AAR of the Kriegsspiel Scenario, Königgrätz 1866

Paul LaFontaine, 4 January 2026

Four players participated in this live Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel game. The scenario was the historical Battle of Königgrätz, 1866. Though the players considered each block a brigade (6,000) during game play, each block was actually a division (18,000) from the historical battle.

All players and umpire had physical sets at their locations. The umpire resolved the action on his map, and the players submitted and the umpire reports were images with only pointers indicating scenes of the action. Players kept their own maps and built a picture of the situation. The players had a short orientation and a twenty minute planning period. The game play took 70 minutes, and the after action review discussion was 25 minutes long.

This is another of a series of Kriegsspiel AARs very similar to the events in our Wargame HQ at the Origins Game Fair. You can find the original article here.

Leonsolaris and AaTaWe commanded the Austrian forces, while Bonk and Chris commanded the Prussian. Unlike the historical battle, the Austrian kept their line supported and the Prussians did a sweeping flank move while their main force kept the bulk of the Austrian Army pinned in place. Like the historical battle, the Austrians had to solve for the dilemma of forces converging from two directions. It was a close outcome as only a final push by the Prussian force that had come up from the rear tipped it in the Prussians favor.

The Problem

The problem in this battle is shifting needs for concentration. The Prussians (Blue) have a delayed force coming from the south. Their outnumbered main body must hold on until that reinforcing unit arrives. The Austrians (Red) must defeat the Prussian main body and shift to defeat the reinforcements when they arrive.

Austrian (Red) Briefing

Your force is divided into two equal wings and moves east to defend a north/south line. The main body of the enemy is expected to attack from the east. Reinforcements may come from the south, at either locations marked by the question marks.

click most images to enlarge

Your OOB:

The enemy is expected to have a smaller force of cavalry than yours, but be equal in infantry and artillery strength. Your mission is to defeat the enemy decisively.

 

Prussian (Blue) Briefing

Your force is divided into the two divisions, with the 1st Division being stronger at 24,000 infantry, 500 saddles and 36 guns. Your 2nd Division will enter the map area on turn two, with 12,000 infantry, 500 saddles and 36 guns. Enemy cavalry has been spotted at Kleindorf, large columns of infantry and artillery south of Steinhafen crossing the river. The enemy is expected to have infantry and guns equal to yours, but more cavalry.

Your OOB:

Your mission is to converge on your enemy and defeat him decisively.

 

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Turn 1

The game opens with all columns moving toward their assigned objectives. The northern Austrian column under Leonsolaris advances along the high road toward Kleindorf (1). The southern Austrian column under AaTaWe advances toward Bergenthal (2). On the Prussian side, the larger column under Bonk moves through Altbruck (3), establishing the main body’s central position. Chris’s column from the south approaching Lauten is slowed, representing the delay of the arrival of the Prussian 2nd Army.

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Turn 3

By the third turn, all columns have made measurable progress. Leonsolaris in the north has reached Kleindorf (1), and his cavalry pushes eastward, encountering cavalry under Bonk east of the town. They fight, and the Austrian cavalry is driven back through Kleindorf (2).

AaTaWe splits his column, leaving a garrison at Bergenthal (3) covered by cavalry to the south while sending the larger portion of his force north toward Kleindorf to support the fight there (4). This movement aligns with a broader plan to defeat the large column advancing from the east before reinforcements can arrive. In the east, Bonk moves his column west. In the south, Chris reaches Lauten (5) and prepares to move northwest in a maneuver intended to distract the enemy.

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Turn 4

In the east, Bonk deploys his first columns along the edge of the forest (1). Leonsolaris orders his units to take up a defensive position west of Kleindorf (2), as his retreating cavalry has established the end of their line west of town. This decision will have consequences on how long the Prussians can maintain their combat effectiveness later, as it yields the town to them.

With AaTaWe’s units now arriving south of town (3), the Austrians form a U-shaped defensive posture around Kleindorf. In the south, the Bergenthal garrison under AaTaWe remains unmolested, as only a cavalry skirmish has occurred at the bridge, resulting in an even exchange of casualties. Meanwhile, Chris has sent his column west (4) in an effort both to distract the enemy and to move behind their main forces.

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Turn 5

The battle opens in the east as Bonk sends a line of infantry, supported by cavalry, northwest to attack the forces under Leonsolaris (1). The Austrians have the advantage in the engagement due to superior numbers and being ordered into defensive posture. To the south of Kleindorf, AaTaWe commits his column to an attack in an attempt to strike the Prussian forces as they form up along the treeline (2). The Prussians use the woods for cover, and the attack fails to dislodge them, though it succeeds in fixing them in place. Meanwhile, Chris advances northeast along the road toward the crossroads (3), and the cavalry forces in the south disengage.

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Turn 6

The battle continues at Kleindorf as Bonk moves his forces into the town and attacks southwest (1). The forces under AaTaWe defend their position and successfully prevent the Prussians from pushing the line back, with casualties exchanged on both sides. In the north, Leonsolaris elects to remain on the defensive (2), and no fighting occurs there. Chris continues his march (3), crossing the river at the crossroads and moving toward the rear of the Austrian formation.

