Stripped Down for Parts: Commands & Colors: Napoleonics – The Grand Battles Expansion

   

 

 

Note: I started writing this post about a week before the GMT Monthly Newsetter for July came out and was struggling to get it done in time to get a link in the Content Creators’ section. Given the C&C news that was announced at the head of the newsletter, I’m very glad I missed the deadline, but as a result, I’ve had to rewrite more than a little of what I already had down. Some of it still bore true, and I just wanted to say out front that I think the new direction of the various C&C product lines will be good for GMT and for the fans, both new and old.

Commands & Colors: Napoleonics, Grand Battles Expansion. Four inches deep,
and chock full of Napoleonic gaming goodness.

I first placed my order for Commands & Colors: Napoleonics – The Grand Battles Expansion (GMT Games, 2026) in June 2019 (I went back to my P500 order page and checked). It was probably a day or so after the game was placed on the P500 list, and I think my order was up around the hundred and thirty-something mark. After seven years, Commands & Colors: Napoleonics (GMT Games, 2010) fans’ collective patience and perseverance has been rewarded with the delivery of the final product. Designer Richard Borg apologised for the delay before the introduction in the Grand Battles Rulebook, citing the COVID lockdowns and the resultant crash in international shipping as the reason, but pointed out there was an upside to the delay; it allowed for a longer development time, which in turn allowed GNT and Mr Borg’s brigade of play-testers and developers to release an even better product.

There are a couple of reasons I wanted to get this set. Firstly, I have a completist bent; if I like a game in a series, the games in that series become like catnip. Or maybe Pokemon. I’m trying to work on that – I simply don’t have the room for every game in every series I like. But I’ll always make an exception for Commands & Colors, whatever flavour. Which brings me to the next reason.

I really enjoy Commands & Colors. I’ve played it a lot, mostly Napoleonics, and mostly with my brother-in-law (the reasons for which I’ve talked about previously, here and here). It’s a dynamic, fast-playing game (usually), that sits right in the wheelhouse of A Fast Game. After an estimated seven hundred or so games C&C Napoleonics (roughly forty-five games a year, over the last sixteen years), I feel somewhat qualified to address this new addition to the family.

Normally, I wouldn’t write up an unboxing of a supplement or expansion; these just add to the existing game rather than make it into a different beast. I wanted to take a closer look at The Grand Battles, though, simply because there is SOOOO MUCH in the box, and while the game remains essentially the same, this expansion opens it up not only in scale, but also scope.

But first, a note about the parameters of this expansion. The Grand Battles is designed to be the apotheosis of the series, the capstone to all the components that has come before it. But to get the full use from this expansion, you will really need to own (or have access to) not only the core box, but the four National Army expansions, the General, Marshals and Tacticians expansion (GMT Games, 2015), and the EPIC Napoleonics expansion (GMT Games, 2016); each expansion brought along extra units to fill out one or more of the existing armies, especially the French. The good news is GMT have declared their commitment to maintaining their support for all the C&C lines, and the hereto out-of-print expansions will each receive their spots on the reprint schedule over the coming months.*

Because this is a really big expansion, and because everyone reading this will likely have at least a passing familiarity with the game already, I’m not going to talk about the Grand Battles expansion like I would a new game. This will be something of a descriptive itinerary; I’ll go through the manifest printed on the back of the box, more or less in order – doubling  up on a couple of things where it makes sense to do so – and discuss each parts place and merits.

 

1 Rule Booklet

Grand Battles booklet.

The rules booklet mostly covers new territory, which makes sense; if you’re new to C&C: Napoleonics, you’ll be starting with the core box, which has a separate Rulebook and Scenario Book. The National Army expansions and the Generals, Marshals and Tacticians set each combined these into a single booklet, with about eight or ten pages of additional rules, and the scenarios in the same format at the core game. This changed with the EPIC Napoleonics set, with the larger scenarios being printed individual, elongated cards, two scenarios to a card. The Grand Battles set maintains this format for the scenarios, but we’ll get to these in a bit.

Each additional rulebook introduces a mixture of new units, new situation-specific rules, sometimes some new terrain, as well as explaining any new counters. The Grand Battles rulebook follows this pattern. It runs to twenty pages (including the full-page front and back covers) and is printed on the same weight and quality of matt paper as all of the other as all the other rulebooks in the series, presented in full colour and profusely illustrated.

Grand Battles booklet (sample page).

A page is given over to the Introduction both (briefly) to the series and (more extensively) to the present expansion. It also presents an apology from designer Richard Borg for the delay in the latest expansion getting out the door and to an adoring and patient public (and a brief explanation of what improvements t the end product the delay allowed). Four pages are devoted to the contents of the new expansion, briefly covering the differences between the original, EPIC and Grand Battle boards (a pair of the last of which features in his set, but more on them later), additional units, including some new ones, additional Terrain Tiles, Victory Banners and other markers. The next page of the rulebook covers the three newly introduced units – Austrian Militia Cavalry, Russian Heavy Cuirassier Cavalry, and British Highland Infantry – and their respective strengths and capabilities in the game.

Six pages are devoted to the rules for EPIC battles, including guidelines for playing with two, four, six, or eight players. Five pages cover the guidelines and new rules for Grand Battle scenarios, and the final page (inside back cover) presents a chronological list of the twenty EPIC and Grand Battle scenarios presented in the set.

