Heyhey, we’re back to Sharp Practice! Cpt.Shandy dropped by and we had a go again, this time with my very recently finished forces in 28mm for a change.

 

In early 2020 I got a bunch of Victrix/Front Rank/Old Glory Austrians the same kit for a proposed Tyrolean uprising project we were planning. That hasn’t really come to fruition so far, but I swiftly also got a bunch of excellent Duchy of Warsaw figures from Murawski Miniatures (now owned and sold by Warlord/Skytrex), sculpted masterfully by Paul Hicks.

I wanted to get two Sharp Practice forces going for the often overlooked Vistula campaign, which was part of the War of the Fifth Coalition or the Austro-French War 1809.

1809

After Austria’s defeat in the war of the third coalition and Austerlitz in 1805 as well as Russia and Prussia’s unsuccessful campaigns against France in the following years France was the dominant power in Europe.

Napoleon had reorganized various German states under the Confederation of the Rhine, the Kingdoms of Italy and Naples were tied closely to France, the treaty of Tilsit bound Russia to France as an ally (specifically agreeing to help France if Austria was to attack France). Prussia, after the desasters of 1806 and 1807, was declared neutral. Great Britain remained at war with France (also with Russia). Then the war in Spain emerged; British troops setting foot on continental Europe. With Napoleon sending more and more troops into Spain, Austria saw a chance to break France’s stranglehold on Europe and regain lost territory.

 

Austria

In Vienna army reforms have been worked on since 1806 and in earnest once Archduke Charles regained control over the army. Politically he was backed by Philipp von Stadion’s attempts to incite anti-French nationalist sentiments across the empire and the government and make ready for another war against Napoleon. Despite huge financial strains, decidedly lacking enthusiasm for war in Hungary, Galicia and among possible allies, it seemed like the the opporunity was favourable. Napoleon’s main army was tied up in Spain, surely France’s former enemies (Prussia, Russia) were out for revenge and the subjugated German bretheren surely just waited to rise up against the suppressor and once more gather at the bosom of the Habsburg monarchy.

Despite Archduke Charles’ misgivings about the army’s strength, Austrian troops invaded Bavaria on April 10th 1809. At the same time Archduke Johann marched 46,000 men against the kingdom of Italy. Several popular uprisings against French occupation took place in today’s Slovenia, Italy and – most famously – Tyrol (to which the emperor contributed with a small army corps). On 12th April Archduke Ferdinand took an army of 33,000 and marched against the Duchy of Warsaw.

 

 

 

Duchy of Warsaw

 

The Duchy of Warsaw was a state of Napoleon’s making. A quasi-reincarnation of Poland (albeit much smaller than the Poles had hoped) to act as a buffer state between Russia, Prussia and the German states. During the late 17th and over the 18th century Poland lost more and more of its status as a European powerhouse and eventually its independence. Finally, in 1795 the Polish state ceased to be and was split up between Austria, Russia and Prussia. Ever since then Polish-born nobles and common folk flocked to the French army as emigrée soldiers and distinguished themselves alongside the French or on their own under French banners in Haiti, Italy, Egypt, Germany and Spain. Technically the constitution forbid for foreign soldiers to fight for France, which was circumvented by the institution of the Legions. Revolutionary France was a very attractive ally for the cause of Polish independence,and Polish soldiers, motivated by the promise of getting their country back, were welcomed by Napoleon.

In 1807 the Duchy of Warsaw (in personal union with the kingdom of Saxony under Friedrich August I., Napoleon’s ally) was founded. Originally Napoleon had promised a free, independent kingdom of Poland, but to appease the Russians he put the Duchy of Warsaw under Friedrich August’s rule, thus making it part of the Confederation of the Rhine. This was to strengthen Saxony and further tie it to France. Friedrich August was popular in the Duchy of Warsaw, as he was an honourable chap, spoke Polish and cared about the duchy, but he was no strong ruler. The duchy of Warsaw got their own government (with Prince Josef Poniatowski as minister of war), got a bunch of reforms going and set up a new army. Technically they had a large cadre of veteran fighters, but most of those and the best of the newly raised units were sent to Spain. By April 1809 the army was not ready for war. When Austria declared war, of the planned army of 30,000 men roughly 17,000 were combat-ready and were called to immediately gather at Warsaw. This includes roughly 2,200 Saxon troops who had received orders to return to Saxony, but decided to stay with Poniatowski.

 

Assembling the Forces

The basic idea was to have the Austrian force work for either theatre of the war, the Duchy of Warsaw and Tyrol (and possibly Italy as well!). The choice was somewhat limited by the regiments who were sent to Tyrol as part of Chasteler’s corps: Either Infanterieregiment (IR) 16 (Lusignan) with purple facings or IR 26 (Hohenlohe-Bartenstein) with popinjay green facings. Looking at the regiments sent to the Duchy of Warsaw, just one features remotely green facings: IR 48, but that was a Hungarian regiment, and thus entirely different looking. On the other hand, there was a regiment in the force which invaded the duchy of Warsaw which had crimson facings (IR 41 Kottulinski) and one with dark blue facings (IR 24 Strauch). Well. Close enough. 😛 So I went with purple. Also – how often can you do purple facings anyway?

