The Kingdom Torn Apart review.

 

The Kingdom Torn Apart: The Finnish War of 1808–1809 by Erik Hornborg, translated by Erik Faithfull, is number 161 in Helion’s From Reason to Revolution 1721–1815 series. I have a real soft spot for neglected history, and conflicts do not come much more overlooked than the Finnish War of 1808–1809. This new English translation is a genuine treat for readers who like their Napoleonic history far from the familiar theatres of Spain or Central Europe. Hornborg takes us into the frozen north and shows that this is far more than a minor sideshow: it is the story of how the Swedish Empire stumbled badly and lost its eastern buffer, Finland, to Russia.

It is gritty, compelling material. After a strong introduction setting out the road to war, Hornborg leads the reader through retreats in waist-deep snow, desperate rearguard actions, and the stubborn resilience of Finnish soldiers who were badly let down by decision-makers in Stockholm. He also examines the organisation, training, troop quality, and tactical doctrines of both armies in useful detail. Then there is the surrender of Sveaborg: the strongest fortress in the North simply capitulating. Hornborg explores the how and why of that collapse with real analytical force and a strong sense of tragedy.

Why give it shelf space? Helion has produced the book to a very high standard. The translation reads smoothly, without the stiffness that can sometimes blunt the impact of older military histories. The maps are especially helpful, making it much easier to track regiments through what can be a confusing and fragmented campaign. The volume is also generously illustrated, with colour and black-and-white images of key figures, Finnish uniforms, reconstructed galleys, and present-day battlefield photographs with troop movements overlaid. Several appendices add real value, particularly the material on Finnish troop strength at the outbreak of war and the Sveaborg garrison. Above all, the book offers a forensic account of how a 600-year-old kingdom unravelled in just eighteen months.

This is an excellent read for anyone who wants to step outside the usual Waterloo-centric bubble. As a wargamer I can see a massive amount of potential for this campaign; indeed readers of this blog will be aware of my collection of miniatures for this war and the games played. The overall storey is a bleak one, albeit fascinating, and highly informative, while also explaining why the map of Scandinavia looks the way it does today.

ISBN: 978-1-804519-86-8 267 pages Paperback

French Invasion of Sweden (as it might have happened): Battle for Skane #2

Part two of last week’s venture into Southern Sweden saw the French and their allies launch another attack on the Anglo-Swedish forces blocking the road to Malmo.  The latter had withdrawn to a new position a few miles behind the first battlefield and were reinforced by another brigade of Swedish infantry, a cavalry regiment and another English battalion. The French did not pursue actively due to the bloody nose they had received, but waited for reinforcements in the shape of the Danish infantry and cavalry brigades. On their arrival the army advanced towards the Anglo-Swedish position in some force. 

For this game John, Nigel and Richard were the ‘French’ while Paul, Jim and I were the Swedes and British. I decided to give Valour and Fortitude another run out as they were quick and would enable us to get through a pretty large game with well over 30 units a side in seven or eight brigades each.

The game proved to be an exciting bloodbath. Richard’s Spanish made slow progress against the Swedish left, although their cavalry did ride down a battery of guns and force Jim’s infantry into square for much of the game. On the Swedish right, I led two cavalry brigades against the entire Danish division. My main focus was on defeating Nigel's cavalry brigade, but they proved to be a tough nut to crack; by the end of the game, despite losing their hussar regiment, they’d passed every Valour and Fortitude test thrown at them. My heavy cavalry did manage to catch a Danish infantry battalion in line and destroyed it. However the rules do not allow for any post-melee movement so I was picked off and shaken by Danish artillery and musketry and was forced to retire shaken. In the centre John pushed his veteran infantry forward, supported by artillery and cavalry. Again, despite loosing several units the assault punched a massive hol in our centre.  Meanwhile the English did a great job fighting to the last Swede as usual! Here are some photos which give some idea of how the game developed.

The battlefield.

Spanish cavalry.

The Spanish advanced to occupy the village.

A charge by the Spanish cavalry overran the Swedish artillery.

The Swedes, minus their artillery are now deployed into square.

The French advance in the centre. Splendid looking!

Paul and Jim reorganised the line to face the French columns.

The Swedish left.

The Unenthusiastic Spanish made heavy going of their attack.

One of many furious cavalry melees on our right wing.