 

1 The Grand Battles Mounted Map Board

Grand Battle Maps (the two halves, when unfolded, butt-up together along the centre edge
to create a double-sized play-space).

Strictly, this is two mounted boards that meet in the middle. The standard Commands & Colors board is thirteen hexes across and nine hexes deep. The standard Commands & Colors board is thirteen hexes across and seven hexes deep. This is the standard across the whole extended family board, including Battle Cry (Avalon Hill, 1999) and Memoir ’44 (Days of Wonder, 2004) Star Wars: Battle for Hoth (Days of Wonder, 2025) breaks with this format, going with a ten hex wide and seven-deep gameboard for even faster play).

The EPIC board introduced a larger play area, presenting a pair of mounted boards that butt up together in the centre, allowing for a play area now twenty hexes across and nine rows deep. The Grand Battles boards are of a similar configuration, also running nine rows in depth, but spreading out to an enormous twenty-six hexes across. We had a taste of this in the EPIC expansion, with a set of cardstock Grand Battles maps to accommodate the two GB scenarios presented in that set, Austerlitz and Vimiero (you can read my AARs of these two scenarios by clicking on the links provided).

There’s not much to report here, except that the boards offer a vast expanse of playable area. People who own the EPIC expansion may already have had a taste of the Grand Battle experience on the included heavy cad board-sections (similar to the included preprinted Borodino/Waterloo boards included this package, which we will get to soon enough – be patient).

Along with the ten Grand Battle scenarios offered in this set (yes, we’ll get to these in due course as well), you’ll have a dozen battles to reenact on these sturdy new boards. I haven’t photographed them laid out because it would be a particularly tedious endeavour to fit them into a single shot, and it would be nothing you haven’t seen before. But to put it in context here’s a comparison. As previously mentioned, your standard C&C board is thirteen hexes by seven hexes deep. The EPIC scenario boards added to both dimensions, stretching the width out to twenty hexes, from extreme left flank to extreme right, and added two rows of depth to the play area. The Grand Battles boards are essentially two regular boards placed together for a total width, like in the scenarios presented for the Commands & Colors: Ancients (GMT Games, 2006) Expansion #5 – Epic Ancients II (GMT Games, 2009 – a reprint is available for preorder on the P500 list), except for the extra two rows of depth.

Pro tip: The Grand Battles boards are nice in presentation, solid in construction, and match up well together. Like most mounted GMT boards, you’ll need to lay them out and place something weighty on the rising folds to help flatten them out before you try to use them. I lay one board atop the other, then place another game box in the centre of the rising folds (the point where the four panels of that half of the map meet). Another GMT game rated at four or five pounds is usually sufficient for each side and should be clean enough not to leave marks on your new maps. I recommend game boxes because they are flat-bottomed; despite your best efforts, random heavy objects may leave a divot in your fancy new board.

 

4 Double-sided Grand Battle Scenario cards; 2 identical Grand Battle Extended Scenario Historical Background and Battle Note cards

Grand Battle Scenario Cards (including the Extended Grand Battle Scenario Card, top).

As mentioned previously, the scenario card concept for C&C Napoleonics was introduced in the EPIC expansion. Trying to reproduce the set-up map on a single letter-sized page would lead to a sharp incline in squinting-related eye injuries; better to broaden the printable area. The EPIC cards are an offset bifold #” by 11“. The new Grand Battle scenarios are numbered 3 through 10, keeping to the numbering schema of the two Grand Battle scenarios from the EPIC expansion. The Grand Battles featured are (in chronological order):

Eggmuhl (Day 2), 22 April 1809

Raab, 14 June 1809

Talavera, 28 July 1809

Bussaco , 27 September 1810

Salamanca, 22 July 1812

Mockern, 16 October 1813

Orthez, 27 February 1814

Toulouse (Heights of Calvinet), 10 April 1814

These eight scenarios are played out on the forementioned Grand Battle mounted map boards. Also included are two scenarios that will not fit on even the Grand Battles boards. The Borodino, 7 September 1812, and Waterloo, 18 June 1815 are played on the card-stock maps we’ll be looking at next. The manifest lists two duplicate cards being copies of the scenario card for the Borodino and Waterloo scenarios. I seem to have only received one in my set. For me, this not a deal-breaker. One is sufficient for my needs, but if you’re short a copy, I would recommend contacting the GMT Office Folks – they are good sorts and very helpful.

The Extended Scenario Historical Background and Battle Note card doesn’t feature a complete map for either Borodino or Waterloo as these aren’t necessary – the terrain and starting troop positions are already featured on the preprinted map. That space is instead given over to extensive (in C&C terms) notes about each battle, and all the specials scenario rules that come with a Grand Battle-sized game.

 

1 Double-sided Grand Battle Extended pre-printed map (for two battles)

 

Borodino Extended Battle Map (French Left).

When I first read of the battles of Borodino and Waterloo being included on pre-printed maps (of the qualities presented in the light Grand Battles map included in the EPIC expansion, I thought it was mere a bit of a gimmick, something to help newbies dive into two of the most famous battles of the Napoleonic era, halving the set-up time before starting play (a noble ambition in itself, but not . What I didn’t understand is that you wouldn’t be able to play either of these battles on the standard Grand Battles board; as big as that map is, these battles are even bigger; twenty-eight hexes in breadth instead of the regular twenty-six for the standard Grad Battles scenarios.

