THE WAY TO AUSTERLITZ Campaign - October - December 1805

After the victory at Ulm, the main body of the Napoleonic French army followed the remains of the Austrian army towards Vienna. Following the failure of the Austrian army at Ulm, a Russian army under General Mikhail Kutuzov was also withdrawing east, and reached the Ill river on 22 October, where it joined with the retreating Corps Kienmayer. On 5 November, they held a successful rearguard action in Amstetten. On 7 November, the Russians arrived in St. Pölten, and then moved across the Danube river the next day. Late on 9 November, they destroyed the bridges across the Danube, holding the last one, at Stein, near Krems, until the late afternoon. The following day, Mortier ordered Gazan to attack what they believed to be a Russian rear guard, at the village of Stein. This was a trap on the part of Kutuzov, laid for the sole purpose of convincing Mortier that he had retreated further toward Vienna, when he had actually crossed the Danube in force, and lay concealed behind the ridges above the village. In the ensuing Battle of Dürenstein, three Russian columns circled around the First Division of the Corps Mortier, and attacked Gazan from both the front and the rear. Not until Dupont's division arrived, after dark, was Gazan able to start to evacuate his soldiers to the other side of the Danube. Gazan lost close to 40 percent of his division. In addition, 47 officers and 895 men were captured, and he lost five guns, as well as the eagles of the 4th Infantry Regiment, and the eagle and guidon of the 4th Dragoons. The Russians also lost around 4,000, about 16 percent of their force, and two regimental colors. The Austrian Lt. Field Marshal Schmitt was killed as the battle concluded, probably by Russian musketry in the confused melee. At the Battle of Schöngrabern (also known as the Battle of Hollabrunn) occurred a week after the battle at Duerenstein. On 16 November 1805. near Hollabrunn in Lower Austria. The Russian army of Kutuzov was retiring north of the Danube before the French army of Napoleon. On 13 November 1805 Marshals Murat and Lannes, commanding the French advance guard, had captured a bridge over the Danube at Vienna by falsely claiming that an armistice had been signed, and then rushing the bridge while the guards were distracted. Kutuzov needed to gain time in order to make contact near Brünn with reinforcements led by Buxhowden. He ordered his rearguard under Major-General Prince Pyotr Bagration to delay the French.
After Hollabrun, the armies gathered on the plains to the east of Brno. Napoleon could muster some 75,000 men and 157 guns for the impending battle, but about 7,000 troops under Davout were still far to the south in the direction of Vienna. The Allies had about 73,000 soldiers, seventy percent of them Russian, and 318 guns. On 1 December, both sides occupied their main positions to the decision battle..

Ok, we have still enough official and fanmade scenarios, to make the following campaign after Ulm, "The way to Austerlitz"

1) Amstetten -5 November 1805

Second battle


2) Mariazell - 8 November 1805

3rd battle:

3) Dürenstein - 11 November 1805

And 4th and last battle in this small campaign, before GG´s "Mother of all Napoleonics battles" happens

4) Schöngrabern - 16 November 1805



PDF files should be available very soon in the "Campaign" download folder

And here is the campaign sheet

Have you considered not allowing the Austrian Line Infantry to use Battalion Mass.

They weren't historically first used until the 1809 campaign.

I never liked the note in the rules saying...

"In the interest of uniformity of play, the 1805 scenarios allow the Austrian player to form Battalion Mass with his Line Infantry units. Whatever advantage accrues to the Austrian player from the Battalion Mass is factored out in other ways."

IMHO that's just silly
There is no uniformity of play.
French line are different from British line which are different from Austrian line which are different from ....

If you think this gives the Austrians a disadvantage in the individual scenarios, you can give them a compensating special advantage either in the campaign rules or in the battlefield rules.

Have you considered not allowing the Austrian Line Infantry to use Battalion Mass.

Thats general a good thougt, i will just finish my complete 3 small campaigns to have then 3 campaigns to play in a
"Great Austerlitz" campaign. Then we will see, how it goes and if / which rules should be changed.
Therefore such suggestions, also after some battles, are welcome