Battle of Stifforest

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Battle of Stifforest
Part of War of the Vionnan Coalition
Stifforest 2.jpg
Date14th July 1851
Location
Stifforest, Saxondale
Result Imperial Victory
Belligerents
Flag of Castile-La Mancha.svg Vionna-Frankenlisch SaxondaleFlag.png Saxondale
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Castile-La Mancha.svg Lord Eldham SaxondaleFlag.png Freiherr von der Larrenwald
Units involved
I Corps Army of East Saxondale
Strength
44,000 32,000
Casualties and losses
3,283 killed and wounded

1,500-2,000 killed and wounded

1,000 captured

The Battle of Stifforest was an engagement of the War of the Vionnan Coalition during Lord Lynwood's Saxondale Campaign. The First Corps of the Imperial Army, under the command of the Viscount Eldham, met with the Freiherr von der Larrenwald and his Army of East Saxondale near the market town of Stifforest on the outskirts of the Larrenwald forest. Lord Eldham's corps achieved a decisive victory over the Saxoners and sent them tumbling back towards the fortress town of Hardyng, defeating them again two weeks later at the Battle of Warner's Stream.

Background

Following Imperial victory at Drayglossop, Lord Lynwood's army split to advance on seperate roads. The target of his offensive was Tevetdale, an important city in southern Ballaeter, protected from the north and east by the Dermott Line of fortifications but open to the south where Ballaeter bordered Saxondale. Therefore, with his army energised after their victory at the Siege of Drayglossop, Lynwood planned a swift advance through Saxondale, avoiding fighting where he could, to cross the border at the river town of Market Lundy and strike swiftly at Tevetdale. His belief was that the loss of one of their most important cities would knock Ballaeter out of the war, isolating the Saxoners and forcing them to make peace also.

For the commander of the Imperial First Corps, the Viscount Eldham, Lynwood's plan was sound but he did not appreciate his commander's hopes to avoid battle. Sent along a different road to Second and Third Corps, Lord Eldham purposely failed to keep pace with the main body of the army, in the hopes that Saxoner or Ballaetan forces would engage him. A young general and a glory-seeker, Eldham sought to prove himself for higher command by proving himself as a field commander.

The city of Stockdorf was home to not only an important military arsenal but also home to the Freiherr von Larrenwald's Army of East Saxondale. The Army of East Saxondale was the primary Saxoner field army following the defeat of the Duke of Saxondale's own army at the Battle of Stowford. When it became clear that Lord Lynwood did not plan to attack Stockdorf but rather cross the border, the Freiherr sallied out of Stockdorf, hoping to cut Lynwood's route of advance. Though too late to prevent Lynwood reaching Market Lundy, the Army of East Saxondale was able to manouvre into the path of Lord Eldham's corps and force them to fight outside the town of Stifforest.

Opposing Armies

Saxondale

The Saxoner force at Stifforest was the Army of East Saxondale, commanded by General Freiherr Felix von der Larrenwald. It consisted of 32,000 men and 36 cannon. These were organised in three batteries of artillery, forty squadrons of cavalry and sixty-four battalions of infantry. Most Saxoner troops wore white uniforms and carried the 1834 Stockdorf Model Rifle-Musket.

Saxoner cavalry was generally of inferior quality to the Imperial cavalry but was far superior in numbers: Von der Larrenwald commanded forty squadrons of horse, fielding a total of six-thousand cavalry. The Saxondale Institute of War produced some of the finest officers of the war and, at least during the early campaigns of the conflict, the Saxoner armies were some of the best led. Saxoner battalions were much smaller and more wieldy than their Imperial counterparts, numbering between 300 and 400 men each. As a result, Von der Larrenwald commanded around 23,000 infantry at Stifforrest.

