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FRENCH ARMY COMMAND & STRUCTURE for BEGINNERS
Definition of terms:
Strategic movement: The movements which brought the army to the battlefield.
Battlefield strategy: The general plan of attack. Grand Tactical Movement: The
movements of large military organizations on the battlefield (Corps &
Divisional). Tactics: The movements of small units: Brigades, Battalions &
Companies.
The French Army is the most difficult to command of the three armies engaged in
the 100 days Campaign because with them lies the burden of attack. For the
beginning, even experienced player, coordinating all the various arms into a
smoothly functioning offensive machine is difficult. However, there are ways to
succeed. Most importantly, the beginning player must recognize Napoleonic
structure and understand that the Napoleonic wargame is fundamentally different
from any other. The reason for this is that the three Generals in command of the
armies engaged in the 100 days campaign were all military geniuses of the first
order. The military structure you inherit from them at Ligne and Waterloo can
serve you as a base of operations for a full day’s Napoleonic struggle. The
beginning player should strive to maintain this inherent organization for as
long
as possible. This will not necessarily lead to victory but you will never be
badly beaten if you do so, even against the most experienced players.
Structure:
The French Army structure at Waterloo is a classic example of perfect Napoleonic
organization. With the centrally located Brussels road as the median axis, the
French Army is absolutely balanced left, right and center. French II Corps and
III Reserve Cavalry Corps are to the left. The I Corps and IV Reserve Cavalry
Corps are to the right. In the center is a powerful reserve: VI Corps and its
sturdy attached cavalry as well as the Imperial Guard with its cavalry arrayed
right and left. Use the full screen map to gauge the structure. One feature of
the Talonsoft battleground system is the jump map. Flash the jump map on and
create an image of the French Army in its original dispositions. As the battle
progresses, look frequently at the jump map. As the initial image slowly and
progressively disintegrates, as it must, you will see the gradual deterioration
of your original structure. As your structure erodes, so does control. In the
beginning, all your units are in command and all are mutually supportive. As you
commence to move thing around, structure breaks down and when it does, your
problems multiply and the military situation becomes a mind-bending maze of
arduous and often seemingly impossible decisions. Thus the essential problem:
How
does one wage a Napoleonic battle knowing that we must move units to attack and
win, while maintaining the original Napoleonic organization for as long as
possible?
The answer to this intrinsic problem is to fight the battle with as few units as
possible, relying upon ECONOMY to defeat the opponent while reducing one’s own
organizational and command problems. For example, the French Army at Waterloo
consists of 12 infantry divisions, 24 brigades, and c. 75 infantry battalions
which usually detach hundreds of skirmish companies. There are also 10 cavalry
divisions, of 21 brigades, which can be broken down into, again, at least a
hundred squadrons. If you begin the game, as many experienced players do, by
moving every unit, you have therefore hundreds of both tactical and strategic
problems to deal with every time you crank up. Not only is this very time
consuming, but the myriad of decisions you need to make both on a small unit
tactical level (zones of control, formation changes, enemy fire etc.) and large
scale strategic level (where to go with each large scale organization, are they
in command?, are they mutually supportive?, etc.) will, especially for the
beginning player, lead to organizational problems, strategic errors and eventual
rout & defeat. When you play the French in the Twin Battles (PTW) add on another
10 divisions of infantry and 6 divisions of cavalry. If you put every unit on
the
road immediately, you are faced with more than enough decisions to baffle even
the most experienced wargamer, if not the military genius. Since most of us are
not the latter (myself included), they way to reduce decision making and the
prospect for error is to discern the structure we inherit from Napoleon and to
maintain that construction for as long as possible. Fundamentally, you begin the
game with an army assembled for you by a military genius. That makes you a
genius
on game turn one, if not later.
I’ve made these arguments before in the Napoleonic Forum and dissenting voices
say that the French deployments at Waterloo are flawed because Napoleon did not
know the Prussians were coming from the east. However, none of those voices
could
ever logically offer better dispositions. One suggestion was to deploy the
centrally located VI Corps further east. However, that only reduces French
flexibility with no appreciable gain; since at its central position VI Corps can
deal with the Prussians but also be used left and center if one chooses to deal
with the Prussians in another way. Another suggestion was to deploy II Corps
further west to facilitate a turning movement left. This idea comes without
appreciation about just how difficult it is to deploy 80,000 men for battle sans
enemy interference: For if you move too close or fundamentally threaten the
enemy’s position they will start shooting. The trick is to gauge that fine line
correctly and to then successfully deploy the army so that one’s strategic
vision, which is the idea behind the dispositions, may be carried out upon one’s
own fashion, in a rapid or leisurely manner. If you think army deployment is
easy, use the scenario editor and place the French Army at dawn in the vicinity
of the Brussels road and Placenoit and attempt to deploy against an active
opponent.
