Battle of Le’Avenworth
Battle of Le’Avenworth - After Action Report
On the 8th of August 2026, six commanders gathered around a wargames table to recreate a clash worthy of the great campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. The battlefield was entirely fictional, yet its character was unmistakably Napoleonic: two opposing corps, massed infantry, thundering artillery, cavalry poised upon the flanks, and commanders attempting to impose their will upon the chaos of battle.
The engagement took place upon a battlefield near the banks of the Missouri River, a most unlikely setting for an encounter between French and Austrian armies. Yet for several hours, the table became the fields of Central Europe, and the commanders assumed the roles of their historical counterparts.
The French III Corps, commanded by Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout, confronted the Austrian III Korps, commanded by Archduke Hohenzollern. What followed was a hard-fought engagement in which aggressive French attacks ultimately met the immovable resistance of the Austrian left.
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The Austrian III Korps occupied the eastern portion of the battlefield, deploying in a manner designed to absorb the expected French assault while retaining sufficient reserves to counterattack.
On the Austrian left stood the 1st Division under General St. Julien, its formations positioned to dominate the approaches toward the town of Eckelle. The town was of particular importance, serving as the principal objective of the French advance.
On the Austrian right was the 2nd Division under General Lusignan. Between the two infantry divisions stood the cavalry division of Vukassovich, deployed centrally and ready to exploit any weakness that might appear in the French line.
The Austrian commander had therefore created a flexible formation. Two infantry divisions formed the battle line, while the cavalry waited behind them like a drawn sword, capable of being thrown against either flank should the opportunity arise.
Across the field, the French III Corps prepared for battle.
Marshal Davout's two principal infantry divisions were deployed on either side of the town of Lundorf. To the French left stood the 2nd Division of General Friant, while the 3rd Division of General Gudin occupied the right. Each division possessed twelve battalions and a supporting artillery battery.
On the extreme French right, somewhat to the rear, stood the cavalry division of General Pajol. Its position offered the French commander a mobile reserve and the possibility of turning the Austrian flank should the infantry succeed in breaking through.
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General Friant adopted a notably dispersed formation.
One regiment was positioned to secure a large forest occupying the northern portion of the battlefield. Another regiment was held approximately 300 yards to the rear, forming a rudimentary reserve. The remaining two regiments were concentrated around Lundorf, their supporting artillery positioned to provide fire against any Austrian formations attempting to contest the town.
Friant's deployment suggested caution. Rather than committing his entire division to a single overwhelming assault, he appeared determined to maintain control of the ground around Lundorf while protecting his northern flank.
On the opposite side of the field, the Austrians had adopted a more traditional two-line formation, their principal battle lines separated by approximately 200 yards.
The supporting artillery of Lusignan's division occupied the center of the Austrian position, where it could concentrate its fire against the advancing French. St. Julien, meanwhile, placed his artillery toward the right of his division, close to Eckelle.
The guns waited in silence.
At precisely 1330 hours, the battle commenced.
---
The French opened the engagement in characteristic fashion.
With little hesitation, the infantry of III Corps began advancing across the battlefield. The long French lines moved steadily forward, closing the distance with the Austrian positions while their commanders sought to identify weaknesses in the enemy deployment.
For a moment, the Austrians appeared content to allow the French to approach.
Then their cavalry moved.
General Vukassovich divided his cavalry into two bodies of six squadrons apiece. Rather than committing the entire cavalry division to one decisive charge, the Austrian commander sent the two groups outward, threatening both French flanks.
The maneuver immediately had an effect.
On the French right, Gudin's leading battalions suddenly found themselves threatened by Austrian cavalry. The French infantry reacted by forming squares, presenting a wall of bayonets to the approaching horsemen.
The Austrian cavalry had achieved its purpose.
The French infantry advance had been disrupted.
And now the Austrian artillery opened fire.
---
The Austrian batteries were brought forward and began pounding the French formations.
The great weakness of an infantry square was now exposed. While the formation provided protection against cavalry, it presented a dense target to artillery.
Shot tore through the French ranks.
The French soldiers stood firm, their muskets loaded and bayonets fixed, while Austrian guns continued to hammer their positions.
Yet the French were not prepared to surrender the field.
General Pajol's cavalry moved forward to challenge the Austrian horse.
What followed was one of the most dramatic phases of the battle.
Across the field, cavalry met cavalry in a succession of charges and countercharges. Squadrons advanced at the gallop, collided with their opponents, recoiled, re-formed and charged again.
The ground between the two armies became a confused mass of horses, sabres and dust.
Neither side was able to achieve a decisive breakthrough.
