Closed: RBR - 003 Battle of Valmy Unleashed

[Captain Al]

Anyone want to give it a try?

[Aces8]

Anyone want to give it a try?

I haven't played in awhile but if your still looking I'd be interested.  I think the last Napoleonic game I played was against you.

[Sgt_Rock]

Good luck, guys!

Advantages for each side:

French:
Numbers - they have more men
Artillery - better fire values
Slightly advantaged on terrain

Allies:
Higher morale

Allies have to try and avoid being in LOS of better French artillery.

French have to watch the rout situation.

[Captain Al]

Aces,

Thanks.  I should still have your e-mail.  I will send you a first turn.

Al

[Aces8]

Good luck, guys!

Advantages for each side:

French:
Numbers - they have more men
Artillery - better fire values
Slightly advantaged on terrain

Allies:
Higher morale

Allies have to try and avoid being in LOS of better French artillery.

French have to watch the rout situation.

Thanks Bill. Interesting terrain lots of farm roads. I'll admit haven't had time to go through your documentation yet and I also do not know much on this period but I noticed an interesting mix of uniforms so far on the French side. Were some units at this time still wearing Royal uniforms?

[Sgt_Rock]

Yes, the regular regiments were mainly still in white with the NG units wearing a mix of everything. The government would start paying the NG soldiers more money than the regulars so the latter started deserting to the NG. Hence the 1st Amalgamation which was a partial solution. It was not til the 2nd Amalgamation that the entire army was finally integrated.

The blending of the battalions into "Demi-Brigade" occurred differently in the armies. For more on the subject of the French army you really need to read "Bayonets of the Republic." See the Bibliography in the Notes section for that book and others on this period. Once I had finished this game I felt like my knowledge on the period came up a notch but I am still a ways off to ever becoming a "scholar" on the period! ROFL Just way too much to know.

I would say that now I can pick out any unit by its uniform from 1792 to 1815 with some exceptions (Spanish and Portugeuse armies and a few of the obscure formations). When I played miniatures as a youth they all looked like green bases to me. LOL

[jim pfleck]

Good luck guys, Bill and I had a bloody playtest battle. I think this scenario is going to be popular.

[Sgt_Rock]

Yes, plenty of Jim's cannister and the blood of my Prussians I am afraid! ROFL

[phoenix]

I wonder how others are doing with this scenario.

I have just conceded a H2H game as the French - casualties are 8,000 French and 4,000 Allies at turn 17!!!! Some of that has been my clumsy handling of cavalry, and my opponents skill vis a vis my own relative lack of it, but most of the damage has come from French routs.

Looking at Bill's advice above - it's actually pretty easy for the Allies to concentrate out of the line of fire (assuming artillery to be one of the French advantages) because visibility is terrible until many, many moves into the game - enough moves for the Allies to form up close and attack, take artillery hits for one turn maybe, then break into the French ranks - visibility is 3 to 5 hexes until 9am.

Second, the French troops rout - as Bill predicted - with terrible ease. I have never played a game where I had this many troops routing. All the Allies need do is throw columns at the French, melee as much as possible, and routing follows.

Thirdly, there are so many objectives that it is impossible to cover them all with the men available. This leads to an interesting guessing game, but at 69 moves it allows the Allies to pin the weak French divisions and then roam at will to take less strongly held objectives. It also allows the Allies to mass in force against individual objectives, because the French player is forced - especially if playing it historically, and assuming the objectives represent history - to spread his force too much to keep the objectives covered. If you don't spread your force then the Allies will just pick off the lesser guarded objectives. As I said, at 69 moves, there's plenty of time to conduct thorough recon of each objective.

Has anyone who is better than I - this would be almost any player - succeeded as the French against a competent opponent? If so I would love to hear about the detailed tactics for doing so. It's a lovely scenario, but I can't see how the French can win. Yet I'm sure someone better than I could do it. How?

[Aces8]

I wonder how others are doing with this scenario.

I have just conceded a H2H game as the French - casualties are 8,000 French and 4,000 Allies at turn 17!!!! Some of that has been my clumsy handling of cavalry, and my opponents skill vis a vis my own relative lack of it, but most of the damage has come from French routs.

Looking at Bill's advice above - it's actually pretty easy for the Allies to concentrate out of the line of fire (assuming artillery to be one of the French advantages) because visibility is terrible until many, many moves into the game - enough moves for the Allies to form up close and attack, take artillery hits for one turn maybe, then break into the French ranks - visibility is 3 to 5 hexes until 9am.

Second, the French troops rout - as Bill predicted - with terrible ease. I have never played a game where I had this many troops routing. All the Allies need do is throw columns at the French, melee as much as possible, and routing follows.

Thirdly, there are so many objectives that it is impossible to cover them all with the men available. This leads to an interesting guessing game, but at 69 moves it allows the Allies to pin the weak French divisions and then roam at will to take less strongly held objectives. It also allows the Allies to mass in force against individual objectives, because the French player is forced - especially if playing it historically, and assuming the objectives represent history - to spread his force too much to keep the objectives covered. If you don't spread your force then the Allies will just pick off the lesser guarded objectives. As I said, at 69 moves, there's plenty of time to conduct thorough recon of each objective.

Has anyone who is better than I - this would be almost any player - succeeded as the French against a competent opponent? If so I would love to hear about the detailed tactics for doing so. It's a lovely scenario, but I can't see how the French can win. Yet I'm sure someone better than I could do it. How?

I am currently losing as the French and the Prussians against two opponents but I will admit I am not very good at these games. I think to win as the French you need to push forward right off the bat and hit the Prussians and Austrians as they are coming up to surprise them and knock them off balance. If you can get to the high ground at Le Maigneux with French Artillery you can fire on the incoming Allied forces and wreck havoc. Interestingly Captain Al playing as the Prussians completely avoided the heights where the French start and swung around the my right hitting the village of Orbival and then coming around my forces waiting for the main Prussian attack on the heights. Another thing French guns in their starting positions on the heights have no LOS on any incoming hexes due to the fields or some other obstructions so you need to move those guns right away. I figured they would be lined up for the approaches but no. Prussians can bombard your position form Le Maigneux and you can't fire back unless moving your guns from the starting positions.