AAR: France 1805 PBEM game
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AAR: France 1805 PBEM game
The following is the first few turns of a PBEM game I am playing as France against a British opponent (1805 scenario). Because it is a PBEM game I’ll only post a few turns at a time, and only after the game has progressed well past them, so that my opponent (should he be reading these forums) gets as little information from them as possible!
September ‘05
I used Ralegh’s excellent guide to configure my economy. It really does make a difference when you change your labor from being spread out to simply focusing on one or two commodities in each province. In many provinces, there is labor allocated by the default scheme which does not even produce any commodities with the labor allocated. Why have some percentage of your manpower assigned to Iron in a province but still have the Iron output be zero? So thanks to Ralegh for pointing this out. I also re-configure my draft and crank up my tax rate as high as possible. France will need the money.
My strategy for the first few months is clear: defeat Russia and Austria as quickly as possible through large battles. At the same time, I can’t afford to let Britain sneak in the back door. My solution is to bring the Army of Italy and the Italian Corps up from the south, and I Corps and II Corps down from the Low Countries to converge on Ile de France. The Batavian Army will wait in Batavia in case my British opponent decides to invade there. Likewise, VII Corps will wait in Brittany where it can be reinforced from Ile de France once all my forces have converged. The troops in Flanders will all head south.
I re-assign my units until I have a more even distribution of unit types in each corps. This is more important for games with tactical battles, but I need all of my corps to be self-sufficient in case they get separated. So I dismantle the famous French “Reserve Cavalry” and “Reserve Artillery” corps in favor of this:
I am going to try and keep my corps somewhat spread out this turn (although that is difficult since there are really only a couple provinces – Baden and Württemburg – to move to) to limit foraging losses. Next turn I think I will have to place a depot in Würettemburg to keep my army fed.
I send my privateers into the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic, and a merchant fleet into the Balearic Sea. I am going to wait and see what happens with British naval movements before I commit any of my French fleets.
I think as a beginning player it is easy to forget about your diplomats, but this is a serious mistake. As France I have four to start. Talleyrand will go straight to England to Pressure Peace and hopefully cost my opponent lots of money (60 gold to maintain a state of war). He has the highest combination of Influence and Legal (70 + 50) and thus is the best candidate for this mission. Caulaincourt has the next best Influence (50) and thus is being sent to Prussia to try and improve relations with that country. Jerome and Fouché will travel through Austria, Jerome on his way to Turkey, and Fouché, with his low Influence but high Espionage, to remain in Austria and try to locate the Russian armies.
September ‘05
I used Ralegh’s excellent guide to configure my economy. It really does make a difference when you change your labor from being spread out to simply focusing on one or two commodities in each province. In many provinces, there is labor allocated by the default scheme which does not even produce any commodities with the labor allocated. Why have some percentage of your manpower assigned to Iron in a province but still have the Iron output be zero? So thanks to Ralegh for pointing this out. I also re-configure my draft and crank up my tax rate as high as possible. France will need the money.
My strategy for the first few months is clear: defeat Russia and Austria as quickly as possible through large battles. At the same time, I can’t afford to let Britain sneak in the back door. My solution is to bring the Army of Italy and the Italian Corps up from the south, and I Corps and II Corps down from the Low Countries to converge on Ile de France. The Batavian Army will wait in Batavia in case my British opponent decides to invade there. Likewise, VII Corps will wait in Brittany where it can be reinforced from Ile de France once all my forces have converged. The troops in Flanders will all head south.
I re-assign my units until I have a more even distribution of unit types in each corps. This is more important for games with tactical battles, but I need all of my corps to be self-sufficient in case they get separated. So I dismantle the famous French “Reserve Cavalry” and “Reserve Artillery” corps in favor of this:
I am going to try and keep my corps somewhat spread out this turn (although that is difficult since there are really only a couple provinces – Baden and Württemburg – to move to) to limit foraging losses. Next turn I think I will have to place a depot in Würettemburg to keep my army fed.
