French reinforcements on their way to the river Saale
The Russians broke off contact at Naumburg and withdrew along the road to Zeitz. It wasearly in the battle and there were no casualties on either side. The French are now in possession of Naumburg.
The French have also crossed the river Saale further south and occupied Gera.
Apart from the brief engagement at Naumburg, the Russians have not attempted to stop the French from crossing the river Saale.
At the end of 3 June Napoleon is well pleased with the progress he has made. He has established two bridgeheads over the river Saale and is well placed to continue his advance on Dresden.
Imperial Garde cross river Saale and approach Naumburg
Wargame Move One – 1200 hrs
First move – Russian corps
Orders - Move to Naumburg
5 command points
Continue along Zeitz road towards Naumburg behind cavalry screen
Second move – French corps
Orders - Move to Naumburg
6 command points
Cross bridge over river Saale and deploy to attack Naumburg.
Cavalry brigade protect crossing against enemy cuirassiers
Russian and French infantry enter opposite ends of town
Wargame Move Two – 1300 hrs
First move – Kutuzov
6 command points
Moves forward to join cavalry screen and observe enemy
Second move – Russian corps
Orders - Move to Naumburg
5 command points
Leading grenadier brigade enters western section of Naumburg.
Artillery move to the east of the town supported by infantry
Remaining infantry deploy behind cover of the town
Third move – French corps
Orders - Move to Naumburg
7 command points
Artillery moves forward behind cavalry screen and unlimbers
Leading infantry brigade enters western section of town
Remainder of infantry deploy to west of town.
Garde infantry form column of attack
Wargame Move Three – 1400 hrs
First move – French corps
Orders - Move to Naumburg
6 command points
Artillery out of command range cannot fire
Commander moves forward
Artillery man handle forward
Infantry form column of attack
Second move – Russian corps
Orders - Move to Naumburg
5 command points
Move guns forward and unlimber
Cavalry retire behind town away from artillery threat
Third move - Kutuzov
6 command points
Move to corps commander
Change orders to Engage town
The Imperial Garde prepare to attack town
Wargame Move Four – 1500 hrs
First move – Russian corps
Orders - Engage town
5 command points
Cavalry redeploy to protect eastern flank
Infantry deploy behind cover of town
Second move – French corps
Orders - Move to Naumburg
5 command points
Cavalry advance to cover eastern flank
Artillery limber and move closer to town
Infantry deploy in preparation to assault town
Third move – Kutuzov
4 command points
Move to cavalry to observe enemy preparations
End of Campaign Move 8
Marshal Kutuzov orders a retreat back along the Zietz road.Neither corps are in close combat and with the cavalry forming the rear guard the withdrawal is completed in good order.
1 French corps occupy Naumburg and await further orders
There were no casualties on either side during this brief skirmish.
At first light on the morning of 3 June 1813 general Sacken was approaching Naumburg on the east bank of the river Saale, when he received reports from his cavalry screen that French cavalry had crossed the river and were approaching the town from the west. He ordered his cavalry to contain the enemy and discover what was behind the cavalry screen
The French cavalry was a brigade of chasseurs, the advance guard of the 1st corps, the Imperial Garde. Napoleon was not present, and the decision whether to fight or not rested with general Friant. Without hesitation he ordered his corps to cross the bridge and advance on Naumburg, the cavalry would hold their ground to cover the crossing.
French Order of Battle
1 French Corps General Friant (G) 1 Infantry Brigade CA FB SB 2 Infantry Brigade CB FB SB 3 Infantry Brigade CB FC SB 4 Infantry Brigade CC FC SC 1 Cavalry Brigade CA Light 1 Foot Artillery CA 12 pounder
Russian Order of Battle
2 Corps General Sacken (A) 5 Infantry Brigade CA FB SB 6 Infantry Brigade CB FB SB 7 Infantry Brigade CB FC SB 8 Infantry Brigade CC FC SC 2 Cavalry Brigade CB Heavy Corps Artillery CB 12 pounder
Wargames Table
The town at the crossroads is Naumberg. The top road leads to Halle and the bottom to Gera. The road on the right is from Zeitz and on the left to Weimar. The river is the Saale. The terrain is open and flat except for one hill to the west of the Gera road.
The Russians are approaching the town from the right along the Zeitz road, their cavalry are south of the town observing the French advance
The French are just starting to cross the river, and their cavalry are deployed to protect the crossing from the enemy cavalry
1st French corps cross the river Saale and approach Naumburg. Their cavalry immediately clash with cavalry from 2nd Russian corps. Both sides have orders to occupy the town, which results in the first battle of the campaign.
French cavalry cross river Saale and move eastwards.They are soon in contact with Russian cavalry and deploy but await further orders.Napoleon is too far to the rear to take personal command of the situation, and the decision whether to engage is left to the corps commanders on the spot.
Napoleon meets with his corps commanders in Erfurt
Napoleon is reported to have arrived in Erfurt. The main road from Fulda is crowded with military supply convoys and large numbers of marching troops all heading east. All post houses and local government buildings have been taken over by the French authorities, and all mail seized.
French troops entered Erfurt and imposed a curfew on the civilian population.Despite this there are reports of wide spread looting and abuse of civilians.Throughout the surrounding countryside French patrols are collecting food and material from villages and farms.Despite this the local population are understood to prefer the presence of French to Russian troops.
