Technical Thread, Rules and Design, Q&A

[Mr. Digby]

This is my most ambitious campaign so far. The maps in use will be drawn from the same source as those used in the 1813 campaign - Malcolm McCallum's excellent work.

http://web.archive.org/web/20110822084635/http://www.murat.ca/maps.htm

The campaigning will be spread over very large distances and the maps used will include The Low Countries, Central France, Southern France, Northern Germany, Southern Germany, Italy, Poland and Austria. We may extend beyond these regions but probably not.

A 10-mile hex grid overlay will be used to regulate troop movement and messenger speed. The maps will be therefore 'real world' terrain rather than the nodal system we used in the 1813 campaign.

Turns will be of variable length, probably being longer periods initially but shortening to smaller regular length intervals later on.

There will be no formal rules beyond the guidelines given here. Players should base their thinking, strategy and movements upon what they know Napoleonic period armies could and would do; the framework of how the game functions will become clear gradually as troops move and players get a feel for how fast ground can be covered but I aim to use close-to-historical march rates (but don't quote them to me to try and get your men to march further, mine have been set at the lower end of the scale of what was possible, not the upper end!). If a general wishes to do something such as bridge a river, asking me via e-mail will get you the answer your Chief Officer of Engineers would provide, etc, etc.

All communications to be in-character please unless they are technical questions.

Most of the campaign will be conducted by e-mail via me. Forum threads will be limited strictly to announcements of battles, rules and technical info such as this thread and possibly a private thread for each alliance where battle planning may be conducted. The game set-up therefore bears more resemblance to the Peninsular campaign in this respect than to the 1813 campaign. I was not entirely happy with the more public discussion nature of the 1813 and Kleine Krieg campaigns and won't be using that format again. The information flow threw up several anomalies set against the flow of real time. Having all comms via e-mail avoids these problems.

Each nation will be played by ONE PLAYER only. The battles will again be fought using SoW Waterloo and the KS Mods with teams of players assembled from whoever is in that alliance.

One (or more) of the lesser states may suit players who have less time to devote to the game than others; if things move at a slower pace in the minor states this will not be a bad thing and players who prefer to campaign at their own pace will not feel rushed or under pressure of turn deadlines.

These armies will bear a resemblance to the historical 1815 armies but there will be variations for the purpose of balance and to reflect the changed situation. Most notably the French army will be very different with no Armee du Nord that was raised by Napoleon between March and June at all. The French army is known by all of Europe to be small and largely ineffective with many men having gone home and many generals retired into politics or business. Britain however is throwing subsidies around again as is her wont and it is know that King Louis' army is slowly being expanded.

There will be numerous player roles:

Prussia
Russia
Austria
Great Britain
France

These are the Big Five and must be player controlled.

Bavaria
Wurttemberg
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
Hanover

These are all at least corps-sized forces and we need them playing as a second tier of states.

Denmark
Mecklenberg
Hanseatic Towns
Brunswick
Nassau
Rheinisch States
Hesse-Darmstadt
Hesse-Kassel
Baden
Wurzburg


These are minor states of less than a corps strength and often only a division. One player could play more than one of these if they are geographically separate and therefore cannot amass a greater force efficiently or if a player can convince me that two neighbouring states might ally and operate together.

While the Big Five are at war immediately and campaigning will commence at once the lesser states are all neutral and may (or may not) come into the conflict over time. There will thus be scope for a great deal of negotiation and diplomacy for those who enjoy this facet of KS games. In this regard players who do not own or play the Scourge of War software are very welcome to role-play a lesser state.

Saxony is lot listed. Her occupation, the enforced exile of her king and the dispersal of her army is one of the principal causus belli. Part of her military will have allegiance to Austria and part to Prussia.

The campaign will not be commencing just yet. We have the Kleine Krieg campaign to play first but I am announcing this campaign in order to give players the opportunity to express their interest.

More info to follow as I think of it or if interested players enquire.

[Father General]

I'm interested in joining in a diplomatic/political role. Please count me in, if you can find a spot to put me in.

