Donald Featherstone Wargaming Campaigns

Sample Pages

Chapter 19 Two Armies against One

(Napoleonic)

It sometimes occurs that three wargamers wish to take part in a campaign or else one has three new armies and is eager to use them all. The latter was the case when the author fought the following campaign, using a French Army and an Austrian Army against a British Army in about 1813. A map was made measuring 16 in. by 10 in., divided into sixteen rectangles each 4 in. by 2½ in., each of these rectangles was again in turn subdivided into ½ in. squares. To the scale of ½ in. to the foot, this map represented sixteen wargames tables-each of the larger rectangles being a complete 8 ft. by 5 ft. wargames table.

Map-moving

Infantry and field guns-1 ft. per move (9 ft. per day).

Cavalry and Horse Artillery-1½ ft. per move (12 ft. per day).

1 day = 9 * 1-hour moves. No night-moving.

On roads-add ½ distance.

On slopes and hills-move at ½ speed.

Rivers take 1 ft. to cross.

Narrative

A French force is coming from the South, by the most eastern road.

An Austrian force is moving from the South, up the most western road.

A British army is known to be moving from the North by an unknown route.

The Allies (France and Austria) are seeking to trap and destroy the British whilst maintaining their own lines of communication. The British are living off the country.

Method

Initially, it is necessary to select the armies for the first moves or encounter. This may be done in the usual manner or in the fashion carried out by the author during the actual fighting of this campaign. On this occasion it was felt that uneven forces (not necessarily to the choice of their commanders) would add zest to the campaign. With this in mind, points values were given the units that formed our armies.

A Line Infantry Battalion - 4 points.

A Guard Infantry Battalion - 5 points.

A Heavy Cavalry Squadron - 3 points.

A Light Cavalry Squadron - 2 points.

Rifle Regiment or Tirailleurs - 2 points.

Guns-1 point each.

Each British regiment was then written down, by name, on a separate card; cards were also made out separately for each gun. The same was done for the French and the Austrian forces. Before the campaign commenced each general drew enough cards to total 20 points. After drawing, each general had a force, the substance of which was unknown to his enemy, which was not of his own choosing and might well contain a preponderance of cavalry and no artillery, for example.

Next, the map-moving began. At dawn on the 7th September, 1813, the British moved forward on their map. At this point it is worth mentioning that only one map was used so that all parties were aware of the opening movements of their opponent. After the British had moved forward, each of the Allies threw a die and began to move that number of moves after the British in accordance with the number shown on the die. For example, if the British moved 1 move in and then the Austrians threw a die and scored 1 and the French scored a 6-then the British could move 1 more move before the Austrians came on to the map and the British could move 6 moves in all before the French markings were made on the map.

At nightfall, after 9 British moves (9 hours) all forces halted and consolidated their position. At dawn, all forces within one wargames table range of each other engaged.

The army that was obviously most suited to defence lay out in defensive positions up to the half-way line, whilst the other army rested on its baseline. There was no obligation for an army to set up defensively; if desired both armies could manoeuvre from a baseline.

The battle was fought for 1 'day' (9 moves). The loser had to move completely out of the rectangle on the map in which he had been defeated into a table immediately adjoining the one just used. Then map-moving continued until a further contact was made, when both sides again drew for armies and carried on as before. As there were three armies and only two could fight at a time, the third unengaged army was able to move at its specific rate on the map, and if time permitted could enter the battle. It had to give notice of its arrival when one map-move from the border of the wargames table. Obviously, the British were endeavouring to defeat each of the Allied armies in detail, without allowing them to combine. To a certain extent they were able to do this and the campaign was carried on with roughly alternate battles between the British and the Austrians and the British and the French until at last weight of numbers prevailed and the British were penned up in the top left-hand corner of the map with the French to their front and the Austrians on their flank. At this point they conceded the campaign