‘The Last Battle’: La Souffel 28th June 1815 (The Game)

As usual during Chrimbo Limbo, a few of us got together at W.A.S.P. for our annual Christmas Game.  We’ll often do an epic Great Battle From History, sometimes spread over two days, but this year I decided to do something a little more modest in scale, played over a single day; the Battle of La Souffel, 28th June 1815.

As my surviving reader will no doubt recall, the Battle of La Souffel was the last major field-battle of the Napoleonic Wars, being fought ten days after the Battle of Waterloo.  I wrote a scenario for the battle last October and have ever since been itching to play this curious engagement.  So much so, that I painted three new Württemberg infantry regiments for the game, as well as two regiments of French Gardes-Nationale.

As usual, the game was played using Napoleon’s Battles 4th Edition rules, where each tactical unit on the table represents a brigade or large regiment.  The models are all AB Figures 15mm (with a few Battle Honours among the Badeners and Hessians) from my own collection.  The model buildings are by Total Battle Miniatures and The Drum.

Above:  The situation on Turn 1, as the Crown Prince of Württemberg appears on the field, at the head of Palombini’s Austrian Division.  Rapp had opted not to hold Lampertheim, instead concentrating all of Beurmann’s brigade (consisting just of the large 10e Légère) in the more easily-defended Mundolsheim.  The painting at the top of this article shows the church at Mundolsheim, perched at the end of a narrow, steep-sided ridge; the rocky escarpment is slightly over-dramatised when compared to reality, but it was still a difficult place to attack.  The rest of Albert’s 16th Division was deployed along the ridge, covering the western approaches.

[NB  As discussed in the scenario article, the map-scale is wrong.  Ordinarily, I’d mark the map to show 1-foot squares on the table.  However, I mis-scaled my map due to a misunderstanding of what a Prussian ‘pace’ was.  I’d guessed that it was ‘about a yard’ (three feet), but it is in fact only two feet, so my map needs to be scaled down by a third.  We therefore used a 6′ x 5′ table instead of the 8′ x 6′ table shown on the map.]

Above:  Having considered an assault on the tough nut that is Mundolsheim, the Crown Prince instead decides to hook left via Reichstett, aiming to turn the French right flank at Hönheim and cut them off from Strasbourg.

Above:  Rottembourg’s 15th Division, consisting of Garbe’s and Pouart’s brigades, deploys around Souffelweiersheim.  The army artillery commander, Colonel St-Cyr, personally supervises an 8-pounder horse battery on the flank.

Above:  Beurmann’s brigade (consisting of the 10e Légère) of Albert’s 16th Division deploy to defend Mundolsheim.  Anticipating this village to be the focus of the enemy assault, Rapp has ordered St-Cyr to deploy one of his two reserve 12-pounder batteries there.  However, both Beurmann and the 12-pounders are to remain unengaged this day.

Above:  The rest of Albert’s 16th Division, consisting of Cressonier’s and Sabatier’s brigades supported by the second of St-Cyr’s reserve 12-pounder batteries, is deployed along the Mundolsheim-Hausbergen Ridge.  With the 10e Légère having been detached under Beurmann, Sabatier’s brigade is very weak, consisting only of the 32e de Ligne.

Above:  A wider view of the French deployment, as seen from Albert’s elevated position.  To the rear is Grandjean’s 17th Division and Merlin’s 7th Light Cavalry Division.  These formations have already started moving forward in response to the initial enemy moves.

Above:  On the far right flank of the French position is a fortified bridgehead on the River Ill, held by Berckheim’s Reserve Division, consisting of two brigades of Garde-Nationale militia.

Above:  Palombini’s Austrian Division marches on to the field led by Kinsky’s hussar brigade and two strong infantry brigades under Luxembourg and Czollich.  These are accompanied by a 12-pounder position battery.  The hussars make a bee-line for the key bridge on the road from Reichstett to Hönheim (henceforth referred to as the Reichstett Bridge), hoping to seize the bridge in a coup de main.

Above:  Following closely behind Palombini comes General Franquemont, commander of the Württemberg Corps, accompanied by Koch’s 1st Division.  Döring’s 2nd Division, accompanied by a reserve 12-pounder battery, marches by a more easterly road and has already reached Reichstett.

