Having recently refought this battle using Shako I was keen to give it a go using Napoleon's Battles, particularly as I had been working on a revised Order of Battle using Nafziger and Osprey sources.
Previous posts on this battle:
With Richard January 2015 (Austrian win)
With Stephen and Mark B March 2015 (Draw)
With Shako October 2024 (French win)
This game featured Mark B from the March 2015 and Shako game, plus Mark W and Julian from the Shako game. I was the umpire, Mark W the Austrian commander and Mark B and Julian the French (Julian taking Lannes command and overall command in Mark B's absence).
This game featured all my figures and also my new little houses that I had purchased during my holiday in Croatia in 2023. Annoyingly I had lost them, but thankfully found them a few days before after having given up on ever finding them.
1000 and the Austrians are concentrated for their assault on Marengo.
Top-down view of the deployment.
It has been hard to fit all the Austrians in.
Note separate stands to mark casualties and hold unit label.
They also served to denote formation as some units had only two stands.
Ott is moving up on the left and Austrian cavalry has stormed across the Fontanone stream.
The French have formed squares,
but now find themselves under assault by Austrian infantry.
It's 1030 and Napoleon has arrived,
top right-hand corner on the road from San Giuliano.
Ott's cavalry attack.
Lannes has secured Castel Ceriolo.
Napoleon again visible top right-hand corner.
The French in squares are taking serious casualties from Austrian artillery.
Murat is everywhere with his cavalry.
The French cavalry try to hold back the white tide.
Austrian Grenadiers have now engaged Lannes' infantry.
The French defenders of Marengo are suffering under heavy bombardment,
as the rest on the Austrians do their best to push forward
and keep up the pressure on the French.
Ott's infantry make a brave assault against Castel Ceriolo,
while the Grenadiers overwhelm what is left of Lanne's division.
Marengo has fallen and the Austrian surge forward
hoping to wipe out the remaining French,
before their reinforcements arrive.
The situation on the Austrian left.
The little that is left of Lannes' command holds Castel Ceriolo.
The Austrians hold Marengo and have driven off the French.
All that can be seen is one French horse battery and their heavy cavalry.
But here come the reinforcements!
And this is where we had to end the session at the end of the 1330 turn. Still another four turns to go until more French reinforcements arrive. French have lost eight units. Until reinforcements arrive, they will break if they lose another two units. The Austrians are down three, plus one unit waiting to be rallied. The Advance Guard and Hadik's formations are fatigued. They still have plenty of fight.