Battle of Kolding 1849

The Forgotten Battle of a Forgotten War

Battle of Kolding, April 23 1849

While forreign litterature hardly ever even mention the First Schleswig War which is better known in Denmark as the Three Year War (Treårskrigen) from 1848 to 1851. It has to a large extent been overshadowed by the Second Schleswig War of 1864 which finally settled the questions fought over by the first war. With the Second Scleswig War ending ending in a resounding Danish defeat that lost the country the last of its international ambitions and to a certain extent still affects the Danish mentality today going from a multi-part multi-national state to a national state its details are too mostly forgotten in Denmark.

The first war ended in a Danish victory and the Danish victories are still remembered in statues and monuments sparse dispersed across the country such as the statue of the brave soldier (Den Tapre Landsoldat) and the Lion of Isted (Isted-løven) that commenorates these victories. The defeats are hardly remembered.

As I am always on the look out for interesting battles, I was lucky enough to come across a book browsing through the museum store at Koldinghus (the castle in Kolding) about the Battle of Kolding.

I must admit I had not heard about neither the book, author or battle but I decided to give it a chance and I was not disappointed.

The battle took place between the Danish army and the Schleswig-Holstein rebel army and was a major engagement for that period with around 14,000 men on each side. The rebel army had boldly advanced far ahead of their Prussian allies and it was decided on the Danish side to try and surround and crush them before they could be reinforced.

While the battle turned out to be indecisive it could have had a major impact, had the Danish army actually managed to surprise and surround the rebel army I decided it was worth refighting for a Blackpowder scenario.

The Danish plan called for a two prong attack, one on the Eastern flank to take Kolding pinning the enenmy main force down while a flanking manouver would strike in the west and move to surround the enemy.

As I always find with war gaming that I would like to focus on the decisive part of any battle and leave a slugging match of the two sides firing at each other to minimum to save time I decided to focus on the western attack which I found to be the decisive part. If the western flank would not be able to breakthrough and move around the main body of the enemy the battle would possibly still be a victory but it would not be the decisive battle to end the war as the Danish general staff hoped for.

The Danish Plan

Reading through the book and digging into the battle I got a good idea of the western flank and the units and commanders involved. While I like historical battles, I would also like to have them balanced so that both players have an equal chance of winning a battle not just gaining the morale victory of doing marginally better than their historical counterpart. So for the units, I did add a number of fictional units that could have had engaged on the day.

The Scenario

The basic scenario was therefore, as the Danish army advanced it has to overcome a natural obstruction in the form of a stream, while the stream could be forded in one place near Påby and there was a bridge at the village of Ejstrup that already gave the first part of the mission.

After that the Danish army would have to secure its western flank around the Mill at Rolles, where a part of the enemy forces were stationed. The area was heavily forrested making it hard for cavalry to operate but the Danish western prong under general Rye still had considerable cavalry forces to be able to move quickly once across the stream.

The basic scenario layout

Briefings:

Briefing Denmark:

General Rye, 5^th Brigade, Royal Danish Army – Left Flank

Dispatch from commanding General Bülow with his compliments. I am sorry to wake you up this late but an urgent developments require your attention. Last night the rebels advanced into the town from the south, after a brief skirmish in which no Prussian troops were observed I dispatched scouts to figure out what the enemy’s dispositions are.

Situation:

We have identified two divisions of the rebels taking up residence in the area, it would appear it is only the avant-garde of a much larger force but for now all reports indicate that the main enemy force are two days away, we therefore have an opportunity here. We will attack and destroy their divisions before their main force can react. I have dispatched orders to the navy to prepare for landing operations and we will catch them by surprise between the main landings and push from the north which will occupy them and your flanking attack from the west which will cut them off and destroy them.

Orders:

Force a crossing of the stream, we expect only light enemy resistance. Secure your right flank and advance down the road to (main objective) and beyond to flank the main enemy force while our other two prongs push in from the North and North East to pin him down. Secure the mill at Rolle to secure your flank (secondary objective).