Above:  As the Allies approach the Reichstett Bridge, Rottembourg pushes Garbe’s brigade further out to the right, to cover the bridge.  Garbe is in turn covered by the 8-pounder horse battery on the heights behind.  Pouart’s brigade meanwhile, occupies Souffelweiersheim, while Grandjean’s 17th Division arrives to defend the bridge to the west of Souffelweiersheim.

Above:  Without any hesitation, Kinsky throws his hussars across the bridge and charges Garbe’s infantry!  Garbe’s men form squares and their firepower, together with that of the horse artillery, breaks the hussars long before they make contact.

Above:  As the hussars flee back to the safety of Reichstett, the Austrian infantry deploy along the Souffel, with their 12-pounders deploying in support on the heights to their rear.  The Württemberg infantry meanwhile, waste no time in deploying into a fighting formation.  Instead, filled with confidence, they press on in column of march.

Above:  To their rear, Prince Adam’s Württemberg Cavalry Division appears on the heights.  To French dismay, two Württemberg horse batteries ride forward.  The lone French horse battery is about to have its hands full!

Above:  As the Austrian infantry begin to engage in a firefight across the river, Garbe’s brigade shakes out of its squares and deploys to receive the expected infantry assault.

Above:  As Kinsky’s routed hussars mill about in confusion near Reichstett, the Württemberg infantry press on to the river and the leading brigades enter the deep water.  The crossing will take some considerable time to complete and the brigades will become completely disordered as they do so, but at present, there is little sign of any serious opposition in front of them.

Above:  Extremely worried by the huge mass of enemy infantry about to turn his right flank, Rapp rides over to take personal control of the situation.  He orders Grandjean’s 17th Division to take over responsibility for Souffelweiersheim, so that Rottembourg can shift his entire division to the right, to better cover the river.  Berckheim is ordered to march with his Garde-Nationale to defend the second bridge at Hönheim.

Above:  Crown Prince Frederick watches from the heights with satisfaction as the infantry river-crossing, supported by four artillery batteries, gets under way.  Franquemont rides over to the Crown Prince and having observed the scene with his experienced eye, comments “Are you sure that’s wise, Your Highness…?”

Above:  With General Rapp arriving to take personal control, Berckheim’s Garde-Nationale finally get moving to secure the bridge at Hönheim.

Above:  Rapp and Berckheim are astonished to observe the over-confidence of the Württemberg infantry as they attempt to cross the river without even bothering to deploy out of march-column!  Rapp turns to Berckheim, who already appreciates that this has just presented an incredible opportunity…

Above:  On the opposite flank, Colonel St-Cyr has galloped over to Albert to take control of one of his reserve 12-pounder batteries.  However, as Rapp has now ridden away, St-Cyr dithers as he waits for orders as to where to place his guns.

Above:  Aware that there are still unlocated enemy formations in the area (Wrede’s Bavarian Corps is operating somewhere to the west and large chunks of the Crown Prince of Württemberg’s army have still not appeared), Albert’s 16th Division remains deployed along the Mundolsheim-Hausbergen ridge.

Above:  With the Württemberg infantry still strung out in column of march and also disordered by the river-crossing, Berckheim strikes!  His 1st Garde-Nationale Brigade  cross over Hönheim Bridge and charge the nearest enemy unit, namely Lalance’s brigade (which is the weakest element of Koch’s 1st Division, consisting only of a single infantry regiment).

Above:  Lalance is immediately smashed and his men flee back over the Souffel!  The Gardes-Nationale cheer and charge on to meet their next foes, who are now starting to panic!

Above:  However, the Allies are swift to exact their revenge, as Garbe’s French infantry brigade is subjected to a colossal weight of fire from Luxembourg’s and Czollich’s Austrian brigades, Hügel’s Württemberg light infantry brigade and the grand battery on the Reichstett Heights.  Garbe’s men can take no more and flee past Rapp’s headquarters to take cover on the rear slope.  Wishing to avoid the same fate for Pouart’s brigade, Rottembourg orders him to fall back from the riverbank.

Above:  The Garde-Nationale repeat their performance as Misani’s brigade is also thrown back over the Souffel.  Franquemont rides over to rally the routing Württemberg infantry; Misani’s men are quick to rally, though Lalance’s brigade stubbornly refuses to obey orders.

