Development

[kzucker]

This will be our 2005 publication.

The basic battle games are fairly set; we are working on the 'link game.'

For more background on the four games, please go to the P-250 page (click on "PRE-ORDER 250" above).

This two-week period was the turning point of the campaign, although as such things go, no one really knew that at the time. It was a period in which the Emperor's victory at Dresden, a very large battle, was overshadowed by the "four lost battles," smaller affairs against the Emperor's subordinates, which took place before and after Dresden.

The battles were separated not only in time but in distance. The link game, therefore focuses on how the force structure on one battlefield could have been affected by a different outcome on another battlefield. For instance, if Grossbeeren had been a French victory - leading to the occupation of Berlin, for example - the Battle of Dennewitz (assuming it took place at all) would have been with far fewer Prussian troops.

So you will be able to play a 'Campaign' consisting of nothing but battles.

We did create a linking map, at 20 miles per hex, but that became a frustrating exercise for the player, since we decided we wanted battles to take place on the four game maps.

We decided to focus on the uncertainty of what the enemy force structure will be. No two games will be the same, because force structure will be modified depending upon what cards are drawn at the beginning of the game. These cards are kept hidden up to a point, as are your forces on map (initially).

This game employs the Grand Tactical System of Napoleon's Last Battles, with the addition of Hidden Force and Vedette rules. Most of the battles were meeting engagements, and so only your vedettes are initially deployed on the map. The infantry and other arms following behind them are revealed later.

[cmoeller]

sign me up for playtesting! The pittsburgh crew is looking forward to this one!

Chris

[kzucker]

Chris,

Thanks. Look for a kit in the mail after the 10th of January.

[Jim Anderson]

Kevin,

I'd like a shot a playtesting also...I was wondering if you were going to continue the NLB system....

Jim

[kzucker]

Jim,
Thanks for your interest. Is mid-January a good time to start for you?

[Jeffrey Arnold]

Kevin,

I hope you will include scenarios for the battles as they were actually fought. In other words, I would like to see historical deployments & arrival schedules for reinforcements. It would make the game a little more "solitaire freindly".

[kzucker]

Jim,

Good point. You can just dispense with the Deployment Cards as those cards specify modifications of the (given) historical deployments. The remarkable thing about these battles was the dearth of information each side had about the enemy they were facing.

[Jason Roach]

Kevin,

When do you think this game will go to print?

My question is based on the fact that after May, I will have a lot more time and would be willing to give this system a shot as well. Would be a nice June type thing.

-Jason

[kzucker]

Jason,

A chance you may get in on late playtesting ...

[Jim Anderson]

Mid-January is fine for me, Kevin. Glad to help out.

Jim

[kzucker]

Jim,

We are working on the playtest kits, may send them out on the 17th...

[kzucker]

Current Status: I am now working on the fifth version of the game map to Kulm. When this map is done, the playtest kits will go out. At the same time work continues on the rules. Line of sight is going to be interesting. Hilltops will let you see 6 miles (20 hexes). Duststorms can close visibility down to one hex, and of course a chain of hills will prevent you from seeing anything.

[Jeffrey Arnold]

After I read the details of the 1813 Quad, I took a look at my copy of Battle of Dresden,1813 by New England Simulations. This is probably a bad idea, but it may be possible to create some kind of campaign game that would link Dresden with the quadrigame. What do you think , Kevin? Is this something to consider? Do you think the NES guys would consider it?

[kzucker]

Jeffrey,

Guess what gamebox is open on my work table? That same battle for Dresden. I have one problem with this very fine and well-put together game: the map scale. The rulebook says the scale is 400 yards but it is actually around 360 yards per hex. That means everyone is moving about one-third slower cross-country than they can move in Nap's Last Battles and the other games where the scale is 525 yards per hex; however, the addition of "Grand Tactical Movement" where a major road hex costs 1/3 MP and a minor road 1/2 MP allows units using GTM to make proper time. Stacking is also (appropriately) a bit more restricted in Dresden. All of that means that the Dresden game would have to use its own set of rules in any possible Campaign Game.

It would be great to have Mark Hinkle of NES to design the counters for Four Lost Battles, as we could then intermix the counters of the two games, which would move us along in the direction of the kind of campaign game you are thinking of. However, Mark has already told me he has no time in his schedule for this project.

[kzucker]

The Campaign game is simple: You will play each game in chronological order: Grossbeeren, then Katzbach, Kulm, and finally Dennewitz. How well the French player succeeds in each battle will influence his chances of having augmented forces in subsequent battles.

Avoid defeat at / More Troops at
Grossbeeren / Kulm
Katzbach / Dennewitz
Kulm / Dennewitz

Historically, because of the defeat at Grossbeeren, Napoleon withheld forces from Kulm. Similarly, because of the defeats at Katzbach and Kulm, he had to retain forces originally slated for the Dennetwiz operation. So if you don't lose at Grossbeeren, you are much more likely to have augmented forces at Kulm. Your actual forces are determined by the draw of cards, but the deck will be stacked according to results of prior battles (win, hold the battlefield, draw, defeat).

[Jeffrey Arnold]

Kevin,

Too bad that NES isn't interested, but there still might be a chance to do something here. If we added Napoleon at Leipzig to the mix, do you think it would be possible to assemble a reasonably accurate OOB for the period from August 18 to September 7, 1813? I understand that we would have to accept a little "fudge factor" regarding unit strengths, but at least we would have the maps & counters for a campaign game.

I'm curious to know how you uncovered the map scale difference in Dresden. I know it's difficult to find accurate map information for the subject matter.

[kzucker]

HI Jeffrey,

I could put you to work on this project if you keep asking questions!

Regarding the scale of the map, a lot of us designers rely upon the West Point Atlas. But I have to tell you those scales are all over the place. I suspect that is because those maps are based upon the recently-uncovered 1847 maps (no one knew about these except Elting and he isn't talking). And their map scales are given in German military paces! Which we guess are 30".

I first discovered this problem with the "Atlas" (which is still a superb resource) when walking the Eylau battlefield with a portfolio of maps that included the Atlas map of the battlefield.

I checked the scale of the Dresden map against Petre's map in the "Last Campaign in Germany" (that came out at 363 yards). Then I double-checked with "An Atlas of Rare City Maps."

Just to settle the question, I took out the Michelin Red Guide from 1992. The Dresden map is on page 218-19. This shows the scale of the game map is 335 meters per hex (366.25 yards). I can be confident because the game map itself is very faithful to the geography and doesn't have a lot of 'fudge factors.'