For the mainstay of the infantry I went with what I knew – Victrix plastic Austrians (my review of that box, just with different hats on). I like those figures, they come with commanders, and with a handful of infantry in firing/loading poses which work for skirmishers. For Tyrolean adventures I added light infantry (rifled muskets! Korsen hats!)…

…and Carinthian Landwehr (getting the correct figures for that was an adventure in itself. Now those are widely available, a few years ago the only option I was aware of were the wacky and very characterful Old Glory figures.).

For the version of that force which was to go into the duchy of Warsaw I added Grenzers of Regiment Székler Nr.2 (recruited in Transilvania!).

…and a light gun. Just because you gotta have a gun and because Front Rank figures are lovely.

…and some more things. And I bought much more stuff I haven’t painted yet.

 

As for the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw I went all  Murawski Miniatures. With certain nations there are certain companies which got you covered. For Prussians you go to Calpe, for Poles you go to Murawski (now owned by Warlord Games, sold via Skytrex).

I also got a bunch of lancers from Murawski, as of yet unassembled. For Chasseurs a Cheval you can use Perry plastics (at least from 1808 on) with the Kinski coats, but with epaulettes on the shoulders (white for centre companies, red for elite companies).

Of course the Perrys released a plastic box for Duchy of Warsaw infantry in 2024. I got a box, looked inside. I’ll write an in-depth review about that box as soon as I can, for it is glorious. Just didn’t get to paint any of it so far.

 

A few words on basing – I used washers from a hardware store for bases; 18mm for line infantry, 24mm for skirmishers. The sabot bases for line infantry I got custom made from Warbases. Great service, great company.

 

The Game

So far, I had my core forces finished. Of course I contacted Cpt.Shandy, sharp practicioner extraordinaire, to give the figures a go. We hadn’t played SP in a good while, and it’s funny how different a game can feel once you play with different figures and terrain.

We opted for a pretty large playing field of roughly 6.5′ by 5′. We play lenthwise, and because I’m really lazy when it comes to Deployment Points we just used glass droplet things. Red for the primary deployment point, white for the secondary deployment point.

 

The Forces

Austria (played by Cpt.Shandy)

3 x Line infantry, led by Hauptmann Johann Ströck (Status III)
2 x Line infantry, led by Oberleutnant Heinrich Anker (Status II)
1 x Grenzer Skirmishers, led by Unterleutnant Anton Mann (Status I)
1 x Grenzer Skirmishers, led by Feldwebel Joseph Brot (Status I)

 

Duchy of Warsaw (played by me)

2x Line infantry, led by Porucznik Andreas Zoszinski (Status III)
2x Line infantry, led by Podporucznika Roznicki (Status II)
1x Voltigeurs skirmishers, led by Sierzant Abramovicz (Status I)
1x Voltigeurs skirmishers, led by Kapral Pankowski (Status I)
1x Chasseurs á Cheval, led by Sierzant Kónski (Status I)

 

The Scenario

12th April 1809, Austrian troops just sat foot in the duchy of Warsaw, a forward detachment is sent to rendez-vous with a spy who has been operating across the countryside for months, preparing maps to aid the invasion. However, French intelligence officers had an eye on that spy and now that things are heating up, they informed Polish forces about the spy. A group of infantry and light cavalry is sent to grab the spy before the Austrians can.

The objective for both sides is to find the spy’s whereabouts and escort him off the table. The tricky thing is that the only info is that the spy is hiding somewhere in the hamlet. As soon as soldiers show up on the table, one of the civilians is starting to run off the table, the rest are hiding in the bigger of the two buildings (left in the picture). Either could be the spy.

 

Let’s Begin!

Both sides try to gain an early foothold on the table to be able to grab the spy first. I (playing the Duchy of Warsaw troops) deploy Roznicki’s line infantry and Konski’s chasseurs to their right.

 

They also have a group of Voltigeurs approach the hamlet to their left. The Austrians do likewise, and deploy another group of skirmishers to their other flank to keep an eye on the Polish light cavalry.

Between them, Hauptmann Ströck leads his infantry column to the field.

The Polish Voltigeurs arrive at the fence a tad erlier than the Austrians and see a suspicious civilian running off…

Meanwhile the two opposing forces slowly move towards each other.

 

As the light infantry of both sides climb across the fences, the civilian lady swiftly opens the gate, slams it shut, and runs off towards the road.

Both units of skirmishers – Polish Voltigeurs and Austrian Grenzers – decide not to run after the lady and instead check the building for the spy. My Voltigeurs can only look through the window in the back of the farm building, because it proves too sturdy to break; the Austrian Unterleutnant Mann bangs on the front door and demands in German to be let in. Nobody on the inside follows suit, they have no idea what the loud man is talking about. As one of Mann’s men (of Polish decent) steps forward to help translate, Mann trips and falls over. Chuckling sounds from inside the building, as Mann tries to get up again.

