Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

Gentlemen,
I have found an errors in OOBs of The Campaign Eckmuhl, and now I understand why my opponent could get so many the French skirmisher companies at Teugn-Hausen.
You can open with Notepad the 19thApril.oob file and make corrections.
Look in the French Davout's III Corps, 4 Div., 2nd and 3rd Brigades:
Line battalions of the 4th Div. have description "Light" but not "Can Deploy". Is it a blunder or what?
As you know, the Napoleonic LINE battalion had only one Voltigeur/Skirmisher Company, and that's why all Line battalions in our games can deploy only one skirmisher company.
You have to ex-change index V ("voltigeur") to index I ("infantry") on the forth posishion in the line of description for every Line Btn.
Those are Line Rgts but not Legere.
The same procedure you have to do with the file alt_19thApril.oob.

GM Vladimir Repnin
2nd Grenadier Div.
8th Corps
2nd Russian Army

Bill has stated in the past that this is an intentional decision. While these divisions were formally "line" units, in this campaign, they also fought in open order. Outside of the guard, this is probably the best French Corps in the campaign.

It's an example of not going with the official designation, but instead reflecting the units historical abilities.

FZM Freiherr Gary McClellan
Generalissimus Imperial Austrian Army
Portner Grenadier Battallion
Allied Coalition C-in-C

This deserves some treatment again.

Basically, when I was building the game it was known that the army of 1809 was not Napoleon's army of 1805-1807 for the most part. Alot of it was in Spain.

Davout and a few units in Massena's corps constituted the veterans of the army. And of course the Guard.

Reports speak of his ENTIRE corps fighting in the woods near Eckmuhl in light order. Entire units breaking down with a cadre left behind at times.

So what was I to do? Follow history completely? I couldnt do that.

But I could give St. Hilaire full ability to breakdown. That would be very historical since during the combat of the 19th - 21st records show that his division AT LEAST fought in skirmish order.

Thus what you have is a revised version. My first version was historical and I had the entire corps able to fight in skirmisher order.

Should I revise the OB NOW it would really not matter as changes in the last few years have rendered skirmishers less effective.

First, the single phase system which came out with Eckmuhl made it possible to push skirmishers out of the way. You could also charge and run them over in the open.

So that left them as undisputed king of the woods. Which is where they thrived.

Historically speaking you didnt see skirmishers acting like American natives on the plains, surrounding wagons, threatening the settlers. They worked via a system. And that system didnt involve constantly getting around flanks like you see it in our games or going on long range patrol missions ala David Stirling and the SAS of North Africa.

Second, enter the overrun rule, the morale test rule (one morale grade less) and the routed recover rule (parent unit - not parent brigade - within 5 hexes of the skirmisher before it can rally) for skirmishers from Ligne battalians that have the Can Deploy designation.

These all spelled the end to the supremacy of the skirmisher.

So when you see Davout's 4th Division fully breakdown just remember to fight them in the open. If you fight them in the woods then you fall for the same trap that the Austrians did.

I once did a count of skirmishers that the French could breakdown to vs. the Austrians. Yes, the former do have more by far but the Austrians when played well have alot of them as well.

One Corps has four regiments of lights. The Grenzers.

Now if you REALLY want historical usage you play that the Grenzers cant detach skirmishers as that is how they were used in the campaign! You also have to keep them in column. Same for Jagers at Wagram (at least).

Go figure!

So in the quest for historical accuracy or playability/balance I sought some middle ground.

And if you are nice to your French opponent and talk to him about it maybe he will NOT deploy all of them.

I hope you have a thick wallet! [:D][:D][:D][:D]

If you like, copy the OB, change the Ligne regiments of St. Hilaire's division to I type infantry rather than V, copy the .scn file you want to play and change the name of the OB before you start.

I have a group that is not in this club that does that all of the time. Hey, you paid the money - you deserve to have the right to change the files. Just be sure to add in a note in the .scn file in the Description that you modified the scenario. Most of them were played with the ability to fully deploy and have been balanced to play out using that mode.

(added by edit) Question: are skirmishers an offensive weapon anyway? When you cover your flanks with skirmishers this makes the French have to reform their companies or else they have no attacking power.

The French players that beat me didnt breakdown every company. If they did that they had weak columns facing me.

And Teugn-Hausen is said to be pro-Austrian from what I am hearing. The Austrians pull back and the French have to come at them. Now the new version may be a step in the right direction.

If you would note my thread about Eckmuhl patches THAT is where you can post any comments on scenarios which you think need help. I am always open to comments - when not given to violent statements of course.

Ciao.

Bill Peters
HPS Napoleonic Scenario Designer (Eckmuhl, Wagram)

[url="http://www.fireandmelee.net"]Fire and Melee Wargame site[/url]

BTW gents, while it's on my mind. It goes without saying, but if you wish to make adjustments to any .oob file, please remember to communicate this to your opponant before any game. It's way too easy to experiment for your own purposes and forget to change back to the standard version for a game.

It would probably work better if you did these adjustments in a separate folder than your "club" folder just for the sake of argument.

FZM Freiherr Gary McClellan
Generalissimus Imperial Austrian Army
Portner Grenadier Battallion
Allied Coalition C-in-C

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Gary McClellan</i>
<br />BTW gents, while it's on my mind. It goes without saying, but if you wish to make adjustments to any .oob file, please remember to communicate this to your opponant before any game. It's way too easy to experiment for your own purposes and forget to change back to the standard version for a game.

It would probably work better if you did these adjustments in a separate folder than your "club" folder just for the sake of argument.

FZM Freiherr Gary McClellan
Generalissimus Imperial Austrian Army
Portner Grenadier Battallion
Allied Coalition C-in-C
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

My golden rule is:

1. Always modify a COPY of the OB file.
2. Always tell your opponent you want to play with a COPY of the file that has been modifed and spell out the differences.

This will not only save your friendship but maybe your marriage!!!

Sure, if you mother in law is your opponent and she gets mad ... you had better have a good dog house in the back yard or a cot in the garage!

Bill Peters
HPS Napoleonic Scenario Designer (Eckmuhl, Wagram)

[url="http://www.fireandmelee.net"]Fire and Melee Wargame site[/url]