[kzucker]

To answer your question about the OB for the Four Lost Battles, right now, the French counter mix including baggage trains, leaders, and a few vedettes is 200 units. All the French Corps are included except: Marmont's II, Poniatowski's VIII, Davout's XIII (Hamburg), and Augereau's IX (in Bavaria until early October).

[Jeffrey Arnold]

Kevin,

I doubt if I have the brain power required to figure out how a campaign game would work, but I can probably steal enough rules from your other games to get started.... ;) In the meantime, I've pulled my copy of Nafziger's Napoleon At Dresden (and a few other things) off my book shelf and started daydreaming.

Years ago I acquired a set of Napoleonic map reprints done by the Haas Press (Raleigh,NC). The original source for the maps is "William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London". I have no idea how much further the provenance of these maps goes back. Research on the internet has, so far, yielded nothing.

Anyway, the detail on the maps seems very good, & I've long thought that NES used the Dresden map as a source for their game. Since this set includes Leipzig & all the batles in the 1813 Quad, it could be a useful source for a campaign game. Any thoughts on this?

[kzucker]

Jeffrey,

The Campaign Game is already worked-out, but it's on the review of the OB where we could use some help right now. The OB as it was handed to us has the French at 500 men per SP, regardless of their background and training. That is going to change. At the beginning of 1813 the French army in Germany had, very broadly speaking, four different categories of troops:

A. Middle and Old Guard
B. Line and Young Guard
C. National Guards (Cohorts)
D. Depot/Garrison/Conscripts (including YG conscripts)

A. Middle and Old Guard
3,000 veterans withdrawn from Spain- 1,500 8-year veterans went to the OG, 1,500 4-year vets to Mid-Guard, 600 troopers for Guard Cavalry.

B. Line and Young Guard
1. Troops Drawn from Spain
a) Cavalry Depot Battalions to form new regiments
b) 13,000 men from 3rd & 4th battalions + depots from Spain
c) "Real" Young Guard (2 rgts+)

2. Marins (naval gunners)
4 regiments (20 bns) - to VI Corps
12,895 men, averaging 23 years of age
+ 4,000 conscripts, 19 years of age.

3. Municipal Guards of Paris (new 134 Line) and other towns (new 37th Lt.)

C. National Guards (Cohorts)
78,000 men called out in Dec. 1812, 20-26 years of age
+17,000 men of 1813 class, no training, 19 years of age.

D. Depot/Garrison/Conscripts
1. 120,000 men, class of 1813 (including 1,000 of 1812 class), 19 years of age.
2. 100,000 men, levy of the Four Classes, 20-24 years of age.
3. 240,000 men, class of 1814, 18 years of age.
4. 80,000 men, (Apr 3 levy), 20-25 years of age.
5. 25,000 "volunteer" cavalry (i.e., hostages)
Note: The Young Guard received 39,000 untrained conscripts: 15,000 from 1813 class and 24,000 from April 3 levy.

After participating in two major battles and a long march in the Spring, these forces gained some seasoning. During the Armistice, additional conscripts joined the army (see attachment).

Currently we need to re-evaluate the units strengths of all the French in light of the above.

[Jeffrey Arnold]

Kevin,

...when walking the Eylau battlefield...


Somehow this line slipped by me earlier....you can't imagine how much I envy you when I read something like this.... :)

I probably can't add much to the figures you gave in your post (your source material must be better than anything I have). Do you have similar information for the Allied forces?

Most of the books I've read are in general agreement for troop strengths during this campaign. How difficult was it for you to pin down individual units?

[kzucker]

Jeffrey,

The French, at any rate, were supposed to count up their strengths on the 1st and the 15th of each month. If they were busy, the took care of it later, or sometimes, if they were in Marshal Ney's corps, they just didn't bother. (One scene we'll never imagine is Marshal Ney sitting down in the office to study his correspondence.)

These "Parade States" as they are called, are sitting in filing boxes at the Chateau de Vincennes, near Paris. Several researchers have gone and grabbed what they could, but the amount of detail is overwhelming. Anyhow any strength figures you read for the French are either derived from the Parade States (either directly or through secondary sources) or they are guesses.

[Nico[PL]]

if they were in Marshal Ney's corps, they just didn't bother. (One scene we'll never imagine is Marshal Ney sitting down in the office to study his correspondence.)

If they were in Davouts corps they were counted every day?
:rolleyes:

[kzucker]

COUNTERS AND UNIT QUALITY

Revisions to the counter mix have turned into a major project. 580 is a lot of counters to revise.

For the French we followed the Morale Classification Chart on page 343-344 of Bowden’s Napoleon’s Grande Armeé. Units listed as Guards (Old & Middle) were given an Initiative Rating of 4 and their strength calculated at 350 men per point. "Grenadiers and "Elites" received a 4 for Initiative and one SP per 400 men. "Crack" (1st rate) units received an Initiative of 3 and 1 SP for every 500 men. "Veteran" rated 2 and 1 SP per 600 men ("Veteran" makes them sound more than average). "Conscripts" received an Initiative of 1 and 1 SP per 700 men. "Landwehr and Trained Militia" rated Initiative 1 and 1 SP per 800 men.

These ratings vary a bit from Napoleon at Leipzig; those troops that were left in October being stronger and far more experienced. We probably could have left the French Line at 500 per SP, but this would give the French a significant advantage.

[kzucker]

Since we are using a spread sheet we can input the actual manpower and have all the unit SPs calculated (based on 800 or 350 per SP times say .89 to reflect attrition). That way we can easily change the values of the units as we are able to get more information about attrition in August. If I had the French parade states for the 31st to work from that would tell a lot...

I'd like to hear from a volunteer conversant with Struggle of Nations, willing to calculate the game-imposed attrition on the historical marches of all the corps up through the battle of Kulm (and on the northern front through Sept 6th). That would be 8 or more turns, just keeping a record of attrition for each turn as you go.

It would help if you have a copy of the Elting/Esposito Atlas so you can follow-along, but I can help with the moves...

That information will allow us to calculate actual strengths for the four battles, since we have data for August 15th. Grossbeeren (23rd) can utilise the 15th data without distortion, but Macdonald must have suffered notable attrition before his battle on the 26th.

[Adrian Hussey]

Hello Jeffrey,

Re. your comment:

Kevin,

Years ago I acquired a set of Napoleonic map reprints done by the Haas Press (Raleigh,NC). The original source for the maps is "William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London". I have no idea how much further the provenance of these maps goes back. Research on the internet has, so far, yielded nothing.

Anyway, the detail on the maps seems very good, & I've long thought that NES used the Dresden map as a source for their game. Since this set includes Leipzig & all the batles in the 1813 Quad, it could be a useful source for a campaign game. Any thoughts on this?

