Victory Results:
 59 %
Record a victory for BOTTOM ARMY  41 %
Total plays 83 - Last reported by Malbi on 2024-02-16 07:54:32

Golymin - 26 December 1806

Historical Background
Acting on orders from Napoleon, Marshal Augereau’s VII Corps and Davout’s III Corps moved north from the Ukra River in Poland searching for Marshall Kamenskoi‘s retreating Russian army. The French caught up to Prince Golitsyn and Barron Sacken’s 3rd Division resting in the area of two small towns Golymin and Kaleczin. Augereau’s corps arrived first and attacked.
General Heudelet’s 2nd French Division advanced from the west while General Desjardins’ 1st Division moved through the woods to the south. On the French right, General Morand’s division of the III Corps moved forward in an attempt to cut off the Russian retreat. The Russians were outnumbered and took heavy casualties as they fought a retreating withdrawal. Their intent was to hold out until nightfall to make good their escape to the north, and they succeeded. The French noted with admiration the Russian troops obedience to orders. Their survival depended upon rapid retreat, and even when fired upon at close range, they ignored the casualties and kept marching instead of halting to return the fire.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?

 

Set-Up Order

Forest 17
Town 3
Marsh 1

 

Battle Notes

Russian Army
• Commander: Golitsyn
• 5 Command Cards
• Optional 2 Tactician Cards

Line Infantry Light Infantry Grenadier Infantry Light Cavalry Heavy Cavalry Cuirassier Heavy Cavalry Foot Artillery Leader
9 3 1 1 2 1 2 2

French Army
• Commander: Augereau
• 5 Command Cards
• Optional 4 Tactician Cards
• Move First

Line Infantry Light Infantry Light Cavalry Heavy Cavalry Leader
12 2 2 1 3

 

Victory
8 Banners

Special Rules
• The Russian player receives one Victory Banner for each Russian unit, excluding leaders, that exit the battlefield from any hex on the Russian baseline in the Russian army’s left section.

• Pre-Battle Mother Russia Roll rule is in effect.

 

FAQ

Count the Cossacks in the scenario Golymin (also in other scenarios, in which "off board" evading units counts as VP), as Victory Point too, because they don´t count as Victory Point if they are destroyed?

Yes, a Cossack unit will count as 1 VB when ordered to exit the battlefield in such scenarios.
Note, if units must retreat, they can´t use the retreat to leave the battlefield and must stop on board edge and loose blocks as normal, for each hex, they can´t retreat.

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Riclev replied the topic:
5 months 4 days ago
Two games today, bucking the trend above with two French victories. Both were close at 8-6. Although the Advanced French left flank looks like an advantage, in fact the cavalry units are boxed in by the wooded terrain, and in both games they were extricated using La Grande Manoeuvre. In both games the French won by crushing the Russian centre. In neither game were the Russians able to exit more than two units - this was down to not having sufficient cards playable on the left. However, two close results made this an interesting scenario and certainly one worth playing again.
Pevans replied the topic:
1 year 7 months ago
The roles are reversed, with me taking the French for Evert's and my return match at Golymin. Evert's "Mother Russia" roll gave him three Cossack units (they're just a nuisance), which he scattered across the Russian front line, plus an extra block added to the artillery and Light infantry on the Russian right flank.

The French started with their left flank infantry, led by General Heudelet, closing on the Russians in front of them {moving right on the board}. Exchanges of fire caused some casualties on both sides, almost including Gen Heudelet, before the French pressed home their attack. Damaged by the musketry, the Russian artillery was taken out by French Line infantry, the Cossacks were destroyed {no banner for a Cossack unit, though} and Line infantry under General Sacken were badly mauled. {A useful "Force March" card let me get six units into the attack and the score is 1:0 to me.}

The Russians holding Kaleczin retaliated and eliminated a French Light infantry. {1:1}

However, the French continued to attack, finishing off two Russian Line units (Gen Sacken fled the battlefield) and inflicting heavy casualties on the troops in the town. {I had a second "Force March", but Sacken doesn't count as a banner, so it's 3:1.}

Despite their mauling, the Russian infantry in Kaleczin tried to chase off their attackers, only to fall instead. {4:1}

Wary of the Russian cavalry milling around in the centre of the battlefield, the left flank French infantry did not advance further, apart from finishing off Russian Light infantry hiding in the woods. Instead, French infantry under General Desjardin moved through the woods in the centre to engage their Russian counterparts there. {5:1}

With nothing in immediate danger, the Russians began retreating their left flank. The French right flank followed, the Light cavalry charging ahead to harry the slowest Russian unit.

The Russian infantry stoically continued their retreat. {Evert used a "Bayonet Charge", usually an attacking card, to move his units two spaces.}

The French Light cavalry continued its pursuit of the slowest retreating Russians. Stuck in a marshy area, the Russian infantry was unable to form square and fell to the cavalry sabres. While, in the centre, French muskets were taking lumps out of the Russian cavalry and their bayonets wiped out a Line infantry. {7:1}

The battered Russian cavalry retired out of range, so the French infantry engaged the enemy infantry across the centre of the battlefield and destroyed another Russian Line. {8:1}

Wow! That was horribly one-sided - though Evert did have five units poised to exit the board, which would have changed the score line radically. However, he just didn't have the cards to do this. The aggregate score is 13:9 to me, the difference being the units I did manage to get off the board as the Russians.

This result reinforces my view that the Russians are not as tough as they appeared to be in the first scenario. Looking at the forces involved, this may be because the Russians have plenty of - full-strength - Grenadier units in that scenario, while here they mainly have three-block Line infantry.

