Sunday 22 April 2018 Kriegsspiel

Our first game this year will be on 22 April and start at the usual time of 11 am.  So far 10 or 11 have registered, but we can certainly fit more in.  If you are interested in coming and have not already registered, please do so here https://xoyondo.com/dp/4pmEA4gk8fhmwIY

Martin (J)

April 2018 Kriegsspiel General Idea (see sketchmap below)

It is 10.00 pm on the evening of 21st April 1818.  

The long and debilitating Napoleonic Wars ended with the Emperor’s defeat and capture in Russia six years ago.  But this has failed to bring peace to much of Europe.  Civil war rages in France, and the eastern portions have broken away under the Bourbon Duke Philippe of Lorraine (Red).  

He is in dispute with King Frederick of the Palatinate (Blue) over the possession of Saarlouis.  A large Palatine army has now blockaded Saarlouis and advanced towards Metz from the NE.  Weak Lorraine detachments have fallen back in the face of this attack.

At this time of year, dawn is at 8 am and dusk at 6 pm.



This certainly promises to be a tough struggle between two military titans.  For more information on the commanders see below............

Duke Philippe of Lorraine.  



This scion of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon spent his formative years in exile in England, many of them on the playing fields of Eton.  He has no military service of note, but is a fine young fellow, who will no doubt rise well to the challenge of command.  He is marked by good breeding, is a noted epicure, and an accomplished violinist who would grace any battlefield.  He is said to be possessed of a somewhat vindictive personality, which should serve him well as a ruler, and is of course most fitting for a young gentleman of quality.


Kind Frederick of the Palatinate.  



He fought as a captain in one of Napoleon’s German regiments during the 1809 war with Austria.  No record of his service appears to have survived, and he left his regiment shortly thereafter under circumstances which remain unclear.  In the reorganisation of Europe which followed Napoleon’s demise in Russia, the Kingdom of the Palatinate was created, with his elderly father as its first monarch.   Sadly the old boy passed away last year, and young Frederick succeeded to the throne.  Since his subsequent and well-deserved promotion to high military rank, Frederick has rediscovered an enthusiasm for the army life.  He is said to be possessed of a bluff and ebullient nature, and enjoys practical jokes.  Indeed it is said that he cannot pass a crouching peasant at work in the fields without giving him (or her) a hearty but paternalistic kick in the rump

So far 11 have registered, but we can certainly fit more in.  If you are interested in coming and have not already registered, please do so here https://xoyondo.com/dp/4pmEA4gk8fhmwIY

Here is some more information on how this game will run.

Even in this first battle of the war, we are dealing with quite large forces, and these may well increase in size in the subsequent games, as the Duchy of Lorraine and the Kingdom of the Palatinate fully-mobilise.

The basic unit of manoeuvre will be the brigade, consisting of a varying number of infantry battalions or cavalry squadrons.  Most brigades will be organised in divisions of two or more brigades, and the divisions will be grouped in corps.  Most players will be corps commanders.  

The essence of the game is on managing the battle effectively.  The system recognises that armies are complex (and to a degree bureaucratic) organisations, and that it takes time for orders to be implemented.  Thus a simple single brigade advance or attack, without artillery preparation, might take place with a relatively small delay.  A big attack involving several divisions with cavalry support etc is likely to take a long time to organise, due to the need to plan and communicate to the many commanders involved.  It gets worse - a brigade or division which is planning its part in an attack, will be forced to abort its preparations if it becomes engaged.  Its senior officers cannot do two things at once, and the current fight will always take precedence.  Either the whole attack will need to be postponed or called-off, or it will need to go ahead without the participation of these particular formations.

Of course the big complex prepared attack is likely to be more effective, but only if it’s not overtaken by such events.  So there is a tension between taking the initiative and proper preparation.  In this game you really can get inside your enemy’s decision loop; perhaps by putting them off-balance by launching a succession of minor attacks.

I will post more information in the next few weeks, but please do post here if you have any questions.

Martin (J)

Our first game this spring is on Sunday 22 April at 11 am.  If you are interested in coming and have not already registered, please do so here https://xoyondo.com/dp/4pmEA4gk8fhmwIY

Below are some more details on how the game will be run.  More to follow before the game...........

Martin (J)


The armies

Your forces operate with tactics and capabilities of a typical late Napoleonic period Prussian or Austrian army.  The basic manoeuvre units are brigades, of varying numbers of battalions and squadrons. Each infantry battalion has around 6-700 men and each cavalry squadron around 150.  

Infantry brigades consist of between 3 and 6 battalions.  They typically include a portion of light troops, and a select few might consist entirely of them.  The infantry are largely composed of conscripts and are primarily trained to manoeuvre in column, although they can also deploy into a 4-rank line.  They are trained to form square if threatened by cavalry.  

Cavalry brigades consist of between 6 and 12 squadrons.  Cuirassiers and carabiniers are heavy cavalry.  Dragoons are medium cavalry.  Chasseurs, uhlans and hussars are light cavalry.  These differences are reflected in the game.

The brigades are grouped into small divisions, which also include an artillery battery.  Whilst it is not part of your army doctrine to amass ‘grand batteries’ by re-deploying these batteries, there are a limited number of army or corps level reserve heavy batteries, which you can use to reinforce any part of your line.  