Possibly the maps you mention are the ones included in "Alison’s History of Europe", published in 1850? I came across reprints of them last year at the following site:

http://www.village-atlas.com/alison/alison_index.html

The site has some interesting background on them.

The 1814 maps are also reproduced in Houssaye's "1814" volume, and I've also seen them reproduced in a Ken Trotman reprint of some years ago. I don't have the details to hand, but can get them if it would be useful.

cheers

Adrian

(Warning: forum newbie posting - so apologies if any of the above is old hat, in the wrong place etc...)

[kzucker]

Our map guru, Jeff Moore, writes:
"If you haven't checked out this site, you should:"
http://www.napoleonseries.org/reference/maps.cfm

This resource contains numerous battle maps and campaign maps of the Napoleonic Wars.

[Jeffrey Arnold]

Adrian,

Thanks for the link. Now I just have to find some room on my credit card...


Kevin,

I've had Napoleonseries.org bookmarked for several years now, & I would recommend this site to anyone who plays OSG games. The discussion board is always worth reading.

[kzucker]

Posted on Consimworld, Six Days of Glory System. Current set of rules to FOUR LOST BATTLES, Version 1.17. (We usually publish version 3.)

[kzucker]

BOOK XLIX. DRESDEN AND VITTORIA

In signing the armistice of Pleiswitz, Napoleon's only intention was to gain two months' time in which to complete his armaments, and to raise them to a strength sufficient to meet the new enemies he was about to create; but he had never for a moment entertained the idea of peace, being utterly unwilling to conclude it on the conditions dictated by Austria; which conditions ... were as follows:

- The dissolution of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw;
- the reconstruction of Prussia by means of the addition to it of a consdierable portion of this Grand Duchy, ans some portions of the Hanseatic provinces;
- the restoration to Germany of the free towns of Lubeck, Bremen, and Hamburg;
- them abolition of the Confederation of the Rhine;
- the restoration to Austria of Illyria and the portions of Poland which had formerly belonged to her.

Although a continental peace on these terms, ... would leave to France, independently of Belgium and the Rhenish provinces, Holland, Piedmont, Tuscany, the Roman States to exist as French departments, with Westphalia, Lombardy, and Naples as royal vassals; Napoleon absolutely rejected it, not on account of the loss of territory which it would involve, and which would be very small, but because it would cast a cloud upon his glory. He unhesitatingly preferred to its acceptance, therefore, war with the whole of Europe - a resolution which was doubtless remarkably bold with respect to his own fortunes, very cruel with respect to the many victims which it sacrificed on fields of battle, and a species of outrage against France, exposed to so many dangers simply on account of the pride of her ruler; but it was a resolution which he had now takenb, and from which it was unlikely he would be turned.
...

His resolution not to accept or even acknowledge the men who composed his government ... (would, had it) speedily become public, have increased the aversion so widely inspired by his policy, have extended this aversion to his person and his dynasty, have rendered the levy of troops a more difficult task, and both irritated and discouraged the army, which, seeing no limit to the effusion of its blood, would have indulged in still bolder and bitterer language. It seemed in truth as though the opposition, repressed on all sides, had found refuge in the camps, and that our soldiers of all ranks had chosen as the price of the sacrifices demanded of them the exercise of the inalienable lilberty of the Frenchman's spirit. After having hurled themselves in the morning into the midst of dangers, they passed the evening in deploring in their bivouacs the fatal obstinacy which caused so much blood to flow in support of a policy which began to be incomprehensible.

[Nico[PL]]

And victory was so, so near. Just take Davout instead of Ney and at Bautzen the whole Russio-Prussian army would be destroyed and King of Prussia and Tsar captured...and the 'boat' called Napoleon could flow again safely :( .

Question is would Russia, Austria and Prussia stopped fighting against Napoleon if he has agreed on their terms or they would just make a break before attacking him again?

[kzucker]

The attachment contains the method of working out a new Target Density Table and the proposed table itself. It is only two short pages with an illustration.

I invite any comments.

Thanks!

[kzucker]

Bringing this table more in line with the Artillery Fire Table in Sun of Austerlitz.

[kzucker]

We have decided to include high-quality playing cards for this project. That will add $10 to the retail price, moving it up to $76. (All Pre-orders received by today will get 30%-off - $53.)

We had originally planned on plain cardstock, perforated.

[kzucker]

There are 96 cards, in two identical decks of 48, one for each player. The 48 cards are shown in the attachment.

[kzucker]

The difficult thing about the Orders of Battle for the Four games is the common practice in Napoleonic studies for historians to give the last count as the strength for the battlefield forces. With the huge amount of marching that the Silesian Army performed in the ten days prior to the Katzbach battle, we couldn't credit them with all that extra manpower. Our only recourse was to run the hisorical marches through Struggle of Nations to see what the game's attrition table would tell us about the numbers of men lost along the way.

First we had to determine the extent of the marches by each of the wings of that army from the end of the Armistice on the 16th August through the 25th. We constructed the table attached and from that drew out on tracing paper the routes of the various forces over the SoN map. That led to the march rates discovered in the attached Attrition File. This Army was Force Marching almost constantly.

We discovered Attrition losses of 27,000 men in that ten day period. And I was just thinking, perhaps that was an overstatement, when I came across the following, from F.N. Maude, on page 34 of the SoN Study Folder:

Blücher's Retreat
"Then followed a series of most obstinately contested rearguard actions in which every day many lives were lost, and by the 25th the whole Silesian Army was in a condition bordering on dissolution. The Landwehr men had deserted in masses to their homes. Langeron, St. Priest, and even Sacken, were complaining bitterly of the way their troops were being wasted, and Yorck found the position so intolerable that he actually wrote to the King, begging the latter to relieve him of his command, as he could not look on and see his troops ruined by the incompetence of the Staff."

[kzucker]

We could revolutionize the whole history of the era by working out a better estimate of manpower on the battlefields. Petre, on page 252 of "Napoleon's Last Campaign in Germany," gives the strength of the Coalition troops at Katzbach as Langeron, 31,000, Yorck and Sacken, 55,000. That was their strength at the outset of the campaign! Yorck , Sacken and Wasiltchikow had 56,000 on 15 August; Langeron with Korff had 32,000 on that date. The mechanics of attrition in SoN suggest that Blücher had, not 86,000 as Petre and all other authors indicate, but 63,000 men.

[kzucker]

Game design is like baking. First you have to whip your ingredients to a froth. That is- you read everything over and over until your head is going in circles.