But while the cavalry fought, the infantry battle was developing into something far more destructive.
---
On the Austrian right, the opposing infantry formations finally came within effective musket range.
The crack of thousands of muskets rolled across the battlefield.
Ranks disappeared into clouds of powder smoke as French and Austrian soldiers exchanged volleys at close range. Officers struggled to maintain order as battalions advanced through the smoke, halted, fired and advanced again.
Soon the battle ceased to resemble a carefully controlled maneuver.
It became a contest of endurance.
French and Austrian infantry collided in brutal close combat. Battalions pushed forward only to be thrown back by determined counterattacks. Fresh formations were committed to support units already heavily engaged.
The fighting on this portion of the battlefield became a war of attrition.
Every advance cost men.
Every counterattack produced more casualties.
Neither side could secure a decisive advantage.
The battlefield began to fill with the wreckage of formations that had entered the fight with full strength but were now reduced to shadows of their former selves.
---
Yet the decisive struggle was taking place elsewhere.
On the Austrian left, General St. Julien had established a position of remarkable strength.
The French right repeatedly attempted to break the Austrian line.
Again and again, French battalions advanced.
Again and again, the Austrians received them.
The French attacked with determination, but St. Julien's troops refused to yield.
French columns pushed forward into the Austrian position only to encounter disciplined resistance. Musketry tore into the advancing ranks, while Austrian formations counterattacked whenever an opportunity presented itself.
The French returned to the attack.
The Austrians held.
Another French assault was launched.
Again, St. Julien's division stood firm.
What had begun as a French offensive gradually became a grinding battle of attrition in which the French were paying an increasingly heavy price for every yard of ground gained.
The Austrian left had become an anvil upon which the French right was slowly being destroyed.
Most remarkable of all, St. Julien's division was suffering comparatively few losses while inflicting devastating casualties upon the formations sent against it.
---
But the cost was becoming unbearable.
General Gudin's division had been engaged almost continuously since the opening of the battle. Its battalions had faced cavalry threats, artillery fire, musketry and repeated infantry assaults.
The division was exhausted.
At approximately 1530 hours, the breaking point was reached.
Gudin's division finally broke and routed from the battlefield.
The collapse was catastrophic for the French position.
The battle was over.
---
Although the Austrian victory belonged to the entire III Korps, one commander had distinguished himself above all others.
General St. Julien had held the Austrian left against repeated French assaults and, in doing so, effectively destroyed General Gudin's division.
His division had absorbed attack after attack without suffering the crippling losses inflicted upon its opponents. By refusing to yield, St. Julien had transformed what might have been merely a defensive position into the decisive point of the battle.
For his performance, General St. Julien was recognized as Commander of the Day.
---
The Battle of Le’Avenworth demonstrated once again that in Napoleonic warfare, victory was not always achieved through the spectacular charge or the brilliant maneuver.
Sometimes victory belonged to the commander who simply refused to break.
Marshal Davout began the battle with an aggressive offensive, seeking to overwhelm the Austrian position before it could fully develop. The Austrian response, however, proved remarkably resilient. Vukassovich's cavalry disrupted the French advance, the Austrian artillery punished the French squares, and St. Julien's infantry absorbed repeated assaults without surrendering the ground.
The fighting elsewhere became a bloody stalemate, but on the Austrian left the outcome was decisive.
When Gudin's division finally broke, the French offensive collapsed with it.
The French withdrew, leaving the field to Archduke Hohenzollern and the Austrian III Korps.
For two hours the armies had fought across the fields beside the Missouri river, transforming a quiet afternoon into a miniature recreation of the brutal contests of the Napoleonic age.
The Austrians had held.
The French had attacked.
And on this day, it was the Austrian line that proved unbreakable.
Result: Austrian Victory
The French III Corps, commanded by Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout, confronted the Austrian III Korps, commanded by Archduke Hohenzollern. What followed was a hard-fought engagement in which aggressive French attacks ultimately met the immovable resistance of the Austrian left.
---
The Armies Take Position
The Austrian III Korps occupied the eastern portion of the battlefield, deploying in a manner designed to absorb the expected French assault while retaining sufficient reserves to counterattack.
On the Austrian left stood the 1st Division under General St. Julien, its formations positioned to dominate the approaches toward the town of Eckelle. The town was of particular importance, serving as the principal objective of the French advance.
On the Austrian right was the 2nd Division under General Lusignan. Between the two infantry divisions stood the cavalry division of Vukassovich, deployed centrally and ready to exploit any weakness that might appear in the French line.
