Designer: Ed Wimble
Number of Players: Ideally three, although there is a two- and four-player system included. Because of the innovative command-control system, the game also plays well solitaire. Playing Time: One to three hours per scenario (most scenarios represents one day of the eight-day campaign).
Complexity Level: Low to moderate; it can be easily learned by a beginner.
Packaging: Bookcase type cardboard box with stunning cover art using a Saxon cuirassier yellow background with a reproduction of Edouard Detaille's "Le Trophee du 4e Dragons, 1806" edged in black, white, and gold.
Scale: Operational -- most units represent divisions, but there are some brigades, groups of artillery batteries, and separate Prussian light infantry battalions. Each strength point represents either 1000 infantry, 500 cavalry, or a single battery of cannon. Ground scale is one kilometer per hex with each game turn representing two hours of real time (night turns represent four hours).
Maps: The three 34-by-22-inch maps are drawn in autumn colors in a style designed to give the impression of a 19th Century map (see samples on pages 57 and 60). The map uses hexagons, curiously not numbered, to regulate movement. Also, place names are in German ("Flosse" for "River") and printed in Fracteur script (an "s" could look like an "f").
Playing Pieces: There are 420 half-inch square, die-cut cardboard counters, all back printed, which represent some 50 French and 78 Prusso-Saxon units of various sizes. There are also counters for 13 French and 25 Prussian leaders, as well as a further 189+ informational counters. The playing pieces for the military units are colored so as to resemble the uniforms of the formations they represent, although most have some form of standard modern NATO symbology overprinted to aid in identification of unit type: cavalry, infantry, or artillery. Generally, Prussian units are dull blue, French Guard dark blue, French line bright blue, and Saxons white, with French dragoons and Prussian light infantry colored bright green and dark green, respectively. Combat units are backprinted with French flag (lozenge pattern) or Prussian national flag for use in games utilizing limited intelligence or the "fog of war". The same flags are printed on the front of leader counters.
Rules: One 28-page Rules Booklet which includes six scenarios, historical commentary, and designer notes. The rules use "outline style" paragraph markings, but there is no index. Further optional rules are to be included in a future issue Clash of Arms's magazine The Art of War.
Other Components: One six-sided die, one 17-by-11-inch Off Board Movement Chart, one 8 .5-by-11-inch Terrain Effects-Combat Tables Chart, one 8 .5-by-11-inch Turn Record Track, and one 8 .5-by-11-inch sheet of player notes for the underdog Prussian.
Scenarios: Six, including one hypothetical scenario and a grand campaign scenario.
Historical Background Information: There are nine pages of historical notes in the Rules Booklet, as well as smaller sections within the body of the rules themselves.
Publisher: Clash of Arms Games (available in French from Tilsit Editions, 37 route de Versailles, 91160 Cham-plan).
Publication Date: 1996
Stock Number: 9602-55
List Price: $44.00 US.
Summary: Jena: Napoleon Conquers Prussia is an operational level simulation of the 1806 contest between Napoleon's Grande Armee and the inheritors of Frederick the Great, King Friedrich Wilhelm's Royal Prussian Army, ably assisted by their Saxon allies. The original campaign resulted in the twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt which, with the subsequent pursuit by Prince Murat's cavalry, saw the almost total destruction of the Prussian war machine. In the game the Prussians are perhaps a bit more equal to the French than they were historically, but still at a very significant disadvantage. Dr. Richard Gabriel of the US Army War College once noted that: "In 1806 everyone wondered whether the Prussian army was still the army of Frederick the Great -- it was and that was the entire problem." This game will show you why.

Subtle, but decisive. These are the best words to describe Jena (spelled as French "Iena" throughout the game), the latest Napoleonic board game from Clash of Arms (COA) Games. Subtle because an initial look at the game system, which is a further development of that used in COA's Armee du Nord, indicates very little difference between the French and Prussian armies of 1806.

Indeed, a glance at the counter sheet might cause some to conclude the French are at a slight disadvantage. However, small but important differences between the opposing forces are sprinkled through the rules; here in the Movement Section, there in the Command and Control Section -- hardly noticeable at all. Yet when taken in total, these various rules sections dramatically define the qualitative differences between the forces of Napoleon and those of King Friedrich Wilhelm, putting the Prussians at a near decisive disadvantage.