Next you have to check the flavor, and just lightly flavor til you have suggested something to the player's imagination. That is what we are doing now with Four Lost Battles (see examples below- this is today's output).


HIDDEN FORCES

1.53 Current Strength is Face-Up: The visible face of a unit is its current strength. EXCEPTION: The top unit in a stack may be inverted if it has a flag on its reverse side.
1.54 Obscuring Hidden Forces: A Force remains revealed as long as it stays in an EZOC, or sighted by an enemy line of sight. As soon as units are no longer in EZOCs, or as soon as revealed units are no longer sighted by the enemy who originally spied them, they are re-hidden.
1.55 Command Status: HF Markers say "In Command" or "Out of Command" on their reverse sides–command status is hidden. In placing a HF Marker on your stack you must respect the command status of the stack.


CARDS
(I changed the following by adding the option of revealing an enemy stack.)

Spies Bring News from Enemy Camp

The Enemy player places all his Arrival Cards face down. You
get to see one of these cards, or any one enemy stack, at your choice.


KATZBACH SPECIAL RULES

22.31 Bridges: Each bridge with the symbol "i" is liable to wash out (a total of 12 bridges). Immediately after the first occurrence of Thunderstorm on the weather die roll, roll again for the southernmost bridge. On a roll of "1" or "2" the bridge is damaged and marked with a "Burnt Bridge" Marker (washed-out). (It cannot be repaired during a Thunderstorm turn.) Continue rolling for the next downstream bridge until a "3–6" results—then stop rolling for this turn. Start again with the southernmost bridge still standing on the next Thunderstorm turn. After the play of "Thunderstorm Delay," roll for bridges for each skipped turn of Thunderstorm.
22.32 Thunderstorm Modifier: After 3 or more consecutive turns of Thunderstorms (including the current turn) subtract "-1" from the die.
22.33 Pontoons: Pontoons may be set-up anywhere, deployed or not, at the owning player’s option. If deployed on a River hexside, roll for a pontoon’s destruction like a "i" bridge. The pontoon may be re-deployed on the following turn.
22.34 Thunderstorm LOS: Line of Sight is limited to two hexes during Thunderstorms.


OTHER NEW RULES (BREAKING NEWS)

I have notes to add a rule on "Oddball units" and I think, a special card for these "spare change" units that were not on the battlefields but weren't really missed. Oddball units such as O'Meara's Bde in Vandamme's Corps - not mentioned or listed anywhere. If you draw the Oddball card you get them. They go in amongst their own formation.

"Self-Commanded" Leaders: What is the proper term for this? Self-commanded leaders are, in effect, Corps Officers with a Command Span of [1]. They may command no other formation than their own. NOTE: Commanders have a Movement Allowance of "10."

Some notes on Schwarzenberg for the Historical notes.

Schwarzenberg, (his other names?)
Covered the Austrian retreat after Hohenlinden in 1800. Avoided capitulation at Ulm, riding with the cavalry under Ferdinand. Became Austrian Ambassador at Paris, conducting negotiations for the wedding of the Archduchess with Napoleon in 1809. Not a dynamic master of war, he used tact and diplomacy to hold the Coalition together. After the war, Blücher toasted him as "The Commander-in-Chief who had three monarchs at his headquarters and still managed to beat the enemy." His chief of staff, count Josef Radetzky v. Radetz, who had fought at Mantua, Rivoli, Marengo, Landshut and Wagram, also maintained cordial relations with the Russian chief of staff, Prince Volkonski.

I was also reading Elting's Atlas chapter (maps 132-139) on this campaign, and he mentions that Vandamme had the best trained troops of Davout's Corps (that was, the 1st an 2nd divisions). I had categorized some of the 2nd division troops as 1's so I raised them to 2's, just because they were under the eyes of the Marshal, during May and through the armistice.

NEWS ON THE COUNTERS

We received the counter graphics this afternoon, fronts and bhacks (cough), but I had neglected to tell him to put flags on the backs of the leaders, so they just have their pictures there again. That's regrettable, because that will require a re-do.

PLAYTESTING
It is possible, if we stay on schedule, that in five short weeks we will be printing the rules.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
May 16th- Box to printer
May 23rd- Counters to printer
May 30th- Box and Counters to finishing, Cards to printer
June 6th- Cards to die-cutter, Maps to printer
June 13th- B&W components to printer
June 20th- Delivery of all components

STATUS OF COMPONENTS

Box Art: 100% completed.
Counters: We now have a playtest set of counters. We have about 10 days to finalize all the numbers on all the counters.
Maps: Joe's working on them, we expect a draft tracing any day.
Cards: Still some production unknowns: principally, who will die-cut them?
The text of the cards is going to present a challenge, since this will have to be printed first. In fact, we have to be finalizing the text of the cards in the next 7 days (!) to afford the graphic designer two weeks to finish up.
Rules: The rules are as discussed, frothed and partly gelled but not flavored. Playtesting- baking, in the hot oven is in the critical phase now.

It takes 26 guys to create a game, who are named in the game credits. That doesn't include all the tradesmen, who make our wonderful products!

I have instituted a Corps-color key area to be printed on each map, sort of a quick key to setting up the game.

(Grossbeeren)

FRENCH FORCE KEY
IV CORPS
VII (less Devaux X)
XII (less 29 Lt X)
III C CORPS

ALT. REINFORCEMENTS
IV/38 XX, 24 XX
XII/29 XX
III CAV/5 Lt XX

COALITION FORCE KEY
III, IV PRUSSIAN CORPS
SWEDISH/2X, 4X
XIV Illowaiski, Lowenstern X

ALT. REINFORCEMENTS
XIV RUSSIAN CORPS


(Katzbach)

FRENCH FORCE KEY
III CORPS (less 39 XX)
V CORPS (less 17 XX)
XI CORPS (less 31 XX)
II C CORPS

ALT. REINFORCEMENTS
39 XX, 17 XX, 31 XX
VI CORPS

COALITION FORCE KEY
XI CORPS
CAV CORPS
I PRUSSIAN CORPS
VI, IX, X RUS. INF
I CAV CORPS
VIII RUS INF.