Thanks,

Neal

[Master of Europe]

I would like to join as the leader of Brunswick. Interesting position I'm in with Britian and Prussia.
Thanks,
Bob

[Mr. Digby]

Things are progressing nicely and player slots are being filled. All the major and middle-sized states are now allocated. The following minor states remain free. Even though all of these have only a division or a couple of divisions at most as their army, there will be lots of role-playing and negotiation potential in all the states; each will have to consider approaches (friendly or otherwise) from both Prussia and Austria as well as possibly British offers involving money. Beyond that states may declare neutrality and/or offer their troops out as mercenaries; these smaller states might also attempt to band together to form an independent German bloc or an armed neutrality league.

So lots of scope for fun and shenanigans.

NW Germany:

Mecklenberg =
Hanseatic Towns =
Brunswick = TAKEN

Rhineland/Middle Germany:

Nassau = TAKEN
Berg =        
Rheinisch States =
Hesse-Darmstadt =

Central/South Germany:

Hesse-Kassel =
Baden =
Wurzburg =

[Filangieri]

I was wondering. Since Italy is listed as one of the campaign theaters, wouldn't it be realistic to have at least the two regional powers, Piedmont and Naples, as playable states? By 1815 either had a two-three division army in place, and a diplomatic capability comparable with those of the medium german states..

[Mr. Digby]

Good point, however there was no fighting in Italy of significance. An Austrian army was there which had just defeated Naples and executed King Murat and the French had a small corps observing the Piedmontese Alps. However my intention is that, if necessary, both these armies would and could leave Italy to be employed further north.

I don't have any intention of depicting every state in Europe; only those significant to the key elements of the campaign. For example the Spanish and Portuguese will play no part in this, as they historically were in no shape to have interests outside their own borders by this time.

The campaign is centred on Prussian expansionism among the lesser German states, and Russian support for her ally, and the efforts of the Austro-Anglo-Franco Alliance to thwart Prussian plans.

I can announce that all positions are filled with one player in each state. If further players would like to play I can begin to assign second players to the bigger states as these will be busy entities for one person to manage.

As soon as I have the maps organised I will commence assigning start positions to the troops.

[Mr. Digby]

The maps are ready and can be downloaded here.

The hex overlay is approximately 10 miles.

10 miles is approximately the distance troops will march in a day. Some armies with better staff work may march more rapidly. Some with poor or unprofessional staffs may be more cumbersome in their movements. Cavalry and horse artillery might move more quickly for short periods but are still reliant on supporting services which move at the pace of a fodder or ammunition cart, field forge or field bakery wagon.

HONOUR POINTS

This campaign will newly introduce the game mechanism of Honour Points (HP). Honour Points represent the social standing of the state leader as perceived by those who count - mostly the nobility, clergy and other men of worth such as great landowners or even the better sort of merchant. The higher your HP count the more inspired your citizens are to join your regiments colours and thus the more replacements you may receive. Honour also affects how loyal and committed your officers are and the efficiency of your military staffs. Those staffs that belong to a state with high honour will be filled with zeal and will be very efficient in their work. The opposite applies to a state whose ruler has a low honour. In extreme cases a staff may be so discouraged by its rulers dishonourable actions that the whole military machine may become paralysed and unable to march troops at all.

Honour will rise if a state ruler or its other significant public figures and its army does things that are honourable. It will fall following dishonourable acts or writings or if a third party exposes dishonourable activity. Each state ruler, senior diplomat or general should decide what is, in the context of this period, honourable, and what is not. The reasons a ruler's or state's honour fluctuates will not be revealed. Rulers and others should merely act as they think is correct and wise in the eyes of the nobility of the early 19th century.

Honour will also determine the size of an income each two weeks into the state coffers.

[Uncle Billy]

That does it for the poor Russians. Beatings and more beatings are what kept the ranks full.

[Master of Europe]

Any word on when we can get initial briefings?

