Introduction by Congress of Vienna Designer – Frank Esparrago: Although Congress of Vienna (CoV) is a game with an enormously robust selection of political and diplomatic decisions and effects with the game’s military aspects omnipresent; you’d think that would be enough. Ha! Some play testers wanted an option to study what could happen if they decided the big tactical choices in a decisive battle to a greater degree of influence than the standard game offers. As CoV’s designer, I could not resist the opportunity to address their desire!
The standard game already includes military units and cards that represent generals and other units such as guard, cavalry, etc. But for a game focusing on grand strategy, how would you arrange different army corps and reserves? This was something the standard game left uncontemplated. It seemed an optional rule the best approach to address this as an optional rule.
David Schoellhamer is one of our play testers who possesses excellent analytical skills and attention to detail. He has significantly contributed to improve Congress of Vienna despite not being a historical expert of the Napoleonic age. Lately, he is involved in the considerable task of making fully operational a scenario that allows playing CoV in a solitary version: the French player versus Bots for the three allied players! This allows the Solitaire Player to experience all the pressures and opportunities for glory that confronted Napoleon during the 1813-1814 period CoV encompasses.
This optional rule is based on the tactical battle matrix of the excellent Avalon Hill games 1776 and War and Peace published in the distant years of 1974 and 1980 respectively. However, playing with this optional rule does slow the amount of time needed for battle resolution. It should only be used by true-to-heart “wargamer” CoV players with enough time and desire to get more involved in the military aspects of this game. What is clear is that the CoV Tactical Battle Matrix does add an additional element of fun, uncertainty, tactical flavor, and “fog of war” to resolving battles. By presenting simple choices regarding the general tactics an army uses; we are sure that to some players it is quite reminiscent of the simple children’s game of rock / paper / scissors / match. But we will further reference this last analogy later during this article.
Additional background regarding Congress of Vienna should help readers best appreciate this optional offering. For that, please reference GMT Games – Congress of Vienna Now to our exposition!
A Tactical Matrix for CoV Battles
This Tactical Battle Matrix option adds a new modifier to CoV Battle Die Roll Modifiers (DRM). These are based on both sides’ grand tactical deployment choices through selection of tactical chits, one for each combatant, to allow greater uncertainty and interaction of players in battle. To use this Optional Rule, once Military cards have been played, but before battle dice rolled, each side (Allied and French) secretly chooses a tactical chit. Once selected, the Allied and French chits are simultaneously revealed and a result determined by the “Tactical Battle Matrix”. This can be additional DRM modifiers for the French and Allied sides.
To accomplish this we synthesized each commander-in-chief’s overall army deployment choices into seven chits: Charge, Envelop, Refuse, Echelon, Cordon, Defend, and Retreat. Yes, this is a huge simplification, but this rule is only part of the overall CoV ruleset… and CoV is just a game! We imagined some of our most grognard-soul players found it overly limited and simple, and they’d be right. In our defense, we replied that during the Napoleonic wars, the commanding general did not often care about tactical subtleties… broad ordered actions were the way (e.g. “Smash the enemy with a charge! Everyone advance!”) . However, in any game you must seek combining both historicity and playability!
We then had to determine which DRM results each pair of chits (Allied and French) of the “Tactical Battle Matrix” Table would cause, which of course were made symmetrical! We wanted, above all, that the table be militarily plausable. We didn’t want a serious wargamer saying or thinking that the table is not realistic.
This realism includes a net battlefield advantage (the CoV Battle DRM which determines who wins when there’s a victory). The net effect of a pair of tactical chits on casualties: the DRM for each side is expressed as a positive or negative number when appropriate, with the relative effect of different tactics against an opponent’s selected great tactical deployment (for example, would a wargamer or general concur that a “Charge” is the best tactic vs a “Cordon”; or that an order to “Defend” is the worst tactic to use against a “Cordon”? Readers, we would be delighted if you suggest matrix adjustments to what you understand about Napoleonic battles. Please share these and remember “It’s your game!” once Congress of Vienna is in your possession and on the table!