Borodino Extended Battle Map (French Right).

It’s a real time-saver to have pre-printed battle maps, and I’m looking forward to trying them out. To me, though, they seem a little gimmicky. In truth there would probably be a big enough market to put on P500 a one-off printing of the remaining eight Grand Battles scenarios (four sets of maps) pre-printed in the same way.

We’re all time-poor, and if you can save half an hour or more not having to set out the terrain tiles for a big match, that would be a win. I just feel like, if you’re all about the convenience, play the game on Vassal. Part of the joy for me is the setting up of a game, but I may be in the minority on this.

Pro-tip: You might need to put your preprinted maps under plexiglass to stop unwanted puckering of the board seams. If plexiglass sheets are a luxury you haven’t yet availed yourself of, a lot of puckering can be banished with a slow, careful, and consistent (all the way along) back-fold against the crease (i.e., in the opposite direction) of 100° - a little further than perpendicular, no more. Lay the map flat on a table. Fold each panel against the crease to 90° (straight up, vertically, then just a little bit further. While you’re holding the upright panel there, just run the edge of your thumb along the outside fold of the seam, applying just a little pressure. Not too much or you may compromise the strength of the hinge. Then flip the whole map over and do the same thing to the other folds. Be gentle but firm. By the second or third play, the maps should be pretty flat without the need for plexi. Also, I use a couple of shallow bull-clips at the corners where the two maps meet, just to help keep them from drifting on the table.

5 Double-sided EPIC Scenario cards

EPIC Scenario Cards (these are double sided).

Along with the new Grand Battles scenarios, another ten EPIC scenarios are included in the game. The Grand Battles were never mean to be a replacement for the EPIC set, and I for one am looking forward to diving into these a least as much as the Grand Battles. The EPIC-scale battles included in this set are:

Eylau, 8 February 1807

Heilsberg, 10 June 1807

Friedland, 14 June 1807

Medellin, 28 March 1809

Dresden, (Day 1), 26 August 1813

Dresden, (Day 2), 27 August 1813

Toulouse, 10 April 1814

Ligny 16, June 1815

Quatre Bras, 16 June 1815

Wavre, 19 June 1815

Like the Grand Battle scenario cards, everything you need to know about a given EPIC scenario is on one side of one side of a card. To play these scenarios, you’ll need the pair of mounted boards from the EPIC expansion and the Tactician cards from the Generals, Marshals and Tacticians expansion (as well as the national army expansions).

Sample EPIC Scenario Card (Heilsberg, 19 June 1807).

As much as I enjoy the breadth and scope of a Grand Battle, I think the sweet spot for me is the EPIC scale battle; it introduces tactical challenges similar to the Grand scale, but doesn’t overstay its welcome. It can feel like a slog sometimes to get to twenty banners to achieve a victory, but thirteen or so always seems much more achievable in an evening’s play. As with all things, mileage may vary.

 

12 Double-sided individual National Unit Reference cards

British Army Reference Card.

French Army Reference Cards.

Spanish Army Reference Cards.

Russian Army Reference Cards.

Austrian Army Reference Cards.

Prussian Army Reference Cards.

A huge bonus with the Grand Battle set is the inclusion of a complete set of national Unit reference Cards (two for each) in a consistent format of an easy to navigate two-sided 11” by 8½“ card. Relevant information for all Infantry and Foot Artillery units are presented on the front, Cavalry and Horse Artillery on the reverse. These essentially present the information in the style of the original bi-fold national unit cards (rather than the landscape-formatted units reference cards seen in the Russian Army expansion†).

 

2 Terrain Effects summary cards

Comprehensive Terrain Effects Charts.

Also provided are two copies of an exhaustive Terrain Effects Chart. These will, I think replace all others in our personal use, and they incorporate every kind of terrain or structure encountered across all scenarios (though it’s worth keeping in mind that various scenarios will mention peculiarities of terrain in their own context, such as rivers fordable for their full extent). While I am loathe to throw anything away, even when it’s superseded, I’ll probably be retiring all my other TECs and jut keeping these ones in the top of the box.

 

1 Terrain Tile Punchboard / 1 Counter & Marker Punchboard

I’m addressing these two bits together as they are kind of co-joined, and to address a problem that others may have or will face, or it may just be a me problem. Before I started writing this piece, I went through the box and photographed each component or set of components. When I was editing the pics for uploading to the post, I noticed the Terrain Tile sheet said Sheet 2 of 2. And I panicked. I checked through the photos I had taken – no second sheet of Terrain Tiles. I pulled everything out of the box and went through it again – no Terrain Tile sheet No.1.  I was putting everything back in the box – a chore in itself – when I noticed the counter-sheet as labelled 1 of 2. At least I didn’t get to the stage of writing a polite demand to the GMT Office Folks asking of my other Terrain sheet.

