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January 1807
The French army awoke from quarters and
assembled into regiments and brigades, advancing cautiously
into the winter fastness, passing alternately through the
plains and forests of Masuria. Encountering determined
opposition in a series of rearguard battles lasting a week,
they
finally emerged into a clearing about a mile and a half in
front of the large village of Deutsch Eylau.
To the north, east, and south stretched an undulating plain.
In the left foreground a frozen pond extends half a mile
north-west to the village of Tenknitten; to the right is the
Waschkeiten Lake, blanketed in snow. Slightly elevated
ground occupies the space of 1000 yards between the two
lakes, and the road runs along the highest crest.
Half a mile before Eylau, the road begins to descend. The
substantial village lies in the valley, on both sides of the
road. On the right side, the church and cemetery stand on a
well-defined mound.
February 7th, 2 PM
The French cavalry under the fiery Murat arrives in sections
at the edge of the woods, across the road from Tenknitten
Lake. The advanced guard of Marshal Soult's IV Corps moves
up in support. Mindful of the ambush the day before, the
horsemen are in no hurry to attack the Russians drawn up
across the road in front of Eylau: they will await the
infantry.
Soult impatiently sends the first men forward in piecemeal
fashion. Their unsupported attack is a dismal failure. The
Russians organize a counterattack with cavalry and infantry.
Soult places his corps artillery on a slight rise and begins
a bombardment. While his arriving units move
through the woods on the right, Marshal Augereau's VII Corps
moves out toward the lake. Feeling the pressure on their
flanks, the Russians withdraw on their main body, and
shortly thereafter into the village itself.
The Battle of Eylau has begun.
Eylau is one of three decisive battles simulated in The
Habit of Victory. After the fall of Berlin on 26 October
1806, Napoleon turned to engage the surviving forces of
Prussia and the fresh armies of her Russian ally. With the
first moves in December came the Battle of Pultusk where
Napoleon's forward momentum was checked. Then came the
inconclusive massacre of Eylau and a long period of
recovery. Resuming hostilities in June, the armies met again
at Friedland, where Napoleon used crushing strength to
capture his long-delayed victory. The campaign ended in the
complete collapse of Prussian power.
GAME
DESCRIPTION
* Campaigns of Napoleon System, Series 2X. Game Mechanics
are the same as Napoleon at the Crossroads, with the
addition of the cards.
* Card Assisted Game (CAG) plays with far fewer dice rolls,
and quicker
overall.
* Each card represents a Movement Command specifying
attrition, administration, etc., and allows for one-time
events such as: political, military, officer feuds, and
guerilla war. Because they define Movement more closely, the
cards make attrition a matter of a quick read-off at a
glance.
* Three short introductory scenarios simulate the battles of
Pultusk/Golymin, Eylau, and Friedland.
* Three full-sized campaign scenarios depict the three
phases of the war-the Crossing of the Bug and Battles of
Pultusk and Golymin, the campaign and battle of Eylau in
February, and the final miscalculation by Bennigsen at
Friedland.
* A massive Grand Scenario of up to 69 turns.
* During major battles entire armies can be concentrated
under just a few leaders. At other times units can be
dispersed independently along with Cavalry Vedettes which
help confuse the enemy.
COMPONENTS
* One 22 x 34" map in four colors
* 280 two-sided leaders, units and markers
* 100 playing cards that represent March Orders the players
can issue
* 56 pages of rules including campaign analysis, designers
notes and more
* French, Russian and Prussian Organization Displays
* Turn Record, Coalition and French Record Tracks
GAME SCALE
6 km (3.75 mi.) per hex / 3 days per turn / 3000 men per
Strength Point.
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