Initially, I planned on a contest between a Russian "division" and its French counterpart. However, I ran into some trouble developing what was, in my mind, a relatively balanced order of battle. For the year during which this fictional engagement was set, according to tables in the supplement, the Russians would have only Hussars and/or Cossacks. In brief, army organization and "character" is determined by the Card Divisor Table on page 8 of the Les Grognards supplement. In this specific case, up to 10% of the Russian force could have been rated as "elite". From a starting point of 30 units, this would give the Russians three elite-classed units. Unwisely perhaps, I dedicated all of the elite ratings to a "brigade" of Grenadiers. I was subsequently struck by the imbalance with respect to mounted forces for each side. The Russians would have, as mentioned, Hussars and some Cossacks. The French, in contrast, would have a nice, strong mix: Lancers, Chasseurs, Dragoons and Cuirassiers. So, after some deliberation and cranium scratching, I scrapped the plans for a battle pitting Russians against French. In place of the Russians, I decided that I would put Austrians. This worked out much better, as only the Hussars in the Austrian Army Table were rated as "elites". Having solved the cavalry problem on the Austrian side, I turned my attention to the infantry problem within the French ranks. According to the Card Divisor Table, a French "army" of 1802-1812 would consist of approximately 10% militia-rated troops. In the Army Table however, there is no reference or citation to this troop type for this period. Additionally, there was a problem with the infantry that could be classed as elite. According to the same Card Divisor Table, up to half of the elites could be classed or rated as "Guard". At first, I thought I would put a couple of battalions of Middle Guard Infantry in the French Order of Battle. But then, I started thinking about the historical accuracy of this - of having Middle Guard on the field in the first year of Napoleon's "run" in early 19th century Europe. Fortunately, I was able to send an e-mail to Brent Oman (who has recently assumed directorship of PIQUET) and query him about the suspected inconsistencies. He replied that the Type Tables and percentages were more or less just a guide. He also stated that I should feel free to base my troop organization(s) on my historical readings. Therefore, the Middle Guard were transformed into two very powerful battalions of Old Guard Infantry. (In Elting's text though, I think the correct term or label would be Grenadiers of the Guard. Please see, SWORDS AROUND A THRONE, Chapter IX.) Before continuing, I would like to express a word of thanks to Brent Oman. Several times during the course of my solo-project with PIQUET, I e-mailed him asking for clarifications of rule points that I did not quite understand, or of situations that I felt were not adequately covered by the section on melee resolution, for example. Brent was always quick to return my e-mails; even taking a few minutes between business trips to answer yet another query. Finally, with the 30 units to a side "fleshed-out", I proceeded to organize them into their respective commands. This was interesting too, for I'm much more used to and comfortable with preparing orders of battle based on historical engagements. In the Les Grognards supplement, if not in the main rules, it seems that these divisions are ignored in favor of "commands". For this simple meeting engagement, the French possessed six (6) commands while the Austrians had just four (4). This number was increased to five (5), much to my temporary chagrin, as I thought I had built all the infantry, cavalry and artillery that I would need. But on the creation of the sequence deck for the Austrians, I dealt myself an extra command card. Figures then, that I roll the maximum number of units allowed for this additional command. (As it would turn out, these troops did not even get on the battlefield!) Some readers may well scoff at the lack of originality of the scenario and snicker at the unhistorical balance in the orders of battle. In my defense, I wasn't trying to be all that original with either aspect. My main emphasis here was trying