113. The Action at Lomitten - WDS Campaign Eylau-Friedland

5 June 1807 - Historical - Intended to be played Head to Head - As part of Bennigsen's plans to isolate Ney's VI Corps, a series of bridgeheads had to be eliminated for the plan to work correctly and eliminate the threat to the Allied right flank. One such bridgehead was at Lomitten. Held by the 3rd "Iron" Brigade of St. Cyr's 2nd Division of the IV Corps it was adequately fortified to hold its own for a short time. Soult never intended that the men should sacrifice themselves and if threatened with a much larger force they would retire across the river and blow the bridge. However, the "Iron Brigade" had other plans. When the Russian 7th Division of Dokhturov's wing showed up the French 46th and 57th Ligne regiments made a brave stand instead of pulling back. The Russian plan was to take the woods to the north of Lomitten and thus outflank the redoubt position. The first part of the morning was spent by the Russians probing the defenses and making a series of assaults. When it was plain that the Russians did not have sufficient men their commander sent off to Constantine for reinforcements. Three battalions of infantry and three squadrons of cavalry from the Garde were sent to reinforce the 7th Division. The fighting was brutal. At the end the French had been finally pressed back to where they had to retreat behind the river. Both sides lost over 1,000 men each. Lomitten had fallen but one other bridgehead held by St. Hilaire's 1st Division at Elditten held out. The Russian plan to clear the bridgeheads had failed. Note: this is a condensed version of the entire battle which lasted over five hours from start to finish. It should give the players a good idea of how the battle unfolded.