The efforts to discredit Napoleon’s deployments at Waterloo are illogical and it
is apparent: One only needs look at the dispositions to see the inherent balance
and power therein. Prussian arrival is a problem to be sure. However, it can be
dealt with from the present dispositions. What’s more, Prussian arrival should
be
looked upon as an opportunity! Since your opponent probably has never actually
proficiently deployed an army for battle; because we usually get them
deployments
ready made, and since he is probably pressed to assist the British/Dutch Army,
you can almost count on your opponent to screw it up! With the Guard in reserve,
you have a good occasion to jump on him and turn a seeming defeat into victory
or
at least a draw. The key here is to be prepared to play a full 44 game turn
battle. Most players are not primed emotionally and psychologically to do this.
It takes a long time, real patience, protracted strategic planning, guts and
endurance. People want to play these games for fun. A 44 turn, gut-wrenching
battle, which may take 6 months or longer to play, is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Most players are more used to a 12 turn Panzerblitz/Squad Leader tactical kind
of
game in which we close rapidly with the enemy with all available force and seek
quick resolution before the clock expires. A Napoleonic Battle of Nations is
something completely different.
The Napoleonic battle is an OPERATIONAL game. An example of a military operation
is the German 1944 Ardennes Offensive. The original deployments of the German
divisions determine the subsequent military movements. The Napoleonic
dispositions do the same on a smaller scale. The structure you inherit from
Napoleon on June 18, 1815 should determine your ensuing strategic and grand
tactical movements. Remember, the deployment you see for the French Army is not
a
mere snapshot of a brief moment in time, showing the transient location of the
French Army on its way from someplace, to another place. The army configuration
at 11:00 AM June 18, forms the basis for your operation. Again, it’s important
to
stress that you don’t have to do this. One of the joys of wargaming is the
ability to alter history and to do whatever one wants. However, if we wish to
enter the realm of 19th century military movements, and capture the spirit and
mood of a Napoleonic battle, then we need to plan and execute our battles within
the structure of the 19th century military operation in which the original
location of the army was a steady anchor, a positional benchmark, determined by
the commander to be the best place from whence the army might best carry out the
strategic vision. For us, the dispositions we inherit can make out task easier
to
attain if we at least attempt to recognize the structural foundation for the
day’s battle. If we rip it apart from the get go we are like reeds in the wind,
whom by chance might be blown into the bosom of success, but then perhaps not.
With Napoleon’s deployments as our bedrock we can know we are always on sure
ground. Anyone who doubts these assertions should read the plentiful battle maps
available in David Chandler’s great book on the Napoleonic wars. A brief study
will show that once an army was deployed for battle, the units of that army
seldom moved very far from their original dispositions, even in battles that
lasted a few days.
Command:
Army command begins Napoleon & Ney at Waterloo with Grouchy also in Army Command
in PTW. Those fellow’s command rating (small “c” on the unit icon) are “C”
and “B” respectively, which means Napoleon has 4 chances in 6 (on a six sided
die
roll) to pass on his modifier to the next level of command (Corps) with Ney, and
rouchy 5 of 6. Their hex range is unlimited and so too for the numerous French
Corps commanders, All those fellows have unlimited range as well, and your
command problems only become tangible on the Divisional & Brigade levels. Each
of
your Division commanders must be within 6 hexes of the Brigade commanders who
must be within 3 hexes of their individual Battalions to pass along the
modifiers, which by now, due to the concise and well structured French command
system, is 5 chances in 6 for a successful re-ordering of any disordered
battalion, and 6 of 6 in PTW, provided the units are “in command.” This is why,
many times, you will see your command report say, for example, 35 units
undisordered out of 35 units checked. The program will not check units in woods,
town or rough terrain hexes. If you keep undisordered units in clear terrain
they
will almost always reorder, provided to don’t get Ney & Grouchy killed.
I can’t stress too much, how important it is to maintain the command structure.
This is the single most important aspect of TS Napoleonic wargaming. Once a unit
disorders and is outside the appropriate command link, it will re-order 1 chance
in 6 and you can wait a long time for that to happen; sometimes the whole game.
