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The strategic prize of Berlin. Note the resources and supply value
The cataclysmic struggles in central Germany are the subject of Empire Games' Napoleon 1813. Can you as the Emperor hang onto your crumbling empire? Can you as the Czar of All the Russias lead an allied coalition to victory over the Corsican Ogre? Can you as a gamer make sense out of this deep, but deeply flawed game?

Napoleon 1813 shipped in a half-finished state which frustrated gamers looking for a good strategic/tactical treatment of a campaign from the Napleonic Wars. The designers have promised several patches to fix the game; the first, dealing with the tactical game has been released, and another to fix the strategic game is promised.

For all of its flaws, Napoleon 1813 has the makings of a good game, challenging on both the tactical and strategic levels. The system, however, can be demanding—especially for a newcomer to the era—so some tips are in order.

The strategic game
Troops being raised in Paris for the German theater of war
The exact strategic situation varies depending upon the scenario chosen, but the French and the Allies both face similar problems in each. The French Army is outnumbered and largely made up of conscripts and reluctant satellite troops. It is also cavalry deficient. On the other hand, French generals are superior and, under Napoleon at least, the army holds the central position from which it can strike in any direction. By contrast, the Allies have superior numbers (particularly when Austria enters the war), reliable troops, and a decided cavalry advantage.

As Napoleon, you must mobilize every available man and maintain control of your allied states lest they defect to the enemy. You must also capture and hold Berlin and other Prussian capitals to deny their recourses to the Allies.

Allied forces converge on Dresden
Napoleon made some costly mistakes during the 1813 campaign, including leaving too many troops garrisoning the German frontier. Although garrisons will interdict supply lines, they can be besieged by second rate troops and negated. Seek to break out with these troops or break through to them. They are more useful in the field than locked up. For reasons known only to the Emperor, his best Marshal, Davout, was left out of the action in Hannover. Bring him back and give him an army.

The great insight of Napoleon was to make war with any eye toward destroying the enemies' armies, not to take positions. As the French commander, you must do the same. Maximize the number of troops under your command and march against the Allied supply lines and major cities. This should force the Allies into accepting an unfavorable battle.

The Allied strategy was to avoid direct confrontation with Napoleon and attack his less able subordinates. It worked historically and will work in the game. Mask enemy fortresses and press on against French satellite states. Getting French allies to defect will go a long way toward gaining all-important victory points and cut dramatically into the strength of the French field armies.

Marshal Davout. Look at those ratings!
Two aspects of the strategic game deserve special attention. One is reinforcement. Each province has manpower and resource ratings used to generate troops. You have the option to create every troop type from guards to militia. The time and resources required to build troops varies by type.

Because the French have a manpower disadvantage in general, and suffer from a cavalry shortage, they should initially concentrate on fielding large numbers of conscript infantry and light cavalry. Conscript infantry take only four weeks to build and will gain quality in battle. Light cavalry are essential for scouting, screening, and pursuit. The Allies don't suffer from the same shortages as the French do and can concentrate more on shock troops such as grenadiers and heavy cavalry.

Once your troop types are selected, you will have to decide whether to have them automatically built repeatedly or decide on new types. Napoleon 1813 is complex enough without having to keep track of these troop builds, so most capitals should auto-build basic troop types with one or two used for specialists such as heavy artillery and bridging trains.

Napoleon marches on Berlin, gathering troops as he goes
You will also have the choice of creating new divisions with these troops or having them sent into the replacement pool. It is usually better to have the replacements than to worry about forming and maneuvering new divisions.

Supply is the other major consideration. Troops out of supply suffer attrition to the extent that losses can exceed those taken in a pitched battle. Many cities are sources of supply to a degree and a chain of depots can be constructed to get supply to the armies. But each side is allowed only a limited number of active depots at any given time. If you intend to operate at any distance from a major supply source, you must send troops to deactivate unneeded depots so that new ones can be built in support of your main attack.

At the strategic level, you should choose one major operation, such capturing Berlin and establishing a chain of supply to Brandenberg. Send out cavalry to locate major enemy formations in the area and dispatch orders to concentrate for the advance. Keep in mind that delays will occur as couriers carry those orders to commanders who may or may not act on them. Keep in mind also that a full patch for the strategic game is expected, so the enemy might actually react to your threat.

French infantry cover the advance of the corps artillery
The Tactical Game
Of course, the whole point of all this maneuvering is to be able to get onto the battlefield. As yet, the strategic game isn't generating many battles, but the promised patch is expected to change that. Meanwhile, the current patch has made the tactical game viable.

With the patch, the heart of the tactical game is command and control. When orders are issued to divisions, their leaders will check for obedience. If they fail, their corps commander checks to activate the order. If he is successful, time will elapse before he can get the orders to the division. If he fails, the checks go on up the chain of command, ultimately to the supreme commander who will automatically pass.

Therefore, it is necessary to figure out who belongs to what corps (not an easy task) before the battle begins. Having the corps commander close to the action is essential to get orders activated in a timely manner. When fighting at Dennewitz, for example, an isolated Prussian battery deployed with a French cavalry division on its flank. Repeated orders to the cavalry to charge the guns brought no result. But when the corps commander was brought closer, the cavalry immediately wiped out the battery. Later in that same game, Prussian cavalry chased the corps commander well to the rear, bringing the French advance to a standstill.

French heavy cavalry use a road for a rapid advance
French and Prussian corps commanders have a seven hex command radius, and all others radius of five hexes. The closer, the better because, even within that radius, because there is a 30 second delay per hex distant from the leader. Also, you should not be tempted to attach a leader directly to a unit because leaders are very hard to find later, particularly in a large battle.

Before the battle begins, it is best to plan what each front line division is going to do for most of the game and order it to do that. The first order of the day is automatic. However, units will often adopt involuntary order changes, usually as a result of their leader misinterpreting his orders, morale failure, or shock combat resolution.

One sure way to induce morale failure is to leave a unit unsupported on its flanks. Another is to allow it to be caught in the middle of a formation change. Taking a typical French corps of three infantry and one cavalry division as an example, two infantry divisions should be in the front line abreast of each other with the third kept in reserve. Place the corps artillery on high ground between the front line infantry with the corps commander immediately to the rear. Put the cavalry on whichever flank is in the air, or in reserve if the corps is part of a larger line.

These Russian infantry are about to get creamed
Whatever role the troops will play in your battle plan, put them in the best formation for the job and leave them there. Attacking columns of infantry will often deploy of their own accord when confronted with steady infantry. Keep in mind that, despite what the manual says, all formations with artillery attached can be ordered to bombard. Use the corps artillery together with divisional guns to halt most attacks; this is handy for softening up defenders as well. Threatening infantry with cavalry will force them into square, making for even better targets for your artillery.

Finally, although the designers intend for you to fight tactical battles in real time, there's just too much to keep track of. An option to advance time in increments didn't make the cut, so a little discipline is in order as you pause the game at regular intervals. This must be done, particularly in huge battles such as Leipzig, to make sure everything is going as planned

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Page Updated Mon Feb 28, 2000 8:25pm EST