Battle of Williamsburg: Difference between revisions
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=== Second Union Attack === | === Second Union Attack === | ||
The armies stirred at dawn, having passed | The armies stirred at dawn, having passed a mostly eventless night as neither side was willing to risk a night action. The only development before dawn was the arrival of Union Colonel [[Edgar Travis]]' Legion of 2,600 troops, which had forced a march overnight to join Beauchamp's army. Throughout the night the armies did their best to remove their dead and wounded from the field, a task which was mostly achieved successfully - except for in the town of Williamsburg itself, where the Uratic dead were left overnight by the Imperial garrison. By 0700, the opposing armies were beginning to file back into their ranks and by 0800 the battle lines looked almost identical to how they had been the previous day. | ||
Latest revision as of 23:26, 2 October 2024
The Battle of Williamsburg was a major battle of the Second Imperial-Balionic War, taking place on 4th and 5th June 1872. The Imperial Expeditionary Army, under the command of the Viscount Richmond, defeated a combined Balionic-Uratic army under the joint command of General Gabriel H. Beauchamp and General George Whitaker. The Imperial Expeditionary Army, cut off from supplies by Balionic movements during May, was caught by an outnumbered army of Balionic and Uratic troops while attempting to march on Woodsburg. The capture of Woodsburg would allow reinforcements and supplies to be brought in by ship and Beauchamp was wary of this possibility.
In the ensuing battle, which lasted two days, Lord Richmond's army bloodily repulsed multiple attacks by the combined army and, later in the battle, counterattacked. The Union army was driven from the field in disarray, having taken tremendous casualties.
Background
Following the Battle of Greenfield Station in early May, the Imperial Expeditionary Army had been cut off from their supply base at New Tevetdale by General Stanley P. Peck's pursuing Army of the Yellowback. Lord Richmond reacted by turning his army towards Woodsburg, a port town with only a small militia garrison. Richmond planned to seize Woodsburg and hold it against Peck's army by fighting a pitched defensive battle as he knew the ground well and believed the position was well-suited to being quickly entrenched. The port would also allow Richmond's army to receive supplies and reinforcements despite being cut off from New Tevetdale.
The combined army of General G.H. Beauchamp and the Uratic General Whitaker had received the news of Lord Richmond's plan from a captured runner. The man had been captured attempting to inform Lord MacCernau, who commanded the garrison at New Tevetdale, of Richmond's objectives but was intercepted by Beauchamp's scouts. The combined Balionic-Uratic force made all speed to intercept the Imperial Expeditionary Army and planned to, with the help of Peck's army, surround Richmond and force him to surrender or be destroyed in a decisive battle. However, when they finally met Richmond at the town of Williamsburg, the Army of the Yellowback was nowhere to be found. General Peck had turned back to seize New Tevetdale back from MacCernau. MacCernau held the town against tremendous odds at the Second Battle of New Tevetdale and received the General Order of Valour.
Low on supplies and in poor spirits, the Imperial Expeditionary Army formed a battle line with Williamsburg itself acting as the leftmost part of the line. Richmond garrisoned Williamsburg with the 3rd Infantry Division and formed his main line of the Glynmoran, Grythshead and Guards Divisions with the Teutonberg Division in reserve. On the left flank, Richmond placed the Frankenlisch Cavalry Division and on the right, he placed the King's Own Cavalry Division.
The Uratic-Balionic force drew up in a line to attack. Whitaker's Uraticans formed the right flank of the army with the 1st Infantry Division taking the lead of a dense attacking formation. The Balionic forces formed the army's centre and left. Whitaker and Beauchamp agreed to attack in two stages. The Uratic forces would attack the Imperial 3rd Infantry Division at Williamsburg and the Grythshead Division next to the town in a direct attack. The Balionic left wing would simultaneously conduct a sweeping attack against the Imperial right flank with the objective of turning the Guards Division and rolling up the line. With Williamsburg in Uratic hands and the Imperials pressed thoroughly on the right, Beauchamp and Whitaker could take the Imperial centre in enfilade and destroy a vast portion of Richmond's army, if not destroying it completely. Beauchamp, a career soldier, was delighted by the opportunity to damage General Peck, a former senator, whom Beauchamp saw as a privileged amateur who did not deserve his large command.