The Army of East Saxondale was broken down into divisions as follows:

Vionna-Frankenlisch

The Imperial force at Stifforest was the First Corps of the Imperial Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Edward Fawkes, the Viscount Eldham. It consisted of 44,000 men and 44 cannon (although only 20 were deployed). These were organised in two batteries of artillery, twelve squadrons of cavalry and eighteen battalions of infantry. Imperial infantry wore red uniforms and carried the Continental Pattern 1844 Rifle.

In contrast to the six-thousand Saxoner cavalry, the Light Cavalry Division posessed only twelve squadrons for a total of twenty-five-hundred sabres.

Imperial battalions numbered 1000 men at this point in history and Lord Eldham commanded eighteen plus additional regimental troops, though this amounted to more infantry than the Saxoner army posessed with a total of around 24,000 men. The Imperial Army deployed twenty guns at Stifforest, eight 8pdr cannons of the Light Division's horse artillery and twelve 6pdr guns of the First Infantry Division. The twenty-four guns of the other two infantry divisions were not deployed as they were stuck at the rear of First Corps' supply train. Imperial infantry divisions also had significant divisional troops attached, including artillery and supply trains, causing Imperial corps to be even stronger in numbers.

First Corps was broken down into divisions as follows:

Battle

Deployment

The route of Lord Eldham's advance followed a road which bisected the town of Stifforest, a market settlement on the fringes of the great Larrenwald forest with a population of about twenty-five thousand. Stifforest was an important hub for both the agriculture of north-east Saxondale and the forestry industry of the Larrenwald. At the time, the town was in the midst of an economic boom and the local government had invested heavily in its defences. Unfortunately for the Saxoners, the construction efforts were only half finished and the formidable planned defences would not provide any hinderance for some time. The Freiherr von der Larrenwald thus made the decision to draw up to the south of Stifforest and offer battle on the open field. Without time to entrench, Von der Larrenwald deployed his batteries in open field with twelve sixteen pounders in three batteries (left, right, and centre). The Army of East Saxondale posessed howitzers bought from Vionna-Frankenlisch before the war but they were not deployed, the Saxoners had limited stocks of ammunition and did not want to waste what few shells they had. Von der Larrenwald's cavalry was divided equally between his two flanks, kept behind the infantry line.

Lord Eldham himself rode at the head of his corps with his staff. Only a single squadron of dragoons were further forward than the general, their job was simply to keep the road clear and keep an eye out for signs of the enemy. A significant reconaissance force had not been set aside by Lord Eldham as he believed it would harm his chances of bringing his corps into action. Nonetheless, the Saxoner army was strung out in line and deployed batteries in open farmland. The Imperial dragoons could not help but notice their presence long before the arrival of the rest of First Corps. Once Lord Eldham had been made aware, he deployed the entirety of his cavalry in front of the rest of the corps to screen his deployment. First Corps' division of cavalry was the Light Division which was made up of two regiments of dragoons, one of hussars and one of lancers.

The Light Cavalry Division came under heavy artillery fire as it deployed to the fore of the Imperial army but did not sustain heavy casualties. Its own horse artillery battery deployed to provide counterbattery and succeeded in unseating several guns of the Saxoner central battery. Saxoner artillerymen, though skilled, had underestimated the range of the Imperial cavalry and their solid shot failed to bounce, possibly due to soft ground. Under the command of General Sir John Mowett-Tallard, the Light Division manouvred excellently to the rear of the army once it had been deployed behind them. Lord Eldham's infantry was deployed in solid blocks of five ranks thick. Due to how large Imperial battalions had become, the old doctrine of fighting in thin lines was no longer practicable and Imperial armies now fought in a similar fashion to many of the other continental powers. To the front was the Imperial First Division and two brigades of the Second Division while the spare brigade (consisting of the 7th and 8th of Foot) and the Third Division were kept back in reserve.

