Introduction (By CoV Editor Fred Schachter): The preceding parts of this article (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) leads us to Napoleon’s desperate 1814 attempts to save Imperial France and himself from the wrath of his many enemies: the Nations of the Sixth Coalition. These opponents may loudly voice exclamations of public unity against “The Corsican Ogre”; but lurking beneath the surface each is vying for supremacy in the postwar Europe to come: a motivation players of Congress of Vienna will find for themselves when playing this exciting game, full of the same diplomatic tensions and challenges as confronted the historic contenders representing France, Britain, Russia or Austria.  Readers may find learning of the game’s design background, why things are portrayed as they are in Congress of Vienna, by reading Designer Frank Esparrago’s InsideGMT two part article: “Congress of Vienna Designer’s Notes“. There is also more information regarding this game within GMT’s site for it. It is now a new year, 1814, and with his foes’ powerful armies closing in from all directions; Napoleon seeks to repulse the invaders and preserve his throne. Note: If you would like to view any of the below images in a larger size, you can click on the image and it will point you to the full image file.

Turn 9: January-February 1814

After the disastrous campaign in Central Europe, Napoleon managed to enter France with 80,000 men. These were reinforced by another 25,000 stripped from Catalonia and Gascony to face the main allied armies. Another 50,000 were under Eugene‘s command in Italy. Napoleon‘s desire was to further bolster his army by compulsory recruitment; but France was now exhausted both financially and in manpower. This made the emperor’s prospects daunting indeed. Allied forces about to descend on France were enormously superior: 220,000 Austrians, 250,000 Russians, 160,000 Prussians, 150,000 Germans, and 20,000 Swedes with 150,000 Portuguese, Spanish, and British. Against these prodigious enemies Napoleon led one of the most memorable and brilliant campaigns in the annals of military history. He became akin to his former vigorous self, showing courage, tactical finesse, inspiration for his soldiers and a tireless energy: traits all too frequently absent during the campaign of 1813. In January he left Alsace while expanding and preparing his army to confront the invaders. Blücher and the Russian high command became independent of Generalissimo Schwarzenberg whose title was now de facto with only decorative meaning. Napoleon quickly moved against the Prussian/Russian forces. The emperor proved too fast and with better tactical adroitness than Blücher: he annihilated a Russian corps in Champaubert (February 10) to stand between the vanguard and Blücher’s main force. He defeated Yorck‘s vanguard at Montmirail on February 11, and again at Chateau-Thierry the next day. Napoleon then went against the Army of Silesia and on February 14 defeated Blücher in Vauchamps. These disasters forced the withdrawal of the entire Army of Silesia. Next, Napoleon attacked the flank of Schwarzenberg‘s Army of Bohemia in the battles of Mormant (February 17), Montereau (February 18) and Méry-sur-Seine (February 21) and defeated him in all these engagements, forcing that army to retire as well. However, the small size of French forces prevented them from converting this succession of allied defeats into a definitive campaign-altering French victory. An isolated French garrison of 30,000 surrendered in Magdeburg while Davout continued holding on besieged in Hamburg [2]. On the southern front Wellington pursued French forces eastwards. On February 27, he attacked an entrenched Soult in Orthez (in the space of Gascony in CoV). Both sides had approximately the same number of forces (37,000) and despite the strength of the French position, the battle was resolved on the Allied side by Hill‘s skill and courage. Soult retired just in time to avoid being cut off. On the Italian front the Austrians belatedly launched their offensive to occupy Italy, and at the Battle of the Mincio River (Venice space in CoV), fought on February 8, there was a tactical draw between the French under Eugene and the Austrians under Bellegarde. This left Italy a secondary backwater that was only conquered by Austria after Napoleon’s surrender.

