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056. The Battle of Dennewitz - WDS Campaign Leipzig

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056. The Battle of Dennewitz Image
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056. The Battle of Dennewitz

By Bill Peters
French (Nap) 4 - 0 - 3 Allies (Nap)
Rating: 8.76 (7)
Games Played: 7
SM: 5
Turns: 56
Type: Custom
First Side: French (Nap)
Second Side: Allies (Nap)
6 September 1813 - Historical - Intended to be played Head to Head - After the debacle at Großbeeren, Napoleon gave command of the Army of Berlin to Ney. His orders were to take Berlin. Reassembling the forces at hand (IV, VIII and XII Corps and III Cavalry Corps) he marched to the north from Wittenberg and other points in the south. Bertrand's IV Corps lead the way with Reynier following. A stubborn Oudinot, upset at having to serve under Ney, followed behind at a leisurely march pace. The III Cavalry Corps was equally divided between the corps. Ney and Bertrand arrived at Dennewitz to find only Prussian landwehr (Tauentzien's IV Corps) holding the town. The Prussians were advancing as Ney's men settled into the area in and around the village. The Prussian elements of the Army of the North under Bernadotte were trying to unite near Dennewitz. Bülow's III Corps was up on the heights to the northwest of the village. As Ney moved north, Bülow's men stepped off to assault the French left flank. Tauntzien tried to hold his position as best as possible with his force. Several of his landwehr units routed but on the whole they did quite well. Ney's route to Berlin to the north (only about 12 miles) was blocked. Bülow was heading down on his flank. He realigned IV Corps to face the greater threat and ordered Reynier and Oudinot to advance at all possible speed. The latter continued to march at a slower pace and thus Reynier arrived and took up his place alone on Bertrand's left flank. The Saxons were hard pressed to hold against the Prussian brigades. Oudinot's corps finally arrived around 4-5pm and Ney juggled their deployment such that at one point a crucial point in the line was left weakened. The Prussians chose this moment to renew their assault and the Saxons were sent crashing back. Around 6pm a sizable force of the Army of the North had arrived and were stationed on the heights near Eckmansdorf. But Bülow had problems of his own as Bernadotte would not release much of that force for an assault. Calling on the Prussians to fight proudly he only released for the assault a few battalions and three cavalry regiments. The French were finally pressed back after the Prussians had performed bravely but a total victory over Ney had been lost. Ney's maneuver on Berlin had failed as well. Dennewitz has been heralded as a great Allied victory but the laurels of the day belonged to Bülow and his brave Prussians.
Player Voting Stats
Member Balance Enjoyment
agmoss99's Profileagmoss99 Well Balanced 7
agmoss99's Profileagmoss99 Well Balanced 7
Virietor's ProfileVirietor Slightly Pro Allies (Nap) 8
Captain Al's ProfileCaptain Al Well Balanced 7
Cpt Courageous's ProfileCpt Courageous Well Balanced 7
agmoss99
General of the Army
agmoss99 Mon Nov 16, 2015 7:30 pm
The Swedes are a waste of time and space, arriving too far away and too late to get involved.
agmoss99
General of the Army
agmoss99 Wed Feb 10, 2016 8:36 am
In order to win the French have to capture widely spaced objectives, or destroy an allied army that is spread out. The allied reinforcements arrive rather late and so far away that it takes a long time to reach the action.
agmoss99
General of the Army
agmoss99 Wed Jun 17, 2020 3:04 pm
A major part of the fighting took place at a hill to the right of Niedergorsdorf. The French finally got the upper hand there but lost nearly all their artillery.
Fresh French reinforcements were put to use. Some Swedish forces arrived too late to see any action however.