Introduction by Congress of Vienna (CoV)’s Editor, Fred Schachter – To familiarize the InsideGMT audience of what designer Frank Esparrago created with his fun and exciting Congress of Vienna game, now a GMT P-500 offering which has “made the cut”; InsideGMT presented articles of “Designer’s Notes” and a “Game as History” series entitled “An Historical Introduction to the Congress of Vienna Period (CoV)”. Use this link to access copies of these articles: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-850-congress-of-vienna.aspx .

Because this is the third game of GMT’s “Great Statesmen” series, it seems appropriate to focus on those very Statesmen who make this Napoleonic Wars historical period so captivating to our hobby from perspective of the game Frank designed.

Consequently, following Part Three’s “Russian Contingent”, here’s the final part of a four part series: “Meet the Statesmen of Congress of Vienna – The French Contingent”.  

I enjoyed learning more of the historical figures behind the game’s cards and hope you do as well. Also, the CoV Team appreciates folks’ feedback, whether within this forum or elsewhere to this InsideGMT series. Now to conclude matters with its final installment by meeting the Great French Statesmen, War Leaders, and other “neutral” personages of Congress of Vienna…

In italics we include a brief description of the cards and their CoV opportunities and weaknesses:

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.

The French Statesmen

The French team has the strongest military base. They are experienced and formidable. France also has a huge amount of resources available to their leaders, but these need to be carefully distributed to meet multiple threats… and therein lies the French player’s conundrum.

Although French Leader Napoleon is extraordinarily efficient in conducting a military campaign or in aspects related to mobilizing his empire’s resources; he is “clumsy” (due to arrogance) when it comes to diplomatic matters. The French National Characteristic of “persuasion by force” allows them to “recover” their personage cards more easily than the other Major Powers.

In addition, France’s cards have many military bonuses corresponding to historical reality (Davout, Soult, Suchet, Eugene and other legendary commanders …), but the empire is desperately limited in the case of diplomatic personage cards. Yes, quite the problem… but that’s what makes playing Congress of Vienna’s France such a fun and interesting challenge!

First, let’s examine France’s Corps of Statesmen:

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821) is the “overwhelming central character” of the Congress of Vienna game and whom better to commence this overview of “The French Contingent”? He was a statesman and brilliant military leader whose genius brought him to prominence during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and again briefly in 1815 during The Hundred Days. Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions during the Napoleonic Wars.

Napoleon was a born leader, with extra-ordinary drive, charisma, and determination. Insisting on his right to make up his own mind, he demanded freedom of thought and action and did not let anything or anyone stand in his way once he committed to a goal. He was exceptionally creative, original and possessed a more than a touch of the remarkable. Napoleon’s approach to problems was unique for his time and he had the courage to wander from the beaten path… a true “out of the box” thinker. He was impatient with his shortcomings and those of others.

Napoleon maintained strict efficient work habits, prioritizing what needed to be done. He felt he had to win at everything he attempted. In battles, when he recognized opportunity, he seized it with a speed dizzying to his opponents. However, his victories heightened his sense of self-grandiosity, leaving him even more certain of his destiny and invincibility (and thereby making him vulnerable).

In terms of influence on events, it was more than Napoleon’s personality that was behind his accomplishments… the man had talents: he reorganized France itself to supply the men and money needed for war. He inspired his men –it said his presence on a battlefield was worth 40,000 soldiers: for he inspired confidence from privates to field marshals while also unnerving his enemies. These attributes neutralized material difficulties. His soldiers fought with passionate confidence that with their emperor in charge they would surely prevail.

At age 26, he began his first military campaign leading an army, winning virtually every battle, conquering the Italian Peninsula in a year, and becoming a war hero in France. In 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt and the Middle East that served as a springboard to domestic political power. He orchestrated a coup in November 1799 to become First Consul of the Republic. His ambition, support of the army, and well cultivated public approval inspired him to go further and he became first Emperor of the French in 1804.