Danish riflemen. They were annoying!

French light cavalry emerging from the woods where they had lain unseen yet in plain view for several turns.

Spaniards again.

Nigel’s Danish dragoons charged my battery. Amazingly and against the odds the cavalry were beaten off.

Swedish cavalry catch a Danish battalion in line and break it.

The French attack in the centre was building up.

Yet more cavalry action from our right.

The French edge closer.

Swedish jäger slow down the enemy advance. 

More of the French attack; a second brigade tries to drive a wedge between the Swedes and English. They destroyed a grenadier battalion and charged a Guards battalion in the flank, destroying it.

In one last throw of the dice Paul counterattacked, supported by a few Royal Marines landed from the fleet.

So there it ended. The French had their victory, which they managed almost all on their own. Richard’s Spanish made no headway on their right and Nigel’s Danes couldn’t move until the Swedish cavalry had been disposed of, which never happened.

It was a very enjoyable game, and the rules were fine, but while we got a result it wasn’t very satisfying. Several players commented that they preferred General d’Armee which suits me fine for next time, which will be in September. We may even try the same scenario but with GdA.

French Invasion of Sweden 1808 (as it might have happened): Two Battles for Skane#1

Two games this week. John came over mid week to play a game trying out Valour and Fortitude for a change instead of Gen d’Armee 2. The latter are my preferred set but sometimes I need simplicity.

As I’ve no doubt mentioned on numerous occasions, the French had plans to invade Sweden, the  Britain’s only ally on the Continent. The French Army of Denmark contained two divisions of French, two of Spanish, one from the Kingdom of Holland and most of the Danish army. The Swedes were busy defending Finland from the Russians but still had a reasonably-sized army to defend Sweden, in theory aided by a British expeditionary force under Sir John Moore that the mad Swedish king refused permission to disembark. The practical issues around staging an invasion were stacked against any real invasion taking place but the chance to field such an eclectic mix of troops overrides any such considerations. So here we go. I plan to run a series of linked games in a sort of snakes and ladders approach, each game dependent on the outcome of the previous one, with a few random events. More of those mechanics in another post.

The French have crossed the narrow stretch of water and put ashore a division of Spanish and a division of French. The Swedes, supported by a small brigade of British/KGL are drawn up across the road inland poised to throw the defenders into the sea. Here are a few photos of the game.

The battlefield. 

The Spanish in the French centre. 

Two brigades of French on their left.

Spanish cavalry on the extreme right.

The Swedes attack.

One of the two Swedish cavalry brigades, facing the Spanish cavalry.

Romana’s Spanish on the French right.

Swedish amd Spanish cavalry in combat.

The Spanish Villavicosa Dragoons are about to be defeated.

More Swedish cavalry in the centre.

The main French thrust was up the road

Meanwhile the Spanish infantry quite liked staying where they were.

The French cavalry brigade attacked the Swedish dragoons in the centre.

It didn’t go well for the French. Their Chasseurs were defeated.

With no cavalry left the Spanish were left exposed. One battalion was caught in line and destroyed while the others were able to form square.

Spanish musketry was ineffective, as the dice above show!

Over on the left the French hit the English brigade, who failed to stop their charge.

One battalion of French were defeated in melee.

But next turn one English battalion was broken.

Followed next turn by another. The English brigade passed all their Fortitude tests.

The aNow rallied French hussars caught a Swedish battalion in line and destroyed them. They then had to stand for a full turn while the Swedes shot them to pieces causing them to rout. This is an issue I have with the rules as there is no provision for rallying back or indeed carrying on forward. 

The French advance down the road is a slow one.

The centre, with Swedish infantry threatening the flank of the French attack up the road.

The French hussars have had enough…..

…as indeed have the French infantry on the extreme left.

This was clearly a Swedish victory, but not a decisive one. V and F worked ok; they’re very brutal and bloody and not necessarily well thought out, not particularly well written, and the main driver seems to have been to get them onto four sides of A4 paper. (More precise use of English could have saved them some space). That said, they do what it says on the tin, and they can, and in this case certainly did, provide the basis for a good game where the end result was up in the air until the last turn. A fun game, not wholly satisfying from a historical point of view perhaps, but we got to push lots of colourful soldiers around the tabletop and got a result in just over three hours. 

Next time, more players and more soldiers.