One problem with being an early adopter of all the C&C Napoleonics expansions was the inconsistency in cardstocks for the counters and Terrain Tiles. These vary quite a bit between the early and later expansions. If you came to the game late and only bought second or later printings, this probably won’t be an issue for you. It’s not a big thing, big it sets off my OCD a little. I’m happy to report the cardstock used for both the Terrain Tiles and the counters are of a nice weight brown-core cardstock. Like the additional units/blocks included in this set, the Terrain Tiles, Victory Banners and other markers are here to augment everything that has come before. Every expansion has brought additional components to the set, so  I reiterate, to get the most out of the game you really everything that’s come before it.

 

1 Cardstock Courier Rack assembly

The Courier Rack is used to display the Tacticians Cards available during a game. The 50-card Tactician Card deck was introduced (along with the expended 90-card Orders deck in the Generals, Marshals & Tacticians expansion. Each scenario offered each side a number of at-start Tacticians cards, and more could be acquired from those on display on the Courier Rack through the play of certain Order cards. A chart was also included to allow retrofitting the Tacticians cards to all of the previously presented scenarios. The idea is, when certain cards are played, the player may pick up a Tactician card from the selection of five on display, These cards allow a slight advantage in a very specific situation. The given situation may not arise during the game, but when it does, it  can be a beautiful thing, setting aside your opponent’s plans or augmenting your own, though they rarely prove to be game-winners on their own.

The original version of the Courier rack came with the Generals, Marshals and Tacticians set (along with the Tacticians card deck). It is a single sheet of card, scored along fold lines (a diagram and instructions on how to properly fold the Courier Rack are included in the Expansion #5 rulebook). I’ve messed around with various options for getting the folded card stand to remain folded and standing, using elastic bands, tape, even Blu-tac. The best way I’ve found to get it to work is to edge the front against one end of the board and the back leaning against the game box. Others have taken the more sensible approach of foregoing the Courier Rack for a card holder borrowed from another game. That also works, I’m told.

 

8 Silk-screened Battle Dice

I think the screen-printed dice for C&C Napoleonics were offered in the most recent reprint of the core game. 400 extra sets were offered on pre-order, but given the cost of shipping at the time I couldn’t justify the cost to get a set. These dice are very nice. Leaving out the issue of stickering up the blank cubes that came with the first printing, the near constant play with my brother-in-law’s copy of the game meant we needed to buy a core-box sticker set (yes, you can buy the stickers separately, but in complete sets only – talk to the GMT Office Folks for details), to re-sticker the dice after they had become illegible from wear. These are an improvement. I haven’t tried them in a game situation yet, but I don’t anticipate these being any luckier than the existing dice, so there’s that.

 

5 sticker sheets / 248 Unit Blocks

Lots of blocks. This is what greets you when you first open the box.

Sticker sheets 1 & 2.

Sticker sheets 3, 4 & 5.

I’m addressing these together because they are really a single component, or I guess, a single set of components when they are married into usable pieces. If you’re opening this box, there’s every likelihood you’ve stickered up a set or two of Commands & Colors blocks before. Nothing new here. Well, that’s not quite true. In the Prussian Army reprint, the blocks will apparently be moving from their hereto gunmetal grey to something closer to a dark beige, roughly half-way between the original Spanish Army block colour and the chocolate brown of the Portuguese blocks from the core set. It makes more sense to match the Prussian this set to the new colour scheme than the superseded one. I Personally, I have obsessively kept all of my spare blocks (although some have been used in building playtest sets of other games), and I have enough grey blocks to outfit one of the two Cavalry units and the four-block Light Infantry set.

Which brings us to the other issue with the blocks. The stickers provided for this unit were accidentally printed representing a Prussian Line formation rather than Light troops. The absence of the single Prussian Light unit will adversely affect only one scenario from the present set (EPIC Ligny), and a “patch” has been supplied on the GMT product page, a downloadable pdf image of the required stickers that you can print on to paper or adhesive, that you can stick on to the existing blocks. An easier option might be to just mark a Prussian Line unit with a blank counter or a tiny Post-It and agree between the players that that unit will function as a Prussian Light unit for the duration of the game.

 

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I said at the start that I generally don’t write expository pieces on expansions. The obvious exception to this was, another C&C family product, Commands & Colors: Medieval – Expansion #1 Crusades Mid-Eastern Battles I (GMT Games, 2024), for which I wrote both an unboxing and a review. In the review, I tried to express how much breadth and depth the expansion brough the Commands & Colors: Medieval (GMT Games, 2019) by comparing the base game to the films The Godfather and its first expansion to The Godfather, Part II. I’ve spent way too much time mulling over this while I’ve been writing this post, but the closest relatable comparison I can come up with for my likely audience is this; thin of the base game as one of those mid-series space battles they’d rarely show in Star Trek: the Next Generation, with featuring a couple of Federation ships and three or four Birds of Prey – impressive for its time; both exciting and a lot of fun. The experience of playing the Grand Battles scenarios is like the huge fleet-on-fleet actions from the Dominion War in Deep Space Nine. It’s essentially the same game you already know and love, but there is so much more going on. I’m not trying to be flippant (if I was, I’d compare it to two super-sized Happy Meals). With the extra board real estate comes more game depth; more Front to have to attack or defend, more opportunities to exploit, but also more holes in your own lines you need to watch. Both EPIC and Grand Battles increase the number and the texture of the decision points that the Commands & Colors system so brilliantly presents in every single game. 

