Details: Written by: GMT Games; Category: Sixth Coalition (1813–1814); Published: 07 November 2014; Last Updated: 08 February 2026; Hits: 13566

Victory Results:

38 %

63 %

Total plays 112 - Last reported by TheMP on 2024-11-30 08:45:21

Dennewitz - 6 September 1813

Historical Background
Oudinot had failed, but Napoleon was still obsessed with taking Berlin to knock Prussia out of the war. He chose Marshal Ney, ‘the bravest of the brave,’ to take over from Oudinot and try again.
Ney determined not to repeat Oudinot’s mistake, and concentrated his entire army to advance on one road. Still short of cavalry, Ney unexpectedly ran into the Prussians, but could not deploy his troops quickly enough to defeat the outnumbered Prussians to his front. The battle turned into a classic meeting engagement with both sides throwing in fresh troops as they arrived. The battle seesawed back and forth, until von Bülow arrived with his corps to take command. Ney, leading from the front, was not aware that the tactical situation was turning against him, and ordered Oudinot’s troops to pull back to form a reserve. The Prussians, believing the French were retreating redoubled their attack, which forced the French back. The retreat turned into a rout when Ney’s old comrade in arms, Bernadotte, threw his arriving Swedes into the disorganized French left flank. In the aftermath of the defeat, the Bavarians deserted the French, and most of the other French allied German states, especially Saxony, began to waver.
The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. Can you change history?

Set-Up Order

	4
	14
	3

Battle Notes

Prussian Army
• Commander: Bülow
• 4 Command Cards & 2 Iron Will Counters
• Optional 4 Tactician Cards
• Move First


5	1	1	1	3	1	1	1	1	2	3	1	5

French Army
• Commander: Ney
• 4 Command Cards
• Optional 4 Tactician Cards


8	1	2	1	2	1	4

Victory
7 Banners

Special Rules
• The Prussian player gains 1 Temporary Victory Banner at the start of the turn for each town hex a Prussian unit occupies (Temporary Victory Banner Turn Start)

• The French player gains 1 Victory Banner for each French unit that exits the battlefield from any Prussian baseline hex.

Posts in discussion: 415 Dennewitz (6 September 1813)

Mark-McG replied the topic:

#14339

2 months 1 week ago

If we entered into MarkWorld, there would be a list of changes as long as your arm, starting with the Guerrilla Token.

ColCampbell replied the topic:

#14338

2 months 1 week ago

I see your logic here. I guess when I get around to running the scenario, I'll have to try to both ways (with and without a cuirassier unit) to see how that effects the outcome.

Thanks,

Jim

Mark-McG replied the topic:

#14337

2 months 1 week ago

because the website reflects the official material, and the scenario results are of plays of the official scenario.

I have no issue with people changing the CU to a HC if they wish, but that is not how Richard Borg/GMT issued the scenario. Could be a balance or unit availability issue. I don't know, so I leave it alone.

If we start delving down into OBs and battle descriptions, you could get an infinite variety of scenario variations because of;
1. unit listed strengths, one brigade being weaker than others
2. various commander performances
3. perceived ethnic biases of various troops
4. terrain descriptions

I leave that up to players to adjust for themselves, and keep only to the official material.

ColCampbell replied the topic:

#14336

2 months 1 week ago

If the Nafzigger OB states that there were no Prussian cuirassier units at Dennewitz, then why is a Prussian cuirassier unit still listed both on the official scenario and the map? That cuirassier unit needs to be changed to a second Prussian heavy cavalry unit to keep the order of battle correct and historical. All the other research I've done backs this up - no Prussian cuirassiers at Dennewitz.

Jim

Mark-McG replied the topic:

#14332

2 months 1 week ago

ColCampbell wrote:
Both the map and the battle notes are in agreement, but they are both incorrect. The Prussians did not have any cuirassiers with the Army of the North at Dennewitz. All of the Prussian heavy cavalry units were dragoons. The Prussian cuirassiers were with the Army of Bohemia.

