LANNES: Force set up and scenario for first battle.

Barry and I got together today to kick off our LANNES campaign, and rolled up the starting forces and Generals for each of our commands. First, here's what I rolled up for my command

FRENCH

Unit #	Unit Name	DD	CD	Routs Caused	Final UI loss	Routed, etc?	End Game Result
1	Vendémiaire Line	D6	D10
2	Brumaire Line	D4	D8
3	Angoulême Chasseur	D6	D10
4	Ardennes Light	D4	D8
5	Bordeaux Chasseur	D6	D8
6	Chaumont Chasseur	D6	D10
7	Vertu 6# Ft Artillery	D4	D8
8	Génie 6# FA	D6	D10
9	Bouches-du-Rhône Light	D6	D8
10	Frimaire National Gde	D4	D8
11	Nivôse Line	D4	D10
12	Côte-d'Or Light	D6	D8
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
General	Name	LD	Special	Hit?	Outcome	Year	End Game Result
C-in-C	Francois Faucon	D10	-
A	Simeon Souris	D12	Poltroon
B	Blaize Bassier	D8	-
C	Rene Renard	D10	Fabian
D
E
F

Next, here's what Barry rolled up:

RUSSIAN

Unit #	Unit Name	DD	CD	Routs Caused	Final UI loss	Routed, etc?	End Game Result
1	Line	D4	D10
2	Line	D4	D10
3	Line	D4	D8
4	Light	D6	D8
5	6# Battery	D6	D10
6	Line	D6	D8
7	Line	D4	D8
8	Line	D4	D8
9	Line	D4	D8
10	Light	D4	D8
11	6#	D4	D10
12	Dragoons	D6	D8
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
General	Name	LD	Special	Hit?	Outcome	Year	End Game Result
C-in-C	Boris Badenov	D10	N/A
A	M. Smartov	D12	N/A
B	Trembalalotsky	D8	Epileptic
C	Boramirov	D12	Heroic
D
E
F

Having set that up, we used the system from Field of Battle for introducing variety in to the Scenario. First, we determined the effects of  Fate. Each of us rolled 3 D4's for Fate, followed by a D12 for each.

French

D4	Decision Area	D12	Narrative	Effect
2	Strength	9	Numerical Superiority	Up1
1	Tactical Adjustment	10	Inspiration	Up 1
4	Deployment	3	Delay	Down 1

Russian

D4	Decision Area	D12	Narrative	Effect
3	Reconnaissance	5	Objectives	Down 1
3	Reconnaissance	10	Encircling Attack	Up 1
1	Tactical Adjustment	5	Outposts	Down 1

After that, each commander allocates a Die Type to each of the Four Decision Areas. As we both have D10 C-in-C's, We each had  D10, D10, D8, and a D6. The allocations were done secretly as follows - numbers in parentheses indicate the allocated die type prior to modification by the Fate process.  

Area	Fr Die	Fr Roll	Russ Die	Russ Roll	Result
Tactical	D8 (6)	6	D4 (6)	1	2 of winner’s Cmd groups may make Tactical Afjustment
Strength	D12 (10)	3	D8	8	⅛ of loser’s Cmd groups late
Recon	D6	5	D10	7	NE
Deploy	D8 (10)	6	D10	7	NE; winner gets to choose table orientation or side

Thus it appears that the French, while having overall superiority in numbers in the area, suffered serious delays due to administrative foul ups, and will be outnumbered well into the battle. Fortunately, the Russian outposts were very lax, and that combined with inspiration on the part of the French leaders, will at least allow them to refine their tactical arrangements once the Russian intentions are clear.

We decided to generate the Battlefields using our Warplan 5/5 cards. Rolling randomly, including several back ups in case a district that was all water or otherwise deemed mutually unacceptable, we determined that the battle will take place in district 28A.14, as shown below.

The Warplan 5/5 Atlas further describes this district as "Bleak rocky District - River Deep. Running through deep rocky gorges. Very poor road."  The nearby village is AINSWORTH (as in ains worth much, I think!). So this would appear to be the Battle of Ainsworth Gorge, 1799. The hills will obviously be Class III rocky hills, the River Class III fordable by Infantry only (it wouldn't make much of a game if unfordable, and Class III is bad enough!), with a single class II pine woods. When I set up the table, I will probably leave just enough room along the river banks for a unit (Light Infantry only!) to move in March Column on either side of the river. I don't think my advantage in Cavalry will prove much use in this battle!

This will be a 6 x 6 table. By the time we get to the third game, I think we may want a larger table. At that point I think we will just add one of the 2-4 adjacent squares, which we can determine randomly or by mutual agreement.