Opening Moves

The Freiherr von der Larrenwald planned a mostly defensive battle, hoping that he could exhaust the Imperial strength against his lines. Von der Larrenwald correctly estimated the Imperial force as larger than his but could not identify what portion of the Imperial Army he was facing, even with the many standards flown by Lord Eldham's corps. Based on the incorrect assumptions of his staff, the Freiherr sent messengers to Stockdorf, the City of Saxondale, and the Duke with word that he was facing seven Imperial divisions instead of the four that were actually present. In spite of this overestimation of his enemy, the Freiherr was reportedly confident that he could hold his position until nightfall. The overall plan of the Saxoner generals seems to have been to stand fast and repulse Imperial attacks until they could entrench themselves under cover of darkness.

Lord Eldham resolved to attack quickly with skirmishers and then run over the Saxoner lines once they were disorganised. Though he lamented his lack of artillery, he showed flexibility in planning positively in spite of it. Ever since the Wars of King Lawrence of the 1760s, the armies of the various Vionna-Frankenlischian states had shown a trend towards the maintainence of large arsenals of artillery. Though the foundries of Gestoria, Frankenlisch and Teutonberg provided Vionna-Frankenlisch with some of the finest artillery pieces in the world, lack of funds prevented the old militias from obtaining such pieces and they could not be produced quick enough to equip the new Imperial Army to the standard wished by its commanders. For an army to enter battle so unencumbered by cannon and howitzers was a rarity but, to Eldham's credit, he adapted as well as he could.

While the deployed Imperial guns fought a losing duel with the Saxoner batteries, skirmishers detached from the Imperial front line and advanced swiftly towards the Saxoner lines. Concealed by high crops, Imperial light troops swept through the farmland that seperated the two armies and began their harassment. Firing from behind low walls, fences and from the cropfields, Imperial skirmishers swept the Saxoner front line, killing many officers and suppressing their batteries to even the odds in the ongoing artillery duel. Von der Larrenwald galloped forward, leaving his staff behind, to shore up the damage in his line, encourage his men, and get a grasp on the sudden change in the situation.

Attack on the Saxoner right

It did not take long for the harassment to end when Saxoner cavalry arrived to threaten the Imperial skirmishers into retiring. The action lasted only half an hour but the damage done to Saxoner cohesion and morale was irreparable. Keen to capitalise on the situation, the Countess of Caerayereth obtained permission to lead her division (First Infantry) into the attack against the Saxoner right flank, which she was opposite. The First Division stepped off to the sound of massed bands and quickly found itself under the fire of the enemy batteries. Imperial artillery tried valiantly to suppress this bombardment but was incapable of making much progress. Lady Caerayereth's advance was bolstered by the Light Cavalry Division and met with heavy resistance as they closed with the Saxoner right flank. Withering rifle fire tore the Larkinge Fusiliers to rags and the Colonel of the 5th (Duke of Glynmoran's) was killed by the first volley of the engagement. Both sides were strong in musketry and armies of the period had learned not to stand and trade fire as every volley had the potential to be devastating. The 5th Foot was routed by gunfire as the Third Brigade charged to close with Infantry Division 5 which was the furthest right of the Saxoner divions. The Imperial First Brigade swung about to form a right angle with the Second Brigade and poured massed volleys into the Saxoner flank, killing General Bauschinger of Infantry Division 5.

Led by Sir John Mowett-Tallard, the son of a prominent Gallandic immigrant, the Light Cavalry Brigade advanced quickly past the fighting and set its sights on the Ritter von Bolt's Cavalry Division 2. Sebastian von Bolt and his officers had been prodding the division into an ordered formation, intent on throwing back the Imperial infantry before Infantry Division 5 was overrun entirely. Mowett-Tallard had been ordered by Eldham to support the First Division as closely as he could (suggesting an attack to the rear of the Saxoner flank) but he decided that duty demanded he destroy the clear target before him. Leading with his staff, Mowett-Tallard spurred his division into the attack against the Ritter von Bolt's cavalry. The Light Cavalry Division attacked in a diamond of regiments: Hamilton's Lancers leading, followed by the Royal Lopenland Hussars and the Royal Highland Light Dragoons, with the Earl of Londinium's Light Dragoons to the rear.

