Fictitious Wars: The Battle of Tauberbischofsheim: Allied preparations

Fall out from Hardheim

When Gehlan reported to Hessenstein at Tauberbischofsheim on the 17th he was very much a broken man. Hessenstein had been compelled to order a withdrawal to Tauberbischofsheim in order to prevent a river crossing there by the victorious Franconians who were more than capable of sweeping Gehlan’s demoralised survivors away. He also sent off to Nassau, reporting the defeat, and to his cousin, the Furst von Hesse-Cassel requesting assistance.

Over the next week the situation for Hessenstein seemed to improve. In the first place it became obvious that the Franconian force that had defeated Gehlan at Hardheim was not heading for Tauberbischofsheim but was moving to join the Franconian army at Bad Mergentheim, so the danger of being outflanked receded. Secondly his cousin, Cassel, had marched out of the siege lines with six battalions of infantry and six squadrons of Dragoons: in all his entire command. He had tried to persuade the other two Hessenstein Princes there, Haynau and Hersfeld, to join him but failed to do so against Nassau’s entreaties to stay. Of particular importance was the decision by Hersfeld who commanded the cavalry at Wurzburg; the 12 squadrons of heavy cavalry would be sorely missed.

Maurice of Nassau was furious. Hessenstein had gone behind his back, so it appeared to Maurice, and had undermined his authority. But, in order to keep an eye on things he ordered his own regiment to join Cassel in the march to Tauberbischofsheim. Maurice was already beside himself over Hardheim. He could not shake off the suspicion that Hessenstein had used Bamberg, Nassau and Luneberg troops in order to preserve his own men, and his character judgement was also suspect as he had chosen such an obvious incompetent to lead the operation.

Meanwhile, at Aschaffenburg, more Luneberg troops had arrived under Generalleutnant Hedemann. He, too, was dismayed by the Hardheim result; the fact that it was led by a Luneberger and the only colour lost was from the Midachten regiment did not improve his mood. He was aware that his elderly Duke did not want to fully commit himself as yet, but he had also been told that he must not let the cause of the Northern League collapse. To Hedemann it was obvious that his Duke wanted to take some of the shine off Hessenstein and be seen as a saviour. Consequently he retained the bulk of his forces at Aschaffenburg, sending only three grenadier battalions and two horse grenadier squadrons to reinforce Hessenstein under Generalmajor Estorff, with instructions that the Luneberg force now be commanded by Generalmajor von Zedlitz-Truchsler until his arrival.

Choice of battlefield



So, by the 24th of June Hessenstein’s force had swollen to 19,000. He decided, after consultation with his senior staff, to march a little way south to a spot they had retreated through. Here, bounded on one side by the Tauber and the other covered by a wood, his cavalry inferiority would not matter so much and he could rely more on his good quality infantry. The battlefield would be covered by fieldworks, and on the 26th the army spent much of its time digging and preparing.

The Right

This was to be commanded by Duke Ernst of Bamberg and be composed of his own Bamberg troops, the Nassau troops and two 3 pfund guns of the Lunebergers. He would defend Kniedl’s farm and an earthwork stretching from there to the river Tauber.

Duke Ernst of Bamberg

Division: Ernst, Furst von Bamberg
Efficient
Aggressive
Disciplined

Brigade: GM von Sack
Poor
Bold
Disciplined

Bamberg Dragoons (dismounted): 292
1/Bamberg Regiment: 316
2/Bamberg Regiment: 340

Brigade: GM Graf von Dernbach
Poor
Cautious
Disciplined

1/Prinz Moritz Regiment: 580
2/Prinz Moritz Regiment: 698
Nassau Grenadiere: 271

The Earthwork

The Centre

The centre was to be held by the Graf von Cassel with the two regiments he had brought from Wurzburg plus the 1er Grenadiere. All battalions had a 3 pfund gun plus there were a string of redoubts across the front of the line (that stretched across into the left flank too). Cassel was a professional officer, but he was also aware that, if Hessenstein died or was somehow disgraced, he was well placed to grab the crown for himself.

Division: Graf von Cassel
Highly Efficient
Aggressive
Disciplined

Brigade: GM von Solms
Poor
Bold
Disciplined

1/Markgraf Regiment: 827
2/Markgraf Regiment: 773
3/Markgraf Regiment: 872
1er Grenadiere: 737

Brigade: GM von Schillingfurst
Poor
Cautious
Disciplined

1/Graf von Cassel Regiment: 795
2/Graf von Cassel Regiment: 863
3/Graf von Cassel Regiment: 803

The Left

The left wing was to be commanded by Generalmajor von Zedlitz-Truchsler and be composed of the Luneberg contingent. Gehlan, now no longer head of the force, was reduced to commanding the first line.

Left Wing: GM von Zedlitz-Truchsler
Efficient
Cautious
Disciplined

Brigade: GM von Gehlan
Poor
Aggressive
Disciplined

1/Midachten Regiment: 627
2/Midachten Regiment: 540
Grenadiers/Midachten Regiment: 407

Brigade: GM Estorff
Brilliant
Aggressive
Disciplined

Grenadiers/von Bothmer Regiment: 481
Grenadiers/von Klinkowstrom Regiment: 472
Grenadiers/de Mailleville Regiment: 455

The Cavalry

In charge of the army’s slender battlefield cavalry was the Hessenstein general, Generalmajor von Falcke.

Luneberg's 'Graf von Platen-Hallermund' Dragoons

Cavalry: GM von Falcke
Poor
Daring
Disciplined

Graf von Nassau Dragoner: 677
Margravine von Hessenstein Dragoner: 835
Graf von Platen-Hallermund Dragoner: 698

The Armee Avantgarde

On the extreme left of the allied line, with the Jager in the woods, was the avant-garde under Obrist von Knaak.

Avantgarde: Obrist von Knaak
Efficient
Aggressive
Disciplined

Nassau Husarencorps: 530
Bamberg Husaren: 508
Hessenstein Husarencorps: 856
Hessenstein Jagercorps: 899

Army Reserve

To plug holes that may appear, or undertake an attack if things went well, Hessenstein husbanded his guard infantry plus the Luneberg Horse Grenadiers under the colonel commanding his Garde-Grenadiere.

Reserve: Obrist Prinz von Solm-Braunfels
Poor
Aggressive
Disciplined

Hessenstein Garde zu Fuss: 866
1er Hessenstein Garde-Grenadiere: 842
2er Hessenstein Garde-Grenadiere: 827
Luneberg Grenadiere zu Pferde: 238

Redoubts

In command of all the redoubts across the front of the allied line was Obrist-Artillerie von Fleischacker, from the Hessenstein artillery.

Armee-Artillerie: Oberst von Fleischacker
Efficient
Bold
Disciplined

Nassau Redoubt: 2x3pfd
Luneberg Redoubt: 2x3pfd
1er Hessenstein Redoubt: 4x3pfd
2er Hessenstein Redoubt: 4x3pfd
3er Hessenstein Redoubt: 2x9pfd, 2xhaubitze
4er Hessenstein Redoubt: 2x9pfd
5er Hessenstein Redoubt: 2x12pfd, 2xhaubitze

Most battalions had a 3pfd as a battalion gun; exceptions were the Nassau Grenadiere, the dismounted Dragoons and the Jager.

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