OSG Report / February

[kzucker]

OSG REPORT / FEBRUARY

FOUR LOST BATTLES
The maps are all done. The Kulm map presented many challenges but, after several unsatisfactory drafts, we were helped by obtaining an 1847 map of the battlefield (see below). We are now working on the deployment cards (see article on page five). Bowden's "Napoleon's Grande Armée of 1813" is now open to page 44- table of cadre and troop make-up of the different corps, using categories A (Survivors of 1812), B (Existing depot troops), and C (veterans from Spain) through O (Newly raised volunteer units). That info will impact the unit ratings; units raised during the Armistice will be at a great disadvantage.

PRE-ORDERS AND CREDIT CARDS
We no longer ask for a credit card number when you place your pre-order. This is very good for you and for us. We found we were spending way too much time updating everyone's credit card number and expiration.

In a few weeks, we will contact everyone who has pre-ordered FOUR LOST BATTLES and provide a link to "Confirm" those pre-orders using paypal. That way, we will have no credit card info to deal with. We no longer store these numbers electronically. NOTE: If you prefer _not_ to use paypal, you can use a Credit Card or check to confirm your pre-order.

MILITARY HISTORY PRESS UPDATE
From: dlombardy@earthlink.net

Final corrections are going into Napoleon's Last Grande Armée this week. We will have proofs from the printer in the last half of February. Then it's on press and shipped off to us in March!

Davout's 3rd Corps book will be finished and sent to the printer in March.
Best regards,
Dana

NAPOLEONIC MAP PROJECT

Heretofore the best battle map resource readily available has been the "West Point Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars." We are about to revolutionize the general level of knowledge about the battlefields by posting a complete series of 177 Color Napoleonic Battle maps, originally published in 1847:

Author: Kausler, Franz Georg Friedrich von, 1794-1848.
Title: Die Kriege von 1792 bis 1815 in Europa un Aegypten. Schlacten-Atlas von 1792-1815 [von] J.E. Woerl.
Imprint: [n.p., 1847]

Physical Description: 1 v. of maps. 28 cm.
Subject (LC): Europe--History--1789-1815.
Subject (LC): France--History, Military--1789-1815.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. DC151 .K3 ATLAS

We will work at posting the maps on our site as time allows.

Many Thanks to Jeffrey Moore of California for providing scans of the maps and encouraging us to make them available.
-Kevin Zucker

Contents: Page 1) Castiglione Project for Clash of Arms Games
Page 2) Sun of Austerlitz Rules Questions
Page 3) Guerrilla Warfare in Spain
Page 4) Extra Brigade Counters for Seven Days?
Page 5) Four Lost Battles Development Progress
Page 6) Recommended Readings

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Operational Studies Group Report February 18, 2005 Page One

CASTIGLIONE PROJECT FOR CLASH OF ARMS GAMES
From: "Dave Collins" <brokenax@hotmail.com>

I'm working, working, working....

It's a hard campaign to shoe horn into the existing system. But I'm about to give up on perfection.

Meanwhile...the July 29 start date is okay for an intro scenario, with just
Quosi and a gathering number of French troops.

The campaign starts August 1st. On the 2nd of August most of Wurmser is on
map...but they then moved off to the south. My notion is to allow them to
join the battle early, with a VP penalty.

There are many cases of units not being able to make their actual marches,
with out taking initiative into consideration, but I have some ideas of how
to get around them.

What I haven't been able to settle on is the command structure.

Anyway, I'm working.

And we have a new map. Copy to you this week.

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Operational Studies Group Report February 18, 2005 Page Two

SUN OF AUSTERLITZ RULES QUESTIONS
From: "pat stone" <patstone23@btopenworld.com>

Thanks for help with recent rules queries. I am currently in the middle of
an extremely interesting and closely contested game (Battle Scenario 2 Sun
of Austerlitz). Here are a couple more Q's that have a large bearing on the
game: All relate to Battle Scenario.

1. Ought not the Exclusive Rule re Supply Distance (109) be used, otherwise
Forces such as Davout in Scen 2 can barely get to the site of Austerlitz
without extremely heavy attrition losses?
Use of this rule would allow attrition die roll on the current AP level (but
NOT the use of Move Commands) thereby enabling Davout to mirror the
historical situation.

2.Repulse: (a) May a force attempt a repulse against a force which it begins
its move adjacent to?
(b) May a force attempt a repulse against a force that is
currently "revealed" (ie adjacent to a friendly force)?
These situations have arisen particularly when a repulse has been attempted
in the Forced March phase when a large force tries to repulse a smaller
force so that it can effectively disengage and then march to another part of
the battlefield.

