079. The Battle of Laon - WDS Campaign 1814
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| Rating: | 0 (0) |
| Games Played: | 0 |
| SM: | 5 |
| Turns: | 56 |
| Type: | Custom |
| First Side: | French (Nap) |
| Second Side: | Allies (Nap) |
9 March 1814 - Historical - Intended for Head to Head play - Highly favors the Allies - Napoleon followed up his victory at Craonne cautiously and the 8th of March was spent cautiously advancing on Laon. Marmont, after the recent battles, had given up hope of victory in the war, was idlying around Bar-sur-Aisne. Given orders on the 8th to advance on Laon from the southeast his march would be slow and cautious. Meanwhile, one of Napoleon's headquarters officers had fallen into enemy hands and had fed the Prussian general staff with the idea that Napoleon had 60,000 to 70,000 men and an additional 20,000 men on the way. Despite the Army of Sileisa having approximately 80,000 men the old fighter Blücher took a cautious stance as the terrain hid from view any indication that this was not true. He had a fine defensive position anyway and would await the arrival of Napoleon with his men occupying good positions. Thus Ney and Mortier advanced on Laon early on the morning of March 9th through snow and fog with no idea that they were vastly outnumbered. For his part Blücher remained cautious throughout the battle letting the French dictate the pace of the battle. Ney and Mortier attacked through Étouvelles and Chivy through the fog of the early morning scattering the six to eight regiments of Russians and capturing several hundred men who were caught sleeping. Ney advanced on Semilley while Mortier attacked Ardon for most of the battle with both alternately taking and losing both locations. A counter attack by Winzingerode was thwarted due to its lethargic nature. The facts were that the French just lacked any offensive strength and the position demanded another 30,000 to 40,000 men. By the end of the day Marmont muddled onto the field of battle, took up a position for the night near Athies and went to the rear to await orders. His position was perilous and soon Yorck and Kleist put his troops to flight. Napoleon did not learn of the disaster until the next morning as the strong wind from the west did not allow the sound from Athies to carry to his ear. Yorck and Kleist initially were sent in pursuit of Marmont but were recalled by a hesitant Gneisenau who with Blucher down ill had to carry on as best he could and feared an attack by Napoloen would that would turn the right flank and allow the French to get in behind the advancing Allied left wing. So the Prussians were recalled and an offense was ordered. With so little forces to work with the French were forced to pull back from their positions and Napoleon would attack again on the next day but to no effect. His drive on the Army of Silesia had succeed in halting their offense on Paris but at high cost. This scenario depicts only the actions of the 9th of March. The Allied left and reserve will remain fixed for most of the battle. Certain of the formations will release based on variable percentages. Marmont will arrive later in the day along the road from Rheims as per the historical outcome. Note: for a more free deployment and with some subtle design theory the players are encouraged to play the Alternate version of this scenario. It allows for more freedom of movement for Napoleon and also allows the Allies to release their reserves sooner. Historical deployment note: The units in the game were deployed more or less so that the players could determine exactly where they wanted them placed. Only the Prussian 3rd Corps was deployed with an eye to a particular defensive position and the deployment is subject to be changed based on further research. It is a "best-guesstimate" solution. Design note: there are no victory points for the city of Laon as the battle was about defeating the enemy's army and not about getting embroiled in a costly city attack.
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