Background
The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, during the First Silesian War (in the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession). It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both sides made numerous military blunders but Frederick the Great still managed to attain victory. This battle cemented his authority over the newly conquered territory of Silesia and gave him valuable military experience.
The Prussian forces advanced on the Austrian line in two sections, but six regiments of Austrian cavalry, numbering 4,500 to 5,000 men and horses, crashed into the cavalry on the right wing of the Prussian Army and shattered it. This left the Prussian flank open to attack, and the Austrian cavalry then turned on the unprotected infantry. Schwerin, the Prussian military commander under Frederick, now advised Frederick II to leave the battlefield because it looked as though the Prussian army was about to be defeated, and the king heeded this warning. Abandoning the field, he was nearly caught and almost shot. Many historians believe that Schwerin advised Frederick to leave so that Schwerin could take command of the troops himself: he was a veteran general.
The scene was chaotic: the perpendicular infantry units deployed between the two Prussian lines were fleeing or firing on other Prussian troops as the Austrian cavalry drove into their flank, but at some point the Prussian infantry, drilled and trained to perfection under Frederick William I, began spontaneously turning right and firing volley after volley at the Austrian cavalry, causing tremendous losses. The leader of the Austrian cavalry, General Römer, received a fatal shot to his head from a Prussian musket ball. With the leaders of both wings dead, an officer asked Schwerin where they should retreat to. Schwerin famously replied, “We’ll retreat over the bodies of our enemies”, and soon restored the situation on the Prussian right wing.
A second Austrian cavalry attack on the left side was beaten back and Schwerin ordered a general advance of all Prussian forces. The Prussian infantry soon engaged the Austrian battle line. They were some of the most well-drilled infantry of the period, and could fire 4-5 shots a minute with their flintlock muskets, seriously outgunning their opponents. Soon the Austrians were routed from the field and Frederick the Great stood victorious.
The victory was due to Field Marshal Schwerin. The Prussian king had fled from the battlefield when the Austrians seemed to be winning. Frederick the Great later swore never again to leave his troops behind in battle, and he kept this promise faithfully until his death in the late 18th century. He annexed the province of Silesia from Austria and learned a number of valuable lessons from Mollwitz. He is quoted as saying, “Mollwitz was my school”. Frederick had made several mistakes but his army still won the battle due to their superior training.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mollwitz
The Game
The game was set up using the historical battlefield and organization of battle for the Prussians and Austrians that fought in the historical battle. The table was five foot wide and four foot deep. As there was no much maneuver in the historical fight, we opted to keep everything tight. We decided that all snow terrain would be treated as open terrain. We opted to allow units to cross the streams, but these would be treated as very difficult terrain and would cause disorder. Observation was unhindered. With everything set up, we were ready to go!
Early Game. The Prussians started with the initiative and began to move forward with all their infantry. The deployed battery caused some confusion in the advance, as the infantry tried to move around (opening up the center). The cavalry on the left moved forward to cover the streams and thwart any attempts by the Austrians to work the flank. On the right, the cavalry wing held back hoping not to have to engage the superior Austrian cavalry. The Austrians were happy to sit back and wait with their infantry, knowing that they would not be able to hold up to the superior Prussians. However, they sent their left flank cavalry forward in the hope of clearing the Prussian cavalry and smashing the Prussian flank. They knew they had to win the battle with their cavalry before the Prussian infantry closed and were not about to wait!
MId Game. The Prussian slowly continued their advance on the Austrian center and right. Their delaying tactics on the wing work surprisingly well (a number of poor Austrian die rolls). They lost each cavalry fight, but managed to keep their cavalry in the fight. The Prussians were even able to through back some cavalry attacks with their unprepared infantry. The question was could they hold on long enough! In the center, the Austrians saw the gap forming in the Prussian center and launched a surprise charge with the covering hussars against the Prussian Artillery that was not covered. The Prussian canister fire was insufficient and the hussars managed to close and clear out most of the battery, falling back to safety to boot!
End Game. The Prussian infantry attacks finally began to engage the Austrian center. First they overrun the covering artillery batteries (taking a not small number of losses) and then the struck the main Austrian line. The Austrians committed their flank cavalry to try to shore up the defense. In the distance on the left flan, the Austrian cavalry continued their attacks. They were able to clear all the Prussian covering cavalry, but their were still some grenadier battalions holding out. The remaining Prussian artillery turned to try to keep the Austrian cavalry at bey. This then led into the decisive turn! The Austrians got their cavalry reorganized and determined to sweep the remaining Prussian infantry from the flank and clear the remaining Prussian artillery. If they could do either of these and hold on just a little while in the center, the game would be theirs. Alas, it was not to be… The Prussian artillery and infantry repulsed all the Austrian cavalry attacks, while the Prussian infantry mowed through the Austrian infantry in the center. At the end of the turn, the Austrian army broke and the battle ended historically.
– Manteuffel