Skip to main content

The Action at Blasthof Heath. . .

The initial positions of the Stollenian rearguard at the northern edge of the field, and the Zichenauer advance guard at the southern edge.


On the afternoon of 11. August 1769, an advance guard under Zichenau's Colonel von Kohlkopf clashed briefly with the Stollenian rear guar, commanded by Colonel Kartoffel.  The action was over fairly quickly with the Zichenauer army sustaining heavy casualties and routing in short order while Stollenian forces came through largely unscathed and managed to stop the invading Zichenauers in their tracks.  Here is a brief account with illustrations.

-- Stokes


The Orders of Battle:


 The Stollenian rearguard consisted of, from left to right: a squadron of hussars from Lauzun's Legion, a combined battalion of grenadiers from the 6th Hausgrenadiers and the von Hessenstein Regiment, and the red-coated Hansastadt INfantry along with a gun, crew, and limber from the Corps of Artillery.


The Stollenian commander was Colonel Kartoffel (center).




 South of the Blast River, the Zichenauer advance guard consisted of, from background to foreground, a lone gun with limber and crew from the Regiment of Artillery, the Ernestinisch Sachsen Infantry, a composite battalion of grenadiers from Kur-Koeln and Hessen-Darmstadt, along with a squadron of Trumbach's Dargoons.



 Colonel von Kohlkopf (at rear) and staff led the Zichenauer advance guard from behind..



 Move 1 saw both armies racing for control of the river crossing at Blasthof Bridge.  No shots were fired yet.


During Move 2, Colonel Kartoffel placed his hussars along the crest of Blasthoff Berg, while his limbered gun moved along the front of his infantry, which began its advance southward.  ON the southern side of Blasthof RIver, Colonel von Kohlkopf ordered his gun to unlimber and open fire on the enmey while the rest of his troops were to advnce in the direction of the Stollenians.



 Move 3 saw Colonel von Kohlkopf make the first of several mistakes.  First, his infantry began a crossing of the Blast River, fordable thanks to a dry summer, but fell into disorder doing so.  The Ernestinisch Sachsen Infantry also drifted in the path of  Kohlkopf's artillery, preventing continued fire on the Stollenian right flank.



 In Move 4, Stollen's Colonel Kartoffel's gun crew unlimbered their single piece and fired a double round of cannister shot at the enmy grenadiers assaulting Blasthof Bridge.  Kortoffel's infantry unleashed volleys at the approaching Trumbach Dragoons from across the Blast River, inflicting a number of casualties.



  Von Kohlkopf's trumbach Dragoons reeled in the face of the enemy musketry and retreated in disorder while his remaining grenadiers completely failed a morale check and routed!  ON the far left of his line, the Ernestinisch Sachsen infantry continued its slow advance across the Blast River.



A shot of von Kohlkopf's Trumbach Dragoons sorting themselves out.



 Move 5 saw the Stollenian gun crew turn thier gun on the right flank of Colonel von Kohlkopf's Ernestinische Sachsen Infantry, inflicting medium casualties at close range while across the field northeast of Blasthof Farm, Coonel Kartoffel's infantry waded into the Blast River.



 During Move 6, Colonel Kartoffel unleashed his Lauzun's Legion hussars on the disordered Zichenauer infantry still were not entirely out of the water.  The hussars suffered light casualties but managed to press home, where they went about their grizzly work with enthusiam, perhaps making up for their quitting the field during the previous Action at Federstein.  Further east, Kartoffel's Hansastadt Infantry fired another withering volley into the remainder of Colonel von Kohlkopf's Trumbach Dragoons as they emerged from the Blast River, inflicting heavy casualties and causing the remainder of the squadron to rout.



 By Move 7, all seemed lost for the commander of the Zichenau advance guard, Colonel von Kohlkopf.  At different points during the relatively short action, his forces suffered heavy enough casualties to throw them into panicked rout.  His artillery crew were taken prisoner and their guns captured.  Von Kohlkopf and his officers fled southward toward the relative safety of the main body of their army, which was camped two days to the southeast around the small settlement of Sägemühledorf, otherwise known as Sawmill Village.



