| Lobositz,
1st October 1756
This Volley & Bayonet scenario has been developed by Mike Kirby. The
Campaign of 1756 On 21 July 1756, Frederick finalised his plans for the invasion of Saxony. The attack would involve no less than 62,000 men invading Saxony in three separate columns. Prinz Ferdinand would lead 15,000 men to Chemnitz, from where he would protect the right flank of the army. Bevern, with another 18,000 men would guard the left flank with a move towards Bautzen. The main attack would be in the centre where 30,000 men under Field Marshal Keith and accompanied by the Prussian monarch, would advance on Dresden. These forces were intended to first neutralise the Saxons and then turn south into Bohemia in order to establish a forward line of defence along the River Eger. The army would then over-winter in northern Bohemia before opening the 1757 campaign with a thrust towards Vienna. This, Frederick hoped, would bring the Austrians to the peace table. A powerful army of 24,000 men under Von Schwerin would remain in Silesia, both to protect the province and also to act as a strategic reserve. In order to guard against a possible early intervention by the Russians, Field Marshal Von Lehwaldt commanded a sizeable force of 30,000 men in East Prussia. The Austrian court deliberated about how best to deal with the Prussian king. Their army was not yet mobilised for war, and the campaigning season was already well advanced. Frederick's preparations for a pre-emptive strike had certainly taken them by surprise and few Austrian units were battle ready. When the Austrians finally issued their orders for mobilisation on 16 July, it was expected that the army would be ready to take the field with the minimum of delay. By the end of August however, the artillery still was not able to move from its depots and the battalion guns had not reached their regiments. Slowly, the Austrian regiments in Bohemia assembled at their camp at Kolin, and there they were joined on 26 September by their commander Field Marshal Von Browne, an experienced general of Irish descent. Frederick despatched a note to the Austrian Empress on 21 July, warning her not to intercede in his dealings with the Saxons. He followed this up by sending a further two notes within the week. Without waiting for a reply however, Frederick joined his army at Potsdam and on 28 July led them southwards towards the Saxon border, which they crossed on 29 August. The outnumbered Saxon army,[1] under the command of Count Rutowski, withdrew before the Prussian advance, and even the capital city Dresden was left defenceless, as the Saxons ensconced themselves on their hilltop encampment of Pirna. This was a strong position but suffered from poor lines of supply. Once the Prussians had blocked the roads and the water traffic on the Elbe had been stopped, it would be only a matter of time before the Saxon army starved. Frederick marched into Dresden on 9 September and less than two days later his army blockaded the Saxons on their mountain top. The Prussian army was supplied by convoys of barges using the Elbe from the magazines at Magdeburg, but in the longer term, Frederick intended to extract every last drop of food and fodder from the Saxon countryside. He also fully expected to recruit the majority of Saxon soldiers into his army, once they had been forced to surrender. With the Saxons now bottled up in the own camp, Frederick was able to bring up Ferdinand's men from Chemnitz. Keith's corps continued their advance into Bohemia, defeating an Austrian advance guard under Wied at Nollendorf and reaching Aussig on the 13th where they camped comfortably. For his part, Browne elected not to defend the border passes of the Mittel-Gebirge. His supply lines were stretched and his army as yet incomplete. Instead he would attempt to extract the Saxon army from Pirna, under the noses of the Prussians, await reinforcements from Piccolomini, currently in Moravia, and with this combined army march to crush the invader. Frustrated by Keith's apparent lack of action, Frederick decided to join him on 28 September in order to push forward into Austrian territory. Their combined army now mustered over 28,000 men, enough Frederick believed, to force the Austrians to withdraw southwards. Now, motivated by their monarch, the Prussian army resumed the offensive, arriving at Wellemin[2] two days later. Field Marshal von Browne did not intend to allow the Saxons to capitulate easily. He directed Rutowski to prepare for an evacuation across the Elbe using the Saxon's pontoon bridge. This would be erected under the protection of the guns in Konigstein fortress in order to provide a link with an Austrian corps on the opposite bank. This 'flying corps' was despatched by Browne on 25 September, under the capable command of Count Lacy, with orders to march to Schandau via Leitmeritz and await reinforcements. Browne himself was able to move the main army to Lobositz, where it arrived on 30 September. He hoped to offer a limited battle to the Prussians in order to buy time for the evacuation of his allies, however hearing the news of the advance of the main enemy army he recalled Lacy and ordered him to bring a part of his corps back down the Elbe and join the main army. Together with Lacy's troops, Browne would have about 35,000 men at Lobositz, which he judged to be an excellent blocking position on the west bank of the Elbe.