Units:

Commander-in-Chief General Rye skill level 8

5^th Brigade commanded by Major Wilster skill level 9

1^st Jægerkorps (considered elite, armed with rifles)

4^th Reserve battalion

6^th Linie Battalion

7^th Linie Battalion

12^th light battalion Nordschleswig (considered unrealiable as most men af of German origins)

1^st Kavalleribrigade Captain Carstenschiold (fictive) skill 9

3^rd Dragon (cavalry troop, no firearms)

5^th Dragon (cavalry troop, no firearms)

Reserves:

Artillery group Captain Marcussen skill 9

3th Half batteri (foot)

Batteri Marcussen (horse)

2^nd Kavalleribrigade under command of Carstenschiold once on the field

6^th Dragon (can be dismounted and fight as infantry, if doing so cannot remount during battle)

2^nd Kavalleri (cavalry troop, no firearms)

Notes:

We are not sure if we can trust the men of the light battalion as these come from Schleswig. The cavalry is generally old fashioned and not equipped with modern day percussion cap firearms but only flintlocks making their fire ineffective except at close range thus considered close combat troops only. Our infantry is in general armored with smoothbore muskets and considered large formations. Expect your reserves to arrive early.

Briefing German:

We have recently overwhelmed the small enemy garrison at the border town and are advancing rapidly so much so that we have outrun our more cautious allies, it is therefore time to consolidate and hold until we can be reinforced. I can ordered the infantry to dig in but you are holding our left flank. While we expect the enemy to focus mainly on their right flank where their navy can intervene it is important that you hold if attacked. I will dispatch reinforcements if you are attacked but you will need to fight a delaying action until our reserves can drive them off.

Orders:

Hold out until late afternoon in which case a breakthrough is not critical as the enemy would not be able to pursue us into the dusk. Hold Seest (secondary objective). Throw the enemy attack back across the stream if able to (primary) once reinforcements arrive.

Units:

Commander-in-Chief Oberst Zastrow skill 9

Jäger Infantry detachment Major Schmid skill 9 posted at the steam

4^th Jäger (elite, armed with rifled muskets)

9^th Line Infantry (mercenaries, smoothbore and unreliable)

Kampfgruppe Zachau Oberst Zachau skill 8 posted around Rolle

7^th Line infantry

8^th Line infantry

1^st Festung artillery

Army reserves:

Oberst Henne (fictive) skill 8

5 regiments of line infantry

1 horse artillery

Notes:

Our infantry is in general armed with smoothbore muskets and considered large formations. Expect your reserves to arrive late in the afternoon. We do not believe the enemy cavalry can easily navigate the forests.

GM notes

12 turns, reinforcement arrive after turn 6, rolll 5+ +1 D6 per turn

Random Events:

I like to have random events to spice the games up a little bit and the way they work is that both players draw random event cards which can be played at any time during the game.

