This is a shameless adaptation of the Napoleon's Battles Marengo scenario and for the Piquet rules. This has not been playtested! My sources are the scenario itself and (for the French) the appendix to Chandler's Campaigns of Napoleon. I'm sure Nafziger has a more detailed OOB that could be used for even greater "accuracy". I haven't hesitated to fudge a bit to balance the scenario and reflect the superior qualities of the French (for example more Leger Demi-Brigades [as opposed to line] than were present). Let each turn represent about 1 hour. Bonaparte: "Well, what do you think of it?" Desaix: "This battle is lost, but it is only two o'clock" --in fact three-- "there is time to win another!" (from Chandler's Campaigns of Napoleon) AUSTRIA: I'd organize them in just 3 commands - a left column, a right column, and the Reserve Grenadiers. All infantry and cavalry regiments and grenadier brigades of 4 stands. All batteries of 2 stands. Baron Melas, commanding (Average) Right Column (starts deployed behind Fontanone creek): General O'Reilly 2 Grenzer Regiments (Native) 1 Jager Regiments (Reg) 4 Light Cavalry "Regiments" (say 3 Hussar, 1 Uhlan) (Elite) 8 Line Regeiments (Reg) 3 Light Batteries (Reg) Left Column (General Ott) Enters along the road from Alessandria at the start of turn 1, in column of march. 6 Line Regiments (Reg) 1 Cavalry "Regiment" (say 1 Dragoon) (Reg) 3 Light Batteries (Reg) Reserve - General "Tyre" starts deployed behind Fontanone creek. 4 Austrian Grenadier Brigades (Elite) FRANCE Desaix's corps will start in command, but Desaix himself won't enter the tabletop until Boudet's Division arrives. 5 Commands: Desaix, Victor, Lannes, Murat, and Marmont. All "Demi-brigades" and cavalry units are 4 stand Piquet units except the Guides. All batteries of 2 stands. First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte (Superior), commanding Corps Victor Starts deployed on French side of Fontanone creek, near Marengo. (Type II) 6 Demi-Brigades Line (Reg) 2 Demi-Brigades Leger (Elite) Corps Lannes Starts in column of march behind Villanova. 3 Demi-Brigades Line (Reg) 1 Demi-Brigade Leger (Elite) Cavalry Reserve, Murat deployed as Victor near Marengo. 1 Heavy Cavalry (rate as Cuirassiers w/o cuirass modifier) 1 Dragoon 1 Hussar 2 stands Guides a Cheval (Guard) Artillery Reserve - Marmont Starts at San Guiliano in Column of March. May use Grand Battery rule. 1 Heavy Battery 1 Horse Battery (Light, Elite) 1 Medium Battery Corps Desaix (Superior) Division Monier - enters on turn 3 in column of march at San Guiliano road 3 Demi-Brigades Line (Reg) 1 Demi-Brigade Converged Grenadiers (Elites) 1 Demi-Brigade Consular Guards (Guard) Division Boudet - enters on turn 8 in column of March at San Guiliano road 3 Demi-Brigades Line (Reg) 1 Demi-Brigade Leger (Elite) Sequence Deck Cards: Both have a card divisor of 4 as per the LG ratings. Austria per LG for 1792 - 1808 Austrians. Add 1 command indecision card. Add a "confused withdrawal" card the turn after Desaix arrives! France per LG for 1792-1801 French. Add a "Rally Again" card as per the stratagem to the French Sequence Deck upon the arrival of Desaix, and also a "brilliant corps commander card" for Desaix upon his arrival. Add 2 Brilliant commander cards for Napoleon from the start of the game. MORALE CHIPS The 2 buildings of San Guiliano are worth 2 morale chips each, the other 8 buildings on the map are worth 1 MC each. The Austrians start with just one of these. These are in addition to the MC's rolled at the start of the game. The MC value of any buildings lost must be paid immediately to the enemy. Unit and Leader Quality rolls AUSTRIA: as per LG, use -2 for determining Austrian sub-commander quality, and -1 for unit quality. FRANCE: use +2 instead of the usual +1 for this army and period for subcommander quality (Desaix is automatically Superior). Use the +1 for unit quality as per LG. Historical View Strategic Operation: Napoleon, advancing through the Alpine passes in several columns, executed a strategic envelopment against the Austrians. Melas, involved in the siege of Genoa, contemplating an invasion of France via Nice, and misled by Napoleon's feint from the west, permitted Napoleon to sever his line of communication and to back him up against the obstacle of the Alps. In the morning, the Austrians, obtaining surprise, launched an uncoordinated attack and defeated Napoleon. In the afternoon the final French victory was made possible by the timely arrival of Desaix. Assisted by cavalry, Desaix fell upon the Austrians, who were pursuing in column and without adequate security. Result: Although the Austrian army was not annihilated, Melas sued for peace because Napoleon was astride his line of retreat. Back to The Gauntlet No. 15 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Craig Martelle Publications 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