BACKGROUND:
As the British retreat continued after the battle at Mons, an opportunity arose for the German forces to exploit a gap that had opened up in the British defence.
“Around Elouges the main body of the 5th Division had already retired and the rearguard were preparing to follow them when Sir Charles Fergusson received a report that gave considerable food for thought. It came from the Royal Flying Corps ….” (“1914” by Lynn MacDonald)
The British were facing a massive advance from a complete German corps that, if unchecked, stood to surround the complete BEF. Fergusson had very few reserves with which to hold up this massive German advance: one battalion of Cheshires, one battalion of Norfolks, and a single battery of guns.
“The heavy cavalry, rearguard of the whole division, had already withdrawn. Luckily, they had not gone far. Luckily, they could move fast. They rapidly took up position in the village of Audregnies and, by noon the Norfolks and Cheshires had moved up and spread north across the mile that lay between the outskirts of Audregnies and the railway in front of Elouges.
“The enemy came streaming from Quievrain making straight for the infantry across the valley, with another wave coming out of a wood beyond them in close-packed formations that hinted at thousands more at their backs. If the Germans were to be stopped it was up to the cavalry to do it.
“The cavalry charged.” (MacDonald)
DESIGNER’S NOTES:
This action is notable for a ‘glorious’ but totally fruitless charge by the cavalry, sabres in hand. The 4th Dragoon Guards and the 9th Lancers charged out from Audregnies thinking that they merely had to chase off a few cavalry patrols. However they faced the mass of an advancing German division. Worse than this however was the terrain. They charged down a naturally occurring slope not unlike a glacis that might have been built specially for a Vauban fort. Unfortunately, unlike this same terrain 100 years before, it was now crossed by many hedges and fences as the land had been divided into small allotments, and a number of tracks along with signal wires for the railway. These factors caused more casualties than the intense rifle and artillery fire that came at the cavalry. The charge was aborted with heavy casualties.
Therefore players should ensure that there are plenty of hedges that cover as much of the open spaces on the map as possible. These have not been marked individually on the map for clarity.
The key issue is whether to force the British player to charge with the cavalry or not. There are several options listed in the set-up instructions.
OBJECTIVES:
The German player must exit 12 stands from the south side of the board between Audregnies and Witheries within the first 10 moves.
The British player must prevent this.
ORDERS OF BATTLE:
Using one division is a game design decision rather than an adherence to historical precedent: there is little evidence about exactly how much of the German Corps faced the British. The only evidence is that there were “a lot of ‘em”.
Scenario map
The scenario map can be found here.
SET UP NOTES:
British deployment should be per the historical deployment shown on the map (in red). We suggest that the artillery battery shown behind Dour be allowed to start the game limbered.
The German attacks must come from the directions/start points shown on the map (blue arrows).
All German artillery should be off table firing indirect. I suggest that the 7.7cm batteries are attached as regimental support, while the 15cm are either in Divisional or General support.
The terrain has been simplified slightly: there are a few road sections that will have no material affect on the battle and have not been included. In fact it is likely that none of the road sections will have any material affect, however they have been included to help players to orient themselves should they wish to investigate the battle further.
SCENARIO RULES:
There are several ways to tackle this scenario.
1. Players may elect to allow the British defender to act as he/she sees fit within the bounds of the historical initial deployment.
2. The British defender could be forced to use the cavalry in a way that is in some way close to historical events. This might include, as examples:
Insisting that the British cavalry charge for two moves along their historical command arrow (shown in red). In this case every British cavalry stand should test as if it were under fire for every move in which it charges across this terrain, to simulate the casualties that were historically taken by the cavalry as a result of the terrain.
Insisting that the cavalry remain mounted at all times, but allow the British commander to move and use them as he best sees fit.
Our own experiments using these options meant that the British were hard pushed to hold the Germans up for very long at all, as the charges met their almost inevitable end. It certainly does make the scenario challenging for the British commander, however the scenario may be a little more enjoyable for both players if the British commander is allowed some freedom of action with respect to actions after deployment. Many players may therefore opt not to replicate the “gallant” cavalry charge that actually took place.
Note that all three of the British artillery stands must be on table firing direct.
REFERENCES:
MacDonald, Lyn “1914”