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Post by Pyotr Alekseevich on Sept 20, 2016 19:44:59 GMT
The Army of Peter the Great has placed itself in and around the town of Kaunas. False messengers and fake orders which fell into Swedish hands indicated that Peters army would march to the relief of Warsaw. Peter has instead taken the decision to place his considerable force directly between Charles and his nearest port at Riga.
The decision is not simply strategic, it is also political. Kaunus is the second city of Lithuania and one of the wealthiest cities in the region, by liberating it from Swedish control, Peter is taking one more step in restoring the pride of a nation.
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Post by The Viceroy (AdminM) on Sept 21, 2016 17:34:39 GMT
A pale faced dragoon captain who had been scouting the far flanks of Pyotr's army bursts into the Command tent. 'Noble Tsar...' he uttered, 'it is Karl. He is only a few days march out.'
It seems Charles had given up on his hope of taking the heavily defended Warsaw, and instead decided to protect the modest gains he had already made, particularly in holding the Duna and holding the Lithuanian and Estonian Baltic coastlines. This may turn into an advantage for the Allies, as the armies locked down in Warsaw can now advance, once they repair the bridge over the Bug, and Warsaw will not be placed under any threat in the immediate future. Meanwhile, Tsar Pyotr does not have long to prepare for an engagement.
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Post by Pyotr Alekseevich on Sept 21, 2016 19:28:02 GMT
Peter plans to deploy his army as follows:
The centre of the force will be Kaunas Castle which dominates the main bridge crossing the Nemunas River. Charles would be forced to take the bridge in order to secure the town of Kaunas, so Peter would force him to attack there.
The field guns are deployed into four Grand batteries of 50 cannon emplaced on large raised earthen ramparts set back from the river and covering the length of Peters deployment, with one battery facing the bridge.
Peter is fortunate to have a large quantity of Line Infantry. As such he has less use for his irregular troops, these men are scattered along the Nemunas for several miles, they are intended to provide prior warning of any Swedish crossing and act as a roadblock to delay the progress of any landings.
Back at the bridge the 10,000 Line infantry are held in reserve along with 6,000 Life Guards.
The 15,000 Life Guards are deployed near the river banks and bridge. 5,000 men are concentrated immediately around the Russian controlled side of the bridge. These elite troops should be more than capable to staving off any attack.
The Hussars and Militia cavalry have a special function. They are to find any other bridges nearby and destroy them after crossing. Once on the Swedish side of the river they will manoeuvre to engage the Swedish flanks.
Peter takes personnal control of the force in order to ensure that Morale remains high. As well as this, an aid station is established in the castle where all physicians (bar the Tsars own) are concentrated.
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Post by Pyotr Alekseevich on Sept 21, 2016 19:36:02 GMT
Also, any buildings on the opposing side of the river are burned and if time is available, mines will be laid near prominent features with fuses leading to the bridge.
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Post by August II "Mocny Sas" on Sept 21, 2016 19:43:06 GMT
Chometowski, already dispatched to the Army of Lithuania, is sent orders to march immediately to reinforce the Tsar. The Royal Army and Army of Poland are combined under the command of Sieniawski, who, under the overall command of August II, march together with the Army of the Saxons in pursuit of the retreating Swedes. The aim to trap Charles between the Russian(/Russo-Polish should Chometowski arrive in time) and the Saxo-Polish armies.
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Post by Pyotr Alekseevich on Sept 21, 2016 19:43:10 GMT
P.S.S.
If time is too short for completion of the ramparts then the cannon will be deployed in smaller batteries spread along the line in groups of 10-15 guns, double shotted and protected by hastily prepared dirt walls. The bridge will be covered by 5 guns facing down the length and two batteries of 15 guns at angles on either flank.
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Post by The Viceroy (AdminM) on Sept 23, 2016 14:02:59 GMT
The Royal Army, commanded by Tsar Peter
7,000 Irregulars
21,000 Preobrazhensky lifeguards
10,000 Line Infantry
3,000 Engineers
1,000 Hussars
200 Field Guns
50 Howitzers
The Royal Army, commanded by Charles XII
10,000 Swedish Line Infantry
3,000 Grenadiers
2,000 Engineers
2,000 Dragoons
1,000 Cuirassiers
150 Field guns
50 Howitzers
Charles acted quickly, knowing there was little time to take the fort before Pyotr’s reinforcements arrived. He might not be able to take Warsaw, but with the Tsar so far out of his own territory he may be able to force Russia out of the war quickly.
