As far as I can see the rules are aimed at Corps Commanders as the highest level of command but has anyone used Army and Wing Commanders... if so have you used them just like Corps commanders or have you tried to introduce any special rules to handle them?
It seems to me that Army and Wing Commanders could be used to add flavour and historical benefits rather than just as extra command point providers but I haven't played enough to be confident that this would not break the game.
As strawman examples of my thoughts I was thinking about Waterloo:
Wellington can move freely without using any of his command points but otherwise counts as an exceptional commander (he had a knack of being in the right place at the right time).
Britsh Corps Commanders (including Prince of Orange) act like wing commanders and can issue commands to any division in the army (not allies) as Corps structure in British Army was administrative not tactical.
Napoleon has a 50% chance of being active in any given turn (30%?) but, if active, any unit which fails a rally test within 8 MU car reroll. As far as issuing Command Points he can only do so if active and is only classed as Skilled (maybe even only Competent) on the day.
Anyway these are some early thoughts and I really would like to hear your experiences of fighting large battles with higher levels of command.
Army and Wing Commanders
Moderators: hammy, philqw78, terrys, Blathergut, Slitherine Core
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deadtorius
- Field Marshal - Me 410A
- Posts: 5290
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Re: Army and Wing Commanders
Page 110 covers Army Commanders under the Command and Control section. Basically he gives his command points to his corps commanders, gets double the range up to 40 MU, can never join or lead a unit, and can never die.
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BrettPT
- Lieutenant Colonel - Panther D
- Posts: 1266
- Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2009 8:52 am
- Location: Auckland, NZ
Re: Army and Wing Commanders
Our group played Waterloo twice and Austerlitz once during playtesting - the general feeling was that FoGN works excellently when up-scaled for large battles. The Army Commanders in our multi-player battles are as per the post above - they generally allocate their CPs to the Corps Commanders below them. We had a special rule allowing Wellington to allocate directly to DCs (he being hands-on)
I've dug out the most of the special rules and a post-game report for the 2nd Waterloo re-fight, and pasted them below for those interested.
Note - LONG post to follow...
SPECIAL RULES
Time Scale
Each pair of bounds represents 1/2 hour.
Fortified Buildings
Hougomont, La Haye Saint and Papalotte/La Haye are fortified buildings. Because of the stout walls around these buildings, the following amendments to the rules apply:
Shooting:
Infantry units shooting into fortified buildings get 2 less dice each (ie 2 instead of 4). Artillery is not affected and get their full dice (artillery attachments also get their full additional dice).
Combat:
Units assaulting fortified buildings need a 6 to hit (rather than 5+ to hit as the occupants do).
Supply:
A 6 sided dice is placed in each fortified building (starting on ‘6’). This dice shows how much ammunition is available to the defenders.
Each phase an occupying unit shoots or fights combat, one is subtracted from the dice. When it reaches ‘1’ the unit is down to its last shot. After taking this last shot the dice is removed and supply has become an issue for the occupants.
If supply has become an issue, roll a dice before each assault, fire (including defensive fire) or combat phase in which the occupants will shoot or fight. If the result is a 1-3 for Hougomont; or a 1-4 for La Haye Saint or Papalotte/La Haye, the occupants are ‘out of ammunition’.
Defending units out of ammunition only roll 1 dice for shooting (instead of 4) against each target and need a 6 to hit in combat (instead of a 5).
They also roll one less dice than normal for cohesion tests.
Re-Supply
A defedning unit’s DC, if
• in command range of the building; and
• located outside of it
can attempt to organise re-supply of a building at any time. This attempt happens at the very start of their own recovery phase (ie before CPs are ‘returned’ – you will need to have saved CPs to re-supply).
For each CP allocated by the garrison’s DC to a re-supply attempt, roll a d6. A 5+ on any dice is required to successfully re-supply.
If the garrison is re-supplied, reset the d6 supply dice to a ‘6’.
Terrain
• The sloped areas either side of the Lasne and Ohain rivers, and around the sides of the road from the eastern (Prussian) table edge to the Bois de Paris, are all difficult ground, no cover.
• The rivers Ohain and Lasne count as obstacles.
• All woods are rough ground and cover
• The green area around Papalotte/La Haye and Smohain/Frishermont is rough for infantry, difficult for artillery and cavalry (no cover).
• All hills are gentle
• Hougomont, La Haye Sainte and Papalotte/La Haye are fortified buildings (special rules below). All other buildings use the normal rules.