"LANNES" Ideas for a Napoleonic "Campaign", semi-Longstreet style

Barry and I have been talking about doing a simple "campaign" framework for some Napoleonic games between us. As his collection is mostly Russians, he would obviously use them, and I would use French and French Allied troops (i.e, Confederation of the Rhine, Kingdom of Italy, Grand Duchy of Warsaw). Brent Oman has been working on ideas for an adaptation of his excellent Theater of War rules for Piquet campaigns for his Field of Battle ("Season of Battle"), but it seems unlikely that they will be available before the end of this year. Similarly, Bob Jones has many fascinating ideas for a Campaign system based upon Die Fighting ("Die Marching"), which he and I have discussed on several occasions the past 5 years or so, but it doesn't seem like we'll be seeing that any time soon either. That got me thinking about the ACW "Campaign" played by John and Adam, as detailed on John's Blog, using the system included in Sam Mustafa's* "Longstreet" rules. Thus inspired, I thought something based (only) upon my impression of Sam's ideas might be worth exploring. In deference to Sam's apparent fondness for Generals with a last name starting with L, as well as to the Marechal himself, I have termed this working project, "Lannes". It might just as well be Langeron, or Lichtenstein, or Lutzow, or Leith!  We will be using Field of Battle 2nd edition for this project, although in many ways I think Die Fighting 2 might be even better suited to this concept. Food for thought there, Bob!

*Disclaimer:  I'm not Sam (despite how many times he has changed his handle on TMP), nor do I play him on TV. I'm too cheap to buy a copy of Longstreet (no ACW armies or plans) to steal the actual ideas, but I have had dinner with him!

Jean Lannes (176 9- 1809)

MARÉCHAL DE L'EMPIRE, DUC DE MONTEBELLO

The idea is that we would each start as an aspiring officer in  our respective armies - say a Major (Chef de Battalion) or Colonel, thrust into a position of higher command by influence and/or the incapacity of those senior to us. We would thus start in command of an augmented brigade of troops. After each battle, there would be the opportunity to gain in professional ability and/or subordinate commander(s),  for the quality of our troops to improve (or decline), and for units to be added (and sometimes, detached from) our commands. The idea is that over time our command would increase to the size of a Corps with supporting troops. 

Time Frame

During the years of the later Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, France and Russia were at war with one another in the following years:

1799  (Suvarov in Italy)
1805  (Pre Austerlitz)
1806  (Post Jena - will probably set as more early 1807. i.e, circa Eylau)
1807  (Pre Freidland)
1812  (Pre Borodino)
1813  (endless scope!)
1814  (pre abdication)
(1815)  N/A

I was thinking 2 "battles" per campaign "year". That would mean 14 games, which would doubtless take us a couple of years to play out. Therefore I think one game per "year" would be more realistic. The actual battles will be generated using the system in Field of Battle, 2nd edition. I was thinking of having the starting forces, troop and leader ratings, reinforcement types and amounts vary by both year and nationality, but upon due consideration I decided KISS  definitely applied if we are ever to get this thing running. It also eliminates bias, conscious or otherwise. Still, it could be fun to try for a different twist! It is my intent that all the units and Generals in the campaign be named for added color, thus the 12th Ligne might have the nickname "Magnifique" or more whimsical identifiers might be used. Without further ado, ghere's the first draft of

LANNES

Starting troops:

1 C-in-C
3 Generals
10 units

Rating the Troops and Leaders

In Field of Battle, each unit has a Defense Die type or DD rating  (ranging from D4 (worst) to D6 (average), to D8 (elite), up to D10 (generally only senior Guard units). The DD is used primarily when a unit is shot at - thus a higher DD makes a unit less likely to suffer losses from enemy fire. It also modifies melee if my DD is higher than yours. Units also have a Combat DIe type or CD rating. This is the basis for shooting at the enemy, and engaging in melee combat. These range from D8 (poor) to D10 (average), D12 (good), to D12 +1 (excellent).

Similarly, Leaders in Field of Battle have an LD rating which influences initiative, movement, and rallying for troops under that Leader. These have the same range as the CD above.

I am thinking that the troops and leaders would cluster at the lower end of the spectrum to start, and the same would be true of any reinforcements. However, units can improve (or sometimes worsen) in their ratings over time.

Unit Types  

D12 Die Roll	Unit Type
1	National Guard*/Opolochenie*
2	Line Infantry
3	Line Infantry
4	Line Infantry
5	Line Infantry
6	Light Infantry
7	Light Infantry
8	Provisional Cavalry*/Cossacks*
9	Chasseurs
10	Dragoons
11	6 lber Foot Battery
12	6 lber Foot Battery

*  = DD4C/D8 automatic, must be upgraded to become better than D4/D8.

Starting force must have at least 1 and no  more than 2 Artillery units, at least 1 and no more than 3 Cavalry units, and at least 5 Infantry units. If necessary, re roll invalid unit results until one meeting the conditions is obtained.

