Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

_________________

Very interesting find.

_________________
Ernie Sands
1ère Brigade of 2ème Division de Grosse Cavalerie, Réserve de Cavalerie
de la Grande Armée
President, Colonial Campaigns Club

I hadn't seen this before, but I can't exactly find myself surprised by this bit of number crunching. Speed on a route march is more dependent on organization and leadership than anything, and the armies of the linear era certainly had those aspects.

What do I mean by "leadership and organization"? Simply the process of getting the troops out on the road in a timely manner, with clear orders that prevent major traffic snarls and the like. I recently read (ok, skimmed) the route march orders for the first phase of the French Waterloo campaign, and they're pretty detailed as to who marches when and where. That's the kind of detail work it takes to allow the soldiers to get their feet moving. (I am surprised the Russians rated as well as they did though, they could be a bit sluggish at times.)

_________________
Feldmarschall Freiherr Gary McClellan
IR44
Portner Grenadier Battalion
Austrian Army

Scenario Designer:
JTS Midway
JTS Seven Years War

Gary... can I post a link to those orders u skimmed?

Could be an interesting read.

_________________

John,
They're in this book
https://www.amazon.com/Prelude-Waterloo ... 0851&psc=1

I'm not sure if there's an online source for the quotes or not, but the book has pages upon pages of French orders from the early part of the campaign.

_________________
Feldmarschall Freiherr Gary McClellan
IR44
Portner Grenadier Battalion
Austrian Army

Scenario Designer:
JTS Midway
JTS Seven Years War