(Kulm)

FRENCH FORCE KEY
I CORPS (less O'Meara X)
XIV/42XX
I CAV/1LC XX

ALT. REINFORCEMENTS
VI CORPS
XIV CORPS (less 42 XX)

COALITION FORCE KEY
AU 1 XX, 2 RES XX (less H-Homburg)
II, III, V RUS INF CORPS
II C CAV CORPS
II PRUSSIAN CORPS

ALT. REINFORCEMENTS
1. H-Homburg X
2. Chasteler, Nostitz
3. Hohenlohe


(Dennewitz)

FRENCH FORCE KEY
IV CORPS
VII CORPS (Menu X Elim)
XII CORPS
III CAV

ALT. REINFORCEMENTS
1. VI CORPS
2. GUARD CORPS
3. GUARD CAV CORPS
4. I CAV CORPS (less 1LC XX)

COALITION FORCE KEY
III, IV PRUSSIAN CORPS (less Hirschfeldt)
SWEDES/Moerner X, HArt
XIV Pahlen X, Sisoeff X

ALT. REINFORCEMENTS
1. SWEDISH CORPS
2. XIV RUSSIAN CORPS
3. IV/Hirschfeldt X

[lanterna]

Schwarzenberg, (his other names?)


Karl Philipp Fürst (Prince) zu Schwarzenberg (1771-1820)
began military duties in 1788 and was in the Türkenkrieg 1789 (Turkish War) and, after, in the wars of the First Coalition 1796. Then promoted to Generalmajor. In 1805 was also Vizepräsident des Hofkriegsrat (vice President of the Supreme War Council).

Hi Enrico

[kzucker]

Ciao Enrico! If it's o.k. with you we'll copy that into the game...

[kzucker]

Now who can help us finish Blücher's entry?

[kzucker]

Joined the Swedish Army at age 14, serving against Prussia in the Seven Years’ War. Later he was cap-tured by a regiment of Prussian hussars, a unit which he then joined. An implacable foe of Napoleon, he was still a fiery hussar fifty years later. In the cam-paign of 1806, Blücher marched to Lubeck, only to capitulate at Ratkau. On his release he was received by Napoleon with marks of distinction. He defeated Mar-shal Macdonald at Katzbach and reached the rank of field marshal after Leipzig, entering Paris with the victorious allies on May 31, 1814. The next year he fought Napoleon at Ligny and arrived in the middle of the battle of Waterloo, insuring Napoleon’s defeat. For this his monarch made him Prince of Wahlstadt. He relied heavily on his chief of staff von Gneisenau.

[Nico[PL]]

The next year he lost battle at Ligny against Napoleon, but two days later he has arrived in the middle of the battle of Waterloo, turning it into Napoleon’s defeat.

(?) I think it should be make clear that it was Blucher that changed Waterloo into victory :eek:

[kzucker]

That Blücher!

[kzucker]

23.3 Special Rules
23.31 "Alto" Terrain
In contrast to the battlefields in the sandy plains of Brandenberg, Kulm was fought on the southern shoulder of the Erz Gebirge chain—its spine runs from Zinnwald to Hinter Tellnitz and thence toward Peterswalde—the area covered by Heights (or "Alto") terrain. Alto (Heights) is like one expansive hilltop. These old mountains had been mined for centuries and were eroded and worn-down. Effect: Alto is treated like clear terrain (or, when attacked through a slope, as a hilltop) but in addition, any unit in Alto terrain has a view over the lower-lying terrain down in the valley of Kulm (though never in the woods). Alto Terrain does not block the LOS for other units on Alto (see 1.52).
23.32 Track-defile
Another terrain type that is proper to Kulm only, the Track-defile is not traversable by trains and costs 2 MPs per hex for either ascending or descending movement (regardless of other terrain).

[lanterna]

Don't worry it's OK. I attach some notes in French (tell me if you want a translation).

http://www.histofig.com/history/empire/personnes/autriche_schwarzenberg.jpg
Karl-Philip, prince zu Schwarzenberg, duc de Krumau (Krumlov in Czech) (Vienne, 1771 - Leipzig, 1820)Militaire et diplomate autrichien, tour à tour allié et adversaire de Napoléon qui demandera le bâton de maréchal pour son futur vainqueur.
Les Schwarzenberg, d'ancienne noblesse, servent dans les armes depuis des générations. Le prince Karl-Philip a vingt-deux ans et déjà une campagne contre les Turcs à son actif quand il combat les armées républicaines françaises. A Cateau-Cambrésis, le 26 avril 1794, ce colonel des cuirassiers enlève 32 canons à l'ennemi par une charge de cavalerie. Cet exploit lui vaut la Croix de Chevalier sur le champ de bataille.
En septembre 1800, à 29 ans, il est général de division. Mais il connaît la défaite à Hohenlinden le 3 décembre 1800, sous les ordres de l'archiduc Charles. En 1801, à la mort de Paul 1er, il parvient à gagner l'estime du nouveau tsar Alexandre 1er.
En 1805, il reprend place dans les rangs de l'armée autrichienne, à la tête d'une division sous les ordres de Mack. Tandis que ce dernier se retranche dans Ulm, Schwarzenberg suit l'archiduc Ferdinand avec une partie de la cavalerie. Ses 1 800 hommes réussissent à échapper aux troupes de Murat qui les poursuivent cinq jours durant.
Remarqué par François II, il intègre son état-major pour la bataille d'Austerlitz, le 2 décembre, dont il prévoit l'issue désastreuse. Quatre ans plus tard, en 1809, le prince Schwarzenberg est chargé d'user de son influence auprès d'Alexandre 1er pour l'entraîner dans la coalition contre la France. Les défaites autrichiennes et l'entremise de Caulaincourt aboutissent au renvoi du diplomate autrichien.
Schwarzenberg reprend son habit militaire pour la bataille de Wagram. Il commande la réserve de l'armée autrichienne lors de la retraite.
A Paris, il participe aux négociations du mariage entre Napoléon et Marie-Louise, la fille de François II (1810). En 1812, le prince Schwarzenberg, dont Napoléon estime la valeur militaire, est nommé commandant du corps autrichien comprenant 30.000 hommes qui accompagnent la Grande Armée en Russie. Il remplit sa mission et Napoléon, satisfait, demande à François II de lui accorder le bâton de feld-maréchal.
Un an plus tard, Schwarzenberg est repassé dans le camp des ennemis de Napoléon. Placé à la tête des forces coalisées, il concentre ses troupes et évite l'affrontement jusqu'en octobre 1813. A Leipzig, il commande l'Armée de Bohème. Blücher, à la tête des troupes Alliées, l'entraîne jusqu'à Paris.
Décoré par les nations qui ont pris part à la campagne de France, Schwarzenberg rentre dans son pays. Au retour de Napoléon de l'île d'Elbe, ses troupes marchent à nouveau sur Paris après Waterloo. De retour à Vienne, il voit sa santé décliner peu à peu. Il meurt en 1820.

