As we recently discovered, Peter Hofschroer is not just a noted historian (part- time) but also the manager of MicroProse's sales operation on the German speaking territories (full-time).

"Fields of Glory", for those who do not know, is a computer program published by MicroProse, one of the world's leading producers of high quality simulations and strategy games. "FOG", as this game has come to be known, is a highly original Napoleonic computer wargame. It was first published in 1993 and has recently been re-released on the "Power Plus" budget label. Unlike most computer wargames, it is not merely a boardgame on screen, but is actually a figure game on screen, not only mentally challenging, but also fun to play. It is ideal for wargamers who lack the time to paint armies and the space to set out a table.

Age of Napoleon:
How long have you worked for MicroProse?

Peter Hofschoeer:
For five years now. I joined MicroProse in 1990 and set up the company's operation in Germany. At first, we were a 'one man band' here. We have now grown to a company with over 20 employees based in offices in Gotersloh and have a turnover that runs into several tens of millions of Marks.

Age of Napoleon:
Why did you join MicroProse?

Peter Hofschroer
Previously, I had worked for several years in book publishing. Being aware of coming technological developments, I thought this a good opportunity to broaden my experience. On top of that, the computer industry pays much better than the book industry.

Age of Napoleon:
How did you, a sales manager, become involved in the development of a computer game?

Peter Hofschroer
Largely by co-incidence. MicroProse employs a number of odd balls from various backgrounds. Quite a few wargamers work in our development laboratories in the USA and UK. Part of my job is to keep myself informed of projects in planning. One day in the MicroProse offices in the UK, Jim Bambra, one of our games designers, showed me his proposal for a Napoleonic figure game on screen based on the Leipzig Campaign. This was another co-incidence as I just happened to be writing my Osprey Campaign series title on that campaign.

Age of Napoleon:
How come then that "FOG" is based on the Waterloo Campaign, and not Leipzig?

Peter Hofschroer
This was largely a commercial decision. How many people would buy a game based on Leipzig? Waterloo is a battle that everybody has heard of. Later on, the developers came to appreciate that decision. This project, very much pioneer work, proved more complex and difficult to program that originally anticipated. I doubt if would be technically possible to pro- gram a game the size of Leipzig in the style used for "FOG".

Age of Napoleon:
I see that you are credited with part of the research for this game. What was your input?

Peter Hofschroer
Guess what? I wrote the bits on the Prussians. However, the full story is not so straightforward. At the time the game was being developed, I was negotiating the take over of a German software distribution company, This was a time-consuming affair. I was not intending to get involved in the development of "FOG". However, as a favour to Jim Bambra. I agreed to cast a quick glance over the database. We had contracted an 'historical researcher' to write this for us. To my horror, I found that in the section dealing with the Prussian Army, there was hardly a name, place or date that was correct. The deadline for publication was fast approaching. Something needed to be done quickly. For the next couple of weeks, twelve hours a day negotiations were followed by half a night of frantic keyboard work. We made our deadline.

Age of Napoleon:
What was David Chandler's involvement in "FOG"?

Peter Hofschroer:
David and I are old friends. We are all aware of his enthusiasm to matters Napoleonic. As he showed interest in the project, I arranged for him to have a preview of it at Sandhurst. He immediately wanted to give the pro- ject his personal blessing. One of his sons still plays the game regularly.

Age of Napoleon:
Has "FOG" been a commercial success?

Peter Hofschroer:
Certainly! The latest sales figures I have are that up to the end of March 1995, we sold over 50,000 units in Europe alone, I do not have a figure for the USA, but would be surprised if my colleagues there had not done as good a good job with the product. In the first month since its re- release on our budget label in April 1995, we have sold over 3,000 units in Germany alone. I would estimate that total sales of " FOG " amount to over 100,000 units to date.

Age of Napoleon:
When is "Fields of Glory 2" conning out?

Peter Hofschroer:
We are considering developing a further version of this game. The origi- nal version broke new ground. We learned a lot from this work. A second version must include a campaign editor and better artificial intelligence. We would also spend more time on details like the music. With CID tech- nology and silicon graphics, it would also be possible to produce a visual- ly more realistic product. With the trend towards multimedia, I suspect the database would also be more sophisticated.

Age of Napoleon:
To change the subject, a least to a certain extent, what is your next Waterloo project?

Peter Hofschroer
Well, to quash stories that certain misinformed parties have been spreading recently, rumours of my publication are premature. Until I got involved in the "FOG" project, my interest in the 1815 Campaign was limited. However, whilst correcting the database produced by the 'historical researcher' we had contracted, it slowly dawned on me that most writings on the subject in the English language are largely fiction and that most of these writers have no intention whatsoever to present the facts to their readers. Having been brought up on military historical works of the standard produced by the Austrian and German General Staffs, I was amazed to find that apparently no British historian has written a scholarly work on the Waterloo Campaign based on archive sources. This is all the more surprising when one considers that Waterloo is claimed to be the major British triumph of the Napoleonic Wars. In fact, the first, and last, British historian to have based a work on the subject drawing largely on primary sources was Siborne.

In the following century and a half since Siborne's publication, most of the works published in the English language have consisted of a regurgitation of certain legends. This led me to investigating the source material in greater detail. Following up leads from archive to archive throughout Europe and double- checking published material is a time consuming process. Although I see light at the end of the tunnel, producing a manuscript for publication is still several years away.

Age of Napoleon:
What will be the title of this book once it is published?

Peter Hofschroer
This has yet to be decided. The working title is "Waterloo: The German Victory". The original intention was to present an account of the campaign from the view of the German participants. However, during the course of research, I have come across some previously unused archive material which casts a different light across Wellington's role in this drama. At present, I intend calling this work "Waterloo: Wellington and his German Allies". The final decision rests with my publisher and the finished product may be called something completely different.

Age of Napoleon:
There are so many books available on Waterloo already. Will there be anything different about this one?

Peter Hofschroer:
Yes! This account will in any case be the first in English to be based heavily on Dutch and German source material. It will also contain previously unused and unpublished archive material. In short, it will be the first such account of the campaign in English.