FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

JUNE 1807 FRENCH TURN

The Grande Armee draws up to the Vistula on the opposite bank of the Russo-Prussian positions. The landwehr garrison of Thorn is overwhelmed as are the Russians in Posen. Strong French cavalry elements drive back the cossacks screening Warsaw. Napoleon passes through Saxony on his way east.

Blake sidesteps Moore and Uxbridge to fall upon the Portuguese force returning from the sack of Badajoz.

Battle of Caceras

Blake move south with 45,000 men and surprises the Portuguese column heavily laden with the spoils from the sack of Badajoz. The Portuguese are routed and forced to abandon their loot. Spanish casualties: negligble. Portuguese casualties: 10,000.

JUNE 1807 ALLIED TURN

The allied monarchs decide to strike Grande Armee before Napoleon's arrival. Flanking attacks by Barclay de Tolly and Kutusov successfully push back the French cavalry outside of Thorn and Warsaw, allowing the main allied army under Bagration to engage Massena and the Grande Armee. The two day battle of Luckau swings back and forth before Massena is able to break the allied attack and force Bagration to retreat.

In Spain, Moore attacks Blake in the mountainous Spanish-Portuguese border. Despite reinforcement by Uxbridge, the attack stalls and Moore is forced to retreat after heavy loss.

Battle of Plock

Kutusov slips out of Warsaw with a mixed infantry/cavalty force 40,000 strong. He falls on and destroys a french cavalry corps screening the southern flank of the Grande Armee. Russian casualties: 5,000. French casualties: 15,000.

Battle of Guben

Barclay de Tolly breaks off the the main allied army with 20,000 men and is charged with the task of clearing the french cavalry screen north of the Grande Armee, which he does. Russian casualties: negligible. French casualties: 10,000.

Battle of Luckau

The allied council of war is split. Many wish to remain behind the Vistula in positions prepared over the winter and spring. Others view this strategy as allowing the initiative to pass to the french. They argue for an immediate attack across the Vistula to strike the Grande Amree before Napoleon arrives in person to take command. Despite King Wilhelm's reservations, the Tsar, as the senior partner in the alliance, decides that to wait passively is to invite disaster. The combined Russo-Prussian army of 230,000 men (150,000 Russian, 80,000 Prussian) under the overall command of Barclay de Tolly crosses the Vistula and marches to engage Massena and the 260,000 strong Grande Armee. Although not expecting an attack, Massena reacts swiftly to the threat from the north and prepares strong defensive lines. The allies batter against the french positions for most of the first day of fighting. Alled attempts to dislodge the French right anchored on the village of Luckau on the Vistula gain nothing. Casualties are roughly even but the allied troops go to sleep tired and hungry. On the second day, Massena takes the initiative and pins the allied center with strong frontal attacks. Marmont is entrusted with 40,000 men to turn the allied right, held now mostly by Prussian landwehr. The conscripts break and flee. Rather than risk being pinned to the river and destroyed, Barclay de Tolly orders a general withdrawal. With Marmont's corps closing in to seal the retreat route, only desperate rear-guard fighting averts total disaster. Russian/Prussian casualties: 120,000.French casualties: 75,000.

Battle of Hoyas

Moore at the head of 35,000 British troops manuevers to dislodge Blake's 45,000 Spainards from his mountain perch overlooking the Portuguese border. Blake has chosen his ground well. The narrow mountain passes prevent Moore from deploying his troops and the English suffer badly. Uxbridge and 15,000 reinforcements appear in late afternoon but the troops become entangles with Moore's baggage train. Taking advantage of local knowledge of the terrain, the Spanish infiltrate the high ground above the English columns and take a fearful toll before Moore orders the withdawal. English casualties: 35,000. Spanish casualties: 15,000.