As Chief of Army Staff for the Anglo/Nederlandsche Army, it gives me
great pleasure to announce the following Promotions and Decorations, for
this quarter. I would like to thank my Staff Officers for their logistical
support, for without them the standing Army would find it difficult to
sustain its presence. I would like to direct your attention to the London
Gazette, which has been published so the Ranks can keep abreast of the
changing face of the Army.
Due to the increase in recruits over the last few months it has been
necessary to request and form new brigades to cope with the demand – to
aid this many battalions have been recalled from the Americas and India,
to replace Hanoverian battalions. Please take time to inspect the new
Order of Battle. I am particularly pleased with the influx of Gallant
Dutch Officers; I can soon see a second Dutch Division being added to
the Order of Battle.
The following Officers have accepted commands of the following organisations:
The following Ensigns have successfully completed their training and passed out from the RMA to the following Regiments.
His Grace the Duke of Wellington is pleased to announce the following Officers have been promoted.
George by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith.
To our Trusty and well beloved Officers Greetings. We reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Courage, and good conduct, do by these Presents Constitute and Appoint you to be an Officer of Our Land Forces from this date forward. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge your duty as such in the Rank of Lieutenant or such higher Rank to which We may from time to time hereafter be pleased to promote or appoint you, of which a notification will be made in the London Gazette, and you are at all times to exercise and well discipline in Arms both the Inferior Officers and Men serving under you and use your best endeavours to keep them in good Order and Discipline . And We do hereby Command them to Obey you as their superior and you to Observe and follow such Orders and Directions as from time to time you shall receive from Us or any of your superior Officers according to the Rules and Discipline of War in pursuance of the Trust hereby reposed in you.
Given at Our Court at Saint James's this date in the Year of Our Reign.
GR
Awarded for his tenth consecutive victory over the French
In Recognition of their commitments to the Royal Military Academy and to Training
Sir, I have the honour to remain your most loyal and obedient Servant
General Paul Harris K.T. DCM and Bar
Anglo/Allied Army – Belgium May 1801
As the Spring Campaigns draw to a close, l'Armée du Nord continues to maintain its place in the vanguard of l'Empereur's forces. Noted below, in the "Orders, Decorations, and Medals Awarded" section are the officers that have singularly distinguished themselves on the field of battle. Additionally, special mention should be made of the IIe Corps d'Armée for leading the acceptance of the challenge posted by the "Fighting Sixth" Division of His Britannic Majesty's II Corps. This challenge led to a series of eight encounters on the fields of Belgium, seven of which featured "D'Erlon's Assault" and the eighth the "No Quarter in St. Amand" scenario. Of the four battles completed by press time, two resulted in victories for l'Armée du Nord and two have been draws. The complete results should be available in time for the next edition of the NWC Newsletter. Special thanks are in order for Gen. Chuck Jensen, the IIC's Chef d'Etat-Major, and Colonel Neil Henderson, the commander of the 6th Division/IIC/Anglo-Allied Army, for their invaluable co-operation in organizing and administering this challenge.
To further hone the fighting edge of their men, Gen. Davis and Gen. Jensen initiated a round of maneuvers between the ICav and the IIC. Meanwhile, under the leadership of Gen. Mitchell, the officers of the IC continue to lead the Grande Armée in the number of multi-player battles initiated during this period. Finally, it is also my singular pleasure to report that both the IIIe Corps d'Armée and the Ier Corps de Réserve de Cavalerie have now been restored to full, fighting strength, with 23 and 20 active members, respectively. In this regard, special mention should be made of the tireless work of their commanders, Gens. Martin and Davis, in organizing and training the numerous new officers appointed to their respective commands, ably seconded in this effort by Mssrs. Worthington, Bellerby, Gatto, Rios, Esteller and Weightman.
Total active officers: 23
Total active officers: 29
Total active officers: 23
Total active officers: 20
Gén. de Div. M. Francisco Palomo
Comte de Marseille
Duc d'Abrantes
Commandant en Chef - Armée du Nord
"A true German can't stand the French
Yet willingly he drinks their wines."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(1749-1832),
All of these officers were trained with Prussian thoroughness by
General Ritter von Reuter.
The Prussian Army has been reorganized into a single Korps, in the interest of supreme Teutonic efficiency. This I Korps is ably led by General Ritter von Reuter.
