Six Days in October - The Consolidated Dispatches of Marshal Lannes

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Command of Davout's Corps

From Davout

Jim, over to you.

I command every person...  being...  on my staff to assist to the best of their (had-better-be-)considerable abilities.  :)

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Command of Davout's Corps

From Control

To speak to the group, I take this as the good Marshal being temporarily laid low by a musket ball.  In such circumstances, and given your collective proximity, I have no concern with Marshal Murat assuming command in the interim until the Duke of Auerstedt rouses himself.

I will communicate more details to Marshal Murat under separate cover.

S!

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Some further musings on our future actions

Brother Marshals,

Other events yesterday caused me to consider our current plan of action - watching the impact of giving a weaker enemy time to react.

Our current plan calls for today's rest, followed by an approach march, followed by an assault.

The day's rest is a good enough idea and in any event it's well underway.

Does the night's gap between the approach and the assault merely give Brunswick time to think, communicate, and react?

I have not checked the map - but I suspect we can simply lunge and seize Weimar tomorrow.

That battle will occur late in the day, and our forces will not be fully synchronized and coordinated in the fight.  However, our advantages come to the fore in a fast-flowing battle; so we should create one, instead of permitting the Prussians the time to conduct a deliberate engagement in which their numbers can be brought to bear.

In the face of the unknown (Brunswick's dispositions and intentions), we should not advance cautiously.  Brunswick faces the same uncertainties about us.  Instead of taking the advice of cautious Prudence, who leads us to careful mediocrity, we should deal with the unknown by punching harder and faster - ideally faster and harder than Brunswick can react, until we have left his corps' battered and broken corpse on the roadside.

I'm not in charge of our forces at the moment; Murat is, and this is his decision.

My specific recommendation, for Murat's consideration, is:

Murat's Cavalry takes the lead and sees to flank security.

Davout's corps leads the assault on Weimar. Davout would be with the lead element for this.

Lannes' corps forms the reserve.

- Marshal Davout

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DISPATCH -- DAVOUT to LANNES, 1500, 16th October

SENT 1200, 16th October

TO:  The Emperor, Marshals Lannes, Murat, and Bernadotte, Generals Morand, Friant, Gudin


General Vialannes has secured Weimar and will reconnoiter eastwards.

- Marshal Davout

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DISPATCH -- DAVOUT to LANNES, 1600, 16th October

SENT 1400, 16th October

From:  Davout
To: Marshals Augereau, Murat, Lannes, Bernadotte

A point of clarification suggested by an aide:

We need to know if we should move north, then east, by going east from Weimar and then north via Auerstadt; or to march back to Erfurt and north from there.

Marshal Augereau, it would be helpful to know where you intend to go next, and where you believe the enemy to be.  We believe we have smashed Ruchel's corps and were attempting to destroy Brunswick.

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DISPATCH -- DAVOUT to LANNES -- 1700, 16th October

SENT 1500, 16th October

From: Marshal Davout (in Weimar)
To: Marshals Lannes, Murat, Bernadotte, Augereau


Marshals!

Brunswick is a coward and has vacated Weimar; my cavalry has scouted as far the the next intersection east from Weimar (the one turning north to Apold) without contact.

I have met Marshal Augereau at Weimar; his force is apparently coming to Weimar from Saalfeld, and have begun direct discussions with him in an inn that - of a miracle - serves decent wine.

The question before us for tomorrow:

Punch towards Jena if there is hope of direct contact;

Punch towards Naumburg in order to outflank positions at Jena-Gera, if they exist;

March back to Erfurt and punch towards Halle in a deeper turning movement?

Hopefully Marshal Augereau knows more of the dispositions of our forces and thus we can maneuver in concert with them.

- Davout

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DISPATCH -- DAVOUT to LANNES -- 1930, 16th October

From: Marshal Davout

To: Marshals Murat, Lannes, Augereau, Bernadotte; and our most esteemed Emperor

Time Sent: 1800 16 October

Greetings!

** Situation:

The close of this day finds me in Wiemar with Marshal Augereau.

