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!

Battle of Lesnaya, September/October 1708

 

Another Great Northern War scenario and game.  My favourite period and my favourite style of game- an historical clash.

The Battle of Lesnaya was a decisive clash of the GNW. It took place on September 28th 1708 between a Russian army commanded by Tsar Peter I of Russia. (October 9 for the Swedish Calendar) His number two was Prince Aleksandr Menshikov who ably assisted the Russian ruler. The Russians numbered approximately 14,000 men. The Swedes, numbering 12,000 were commanded by General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt. Lewenhaupt was one of Sweden's foremost generals and commanded a well trained and motivated force. Some of his regiments were veterans of many years' campaigning. 

For Peter the Great it was his first great victory over the Swedes.

The Russian guns from the southern column deployed.

Swedes waiting by the town

Overview of the table. The Swedes were tasked with holding the village and the crossing in it- and the crossing at the very bottom right of the picture. They had no troops at all at that point- and as is marked a Russian column was headed straight down the road.

GNW- Battle of Holowczyn: July 1708.

Finally a chance to get all my Swedes and Russians onto the table- very gratifying to see the project come together! 

A large game that represented Charles XII attempt to force the Russian positions along the Vabich river in 1708.

A bit of background:

After dealing with Poland, Saxony and Denmark, Charles XII of Sweden decided in 1708 on an invasion of Russia.  The Russians had created a solid defensive line along the River Vabich. Charles decided to force the river by launching a surprise attack through what was thought to be an impassable marsh. He selected a spot between the villages of Holowczyn and Novoje Selo. Struggling through the marshes the Swedes took the Russians by surprise. In a very tough, confusing battle, fought with little subtlety, the Swedes drove the numerically superior Russians off.

The game:

I had been working towards recreating this for a while as I think it's a fascinating battle. The table was set up with two Russian infantry brigades in the redoubt (8 Battalions with 4 stands of guns) and the Swedes just emerging from the swamp to their north.

The Swedes: Ralph, Richard M, Richard T.
The Russians: Ross, Paul and me!

The Russian redoubt!

The table setup for opening moves.