This Christmas my wife gave me a little gem of a gift from Dodo Press, 'The Battle of Dorking; Reminiscences of a Volunteer' written by George Chesney in 1871.
Full text here:
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0602091h.htmlThis marvellous little short story charts an alternate history following the Franco-Prussian War, when Britain hastily declared war on Prussia...
I finished the book on boxing day and immediately set about turning this into a wargame. I deceided on Baccus' Polemos FPW rules, and purchased a British and Prussian army from Pendraken Miniatures. This week we began what will likely be a 2-3 week battle at the club (
ahead of our long-planned 'Operation Sealion campaign).
And so, here's part 1 of the Battle Report for...
The Battle of Dorking 1871 (Reminiscences of a Volunteer)ObjectivesPanic was spreading out of Whitehall as the initial counterattack at Brighton was crushed. A hasty defence line was formed across the North Downs, and the British threw everything they had into the fray. Most brigades were filled with militia and untrained volunteers who only a week or two before were farmers and clerks. The Dorking Gap was a weak point in the defensive line, representing a vital road and rail junction through to London, however with most of the better formations committed to defending Guildford and Reigate, the line at Dorking was held by raw troops, bolstered by a single regular brigade of Scots Guards and a squadron of cavalry. Their only real strength was the artillery batteries from Winchester. With this rag-tag force they had a simple order; ‘hold Dorking and the ridge between Guildford and Reigate at all costs and for as long as possible’.
The Prussians were advancing north following their unopposed landings on the south coast. Initial British counter attacks at Brighton had been repelled easily and the fresh divisions were now heading towards London with all haste. Two main attacks were focussed on Guildford and Reigate, but between them the Prussian command had identified the town of Dorking as a key objective. It was a road and rail hum and the Dorking Gap represented the only easy route north across the North Downs ridge. Three divisions were dedicated to taking this town and given expressed orders to do with quickly and with minimum losses. Leatherhead and Epsom lay beyond and it was anticipated that these towns would also be defended. So the battleground was set…
DeploymentThe previous night had been chaotic for the British. The troops in Dorking had forcibly evacuated most of the civilians north by train and road. At the same time, troops had flooded in from all directions. Tired and thirsty, looting and violence had broken out in and around Dorking as discipline among the raw soldiers broke down. By 10am order had been restored and the three divisions had been deployed along the North Downs Ridge, with a sizable garrison in Dorking itself. At dawn a brigade of Scots Guards arrived from Guildford and hastily deployed into Dorking. More troops and reinforcements were expected to arrive shortly to bolster the thin red line defending the way through to London.
To the west of the town, the inexperienced troops followed the orders of their brigade commanders and deployed their artillery throughout the line. In Dorking itself and to the east, the artillery formed into powerful batteries.
The British commanders chose not to position troops in the forward position south on Leith Hill, ceding the ground to the Prussian skirmishers who were left to scout unhindered.
The British 'thin red line' to the east of Dorking on Box Hill
The strong point in Dorking
The line to the west between Dorking and Guildford
Meanwhile, the Prussians advanced steadily through the night, careful to conserve their strength. Forward skirmishers made it onto Leith Hill and were able to survey the chaos in the town overnight. They also marked the dispositions of the deploying British allowing their commanders to form their plan of attack. Unfortunately there was some confusion over the severity of the southern ridge terrain meaning some of the Prussian artillery was poorly deployed. A single division was dedicated to engage Dorking directly from the south, while two full divisions were focussed on an identified weak point in the British line for about a mile west of the town.
The main Prussian advance to the west of Leith Hill
The overall starting deployments...
The battle (morning)At 10am the battle began proper with the Prussians scaling the Leith Hill ridgeline en masse.
A single division was tasked with harassing Dorking from the south east, mainly to prevent the British redeploying, and to exploit any opportunities.
They advanced in good order, deployed their heavy artillery in range and proceeded to shell the British artillery in the south of the town, throwing them into disorder and bringing them to the point of breaking. Only desperate efforts from the local battery commanders prevented the British gunners from abandoning their positions and fleeing north..
Meanwhile two Prussian divisions fell over themselves in the desperate, chaotic struggle up the ridgeline. Once over and through the light woods on the gentle northern slope they found themselves walking into sporadic British artillery bombardments.
Command confusion reigned and the Prussians struggled to deploy their artillery to support the infantry who were now advancing across the road to attack on column up the main North Downs ridge. Only six of the available fourteen batteries set up in time to support the first attacks.
The Prussian infantry struggled up the main ridge into the teeth of the British brigades and batteries arrayed across the crest.
Vicious close fighting took its toll on the Prussians and at the point of the focussed attack many battalions fell back in disarray, but remarkably only a single battalion broke. Despite these losses, the raw British troops wavered and fell back from the crest opening a gap for the Prussians to exploit.
By 1pm, two further British brigades had arrived, one north of Dorking, the other over on the western flank, but in the middle things were looking troublesome for the British. The stifling heat of the morning, that had slowed the Prussian advance, had broken into a cooling light rain, an the Prussians were beginning to press their advantage.
Word had reached both the British and Prussian commanders in the area that the Prussians had broken through to the west at Guildford…
Can the British rally their line and plug that gap to stop the Prussians breaking through?
Or can the Prussians exploit their breach and roll up the British lines?
The fate of Dorking, London and Great Britain rests in the balance!
To be concluded next week...