MD 12 - Eggmühl - "La Grande Battle"
22 April 1809
Historical Background
On the morning of the 22 April, a thick fog covered the entire valley of the Grosse Laaber. When the fog cleared around 8:00 AM, Austrian General Rosenberg became concerned with the lack of movement by Davout’s troops. He assumed this meant that more French troops were on their way or had already arrived. French reinforcements had indeed arrived and Napoleon wasted no time joining his front line. On his own initiative upon hearing Napoleon’s cannon, Davout attacked Rosenberg’s Austrians at Unterlaichling and the woods to the north, pinning them so that Napoleon could bring superior force to bear on Charles’s left flank. Davout’s divisions under Friant and St Hilaire steadily pushed the Austrians back. With support of the Bavarian cavalry, Unterlaichling was finally captured, while the fight for the woods rolled back and forth. Convinced that his position was no longer tenable, Rosenberg began to fall back.
While the Württembergers were fighting for Eggmühl, Napoleon had been building up his cavalry just south of the Grosse Laaber.
Once Eggmuhl was secure, he ordered his squadrons forward. Austrian General Rosenberg could see the developing threat, and had appealed to Charles earlier in the day for the Austrian Cuirassier Division, but his request was met with no response.
Left with few options, when the first of Napoleon’s cavalry crossed the river, Rosenberg ordered what little cavalry he had on hand to move forward to obstruct the crossing. Predictably, the outnumbered Austrian horsemen were repulsed. Meanwhile, on the extreme French right, Gudin’s division attacked Bieber’s brigade and the Austrians were forced to fall back to the woods, where they managed to hold their ground and prevent the French from advancing any further. With reverses along the whole front, Charles decided to withdraw and sent Rosenberg an order to pull back as best he could. About the same time, the French cavalry was now all across Grosse Laaber, making a withdrawal difficult. Although they were heavily outnumbered, Rosenberg ordered his decimated cavalry to charge yet again and buy time for the infantry to withdraw.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?
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Set-Up Order
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| 29 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Battle Notes
Austrian Army
• Commander: Rosenberg
• 5 Command Cards
Austrian Corps Commanders
Right Center Left
Command 2 2 2
Tactician 2 2 2
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| 20 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
French Army
• Commander: Davout
• 6 Command Cards
• Move first
French Corps Commanders
Right Center Left
Command 3 3 3
Tactician 3 3 3
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| 21 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Victory
17 Banners
Special Rules
• Unterlaiching is a Temporary Victory Banner worth 1 banner for the side that occupies it at the start of its turn (Temporary Victory Banner Turn Start)
• Oberlaichling is a Temporary Victory Banner for the French player worth 1 banner when occupied at the start of the turn (Temporary Victory Banner Turn Start)
• Obersanding is a Permanent Victory Banner for the French player worth 1 banner when occupied at the start of the turn (Permanent Victory Banner Turn Start)
• The French player gains 1 Victory Banner for each French unit that exits the battlefield from any Austrian baseline hex between (including) the marked hexes.