Spearheaded by the lancers, the Light Cavalry Division carved into the Ritter von Bolt's division while it was still manouvering to counter-charge. Von Bolt was killed instantly, pulled from his saddle with a lance between his ribs. The leading two regiments of Cavalry Division 2 were torn to shreds and one squadron was wiped out by the force of the charge. Mowett-Tallard's cavalry swept through the Saxoner cavalry from back to front with a loss of forty-two killed and eighty wounded. In ten minutes of vicious, one-sided melee, Cavalry Division 2 lost its commander and four-hundred men. The Saxoner cavalry were thrown back in chaos with most of their officers killed. Mowett-Tallard, unable to control his excited men and horses was swept up with them as they crashed into the rear of the main Saxoner infantry line.

General Assault

To the sound of bands and under the fluttering of many banners, Lord Eldham gave the signal for the Second Division to advance against the Saxoner center and break the Freiherr's army in two. His trumpeter sounded the recall for the Light Cavalry Division but Sir Mowett-Tallard and his men failed to respond and instead carved through Infantry Division 4 of the Saxoner right flank. Taken by surprise as they were engaged from the front by the Third Brigade of the Imperial First Division, the 38th and 41st Regiments of the Saxoner army were swept aside. The shock of the charge gave the Light Cavalry Division the momentum to ride straight through the division and finally answer Lord Eldham's recall, their blown horses continuing to canter until the Second Division had caught up with them. The Imperial infantry parted to allow the cavalry to pass to the rear.

The Freiherr von der Larrenwald panicked. His left flank was being torn to pieces and was in danger of being rolled up, the Ritter von Bolt's division had fled the field, and there was a gaping hole in his center. With the support of his staff, made up of mostly fresh graduates of the Saxondale Institute of War, he threw himself anxiously into solving the situation. His first move was to fix the gap made by the mauling of Infantry Division 4, which had lost six-hundred men. Karl Morwitz' Cavalry Division 1 moved to plug the hole in the line. Some of the men dismounted to fire with their carbines. To the left of this position was the fresh troops of Infantry Divisions 1 and 2, commanded by the Count von Kiesel, and the Ritter von Lehman-Strohm, respectively. Von Kiesel was commanded to lead these two divisions into the attack, advancing in a sweeping motion to catch the Imperial Second Division in the flank as it came towards the Saxoner center.

With Sir Lawrence Cartwright at its head, the Second Division moved forward unmolested. Two of the Freiherr's large batteries had been silenced by the fighting and the third was distracted by a fire caused by a burst gun barrel. The men of Lord Lillimanfield's Fifth Brigade closed up their lines into thick blocks as Morwitz' cavalry division moved forward into the Saxoner line. As the midway point between the two armies was crossed, Cartwright's division came under a sudden withering fire from the right. Moving quickly, the Count von Kiesel's two divisions had come up unexpectedly on the flank of the Imperial advance after crossing through some dead ground in a wide drainage channel. Out of formation due to the march through the channel and tired from moving quickly, the Saxoner volley was ragged and, though at close range, many shots failed to hit their mark. Still, the Imperial Sixth Brigade was shredded and its commander, Sir Wylis Hardcastle, was shot from the saddle.

Taken thoroughly by surprise, the Imperial advance halted in confusion and gave a half-hearted volley of return fire. Von Kiesel reformed his ranks and a gunfight developed. Realising that the more numerous Imperial troops would eventually overwhelm him, Von Kiesel sent an officer to the Freiherr, suggesting in strong terms that he order the withdrawal. Though Von der Larrenwald was confident he could salvage the situation, the urgency of Von Kiesel's wording and the loss of so much of the Saxoner cavalry convinced the Freiherr that continuing to fight at Stifforest was not to his advantage. Once the Saxoner artillery had begun to limber up, the Freiherr gave the order to begin a general retreat.