Players are reminded that movement on a road counts as moving through the terrain surrounding it. The advantage of being in march column on a road is that you move twice as far (four times as far if you CMT a second move).
Table Talk
Strategic and tactical table talk is not allowed. Players can help each other with rules however the decision on where to move troops should be left to the player controlling them. A little leeway is permitted to help players who are inexperienced.
Likewise, allocation of CPs down the chain of command is a decision to be made by the allocating player. They may not ask how many their subordinates would like, nor may the subordinates request CPs or say ‘don’t need them thanks’.
The issuing of orders was not a process carried out by committee.
However, during the opposing team’s movement phase (only) players may write notes to each other. In the opposing player’s recovery phase these are passed to the recipient and read.
Victory
The French win the game if they can break Wellington’s army. The Allied win the game if they can either break the French army, or kill Napoleon.
BRITISH SPECIAL RULES
To Defeat the French of Course
Wellington preferred to take a direct hand in the battle rather than to delegate to his Corps Commanders.
• Wellington does not require a CP to move
• Wellington can allocate his CPs directly to any General in the army. (Allocating to an allied DC or allied unit costs 2 CPs).
A Damned Mixed Bag
Wellington treats the following as allies:
• Duke of Orange
• Perponcher (Dutch-Belgian)
• Chasse (Dutch-Belgian)
• Collaert (Dutch-Belgian Cavalry)
• Olfermann (Brunswickers)
Orange treats the following DCs as allies:
• Cooke (British)
• Clinton (British)
• Picton (British)
• Olfermann (Brunswickers)
Reserves
The Nassau Reserve brigade and two horse artillery regiments were held in reserve by Wellington. These units cannot move until they are committed by Wellington.
In any Allied recovery phase, Wellington can spend a CP and allocate 1 or more of these reserve formations to any (British) DC. No roll is needed to succeed in this, and the reserve formation immediately becomes a part of the division it is assigned to.
Only 1 CP is required to commit reserves in any given recovery phase, regardless of whether 1, 2, or all 3 reserve units are committed that phase.
Court Marshall those Cads!
The Duke of Cumberland’s Hussar regiment was a craven embarrassment to the Allied army.
Whenever this regiment is:
• charged;
• ordered to charge;
• ordered to move to within 10MU of any enemy; or
• ordered to move closer to an enemy already within 10MU
the regiment must take a craven (Cohesion) Test. If the test is failed, the regiment drops a cohesion level and does a retirement move to their rear. If being charged this retirement may place them out of charge range. This CT is in addition to any that would usually be required for being charged while wavering or while skirmishing.
If touching the edge of the table before starting a retirement move, the unit is removed - fleeing off to Brussels they go.
Once the Cumberland Hussars have passed their craven test, they do not need to test again in the game.
FRENCH SPECIAL RULES
Trust your Subordinates
• Napoleon can allocate his command points to Ney, Drout, D’Erlon, Reille, Lobau, Kellerman or Milhaud.
Napoleon requires a command point to move.
• Ney can allocate his command point to any general on table except for Napoleon, Drout, or any of the Imperial Guard DCs.
Ney requires a command point to move in a recovery phase, but not to move in an assault or movement phase.
• Drout, D’Erlon, Reille and Lobau can only allocate their command points (including any they receive from Napoleon or Ney) to DCs in their own Corps.
Drout, D’Erlon, and Reille require a command point to move.
• Kellerman and Milhaud count as DCs for all purposes and can only have command points allocated to them from either Napoleon or from Ney.
• Lobau counts as a DC for all purposes however he can have command points allocated to him from either Napoleon or from Ney, and he can allocate command points to Domon.
Reserves
Napoleon can allocate command points to attempt to bring up his 3 reserve formations. Only one formation from the reserve can be summoned each turn.
Reserves must arrive in the order noted in the order of battle, being:
1. Young Guard (plus Druot)
2. Emperor’s Beautiful Daughters artillery regiment
3. The remainder of the Old Guard
At least one command point, plus a successful arrival role, is required from Napoleon for each formation summoned to the table. Roll a die per command point Napoleon allocates. At least one 5-6 for each formation is required to arrive, unless the army’s line of communication is outside of Napoleon’s command range, when a 6 is required.
Reserves arrive within 8 inches either side of the Brussels Highway.
Arriving formations are summoned and diced for at the start of a French turn. Arriving formations are placed in any formation with the rear of their bases touching the table edge. They may not launch an assault on the turn of arrival however they can shoot and move normally in that turn.
Master of Artillery
Napoleon may use a command point in any recovery phase and allocate any artillery battery in the army (that is within his command range) to a different Divisional Commander. One command point per battery so re-organised is required.
