Background
The Battle of Hohenfriedberg was one of Frederick the Great’s most admired victories. Frederick’s Prussian army decisively defeated an Austrian army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine on 4 June 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession.
The first Prussian objective was two hills in front of the Saxon lines. The Saxon army had occupied these two hills the previous day with a small force. The Prussian vanguard encountered this force; the resulting clash alerted the Saxons and prevented the complete surprise Frederick hoped for. The Prussian attack began at about 7:00 AM.
Some Saxon cavalry got out on the field, but the Prussian cavalry soon charged and routed them. The Prussian infantry then stormed the Saxon camp, defeating the few Saxon infantry that managed to deploy, and also a few Austrian troops. The easterly wind, blowing smoke and dust into the Saxons’ faces, was also advantageous for the Prussians. The entire left (Saxon) half of the Austro-Saxon army was destroyed in the hours of the dawn’s light.
By then the Austrians were alerted to the battle. From their camps further to the south and more protected by the river, Austrian troops moved to the front. The Prussians who had still not crossed the Striegau to the north wheeled to the west and advanced through river crossings wherever they could find them, finding enough fords to accomplish this.
The Austrian cavalry were the first Austrian troops to get into action, but they were broken and driven off by the charge of the Prussian cavalry. The Austrian infantry formed two lines of battle facing east, from Hohenfriedberg north. Though the Prussians now had the advantage of numbers, the Austrians resisted stubbornly, with many volleys exchanged at close range.
At this point the Prussian Bayreuth Dragoons, an oversize unit numbering around 1,500 men, entered the battle. A strong gust of wind blew away the powder smoke and the dust and revealed an opening in the Austrian lines through which to charge the vulnerable Austrian infantry. The dragoons deployed into line, and attacked north against the right flank of the first Austrian line. They drove all the way along that line, routing it completely, then turned south to destroy the second Austrian line.
The Austrians, already outnumbered, abandoned by their Saxon allies, without cavalry protection, and now broken by this attack, began to surrender en masse. The Bayreuth Dragoons defeated several thousand Austrian infantry and only suffered 94 casualties. The Dragoons overran twenty battalions, took 2,500 prisoners, capturing 67 flags and standards as well as four cannon in what is considered and celebrated as one of the great cavalry battlefield triumphs. The battle ended with the complete defeat of the Austro-Saxon army.
The Austrians and Saxons lost almost 9,000 killed and wounded, about 5,000 prisoners, including four generals, and 66 guns. The Prussians lost around 5,000.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hohenfriedberg
The Game
The game re[resented the morning Prussian Attack on the Saxons. The Prussians were deployed (left side of picture) with their main infantry force on the left, with the cavalry in the center and the Advanced Guard on the right wing.
The units were placed in their general historical alignment. The Austro-Saxons were deployed with the Saxon Infantry on the left anchoring the army on the town and continuing to the center wings, with the Austrians on the right wing anchored on the woods. The Cavalry was deployed forward in the first line with the Saxons on the left and the Austrians on the right.
The game started at night. This reduced visibility to a maximum of 15 inches and provided all units light cover modifier for musketry and cannon firm while it was dark. Starting on turn two, a die was rolled at the beginning of each turn. On a 5, daylight arrived and the cover/visibility restrictions were lifted.
We have three players per side (about 40 units on a side) and played about three hours. The rules are a home grown set. All infantry units represent battalions and all cavalry represent regiments.
The game began with the Prussians advancing across the line. The Prussian Cavalry advanced out front aggressively to engage the Saxon and Austrian cavalry, while the infantry and advanced guard tried to swing around the flanks.
On turn two, the cavalry of both sides was in combat. This ended quite badly by the Prussians, as they lost every fight and were pursued vigorously back to their starting positions by the Saxons. The Austrian Cavalry puled back to their positions. This unhinged the Prussian advanced guard attack as they pulled units out of the attack to protect their now exposed flank.
The Prussian advanced guard drove off the defending Saxon Uhlans with great effort and started their attack on the Saxon Grenadiers holding the town. The further stretched out their battalions to cover their exposed flank and artillery. The Prussian cavalry did what they could to hold off the Saxon pursuing cavalry, causing the Saxons to regroup to prepare for the final push. The Prussian main force infantry continued to advance, but was severely slowed down as they moved through the creaks and woods to try to turn the Austrian position.
The Prussian advanced guard broke into the town, but were now to stretched out to continue their attack. The began redeploying their Hussars to cover their outstretched infantry and open flank. This allowed the Saxons to rake the Prussian infantry with enfilading artillery fire. In the center, the Saxon cavalry continued to regroup and probe the remaining Prussian cavalry. Despite their dire position, the Prussian cavalry continued to hold the hill, as the Prussian main army continued to slowly advance on the Austrian right through the woods.
On the file turn, the regrouped Saxon cavalry chased off what remain of the Prussian center. The advanced guard started to buckle under the pressure and tried to withdraw in good order as best it could. The Prussian main infantry wing finally made it into range of the Austrian right. However, it was too late. With the Prussian center destroyed and the Advanced Guard wavering, the Prussian army quite the field…
The game ran seven turns and played over three hours to its conclusion. The early advance of the Prussian cavarly out of supporting range of their infantry lead to their demise. This unhinged the entire advanced guard attack resulting in them also getting pummelled. The main army was not given enough time to close with the enemy and ended up being a non-factor in the fight. The result was a counter factual loss for the Prussians!