NAME	Espignol		Shrapnel Grenades	NAME	Ferocious Charge!		Give them the Cold Steel!
DESCRIPTION	The Espignol was a Danish multibarrelled artillery piece firing musket balls. Unfortunately these could not be reloaded in the field. These were attached to infantry units for mutual benefits		While shrapnel bombs had been used for a long time, the use of the heavy 12″ canons allows for a whole new scale of use	DESCRIPTION	Huzzah! One of the most memorable moments of the battle was the charge of the Guard Hussars. While shot to pieces in the volley fire the enemy was so impressed that he delivered all their personal belongings back to their side		The spirit of the rebel soldiers were second to none and they charged into combat with a disregards for personal safety
EFFECT	Gain 1 short range artillery bombardment 3D6 from musket range of an infantry unit		Add 1D6 to the strength of an artillery fire	EFFECT	Target cavalry charge get +2 CR		Target infantry charge get +1 CR
NAME	Liberators!		Supply Wagons Return	NAME	Looters, freebooters, adventurers!		Boggy Ground
DESCRIPTION	The townsfolk greeted the national trrops as liberators and this was a great morale boost to the advancing troops		Fearing that the limited number of wagons could get captured or destroyed in the upcoming battle the wagon train was turned around before the whole National Army had time to resupply	DESCRIPTION	The 9th battalion of the rebel army consisted of volunteers from other countries, these were notorious for their bad behavoir and while no doubt brave also quite ill disciplined		The lowlands around the stream where the battle was fought was not good cavalry country
EFFECT	Target unit gain +1 moral save this turn		Target unit suffers -1 moral save until beginning of its next turn	EFFECT	Target unit cannot move this turn		Target cavalry unit only move at ½ pace this turn
NAME	Rumours		Taunts	NAME	Rumours		Rumours
DESCRIPTION	There are many rumours in battle and sometimes these can be very misleading		During a lull in the battle one of the rebels climbed a barn roof with a rebel banner and yelled taunts at the national army, this got too much for a jäger unit who promptly fired a salvo at him to the dismay of their commander	DESCRIPTION	There are many rumours in battle and sometimes these can be very misleading		There are many rumours in battle and sometimes these can be very misleading
EFFECT	Opponent suffers -1 to reinforcement roll this turn		Force target unit to fire at one of your units at -1 to hit	EFFECT	Opponent suffers -1 to reinforcement roll this turn		Opponent suffers -1 to reinforcement roll this turn
NAME	Under Cover of Darkness		Traffic Jam	NAME	Bridging Equipment		Rumours
DESCRIPTION	The National Army advanced to the battlefield under cover of darkness to disguise their movement.		Coordinating an army can be very hard and coordinating an army on the move is even worse	DESCRIPTION	For some reason the bridging equipment was left in the rear and it took the engineers a long time to bring it forward		There are many rumours in battle and sometimes these can be very misleading
EFFECT	Target brigade may make a single move before the battle starts		Your opponent cannot roll for reserves this turn	EFFECT	Any infantry unit at the stream may create a bridge this turn ceeding all movement and shooting. While bridging the unit is at +1 to hit		Opponent suffers -1 to reinforcement roll this turn
NAME	Naval Support		Terror Bombardment	NAME	Den Gang Jeg Drog Afsted!		Confused Orders
DESCRIPTION	While it was hard to coordinate naval and land forces. A group of national gun boats appeared and while unable to range the troops they still were able to provide some counterbattery fire		The shelling of the town turned into a terror bombardment with fires clearly visible from afar. The soldiers feared that the artillery could be turned on them next	DESCRIPTION	The famous song popular with all royal soldiers was a great moral boost and reminded them why they were fighting		The enemy general was slow to respond to battle developments on the day and as a result orders were often delayed or out of touch with developments
EFFECT	Enemy artillery will be engaged with the gun boats this turn and so may not fire		One enemy hit by artillery this turn is a -1 moral save	EFFECT	Remove 1 cassualty marker from one unit		Target unit may not move this turn
NAME	Armed Citizens		Hired Officer Corps	NAME	Lost!		Too Warm a Welcome
DESCRIPTION	Not all nationals were welcoming the rebellion, as the rebel army marched north some acts of resistance was encountered. Rumoura spread in the rebel army that townsfolk were fighting at them as they marched through captured towns		To curb the extremists in the revolution the rebel gouverment hired German mercenaries as commanders. This kept the army out of the hands of the more extreme powers in the rebel faction but also led to some dissillusion	DESCRIPTION	Nagivating in enemy country can have its severe limitations as units get lost or separated		The citizens were happy to see the royal soldiers return and greeted them with food and beer. Which led the unit to loose cohesion
EFFECT	Gain a tiny militia unit 2/1/4+ wavering armed with SB muskets apearing from any house on the field		Target friendly regiment will complete any orders given to it this turn	EFFECT	Target unit only move at ½ pace this turn		Target unit becomes disorganized, play at start of enem turn
NAME	Division in Command		War Minister interferes!	NAME	Walking Wounded		Walking Wounded
DESCRIPTION	The confederation army and the rebels have very different war aims and goals. The lack unified command did not help		The National War Minister was once an officer and he believes he know how to win this war. He therefore spent more time with the general staff in the field than during administration in the capital	DESCRIPTION	Wounded men still able to fight is a valuable last ditch ressource		Wounded men still able to fight is a valuable last ditch ressource
EFFECT	An enemy commander suffers +2 on command rolls, only double 6 blunder		This turn enemy general suffers +2 on command rolls. Only double 6 still blunder	EFFECT	Remove 1 cassualty marker from one unit		Remove 1 cassualty marker from one unit
NAME	Forreign Aid		Forreign Aid	NAME	Rumours		An Unlucky Encounter
DESCRIPTION	While a civil war many of different countries in Europe had interests in the conflict and sent volunteers. While an extra source of manpower these were typically held in reserve to avoid unfavourable high casualties that could upset the motherland		While a civil war many of different countries in Europe had interests in the conflict and sent volunteers. While an extra source of manpower these were typically held in reserve to avoid unfavourable high casualties that could upset the motherland	DESCRIPTION	There are many rumours in battle and sometimes these can be very misleading		A few days before the encounter a couple of Royal dragoons conducting scouting got ambushed and gave away the plan
EFFECT	Gain an extra regiment in reserve (standard)		Gain an extra regiment in reserve (standard)	EFFECT	Opponent suffers -1 to reinforcement roll this turn		Bring up one reserve unit before the game start

This is my first homemade scenario over a forgotten battle of a forgotten war. Happy gaming!