The map & troop representation

Corps commanders will be provided with a map display.  This is gridded in rectangles, and the scale is 1 ¼ miles along the short side and 1 ½ miles along the long side.  The umpire map is at the same scale.

Your troops will be represented by counters for each brigade and each reserve artillery battery (those guns organic to divisions are not separately represented).  

Infantry battalions will normally deploy in column, but with sufficient space between the battalions to permit them deploying into line when infantry combat is imminent.  A brigade will deploy in 2 lines of battalions.  

Cavalry squadrons will normally deploy in line.  A brigade will deploy in 2 lines of squadrons.  

                 

Assume a frontage of between about ¼ and ½ mile, depending on the size of the brigade.

A corps of say 15,000 men will normally operate on a sector of 1 - 1½ miles – depending on its mission.

The bayonet and the cannon are all that are necessary. The battle plan: Forward!

My apologies Sir, but you forget tea and crumpets......

Here is some more information on how our spring kriegsspiels will run.  This time we focus on player roles.  In these game we are seeking to explore one type of generalship and command structure.  If you are a player we would therefore ask you to act as much as possible in the spirit of your assigned role.

Martin (J)


Commander in Chief

Your initial role is to specify lines of attack or defence, the objectives, and the forces to be employed.  During the battle you should visit each of your corps commanders from time to time in order to assess the situation and ‘encourage’ them in their efforts.  You will need to adjust objectives if necessary, and decide on the allocation of reserves and reinforcements as they arrive.

You are CinC, and not a corps commander.  You may have reserve troops with you.  If so, these are intended as reinforcements for your various corps.  They do not have the organisational structure to act as an additional corps in their own right, and you do not have the staff to operate in such a manner.

You will not be provided with a map display showing troop positions, although you will have access to a map of the battlefield.  Your briefings will come from the corps commanders in the form of messages, or visits to corps HQ, rather than from the umpires.

When you are absent from your Army HQ, either travelling or visiting your corps, you will not receive any messages. These will accumulate at your HQ and will be received on your return to it.


Corps Commanders

You are the folks who will fight the battle in accordance with directives from your CinC.  

You are far above a mere brigade commander, and will therefore not give detailed tactical orders.  Your role is to specify which brigade(s) or divisions should conduct an attack, or hold a position.  You can allocate cavalry and additional artillery support to units from within your corps, but will leave detailed formation orders such as line or column, skirmishers etc to your divisional and brigade commanders.

Your brigades are trained to fight as a unit, and in general should fight as one formation, rather than detaching individual battalions or squadrons.  

You should keep HQ informed of the position by written message, and you will also have the opportunity to discuss matters with the C in C when he visits your own HQ.  You can request reinforcements from the CinC should you feel the situation requires it.

A key feature of our new approach to running tactical & grand tactical games is the player display.

In the past, players have had to make do with a small map, which they or their umpire liaison mark-up with washable pens.  This has never been ideal, partly because player maps have usually used a smaller scale than the main umpire map.  The use of smaller scale maps can make it difficult to appreciate terrain features, and different scales can lead to umpire confusion.  The umpires have therefore frequently found it necessary to periodically call players into the umpire room for a ‘visual’, where they are given sight of a portion of the umpire map.  Of course that approach is also not ideal either, as it means the game has to stop, and the umpires have to spend further time covering those areas of the umpire map that the player cannot see from their position.  It’s also the devil’s own job persuading the players to leave the comforting safety of the umpire map!  All of which delays the game further, and means that all the other players are sitting on their hands.

The great advantage of the new displays is that players will now have a constantly updated view of the umpire map, without the need to stop play.  This is the main role of the umpire liaison folk.  Each time they visit their player, they will carefully replicate any change in troop positions as a result of unit moves or attacks.  Not only that, the maps will be at the same scale as the umpire map, and the displays will also utilise the same formation counters the umpires are using.  So the player has no need to visit the umpire room at all, and games should run faster.

On the umpire map, all unit counters have their brigade and divisional designation on them, but this is not the case with the player displays.  Units of a player’s own corps will include this information, but enemy units, and all other friendly formations will be unnamed.  So you will know how many enemy battalions you face, but not necessarily which brigade, division, corps they belong to, although this may become apparent if prisoners are taken etc.  This is partly for fog-of-war reasons, but also to help everyone keep track of which troops are under that player’s command.  If formations are switched between corps, the named counter will be taken from the original corps commander and replaced by an unnamed one.  Henceforth the named counter will appear on the display of the new corps commander.

Additionally, newly-appearing formations will initially appear as black counters on a player’s display, if he would not know which army they belong to.  This is because uniforms could only be distinguished at about 1/2 mile, even in good weather.  Is that new cavalry brigade on your flank friendly?  Well initially you may not know (see below).  Is it Grouchy.......or Bluecher?


There are still slots available, so if you are interested in coming and have not already registered, please do so here.  We are still accepting additional players over the weekend, but time is short now, as we will need to firm-up scenario details early next week https://xoyondo.com/dp/4pmEA4gk8fhmwIY

Martin (J)