Above:  Hoping to avoid the same fate as their comrades, Kirchberg’s Württemberg brigade (with the red flag) deploys into a fighting formation, though is still disordered by the river.

Above:  Döring meanwhile, sensibly deploys his division into tactical columns and is able to cross over the Souffel via the bridge recently vacated by the French infantry,  Berckheim’s brave Gardes-Nationale are now in danger of being overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers.

Above:  Rottembourg rallies Garbe’s routed brigade, but they’ve taken massive casualties from the storm of shot and won’t be able to stand much more.

Above:  Rapp would dearly love to bring his cavalry over to support his right flank, but Merlin’s cavalry are presently pinned in a stand-off with Prince Adam’s Württemberg cavalry at Souffelweiersheim Bridge.

Above:  Having seized the Reichstett Bridge, Döring orders Hügel’s light infantry brigade (in dark green, without a flag) to push hard against Rottembourg’s crumbling right flank, while Stockmayer’s brigade (pink flag) is ordered to counter-attack Berckheim’s 1st Garde-Nationale Brigade.  Palombini orders Kinsky’s hussars forward in close support of Hügel’s light infantry.

Above:  Palombini’s Austrian infantry meanwhile, remain locked in a bitter firefight across the river.  With enormous artillery support they are winning, but are suffering a steady trickle of attritional losses.

Above:  The Gardes-Nationale seem to have the luck of the Gods today and are living up to the ‘Garde’ bit of their title!  Astonishingly, Stockmayer’s assault fails and his men flee back over the Souffel to rally.  However, the Gardes-Nationale are taking losses and can’t hope to beat off the entire Württemberg Corps… can they…?

Above:  However, while Berckheim’s militia can’t seem to lose, Rottembourg’s regulars can’t seem to win… Kinsky’s hussars charge once again.  Pouart’s brigade, having already suffered heavy losses from the Allied artillery since leaving the cover of Souffelweiersheim, simply disintegrates in the face of the charge.  Kinsky manages to maintain control of his men and the hussars ride on, forcing Rapp and Rottembourg to flee for their lives!  At last, Kinsky’s rampage is halted once again by Garbe’s men, who manage to form square on the reverse slope and send the hussars packing for a second time.

Above:  As if things aren’t already bad enough for Rapp, Wallmoden’s Corps has arrived behind his right flank and quickly advances on Hönheim, thereby threatening to cut off Berckheim’s line of retreat!  Wallmoden’s Corps is a divisional-sized mixed force, consisting of Ysenburg-Büdingen’s brigade of Rhenish infantry (i.e. the former minor contingents of Napoleon’s Rheinbund), La Roche-Starkenfels’ brigade of Baden Landwehr and the Austrian 1st ‘Kaiser’ Chevauléger Regiment.

Above:  Having finally got his division back into some semblance of good order, the furious Koch prepares his final assault to annihilate the Gardes-Nationale!  Palmobini’s Austrian infantry meanwhile, have finally managed to establish a bridgehead over the Souffel.

Above:  While Berckheim’s 1st Garde-Nationale Brigade might be achieving remarkable things, the appearance of Wallmoden’s Corps has left the 2nd Garde-Nationale Brigade in a very sticky situation.  They decide to go down fighting and advance on Czollich’s Austrian brigade, but are caught from the rear by Wallmoden’s ‘Kaiser’ Chevaulégers.  Escaping encirclement by the skin of their teeth, the survivors flee to the relative safety of Grandjean’s 17th Division.

Above:  As the Gardes-Nationale flee, the ‘Kaiser’ Chevaulégers manage to control their blood-lust and line up their next target… Laurain’s brigade of Grandjean’s 17th Division has perhaps unwisely, left the cover of Souffelweiersheim (handing over garrison duties to Nempe’s brigade).  Immediately becoming the target for every Allied gun, they soon suffer heavy casualties, become disordered and as a consequence, find themselves incapable of forming squares when then charged by the Austrian horse!

Above:  Nevertheless, and by some miracle, Laurain’s infantry manage to repel the ‘Kaiser’ Chevaulégers, who fall back to lick their wounds.

