The Battle of Gitschin or Jicin occurred during the 1866 war between Prussia, Italy and their, mostly minor, German allies on the one side. While on the other were ranged the Austrian Empire, Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover and a variety of other German Allies. I do not intend to go into great detail about the conduct of the war. Instead I will briefly outline the events leading to this battle. At the start of the war Benedek, the commander of the Northern Austrian army, posted a Corps and a Cavalry Division near the border with Saxony. The plan was for the Saxon army (this was of Corps size) to abandon their homeland and link up with this force. This they successfully achieved at the beginning of the war, unfortunately this is when things started to go wrong for the allied army. Benedek originally planned to march to join with this detached force, but the intervention of the Prussian army forced delays. Therefore this detached force was ordered to fall back to Gitschin / Jicin, an important road junction, where they would be joined by the main Austrian army.

Over the next few days the Allied command fought 3 minor actions as it fell back to its positions around Gilschin / Jicin. Perhaps the most important of these was the last one at Munchengratz on the 28th of June. This was a delaying action by the Austrian 2nd Brigade to give the rest of the army time to withdraw. It not only led to the 2nd Brigade being badly 'chewed up', but also lead to the Saxon contingent taking a long diversion to the concentration area. Which in turn led to the minimal involvement of the Saxons in the forthcoming battle, as they were late in getting into position and very tired. Meanwhile what was happening on the other side of the fence? No fewer than 2 Prussian armies, the 1st and Elbe armies, were converging on the hapless allies. Unfortunately at this time the Prussian had no idea where the allies had withdraw to. Therefore they continued with their own concentration, which as chance would have it involved the 2 armies moving through Gitschin / Jicin. Thus for the forthcoming battle elements of the Prussian II Corps advanced from the west, while parts of the Prussian III Corps were coming from the north.

The purpose of this page is to provide scenario details for the Battle of Gitschin/Jicin. The scenario is for use with the Mit Blut und Eisen rules for the mid Nineteenth century European wars - Mit Blut und Eisen.

Note: The version for the old rules is here - Fire and Furia Francese scenario

Orders of Battle

The Allies

Roll a D6 for each unit to see if it has a leader. On a roll of a 5 or 6 Jager or Saxon units have a leader, on a roll of a 6 all others have a leader. Roll again and on a 1-5 it is a +1 leader, on a 6 a +2 leader.

Austrian 1st Corps: Count Clam - Gallas (2): Formation Morale 26 plus 1 for each addditional light unit used - 5 D6

Corps Artillery: 2 Foot Batteries 1 Horse Battery

1st 'Division': Poschacher (3)

• 30th Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 34th Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 18th Jager Btn. 3 / 2 / - Light or make 1 unit above 5 / 4 / 3 or both 'Heavy' skirmishers.

• 1 Foot or Rocket Bty.

2nd 'Division': Leiningen (1)

• 33rd Infantry Regt. and 32nd Jager: 4 / 3 / 2

• 34th Infantry Regt. 3 / - / 2

• 1 Foot Bty.

3rd 'Division': Piret (1)

• 18th Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 45th Infantry Regt. 4 / - / 3

• 29th Jager Btn. 3 / 2 / - Light or make 1 unit above 5 / 4 / 3 or both 'Heavy' skirmishers.

• 1 Foot Bty.

4th 'Division': Ringelsheim (2)

• 42nd Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 73rd Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 26th Jager Btn. 3 / 2 / - Light or make 1 unit above 5 / 4 / 3 or both 'Heavy' skirmishers.

• 1 Foot Bty.

5th Brigade: Abele (2)

• 35th Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 72nd Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 22nd Jager Btn. 3 / 2 / - Light or make 1 unit above 5 / 4 / 3 or both 'Heavy' skirmishers.

• 1 Foot Bty.

1st Light Cavalry Division: Edelsheim (1): Formation Morale 8 - 1 D6

• Divisional Artillery: 1 Horse Battery

• 1st Brigade: 4 / 3 / 2

• 2nd Brigade: 4 / 3 / 2

• 3rd Brigade: 4 / 3 / 2

Saxon 2nd Division: Stieglitz (2): Formation Morale 7 plus 1 for each addditional light unit used - 1D6

• 1st Jager Btn: 3 / 2 / - Light or make 1 unit below 7 / 5 / 4 (1st Brig) or 7 / 5 / 3 (4th Brig) or both 'Heavy' skirmishers.

• 4th Jager Btn: 3 / 2 / - Light or make 1 unit below 7 / 5 / 3 or both 'Heavy' skirmishers.