Units become disordered sometimes when they pass through obstructed terrain,
after melee and most often, when they take casualties during an enemy fire
phase.
In the enemy DEFENSIVE PHASE if your unit fails a morale check (6-sided die roll
based upon your battalion’s moral), it will disorder. Regular infantry, which
have a moral of “4” will disorder on any roll higher than that. ELITE INFANTRY
(moral of 5,6, 7,& 8 ) will never disorder in an enemy defensive phase unless
they suffer from high fatigue and/or are hit in flank. In an enemy OFFENSIVE
PHASE, units always disorder if they take a hit and rout if they fail the morale
check. So, regular infantry will rout on a roll of “5” or more, while ELITE will
only rout if there are extra modifiers applied. For example, disordered units
check morale with a +2 modifier, attacked in flank in another +2, so a
disordered
ELITE unit with a morale of “7” attacked in flank will have a cumulative +4
added
to the die roll. So it’s possible they can rout too. The French Army has three
problem units: One is the 1st Infantry Division who’s 1st Brigade commander went
over the hill. To keep this brigade in command you must keep its units within 3
hexes of divisional commander Quiot, which means this division had a limited
range of operation. A good chore for this brigade is to hold the town of La
Belle
Alliance. With skirmishers in front, enemy fire will always be reduced -3 on a
twelve sided dice roll. The Brits can fire away at long range all day and not
score a hit. Another similar brigade is The Empresses’ Dragoons, the 2nd Brigade
of the Imperial Guard Heavy Cavalry. Like the 1st Infantry, the Empresses’
Dragoons must be within 3 hexes of divisional commander Guyotto remain in
command. The third is the 14 Infantry Division assigned to IV Corps on the
French
right wing in PTW. Division commander Hulot must stay within 3 hexes of 1st
Brigade units to keep them in command. With these exceptions, French divisions
have a wide range of operation, much further than their Allied counterparts. A
centrally located French divisional commander can deploy for action units 18
hexes in range left and right compared to 12 for a Prussian or British/Dutch
commander. It’s a big difference.
Battlefield Movements (Grand Tactics):
Take a look at your deployments and don’t try to do anything radically different
from what Napoleon set up. The Twin Battles (PTW) is an interesting military
problem for the French. On the left wing, before Quatre Bras (QB) the battle is
a
meeting engagement, i.e. the forces are not deployed but instead meet in a fluid
battle of maneuver. On the right wing, the French are deployed for battle and
your best bet is to simply use the units as Napoleon intended: Use III Corps &
the attached 7th Division of II Corps to attack straight through St. Amand town
and village and break through. Just take a look at the map, see the direction
your forces are pointed at and send them in. Use one brigade per division to
achieve your ends, keeping one in reserve. Bring up the artillery reserve,
attached to the Guard, to support the attack. Same with IV Corps: Send one
division in to take Ligne, keep one in reserve, and send Hulot’s 14th division
forward to defend against a Prussian player who might attack you with Prussian
III Corps. Your artillery batteries set to fire with III & IV Corps are all well
placed and avoid moving them automatically, even if they have no apparent
targets, just in case the Prussian counter-attacks. Remember, the Prussian army
is very powerful and in the hands of an experienced aggressive player, he can
come at you. Those big 24 pound “A” batteries before Ligne & St Amand village
are
in good position to counter any threats out of the town.
In PTW your most significant strategic decision is where to move I Corps, which
is strung out on the road to QB. Napoleon wanted to shift this outfit east to
fight the Prussians. If you decide to do this, use different routes to march the
four divisions of I Corps east. Move Durutte’s 4th Division east on the road to
Mallet. Margonet’s 3rd Division, and Donzelot’s 2nd Division on the main highway
and Quiot’s 1st Division on the road to Villers-Perwin. Gather together the
disparate elements of III Reserve Cavalry Corps and march them east too as a
powerful cavalry reserve. This gives you wide avenues of approach and strategic
flexibility since you can never really know, initially, what the enemy is about.