Above:  Despite defeating the Austrian cavalry, Garbe’s and Laurain’s infantry are in an extremely vulnerable position.  Garbe, already weakened by earlier clashes, is broken by the overwhelming firepower of Hügel’s fresh Württemberg light infantry brigade.  Laurain’s brigade lasts a little longer, but also succumbs to the sheer weight of fire being directed their way by Hügel, the Austrian infantry and the Allied grand battery.  This means that Rottembourg’s 15th Division is now completely hors de combat, while Grandjean’s 17th Division is down to just one brigade.

Above:  With the right flank starting to fold, Merlin orders the weaker of his two cavalry brigades (Groubal’s) to face the new threat.  However, this presents Prince Adam’s two horse artillery batteries with the perfect target and they fire on the French horsemen with devastating effect!  A brief bombardment is all it takes for the Württemberg gunners to sweep Grouval’s cavalry from the field.

With the afternoon now drawing into evening, Rapp has lost four complete brigades while the Allies, having lost no complete units, can scent victory.

Above:  With four French infantry brigades having been driven back from the flank, Palombini is finally able to bring his entire strength across the river and is finally in a position to assault Souffelweirsheim, in concert with Hügel’s light infantry brigade.  However, all three Austrian brigades (Kinsky’s, Luxembourg’s and Czollich’s) have suffered heavy attritional losses and have no more than one attack left in them.

Above:  On the far eastern flank, Berckheim has a dilemma.  Firstly, he needs to ride to the rear, to rally his 2nd Brigade and bring them back into the fight.  However, he also knows that this means leaving the heroic 1st Brigade to their fate.  However, the 1st Brigade accept that they are already completely surrounded and there’s no point in waiting for Koch to mass all three of his brigades against them… Berckheim shakes the brigade commander’s hand and promises to tell France of what he saw here today, before riding off to the rear.  As Berckheim withdraws, the 1st Brigade shouts “Vive ‘Empereur!”, levels bayonets and charges…

Above:  “If only the Emperor was here to see this…” Against all the odds, the undefeated 1st Garde-Nationale Brigade of Strasbourg win their fourth combat of the day and despite being outnumbered by more than 2:1, send Kirchberg’s brigade reeling back over the Souffel!  However, the exhausted National Guardsmen can not possibly hold out for much longer…

Above:  At Souffelweiersheim, the Allied artillery pound the village (now held by Nempe’s brigade), as Palombini and Döring prepare their infantry for the assault.  However, relief for the village’s garrison is on the way, as Albert has brought most of his 16th Division over from the far left flank!

Above:  Berckheim in the meantime, manages to rally his 2nd Brigade.

Above:  Prince Emil of Hesse-Darmstädt has finally brought his division to the battle.  This division consists of of two brigades; Folhenius’ and Gall’s.  Folhenius’ brigade, consisting of two regiments of Hesse-Darmstädt Royal Guards, is particularly potent.  However, with the Crown Prince of Württemberg preoccupied with operations on the left flank, the Hessians are slow to deploy and then just remain in place on the right flank, waiting for orders.

[Apologies to the uniformists, but I had to add two bases of Westphalians to bring Gall’s brigade up to strength.]

Above:  Franquemont himself takes direct control of Hügel’s Württemberg light infantry brigade and prepares to lead them against the defenders of Souffelweiersheim.  However, effective fire from Nempe’s brigade and a supporting battery of horse artillery stops the Württembergers in their tracks with considerable disorder.  Seeing the Allied assault falter, Rapp draws his sabre and personally leads Cressonier’s brigade (of Albert’s 16th Division) forward in a charge against Hügel’s thus-far unstoppable light infantry!  Albert meanwhile, takes personal control of Sabatier’s brigade and leads them forward on the right flank.

At last, the Allied juggernaut is halted, as Hügel’s light infantry are routed!  Franquemont himself, the hard-charging veteran of many battles, is counted among the fallen as the green-coated Württembergers flee to Hönheim!

Above:  However, French celebrations are short-lived as the Allies are swift to respond!  Cressonier’s brigade is immediately set upon by Czollich’s Austrian brigade and Stockmayer’s Württemberg brigade, while Kinsky’s hussar brigade attacks Sabatier’s brigade.  Again, a number of generals directly involve themselves in the fighting; Rapp is still attached to Cressonier, while Albert is still with Sabatier.  Döring now throws himself into the battle, leading the charge of Stockmayer’s brigade.