Historically, this is as it should be. The Prussian Army of 1806 was a near duplicate of that which fought successfully under Frederick the Great fifty years earlier, but this was its greatest weakness -- warfare had changed dramatically since the time of "Old Fritz". Fighting against a "modern" military organization like the Grande Armee would prove difficult for any army of the ancien regime, and when led by Napoleon it would prove to be unbeatable until 1809. Little wonder that designer Ed Wimble included a special sheet to raise the morale of the Prussian player and offer suggestions on how to beat the French.

Many people might find such a one-sided situation a poor choice for a wargame, probably one of the reasons why the 1806 campaign has rarely been done.

Yet while the Prussians seem hopelessly over matched, COA's game still offers the opportunity for some excellent competition. One can never, after all, discount the human factor and the ability of a tabletop general to make a mistake that can be exploited, although his army may be the finest in the world. It is also possible to assign a less experienced player command of the French in order to even out the odds, although I personally like the challenge of playing with an inferior army against one of history's greatest. Finally, one must also remember the educational value of the game, and in this regard it has few equals.

Jena can be played solitaire, or as a two, three (the ideal situation), or four-player game, but in the section on two-players is where one will find the first subtle rules restricting the Prussians. Here it indicates while the Prussian player can directly control one of his two main army commanders (the Duke of Brunswick or von Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen), the other may operate normally only if a die roll of four or less on a six-sided die is obtained. Unable to coordinate the various parts of his army with the same certainty as the French, things start to go downhill quickly for the doughty Prussians, and although it may not be impossible for King Friedrich Wilhelm's forces to win, it is VERY difficult.

At the beginning of each turn, both sides determine which of their forces will spend the entire next turn reorganizing, and, if a night turn, which of their forces will disengage from enemy contact. After this point play is sequential, with the French player going first and executing his turn, through the completion of three phases.

First Phase

The first phase is the Command and Control Phase where the French player determines which of his leaders or units have command status and thus may move and fight normally. The second phase is the actual Movement Phase for those same forces and their attached leaders, while the final phase is the Combat Phase, including artillery bombardment, infantry and cavalry close combat, and finally breakthrough combat whereby units that have already successfully fought get one extra chance to exploit their gains.

Combat is a standard odds system (1-2, 1-1, 2-1, etc.) which takes into account die roll modifiers for terrain and morale. In general, combat results force the loser to either take step losses which reduces his overall combat strength, retreat a number of hexes equivalent to those step losses, or a combination of both.

The Prussian Player Turn is nearly identical to the French, except for the inclusion of two additional phases. The first is an Orders Prephase whereby specific Prussian divisions may be directed to move towards a designated geographic location. This enables the Prussian player to bypass some of the Command and Control Phase restrictions, but (another subtlety here) still cripples his movement because he is only allowed to change the formation's destination twice a day unless a die roll less than or equal to the division commander's Initiative Rating is made. Since Prussian division commanders have a uniform rating of one, once started, altering the direction or destination of these divisions is very difficult.

A second additional phase, this one occurring at the end of the Prussian turn, allows him to move units off the playing board using a special chart which depicts travel between various German cities and then back onto the playing surface. The French don't have this option, but since normal Prussian march rates (which are very slow) were used to calculate distance, this will also work to hinder Friedrich Wilhelm's forces.

Heart of the Game

The heart of the game seems to be the command and control system, with movement next in importance. Basically, command ability of leader units on the board is based on the distance a unit or leader is located from its superior headquarters. For example, Napoleon has a command radius, or distance, of three hexagons, while his corps commanders have a uniform command radius of two hexes. This means that a French infantry division may be activated for command if it is within two hexes of its corps commander or within three hexes of l'Empereur.

Being "in command" allows a unit to move and conduct combat normally, while units beyond the specified command distances usually cannot move, initiate combat, or move into an enemy vacated hex due to a successful defense.

For the Prussians the command distances for army and corps leaders are also three and two hexes, which seems to suggest Napoleon's adversaries are pretty much the equal of the French leaders. Here again, however, several subtleties conspire against the Prussians. For one thing, a Prussian army commander (there are three -- Brunswick, Hohenlohe and Ruchel) may not give command benefits to subordinate leaders and combat units at the same time.

Napoleon, given the efficiency of his staff, may do exactly that, acting operationally when giving command benefits to his subordinate leaders, or tactically when doing likewise for nearby combat units.