[lanterna]

Blücher Gebhart Leberecht, Prince von Wahlstatt, Prussian feld-marshal (Rostock, 1742 - Krioblowitz (Silésie), 1819)
http://www.histofig.com/history/empire/personnes/prusse_blucher.jpg
Marshal Blücher, nicknamed Vorwärts (Forward!) spent the last part of his long military career fighting against France. After numerous defeats his efforts were rewarded at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Blücher, member of a family with enormous properties in Mecklenburg, entered the Swedish army during the Seven Years' War. Captured by the Prussians in 1760, he became one of their recruits. His military eagerness won him the rank of lieutenant in 1762. Discharged because of misbehavior in 1773, he married the daughter of a colonel of the Polish royal guard. In the military again fourteen years later (at the age of fifty two) he fought against the French revolutionary armies in 1793-4.
On October 14, 1806, he was among the forces defeated by Davout at Auerstadt. After a long retreat he had to surrender to Bernadotte at Ratkau. Imprisoned in Hamburg, he was exchanged for General Victor. In 1809 he advocated the alliance with Austria, and Frederick Wilhelm entrusted the cavalry to him.
Finally, in 1813, he commanded the Silesian forces. In spite of the defeats of Lützen and Bautzen in May he wanted to march on Paris, and won some victories in Silesia (Katzbach); at Leipzig (October 16-18), he was promoted to marshal. In January he was in France. He was then suffering from depression and eye disease. Although he was accompanying the main army he did not enter Paris, and he resigned on April 2, 1814, at the age of 72, two days before the abdication of his enemy. Soon thereafter he obtained the title of prince.
Nonetheless his career was not over. He served again during the Hundred Days. Commanding general of the Prussian army, he was defeated by Napoleon at Ligny on June 16, 1815. The eighteenth of June was the day of revenge. At Waterloo, bringing help to Wellington, he led the decisive attack against the French right wing. Named military governor of Paris, he disapproved of the Second Treaty of Paris as too favorable to France. Beginning in 1817 he sat in the State Council in Berlin.

Source: http://www.histofig.com/history/empire/personnes/prusse_blucher_en.html

[kzucker]

Hi Enrico,

I edited the Blucher entry, it had some small mistakes ... I will remove the mention of Blücher entering Paris in our 4LB Historical notes.

Thanks!

[Edgar]

http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.data.image.s/s450196a.jpg From Chandler's "Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars"

Schwarzenberg, Field Marshal Karl Philip, Prince (1771-1820). Born in Vienna, he entered the Austrian Imperial Army in 1788. The descendant of a Franconian family ennobled in the 2nd half of the 17th century, the Prince first distinguished himself in campaigns against the Turks and then against the French in the Austrian Netherlands, fighting against Dumoriez and Pichegru in turn.

He became a brigadier general in 1796 and commanded a division from 1800. In 1805 he scaped from Mack's doomed army at Ulm and rallied the survivors. From 1806-09 he served as Austrian ambassador to St. Petersburg, and after Wagram and the Treaty of Schönbrunn he was transferred to Paris and aided the negotiation of Napoleon's marriage to Marie-Louise.

In 1812 he commanded the Austrian corps placed on the extreme right flank of the Grande Armeé during the invasion of Russia, and managed to bring many of his men out by forestalling the movement of crisis and retiring toward Poland. When Austria declared war on France in August 1813, he was made generalissimo of the Allied armies of the Sixth Coalition.

Defeated at Dresden, he later commanded at the victory of Leipzig, and during the invasion of France the next year led the Army of Bohemia with some success. In June 1815 he set out from Austria for the Rhine once more, but Waterloo forestalled his arrival in force.

Made a member of the Higher War Council, he was struck down by paralysis in 1817 and died three years later. As the commander of a great alliance he faced major problems but managed to maintain the common cause through bad times as well as good.



The picture is Copyright by Bildarchiv der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Wien.

[lanterna]

Sorry Edgar but the man in the portrait is Prince Felix zu Schwarzenberg, not Karel Filip.
Carl Philipp was more larger in size ... ehum! Like this other ...

http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.data.image.s/s452817a.jpg

[Edgar]

I thought that he was grown big with years and the portrait was from him when young. :D

Or that he was fat when young and then the paralysis produced that result. But you are right, that portrait is from another Schwarzenberg. :rolleyes:

[kzucker]

While we are on the subject, we still are lacking one portrait for the counters, the Austrian F.M.L. Fürst Hohenlohe-Bartenstein. He comanded a 10,000-man division in the Austrian IV Corps at Dresden.

[kzucker]

Just sent out the latest rules for playtesting: v. 2.35.

Forrest, your copy bounced back, didn't like the email address...

Hohenlohe is still MIA.

[Forrest Atterberry]

That's odd. :confused:

[kzucker]

The attachment shows the estimated attrition for the IV, VII, XII and III Cav Corps under Oudinot as they marched from their encampments to the Battle of Grossbeeren during the period of 15 August to 23 August 1813. This is based on the attrition table for the Struggle of Nations. I am not liking the fact that, in SoN, the French have only 45 APs at the beginning of the Autumn campaign, they should have at least 50 ... I may have bumped the AP Level downward to force the French to move by Initiative all the time.

[kzucker]

We still are lacking this one portrait for Hohenlohe-Bartenstein ... Maybe we are looking for Karl Joseph Hohenlohe-Bartenstein, who would have been around 50 years of age in 1813. Like that:

Karl Joseph
Fürst von Hohenlohe-Bartenstein und Jagstberg
Born 12 December 1766
Died 6 July 1838
Married 5 July 1796 Ludwigsburg

[Edgar]

A lot of actual Hohenlohe, but no picture (or portrait) of yours. Internet is not so "wide".

[kzucker]

Edgar,

Still, we found so many of the portraits on the web.

Playtest yesterday with Jason. The cards are starting to 'gel.'

We are on the 26th draft of the rules (v2.41). Usually it takes about 40 ...

[lanterna]

Maybe this one ..

Ludwig Aloysius, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein (1765-1829), marshal and peer of France, was born on the 18th of August 1765. In 1784 he entered the service of the Palatinate, which he quitted in 1792 in order to take the command of a regiment raised by his father for the service of the emigrant princes of France. He greatly distinguished himself under Condè in the campaigns of 1792-1793, especially at the storming of the lines of Weissenburg. Subsequently he entered the service of Holland, and, when almost surrounded by the army of General Pichegru, conducted a masterly retreat from the island of Bommel. From 1794 to 1799 he served as colonel in the Austrian campaigns; in 1799 he was named major-general by the archduke Charles; and after obtaining the rank of lieutenant-general he was appointed by the emperor governor of the two Galicias.
He remained in the Austrian service and commanded a division during the campaigns of 1813-1814. He fought at Leipzig 1813 then in Champagne (1814) where he distinguished himself occupying the city of Troyes.
Napoleon offered to restore to him his principality on condition that he adhered to the confederation of the Rhine, but as he refused, it was united to Wurttemberg. After Napoleons fall in 1814 he entered the French service, and in 1815 he held the command of a regiment raised by himself, with which he took part in the Spanish campaign of 1823. In 1827 he was created marshal and peer of France. He died at Lunéville on the 30th of May 1829.