 

* There were also in the July newsletter hints at a new Commands & Colors game coming sometime in the not-too-far-off future. I have a suspicion regarding what this may refer to, but I don’t want to jinx it, so I’m not saying. We’ll just have to see what comes down the pike. Whatever it is, I’m pretty certain I’ll be ordering a copy.

† When asked about why this style of unit reference PAC was discontinued, Mr Borg mentioned that in situ playtesting at conventions showed new players were depending on these cards – checking them in every instance of movement and combat – rather than internalising the basic rules for themselves.

 

 

State of Play: Commands & Colors: Napoleonics - Wagram, 5-6 July, 1809 (Part 2)

 

 

A rare instance of the Austrians forming Battalion Square.

 

Over the last few weeks, my brother-in-law, T, and I have been revisiting The Austrian Army expansion (GMT Games, 2013) for Commands & Colors: Napoleonics (GMT Games, 2010), exploring the multi-scenario battles of Eggmühl (which I wrote about over five posts, collected in their proper sequence here), and Wagram. Aspects if Battle of Wagram is presented over three scenarios. I wrote about our experience playing the first two scenarios – each very different to anything else that had come before among the scenarios presented – in Part 1 of this exploration. In Part 2, we’ll look at the final part of the Wagram triptych, and the last scenario of the set.

 

Wagram – 6 July 1809 (Davout in Markgrafneusiedl)

The third battle of Wagram scenario, dealing with the action around Markgrafneusiedl, is one of the longest scenarios in the whole collection; with a twelve-banner victory threshold, a target it shares with the first Aspern-Essling scenario Day 1 Aspern), but fields 47 martial units across the two sides, as opposed to 38 in Aspern. It’s almost uncomfortably busy, limiting the capacity for manoeuvre, especially for the French.

T saw that neither side experienced supply shortages during the campaign.

Napoleon’s intent was for Davout’s III Corps to strike the Austrian Left and roll up the line. Charles recognised the danger in that quarter and ordered his IV Corps and Advance Guard (who we met in Gross-Enzersdorf) to strike before the attack could be readied. The French were surprised and pushed back, but soon their lines firmed up and the Austrians and lost their momentum. Davout ordered a fierce barrage, then at 10:00am he ordered his infantry forward to engage with the enemy. The French sustained considerable losses but managed to keep up the pressure on the line, and soon were fighting inside the town of Markgrafneusidl. By noon, the Austrian and French cavalry were engaging in massed formations, but this was a sideshow to the weight of French infantry slowly, then more speedily forcing the defenders to give up ground. Davout’s plan proved successful.

End round one.

The scenario starts roughly at the 10:00am mark, with the French lines formed and ready to advance. The French advantage of numbers is conspicuous; twenty-seven units on the board to the Austrians’ twenty-one, and six leaders to five. The French player also begins with a six-card hand, an advantage of two cards over the Austrian player. Generally, hand size isn’t a game-killer. It can cramp your style if you want to order something on the Left flank and you have three Right flank orders and a Leadership – Center. Two extra cards might give you more options, or it might just give you two more Right Sector orders. I’m also much more willing to order a unit to form Square if I’m not going to be reducing my options by 25%.

This is unfortunate, because one of the French player’s greatest strengths is the massed Cavalry far on his Right flank (six squadrons and a battery of Horse Artillery), to a thin horse defence on that flank. As it turned out, I could have been more careful on this flank, but all will be revealed indue course. In spite of the difference in numbers, the Austrians have a good defensive line; nearly all the front-facing units have some cover or the benefit of hilltops (all offering a to hit dice reduction). Overall, it’s a fairly even match.

Early advance on the French Right. T can be little cavalier with the tiles
and the opponent's blocks during set up.

The Austrians begin the match one temporary Banner up for holding the majority of the three Markgrafneusiedl hexes (the two town hexes in the Austrian Right, and the church in the Center) attack on the town. This made the town a target for the French.

T began with an attack Left Flank (my Right). I told him this was s bold move. In our table banter, “bold” falls somewhere between “brash” and ‘For the love of Mike, what were you thinking?!”. French Line are tenacious fighters in close combat (one was firing at range to try to soften the target before the main attack, but not the way T has been rolling lately, and they experienced a two-dice reduction on their attacks into town hexes. The French were pushed back at the cost of a block each from two of the three attacking brigades. I followed up my stout defence with a counterattack on the same flank using a Take Command Any Section. I chose to make good on my early gains, ordering four contiguous units on my right flank – three Infantry and an Artillery battery – for ranged fire. By the end of round one I’d thinned the ranks of three of the French Line units, but no decisive hits. This was going to be a slow churn.

End round four - still nothing to show for it.

In round two, the French ordered another unsuccessful attack on the town, but only succeeded in seizing the bridge running onto the town. I foolishly brought my Cavalry down off the high ground with an Assault Left Flank order. This handed T an opportunity; with a Counterattack order, he was able to use that order against me (and due to the card differential, with 50% higher effectiveness). Over the next two rounds, T’s Cavalry swept up and attacked the ranging Austrian horse with a ferocious charge that cost me three squadrons and reduced a forth, as well as leading to the (ahistorical) capture of the Cavalry division’s commander Nostitz-Rieneck, netting T four Victory Banners in total. Suddenly I was left feeling quite exposed on my Left flank.

