GOLDBERG (AUGUST 1813)
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INTRODUCTION
The combat of
Goldbeg was the prelude to the battle of the Katzbach in
August 1813. It was fought into the context of the cat and mouse game
between Napoleon and the Bluecher's Army of Silesia. After the end
of the summer armistice, Napoleon headed towards the Army of Silesia
but after some combats and skirmishes (like Lowenberg) Napoleon
received the Saint-Cyr’s plea for help from Dresden. Napoleon hurried
back in the aid of his lieutenant, leaving to Macdonald the pursuit of Bluecher
with a task-force consisting of the III, V and XI Corps.
The Allied forces were the Russian Sacken’s Corps (fighting the III
Corps, several miles at north of Goldberg), the
Yorck's I Prussian and
the Russian Langeron’s Corps fronting the French V (Lauriston) and XI (Macdonald)
Corps.
The town of Goldberg (now named Zlotoryja in Poland) was the key to the
Katzbach River line and this Scenario covers the fight in its environs. The OOB’s
and the narrative have been taken from Nafziger, Fabry and Gneiseneau and the maps from Google Earth and the 3rd Military
Mapping Survey of Austria-Hungary (See Bibliography)
TABLE-TOP ADAPTATION
| NBd Scenario for Goldberg | ||
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Goldberg (Zlotoryja) today (Google Earth) |
Old map (3rd Military Mapping Survey of Austria-Hungary) |
Table map |
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| The battlefield and the Allied deployment | ||
DEPLOYMENT
French
Lauriston is with the 17th Division
19th Division, 6th Light Cavalry Brigade behind the 17th division. 10h
16th Division, A/V D1 14h
31st Division, A/XI C1 14h
Prussians- Russians
All the Langeron’s corps is in the table as well as the 2nd Prussian
brigade. Bluecher is in Kopalsch. The rest of the Prussian units are
approaching the battlefield:
8th Brigade, Yorck A5 end-road 12h
1st, 7th Brigades, Cavalry Reserve, Artillery Reserve A4 12,30 h
Each arriving brigade must vacate completely the arrival point
before to apply the OR 13.8.2 rule for Varying Time Arrivals. Consider
the first time that point is available as two turns before the normal
arrival turn.
The actual position of Macdonald during the combat of Goldberg is uncertain and in the actual battle, the French forces were commanded by Lauriston. In this Scenario Lauriston commands both the V and XI Corps with a reduced command radius. However Macdonald could appear at C1 in any turn after 16 h. Use 1D10 starting that turn with a ‘0’ allowing the arrival of Macdonald. Repeat the try every turn until his arrival or the game-end..
VICTORY POINTS
The French objective is to occupy Goldberg and catch the Allied in a disadvantageous position. The Allied objective is to maintain Goldberg and the Katzbach line. The key points and the percentage of victory points allotted are Goldberg (20%) and its bridge (15%), Hermsdorf (10%) and its bridge (15%), Geinsberg ford (5%), Nieder-Au (15%), Kopalsch’s bridge (5%) and the A5, C5 and D4 end-roads (5% each).
The opposing forces are different in points: French 754 vs. Prussians 963. The multiplier for the weaker side (French) is 1.28 in both NB1 and NB2 (430 and 172 victory points respectively).
HISTORICAL OUTCOME
The French, led by Lauriston in Macdonald’s absence, taken Goldsberg but the Silesian Army retired unmolested, because Bluecher assumed that Napoleon was in the area. Three days after, the Army of the Bober was defeated in the battle of Kaztbach.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Fabry G., "Etude sur les opérations du maréchal Macdonald, du 22 août au 4 septembre 1813, la Katzbach"
- Fabry G., "Mémoires de Langeron:général d'infanterie dans l'armée russe"
- Gneisenau, W.A. "The Life and Campaigns of Field-Marshal Prince Blücher"'
- Nafziger G. ‘'Napoleon at Dresden. The Battles of August 1813”, The Emperor Press, Chicago, 1994
- 3rd Military Mapping Survey of Austria-Hungary
- http://topografia.republika.pl/
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