On 20 July 1796 the French government appointed its premier general, Louis-Lazare Hoche, to do something that had not been done successfully since William the Conqueror's famous victory in 1066. Hoche was to make a direct invasion of the British Isles, and destroy the power of France's most threatening geo-political rival. This would end the war in the West as completely as Bonaparte was soon to end the war against Austria on 'the Eastern front'.

In reality, Hoche launched his main blow against Ireland in December 1796: but he also initiated several subsidiary operations against England, Scotland and Wales. Each expeditionary force received grandiose instructions - to burn Bristol, raise revolt in Liverpool, revive the Jacobite passions which in living memory had already brought a Tartan Army as far South as Derby (etc). But in reality all these projects proved to be abortive or still born, although at least they did produce actual landings of some French troops at both Bantry Bay (SW Ireland) and Fishguard (SW Wales) in early 1797. Then the hope of bettering that achievement in October 1797 led directly to the naval defeat of Camperdown, and the immediate subsequent appointment of Bonaparte as commander of the Army of England (with particular interest in the invasion flotilla at Boulogne). In August 1798 General Humbert did finally manage to land a truly significant body of troops at Killalla - but it was just a few weeks too late to coincide with the most serious Irish insurrection of the era...

If the dice had fallen only slightly better for the French, they might well have enjoyed enormously more success than they actually did. They might have captured the whole island of lreland... and from Belfast, Dublin and Cork they could have wounded British interests far more deeply than they had previously been able to do from Brest, Boulogne or Antwerp. If Hoche himself had not died in September 1797 (some say he was poisoned), there was even a chance that he might have entered London in triumph some five years earlier than Bonaparte actually entered Vienna.

During their 1796-8 attempts to invade England, the French showed no lack of willingness, boldness or even strategic insight. All they lacked were efficient armed forces in sufficient numbers by either sea or land. The French navy faced a very greatly superior British fleet at all points along the continental seaboard, while the French army was partially demobilised by this time, and otherwise very deeply preoccupied with 'the Eastern Front'.

The resources available to Hoche for his great enterprise in 1796 were of very dubious utility. He could command only the barest skeleton of an army, and was forced to sweep the jails and POW camps for much of his raw material (He did at least congratulate himself that these troops 'cost almost nothing'). Nor was he able to concentrate them all at any one time or place, mainly because the navy consisted of a series of relatively weak squadrons, each of generally low quality, spread widely along the whole length of the coastline. Hence if we want to describe a typical French invasion plan, out of the half dozen or so that were apparently 'seriously' attempted in those years, we have to assume that the available troops were counted in 4-figure rather than 5-figure numbers (and often nearer to 3-figures than 4), and that the naval support was always inevitably 'very inferior to the potential local opposition'.

Factors

Several very important factors nevertheless counter- balanced the equation to some extent, and gave the French something a little nearer to a fighting chance than at first sight might be assumed. These included the fact that the the Royal Navy was operating a system of ,open blockade' which meant that in the event its main force took longer to get West of Penzance than it took the French to get from Brest to Bantry Bay. It was also about to suffer serious mutinies at Spithead and the Note in spring 1797, which would offer a wonderful window of opportunity to the French, if only they could seize it.

Equally, the miniscule British Army was hideously overstretched between the Baltic and the West Indies, with far too few troops to hold even Ireland with confidence, let alone Fishguard (without the help of the local women). Then again there was, as always with amphibious operations, the weather. Bad weather often held a fleet in port for months or prevented it from landing soldiers on a hostile shore - but it might also remove a blockading squadron from outside a French port, so that an inferior invasion force might get through unmolested.

The statistical odds which lie behind all this are not particularly difficult to guess, and so I have designed a rapid-fire wargame that is based upon them. It may be played as a solo game, or as a sociable game in which the players are all patriotic frenchmen together:

What you will need

One or more players to play the roles of General Hoche, his 2ic Grouchy, and their staffs, from July 1796 onwards. See Optional Rule 1, below, for a suggestion on how a British player might also be incorporated into the game (and see Optional Rule 2 for how different named French generals might be incorporated instead of Hoche and Grouchy)

A strategic map, showing all the British Isles (including such potential strongholds as the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Man and the Orkneys), and the French -controlled continental coast from Brest in the South to Amsterdam and the Helder in the North. All the main sea ports should be shown on the map, as well as the larger inland towns in the British Isles. Fishguard, Bantry Bay and Killala should also be indicated, for historical interest,

- Two small counters or models to represent the location of French naval units on the map, and two more to represent French land units (half the army travels in half the naval force). Also a number of counters / models to represent bands of local irregular infantry who may join in with the French, once they have effected a disembarkation. If there is a British player (under optional rule 1), there should be five extra 'British Army' units.

