Slitherine

June 22, 1809 and the British Army is more of a theory than a threat in Spain. Wellington has been inured, and Picton is the only remaining commander of any note. And he is preparing to do the unthinkable: evacuate Gibraltar!

July 12, 1809 and the news from Portugal is grim. The country has surrendered to Spanish forces, and Gibraltar has been mostly evacuated. Only the remnants of a cavalry corps remain.

Meanwhile, the Coalition has formed two large armies. The smaller one, around Vienna, is the cheese in the trap. The trap's striker is a massive force centred around Berlin. If Napoleon goes for Vienna, and neglects his flank, then perhaps the recent Coalition misfortunes can be reversed.

September 10, 1809 and the French and Coalition forces are still staring at each other. Something must happen soon, methinks.

September 30, 1809, and a startling development: the French forces have retreated to the west!

September 30, 1809 continued:

The sudden retreat of the French could be a trap, but cavalry reconnaissance appears to show that there are no significant new numbers of French corps in the field. The Coalition commanders confer, and have decided to advance.

Great AAR. Any way to boost the Navy war? I dont think that it was so easy to sink enemy ships in ports as it looks like here. If England was forced to concentrate more on the navy war it could make the war for France easier. THx again for the interessting reading.

A true clash of the Titans! But the narrow front seems to favor the French, who seem to still be numerically inferior to the Coalition. I wonder, have you considered declaring war on the German States and going for Paris that way? Of course, you know your opponent better than I do... Great AAR!

joerock22 wrote:A true clash of the Titans! But the narrow front seems to favor the French, who seem to still be numerically inferior to the Coalition. I wonder, have you considered declaring war on the German States and going for Paris that way? Of course, you know your opponent better than I do... Great AAR!

I have considered going into the German States, although that perhaps give by opponent some extra manpower. Still, the tactical flexibility would be nice for the Coalition.

The important thing now is to pin him in place, I think, and then consider the German States option. Since my declaration of war against Spain worked out so well for me , I don't know why I'm hesitating

Glad you like the AAR.

Going through Spain meant dividing your forces and allowing France to smash the English invading army while fighting defensively in the east. If you attack German states you will be able to land English forces near Bremen thus joining the rest of the Coalition army (left flank - Austrians, center - Russians and Prussians, right flank - English). By taking German states you increase the overall production, while also giving yourself more room to manoeuvre.

In short, I second joerock22's advice - declare war on German states... provided England has enough forces remaining to lend a hand near Bremen.

nalivayko wrote:Going through Spain meant dividing your forces and allowing France to smash the English invading army while fighting defensively in the east. If you attack German states you will be able to land English forces near Bremen thus joining the rest of the Coalition army (left flank - Austrians, center - Russians and Prussians, right flank - English). By taking German states you increase the overall production, while also giving yourself more room to manoeuvre.

In short, I second joerock22's advice - declare war on German states... provided England has enough forces remaining to lend a hand near Bremen.

At last, I have a War Council! The pay may not be very good, gentlemen, but I appreciate the input . Smashing the French seems like a much better idea than being smashed by them.

But like I said, you know your opponent better than we do. Your cautious approach seems to be paying dividends so far, so please don't do anything drastic on our account. You seem to know what your army is up for and what it isn't. When I look at the screenshots, I see the entire French army in white effectiveness, and substantial parts of your army in the yellow. I know that would worry me, and I'd probably take a cautious approach. When you do decide to go on the offensive, however, I think going through the German states would be a good idea. And landing the British on the north coast might be a good idea too. They have two embarrassing defeats to make up for, after all.

joerock22 wrote:But like I said, you know your opponent better than we do. Your cautious approach seems to be paying dividends so far, so please don't do anything drastic on our account. You seem to know what your army is up for and what it isn't. When I look at the screenshots, I see the entire French army in white effectiveness, and substantial parts of your army in the yellow. I know that would worry me, and I'd probably take a cautious approach. When you do decide to go on the offensive, however, I think going through the German states would be a good idea. And landing the British on the north coast might be a good idea too. They have two embarrassing defeats to make up for, after all.

Well said! Thank you.

October 20, 1809

With Hannover back in Prussian hands, the Coalition has now turned its attention to Munich.

November 9, 1809

Munich falls, and the Austrians are allowed the honour of entering the city first. Bavaria surrenders.

The last mini-map seems to imply French build up in both northern and central Italy. Are they gearing up for a push toward Rome (after all, their offensive options are limited and Italy seems the only place to expand at the moment)?

Austrians too seem to be slowly creeping across the Alps. First map I wasn't sure, but now I am positive that the battle for Italy is about to begin. I would definetely attack German states right now - to keep more French troops defending France instead of expanding French domains elsewhere.

Of course, the black blips on the mini-map show that the decision is already made anyway

....

Maybe coalition should wait for some reinforcement before attacking ....

Panzer wrote:....

Maybe coalition should wait for some reinforcement before attacking ....

French would get reinforcements too

I think the trick is to use Coalition's numerical superiority to deprive French from its production bases in Germany and Italy (possibly Netherlands and, if conditions are right, Spain) w/o getting too close to Paris where French reinforcements are bound to push Coalition army back.

Alternatively, if French decide to put up a fight in Italy, an all-out invasion of France can succeed in taking Paris.

The Coalition forces have moved forward a bit more, and taken Frankfurt.

The advance continues, cautiously, but the French seem to be pulling back a bit.

At the beginning of this turn (January 8, 1810) the French attacked and destroyed three line infantry and a cavalry unit. A commander was also lost.

A series of Coalition bombardments commenced, followed by a series of heavy assaults on selected French units (depleted or tired ones were chosen when possible).

The result is the destruction of nine French line infantry corps, damage to some horse and foot artillery, and the depletion of a cavalry unit.

A fair number of English troops are ashore now, and reconnaissance by a Prussian light cavalry unit shows that there is very little between Brussels and Paris.

Although the French still have some strength (in particular, artillery) further south, I will be very surprised if Napoleon does not order a strategic withdrawal.