Imperial Army
The Imperial Army came under the command of General Lord Howard Richmond, renowned for his victories during the War of the Vionnan Coalition twenty years prior. It was divided into seven divisions comprising a total of fifty-five-thousand men and 78 guns.
- 3rd Infantry Division (Sir Daniel Whitlock)
- Glynmoran Division (Lord Robert Cochrane)
- Grythshead Division (Prince Quentin Edrington)
- Teutonberg Division (Sir Archibald Poltov)
- Guards Division (Lord Richard Halliwell)
- King's Own Division (Lord Frederick Picroft)
- Frankenlisch Cavalry Division (Sir Alexander Pender)
Balionic Army
The Balionic Army came under the command of General Gabriel H. Beauchamp, whose attack on Fort Edward started the war. It was divided into five divisions with three independent brigades.
- 1st Division (John Henry Carlot with eight regiments in 2 brigades)
- 2nd Division (Isiah Elliot with seven regiments in 2 brigades)
- 3rd Division (J.W. Vaughn with nine regiments in 3 brigades)
- 4th Division (Henry F. Thompson with six regiments in 2 brigades)
- 5th Division (Matthew P. Randyll with ten regiments in 3 brigades)
- Cavalry Brigade (Roger Hempstead with eight squadrons in 4 regiments)
- Travis' Legion (Edgar Travis with three infantry regiments, two cavalry troops and an artillery battery) (Arrived late)
- Artillery Brigade (I.J. Folstowe with an infantry regiment and six batteries)
Uratic Army
The Uratic Army came under the command of General Thaddeus Whitaker. It consisted of thirty thousand men in three divisions.
- 1st Infantry Division (Harold Horton with three brigades and two artillery batteries)
- 2nd Infantry Division (John Martin with three brigades and two artillery batteries)
- 3rd Infantry Division (Matthew Bandman with three brigades and two artillery batteries)
Battle (4th June, 1st Day)
The Balionic-Uratic army arrived opposite Williamsburg just after 10:00 and began to deploy into battle order soon after. Between the two armies lay a clearing which would offer little cover and Beauchamp hoped to weaken the Imperial defence with a strong artillery bombardment before he advanced. The Balionic-Uratic front line was made up of the Carlot's 1st Union Division, Vaughn's 3rd Union Division, and Horton's 1st Uratic Division - numbering a total of 22,600 troops. This front line deployed itself in a shallow gully where the infantry would be better protected from artillery and rifle fire. While the rest of the combined army formed into battle order behind the front line, the Union Artillery Brigade under Colonel I.J. Folstowe and the Uratic divisional batteries began to deploy their pieces for action. The first Union batteries were emplaced by noon and the bombardment began immediately, steadily growing in strength as more batteries were deployed. With field guns and howitzers, the Union artillery pounded the centre point of the Imperial line, striking the Teutonberg Division and Glynmoran Division with shot, shrapnel and explosive shells. The Imperial guns answered at half past noon and began counter-battery fire. Richmond's skilled artillerymen were far more experienced that their counterparts in the Union Ordnance Corps, which made up for the slight technical inferiority of Imperial guns. With poor visibility hampering accuracy, the artillery duel continued for three hours without causing heavy casualties to either side, though the Union forces lost several cannon to counter-battery fire. Beauchamp and his staff established themselves behind Vaughn's 3rd Union Division to direct the attack on the Imperial lines.
First Union Attack
The first assault began at four in the afternoon. The 9th Lareno Regiment, 11th Lareno Regiment, 50th Oakcliffe Regiment, 24th Eastone Regiment and the 32nd Rockwell Regiment of J.H. Carlot's 1st Division on the Balionic left flank, advanced in a dense formation against the Guards Division, which formed the right flank of the Imperial line. Meanwhile, the 1st Infantry Division (nicknamed "Goldenboys" for their golden tunic buttons) of the Uratic Army marched on Williamsburg itself. The Imperial artillery focused on the Balionic advance and many men were killed by cannon before reaching rifle range. The Frankenlisch Guards regiment and the Prince of Riverland's Guards regiment fired volleys into the 11th Lareno as it closed, killing its Colonel and turning it back in disarray. The resulting gap in the line separated the 50th Oakcliffe from the rest of the unit. While the Guards Division traded volleys with the Balionic force, the Royal Grythshead Dragoon Guards charged into the flank of the 50th Oakcliffe from the cover of the woods, capturing their colours and some of their officers and men. The prisoners were escorted back by troops of the Frankenlisch Guards while the cavalry withdrew back into the woods.
