Campaign Game AAR-Borsook/Happycat

[Panzer]

Nice game, but the french are dead meat in this game.



Keep it up !

[Happycat]

April 14, 1807

After a very long delay, the Russians have attacked the French line in an attempt to blunt the growing strength of the French. There are some who believe that the Russians may have waited too long already. In January the French line was well supported by artillery, but very brittle due to a shortage of infantry. Now it begins to look like maybe that shortage has been addressed.





Meanwhile, an interesting development off of the Belgian coast line...

[joerock22]

Just wanted to let you know how cool this is to read. Thanks for taking the time to post. I wonder what kind of resistance those Brits will encounter...

[Happycat]

Just wanted to let you know how cool this is to read. Thanks for taking the time to post. I wonder what kind of resistance those Brits will encounter...

Thank you, I appreciate the feedback

I have already played the next turn, so I know what the British find. But I always wait until Borsook, my opponent, has sent his responding moves before I post to the AAR. Even as it stands now, he gains a lot of intelligence from the screen shots on the AAR.

[Happycat]

The following series of screenies shows the back-and-forth on the Warsaw front. Near the end of the sequence, Napoleon is injured (nine turns) and a small cluster of French units is isolated on the southern end of the battle line. In the west, the screen shots show a landing by the British near Antwerp, and its eventual capture.

It is far from over for the French however---this has been a very costly campaign for Russia so far, and supporting Prussia may not prove to be worth it. As commented upon earlier, if the Russians had attacked sooner, they probably would have caught the French at a low ebb. Now the French are still fairly strong, and the loss of Napoleon for a few turns may not matter that much. What may matter is the two front war the French now face.

The battle for Antwerp illustrates how important combined arms is. My British force was not particularly strong. The final assault was at odds of 4-2 first attack, 3-2 second attack, and 2-1 third attack. This, of course, after some good artillery preparation. The reason these low odds attacks do so much damage on the defending milita is because they received bonuses for combined arms from two of the three artillery units, and the cavalry unit (even depleted, it counts for something).

[Happycat]

The following several screen shots show the changing situation near Warsaw and near Antwerp, from July 23, 1807 to Sept 1, 1807. At one point after capturing Antwerp, I was optimistic that the British would be able to hold on in Belgium. However, a bold French counter-attack recaptured Antwerp and destroyed two artillery, as well as the corps containing the local commander.

As will be seen in the final screenie of the Antwerp area, a British attack has gravely depleted the Bavarian defender in Antwerp, but any optimism I might feel about that is tempered by the presence of some strong French line infantry corps nearby.

Still, I feel that the British foray served its purpose, because the French withdrew from in front of Warsaw at the end of the summer. While the Russians and Prussians are in no way fit to chase them, they can now probably consolidate behind the river and build up their strength.

[Happycat]

Screenies for Sept 21, 1807 to Nov 20, 1807.

The French eliminated the British toe-hold near Antwerp, but it served its purpose in taking the heat off of Warsaw. The French forces in fact pulled back quite a distance from Warsaw, partially I suspect to preserve their strength and build up for another push. But, they also had a "situation" to deal with in Vienna

[Happycat]

Winter has its icy grip on most of Poland, Russia and parts of Prussia. Further south it is rainy and muddy. Bottom line? Not much going on in the way of movement or combat. The screen shots below show December 30, 1807 through February 8, 1808.

I strongly suspect that Napoleon is using the time wisely, building new units and readying himself for the spring of 1808. It will be interesting to see what the French do this year.

[Happycat]

The next series of screen captures shows the evolving situation around Prague and Vienna. Throughout the rest of the winter of 1808, the front was inactive, until spring. Then it was the Coalition which took action. With Berlin back in Prussian hands, the way seemed clear to consider an attack southwards. In May, the French tried some spoiling attacks east of Prague, but the Coalition was not deterred. An enveloping attack sweeping west of Leipzig and east of Prague managed to destroy French offensive potential. Several marshals and generals, including Napleon, were injured and a revolt in Vienna was supported by Russian troops. By July, the French had been forced to retreat, and now the Coalition is turning its attention to reducing the fortresses at Leipzig and Prague.

Meanwhile, with the success in Saxony, England felt emboldened to support the Portuguese in a border dispute between Portugal and Spain. While this had the effect of giving France a new ally, the British war planners feel that entering Europe through Portugal and Spain is probably a lot safer than any other options. The planners note that having supply from Oporto and Lisbon is a huge benefit, and they of coursse well remember the disaster at Antwerp in 1807.

So, the war continues, with no end yet in sight.