This leaves II Corps, a very powerful outfit, against the British/Dutch and you
might as well know that against even a moderately competent opponent, II Corps
does not have the strength to take QB. So here is the yin and yang of military
decision making; if you beef up II Corps with elements of I Corps you may then
take QB but an intelligent and aggressive Prussian player can successfully
attack
your left. Whatever you do, try to concentrate your forces at the place where
the
decisive action will be fought. Keep the entire Guard in reserve until the late
afternoon when the intervention of this massive reserve can turn the tide. With
the exception of the artillery, most of which should be moved up immediately to
support III Corps, don’t even move the Imperial Guard for the first hour of
play,
and then move it only onto the east-west path bye Martinrou, shielded from enemy
long range artillery, to give the Guard the ability to rapidly intervene in any
direction. Late in the game, when both armies are at the point of collapse, the
introduction of the Guard can be a sledgehammer blow to the enemy. Again, let me
stress, do not move the Guard near the front in the early going. There, the
temptation to use units of the Guard to solve minor tactical problems can often
be too strong to resist. The Guard should be your SRATEGIC RESERVE, used late in
the game as an intact fighting force.
WATERLOO:
Again, take a look at the direction the units are pointed to and attack with
them
in that direction. The single most important object for the French is the
capture
of the Hougoumont orchard. Prolonged enemy occupation of this terrain is a
dagger
pointed straight into the heart of your position. Once you take it, you are free
to attack left and right around Hougoumont and to occupy the high ground behind
the chateaux and to then establish an artillery presence up there. With that,
the
enemy has no choice but to withdraw to the north edge, with no reverse slops to
protect him from your artillery. Moves to the right, against the Smohain, La
Haye, Papelotte complex of farms and chateaux are a waste of resources. Hold
there, defend La Belle Alliance and smash the enemy right with II Corps, & VI
Corps. Don’t worry about the Prussians as they are most likely to arrive late
and
self-destruct.
Sooner or later, every French player wants to move left from the get go. If you
do, you need to SHIFT your army. Just pushing Prince Jerome’s 6th Division
against the Dutch is not enough: Napoleon’s “brother” will soon find himself
isolated and overwhelmed if you don’t support his movement with a massive shift
to the left. THE SHIFT is like a dance; The various forces involved must move in
unison, concert with one another, so that the essential structure of the army
remains intact. Foy’s 9th Division should follow and support Prince Jerome, and
Bachelu’s 5th Division should follow and occupy the area vacated by Prince
Jerome. Units of the VI Corps would then fill in the gaps left by the departing
9th & 5th Divisions of II Corps. Many players also use the Young Guard (the 3rd
Division of the Imperial Guard) to support the move left. While this is an
historical aberration, it is legitimate as a “what if.” Still though, the
orchard
must be dealt with, and, eventually, your forces must attain some leverage for
attack into the enemy position, i.e. they got to stop moving left, and head
north
to break through: Much like a running back on an American football sweep, the
attack must stop stringing out and “hit the hole.” As you disperse your once
concentrated army, you are open to enemy counter-attack, especially out of the
orchard and environs. Fundamentally though, the reason you should not waste too
much personal time on such movements is that your true purpose as a wargamer
should be to attempt to make the game system work properly within the context of
proper homage to history. It is possible to manufacture a successful attack out
of Napoleon’s deployments, using COMBINED ARMS TECHNIQUES. Rely upon firepower
(artillery & infantry in line) and shock attacks (melee with infantry in column
&
cavalry) to overwhelm the enemy at the decisive point. Once the orchard is
taken,
this can be to the left or right of the Hougoumont chateaux. But the key is to
MAKE THE SYSTEM WORK in your favor without the feeling that this can only be
done
by using 20th century mechanized infantry movements on roads.
FIRE COMBAT vs., SHOCK (MELEE) COMBAT:
You should rely upon fire to defeat the enemy rather than shock combat. Shock
combat seems easy but the units that engage in it rapidly lose effectiveness
through the accumulation of fatigue. A unit in line formation can deliver a
steady stream of effective fire for hours while a unit engaged in shock combat
can be used up in less than one hour. Also, since your command structure is so
solid I would be very wary of using my officers to positively affect the outcome
of shock attacks. On cavalry charges/attacks, allow the officer to accompany the
charge and ‘drop him off” astride one company to the rear of the attack. From
there, he can keep the attacking cavalry in command without risking personal
injury. However you do it, the +1 modifier is not worth the risk of permanently
eliminating an officer who’s capable of a “B” or “A” command rating to be
replaced with Col. Anonymous rated “F.” Also, since your command structure is of
such high quality, don’t be afraid to operate with your infantry units in line
formation: Move right through that obstructed terrain hex. Even when disordered
a
battalion in line will deliver heavy firepower. Your command structure will
reorder them next turn providing not too many of your officers were killed
leading charges. Generally, a good rule of thumb is to place units in line
whenever the enemy is nearby. Avoid the over use and over dependence upon
cavalry
and you should do all right: A cavalry strength point loss is worth 8 times!
that
of infantry. Good Luck.