Feldmarschall Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Fürst von Wahlstadt
Kommandant den Königliche Preussichen Armee
(Michael Wolf Gjerde)
Soldats de l'Empire
et de l'Armée du Rhin, Attention!
Lieutenant Glenn Callaway has volunteered to take over the Ecole de Mars. So far, the Ecole has been running very smoothly under his administration. I foresee a bright future for this talented young officer in the Grande Armée.
There has been some illness among the scribes and accountants comprising GdD Eugène's Poste de Commande (PC), but the staff now appears restored to health. Some important files were mislaid during the crisis, so this month's report is rather shorter than usual.
The following officers have been promoted during this month, to the following ranks, and shall enjoy all privileges and pay associated therewith.
The following Officers are awarded the
Order of the Iron Crown, for they have distinguished themselves through exemplary service to the Grande Armée:
The following officer is awarded the
Médaille Militaire in recognition of his first victory over the enemies of France:
The following officer is awarded the
Ordre du Confédération du Rhin in recognition of his two major victories over Allied armies:
On the recommendation of their Corps Commanders, I have great pleasure in awarding the following Officers
Special Recognition. These Officers continue to show willingness, commitment and service over and above the call of duty to their Corps Commanders and fellow Officers. Their activity does them credit, as well as being a great asset to those around them.
Congratulations to them all, and
GdD Eugène
GdD Eugène
Duc de Francfort
Comte de la Vendée
Les Compagnies d'Artillerie à Pied de la Vieille Garde
Chef d'Etat-Major de l'Armée du Rhin
For
Général de Division Louis-Nicholas Davout
Comte de Rouen
Grenadiers à Pied de la Vieille Garde
Commandant, l'Armée du Rhin
As part of the massive ongoing project to upgrade and streamline the Imperial military command structure, the headquarters of the Archduke-Feldmarschall have been moved into new and capacious premises equipped with the latest communication devices. The new semaphore-telegraph network will be capable of flashing messages from garrisons in every corner of the Empire in a fraction of the time required by horse-mounted couriers. At the moment of gathering reports for these Army Dispatches, the system was temporarily hindered by the insistence of each Operator (the Semaphore Operators Corps having been recruited to reflect the glorious diversity of the Empire) on transmitting only in his particular native language. The ensuing necessity to translate and re-translate the messages at each tower, into and from the Czech, Hungarian, German, Italian, Slovenian, Croatian, and Polish languages, has caused some slight delays in transmission. The Hofkriegsrat has formed a committee to study the situation and make recommendations; their preliminary report should be delivered in only a few months.
Hungarian Infantryman. Artwork by Keith Rocco, www.keithrocco.com
In the interim, it can be confidently reported that the Austrian Army continues to employ numbers of officers and men in the profession of arms, most of whom wear white uniforms; that said officers and men have carried the war to the enemy on every front, not infrequently adding laurels of victory to their Standards, except when invariably crushed by the ferocious Général de Division Jeff Bardon; that some of these officers have from time to time earned promotion and commendation; that everybody is having a splendid time; that all the soldiers love Kaiser Franz; and that there never has been, nor never will be any dissension or separatist movement among the minority populations of the Empire.
A great surge of recruitment is expected following the release of the Eckmühl game. Well-appointed barracks are being constructed at a furious pace for the accomodation of the imminent flood of volunteers.
Erzherzog-Feldmarschall Wilhelm Peters
ausgezeichnet Vater den Redakteur
und Generalissimus dem Kaiserlich-Königliche Heeres
Seven new recruits joined the Tsar's service since the last newsletter, bringing the active strength of the Second Army of the West is 54 officers. Of the new members, the following have completed training and received their command assignments:
General-major Peter Yrureta
has stepped down as the commander of IV Cavalry
Corps and has taken command of the Simpferopolsk Cossacks. In recognition of his
excellent service record, Generalmajor Yrureta has been promoted to the honorary
command of the 1st Cuirassier Division, V Corps (the Guard).
BATTLE HONORSRussian arms continued to enjoy success on the battlefield. Since the last dispatch, Russian officers have posted three major victories and three minor victories in regular play. In addition, Russian officers posted impressive records in both the Allied Fall Maneuvers and recently completed Westphalian campaign.