End round five - the French eradicate the Austrian Cavalry.

Chipping at the flanks will only gain you so much, so the time had come for the French to make push in the Center. This they did with an Attack Center order, bringing up two Line and one Light unit. Firing for effect, the first Line halved the strength of the Austrian light at the base of the hills. The Light regiment attacked the church, reducing its defenders’ strength and amazingly taking no casualties of their own, but the Austrians would not be shifted.  In another show of martial bravado, the second Line came off their bridge to attack Markgrafneusiedl, causing some casualties, but losing all cohesion under the return fire and was wiped from the board (my first legitimate score). I replied with an Attack Right Flank order, and brought my reserve Cavalry to bear, and attacked the reduced French unit on the Markgrafneusiedl bridge, earning two more Banners and evening up the score.

End round five, Some lucky rolls even the scores.

By the seventh round we were again even, at six banners each. T’s sixth round Force March in the Center had been blunted by a combination of unfortunate dice rolls and steadfast resistance that cost the French as many blocks as they took from the defenders T managed to clear the Tower (Centre section, at the foot of the hills), but couldn’t take it. The Austrians replied with an order to Attack Right Flank that further reduced his frontline infantry threatening that sector, destroying the Line that had tried to punch through the Markgrafneusiedl defences from the Centre earlier in the round.

Things can escalate quickly.

At the top of the seventh round, T followed up with a Probe Right Flank, activating two of his Cavalry squadrons, the Light horse to try to see off my remaining Cavalry in my Left, and Heavy sent to harass the Line under the leadership of Mayer (whose troops had suffered under a two-pronged attack of Line and Light Infantry in the previous round. The Light horse unit was bested by my surviving Light Cavalry, and the Infantry saw off the attack against their high-ground position easily.

A Forced March order of my own allowed me to pull a collapsing Militia unit back to deny the French an easy Victory Banner, and to get some fresh troops back onto the defensive line on the hill. Some fights were engaged along the front, but nothing conclusive. The grind continued.

End round eight. Six-all.

With the French taking possession of the Church in turn eight, and the Austrians only holding one of the two Markgrafneusiedl town hexes, the Austrians lost their possession Banner, returning it to the diminished French banner pool. Technically, the French didn’t earn that right until the beginning of round nine, when their Line began their turn in the church, but I wasn’t going to be able to dislodge them with the cards I held. An Assault Center order allowed the French to move into the church, but being a Line unit, it couldn’t go on to attack the reduced Austrian Light adjacent – which slowed his roll. His attack up the hill on Mayer’s reduced line cost both sides but came to nothing. I managed to vanquish his Light Cavalry through a Probe Left Flank, using the (slightly) superior numbers of my own surviving Light in combined arms with the Foot Artillery battery I hadn’t yet been able to wheel up onto the hill-range.

By round ten, we were again neck-and-neck at nine Banners each. Meyer’s longsuffering brigade had finally succumbed to the onslaught of repeated attacks by French infantry, but Meyer’s command escaped capture and retreated to an adjacent Line unit. Here things got interesting. Twice the French attacked with their Heavy Cavalry, an twice they were thrown back after Meyer ordered the brigade into Battalion Square (not an ideal move when there are infantry within striking range, but needs must).

In round eleven, managed to eliminate another infantry unit on my extreme right with my reserve Cavalry, but at the cost of setting up an easy point for the French. By this point the scores were eleven for the Austrians, ten for the French. If I had instead moved an infantry unit into the vacant, I could have regained the Temporary Majority Banner for holding Markgrafneusiedl and ended the game, but that felt a bit gamey, so I declined.

End round eleven.

Round twelve saw no change on either side, although I didn’t realise at the time T was taking a chance setting up his end-dame gambit. In the end run, T just had a particularly good selection of cards to execute his intentions in detail.

With his thirteenth order, T delivered the final blow. Playing another Leadership card – the last of an exceptional run – he ordered all his units with an attached leader, attacking my remaining Cavalry, and decisively ending the game but picking up the last two Banners. He saved me the indignity of taking the tower, which would have been his right. Overall, a hard-fought game on both sides, but the French were victorious, and T finally seemed to have made his peace with the dice gods and broken the drought.

End state. A hard-won victory for the French.

In all, the game took thirteen full rounds to reach a conclusion (with the usual table banter and a couple of interruptions, this took the best part of two hours). A loss can still mean a satisfying game. I’m happy to have accomplished what I did with what I had to work with. Looking back on it, I don’t think there was anything I would have done significantly differently, except perhaps to roll better results.

 

French orders played.

Austrian orders played.

 

State of Play: Commands & Colors: Napoleonics - Wagram, 4-5 July, 1809 (Part 1)

 

 

French advance repelled (Yay, Team!).

The Austrian Army expansion (GMT Games, 2013) for Commands & Colors: Napoleonics (GMT Games, 2010) offers twenty scenarios, split across two time periods. The first five present battles fought during the War of the Third Coalition (1805-06, although all of the battles presented occurred in ’05), and fifteen scenarios covering the War of the Fifth Coalition. Of these, Half of theme are shared across two battles; five battles make up some of the constituent parts of the Battle of Eggmühl (which I’ve written about recently), and the final three scenarios cover the Battle of Wagram. I this post we’ll look at the first two scenarios in the Wagram triptych.