Here's the guy!

No portraits: maybe one can try writing to:
bartenstein1@t-online.de (bartenstein1@t-online.de)
the castle in which he was born

Most relevant source:
Louis de La Roque, Catalogue historique des généraux français, Paris : A. Desaide, 1896

[kzucker]

His story takes a strange twist at the end. Hohenlohe made his career fighting the French, but he ends up as a Marshal of France instead of being part of Wurttemberg.

[lanterna]

De la Roque tells that Hohenlohe, when was received by a grateful King, wishing to reward him for the faithful service to the Crown,said: "I would receive only the award to be truly French!". In effect he supposed to combat revolutionaries not Frenchmen. And was one of the few Marechaux de France (on 1827) promoted after years spent to kill Frenchmen.
C'est la vie !
Hi.

[kzucker]

If Hohenlohe was a Marshal of France, then there must be a portrait of him at Les Invalides.

[kzucker]

We need another portrait, a new guy (named above).

He commanded the 21st or 22nd Division, and the XII Corps in Winzingerode's Corps d'Armee, according to different sources (none seem to agree).

[Update: We no longer need this portrait. Further research shows agreement that Laptiev was only a division commander at the time of Dennewitz; possibly the XIV was renumbered XII Corps in 1814.

[Edgar]

Not a portrait, but the map could be useful:

http://web2.airmail.net/napoleon/Dennewitz_battle.htm

[Edgar]

He also is cited in The Battle of Nations in different sources:

21st Infantry Division - GM Laptiev
Jäger Brigade - Ob. Rudiger
. . . . . . 44th Jäger Reg. (2 btns.)
. . . . . . 'Neva' Infantry Reg. (1 btn.)
Infantry Brigade - Ob. Rosen
. . . . . . 'Petrovsk' Infantry Reg. (1 btn.)
. . . . . . 'Podolsk' Infantry Reg. (1 btn.)
. . . . . . 'Lithuania' Infantry Reg. (1 btn.)
Divisional Artillery
. . . . . . 1 light and 1 position battery

http://web2.airmail.net/napoleon/Allies_Order_of_Battle_LEIPZIG_1.htm

The sources are at the bottom of the web.

[kzucker]

Hi Edgar,

Yes, that's a good map. I also found (by searching Laptiev), a nice miniature Battle of Dennewitz which seems very well put-together. This one starts at 11 AM whereas our battle scenario starts at 9 AM on Sept. 6th.

Speaking of maps, there is a grea deal of consistency in the maps for Grossbeeren and Dennewitz, but much disagreement for the Katzbach battle, and Kulm also presented problems. What we have done is to select the one source that we like the best, and that was mentioned some time ago on our site... Woerl, J.E., Schlacten-Atlas von 1792 bis 1815.

One day we have got to start posting these 200 battle maps.

[kzucker]

Here are the final card layouts from the graphic designer. They will be in two colors (the example shows only one color).

http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?233@1.NbgEbK1tanr.1850634@.ee6bef6/3777!enclosure=.1dd0a36f

Please let me have your comments on these cards so that we can take your concerns and wishes into the final product. Please send your comments before Monday May 30th. Thanks!!

[lanterna]

The Cards are OK. For the blank one I suggest to introduce a "Quarrel between [Allied] Commanders". This could be historical (and gives additional hope to the French "battered" player).

Hi Enrico

[kzucker]

Ciao Enrico,

Thanks for your suggestion. I'm glad you think the cards are o.k.

We have already sent in a card 31 to the designer. You can see this card in
http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?233@1.SiVGbntCb8I.2021584@.ee6bef6/3782!enclosure=.1dd0a372
It is called, "The Last Push" and it provides a Combat die roll modifier.

[kzucker]

Does anyone recall who published Napoleon's instructions to Eugene from March, 1813, his critique of Eugene's defense of the river lines in Prussia in particular ...?

I would like to check and see whether Napoleon's conduct of the fall campaign shows any instances of taking an offensive from a bridgehead. On the River Elbe there were Magdeburg, Wittenburg, Torgau and Dresden, the greatest bridgehead, but the allies went straight for it and finally surrounded it.

If the Emperor were to shift to the defensive he would station a couple of corps at each brigehead, ready to cross behind any enemy crossing in the other direction and cutting their supply line. In other words, the existence of the Dresden bridgehead was able to guarantee the whole line of the Elbe; until the Austrians intervened.

Once that happens the Dresden position has much the same faults as Ulm.

Napoleon thinks he can fix this problem by building a bridge at Königstein.

Is anyone familiar with the card game called "Napoleon" or Nap?"

Just received printers proofs of the front & back of the box. So far the size looks right. On the back of the box is a very nice map created by Knut Grünitz (the graphic designer for the box), and this got me thinking about the very offensive strategy employed by Napoleon in Autumn of 1813 when he was outnumbered by 3:2. We know his bias was for the offensive and he believed the French were stronger on the offensive, but he no longer had those troops who had given him the big victories, who were able to break the rules of war with their marching. The kids of 1813 were good in certain situations but at the long hard marching they failed.

Knut has also redesigned the OSG logo to make the name more legible and that was a smart thing to do.

[lanterna]

Napoleon sent a "strong" letter to Eugéne on March 9th 1813:

: "Rien n'est moins militaire que le parti que vous avez pris de porter votre quartier général à Schöneberg, en arrière de Berlin ; il était clair que c'était attirer l'ennemi. (...) Le jour où votre quartier général a été placé derrière Berlin, c'était dire que vous ne vouliez pas garder cette ville ; vous avez ainsi perdu une attitude que l'art de la guerre est de savoir conserver." ... "Il serait honteux de le dire et le monde ne le croirait pas, j'ignore quel est le général qui commande à Stettin, quelle est la garnison que vous y avez laissée ; vous ne prenez pas même la peine de me dire quel est le général, quelle est la garnison que vous laissez à Spandau. Je ne sais pas quels sont les généraux que vous avez ; j'ignore qui commande votre cavalerie. Je n'ai enfin aucune notion sur la situation de votre artillerie, de votre génie, ni même de votre infanterie."

Then Möckern occurred ...

