Battle of Pescara 19 February 1806 (July 2014)
Battle of Pescara
This is the third battle in our Neapolitan 1806 Campaign.
The Franco-Italian III Corps attacked the Russo-Neapolitan positions at Pescara near the mouth of the Pescara River.
The Allied position extended to the left till the village of Cheti.
The Russian 1st Division with an attached Dragoon brigade was positioned on the left flank while the centre was held by the Neapolitan 5th Division and the right flank and the town of Pescara was held by the 6th Neapolitan Division and the Neapolitan 2nd Cavalry Division.
The Neapolitans had created a brigade of elite Grenadiers as did the French.
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| The Allied Left Flank. He we see the Russian musketeer brigade and half of the Dragoon brigade |
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| More of the Russian position with two 12pdr batteries and Grenadiers on the hill with the Jager Brigade in front and the other half of the Dragoons behind the artillery |
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| Here is the start of the Allied centre with the 5th Neapolitan Division, some distance back from the river |
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| More of the Neapolitan centre position |
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| Here is the start of the Allied right with the 6th Neapolitan Division with one of the cavalry brigades and some of the Grenadiers |
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| The rest of the Allied right and Pescara, Neapolitan artillery forward |
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| The French Left flank opposite Pescara |
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| Part of the Franco-Italian centre |
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| Rest of the France-Italian centre |
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| More of the French centre |
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| This is the French right |
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| The Russian division |
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| Some of the French right |
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| Rest of the French right with Italian infantry and French heavy cavalry |
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| The Russian held bridge into Cheti. A Russian Combined Grenadier Battalion in square awaiting a French cavalry charge, which never came. |
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| More of the Russian division watching the Franco-Italian advance |
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| A view of the Allied Centre. The general commanding had deployed back from the Pescara River unlike the the Right and Left |
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| The Neapolitans in and around Pescara. The Church is on fire, the French do not respect the Holy Mother |
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| The French on the right moving against the Russians |
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| The French heavy cavalry on the right, caution in their use was the word on the day |
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| French Grenadiers and Dragoons |
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| The Italian Division advances |
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| We see French troops have crossed the river in the centre |
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| The juncture between the French centre and right |
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| The mass of the Italian division advancing |
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| French in the centre pushing forward |
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| More of the french move forward, at this stage through heavy rain |
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| The French on the right moving through a rain storm, which slowed things up |
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| Neapolitan artillery and cavalry resisting the French advance |
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| This is the second line of the French advance in the centre |
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| meanwhile on the French right they were held all day on the far side of the river. Still the Russian commander made now move with his reserves to support the Allied centre |
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| A view of the fire fight on the Allied left |
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| French and Italian Grenadiers storm across the Pescara River pushing the Neapolitans back. |
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| Hard to see what is going on through the rain storm |
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| Italian Leger fighting it out with Russians |
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| The Neapolitans have formed square |
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| Italian Dragoons and French artillery |
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| The French pushing the Allied centre back |
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| Neapolitan heavy cavalry advance and force French Grenadiers into square |
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| The French elites continue to advance |
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| The Italians get into a fire fight |
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| A slow advance |
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| Russian Grenadiers move forward |
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| The Russians show no sign of giving up the bridge |
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| A Russian square to resist Italian Dragoons |
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| French Elites push on the Allied right can not be stopped |
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| The Pescara bridge was being placed under French control |
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| The French keep pouring across the river |
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| The Italian infantry lends it weight across the river |
Allied left Flank; French Right Flank- battle report
ReplyDeleteAs the day ended the belligerents were just coming to grips with one another. The Russians on the left of the allied line had had the best of the shooting - in spite of some lucky saving by the French , the 2 powerful Russian Batteries on the hill slowed the French advance and saw to it that the heavily outgunned French artillery were not able to get in close to those appetising Russian infantry columns ( apart from blowing the Italian dragoons to Kingdom come). However , the arm wrestle had just begun , with the French infantry closing in on the Russians for some good old fashioned close range shoot 'em up fun and hand to hand combat. The French had gotten the worst of this do far and it probably wasn't going to get much better for them with the Russians sitting behind the River with blocks of their annoyingly reliable infantry in reserve , apart from their excellent and abundant cavalry.
Still , it was not all gloom for the French. At the day's end there were still plenty of troops in good order on the right flank; and ( in spite of what the French may have dreamed) it was always unlikely that a breakthrough was ever going to be achieved on the right flank , which was far and away the strongest part of the allied line , both in it's fortress like aspect and the quality of it's troops ( the words of an English folk song from the Crimean war come to mind " to see the Russian warlike Crew/ the stoutest heart it would subdue"). The real issue on the French right was whether the Russians could be occupied and worn down until the French could carry the day against the much weaker Neapolitan troops on the allied right and centre. The great strength of the Russian position on the right is that it was relatively impervious to frontal assault . The great weakness was that the Russians were not in a position to assist their allies. Whether the Russian left would have seen off the French right in time to see to the balance of the French army; or whether they would have found themselves between the anvil of a ( weakening) French right flank and a victorious French centre is the really interesting question which remained at the end of the days fighting.
Thanks to all for a great day, as usual. If only we could somehow get about 3 or so more moves in it would be perfect - then our speculations would turn into probabilities or even certainties .
Michael