Using the same approach with our Invasion of Bohemia
of 1757, this Russian campaign will focus on the activity between Oudinot’s I
Corps and Wittgenstein’s II Corps and not the entire invasion. Further, the
campaign will limit itself to the 18 week period from the crossing of the
Niemen River in June 1812 to the capture of Vitebsk by the Russians in
October/November of that year.
Events occurring on the periphery would serve as
benchmarks to influence on the movement of both participants, that is, the success
of the Grande Armee as it marches toward Smolensk and later Moscow, would force
Wittgenstein to maintain his line of communication with the main Russian army,
gradually forcing the Russians to fall back.
The map.
Movement on the campaign map will follow the standard
DBA nodal system, but each turn will represent a week of activity. The area
depicted should be large enough to follow the course of the Grande Armee,
display Riga and the magazines along the Dvina River and have an entry points
for reinforcements from Finland and St. Petersburg.
The photo shows a preliminary sketch of the area to be
covered.
Timeline
I found Nafziger’s “Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia” an
excellent source for the Northern Campaign and would recommend it highly for
anyone wishing to duplicate this part of the Russian campaign. I am halfway
noting key dates and positions of the actual campaign as a reference tool.
Like our Bohemian campaign of 1757, both sides strive
to excel their historical counterpart to gain prestige points. In this case,
Oudinot and Wittgenstein will gain prestige by taking their campaign that “one
step” further than was done historically.
Bringing greater destruction to Oudinot’s command,
might hasten the arrival of St. Cyr’s Bavarians, whereas the destruction of
Wittgenstein’s command would mean the road to St. Petersburg would be clear for
the French.
These are points that will need fine tuning and
further reading.
Cheers,
