by Zachary Grant, 27 April 2025
Welcome back to the final installment of the Battle of Guttstadt. When we ended last week, the Russians were surrounding Altkirch in order to capture it. The Russian cavalry were blocking the advancement of French cavalry from Guttstadt and Raevsky and a group of Cossacks were slowly making their way down a small path towards Guttstadt in order to bypass the French cavalry. To refresh your memory, here’s the situation in the north by Altkirch and the south by Guttstadt.
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By 1000 the French in Altkirch must be feeling a bit nervous. They are surrounded on all sides and they must be able to see and hear the large numbers of Russians to the north. In a surprise move, the French send skirmishers towards the Russians north of Altkirch. From my point of view, this is a brilliant move, because it means I’m not able to advance down the main road. The skirmishers are blocking the way! On a more positive note, General Yermolov has been overseeing two batteries of 12 pounders set up on a small hill overlooking Altkirch. These two batteries open fire and begin to slowly whittle away at the French infantry defending the town.
In the south, the French cavalry also surprise me by charging at the Russian cavalry. Interestingly, the French only charge the lone Russian squadron on the right. The French succeeded in pushing it back and disordering it; however, all four French squadrons are now disordered and there are 4 fresh Russian squadrons immediately to the French right flank.
At Altkirch, those French skirmishers have got to go, so I attack with the 3rd Staryi-Oskol Battalion. They plow into the skirmishers and push them back. Unfortunately, although the French skirmishers are disordered, they continue to block the road.
In the southern part of the battle, we see the Russian cavalry has repositioned itself to block the disordered French cavalry and the Russian artillery is moving into position on the high ground.
Back at Altkirch, the French are not going to let their skirmishers be treated poorly and focus their fire on the 3d Staryi-Oskol Infantry Battalion. The French pour enough musket fire into them to rout them. So, the road is still blocked by French skirmishers and the 3d Staryi-Oskol Battalion is now running away.
Meanwhile, in the south, the situation has stabilized a wee bit. The French cavalry fall back to a safe distance while the Russian cavalry continues to reorganize and dress their lines. Raevsky continues to march along the path to Guttstadt and the Cossack scout I sent to Lingnau arrives to find nothing. I quickly learn Cossacks can’t capture the town to earn the Russians any victory points. Drat!
General Markov, knowing he needs to begin the attack on Altkirch, gives the command and his battalions start to advance. The intent is to push the French skirmishers back and to get into position to begin delivering point blank musket fire into the French. With Pahlen’s Advance Guard to the west and Baggovut’s Regiment directly south, the French are struggling to cover all avenues of approach.
The end result is only one battalion is able to move forward and attack the skirmishers, pushing them back as planned. It is a small step and hopefully the first one towards evicting the French from Altkirch.
Sensing confusion in the French ranks and seeing Markov’s infantry beginning to attack, General Pahlen and General Baggovut give the order to attack. As their attacks begin, Mecklenburg’s Regiment arrives to join the fray. Events are about to get very chaotic!
At 1030, it is looking grim for the French. Many of the units have routed and are huddling for safety in the confines of Altkrich. Although it looks like there are many French columns in the town, in reality, there are also many Skirmishers which have routed. It is now just a matter of time before Altkirch is captured. Mecklenburg, understanding the situation and realizing he can’t contribute to the battle, orders his Regiment to skirt the melee and to continue towards Guttstadt.
By 1050 the French still control Altkirch. They are a tough bunch! Mecklenburg has successfully moved his Regiment around the fighting and is making his way towards the next roadblock further south. Not much has happened against the French cavalry other than the Russian horse artillery has been peppering the French for about 30 minutes.
In the south, Raevsky’s infantry and Grekov’s Cossacks are much closer to Guttstadt. There are two batteries of Russian horse artillery rushing to come to the aid of this small force. Waiting to greet the Russians are two French infantry battalions and a whole lot of cavalry. Somehow I don’t think the French are going to be welcoming hosts at Guttstadt.
