ActionFront - Leipzig Nord -Initial Setup

Battle of the Day

A step by step run through of a test game using my new Computer Moderated Napoleonic system - ActionFront !

This is taken from the Leipzig-Nord scenario, with the French III Corps vs the Prussian III Corps in 1813.

Prussian Brigade begins its deployment for the Battle.

To make it even simpler, will start off with the initial contact between a single maneuvre element from each of these 2 Corps sized units.

On the Prussian side, we have the 5th Brigade, on the French side we have the 11e Division.
....

Lets have a look at the 2 forces involved for the initial contact, and how that translates to the tabletop  :

More Battalion Sabot Bases

Battalion Scale Sabot Bases

Following on from the previous post, here is a brief selection of some of the other Battalion scale Sabot bases that I have in  mind for running big games.

After many play tests, I am convinced now that using Sabot bases is not only convenient for ease of movement, but it also adds a lot of clarity to the tabletop.

It is definitely something worth playing with.

The rationale of using Sabot bases for each Battalion scale unit are many :

• Speed up moving lots of figures around, whilst holding their formation.
• To denote a sort of 'Zone of Control' for each battalion.  As units start to lose cohesion and take losses, bases from the unit can remain on the table, but off the Battalion base .. so they become stragglers that clutter up the table.  I like having my figure collections nicely organised if possible ... but I find that removing bases during a game and putting them back in the box just creates chaos. This solution of leaving stragglers and wounded on the table solves that issue, and also does away with needing to have tokens on the table to denote cohesion / morale losses as well.
• Battalion bases that are close to each other (or touching) mean that 2 battalions are in close support, and are acting as a single group despite the gaps between the figure bases. 
• More flexible units have larger battalion bases, which gives a larger zone of control.
• Restrictions on the types of formations that the unit can assume are defined by the physical size of the Battalion base.
• Changing the formation within the confines of the Battalion base is a 'free' move as part of standard tactical movement in the game.
• If a formation change requires adding additional Battalion bases to the unit to accomodate the formation, this requires the expense of some 'Command Points' or something similar.
• Also provides a holding spot for labelling each unit !  
• I want to start playing with embeded RFID tags on the unit bases, for use with computerised tracking of the game. Battalion sabots make sense for this.
• In order to build 'Every single unit in every campaign' ... All I really need to do now is build a Battalion base for each unit, and just fill them up with figures on an as-need basis. I don't actually NEED to collect and paint up 3 million figures now if I do it this way :)

So lets have a look at some possible designs of Battalion Sabot bases to reflect different scenarios :

Start with the simple ones ....

3" wide, 2" deep - for a 4 company Prussian Battalion, 1813 Leipzig campaign.

My Prussian Musketeer battalions for this campaign are operating almost exclusively in Battalion masses, 2 companies wide.

Due to the large scale of the campaign, and need to compress as much mass as possible on a given frontage, this formation allowed easy control of the very large and not very well drilled armies.

They rarely changed from this formation (as far as I know).

This Battalion base allows for the following Formations : 

• 2 x2 companies in closed attack column (as shown here).  
• 2x2 companies with a space between the lines for supporting waves of 2 company wide columns.  
• 4 company square fits nicely on this base. 
• Throw 1 company of troops out front of the Battalion base, to denote the 3rd rank deployed as a semi-skirmish order screen.  
• Sideways orientation - 1 company wide column, 4 companies deep. 
• Add a spare base next to this base and re-arrange as a single line of 4 companies .. a 'complex' move for this unit, so that requires some command point cost.

Battle of Jenastaedt 1813 - The Assault

Battle of the Day

... continued from Part 4

Events in the early afternoon, around half past one :

The Russian engagement on the left has all but fallen into chaos.

A fierce engagement has cost them their remaining infantry regiment, whilst the forward most regiment has now lost contact with the commander as it proceeds to loot and destroy Jenastaedt itself.

Battle of Jenastaedt 1813 - The Bombardment

Battle of the Day

.. continued from Part 3

General Allied situation at 1040 hrs :

Over on the Russian left flank, the Russian artillery is now finally in effective range, and begins to pour fire into the remaining French artillery. In an artillery duel at around 800 metres, with twice as many guns, the Russians should wear the French down here in short time.

Meanwhile each Russian infantry brigade begins the slow work of rallying and getting their lines back into fighting order.

Battle of Jenastaedt 1813 - The Firefight

Battle of the Day

... continued from Part 2

The main French forces are now engaged in the pinning attack. Lets see if the attackers can hold it together, as the hammer of 1st Corps begins its general advance to assault the pinned French units.


Events on the Allied Left up to 1000 hrs :

For almost an hour, the Russians engage les Invalides on the left flank, maintaining contact with the French and drawing them into an extended firefight.

At the start the French were reeling from the attack ....

Battle of Jenastaedt 1813 - The Advance to Contact !

Battle of the Day

Continued from Part 1

At 0600hrs, the battle begins ...

