Gettysburg game Thursday 11th

I'm free for a game this coming Thursday if we can get enough folks together. Start time 19.00-20.00 BST.

Happy to play ACW or Napoleonic. We can also try Stefan's Scenario Generator if you like.

Here is a doodle link so you can register interest, and express any preferences re time & period preferred:

http://www.doodle.com/gy4at6dctytmdzdy#table

Martin (J)

Thursday very likely for me. Anything is good but Nap prefered.

That's great Mike. With you we have at least 5.

Nap does indeed seem to be favourite and I've sketched out a scenario today, using Stefan's marvellous gismo. To finalise things, I really need to have a clearer idea of final numbers, so if anyone else is thinking of playing can you please doodle asap.

I do need one more volunteer to command one of the sides, as it's probably fairest if I take a junior command.

If all goes well, I will aim to get briefings for the 2 sides emailed on Thursday morning UK time, so that everyone knows what command they are taking, and both teams have a chance to confer (eg by email) before the game.

We need a prompt start as Ollie cannot play before 20.00 (UK time) and Stefan needs to finish by 22.00 (being one hour ahead). So it looks as if it will be a 2-hour game! A prompt start is actually one advantage of scenario games, as there is less need for discussion just before the game.

I will need everyone's email btw, but I already have yours, and also those of everyone who has already registered. Could anyone else who registers please send me a personal message with their address if they don't think I have it.

Martin (J)

Thanks Martin

I would take command at a push but I'm not the best person right now and if we do play Nap then I'm interested in trying out a cav command. Also, want to get some video footage of Columns of Divisions attacking, if poss.

I've filled in the Doodle

Cheers

Ok folks. We have 5 for this game, which is just about enough, although I would prefer slightly more. Still only one volunteer for CinC so I may have to 'promote' a worthy individual. Shakespeare wrote "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them"

I will do a final check on numbers early tomorrow, finalise the scenario, and aim to email short briefings out mid morning UK time. I'll let you know your team-mates at that point, and you should feel free to converse before the game by email, T/S etc re plans.

Can I ask that we meet-up on the Kriegsspiel T/S server just before 20.00 UK time.

We only have a short window of opportunity for this game, so we really need a prompt start. To that end, any further team-discussion will take place while the game is running. Take as long as you want to discuss strategy. Just be aware that your opponents may be marching. This is not as weird as it seems - it is actually the approach we generally follow for our face-to-face k/spiels, and does work well in keeping things focused and reducing wasted time.

Any questions?

Martin (J)

Martin - I'm trying to bring a new fellow along to this game. I've already got him patched up to 1.6, and he is set up on TS (although only for the GCM forum, not yet the KS forum), but he doesn't yet have the Nap Mod yet, and might need a little talking through some set-up.

I was planning on talking him through the remaining setup with him on Thursday over TS from about 8pm, hoping it would be sorted quite quickly. I don't think he's available much before this, though I will check.

He's very enthusiastic about it, but it sounds like this extra activity may impede on your game being set up promptly.

Would you rather not have this extra burden? If not, I would duck out of this game too, and try to get him all sorted for the next one.

Hi Ollie

I would normally want to bend over backwards to accommodate a new player. Unfortunately for this one, we are very constrained on time, as we cannot start before 20.00 and need to be finished by about 22.00 to fit in with the players we have. Have just completed the scenario & briefings based on a 2 hour game. I don't think it would work say at 1.5 hours.

You see the problem. Also if you don't play, we do not have enough players to run it

That's not the end of the world. It will keep, but it means we would need to think again about what we do play tomorrow.

Martin (J)

Hi Martin,

I may not be able to join the game tonight. If I'm not on TS by 7.45 you had better go ahead without me.

Sorry for the late notice.

Niall

Never mind Niall. Real life must take precedence. Hope you can still make it.

It’s beginning to look as if running a scenario is going to be too big a stretch. It can easily accommodate more than 5 players, but really needs that as a minimum. It also means we need to have sides firmed-up soon, so I can email briefings and players have time to discuss plans before the game. So I’m thinking it may be better to save that for another time (next Thursday?), and run something simpler today.

I’ve also had an indication from one player that he could maybe play later than 22.00 after all. Am waiting for confirmation, but if so that gives us more flexibility re start time, and would allow us to involve Ollie’s friend. I also understand that a later start time would sit our Italian friends better, so that’s potentially at least a couple more players.

I wonder whether the best plan may therefore be to go for a later start (20.30 or 21.00), and play sandbox, perhaps on a small map, so we get into action fairly quickly.

Thoughts anyone?

Martin (J)

I've been chatting through options with Stefan. Here's our suggestion.

It does look as if we need to end by about 22.00. Given the uncertainty re numbers, and the time constraints, we will postpone the scenario game until next Thursday. I'll make a new post on that shortly, with doodle. The scenario is done, so I will be able to include some brief details. That should give plenty of time to arrange teams, send out briefings etc.

For today, and given that at least 4 potential players will struggle to make a 20.00 BST start, we will aim for a 1.5 hour game, meeting in T/S from 20.15, and starting promptly at 20.30.

[Ollie - can you try and get your friend set-up with all he needs before then please?]