No die roll is required for this re-organisation which takes effect immediately.
St Maurice may move artillery as a brigade group.
My Children
Napoleon may use a single command point in any recovery phase and allocate any or all Old Guard infantry regiment(s) in the army (that is within his command range) to a different Divisional Commander(s).
No die roll is required for this re-organisation which takes effect immediately. Only one command point is required per allocation, regardless of how many Old Guard infantry regiments are re-allocated in that recovery phase.
La Guarde Recule!
If an Old Guard infantry regiment make any ‘Retire’ outcome move, every French unit (including other Guards) within 4MU of the retiring Guardsmen must make a cohesion test.
If an Old Guard infantry unit Breaks, every French unit (including other Guards) within 8MU of the retiring Guardsmen must make a cohesion test, rolling one dice less than normal.
PRUSSIAN SPECIAL RULES
Marshall Vorwats!
Blucher does not require a CP to move in the French recovery phase, nor in the assault phase when leading an assault.
Prussian Arrival Times
All arriving units enter the table in the Prussian movement phase, on the relevant road, in column of March one unit behind another. Movement distances are measured form the table edge. Units may attempt a CMT for a second move.
If there is not enough room for the entire division to march onto the table in a single turn, place as many units as will fit. The remaining units are straggling and will arrive the following Prussian movement phase.
Units of two separate divisions may not arrive the same turn. Stragglers will therefore delay subsequent formations.
On the Road to Wavre:
IV Corps
1:30 15th Brigade (Losthin)
2:00 16th Brigade (Hiller)
2:30 13th Brigade (Hacke)
3:00 14th Brigade (Ryssel)
II Corps
4:00 5th Brigade and II Corps Cavalry (Tippelskirch)
4:30 6th and 7th Brigades (Krafft)
On the Road to Ohain:
I Corps
6.30 I Corps (Ziethen)
POST GAME WRITE-UP
We played a 2nd refight of Waterloo - 9 players, a 12’ x 6’ table with about 9000 points on table.
We had more table space than in the last game, giving the allies an extra foot behind their lines to help them move reserves around, and adding an extra 4 feet to the west, so that the Prussians could march to the battlefield ‘on-table’ rather than popping up on the table edge as an ‘outflank’.
The French plan was to launch a diversionary attack with half of Reille’s Corps and Kellerman’s heavy cavalry to the left of Hougomont. The intention was to prevent Wellington from moving troops to support Picton, where the real French effort was to be directed.
Half of D’Erlon’s corps was ordered to take the buildings of Frishermont, Smohein and Papalotte. D’Erlon’s remaining troops, supported by Milhaud’s cavalry corps, were to attack the far end of Picton’s line.
Lobau was tasked with holding the Prussians back.
The basic French plan was to roll up the Picton’s line and force the Allies to form a new line at right angles, probably with a pivot point on la Haye Saint. The Guard would then assault the pivot point which would hopefully bring victory before the Prussians could interfere too much.
The old adage that ‘no plan survives contact with the enemy’ was sadly to apply to the French.
The Allied plan was described as being “to defeat the French of course”.
The attack on Frishermont, led by Ney, was initially successful and the village was taken - although not as swiftly as hoped. Papalotte however held out until the end of the game and the attack on these buildings had the overall effect of absorbing half of a French corps against just two Nassau regiments.
Meanwhile, D’Erlon’s attack stalled. The mass of French troops trying to attack on a restricted frontage got in each others way. Picton, aided by the British light cavalry deployed in support, set up a solid defence and D’Erlon showed a distinct lack of impetus, indulging in a skirmish engagement against Picton’s troops on the hill, and trying to push forward artillery support.
After leading the successful the successful assault on Frishermont, Ney was ordered to leave the attack on Papalotte to D’Erlon and take himself to the Bois de Paris to personally lead Lobau’s men against the Prussians.
Screened by light cavalry, Ney ordered Lobau deep into the woods to carry out a defence in depth. Rather than through his units at the French piecemeal as the Prussian units arrived, Bulow deployed in the woods, organising his line with supports and advancing with care. The resulting lack of haste displayed by Bulow, together with Ney’s decision to push into the woods to defend, meant that Ney effectively achieved his aims of keeping the Prussians away from the battlefield proper.