The Western Wing moved to Wiemar today in hopes of bringing Brunswicks' Corps to battle and destroying it; we had a fleeting contact with Scharnhorst's cavalry between Erfurt and Wiemar on the 15th.  We have, however, failed to make contact with Brunswick; the Prussian dog has slunk into some cave.  My compliments to Marshal Murat, who did not believe this move eastwards wise; his judgement has unfortunately proven correct, and my decision has put us two days behind in our march northwards without a result worthy of the delay.

After some discussion with Marshal Augereau, I believe that Marshal Augereau's corps is at Wiemar, and Marshal Bernadotte's corps is at Jena, with the emperor himself sweeping the ground in between.

Marshals Bernadotte and Augereau do not have orders beyond the Wiemar-Jena line. to the best of Marshal Augereau's knowledge.

** Proposed concept of operations for 17 October and following -- I welcome your thoughts:
--------------
     Our overall mission is to assist in the annihilation of the Prussian Army.  In the absence of direct contact, the West Wing is to outflank the Prussian Army and cut off its communications with Berlin, assisting the Center and East wings in bringing the Prussians to battle.

     The West Wing will retrace its steps to Erfurt and march northwards to Halle.  Overall order of march:  Murat, Lannes, Davout.

     Marshal Murat may also send divisions on a more northerly or even easterly course (Magdeburg, Brunswick, Gottingen) if he feels this will be of benefit, as long as he retains sufficient striking power to provide us with strong cavalry support in the event of an engagement with the Prussians.
---------------

** Assumptions:
   a) The Center Wing will continue to push in the direction of Naumburg/Leipzig, and does not need our reinforcement in the process.

   b) Even though delayed, our march northwards still holds value in the overall maneuvers of the Army.

Potential problems:
   a) Putting our entire wing on one road will make it difficult to concentrate combat power against the Prussians and may allow them to escape.  The road net simply is not dense in this area, particularly through the hills northeast of Erfurt.

   b) What little we do know about the Prussian Army points to it being somewhere to the east or northeast.  By marching away, we may be denying the Center Wing the combat power it needs to prevail.  However, Brunswick has not seemed terribly eager for battle so far.


Please let me know of other thoughts you may have concerning the operations of our Wing.


   
Finally, I include a missive sent by the Emperor to Marshal Augereau on the evening of the 14th:

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"With evening approaching, we are unlikely to accomplish anything more than preparations for immediate action tomorrow morning, but let us do what we can to prepare now, even if that needs a little evening work and an early start tomorrow.

Bernadotte, since you are already camped on the T-fork (and relatively the most rested), let us have you take the right (eastern) side of our axis of advance. Your next mission will be to column march on the road toward Jena, scouting ahead of you as usual and also screening farther eastward if you can in case you detect anyone slipping around behind us through the gap in our lines. If it's a small force (a spoiler division, presumably with orders to probe toward our ultimate supply line at Bamberg) there isn't much we can do about it now except suffer for my failure to secure approaches to our LoC. If it's a larger force, fine we'd like to defeat the Prussians in detail if we can anyway. I presume once you get in scouting range of Jena you'll find at least some enemy nearby, in which case you should deploy in a line and advance to contact or near enough anyway to keep an eye on them. If you detect major weakness go ahead and assault, just keep me informed of what's going on. I recommend once you line out (assuming that happens -- you might arrive at Jena tomorrow evening or the following morning and find it empty!) you position your HQ westward on your line to be nearer to me. I also recommend you give orders to briefly decamp (if this is feasible [OOC; check with Cyrano about timing factors involved]) and move as far as possible up the road to Jena before evening or even a little after dark, to make room for Augereau to come up behind you to the T-fork for the night.

Augereau, once Bern is out of the way, move up to the T-fork -- make camp nearby as you expediently can for the night -- and then tomorrow morning advance up the road northward to Weimar, scouting ahead and, if possible, screen-scouting to your west to detect any movement our way from that direction (or maybe someone trying to relieve pressure on Erfurt by attempting a surging loop southwest from Weimar's area, hoping to avoid notice by heading for Arnstadt cross-country, and thence behind our allies on the West Wing).