Turn 10: March-April 1814

Ironically, Napoleon‘s successes of seeming martial wizardry in France contributed indirectly to his downfall. For simultaneous with these military operations, peace talks were taking place in Chaumont, where the emperor’s representatives demanded better peace conditions after his February victories. However, this resulted in the Allies leaving their conflicting objectives aside and united them to prioritize defeating Napoleon in the field before any other politically conciliatory solutions would be considered. This was reflected in the Chaumont Treaty being conveyed on March 8; but Napoleon again rejected the Allied offer. Meanwhile, a lusting for revenge Blücher finally received reinforcements from the northern front that brought his troop strength to more than 100,000 men. On March 7, Napoleon attacked the vanguard of the strengthened Army of Silesia in Craonne. This proved an expensive French victory, but a victory none-the-less. Finally, at the Battle of Laon on March 9, Blücher, with help from the Northern Army, at long last defeated Napoleon, who had to retreat (all these battles were fought in the CoV map board space of Paris). On March 14, Schwarzenberg, upon hearing of Napoleon‘s withdrawal, resumed his advance. By now, the allies were superior to Napoleon’s dwindling force by an overwhelming proportion of five to one. Therefore, Blücher and Schwarzenberg decided to move directly upon Paris. Napoleon, conscious of his numerical inferiority, decided to cut the Allied lines of communication, but despite this threatening movement; Allied armies entered the French capital on March 31, 1814. The abandonment of Paris to the Allies triggered a flurry of political machinations. Talleyrand, former French foreign minister, when he became aware of the Treaty of Chaumont made an unsanctioned by the emperor approach to the Allied monarchs. His goal was for the future Government of France to be a restoration of the old Bourbon monarchy with himself, of course, gaining a position of influence. However, in opposition to this scheme, the Tsar wanted Bernadotte or another puppet to govern France. Castlereagh, foreign minister of Great Britain, wished that France continue being a major power with France and Britain sharing common goals such as democracy and liberalism, but without any involvement of Napoleon. Metternich began to ponder that a Louis XVIII Bourbon regime could be attractive and act as a counterweight to Russia’s expansionist ambitions. Talleyrand skillfully pulled strings: he persuaded the Tsar and gained Russian support for his proposal. He had already obtained Austria and Britain’s consent. Talleyrand also secured allies in the French Senate and with them declared Napoleon deposed. To further strengthen this audacious fait accompli, on April 4, the emperor’s marshals mutinied and argued that only with his abdication could the war end. On April 6, Napoleon, beset on all sides, accepted unconditional abdication. On April 11, 1814 the Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed by Caulaincourt, Ney, Metternich, Nesselrode, and von Hardenberg. This ended Napoleon‘s reign as emperor of France and sent him into exile in Elba. On the southern front, Bordeaux surrendered to the British on March 12 and Soult retired to Toulouse. When the pursuing Wellington arrived, he decided to attack the strong French defensive positions on April 10, which resulted in the bloody battle of Toulouse. This was fought over a period of four days after the surrender of Napoleon; but the emperor’s abdication was unknown to both sides. The Allied army consisted of 52,000 men and the French some 40,000. The Allies achieved victory and occupied the city, but at the cost of many casualties: 5,000 allies against 3,000 French. On April 13, 1814, news of the signing of a general peace agreement reached both armies and therefore the war ended on the southern front as well. At the end of the campaign, a contingent of Wellington’s British soldiers embarked from Bordeaux to go to America and fight in the War of 1812. The fate of these British veterans was going to be tragic since many of them would die in the battle of New Orleans soon after they disembarked in America.  However, due to this era’s logistical difficulties in sending a European army to the North American continent; these events took place during 1815 (outside the CoV game’s covered time period). During March 1814, on the North American western Indian frontier, Andrew Jackson’s Georgia and Tennessee militia were reinforced by regular U.S. soldiers and on March 27, Jackson decisively defeated the Indian Creek force at the battle of Horseshoe Bend (Alabama).

The End of the War of 1812

By 1814, Britain retained Canada (as well as the territory of Maine, seized from the U.S.A. from Halifax during August 1814); her maritime blockade proved decisive and had indirectly contributed to consolidate the Pax Britannica making Britain by far the largest maritime and commercial power in the world; but with the French defeat, the right to seize American ships – one of the causes of the war – had lost its attractiveness in Parliament. On the American side, the illusion of expelling Britain from Canada had vanished; there was the humiliating burning of the Washington White House by a British raid (although this was countered by that expedition’s repulse at Baltimore, which inspired composition of “The Star Spangled Banner”); they had made good progress in their struggle with the Indians in the Mississippi Valley; politicians like Madison managed to unite the nation; and the United States had developed a nascent Navy which did have its moments of glory versus Britain. Nevertheless, both contenders were tired of a costly war lacking a clear winner. Both now had much to lose and little to gain from continued hostilities. To end the war, Prime Minister Lord Liverpool and President Madison sent delegations to the neutral city of Ghent (Belgium); but the slowness of early 19th century communications caused negotiator messages to take months to arrive (including Admiral Gambier), negotiations began at the beginning of August (i.e. 4 months after the end of CoV) and ended on December 24, when the Treaty of Ghent was signed. This tragically resulted in one final battle between Britain and the U.S.A.; the January 8, 1815 Battle of New Orleans, where Wellington’s veterans, under Sir Edward Pakenham’s clumsy leadership, were repulsed by Jackson’s entrenched forces.  British losses were approximately 2,000 versus 200 American.