[firepowerjohan]

It seems Coalition will win. Can you switch sides and try also? If Coalition is stronger, makes it easier to determine because it could have been also a combination of the Coalition player playing a better game.

[Happycat]

It seems Coalition will win. Can you switch sides and try also? If Coalition is stronger, makes it easier to determine because it could have been also a combination of the Coalition player playing a better game.

While I think I have played a good game, I feel that my opponent has too. The things you were most concerned about (French must use leaders and do research); he HAS done that.

I think this game is a long way from over. It will take me a while to get through Spain, and by that time we're into another winter. At the other end of the continent, Russia and Prussia have absolutely no capacity to pursue the French right now. I think capturing Prague and Leipzig, and holding Vienna, will be all that they can manage until 1809.

Between two players of reasonably similar skill, a game like this should end more or less with a historical result. I think we will see that here.

Does the United States factor into CNAW at all? It would be good if Britain had a distraction such as the war of 1812.

Borsook can speak for himself, but I think this game is far from over, and I know I am enjoying it; I presume that Borsook is also enjoying it.

If Borsook is interested, I am willing to try this from the opposite side when we're done with this game.

[Happycat]

Things continue quietly in the area of Vienna, Prague and Berlin. The Russians are busy upgrading their infantry, and the Prussians are waiting for the arrival of Clausewitz, hopefully to boost their fortunes!

The war on the Iberian Peninsula is not going as well as the United Kingdom would prefer. The Portuguese line infantry were decimated by a combined French/Spanish attack, and it seems that the French superiority in artillery and technology generally is still a painful reality for the British to contend with.

Luckily the British have Wellington!

[firepowerjohan]

The patch is here in a matter of weeks so it would be great if you could start the rematch on the new patch

[Happycat]

October 25, 1808 - Munich falls to the Coalition.

[Happycat]

November 14, 1808

In Portugal, the French and Spanish push back. Once again, it appears that the English have under-supported an invasion. Perhaps having Wellington there will provide the crucial difference this time...

[Happycat]

November 18, 1808 through January 13, 1809 - the situation near Stuttgart is very much developing in favour of the Coalition forces. Although England is doing a less than spectacular job in Portugal, they do at least serve to draw off some of the remaining French strength from the front around Stuttgart. If it were not for the poor weather, Russian siege artillery (currently stuck on the road near Kiev) would join in and make short work of this fortress!

[Happycat]

December 4, 1808 - January 13, 1809: While the situation near the French-Austrian border continues to evolve nicely for the Coalition, the situation in Portugal continues to be quite grave. The English are reduced to holding a small perimeter around Oporto, while reinforcements trickle in through Coruna to the north. The reinforcing units have so far been unable to link up with Wellington's battered defenders on the Oporto front. England's continued mastery of the sea is the saving grace---transporting new units to Portugal has not been a challenge, and evacuating the wounded (badly depleted units) from Oporto has also been readily achieved.

[Panzer]

Nice screenshot and storytelling !
But considering the russian Forces against the french one, this game should be over by now !

(at least 3 to 1)

Maybe you should try it again and switch side (more manpower in the new patch for the frenchies).


cheers

[Happycat]

Nice screenshot and storytelling !
But considering the russian Forces against the french one, this game should be over by now !

(at least 3 to 1)

Maybe you should try it again and switch side (more manpower in the new patch for the frenchies).


cheers

Stay tuned to this station! My opponent has realized that because of the way the manpower limits work (there is an upper limit, but no real "lower" limit, so you can theoretically go negative), he should in fact be building more. While it is true that the French quality will suffer (typically, his units are quality four against six and seven for Russians), his amazing leaders will help him a lot.

So, in the next series of screenies (coming soon to a PC near you), you will see an overwhelming number of French units around Paris. It would appear that my cautious approach to the invasion of France may pay dividends after all.

The reason I did not pursue the French more aggressively is that my units are TIRED, and some of the required artillery is still stuck in snow and mud back in the Rodina.

Incidentally, I have no problem with the French going into negative manpower numbers. I think that there should be no cap on manpower anyway, just the severe effects that we now see for quality if you go too deeply into your population. For example, England is now scraping the bottom of the barrel. The units I sent from the UK to Portugal last turn have quality "zero". But, they will do very nicely as cannon fodder. And that, hopefully, will give my hard core of experienced and higher quality units time to rest up.

Now, all of this having been said, I think we will be very likely to "patch" and try this again. Borsook is a great opponent, full of surprises and good strategic sense. I am glad that the patch addresses the French manpower.

[firepowerjohan]

Hi. The DL of images is a bit slow so maybe if you post one image per reply that would mean on each page of this topic would be say 20 images instead of 40 and quicker when you want to just view the latest reply