If you haven't detected anyone once halfway there, go ahead and line out left and right of the road, but mostly rightward (eastward), and continue a probing advance northward toward Weimar seeking contact. I very, very seriously doubt we'll find a weakness to immediately exploit, but you certainly have permission if you detect it. I expect instead you'll be finding and fixing the main body of the enemy force. Ideally you'll be waiting for Bernadotte to make contact at Jena, but if you want to try some probing attacks and see if the enemy will collapse backward, that's fine. You've both been very patient and must be itching to get into action. Just please avoid a major assault commitment unless we find Weimar basically empty. In theory we'd like Bern to launch the first main attack from the east side of Weimar and then we'll surge forward with your Corps. But if the enemy has dispositioned back toward Jena, the order of attack could well be reversed, with you going first. We just don't know enough yet to plan that far ahead. That's why we need to advance and find out.

I recommend once you line out, you keep your HQ rightward (eastward) in order to be as close to me for communication as possible.

I'll be taking my cavalry division cross-country up the middle between your advances, so that I can stay in relatively close communication with you both, and can commit my expertise [OOC: i.e. game bonuses] to one or another side of the thrust. If the enemy detects me and tries to push against me, my cav can pretty safely withdraw them into a pocket for each of you to pincer at your discretion.

Since Bernadotte has a farther path to travel tomorrow, and has probably rested more than Augereau, I recommend you start a couple of hours early tomorrowmorning, Bern. But we may make some minor adjustments depending on where we get before camping tonight.

I don't intend to send couriers changing East Wing's mission yet, nor anytime tomorrow, but we'll see what things look like by tomorrow evening. I do intend to send them a courier tonight concerning our overall plan tomorrow and any news we get from West Wing this evening.

Napoleon"
=========

- Davout




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DISPATCH -- DAVOUT to LANNES -- 2230, 16th October

SENT 2100, 16th October

From: Davout
To: Our Glorious Emperor; Marshals Murat, Lannes, Davout, Bernadotte

Our glorious emperor has sent a message, reported in full below; I have also heard from Marshal Murat, and I am in an inn in Wiemar with Marshal Augereau.

The situation as I understand it -- please correct me where you believe I am mistaken --

French Forces:

The corps of  Augereau, Murat, Lannes, and Davout are in or closing on Wiemar.

Bernadotte's corps is marching north towards Nuambourg via Apold.

The Guard is moving north to the Weimar-Jena road.

The East Wing... is somewhere east of us.

Enemy:

In the west, Ruchel's corps is believed to be smashed.  Murat had minor contacts with his retreating forces.  However, note that when I tried to discern who had inflicted the killing blow, none of us knew we had managed it; nor did any of my division commanders recall the fight, which took places to the west of Erfurt.  It is possible that Ruchel is engaged in a precipitous withdrawal; we should keep an eye out for signs his force is in fact intact.

In the center, the West Wing had fleeting contact with Brunswick's corps in the form of Scharnhorst's cavalry between Erfurt and Wiemar.  I took the liberty of driving west to try to destroy Brunswick's corps in presumed collaboration with our center, but Brunswick has disappeared.  Bernadotte reported no contact en route to Apold and came by way of Jena.

In the east, our East Wing is in combat with an enemy corps (Hohelohe, perhaps?) and after an initial setback is expecting to crush it.


Revising the plan - overview of options -

Option A: The West Wing countermarches and move north from Erfurt, leaving the center to Bernadotte, Augereau, and the Guard.
   * Loses two days on the march north.
   * Less congestion on the road to Naumbourg.
   * Less support to the Center.

Option B: The West Wing marches north to Naumbourg via Apold (suggested by Murat), and turns north from Naumbourg; while the Guard and Augereau move into the center via Jena.
    * Center well supported
    * Saves time moving north if there is no contact
    * A lot of traffic on the road via Apold.
    * Who supports Augereau and the goard?

Option C: The West Wing becomes the center, moving via Jena; the Guard and Augereau move to Naumbourg via Apold and then north.
    * Less traffic to Apold, but a traffic jam on the Wiemar-Jena road.
    * Keeps the Wings as coherent forces



From our Emperor:
============
SENT 2000, 16th October

To Davout and Augereau,

I have only just now, at 2000 hours 18th October, received the courier Aug sent on 16th October, 1730 hours. At that time, neither of you had had contact with the enemy yet around Weimar. My impression from the local town rumor network is that you have in fact met with the Prussians in a decisive battle since then, and coming out on top.