In 1805 the Third Coalition of Austria, Russia and Great Britain was formed to foil his and France’s seemingly ever ascending trajectory. However, Napoleon shattered this coalition with his decisive victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. In 1806, Prussia, Russia and Great Britain took up arms against him; but he quickly and decisively defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstädt, then marched his magnificent Grande Armée deep into Eastern Europe and at the battle of Friedland humbled the Russians in June 1807. France subsequently forced Russia to sign the Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807, which signified a high watermark for the French Empire.

In 1808 Napoleon invaded the Iberian Peninsula, hoping to extend the Continental System and cut off British trade while installing his brother Joseph upon Spain’s throne. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support. The subsequent Peninsular War lasted a horrendously bloody six years, featured extensive vicious guerrilla warfare, and concluded in victory for the British, Spanish and Portuguese forces under Wellington’s military leadership.

During the summer of 1812, Napoleon launched a major onslaught on Russia with the largest army seen in Europe so far. The campaign destroyed Russian cities and resources, including much by the Russians’ own hands through “Scorched Earth”, and after a costly indecisive victory at the Battle of Borodino, the emperor captured Moscow. But in the end this invasion resulted in the collapse and utter destruction of the Grande Armée which inspired a renewed push against him by his enemies.

Napoleon left the remains of his army to return to Paris (to deal with potential political threats and commence rebuilding a new Grande Armée) while preparing a defense of Poland and Prussia against the advancing Russians. However, the Russians and their new Prussian allies had the advantage of shorter supply lines and were able to replenish their armies with greater speed than the French, especially because Napoleon’s losses of cavalry made harrying their supply lines ineffective.  The Cossacks, meanwhile, penetrated all the way to Hamburg.

Napoleon vowed he would create a new army, albeit not to the same quality as that lost in Russia’s snows (that was now impossible: particularly insofar as cavalry was concerned), and quickly built up his forces in the east from 30,000 to 400,000. Napoleon won against the Allies at Lützen (2 May) and Bautzen (20–21 May 1813); but he himself lost about the same number of men during those encounters. The belligerents declared an armistice from 4 June 1813 which lasted until 13 August, during which time both sides attempted to recover from their losses and woo Austria.

For Austria had extricated itself from its 1809 defeat-imposed alliance with Napoleon and remained neutral. Its foreign minister Metternich aimed to mediate a peace between France and its continental enemies, but when it became apparent Napoleon was not interested in compromise, Austria joined the allies and declared war on France. Two principal Austrian armies deployed in Bohemia and Italy, thereby adding 250,000 troops to the Allied cause.

Following the end of the armistice, Napoleon seemed to have regained the initiative at Dresden (26–27 August 1813), where he defeated a numerically-superior allied army and inflicted enormous casualties, while sustaining relatively few of his own. However, at about the same time, his subordinates’ thrust towards Berlin was beaten back and the French sustained several defeats.

Napoleon concentrated his main army at Leipzig (Saxony) where he believed he could fight a successful interior lines defensive action against the Allied armies marching on him. There, at the so-called Battle of Nations (16–19 October 1813), his Grande Armée found itself faced by three Allied armies converging upon it. After those days of fierce battle a severe French defeat resulted. However, the French emperor was still able to manage a relatively orderly retreat west. He withdrew back into France, his army reduced to 100,000 soldiers with few cavalry; where he faced more than three times as many Allied troops.

Now the French were defending the sacred soil of France. British-led armies from Spain pressed in from the southwest and other Coalition forces positioned themselves to attack westward from a now liberated Germany. Napoleon, still a brilliant commander, won a series of victories in the Six Days’ Campaign, though these were not significant enough to turn the tide.

Paris was surrendered to Allied forces at end of March 1814. On 1 April, the French Senate under Talleyrand’s prodding turned against him; the Senate passed the Acte de déchéance de l’Empereur which declared Napoleon deposed. When Napoleon attempted to get the army to march on the capital and recover imperial power, his marshals mutinied. Bowing to the inevitable, he unconditionally abdicated (then attempted to commit suicide, but the poison failed). In the ensuing Treaty of Fontainebleau, the Allies exiled Napoleon to Elba, a small island in the Mediterranean.

