Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

Hi All,

I recently started a single player campaign in HPS Waterloo, and I'm having a blast! Being new to the club, I thought running through a single player campaign would be a good way to get some practice under my belt, further familiarize myself with the rules, and otherwise have a good time. I set the AI to "reckless" assuming this was the easier setting. I must say, it's been interesting to see Wellington behave like General John Bell Hood (if your a ACW fan, you'll get the reference).

Anyways,
I am currently conducting the campaign, concentrating on the English first. I beat the English avant-garde pretty decisively at Mons (no shock, I had them outnumbered 2:1) and now I'm fighting what appears to be an expedited Version of Waterloo, with the English at my front and the Prussians beginning to appear on my right.
Having not separated Wellington and Blucher, but instead facing them both in the same way Napoleon did at Waterloo (just a bit earlier in the campaign the N. did), I feel like I may have blundered a bit on the actual Campaign Dialog element of the game. We'll see how the battle turns out... but it was never my intention (nor Napoleon's) to face the two allies together.

So how do you make your campaign decisions? Just going off of basic instinct with some historical knowledge thrown in there?

Wellington Said something to the affect of: "The trick to all this business of War, and indeed life, is guessing at what is on the other side of the hill."

I'm just asking for some creative input on how you guys, in single and multiplayer campaigns, "guess at what is on the other side of the hill"

Best!

_________________
Dans Les Hussards:
♪ Le hussard, à la guerr' (The Hussar at the War)
Défend fièrement sa bannièr' (Proudly Defends his Banner)
Sans jamais tourner le derrière (Never Turn Back)
Ah ! La belle vi' que l'on mène...♫ (Ah! The Beutiful Life that One Leads...)

Guessing depends on experience and how well you know your opponent. And in campaigns it's good to know something about the scenarios too....in Waterloo for instance I'd avoid Mons as Allies and as French I'd avoid Chatelet.

Rather than the small linked scenarios I prefer the large maps so I'm not constrained by scenario design and forced to fight where I don't want.

I'd certainly advise you to find a human opponent and you'll learn quicker and better; the AI tends to dull your senses and leads you into a false sense of security.

In uncertain large campaigns its essential to employ both the correct operational formation and an effective cavalry screen. The latter finds your enemy and ideally conceals your own movements.

As for the former Napoleon's favourite was 'bataillon-carré' or a btn square. This was designed to have mutually arranged supporting distances for each btn - in this case as its the operational level the btn's are typically an army corp.

Napoleon essentially invented the operational level (arguably) and this was the reason he was victorious so often. You can research this method easily enough and then use it in your games.

The method is then integrated with a core template for operations such as central position or Manoeuvre De Derrière.

Just some thought provokers there for you David.

_________________
Marechal Knox

Prince d'Austerlitz et Comte d'Argentan
Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur

"What is history but a fable agreed upon"