Variant Background Note
After playing the historical version of Rivoli, two major questions came up:
1. If the Austrians had been a little more aggressive and used a consolidated battle
plan could they have won at Rivoli?
2. If Bonaparte had taken a more passive stance could he have still beaten the Austrians?
To try and answer these questions a variant was put together.
Briefings and Battle Plans
General Baron Joszef Alvintzi :
The Austrians were allowed to deploy on the northern edge of the Trombalore
Heights with similar historical positions. Ocksay was on the left, Köblös held the center
and Lipthay was on the right. Lusignan was allowed to be deployed anywhere behind the Austrian main
line. Alvintzi decided to position him behind Ocksay. Quosdanovich, Vukassovich and Reuss
were all on the narrow road leading to Osteria. ETA on the field was 11:00am.
Alvinzi adopted a straight forward plan. The three leading brigades would simply press forward and attack the French to the front of them. Ocksay was ordered to take and hold Rivoli. Lusignan would hold the Trombalore Heights and Quosdanovtch would hold Osteria. Vukassovich would move to support Lipthay and Reuss would remain in reserve at Osteria. Both Quosdanovich and Reuss would be under the temporary command of Ocksay.
For a detailed Austrian Order of Battle click HERE.
General-in-Chief of the Army of Italy : Général Napoleon Bonaparte :
The French were allowed to deploy to the west of Rivoli. Lebley was ordered to hold Rivoli.
Vial held the Rivoli Plateau on the west side of Rivoli. Brune held the southern edge of the
Trombalore Heights with Monnier on his left. Sandos formed the second line behind Rivoli.
Lasalle was on his left and Leclerc held the far left. Berthier's guns were placed between Vial
and Lebley. Rey was on the road towards Monte Pipolo with an ETA 2:00pm.
Bonaparte decided on a very passive plan. He would hold his position and let the Austrians attack him. Once they showed a sign of weakness he would counter attack.
For a detailed French Order of Battle click HERE.
Rivoli - January 14, 1797 (Variant Setup) : After Action Report
At exactly 10:00am the long Austrian lines started their movement towards the French. By 11:00am the fighting was starting to get heavy. The lead units of Quosdanovitch were starting to pour into Osteria. Ocksay started a bombardment of Rivoli.
Bonaparte made his first counter move at 11:30am by ordering Brune and Monnier to clear the Trombalore Heights. Leclerc would follow them part way across then turn right and take the Austrians on the Rivoli Plateau in flank.
It was very close to noon when Ocksay noticed signs of confusion in Rivoli. He ordered the Banater Grenzer Regiment to assault Rivoli. Although the first battalion was beaten back by Berthier's guns the second battalion routed the first battalion of the 85th demi-brigade. Their flight was so shocking that Lebley's entire brigade fell back. Ocksay quickly ordered up the only other troops he could find to help occupy Rivioli, the first battalion of the Banalisten Grenzer Regiment.
Bonaparte's response was immediate. He ordered Vial to counter attack across the Rivoli Plateau and Sandos to retake Rivoli.
By 1:30pm Masséna's division was starting to slowly push back Lipthay. Leclerc made his way to the east side of the heights. Vial was also slowly gaining ground from Köblös. Köblös noticed that Leclerc was moving towards his flank and he quickly ordered the battalions on that flank to turn and face this new threat.
Rey arrived at 2:00pm and was ordered to support Vial. Sandos encountered tough fighting in Rivoli as Ocksay had now brought forward more of Quosdanovich's troops and pressed them into the town.
Rivoli fell back into French hands at 2:30pm. By 3:00pm it was apparent that neither side was going to be able to gain any clear advantage over the other side and the game was concluded.
Rivoli 14 January 1797 Variant Setup Map:
Conclusion
Both plans were well thought out and executed. The narrow field of battle made maneuver difficult and turned the battle into a classic slug fest. The only contest of note was the eviction of Lebley's entire brigade from Rivoli by one battalion of Banater Grenzers. The French responded well and managed to recover the town.
Although the French did not win the battle we can't fault them for this since we did not allow them to have the same advantages as their historical counter parts.
The Austrians did much better then their historical counter parts but we gave them a better starting position.
Strictly looking at the game it was a draw. To be successful though the Austrians had to win to be able to press on. The French just had to stop the Austrians, which they did. So the French get the nod for a victory and Ocksay's Grenzers get the acknowledgement of being the outstanding troops of the day. The game did however answer our questions. It appears that the Austrians could never have won at Rivoli and Bonaparte's aggressive plan was indeed the key to his success.
