Archduke Charles frowned slightly as his finger traced a line across a map of Bavaria. "Too slow," he muttered, drawing his finger back to rest lightly atop the town of Landshut, then tapping the map for effect. His gaze drifted to Munich, recently captured by a division of 6th Corp. He searched his memory and came up with the names Jellacic, frowned, and grumbled some more. "Now's not the time to scatter the army."

Aides clustered around the table kept their silence, understanding the need of the Archduke to contemplate matters with himself. Revenge for the insult of 1805 burned deep within the officer corp. Now, in the middle of April 1809, with Napoleon far away and the French bogged down in Spain, it was payback time--and the Archduke seemed just the dynamic leader to bring the operation to a successful conclusion.

Charles lingered over the area between the Isar and Danube Rivers. For a week the Austrian army had advanced into Bavaria on a broad front, driving the bits and pieces of the French-Allied force westward. Reports said prisoners came from VII Corp, Lefebvre, if he remembered correctly.

Other than delaying actions, hardly any opposition had materialized since crossing the frontier on April 9. The incessant rain, more than enemy troops, slowed the advance to average only eight miles a day.

Shifting his attention back to the map, he centered on Ratisbon, one of the area's few good crossing points on the Danube. The northern wing, two full corps under Wolfskeel, was swinging out of Bohemia towards the fortress-town. Wolfskeel's last message indicated he would arrive there via Donaustauf on the 17th or 18th. Charles breathed a sigh and shook his head slightly. "Wolfskeel will be there tomorrow or the day next, and I'm barely past Landshut," he mumbled, noting the positions of 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and the two Reserve Corps. He added prophetically, "If he's on time with all this rain."

Somewhere to the west was the main French army, scattered and apparently marching hither and yon, according to reports. Charles rubbed his eyes with thumb and forefinger and looked at the map. Tracing a path northwestward from Landshut, he wished he could move his troops as fast across Bavaria as his finger moved across the map.

Meanwhile, Napoleon hurried towards the impending disaster. "What is Berthier doing?" he fumed. "Third Corp at Ratisbon? Why isn't it heading towards Neustadt? It is too far east."

The Emperor examined his own map. II Corp under Oudinot and IV Corp under Massena should be at Pfaffenhofen, with VIII Corp at Neustadt. III Corp should be at Neustadt, but was around Ratisbon. VII Corp was scattered, but falling back on Abensburg. He snapped his head up, and in a quiet, controlled voice, dictated a dispatch ordering Davout's III Corp to Neustadt. "And make sure he destroys the bridge before he leaves Ratisbon."

Turning to Lannes, who made better time than usual in joining up with the Emperor, Napoleon confided that he was forming a provisional corp from a number of divisions. It would attack the Austrians once pinned in place. "I entrust this corp to you," Napoleon remarked to Lannes, using the familiar form. "VII Corp will continue to screen the concentration of the Armee and keep the Austrians from knowing where we will strike. "

WHAT'S A SNAPPY NAPPY?

So began another Snappy Nappy operational-level game. Veteran players sized up the situation and plotted the campaign. For those that haven't heard of Snappy Nappy, it's my home-grown shareware set of rules for duplicating operational-level campaigns rather than tactical battles. Accordingly, the terrain sits across several tables instead of on one single table.

For example, in this game, the terrain stretches from Landshut to Ratisbon (and a litle northwards to Gonersdorf/Sussenback area) and from a little west of Abensburg to a little east of the line from Aldenshausen-Essenbach. We used three 4'x7' tables, one 4'x8' table, one 5'x9' ping pong table, and one 5'x5' table to represent the terrain. And yes, I rotate the direction "North" on each table (on one table it points to the stairs, on another it points to the window, etc.), and when you march off of one table, you do not go to the next one over--you might go to the one on the other side of the stairs, or the one next to the door. It keeps the players guessing.

The Isar and Danube were uncrossable except at bridges, and minor waterways like the Gross Laber River, Klein Laber River, and Feking Bach were fordable in certain places. Ideally, each player controls a corp of about 10-12 units, the number depends on the number of troops in the command (see the order of battle at the end).

By separating players from each other across multiple tables, and forcing all dispatches and communications to go via the umpire, the players themselves, instead of artificial rules, infuse some significant fog of war into the game. Of course, the exceedingly clever group I game with will eventually re-orient themselves, especially if they bounce around a couple tables, but by that time, they are usually hotly engaged in battle. It is amazing how a little uncertainty "helps" when they are trying to turn a flank--or avoid getting turned by a force that just marched onto the table from points unknown.

