From: Dan Finnerty Subject: Re: 3Ws Nap@Austerlitz Accompanying is something I sent to Jon Freitag in response to his admitting to liking Keith Poulter's Bonaparte system. For once I am posting something game-related! (Hope you don't mind, Jon) On Mar 13, 10:33am, Dan Finnerty wrote: > Subject: Re: 3Ws Nap@Austerlitz > On Mar 12, 7:11pm, Jon/Jan Freitag wrote: > > Subject: 3Ws Nap@Austerlitz > > Dan, > > Please elaborate on your Napoleon at Austerlitz experience! I would really > > be interested in your impressions of the game. > > I think that we may be the ONLY ones who like this series. > > > > Jon > > > >-- End of excerpt from Jon/Jan Freitag > > Jon, > > Hey, nice to know SOMEBODY else plays these games! > > I have the whole series: Austerlitz, Aspern-Essling, Abensberg, Eckmuhl and > Napoleon's Later Battles. Unfortunately I have really only played Austerlitz (I > even played the original edition in the Wargamer vol. I). I have set up > Abensberg/Eckmuhl a couple of times but have never really gotten too far even > though it looks really interesting and the graphical presentation is not bad (I > especially like the maps). > > The graphics in both Aspern-Essling and Napoleon's Later Battles remind me of > my dog's breakfast and put me off a little. I would like to eventually play > them, though. > > In general I like the system, it is less complex than many Napoleonic battle > systems but still seems to convey a good feel, IMO. > > I have made a couple of little modifications. I use a slightly modified facing > rule, having units face a hex corner instead of a hexside. I did this for a > couple of reasons. First, it gives a better feel for lines of infantry and > cavalry moving, a little awkwardly, across the battlefield and makes flanks and > rear a little more vulnerable. Second, I hated having two lines of units facing > one another but all at an angle, as if they weren't actually facing one another > but looking away. This is probably a hex grain problem but we're stuck with the > map so one does what one can. Due to this change there are a couple of little > modifications to the die-roll modifiers on the CRT's but I can't remember the > details. > > I forget if it is part of the Austerlitz or Abensberg/Eckmuhl rules but I also > allow cavalry to retreat before being fired on by enemy infantry. > > The other real modification, to Austerlitz, involves the command rules. By and > large I like the command rules but I can't help tinkering. For Austerlitz I use > the command rules from Abensberg/Eckmuhl which seem to better simulate the > inertia on the Coalition's left flank before Telnitz and Sokolnitz. With no > army commander each column commander has to role for initiative and with their > low ratings don't get it often. As a result they spend a lot of time loitering > and exchanging some fire with Legrand's men in the villages. Without this > change, and with Davout's men only given a "4" morale rating!, I found the > Coalition had a pretty easy time of it on the left where they historically > didn't achieve much. > > I find, with these changes, the battle unfolds pretty historically although > St.Hilaire and Vandamme usually have a much stiffer fight on their hands than > did their historical counterparts. At the same time, on the French right Lannes > and Bagration have a stiff set-to. This, however, is resolved, in favour of the > French, as soon as Murat's cavalry rout Lichtenstein's cavalry, which usually > only requires two or three turns of charge and counter charge: there is just > too much really good French cavalry and Lichtenstein's demorilization level is > just too low. I am still trying to figure out what to do differently on the > Coalition right to try and minimize this problem. > > One little tactical comment I have is that for the first several play throughs > I tried combining fires to get a higher column on the fire table. Recently > though I feel a better tactic is to have infantry and cavalry occupy adjacent > hexes facing enemy infantry. When the infantry fires they use a lower column > but get the die-roll modifier for having cavalry in the zoc of the defender. > Additionally if they get a 2 result the enemy has a chance to disrupt and if > they do then the cavalry can charge them at good odds and die-roll modifier. > When it works you can really chop-up an opposing enemy infantry line. > > That's it for now, if I think of anything else I'll send it to you. > > Now that I have told you all my secrets (game-playing, that is) care to try a > PBEM game of one of these guys? > > If not, fine, but I might be the only opponent you ever find. ;-) > > DF > > -- > Dan Finnerty (613/951-3800) > National Accounts and Environment Division > Statistics Canada, 21 "L", RHC > danfin@statcan.ca >-- End of excerpt from Dan Finnerty -- Dan Finnerty (613/951-3800) National Accounts and Environment Division Statistics Canada, 21 "L", RHC danfin@statcan.ca