Furthermore, we had to decide what relative importance to attach to this additional tactical chit pairing DRM. We decided the maximum modifier would be +/- 3 DRM for each side. In other words, in an extreme situation, one player would receive +3 and the other -3. As these modifiers could be obtained in reverse (with a different double choice of French and Allied chits) the maximum gap could be +12 DRM! That is to say, practically the same maximum gap (“2” and “12”) that the sides can obtain with their 2D6 battle dice rolls.
Finally, at the urging of some of CoV’s play testers in Spain, we added tactical chit-related Die Roll Modifiers for particular commanders.
The Seven Tactical Chits
Next, we explain each chit and its historical context (here reiterating that any of these seven tactical choices implies a great simplification and contains a certain level of subjectivity).
Charge or All-out Attack: An army advances towards its enemy at best speed in an attempt to engage and annihilate them. This is a high risk (vs. Envelop or Defend) / high reward (vs. Retreat, Cordon, or Echelon) tactic. This choice tends to increase casualties on both sides. Some examples of this type of tactic are the French attacks at Borodino (1812, Russia) or Waterloo (1815, Belgium). Within the period of this game, the Allies used this tactic on the opening day of the Battle of Dresden (Jun. 1813, Saxony) and the concentric Allied final all-out attacks during Leipzig (Oct. 1813, Saxony).
Envelop: This is intended to seize objectives in the enemy’s rear with the goal of destroying specific enemy forces and denying them the ability to retreat. It seeks to exploit the enemy’s flanks by attacking from multiple directions and avoids where their defenses are strongest. A successful envelopment lessens the number of casualties suffered by the attacker while inducing psychological shock on the defender to improve chances for victory. In many cases this is combined with a pinning attack elsewhere on the front to fix the enemy’s immediate attention and reserves. This is another high risk (vs. Refuse) / high reward (vs. Charge, Retreat) tactic. On average, the enveloper risks relatively high losses. Whether the Envelop choice was the general tactic in an historic Napoleonic battle is sometimes unclear. For example, in the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (1811, Spain) we believe Massena’s maneuver was an Envelop attempt frustrated by the excellent tactical quality of British troops and Wellington’s superb leadership. On the other hand, Wellington’s advance during the Battle of Vitoria (Jun.1813, Spain) is an example of a successful Envelop maneuver. Similarly, in the two days of the Bautzen battle (Jun. 1813, Saxony); Napoleon’s general plan was a clear example of an enveloping attempt, with Ney directing his army corps to carrying it out. However, the poor execution of Ney’s maneuver (poor dice rolls in CoV) ruined this potentially decisive French victory.
Echelon: Units are arranged diagonally. Each unit is stationed behind and to the side of the unit ahead, like a series of steps. Echelon is a conservative tactic with no large DRMs resulting. On average it reduces losses but reduces losses more for the opponent. It was a tactic used when different corps were arriving piecemeal to a battlefield, or the length of the front was too long to carry out a general charge. We would dare to say this was Napoleon’s disposition on the first day of the Battle of Wagram (1809, Austria) and that its result was a relative French set back. In the Spring Campaign of 1813, during the Battle of Lützen (May 1813, Saxony), Napoleon arranged his various arriving army corps in a grand echelon scheme to face the Allies in the first major battle of that campaign.
Cordon: This is intended to prevent the enemy’s retreat from or reinforcement of a position. A Cordon is an attempt to isolate an enemy. Only a Charge causes a really bad result when a Cordon is set in motion. On average it reduces your losses. It was a frequent Wellington tactic in many of his defensive battles during the Peninsular War. We highlight as an example the aforementioned Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (1811, Spain), where a French enveloping maneuver only was just narrowly intercepted. At the Battle of Salamanca (1812, Spain) a similar French maneuver by Marmont was extraordinarily poorly executed and a timely blow by Wellington, his Charge against the French attempted Cordon, decisively defeated the French. Napoleon, however, being a very aggressive commander, did not use it in his major battles!
