Campaign Bohemia 1757

In April of 1757, Frederick launched a four pronged invasion of Bohemia. In a sense, this was a preemptive strike as Browne oversaw the assembly of troops and the gathering of supplies for the Austrian “liberation” of Saxony. Our campaign will focuses on the smaller conflicts between the Prussian and Austrian forces at the opening of the Bohemian campaign in April 1757 to its close at the end of June.

In a brief 13 weeks, Frederick had surprised the Austrians with four columns spread over 113 mile front to skillfully converge on Prague twelve days later. Following the disastrous battle outside the city, Charles withdrew inside Prague’s walls with 46,000 troops and Frederick settled down for a siege. A Prussian screening force alerted Frederick of a relief force under Daun. Gathering sufficient strength, Frederick seized the initiative to intercept Daun’s force 50 km away on the road to Vienna. The ensuing battle was not only Frederick’s first set back, but meant the siege of Prague was no longer tenable.

Less than two weeks later, the Prussians were back in Saxony and on the defense.

Our campaign

Our campaign follows the thirteen week period, but unlike most campaigns, we shall not duplicate Prague nor Kolin, but focus on the lesser known activity which certainly evolved during the campaign. The campaign has been split into three phases; Bevern’s opening moves against Konigseck, the raid counter raid between screening forces following the Battle of Prague and ending with the victory at Kolin, and finally, the Prussian retreat back to Saxony.

The game design will offer both parties variable objectives with the historical time frame. Here, I would draw the reader’s attention to the campaign overview, first phase. The initial invasion started with the furthest flanking columns and two days later, the interior two columns started their march on Prague.

Campaign Tools

To track our movement on a daily basis, a movement record sheet was set up to note our marches, encampments and rest periods. Briefly, we allowed both forces three consecutive march moves followed by a day of rest. The system is flexible to allow force marches, two consecutive moves, but must be followed by a rest period. Night moves are also possible, but more of this will be easier to follow during the course of the campaign. You can see from our map, we use the DBA node system to simplify our movement.

Objectives - first phase

The Prussian advance and objectives In March, Frederick met with his generals and detailed their instruction and objectives. Speed was of the essence, as Frederick wanted to catch the Austrians mobilizing and seize as many of the magazines and forward depots as quickly as possible. With the Austrians caught off balance and most of their supplies lost, they would have no choice but to ball back on Prague. The number of engagements would be minimal and if effective could bag a lot of prisoners. Aside from capturing as many supplies as possible, if Bevern could hold Konigseck long enough, Schwerin could close his retreat. In either case, they were scheduled to meet on the 24th at Tournau on the Iser. 

The Austrian withdrawal and objectives Historically, Konigseck outnumbered Bevern’s forces nearly 2 to 1. In our campaign, the Prussians had the advantage in numbers; this was altered to add more options for the Prussian. The Austrians were aware of Schwerin’s early invasion, so were puzzled by Bevern’s lack of energy. On the 20th, after our initial skirmish between advance guards, the Prussian intent became clear and the possibility of being cut off, the Austrians began their retrograde movement. Hold Bevern long enough, but avoid encirclement, save as much of the supplies gathered as possible and what could not be moved, must be destroyed. 

Skirmish at Friedland On the afternoon of the 20th, both advance guards meet and skirmished. The clash, though inconclusive confirmed the Prussians were advancing in force, as their long blue columns could be seen snaking their way through the mountain valley. Beck fell back to a prepared Austrian position at Reichenberg. 

Next week: The Battle of Reichenberg