I send my privateers into the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic, and a merchant fleet into the Balearic Sea. I am going to wait and see what happens with British naval movements before I commit any of my French fleets.
I think as a beginning player it is easy to forget about your diplomats, but this is a serious mistake. As France I have four to start. Talleyrand will go straight to England to Pressure Peace and hopefully cost my opponent lots of money (60 gold to maintain a state of war). He has the highest combination of Influence and Legal (70 + 50) and thus is the best candidate for this mission. Caulaincourt has the next best Influence (50) and thus is being sent to Prussia to try and improve relations with that country. Jerome and Fouché will travel through Austria, Jerome on his way to Turkey, and Fouché, with his low Influence but high Espionage, to remain in Austria and try to locate the Russian armies.
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French Battles: Sept '05
Notable French battles in September '05
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French Glory: Sept '05
French Glory after Sept. '05
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RE: AAR: France 1805 PBEM game
October ‘05
It looks like all of my armies moved except for … Napoleon’s. I’m not sure how the initiative and command bonuses work, because in every game as France this concentration of forces seems to move erratically no matter how I arrange the troops or structure the command.
An Austrian army has marched into Burgundy. The Austrians have placed a line of depots all the way to Paris, so I guess that’s where they’re headed. I am going to try to delay them in Champagne while I assemble my forces. The main force tasked with attacking Austria will assemble in Württemburg and Bavaria this turn, where I’ll probably have to put down a depot.
I managed a naval victory with my privateers, and the fact that I know my opponent is less experienced with the game than I am makes me inclined to be a bit more aggressive with my fleets that I would be otherwise. I’m going to send the French fleet from Brittany and Villeneuve’s fleet from Andalusia to rendezvous off the coast of Portugal with whatever remnants of the Spanish fleet might be left there.
My opponent has placed Canning in Ile de France, up to no good I’m sure. I’m going to bring Fouché back to try and expel him.
It looks like all of my armies moved except for … Napoleon’s. I’m not sure how the initiative and command bonuses work, because in every game as France this concentration of forces seems to move erratically no matter how I arrange the troops or structure the command.
An Austrian army has marched into Burgundy. The Austrians have placed a line of depots all the way to Paris, so I guess that’s where they’re headed. I am going to try to delay them in Champagne while I assemble my forces. The main force tasked with attacking Austria will assemble in Württemburg and Bavaria this turn, where I’ll probably have to put down a depot.
I managed a naval victory with my privateers, and the fact that I know my opponent is less experienced with the game than I am makes me inclined to be a bit more aggressive with my fleets that I would be otherwise. I’m going to send the French fleet from Brittany and Villeneuve’s fleet from Andalusia to rendezvous off the coast of Portugal with whatever remnants of the Spanish fleet might be left there.
My opponent has placed Canning in Ile de France, up to no good I’m sure. I’m going to bring Fouché back to try and expel him.
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Notable French battles: Oct '05
Battles in October '05.
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French glory: Oct '05
French Glory after October.
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French turn Nov '05
November ‘05
Uh-oh. It looks like the Austrians are coming straight through the heart of France. I lost a battle to the Austrians in Champagne last turn, with a loss of 6 Glory and 11,000 French casualties. Ouch. My naval results weren’t so good, either.
Fortunately, I planned for the defense of Ile de France, only against the British! There is no sign of them, but with the Austrians next door to Paris, I’ll have to do a little improvisation. Luckily for me, the Austrian army has no generals attached, so its initiative will be low. Still, my forces are far away, so I will need time to concentrate them. In yet another stroke of luck, I have Fouché right where I need him, although I originally placed him there for other reasons. Why? With his Legal rating of 70 (!) he can use Delay Battle in Ile de France while my forces converge. The Army of Italy and the Italian Corps move from Provence, II Corps moves from Batavia, and VII Corps comes in from Brittany.
