As last minute details are being taken care of (and free coffee and/or doughnuts, courtesy of Assistant GM Mark T and Rules Author Russ L, consumed), James S. (in blue shirt), gives a brief Snappy Nappy rules review and refresher.
Initial troop dispositions are set by the various commanders; here Erzherzog Ludwig ( ). grey shirt, and his 5th Corps, and FML Liechtenstein ( ), green shirt. No red shirts, fortunately. :-)
Napoeleon, Vandamme, and Lannes at Ingolstatdt
Hohenzollern's 3rd Corps (Benton, greyish shirt) moving from Rohr, and FML Rosenberg's 4th Corps (Brandon, bright blue shirt) near Langquaid.
Massena's IV Corps, broken up into 2 sub-commands, Molitor (James S., blue shirt), and St. Cyr (Sean S., plaid shirt). setting up near Pfaffenhofen (not to be confused with Pfaffenhausen!).
Oudinot's II Corps (Steve T) ready to move out near Au; almost all of his infantry are Conscripts!
Marshal Lefebvre's Bavarian Corps deployed around Neustadt to look for threats from multiple directions.
Hiller's 6th Corps near Mooseburg.
Austrian 2nd Reserve Corps at Landshut.
As a result of the pregame decisions, the Austrians all got a free move to start the game. Had Napoleon chosen the Guard Option, it would have been 2 free moves. Had he chosen the Davout redeployment option, Davout would have gotten a free move, then all the Austrians and Davout woukld have had 2 free moves. Bringing Napoleon on early decreased the Austrian Free Moves to 1, and had they not done so, the French also would not have been able to send any messages until after all the free moves.
Half of Oudinot's Corps has moved from Au towards Freising to the South.
Part of Davout's III Corps and Hohenzollern's 3rd Austrian Corps arrive on Table T Teugen-Hausen) simultaneously.
Advance Guard of Rosenburg's 4th Austrian Corps advances on Eckmuhl (table E).
Marshal Levbvre and his Bavarians have company outside Neustadt, in the form of the Advance Guard of FML Rosenberg's 5th Austrian Corps! Napoleon is seen at the lower right entering table N. The Bavarians were very happy to have the benefit his +3 initiative modifier!
All quiet on the Isar at Landshut, where the 2rd Reserve Corps stands, well, in Reserve!
A little caffeine helps St. Cyr and his troops get off on their way South from Pfaffenhausen towards Freising!
Oudinot's light cavalry arrives on Table F (Freising), to find FML Hiller (Russ Lockwwod) and his 6th Austrian Corps already establishing themselves thereupon!
View pour les derrieres' de les Autrichiens!
Rosenberg and Hohenzollern marching from Langquaid and Rohr respectively, whilst Erzherzog Karl, the Austrian C-in-C maintains his Army headquarters at Rohr.
FML Ludwig's 5th Corps appears to be marching North towards Neustadt, whilst Liechtenstein's 1st Reserve Coops is marching South towards Landshut and Mooseburg?
Lannes (Mark M. in fancy French general's jacket) confers with Vandamme outside of Ingolstadt, awaiting instruction for the Emperor.
St. Hilaire's half of Marshal Davout's crack III Corps (Mike M., fancy green jacket) is confronted with Bellegarde's 1st Austrian Corps (Rob P., black vest) at Regensburg. Regensburg is not a campaign objective per se, but acts as a supply source for whomever holds it. It is also a Fortress, and hence a tough nut to crack! Unlike all other bridges in the game, the massive bridge over the Danube at Regensburg cannot be destroyed. Hisrtorically, Napoleon forgot this key detail, even though he had been advised of it by Marshal Davout. Moeand's half of the II Corps has already exited Table R to the West.
Molitor's half of Marshal Masserna's IV Corps (James S. blue shirt) arrives outside of Freising, confronting Hiller (Russ L, wearing his lucky green shirt) and aiding General Oudinot (Steve T, black CCSC sweatshirt) - Oudinot would be given his Marshal's Baton later in the campaign , after the massive Battle of Wagram).
Napoleon (James C, flannel shirt) confers with Marshals Lannes and Lefebvre (partially seen to the Left) abou their Austriajn problem near Neustadt.
Developments on Table T (Teugen-Hausen); part of Marshal Lannes' ad hoc Corps has entered to reinforce Morand/III Corps
Already faced with Bellegarde's 1st Corps across the Danube, St Hilaire/III Corps at Regensburg is now confronted by some new visitors from Austria; FML Rosenberg's 4th Corps, arriving at Egolfsheim!
General Vandamme's Wurttemburgers and part of Marshal Lannes' Corps await instructions at Ingolstadt.
Liechtestein's 1st Reserve Corps, well, in reserve near Pfaffenhausen (not to be confused with Pfaffenhofen!).
Rosenberg's Corps arriving West of Regensburg.
Morand/III Corps (Kevin C, dark blue shirt) advances to the West. G d. K. Hohenzollern-Hechingen (Benton S.) has established a Feking garrison. potentially blocking Mrand's way West.