However, in 1815 he escaped from there and landed on the French mainland to commence his way towards Paris with a growing army among cheering crowds. The unpopular King Louis XVIII Bourbon fled to Belgium after realizing he had no political support. On 13 March, the Allied Powers at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw. A triumphant Napoleon arrived in Paris on 20 March and once again governed France for a period now called The Hundred Days.

By the start of June the armed forces available to Napoleon had reached 200,000 and he decided to go on the offensive: to attempt driving a wedge between the oncoming British and Prussian armies before they could be joined by massive Austrian and Russian forces approaching from the east. His army was decisively defeated by the two Coalition armies commanded by Wellington and Blucher, at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

He was forced to again abdicate. This time, the British government kept Napoleon on the remote island of Saint Helena in the middle South Atlantic Ocean. During February 1821, Napoleon’s health began to deteriorate and he died (some say under suspicious circumstances) on 5 May 1821.

In the Congress of Vienna game we had a difficult task synthesizing in a card the complex and extraordinary personality and talents of Napoleon Bonaparte. This effort included recognizing his powerful presence on the battlefield, leadership, strategic capabilities, sense of opportunity as well as his organizational and political genius while taking into account his negative attributes such as impatience, lack of diplomatic tact, strong ego, ruthlessness and the contradictions of his being a modern and advanced man, proponent of the French Revolution’s ideals, while being an emperor ruling with absolute power!

We decided to make Napoleon a 7-value Leader card and provided it with an important military use: +6 DRM only in battles in Central Europe and the Paris space (here we have preferred to adjust to historical reality) along with the possibility of performing a “free” military operation (reflecting organizational capabilities). When this card is combined with Berthier’s, his excellent Chief of Staff, it increases Napoleon’s effect in battle.

To simulate the emperor’s organizational brilliance in the 1813 reconstitution of the Grande Armée, we made that the “French Recruitment” Issue cannot to be debated (that is, impeded) and also provided the French player an additional military unit (cube) when a Recruitment Issue is won.

Only for Minor Countries Issues is Napoleon penalized; which adds a bit more historical flavor to the game.

Bonaparte, Joseph (1768 –1844) was a French diplomat and the elder brother of Napoleon, who made him King of Naples (1806–1808), and later King of Spain (1808–1813). He had virtually no positive influence over the course of the Peninsular War: His nominal command of French forces in Spain was mostly illusory; as the French commanders theoretically subordinate to King Joseph insisted on checking with Napoleon before carrying out his instructions (an approach suffering from the disadvantages of early 19^th Century communications).

He abdicated and returned to France after the main French forces were defeated by a British-led coalition at the Battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813. During the closing campaign of the War of the Sixth Coalition, Napoleon left his brother to govern Paris with the title Lieutenant General of the Empire. As a result, he was again in nominal command of the French Army at the Battle of Paris… a battle resulting in the March 1814 Allied capture of the capital. After 1815, he settled in Philadelphia until 1832, and again from 1837-39.

Joseph is a medium 3-value card for France. However, for historical reasons, we endowed him with a +2 DRM in the War Phase for battles in Spain before the Armistice; although when this card is in British hands it provides a -4 DRM inflicted on France (yikes!). This reflects Joseph’s painfully inept military behavior during the early 1813 campaign in Spain until he was replaced by the competent Soult!

Caulaincourt, Armand-Augustin-Louis, Marquis de, Duke of Vicenza (1773 –1827) was a French soldier, diplomat and close personal aide to Napoleon. In 1807, he was sent as ambassador to St. Petersburg, where he endeavored to maintain the Treaty of Tilsit alliance between France and Russia. During this time he developed a friendship with Tsar Alexander I. In 1811, with Napoleon preparing to declare a profound change in policy regarding Russia, he was sent for and returned to France.

