Battle of Fraustadt, Great Northern War 1706.

 The battle of Fraustadt, fought in February 1706 is a battle that's fascinated me and sooner or later I was going to give it a try on the table top.

A Swedish army of approximately 9500 men took on an army of double its size.   The Swedes had 3700 infantry and 5700 cavalry.

The enemy force, a combined Saxon and Russian force numbered around 20,000 with 4000 cavalry and the rest infantry.

The Swedish infantry.
Under our rules classed as Veteran Shock Foot.
Very deadly.
And so they should be!!



The Swedish Horse! Veteran Shock Horse. Even Deadlier!

The Allied right wing, anchored on the village of Geyersdorf.

Laying out the table.

Placing the Swedish Infantry

The Swedish Cavalry.

The Allied army

The Saxon position. Double line behind a chevaux de frise.

Facing the Swedes.

The position of the Saxon cuirassiers behind Geyersdorf.

The right end of the allied line- held by the Saxon Guard.

Swedish Horse.

The Russian position.

The Swedes advance.

The Swedish infantry advance.

Getting closer.

The black marker's are 'First Fire' markers.
The initial volley is always the most effective- so there are significant bonuses.

On the Swedish right

Getting closer......

The Swedes getting hit with musket fire and canister.
The two regiments have taken casualties ( the green markers -3 each!) and have been disordered.

One of the key factors in the early part of the battle historically, was that many of the allied regiments in the front rank of Saxons wasted the initial volley. To reflect this, each regiment had to roll on  the following chart. It seems harsh- but I was following history!  It only applied to the front rank. When I was reading a modern account, it stated that Swedish officers reported that the second rank gave a much deadlier fire than the front rank- so they didn't have to roll on the chart.  ( The Saxon Guard had +2)

The Unit next to the gun was the combined Saxon/Polish Guard. They were the only front rank unit that got a bonus (+2) on the 'First Fire' chart. Historically they performed very well....and they did so in the game. They were responsible for breaking a Swedish Regiment and seriously damaging another one. 

View from the Saxon position- 

The Russians watching apprehensively. 

Krassow's Horse sweeping around Rohrsdorf.

The Swedes hit the Saxon line.

The leading Swedish regiments were driven back by the Saxon Guard ( top right of pic) but they regrouped and came forward.  Despite heavy casualties, they managed to destroy the supporting Saxon regiment and dismantle the chevaux de frise, creating a space for the Swedish cavalry......NOW the Saxons were in trouble.

Garrison of Geyersdorf, watching the Swedish Horse move past them.

Swedish infantry slam into and destroy the front line...and drove through to the second line.

Once the cheveaux de frise was dismantled, the Swedish horse swept in. Now it's not really smart to charge infantry frontally as they tend to get blasted away- but in close support with the infantry.......

The Swedes hit the Russian line. Only three Regiments were available. The others were facing the Saxons.

The Russians now under pressure.

The Russians (Paul) were desperately holding.......but by this stage the Saxons had collapsed.

The Saxon guard drove off two Swedish regiments, destroying one- but then found themselves isolated. Historically they actually formed square and drove off the Swedish Horse, attempting to retreat.
I was not that good, I kept them at their post...and they were ridden down.

Saxon Cuirassiers (me) vs Swedish Horse (Liam) on the Allied right. The Saxon Cuirassiers, all Raw or Drilled,  against the Veteran Swedish Horse ( all Shock) wasn't quite a walk over.
Cuirassiers are tough no matter what the level!

The large marshy ground in the center of the picture was impassable terrain. Well...not quite. The Swedes historically, found that it was fordable and led their horses across. In the game, Ross ( the Swedish commander), when he had found out that he could cross the frozen marsh, decided not to change his plans. 

What a great game! 

By turn three, the Swedish infantry in Sparre's command (Chris) had all suffered significant casualties and were desperately trying to rally off disorder markers.  The attack was looking like falling apart.

Chris commented to Ross that he didn't think that they had much of a chance....his troops had been thrown back...came forward into a hail of led. He wasn't confident.......but he underestimated his Swedes........ GA PA!!

When the Swedish infantry went in, they made a hell of a mess.  

Their tactics meant that they gave a volley as they went in and Chris had held his 'first fire'.

The Saxons continued to volley fire as the Swedes came in- despite the fact that their first fire hadn't been that successful. 

I think this was a crucial aspect. Historically the failure of the initial volley was a significant factor.  Even in our game, the poor volleys caused some casualties with only the Saxon Guard doing fearful damage.

When shooting at the Swedes the Saxons ( and the Russians) had to inflict enough casualties to at least cause Disorder. 

Under our rules, other troops would fall back disordered, if they failed their charge home test after receiving casualties. Not the Swedes- they go in disordered.

In melee,  charging Swedish units rolled 6 dice plus one for the pike and one for charging hitting on a 3+ ( or 5+ if disordered).

The defending Saxons rolled 6 dice hitting on a 4+ ( 6 if disordered). 

It was the sheer violence of the Swedish charge that caused the Saxons all sorts of problems.  

The other issue of course was that for the purposes of this game all the Swedes were classed as Veteran.  The Saxons were either Raw or Drilled. The Russians were all Raw. 

This makes a significant difference in morale tests.

The first line collapsed and the Swedes tore into the second. Of the eight Swedish foot regiments , three would break and three more were nearly about to break. But they had driven off seven of the ten Saxon regiments, and the Russians were barely holding.

The books that I got a lot of info from- volume one.

Overall, a close repeat of the historical outcome.  I was very pleased with the result ( despite playing the Saxons). 

The cavalry battle on the wings was slow to develop and despite fierce fighting on the Allied right, the battle was decided in the Saxon infantry sector.

I might try this again some time!