All goes well for the advance. By 0630hrs the French have been spotted, and both the Russian and Prussian Divisions successfully roll to upgrade their orders from 'Probe' to 'Engage'.

Note that that in front of each unit is their current order - a yellow token representing the Probe order, and behind the unit is the next order in the queue - an orange arrow representing the Engage order.

At the end of the NEXT turn, the order is advanced on the queue, and each Division will begin a more aggressive Engagement action.

Battle of Jenastaedt 1813 - Inital Deployment

Battle of the Day

Just setup for the next battle, in this one I want to test out my new Command and Control HouseRules to allow my Allied forces to engage in a limited pinning attack on the main French position

All going well, the pinning attack in the centre should not be too bloodily contested,  so the lower quality Russo-Prussian mob in the middle should survive the action without running off the table in panic.

Hopefully the French will also get delayed long enough to allow the main hammer blow to fall. (Austrian 1st Corps on the right wing)

Geographical situation prior to the action.

The City of Jenastaedt sits on a juntion of a major river, and is surrounded to the North by rolling hills, some woodlands, and a number of farmyards and villages.

Being a large well stocked city on a bridgehead, Jenastaedt is strategically important in the campaign.

The French currently hold Jenastaedt, and Allied scouts have setup camp to the NorthEast.

House Rules - Command and Control mods for Republique

Gaming rule mods of the Day

Some experimental ideas that I will be using for my next solo Napoleonic test game.


Situation :
The Allies have a slight problem. They outnumber the French, but thanks to the superior French command system, the Allies are finding it difficult (if not impossible) to force a combat where they can actually make use of their superior numbers. The French can effectively dance around them, and create local superiority almost every time. Not good :(

Mission :
For the coming battle, the Allies have 2 Corps commands vs a single higher quality French Corps. The Allied plan involves lightly engaging the French with their 1st Corps in a pinning move, and hopefully holding them in that position to allow the 2nd Corps to take their flank with a general assault.

The Problem :
The problem with this plan, is that in the vanilla rules as they are, an engagement is an all or nothing affair. If you engage the enemy at all from an inferior position, you will likely get mauled and lose a lot of men. The battle will be lost before the flanking force has a chance to make contact.

The Solution :
These proposed rule modifications allow for the commander to introduce an intermediate level of engagement, where they can lightly engage the enemy just to pin them down, with a lower risk of too many losses.

As well as this main objective, these mods add some additional game mechanics to provide a more interesting solo game.

IGO-UGO vs Card Driven :
Age old question that one. Card Driven has a lot of advantages for a solo game, as it truly introduces battlefield friction and chaos.  (also gives a fun game).

On the other hand, I do like the feel that IGO-UGO gives when playing at Grand Tactical level. It does 'feel' a bit more like issued orders have a grave importance, when you know that in each passage of game-time, great masses of troops will move inexorably into danger whether you want them to or not.

Anyway, for these modifications, I will be using IGO-UGO as the turn mechanism.

On to the rules then :

Saxon 1st Division - Jena 1806

Division of the Day

Today we look at taking all of the units so far in Grawert's 1st Division, and putting them together to see how they operate on the battlefield.

44eme Ligne - Jena Auerstadt 1806

Regiment of the Day

Today we have some earlier French line infantry in pre-shako times.

The 44eme Ligne, which fought as part of Augereau's VII Corps at the battle of Jena-Auerstadt.

Also useful for all campaigns prior to 1809 - Marengo, Austerlitz, Eylau, etc, etc.

Whilst the typical sight of a 'Napoleonic French Soldier' is common shako wearing troops seen in most collections, this bicorne wearing troop captures  the look of French army that first won glory for Napoleon I, and created the French Empire.

Austrian Advanced Guard Division - Wagram 1809

Corps of the Day

Today, we put together all of the units to make up the Austrian Advanced Guard Division under the command of GM Nordman ... and see how they fit together on the battlefield.

Russian 2nd Division - Eylau 1807

Division of the Day

Today we gather together all of the Russian units making up the 2nd Division on Ostermann Tolstoy's Left Wing Army, and see how they operate as a fighting force.

Bavarian 2nd Division - Wagram 1809

Division of the Day

Today, lets put together all of the units in Wrede's 2nd Bavarian Division, and see how they stack up on the battlefield.

Prussian 9th Brigade - Dresden 1813

Brigade of the Day

Today we put together all those little 1813 Prussian Regiments we have so far, and have a look at Klux's 9th Brigade all formed up and ready to fight.

Prussian 3rd Division, von Schmettau - Jena Auerstadt 1806

Corps of the Day

Today we travel back in time to the town of Auerstadt, 1806 ... and put together all of the forces of von Schmettau's ill fated 3rd Division.

Lets see how these units form together as a combined arms force under the command of GM von Schmettau.

Saxon Advanced Guard Division - Jena 1806

Corps of the Day

Today we will put together all of the Saxon units in the Advanced Guard Division at Jena, and see how they operate on the battlefield.