The Austrian commander had therefore created a flexible formation. Two infantry divisions formed the battle line, while the cavalry waited behind them like a drawn sword, capable of being thrown against either flank should the opportunity arise.
Across the field, the French III Corps prepared for battle.
Marshal Davout's two principal infantry divisions were deployed on either side of the town of Lundorf. To the French left stood the 2nd Division of General Friant, while the 3rd Division of General Gudin occupied the right. Each division possessed twelve battalions and a supporting artillery battery.
On the extreme French right, somewhat to the rear, stood the cavalry division of General Pajol. Its position offered the French commander a mobile reserve and the possibility of turning the Austrian flank should the infantry succeed in breaking through.
The stage was set.
---
Friant's Cautious Deployment
General Friant adopted a notably dispersed formation.
One regiment was positioned to secure a large forest occupying the northern portion of the battlefield. Another regiment was held approximately 300 yards to the rear, forming a rudimentary reserve. The remaining two regiments were concentrated around Lundorf, their supporting artillery positioned to provide fire against any Austrian formations attempting to contest the town.
Friant's deployment suggested caution. Rather than committing his entire division to a single overwhelming assault, he appeared determined to maintain control of the ground around Lundorf while protecting his northern flank.
On the opposite side of the field, the Austrians had adopted a more traditional two-line formation, their principal battle lines separated by approximately 200 yards.
The supporting artillery of Lusignan's division occupied the center of the Austrian position, where it could concentrate its fire against the advancing French. St. Julien, meanwhile, placed his artillery toward the right of his division, close to Eckelle.
The guns waited in silence.
At precisely 1330 hours, the battle commenced.
---
The French Advance
The French opened the engagement in characteristic fashion.
With little hesitation, the infantry of III Corps began advancing across the battlefield. The long French lines moved steadily forward, closing the distance with the Austrian positions while their commanders sought to identify weaknesses in the enemy deployment.
For a moment, the Austrians appeared content to allow the French to approach.
Then their cavalry moved.
General Vukassovich divided his cavalry into two bodies of six squadrons apiece. Rather than committing the entire cavalry division to one decisive charge, the Austrian commander sent the two groups outward, threatening both French flanks.
The maneuver immediately had an effect.
On the French right, Gudin's leading battalions suddenly found themselves threatened by Austrian cavalry. The French infantry reacted by forming squares, presenting a wall of bayonets to the approaching horsemen.
The Austrian cavalry had achieved its purpose.
The French infantry advance had been disrupted.
And now the Austrian artillery opened fire.
---
The Guns Against the Squares
The Austrian batteries were brought forward and began pounding the French formations.
The great weakness of an infantry square was now exposed. While the formation provided protection against cavalry, it presented a dense target to artillery.
Shot tore through the French ranks.
The French soldiers stood firm, their muskets loaded and bayonets fixed, while Austrian guns continued to hammer their positions.
Yet the French were not prepared to surrender the field.
General Pajol's cavalry moved forward to challenge the Austrian horse.
What followed was one of the most dramatic phases of the battle.
Across the field, cavalry met cavalry in a succession of charges and countercharges. Squadrons advanced at the gallop, collided with their opponents, recoiled, re-formed and charged again.
The ground between the two armies became a confused mass of horses, sabres and dust.
Neither side was able to achieve a decisive breakthrough.
But while the cavalry fought, the infantry battle was developing into something far more destructive.
---
The Battle for the Right
On the Austrian right, the opposing infantry formations finally came within effective musket range.
The crack of thousands of muskets rolled across the battlefield.
Ranks disappeared into clouds of powder smoke as French and Austrian soldiers exchanged volleys at close range. Officers struggled to maintain order as battalions advanced through the smoke, halted, fired and advanced again.
Soon the battle ceased to resemble a carefully controlled maneuver.
It became a contest of endurance.
French and Austrian infantry collided in brutal close combat. Battalions pushed forward only to be thrown back by determined counterattacks. Fresh formations were committed to support units already heavily engaged.
The fighting on this portion of the battlefield became a war of attrition.
Every advance cost men.
Every counterattack produced more casualties.
Neither side could secure a decisive advantage.
The battlefield began to fill with the wreckage of formations that had entered the fight with full strength but were now reduced to shadows of their former selves.
---
St. Julien's Iron Wall
Yet the decisive struggle was taking place elsewhere.
On the Austrian left, General St. Julien had established a position of remarkable strength.
The French right repeatedly attempted to break the Austrian line.
Again and again, French battalions advanced.
Again and again, the Austrians received them.
The French attacked with determination, but St. Julien's troops refused to yield.