The Battle of Lobositz 1 October 1756 "We
have lost some men, but no regiment is ruined. All have been blooded and
none have lost their marks of honour"[3]. The battlefield chosen by Browne was dominated by the 572 metre high Lobosch-Berg. This imposing volcanic peak was densely covered by scrub on its steep upper slopes, and by terraced vineyards lower down. To the south of the road from Toplitz the more gentle slopes of the Homolka-Berg framed the western edge of the plain. This hill was partly covered by trees and vines. A marshy-banked stream called the Morellen-Bach dominated the valley bottom. The locals had dammed this watercourse in several places in order to form deep carp ponds. Near the partly walled village of Sullowitz, there was an area of fenced parkland, which contained a small pond and open woodland. Between the north end of the stream and Lobositz, the road had become sunken. This extended the defensible position almost to the Elbe. On the morning of 1 October, as the leading units of Keith's army marched up the road through Bilinka, a heavy mist could be discerned lying low in the valley below and spilling over into the plain. As the advance guard passed the lower contours of the Lobosch-Berg, they were fired upon by detachments of Croats concealed amongst the terraces. Frederick, riding with the two infantry columns of his army, ordered their deployment right and left of the line of advance. The three lines of cavalry deployed across the valley floor whilst batteries of guns were wheeled into position in front of the infantry. One heavy battery of mixed guns and howitzers was taken by Lt Colonel Moller up the Homolka-Berg, where they unlimbered on a promontory with an excellent field of fire. At 7:30am Bevern's left wing of infantry was ordered to clear the lower slopes of the Lobosch-Berg, where they were met by a withering fire from the Croats as they advanced. Frederick, by his own admission,[4] had assumed that he had run into the rearguard of the Austrian army, but in fact he had blundered into Browne's carefully thought-out holding action. With the fog slowly beginning to thin out, the Prussian centre became the target of the main Austrian battery, positioned in front of Lobositz. The Prussian infantry suffered terrible casualties before the fire was returned by Moller's battery on the Homolka mound, directing their shot at the Austrian cavalry in the enemy centre. The Austrian horsemen responded by trotting out various evolutions intended to put the Prussian gunners off their aim. By now the reinforcements from Lacy's corps, brought up from Lietmeritz, had deployed in support of the Austrian right flank. Frederick rode up the Homolka mound but he was still frustrated by the lack of visibility, and in an effort to gain some further intelligence of the enemy, he ordered von Kyau's cavalry forward in order to perform a recconaisance in force. As they advanced however, the Prussian horsemen were fired upon in flank by Austrian troops near Sullowitz. Furthermore as they veered to the right, away from the fire, they were vigorously attacked by the cavalry of O'Donnell who had assumed command of the Austrian cavalry of the centre. The original commander of these troops, Radicati, had been mortally wounded by a cannon shot during the artillery duel. The Prussians were supported by the famous Bayreuth Dragoons, together these were enough to push the Austrians back towards the sunken road, but a counter-attack by the Austrian cuirassier regiments of Cordua and Stampach finally broke them, and they fled back to their own lines. There has been some speculation for the actions of the second line of Prussian cavalry at this point in the battle, however it is clear that their commanders were slavishly following the instruction manual of their Monarch[5]. This specifically states that whenever the front line of cavalry fails to achieve its objectives, the second line must attack immediately without waiting for orders. In the event, some 56 squadrons of Prussian cavalry moved to the attack. Frederick, watching from his vantage position, could only look on with horror as the horsemen moved in two bodies to attack the waiting Austrians. The left wing of these men charged towards Lobositz and the sunken road. They were fired on by evading Austrian infantry, stopped by canister fire, then broken by Austrian cuirassiers. The right wing found itself riding into the marsh and mud of the Morellen-Bach where they made sitting targets for the enemy gunners. At around mid-day, the mist was almost clear and Frederick was able to observe that he was up against the main Austrian army. Meanwhile, the infantry of Bevern still skirmished with the Croats on the Lobosch-Berg. Browne had sent 4 more battalions to support his men amongst the vines, whilst the Prussians found themselves running desperately short of ammunition. Just before 1pm, Frederick decided to hand over the control of the battle to Keith, and the King rode away from the battlefield in order to consider his next move. Keith ordered Bevern to make a push up the Lobosch-Berg. Bevern inspired his men to attack with the bayonet and they drove the Austrians from the hill. Smoke and flames rose up from the town of Lobositz as the Prussian howitzer fire took effect. It was through this conflagration that the Austrian infantry had to retire, but the retreat was achieved and the survivors of the fight pulled back beyond the town. Browne now moved his uncommitted left wing to the central plain in order to form a strong defence line to the rear of the sunken road. This movement provided the Austrians with an excellent rearguard of fresh troops. At around 3pm, his holding action completed, Browne ordered his army to disengage and withdraw in excellent order, eastwards. The Prussians, unable to follow up, were left on the field of battle with their 3,100 dead and wounded. The Austrians suffered the loss of 2,800 men. After the battle, the Austrians went into winter quarters around and to the north of Prague. Frederick, abandoned his plans to over-winter on the Eger and retreated back into Saxony. In spite of the gallant efforts of their ally, the Saxons failed to organise their part of the escape plan. The Austrian flying corps was unable to persuade Rutowski to vacate his hill-top camp. Instead, the articles of the Saxon surrender were signed on 14 October 1756. Frederick 'incorporated' the Saxon infantry into his own army, plundered the Saxon court of its money, replaced the government of the country with his own and for the next 6 years ravished Saxony of its food, fodder and manpower.
