Recently played another Napoleonic game using my own home brew rules and it went really well. Over 1,000 figures on the table for a Monday night game, so about two and a half hours playing time and we got a result - a very bloody draw, but a result nonetheless. Roj and I have got a few Napoleonic games in recently as we try and refine the rules and it seems to be working. The emphasis is very much on playability and simplicity as we only have a very limited amount of time, but they are simple rather than simplistic.
Just to give a quick overview a unit in the game represents a certain number of men, rather that a particular formation, so an infantry unit is around 1,200 men, so a weak regiment, a cavalry unit around 600 men, so a strong regiment or a weak brigade and a battery represents about 16 actual guns. The basic manoeuvre formation is typically a division (usually 2-6 units) although smaller brigade types formations can be represented by 1-3 units if desired. Each formation has a card which when drawn, activates the unit, a simple die roll, with modifiers, giving the number of actions, which allow units to move and change formation.
There are also event cards which give the players additional options they can employ at a time of their choosing. Each side gets a d3 of these at the start of the game and an additional one at the start of each move after the first. These cards vary from improving your own chances of moving/manoeuvering to inhibiting your opponent from doing the same, as well as firepower and charge related bonuses. We find that they add a little flavour and fun to the game. An account of an earlier battle can be found here on Roj's blog and gives a good idea of how the game works.
Great Northern War Gaming & Other Projects: A Follow Up Napoleonic Test Game
The two forces involved in this fairly simple attack and defence game were as follows:
French
1. Italian Division. 1st and 2nd Italian Light Infantry and the 1st, 3rd and 5th Italian Line plus a 6 pounder battery (all were C Class). The commander was rated as Poor.
2. 1st French Division. 4th Light Infantry (B Class with elan), 40th, 51st and 62nd Line (C Class) and a 6 pounder and attached 12 pounder battery (B Class). The commander was rated as Good.
3. 2nd French Divsion. 8th, 14th and 18th Line (C Class) and a 6 pounder battery (B Class). The commander was rated as Average).
4. 3rd French Division. 22nd Light Infantry (B Class with elan), 23rd, 32nd and 42nd Line (C Class) and a 6 pounder battery (B Class). The commander was rated as Good.
5. French Light Cavalry Division. Two Chasseur a Cheval units (C Class). The commander was rated as Average.
All in all a pretty solid force. Elan gives the unit a small bonus when attacking.
Russians.
1. 1st Division. 1st Jaeger (B Class), the Pskov and Selenguinsk Regiments (C Class) and the Iekat Regiment (D Class) plus a 6 pounder battery (C Class). The commander was rated as Poor.
2. 2nd Division. The Sofia, Polotsk and Poltava Regiments plus a 6 pounder battery (all C Class). the commander was rated as average.
3. 3rd Division. 2nd, 3rd and 4th Jaeger (C Class), the Revel Regiment (D Class) and a 12 pounder battery (C Class). The commander was rated as Good.
4. Grenadier Brigade. the St Petersburg and Tauride Regiments (B Class). The commander was rated as average.
5. Cavalry Division. Dragoon unit (C Class) and Hussar unit (B Class) and a 6 pounder Horse Battery (C Class). The commander was rated as average.
Before the game, each battery was allotted a certain amount of ammunition based on a d6 roll: 1 = 6 rounds, 2,3 = 8 rounds, 4,5 = 10 rounds and 6 = 12 rounds. 6 pounder batteries get 3 dice and 12 pounder batteries 4 dice for basic firing. An additional 2 dice are used when employing concentrated fire with a hit scored on a certain score depending on range, cover etc. Any rolls of 1 or 2 result in a round of ammo expended. It certainly makes you think about when and at whom you fire!! Most batteries were seriously depleted by the end of the game.
Anyway, these are the basics of the game and now onto the action.
Here is a general view of the table. I am commanding the French nearest to the camera, with my Italian division on the extreme right and light cavalry on the left. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd French Infantry Divisions are deployed right to left in between these two formations.
This particular village was to change hands no fewer than 5 times during the course of the game, here defended by the 3rd Russian Division which put up a great fight. Its 12 pounders were deployed in the redoubt to the rear and caused me significant casualties. The cavalry division's horse artillery also deployed on the high ground firing over the heads of the defending Russians, also with some effect.