It’s a long way, but I hope Fouché can delay the battle long enough for me to gain numerical superiority or at least parity.
This screenshot summarizes the situation:
Uh-oh. It looks like the Austrians are coming straight through the heart of France. I lost a battle to the Austrians in Champagne last turn, with a loss of 6 Glory and 11,000 French casualties. Ouch. My naval results weren’t so good, either.
Fortunately, I planned for the defense of Ile de France, only against the British! There is no sign of them, but with the Austrians next door to Paris, I’ll have to do a little improvisation. Luckily for me, the Austrian army has no generals attached, so its initiative will be low. Still, my forces are far away, so I will need time to concentrate them. In yet another stroke of luck, I have Fouché right where I need him, although I originally placed him there for other reasons. Why? With his Legal rating of 70 (!) he can use Delay Battle in Ile de France while my forces converge. The Army of Italy and the Italian Corps move from Provence, II Corps moves from Batavia, and VII Corps comes in from Brittany.
It’s a long way, but I hope Fouché can delay the battle long enough for me to gain numerical superiority or at least parity.
This screenshot summarizes the situation:
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Southern front in Nov 1805
Meanwhile, in the Tyrol ...
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French battles in Nov 1805
Notable battles in Nov '05
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French Glory after Nov 1805
Glory for Nov '05
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France PBEM AAR: December 1805
December ‘05
Success! The battle in Ile de France took place with a victory for the French forces and a reward of 14 Glory (actually two battles, as the Austrian armies moved separately due to their poor command).
In addition, there were two battles in Tyrolia, also both won by the French. That’s 34 Glory this turn from battles, Paris saved, and the French armies in Austria are on a roll. My next moves will be to harass the Austrian army as it retreats from France, and perhaps even trap it against the Spanish army that has moved into Burgundy.
Despite its victories, my main force in Austria is in a tight spot. One army is in Tyrolia, facing a two-province march to Styria and the Austrian capital. Another army, under Napoleon, is in Linz, adjacent to Styria but is menaced by a large Austro-Russian army in Carniola. Instead of allowing the allied armies to join up by having my armies converge on Linz, I will push Napoleon’s army into Styria, hoping that the mountains in Carniola (and better French initiative) will allow that battle to occur before allied reinforcements arrive. The Tyrolian army will press ahead into Linz and perhaps be available as reinforcements for a second battle. If I can win these battles, I can force Austria and perhaps also Russia to surrender. If not, I will have to hope a second attempt can do so once I bring down the reinforcements chasing the defeated Austrian army from the north.
But what about Britain? Will my opponent finally land British troops in France? That would tie down my northern army and force Napoleon to win on his own. It’s December – time for another Austerlitz?
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Since this is getting close to the current state of the game, I will refrain from posting for a while until we get ahead again.
Success! The battle in Ile de France took place with a victory for the French forces and a reward of 14 Glory (actually two battles, as the Austrian armies moved separately due to their poor command).
In addition, there were two battles in Tyrolia, also both won by the French. That’s 34 Glory this turn from battles, Paris saved, and the French armies in Austria are on a roll. My next moves will be to harass the Austrian army as it retreats from France, and perhaps even trap it against the Spanish army that has moved into Burgundy.
Despite its victories, my main force in Austria is in a tight spot. One army is in Tyrolia, facing a two-province march to Styria and the Austrian capital. Another army, under Napoleon, is in Linz, adjacent to Styria but is menaced by a large Austro-Russian army in Carniola. Instead of allowing the allied armies to join up by having my armies converge on Linz, I will push Napoleon’s army into Styria, hoping that the mountains in Carniola (and better French initiative) will allow that battle to occur before allied reinforcements arrive. The Tyrolian army will press ahead into Linz and perhaps be available as reinforcements for a second battle. If I can win these battles, I can force Austria and perhaps also Russia to surrender. If not, I will have to hope a second attempt can do so once I bring down the reinforcements chasing the defeated Austrian army from the north.