French columns pushed forward into the Austrian position only to encounter disciplined resistance. Musketry tore into the advancing ranks, while Austrian formations counterattacked whenever an opportunity presented itself.
The French returned to the attack.
The Austrians held.
Another French assault was launched.
Again, St. Julien's division stood firm.
What had begun as a French offensive gradually became a grinding battle of attrition in which the French were paying an increasingly heavy price for every yard of ground gained.
The Austrian left had become an anvil upon which the French right was slowly being destroyed.
Most remarkable of all, St. Julien's division was suffering comparatively few losses while inflicting devastating casualties upon the formations sent against it.
---
The Collapse of Gudin
For nearly two hours the French continued to press the attack.But the cost was becoming unbearable.
General Gudin's division had been engaged almost continuously since the opening of the battle. Its battalions had faced cavalry threats, artillery fire, musketry and repeated infantry assaults.
The division was exhausted.
At approximately 1530 hours, the breaking point was reached.
Gudin's division finally broke and routed from the battlefield.
The collapse was catastrophic for the French position.
With one of Davout's two principal divisions gone, the French commander could no longer sustain the offensive. The pressure upon the remaining French formations became impossible to maintain.
The carefully constructed French attack had lost its momentum.
What had begun at 1330 hours as an aggressive advance had, within two hours, become a fight for survival.
The carefully constructed French attack had lost its momentum.
What had begun at 1330 hours as an aggressive advance had, within two hours, become a fight for survival.
---
Marshal Davout now faced a difficult decision.
The French had failed to break the Austrian position, Gudin's division had been destroyed as an effective fighting formation, and the fighting elsewhere had produced little advantage.
Rather than risk the destruction of the remaining divisions, Davout ordered the French forces to withdraw.
The retreat was conducted under the growing shadow of Austrian victory.
The French abandoned the field.
The French Retreat
Marshal Davout now faced a difficult decision.
The French had failed to break the Austrian position, Gudin's division had been destroyed as an effective fighting formation, and the fighting elsewhere had produced little advantage.
Rather than risk the destruction of the remaining divisions, Davout ordered the French forces to withdraw.
The retreat was conducted under the growing shadow of Austrian victory.
The French abandoned the field.
The Austrians, bloodied but victorious, remained in possession of their positions and the objectives for which they had fought.
The battle was over.
---
The Victor: General St. Julien
Although the Austrian victory belonged to the entire III Korps, one commander had distinguished himself above all others.
General St. Julien had held the Austrian left against repeated French assaults and, in doing so, effectively destroyed General Gudin's division.
His division had absorbed attack after attack without suffering the crippling losses inflicted upon its opponents. By refusing to yield, St. Julien had transformed what might have been merely a defensive position into the decisive point of the battle.
For his performance, General St. Julien was recognized as Commander of the Day.
---
Conclusion
The Battle of Le’Avenworth demonstrated once again that in Napoleonic warfare, victory was not always achieved through the spectacular charge or the brilliant maneuver.
Sometimes victory belonged to the commander who simply refused to break.
Marshal Davout began the battle with an aggressive offensive, seeking to overwhelm the Austrian position before it could fully develop. The Austrian response, however, proved remarkably resilient. Vukassovich's cavalry disrupted the French advance, the Austrian artillery punished the French squares, and St. Julien's infantry absorbed repeated assaults without surrendering the ground.
The fighting elsewhere became a bloody stalemate, but on the Austrian left the outcome was decisive.
When Gudin's division finally broke, the French offensive collapsed with it.
The French withdrew, leaving the field to Archduke Hohenzollern and the Austrian III Korps.
For two hours the armies had fought across the fields beside the Missouri river, transforming a quiet afternoon into a miniature recreation of the brutal contests of the Napoleonic age.
The Austrians had held.
The French had attacked.
And on this day, it was the Austrian line that proved unbreakable.
Result: Austrian Victory
Points Austrian 660
French 320
Commander of the Day: General St. Julien
Decisive Action: The destruction of General Gudin's 3rd Division
Battle Duration: Approximately 2 hours
French: Forced to retreat from the field
Austrians: Retained the battlefield and objectives
Commander of the Day: General St. Julien
Decisive Action: The destruction of General Gudin's 3rd Division
Battle Duration: Approximately 2 hours
French: Forced to retreat from the field
Austrians: Retained the battlefield and objectives
French lost 14 battalions, 1 battery and 6 squadrons of cavalry
Austrians lost 8 battalions and 4 squadronds of cavalry
The game, held at Leavenworth's Game day was enjoyed by all 6 players.
Thank You
Excellent AAR Chris. You are a master of the narrative.
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