Under an endless hail of volleys, the Balionic attack was turned back with hundreds of killed and wounded. The Union forces were mostly inexperienced, new soldiers recently raised from the old state militias. The Lareno Regiments in particular, though high in the Union order of precedence, were inexperienced through lack of training and the large percentage of replacement troops. John Henry Carlot, who led the First Division, was hit through the thigh by a pistol bullet as he led the retreat and had to be carried from the field by his staff. The Guards Division took minor casualties, mostly amongst the Frankenlisch Guards who were at the very end of the line. Lord Ravenstern reformed his division several meters back and shortened the line by withdrawing the Frankenlisch Guards to his reserves, this left the Prince of Riverland's Guards as the end of the line.
Fighting in Williamsburg
At Williamsburg itself, the Uratic 1st Division came under heavy fire from light artillery clustered around the town. The batteries of the King's Own Cavalry Division and the Frankenlisch Cavalry Division had been emplaced in gardens and open streets, with clear lines of fire towards the advancing Uratic troops. Though the Imperial Army was missing the elite Light Division, which had remained at New Tevetdale, the light companies of the Third Division still performed admirably in skirmish order as they sniped away from behind cover. These troops retreated further into the town as their enemy approached, the Uratic troops firing on the advance. The houses and shops were occupied by Imperial troops and Major Richard Hill of the Uratic 1st Division commented that there was: "A pair of rifles in every window and a cannon on every street." He added, "Approaching the town was hell and at least a thousand men were killed and wounded before we even reached the first building." Though the numbers were in fact closer to five hundred, this still represented high casualties in the approach. Though the steady advance had spared their strength for the fighting, the Uratic troops arrived in Williamsburg demoralised from casualties and disorganised by the loss of officers and NCOs.
Brutal hand-to-hand fighting commenced immediately as Uratic troops flooded into Williamsburg. The Imperial guns could not be extradited in time and were left where they were emplaced, the gunners retreating behind the infantry. Some Uratic troops tried to turn the cannons on the Imperial positions but they were not loaded and Uratic infantry were not trained in the use of cannons. No equipment was available to destroy the abandoned guns or carry them away, General Harold Horton of the First Division lamented this deeply to his staff. As isolated platoons of Imperial troops held buildings, barricading doors and windows, the 54th Regiment of Foot drew up in the town square in line of battle to defend General Sir Daniel Whitlock's headquarters. Wherever the Uratic troops made breakthroughs, the strung-out companies of the 54th poured volleys into them, or flying detachments from other regiments were rushed in to plug gaps.
Though the fighting in Williamsburg was tough for both sides, Lord Richmond decided the situation was not desperate. He dispatched Sir Alexander Pender's Frankenlisch Cavalry Division to move around Williamsburg and cut off the Uratic troops' only path of retreat. Richmond, from his position at the centre of the Imperial line, could not see the main positions of the Uratic army and was preoccupied with the fighting on his right. The Frankenlisch Cavalry Division wheeled swiftly around the edge of Williamsburg, avoiding contact with the enemy, and drew up before the town. Imperial cavalry fought in the traditional continental style (unlike the Balionic cavalry who fought mostly as mounted infantry) and their conspicuous dress and large numbers made their position quite clear from the Ballionic-Uratic lines. Thaddeus Whitaker brought his artillery to bear and Sir Alexander Pender and his division were forced back under a fearsome cannonade which killed a hundred men.
With nothing blocking their path, the Uratic First Division began to beat an orderly retreat from Williamsburg. There were attempts to torch the buildings within the town but Imperial troops were able to douse the flames or destroy the burning buildings with cannon fire before the fire spread. General Horton had to be carried from the field, his bravery at the head of his troops cost him his left leg to a multitude of bullet wounds. Quick surgery meant he survived the battle but his division was badly mauled and came under the command of Colonel William Miller, a brigade commander.
Cavalry Battle
With the Balionic Army in full retreat, the Duke of Gestoria spurred the King's Own Division into the attack. Without orders, the Duke planned to charge down the retreating troops of John Henry Carlot's division and hoped to capture both standards and officers. The division drew out in lines, the Light Brigade leading as normal, and the Duke led the advance. While some of the Balionic troops had reformed and were retiring in good order, some companies were still disorganised and tumbling back in disorder. These included most of the 9th and 11th Lareno Regiments. The King's Own Division advanced steadily, some men firing carbines and pistols from the saddle. The colours of the 9th Lareno were dropped multiple times as the bearers were killed, however they avoided capture thanks to the brave efforts of the colour guard.