Meanwhile on the French left, Reille and Kellerman began their game of cat and mouse against 3 times their number of enemy. Leaving a single infantry unit to mask Hougomont, Reille and Kellerman, operating to the (French) left of Hougomont, initially achieved some local successes against there opponents. This had the desired effect of focusing Wellington’s attention on this flank, and the Allied regiments and reserves on the right moved out aggressively to face Reille. So far so good, Reille had achieved his main task of preventing Wellington from moving reserves to the aid Picton.
Unfortunately, Reille and Kellerman overcommitted and, when sent an order by Napoleon to give ground and start falling back, they were unable to successfully extricate themselves against aggressive allied formations who were now driving forward against then. 2/3 of the French troops deployed on this flank ended up being destroyed by the allies. Not part of the plan!
Frustrated at the continued lack of progress by D’Erlon, Napoleon ordered D’Erlon to stop being cautious and to assault and break Picton with all haste.
Obedient to his Emperor, D’Erlon launched assaults against the enemy line, however these were carried out piecemeal by single units and were easily repulsed by Picton.
Increasingly concerned, Napoleon directly intervened in the action, bought up the Dutch lancers of the Guard and ordered them to charge Picton’s units. D’Erlon took the lead from his Emperor and also through in everything he had. The lancers crashed into two British regiments, which formed square. D’Erlon’s infantry assaulted the squares and neighbouring units, in a perfect combined arms assault. Picton’s highlanders and other regiments broke and the British far left collapsed.
Wellington had previously ordered some of Picton’s better supporting units elsewhere (which Picton was furious about, but complied), leaving little in the way of rear support for Picton’s line on the crest. The supporting unit that was available was Hanovarian rubbish, which was burst through, routed around and, when charged by the pursuing Red lancers, was destroyed.
Milhaud’s Cuirassiers, operating in a confined channel between Picton’s extreme flank and Papalotte, meanwhile had managed to get to grips with some of the British LC and were causing them some pain.
At the same time as Picton broke, French troops, who had peppering La Haye Saint supported by most of the Grand battery, managed to storm and take La Haye Saint.
Seizing the moment, Napoleon ordered the Young Guard, held in reserve, to Charge Bijlandt’s troops deployed just to the (allied) left of La Haye Sainte. The Dutch troops broke, fleeing back through the British HC and Dutch cavalry in support. With broken troops everywhere bursting through their reserves, Allied units were taking (and largely failing) multiple cohesion tests
It was now about time to pack up. We took stock of the game. Losses on both sides were in the 35-40% range. Picton was gone, as was much of the allied centre.
However the French no longer had a left flank and Ney/Lobau was hopelessly outnumbered by Blucher in the Bois de Paris, had lost ¼ of his forces there and could hope to do no more now than fall back and try to save his command. It was very likely that Blucher would kill enough French in the next half dozen turns to break the French army.
There were no further ‘targets’ for the victorious French on the right and we (unanimously) judged that the Allies would easily get the 12% additional casualties against the French before the French could do the same to them.
However it would probably take another 2 hours (which we didn’t have) to get a result.
A victory for the allies.
In order to win Waterloo, the French really need to 30:10 (as they did on our first re-fight), or at possibly 40:20 them. They don’t have the time to realistically inflict 50% losses on Wellington’s army before the Prussians are all over them.
A fun game – much harder fought than the first re-fight. Wellington learnt from the previous game and was much more careful about engaging French shock cavalry with his own horse. Picton played very well indeed, keeping an overwhelming number of enemy at bay for a long period of time. It took intervention by the Emperor himself (yours truly) to shift Picton from his positions.
Andy played Ney and did everything right. Kendal, playing Blucher was probably to cautious and should, by general consensus, have been a lot more aggressive, to the put of being rash. Andy is probably the best of our bunch of players and his reputation my have influenced Kendal’s approach. In the end however, the Prussians did enough.
Steve, a relative newbie, lead Kellerman and Reille on the French left. He did well, achieving his strategic goal, but did not have the experience to be able to carry out a fighting retreat when called upon to do so. He was facing Kit (Wellington) and Philip (Orange) – both seasoned FoGN’ers – who pushed Steve aggressively. Ultimately it was the losses on this flank which took the French over the 20% level and meant that the French now need to defeat 50% of Wellington’s army – a task that proved too tough.
All in all, an excellent game. General thumbs up for the ability of the rules to re-create large-scale actions.
I've dug out the most of the special rules and a post-game report for the 2nd Waterloo re-fight, and pasted them below for those interested.
Note - LONG post to follow...
SPECIAL RULES
Time Scale
Each pair of bounds represents 1/2 hour.
