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"I
greatly fear lest on the day your majesty has gained a victory, and believe
you have won a decisive battle, you will learn that you have lost two."
(Marshal Marmont)
System: Napoleon at Leipzig System.
COMPONENTS: Four
22 x 17" maps and 560 two-sided units; 48 pages of rules including campaign
analysis, designers notes and more; 4 player aid cards, 2 decks of cards
(total of 96) used to effect deployments, arrivals, status of troops.
"Four Lost Battles" Rules ... click
here
(PDF, 738K)
Download Four Lost Battles
Study Folder,
Revised CRT and
Getting Started Sheet
GROSSBEEREN: To the Gates of Berlin, 23 August
KATZBACH: A Perilous Passage, 26 August
KULM: Enfilade in the Mountains, 29-30 August
DENNEWITZ: Collapse in the North, 6 September
After winning
a great victory at Dresden early in the Autumn Campaign, Napoleon saw his
chances for victory gradually slip away in four lost battles over a two-week
period after the Allies adopted the 'Fabian Strategy' of avoiding the Emperor
in person and concentrating on his subordinates. The whole campaign was over
in two weeks. By Sept. 6th, a battle in or near Leipzig was certain.
The four battlemaps are each 22" x 17". There are two counter sheets (560
counters) and almost the whole of the French Army in Germany is represented
(200 French units). A "Campaign Game" allows the outcome on one of these
battlefields to influence exactly what forces will participate in the four
battles.
In most wargames, the force structure and arrival schedule is usually not a
mystery. Everyone on both sides knows exactly who is coming. But in the
Napoleonic era, the uncertainty faced by commander on both sides played an
important role in the way battles developed. We have used the cards to provide
this uncertainty. Cards determine the order of arrival and O/B of the battles.
For example, a card will specify an additional corps to arrive on the
Dennewitz map.
In all Napoleonic battles, enemy forces and deployments were somewhat
uncertain. It is hard to find a battle without some surprises. In these four
battles, there were more than usual, partly because of the chaotic situation
and partly due to a lack of proper patrolling by the French.
Deployments and Reinforcement schedules are out of either player's control.
Each player begins with the Initial (Historical) Set-Up for his army. This can
be augmented or decreased by the draw of cards.
There are two identical decks of 48 cards apiece, one for each player. The
decks will be tailored to each side and each battle, according to Scenario
Information. In addition, in the campaign game the decks will be altered
according to your performance at prior battlefields.
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Map Section from Kulm |
GAME DESCRIPTION
Four Lost Battles is an update of the classic NLB/NAL system,
introducing Hidden Movement, Baggage Trains, Pontoon and Bridge Trains, and
other rules from the "Days" Series. Set at the same scale as Napoleon's Last
Battles -480 meters per hex and one hour turns- the game retains the Command
System of Commanders and Corps "Officers."
The two decks of 48 cards which are used to activate Alternative
Reinforcements and other modifications to the Reinforcement schedule.
All Cavalry except Vedettes may make a cavalry charge, resolved on the Cavalry
Charge Table
One SP equals between 350 and 800 men. Infantry and cavalry were evaluated on
a sliding scale, from 350 men per point for the Garde Impériale, to 800 men
per point for the Landwehr and trained militia; the "good" infan-try were
around 500. Anything 600 or above would be poor quality. Cavalry are all rated
between 400 and 500 to the strength point.
Combined Arms: An attacking force with infantry, cavalry and artillery
gains a combat odds shift.
Initiative: Used to determine whether or not Officers and Units may
move when they are not In Command.
Leaders: Commanders and Officers, including their staffs, necessary to
link all parts of the army to its Chain of Command.
March Order: A March Order allows a Force to move during the Friendly
Command Movement Segment regardless of Command Range.
The printed Movement Allowance on the unit counter represents the "normal"
Movement Allowance for units of that type. However, the actual Movement
Allowance will vary.
Repulse: When moving forces attempt to displace enemy units out of
their path.
Road March: In order to benefit from road terrain costs a unit must be
in "Road March." Units in Road March may not stack.
Supply Line: A Line of up to [16] connected hexes from a Combat Unit to
a Baggage Train, thence along road or trail hexes to a printed supply source.
Train Units: Artillery, Pontoon Trains and Baggage Trains pay double
the normal terrain movement costs during Thunderstorm and Mud.
Units Awaiting Reorganization box [UAR box]: A holding area for combat
units which have been eliminated in combat, including those currently
recovered and eligible for reorganization.
Vedettes: Vedettes provide your scouting and screening abilities. Light
Cavalry units can be broken-down into a number of Vedettes.
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