- One six sided die

The Sequence of Play:

In each turn the player(s) must first design a new strategy for conquering Britain. This must include a port (one only) of departure (eg Antwerp); a point of initial landing which is not in an enemyheld port (eg the French may aim at '5 miles SE of Edinburgh', but not at Edinburgh itself); and an outline of subsequent action (eg 'capture Edinburgh, march on Glasgow, then collect shipping to invade Ireland via Belfast'. In reality this unlikely scheme was actually attempted, but got no further than the Antwerp docks). The player(s) should also specify the name of the army commander and his second in command (See Optional Rule 2), and may give a suitable revolutionary name to the army itself (In the example given above, 'The Army of Clyde and Neagh' is indicated, or perhaps 'Army of the Caledonian Coasts'). The turn is now played through. If at any point in the turn the French no longer have any units left in play (because they have all been destroyed, captured or returned to base), or if they have successfully 'gone defensive' until the next turn, then the current turn ends and the next begins,

Optional Rule I - British Player: If it is desired to have a British player to contest the inevitable French march to conquest, he should be given five 'disposable land units' to deploy in the territory of Britain and Ireland. These represent the very small number of regular troops that are not inextricably tied up in garrisons, in recruiting or anti-smuggler duties, in guarding royal palaces, or in other equally essential tasks. In each turn he places these five units on the map after the initial French statement of strategy (which takes place while he is out of earshot), but before the French dice for the amount of food they are carrying with them at sea. He must be specific about whether these troops are concentrated to reinforce the garrisons of towns, or spread more widely to control areas of country (each unit affects a zone 25 miles in diameter).

The French deduct one for each of these units that are in their area, from all die rolls for 'how is the army received?, 'going defensive', 'manoeuvre' or 'attack'.

Optional Rule 2 - Naming Generals: For simplicity the assumption behind the 'basic' game is that the French Army Commander is a good general (Hoche) and his second in command is a less good one (Grouchy). Players are nevertheless free to indulge in 'what ifs' by making their own appointments, for example placing the incompetent Tate (of Fishguard notoriety) over the head of an energetic second in command such as Bonaparte... In these cases it is merely a matter of adjusting the odds accordingly - deducting points from die rolls where the army commander is present, and adding to those where his second in command has independence to act alone.

Optional Rule 3 - Toy Soldier Games: During any turn, at any point at which the French are in tactical contact with the enemy (by sea or land), the players may prefer to find their own method of resolving the results of combat (eg by a tabletop game with models).

Events in Each Turn

Does the force get past the British blockade? 4 - 6 = all of it does (Move both naval counters on the map)

2 - 3 = half of it does (Roll again to see who commands it = the army commander for 4 - 6, or his 2ic for 1 - 3. Move one naval counter on map.)

1 = none do: turn ends.

Roll again for each naval unit which failed to evade the enemy: 4 - 6 = it returns to port.

1 - 3 = it is destroyed / captured. The turn ends if the whole invasion force has suffered either of these fates. If only half has suffered one of them, the invasion continues at half strength.

(If Optional Rule 1 for a British Player is being used, the British land units are now deployed)

Roll to see how much food is carried by each naval unit still at sea. The score of one D6 represents the number of weeks it can stay at sea. Now roll to see how many weeks the crossing takes = half the score of a D6 (rounded down) for targets on the South coast of England between Norfork and Cornwall, or the score of one D6 for targets elsewhere in England, or in Wales or Ireland or one and a half times the score of a D6 for targets in Scotland

If food is exhausted before arrival, the unit returns home.

Where does the fleet arrive? Roll for each naval unit still at sea, deducting 2 from the score if the target is within 50 miles of London:

4 - 6 Arrive off the coast where planned (move naval counters on map)

2 - 3 Arrive somewhere else: Roll again for starboard (4 - 6) or port (1-3) of the target, then again for distance away from it (= 1D6 times 25 miles)

1 = Return to port of departure.