 The Stollenian infantry line finishes crossing the Blast River, dresses, and continues its victorious advance.



 Colonel Kartoffel and his officers take up their new positions on the southern side of the Blast River, in firm control of this key river crossing.



Comments

Brilliant game , what rules were used ?
Thank you! Lots of fun for about two hours of solo play. The rules used were my own, but based heavily on Donald Featherstone with a pinch of Charles Grant and a dash or two from a couple of other writers. As soon as I can get them saved in a format that will upload here, I'll share them via my blog. A refight of Sawmill Village next.

Best Regards,

Stokes
Martin said…
Hi Stokes,

T'was a famous victory! The troops were well turned out (as usual). No doubt couriers are already spurring their way to the main armies to inform the commanders of the latest fortunes of war. I'm looking forward to the next encounter. Well done! What size tabletop is used at Schloss Stollen these days? It was also nice to take a peek at your wargaming space as well. Perhaps you'll take us on the nickle tour at some point in the future?

All The Best,

Martin
Wellington Man said…
Fantastic show, Stokes. Many thanks.

When Rob G and I played Blasthof back in May the sequence was different but the result was rather similar!

Best regards
WM
warpaintjj said…
The Kingdom is safe!
Well played Sir! It seems you enjoyed yourself which is what this is all about at the end of the day.
Very best wishes,
Jeremy
Thank you, men! The table is 6'x10', although this game was played on a 6'x6' end of it just to keep things contained. Yes, I will do a photographic tour 360 degrees tour at some point in the near future. When I can get The Young Master to straighten up his end of our shared space that is.

Best Regards,

Stokes
tidders said…
Super game, a classic scenario well fought
Stryker said…
Great to see your troops in action again!
Big Andy said…
Looking very very sweet indeed there Stokes,
tradgardmastare said…
Great looking game ,thanks for posting. I too,,will be interested in seeing your rules.
Anonymous said…
Excellent and great to read about the Stollenian success.
Simon

Popular posts from this blog

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

Taking Stock Part II: The (As Yet) Unpainted but Planned OOB. . .

  Two companies of Reichsarmee grenadiers painted back in 2017 or 2018.  Minden Austrians of course. A lovely early autumn day here in the grand duchy.  Bright sunshine and a light breeze with cool temperatures will make for some very pleasant late afternoon lawn mowing in a little while.  But first a bit more discussion of painting plans for the future. Last time, I looked back at the various and sundry units, support troops, and civilians that I've managed to paint in the last 17 years as the Grand Duchy of Stollen project has developed.  So today, let's look into the seemingly bottomless Drawer 'o' Lead to my left for a clue to the new direction.  Be forewarned, it's not going to be a quick job getting everything painted and based, but there we are. The following plans are based on the pile of unpainted figures already here.  Any future purchases will be limited to small things that might be needed to fill out the envisioned units (the odd few officers mounted o

Having a "No Day". . .

  F or the almost 20 years that she lived in Mexico, one of my late mother's Irish friends frequently mentioned having a "No Day."  A day with no social obligations, chores, tasks, or other work that interfered with whatever personal interests took one's fancy on the day in question. Since today -- a gray and chilly Saturday -- is Mom's birthday, the Grand Duchess is out with friends, and the Young Master is ensconced on the sofa in the TV room with a cold, yours truly is taking his own such No Day.  I think Mom would approve of my decision to make the world go away, as the old Eddie Arnold song intoned, even if only for a little while. So, I will spend Saturday afternoon focused on that first squadron and small regimental staff of Eureka Saxon cuirassiers.  These have stood waiting  untouched over on the painting table for almost three weeks while we skied and otherwise gadded about with snowy, winter outdoor activities. I hope to share a painting update Sunday a