Some hours ago (as of this writing), I reached my cross-country goal of a point on the Weimar-Jena road about halfway between either city, along with my Imperial cavalry guard. A few hours ago, we received the advance scouts of two probing French Cavalry divisions on the road, working east and west toward each other. I gave orders that their probing operation should cease for now, so as not to entangle each other (and my Guards!) on the road.

Having received your message at last, I am promptly packing up my HQ staff and riding this evening to Weimar along the secured road. I am sending this courier ahead in case he can arrive a little quicker, or in case something happens and I must reverse course, so that you will know my intentions at this time.

Jena has been secured, the last I heard. Our East Wing corps have pinned down the errant corps or half-corps that was scouting along the road network in that direction, and last I heard were converging upon it together for its elimination in detail (although it got in a good blow against one of our corps; I shall have to check my notes for better details.) The main Prussian force does not seem to be in that direction right now, and my loose impression from the rumors is that they withdrew to our mutual north -- which would make sense, to guard the road to Berlin, which they should probably have been doing from the beginning! I could be wrong about this, or outdated on some points, however, as I have not caught up on news yet tonight.

I should be in Weimar before dawn, in time for an early breakfast.

Napoleon I
=========

-  Davout

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From: Lannes

To: Our Glorious Emperor; Marshals Murat, Davout, Bernadotte


I continue my walking tour of beautiful western Germany. I am sure there must be some Prussians around here somewhere, if they would only slow down long enough for me to find them.


The last contact I had with the enemy was on the 14th/15th in the vicinity of Erfurt. The congestion on the Erfurt-Weimar road has finally eased and my corps is moving again. We are between Erfurt and Weimar. We have been attempting to locate Saxe's division but I have received no reports of contact at all today.


Considering the courses of action M. Davout has laid out, I would lean toward that one first advanced by Murat. My concern for the third option is the lack of any good road network leading north immediately from Jena. The first option seems least workable to me, as it will delay the pursuit too much and the enemy will complete his escape.


It seems most likely to me that the enemy is falling back on Leipzig. His course must be to preserve as much of his force as possible until he can unite with reinforcements and allies, and then move to defeat us in detail.


Does the Emperor have a location in mind to concentrate the army?


Lannes

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DISPATCH -- DAVOUT to LANNES -- 0300, 17th October

SENT 0000, 17th October

From: Murat (estimated approx 10km north-northwest of Weimar)
To: Davout (believed to be in the vicinity of Weimar)
Copy to: Lannes (believed to be somewhere on the Erfurt-Weimar road)


I have just received Marshal Davout's dispatch to the Emperor sent at 2100, 16th October. This message is an attempt to hopefully clarify/resolve some of the ambiguity and confusion expressed in that dispatch.

As you are no doubt aware, at the start of this campaign Ruchel's corps was assessed as consisting of roughly 28,000 men in three divisions: the Advanced Guard (~6000 men), Weimar's division (~10,000 men), and Saxe's division (~12,000 men). As of this time, I can report with confidence that Ruchel's corps is definitely smashed. There is no uncertainty with regards to that news -- it is fact.

The battle with Ruchel's corps was fought over the course of three days, beginning on the afternoon of October 13th. The engagement began with your forces encountering Weimar's division somewhat to the south of Erfurt. By the afternoon of the 13th you had defeated that formation and forced it to retreat towards Erfurt, pursued by General Sahuc's dragoons (whom I had temporarily assigned to your control). By nightfall, Weimar had reached the outskirts of Erfurt and the fighting lapsed as darkness fell.

Starting around noon of the 14th my cavalry (with Sahuc now re-attached to my command) engaged Weimar's troops on the western approaches to Erfurt. In a running battle, we managed to gain the upper hand and break his division, driving it back into the town proper. Weimar's retreat was covered by Ruchel's Advanced Guard. In the late afternoon Friant's division had come up and, together, we were able to overcome and utterly destroy the Advanced Guard, with some 5000 prisoners being taken. Effectively Ruchel's Advanced Guard no longer exists.