But what about Britain? Will my opponent finally land British troops in France? That would tie down my northern army and force Napoleon to win on his own. It’s December – time for another Austerlitz?
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Since this is getting close to the current state of the game, I will refrain from posting for a while until we get ahead again.
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RE: French Glory after Nov 1805
Excellent AAR bluemonday. I look forward to future updates. You've already helped my understanding on a couple of issues [:)]
RE: French Glory after Nov 1805
If you make significant changes to the composition of an army, and issue movement orders, the movement probably won't occur.
I am not completely sure why - I think of it by the rule "dont detach and expect to be able to move".
Attaching units and then moving seems to work fine.
I am not completely sure why - I think of it by the rule "dont detach and expect to be able to move".
Attaching units and then moving seems to work fine.
HTH
Steve/Ralegh
Steve/Ralegh
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RE: French Glory after Nov 1805
Interesting - thanks for the tip, Ralegh. I'll have another turn up today.ORIGINAL: Ralegh
If you make significant changes to the composition of an army, and issue movement orders, the movement probably won't occur.
I am not completely sure why - I think of it by the rule "dont detach and expect to be able to move".
Attaching units and then moving seems to work fine.
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- Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:19 am
Notable battles in Dec 1805
Notable battles in Dec 1805
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French Glory: Dec 1805
French Glory: Dec 1805
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France PBEM AAR Jan. 1806
January 1806
Things didn’t exactly turn out as planned. The Austrians and Russians got the jump on me in Linz, but I actually won that battle and gave them a pretty severe thrashing. 33,000 Allied casualties and only 13,000 French. Unfortunately, that’s where things came unhinged – as my victorious army followed up into Styria (Vienna), it met Allied reinforcements and got trounced. Then, to make matters worse, Berthier’s corps showed up late … and also go trounced. I’m actually speculating here, because the PBEM replay function isn’t working for me. I can’t see the turn as it played out – only the results. In any case, Berthier fell back on the depot at Linz, while Napoleon was forced deep into Croatia.
Things are going better in France itself: the Austrian army that threatened Paris was almost completely destroyed in a battle in Champagne that earned me 10 Glory, and all that remains is to chase it out or just destroy it. I can also re-deploy some reinforcements to the Austrian front, where I clearly need some help.
One thing to remember as France: naval battle losses can really hammer your National Morale. I lost over 200 morale points on those two big losses I took a couple months ago. That really hurts.
Things didn’t exactly turn out as planned. The Austrians and Russians got the jump on me in Linz, but I actually won that battle and gave them a pretty severe thrashing. 33,000 Allied casualties and only 13,000 French. Unfortunately, that’s where things came unhinged – as my victorious army followed up into Styria (Vienna), it met Allied reinforcements and got trounced. Then, to make matters worse, Berthier’s corps showed up late … and also go trounced. I’m actually speculating here, because the PBEM replay function isn’t working for me. I can’t see the turn as it played out – only the results. In any case, Berthier fell back on the depot at Linz, while Napoleon was forced deep into Croatia.
Things are going better in France itself: the Austrian army that threatened Paris was almost completely destroyed in a battle in Champagne that earned me 10 Glory, and all that remains is to chase it out or just destroy it. I can also re-deploy some reinforcements to the Austrian front, where I clearly need some help.
One thing to remember as France: naval battle losses can really hammer your National Morale. I lost over 200 morale points on those two big losses I took a couple months ago. That really hurts.
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France PBEM AAR Jan. 1806
However, this is worrying ...
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France PBEM AAR Jan. 1806
So with the threat of Prussia breathing down my neck, I can't afford to wait for reinforcements. I think I am still able to defeat the Austrians and Russians, but I need to concentrate my forces. So I attach all my corps to their respective armies (Grande Armee I and Grande Armee II) and give orders for both to move into Styria. Jerome is there, and I set him to "delay battle" but his Legal rating is too low to do much good I think.
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