out a new set of rules. Perhaps, as I reflect on the experience of the past week, I set myself up to fail. That is to argue, can I truly evaluate a rules system designed primarily to reflect the uncertainty that is war, when I've arranged that the field of battle be as unremarkable as it could be, and the orders of battle of the opposing sides to be essentially the same? Yet, looking over the length and language of the section entitled "Comments and Considerations", I think the scenario and wargame was very much a success with respect to this purpose. On the following pages then, please find the complete orders of battle for this fictitious meeting engagement. The time is September of 1805, and the place is somewhere in the western region of the Austrian Empire. FRENCH ARMY COMMAND A LEADER: MARSHAL DAVOUT QUALITY: Skilled / 12" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 1st/1st Imperial Guard d8 d12+1 d12+1 d12 Guard 2n /1st Imperial Guard d6 d12 d12 d10 Guard 1st/25th Legere d10 d12 d12+2 d12 Elite 13th Foot Battery / 6pd d4 d6 d6 d8 Guard COMMAND B LEADER: General Saint-Germain QUALITY: Superior / 18" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Poor / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 7th Lancers d8 d10 na d10 Elite / Lance 5th Chasseurs d8 d8 d8 d8 Lt. Cav. / Carbines 16th Hussars d6 d6 na d6 Lt. Cavalry 10th Horse Artillery / 4pd d4 d4 d6 d6 Elite COMMAND C LEADER: General Doumerc QUALITY: Superior / 18" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 20th Dragoons d6 d8 na d6 Med. Cavalry 21st Dragoons d6 d8 na d6 Med. Cavalry 3rd Cuirassiers d6 d10 na d6 Hvy. Cavalry 4th Cuirassiers d6 d10 na d6 Hvy. Cavalry COMMAND D LEADER: General Destabenrath QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 1st/17th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 2nd/17th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 3rd/17th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 2nd/30th Legere d6 d8 d12 d8 Elite 2nd Foot Artillery / 8pd d6 d4 d8 d6 Regulars COMMAND E LEADER: General Grandeau QUALITY: Skilled / 12" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 2nd/45th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 3rd/45th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 4th/45th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 1st/108th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 2nd/108th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 3rd/108th Ligne d10 d12 d12+1 d10 Regulars 5th/108th Ligne d8 d10 d12 d8 Regulars 15th Foot Artillery / 8pd d4 d4 d6 d4 Regulars 8th Foot Artillery / 8pd d6 d6 d8 d6 Regulars COMMAND F LEADER: General Lacour QUALITY: Poor / 12" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 1st/30th Ligne d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 3rd/30th Ligne d8 d10 d12 d8 Regulars 4th/30th Ligne d10 d12 d12+1 d10 Regulars 27th Foot Artillery / 8pd d4 d4 d6 d4 Regulars Notes to French Order of Battle: 1. Regimental and Brigade Numbers as well as Names of the Commanders are historical but non-historical. The names of French commanders were taken from the June 2000 issue of Wargames Illustrated, R. Mark Davies article, "The Battle of Eggmuhl 21 & 22 May 1809", pages 36 - 45. Regimental and command affiliation were a product of imagination. 2. In terms of scale numbers, the French Corps or Division comprised approximately 11,900 infantry, 46 pieces of artillery and approximately 3,500 cavalry. 3. Overall, the unit quality in the French force was good to excellent. The artillery arm seemed to receive a disproportionate number of low Battle Die Value rolls. Leadership quality among the commanding officers was good as well. The single exception here being General Lacour of Command Group F. 4. The French "earned" a grand total of 51 morale chits. Per the Card Divisor Table in the supplement, they also received four (4) Opportunity chits. 