In this scenario the Austrians under General Mack have advanced across Bavaria, pretty much unopposed but have outrun their supply. The French have crossed the Rhine and are situated to the north of Macks Austrians. The Russian forces under Kutuzov have begun advancing west along the Danube while another Russian column has arrived in Moravia.
** Reinforcement Schedule **
VII corps under Augereau
will arrive near Giengen in roughly 6 days
Guar corps under Bessieres
will arrive near Giengen in roughly 10 days
In the north, I have Bernadotte's I Corps and Marmont's II Corps. Bernadoutte has two divisions of infantry (under Rivaud and Drouet), a division of cavalry under Kellerman, and attached artillery. Marmont has three divisions of infantry (under Boudet, Grouchy, and Dumonceau), one division of cavalry (under Lacoste), and attached artillery. I plan on advancing both Corps to the south, through Nurnberg and ending at Neumarkt. If no Coalition forces are found, I plan on a line of advance that will take them through scenic Regensburg/Eckmuhl/Straubing, where each city is no more than two or three hexes away from each other. From there they will either advance continually to the southeast as the left wing of the La Grande Armee or swing southwards to trap any Coalition forces found in the area.
Davout's III Corps begins the scenario in the far northwestern corner of the map. Under him are the two infantry divisions of Friant and Gudin, as well as the cavalry division of Viallenes. The III Corps' artillery rounds out this unit. While smaller than the Corps of Bernadotte and Marmont, it still can provide a central 'hammer' if any Coalition forces are found in its path. Given the set-up, this corps will advance through Rothenburg to Gunzerhausen, with the objective of Dappenheim. From there, Ingolstadt or Donauworth on the Danube River are possible objectives.
Napoleon himself begins south of Davout, accompanying Soult's IV Corps, which is comprised of Vandamme, Legrand, and St. Hilaire's infantry divisions, Margaron's cavalry division, IV Corps' artillery, and a unit of Engineers. The Engineers will be useful, able to both build and destroy bridges as needed. This Corps, and Napoleon as well, will advance to Donauworth on the Danube, depending on Austrian troops in the area, if any.
Finally, Lannes' V Corps, Ney's VI Corps, and Murat's Cavalry Corps come in south of Napoleon and the IV Corps. Probably the most powerful grouping of troops on the field, these three corps will likely form the tip of any spear I point at the Coalition. Lannes' V Corps is comprised of infantry divisions under Oudinot, Gazan, and Suchet, a cavalry division under Fauconnet, and V Corps artillery. Ney's VI Corps has Dupont, Loison, and Malher's infantry divisions, Tilley's cavalry division, and VI Corps artillery. Murat's horse soldiers are comprised of divisions under Nansouty, dHautpoul, Klein, Walther, Beaumont, and Bourcier, as well as horse artillery. This large group will move with Murat at the lead, aiming for facing the large Austrian force immediately south at Ulm.
I issue orders to Lannes, Ney, and Murat to move south, but decide instead of sending Murat ahead to keep them together. The others I issue orders to move as I mentioned above. Since it takes time for the messengers to ride from Napoleon's headquarters, the farther out they are the longer it will take to receive an acknowledgement. I had better be sure of orders sent to far-flung troops, as conflicting orders can easily confuse the generals under my command, making them do something I did not want them to do.
The three corps to the south are issued orders, and I set their Retreat Point as well in order to specify a location they can run to if the Austrians bloody them too much (but of course, we will not think of such things before the first shot is fired). But preparation is always a good thing. I find it will take 14 hours to issue the orders to these men, so some waiting will take place before they move out.
The orders are sent. Most will take 14-20 hours, except for Soult, who will immediately receive them (as he is in the same hex as Napoleon). I keep in mind that Soult will be long down his road before the other commanders even come close to receiving their orders! Such things should be considered when issuing orders.
Here is the situation at the start of Turn 1. The crude red arrows (please forgive my drawing skills) indicate the path of advance for the three northern corps. More in a moment.