The next day (October 15th), my divisions rose early and advanced on Erfurt from the north and your corps from the southwest. In fairly short order fighting resumed and we quickly overwhelmed the enemy, putting Saxe's division to flight by about 10:00AM. I dispatched General Grouchy's division of dragoons to harry them until they were some 15km away, breaking off pursuit at around 15:00PM. The survivors of Saxe's division were last seen streaming off in the direction of Mattstedt in considerable disorder. There was no sign of Weimar's shattered division, and we can only assume that he successfully withdrew towards Weimar during the night.

My assessment of the situation regarding Ruchel is this: while Saxe and Weimar's divisions have "escaped" they have both been so badly ravaged that they will pose little to no threat to us for the foreseeable future. Ruchel will require at least two full days of complete inactivity to rest and reorganize those formations into something capable of combat. In their present condition, Ruchel's divisions will be more of a liability than an asset to the Prussians. We do not need to concern ourselves with them.

- Murat

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DISPATCH -- DAVOUT to LANNES -- 0400, 17th October

SENT 0200, 17th October

From: Davout
To: Marshalls Lannes and Murat


Gentlemen, our Emperor requests the honor of your presence in our inn post-haste.

Davout

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Dispatch - Lannes to V Corps

From:  Lannes, on the Erfurt-Weimar road
To: All elements V Corps and attachments
Copies To: Marshal Murat, believed to be about 10km NNW of Weimar, Marshal Davout, Weimar

Generals!

We have made contact with our beloved Emperor at Weimar. As you know, Marshals Murat and Davout have completely defeated Ruchel's corps in the vicinty of Erfurt. Marshal Davout has taken Weimar, from which the enemy has precipitously fled. The remainder of our glorious army has met the enemy to the east of Weimar and driven them back as well. It seems evident that they are withdrawing to the north, falling back on their lines of communication and hoping for the arrival of their allies, the Russians.

I go now with all speed to join Marshals Davout and Murat and the Emperor in Weimar for a council of war. Until I return, V Corps and attachments will continue to bivouac here, on the Erfurt-Weimar road. We will deploy cavalry patrols in all directions to scout for and screen against the enemy. The men should otherwise rest but hold yourselves ready to move on my return.

Lannes

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Davout to Davout's Corps, 0600 17 OCT


To: Davout's Corps

Prepare for a 10 hour march in the direction of Naumbourg.  Order of march is Cav, 1st, 2nd, 3rd.  I will be with the 1st Division.

We will be following Marshal Augereau's Corps.  Be prepared to move immediately if he marches to Jena; we head for Naumbourg regardless..

Contact with the Prussians is possible; we expect to engage and destroy them if they are found.

Davout



On Wed, Oct 11, 2017 at 11:49 AM, James Sterrett <> wrote:

Emperor, I hear and obey!  My corps will prepare to move at once.
Marshal Lannes - welcome!  Have some refreshment.  If you have objections to the plan, please speak now.

Marshal Augereau - I understand you will precede us on the road to Naumbourg; if you understand differently, please speak now.







On Tue, Oct 10, 2017 at 10:44 PM, Jim Owczarski <> wrote:

I share this e-mail with you ALL as, as of 0600, Marshal Lannes has arrived, a bit dusty from the road, but ready to talk re: the situation West of Weimar.Control



On Tue, Oct 10, 2017 at 7:08 PM, Jason Pratt <> wrote:
My apologies for needing to attend to the affairs of other politics tonight, my grand marshals! To be perfectly honest, I am only along for the ride, as I can simply listen to good advice from all directions generally, and then leave all matters in the hands of my capable fraternity of brothers.  What Emperor of old or of new Rome ever in history had such fine support?! -- I can only leave that question for friendly dispute among our fellow historians, but I feel confident the answer denies all before this modern day!

So then, having reviewed the matter generally below, I am in agreement -- except with this provision. Murat, having our somewhat speedier cavalry corps, should strike north across country for Somanerdst, crossing the river there, aiming to reclaim the road at Heissensee, and thence northeast on the road to Halle, screening especially to the west until he reaches the road again at Heis. This secures our left flank, and will allow him to prosecute any attempts to flee along that road in a classic cavalry fashion. Also, he will be in position to flank any arrival of the other portions of West Wing to Halle. Removing him will also somewhat speed up our central march to Naumbourg; and as well, I do not like focusing all our striking power along such a narrow point of advance.