Defend: Negates the enemy’s offensive tactic to prevent them from conquering territory. On average it results in fewer losses for the defender. We find numerous examples of Defend in Napoleonic battles. When an army chooses an aggressive tactic such as an all-out attack (the Charge CoV chit) the attacker’s casualties are elevated. Among the examples of Defend: the Russian tactic in the Battle of Borodino (1812, Russia) serves as an excellent example.
Although Wellington generally used other tactics, he chose a strong Defend for the battle of Bussaco (1810, Portugal) to take advantage of an excellent defensive position to counter French numerical superiority and overcome the inexperience of his Portuguese allies. What resulted was an unimaginative French Charge being severely repulsed! During the CoV period there are many examples of Defend: the strong Russian-Prussian position on the first day of the Battle of Bautzen (May 1813, Saxony), as well as the successful defense by Napoleon on the first day of the Battle of Dresden (Aug. 1813, Saxony) just before the French counterattack of the 2nd day of that battle. Finally, on the 3rd day of the Battle of Leipzig (Oct. 1813, Saxony), Napoleon conducted a successful Defend against the overwhelming Allied armies’ all-out attack. However, by the end of the day, he was short of ammunition and reserves and decided to retreat. Then, and only then, his German allies’ desertion and the accidental blowing up of the only bridge for his retreating army’s escape caused a severe French defeat.
Refuse: This is the primary defense against a flanking attack by pulling the end of the line back. It has the largest +6 DRM if opponent chooses to Envelop. On average, it reduces losses overall with fewer losses to the refuser. Perhaps the best example of this is by Napoleon during the battle of Austerlitz (1805, Moravia), his major military masterpiece! At this battle, the French right flank commanded by Davout made a masterful refusal, while the massive Russo-Austrian Allies columns tried to envelop him. This allowed Napoleon to launch his brilliant and timely central counter-stroke on the weakened Allied center! Finally, and excluding Napoleon’s 1815 Hundred Days Campaign; the last major battle of the war as depicted by Congress of Vienna was the Battle of Toulouse (Apr. 1814, South France) where Soult chose for his weakened army a tactical refusal arrangement that caused significant losses to the outflanking Allied force of British, Portuguese and Spanish troops.
Tactical Retreat: This is a retreat while maintaining contact with the enemy. This tactical retreat is not the same as a declaration of withdrawal from a Congress of Vienna map space, which can be thought of as a strategic withdrawal. Retreat is a poor tactic against Charge or Envelop; but it could result in no battle at all, which is a result not possible in CoV’s Standard game, if the other side chooses a non-aggressive tactic. It is difficult to find examples of tactical retreats in Napoleonic battles, as a success would result in no large battle being historically recorded, but simply a pursuit or skirmish probe when the other side does not make a determined attack. We would highlight as an example of successful Retreat the Allied tactical choice on the 2nd day of the Battle of Bautzen. Conversely, an example of a disastrous Retreat was Napoleon´s tactic after the three-day battle of Leipzig when the blowing up of that critical bridge and the desertion of German allies precipitated a French debacle in Germany during the autumn of 1813.
The Tactical Matrix’s Net Battle DRM
From the Tactical Matrix we built the following table which shows the difference in DRM between each side (Net DRM). That way, we could make certain that the Matrix’s DRMs were well chosen and consistent with our knowledge and interpretation of Napoleonic battles. For example, a dark blue background indicates a very favorable result for the French player. On the contrary, a dark orange background shows a favorable result for the Allied player. Of course, the table is symmetric because the effects of a combination of two chits is independent of who has chosen them.
However, the following question is always present: Does the Tactical Battle Matrix have too much of a random rock / paper / scissors / match element? Some players will think it does, while others will consider it reasonable. We believe this optional game feature is somewhat more complex since everything is not black or white. There are other variables besides Net DRM which bear explanation.