Rating starting units and reinforcements

D12 Die Roll	DD rating	CD Infantry	CD Cav/Arty
1	D4	D8	D8
2	D4	D8	D8
3	D4	D8	D8
4	D4	D8	D10
5	D4	D8	D10
6	D4	D8	D10
7	D4	D10	D10
8	D4	D10	D10
9	D6	D8	D8
10	D6	D8	D8
11	D6	D8	D10
12	D6	D10	D10

Rating starting and replacement General: roll 2 D12’s, one blue, one red

D12 Die Roll	LD Type	D12 Die Roll	Special Characteristics
1	D8	1	Poltroon: Down 1 for all Rally rolls
2	D8	2	Epileptic: LD roll of 2 also = no move. May re-roll failed leader survival tests (“I was only resting!”)
3	D8	3	Fabian: Down 1 die type for MOVE rolls. On Each MOVE, note his LD score; units in his command must roll that score or less on D12 if they wish to move forward MORE than one segment. May ALWAYS expend a segment to change formation/facing, even on odd rolls
4	D8	4	None
5	D10	5	None
6	D10	6	None
7	D10	7	None
8	D10	8	None
9	D10	9	None
10	D10	10	Rash: Up 1 die type for MOVE rolls. On Each MOVE, note his LD score; Infantry/Cavalry units in his command must roll that score or more on D12 if they wish to move forward LESS than half of  the full number of segments rolled.
11	D12	11	Charismatic: Up 1 for all Rally rolls
12	D12	12	Heroic: all units in his Command Group get up 1 in Melee while he is in charge, but roll for Leader  loss on D8 instead of D12

Post Battle Effects

Roll for each unit at the end of every battle

D12 Die Roll	Result
0 or less	DD down 1
1	CD down 1
2	CD down 1
3	No Change
4	No Change
5	No Change
6	CD up 1
7	CD up 1
8	CD up 1
9	CD up 1
10	CD up 1
11	CDD up 1
12	DD up 1
13	DD up 1
14	DD up 1
15+	Unit is transferred out  - replace with new recruit of same general type!

D12 Modifiers:

Unit was routed at end of the battle (or destroyed/off table) -1

Unit caused rout or destruction of enemy unit  +1 per such unit

Unit suffered no UI loss (all as of the end of battle) NC, but may re-roll x 1

Unit has 1 UI loss at end of the game  +1

Unit has 2+ UI loss at end of game -1

--Per Morale Point left at end of game (by definition, will apply to the winning side only) +1 to that many rolls

Notes:

If DD already at D4 and reduction called for, reduce CD by 1 (lowest is CD 8)

If CD already D8 and reduction called for, reduce DD by 1 (lowest is D4)

If DD is already D10 (!) and increase called for, increase CD by 1 (max is D12 +2)

If CD is already at D12 +1 (or +2), increase DD by 1

National Guard/Opolchenie gaining  an increase in DD or CD are instead promoted to Line infantry D4/D8

Provisional Cavalry/Cossacks are instead promoted to Chasseurs or Chevau-Leger Lanciers (French) or Dragoons or Uhlans (Russian) D4/D8 - player choice.

Infantry units reaching DD8 become Young/Middle Guard or Grenadiers

Chassuers/Mounted Jagers promoted to DD8 are re designated as “Hussars”

Dragoons promoted to DD8 are re designated “Cuirassiers”

Artillery who reach DD8 may also be designated as Horse Artillery

Artillery who reach CD12+1 are considered re-armed with 12lbers

Any units which reach DD10 become Guard units of that type.

Roll for each General lost in action at the end of every battle

D12 Die Roll	Result
1	“He’s Dead, Jean!”Roll a replacement
2	“He’s Dead, Jean!”Roll a replacement
3	“I’m not Dead Yet” - Serious Wound
4	“I’m not Dead Yet” - Serious Wound
5	“It’s just a Flesh Wound!”
6	“It’s just a Flesh Wound!”
7	“It’s just a Flesh Wound!”
8	Impregnated by Elephant:Concussion
9	Unhorsed
10	Unhorsed
11	Bullet stopped by portrait of Mistress
12	Bullet stopped by brandy flask

Then roll for each surviving General:

D12 Die Roll	Effect on General
0 or less	General becomes HEROIC
1	LD down 1 type
2	LD down 1 type
3	No change
4	No change
5	No change
6	No change
7	No change
8	LD up one type
9	LD up one type
10	LD up one type
11	LD up one type
12	LD up one type
13+	General becomes Charismatic

Modifiers:

Suffered Serious Wound   -2

Suffered Flesh Wound  -1

Uninjured NC

Concussion: NC; but also LOSE Special Characteristic if present, or Roll for chance of acquiring one if has none!

Unhorsed  +1

General on winning side +1

Bullet Stopped  +2

Schedule of Reinforcements

Year	Post Battle reinforcements
1799	2 units + 1 General
1805	3 units
1806	3 units + 1 General
1807	4 units
1812	2 units + 1 General
1813	1 unit
1814	N/A

For the French, at least one of the 1806 reinforcements must Confederation of the Rhine or Italian; at least one of the 1807 reinforcements must be Polish. This is purely for color and has no game effects, although I toyed with a chance of CoR/Italy defecting in 1813, and loss of both for 1814.