Castricum - 6 October 1799
Historical Background
The Battle of Castricum (or Egmont October 6, 1799) saw a Franco-Dutch force defeat an Anglo-Russian force near Castricum, Netherlands. The battle was fought during the War of the Second Coalition.
An Anglo-Russian force of 32,000 men landed in North Holland on August 27, 1799. Following a series of battles at Bergen on September 19 and Alkmaar on October 2, they faced the French and Dutch armies at Castricum on October 6, for the last battlefield act.
French General Brune had divided his left wing into three divisions: Gouvion near Wijk aan Zee in the dunes; to his right Boudet around Castricum; and the 2nd Batavian division, still commanded by Bonhomme, around Uitgeest.
On the morning of October 6 these were attacked by three columns: Abercromby along the beach, the Anglo-Russians of Essen in the middle and Dundas on the left.
The early success tempted the Anglo-Russians to attack Castricum in force and the village was tenaciously defended. The village changed hands several times that day as Brune had Boudet bring up reinforcements. The fighting attracted reinforcements from the columns of Dundas and Abercromby, the latter personally bringing up his reserve-brigade to attack Castricum late in the afternoon
All this time the French of general Gouvion and the British column of Abercromby had been fighting a separate battle near the beach and in the dunes.
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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Battle Notes
British Army
• Commander : Sir Ralph Abercromby
• 6 Command Cards
• Move First
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| 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
French Army
• Commander : General Guillaume Brune
• 6 Command Cards
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| 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Victory
6 Banners
Special Rules
• No artillery unit can fire beyond four hexes. So range is 1-4 hexes for full-blocks units. It is unchanged for oneblock artilleries.
• Dutch troops (orange) utilize the Portuguese units and rules.
• All Light Cavalry units have three blocks each.
• The French start with one flag for the seizing of Castricum village. This flag changes possession every time a player (his units) occupies the “flag” hex.
• The channel (Zee Kanaal) can be crossed only at fords or bridges.
• Dunes (sand quarries tiles) do not stop infantry movement (only cavalry). They are impassable for guns and horse artillery.
