Clash of Empires: The Napoleonic Wars The Battle of Lodi 1796

martinboulter2020
Oct 29
7 min read

As an introduction to a future release of Clash of Empires: The Napoleonic Wars I thought it would be interesting to use the Clash Battle System to recreate some of the famous battles of the Napoleonic era starting with the Battle of Lodi in 1796. More correctly described as a battle of the Revolutionary period Lodi is important because it was during this action that Napoleon earned his soubriquet of “Little Corporal” and it was after Lodi that Napoleon himself became convinced that he was destined for greatness. Therefore, this battle sets the scene for the start of Napoleon’s meteoric rise.

Background

The Italian Campaign 1796-1797 was a conflict between French forces and the two allied armies of Piedmont and Austria for control of Northern Italy. It was part of The War of the First Coalition (1792-1798) which broke out between Revolutionary France and various neighbouring monarchies who feared the spread of the revolutionary doctrine of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”. Late in March 1796 the young and inexperienced general Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed to the command of the French Army of Italy by the Directory. Up to this point Napoleon was relatively unknown and his only military achievements were the successful command of an artillery brigade during the Siege of Toulon (1793) and the putting down of a monarchist revolt with his famous ‘whiff of grapeshot’ in Paris (1795). The Italian Campaign was part of a larger strategy and was intended to divert Austrian troops away from the main effort which was being carried out by the French under Carnot in Germany. If successful, this army was then to join with the Army of Italy for an advance into Austria. However, the French army in Italy was in a wretched state its troops ragged and dispirited by years of neglect. Nevertheless, Napoleon took up his new command with great enthusiasm and it wasn’t long before his energy and skilled leadership restored the pride and fighting spirit to the Army of Italy. Already under his command was some of the later Marshals of the French Empire, namely Berthier as chief-of-staff, the flamboyant cavalry commander Murat and Marmont in charge of the artillery. After quickly assessing the situation and reviewing his forces which consisted of some 45,000 men and 60 guns Napoleon went straight on the offensive. Using what would later be termed as his ‘Strategy of the Central Position’, Napoleon drove his meagre forces like a wedge between the army of Piedmont and that of Austria and after defeating the Piedmontese chased the Austrians to the River Adda. Here the Austrian commander Beaulieu set up a rear guard at the bridge at Lodi to cover the retreat of his army to the Tyrol.

The Austrian covering force was placed under the command of General Sebottendorf and consisted of about 10,000 men and 12 guns. The artillery was positioned along the far bank and on the bridge itself and these were then backed up by the Austrian infantry battalions and cavalry. Upon reaching the bridge with some 17,000 troops Napoleon immediately sent cavalry detatchments up and down the river to find an alternative crossing and formed his infantry grenadiers into an assault column. Covered by artillery fire this elite force then stormed across the bridge and despite sweeping enfilade fire from the Austrian guns managed to get to the other side where they delivered a spirited bayonet charge against the Austrian defenders who were pushed back. An attempt by the Austrians to retake the bridge was prevented by the arrival of French reinforcements and a cavalry outflanking force which appeared on the enemy’s right flank. Sebottendorf having lost nearly 2000 men and all his guns only just managed to extricate his force and now joined Beaulieu in full retreat. The French suffered about 350 casualties in the battle.

Five days later Napoleon entered Milan in triumph. After a brief pause, he then proceeded after the Austrians defeating them in many battles and eventually invaded Austria itself where he dictated peace terms in the Treaty of Campo Formio on October 17^th, 1797. One of the main factors that contributed to the French victory in the War of the First Coalition was the strategic and tactical genius of the young Napoleon Bonaparte. It was at Lodi that Napoleon earned his soubriquet ‘Little Corporal’ in recognition of his courage and determination.

Clash of Empires

Using the Clash of Empires rules the battle strength and capabilities of the combatants can be shown as follows: -

A main infantry unit represents 6-8 infantry battalions. For every infantry unit there will be an attached artillery unit and a substantive cavalry support unit.

French Forces

Ordinary Army Type with a Combat Rating (CR) of ❷, which dependent upon the number of units i.e., 5 converts to a Fighting Bonus (FB) of +2. Battle Dice 2D6 (highest scoring die only). Tactical Deployment: Assault Column which gives the French +1 to Initiative for rapidity of movement and a 0/+2/+4 modifier to the Battle Dice score. Second modifier activated by an Initiative win and third modifier by an Initiative win of 3 or more. Predominant use of this formation also enables the French to save against an opponent’s Cavalry Shock Action, reducing their Battle Advantage Die to 1D3, on the roll of 2-6 on 1D6. In addition, the French have Light and Medium Cavalry which gives them a +1 to Initiative for reconnaissance and screening operations as well as being able to execute a decisive attack especially against infantry on the battlefield. This type of action is called Cavalry Shock Action and is represented by a 1D6+1 Battle Advantage Die. The French also get a 1D3 Battle Advantage Die for Artillery Attrition. Even at this early stage in his career Napoleon’s command status is that of Inspired and therefore rolls 2D6 for Initiative (highest scoring die only). Thus, the French army at Lodi rolls 2D6 +2 for Initiative. The French outnumber the Austrians so get a 1D6 numerical advantage.

