Battle of Eylau 1807

After the fun of setting up the table and organizing the figures into opposing armies, it was time to roll some dice. The battle of Eylau was arguably one of Napoleon's first setbacks. He had conquered Austria and Prussia and was pursuing the Russian army into East Prussia. The Russian General Bennigson chose the hills surrounding the town of Eylau to make his stand against the Grand Armee.
There was a snow storm that played a role in the battle, causing the two sides to blunder into combat when the snow began blowing. At the start of each turn , there is a 50% chance the blizzard will impair your army for the turn.

Russians on the left French on the right

The French had the first turn. They started with most of their army in marching to the battle. Napoleon elected to take the initiative and capture both Eylau hexes and the adjacent graveyard. Murat's cavalry caught the Russian cavalry in column on the French left and pressed forward aggressively.

French occupy Eylau at a cost

Hearing the sounds of the battle engaged, the Russian generals left the army HQ to find their units. Seeing the French had moved into range of their guns, the Russian front line opened up a devastating volley causing many casualties. The Russian Grenadiers assaulted and recaptured the graveyard but could not retake Eylau. The Russian left pressed forward against the exposed French right. The Russian cavalry on the right consolidated against the superior French cavalry in the midst.

Russian right in disarray

Napoleon decided to probe the Russian lines for weakness, despite his initial heavy losses. The French light infantry division supported by cavalry broke through to the left of Eylau and drove the Russians back in confusion. The French cavalry attack on the far left had continued success but were starting to risk dispersal due to accumulated losses. Napoleon sent his elite cuirassier unit to shore up the exposed right flank.

French view of the centre

Losses after the first game day 12 Russians (including 3 cannon) to 23 French. Stay tuned for part two....

Russians form up on the French flank