General Beauchamp recognised the threat swiftly developing on his left and moved to counter the advance of the KOD before the Imperial forces could move infantry in support. With the First Division in bad shape, a strong push on the flank could have been enough to turn the entire Union army and Beauchamp took a tremendous risk to prevent this. The guns of the Balionic left wing turned against the KOD as it advanced and, though fully aware that it was of far inferior quality and less numerous than the Imperial cavalry, Beauchamp threw his cavalry brigade against the Duke of Gestoria's advancing troops.
Colonel Roger Hempstead, soon to gain glory as commander of General John P. Merriweather's cavalry in the Army of South Calhoun, was leading the Union cavalry brigade at Williamsburg. Hempstead commanded four regiments. Regiments of cavalry in the Union Army were only two-hundred strong, divided into two squadrons. This was due to the different way in which cavalry was designed to operate in Balion, being utilised primarily as foragers and scouts with a minimal combat role in major battles. Hempstead's four regiments included: 1st Army Dragoons, 2nd Army Dragoons, 1st Oakcliffe Lancers, and the 5th Army Cavalry. Union lancer regiments, in contrast to their Imperial counterparts, did not use their lances in battle and they were kept with the baggage - brought out only for ceremonial purposes.
A significant exchange of gunfire broke out as the two cavalry forces closed. Using more advanced carbines, the Balionic cavalrymen generally saw the better of the gunfight but they were still outnumbered around 3:1. As the Duke of Gestoria's trumpeter finally sounded the charge and the Imperial regiments wheeled left into the approaching Union cavalry, this numerical advantage became quickly apparent. At about equal distance between both armies, and in full view of the lines of infantry, the cavalry collided at a steady speed and a ferocious melee began. The bulk of the 4th Hussars met the 1st Oakcliffe Lancers and swiftly destroyed them as a fighting unit. Imperial cavalry were well-prepared for fighting other cavalry whereas Balionic cavalrymen were not expected to fight other cavalry while mounted. The usual doctrine in such cases was to dismount and defeat a charge by firing quickly and accurately from cover. The situation at hand forbid this approach and Colonel Hempstead's brigade simply had to fight off the Imperial challenge until they could no longer.
Watching from their own lines, the infantry cheered on their side's cavalry with full-throated cries and the bands played cavalry marches to boost morale. General Beauchamp rode across to reorganise his infantry on the left and only when he was satisfied with their positioning did he send a runner to give permission to Hempstead to break off action. The Heavy Brigade charged in to follow the Light Brigade into action and the 2nd Royal Dragoons in particular were causing heavy casualties to the Balionic cavalry before the recall was sounded and Hempstead's weary troops peeled away to retreat to the safety of their infantry. Though the Imperial cavalry began to pursue, the Duke of Gestoria led them back to the Imperial lines, keen to prevent them from coming under artillery fire. A standard from the 1st Oakcliffe Lancers was captured by Lieutenant Faulkner of the 4th Royal Hussars and several Balionic officers were captured. Imperial losses were between 40 and 120 men whereas Hempstead's brigade was brutally mauled, losing half of its troopers killed and wounded. A short truce was agreed to allow both sides to collect their wounded and, by the time said truce had been observed, darkness was beginning to fall. Union commanders were horrified by the losses of their cavalry and made no further offensive moves. Colonel Hempstead was confined to his tent, inconsolable from the loss of so many of his troopers. For the first time since the start of the campaign, Beauchamp was said to be unsure of what to do and perturbed by his heavy losses.
Battle (5th June, 2nd Day)
Second Union Attack
The armies stirred at dawn, having passed a mostly eventless night as neither side was willing to risk a night action. The only development before dawn was the arrival of Union Colonel Edgar Travis' Legion of 2,600 troops, which had forced a march overnight to join Beauchamp's army. Throughout the night the armies did their best to remove their dead and wounded from the field, a task which was mostly achieved successfully - except for in the town of Williamsburg itself, where the Uratic dead were left overnight by the Imperial garrison. By 0700, the opposing armies were beginning to file back into their ranks and by 0800 the battle lines looked almost identical to how they had been the previous day.