Today is my birthday, and to celebrate, I hosted a birthday game yesterday. I invited everyone interested to join, and I wasn’t disappointed—there was a great turnout. I chose the Black Powder rules and a scenario set during the Polish-Austrian War of 1809, specifically the Austrian siege of Sandomierz on the night of June 15–16, 1809.
UMPIRING: Bartek Żynda
1. Forces.
DUCHY OF WARSAW
(Michael, Mike, Tim)
Gen. Sokolnicki (CinC, 9)
6 x Infantry Battalion
1 x Ułan Regiment
1 x Chasseur Regiment
3 x Field Gun
2 x Heavy Gun (in the Castle)
AUSTRIA
(Alasdair, Andy, Dave, David, Jimmy, Neil, Peter)
Gen. Geringer (CinC 8)
11 x Infantry Battalion
1 x Grenzer Battalion
1 x Grenadier Battalion (Small)
2 x Hussar Regiment
6 x Field Gun
2 x Heavy Gun
2 x Mortar
1. The Introduction.
First, a brief historical introduction to the game. The Polish-Austrian War, part of the Franco-Austrian War of 1809, had already been raging for two months. After the Battle of Raszyn, the withdrawal of Polish forces from Warsaw, and several skirmishes on the right bank of the Vistula, the Polish side went on the offensive in early May. Poniatowski and his main forces moved into Galicia, capturing, among other places, Lviv and the fortress at Zamość, which I hope to play someday. Other elements of the Polish forces also achieved several successes, the most notable being General Sokolnicki’s brigade, which captured Sandomierz on May 18 after a short siege. This was all the more painful for the Austrians because one of their supply depots was located there. The situation became increasingly complicated, and in early June the Austrians abandoned Warsaw and directed their forces south. There, they defeated General Zajączek’s brigade at the Battle of Jedlińsk on June 11, 1809, forcing Zajączek to retreat north and leaving him unable to support General Sokolnicki in Sandomierz, where forces under General Geringer were heading. Meanwhile, Poniatowski halted Austrian forces at the Battle of Gorzyce on the San River. The entry of Russian forces into the war, formally on Napoleon’s side and thus theoretically an ally of the Duchy of Warsaw, further complicated matters. The Russians concluded an agreement with Austria, initially secret and later public, and attempted to facilitate the retreat of Austrian forces toward Bohemia. However, Poniatowski’s successes in Galicia meant that the Austrians needed some kind of victory, and the recapture of Sandomierz from the Polish forces was considered such a victory. Initially, they attempted to capture the city by force, but that failed, so they decided to attack with larger forces. The attack was planned for the night of June 15–16, 1809. At 10:00 p.m., General Geringer demanded that General Sokolnicki surrender the city, offering very favourable terms of surrender: Polish units would be free to leave the city, leaving all artillery behind. These terms were identical to those Sokolnicki had offered the Austrians a month earlier. Sokolnicki, ordered to hold the fortress, rejected the offer. The Austrians then began shelling the city, which continued until 1:00 a.m., when the assault began.
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| Sandomierz fortifications in 1809. |
When preparing the game table—again, 12 by 6 feet—I tried to capture the terrain of the battlefield. The city itself sits on a steep hill surrounded by defensive walls. It had two gates: the Kraków Gate to the south and the Opatów Gate to the north. Near the Kraków Gate stands the royal castle, built by Casimir the Great, later destroyed during the Deluge and partially rebuilt in the 18th century. A short distance from the castle, on another hill, stands St. James's Church with a Dominican monastery. Farther on, another hill houses the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul. To the west lies a forest complex crisscrossed by loess ravines; the two best known are the St. Queen Jadwiga's Ravine and the Piszczele Ravine. These ravines are deep and steep-sided, making movement along this road difficult, which I wanted to capture in our game. Next came another hill, home to St. Joseph's Church and a Franciscan monastery. Sandomierz was bordered to the north by the Pieprzowe Mountains, with the Vistula River to the east. The Austrians assaulted the city from the south and west.
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| St. Queen Jadwiga's Ravine (Wikipedia) |
As you can see, the terrain was very varied and must have posed a serious challenge for the attacking Austrians. The nighttime assault added another layer of difficulty, so I introduced a few special rules for the game. On turns 1–3, visibility was limited to 18 inches; on turns 4–6, it dropped to 12 inches; on turns 7–9, it returned to 18 inches; and on turns 10–12, it was normal.