[Mr. Digby]

I will get some brief notes out to each state when I can but you can read the historical background again as that contains most of what each state needs to know as regards its general situation. The opening briefings for each state will contain a summary of the army and where its components are presently based, the starting HP rating, a treasury balance and a few notes on politics and the specific status of that country but I deliberately want to keep this game more free-form than previous ones (trying out a new approach again) so don't expect a set of rules beyond a few hints I will drop and your general knowledge of what was practical at the time.

[Master of Europe]

I see. Sorry to bug you, but what will we be able to do with treasury?

[Mr. Digby]

I will let players decide that. I am still working on the details.

[Mr. Digby]

TREATIES

These will be important in the campaign and should be honoured. A treaty can be between two or more parties and must be in writing with the clauses set out and a copy signed (accepted in writing) by each party. Each should have a title, a commencement date and either a termination date or be for a fixed period.

Typical treaties may include non-aggression, armed neutrality, mutual defence, mutual offence, mercenary troop hire, trade, rights of troop movement across certain territories, the right to maintain garrisons or any other clauses agreeable to both parties. Parties may make them public or keep them secret but secret treaties have a tendency to be leaked over time.

Breaking a treaty will lead to a fall in Honour Points.

There will be a neutral Court of Adjudication in the event of disputes.

The Treaties of Posen (Russo-Prussian Treaty of Mutual Offence) and Metz (Austro-Anglo-Franco Treaty of Mutual Defence with obligations to respect the borders of Poland and several German states) are in place prior to the campaign commencing. No other treaties exist but there will be a number of obligations placed on some minor states due to the successful completion of negotiations at the Congress of Vienna prior to the war breaking out, or other historical friendships or animosities. The outbreak of war places some of these obligations into question however and states may proceed to respect or refute them at their discretion.

[Mr. Digby]

I am almost finished the preparatory work. It will be complete this week and I will formally open the campaign this weekend, probably Saturday.

However if anyone wishes to begin writing letters to other states you may do so now.

It is 1st February 1815.

[Mr. Digby]

Taking longer to do the intro summaries, basic OOBs and placing troops on the maps than I thought. I am 80% done and will get the info sheets out to everyone by mid-week. I have received a lot of correspondence from people but not processed it yet. I will begin sending that when the info is sent out but players may begin writing letters if you haven't already.

[Mr. Digby]

All introduction e-mails have been sent out. If you know you have been assigned a state in the game and have not got an e-mail from me in the last 3 days, please contact me by e-mail at once.

All states may at once commence communications and military movement.

[Mr. Digby]

Gentlemen,

Unfortunately I cannot accept circular letters to be sent out to a number of addressees. This is causing me far too much work.

You must each write a single letter to a single addressee.

Please also use the following header/subject line format:

Letter to (name) -or- (nation) from (name) -or- (nation) - February 1815

Example:

"Letter to the Duke of Wellington from Baden - February 1815"

In exactly that layout.

This formatting will save me much work. Thank you.

[Mr. Digby]

Gentlemen,

Please note that all armies are at their maximum and no new units may be recruited except in the special case of one or two nations. Unless your opening information sheets hinted at additional units possibly being raised then the only means of increasing army strengths is through forging alliances.

Buying the services of mercenaries is technically possible but is a practice now out of fashion and though all rulers may attempt to negotiate such arrangements these will probably yield disappointing results. The Congress of Vienna in one of its early agreements forbade the Swiss to hire out their soldiers. The Swiss were the last nation in Europe which adopted the custom.

Various "Foreign Corps" might come into being via prisoners of war or enemy deserters but you will be advised if the presence of such units becomes likely. You cannot pro-actively raise such units. They are also famously of indifferent combat effectiveness.

This is also a land campaign; naval matters will be very much dealt with on a "broad brush" basis; they may have an effect but I will not deal with naval affairs in any detail.

Thank you.

[Captal]

Martin,

Can you provide a short discussion on how time works in the campaign? Are you using a constant multiple of x number of 1815 days per 2016 day? This would be very helpful in estimating troop movements, etc.

Thanks.