Interestingly, the statistics show it being a Russian win over 60% of the time. I suspect the way for the Russians to win is to concentrate on getting units off the board - something neither Evert nor I prioritised.
Pevans replied the topic:
1 year 7 months ago
I'm playing the Russians against Evert's French and I feel tough enough to take on these Frenchies! My "Mother Russia" roll lets me add a block to both my artillery units and one Line infantry (I picked the one at the corner of my line) and add a Cossack unit, which I put in the woods on the righthand edge, just in front of my units. I also got to put the artillery on the Russian right into fieldworks.

To start their attack, the French advanced in the centre, sparking a continuing exchange of fire here. Then the French fixed bayonets and charged on their left. Light infantry attacked into the woods at the rear of the Russian forces and destroyed the Russian Lights there. French Line went for the one full-strength Russian Line infantry and wiped that out, too. French Light troops almost cleared the town of Kaleczin of the Russian Line holding it. And French Line smashed the artillery in fieldworks between Kaleczin and the woods. {That was a "Bayonet Charge" card from Evert, followed by some spectacular dice rolls that took the score to 0:2 and left the Russians with a severely battered right flank.}

In response, the Russians countered on their right while, on their left flank, infantry retreated behind the cavalry. The Cossacks tried to soften up the French Light cavalry, but were killed. {No banners for Cossacks, though.} On the right, Line under General Sacken took on the French Lights in the woods, while the artillery tried to polish off the French Line in front of it. Both Russian units were obliterated! Sacken retired safely. However, the Russian Heavy cavalry did some serious damage to a French Line that refused to form square, but took casualties in return. {0:4}

The French took Kaleczin, eliminating what was left of the Line unit in the town. {0:5} In return, the Russian Heavy cavalry finished off the infantry in front of them. {1:5 and I'm on the scoreboard}

The French cleared the woods in the centre, removing the Light infantry stranded there while the rest of the Russian forces gradually retreated. {1:6}

However, the tattered Russian Heavy Cavalry didn't manage to get far enough away from the French infantry advancing from Kaleczin and fell to a musket volley. {1:7}

Spurred on by this, the remaining Heavy cavalry and Cuirassiers charged the French musketeers, putting both units into square. At the same time, the Russian Light cavalry on (their) left wing hit and obliterated their French counterparts. {Yes, that was a "Cavalry Charge" and it's 2:7 - can I get to a respectable score?}

Retreating from the musket fire of the French infantry on their right, the Russian Light cavalry caught up with the infantry heading off the battlefield. {Evert had some unlucky dice rolls this time.}

As three Russian units exited, French Heavy cavalry came out of the woods on the left of the battlefield to take on the Russian cavalry holding the French infantry in square. {5:7 - that's better.}

And the French cavalry took out the Russian Cuirassiers. {5:8 and it's all over.}

Well, that didn't take long. Getting some units off the board made the score respectable, but the French demolished the Russians here. So much for my theory, from the previous scenario, that the Russians make decent opposition for the French. But let's see how we do when the roles are reversed.
LARS replied the topic:
3 years 3 months ago
One of the most enjoyable scenarios thus far. The French started off with a forced march which began to cave in the Russian right. The Russians continued to pull cards for their right flank and were thus unable to move troops off of the map very quickly. Eventually Morand had to make a thrust on the Russian left as Desjardin was unable to get his division to move at all. Morand was initially successful, and the French would have won, but two consecutive plays of cannister shot by the Russians annihilated his infantry and his light cavalry. An 8-7 Russian victory, Russians had 4 exited units and 4 French destroyed unit banners.
Hawkmoon replied the topic:
10 years 10 months ago
OK
I'm a little bit disappointed...
Imagine a PBMRR with only CAV or FLags, it will be very easy for the russian side to escape the cossack troops enroled, placing them on the left side...
But as an official answer, we have to play that way.
Thanks
Greetings from Le Mans
Bayernkini replied the topic:
10 years 10 months ago
Ok, here the answer,
Alessandro will add it to the FAQ also :)

Question: Count the Cossacks in the scenario Golymin (also in other scenarios, in which "off board" evading units counts as VP), as Victory Point too, because they don´t count as Victory Point if they are destroyed?


Answer:
Yes, a Cossack unit will count as 1 VB when ordered to exit the battlefield in such scenarios.
Note, if units must retreat, they can´t use the retreat to leave the battlefield and must stop on board edge and loose blocks as normal, for each hex, they can´t retreat.
Bayernkini replied the topic:
10 years 10 months ago
Interested question,
we will check this

Request sent :)
Hawkmoon replied the topic:
10 years 10 months ago
I have a question about this scenario :
What happens if the russian player gets cossacks when rolling PBMRR ?
Are these units counting for VM when evding from the left russian side like the others ?
For me (but not for my game partner), it seems that cossacks don't count VM when they are destroyed by the Frenchs so they can't make VM for the russian side...
Am I right (or wrong) ?
Mark-McG replied the topic:
11 years 1 month ago
played this one out this evening. Russians won, but it was 8-7. French must attack with gay abandon, no prepared assaults, just on the run.
Bayernkini replied the topic:
11 years 1 month ago
We should wait at least one year and see the battle results then,
but i assume, also in the russian expansion are a few outbalanced scenarios.

I hope, not to much, as in the spanish expansion :whistle:
Mark-McG replied the topic:
11 years 1 month ago
Russian opening hand LGM is a game winner in this one.