The Congress of Vienna

Our game of CoV is about the end of the Napoleonic wars with the diplomatic and political actions prior to that congress. To best appreciate the game’s diplomatic environment, it is necessary to give some notes about the actual “historic” Congress of Vienna. Its origin is the Treaty of Chaumont (March 8, 1814), which included: the establishment of a German Confederation, the division of Italy into independent states and the restoration of the Bourbon king of Spain. The other important background treaty to the Congress of Vienna was the Treaty of Paris between France and the Sixth Coalition (May 30, 1814): it set the boundaries of France to those of 1792 (before the French Revolution), the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty as legitimate rulers of France, and the agreement to hold a General Peace Congress in Vienna. Bernadotte adroitly managed to persuade exclusion from consideration the previously signed Treaty of Kiel (January 14, 1814), which facilitated the transfer of Norway to Sweden from Denmark. It is at this point that the period covered by our CoV game ends and when the “real” Congress of Vienna begins! Please note it is this historically-based environment which players can experience at any point of the game. Furthermore, a Campaign Game does not necessarily have to end with turn 10 if players elect to use the optional “Sudden Death Time Limit” rule provided by the Playbook. That rule could result in the game’s time limit expiring prior to turn 10 or being extended to a turn 11 or beyond. The Congress of Vienna began in September 1814 and ended in June 1815. It had an agenda of official formal meetings; although a large part of what was accomplished was done through informal get-togethers in salons, banquets and dances. The Congress was chaired by Metternich and its representatives included the ambassadors of European States participating in the war. This included, among others, Castlereagh and Wellington for Britain; Talleyrand for France; von Hardenberg for Prussia; Nesselrode for Russia (although Tsar Alexander I was very involved in the negotiations); with the Austrian von Gentz serving as secretary. The objective of the Congress was to establish a long-term European peace through negotiated resolution of a long and complex list of problems arising from the Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolution Period which preceded them. In fact, it became the beginning of an Alliance System between countries that established a European balance of power ensuring general peace for generations (that is, no conflict which became a conflagration consuming the entire continent). Participating leaders were generally conservative with little appreciation for republicanism or deep changes they believed would threaten the status quo. France lost all its conquests since the revolution, while Prussia, Austria and Russia made important territorial gains: Prussia got the West German States, Swedish Pomerania, the westernmost part of Poland and half the Kingdom of Saxony; Austria recovered Venice and much of northern Italy. Russia gained the lion share of Poland; and the new Kingdom of the Netherlands (Holland) was annexed to the then current Belgium. The Congress of Vienna would establish the map of Europe for years to come. In a map placed at the end of this article, we position the actual CoV diplomacy Issue counters gained by the Major Powers. In the lower right corner of this 1815 map, is placed the historical results measured as CoV Victory Points (VPs). In terms of the CoV Game, Russia eked out a victory over its Allied partners when Napoleon’s surrender occurs (the end of our CoV game). However, the events that took place after the occupation of France and the Vienna Congress slightly changed the final result insofar as France was concerned; Talleyrand’s outstanding performance defending the “new” France; excellent Austrian diplomacy; huge British economic resources; and to some extent Russian arrogance and Prussian demands made the final outcome more balanced in France’s favor; although Russia remained arguably the overall winner of the struggle (but not by much). The above table is simplified, but faithful to what occurred in the “Game as History”. The Congress of Vienna Design/Development Team hope readers enjoyed this four part “Game as History” article. Kindly feel free to pose any question or request for additional Congress of Vienna game information in the section InsideGMT provides at conclusion of this piece.

Footnotes

[1] Bold type in this article denotes the historical characters that appear in the Event card deck and Leader cards.  Bold Italic type designates the Issues, represented by cardstock counters that are moved, debated and resolved in the Diplomacy and Decision segments during the game’s Government phase. All the leaders that appear in CoV have a brief biography in the historical description of the event cards.  These can be viewed in an upcoming “Meet the Statesmen of Congress of Vienna” InsideGMT article. [2] In most cases garrisons left by the armies surrendered after 1-3 months of siege (except most notably Hamburg). In a high level strategy game like CoV; we avoid potential rules complexity by increasing the number of casualties in battles instead of adding a siege game mechanic.

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A Historical Introduction to the Congress of Vienna Period Part 1 of 4: The Gathering Storm (1805 – 1812) A Historical Introduction to the Congress of Vienna Period Part 2 of 4: Napoleon Resurgent (Spring 1813) A Historical Introduction to the Congress of Vienna Period (CoV) Part 3 of 4: Europe Aflame (July–December 1813)