Two years ago, Geoff Phipps and I played La Bataille de Ligny. At the end of the day we looked at each other and shook our heads. The game was not balanced and the rules were poorly written, but it was so much FUN! For the next 6 months or so, we played off and on, until we were so disgusted with trying to interpret the rule book that Geoff rewrote the rules, mostly clarifying the existing rules.

One time when we got together, we did not have enough time to play a La Bataille game, so I pulled out this new Civil War game I had picked up, In Their Quiet Fields. We had a blast. After the game we wound down with dinner at our favorite Thai place and discussed the game. We both agreed that the command system was good and that we could graft it on to the La Bataille games to improve the feel of the period, or at least how we interpret it. What follows are the modifications to the CWB/NBS command rules that we use in our La Bataille games.

Changes to the Command Radius Rules in NBS 1.0

1. Artillery doesn't need to be in Command Radius of the corps leader. It acts independently.

2. Because of time and distance scale differences, the range from a division leader to a corps leader is 12 hexes, and combat units must be within 6 hexes.

3. The command radii are doubled for cavalry corps' combat units.

4. Infantry in Special Structures, churches or chateaus are not required to be in command radius.

5. Because of the lack of HQ units, a divisional leader also acts as the divisional HQ (though we appropriate HQ counters from a different game and use those). Note the divisional leader is not locked into place but still must follow the objectives of the division's order.

6. Again because of scale differences, an army commander's delivery of orders is divided by 15, not ten, for determining the number of delay turns.

7. We allow regimental goals. Handle them the same as a divisional goal.

Changes to the La Bataille System

1. We feel that because of their morale, combat and speed, French[British units should have their morale level decreased by 3. Exception: decrease no unit with a morale level of 16 or less. Also no unit may decrease below a 21.

2. For the same reason as above, we feel that any unit with a asterisk "*" for its morale should be considered morale 6.

3. (Optional) Instead of calculating army morale on destroyed battalions, calculate it on destroyed increments. Note this involves counting the total increments in a corps.

4. Skirmishers may always withdraw before assaulting units.

5. Units that are usually incapable of forming line can form line, and have a fire multiplier of 2.

6. The French player cannot use the Imperial Guard units until they are committed. If the Imperial Guard is committed, the French must win a Major Victory within two hours, or all French corps immediately go to Morale Level 3. Commitment is accepting an attack order. The Guard may receive move orders as long as these are simple orders.

There are five exceptions to the above rule:

• The Guard can be committed if all other French corps are at Morale Level 2 or higher.
• One infantry battalion per hour can be released and assigned to a corps.
• The Guard artillery are always free to move and attack wherever they like.
• The Guard can be committed without penalty if it is attacked by the enemy.
• These rules do not apply to the Guard Cavalry.

7. The Emperor's escort and duty squadrons must stay within 6 hexes of the Emperor. They may be released to protect other imperial ADCs or to attack troops directly threatening the Emperor's person.

8. Obviously the Sequence of Play has changed. It is now as follows:

Local Initiative
Charge
Movement
Fire Combat
Assault Combat
Rally and Resupply
Army Orders
1. Write Orders
2. Delay Reduction
3. New Order Acceptance
4. Corps Attack Stoppage

Yes, this means there is a delay of one turn for army orders. We use the charts out of the NBS except for the Corps attack stoppage, which is below.

Corps attack stoppage is different. Because there is no wrecked status for corps, we use the Morale Level of the corps for determining Attack Stoppage.

Morale Level	0	1	2	3
Leader rating	0	4	7	10	12
1	3	6	10	12
2	3	6	9	11
3	3	5	9	11
4	3	5	8	10

Command Ratings

Though there was some debate about the Prince of Orange being a "-1" and Napoleon being a "5," we stuck to the 0 through 4 command ratings. The hardest part about using these optional rules is choosing the command ratings for the various commanders. The first place we looked was at the one NBS game, Austerlitz, and that gave us a base. Next we looked at the ratings CoA had given the various commanders and rated them accordingly. (Note that one must compare the ratings from within an army, not the whole game; otherwise the entire French army would be 4s and everybody else would be 1s.) Also note that we usually reserve a "0" command rating to a leader with negative ratings. Obviously the commanders' ratings are subjective and one should feel free to adjust them as desired.

"So how does it work?" you ask. We have played the game twice with these optional command rules: once with Mont St. Jean, and once with Eylau.

We played Mont St. Jean first. Thanks to good die rolls, the armies acted as well-oiled machines, marching to orders with little delay. However, the command radius rules made it feel more organized, as corps didn't mix and divisions remained close together. (Side note: We found that see-through color stickers work well for identifying which battalions belong to which divisions. Avery makes 1/4 inch dots.) After a day and a half of play we had done half the battle, and it was hard to tell who was winning; in the end, after much debate, we called it a draw. The Imperial Guard option mentioned above is a really good fix to the La Bataille system; without this rule we feet the British would most certainly lose. (We feel that Ligny might be playable with the proposed changes, but we have not tried it.)

