or maybe in Italy. It might be my next campaign.
      Chris

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  8. rross3 January 2026 at 18:06

    And the rest, as they say, is history! Happy New Year Chris, I look forward to following your adventures in 2026

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  9. david in suffolk3 January 2026 at 19:32

    Great campaign, Chris, and the ending was authentic - 'IRL' Duke Charles wouldn't have gone for a last desperate battle, he has to keep his army for the following year..
    Happy New Year!

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    Replies
    1. nundanket3 January 2026 at 22:34

      Thanks David. Yes, after calculating the effect of the Battle of Plauen I didn't feel it would be reasonable for Charles to continue. Also I returned to work on Friday so it was a good time to finish the campaign.
      I note that Charles turned up in the Austrian Netherlands the following year to try his arm against Maurice de Saxe. Hmm!

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