Think about that for a second. You never really know if a flank is secure. You may think it is. Your C-in-C may give you a message that tells you a friendly corp is indeed in the area. But you know, you just know, that your gaming buddy who commands that corp has a hard time holding dice, can't hold his liquor, and hasn't held a flank in the last three games.

The C-in-C gives an order (via courier) to a corp commander, who may slightly change it depending on the local situation, but not violate it intentionally. The C-in-C picks an order from a fixed list, and the corp commander can go up or down a certain number of orders (i.e. French staff systems are more efficient than Austrian ones, so the French players get more flexibility in altering orders). Each order has specific criteria that must be met, or at least the commander must be in the process of meeting the criteria as quickly as possible.

A "unit" of infantry or cavalry consists of two stands (artillery one stand), and no stands are ever taken off the table (unless the entire unit is eliminated). It is a morale-based system of "losses" consisting of several Morale Status steps (representing everything from morale to troop losses to disorganization), with the capability to collapse quickly if you handle your force poorly, or stage remarkable momentum if handled effectively--or you're just one of those generals who follows a "lucky star." Simple, but subtle.

As for scale, Snappy Nappy is nominally 1" equals 200 yards and a turn is about an hour or so. A stand of infantry is about 1500-2000 troops, cavalry half that. I say nominally because no one has enough table space to bring true 1"=200 yards into a basement. Instead, I rely on proportional distances to simulate the operational effect I'm looking for. That is, the distance a unit can march in one turn (12" on the road in road march formation) is approximately equal to the distance a unit can march in a day. Don't take it as a literal distance, but a measure of what brigade/division sized units can roughly do. These are quick play rules with a Napoleonic feel to simulate operational level maneuverings and battles, not detailed tactical rules. Table size was about 16 feet deep by 11 feet wide, with 12 feet from Landshut to Ratisbon.

The tables are populated with appropriate terrain. Even though we use 15mm figures based for Empire (everyone wants to use their on troops), the villages/towns are 6mm buildings. It gives the right scale view considering the operational nature of Snappy Nappy. For fortresses or large cities, I use a walled chateau model to make it look, well, more imposing.

And one other "rule" of note--everything is in real time. There is no effort to coordinate a "turn" across all the tables. If two opponents face each other on the same table, then yes, everyone follows the turn sequence. But if two players face each other on one table, and two are on another, there is no effort to coordinate all four players to the same turn sequence--each pair on each table does a turn in their own time.

Some players are faster. Some slower. And all the while dispatches are shuttled to and fro by the umpire, slugging delivery time to the real time watch on the wrist. If the flank happens to collapse quicker than expected, well, such are the fortunes of war. And if you can gather lots of players scattered across lots of tables, well, it forces the C-in-C to pay attention to the map and reports, not a helicopter view of a single table.

SCENARIO SPOT

When you create a scenario, adding and subtracting players is relatively easy since you can add and subtract corps and tables. In this 1809 scenario, I could fit 6 French (II, III, IV, VII, VIII, and Lannes corps, with one person, Lannes doubling as Napoleon) or indeed, 7 people with Napoleon a separate C-in-C (without troops--no Guard in this scenario).

For the Austrians, I could have 7 players (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and Reserve Corps, with one doubling as Archduke Charles), or indeed 8 players with Charles as a separate C-in-C. In a real pinch, I could fit 9 Austrians since there are technically two Reserve Corps, but the 2nd Reserve is 2 units and the 1st Reserve 4 units, so it is better to consolidate them into one player. I can also grab IX French Corps (Bernadotte) from up north if really necessary.

In this 1809 game, I had a number of folks who said they might make it, might be late, etc., so I allotted them the two corps North of the Danube--if they came, great. If not, well, Wolfskeel's wing didn't make it. As it turned out, they didn't make it, so we only had forces south of the Danube, and we had to double up corps on one player for each side. Evidently, the rains kept Wolfskeel from his appointed rendezvous.

Starting positions (see OOB at end) were as of the evening of the 16th. I much prefer to set up all troops, but this time, I let them set up within geographical areas. Victory was based on enemy losses and geographical control. I gave each player a map--a map not divided into tables, but just a map. Remember, the less information, the more fog of war. In fact, I managed to confuse Napoleon so thoroughly, he stopped asking about which table was which and started making moves based on the map in hand--and fared the better for it too. But I get ahead of myself.

In essense, the Austrians held an area around the Landshut-Altdorf-Essenbach triangle. there were two corp up north of the Danube, their entry dependent on the arrival of players. Of historical note, I moved 6th Corp back towards Landshut instead of starting it at Moosburg. Hadik, commander of the 6th, remained in the Moosburg area for several days, while I could not count on players to be so inactive.