The first is aggressiveness (measured as the losses each chit could cause). For example, both Charge and Envelop can cause more casualties on both sides than the less aggressive or conservative chits such as Cordon or Refuse. We indicate this in the bottom row of the table called “Sum DRM“, in which a higher value implies greater aggressiveness for that side! On many occasions a player with more military units and available reinforcements than his opponent would want to inflict maximum damage to the enemy in addition to winning battles and gaining territory!
Furthermore, each chosen chit has a level of risk or uncertainty: that is, if there are enemy tactical chits that can cause extreme results (very unfavorable or favorable)! We indicate this with the penultimate table row above Sum DRM: STDV, Standard Deviation of Net DRM. Thus, those that produce fewer extreme results have a lower value such as Cordon, Echelon or Defend, than Charge which causes extreme positive DRM results against Cordon or Retreat. But when the enemy player chooses a strong Defend; winning a battle will be more difficult to achieve and a possible battle loss could result if both initial DRM are similar! We really enjoy conducting these types of analysis!
A Commander’s Tactical Skills
CoV’s military cards have DRM that synthetize the army and corps commanders’ military skills. Although some high commanders such as Napoleon, Wellington, Blücher… have tactical preferences and superior abilities when they adopt certain deployments. We previously described Wellington’s preference for a Cordon deployment and how this gave him great tactical flexibility when circumstances made it opportune (e.g., in confronting unsuccessful French envelopments in the battles of Fuentes de Oñoro and Salamanca). Likewise, Napoleon made excellent use of the Echelon approach in massive battles such as Wagram or Lüzten; where he excellently responded to the arrival of new French army corps to foil the enemy’s tactical deployment.
As an addendum to the Matrix Battle Table, we added selected DRM battle modifiers when particular commanders use their “historically preferred” tactical deployment. These Commander DRM are in addition to any DRM the Tactical Matrix generates.
Of course, CoV cannot contemplate all aspects of a Napoleonic wargame, since its design level is that of grand strategy with a high influence of politics, diplomacy, economic resourcing, and manpower. However, the Tactical Matrix is influenced by some historical commanders-in-chief: Napoleon, Schwarzenberg, Blücher, Barclay, Soult, and/or Wellington in a battle and the player chooses a tactical deployment they dominated best. In this way, we can better depict battles spread over more than one day of fighting which involves them!
It makes particular Commanders such as Napoleon and Wellington even more fearsome to confront in battle due to their ability, in some circumstances, to force both sides to reselect another tactical chit in response to that of the enemy’s. For example, if the French player in a battle with Napoleon selects Defend and his Allied opponent chooses Refuse, it means if France wins the battle with the emperor, it would be denied a +2VP gain. So, using Napoleon’s advantage allows the French player to compel both sides to reselect tactical chits. This does not assure a French victory: but it certainly could swing the balance a bit!
Part One’s Closing Thoughts…
An army’s cumulative DRM is also influenced by terrain, nationalities, lack of coordination, army strength, weather, commanders, the presence of elite and special units (neutral cards and support markers used), and for Britain, guerillas in Spain: so, the effect of a tactical chit is dampened by these other elements. Even in some massive battles, the tactical choice can be a really a minor matter, although in others it can be decisive (and we’ve had our share of those during some exciting play test games using this rule when the tactical chits’ result determined the battle victor!). The Tactical Matrix is something we consider very realistic within context of the Napoleonic Wars.
We hope you enjoyed reading this first part explanation of this historical battle resolution variant for the Congress of Vienna game!
Post Script by Congress of Vienna Assistant Designer & Editor – Fred Schachter: The next installment of this article will consist of Frank and myself providing a detailed example of how this optional rule is applied in a CoV battle. It shall also provide an opportunity to showcase the overall battle resolution system Frank designed for this upcoming GMT Great Statesmen game!
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.