John Egan
Definition of terms:
Strategic movement: The movements which brought the army to the battlefield.
Battlefield strategy: The general plan of attack. Grand Tactical Movement: The
movements of large military organizations on the battlefield (Corps &
Divisional). Tactics: The movements of small units: Brigades, Battalions &
Companies.
The French Army is the most difficult to command of the three armies engaged in
the 100 days Campaign because with them lies the burden of attack. For the
beginning, even experienced player, coordinating all the various arms into a
smoothly functioning offensive machine is difficult. However, there are ways to
succeed. Most importantly, the beginning player must recognize Napoleonic
structure and understand that the Napoleonic wargame is fundamentally different
from any other. The reason for this is that the three Generals in command of the
armies engaged in the 100 days campaign were all military geniuses of the first
order. The military structure you inherit from them at Ligne and Waterloo can
serve you as a base of operations for a full day’s Napoleonic struggle. The
beginning player should strive to maintain this inherent organization for as
long
as possible. This will not necessarily lead to victory but you will never be
badly beaten if you do so, even against the most experienced players.
Structure:
The French Army structure at Waterloo is a classic example of perfect Napoleonic
organization. With the centrally located Brussels road as the median axis, the
French Army is absolutely balanced left, right and center. French II Corps and
III Reserve Cavalry Corps are to the left. The I Corps and IV Reserve Cavalry
Corps are to the right. In the center is a powerful reserve: VI Corps and its
sturdy attached cavalry as well as the Imperial Guard with its cavalry arrayed
right and left. Use the full screen map to gauge the structure. One feature of
the Talonsoft battleground system is the jump map. Flash the jump map on and
create an image of the French Army in its original dispositions. As the battle
progresses, look frequently at the jump map. As the initial image slowly and
progressively disintegrates, as it must, you will see the gradual deterioration
of your original structure. As your structure erodes, so does control. In the
beginning, all your units are in command and all are mutually supportive. As you
commence to move thing around, structure breaks down and when it does, your
problems multiply and the military situation becomes a mind-bending maze of
arduous and often seemingly impossible decisions. Thus the essential problem:
How
does one wage a Napoleonic battle knowing that we must move units to attack and
win, while maintaining the original Napoleonic organization for as long as
possible?
The answer to this intrinsic problem is to fight the battle with as few units as
possible, relying upon ECONOMY to defeat the opponent while reducing one’s own
organizational and command problems. For example, the French Army at Waterloo
consists of 12 infantry divisions, 24 brigades, and c. 75 infantry battalions
which usually detach hundreds of skirmish companies. There are also 10 cavalry
divisions, of 21 brigades, which can be broken down into, again, at least a
hundred squadrons. If you begin the game, as many experienced players do, by
moving every unit, you have therefore hundreds of both tactical and strategic
problems to deal with every time you crank up. Not only is this very time
consuming, but the myriad of decisions you need to make both on a small unit
tactical level (zones of control, formation changes, enemy fire etc.) and large
scale strategic level (where to go with each large scale organization, are they
in command?, are they mutually supportive?, etc.) will, especially for the
beginning player, lead to organizational problems, strategic errors and eventual
rout & defeat. When you play the French in the Twin Battles (PTW) add on another
10 divisions of infantry and 6 divisions of cavalry. If you put every unit on
the
road immediately, you are faced with more than enough decisions to baffle even
the most experienced wargamer, if not the military genius. Since most of us are
not the latter (myself included), they way to reduce decision making and the
prospect for error is to discern the structure we inherit from Napoleon and to
maintain that construction for as long as possible. Fundamentally, you begin the
game with an army assembled for you by a military genius. That makes you a
genius
on game turn one, if not later.
I’ve made these arguments before in the Napoleonic Forum and dissenting voices
say that the French deployments at Waterloo are flawed because Napoleon did not
know the Prussians were coming from the east. However, none of those voices
could
ever logically offer better dispositions. One suggestion was to deploy the
centrally located VI Corps further east. However, that only reduces French
flexibility with no appreciable gain; since at its central position VI Corps can
deal with the Prussians but also be used left and center if one chooses to deal
with the Prussians in another way. Another suggestion was to deploy II Corps
further west to facilitate a turning movement left. This idea comes without
appreciation about just how difficult it is to deploy 80,000 men for battle sans
enemy interference: For if you move too close or fundamentally threaten the
enemy’s position they will start shooting. The trick is to gauge that fine line
correctly and to then successfully deploy the army so that one’s strategic
vision, which is the idea behind the dispositions, may be carried out upon one’s
own fashion, in a rapid or leisurely manner. If you think army deployment is
easy, use the scenario editor and place the French Army at dawn in the vicinity
of the Brussels road and Placenoit and attempt to deploy against an active
opponent.