He ordered his guns to the front of the line, the Russians started firing first and caused some early damage. Charles’ field guns opened up their own salvos on the Russian batteries, whilst his Howitzers were trained on the fort. The artillery engagement lasted some time, and the Russians at first seems pretty comfortable. Though after a while, the earth ramparts that they had erected began to fail and Charles attempted to break the batteries closest to the bridge. Eventually it seemed the bridge was ripe for the taking, but it came at a cost, 65 Russian guns were out of action, but Sweden only had 100 left in total.
Despite the numerical advantage of the Russian guns, preserved through Pyotr’s decision to spread them out over a larger distance, the loss of guns by the bridge created a gap in the artillery coverage for Charles to take advantage of. This gap was formed, of course, because the Russian guns had been spread out, covering more ground though with less focus. Charles charged his line infantry in waves, two units at a time. Pyotr concentrated most of his force on the bridge, but they could only fire one line at a time. Charles hoped his own 10,000 line infantry could weather the storm and win something of an advantage, the only problem was the Lifeguards. As they advanced, slowly at first, but gathering pace to the tempo of the drums, the Swedish Line infantry were covered by the remaining field guns.
The following was a festival of blood. The battle at the bridge was a stalemate for several hours, with men from both sides bravely laying down their lives for control over the passage. Hundreds fell, then thousands. The Swedish artillery, was now focused on locking down the any guns the Russians tried to wheel into place though Charles could see from his vantage point that the Russians were slowly gaining traction as his own line thinned. The Russian advantage came simply from their numbers, the lifeguards more than made up for the lapse in the quality of their Line Infantry. However, numbers had never defeated Charles before, and he made a drastic decision.
‘Cavalry!’ ‘Dragoons!’ Cries ran out across the Swedish line as Charles prepared to relieve his front line and puncture a hole in the Russian line in one single movement. The Cuirassiers dived first. On the front line, the thundering hooves warned most of Swedes to break line and open a gap to the bridge, though it did not stop some from being trampled. In immortal words, one of the Cavalry men could be heard shouting his apologies as he crossed the threshold onto the bridge. Dozens of the horsemen died on the approach, but they still punched their way into the Russian Line. The Russians attempted to trap the cavalry, but they were still under fire from the Swedish Line. Before long all efforts were in vain as the Swedish Dragoons managed to open another gap and bring much needed support to their compatriots.
The Russians were bolstered by the irregulars and Hussars who had returned from their positions further down the river. They arrived just in time for Charles to order the final push. The Swedish Line infantry began pouring over the bridge, hindered somewhat by the fallen horses, to join the intense melee. Many were killed by Russian infantry who hadn’t yet broken their line to join the close quarter combat. The Swedes were over the bridge, but that was as far as they seemed to be getting for now.
From the fort, Pyotr watched as Charles ordered his grenadiers forward. The Tsar knew that would break the stalemate. Many of the Swedish cavalry had now been unseated from their horses, not a problem for the dragoons with their diverse training, but the Cuirassier were floundering. Despite their losses, Pyotr realised the Swedes would not break, they seemed to have a cultish faith in their King and felt that whatever the cost, victory would be theirs. Pyotr turned to bark orders for extra men to exit the fort and join the fray, but suddenly everything went black.
Pyotr stirred, his head pounding. ‘Thank the Heavens! You’re alive!’ Pyotr shoved away his attendant as the man tried to kiss his forehead. The Swedish Howtizers, trained on the fort since the opening of the battle had formed a breach and the Tsar had been caught up in the collapse. Despite some wooziness, the Tsar still had control over all his physical and mental faculties, though he did not know how long he had been unconscious. He glanced out from the room in which he had been moved and witnessed a sorry sight. His men who had been covering the bridge had either fled or been killed, his Hussars had then been easy targets, and his artillery had almost all stopped firing. Though the Swedes had not won yet. Their numbers were dwindling, and they found themselves face to face with the majority of Pyotr’s force inside the fortress.
The Swedish Line infantry were few and far between, they put up an initial fight, and were well matched to the lifeguards, but they were ultimately forced back. The Grenadiers covered their retreat as some of Pyotr’s men attempted a counter-charge to relieve the pressure. These grenadiers proved a tougher foe, and many lifeguards were torn limb from limb by their explosives, before many more dwindled in a brief musket salvo followed by a final charge. Despite their skill and discipline, the grenadiers were quickly overwhelmed, and with them fell the Swedish Royal Army.
