"Napoleon vs Wrede, fictional event with 1815 armies." Topic

So my French force of 73,000 and 30 artillery batteries in two line Army Corps and the Imperial Guard deployed in a convex line. It was set up deeply, with 48,000 facing Wrede's 55,000 Bavarians frontally, whilst repeating Bautzen, sending Ney with a flanking manoeuvre with the large army corps of 24,000. Napoleon deploys his immediate corps in a convex formation on a very small, packed battlefield. The I Corps under d'Erlon occupied the Left and Centre, each division deployed with its two brigadesone behind the other. Divisional artillery battery in support of the lead brigade. Divisions side by side. IV Corps under Gérard was squashed against fatal terrain so deployed his divisions two by one, brigades in the same organisation. The light cavalry divisions of these corps deployed refused, the I Corps cavalry put on the Far Left, behind the first line of infantry brigades. IV Corps cavalry deployed almost adjacent in line but separated by half the French artillery (Imperial Guard) in the army present behind I Corps. Behind the artillery stood the Young Guard and behind them the Imperial Guard cavalry. The Middle & Young Guard deployed behind IV Corps, separated from them by spare IV Corps artillery. The Bavarians fit on the field a mere 4 inches away in a concave formation one division each side of their own artillery reserve. Each line infantry brigade in double-line with 3rd and 4th divisions in front. 1st and 2nd divisions in reserve. Behind the artillery reserve are the 1st Cavalry Division and reserve cavalry regiments cuirassier, gardes du korps and Uhlans. The 2nd Bavarian cavalry division holds the right flank and both reserve infantry brigades hold a position in masse next to their 1st infantry division.

Crammed on the table, two turns of artillery bombardment from frontline artillery were calculated and rolled for. Then on turn three, no units having moved physically from 4 inches, I calculated skirmish fire. On turn 4 a few French brigades moved to volley fire range those that weren't stuck disordered. Over the next turns, French 3rd Infantry Division, I Corps pushed into the Bavarian 1st brigade, 4th Infantry Division, despite being outnumbered 3:1 by the Bavarian brigade. Elsewhere the Bavarians ground up the rest of I Corps and the front line infantry brigades of IV Corps. By attacking, French 3rd Infantry reduced artillery barrage from enemy reserve but repelled counter attacks, repeatedly, whilst moving forwards. On the Frech Right, the French withdrawal became a stalemate and then Bavaian morale buckled and their Left collapsed. A gap in the French battle line opened, allowing Wrede to send in his cavalry in the centre to attack. The advance took do long the gap closed because of I Corps collapsing. On the French Left the collapse of I Corps meant their grand battery was put into action. It blew away the Bavarian successful advances and the game would end a draw, strategically but casualty wise, columnar Bavarians vs impulse French infantry and better quality French artillery crews meant that the French were more likely to inflict loss with shooting, involving stopping more Bavarian advances before their numeric advantage in close combat could be realised. Then the Bavarian conscripts would take less damage for their size of unit. Still tough but once worn, spent and rout weren't far off. So what happened to that flank attack? It activated on turn 10, then struggled to attack and win attacks on the Bavarian Right. Appearance by weight of numbers was more important than Ney's subordinate's aggression. The Bavarians lost 34% of their force but most formations left the battle in good order, whilst French I Corps lost half of its strength. Losses to the other Corps were below the scope on the rules.