The efforts to discredit Napoleon’s deployments at Waterloo are illogical and it
is apparent: One only needs look at the dispositions to see the inherent balance
and power therein. Prussian arrival is a problem to be sure. However, it can be
dealt with from the present dispositions. What’s more, Prussian arrival should
be
looked upon as an opportunity! Since your opponent probably has never actually
proficiently deployed an army for battle; because we usually get them
deployments
ready made, and since he is probably pressed to assist the British/Dutch Army,
you can almost count on your opponent to screw it up! With the Guard in reserve,
you have a good occasion to jump on him and turn a seeming defeat into victory
or
at least a draw. The key here is to be prepared to play a full 44 game turn
battle. Most players are not primed emotionally and psychologically to do this.
It takes a long time, real patience, protracted strategic planning, guts and
endurance. People want to play these games for fun. A 44 turn, gut-wrenching
battle, which may take 6 months or longer to play, is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Most players are more used to a 12 turn Panzerblitz/Squad Leader tactical kind
of
game in which we close rapidly with the enemy with all available force and seek
quick resolution before the clock expires. A Napoleonic Battle of Nations is
something completely different.
The Napoleonic battle is an OPERATIONAL game. An example of a military operation
is the German 1944 Ardennes Offensive. The original deployments of the German
divisions determine the subsequent military movements. The Napoleonic
dispositions do the same on a smaller scale. The structure you inherit from
Napoleon on June 18, 1815 should determine your ensuing strategic and grand
tactical movements. Remember, the deployment you see for the French Army is not
a
mere snapshot of a brief moment in time, showing the transient location of the
French Army on its way from someplace, to another place. The army configuration
at 11:00 AM June 18, forms the basis for your operation. Again, it’s important
to
stress that you don’t have to do this. One of the joys of wargaming is the
ability to alter history and to do whatever one wants. However, if we wish to
enter the realm of 19th century military movements, and capture the spirit and
mood of a Napoleonic battle, then we need to plan and execute our battles within
the structure of the 19th century military operation in which the original
location of the army was a steady anchor, a positional benchmark, determined by
the commander to be the best place from whence the army might best carry out the
strategic vision. For us, the dispositions we inherit can make out task easier
to
attain if we at least attempt to recognize the structural foundation for the
day’s battle. If we rip it apart from the get go we are like reeds in the wind,
whom by chance might be blown into the bosom of success, but then perhaps not.
With Napoleon’s deployments as our bedrock we can know we are always on sure
ground. Anyone who doubts these assertions should read the plentiful battle maps
available in David Chandler’s great book on the Napoleonic wars. A brief study
will show that once an army was deployed for battle, the units of that army
seldom moved very far from their original dispositions, even in battles that
lasted a few days.
Command:
Army command begins Napoleon & Ney at Waterloo with Grouchy also in Army Command
in PTW. Those fellow’s command rating (small “c” on the unit icon) are “C”
and “B” respectively, which means Napoleon has 4 chances in 6 (on a six sided
die
roll) to pass on his modifier to the next level of command (Corps) with Ney, and
rouchy 5 of 6. Their hex range is unlimited and so too for the numerous French
Corps commanders, All those fellows have unlimited range as well, and your
command problems only become tangible on the Divisional & Brigade levels. Each
of
your Division commanders must be within 6 hexes of the Brigade commanders who
must be within 3 hexes of their individual Battalions to pass along the
modifiers, which by now, due to the concise and well structured French command
system, is 5 chances in 6 for a successful re-ordering of any disordered
battalion, and 6 of 6 in PTW, provided the units are “in command.” This is why,
many times, you will see your command report say, for example, 35 units
undisordered out of 35 units checked. The program will not check units in woods,
town or rough terrain hexes. If you keep undisordered units in clear terrain
they
will almost always reorder, provided to don’t get Ney & Grouchy killed.
I can’t stress too much, how important it is to maintain the command structure.
This is the single most important aspect of TS Napoleonic wargaming. Once a unit
disorders and is outside the appropriate command link, it will re-order 1 chance
in 6 and you can wait a long time for that to happen; sometimes the whole game.
Units become disordered sometimes when they pass through obstructed terrain,
after melee and most often, when they take casualties during an enemy fire
phase.