The Tsar began tallying up the numbers, and recording details of the prisoners. A few minor nobles and officers had been rounded up, but most of the Swedish force had fought to the last breath. Charles was not found, dead or alive. Shortly afterwards, the reinforcement from Menshikov arrived and were incredibly useful in clearing up the mess.
Losses:
Sweden:
Royal Army is no more.
50 Field Guns (captured)
50 Howitzers (Captured)
Russia:
7,000 Irregulars
10,000 Line infantry
11,000 Lifeguards
500 Engineers
1000 Hussars
65 Field Guns
Russia wins a Phyrric victory, losing more men than the Swedes even brought with them. Despite this, it seems Charles is not the undefeatable genius that Europe had come to believe him to be. Although, the victory would feel more complete if the Allies had managed to apprehend the illusive King.
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Post by Pyotr Alekseevich on Sept 23, 2016 19:01:22 GMT
Pyotr felt an infuriating mix of elation and depression. Even as he picked his way around the battlefield he sat with wounded men and handed out coins and vodka to those still able to breathe. A victory had been won, a great victory. Charles XII was vanquished, the might of Swedish arms had been brutally broken. But the cost had been high, too high? Maybe, but it had been paid.
Peter watched as Russians clambered over the mound of corpses on the bridge, the dark green uniforms of his line infantry mingled with the white of his Guards and the blue jackets of Swedish infantry.
As Peter made his way back towards the fort and aide rushed to him "Your Majesty! The Swedish King is yet to be found!"
Peter frowned "Then the coward must have fled the field. Send out the entire cavalry! Send the reinforcement cavalry as well! Find that bastard! Scour every road and village between Kaunus, Narva and Riga! Offer a great bounty for his capture!"
The Tsar spends the next few weeks seeing to the well being of his men and the replenishment of ranks, he did not want to make any moves until Spring, but he was aware of the danger of Swedish forces ferrying to Riga. As such the order is given that the army will leave Kaunus as soon as possible and begin the siege of Riga. The dual sieges of Riga and Narva should protect the entire Baltic from any Swedish return.
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Post by The Viceroy (AdminM) on Sept 25, 2016 20:14:28 GMT
Your men search eagerly, almost too eagerly, causing much upset among the local peoples with their aggressive information gathering. There are some rumours of Charles being sighted in the area, but the pattern of reported sightings does not make sense, and are put down to the problems inherent with gaining information from torture victims.
After around a month of searching, it is clear that Charles won't be found. However, there is some comfort in this. If Charles had attempted to join his other forces, or head back to Sweden, he cannot have done it alone. Either that, or he left hurriedly in a different direction. The investigation is not yet over.
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Post by Pyotr Alekseevich on Sept 25, 2016 21:40:44 GMT
Peters Army leaves Kaunus immediately to begin the siege of Riga.
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Post by The Viceroy (AdminM) on Sept 26, 2016 12:31:00 GMT
Riga has no garrison and falls without much fuss caused.
Losses:
Pyotr's horse gets a sprained ankle after catching it on a cobbled street.
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Post by August II "Mocny Sas" on Sept 28, 2016 19:04:51 GMT
OoC: I can't find where I posted it, so I'm sticking the rest here...
IC:
His Serene Highness, August II, offers his great friend and protector, His Imperial Majesty Pyotr, his sincerest congratulations over his continual victories against the Swedes.
The Army of Lithuania, which had been at the command of the Tsar, is recalled and continues its duties of repairing the infrastructure of Lithuania and Riga. The Russian attachments are returned, with thanks, to the direct command of the Tsar.
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Post by The Viceroy (AdminM) on Sept 28, 2016 20:21:53 GMT
OoC: Where do you want the Russian units to head?
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Post by August II "Mocny Sas" on Sept 28, 2016 20:31:01 GMT
OoC: Wherever their officers command, it is the Tsar's prerogative...
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Post by The Viceroy (AdminM) on Sept 28, 2016 21:03:07 GMT
OoC: Oh sorry, I was aiming the question at the Tsar. Probably should have been clearer. For now they've simply been reformed into a separate detachment garrisoning Minsk.
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