Fortified Buildings
Hougomont, La Haye Saint and Papalotte/La Haye are fortified buildings. Because of the stout walls around these buildings, the following amendments to the rules apply:
Shooting:
Infantry units shooting into fortified buildings get 2 less dice each (ie 2 instead of 4). Artillery is not affected and get their full dice (artillery attachments also get their full additional dice).
Combat:
Units assaulting fortified buildings need a 6 to hit (rather than 5+ to hit as the occupants do).
Supply:
A 6 sided dice is placed in each fortified building (starting on ‘6’). This dice shows how much ammunition is available to the defenders.
Each phase an occupying unit shoots or fights combat, one is subtracted from the dice. When it reaches ‘1’ the unit is down to its last shot. After taking this last shot the dice is removed and supply has become an issue for the occupants.
If supply has become an issue, roll a dice before each assault, fire (including defensive fire) or combat phase in which the occupants will shoot or fight. If the result is a 1-3 for Hougomont; or a 1-4 for La Haye Saint or Papalotte/La Haye, the occupants are ‘out of ammunition’.
Defending units out of ammunition only roll 1 dice for shooting (instead of 4) against each target and need a 6 to hit in combat (instead of a 5).
They also roll one less dice than normal for cohesion tests.
Re-Supply
A defedning unit’s DC, if
• in command range of the building; and
• located outside of it
can attempt to organise re-supply of a building at any time. This attempt happens at the very start of their own recovery phase (ie before CPs are ‘returned’ – you will need to have saved CPs to re-supply).
For each CP allocated by the garrison’s DC to a re-supply attempt, roll a d6. A 5+ on any dice is required to successfully re-supply.
If the garrison is re-supplied, reset the d6 supply dice to a ‘6’.
Terrain
• The sloped areas either side of the Lasne and Ohain rivers, and around the sides of the road from the eastern (Prussian) table edge to the Bois de Paris, are all difficult ground, no cover.
• The rivers Ohain and Lasne count as obstacles.
• All woods are rough ground and cover
• The green area around Papalotte/La Haye and Smohain/Frishermont is rough for infantry, difficult for artillery and cavalry (no cover).
• All hills are gentle
• Hougomont, La Haye Sainte and Papalotte/La Haye are fortified buildings (special rules below). All other buildings use the normal rules.
Players are reminded that movement on a road counts as moving through the terrain surrounding it. The advantage of being in march column on a road is that you move twice as far (four times as far if you CMT a second move).
Table Talk
Strategic and tactical table talk is not allowed. Players can help each other with rules however the decision on where to move troops should be left to the player controlling them. A little leeway is permitted to help players who are inexperienced.
Likewise, allocation of CPs down the chain of command is a decision to be made by the allocating player. They may not ask how many their subordinates would like, nor may the subordinates request CPs or say ‘don’t need them thanks’.
The issuing of orders was not a process carried out by committee.
However, during the opposing team’s movement phase (only) players may write notes to each other. In the opposing player’s recovery phase these are passed to the recipient and read.
Victory
The French win the game if they can break Wellington’s army. The Allied win the game if they can either break the French army, or kill Napoleon.
BRITISH SPECIAL RULES
To Defeat the French of Course
Wellington preferred to take a direct hand in the battle rather than to delegate to his Corps Commanders.
• Wellington does not require a CP to move
• Wellington can allocate his CPs directly to any General in the army. (Allocating to an allied DC or allied unit costs 2 CPs).
A Damned Mixed Bag
Wellington treats the following as allies:
• Duke of Orange
• Perponcher (Dutch-Belgian)
• Chasse (Dutch-Belgian)
• Collaert (Dutch-Belgian Cavalry)
• Olfermann (Brunswickers)
Orange treats the following DCs as allies:
• Cooke (British)
• Clinton (British)
• Picton (British)
• Olfermann (Brunswickers)
Reserves
The Nassau Reserve brigade and two horse artillery regiments were held in reserve by Wellington. These units cannot move until they are committed by Wellington.
In any Allied recovery phase, Wellington can spend a CP and allocate 1 or more of these reserve formations to any (British) DC. No roll is needed to succeed in this, and the reserve formation immediately becomes a part of the division it is assigned to.
Only 1 CP is required to commit reserves in any given recovery phase, regardless of whether 1, 2, or all 3 reserve units are committed that phase.
Court Marshall those Cads!
The Duke of Cumberland’s Hussar regiment was a craven embarrassment to the Allied army.
