SYW Wargame Campaign Report: Week 8

General Tchernychev attempts to escape from General Huelsen's forces

Dear Reader,

Today, I am reporting on the eighth week of the Seven Years War Campaign which I have been umpiring over the last two months. You can find links to previous weeks at the bottom of the post. Beginning in the middle of March, the campaign is ongoing and still in progress. The period of time for today's post is roughly May 6th to May 13th. Below is a map for those dates. As stated before, the campaign switched to a new map to allow for in the inclusion of a few more players.This week's report only includes the new map.

Swedes (Black) Prussians (Blue) Russians (Green) Austrians (Red)

In the far north, the Prussians and Swedes sat inactive before Stralsund, with both forces believing that the enemy was too strong to engage. The Prussian force mainly consisted of hastily raised Kurmarkisch and Pommeranian Land Militia, but the Swedes were not tempted to engage, and both sides spend the week quietly at Stralsund. We move now to the incredibly busy Russian theater of war.

The Russian Theater, May 6th-13th

General Tchernychev, leaving the environs of Berlin after his eventful raid, moved north towards the Oder crossing at Freyemwalde, found that the crossing was occupied by troops under General J.D. von Huelsen. Huelsen, moving to block all crossings, and pursuing Tchernychev, placed the Russian in a difficult position. Ordering his men to dragoon Prussian prisoners willing to join the Russian Army, and shoot the rest, Tchernychev calmly watched as his forces shot 1,200 men into a shallow grave, and took the remaining 300 as recruits. Psychotically muttering, "this is for Dresden, you Brandenburger козлы" Tchernychev also burned the loot taken from San Souci, and shot the three beloved whippets confiscated from Frederick II's palace.  This raised a number of eyebrows from other players. (Thanks to Dr. Mikaberidze for correcting the gender of this insult).

Tchernychev and Company Swim the Oder

Tchernychev's wild ride was cut short when he and his raiders attempted to swim the Oder on May 9th . Reaching the far side, Tchernychev found Huelsen's dragoons waiting for him. Engaging the enemy, most of Tchernychev's forces managed to evade capture, but approximately 1500 of his men, and Tchernychev himself, were captured by the Prussians in the course of the fight. What horrors awaited him in captivity.

General Butulrin's plan for breaking out of the Meseritz deadlock

By far, the most active theater of war in this week was the Prussian/Russian Oder theater, where after weeks of inactivity, in which both sides successfully deceived the enemy as to their strengths, the Russians brought considerable forces to bear. General Buturlin, hoping to break the deadlock in a campaign of maneuver,  ordered General Totleben to follow the red path on the map above, hoping keep the Prussians at Paradies in the dark regarding his movement as long as possible.

Although Totleben and Buturlin's plan was sound, the wily Zieten received word that the enemy had outflanked him as Totleben's force reached Koepnitz, and Zieten immediately began a full retreat towards Crossen, having already detailed forces to guard the Tschicherzig bridge over the Oder.

Buturlin's campaign plan for this week

Buturlin planned Totleben's offensive as part of a wider strategic movement, in which all parts of the Russian force would cross the Oder, and deal with the Prussian defenses there. This plan quickly became confused. General Rumyantsev (Purple), finding the enemy holding the position at Crossen, diverted to Fuerstenberg, and started work on a bridge there. General Totleben (Red), finding enemy forces guarding his designated crossing, began work on a bridge south of Leutersdorf. The Russian offensive was further hampered by Prussian raiding parties send into the rear areas of the Russian Army, which began to interrupt supply chains, and most importantly, General Saltykov (Green) was severely threatened on May 13th, when Prussian forces seized the supply base at Landsberg, and General Huelsen's Army moved to confront Saltykov's force, bridging the Oder at Bruch. Buturlin's own force decided to bridge the Oder at Goeritz, and hearing of Saltykov's danger, moved to support that force at Bruch on May 13th.

The Russian campaign plan had been severely hampered by Prussian commanders operating independently, and whose forces, though they were unaware of the overall strategic picture, decisively took independent action. The Russian difficulties would only multiply in the following week.

The Silesian Theater, May 6th-13th

In Saxony, FM Keith and Gen d' Kav Serbelloni, still recovering from the Battle of Torgau in the previous week, maneuvered cautiously, attempting to lay cities under contribution for the war effort, in order to recruit reinforcements.

The Silesian theater remained quiet. Somewhat disorganized by the King of Prussia's passage through the theater, the Austrians diverted forces to Königgrätz and Olmütz in order to deal with raiding forces that the Prussians sprinkled throughout the region. FM Neipperg, in a farsighted move, ordered his army at Königgrätz to begin fortifying the city. Though expensive in time and  resources, this was a sound strategic decision.  FM Daun, likewise, resumed the siege of Glatz.

Content to let the Austrians depart, the Duke of Bevern moved his force to cover Schweidnitz, while the King of Prussia began moving northward from Breslau on May 7th, with the goal of linking up with the Army of Zieten. By the 13th, the King was nearing Glogau. The stage was set for the a decisive campaign against the Russian forces.

Background and Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

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Thanks for Reading, 

Alex Burns