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Operational Studies Group Report February 18, 2005 Page Three

GGUERRILLA WARFARE IN SPAIN

Did Napoleon ever utter any maxim regarding how to fight against a guerrilla enemy? Seems neither he nor Jomini, nor Clausewitz, nor any other military theorist had the slightest grasp on this... right up to today, 2005...

The only technique he could propose was that one favored by the Nazis, to round up 10 people from the village and execute them... pretty brutal and not too effective.

From: "Carlos Fuentes" <carlosfuentes1@wanadoo.es>
About Guerrilla Warfare, unique method I know was used by French lied in
using lots of troops (retiring them of front line tasks) in Anti-Guerrilla
Warfare (escorting baggages, couriers, marching troops). Thousands of French
troops ought to be employed in such tasks.

We can say only Marshal Suchet fought effectively against Guerrilla,
creating a very intelligent French parties organization that neutralized for
a long time Spanish Guerrilla operating in Aragón.

So, I think Anti-Guerrilla Warfare should be simulated by some kind of
Off-Board boxes because meeting engagements between French and
"Guerrilleros" are no-representative at actual game scale.

[Ed sez: I can make it work with the "Partisan" rules from Highway to the Kremlin. ]

From: "Carlos Fuentes" <carlosfuentes1@wanadoo.es>

Historically, English authors underestimate the role of irregular forces
(for example, Oman), but Volume IX of "A History of the Peninsular War"
comes with a chapter titled DOCUMENTS ON THE GUERRILLA MOVEMENT, very useful
for us. If you cannot reach the book I'd be able to scan some pages... say
it me!

[Ed sez: I am interested in Marshal Suchet's methods. How can I find out more about this? Can you recommend a book? Or maybe you can tell me something more ...]

Jean-Louis Reynaud (Contre-guérilla en Espagne [18108-1814], París,
Economica, 1992).

LC Control Number: 92220300
Type of Material: Text (Book, Microform, Electronic, etc.)
Brief Description: Reynaud, Jean-Louis.
Contre-guérilla en Espagne (1808-1814) : Suchet pacifie l'Aragon /
Jean-Louis Reynaud.
Paris : Economica, c1992.
vii, 211 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.
CALL NUMBER: DC233.5.G8 R49 4992
Request in: Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading Rms

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[kzucker]

Operational Studies Group Report February 18, 2005 Page Four

EXTRA BRIGADE COUNTERS FOR SEVEN DAYS OF 1809?
From: Jack Gill

1. If both brigade units are reduced, is it your intent that the
division return at full-strength if/when the brigades reunite? Makes
sense to me that the division would come back full-strength if only one
brigade is reduced. Don't really have an opinion on what to do if both
are reduced (and probably a rare situation), but thought I would ask
for your thoughts. Ease of implementation suggests bringing back the
division at full strength, but I can imagine the howls of indignant
protest from across the game board!

2. I have NO idea about the costs and other logistical considerations
involved in counter sheet production, so this may be a totally loony
notion, but...............would it make any sense to produce
optional-purchase counter sheets with a complete set of brigade
counters? The key thing would be to avoid the confusion of using
reduced ones. One could even mark them for specific divisions, I
suppose, but that would not be necessary, nor even desirable to my
mind, as the current system allows one to create small detachments as
both sides (especially the Habsburgers) did repeatedly.

One could add corps loss markers to the optional counter sheet. I
understand and sympathize with the limitations of counter sheets for
designers, but I have always disliked using the first unit destroyed
for this purpose and have always made my own markers; this time, I lost
control of common sense and created (a) Austrian markers using the
Habsburg symbol from the backs of the Austrian counters with
superimposed corps numbers, (f) a French regimental flag for 2e, 3e,
and 4e corps d'armee, and (g) a Bavarian regtl flag and a Württemberg
coat of arms (could not find a color flag) for the German chaps of 7e
and 8e corps d'armee. Oh, yes, on the backs of the markers, I used a
contemporary b/w image of two soldiers carrying a wounded comrade on a
musket (doubtless a very comfortable seat).

One could also add alternative counters (e.g., Jellacic, Hugel's light
brigade, etc.) to fill out the set -- I have tried to manufacture some
at home, but the results, while not hideous, have not been entirely
satisfactory either.

Price would have to be reasonable, but I can imagine parting with a few
greenbacks for a professional counter sheet as opposed to my "limping
and inadequate" efforts.