(On Möckern battle (with Eugéne report) see. There's some bibliography on Spring 1813):

http://www.napitalia.org.uk/eng/mock1.shtml (http://www.napitalia.org.uk/eng/mock1.shtml)

Enough to become depressed. You tell about the Elbe's bridges too.
Poor Viceroy d'Italie!

Hi

[kzucker]

Hi.

That letter and two others are printed on page 22 and 23 of the "Struggle of Nations" Scenario Folder, or you can find it in "The Leipzig Campaign," by F.N. Maude.

But I was thinking of this book: "Memoires et Correspondance Politiques et Militaires du Prince Eugene," edited by Baron A. du Casse

It includes plenty of Eugene's correspondence with Napoleon.

[lanterna]

We need another portrait, a new guy (named above).

He commanded the 21st or 22nd Division, and the XII Corps in Winzingerode's Corps d'Armee, according to different sources (none seem to agree).

[Update: We no longer need this portrait. Further research shows agreement that Laptiev was only a division commander at the time of Dennewitz; possibly the XIV was renumbered XII Corps in 1814.

This was written from Russia:

Laptev, Vasily Danilovich
1758 - April,14 ,1825

Lieutenant General.

He was enlisted in the Life-Guard Preobrazhensky Regiment in January 1776,
and transferred as a captain to the Tambov Infantry Regiment on 12 January
1789.

Laptev participated in the Russian-Turkish war in 1789-1791, and fought at
Killia and Izmail, where he was woundedin the chest and earned a golden
cross. On 12 March 1790 Laptev transferred to the Astrakhan Grenadier
Regiment and thereafter became a major in the 1st Battalion of the Bug
Jager Corps on 12 April 1791.

In 1792-1794 he participated in the campaign in Poland.

In 1797 Laptev was appointed to the 12th Jager Regiment, although the
following year he became the commander of the Ryazhsky Musketeer Regiment
on 23 July 1798.

Promoted to colonel on 22 October 1799, Laptev served as chef of the 8th
Jager Regiment from 22 January 1802 to March 1804. He participated in the
1805 Campaign and fought at Lambach, Amstetten and Austerlitz.

He rose to major general and chef of the 21th Jager Regiment on 30 January
1806.

Laptev also participated in the 1807 Campaign in Poland, where he served
with the 3rd Division at Guttstadt, Heilsberg and Friedland.

The next year he became the Governor of the Island of Esel on 11 September
1808, before taking discharge on 6 February 1809.

In 1812 Laptev supervised the organization of the Moscow opolchenie
(militia) and became the commander of the 8th Dismounted Cossack Regiment
of the Moscow opolchenie on 20 August 1812.

As he joined the main Russian army, Laptev took command of the 2nd Brigade
of the 11th Division on 6 September 1812.

He distinguished himself at Borodino for which he earned the Order of
St.George (3rd class).
In October 1812 he took command of the 23rd Dividion and two month later
was instructed to organize the suppy system in Nizhni Novgorod.

In 1813 Laptev commanded the 21th and 24th Divisions of the Army of North
and participated in the battle of Leipzig for which he received promotion
to lieutenant general on 20 October 1813.
In 1814 he was seriously wounded at Craonne on 7 March and retired with a
full pension in January 1816.

Laptev returned to the army two years later and was appointed the commander
of the 25th Division on 29 January 1818. In 1820 his unit was converted to
the 1st Infantry Division but he retired for the second time on 31 October
1821.

General Laptev was buried in the Nickolo-Pesnoshsky Monastery in the
Dmitrovsky uezd (district).

During his career Laptev earned the Orders of St.George (3rd class),
St.John of Jerusalem, of St.Anna (1class) with diamonds, of St.Vladimir
(2nd class) and the Prussian Order of Red Eagle and a golden sword "for
courage" with diamonds.

------------------
Sources:
1. "The Russian Officer Corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars" by
Alexander Mikaberidze
2. "The Dictionary of the Russian Generals that participated in the
military actions against the army of Napoleon in 1812-1815" by N.Mikhalkov
(volume VII)
----------------

Also in the attachment there is a portrait of General Laptev by Dow.
This portrait now is in the Military Gallery of the State Hermitage in
St.Petersburg.

******************************************

We hope this information will be of use for you.

If you have any more questions please feel free to contact us, we'll always
help you all we can.

Best wishes from Russia

Sincerely yours

Helen and Nick Mozak" - programmist@ntsbel.ru


Ciao Enrico

[kzucker]

Hi Enrico,

So there was a portrait? Too bad we didn't need the portrait anymore... We had some bad information about the "XII Russian Corps" in 1813. Possibly the XIV was renumbered the XII in 1814, but that is just a guess. Laptev was a division commander in 1813, so in fact his name doesn't even appear (it is a brigade level game).

Thanks for your efforts in putting this together. It is useful to know for sure.

[lanterna]

The joy of research ...
if you need russian infos (portraits) you can ask to
Helen and Nick Mozak" - programmist@ntsbel.ru
They are very kind

Hi

[kzucker]

Jason and I played a game of Kulm today. The French have some play, if they risk the big attacks, but are clearly at an overall disadvantage unless they are saved by Alternate Reinforcements.

Finally finished the Alternate Reinforcements and Alternate Commanders schedules for Kulm yesterday in a session with Chuck. Further testing with Chuck on Tuesday.

Thanks to both gentlemen for their dedication.

Working on sending out Rules version 2.63 ... version 3.0 is the target ...

Will interrupt playtest schedule for Origins weekend (the 30th).

Meanwhile, the map is still with Joe, cards not printed yet (but soon), counters at the printer (last minute correx/Perpetual beginner).

Overall shaping up nicely. But where is Dave!? :eek:

[Forrest Atterberry]

But where is Dave!?

Did you check for pods by any chance? :D

[kzucker]

Now that you mention it, Dave hasn't been himself lately...

[kzucker]

For our Study Nr. 1: Focus on the Year 1813, we will use illustrations of the leaders throughout the text, and we would like some volunteers to write brief captions for each Leader.

For example, Edgar has written: "Karel Furst zu Schwarzenberg; his diplomacy and tact enabled the Coalition victory at Leipzig."

We need a similar two-line caption for each of the leaders who have a leader counter in Napoleon at the Crossroads (i.e., 19 French and 16 Coalition Leaders).

This tag should be cogent and related to the leader's actions in autumn of 1813; his most decisive contribution to his side's effort (could be positively or negatively).

For someone like Marshal Ney, it could even be a quote from his own words: "Michel Ney, after Dennewitz, wrote to Napoleon, 'I am perfectly ready to shed the last drop of my blood, but let it be for some useful end.'"