The real test came a month later when we sat down to play Eylau; for the first time, we had poor leaders. I was playing the French. Realizing the lack of good commanders on the Russian side, I attempted to move my entire army south and then east, so the left hand edge was at Eylau. I did this mostly to avoid the Evil Heavy Russian Batteries, (fire value 32 at close range) and to join up with Davout, who would enter later during the battle. This maneuver allowed me to concentrate a whole corps of troops on a single division which I quickly destroyed. I was working on my second division by the time the Russian High command got some orders accepted to support their left flank. Again the day ended before the battle was over. This time everyone agreed it was a French Victory.

The command rules seemed to be a success. Instead of individual French battalions being good enough to take on Russian regiments, the French were able to out-maneuver and out-command the Russians. This seems much more historically accurate.

So What's a La Bataille Player to Do?

The French have good enough commanders that the orders rules offer only a temporary inconvenience at some points during the game. More than likely, your orders will be accepted or have a D4 result the first time you roll. Because of the French corps system, Napoleon will always have enough command points to spread around, so the French army should always be in command. Herein lies your advantage: use your superior command rating to shift your concentration of attack to keep the enemy off balance. A good feint against a Russian or Prussian commander could carry the game, as it is so hard for the poor commanders to change orders. Note, "even" battles are no longer in your favor by a gross amount. You need to use your flexibility to attack with great concentration against a small portion of your opponent's troops.

For the more poorly led armies, you need to remain as flexible as possible. A large reserve is important, as well as good initial orders. The command rules in NBS 1.0 state a good set of pre-game orders might carry the entire battle alone. This is the kind of order you need! A static defense order just will not cut it with a good French Player. You need to anticipate where the French are going to attack and meet him halfway (hopefully with more troops than he has) or launch your own assault and gain the initiative. You will notice the French power is significantly reduced: no "*" morale types to deal with, no guard units with the x4 multiples, no god-awful infantry melee values that could beat up your light cavalry! Stay away from the Imperial Guard. Remember, he has to win a major victory within two hours of committing the Guard. You can hold him off that long, can't you?

Without further ado, the command ratings for La Bataille Mont St. Jean:

French Ratings

The French Army Napoleon (4), Ney (2), Grouchy (2)
Guard Corps Drouot (3), Friant (4), Morand (3), Duhesme (3)
6th Corps Lobau (2), Simmer (1), Jeanin (1), Domon (2)
1st Cav Corps 5th Div Subervie (2)
2nd Corps Pire (2), Reille (2), Jerome Bonaparte (2), Foy (1), Bachelu (2)
3rd Corps, Cav Corps Kellerman (4), Heritier (1), Roussel (1)
1st Corps D'erlon (3), Donzelot (1), Quiot (2), Marcognet (2), Durette (3), Jacquinot (2)
IV Cav Corps Milhaud (4), Alphonse (3), Delort (3)

British

With all the above modifications to the rules there is still a problem with the British command system. So we introduce the following rules just for the British:

1. All orders are by division.
2. Cavalry commanders add +2 to the dice for Initiative, but they become a loose cannon on a natural 2 or 3.
3. All Corps commanders may attempt royal initiative for any units in that corps.
4. Uxbridge is under the same restrictions as all other cavalry commanders (i.e. +2 initiative but loose cannon on 2 or 3.)

The Prussians

Special rules: When Blucher is stacked with Gneisenau, the army commander's rating is 4; otherwise it is 2.

Those are the ratings for La Bataille de Mont St. Jean.

British and Allied Ratings

The British Army Wellington (4)
I Corps Prince William of Orange (0) loose cannon on 2 or 3
III Corps Hill (3)
Cavalry Corps Uxbridge (2)
Brunswickers Olfermans (1) or Duke of Brunswick (2)

Divisions:
2nd Dutch Belgian Perponecher (2), Prince of Saxe-Weimar (1), Bijlandt (1)
5th Division Picton (4), Von Vinke (1), Pack (1), Kempt (2), Vandeleur (2), Vivian (1)
6th Division Wellington (4) same guy running the show, Best (1), Lambert (1)
3rd Division Allen (2), Ompteda (1), Kielmanseege (1), Halkett (1)
Guards 1st Division Cook (3), Maitland (1), Byng (2), Mitchell (1)
3rd Dutch Belgian Division Chasse (2), Detmers (1), D'Aubreme (1)
2nd Division Clinton (2), Adam (1), Du Platt (2), Halken (1)
Brunswick Olfermans (1), Duke of Brunswick (if still alive) (2), Von Heineman (1), Von Buttler (1)
Nassau Reserve Von Krusse (1)
Cav Corps: Uxbridge (2), Somerset (1), Ponsonby (1), Dornberg (1), Grant (1), Arenschildt (1)
Dutch [Belgian] Cav: Collaert (1), Trip (1), Ghigny (1), Von Merlen (3)

Prussian Ratings

IV Corps Von Bulow (3), Prince William (3), Watzdorf (1), Hake (1), Funk (1), Losthin (1), Hiller (1)
II Corps Pirch (1), Tippelskirch (1), Krafft (1), Brause (1), Bose (1)
I Corps Zeithen (2), Roeder (3), Steinmetz (1), Pirch (1), Jagow (1)