Whenever this regiment is:
• charged;
• ordered to charge;
• ordered to move to within 10MU of any enemy; or
• ordered to move closer to an enemy already within 10MU
the regiment must take a craven (Cohesion) Test. If the test is failed, the regiment drops a cohesion level and does a retirement move to their rear. If being charged this retirement may place them out of charge range. This CT is in addition to any that would usually be required for being charged while wavering or while skirmishing.
If touching the edge of the table before starting a retirement move, the unit is removed - fleeing off to Brussels they go.
Once the Cumberland Hussars have passed their craven test, they do not need to test again in the game.
FRENCH SPECIAL RULES
Trust your Subordinates
• Napoleon can allocate his command points to Ney, Drout, D’Erlon, Reille, Lobau, Kellerman or Milhaud.
Napoleon requires a command point to move.
• Ney can allocate his command point to any general on table except for Napoleon, Drout, or any of the Imperial Guard DCs.
Ney requires a command point to move in a recovery phase, but not to move in an assault or movement phase.
• Drout, D’Erlon, Reille and Lobau can only allocate their command points (including any they receive from Napoleon or Ney) to DCs in their own Corps.
Drout, D’Erlon, and Reille require a command point to move.
• Kellerman and Milhaud count as DCs for all purposes and can only have command points allocated to them from either Napoleon or from Ney.
• Lobau counts as a DC for all purposes however he can have command points allocated to him from either Napoleon or from Ney, and he can allocate command points to Domon.
Reserves
Napoleon can allocate command points to attempt to bring up his 3 reserve formations. Only one formation from the reserve can be summoned each turn.
Reserves must arrive in the order noted in the order of battle, being:
1. Young Guard (plus Druot)
2. Emperor’s Beautiful Daughters artillery regiment
3. The remainder of the Old Guard
At least one command point, plus a successful arrival role, is required from Napoleon for each formation summoned to the table. Roll a die per command point Napoleon allocates. At least one 5-6 for each formation is required to arrive, unless the army’s line of communication is outside of Napoleon’s command range, when a 6 is required.
Reserves arrive within 8 inches either side of the Brussels Highway.
Arriving formations are summoned and diced for at the start of a French turn. Arriving formations are placed in any formation with the rear of their bases touching the table edge. They may not launch an assault on the turn of arrival however they can shoot and move normally in that turn.
Master of Artillery
Napoleon may use a command point in any recovery phase and allocate any artillery battery in the army (that is within his command range) to a different Divisional Commander. One command point per battery so re-organised is required.
No die roll is required for this re-organisation which takes effect immediately.
St Maurice may move artillery as a brigade group.
My Children
Napoleon may use a single command point in any recovery phase and allocate any or all Old Guard infantry regiment(s) in the army (that is within his command range) to a different Divisional Commander(s).
No die roll is required for this re-organisation which takes effect immediately. Only one command point is required per allocation, regardless of how many Old Guard infantry regiments are re-allocated in that recovery phase.
La Guarde Recule!
If an Old Guard infantry regiment make any ‘Retire’ outcome move, every French unit (including other Guards) within 4MU of the retiring Guardsmen must make a cohesion test.
If an Old Guard infantry unit Breaks, every French unit (including other Guards) within 8MU of the retiring Guardsmen must make a cohesion test, rolling one dice less than normal.
PRUSSIAN SPECIAL RULES
Marshall Vorwats!
Blucher does not require a CP to move in the French recovery phase, nor in the assault phase when leading an assault.
Prussian Arrival Times
All arriving units enter the table in the Prussian movement phase, on the relevant road, in column of March one unit behind another. Movement distances are measured form the table edge. Units may attempt a CMT for a second move.
If there is not enough room for the entire division to march onto the table in a single turn, place as many units as will fit. The remaining units are straggling and will arrive the following Prussian movement phase.
Units of two separate divisions may not arrive the same turn. Stragglers will therefore delay subsequent formations.
On the Road to Wavre:
IV Corps
1:30 15th Brigade (Losthin)
2:00 16th Brigade (Hiller)
2:30 13th Brigade (Hacke)
3:00 14th Brigade (Ryssel)
II Corps
4:00 5th Brigade and II Corps Cavalry (Tippelskirch)
4:30 6th and 7th Brigades (Krafft)
On the Road to Ohain:
I Corps
6.30 I Corps (Ziethen)
POST GAME WRITE-UP
We played a 2nd refight of Waterloo - 9 players, a 12’ x 6’ table with about 9000 points on table.
We had more table space than in the last game, giving the allies an extra foot behind their lines to help them move reserves around, and adding an extra 4 feet to the west, so that the Prussians could march to the battlefield ‘on-table’ rather than popping up on the table edge as an ‘outflank’.
