[The following report was displaced from Wargame Design Magazine #5.] Joe Youst is now working on the map, which comprises two map sections. This game has turned out to be very similar to Napoleon at Bay, despite the difference in scale. The formula is as follows: 1 MP in HTK = 1 turn's movement in NAB (10 mi.) 1 MP in HTK = 2 days real time. 1 turn HTK = 10-11 days An Army Group in HTK = A Corps in NAB. A Corps in HTK = A Division in NAB. A Division in HTK = a Vedette in NAB. That's all fine, until we get to combat. The simplest method is to have combat between adjacent forces as in NAB. However, there is an argument in favor of in-hex combat, by analogy with NAB. No battle in NAB spreads over an area of 10 x 10 miles. By separating the forces with a hexside, we are really saying that combat takes place upon and along the hexside, and maybe that's not so bad. It's just a matter of where you imagine that the hexside in HTK is drawn. The Turn Record Track 1: 22 Jun Invasion 2: 4 Jul Vilna 3: 14 Jul Vitebsk 4: 24 Jul 5: 4 Aug Smolensk 17 Aug 6: 14 Aug Viasma 7: 24 Aug 8: 3 Sep Borodino 7 Sep 9: 14 Sep Moscow 10: 24 Sep 11: 4 Oct 12: 14 Oct Retreat 19 Oct 13: 24 Oct Maloyaroslavets 14: 3 Nov heavy snow 7 Nov 15: 14 Nov Krasnoe 16: 24 Nov Berezina 26-28 Nov 17: 4 Dec There will be an option to continue the campaign into 1813. I've designed several prototypes of the Russian Campaign at various scales over the years, so all the basic work has been done long ago. Victory? The most difficult problem in this entire project is this: How do the French win? How can they overcome the Russian retreat? How can they bring the Russians to battle? This is difficult. First, if the Russians retreat too quickly, the French will reach Moscow in such strength and organization that they can sustain themselves, or even drive the Russians off the map. In order to win, the French will have to be in a position to endure into spring of 1813. The other factor is to represent the political and world-view strictures that prevented the Russians from an all-out retreat. Such a retreat was opposed by the Tsar, by many of the generals, and by the rank and file. A retreat without stopping to give battle can be more disastrous to the morale than if the Russians fought several battles and won none, but maintained their self-respect as a fighting force. Another interesting part of this project is the French retreat. The French player, were he to execute a campaign similar to the historical one, will know by the day after Borodino whether his occupation of Moscow will likely bring peace. He will then be able to make the decision to begin the retreat. Russian Surrender will not be an option that the Russian Player exercizes or does not. It will be mandated by the morale rules and tables, with die rolls modified for the physical and morale condition of the two armies, and by the occupation of places, Moscow among them. The French player may be tempted to move into Moscow despite the odds, hoping for a lucky die-roll on the Peace Table. The Retreat will also be a separate scenario in its own right. Back to OSG News April 2000 Table of Contents Back to OSG News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Operational Studies Group. 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