Above:  The results of this massive Allied assault are mixed, but generally favour the French; Sabatier’s small brigade is utterly destroyed by Kinsky’s hussars, though Czollich’s and Stockmayer’s brigades are similarly scattered to the four winds and flee the field!  Albert manages to escape the chaos and flees to the safety of Cressonier’s brigade, while Döring suffers a disfiguring wound and flees to Hügel.

Above:  However, the fight is not quite over yet… Kinsky’s depleted hussar brigade now suffers a rush of blood to the sabre and launches a ragged charge on Cressonier…

Above:  With the Austrian charge being at such short range, Cressonier’s men are unable to form squares and the disordered charge astonishingly manages to break the French infantry, who run back to the safety of their own cavalry.  Rapp manages to escape by the skin of his teeth, and so, for a second time, does Albert.  However, Kinsky’s hussars are now utterly spent and there is nothing that Palombini can do to keep them in the field.

Above:  As Albert rallies Cressonier’s men, Rapp rides over to Rambourg’s cavalry brigade, which is now the only fresh reserve left in this sector of the battlefield!  Albert still has Beurmann’s brigade and a battery of 12-pounders at Mundolsheim, but even if they start marching now, it will be nightfall before they arrive.

Above:  At last on the far right flank, the heroic 1st Garde-Nationale Brigade of Strasbourg can do no more.  They have done everything that France required and then some!  Koch notes with some satisfaction that it was a volley from Lalance’s brigade, the first brigade to be routed, which finally broke the spirit of the French militia.

Above:  The pendulum of battle soon swings back again, as Luxembourg’s Austrian infantry brigade is finally broken by fire from Nempe’s brigade in Soffelweiersheim.  The Allies have suddenly gone from having lost no brigades, to having lost four in very quick succession, including Palombini’s entire Austrian Division!

Above:  As Rapp waits with the cavalry for the renewed attack, the situation looks grim.  Six of his brigades have now been broken and only night can now save the French Army of the Rhine.

[In game terms, the Allies need to break one more French brigade to achieve a decisive victory.  Rapp only needs to frustrate the Allied objective to achieve victory.]

Above:  At least Berckheim, with his 2nd Garde-Nationale Brigade, is still in the battle.

Above:  Beurmann continues to sit pretty in Mundolsheim and wonders what all the noise is…

Above:  The time is now 2100hrs and with darkness gathering, Rapp realises, with a huge sigh of relief, that all enemy units are now far too distant to achieve anything decisive before nightfall!  Primarily, the heroic sacrifice of Berckheim’s 1st Garde-Nationale Brigade of Strasbourg, has kept Koch’s large 1st Württemberg Division out of the battle.  Their inclusion in the most recent combat outside Souffelweiersheim could have been decisive and could have crushed the French defence of that village.

The wounded Döring meanwhile, is busy trying to rally what remains of Hügel’s light infantry brigade, while Wallmoden is suffering a command & control crisis which will take a while to resolve.  Prince Adam could attempt to launch a charge across the bridge with Moltke’s cavalry brigade, but this would be suicide against Rambourg’s cavalry brigade, which is personally led by Rapp and is supported by a battery each of 12-pounders and 8-pounders.  The Crown Prince looks at the situation and concedes defeat.

Above:  The Crown Prince of Württemberg’s understandable fixation on the left flank has meant that Prince Emil’s Hessians have remained unmoving for most of the day.  Again, the injection of these high-quality troops into the battle could have made a massive difference.

[In game terms, Prince Emil, despite having a high initiative rating (having to roll 7 or less on a D10), persistently failed to activate!]

Above:  “They were only here a minute ago…”  Palombini wonders where all his troops went…

So General Rapp wins a victory against the invader, but to what end?  With overwhelming numbers of Allied troops on the way, the Emperor defeated and no help coming from Paris, his only choice now is to shut his army away inside the walls of Strasbourg.  However, Rapp and his men, particularly the heroes of the Garde-Nationale have won back a little of France’s honour before the inevitable surrender.  Vive la France!

My thanks to all at W.A.S.P. for another great Christmas game; particularly to Dave, Mike and Gareth.  Commiserations to Andy, who spent the day on the M4, waiting for the RAC to come and fix his car…

Here’s to some more great wargaming in 2026!