Saxoner Retreat

The immediate concern to the Saxoners was the collapse of their right flank. With the Ritter von Bolt's cavalry fled, there was nothing to cover a withdrawal in the face of the Countess of Caerayereth's spirited attack. The artillery was being carried away, following behind the baggage train (which had already began to leave when the battle was only in its early stages). A single wide highway heading through the middle of Stifforest and winding north through the Larrenwald was the only route of escape and the army was required to make a strong stand to give the army's artillery and auxiliary staff a headstart. Von der Larrenwald rode across to rally his wavering right in person, losing several of his staff officers in the process.

On arrival, the Freiherr found that the situation on his right was not quite as dire as first suspected. The arrival of Cavalry Division 1 had frightened the Imperial troops back, whose own cavalry was back in the reserves with exhausted horses and troopers. Imperial Third Brigade had mauled Infantry Division 5 in close combat but the remaining 1,500 men of that division had rallied and fought off the attack, led by a company of grenadiers from Stockdorf. Without cavalry or artillery support, Countess Lavinia would not risk her First Division in further attacks, especially as they had already lost a thousand men in heavy fighting. This had been communicated to Lord Eldham and the galloper guns of the Light Cavalry Division were ordered up. Von der Larrenwald knew that it would be only a matter of time before the attacks began again and he drew his right flank back to buy more time and shorten the line. The very end of his line was now anchored against an half-built bastion of Stifforest's unfinished defences, preventing a flanking action.

By now, the fighting on the left had been going on for around forty-five minutes and about six-hundred casualties had been taken between the two sides. Sir Lawrence Cartwright had also sent to Lord Eldham for support but it was not forthcoming. Keeping up a constant fire, the Count von Kiesel's two divisions were steadily edging backwards and were close to leaving the effective range of the Imperial rifles. Suspecting another trap, Cartwright dithered in ordering a pursuit. For thirty minutes, the Second Division sat where it was and watched two divisions of Saxoner infantry peel back to rejoin the main line. It took a furious written order from Eldham for Cartwright to continue the advance. Even then, with his staff pleading around him, Eldham refused to send forward the Third Division. Sir John Mowett-Tallard even offered to dismount his cavalrymen and lead them forward as infantry. This offer was declined, and Lord Eldham ordered the Light Cavalry Division back into the reserve.

With the threat of the Imperial cavalry unceremoniously receeded, it having been witnessed moving behind the lines by one of the Freiherr's staff officers, the Saxoner withdrawal could begin in earnest. Sir Lawrence Cartwright's division had continued to advance but the Saxoner troops he was moving against had widened the distance already and were retreating further still, mostly in good order. The Count von Kiesel had drawn his two divisions back to their original positions and they were rotated into the centre as the badly reduced Infantry Division 4 began to withdraw into the town to begin the retreat north.

Aftermath

Saxoner Withdrawal

With the majority of the Saxoner artillery and baggage train already leaving Stifforest and heading north, the Saxoner infantry began its withdrawal in earnest. The Ritter von Bolt's Cavalry Division 2 had been more than decimated and joined the withdrawal, playing no part in the rearguard action. Wilhelm Stransky's Infantry Division 6, which had survived the battle almost entirely unharmed, remained at the southern threshold of Stifforest to hold up the Imperial pursuit, along with a single cannon and a few dismounted squadrons of General Morwitz' Cavalry Division 1. Notably the two squadrons of Colonel Klemmin's 5th Dragoon Regiment fought ferociously, first as skirmishers and then as part of Stransky's line of infantry. Two frontal attacks by elements of the Imperial 6th Brigade (of Cartwright's Second Division) were repulsed and the remainder of the Saxoner army escaped while Imperial forces were still reorganising. The remaining Saxoner cannon were blown up by engineers and several buildings on the southern edge of the town were set ablaze, although local civilians were soon able to extinguish the fires. With Mowett-Tallard's cavalry recovering from their ordeal at the rear of the Imperial force, the pursuit was called off.

Casualties

Imperial forces gained a decisive victory but sustained a higher number of casualties than Saxoner forces. This is mainly down to the heavy casualties sustained by the frontal attacks made by Imperial infantry, especially the First Division, and due to the organised and swift nature of the Saxoner withdrawal which took few casualties.