Lobositz
1756 - A Scenario for Volley & Bayonet This battle is fought at the ‘Regiment’ (1.500) scale. Each map square contains 9 grid squares and therefore represents 1000 x 1000 paces of ground. Turn 1 is 6am, night falls at 7pm for a total of 14 turns. The Austrian army deploys with its left flank anchored on the Morellen-Bach opposite Tschischkowitz and the right flank of Lacy deployed between Lobositz and Welhotta. The advance guard deploys immediately in front of the sunken road. The Prussian main army enters along the road from Bilinka, with the advance guard at Wichinitz. The Prussians are the attackers. All woods are open. The
Morellen-Bach is a stream with marshy banks as shown, the ponds are
unfordable, as is the River Elbe. All buildings are wooden with the
exception of Lobositz, which has one stone block and two wooden blocks.
All Infantry Regiments have battalion guns but none have grenadiers
present. The effects of the fog are simulated as follows: Fog only affects visibility on the plain and not on the contours. The maximum visibility range through the fog is reduced to 2,400 paces (7 grid-squares). At the beginning of the 7am turn, and the start of every turn thereafter, throw one D6. If the number rolled is less than the current turn number, the fog lifts immediately. Victory Conditions The Prussians must collapse three of the Austrian commands before nightfall. The Austrians win by preventing the Prussians from doing the above.
Orders of Battle The Prussians Army Commander, King Frederick II, (AC), Monarch Deputy Commander, Field Marshal Keith, (AC) Army Troops
Infantry
Corps, LG Prinz v Preussen, (CC) Right Division, LG Pz Ferdinand, (DC), Ex = 9
Centre Division, LG v Kleist, (DC), Ex = 7
Left Division, LG v Bevern, (DC), Ex = 8
Cavalry Corps, FM v Gessler, (CC) LG v Katzler, (DC), Ex = 6
LG v Kyau, (DC), Ex = 4
LG v Schwerin, (DC), Ex = 1
The Austrians Army Commander, FM v Browne (AC) Army Troops
Advance Guard, MG Graf v Hadik, (DC), Ex = 6
Lacy's Corps, MG Graf Lacy, (DC), Ex = 9
Main
Infantry Corps,
Gen Kollowrat C, (CC)
First
Line Infantry,
LG Graf v Starhemberg, (DC), Ex = 9
Second Line Infantry, MG Krottendorf, (DC), Ex = 6
Cavalry
Corps,
Gen Luchesse, (CC) Centre Cavalry, LG Graf Radicati, (DC), Ex = 4
General Notes: [1] Theoretically numbering some 18, 617 men, but at this time considerably less. [2] Small town about 5 miles north-west of Lobositz. [3] Prussian account of the battle, quoted in Cogswell ‘1756, The War in Bohemia.’ [4] Frederick, quoted in Duffy 'Frederick the Great, a Military Life.’ [5] Frederick the Great, 'Instructions to the Major Generals of Cavalry.’ The Map Note the map is grid
scale is 1000 paces x 1000 paces rather than the normal 1200 yards x
1200 yards due to Mike Kirby using an alternate ground scale with his Square
Grid System. |