French losses (17 pts.)
1/11e legere; 1/ and 2/2e ligne; 1/ and 2/18e ligne; 2/26th ligne;
2/93th ligne; 8th Chevau-legers Lanciers; 26/3e Foot artillery
Generals Valory (1B/6D) wounded and Piquet (3LCB/1LCD) dead |
Austrian losses (14
pts.)
1/Wurzburg IR;1 and 2/Gyulai IR; Klenau Chevau-legers; 2B/2D 6lb
battery; 1B/2D 6lb battery |
Comments:
Grunberg for Lasalle finished like the real
combat, with the French forces retiring towards Leipzig and the
Austrian awaiting for the arrival of the rest of their Army. In 1813, Murat
(Victor's C-i-C) retired on Lieberwolkwitz, where
it took place the batle of that name, the prelude to the Battle of the Nations.
The main conclusion to be drawn from the combat of Grunberg, is the
huge advantage that enjoy in Lasalle the
'large units' of six figures, like the Austrians of 1813, when facing
'normal' units of four figures like the French (and incidentally 'the rest of
the world'). This 50% advantage appears at different times of the game:
1) Fire. In Lasalle, the musket fire effect
is determined with the firing unit rolling a number of dice equaling the number
of figures in its first rank. The comparative efficincy of the skirmisher
screens can modulate this, but the French had a poor skirmish performance in
1813, so the Austrians are more likely to cause more fire casualties than the
French.
2) Hand to Hand Combat. In this case, both
sides roll a number of dice equal to twice the total of their respective
figures. The final numbers can change depending on various tactical aspects, but
the result is that the Austrians habitually will roll more dice, so it is quite
difficult to break an Austrian unit in hand to hand combat.
3) Morale of the units. The number of
casualties that a unit can absorb in Lasalle before to be broken and eliminated,
depends on its initial number of figures. Here the Austrians of 1813 have again
an advantage that is often decisive, as they can absorb a 50% more of casualties
than the French, and consequently they have a larger resiliance.
4) The Army morale. The morale breaking
number, i.e. the level when a side becomes routed in Lasalle and must concede
the day, depends on their morale number, that is calculated with 'normal' units
being worth 2 morale points, while the 'large' ones are worth 3 morale points,
the breaking level of an army composed from 'large' units is always greater than
the corresponding to an army composed of 'normal' units, so it is more difficult
to break it.
During my solo-gaming I act in a god-like
way. I made that the French followed their usual 'en avant' attacking
tactical doctrine, while the Austrian followed their habitual and more cautious
defensive approach. The net result of these opposing doctrines, when combined
with the points described above, was that the French
crashed their heads, again and again, against the sheer weight of the Austrian
numbers. The battle became thus a matter of attrition and
consequentlythe winner was the side that could absorb more losses.
This combat has shown the power of the 'big battalions'
or that, as we said in Spain, 'God helps the bad when they outnumber the good'
(Dios ayuda a los malos cuando son más que los buenos) |