When we know how many are in T/S we will use the Scenario Generator to setup a suitable-size French vs Austrian battle, just for a change.

Any objections?

Martin (J)

Sounds good.
With the fewer players it does look like a coop battle vs. AI is suitable.

Just an idea for a quick setup:

• Any map
  
• Players' Corps in any sector A1-E5. Reference point in the same sector.
  
• Objectives and AI Corps set as "close".
  
  
• For an extra challenge create a second AI Corps set as "far".

Cheers
Stefan

Martin wrote:
Ollie - can you try and get your friend set-up with all he needs before then please?

I've texted him - I will try to get this done. Sincerest apologies if I've thrown a spanner in the works! Still, all the best laid plans... and your ability to modify the plan according to a changing situation reflects your ability to do the same on the battlefield (albeit through the use of heavy drinking). Bravo!

Ollie

Leffe7 wrote:Sounds good.
With the fewer players it does look like a coop battle vs. AI is suitable.

Just an idea for a quick setup:

• Any map
  
• Players' Corps in any sector A1-E5. Reference point in the same sector.
  
• Objectives and AI Corps set as "close".
  
  
• For an extra challenge create a second AI Corps set as "far".

Cheers
Stefan

Yes that sounds like a good plan.

My feeling is that the AI is weaker in Napoleonic than ACW, which is not surprising really. Having that second AI corps is therefore an excellent idea.

We may get more folks than we think, but if we do end-up playing coop vs the AI, then my suggestion would be to give most player small divisions, provided they are happy with that. Perhaps Ollie's friend can take a brigade in his division to ease him into things. We should try and build-in a cavalry command for Mike too.

Martin (J)

[quote="FlashmanKBE"]

Martin wrote:............Still, all the best laid plans... and your ability to modify the plan according to a changing situation reflects your ability to do the same on the battlefield (albeit through the use of heavy drinking). Bravo!

I luv you, I do. You're my best friend in all the world......hic

As a cavalry divisional commander in a recent Nap HITS game, I discovered that you really must have human brigade commanders for each cavalry brigade. Otherwise the AI brigade commanders go tally-ho, charge in, do lots of damage, and then retire completely from the field for scones and cream tea.

I would be very happy to take a cavalry brigade, and I'm certain my mate Malc would be more than happy to take any brigade command. I would have no objection to operating under Mike's divisional leadership if that seems sensible!

All of this assuming I can make it.

Chin chin chaps.

Although I cannot play, I have a suggestion in playing the AI in a nappy game. Humans are the Brits, what else. Give the french one more infantry and cavalry brigade than you. That should only give you a 5-10% numerical advantage. Good luck. It's unlikely you'll last the full 90 minutes.

Ok some good suggestions there. Thanks.

Looking at possible maps. Has anyone planning to play *not* got the Antietam add-on?

Martin (J)

Martin wrote:Ok some good suggestions there. Thanks.

Looking at possible maps. Has anyone planning to play *not* got the Antietam add-on?

Martin (J)

My friend Malc won't yet (if that becomes relevant). But the GCM RandomMaps6 are goof for Nap games, no?

FlashmanKBE wrote:My friend Malc won't yet (if that becomes relevant). But the GCM RandomMaps6 are goof for Nap games, no?

Sounds good. Ok let's use one of those.

Martin (J)

Splendid game chaps - thanks to everyone. I'm looking forward to the next already!

Yes, a very intense fight. I hope Malc also enjoyed it so he will join us frequently

This was my first real battle with cavalry in the NAP mod. And I agree, you need to be very close to your squadrons to manage them properly or else you won't see them again after they charged. I think the caliesthenics could still be raised a bit or was it common that cavalry that charged 2 times was done for the rest of the battle?

Yes, it was a really fun game. And produced very quickly with the aid of your excellent scenario generator.

I agree re cavalry. It needs very close watching. We had some great charges yesterday from both sides.

How many charges were cavalry capable of making? Alessandro Barbero in his book on Waterloo describes cavalry as 'a one-shot weapon'. Personally I think that is going too far. Looking at Adkin's fairly detailed treatment of the great French cavalry charges in the afternoon, you can calculate that each squadron charged on average twice (once in the first line and once in the second). Supposedly after that the French cavalry was finished for the day. There appears to have been was no effective cavalry support for the final Imperial Guard attack in the evening for example. That would suggest 2 charges is about right.

But Waterloo may not have been typical, and in any case I'm pretty sure that others would disagree! I have even seen folks argue that well-trained cavalry could just go on and on. But I think they are bonkers

Martin (J)

Two significant charges is probably the right number. It is not only that tired horses take a long time to recover, but recalling and reorganizing a large number of men on horseback is a significant undertaking. In the game, reorganization takes place instantly, so fatigue needs to represent both tiredness and disorganization.

Brilliant, my favourite movie yet.

Mitra really did a fine job commanding here, i think. He really took the initiative when I was wondering why he was wanting to throw my cav away in a charge against a defended hill.

I was slow to respond to his repeated requests to attack, then when I did it was very a great fight.

Favourite comment of the night was from Malc, afterwards. He said that he got into some woods and and when the action started he felt fear. I know how that feels, fella.

Well played all and thanks for a great game. Doubt I will make tonight due to work

mike