The French plan was to launch a diversionary attack with half of Reille’s Corps and Kellerman’s heavy cavalry to the left of Hougomont. The intention was to prevent Wellington from moving troops to support Picton, where the real French effort was to be directed.
Half of D’Erlon’s corps was ordered to take the buildings of Frishermont, Smohein and Papalotte. D’Erlon’s remaining troops, supported by Milhaud’s cavalry corps, were to attack the far end of Picton’s line.
Lobau was tasked with holding the Prussians back.
The basic French plan was to roll up the Picton’s line and force the Allies to form a new line at right angles, probably with a pivot point on la Haye Saint. The Guard would then assault the pivot point which would hopefully bring victory before the Prussians could interfere too much.
The old adage that ‘no plan survives contact with the enemy’ was sadly to apply to the French.
The Allied plan was described as being “to defeat the French of course”.
The attack on Frishermont, led by Ney, was initially successful and the village was taken - although not as swiftly as hoped. Papalotte however held out until the end of the game and the attack on these buildings had the overall effect of absorbing half of a French corps against just two Nassau regiments.
Meanwhile, D’Erlon’s attack stalled. The mass of French troops trying to attack on a restricted frontage got in each others way. Picton, aided by the British light cavalry deployed in support, set up a solid defence and D’Erlon showed a distinct lack of impetus, indulging in a skirmish engagement against Picton’s troops on the hill, and trying to push forward artillery support.
After leading the successful the successful assault on Frishermont, Ney was ordered to leave the attack on Papalotte to D’Erlon and take himself to the Bois de Paris to personally lead Lobau’s men against the Prussians.
Screened by light cavalry, Ney ordered Lobau deep into the woods to carry out a defence in depth. Rather than through his units at the French piecemeal as the Prussian units arrived, Bulow deployed in the woods, organising his line with supports and advancing with care. The resulting lack of haste displayed by Bulow, together with Ney’s decision to push into the woods to defend, meant that Ney effectively achieved his aims of keeping the Prussians away from the battlefield proper.
Meanwhile on the French left, Reille and Kellerman began their game of cat and mouse against 3 times their number of enemy. Leaving a single infantry unit to mask Hougomont, Reille and Kellerman, operating to the (French) left of Hougomont, initially achieved some local successes against there opponents. This had the desired effect of focusing Wellington’s attention on this flank, and the Allied regiments and reserves on the right moved out aggressively to face Reille. So far so good, Reille had achieved his main task of preventing Wellington from moving reserves to the aid Picton.
Unfortunately, Reille and Kellerman overcommitted and, when sent an order by Napoleon to give ground and start falling back, they were unable to successfully extricate themselves against aggressive allied formations who were now driving forward against then. 2/3 of the French troops deployed on this flank ended up being destroyed by the allies. Not part of the plan!
Frustrated at the continued lack of progress by D’Erlon, Napoleon ordered D’Erlon to stop being cautious and to assault and break Picton with all haste.
Obedient to his Emperor, D’Erlon launched assaults against the enemy line, however these were carried out piecemeal by single units and were easily repulsed by Picton.
Increasingly concerned, Napoleon directly intervened in the action, bought up the Dutch lancers of the Guard and ordered them to charge Picton’s units. D’Erlon took the lead from his Emperor and also through in everything he had. The lancers crashed into two British regiments, which formed square. D’Erlon’s infantry assaulted the squares and neighbouring units, in a perfect combined arms assault. Picton’s highlanders and other regiments broke and the British far left collapsed.
Wellington had previously ordered some of Picton’s better supporting units elsewhere (which Picton was furious about, but complied), leaving little in the way of rear support for Picton’s line on the crest. The supporting unit that was available was Hanovarian rubbish, which was burst through, routed around and, when charged by the pursuing Red lancers, was destroyed.
Milhaud’s Cuirassiers, operating in a confined channel between Picton’s extreme flank and Papalotte, meanwhile had managed to get to grips with some of the British LC and were causing them some pain.
At the same time as Picton broke, French troops, who had peppering La Haye Saint supported by most of the Grand battery, managed to storm and take La Haye Saint.
Seizing the moment, Napoleon ordered the Young Guard, held in reserve, to Charge Bijlandt’s troops deployed just to the (allied) left of La Haye Sainte. The Dutch troops broke, fleeing back through the British HC and Dutch cavalry in support. With broken troops everywhere bursting through their reserves, Allied units were taking (and largely failing) multiple cohesion tests
It was now about time to pack up. We took stock of the game. Losses on both sides were in the 35-40% range. Picton was gone, as was much of the allied centre.