 

Wagram – 5 July 1809 (Gross-Enzersdorf)

Gross-Enzersdorf is a classic holding/delaying action; Napoleon had pulled a ruse on Archduke Charles, convincing the Austrian leader he intended to cross the Danube at the same point he had on his first incursion into the region, resulting in the Battle of Aspern-Essling (a month after Eggmuhl and about six weeks prior to Wagram, in which the French forces were repulsed and had to withdraw). In fact, Napoleon brought his troops across the river further downstream, transferring 150,000 men under the veil of night, meticulously executed logistical feat for the books.

From the scenario description: 

“When Charles realized he had been outflanked, he rapidly retreated to the Wagram position, leaving the VI Corps and the Advanced Guard to fight a delaying action. Taking up a defensive position around Gross-Enzersdorf, Nordmann’s Advance Guard began fortifying the village.”

While deploying the bulk of his army, Napoleon gave the task of clearing the march ahead to Massena’s IV Corps. It’s here we pick up the action, as the IV Corps light regiments begin there push toward Gross-Enzersdorf.

Set up at start.

I say this every time, but Gross-Enzersdorf is a tough scenario for the Austrians. It’s not a cakewalk for the French either, if they can push the enemy out of the town hexes and infiltrate their own troops, they can potentially nab two-thirds of the Victory Banners necessary for a win. In an earlier go at the scenario, T, again playing the French, lucked out with a Grand Maneuvre, and managed to place two French Light infantry units in the two vacant Gross-Enzersdorf hexes in the very first card play of the game, but that was one of those fluky card-things you get in Commands & Colors games. The town is lightly defended, with the bulk of the defending Austrian forces further back from the board latitude of the town, but the geography works against a coup de force, limiting the avenues for rushing advances.

To be honest, progress was slow and tedious. I tried to recreate a blow by blow of the play, but I nearly dozed off twice. So, dear reader, I will summarise the progress in a few board snaps and captions.

After two full turns of push and pull, the first banner fell to the Austrians. The whole
game would be like Max Weber’s description of the work of politics,
“The slow boring of hard boards.”

By round six the Austrians had taken a convincing lead (4-1; due to a quirk in the scenario
rules, I earned one of those Banners by playing a Scout card – this was the first time either
of us had won a banner by playing a Scut card in probably half-a-dozen plays-through of
Gross-Enzersdorf). Apart from not seriously attempting to take the town-hexes, T’s
overall operational strategy was solid, but whatever he had done to piss off the
dice-gods, they weren’t over it yet.

By round nine, T had nearly evened up the count, partly through grabbing a piece of
Gross-Enzersdorf and its accompanying temporary Banner.

At the end of round eleven it was still anyone’s game; the French had lost their foothold
 in Gross-Enzersdorf, but earned back that banner in the Austrian left, where there were
now dome low-hanging fruit ripe for the picking. One good attack could easily clean up
two banners for a French victory.

In all, the game took twelve full rounds to reach a conclusion. What could have been a swift French victory (assuming better die-roll results) turned into a slow, exhausting grind, coming own to the very last Banner. T should have been able to pull it off with his Assault Right Flank, with two chances at an elimination with his Light Cavalry attacking Mayer’s crippled Line infantry set on the baseline (roll of three dice, one retreat (ignored) and Mayer survived), and his other (leaderless) Cavalry attacking the remnants of an Austrian Foot battery holding the high ground on the Austrian Left (Combined Arms with a Foot Artillery unit for four dice, but no hits, then pushed back a space with a retreat result in the defending roll).

End state.

With my last play, I used an Attack Right Flank to finally put to rout (eliminate) the half-strength and unsupported Line hanging forward on the French Left, ending the battle (until the following day, at least). French progress delayed, the action was won, but the battle only prolonged until a couple of nights later, when we moved on to the McDonald’s Square scenario.

French orders played.

Austrian orders played.

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Wagram – 6 July 1809 (McDonald’s Square)

Some action on the Austrian Left (round three).

On the 6^th, Charles knew French superiority of numbers would win the day if something wasn’t done to equate the imbalance. Having repelled small probing attacks in the late afternoon of the 5^th, he took the bold step of attempting an envelopment attack on the fielded French army before Napoleon could bring his force up to full strength. Charles was a competent, even gifted military leader, but was let down by the Austrian army’s internal inertia and lack of good staff-work and reliable communications that undid his manoeuvre. The French, recognising the French (with their superior communications), responded with a radical manoeuvre, the mobile mega-square of numerous formations that could move practically as one.

McDonald’s Square gives the French player a potentially insurmountable advantage on the field. So long as the “square” (more of an ellipsis on the board) maintains cohesion, any movement order given to a single unit will activate all eight units.

This session brought out one of the things I really love about C&C Napoleonics; each scenario has a seemingly infinite capacity to surprise. McDonald’s Square has seven-banner victory threshold, not a high bar but a banner higher than Gross-Enzersdorf. Generally, playing the Austrians, there can be a tendency to turtle a little bit, to wait out the French until they come into range and try to thin their ranks with ranged fire before engaging in close combat. This is especially true in the 1809 scenarios, where the French almost always enjoy superiority of Leaders, overall unit numbers, and a larger hand-size. But the Austrians can’t afford to do that in this scenario. While in their (roughly) square formation, McDonald’s infantry command of eight Line units move as one. Any manoeuvre order that is given to move one of them can move all of them until the formation is broken. This manoeuvrability combined with, say, a Give Them Cold Steel order could be devastating for the Austrians, so there is an impetus to try to break up McDonald’s Square if possible, before it gets too close.