In early 1812, he strongly advised Napoleon against the proposed invasion of Russia; but he was unsuccessful in dissuading him. Caulaincourt accompanied the Grande Armée and was with the emperor at the Battle of Borodino. During the French occupation of Moscow that followed; he repeatedly warned the Napoleon of the dangers of wintering in Russia… but the emperor, seeking the Tsar’s capitulation, a surrender which never came, tarried too long in the burnt-out Russian capital. During the subsequent French retreat, he experienced the Grande Armée‘s disintegration and implored Napoleon to return directly to France to stabilize the political situation there and in Europe overall. Napoleon heeded that sage advice, choosing Caulaincourt to travel alongside him to Paris in December 1812.

In 1813 he was charged with all diplomatic negotiations following the death of the previous office holder, General Duroc. Caulaincourt signed the armistice of Pleswitz, June 1813, which suspended for seven weeks hostilities between France, Prussia and Russia. During related negotiations, he represented France at the August 1813 Congress of Prague. Those negotiations failed and hostilities resumed, this time with Austria joining the fray against Napoleon.

With France invaded and Paris captured, the Treaty of Fontainebleau on 10 April 1814 ended the war and, thanks to Caulaincourt’s efforts playing upon his influence with the Tsar, contained the provision for Napoleon’s exile on the island of Elba after abdication. Caulaincourt’s  Mémories form a vital historical source chronicling the events of 1812-1814 from a most interesting direct involvement perspective.

Caulaincourt is an excellent 4-value card. It also has a +1 modifier for Issues located on the Russian National Track usable by all four of the Major Powers. However, as it has a -1 modifier for Austria and Britain, it is an unattractive card for these players so they will use it during the initial Selection of Issues Round or trade it to France at a later time.

Fouché, Joseph, Duke of Otranto, (1759 –1820) was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon. He was particularly known for the ferocity with which he suppressed the Lyon insurrection during the 1793 Revolution. During the French Consulate (1799–1804), he efficiently countered opposition to Bonaparte and helped increase the centralization and efficiency of the French police. He also carefully tempered Napoleon’s more arbitrary actions. After the proclamation of the French Empire, Fouche again became head of the re-constituted Ministry of Police (July 1804) and later of Internal Affairs.

His agents were omnipresent, using eerie precursors to more modern police-state techniques, and the terror which Napoleon and Fouché inspired partly accounts for the absence of effective domestic conspiracies during the French Empire period.

Nevertheless, Napoleon did retain feelings of distrust, or even fear, towards the powerful Fouché and on 3 June 1810 he dismissed him from office. However, Napoleon never completely disgraced nor eliminated a diabolically clever man who might again prove useful.

During early 1812 Fouché attempted in vain to turn Napoleon from the planned invasion of Russia. When the emperor returned in haste from Moscow to Paris at the close of that year, the ex-minister of police was suspected of involvement in the conspiracy of Malet, which had been unexpectedly initially successful. However, Fouché cleared his name and gave the emperor useful internal affairs and international diplomatic situation advice.

In 1814, the treacherous Fouché defected. He joined the invading allies and plotted against Napoleon. However, in1815, this man of self-serving resilience joined Napoleon again during his return to power and became police minister during the latter’s short-lived reign of The Hundred Days. After Napoleon’s ultimate defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the quicksilver Fouché resumed plotting against Napoleon and joined the parliamentary opposition to the defeated emperor. He headed the provisional government and tried to negotiate with the allies. These final efforts went unappreciated and unawarded.  He died in Trieste exile 1820.

Fouché’s skill at discovering plots against Napoleon and the police terror he created made him a feared and hated figure. In many aspects he was a second-rate intellect and Napoleon never gave him his fullest trust… with good reason.