The French VII corp was on the western side of the Gross Laber River, and III Corp was scattered widely about Ratisbon with most out of command control range. The rest were off table (players were given a choice of entry areas--represents different roads they could use, etc.) with die rolls determining when they would arrive on an edge.

For example, I started II French Corp in Augsburg (27 miles from edge of table) and gave the player 3d6 miles per turn. When he reached 27+ cumulative, he entered on road to Pfaffenhofen (bottom left on map). IV Corp was behind him. Ditto the stuation with VIII Corp., only entering at Neustadt. Ditto with Lannes, behind VIII, although Lannes may enter either behind VIII corp at Neustadt or on road next to the Danube River. None of rearward corps can pass the front corp, although bad die rolls can cause them to lag behind...

OPENING PLANS AND MANEUVERS

The crafty Archduke Charles decided to push Hadik's VI Corps down the Isar to Moosberg to secure the flank, and if possible continue on to Pfaffenhofen. The 3rd Corp and 1st and 2nd Reserve Corps would pursue the enemy VII Corps headed towards Pfaffenhausen and Gieselhausen on parallel roads, with an eye towards heading towards Neustadt.

Large Map (114K)
Jumbo Map (545K)

The big hammer, 4th and 5th Corps, would be the right flank and parallel 3rd/1R/2R in a right hook, aiming towards Eckmuhl, then turning sharply west to Lankwat. The Archduke, anticipating a French withdrawal towards more secure lines of communications, ordered the 1st and 2nd Corps to cross the Danube at Ratisbon and head towards Abbach, Teking, and eventually Ingolstadt.

Napoleon ordered III Corp (scattered about Ratisbon) to indeed head towards safer havens in the west as best they could. II and IV Corps would proceed at best speed from Pfaffenhofen towards Moosburg. VII Corp would continue to delay along the Gross Laber River. VIII Corp and Lannes' Corps would alter course towards Neustadt-Abensburg area and see what develops.

The French II/IV, meanwhile, would push an end run to Landshut. VII would try to hold the Gross Laber River line, giving the rest of the French time to come to the rescue, pushing with Lannes and III Davout (when consolidated) to Eckmuhl. The VII and VIII would hold off the in the center, hopefully the French would encircle and crush the Austrians.

Austrian plans proceeded smartly. 6th Corp hopped over the Isar at Moosburg, found no opposition, and started in the direction of Pfaffenhofen. Right at that time, the French II Corp, followed by IV Corp, made its appearance on the Pfaffenhofen-Moosburg road, and the two opposing forces settled into deployment and anticipated battle.

The Austrian 3rd/1R/2R Corps crossed the Gross Laber River at Pfaffenhausen without opposition, but at Geiselhausen, ran into the defending French VII Corp. The first significant battle began with Austrian efforts to force the bridge with infantry, supported by artillery, against infantry and artillery. Across the bridge the Austrians attacked again and again, only to be thrown back. Finally, an Austrian toe hold appeared across the river, and also finally, the Austrian commander asked if the river was fordable at all...and the answer was yes, up and down river of the bridge there were fords for infantry and cavalry, but not artillery.

A series of ever increasing attackers concentrated on the quickly reinforced defenders. At one point, the Austrian commander cleared the bridge, and wheeled artillery across and into position to blast the French, apparently unconcerned for his flanks. It was shortlived as the French counterattacked and pushed the artillery into the drink. It was a hotly contested crossing that stalled the Austrians and bought the French time.

Meanwhile, French VIII Corp and Lannes' Corp marched onto the table at Neustadt, the former heading directly down the main road to stop the Austrian 3rd Corp, and Lannes to shift over to help the battered and hard pressed VII Corp.

FOG OF WAR

This is exactly the sort of fog of war you can get by separating players as much as possible from the single table helicopter view, and NOT making maps per table, but giving one map that covers all tables. No "ineptness' rules. No interpretation die rolls. Just give the players enough rope to hang themselves...

Of course, what really helped the French, especially III Corp, was the lack of the Austrian 1st and 2nd Corps under Wolfskeel. The player counted on to be at the game never arrived, and a tremendous chance to pin III Corp in place never materialized. Such is the fortunes of war and player availability...

That said, let's go to some of the messages passed between players. Remember, everything is in real time, so when I receive a message, I mark the time on it and deliver it between 15 and 30 minutes later, depending on distance and whether the command stand is attached to a unit in a battle. The game started promptly at 12:00 noon (players had gathered at 11:00 am for assignments, rules review, and initial placement).