There is also some question as to Bernadotte's route. East Wing may still need some support as they move north. The best balance, although annoying as to terrain, would be for him to strike from Jena cross country east-northeast to Zeib, and then follow the rivers north-north-east to Leipzig. This will give him flexibility in supporting either our approaches to Naumbourg-Leipzig, or East Wing's advance along their route.

Any observations, calculations, or modifications to these two proposals will be welcome.

Napoleon 
   
   
-----Original Message-----
From: James Sterrett <>
To: ChrisC1009 <>
Cc: Jim Owczarski <>; Jason Pratt <>
Sent: Sat, Oct 7, 2017 5:32 pm
Subject: Re: DISPATCH -- LANNES to NAPOLEON I and DAVOUT, 0500, 17th October




You know me all too well.  :)

 
So - where from Naumbourg if we have not found the Prussians?

 
The if we have no further contact with the Prussians, the primary lines of thrust should be Halle and Leipzig.  We won't know where Brunswick may be, but we can assume the East Wing is also moving towards Leipzig.   

 
Therefore, Bernadotte should move to Leipzig in order to per-empt Prussian defences there, the West Wing would move towards Halle (and thence to Magdebourg) in order to make the deeper envelopment and to chase Brunswick if that is where he has fled.  The rest of the Center Wing would plan on continuing to Leipzig, with decision point at the town east of Naumbourg.

 
If we meet Brunswick on the road to Naumbourg, then we will fight him where we find him.

 
That's my proposed course of action.   Your thoughts? 


On Sat, Oct 7, 2017 at 7:54 AM, ChrisC1009 <> wrote:
 

This is precisely why you are the Emperor's favorite! Always thinking ahead and planning...

If you insist, and I suspect you will, then let us set to formulating the ultimate demise of those Prussian barbarians.




-----Original Message-----
From: James Sterrett <>
 

To: ChrisC1009 <>
Cc: Jim Owczarski <>; Jason Pratt <>
Sent: Fri, Oct 6, 2017 10:28 am
Subject: Re: DISPATCH -- LANNES to NAPOLEON I and DAVOUT, 0500, 17th October

   




Certainly!  Though perhaps we should start drafting orders as well; daylight is approaching and we need to strike hard and fast.

 
My assumption at the moment is:

 
We will all march north via Apold towards Naumbourg.

 
Augereau will take the lead, and the West Wing will follow in the order it is arrayed: Davout, Lannes, Murat.

 
If we meet the Prussians we will engage them. 

 
The next major decision point is maneuvers from Naumbourg.</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>

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To: West Wing, 0600 17 OCT

To: Marshals Murat, Lannes, Augereau, Bernadotte
From: Marshall Davout
Time: 0600 17 OCT

Gentlemen, see the discussion below; the West Wing will split as follows:

Davout and Lannes will march in the direction of Naumbourg via Weimar and Apolda, seeking to find and destroy Brunswick.  Davout will be in the lead.  We will seek to destroy the Prussian Army.

Murat will resume the left hook, moving back to the Weissensee-Eisleben road by the most expeditious means and hooking thence to Halle in order to provide flank support to the West wing and destroy the Prussian Army.


Friendly situaiton: Marshals Augereau and Bernadotte may precede us on the road to Naumbourg; their exact plan is not entirely clear to me.  At Weimar, Bernadotte's location is in dispute as Apolda or Jena; Augereau is at Weimar.  Augereau is currently expected to lead the West Wing to Naumbourg, and our Emperor is ordering Bernadotte to Jena and thence northeast to Zeib.

Enemy situation: Brunswick evaded our attack on his position at Weimar and his current position is not certain.

--  Davout

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From Davout

Emperor Napoleon, let me suggest that Murat make his choice of routes, as a move via Erfurt and them north may be faster than a move cross-country.  He best understands his dispositions and given the mission of moving quickly, he can find the best way to accomplish it.