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My Dear Fellow Allied Officers:
Well, the most recent thing that I have learned is that a lengthy forum message should be typed in Word and then pasted into your post. Otherwise, the forum will time out, you will lose the entire composition and be obliged to recreate it from memory. So much for my first attempt at this missive; so begins my second….
The intention of this post is to stimulate a conversation of individual experience with the Austerlitz game engine that might serve to aid our allied army in the achievement of victories in our tournament matches. Following are some of my observations and lessons learned through hard fought experience in my ongoing battle with perhaps the best French tactician in the NWC, GdB Colin Knox.
Some critical differences between the Austerlitz game engine and other HPS titles are:
1. The multiplier for a cavalry charge against unsquared, or otherwise unprotected, infantry is 5 as opposed to the 4 used in previous HPS titles. This means that cavalry is immediately 25% more effective against infantry.
2. The VP value for infantry casualties is 1 VP per 8 Casualties as opposed to the 1 VP per 25 Casualties in previous HPS titles. This makes infantry a much more valuable target for the accumulation of VPs.
3. Cavalry that is stacked with unlimbered infantry or which occupies covered terrain such as a marsh or village, may be meleed by infantry. This makes cavalry vulnerable to attack by infantry if the cavalry occupies any terrain other than open or field. It also makes it virtually impossible for cavalry to defend friendly artillery unless the attack against them is made by opposing cavalry.
Given these differences in the game engine, it becomes very lucrative to aggressively attack unprotected enemy infantry with your cavalry. You will inflict many more casualties on his infantry than you would by a similar attack against his cavalry. This will result in more VPs for you from each individual attack.
As the Allied player, you must aggressively attack. The game starts as a French Minor Victory so to stand idle is to accept defeat. I recommend a very dense concentration of combined arms to achieve overwhelming numbers at your chosen point of attack. In general, focus your efforts on the destruction of the French Armee rather than the objective hexes. Once his army is severely damaged, the objectives can be captured with ease. Your cavalry is your main offensive weapon. Use it as much as possible to advance, surround and damage your opponent. Infantry and artillery should closely accompany your cavalry in these attacks. Ideally, the cavalry with make most of the attacks with assistance from your infantry where beneficial. Once these attacks have been made, you should have other infantry and artillery close enough to advance into the positions gained to consolidate them against any possible counterattacks. Use your cavalry and infantry from the rear lines to move forward and make the attacks. Use your infantry and artillery from the front lines to subsequently move forward to consolidate your gains. It is a leap frog effect that can prove devastating to your opponent. Also, unless you are using some form of embedded melee or phased movement, you should always be careful to protect your artillery with infantry located in the same hex, often in square as the greatest threat to your guns is usually his cavalry.
As the French player, you must aggressively defend. I personally prefer to concentrate the bulk of my army, including the Guard, on the hill north of Puntowitz. In this position, you are protected from his deadly cavalry by the stream and your artillery enjoys a wonderful field of fire. You can also conceal your infantry behind artillery deployed on the crestline of the hill. This provides an excellent central position to react with concentrated force against any advance the Allied player can make. Under no circumstances should you advance in a dispersed formation against the Pratzen Heights. If your Allied opponent concentrates his forces in the attack as I have recommended above, he will cut your French units to pieces. Remember, you start with a Minor Victory. The onus of attack lies with your opponent. Make him fight on the ground of your choosing.
Another important consideration is this: Every unit that loses a melee must undergo a morale check. This is not true of units that receive damage by fire. They only have a chance, based on the % of casualties sustained, of having to take a morale check. As the Allies, this means that your cavalry attacks will reap another huge benefit against his infantry. As the French, this means that an effective series of melee counterattacks can wreak havoc on your opponent due to the fragile Allied command structure.
One further thought. There are 1,000 VP located along the west bank of the river on the western side of the map. As the Allied player, you hope the French will overlook them so that you can sneak across the river, capture them and destroy the bridges behind you. As the French player, you need to aggressively destroy these bridges as quickly as possible. Personally, I use the infantry of the 1st Regiment, 2nd Bridge, III Corps for this task augmented by one of the Guard’s batteries (for the northern most bridge). A good trick, as taught to me by Generaal Moss, is to leave a minimal amount of point on each bridge, preferably less than 10 but no more than 24, so that the bridge will appear intact to your opponent. In this manner, your opponent may dispatch forces to cross the bridge only to discover, to his great dismay upon arrival, that the bridge is actually impassable. Enemy troops that march in unproductive circles can only be to your advantage (aka. I Corps at Quatre Bras/Ligny). As the Allied player, you should probably try to get your pioneers to these bridges as well in case the French are busy tearing them down, as they should be.
I have probably overlooked a million important details, but I hope this serves as a catalyst to start a beneficial discussion of tactics. Marco and Ed, I know that you are both fighting these same battles and have infinitely more experience than I. I (we) would certainly welcome, and respect, your input. Andy that certainly applies to you and all other officers as well.
Respectfully,
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