[Mr. Digby]

I am not really regulating the flow of time at all as players all contribute at different speeds. I am trying something new but it may end up being mostly turn-based with about 1 week per turn, though I am trying to avoid that if I can. The issue I can see myself running into is that if there are no turn deadlines some players may not be motivated to do anything; for the minor states that's not an issue but of one/some of the big 6 or 7 states isn't active enough things will go awry.

I am monitoring things at the moment to see if what I am attempting will work. If it doesn't we'll go back to more obvious turns.

[Mr. Digby]

Some orders to move troops have been issued and reports have gone back to the army commanders advising that some troops did not move. This problem is related to the state leader's Honour Score. If it is too low to order all troops in an army to move those orders issued last will not be carried out.

Generals should prioritise orders to those units that are most urgently required to march.

Marches are plotted on a week-by-week basis currently.

For your information it is now the 8th of February. The weekly news-sheet "The Messenger" will be published shortly.

[Mr. Digby]

About orders to troops to march. A question was asked by a general and our answer is given below:

Q. How detailed would you like troop movement orders? For example, you have indicated a position for each division within a corps. Should I do the same or is it enough to order a corps to move to X? Or should the orders be very specific?

Do I also need to give orders like "The reserve cavalry will screen the advance" or "The reserve cavalry will scout forward and locate the enemy army in the direction of town X?"

A. Sir
 
With regards to your recent letter we may advise as follows.
 
Where each division is listed with a separate location we would require orders for each to move. Once divisions assemble with their corps HQ, you need only specify the corps movements, presuming you wish the corps to remain together. Divisions do occupy distance on roads so a corps would be more than one hex long which could impact on battles. Moving via multiple roads when close to an enemy is therefore preferable.
 
You may issue merely a destination and we can plot the march but the route may then vary from an optimum you might have selected yourself had you been specific; thus the level of detail is up to you.
 
Yes, you should be specific about cavalry screens please, especially if regiments, brigades and divisions operate alone. Cavalry will generally report very little unless you ask them to.
 
Respectfully,

[Mr. Digby]

Concerning Honour, Replacements and Income and other matters moste important to a Gentlemans success in Politics.

End of February 1815.

The Ten Moste Honourable Rulers in Europe :~

1) King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia ~

2) Tsar Aleksandr Pavlovich I of Russia ~

2) Kaiser Francis II of Austria ~

4) King George III of Great Britain ~

5) King Louis Louis XVIII of France ~

5) King George I of Hanover ~

7) King Willem I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands ~

7) King Friedrich I of Württemberg ~

7) King Maximilian I of Bavaria ~

10) King Frederik VI  of Denmark ~

Other Respected Statesmen and Sovereigns, in no especial order:

Feldmarschall-Leutenant Graf Wallmoden, commander of the armed forces of the Hansa Cities ~

Herzog Friedrich Franz I von Mecklenburg-Schwerin ~

Herzog Friedrich Wilhelm von Braunschweig-Oels ~

Generaleutnant Herzog Franz Friedrich von Pyrmont-Ravensburg, commander of the armed forces of the Rheinisch States ~

Großherzog Ludwig I von Hesse-Darmstadt ~

Herzog Wilhelm I von Hesse-Kassel ~

Duke Willem Frédéric, Fürst van Oranje-Nassau ~

Großherzog Karl I von Baden-Zähringen ~

Your ranking in honour also represents your state economic health and general vitality. An income of £100~ (pounds Sterling) accrues to your treasury each month for each point of Honour. Additionally a certain number of willing volunteers report to your barracks and depots in direct proportion to how highly regarded your state ruler is.

[Mr. Digby]

For various reasons France has not been active in the campaign. Unfortunately two players have turned out to be too busy to run it.

Does anyone want to play France? I personally think this is the most interesting army to command due to the new royalist changes (officer ranks, regiment names, flags, uniforms, etc)!

If you are interested, please send me a PM or an e-mail.

...and at this point I add, as a tradition, "no time wasters" to the ad!

[Mr. Digby]

King Louis XVIII has been roused from his slumbers and shall soon begin to seek the counsel of his ministers and marechals.

I have updated the North Germany map. It shows the extent of Brunswick-Oels territory which was lacking from the previous map.

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