“The mill of the Gods grinds slow, but exceeding fine.” I may excused for hoping that my efforts on the Napoleonic Campaign may be similarly “fine”. Here is the Campaign Informant for October 26 2010. I have decided against re-creating a fictional H.R.E. as the campaign context and instead the context will be a German Confederation sort of situation, but occuring after the utter incapacity of Revolutionary France to sustain its wars against the other European powers after the death of Napoleon Buenoparte in Italy in 1792 and the subsequent serial Terrors inflicted on the inhabitants of that unfortunate nation by the various factions of the “successful” Revolution.
While “Liberte, Fraternite and Equalite” echo and re-echo amidst the sounds of firing squads, artillery firing case shot down city boulevards and the screams of – relatively – innocent civilians being massacred by the Fifth Revolutionary Council (or is it the Sixth?), my campaign will continue in a much subdued Europe. Austria has most of its army and attention directed along the border with the Ottomans, as that Islamic hegemony is ever-eager to add the Balkans, Hungary and the southern Duchies of Austria to its empire. Prussia, for different reasons, has its eye on its border with the resurgent Kingdom of Poland and its Imperial Russian ally. Each of those – the two most powerful states in our campaign – can spare no more than one Corps of infantry, cavalry and artillery in the West and even those relatively paltry forces may become too much for the smaller states of the Confederation. The Kingdom of Bayern is separated from its fraternal ally the County Palatine of the Rhine by the Kingdom of Wurttemberg and the Principality of Hesse, while the Kingdoms of Saxony and Hanover eye the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg uneasily as that worthy flirts with the Prussian Grand Duke – who still believes himself to be “King in Prussia” even after his drubbing by the Poles and the Russians – hoping for mediazation rather than digestion into the once and future “Kingdom of Prussia”. Here is a thumbnail of the Campaign Map, with only political boundaries, major towns and cities and rivers, with roads and mountains to come. Click for a larger version and I promise a more finished one in a short time.
The internal boundaries of subordinate duchies, counties and the like do not appear on this first version and may not appear on the final version, either. There is a certain point beyond which detail becomes clutter and that may be too much detail (clutter) for the Campaign Map. They are not and will not be forgotten, just are not represented on the Campaign Map. I hope to use this as a template in CC3 to produce a more “wargamey” Campaign Map with hexes and the like.
I am putting the finishing touches on a final draft of the Campaign Rules, whichwill include Attrition, Allocation of Battlefield Casualties into Categories, Officer Quality/Characteristics, and a rule for the initial army creation allowing for units varying in quality from raw recruits with neither training nor experience through the elite bayonets of the Lieb Guard Regiments of Foot and the Death’s Head Hussar Regiments of Horse. Of course, such units will be hard-pressed to find replacements for their losses who are the equal of those lost in battle, so one must care for one’s elite units. (For the curious, see Donald Featherstone’s Wargames Campaigns, the 1972 edition from Stanley Paul & Co., at pages 32 – 36 for the source of my rule on attrition.) There will be some diplomacy and intrigue as well, handled in a manner like that of Tony Bath in his Hyborean Campaign of ancient memory, that is, via die rolls and “fudges” but all such shennagans will be reported faithfully in the Gazette. Supply with be handled with the assumption that if one’s Supply Line is intact, one is in supply for all (or nearly all) purposes. If, however, an enemy force of at least two regiments sits astride that Line, you must begin eating out of what you’ve brought along with you. Details later, but it is a quite simple rule, involving four items of supply, Days of Supply rather than tediously counting out how many men, how many animals, etc etc, but still providing some influence on a commander’s wild ways from his supply situation. To paraphrase Wellsley when he was Officer Commanding His Britannic Majesty’s Forces in Spain, “I can either count my men’s socks or I can defeat the French; Iam unable to do both.”
Battles will be resolved using the 1824 Kreigsspiel rules with some amendments. Melee and missile fire will be resolved using the Mythic GM Emulator charts, but the losses and language of the K-S rules will be retained. While the counters will be in use, the actual units will be rosters of actual “present for duty” strength, updated after each battle is resolved on the K-S mapsheets. Likewise, odd events and the actions of commanders will be likewise decided using the MGME and related charts. Details will be forthcoming, but in essence each Unit is treated as if it were a “character” or “personality” with characteristics which produce the likelihood of success or failure, when combined the Commander’s ability – or lack thereof! – and the circumstances on the ground. My point of view is initially intended to be the commander of both sides, as the various solo gaming mechanisms will, I anticipate and desire, will take away from me much of my volition and ability to use my “helicopter view” of the battlefield. Tactical maps will be for the testing of the modified K-S rules the mapsheets I have; for the actual campaign, I hope to create tactical maps of the proper appearance using CC3 and it’s “Napoleonic Maps” modifications.
Much has been done and much still remains. But I trudge forward in the hope of seeing this campaign playing itself out on the maps, charts and by means of those die rolls so beloved of we who game with our imaginations. Come along and cheer or boo are you are inclined by the events.
Filed under: Napoleonic Campaign