Austrian 6th Corp reached Moosburg at 12:24, saw the French II Corp and requested attack orders. The message was delivered, and at 12:46 an enthusiastic affirmative reply was sent by Archduke Charles, delivered just after 1:00 back to Hadik.

However, during that time, the 6th Corps commander discovers the French IV Corp has arrived behind II Corp, and dashes off a message at 12:44 noting: "I am outnumbered," and downgrades his (still active) original orders to something less offensive, and requesting more defensive orders. Charles again replies in the affirmative: "Defend Moosburg--I'm unable to link up at present. Encountered French (VIII Corp) at Lengfeld. If successful, I will move south behind your French friends." This message is sent at 1:03--right about the same time as the ATTACK orders were delivered to 6th Corp.

6th Corp is in a real dilemma. It must attack, as Charles is counting on it as he starts his push against VIII Corp at Lengfeld, and yet the 6th's commander knows he must fall back before superior force. Still, he grimly attempts to carry out his orders, only to have the DEFEND message appear just before 1:30 or so.

Time lags help confuse the situation, especially when the orders differ widely, such as the ATTACK to DEFEND orders. Although the commander of 6th can slightly change the order, as he did, he still must carry through the spirit of the order, which he does until a change of orders arrives. By this time, he is well enmeshed in a battle.

Turning back the clock on Charles, he received a message at around 12:25 from 1R/2R Corps commander, "Where to after Gieselhausen?" At 12:30, Charles replies, PROBE to Labersberg and Unter Elnbach, just north of Gieselhausen, and this is delivered at around 12:45 or so. Unfortunately, the 1R/2R commander neglects a bit of info that he had encountered French units in Gieselhausen. At 12:55, he sends a note to Charles, "Have taken Gieselhausen, French infantry unit and artillery unit have withdrawn across the river." This is delivered about 1:10. At 1:15, Charles answers, "Cross river, head SOUTHWEST to just north of Lengfeld--I hope to have you flank French encounter with [Austrian] 3rd Corps."

ITS ALL IN THE TIMING

Think about the timing in this short one hour or so of gaming. At noon, Charles' forces set out to drive the French westward. Between 12:30 and 1:00, Charles is getting nothing but good news. 6th Corp on his left is requesting ATTACK orders and 1R/2R on his right indicates Gieselhausen taken without opposition. From 1:00 to 1:30, bad news comes in: 6th Corp on his left faces TWO French Corps, and 1R/2R on his right tells him they just took Gieselhausen from the French.

As for the hammer of 4th/5th Corps, nothing has been heard from. At 1:01, Charles confirms original orders to go to Lankwat ia Eckmuhl. At 1:39, Charles dashes off a message, "What is your situation?" and gets a reply about 4th Corps. At 2:00, he tells 4th to continue going to Lankwat, with the additional priviso to go to Adelhausen and then Rohr (in an attempt to help 1R/2R, which is by this time heavily engaged trying to cross the river against VII Corp). At 2:02 he asks 5th Corp, "What is your situation?" At 2:03 he asks 1R/2R Corps, "What is your situation?" At 2:04 he asks 6th Corp, "What is your situation?"

While not panicking, Charles is increasingly hungry for information, as players neglect messages and Charles operational focus in favor of pounding the enemy in front of them. Which brings us to the hammer of Austrian 4th and 5th Corps.

LONG DISTANCE RUNAROUND

Now we come to Austrian 4th and 5th Corps, which are supposed to anchor the right and drive through Winkelsas to Eckmuhl and on to Lankwat. Off he goes from his starting table with the rest of the Austrians onto another table, which contains nothing but unopposed counrtyside.

As an umpire, you notice that I wander around, taking messages, delivering messages, answering questions, etc. I make regular rounds of every table and commander. So far, the commander of 4th/5th Corps has nothing to say--eveidently to me or his C-in-C Charles.

Anyway, he crosses the table and goes to another table, where he runs into a III Corps cavalry rearguard (detached). He fights winning battles, pushing them further and further, but seeing nothing beyond them. Now, he has two full corp vs. a division or so of cavalry.

Just before 2:00, he receives a message from 4th Corp (but not mentioning 5th Corp even though both are controlled by the same player). At 2:00 Charles dashes off the message to continue to Lankwat. Somewhere around 2:20, he receives a message from 5th Corp, starts frantically searching the map for a town, then gives up and immediately responds to 5th Corp: "Where is "Leurnby? I assume you are at Leurndorf--continue to Lankwat."