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Turn 7

The battle for Kleindorf continues, but the Austrians can now see Chris advancing from the west and pull back in order to address this new threat (1). Anticipating the danger, AaTaWe has already sent the force from Bergenthal northward (2), a decision that spares his northern formation from the destructive results of an attack from behind. Bonk now assumes a defensive posture as Leonsolaris attempts to attack down the ridgeline (3). The assault proves costly for the Austrians, as the Prussians are able to exploit both the cover of Kleindorf and the adjacent woods to his advantage. Losses mount on both sides, units begin to break. The cavalry in the north from both sides withdraw from the field, exhausted.

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Turn 8

In the northeast, units begin to break and leave the field as Bonk and Leonsolaris continue their fight (1). AaTaWe, seeing an opportunity to shatter the Prussian forces advancing from the east, maintains his attack up and through Kleindorf (2). In the south, the Austrians attempts to prevent the forces under Chris from striking the rear of the formation and partially succeeds by moving obliquely and engaging the Prussian column. Chris responds prudently, peeling off a portion of his force to contain that threat (3) while sending two brigades forward to strike the enemy in the rear at the eastern edge of Kleindorf (4).

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Turn 9

The Prussian forces have fought themselves to exhaustion east of Kleindorf (1), with Bonk having pushed them as far as he can. The forces under Leonsolaris (2) have also begun to retreat as they are spent, while AaTaWe still holds on(3), though Chris has now seized a portion of Kleindorf with two of his brigades (4), and those brigades remain fresh. All other units, save the cavalry in the southwest, are exhausted. Given the situation, the Austrians realize the day is not theirs and begin to retreat from the field.

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END OF SCENARIO

The Austrian forces are now split in two and retreat, much as the Austrians did historically, while the Prussians, exhausted, are unable to pursue them as they withdraw. As in the historical case, much of the Austrian army is saved, something AaTaWe and Leonsolaris are also able to accomplish here, but the outcome nonetheless spells the end of the war and therefore the end of this scenario. It is a Prussian victory, though a close one, with all players having fought well.

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Historical Campaign

On 3 July 1866, the Austrian North Army of roughly 215,000 men confronted the Prussian Army of the Elbe and First Army, together about 124,000 strong, along the Bystřice River. The Austrians occupied strong defensive ground, with infantry partially fortified, artillery sited to dominate the rolling, wooded terrain, and cavalry held to the rear. The Austrian guns checked the Prussians to the north and Saxons on the south.

The Prussian 7th Division advanced into the Swiep Forest and was heavily engaged with two Austrian corps. Fighting was close and confused. Austrian artillery initially inflicted heavy losses as Prussian divisions emerged from smoke and woodland, and the difficulty of moving Prussian guns across the shallow but obstructed river stalled the attack. Despite local successes, Austrian commander Benedek declined to launch a decisive cavalry charge, and by midday the battle remained unresolved.

As the fighting intensified, the character of the battle shifted. Austrian numerical superiority and longer-ranged artillery were blunted by the terrain, weather, and close-range combat in the forest. Austrian corps were committed piecemeal, and attempts to counterattack, including a determined thrust against the Prussian 7th Division, were broken by concentrated Prussian fire. By early afternoon, Austrian forces had moved off their strongest defensive positions, exposing their right flank.

The decisive moment came with the arrival of the Prussian Second Army under Crown Prince Frederick William around 14:30. Nearly 100,000 fresh troops struck the Austrian right while Prussian artillery pounded the center. Chlum fell, the Austrian line collapsed, and the Army of the Elbe broke through on the left. Benedek ordered a general retreat, covered by costly cavalry charges that kept the Elbe crossings open but at severe loss. By evening the Austrian army was in full withdrawal.

 

Conclusion

The Prussian command challenge in this scenario was decisions that led to the effectively timing the convergence of two different forces as they arrive from separate areas. The Austrian challenge was to maintain stability so that, as the Prussians converged, they could be fought effectively. There were several points in the scenario where each side performed very well, and only a few minor variations from the historical sequence led to the outcome.

In the north, Leonsolaris did an excellent job bringing his Austrian column to Kleindorf and, once in position, forming a defensive line. One point discussed in the after-action review was that occupying the town of Kleindorf might have provided additional strength to the line, allowing his forces to use its cover and compel the Prussians to fight through the town. The fact that Bonk and his forces held Kleindorf gave them an extra turn of stamina for the fight. In the south, AaTaWe managed his forces effectively by splitting them to meet competing requirements. He needed to protect Bergenthal before the enemy’s main axis was clear, while also supporting Leonsolaris in the north. Sending the Bergenthal force north prevented Chris from striking directly into his rear with his full striking power, which would have caused immediate disaster. Even so, Chris’s larger force, wisely divided, was able to strike in a way that collapsed the Austrian center, and once that center failed, the Austrians were forced to retreat from the field.

The scenario echoed history. The woods east of Kleindorf drew in multiple brigades for a prolonged fight and generated significant casualties, much like the historical struggle in the Swiepwald. The collapse of the center also mirrored the historical outcome, and although the 2nd Prussian army historically arrived from the north to drive into the center, Chris’s movement from the rear created a parallel effect that produced a similar result.

We were able to play nine turns in seventy minutes, which made for 7.7 minutes per turn. This is fast resolution for four players. The only additional layer of complexity beyond this would have been the inclusion of a commander-in-chief on each side, which would have increased dispatch volume and added another level of command friction. Even without that layer, the system proved very fast and effectively gave the players a clear and engaging experience of the battle.

Join us on Tuesdays and try one of these games yourself. We’ll see you out there.

 

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and you can also find out about the International Krieggspiel Society here

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