SUN OF AUSTERLITZ PRODUCTION UPDATE The printer now has the map, box and counters. We will be checking the printer's press matches this week for these items. They will be printed next week. The Back Cover of the box. Mark Hinkle has finished the Organization Displays, and the Unit and Leader Manifests, except for a few corrections. These are scheduled to go to the printer this week. Joe Youst, our overextended cartographer, handed off the half-finished Sun of Austerlitz map to Mark Simonitch who completed the final corrections and photoshop textures, and delivered it to the printer by the end of December. The rules are finalized and will be sent to a separate printer. We will be assembling games at OSG World headquarters during the weeks of February 3rd and 10th. If you live nearby and would like to earn a freebie for a couple of hours hard labor, give us a call... Recent versions of the Sun of Austerlitz components are available at http://www.napoleongames.com/soarelease/ for download in .pdf format Check and see if you have an order on record for the game by clicking here: http://www.napoleongames.com/soarelease/soapreorder.cfm Sun of Austerlitz, in the Campaigns of Napoleon Series 1X (2 mi/hex, 2 days/turn, 1,000 men/SP) shows the strategic situation Napoleon faced prior to his greatest victory (starts on 15 November). After the fall of Vienna on 11 November 1805, and the audacious capture of the Tabor bridge over the Danube, Napoleon created a plan for the destruction of the Russian Army: the so-called Maneuver on Hollabrunn. This plan called upon Marshal Murat, commanding an army comprising his light cavalry, two superb heavy cavalry divisions, and the Infantry Corps of Marshals Soult and Lannes, to intercept the retreating Russians on the road to Znaim. In the Emperor's absence, however, the Russians played a very ungentlemanly ruse on Murat, claiming that an armistice had been signed. The ensuing delay of 24 hours gave Kutusov's army time to slip through the trap. The Russian rearguard under Bagration fought a skillful action at Hollabrunn, gaining further time. When Napoleon appeared on the scene, his infantry, still without provisions, had been left in the mud, and after capturing Brünn uncontested, he decided upon another halt in the first city of Moravia, to build up his base. Under the worsening skies of late November his troops were suffering, and a further advance would have brought further attrition. For once, Napoleon did not have a plan to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. The Allies attacked, but what if they had remained in camp? Napoleon would have had no other choice than to try and bring them to battle. That would have meant a French Army, sketchily supplied, advancing upon Olmütz. Already exhausted by two months of continual marching, the French would have been hard-pressed to follow the Austro-Russians. Tsar Alexander, however, was determined to finish the job and liberate Vienna then and there. The Army's new Chief of Staff, Weyrother, formulated a plan to shove the French aside and cut their LOC to Vienna. The plan involved an enormous blunder: to make a flank march against the French, in the face of the whole enemy army, abandoning the dominating feature of the Pratzen heights. Had the Allies merely awaited an attack on the Pratzen, Napoleon would have been obliged either to strike a blow, or to undertake a war of maneuver. A doubtful success, or a drawn battle, would have necessitated a French retreat from the theater. Order It Now And Save 30%! As a registered user at Napoleongames.com (sorry, MagWeb.com users--you need to go to the site directly) you can get an extra 10%-off Sun of Austerlitz's $44 retail price if you order before February 4th, 2003- Checks Preferred. You can save us 4% by sending a check for $30.80 plus either 10, 20, or 40% postage to the address in the footer below. (Or use your credit card.) With Bagration's successful counter to the 'Maneuver of Hollabrunn,' Napoleon didn't have another plan to force Kutusov into a battle. Fortunately for him, the Russian Tsar put an end to his embarrassment, but what if the Coalition had attacked the French head-on, instead of trying to outflank them? What if they had seized the Pratzen and then merely awaited a French attack up from the valley floor? What if they had postponed their attack on the French right until they had engaged the center? Sun of Austerlitz lets you explore these possibilities, and more. Revel in the planning! Probe for the opponent's main force. Lay out your administration and safeguards as Napoleon himself might do, poring over the maps to examine the road network and river lines. Where can you delay the foe at a bridge? Can you feign weakness to draw your opponent into a vulnerable position? All the operational factors of the Napoleonic era spring to life before your very eyes. Back to OSG News January 2003 Table of Contents Back to OSG News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 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