6. The basic sequence deck total of 28 cards for the French of this time frame was padded to 34 cards, with several selections from the Optional Deck. In addition, the French had another Brilliant Leader card, a Morale Stratagem card and a card which allowed a + 2 to all Major Morale Check attempts. AUSTRIAN ARMY COMMAND 1 LEADER: "GENERAL" ROSENBERG QUALITY: Abysmal 8" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Poor / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 'Mayblumel' Grenadiers d6 d8 d8 d8 Elite 'Leiningen' Grenadiers d8 d10 d10 d10 Elite 'Peccaduc' Grenadiers d6 d8 d8 d8 Elite 3rd Hussars d6 d6 na d8 Elite / Lt. Cavalry 10th Line Battery / 12pd d6 d4 d10 d6 Regulars COMMAND 2 LEADER: General Major von Schneller QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 4th 'Vincent' Uhlans d6 d10 na d6 Med. Cav. Lance 3rd 'Erzherzog' Uhlans d6 d10 na d6 Med. Cav. Lance 1st 'Gottesheim' Dragoons d6 d8 na d6 Med. Cavalry 7th 'Stipsicz' Dragoons d4 d6 na d4 Med. Cavalry 9th 'Hohenzollern' Cuirassiers d6 d10 na d6 Hvy. Cavalry 1st 'Kaiser' Cuirassiers d8 d12 na d8 Hvy. Cavalry COMMAND 3 LEADER: General Major von Bieber QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 1st/22nd 'Koburg' Jaegers d8 d8 d12 d8 Regulars / Rifles 1st/46th 'Chasteler' Line d6 d6 d10 d6 Trained Militia 2nd/46th 'Chasteler' Line d6 d6 d10 d6 Trained Militia 3rd/46th 'Chasteler' Line d4 d4 d8 d4 Trained Militia 4th/46th 'Chasteler' Line d10 d10 d12+1 d10 Trained Militia 'Hauger' Grenadiers d8 d12+1 d12+1 d12 Guard 'Cappy' Grenadiers d6 d12 d12 d10 Guard 46th Brigade Artillery / 3pd d8 d6 d8 d8 Regulars / Foot 11th Position Battery / 6pd d6 d4 d6 d6 Regulars / Foot 40th Position Battery / 6pd d6 d4 d6 d6 Regulars / Foot COMMAND 4 LEADER: General Major von Stutterheim QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 2nd/9th 'Peterwardeiner" Grenzers; d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars - Skirmish 1st/8th 'E. Ludwig' Line d4 d6 d8 d4 Regulars 2nd/8th 'E. Ludwig' Line d4 d6 d8 d4 Regulars 3rd/8th 'E. Ludwig' Line d8 d10 d12 d8 Regulars 3rd/44th 'Bellegarde' Line d8 d10 d12 d8 Regulars 4th/44th 'Bellegarde' Line d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 1st/44th'Bellegarde' Line d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 21st Position Battery / 6pd d10 d8 d10 d10 Regulars / Foot 7th Position Battery / 6pd d8 d6 d8 d8 Regulars / Foot COMMAND 5 LEADER: General Major von Neustadter QUALITY: Skilled 12" DIE: d8 ALTERNATE QUALITY: Average / 12" DIE: d8 IDENTIFICATION BDV MELEE FIRE MORALE NOTES 1st/55th 'Reuss-Greit' Ln. d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 2nd/55th 'Reuss-Greit' Ln. d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 3rd/55th 'Reuss-Greit' Ln. d4 d6 d8 d4 Regulars 4th/55th 'Reuss-Greit' Ln. d6 d8 d10 d6 Regulars 19th 'E. Ferdinand' Dragoons d8 d10 na d8 Reg. / Med. Cav. 4th Position Battery / 6pd d4 d4 d4 d4 Regulars / Foot Notes to Austrian Order of Battle: 1. As was the case with the French forces, names of commanders and the names and / or numbers of Brigades or Regiments under their command were taken from, the June 2000 issue of Wargames Mustrated, R. Mark Davies article, "The Battle of Eggmuhl 21 & 22 May 1809", pages 36 - 45. 2. In terms of scale numbers, the Austrian force consisted of approximately 13,900 infantry, 42 pieces of artillery and approximately 4,000 cavalry. 3. Overall, the unit quality in the Austrian force was good to very good. In some cases, again like the French, the artillery arm seemed to receive a disproportionate number of low Battle Die Value rolls. With respect to leadership ratings, the majority of the Austrian Commands were under Average Officers. The noted exception here, being the overall commander of the Austrian force, who was rated as "Poor". 4. The Austrians, with the last minute addition of the 5th Command Group received a number of morale chits equal to the number of units marching into battle: 36. They had a lower number of Opportunity chits as well, securing only two (2) per the Card Divisor Table. 5. The basic sequence deck total of 28 cards for the Austrians of this time frame was padded to 34 as well. Though not as "good" as the French, the Austrians did enjoy a couple of Artillery and Regular Infantry "up 1 on morale rolls" cards. More Gamble at Gerasdorf French v. Austrians in 1805 Introduction Scenario Development and Order of Battle Terrain, Deployments, and Plans Moves Analysis and Commentary Back to MWAN #113 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum 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