I've made a detailed study of the Prussian Army in the Autumn of 1813 for my miniature wargaming using many printed and on-line sources.

as you state, the map agrees with the official scenario.

Nafzinger lists no Cuirassiers in the Allied OB

ColCampbell replied the topic:

#14330

2 months 1 week ago

Both the map and the battle notes are in agreement, but they are both incorrect. The Prussians did not have any cuirassiers with the Army of the North at Dennewitz. All of the Prussian heavy cavalry units were dragoons. The Prussian cuirassiers were with the Army of Bohemia.

I've made a detailed study of the Prussian Army in the Autumn of 1813 for my miniature wargaming using many printed and on-line sources.

Mark-McG replied the topic:

#14308

3 months 1 day ago

the map on the website conforms to the map in the scenario book. So it is not an error of reproduction.

ColCampbell replied the topic:

#14306

3 months 1 day ago

There is a mistake in the deployment map for the Prussians. In the center sector there is a Prussian cuirassier unit. There were no Prussian cuirassiers at Dennewitz. This should be another Prussian heavy cavalry (i.e., dragoon) unit. All of the Prussian cuirassier units were with the II (Prussian) Korps with the Army of Bohemia.

RiverWanderer replied the topic:

#12751

1 year 3 months ago

airjudden wrote:
There is an error in the setup.

You show 3 French leaders. There are 4.

Fixed. Thanks!

airjudden replied the topic:

#12748

1 year 3 months ago

There is an error in the setup.

You show 3 French leaders. There are 4.

kostas63 replied the topic:

#7579

4 years 4 months ago

Vittoria Prussiana 7-4. I primi scontri si hanno sulla destra francese. Reynier avanza ma si ferma a metà strada a causa della forte resistenza prussiana. Nel centro i francesi si difendono attorno a Dennewitz ma i prussiani sono in maggior numero e riescono ad arrivare alla periferia del villaggio. La cavalleria di Defrance giunge in soccorso ma il loro comandante viene ucciso e l'unità eliminata. La battaglia si conclude quando i prussiani ricevono l'ordine di caricare con la cavalleria. Le due batterie a piedi francesi vengono spazzate via così come un'unità di cavalleria leggera che si trovava nei pressi del villaggio di Golsdorf.

LARS replied the topic:

#7038

5 years 1 month ago

Ney adds another title, Duke of Dennewitz. The French dissect Bülow’s position. The Prussians were unable to maneuver effectively and Ney had excellent cards, 7-1.

Hexagoon replied the topic:

#6800

5 years 4 months ago

Played twice, both French victories, 7-0 and 7-2. The latter game was closer than it seems, but the French were able to operate in very sector when it seemed necessary. The heavy cavalry on the French left were again effective, with the Prussians having to attack rather piecemeal. A good scenario worth a few more visits.

proyce replied the topic:

#4949

8 years 6 months ago

Played this solo today. After an exchange with loss of 1 Cav each on the Prussian left, the Prussians played LGM, putting pressure on the French right and threatening the town hex of Rorhbeck. The French, rather than move to stop the Prussians taking the town, instead played Counter Attack and moved 3 units toward the Prussian baseline. This proved to be a decisive move, and combined with a French HC attack that took down 3 units on the Prussian right, ended the game very quickly. In retrospect, the Prussians shouldn't have left those open hexes on their left, allowing the French to advance so far so quickly - but how would they know that the French had a counter-attack card so early in the game. Oh well, c'est la guerre!

Mark-McG replied the topic:

#2281

11 years 4 months ago

just lost this 6-7 as the Prussians, but could easily have gone the other way. I blew my chance!

One of the best scenarios of the Prussian expansion

415 Dennewitz (6 September 1813)

Dennewitz - 6 September 1813

Set-Up Order

Battle Notes

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