Finally, at 1100 the Russians capture Altkirch! However, it isn’t without losses. Somehow, and it isn’t clear to me how, General Pahlen was killed. Someone is given a battlefield promotion and the new commander icon has a very nondescript portrait and the title “Colonel Anonymous”. We will make sure General Pahlen is given all the proper honors and awards when we have time to bury him.
The French cavalry has done an excellent job of halting Russian progress toward Guttstadt. Bibikov decides to let the Russian artillery weaken the French a bit more before attacking. He also commands two squadrons to swing to the French flank to draw a few of them away from the main road. Unfortunately, while crossing the stream, the squadrons become disordered.
As Raevsky and his 2d Regiment approach Guttstadt with the Cossacks, the French infantry form squares. This is unexpected. The Cossacks are not strong enough to damage the 800+ strong French battalions. In fact, I view this as a blunder, because I’ll bring up the horse artillery and cause all kinds of havoc by shooting the tightly packed men in their neat square formations.
By 1130 the Russians who captured Altkirch are making their way south, both along the main road and the smaller path that parallels it to the west. The French cavalry are still blocking the path to the south; however, I think they have been weakened enough that it is time to charge them with the Russian cavalry. The Advance Guard remains at Altkirch to protect it, while they mourn the loss of their leader.
At Guttstadt the Cossacks begin to tentatively scout the town while the horse artillery unlimbers and aims their cannons at the infantry squares. Raevsky orders his infantry to move towards Guttstadt, knowing the clock is ticking and they don’t have much time left.
With Mecklengurg’s Regiment getting impatient, General Bibikov gives the order to charge the weakened French cavalry. The Russian cavalry succeed in pushing the French out of the way and disordering them. The road to the south is clear! The two squadrons that were swinging around the French are guarding the crossing to keep it safe for the Russians.
At Guttstadt, the Yermolov Horse Artillery opens fire on the French infantry, who have formed defensive squares. The cannon balls rips a gaping hole in their ranks. Over 100 men are killed or injured. As the cannons thunder into action, the Cossacks and Raevsky’s infantry march closer to Guttstadt. As they approach, the Russians discover there are a couple of French artillery batteries waiting to give them a hearty welcome.
On the last turn, the Advance Guard continues to protect Altkirch while the rest of the Russian army moves to the south. The French cavalry that was blocking the Russians are still disordered. The Russian cavalry is screening Mecklenburg’s Regiment as it passes by on its way to Guttstadt.
At Guttstadt, a chaotic mess is halted by the end of the scenario. The Russian horse artillery fired on the French infantry squares before two Russian infantry battalions, both in column formation, closed for close combat and pushed the French aside, routing one of the French battalions in the process. A group of French Dragoons rode into the fray at Guttstadt causing all kinds of havoc. Some Cossacks managed to capture a French supply wagon; however, at the end of the game, Guttstadt is still safely in French control.
And then the game ends. I’m prompted with a message telling me the scenario is finished. The Victory Dialog screen surprised me. I didn’t expect a Major, or Minor Victory; however, I thought there might be a draw or tie score available, which there isn’t. The Russians took substantially fewer casualties and they captured Altkirch, which is only worth 25 VP. Guttstadt is valued at 100 VP; however, even if I had captured Guttstadt, I would still not have attained the minimum of 700 points to meet the threshold of a Major Defeat.
After a bit more reading, I realize this is only part of a much larger 60 turn scenario, so the scoring must not have been adjusted for this shorter scenario. I captured Altkirch and got to the outskirts of Guttstadt, so for my first time playing this game, I think I did okay. I’ll definitely continue to play this game and look forward to trying some of the other scenarios soon.
This was the final episode in a running playthrough of Campaign Eylau-Friedland from Wargame Design Studio; you can find the links to all published episodes at the end of article.
Campaign Eylau-Friedland AAR – How (Not) to Win the Battle of Guttstadt
PART 1 ~ PART 2 ~ PART 3
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