Combat Power

Another problem for the Prussians is the fact that most of their army's combat power resides in independent divisions, not corps-level formations like the French. The division commanders in charge of these units have a uniform command radius of but one hex, and this forces Prussian units to stay close to their leaders, whereas French divisions can attempt a daring flank march. French and Prussian leaders beyond the command radius of a superior headquarters may try to activate their units by rolling the die with a result less than or equal to a number called an "Initiative Rating". Here the French ratings are generally higher than the Prussians, with the "5" rating of Marshals Davout and Lannes greatly outclassing the "1" rating of all Prussian division commanders (or a "0" for a replacement should one of these hard charging Prussian chaps get himself killed!).

If these activation restrictions were not enough to shackle the Prussian player, French leaders receive a +1 bonus to their Initiative Rating if they happen to be in the same Reorganization Zone (of which there are seven), or with Napoleon. Further, French combat units also have their own Initiative Rating, just in case they wander too far away from their corps commander. The units comprising Prussian corps and divisions, on the other hand, do not and this promotes sluggish maneuver on the tabletop. It simply is not wise for Prussian units to move beyond the command radius of their respective leaders given the penalties for doing so and the impossibility of self-activation.

As explained above, the movement system works in concert with the command and control rules, particularly as regards forced marching. Here the game uses a novel approach by which a unit on a forced march is simply given an extra three turns at the end of the day to continue moving. It is relatively easy for French units to force march. Units must be within the command radius of either Napoleon, a corps commander who is stacked with Napoleon, or within the radius of their corps commander who makes yet another successful initiative roll.

The same rules apply to the Prussians with the major exception that an army commander may not give forced march benefits to both individual units and subordinate leaders at the same time, nor are Prussian division commanders allowed the option of an initiative roll. Also, and as it is with all other similar aspects of the game, units from one part of the Prussian field army may not use the command radius benefits of a leader from another part of the army. It is an incredible challenge to fight with the Prussians in this game!

There are aspects of period "flavor" built into the game rules as well. For example, Prussian units do not generally receive defensive terrain benefits unless stacked with a Fusilier Battalion (light infantry), of which there never seem enough to go around. This accurately illustrates both Prussian indifference towards light troops in general, as well as their preference for open field, linear combat.

Advanced Rule

Along these same lines, an advanced rule is scheduled to appear in COA's The Art of War magazine. With it, Prussian infantry will be very powerful from the front, but highly vulnerable from the flanks, through the adoption of "Linear Deployment". Prussian infantry in this formation, unfortunately, also maneuvers abysmally slow, may attack only through defined frontal hex sides, and is prohibited from moving or attacking into constrictive terrain such as forests or towns.

All in all, Jena shows why Prussian reliance on firepower delivered from linear formations did not work well against the French, who were able to maneuver quickly from column to line or back again as circumstances required, and who could deliver effective firepower through spread out skirmishers which were less vulnerable to musket fire than the compact Prussian lines. There are also special rules covering army disintegration and the unique talents of such personalities as France's Marshal Murat or Prussia's incomparable General Blucher.

In terms of negative aspects of the game, I have very little to report. Generally such things are confined to typos here and there, or a paragraph or two that might be written a little more clearly. It would have also been nice if the rules were supported by an index, and if the map hexagons were numbered. Numbering the hexagons would have especially facilitated the game's use as a campaign system for miniatures wargaming, or for play-by-Email.

Otherwise, Jena played smoothly and produced historical results. My favorite scenario was the Auerstadt engagement whereby Prussian superior numbers are hurled against the high quality troops of French Marshal Davout's 3rd Corps. This not only makes for a more evenly matched situation, but one that will be exciting down to the last turn. Initially it looks like a walkover for the Duke of Brunswick, until command and control problems start to ruin Prussian plans. Trying to concentrate scattered Prussian forces for a coordinated attack is frustrating. Players will soon learn why the Prussians lost this battle although they outnumbered the French by some 3 to 1.

I cannot recommend this game too highly and must confess that I have played it more than any other game I have reviewed. Although not competitively balanced, the predicaments both sides must face are fascinating, while the game system is fun to play and master, and historically illuminating. Jena will always occupy a place of honor on my wargames shelf.

More Jena review:

Exploring History in a Game: Battle of Jena, 14 Oct. 1806
Jena Today (Photos)

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