In the enemy DEFENSIVE PHASE if your unit fails a morale check (6-sided die roll
based upon your battalion’s moral), it will disorder. Regular infantry, which
have a moral of “4” will disorder on any roll higher than that. ELITE INFANTRY
(moral of 5,6, 7,& 8 ) will never disorder in an enemy defensive phase unless
they suffer from high fatigue and/or are hit in flank. In an enemy OFFENSIVE
PHASE, units always disorder if they take a hit and rout if they fail the morale
check. So, regular infantry will rout on a roll of “5” or more, while ELITE will
only rout if there are extra modifiers applied. For example, disordered units
check morale with a +2 modifier, attacked in flank in another +2, so a
disordered
ELITE unit with a morale of “7” attacked in flank will have a cumulative +4
added
to the die roll. So it’s possible they can rout too. The French Army has three
problem units: One is the 1st Infantry Division who’s 1st Brigade commander went
over the hill. To keep this brigade in command you must keep its units within 3
hexes of divisional commander Quiot, which means this division had a limited
range of operation. A good chore for this brigade is to hold the town of La
Belle
Alliance. With skirmishers in front, enemy fire will always be reduced -3 on a
twelve sided dice roll. The Brits can fire away at long range all day and not
score a hit. Another similar brigade is The Empresses’ Dragoons, the 2nd Brigade
of the Imperial Guard Heavy Cavalry. Like the 1st Infantry, the Empresses’
Dragoons must be within 3 hexes of divisional commander Guyotto remain in
command. The third is the 14 Infantry Division assigned to IV Corps on the
French
right wing in PTW. Division commander Hulot must stay within 3 hexes of 1st
Brigade units to keep them in command. With these exceptions, French divisions
have a wide range of operation, much further than their Allied counterparts. A
centrally located French divisional commander can deploy for action units 18
hexes in range left and right compared to 12 for a Prussian or British/Dutch
commander. It’s a big difference.
Battlefield Movements (Grand Tactics):
Take a look at your deployments and don’t try to do anything radically different
from what Napoleon set up. The Twin Battles (PTW) is an interesting military
problem for the French. On the left wing, before Quatre Bras (QB) the battle is
a
meeting engagement, i.e. the forces are not deployed but instead meet in a fluid
battle of maneuver. On the right wing, the French are deployed for battle and
your best bet is to simply use the units as Napoleon intended: Use III Corps &
the attached 7th Division of II Corps to attack straight through St. Amand town
and village and break through. Just take a look at the map, see the direction
your forces are pointed at and send them in. Use one brigade per division to
achieve your ends, keeping one in reserve. Bring up the artillery reserve,
attached to the Guard, to support the attack. Same with IV Corps: Send one
division in to take Ligne, keep one in reserve, and send Hulot’s 14th division
forward to defend against a Prussian player who might attack you with Prussian
III Corps. Your artillery batteries set to fire with III & IV Corps are all well
placed and avoid moving them automatically, even if they have no apparent
targets, just in case the Prussian counter-attacks. Remember, the Prussian army
is very powerful and in the hands of an experienced aggressive player, he can
come at you. Those big 24 pound “A” batteries before Ligne & St Amand village
are
in good position to counter any threats out of the town.
In PTW your most significant strategic decision is where to move I Corps, which
is strung out on the road to QB. Napoleon wanted to shift this outfit east to
fight the Prussians. If you decide to do this, use different routes to march the
four divisions of I Corps east. Move Durutte’s 4th Division east on the road to
Mallet. Margonet’s 3rd Division, and Donzelot’s 2nd Division on the main highway
and Quiot’s 1st Division on the road to Villers-Perwin. Gather together the
disparate elements of III Reserve Cavalry Corps and march them east too as a
powerful cavalry reserve. This gives you wide avenues of approach and strategic
flexibility since you can never really know, initially, what the enemy is about.
This leaves II Corps, a very powerful outfit, against the British/Dutch and you
might as well know that against even a moderately competent opponent, II Corps
does not have the strength to take QB. So here is the yin and yang of military
decision making; if you beef up II Corps with elements of I Corps you may then
take QB but an intelligent and aggressive Prussian player can successfully
attack
your left. Whatever you do, try to concentrate your forces at the place where
the
decisive action will be fought. Keep the entire Guard in reserve until the late
afternoon when the intervention of this massive reserve can turn the tide. With
the exception of the artillery, most of which should be moved up immediately to
support III Corps, don’t even move the Imperial Guard for the first hour of
play,
and then move it only onto the east-west path bye Martinrou, shielded from enemy
long range artillery, to give the Guard the ability to rapidly intervene in any
direction. Late in the game, when both armies are at the point of collapse, the
introduction of the Guard can be a sledgehammer blow to the enemy. Again, let me
stress, do not move the Guard near the front in the early going. There, the
temptation to use units of the Guard to solve minor tactical problems can often
be too strong to resist. The Guard should be your SRATEGIC RESERVE, used late in
the game as an intact fighting force.
