Battle of the Santon 2nd December 1805
Introduction
When people discuss the battle of Austerlitz, converstion naturally turns to the decisive attack on the Pratzen heights by Soult, the epic struggle between Davout, Kienmayer and Dokhturov
on the left flank, or the controversy of whether or not the French
deliberately bombarded the frozen lakes, and whether or not large
numbers of allied troops were drowned as a result. However, to the
north of the battlefield there was a momentous struggle between fairly
evenly matched forces, led by some of the most fanous commanders of the era. On the allied side, Prince Bagration, one of the most valiant officers in the Russian army, was aided by an Austrian Prince, Johann von Liechtenstein, an experienced and able Cavalry commander. For the French, that fire-eater Jean Lannes commanded an infantry Corps, backed by the most famous Cavalry commander of them all, Joachim Murat.
With both sides ordered to attack, and the reserve Cavalry of both
armies available, this forgotten part of the battle has much to
recommend it.
The Battlefield
The battle was fought at the extreme north of the Austerlitz battlefield, neatly bounded by the village of Blasowitz, and the stream which runs alongside it.
The terrain was mostly rolling countryside, bounded to the north by wooded high ground. There were several villages, though none afforded any great defensive positions. One feature of note was the Santon, a small, high, flat topped, steep sided hill. The French posted, with great difficulty, a battery of 18 captured Austrian 3 lb guns on the top of this hill. Other than that, the plain was probably the best Cavalry terrain on the battlefield, something exploited by both Armies. The battlefield is best represented on a 8' by 8' table. However, in our refight we were able to use a 6' square table, by not representing the Post House, and having Siwitz as the extreme northern edge of the table.
Umpire Notes:
1. The villages generally gave little in the way of strong points- treat them as weak, with a defence value of +1.
2. Allow Bagration to send a detached brigade commander in an outflanking movement, arriving on the table between Siwitz and the woods to the west. He must nominate the move on which this command arrives. Modify this by 1D6: 1,2 delayed a turn; 5,6 arrive a turn early.
3. Murat may start on
any orders, and may choose to convert to Attack at any time. Once he
has done so, he is committed to having at least one of his divisions on
Attack orders at all times.
4. Bagration's Austrian horse batteries arrive at the Post House on move 16.
5. At the beginning of move 5, roll a D6 each turn. On a 6, the Russian Guard Jager, and the Austrian Cuirassier division will be withdrawn from the battle, to help in the centre of the battlefield.