Znaim 1809 - A Shadow of the Eagles game

This past weekend I hosted a large game of SOTE and were joined by the author (Keith Flint), which helped us keep straight on the rules. A couple of the players have large Austrian collections so that pushed us towards the campaigns of 1809. I went for Znaim as unusually it featured a good quality Austrian force. 

Background - Following defeat at Wagram, Charles withdrew into Bohemia. Marmont was in pursuit and attacked what he thought was Charles' rear guard, only to find himself facing a larger force than expected.  We fought day 1 were the French had the initial advantage and so were on the attack.  

We followed a historical deployment with Murray's brigade well forward and under attack from the Bavarian's. 

French Leger ready to attack 

Bavarians ready to attack Tesswitz

Austrians holding Tesswitz 

As the main French force advanced the Bavarians launched a series of attacks into Tesswitz but were beaten back with one of their two brigades badly damaged. The Austrian Grenadiers launched their own attacks into  Zuckerhandel but were unable to dislodge the Leger who had garrisoned the village. 

Struggle for Tesswitz 

With their assault on Tesswitz not going well, the French launched a major cavalry attack through the centre of the field. An impressive sight as they ran straight into the Austrian Cuirassiers.

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Grand cavalry melee in the centre

After a bitter struggle the French again failed to break through the lines. With the light fading and Austrian reinforcements arriving they pulled back to lick their wounds. The result on VPs was a 3-1 win to the Austrians. Tesswitz was still in Austrian hands and the baggage was safe but the French had captured Zuckerhandel and badly mauled  Steyrer's Grenadier division. 

Zuckerhadel still in French hands

We've not played SOTE in a while but the simultaneous movement, and streamlined rules, meant we got through plenty of turns despite not having played the rules in a while. Both sides made some mistakes but perhaps the divisive ones were the Bavarians initial attack being a bit piecemeal and the French charging into fresh Austrian squares in the west of the field. 

A nice fun game though and we'll be returning to SOTE for a future Peninsula campaign.