• 1st Saxon Brigade. 6 / 5 / 3

• 4th (Leib) Saxon Brigade: 6 / 4 / 2

• Divisional Artillery: 1 Foot Battery

Deployment - Austrians:

• 1st Division - Within 6" of Brada on the Privysin.

• 2nd Division - Within 6" of point marked 2nd.

• 3rd Division - Within 6" of Eisenstadtl and to the west of the Cidlina River.

• 4th Division - Within 6" of point marked 4th.

• 5th Division - Within 6" of point marked 5th.

• Corps Artillery - Within 6" of point marked CA.

• 1st Light Cavalry Division - Within 6" of point marked 1LC.

Saxons: Arrive within 6" of Gitschin / Jicin as reinforcements. They enter in march column or limbered as appropriate, according to the schedule below.

• Saxon 1st Brigade and 1st Jager - 18:00 Allied phase.

• Saxon 4th Brigade, 4th Jager, Divisional Command and Artillery - 20:00 Allied phase.

The Prussians:

Roll a D6 for each unit that does not have a leader. On a roll of 5 or 6 the unit has a leader. Roll again and on a 1-5 it is a +1 leader, on a 6 a +2 leader.

3rd Infantry Division: Von Werder (2): Formation Morale: 13 - 1 D6

• Advanced Guard (inc. 2nd Jage):r 6 / 5 / 3 (+1 leader) this unit is an Advance Guard

• 2nd Grenadier Regt. 5 / 3 / 2

• 14th Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 42nd Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• 54th Infantry Regt. 5 / 4 / 3

• 2 Foot Batteries

5th Infantry Division: Von Tumpling (3): Formation Morale: 13 - 1 D6

• Advanced Guard 6 / 4 / 2 (+1 leader) this unit is an Advance Guard

• 8th and 12th Grenadier Regt. 6 / 4 / 2

• 18th Infantry Regt. 5 / 4 / 3

• 48th Infantry Regt. 4 / 3 / 2

• Cavalry Brigade: 4 / 3 / 2

• 2 Foot Batteries

Prussian Deplotment:

5th Division: Deployed in any desired formation, 6" into the table and within 6" of Kriznic and the Cidlina.

The Cavalry Brigade arrives as reinforcements on the 17:00 Prussian phase. It arrives on the road north of Kriznic, in any desired formation.

3rd Division: Reinforcement on the 17:00 Prussian phase. Enters the table in any desired formation, within 6" of the road exiting to the west.

Timetable:

The game starts on the 15:00 Prussian Phase, there is no 15:00 Allied Phase.

The game ends on the 23:00 Allied Phase, there is no Prussian Phase.

On the Allied 20:00 Phase the Allies receive the order to retreat.

Visibility:

As the battle progressed night fell and visibility was increasingly restricted. The following is the maximum visibility on the indicated turns.

• 19:00 Maximum 24"

• 19:30 Maximum 18"

• 20:00 Maximum 12"

• 20:30 Maximum 8"

• 21:00 onwards Maximum 4"

Terrain

Special Rules:

Austrian 2nd Brigade:

This brigade had suffered greatly in the previous battle and was completely exhausted from this and the retreat. Therefore the allies were reluctant to commit them to the battle. If the Allies decide to move or fire with any units from this Brigade they must pay a victory points penalty. The exception to this is if any Prussian unit approaches within 12" of any unit of the Brigade, in which case they may be used without penalty. Also this rule is ignored once the order to retreat is received

18th Jaeger Btn:

Poschacher, in charge of the Austrian 1st Brigade, ordered his line infantry to load rifles for the Jager, thus increasing their rate of fire. Therefore as long as an infantry unit is in contact and behind the 18th Jager Btn the following rules apply. The 18th Jagers double their fire factor.

The Retreat Order:

At the start of the Allied 20:00 phase they receive the order to retreat and join the main army. From this phase onwards the Austrian 2nd Brigade may be used without penalty. The Prussians no longer receive any points for occupying anything except Gitschin / Jicin. Finally from the Allied 21:00 phase the Allies receive a victory point penalty if Austrian units are still on table.

Victory Points:

The Prussians:

Get the following V.P's for being in sole occupation of the following villages at the end of any Allied phase, before the Allies receive the order to withdraw.

2 V.P's Each for Podulsi and Zames

5 V.P's Each for Brada, Dilec, Eiserstadt, Lochov and Prachov

5 V.P's If the Allies use the Austrian 2nd Brigade, as outlined above.

1 V.P. Only at the end of each Allied phase, from the 21:00 turn. Per Austrian (not Saxon) Brigade (the Corps Artillery and the Cavalry Division count as brigades) that has any of its units on table.

The Allies:

25 V.P's If the Allies control, or have units in, Gitschin / Jicin at the end of the game.