This is the most powerful French diplomacy card.  It is 4-value but, with its French +1 modifier for debating, it is in reality a 5-value Diplomacy Phase card. For historical proposes we added a negative modifier for the other players. Like Caulaincourt, Fouché is only an average value card to the other Major Powers due to its -1 modifier. This unattractiveness to them means France could anticipate receiving this card offered in trade.

Gaudin, Martin Michel Charles, duc de Gaete, (1756– 1841) In 1791, he was appointed commissioner of the national treasury. He fulfilled his task there with great talent and courage during a particularly difficult French Revolutionary period. From that time on he was subject to continual accusations from which he escaped by his strict probity and understanding of business. With the help of the Minister of Finance opposing Robespierre; he managed to save the lives of the 48 receivers general of finance (tax collectors), which the Radical Convention wanted to lead to the scaffold.

Repeatedly denounced, Gaudin miraculously managed to keep his post until 1795, when he resigned in the midst of worries of all kinds, exhausted from fatigue, he withdrew from service for three years. He was 39 years old.

But the days of empire commenced and Napoleon appointed him Minister of Finance the day after the coup d’etat of 18 Brumaire. Gaudin set to work on major financial reforms by creating a body of civil servants directly dependent on the minister: one receiver per district and one Receiver General per department. He imposed the bond on all public servants, including tax collectors, and re-established indirect taxes such as grants, then taxes on tobacco, drinks and salt. Gaudin even established a lottery. Likewise, he organized the finances of Liguria in 1805, then those of Holland in 1811.

Finally, he created the Bank of France. He borrowed the idea of ​​the cadaster, which was his great concern to establishing in a fair way for land taxation. Gaudin presented the first French budget really worthy of the name. All these reforms were not accomplished without struggle, but they worked and worked very well. Basking in Napoleon’s appreciation, Gaudin therefore remained Minister of Finance until 30 March 1814.

From March to July 1815, during The Hundred Days, he was Minister of Finance for the third time. During his long career Gaudin always remained faithful to Napoleon, and in the sitting rooms of the French Restoration, when Royalists attacked the memory of the emperor, he never failed to defend him.

An excellent 3-value card, but the French player also can receive an always appreciated free resource marker when it is used for many economic Issues.  It also has positive modifiers for Issues: which are +1 for “British Financial Aid” and “Holland” with a +2 for “Italy” and “Liberalism”. Gaudin is thus a key French card for diplomacy!

And now, the game’s two Undefined Personage Cards (neither French Statesmen nor Military Leaders: they’re considered “Neutral”)!

Frederick Augustus I (1750 –1827) was Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 and King of Saxony from 1806 to 1827. He was also Duke of Warsaw from 1807 to 1813. He remained a loyal ally of France even after the disastrous Russian campaign (1812–1813). Although he started half-hearted negotiations with Austria; he broke them off after the French victory at Lützen (May 1813).

In the Battle of Leipzig (October 1813), however, his Saxon troops went over to Prussia and he was taken as prisoner to Berlin. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Frederick Augustus lost three-fifths of his territory to Prussia. He spent the rest of his life attempting to regain his truncated state.

This is an apparently low 2 value card. However, it presents a +2 and +3 modifier (which converts Frederick Augustus into a 4 or 5 value card) for “Poland” and “Saxony”. It also provides an additional +1 for “Saxony” to France or Austria. This makes it for either of them a 6-value card for this Issue (and possibly receiving a free military unit if you control the Saxony space. Consequently, this card is often seen used many times during a game. A savvy French or Austrian player should take advantage of that!

Talleyrand-Périgord, Charles Maurice de (1754 – 1838), 1st Prince of Benevento, then 1st Prince of Talleyrand, was a laicized French bishop, politician, and diplomat. He worked as Foreign Minister or in some other diplomatic capacity. His long career spanned the regimes of the French Revolution, Napoleon, Louis XVIII, and Louis-Philippe. Those he served often distrusted him but, like Napoleon, found him extremely useful when it suited their purposes. The name “Talleyrand” has become a byword for crafty and cynical diplomacy.