Amids this scene, the Voltigeurs on the other side of the building see an opportunity and charge around the corner. The Austrian skirmishers are alert enough to evade, but they are shoo’d away from the front door of the building now.

The Austrian infantry is a bit snappier than the untested Poles. They arrive at the hamlet, Hauptmann Ströck sends Anker and two groups of infantry into the hamlet, the rest form line and make ready for combat.

All of a sudden, musket shots crackle behind the Voltigeurs – the other group of Polish Voltigeurs followed up and decided to give some covering fire as their comrades approach the building. The enemy is unimpressed, but the flock of sheep nearby is majorly irritated and runs towards the Voltigeurs who just tried to charge the Austrians and were about to get into the building!

The wooly counter-charge causes the Voltigeurs three points of shock, the sheep move on to a vegetable patch where they find some carrots to chew on and relax.

In he emerging chaos, the female civilian ran as quickly as she could towards the table edge, but Kónski- being a dashing young cavalry officer – leads his men up to the road and with a swift grab around the waist lifts the lady off her feet. As she rains blows upon the horseman the two manage to clarify that she is indeed not the spy everybody’s looking for. But she is willing for the chasseurs to give her a lift to Warsaw.

An overview of the situation at this point:

The Polish line troops formed the two bodies of men into one column, but don’t really get ahead. Kónski’s cavalry managed to find out that the fleeing civilian indeed is not the spy, and in turn are in the (non-existant) crosshairs of the Austrian skirmishers behind the pond now. Now the focus of everyone’s attention shifts to the building in which he spy must be hiding. Over there, I only had two groups of Voltigeurs (one of them shaken from the sheepish assault), the Austrians got two groups of line and one group of Grenzers skirmishers.

At the other flank, the skirmishers behind the pond open fire at my cavalry and cause them a whole lotta shock. The horsemen decide to retreat outside the enemy’s musket range (just to protect the woman of course. If they’d been on their own they of course would have instantly initiated a gallant charge and would have hopped across the pond).

 

Here’s what happens next:

Blue arrows show where my troops pull back. In the very left, the Austrian skirmishers return to the front door of the building which houses the spy, while Oberleutnant Anker leads his group to block the way between the two buildings. They start firing at my poor Voltigeurs, who- with their backs to the fence – take even more shock. Meanwhile the well-trained Austrian line moves further ahead and make ready to deliver a salvo to my own line troops, who seem to be frozen in place.

The Austrians’ musket fire at my poor Voltigeurs (as they do their best to crawl back across the fence for cover) is so fierce that a building next to the Austrians catches fire!

Soon my Voltigeurs are broken and run off to get out of the enemy’s musket range. This gives the Grenzers enough time for another go at the spy’s hideout. Unterleutnant Mann orders one of his men to kick the door in. The man takes a run-up, and accidently knocks his superior over again! The spy’s got enough and comes out on his own terms as he finally relalizes that this is Austrians in front of the door.

This isn’t looking too well. Despite being at long range and far from being able to see the white in the enemy’s eyes, they give fire at my infantry column to cover the Grenzers escorting the spy off the table.

 

After a dismissive comment by Konski’s new ladyfriend, his leads his men against the well-hidden Grenzers in the reeds,but two musket salvos quickly thwart any plans of chivalrous charges.

Unterleutnant Mann leads the spy off the table in a triumphant display.   

It’s an Austrian Victory.

 

Aftermath and Learnings

Well, that was a fun game. Sheep are vicious! For a good while, I wasn’t sure wether or not my Leader I card was even in the deck. Once they had formed a formation, my commander didn’t do anything any more all game. Oh well. If the lady had been the spy, the Austrians would have had a VERY hard time stopping me from taking her off board.

Since this was the first game with my 28mm Napoleonic collection (well, we also had the Song of Drums and Shakos game a while ago, but that’s a way smaller scale), there have been a few learnings in terms of physics – the wider bases are not enough to stop the skirmishers from falling over on steeper slopes. Maybe I should add magnets to the line infantry’s sabot bases to keep them in place even better. The bases as they are work nicely as they are, but maybe some additional safety isn’t a bad idea, especially when it comes to metal figures. Maybe next time we’ll use a smaller board or at least deploy further ahead.

 

But apart from these tiny little things I think it worked really well, and it’s always nice to be able to make use of my “Eastern European-ish buildings”. Thanks to Cpt.Shandy for playing and for coming up with the scenario. A good scenario (even if simple) makes all the difference in Sharp Practice. By the way, this was a remarkably unbloody game. There was one loss on the Austrian side, 6 on the Polish side.

Now next on the to-do list, probably in this order: Deployment Points, another leader for the Austrian Grenzer skirmishers, civlians, more Austrian line infantry, cavalry for both sides. Once that is done, I got this idea of adding a bunch of Russian infantry to the mix. Despite being tied up in wars with the British, the Swedes and the Ottomans at the time, the Russian tsar found about 48,000 men to send into the Duchy of Warsaw, with an incredibly schizophrenic and opportunistic mission…

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this battle report!