Four Lost Battles
Covers the Autumn Campaign, August-September, 1813. Update of the 2005 edition, with new maps.
UNIVERSAL CARD DECK NOT INCLUDED
This game uses the Universal Card Deck included in Napoleon's Wheel. Available separately . (Use of the Cards is optional.)
battles simulated
Grossbeeren
To the Gates of Berlin, 23 August
The battle of Grossbeeren was a meeting engagement in which the two forces were ignorant of their mutual presence in the area. Grossbeeren is a double battle, with little possibility of interaction between troops that fought in Blankenfeld because of swamps. Oudinot took a risk in separating his three corps on parallel routes as was customary when marching through open country. The IV Corps on the right, held-up as they emerged from the woods, were unable to assist VII Corps at Grossbeeren in the center; while Oudinot, on the left, tended to his own corps, considerably strung out after a long Forced March on the 22nd—instead of coordinating the battle.
Katzbach
A Perilous Passage, 26 August
The battle of the Katzbach on August 26th 1813 was another meeting engagement; neither commander expected to find his opponent in the area. Cavalry dominated the battlefield as muskets would not discharge in the rain.
Image: Battle of the Katzbach by Eduard Kaempffer.
Kulm
Enfilade in the Mountains, 29-30 August
After the Battle of Dresden on 26-27 August, several French Corps began the pursuit of the defeated Coalition Army through the mountain passes leading back into Austrian territory. Vandamme’s Corps, with two divisions of the best-trained conscripts of 1813, fought several rearguard actions with Ostermann’s Russians, and expected this battle to be no different. The Emperor had already heard rumors of Macdonald’s disaster on the Katzbach. With the possibility of having to defend his great depot of Dresden against an advance by both Bernadotte and Blücher, his hopes of being able to pursue far into Bohemia were vanishing.
Image: Painting by Alexander Kotzebue
Dennewitz
Collapse in the North, 6 September
Marshal Ney’s Army of Berlin set out from Wittenberg on September 5th, side-stepping Bernadotte’s main body and driving Tauenzien’s IV Corps toward Seyda. That night they camped just off-map to the south, unaware that coalition forces were five miles away.
Image: Painting by Alexander Wetterling, 1842
GAME COMPONENTS
Four Lost Battles
Each game includes:
Game Box
4 Maps 22"x17"
Counter Sheets (560 die-cut player pieces)
2 Booklets (System Rules and Study Folder)
18 Player Aid Cards (TRC x4, Initial Set-up x8, Casualty, Combat Results, Reorganization, Weather, Fog of War Card Instructions x2)
5 Resource Cards (Adding the Cards Folder, Combat Tables Folder, Orders Slip Sheet/Sequence of Play, Victory Worksheet, Cards Removed from Deck/Scenario Parameters)
NOT INCLUDED: Card Decks
This game uses the two TLNB Universal Card Decks (French and Coalition). If you do not have them in another OSG game, they can be ordered separately.
Visit our Game Components section for details
PLAYER RESOURCES
CLICK PDF FILE TO DOWNLOAD
• Fog of War Cards
• Four Lost Battles Update 5.16.22
• Four Lost Battles Study 3.55
• Grossbeeren French Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Grossbeeren Coalition Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Katzbach French Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Katzbach Coalition Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Katzbach DoB French Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Katzbach DoB Coalition Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Kulm French Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Kulm Coalition Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Dennewitz French Setup Sheet, v1.01
• Dennewitz Coalition Setup Sheet, v1.01