Regensburg, with the Ingolstadt table in the distance.
Marshal Lannes pauses for an artist's sketch for the pages of Le Moniteur in Paris, as his Corps heads through Pfaffenhofen (not to be confused with Pfaffenhausen) on Table P.
General Vandamme and his Wurrtemburg Corps has been tasked by the Emperor to "Hold Ingolstadt at all costs". No enemy have appeared, thus his cavalry are scouting the various approaches to the city, and reporting his findings to Napoleon.
Meanwhile, back at Pfaffenhausen on table X, elements of the Austrian 1st Reserve Corps are seen.
Troops are spotted off in the distance on Table O (Rottenburg)... but whose?
Erzherzog Karl remains at Rohr, attempting to coordinate the Austrian war effort. One an hour on the hour, he must check to see if he suffers an epileptic seizure! On a D10 roll of 1, he then cannot move, send or receive orders for 15 minutes. Thankfully, no such event occurs!
St Cyr/IV Massena, Molitor/IV Massena, and Oudinot are now all approaching Freising, held by Hiller's stalwart 6th Austrian Corps.
All roads are clear on Table S (Straubing); the poker chips indicate control for supply purposes. Red is controlled by neither side, white is Austrian controlled, and blue French controlled. Once an hour on the hour supply is checked; any force that cannot trace a liner of supply to Igolstadt (French), Landshut (Austrian) or Regensburg (presently controlled by the French) are Out of Supply. Any such troops must take a single morale check, and may not advance more than 6" towards the enemy until supply is reestablished. All forces are "in supply" at this juncture.
The Emperor rests his mount, Marengo, near Eckmuhl, although only Austrian forces are in sight at the moment!
The 2nd Austrian Reserve Corps remains at Landshut.
Marshal Lefebvre's (Karl N, right) Bavarians Corps adopts defensive positions around Neustadt, bolstered by the presence of His Majesty (james C, plais shirt), under pressure from the men of FML Erzherzog Ludwig's 4th Austrain Corps (Alex O., grey shirt, left).
General Oudinot still has some troops stationed near Au.
Marshal Lefebvre is cool under pressure at Neustadt!
Marshal Lannes at Pfaffenhofen; he has some superb cavalry, but mediocre infantry.
Al quiet aside from scouting by the Wurttemburg Jagers zu Pferd at Ingolstadt.
Bavarian defensive positions at Neustadt, with scouting Wurttemburg light cavalry mnaking a cameo appearance.
The Vanguard of Marshal Lannes' Corps, the redoubtable Carabiniers a Cheval, appear south of Feking, just as Morand/III Corps closes in on the positions of the Austrians. Oh my!
The Austrians of Luwag's Ciorps have vacated Table N (Neustadt), releasing both the bulk of Lannes' Corps and the Bavarians of Marshal Lefebvre, Duke of Danzig.
More Kaiserlicks (Austrians) converge upon the positions of St. Hilaire/III Corps around Regensburg.
A little Deutsch is exchanged between the Bavarians (Karl, right) and Wurttemburgers (Steven C, Oneonta sweatshirt). Steven is thinking of running a smaller future Campaign in a Day event near Oneonta!
Erzherzog Ludwig's 5th Austrian Corps withdrawing from Neustadt through Pfaffenhausen on Table X.
Erzherzog Karl remains at Rohr, with elements of the 1st Austrian Reserve Corps headed ? to or from Feking.
It's three versus one at the Battle of Freising, with Hiller facing the combined forces of Molitor/IV Corps, St Cyr/IV Corps, and Oudinot/II Corps. However, Hiller has an excellent defensive position and numerous Artillery. How long can he resist the tide of Frenchmen opposing him?
Moves for Phase 1 of the Campaign.
Lots of moving parts with that many tables.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt about that, Joe!
DeleteGreat stuff and must be satisfying seeing hard work coming to fruition
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gary, and yes, it is! :-)
DeleteWhere do you get those faux general's shirts?
ReplyDeleteHere's one site:
Deletehttps://customspig.com/collections/napoleonic-wars-tracksuit
I really like the Napoleon rule with his arrival constricting enemy operations. It is quite striking when you read first hand accounts the effect rumours of his presence had upon enemy operations, and that modeled it nicely.
ReplyDeleteI had an idea in my head how the various choices might interact; if I were to do it again, I'd make an actual matrix to make it explicit (for me, NOT the players!).
DeleteThat is an impressive looking set up Peter!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Keith. We are lucky to have such a fantastic venue to run these events!
DeleteGonsalvo -
ReplyDeleteOnce more, an enthralling read and eye-catching visuals. Just looking at whole thing quickens the ... whatever gets quickened when one feels the urge to do something similar. I wonder if this could work as one of my 'map' games...?
Cheers,
Ion
Thanks, Ion. I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work using your map games; you just lack the fog of war effect.
DeleteVery impressive and most entertaining, I really like the fog of war confusion!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks, Iain! For me, the big attraction is gaving to act and think like a Corps or Army commander.
Delete