Austerlitz 2005 !

[Nicola]

Last weekend OSG Europe was at Austerlitz, Bohemia, for the renactement of the Battle of three Emperors.

It was a great experience, one we will never forget.
The weather was frost and the terrain covered with snow.
More than 3,500 figures were present and some 30,000 spectators.
The battlefield was under the famous Santon Hill.
The battle lasted about two hours, with combat movement before and after the battle.
What stroke me most was walking into the Russian camp, or queuing up with the Old Guard for food, taking picture of all them at 2m distance: we were in the past!

We have taken a movie and some dozens of pictures.
I will post the best of them on the OSG site, as soon as they are developed.

Nicola, "Veteran Grognard"
Italy

[cdt luppo]

hi !

i saw the event on the tv : very nice !!

unfortunately i wasn 't able to launch a SOA...

at the club we launched a tactical Austerlitz : cf the picture on CSW :

http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?233@131.qGcfb9LWB2R.625072@.ee6d8da/1044!enclosure=.1dd0deee

[Nicola]

This picture clearly states one crucial moment of the battle (as far as I can see):
the French taking the Allied center on the Pratzen hill, while resisting on their right. The Allied side is separated in two parts and this marks the beginning of their defeat.

Btw: I like "Austerlitz" from GMT (more than CoA tactical series games)

Nicola

[cdt luppo]

hi nicola !

yes : you are right : THE TIME IS (! ; )) : 9H20 : we are' going to play the 9H40 turn : wrong application of road collumn rule + bad rolls & not optimized placement/movement of of buxhowdenon the 2nd turn : all this lead me to a not very good opening of the battle...

...ie : the march towards telnitz &b sokolnitz etc...was not very fast !!!

and my res cav korps had been crushed by the french in 2 turns...

the russian IG is still not "activated" : bad rolls with alexander !
but bagration and konstatine are still ok at this time ; )

you have understood we play the historical scenario....

BONUS : follow this link to a movie : enjoy !

http://www.1805-film.com/e107_plugins/custompages/videos.php (http://www.1805-film.com/e107_plugins/custompages/videos.php)

[kzucker]

I am glad to see so great an interest in the battle after 200 years. To report a little bit on the event I attended, it was in Lancaster, PA and there were about 30,000 figures involved. They played Carnage & Glory with the designer Nigel runnning the center of the battlefield. www.jodiecon.com

Seminar presenters included Jim Birdseye, Bill Gray, and several others.

I presented three seminars: the first was an outline history of the campaign leading from Ulm to Austerlitz; the second focused upon the battles of Hollabrünn (or Schöngraben), and Dürrenstein; lastly, we had a round-table discussion on "Scenario Design" for miniatures battles.

The attachments include some of the handouts I prepared for the seminars.

[Nicola]

Wow Kevin, 30,000 figures are really a big deal ! You in US have the passion and the numbers, we in Europe have the land and the history.
Together we keep alive our collective memory.
Memory is the root of our identities.
Only by memory we can build up our future: this is the lesson from Austerlitz.

Nicola

[kzucker]

Nicola, I think that the study of history can help us to understand more about these questions: Where have we come from, where are we now, and where are we going?

[kzucker]

Frédéric Bey gave this interview on 2 December for Radio France to discuss the battle and also promote his new book on the campaign.

http://www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/france-inter01/emissions/histoire/fiche.php?did=38361

[Forrest Atterberry]

Austerlitz reinactment- actual battlefield photos. Superb!
http://www.poniatowski.org.pl/galeria/thumbnails.php?album=78