Mssrs.,
By your leave I would like to report the conclusion of the 2nd battle of our Int. Tourney Team competition, another victory for the NWC "A" Team.
Casualties:
Inf: 55,897 F/58,087A
Cav: 10,264 F/8,193 A
Guns: 32 F/235 A
Leaders: 42 F/43 A
Total Points: -975: French Major Victory.
Once again I would like to thank my esteemed partner Maréchal Nowicki (VC/AdR) and our noble opponents, Gens. Gabriel Rodriguez (IIIC/AdN) and Richard Holland (Anglo Cav Corps) for yet another stirring engagement.
This engagement was far bloodier than the first battle and the outcome hung in the balance until the last turn. The Austrians opened the engagement with an immediate advance all along the line. As their units released, the 1st AK advanced South towards Saalhapt and SE through the gap in the woods W of the Hennen Nest, the 2nd AK advanced towards the gap in the woods North of Paring, the 3rd AK pushed through the woods North of Paring to clear the highway and the bulk of the 4th AK drove SW, along the Eastern edge of the Kloster Berg's plateau, with only Radivojevich's 2nd Bg/3rd Dv deployed to defend Schierling. In response, Friant's Dv. retreated into the woods on the slopes of the Brenn Berg and extended its right flank E towards the plateau South of the Hennen Nest. Meanwhile, Demont's Res Dv. moved to block the gap in the woods North of Paring, with Jacquinot's Bg/Montbrun's Lt Cav Dv in support. St. Hillaire's Dv. deployed in an arc covering the woods North of Paring and blocking the Paring-Dinzlig highway. Vincenti's 2nd Bg/Deroi's Dv deployed in the woods on the Northern edge of the Kloster Berg's plateau while Siebein's 1st BG/Deroi's Dv. deployed on the reverse slope of the Kloster Berg. Pire's Bg/Montbrun's Lt Cav Dv screened the yawning gap between Deroi's two bgs along with the IIIC's 12lbr btts. and the 4th Dv's 2 btts. Pajol's Bg/Montbrun's Lt Cav Dv and Deroi's own cav screened Deroi's right flank. Simultaneously, Boudet's 4th Dv/IVC launched an impetuous attack on Schierling to clear the way for the oncoming French reinforcements.
Thereafter the battle went through three distinct phases. During the first phase French arms met with success across the entire battlefield. From West to East:
Friant's Dv stymied the advance of the 1st AK South of Saalhapt, while Hervo's 4th Bg, in conjunction with Jaquinot's Cav Bg, ambushed the vanguard of the 3rd Dv/1st AK South of the Hennen Nest, destroying 6 btts and inflicting sharp losses on Huss Rgt #6.
Demont's Dv likewise ambushed the vanguard of the 2nd AK, taking a btty
St. Hillaire's Dv. stopped the 3rd AK's advance and began driving it back, with severe losses, to the Eastern edge of the woods.
In a fierce cavalry encounter Pajol's & Seydewitz's troopers shattered the 4th Chevaulegers & 10h Huss Rgts., forcing the inf of the 4th AK to halt its advance and form square.
Boudet's Dv stormed Schierling and cleared the way for a link up with Deroi in less than an hour
Marulaz' IVC Cav probes into the rear of the 4th AK via Unter Laichling with Wrede's 2nd Bav Dv advancing to their support an hour's march behind them.
Just as it appears that an Austrian rout is underway, the tables were turned by:
Reinforcements from the 2nd AK through the Hennen Nest gap rapidly overwhelms Hervo's & Jaquinot's Bgs., exposing the right flank of Friant's Dv
The balance of the 2nd AK breaks through the woods, routing Demont's Res Dv.
The grenadiers of the 1st Res AK are committed, en masse, against St. Hillaire's Dv. promptly shattering its front
The infantry of the 3rd AK, relieved by the grenadiers from their struggle with St. Hillaire's men, redeploys to form a line of squares screening the massed btts of the 3rd & 4th AK from the French cav in their rear while also clearing the gap in the woods North of the Kloster Berg so that the heavy cavalry of the 1st Res AK can join the fight East of the Kloster Berg.
The 4th AK wages a skillful rearguard action as it re-deploys into a fearsome, hedgehog position blocking the advance of the French IVC & VIIIC North from Schierling.
Over the next 3 hours there was incredibly bloody fighting all along the front. The IIIC was steadily ground down by the 1st, 2nd & 1st Res AK, but the battle in the woods exacted a fearsome price from the Austrians. Meanwhile the 3rd & 4th AK, supported by the heavy cav of the 1st Res AK, repeatedly stymied the attacks of the French IVC & VIIIC, inflicting equally punishing losses on the French. Vandamme's Wuttemberg contingent (VIIC) arrived in time to plug the line North of Paring for the French, but within an hour it too has been shattered.
Finally, as the battle reached its last hour, each army’s left wing collapsed. On the French side, the entire IIIC and VIIC corps were reduced to a few, scattered bns, the path cleared for an advance to Paring by the fatigued troops of the 1st, 2nd and 1st Res AK. Unfortunately for the Austrians, the timely arrival of Saint-Cyr’s fresh, 2nd Dv/IVC allowed the French to envelop and break through the 3rd AK’s ring of squares, unleashing a devastating pursuit by the French cavalry. The 3rd and 4th AK gamely staged a fighting withdrawal to the West, to gain the support of their victorious Right Wing, and managed to re-deploy the bulk of their surviving artillery into a grand battery on the ridgeline East of Paring to cover the retreat of their infantry. Each successive line, however, was quickly overwhelmed and new lanes formed for the rampaging French cavalry to charge through. At the end, the 3rd and 4th AK had ceased to exist, their grand battery overrun by the French cavalry, with 2 more batteries, and the Archduke Charles, captured in a final <i>beau geste</i> by the last surviving battalion of the VIIC. Although the collapse of each Left Wing netted similar casualties in infantry and cavalry, the vastly more numerous Austrian artillery losses made for a decisive Austrian defeat.
Regards,
Paco
<i>Maréchal</i> M. Francisco Palomo
<i>Comte de Marseille
Duc d'Abrantes</i>
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