WATERLOO:
Again, take a look at the direction the units are pointed to and attack with
them
in that direction. The single most important object for the French is the
capture
of the Hougoumont orchard. Prolonged enemy occupation of this terrain is a
dagger
pointed straight into the heart of your position. Once you take it, you are free
to attack left and right around Hougoumont and to occupy the high ground behind
the chateaux and to then establish an artillery presence up there. With that,
the
enemy has no choice but to withdraw to the north edge, with no reverse slops to
protect him from your artillery. Moves to the right, against the Smohain, La
Haye, Papelotte complex of farms and chateaux are a waste of resources. Hold
there, defend La Belle Alliance and smash the enemy right with II Corps, & VI
Corps. Don’t worry about the Prussians as they are most likely to arrive late
and
self-destruct.
Sooner or later, every French player wants to move left from the get go. If you
do, you need to SHIFT your army. Just pushing Prince Jerome’s 6th Division
against the Dutch is not enough: Napoleon’s “brother” will soon find himself
isolated and overwhelmed if you don’t support his movement with a massive shift
to the left. THE SHIFT is like a dance; The various forces involved must move in
unison, concert with one another, so that the essential structure of the army
remains intact. Foy’s 9th Division should follow and support Prince Jerome, and
Bachelu’s 5th Division should follow and occupy the area vacated by Prince
Jerome. Units of the VI Corps would then fill in the gaps left by the departing
9th & 5th Divisions of II Corps. Many players also use the Young Guard (the 3rd
Division of the Imperial Guard) to support the move left. While this is an
historical aberration, it is legitimate as a “what if.” Still though, the
orchard
must be dealt with, and, eventually, your forces must attain some leverage for
attack into the enemy position, i.e. they got to stop moving left, and head
north
to break through: Much like a running back on an American football sweep, the
attack must stop stringing out and “hit the hole.” As you disperse your once
concentrated army, you are open to enemy counter-attack, especially out of the
orchard and environs. Fundamentally though, the reason you should not waste too
much personal time on such movements is that your true purpose as a wargamer
should be to attempt to make the game system work properly within the context of
proper homage to history. It is possible to manufacture a successful attack out
of Napoleon’s deployments, using COMBINED ARMS TECHNIQUES. Rely upon firepower
(artillery & infantry in line) and shock attacks (melee with infantry in column
&
cavalry) to overwhelm the enemy at the decisive point. Once the orchard is
taken,
this can be to the left or right of the Hougoumont chateaux. But the key is to
MAKE THE SYSTEM WORK in your favor without the feeling that this can only be
done
by using 20th century mechanized infantry movements on roads.
FIRE COMBAT vs., SHOCK (MELEE) COMBAT:
You should rely upon fire to defeat the enemy rather than shock combat. Shock
combat seems easy but the units that engage in it rapidly lose effectiveness
through the accumulation of fatigue. A unit in line formation can deliver a
steady stream of effective fire for hours while a unit engaged in shock combat
can be used up in less than one hour. Also, since your command structure is so
solid I would be very wary of using my officers to positively affect the outcome
of shock attacks. On cavalry charges/attacks, allow the officer to accompany the
charge and ‘drop him off” astride one company to the rear of the attack. From
there, he can keep the attacking cavalry in command without risking personal
injury. However you do it, the +1 modifier is not worth the risk of permanently
eliminating an officer who’s capable of a “B” or “A” command rating to be
replaced with Col. Anonymous rated “F.” Also, since your command structure is of
such high quality, don’t be afraid to operate with your infantry units in line
formation: Move right through that obstructed terrain hex. Even when disordered
a
battalion in line will deliver heavy firepower. Your command structure will
reorder them next turn providing not too many of your officers were killed
leading charges. Generally, a good rule of thumb is to place units in line
whenever the enemy is nearby. Avoid the over use and over dependence upon
cavalry
and you should do all right: A cavalry strength point loss is worth 8 times!
that
of infantry. Good Luck.
John Egan