 

Set-up at start. McDonald's Square is clearly positioned straddling
the French Center and Left.

T began with an Assault Center order. Normally he would be able to order up to his hand-size in units (in this case, six) to deploy and engage if able. This brought Macdonald’s Square up a space, which put them in musket range of the Center defending line. Some desultory fire reduced two of my line units and ended his turn. I responded with a Recon in Force. This allowed me to bring to bear volleys on two of the frontmost units of McDonald’s Square, thinning their ranks but not breaking their discipline, and to bring my Cuirassiers up off the back-line on the Austrian Left into a position where they may be able to do some good.

No plan survives contact with the enemy, but T stuck to his, ordering a bayonet charge (which, in truth, if he had committed in the first round, would have probably been devastating to the defenders and may have shortened the game even further). The dice didn’t go so well for the French, with hits, but never enough to finish a unit. The Austrian return fire was withering, but just as inconclusive. I played a Bombard, firing into one of the depleted French Line (under the command of Lamarque), but too only a single block (in the confusion of battle, I forgot to manoeuvre my other battery up from the Austrian baseline to the hex between Süssenbrunn and the little copse on the Austrian Right). At the end of the second round, McDonald’s Square was in complete disarray and all four of the Austrian Grenadier units had been reduced – two to a single block – but still no banners had been exchanged. That would be rectified in the next round.

End round two. The Austrian lines are scattered, but so is McDonald's Square.
Still, no banners exchanged.

Round three opened with the French playing a Leadership card. This allows any units attached to a Leader to be activated and to fight with an additional die, either in Ranged Fire or Melee. In the resulting exchanges, the French finished off two of the depleted Grenadier units (though Prochaska escaped capture, retreating to the back-line Artillery battery) and reduced a third to a single block.

My impoverished hand offered only poor options for ordering units. Another Recon in Force served better than I had any right to expect, allowing me to take out two of T’s reduced Line units, and to capture Lamarque for a total of three banners, as well as seeing off an incursion on my left by an advancing French infantry unit, halving its strength and routing it (pushing it back a row with a Retreat result). My next card draw proved fateful, and would decide the game.

T's next – and as it happens, final -command was Forward. This allows two units in each section to advance and engage the enemy. T brought up four of his Cavalry squadrons from the back; none could engage in this turn, but I suspected he had a Cavalry charge in his hand which would have wreaked havoc across all three sectors and probably earned him the game. Two Infantry advanced on the French Right and Center, one of them taking out a third Grenadier unit for a third Austrian Banner.

Austrian Bayonet Charge, Ordered units circled in yellow, target units in red.

I replied with the card I’d picked up at the end of the third Round. Bayonet Charge doesn’t offer additional dice for attacks, but it does allow up to four units – regardless of their sector of origin – to move up to two spaces and still engage in melee combat. I had already made a provisional plan during T’s turn of which units I would bring to play. It may have gone badly, and I certainly didn’t think this one card would be the decider, but I thought O might gain a banner or two so I didn’t feel so embarrassed when the French overran the Austrian remnants in the next two rounds.

Reader, the dice gods smiled down upon the field of battle, and many French were routed that day. I worked across the field, right to left. The intact Austrian Line formation closest to Süssenbrunn attacked Broussier’s reduced Line infantry, clearing them from the field, though Broussier himself evaded capture.

End state.

The most brazen attack was committed by the remnants of the Grenadier regiment that had been forced to retreat sell back from the fighting. Keen to earn back their honour, they attacked Lamarque’s reduced regiment, vanquishing their rivals and capturing Lamarque and his staff (for two more banners). The third banner came with another fresh Austrian Line unit pushing up into the mouth of the of the IV Corps combined battery, taking out a half-strength French Line unit that had already been bested once that day. The final move was a bloodied Grenadier regiment under D’Asper, mounting the short rise to face their opponents further along the crest. Blows were exchanged, and the result in that quarter remained undecided, but that was of no consequence.  With the annihilation of three formations and the capture of General Lamarque (who, in this alternate timeline, would not proceed to lead ten thousand troops to put down the Royalist uprising in Vendée), the Austrians carried the day, the French retreating to regroup and contemplate trying their luck elsewhere.

Orders played (French left).

The Commands & Colors system often rewards good tactics and keeping an eye on the prize. T’s tactics were generally solid in this game, but he was too enchanted with McDonald’s oversized formation to realise his other options. He could have used his Cavalry to take all three villages, which would have scored him three easy Victory Banners. He may have had trouble keeping those, but that would have given me more to think about and taken my focus off the Center. But sometimes it just comes down to. Literally, the turn of a card. Even at one Banner ahead, I felt like it would be a clear French victory in sixth or seventh round, until I picked up that Bayonet Charge and saw the possibilities. This is why I’m so fond of this system, and the Napoleonics flavour in particular.