Amongst the Saxoner forces, the recorded casualty figures were 1,061 killed or missing, and 302 wounded who were able to be evacuated during the withdrawal. Additionally, roughly 800 wounded (Imperial reports state 984) were captured after they were abandoned on the field. The Ritter von Bolt's Cavalry Division 2 was completely ragged; having lost its commander, 19 officers (including two regimental commanders), 451 troopers and NCOs, and four standards (three regimental colours and the divisional standard). Cavalry Division 2 returned to Stockdorf for replacements and did not see action for the rest of 1851. Infantry Divisions 4 and 5 had also been mauled; with Infantry Division 4 losing 600 officers and men and 3 standards, and Infantry Division 5 losing its commander (Benedict Bauschinger) along with 400 officers and men. The rest of the Saxoner army remained mostly intact - Infantry Divisions 1 and 2 lost about 350 troops between them, and a further 300 casualties were sustained by Infantry Division 6 and Cavalry Division 1 which covered the withdrawal of the main body of the army. Only one cannon was lost, an 8-pounder, which was exploded by engineers to avoid capture. Infantry Division 7 was held in reserve and did not record a single loss. Modern research based on both Saxoner and Imperial records reached a conclusive figure of 1,692 killed and wounded, and 1,001 captured. 12 standards (mostly regimental colours) were also captured. 9 cannons were also too damaged to be used again.

Imperial forces suffered a total of 3,283 killed and wounded. A small group of dishorsed cavalry were also taken prisoner when they ended up behind Saxoner lines, this group numbered no more than twenty. The most significant casualty figures came from the First Division, which were involved in the majority of the fighting, numbering 1,432 killed and wounded. In particular, the Second Brigade of Imperial infantry took very heavy losses; 31 officers (including two colonels) and 561 other ranks were killed or wounded from a total of roughly 3,000 troops. By the time the Second Division had come into action, the Saxoner line was already deeply disorganised and the only severe losses were those suffered by the Sixth Brigade. Sir Wylis Hardcastle's Sixth Brigade lost 712 killed and wounded (almost a quarter), including Hardcastle himself who died of his wounds following the battle. Imperial Third Division took nearly no part in the battle and sustained only twenty losses. Mowett-Tallard's Light Cavalry Brigade suffered 50 killed, 101 wounded, and between 10 and 20 captured.

Further Moves

Following their victory, Imperial forces entrenched themselves in Stifforest and remained there for two days to recover from the battle. Upon hearing that Lord Eldham was encamped at Stifforest and not pursuing the Army of East Saxondale, Lord Lynwood sent a furious message berating Lord Eldham for taking such heavy casualties and allowing the Saxoners to escape without pursuit. Eldham was dismayed until a second message arrived the following day on a more conciliatory note - apologising for the tone of the previous message and thanking the officers of I Corps for their efforts, it also carried the order for Eldham to continue his advance across eastern Saxondale and to cross the Ballaetan frontier. The plan was for I Corps to join with the rest of the Imperial Army which had already reached Market Lundy, a march of about three days, and then for the combined force to place the fortress city of Tevetdale under siege - the last obstacle between the Imperial Army and the heartlands of Ballaeter. Under these orders Eldham marched I Corps out of Stifforest on 18th July, four days after the battle, and marched north.

Saxoner forces retreated north in a 14 hour forced march which saw many men fall away with exhaustion or desert. Many wounded who may have lived had they stopped for attention died on the tiring retreat. The gruelling march meant, however, that the Saxoners were beyond the River Clausach and entrenching their camp long before Imperial forces had left Stifforest, giving several crucial days for the Freiherr von der Larrenwald to receive supplies and to rest his exhausted troops. Rather than retreat further, von der Larrenwald remained in camp on the north bank of the Clausach and hoped to cut Eldham off from Lynwood. The armies met again on 20th July at the Battle of Warner's Stream.

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