Anyway, a few small thoughts on a quiet Saturday morning.

[Ed sez: Amusing musings ... Regarding the first point, before I answer (and
that probably will occur sometime somewhere) ...

Let's take the case of a division that has NOT broken down into brigades.
When it is reorganized, it comes back at reduced strength. Only the
hardcore cadre return. The sunshine soldiers melt away.

How does that work differently if a division is separated into two
brigades? My notion is, attrition would be somewhat less, because
there is less chance of troops getting lost in the crowd and less chance of
disorganization. The more dispersed a division is, the easier it is to
reconstitute...?

Whether that is true or not, ... how would or should that impact on the
rules? If we have two reorganized brigades, can they recorganize into a
reduced-strength division? I'd say sure: two reorganized brigades whose
strength totals one less than the reduced strength counter for that
division can reassemble into the reduced stregnth counter. (That is an
alternative way for a reduced strength counter to get into play. Normally
it would only appear through reorganization of the division itself.)

On the second point, we could ask the audience what sort of interest there
is in extra brigade ccounters. Sometimes we can gang another counter
sheet on the press sheet when we print new counters and it ends up costing
$250 extra from the printer.]

From: Jack Gill

As to Seven Days needs: I calculated that the following would be
required for complete "break-down coverage" --
AUSTRIA (full-strength brigade counters)
2 x 6-5
5 x 5-5
6 x 4-5
7 x 3-5
4 x 2-5
(this does not include REDUCED counterparts)

ALLIED [FRENCH] (full-strength brigade counters)
4 x 6-5
3 x 5-5
11 x 4-5
9 x 3-5
3 x 2-5
(this does not include REDUCED counterparts)
The ALLIED should include Wuerttemberg units to separate Huegel's Light
Brigade from the larger infantry division.

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Operational Studies Group Report February 18, 2005 Page Five

FOUR LOST BATTLES DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS

DEPLOYMENT & REINFORCEMENT CARDS

None of the commanders in these four battles knew what forces the enemy had or even which other friendly corps might be joining him. At Kulm, for instance,. Vandamme thought Mortier and even St. Cyr might be joining him. Instead, he got Kleist coming up behind him.

Also, he began the engagement thinking there was only one weak Alliued corps in front of him. He ended up with more than 40,000 in front of him.

So the first thing the cards can accomplish is to keep your reinforcement schedule hidden either from you or the other player. He might hold cards delaying or denying you your reinforcements.

Both players will start out with the Basic Deployment, but that can be reduced or augmented by a deployment card.

The second goal of the deployment cards is to reveal how the off-map maneuvering of the various corps impacted on the battle, and to teach a bit of the history.

Wargames have pretty much been tied down to the historical reinforcement schedule. In these four battles nobody really knew where the enemy was and in what strength. These cards can do more than just randomize the entry point and strength of the forces, because they can explain what each of those forces was doing before they arrived, why they arrived as they did, and that will give a good picture of how the battles fit into the overall big picture of operations...

This is a hidden movement game, with Vedettes and leaders only appearing on map at the start of any scenario (flag-side up). Once opposing forces arrive within visual line of sight distance, all units are placed face up and the combat units join the leaders and vedettes on map, within a diamond-shaped area behind them.

GAME START PROCEDURE:
Each Player deals himself a number of cards from his deck. The deck includes FORCE cards, ARRIVAL Cards, STRENGTH cards, DEPLOYMENT cards, STATUS cards, and GAME cards.

All Corps that historically appeared in the battle set-up on map unless the cards require them to appear as Reinforcements. Changes in force structure will be required by the cards.

Each map has a deployment area (dotted line) printed for each side. Any Corps which is not singled-out for special treatment by the cards may be set-up freely within the deployment zone (which represents the terrain the corps could have occupied prior to the battle).

CARDS

1. FORCE CARDS augment or deplete the given force OB.

2. DEPLOYMENT Cards determine the set-up.

3. STRENGTH Cards determine which units are Reduced strength.

4. ARRIVAL Cards determine the Order of Appearance of Reinforcements

5. STATUS Cards determine whether a Corps or Commander is.

6. GAME Cards impose other changes on the terms of the game itself.

Every one of these cards will add or subtract several VPs to from the VP totals.

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Operational Studies Group Report February 18, 2005 Page Six

READING LIST
(from Chris Moeller)
George Lackoff, "Moral Politics"
"Don't Look at the Elephant in the Room"
Uniting metaphors for Conservatives (strict father)- punish and reward.
Uniting metaphors for Liberals (nation as family).