In addition, units moving through the ravines in formation had to test for possible march losses. If they rolled a 1, they suffered a casualty, and in that case they also had to test for disorganisation, which would have occurred on a roll of 6. These restrictions did not apply to units moving in open order.
The churches, castle, and city walls mentioned above granted the defenders a +2 morale save, while the trenches dug around the city granted a +1. To enter the city, units had to pass through one of the gates. The city walls were impassable to the attackers, but the Poles could move through the wickets, which could be easily blocked once they had passed, making them inaccessible to the Austrians.
Furthermore, any Austrian unit firing at the Poles became visible to the defenders for one turn and suffered a +1 to hit. Another advantage for the defenders was the haystacks they had prepared, which they could ignite to further illuminate the enemy and impose another +1 to hit, effectively blinding them for a turn.
3. The Game.
On the Polish side, Mike played General Sokolnicki, who also defended St. Joseph’s Church and the entire cavalry. Michael defended the castle and Krakow Gate, while Tim defended the remaining positions. On the Austrian side, General Geringer played Commander-in-Chief Peter, who also commanded the forces attacking from the south toward Krakow Gate, supported by Neil’s cavalry. Jimmy’s column took up position next, followed by Alasdair’s artillery and then Andy, Dave, and David. Each had three battalions supported by a single gun.
The first attack came from Andy’s column, which tried to capture St. Paul’s Church, defended by Tim’s battalion and supported by a gun. Andy’s attack failed, costing two battalions and forcing a withdrawal.
Another attack came from Jimmy's column. One of his battalions attacked Tim's battalion, which was positioned in the trenches between St. James's and St. Paul's Churches. Jimmy's first battalion was destroyed in the attack on the trenches, but the second battalion launched another assault, which succeeded and forced Tim to abandon his trench. Unfortunately for Jimmy, this battalion was caught in crossfire from a nearby church and was forced to withdraw.
The attack on Kraków Gate also ended in failure. Peter, supported by cavalry and effectively blocked by Michael’s cannons, was unable to break through the Polish defences and, being closest to the city walls, could not enter. However, the Austrians achieved one of their rare successes here. Alasdair’s artillery engaged the cannon in St. James’s Church and, at the cost of one destroyed heavy cannon, destroyed the Polish cannon, leaving the position unoccupied for the rest of the game.
Theoretically, Dave’s and David’s columns achieved the greatest success, attacking the city from the west. Both formations, unwilling to risk a close-order advance, moved in open order and pressed directly against the city’s western walls, toward the Polish trenches. The Poles used previously prepared sheaves of grain. A single infantry battalion held the area, later supported by dismounted Uhlans and flanking Chasseurs. The defence did not go well, as the direct assault on the trenches destroyed one of the Polish battalions and forced the remaining Polish formations to fall back to the walls.
At this point, the game ended. During the battle, each side lost a morale point whenever it lost a unit, just as it did when a unit became shaken. However, if such a unit rallied, it regained a morale point. The Austrians began the game with 9 morale points, and the Poles with 8. By the end of the game, the Poles had 4 points, and the Austrians 2. The Austrians lost three infantry battalions and heavy artillery, while the Poles lost one infantry battalion and a field gun. Furthermore, Sandomierz remained in Polish hands. The game ended in a Polish victory.
4. Summary.
The game ended with a historic result. The Poles repelled the Austrian assault. The following day, the Austrians negotiated surrender terms with Sokolnicki. At first, the Poles decisively rejected them, following Poniatowski’s explicit order to hold the fortress. However, by evening, Sokolnicki unexpectedly accepted the Austrian terms and surrendered the fortress. The Poles were allowed to leave the city. Poniatowski later criticised this decision sharply. Sokolnicki headed north, where he joined General Zajączek’s brigade. As the war continued, Poniatowski advanced toward Kraków in early July and captured it on July 15, threatening to cut off the Austrian forces from their homeland. Meanwhile, the main Austrian army was defeated at Wagram, an armistice was concluded, and the Treaty of Schönbrunn was signed, ending the War of the Fifth Coalition. The Polish-Austrian War finished with a Polish victory. The Duchy of Warsaw doubled its territory and its army.
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| Duchy of Warsaw before the war (Wikipedia). |
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| Duchy of Warsaw after the War (Wikipedia) |
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