Austrian Forces

Ordinary Army Type with a Combat Rating (CR) of ❷, which dependent upon the number of units i.e., 3 converts to a Fighting Bonus (FB) of +1. Battle Dice 2D6 (highest scoring die only). Tactical Deployment: Line (3 ranks) which gives the Austrians a +3/+6 modifier to the Battle Dice score. Second modifier activated by an Initiative win. Predominant use of this formation also enables the Austrians to save against an opponent’s Cavalry Shock Action, reducing their Battle Advantage Die to 1D3, on the roll of 4-6 on 1D6. In addition, the Austrians have Light and Medium Cavalry which gives them a +1 to Initiative for reconnaissance and screening operations as well as being able to execute a decisive attack especially against infantry on the battlefield. This type of action is called Cavalry Shock Action and is represented by a 1D6+1 Battle Advantage Die. The Austrians also get a 1D3 Battle Advantage Die for Artillery Attrition. The command status of General Sebottendorf is that of Competent and therefore rolls 1D6 for Initiative. Thus, the Austrian forces at Lodi roll 1D6+1 for Initiative. The Austrians are defending a river line so get a 1D6 Battle Advantage Die.

Napoleonic Clash Battle Procedure:

After rolling for Initiative the Battle Roll for each army consists of the following procedure:

Battle Dice (highest scoring die only).
Army Combat Rating (CR) to Fighting Bonus (FB).
Calculate Battle Bonus. (Determined by Army Type and FB).
Any other Battle Advantages such as Opponent outnumbered or Tactical Advantage.
Total Battle Roll.

Highest scoring Battle Roll wins and the difference between the two scores determines the number of casualties.

Combat Rating to Fighting Bonus Conversion and Casualty Tables not shown.

Napoleonic Battle Log

French Forces

Initiative	Battle Dice (Modifiers)	Combat Rating (CR) to Fighting Bonus (FB)	Battle Bonus	Battle Advantage Dice	Total Score
2D6 +2 5 and 4 (Highest die only) 5+2 = 7 .	2D6 Attack Column (0/+2/+4) 6 and 4 (Highest die only) 6+2 = 8	❷ x 4 = +2 FB Save versus Cavalry Shock Action 2-6 on 1D6 = 6	Evens Dice 1D6 = 5	Opponent outnumbered 1D6 = 6 Tactical Advantage 1D6 = 1 Cavalry Shock Action 1D6+1 = 4+1 = 5 (Austrian no save) Artillery Attrition 1D3= 2 6+1+5+2 = 14	8+2+5+14 = 29

Austrian Forces

Initiative	Battle Dice (Modifiers)	Combat Rating (CR) to Fighting Bonus (FB)	Battle Bonus	Battle Advantage Dice	Total Score
1D6+1 4+1 = 5	2D6 Line (3 ranks) (+3/+6) 6 and 3 (Highest die only) 6+3 = 9	❷ x 2 = +1 FB Save versus Cavalry Shock Action 4-6 on 1D6 = 2	No odds or evens 1D3 = 2	Defending a river line 1D6 = 5 Cavalry Shock Action 1D3 = 2 (French save) Artillery Attrition 1D3 = 3 5+2+3 = 10	9+1+2+10 = 22

Battle Bonus Calculation Table

FB	Inferior	Ordinary	Superior
1-4	1D3(1D6)	1D3(1D6)	1D3(1D6)
5-8	1D3(1D6)	1D3(1D6)	1D6(2D6)
9-12	1D3(1D6)	1D6(2D6)	1D6(2D6)
13-16	1D6(2D6)	1D6(2D6)	2D6(3D6)
17-20	1D6(2D6)	2D6(3D6)	2D6(3D6)
21-24	2D6(3D6)	2D6(3D6)	3D6(4D6)
25+	2D6(3D6)	3D6(4D6)	3D6(4D6)

(#D#) = Enhanced Battle Bonus on odds or evens Battle Dice.

Notes: - The French roll 7 for Initiative which yields a 1D6 Tactical Advantage. This can be used to represent the cavalry flank attack. In addition, evens Battle Dice and an Enhanced Battle Bonus indicates that the Austrians succumb to the French cavalry flank attack and the violent impact of the French column. This contributes to a winning Battle Roll of 29. French losses are less than 1 unit, whereas the Austrians lose 75% of their force.