Napoleon, that fiendish master of strategy, is on the march again! The Allied armies, widely dispersed, look like they will be easily defeated by the oncoming French armies. But, as most French players soon find out, their task is much harder than it looks. Napoleon, with just twelve short turns (four of them night), has to crush both the Anglo-Dutch and Prussian armies. Should he drive towards Ghent or Brussels, or towards Leige?

These are a few of the many strategic decisions confronting the bewildered French player. Of course tactics are a large part of Avalon Hill's (originally Gamma Two's) Napoleon (being a full game in themselves), and a good knowledge of how to use tactics cannot do anything but help the French player--but in this man's eye strategy is the queen of the battlefield. Remembering some long forgotten military philosopher's words, "The best tactician is a good stratatician," I have decided to explore the strategic avenues open to the French player.

French Initital Position

To say the least, the French initial position is not the best. Looking at the map we see that of the six optimum set-up towns (towns directly on the front) four of the towns have rivers running directly across the attack approaches thus limiting the deployment of French forces into Belgium to a measly four units a road. The other two towns are not in a good strategic position either, as they both have to eventually cross a river and are both in a centrally located position--inviting the Allies to converge on the French (although this is not always bad), possibly defeating the French in the early going. This would probably just bloody both players' noses in the early going, however, limiting both sides' options for the remainder of the game.

Initial Forces

At a first glance the French forces seem to be greatly out-gunned and seem to be an easy pushover for the Anglo-Allied forces. While Napoleon'a army has a total combat value of fifty-two combat factors, the Allied army has a total combat value of seventy-eight factora, thus outnumbering the French forces by 50%. But as some great scholar (?) is reputed to have said: "First glances can be deceiving."

The reason for this results from the fact that only two French stacks (not units) may move per turn and only one Anglo-Dutch and one Prussian stack may move per turn. This may not seem like much, but with a maximum of eight units on a major road per turn and four units maximum crossing rivers per turn, concentration of force is vital. So going by this rationale it would stand to reason that the side whose individual units have greater concentrations of combat factors would be able to concentrate greater numbers of combat factors in a stack, thus giving that side a subatantial advantage.

The French, with eighteen units, have an average combat value per unit of 3.33 factors. The Pruasians, with sixteen units and a total combat value of thirty-nine have an average combat value per unit of 2.44 (clearly this was not the period of Prussian military dominance), with the Anglo-Dutch having fourteen units and a total combat value of thirty-nine, giving their units an average of 2.79 combat factors per unit (with their infantry rivaling that of the French).

All this means that the French will have about one more combat factor per unit than the Allies. Thia advantage, though seemingly small, can prove crucial in many tactical situations such as battles acroos rivers, reinforcing close battles, and in general movement-- allowing the French to move greater concentrations of combat factors than the Allies. The French player is also helped by the fact that he can usually move twice as many units (and three times as many combat factors) as any one of the two Allies. All this serves to give the French player a large tactical edge and consequently a large strategic edge.

Mobility or Safely

All the French advantages now add up to a difficult set of victory conditions; the French player must eliminate at least 50% of the Prussian and the Anglo- Dutch armies while not losing 50% or more of his own unite. Any other result ends in an Allied victory. While this may seem hard (it is) the French player again has an ace advantage: once an Allied army (Prussian or Anglo- Dutch) loses 50% of its units, the other remaining units are also eliminated, thus preventing the Allied player from using the remnants of one army to shield another one, or to conduct battles of attrition with the then useless units.

This condition poses a whole new set of problems for the French player, however. Should he allow his losses to be spread out evenly (thus causing a large number of weak units which would hamper concentration of forces) or should he have losses absorbed by individual units until they die (keeping intact mobility and concentration of forces but making the player come dangerously close to the 50% line). Clearly the choice is a difficult one which will vary from game to game.

Going for Blood

Using large battles of attrition to make the other player lose 50% of his units is the direct way to win the game, and its chances of success can range from excellent to non-existent, depending on availability of forces, force strength, force composition, but mainly on the player's tactical ability. Be very careful when using this strategy though, as it can easily turn out to be your own death trap if not carried out under the right circumstances and/or if your luck is going against you.

Going for Cities

Going for cities is the indirect way to win the game and is often combined with the going-for-blood strategy. Holding Allied cities helps the French player a great deal as the Allies lose unite every turn that the French occupy Ghent, Brussels, or Leige (due to supply/command problems thus caused): one Anglo-Dutch unit is destroyed every turn the French hold Ghent; one Prussian unit for every turn they hold Leige; and one of each every turn the French hold Brussels. As you can see, Allied bodies pile up quickly if the French capture any of the three cities.

The important question for the French is which city to try for first. The following chart contains general information about the cities and the possibility of their being taken by the French, to help the player make the decision.

Action	Ghent	Brussels	Leige
Destruction of Allied Forces	Good	Excellent	Good
Probability of Counterattack	Good	Excellent	Fair
Chance of Surprise	Poor	Fair	Excellent
Time involved	Excellent	Good	Fair
Exploitation Possibilities	Good	Excellent	Poor
Ease of Capture	Good	Poor	Good

As you can see, each city has its advantages, but to really understand the individual character of each city you have to dig further on:

Ghent

The first point is obvious: Destruction of Allied forces is good as one Anglo-Dutch unit will die every turn you hold it. The probability of counter-attack is also good, however, mainly because of its close proximity to Brussels. But that also gives any French force in Ghent good exploitation possibilities, for just the same reason. I would not count on surprising the Allied player if you drive on Ghent: a quick glance at the mapboard reveals that this is a prime French target. If the French player does drive on Ghent he can expect a hard fight on his hands and if he does not watch the Prussians carefully he may very well find that they are on his tail, in addition to the Anglo-Dutch.

Brussels

Brussels holds the central position on the board, and if captured a drive on Ghent or Leige could easily seal the Allied coffin. As you can see, its Allied-destructive ability is excellent (two Allied units are destroyed every turn). The only reason surprise is rated fair instead of poor is the fact that the Allied player will often deploy the bulk of his force in front of Brussels, and will not expect any French player to drive directly on Brussels. Because of this fact, ease of capture is poor, probability of counter-attack is excellent, and the time involved in capture is fair. As you can see, Brussels is a rich prize-- but is probably the hardest city for the French to capture and hold onto.

Leige

Leige is a typical back-water town and as such it is usually ill-defended and the least sought after by the French. Actually it is not as far from the front line as it seems, and the time involved in capture is often fair (instead of poor). The problem with Leige is its distance from the Anglo-Dutch: it allows them to avoid combat with the French (winning the game in the process). Addressing Leige's other qualities: probability of counterattack is pure speculation and depends on the individual Allied player, with surprise being excellent as no one espects anyone ever attacking Leige! And its destructive capabilities are obviously good, albeit limited.

Conclusion

So as you can see, there are many ways to defeat the Allies and an equal number of ways for the Allies to defeat you. When playing Napoleon, remember what some unknown (to me anyway) military philosopher said: "The best man is the one who played better, not who won."