The Russian centre and left flank were also anchored on a couple of villages and saw a great deal of heavy fighting against the Italians and 1st French Division
12 pounders in a redoubt on a hill - nothing to worry about!!
The Italians and 1st French Division step off to the attack.
I was able to mass the divisional artillery of my 1st Division with the Corps 12 pounders and proceeded to bombard the Russian lines.
I wasn't keen to cross swords with the Russian cavalry at this stage and instead just covered the flank of the infantry.
The Russian jaegers in this wood were to prove to be a real pain throughout the game.
My massed battery was however able to first damage and then wreck the Russian artillery facing them, although at the cost of a good deal of ammunition. It did make the infantry attack much easier though and further contributed to the effort with significant losses on the massed infantry columns nearby.
As you can see, the Russian artillery in this sector was plentifully supplied with ammunition, which it used to good effect as I advanced on the village.
The Russian centre is looking fairly solid at the moment.
3rd French Division advances on the left, its flank protected by the light cavalry. The Russian position was quite strong and I started to take some serious casualties from artillery fire. The first attempt was a disaster, as I lost the melee and with a terrible die roll and both infantry units broke. Not a great start!
The second attack went much better and I managed to drive the Russian defenders out. However the Russian cavalry was threatening to turn my flank and my own chasseurs were of inferior quality.
One of the characteristics of the rules is that each turn you draw a card which offers some slight tactical advantage, either one that benefits you or impedes the efforts of the opposition. I had drawn a couple that prevented or limited the movement of an opposing formation and I played them one after the other to slow down the Russian cavalry, whilst I hammered away at the village and wood.
Meanwhile in the centre, having wrecked the enemy artillery with some well directed (lucky) fire of my own, I managed to seize the village and drive the Russian infantry off.
Back on the left, the voillage once again became the centre of the action, changing hands several times more. An attack on the wood was seen off by a very determined stand by the jaegers.
Having run out of options, I had to finally accept that a cavalry clash was no longer avoidable and threw both regiments in. Although I was driven back, the Russians were sufficiently disorganised that they had to retire to their own lines.
Having secured the central village and achieved a favourable movement roll by the French light infantry, I was able to storm the redoubt, despite some heavy defensive fire. The gunners actually stood the first round after some appalling dice rolling from me, but as they were by now unsupported, they were cut down in the second round. Unfortunately Roj now had some luck of his own as a reserve infantry regiment immediately counter-attacked and threw me out.
Meanwhile on the French left, the village changed hand yet again as Roj's arriving Russian grenadiers ejected me.
....but not for long. Another French light infantry unit captured the place once again; this is one of the aspects of the game that we are particularly enjoying - the quick and decisive ebb and flow of the action.
Meanwhile on the French right flank, the Italian division was storming forward in fine style. Luck was with me here as Roj's planned counter-attack came to naught with a dodgy activation roll, admittedly with a "Poor" divisional commander. I would manage to hold on to this village for the remainder of the game.
During one of my attacks, Roj played this card - Devastating Fire. It was too, resulting in heavy casualties to me and a failure to close.
The final attack on the village which at last saw it fall into my hands. Roj's supporting infantry had been diverted towards his crumbling centre and so he was unable to counter-attack again. That said, my division was in no state to go any further.
A couple of out of sequence shots showing my infantry moving forward before the Russian artillery and infantry started to make a mess of them!!
By the end, I had managed to seize all three villages and the Russian centre was in a real mess. On the right my Italians still had plenty of fight left in them, but their opponents were also in reasonable shape, although in no position to re-take the village.. On the French left, the fight for that village and its adjoining wood had left both sides severely damaged and incapable of further effort. As is usually the case time was running out and we called it there.
We found that the game flowed really well, even with 1,000 figures on the table and we had pretty much fought each other to a standstill. The activation and combat systems worked pretty smoothly, both being designed to allow quite bold sweeps of the action.
I am currently building up a Prussian army but at the moment it can only serve to reinforce the Russians, rather than fight alone. Hopefully during the course of 2026 I will be able to get more units done. So, there we are. Hope you enjoyed the report and we will hopefully be going at it again very soon.
Hot off the press, Roj has just posted another of our Napoleonic encounters in which he explains the rules better than I do!