The Russian contingent of seven officers posted 6 victories and only 1 defeat to lead the Russian/Prussian/Austrian forces in a complete victory over the British. Congratulations to the following officers who participated:
Although the campaign ended in a draw, the Russian contingent of six officers recorded 4 major victories, 1 minor victory and 1 major defeat.
Promoted to General-major
Major victory in the historical battle of Austerlitz. In 15 of 36 turns, the combined Austro-Russian armies achieved a major victory over the French. The battle started with an allied feint on the French far left at Telnitz and Sokolnitz. The first turns were obscured by fog and when it lifted, Allied columns were revealed within close range of the enemy batteries in the two towns. The allied forces suffered heavily as they fought to the outskirts, and were aided greatly by a stray roundshot killing Marshal Davout within an hour of the beginning of the battle. Although casualties were heavy, the attack had the desired result of drawing substantial French reserves to the area, including the Guard cavalry. The French also attacked to the north between Kovalovitz and Stare Vinohrady. Bitter fighting ensued but Allied guns proved to be decisive. The net result was a weakening of the enemy center. The Russian Guard and an Austrian column maneuvered toward Pratzen to strike the decisive blow in the center. The French commander, having fought an excellent battle, laid down his sword on turn 15 just prior to the general Allied assault in his center. French casualties: 19,675 I, 5,900 C, 48 guns, 21 leaders including Davout, Suchet and Oudinot. Russian casualties: 13,525 I, 4,675 C, 22 guns and 5 leaders.
Minor victory in the Battle of Saltnovka (7/13 turns)- scenario #4 of JMB's Napoleon in Russia series. French casualties: 9,675 I, 1,150 C, 2 guns, 2 leaders. Russian casualties: 4,400 I, 775 C, 1 gun and 1 leader.
Minor victory in game MP4. (see Major Vityai below).
Promoted to Polkovnik.
Major victory in game 125 (9 turns), a custom NIR scenario.
Promoted to Shtabs-Kapitan
Minor victory in game 461
Promoted to Podpolkovnik
Major victory in game number 027 – Kutusov Turns to Fight (18 turns).
Awarded the Order of St. Vladimir (4th class) in recognition of outstanding service to the Tsar in training recruits.
Promoted to Major
Major Victor Vityai won a minor victory in game MP4 (20/48 turns) with his partner Generalmajor Karl Schneider. The scenario was a modified Kutusov Turns to Fight game with Napoleon having two additional divisions and the Middle Guard. The Russians receive sizable reinforcements but not until 1:00 p.m. The battle was extremely hard fought, but in the end, Russian firepower was able to bring the French assault to an end. French casualties: 34,575 I, 7,625 C, 218 guns, 26 leaders. Russian casualties: 31,275, 8,875 C, 192 guns and 20 leaders.
Promoted to Major
Promoted to Polkovnik
Major victory in game Q136 (PTW- Quatre Bras 22 turns).
Major victory in game 125 (9 turns), a custom NIR scenario.
Minor victory in game #55 (NIR scenario 2- Shevardino Redoubt).
Awarded the Order of St. Vladimir (4th class) in recognition of outstanding service to the Tsar in training recruits and recruiting new members.
Promoted to Podpolkovnik
Major victory in game number 448- Kutusov Turns to Fight (28 turns played). Although the French held 2500 objective points, they surrendered with a final score of -2211. Major Lane attributes the victory to his troops' élan in taking to the fight to the French and advancing on all fronts. French casualties: 67,900 I, 25,575 C, 261 guns, 130 leaders including Generals Compans, Chabert, Junot, Poniatowski (now never to be given his baton), Latour-Maubourg, Morand, Gérard, St. Germain, Marshals Ney (will not be needed on the retreat), Lefebvre and Mortier, crowned with Prince Eugène. Russian casualties: 62,225 I, 18,100 C, 303 guns and 59 leaders.
Awarded the General Service Medal in recognition of his first victory in a NIR scenario.
Major victory in game 125 (9 turns), a custom NIR scenario.
Awarded the General Service Medal.
Generalmajor Karl Schneider
Chief of Staff
Second Army of the West
Napoleon at Arcole, by Gros
"There was an eye to see in this man, and a soul to dare and to do. He rose naturally to be King. All men saw that he was such."
Thomas Carlyle, on Napoleon