However the French no longer had a left flank and Ney/Lobau was hopelessly outnumbered by Blucher in the Bois de Paris, had lost ¼ of his forces there and could hope to do no more now than fall back and try to save his command. It was very likely that Blucher would kill enough French in the next half dozen turns to break the French army.
There were no further ‘targets’ for the victorious French on the right and we (unanimously) judged that the Allies would easily get the 12% additional casualties against the French before the French could do the same to them.
However it would probably take another 2 hours (which we didn’t have) to get a result.
A victory for the allies.
In order to win Waterloo, the French really need to 30:10 (as they did on our first re-fight), or at possibly 40:20 them. They don’t have the time to realistically inflict 50% losses on Wellington’s army before the Prussians are all over them.
A fun game – much harder fought than the first re-fight. Wellington learnt from the previous game and was much more careful about engaging French shock cavalry with his own horse. Picton played very well indeed, keeping an overwhelming number of enemy at bay for a long period of time. It took intervention by the Emperor himself (yours truly) to shift Picton from his positions.
Andy played Ney and did everything right. Kendal, playing Blucher was probably to cautious and should, by general consensus, have been a lot more aggressive, to the put of being rash. Andy is probably the best of our bunch of players and his reputation my have influenced Kendal’s approach. In the end however, the Prussians did enough.
Steve, a relative newbie, lead Kellerman and Reille on the French left. He did well, achieving his strategic goal, but did not have the experience to be able to carry out a fighting retreat when called upon to do so. He was facing Kit (Wellington) and Philip (Orange) – both seasoned FoGN’ers – who pushed Steve aggressively. Ultimately it was the losses on this flank which took the French over the 20% level and meant that the French now need to defeat 50% of Wellington’s army – a task that proved too tough.
All in all, an excellent game. General thumbs up for the ability of the rules to re-create large-scale actions.
Re: Army and Wing Commanders
Wow!
Thanks for posting these... I'm in the process of sorting out a Waterloo game and these will contribute a lot... Although I've played a lot of Napoleonic games with many different rulesets I've only had a handfull of sessions with FoG Napoleonic.
I've been really impressed so far and consider them the most satisfactory I've used.
Thanks for posting these... I'm in the process of sorting out a Waterloo game and these will contribute a lot... Although I've played a lot of Napoleonic games with many different rulesets I've only had a handfull of sessions with FoG Napoleonic.
I've been really impressed so far and consider them the most satisfactory I've used.
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KendallB
- Sergeant First Class - Elite Panzer IIIL
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:01 pm
- Location: North Shore, New Zealand
Re: Army and Wing Commanders
I'd still like to see someone try and move the Prussians through that damn wood faster than I did. Especially trying to get second moves out of all those conscripts.
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Sarmaticus
- Staff Sergeant - StuG IIIF
- Posts: 275
- Joined: Sat May 09, 2009 4:31 pm
Re: Army and Wing Commanders
If space, time or numbers are a problem, one way to stage the big battles is to use a scale down: that is 100yds to the inch scale with 15mm figures. Keeping all MU's as for 15mm. Ranges can be fudged and moves are dealt with by taking each pair of bounds as representing 30 minutes. Tactical units now are brigades and most artillery is attachment. Divisional commanders become Corps Commanders.
Re: Army and Wing Commanders
Thanks for posting details of your refight.
The special rules are of particular interest, and highlights the fact that a lot of historical battles need some sort of special treatment.
I'm going to be refighting Austerlitz in early June and will post my own write-up.
The special rules are of particular interest, and highlights the fact that a lot of historical battles need some sort of special treatment.
I'm going to be refighting Austerlitz in early June and will post my own write-up.
Re: Army and Wing Commanders
That seems much exagerated . The british did suffer a lot i those "fortified' buildings . They were not that big, nor that fortified . The walls were not that high and in the case of la Haye Sainte, the british were bloked in the main houseShooting:Infantry units shooting into fortified buildings get 2 less dice each (ie 2 instead of 4). Artillery is not affected and get their full dice (artillery attachments also get their full additional dice).
. What did happen : the french did not use their howitzers soon enough and they had to wait before having some batteries firing on the farms . Mostly the outer buildings fell to the french, the main buiding was another story and Wellington had to reinforce Hougoumont more than once.With your rule, a simple farm - that's what they are and I visited them often as they are a mere 30 minutes from my home - is stronger than a field fortification similar to the great redoubt !