There has been some cavalry contact today, and it has highlighted how necessary it is to write your emails with care.
You will all be aware that each day is divided into three sections. Each of those sections is a move in the campaign. You will see if you look at the campaign diary that Move 1 is 0800 1 June 1813
When you write a a report or send an order you should always put on it who it is from, the date and time it is sent and the location it is sent from. You should also put who it is addressed to.
I have sent cavalry contact reports to corps commanders and then been asked what time they receive the message. You can assume that all mail is received within the same move that it is sent. However your reply will be at the start of the next move. For example if you receive a report dated 0800 1 June your reply should be 1200 1 June. In other words it is sent in Move 1 and your reply will be sent in Move 2.
If you receive a report from your cavalry commander the reply should be sent to him, and possibly new orders issued to your corps. These should be sent to me as umpire. If you want to notify your cinc, or an adjacent corps commander, these should also be sent to me, as there may be a time delay imposed. Don't forget that I am your corps chief of staff, so in fact you are giving your chief of staff a message addressed to your cinc or adjacent corps commander.
It is very important that you stick to these rules. There are a lot of email going around, and they are all either addressed to me, or copied to me. It is essential that we all understand who they are from and who they are addressed to, plus the time and place they are sent from.
If you have a general query for me then just send a normal email - no need for all of the above.
Large crowds of civilians left Leipzig and headed for Halle as the Russians approached the city.The King of Saxony has declared that he will remain neutral during this campaign, but that has not stopped the Russian Cossacks from creating havoc amongst the civilian population. Nor taking possession of Leipzig There are reports that Leipzig contained large amounts of military stores and equipment, which is now in Russian hands.
Both armies made good progress during the first day, but no contact was made between them.
Reports reached Imperial Headquarters of masses of Cossacks spreading alarm and panic amongst the towns and villages to the west of the river Saale. The French ambassador at Dresden confirmed that Kutuzov has left the city with his entire army heading towards Leipzig on the great Dresden to Halle road.
Few reports reached Kutuzov about French intentions or activities, as the Prussian towns people and villagers avoided the Russian’s like the plague. He was confident that if he continued his march west he would eventually meet with the French, and equally confident that when he did he would defeat them.
For two months Kutuzov had rested his weary army which had driven Napoleon back from Moscow the previous year.Most were ill and had to be replaced by reinforcements from Russia.
Each of the four corps contained an elite grenadier brigade, and most were well trained.But few had any experience of war.
The recent defeat of Blucher at Magdeburg had forced Kutuzov to move west to the river Saale in order to protect the strategic left flank of the broken Prussians.His men were anxious for an opportunity to finish what their comrades had begun the previous year.
In late May Napoleon arrived at Fulda with the Imperial Garde. He immediately reviewed the First French army, with which he would march east towards the river Saale
The Imperial Garde was not the same as the elite body which Napoleon had led into Russia the previous year. They were mainly veterans from Spain, plus the best of the new conscripts.
The remaining two French corps were also built around cadre’s from Spain and consisted mostly of garrison troops, navy personnel and raw recruits.
The Westphalian corps contained survivors from the Russian campaign, men from the coastal garrisons and yet more conscripts.
On 1 June 1813 they marched east and began the Halle campaign of 1813
Line of sight is two squares.The corps cavalry screen is one square in front of the corps.
When two corps come within three squares of each other they will halt to await further orders.The corps commanders will be notified and must confirm what they want to do next.
Campaign Battles
All campaign battles will be fought by Paul and Jan
Map to Table
The wargames table is three squares wide by three squares deep.
A corps on move orders will retreat if an enemy on “engage” approaches them, until the corps commander changes his movement order to “engage”.
Reinforcements
Any corps can be moved to reinforce a battle providing they are close enough.The corps commander orders his corps to “engage” onto one of the squares in the battle.
He must carry out the CinC objective to the best of his ability.However how he does it is up to him.
He will decide his daily march route, how to react to changing circumstances and protect his supply depot.This is a named town.Each town can support only one corps.There must be a road from the main supply route (red road) to the town and from the town to the corps.
Movement orders
He will issue movement orders each campaign day.They should include his destination and which squares he will cross to get there.
He is responsible for planning the campaign, resupply and command in multi corps battles.
He must give each corps commander an objective. This is normally a town or a terrain feature such as a bridge.
I will allocate the main supply base and a forward supply base for each corps at the start of the campaign. If one of these is lost to the enemy I will consult with the CinC to choose an alternative.
CinC orders
He must be within 8 map squares to issue orders
He will issue an order each campaign day.
It will confirm where his HQ is to move to, and by which squares he intends to move.
It will also confirm the next objective for each corps commander. The exact route they use will be up to them.
Example of Daily orders
Subject : French CinC orders for 3 May
HQ – move from Helstedt to Seehausen – B5 to C5 to D5 to E5
4 corps – move from Halbeck to Colbitz – search for enemy 5 corps – move from Seehausen to Magdeburg – search for enemy 6 corps – move from Groningen to Calbe– search for enemy 13 corps – remain at Helmstedt – army reserve
French reinforcements on their way to the river Saale