Does the army now disembark, once arrived? Roll for each land unit, but deduct one from the die score if only one unit is present at the point of disembarkation, and deduct a further one if the army commander is absent (as Hoche was at Bantry Bay, leaving it all to the notoriously indecisive Grouchy):

4 - 6 = Yes, land at once (Land unit placed on the map, naval unit removed: Once the army has landed, it loses all naval support apart from any shipping it can subsequently capture from the enemy, or it must wait for a new naval force to be sent from France in the next turn, ie 4 months later). 3 = Yes, land next week if there is still enough food 2 = Yes, land in two weeks' time if there is still food 1 = No: go home.

How is the army received? Roll for each force at any one point (ie roll only once if two units have landed together, but roll twice if they landed at separate places). Deduct I from the score if within 50 miles of London:

5 - 6 = The force is welcomed by local sympathisers who join it (add I counter if the French have one unit, or three if the French have two). All move inland.

3 - 4 = Lukewarm welcome (add one counter only if the French have two units)

2 = No local support, but a small enemy army assembles: Roll again to see what happens (and deduct one from die score if the French army commander is absent):

5 - 6 = The enemy is dispersed by a surprise attack

3 - 4 = The enemy is avoided and the French move inland past them I - 2 = The French surrender.

1 = The French are counter-attacked and captured while still on their landing beach.

If the French have succeeded in 'moving inland' on a small island (eg the Isle of Wight), they are deemed to have captured the whole island and may 'go defensive' and stay on it until the next turn; or - if they roll 4 - 6 - they may use local small craft to land on the nearest landmass (and no other). In this case repeat the above rule ('How is the army received?').

If the French have succeeded in 'moving inland' on the mainland of Britain or Ireland, they are deemed to have captured the first small target they attacked (= Remote villages in the country, or a suburb on the outskirts of the first town they are due to attack, eg the Curragh outside Dublin, or Hampstead outside London). They may now 'go defensive', continue to 'manoeuvre' in the countryside, or they may 'attack a town' ('town' here is defined as a quarter of London, eg.Southwark; or any whole town outside London, eg Bristol or Cork)-

If they go defensive they roll for the result, deducting one if only one French unit is present:5 - 6 = Not seriously attacked, but are joined by one more unit of popular support. Add one to subsequent tactical die rolls. French may now either wait until the next turn (ie 4 months later) or may immediately choose to 'manoeuvre' or 'attack'.

3 - 4 = Forced out of their position, losing one unit. MUST now 'manoeuvre'

1 - 2 = Defeated and destroyed by enemy assault

If they 'Manoeuvre' they roll to see if they are capable of it:

6 = move successfully up to 100 miles, joined by one more unit of popular support. Add one to subsequent tactical die rolls.

3 - 5 = move successfully the number of miles shown on 1D6 multiplied by ten.

After any successful 'manoeuve', the force may end in the countryside, or in the suburb of a big town. It must again choose between going defensive, manoeuvering, or attacking the town - and so on until a result is reached.

1 - 2 = disperse on the march and surrender to the enemy.

If they 'Attack a Town' they must start from one of its suburbs, then roll for the result

6 Capture the town, and add two more units of popular support. Add one to subsequent tactical die rolls, and again choose to 'go defensive' or 'manoeuvre' 5 Capture the town without extra support: choose to 'go defensive' or 'manoeuvre'

4 Burn the town but do not enter it: choose to 'go defensive' or 'manoeuvre'

3 Make no progress, lose one unit, and choose to 'go defensive' or 'manoeuvre' 1 - 2 = The attack fails, the army is counter-attacked and captured by the enemy.

If Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth have all been captured or burned by the French, all subsequent attempts to get French shipping past a British blockade will automatically succeed.

If a sea port is captured, a squadron of shipping is also captured for a roll of 5 - 6. This may now repeat the full sequence already followed for embarking an invasion force (from 'Does the force get past the British blockade?' onwards) = still within the same turn (In this way a French force may move from Ireland to Britain, or vice versa, without preventing new operations from French ports on the continent).

When a French force tries to land in a port that has already been captured from the British, it does not need to roll for 'Where does the fleet arrive?', 'Does the army now disembark, once arrived?', or 'How is the army received?' - is it automatically succeeds in these phases.

If one quarter of London is captured, the French may immediately go on to attack a second quarter (is repeat the sequence for 'attacking a town'). If they succeed, they win the game.

Remember Hoche's instructions! Never try to bum down a town from the leeward side (Think about it!).