Blucher and the Prussians at Waterloo

[vtsaogames]

A historical post about the Prussians.  https://corlearshookfencibles.blogspot.com/2022/08/blucher-and-prussians-at-waterloo.html
 

[fred]

An interesting read

The operational level is harder to game, probably due to TTG providing too much info to the players compared to real generals.  I guess it is often abstracted by the scenario setup.

[vtsaogames]

An interesting read

The operational level is harder to game, probably due to TTG providing too much info to the players compared to real generals.  I guess it is often abstracted by the scenario setup.

Thank you.

Even tactical games provide way too much info, even about our own forces, not to mention the enemy. We look down and see the enemy is advancing with grenadiers where the real troops might detect some movement through the smoke. Elites, line troops or militia? Does the enemy have any more reserves? Table top generals know.

We even know too much about our own forces. Nathaniel Gates believed he had 7,000 troops just before the battle of Camden. Informed the number was closer to 3,000, he replied "There are more than enough for our purposes". This would have gone down as a famously bold reply if he hadn't been routed in the ensuing fracas, riding 180 miles in 3 days after abandoning his troops mid-battle.

[fred]

Yes, very true. We seem to accept that the player has a high degree of certainty about troops and location. And then use dice to apply some uncertainty about movement and combat results.

[vtsaogames]

I have run a couple email campaigns, lots of work for the umpire. Without absolute knowledge, constant aggression fades.

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

Even tactical games provide way too much info, even about our own forces, not to mention the enemy. We look down and see the enemy is advancing with grenadiers where the real troops might detect some movement through the smoke. Elites, line troops or militia?

I would question this to some extent - over a long campaign, you would get to recognise certain enemy units, I would have thought.  I'm sure if the Old Guard was advancing towards you, you would recognise them!  During the War of 1812, British line regiments would don their greatcoats so that the enemy would "recognise" them as militia and become complacent (and it worked a couple of times, too!).

We even know too much about our own forces. Nathaniel Gates believed he had 7,000 troops just before the battle of Camden. Informed the number was closer to 3,000, he replied "There are more than enough for our purposes". This would have gone down as a famously bold reply if he hadn't been routed in the ensuing fracas, riding 180 miles in 3 days after abandoning his troops mid-battle.

Well, frankly, that's just incompetence in a Western European-style army at that stage in history and especially at that stage of the war.  The Continental Army had become proficient, at the very least, in the basics and any general worthy of the name should have been aware of how many men he had (if only just be riding along the line and counting the number of companies).