Evidently, his 5th Corp commander wrote the wrong town, which is not surprising considering he had both corps marching to the destination of a different drummer...

In front of him, the French cavalry was making their independent rolls and falling back just in front of the Austrians, but slightly to the side, leaving him a clear path ahead. And he finally starts looking around (presumably as a result of the message about "Leurnby"), sees this walled chateau model ahead, and asks innocently why that model is different from the other models on the table. And I say, it's a bigger town with bigger walls.

So he goes, what kind of town? And I say, a fortress. And he looks on the map, back at the table, back at the map, and then asks with some concern, "what town is that?"

I answer, "Ratisbon."

And there he panics. In exasperation, he cries out, "Ratisbon? Ratisbon? What am I doing at Ratisbon?" Then he points at another building model and demands to know what that town was--(Eckmuhl). "Eh!"

So he immediately executes a 90-degree turn away from Ratisbon, desperately trying to comply with Charles' wishes about getting to Lankwat. The cavalry is trying to get away, but ends up having to turn again and fight at Abbach, over the Feking branch, at Teking, back at Bashel. It's a heckuva running battle which the cavalry are slowly losing, eventually reaching Panic level at Bashel. Of course, by that time, III Corp slipped away south, not to Eckmuhl, but back to help VII corp at Pattendorf-Ahnersdorf, which is being hard pressed by the Austrians 1R/2R.

BUT WHAT ABOUT NAPOLEON?

If you think confusion is in the Austrian's sole possession, think again. Consider this flurry of messages from Davout of III Corp, who has managed to pull his corp together and march it westward as far as Teking. 12:43 - "No sign of Austrians anywhere. Awaiting new orders at Teking." 12:59 - "2nd request. Morand brigade is in Ratisbon. Lt. Cav is watching the Ratisbon-Eckmuhl road at Ober Traubling. The rest of the corp is on the roads in the vicinity of Teking. Absolutely no sign of Austrians (north or south). I need new instructions." 1:06 - "3rd Request. Have received reports of Austrian cav scouts on the Ratisbon -Eckmuhl road at Mangolding. First sign of the Austrians. STILL awaiting instructions on the roads around Teking." 1:30 - "Large (corp sized) infantry formation marching north through Mangold. Due to my orders, I cannot attack. Need instructions."

Somewhere in there, Davout finally got a maneuver order back from Napoleon, prompting this note at 1:38 - "I am at Bachel on the road to Unter Einbach. No activity. I will await further orders at Unter Einbach."

Napoleon finally unleashes III Corp with a 2:11 message - "Attack towards Gieselhausen. Austrians (1 corp) are crossing against VII Corp at Gieselhausen." This will arrive around 2:30. Meanwhile, Davout of III Corp at 2:18 sends yet another message (delivered just after 2:30) - "Two Austrian Corps marching north towards Ratisbon. Austrians spotted near Unter Einbach. Corp sized. Will engage to hold crossroads."

An hour and a half later, more messages go back and forth. The 3:45 from Napoleon to III Corp is telling: "Your note of 3:24 mentions Austrians moving south along the Danube road. Where are they now? You also mentioned Austrians moving along Bachel road. In which direction? Where are they currently? Please be more precise. Are these Austrians in two separate groups? Please be specific."

As you can see, putting players at different tables causes delightful fog of war problems, especially for the C-in-C trying to coordinate all the disparate corps. Let's see what transpires in the second half of the game.

FRENCH MOMENTUM

In the south, Austrian 6th Corp gets mauled and falls back to Moosburg. In fact, most of the corp pulls out over the Isar, leaving a garrison in the town that stymies French attempts to storm it or bombard it. The corp regains order, but plays no further part. Orders from Napoleon split Massena's IV Corp off and has it head to Pfaffenhausen-Lengfeld area. Napoleon is clearly dismayed at the slowness, remarking in a 4:30 message: "USE ALL SPEED to complete previous orders. 1 corp must attack to Pfaffenhausen."

Charles and 3rd Corp, after some success, stalemate the French VIII Corp around Lengfeld and cannot hook south to help 6th Corp. Indeed, with 6th Corp at Moosburg and behind the Isar River, Charles begins to slowly withdraw back to Pfaffenhausen as Massena's flank threat develops.

1R/2R Corps pushed VII Corp back as far as Ahnersdorf and started to roll VII Corp further backward when III Corp barreled into the flank at Unter Elnbach, tossing the Austrians back across the river. The Austrians, in turn, hold the French in check at the river line.

New orders from Napoleon turn III Corp around to the north to deal with the Austrian 4th Corps, which have made a hook in front of Ratisbon and would have driven into the rear of III Corp except for the heroic actions of the cavalry detachment that delayed the Austrians long enough for III Corp to stabilize VII Corp's front and turn around. Lannes' Corp, fresh and intact, joined III Corp in the Abensburg-Bechel area to confront the 4th Corps. All three corps involved are mostly marching and would need some time for deployment. Austrian 5th Corp is sieging Ratisbon, but could be made available for attack or as a support in case the 4th is ordered to fall back..

END OF THE DAY

So came about 5:00 or so and the end of the hard-fought game full of surprises--some good and some bad, some intended and some not. Let's start with a hard look at a "glitch" in the Snappy Nappy rules.

Snappy Nappy makes no effort to coordinate turns on separate tables. The Austrian 6th Corp player, after being mauled by the combined efforts of French II and IV Corps, fell back to Moosberg, and then withdrew most of the corp over the bridge at Moosberg ONTO ANOTHER TABLE. The player left a garrison at Moosburg, pulled his corp back 24 inches from nearest enemy, and received a "RALLY" order from the C-in-C. Technically, since turns are not coordinated on a table unless there is an enemy on the table, the player could have whipped through the turn sequence and rallied his shattered corps as fast as he could make his die rolls. That he did not do so at lightspeed is due to nature of playing like a gentleman, not a rules lawyer. The corps rallied in good time anyway, in part thanks to the heroic defense of Moosburg. Had the French pushed a unit across the river, that would have stopped lightspeed rallying. As it was, it did rally in slightly faster time, although it played no further part in the game.

Still, that is a "flaw" in a real time game mechanics. My suggestion: toss a couple of dice--those are the number of minutes in between rally actions. Count up the number of morale levels lost, divide that number by the number of units remaining, and that's the number of dice to throw. Thus, a relatively intact corp that pulls back to rally will rally faster than one that is wracked and wrecked.

Next, written messages. Napoleon the player complained that Napoleon the Emperor had an enormous staff to write messages, find places on the map, etc., and that one player gets overwhelmed in the middle of battle. Snappy Nappy makes you write everything yourself on a 3x5 card. Going through the messages, most are 20 words or less, which may take a minute to write at most. The C-in-C does have the tougher job, compensated somewhat in that if there were enough players, the C-in-C would command the reserve (i.e. Imperial Guard) not front line troops. However, local players often do double duty. Each of the Snappy Nappy games run between 8 and 12 players, and there's really no way to increase that barring some heavy recruitment.

One of these days, I'd like to run a full-fledged Snappy Nappy at a convention with 20 players and lots of tables. The game I ran at Origins 95 (Quatre Bras-Ligny) was on one table, as toting terrain for 5 and 6 tables would be something! I used painted trees, rivers, etc. on fabric with styofoam hills and models. It fit in one copier paper box. It certainly won't win any awards for terraining, but it was functional. Maybe Cold Wars 98...

Next, and part of the players thing, was the lack of 1st and 2nd Corps showing up. It's happened before. In the spring 1813 game (see a back issue of MWAN), the Imperial Guard didn't show up, and the Cossacks didn't show up either (what a trade off!). In this game, Wolfskeel never threatened III Corps, which pulled south and delivered a flank attack on the Austrian 1R/2R Corps, then turned to halt progress of the pursuing Austrians. Good use of interior lines, even if there was some confusion between Napoleon and Davout early on.

Now for the parts that worked. The fog of war continues to work wonders on players. From losing track of where they were (4th/5th Corp), to attacks (III Corp) materializing on a flank (1R/2R Corps), to delayed messages arriving to cause players to switch modes (Attack to Defense of 6th Corp), to delayed troops arriving or not (II Corp).

Everyone gets to participate in battle and affect the outcome of the game. Very important to me is the idea that players play, not sit. Every player was engaged in a battle, mostly close-run actions (for a while anyway), and came away feeling that they are rewarded for smart attacks and penalized for dumb ones. The III Corp cavalry delaying action held up an entire two corps--wracked and wrecked to almost extinction (1 morale level left!), but well done. Crossing the river works a lot better with outflanking maneuvers (sort of like Napoleon at Lodi--you can charge across the bridge with artillery support, but flanking units help immensely). Once the Austrian commander of 1R/2R corps started using his cavalry scout assets, he found fords and used them to turn the suicide attacks across the bridge into a developing battle. How different it would be if he used them first, then attacked, instead of waiting several turns and then finally getting across and start to roll up VII Corp--only to be hit in the flank by III Corp (which, as you recall, had idled at Teking for quite some time).

All told, it was a good run for everyone.

Up next for Snappy Nappy--Waterloo/Wavre. Can Grouchy catch and pin Blucher while Napoleon grinds Wellington into the ground? Or will the Prussians save the day? Or will Wellington stop the French in the usual way yet again without Prussian help?

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Snappy Nappy Order of Battle: 1809 Austrian Invasion

All infantry and cavalry units consist of two stands. All artillery units consist of one stand. Commander and Morale ratings are in parenthesis. Some liberties have been taken when forming commands out of historical units and commanders. OOB compiled by Daniel Burkley.

AUSTRIA

Wolfskeel: You are the wing commander of the invasion force (1st and 2nd Corps) from Bohemia. Each Corp rolls 2d6 every 15 minutes of real time. 1st Corp needs a cumulative score of 16 or more to enter the table north of the Danube in march column on the road to Sussenbach. 2nd Corp needs a cumulative score of 24 or more to enter the table north of the Danube on the track to Donaustauf. units may enter in any order the commander wishes, but one must be behind the other.

1st Corp: Wolfskeel: three infantry units (Vogelsang, Ulm, Henneberg--all veteran), one infantry unit (Fresnel--elite), one Lt. Cav unit (elite), two 6pdr Artillery units (Veteran).

2nd Corp: Colleredo: four infantry units (Brady, Wenzel, Treunen, Friedrich--all veteran), one infantry unit (Klenau--elite), one Lt. Cav unit (elite), two 6pdr Artillery units (Veteran).

Archduke Charles: You are the C-in-C. The main focus is on Ratisbon and the road heading to Ingolstadt (both have bridges across the Danube).

3rd Corp: A. Gyulai: three infantry units (Lusignan, St. Julien, Kayser--all veteran), one infantry unit (Vukassovich--elite), one 6pdr Artillery unit and one 12pdr Artillery unit (both Veteran). Start around Landshut.

4th Corp: Frimont: four infantry units (Dedovich, Bartenstein, Grill, Somariva--all veteran), one Lt. cav unit (elite), two 6pdr Artillery units (Veteran). At Essenbach and on road east in march column.

5th Corp: Andrasy: five infantry units (Lindenau, Mayer, Reuss, Bianchi, Radetzsky--all veteran), one Lt. cav unit (elite), two 6pdr Artillery units (Veteran). Between Eryolding and Essenbach.

6th Corp: Hadik: two infantry units (Kottulin, Vincent--all veteran), one infantry unit (Honfeld--elite), one Lt. cav unit (elite), one 6pdr Artillery unit and one 12pdr Artillery unit (both Veteran). Start at Hofham and points east.

1st Reserve Corp: Mescery: two infantry units (Hessen, Rohan--all elite), one Heavy Cav unit (elite), one 6pdr Artillery unit (Elite). At Landshut, east of any 3rd Corp units.

2nd Reserve Corp: Davidovich: one infantry unit (Keinmayer-- elite), one Heavy Cav unit (elite). At Landshut, east of any 1st Reserve Corp units.

FRENCH

Napoleon is C-in-C. The Austrians have pushed westward, driving the VII Corp before them. Thankfully, the rain slowed the advance, but Berthier's orders have kept Davout's III Corp scattered around Ratisbon instead of concentrated further west. Reports indicate three Austrian Corp between Landshut and Ratisbon, with at least one, perhaps two north of the Danube and bearing down on Ratisbon.

II Corp: Oudinot: three infantry units (Tharreau, Seras, Claparede--all conscript), one Lt. Cav unit (veteran), one Heavy Cav unit (elite), one 6pdr Artillery unit (elite).

II Corp starts off table to the west in Augsberg, which is about 25 miles west of the map edge. The Oudinot players rolls 3d6 each 15 minutes or each Austrian turn, whichever is faster. When the total exceeds 25, the corp enters in march column on the Pfaffenhofen-Moosburg road.

IV Corp: Massena: three infantry units (Legrand, St. Cyr, Nagel--all elite), two infantry units (Molitor, Boudet--all veteran), one Lt. Cav unit (elite), two 6pdr Artillery units (one elite and one veteran). In march column behind Oudinot. It may not roll dice, nor pass II Corp.

OPTION: At the start of the game, Napoleon may send IV Corp slightly northward, appearing due west of Landfeld on the west side of the Abens River. Once the II Corp player rolls a cumulative 13 or higher, on the next rolling phase, IV Corp can roll its own 3d6. When that total reaches a cumulative 20 or higher (do NOT add any II Corp rolls), IV Corp enters the table.

