Order Up! The Deep Breath Before the Plunge

 

Now comes the fun part.

The Major Generals of the British and French, distracted by larger concerns, have appointed trusted sub-commanders to head out into the countryside.

In the case of the French, procure supplies and return them to division command.

In the case of the British, prevent the capture of supplies while limited damage to the surrounding countryside.  Wouldn't do to upset the locals, what what?

These two sub-commanders, both full blown Colonels, have appointed the usual suspects, Lt. Colonels each, to go about their daily tasks.  The Colonels have sketched out brief plans and orders, but by and large are prepared to leave the details of the operations to their sub-commanders.  

In game terms, this is where the fun begins.  We'll sit down and parse out the orders on-camera, find out where the forces are likely to catch sight of each other, and adjudicate any potential friction that arises from there.  You'll see the video in a few weeks, but we'll also post updates here from time to time.  Sometimes we'll spoil the videos and sometimes the videos will spoil the blog posts, but if you follow one or the other, you'll get a solid idea of what's going on, with only a bit of delay between the two.  For now, I'm hoping to keep the Colonels (read: players) one jump ahead of you, dear reader, so that we can spoil plenty of things here without spoiling the fog of war for them.

The Last Few Pieces

The last few pieces of the Chosen Men puzzle fall into place with the addition of these characters.  My forces were a little light on the leadership front, but we have solved that problem now.  In Chosen Men, forces are built by assembling individual units, but each army has at least on Independent Officer who can roam about adding bonuses to units within his command range.  All of these leaders are in addition to the sergeants and captains of each individual unit.

For the French we add a two foot leaders and a mounted leader.  The guy with the pole is an aide-de-camp with a rolled up standard.  The guy on the far right is a sapper complete with axe and shovel, which can be added to any unit as an upgrade.  He makes it easier to 'dig in' and fights like a beast.

On the British side we've got a mounted leader, two foot leaders, and an artillery crew.  I always paint the crews up separately so that my guns can do double-duty.

Wot's All This, Then?

It's a wargame campaign, and one that bridges the line between solo and multi-player.

Two players take on the role of distant commanders, issuing orders to one or more detachments.  Written orders are submitted to the referee, who then plots movement and visibility on a map, and interprets the written orders as best he can to adjudicate the events of the day.

For example, the French Commander, upon looking at the map, could decide to issue the following orders:

1. Detachment Blanc shall enter via Road Y and move with all due haste to Young Crossing, there to commandeer supplies.  Once loaded, return to point Y, stopping off at Hethwill Farm only long enough to grab that last point.
2. Detachment Rouge shall enter via Point Z and move to seize and hold the hills at O-21 and O-22.  Move to engage any enemy forces east of Drescher Stream.
3. Detachment Bleu shall enter via Point Z, procure any stores at Iojimbo Farm, then move to secure the ford at G-13.  Intercept any enemy forces before they can cross Drescher Stream.

Meanwhile, the British commander has ordered his two detachments to enter via points A and C and move by road to points X and Y, engaging any enemy forces encountered.  In the event no enemy are encountered, return to Hopeton and Young Crossing, respectively.

These orders would result in a map that looks like this:

For the record, I think this is a terrible French plan

The first battle would be for Young Crossing in the east on turn four.  Detachment Rouge would have just arrived in the vicinity of Beasley Farm at that time.  They could rush to the aid of Detachment Blanc, but that would require three map moves or six tabletop game moves, allowing them to arrive on the seventh turn of that battle.

In the west, Detachment Bleu would secure the VP from Iojimbo Farm and return to the ford without sighting the British second detachment.  That detachment would have moved to Point X and, having sighted no enemies, begun to return to Hopeton.  On the way, they would catch sight of Detachment Bleu just as they reach the ford.  Following orders, Lt. Colonel Locataire would presumably await their arrival - preferring to fight a defensive battle on his own terms.  The British would not arrive at the ford until Turn 12, and with just two tabletop game turns left in the day, would have no time to engage.

As a result, the players would understand that a battle for the ford will erupt at dawn, and can issue new orders accordingly.  Does the French player send reinforcements to the ford?  Does his place his faith in Lt. Colonel Locataire to hold the line so the other detachments can do their work? Does he tell Lt. Colonel Locataire to slip away in the pre-dawn mists?

These are the decisions the players must make.

Hello World!

Welcome to the test post for a ne blog all about a series of Napoleonic Wargame Campaigns!

Expect the rules, table shots, and more to follow.

Here's a teaser: