Siege of Ragusa 1814

​Introduction

This wargame scenario is based on my book The Frontier Sea: The Napoleonic Wars in the Adriatic. The book has two scenarios, and I promised to publish more on this website. This scenario is based on the later Siege of Ragusa in 1814. It has been play-tested several times, including as a participation game at the Targe 2023 games day in Kirriemuir.

History

At the outset of the Napoleonic Wars, the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik today) included the city and the mainland coast from Neum to the Prevlaka peninsula, the Pelješac peninsula, and the islands of Lastovo and Mljet. Four thousand people lived in the city, and another thirty-one thousand in the wider state territory. It was a republic ruled by twenty-four noble families, no more than one hundred people in total. The peasants worked as serfs (kmets), with many young men escaping to serve at sea. Ragusa’s trading empire was being challenged, but with 190 trading vessels, its merchant fleet was larger than those of Venice or Prussia. The Republic was a firmly Catholic enclave in an Orthodox and Muslim hinterland. The Peace of Loeben had transformed Austria from a distant and usually benevolent power into the Republic’s neighbour. They were only separated by the two Ottoman buffer zones of Klek and Sutorina. There was internal pressure, partly inspired by the ideas of the French Revolution, and tax increases on the peasants had resulted in the Konavle Revolt of 1799, ironically primarily to pay for French extortion. 

French forces led by General Molitor marched into Dalmatia in 1806 to occupy the former Austrian territories. The Russians were not part of the peace treaty, and on 15 March 1806, a Russian squadron under Captain Henry Baillie started a blockade of the port, capturing twenty-six Ragusan merchant ships. The Republic was desperate to stay neutral and rejected an offer to pay off the French, pointing to the Russian threat to devastate their territory if they allowed the French through. They could have asked the Russian squadron for aid, but the prospect of an influx of Slavs caused them to favour the French. Lauriston demanded that his troops be allowed to rest and be supplied, but when they entered the city on 27 May, they seized control. The Republic was subsequently abolished and incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy (1808). They later fought off a Russian and Montenegrin siege, which included the Battle of Bergatto Heights, another scenario in the book.

By late 1813, the French were in retreat across Europe, leaving modest French garrisons along the Adriatic, including Ragusa. The British from the south and the Austrians from the north began to capture the main ports. The British, under Sir William Hoste, came to Ragusa with eighteen cannons he had captured at Cattaro. The Austrians, commanded by General Miliutinovich, were in dispute with the insurgents (led by Count Caboga) and, astonishingly, had not brought siege artillery. The 600-strong Croatian and French garrison commanded by General Montrichard was behind the walls of a fortified city with 170 guns and in Fort Napoleon on a hill above the city. Their weakness was the limited food supply. The insurgents had been blockading the city with assistance from a handful of British troops and gunboats from the Lagosta and Lesina garrisons. The garrison had a higher regard for the insurgents than Hoste, who wrongly claimed they fled before the French. Hoste had his guns dragged up the mountains above the city on the aqueduct that provided part of the city's water supply and then pulled them over three ridges. Ranging shots into the main square were enough to encourage surrender negotiations, and the French surrendered on 28 January. The Austrians quickly marched in with Hoste’s marines to forestall the return of the independent Republic of Ragusa. The historic Republic was to become a mere Austrian provincial town.

The game is inspired by a historical sortie from the garrison on 8/9 January 1814. A strong force left the city and attacked the British and rebel unit at Port Gravosa, about a mile from Ragusa. The aim was to break the blockade and take supplies. The French looked like they would succeed when the grapeshot from British gunboats forced them back. Lieutenant Hildebrand describes the action in his memoirs (see further reading). I highly recommend this book as it highlights a theme in my book that very junior officers found themselves having to use their initiative in a way that was rare for all the combatants. 

Scenario

You are General Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard, commander of the French garrison holding the city of Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik) in Dalmatia. It is January 1814, and the city is besieged by Ragusan rebel militia (Count Caboga), a small British force from the 35th Foot (Lieutenant John Hildebrand) and Royal Navy, and an Austrian force commanded by General Miliutinovich. While the city is well defended with 170 cannons and 600 infantry, you are running out of food due to the blockade by the Royal Navy, commanded by Sir William Hoste.

A small supply convoy is attempting to break through the cordon around the city. Your objective is to get the convoy into the city. In addition to the convoy escort, you have detached a small force to support them and distract the besiegers from the garrison. 

The rules are a simplified version of Dan Mersey’s Rebels and Patriots. It's ideal for small battles like this. The figures are 28mm from several ranges, including Front Rank and Perrys. Most buildings come from the Tablescape range, and the fort is built from resin castings produced by Stronghold.

Orbat

General Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard

Further Reading

Anon. Service Afloat or The Naval Career of Sir William Hoste (W. H. Allen, 1887)

Glover. G, Fighting Napoleon: The Recollections of Lieutenant John Hildebrand 35th Foot in the Mediterranean and Waterloo Campaigns (Pen & Sword, 2016)

Glover, G., The Forgotten War Against Napoleon: Conflict in the Mediterranean (Pen & Sword, 2017)

Harris. R, Dubrovnik: A History (Saqi, 2006)

Watson. D, The Frontier Sea: The Napoleonic Wars in the Adriatic (BMH, 2023)