1813 Napoleonic Campaign - Introduction

[thistlebarrow]

I have completed converting my 1813 campaign from PBEM to Solo.   It will still cover Germany, Portugal and Spain.  It will still have five campaign areas, each with a different national army fighting the French.   The main difference is that I will play one area at a time as a mini campaign

The purpose of the campaign will remain to provide interesting battles to wargame.

Now it is a solo campaign I will be able to publish more information on the campaign diary blog.   When it was PBEM I had to ensure that I did not give away too much information to the players.

I expect each campaign to last about ten campaign days, and to provide between two and four battles to wargame.

My intention is to provide sufficient information for anyone who would like to fight the campaign themselves to be able to do so.

The orders of battle will show actual numbers of infantry, cavalry and artillery.   The tactical map shows basic terrain details, which can easily be replicated on your own wargames table.

The introduction to each campaign will contain a brief background, campaign objectives and a simple order of battle.  It will also contain links to the main campaign for detailed orders of battle, previous history of the campaign and a report on each battle fought.

I will then post a diary on the campaign blog which will be a summary of each days move and a wargame report of each battle fought.   I hope to post three or four updates each week

The campaign rules are simple and easy to understand.   However they do cover supply, attrition, reinforcements and sieges.   They are available here http://1813pbemcampaigndiary.blogspot.com

I have written wargame rules to suit the campaign.   However any rules can be sued to wargame the battles.  My rules are available here http://napoleonicwargamerules.blogspot.com/

The campaign diary blog covers the whole 1813 campaign.   There is a comprehensive index to each of the five areas, a daily report, comprehensive orders of battle and a wargame report of each battle fought.   You can find it here
http://1813pbemcampaigndiary.blogspot.com


Finally there is a forum which I started as a campaign notice board for the PBEM campaign.   Any questions can be raised there, or just drop me an email.    The forum is available here
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/napoleonicpbemcampaign

The map system is quite complicated and I will explain that in the next post.
I hope to start the first mini campaign within a few days, and I will post details here when I do.

[thistlebarrow]

There are two maps used in each campaign.




This is the strategic map for northern Germany.   Each square is 15 miles, which is one days march and also the area of each mini campaign.  Each square has a town or city which will be the campaign objective.

The area outlined in white is the Magdeburg campaign area.   It covers an area 60 miles wide by 45 miles deep.   Magdeburg is centre right.

This map is used for the main campaign and as background for the mini campaign.



 
This is the tactical map for the Magdeburg phase.  It covers the same area as the white outline on the strategic map and each square is 5 miles.   This is the map I use for all campaign movement.   

Each square has two reference numbers.   Top left is the grid number.   Top right is the scenic square number to transfer battles to the table top.   My wargames table consists of 2 foot scenic squares with hills, rivers and roads.   Nine squares on this map cover the same area as one square on the Strategic map.

When a battle is declared I set up the wargames table using nine squares with the point of impact being the centre square of the table.

[thistlebarrow]

The first mini campaign will be Napoleon v Blucher in northern Germany for possession of Magdeburg.   This is the tactical map and shows the location of both armies, and their depots, at the start of the campaign.

The introduction to the Magdeburg campaign has been posted on the campaign blog.   It includes a brief background, the campaign objectives and a short order of battle for both the French and the Prussian armies.   It also has links to the full background, previous battle reports and more detailed orders of battle.

By providing all of this information it should be easy for anyone to use the campaign to provide their own battles.   It is designed that you can use your own wargame rules and figure basing.   I would expect that each campaign will last about 10 campaign days and provide between two and four battles to wargame.

You will find the introduction here
http://1813pbemcampaigndiary.blogspot.com.es/


If you have any questions please ask, drop me an email of visit the campaign forum here
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/napoleonicpbemcampaign

[thistlebarrow]

The Magdeburg phase of the campaign has ended in a Prussian victory.   The objective was for Napoleon to take the city of Magdeburg, which was held by the Prussian army under Blucher.   

The campaign lasted six days and produced two battles, both of which were won by the Prussians.   This left the French in considerable disorder and forced Napoleon to retreat and reorganise.

The campaign lasted one month, which is about normal.   But I would expect three or four battles to decide the outcome.   Had the French won one of the two battles fought  the would have been capable to carrying on and at least one more battle would have been necessary to decide the outcome.

This was my first solo campaign after about five years of PBEM.   I missed the unexpected imput of other players, but the actual campaign was much more fast flowing and easier to run.    The wargames were more challenging, but also more predictable.

The daily diary of the campaign, plus reports of the two battles, are on the campaign blog.

http://1813pbemcampaigndiary.blogspot.com.es/