III Corp: Davout: Quite a scattered command. two infantry units (Morand--elite and Lorencez--veteran) Off table to north near Hemau. Roll 2d6. When cumulative total reaches 20, enter on Gonersdorf-Ratisbon road. two infantry units (Friant--elite and Boyer--veteran) and one unit Lt. Cav (elite). Off table to north near Neumarkt. Roll 2d6. When cumulative total reaches 25, enter on track paralleling the Naab River.

two infantry units (Gudin and Lacour--both elite) at Sussenbach
one infantry unit (St. Hillaire--elite) and one 12pdr Artillery unit (elite) in Ratisbon
one infantry unit (Demont--conscript) and one 6pdr Artillery unit (veteran) in Gonersdorf
one Heavy Cav unit (Elite) at Abbach
one Lt. Cav unit (elite) at Donaustauf

VII Corp: Lefebrve: Somewhat scattered, but falling back in front of the main Austrian force.

one infantry unit (August--veteran) at Lengfeld
one infantry unit (Wrede--veteran) and one 6pdr artillery unit (veteran) at Rotenburg
one infantry unit (Sieben--veteran) at Pattendorf
one infantry unit (Deroi--veteran), one LtCav unit (veteran) and one 6pdr artillery unit (veteran) at Pfaffenhausen

VIII Corp: Vandamme: one infantry unit (Neuburm--veteran), one infantry unit (Hugel--elite), one Lt Cav unit (veteran) and one 6pdr artillery unit (veteran) just east of Ingolstadt. Roll 3d6. When cumulative total reaches 15 or more, enter table on main road paralleling the Danube in march column.

Lannes Corp: two infantry units (Rouyer, Dupas--both veteran), one Lt Cav unit (veteran) and one Heavy cav unit (elite) behind VIII Corp in march column. It may not roll dice, nor pass VIII Corp.

OPTION

At beginning of game, Napoleon may send Lannes to Neustadt. Roll 3d6. When cumulative total reaches 25 or more, unit enters on road to Neustadt in march column.

See map (Map by Daniel Burkley) for all locations, roads, and other terrain.

Table layout: You'll have to bend or extend a few rivers to make this work, but table edges mostly rest on river lines, and the gaps that do not are made into woods. The actual map does not make convenient rectangles, but you can get close.

Table 1 (5x9): area between Isar (just above south edge of table--enough to put road between river and table edge) and Klein Laber River (north edge), west edge is Gross Laber River. Gap between Klein and Gross Laber Rivers is woods. Long edges of table are south and north.

Table 2 (4x7): area between Moosburg (south), Abens River (most of West edge), Gross Laber River (east edge--gap is woods) and Abens river extension towards Rohr (north edge). Gap between Abens River extension and Gross Laber is woods. Long edges of table are east and west.

Table 3 (4x7): area between Klein Laber (south edge) and Gross laber (north and west edge). Gap between Klein ad Gross Laber rivers are woods. Long edges of table are south and north.

Table 4 (4x8): area between Gross Laber (south edge) River and Danube (north and east edges) and Feking Bach (south edge). Gap between Feking Bach and Gross Laber is woods.

Table 5 (4x7): area between Danube (south edge) and Naab river (east edge) and points N and E.

Table 6 (5x5): area betwwen Danube and Feking Bach (north edge), Gross Laber River (east edge), and Abens River extension (south edge). Gap between Gross Laber River and Abens River extension is woods.

Rivers: Danube and Isar uncrossable except at bridges. Other Rivers: Bridges on main roads (solid lines), Fords on tracks (dotted lines). In addition, every 6 inches, a 50-50 chance of finding a ford crossable by infantry and cavalry. Artillery may cross rivers over bridges or fords on tracks. Artillery may not cross on the "50-50" fords.

Landshut is considered a town. All other urban areas are villages (except Ratisbon, which is a city fortress).

Special rule: Ratisbon is considered a fortress. However, if Lannes is attached to a unit attacking Ratisbon (assuming the Austrians capture the city), all fortress benefits to the defender are nullified to this old grenadier.

OPTIONAL Special Rule

Napoleon ignores the first wound/fatal hit he takes--as the "hit" is a spent bullet that strikes his boot.

More Snappy Nappy

Snappy Nappy: Austrian 1809 Invasion
Snappy Nappy: Commanders Perogative 1809
Snappy Nappy: 1809 Large Map (114K)
Snappy Nappy: 1809 Jumbo Map (545K)


Snappy Nappy: Fall 1813 Campaign