The Wargames The Battle of Marengo was refought using two sets of rules. From Valmy to Waterloo and Age of Bonaparte . Both cover the Napoleonic period but with two distinctly different perspectives. From Valmy to Waterloo provides the gamer with a set of rules covering both grand tactical and tactical aspects of the period, while Age of Bonaparte is a grand tactical set of rules designed to give the gamer the ability to play large battles. Both rules use essentially the same command and control systems. They utilize the strengths and weaknesses of the various armies of the period such as their varying flexibility and their ability to react to changing situations. Both rules account for the fact that the characteristics of most armies changed through the course of the wars. From Valmy to Waterloo has a scale of 1 figure represents 60 men. The units include battalions, cavalry regiments and squadrons, and artillery batteries. The ground scale varies according to the basing system used by the gamer. (The rules do not require re-basing of figures). The time scale is 15min. to the turn. Age of Bonaparte has a scale of 1 figure represents 120 men. The units are brigades of infantry, Cavalry is brigades or regiments, and artillery batteries. The gamer can detach battalions for various functions, such as garrisoning a town, deploying in broken ground etc. Cavalry regiments are included because they would often be attached to infantry formations. All batteries are portrayed and battalion guns are factored into the combat value of the infantry brigades. The ground scale is 1inch equals 100 meters. The basing system is somewhat unique. There are four standard sized bases, that can either be used as movement trays or the figures can be mounted directly to them. The system is designed around the concept that the infantry Brigades are composed of battalions, therefore each base represents a battalion and the gamer combines the correct number of battalions to form a brigade. The gamer can use any scale of miniatures, from 2mm up to 25mm on the bases. Each brigade has a Combat value and no figures are removed to indicated casualties. Both rules capture the essence of command and control on the Divisional and higher levels. However in From Valmy to Waterloo the gamer is also placed in the position of a Brigade commander and he must learn to maneuver the units to accomplish the goals of the division. It gives the game a great tactical feel. While in From Valmy to Waterloo you have both levels of command to keep track of, the grand tactical, all decision of the Corps and Division commanders and also the tactical handling of the three combat arms. In Age of Bonaparte the concerns become much more focused on the higher levels of command. The brigades become in essence blocks with an inherent combat value and it is assumed that the commanders on that level are doing what has to be done in order to accomplish the goals of the Division. The battle of Marengo as a wargame presents numerous problems. All meeting engagements inherently take longer than the standard attack/defend scenarios, which is compounded by the facts that only a small number of units are engaged at any one time and both players are aware of the approximate arrival times of the French reinforcements. To alleviate the first two problems, both battles are started at 10am. At that time Gardannes troops have been pushed back over the Fontanova and the Austrians have deployed to attack him across the river. I decided to disregard the effect of the gamers knowing the approximate time of arrival of the French reinforcements. More Marengo Historical Narrative Marengo Order of Battle Wargame Comparison Introduction Age of Bonaparte From Valmy to Waterloo Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #79 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com