During the French Revolution’s Terror, he was exiled in Britain and the United States (1792 -1796). The newly established Directoire suppressed his name from the banned émigré list and he returned to France. Talleyrand was made Foreign Minister by Napoleon (1799). Although he often disagreed with the emperor’s foreign policy, he was instrumental in the completion of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. He wanted Napoleon to keep peace afterwards, as he thought France had reached its maximum realistic limits of expansion. In May 1804, Napoleon bestowed upon him the title of Grand Chamberlain of the Empire.

Talleyrand was opposed to the harsh treatment of Austria in the 1805 Treaty of Pressburg and of Prussia by the 1807 Peace of Tilsit. In 1806, he personally greatly profited from the reorganization of German lands, this time into the Confederation of the Rhine. Having wearied of serving a master in whom he no longer had confidence; Talleyrand resigned as French Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1807. After his resignation, he began accepting bribes from hostile powers (mainly Austria, but also Russia), to betray Napoleon’s secrets.

In the aftermath of the 1814 fall of Paris into Allied hands; he led the French Senate in establishing a provisional government, of which he was elected president. The next day, 2 April, the Senate officially deposed Napoleon with the Acte de déchéance de l’Empereur and by 11 April had approved the Treaty of Fontainebleau. It adopted a new constitution to re-establish the Bourbon monarchy. Talleyrand was chief French negotiator at the Congress of Vienna, and, during that same year, he signed the Treaty of Paris. It was due in part to his diplomatic skills that the terms of the treaty were remarkably lenient towards France.

Talleyrand served no less than eight regimes, and despite being of obnoxious and dubious moral character, he was, with Metternich, a foremost diplomat of his day and supreme realist of the European international political scene.

This is one of those cards we wanted in our game at all costs, since Talleyrand was a key figure of the Congress of Vienna.

Although he was French, he was generally against Napoleon and flirted with all the other Powers’ diplomats whom he well-knew after a career of more than twenty years working for French diplomacy. Therefore, he is color coded for all four Major Powers’ use.

We endowed him as a 5-value-card; but since it has a +1 in debate, and quite a few positive modifiers for different Issues, Talleyrand is really on numerous occasions a powerful 7-card when you have it in your hand under the right circumstance. He is perhaps the best diplomatic card of the game; therefore, take advantage of him when his card is in your possession!

The French Generals: their Men of War!

Here are the legendary “shining stars” of Imperial France’s marshalate, names which reverberate through time and excite so many historical gamers’ imaginations. They reflect military talents from the superb to mediocre:

Berthier, Louis-Alexandre, 1st Prince of Wagram, Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel (1753 –1815) was a French Marshal and Vice-Constable of the Empire, as well as a brilliant Chief of Staff to Napoleon.

In 1796, he was Chief of Staff (major-général) to the Army of Italy, under a youthful Napoleon’s command. Berthier deployed high power of work, accuracy and quick comprehension, combined with his long and varied experience and complete mastery of detail, which made him the ideal Chief of Staff for the dynamic Bonaparte. In this capacity he was Napoleon’s most valued assistant for the remainder of his career.

In 1800, at the close of the Marengo campaign, he was employed in civil and diplomatic issues; this included a mission to Spain, which resulted in the retrocession of Louisiana to France by the Treaty of San Ildefonso, 1 October 1800, which led to the Louisiana Purchase by the United States of America.

He took part in the campaigns of 1805, 1806, 1807, the Peninsular War (1808), and the 1809 Bavaria and Austria actions, from which he received the title of Prince of Wagram. He was with his emperor in Russia 1812, Germany 1813, and France 1814; fulfilling, until Napoleon’s first abdication, the critical functions of Chief of Staff to the Grande Armée.

Berthier was an immensely skilled and effective Chief of Staff, but he was not a great military commander in his own right. When he was in temporary command of a field force during 1809, the French army in Bavaria underwent a series of reverses. His merit as a general was completely overshadowed by the genius of his emperor. Berthier is nevertheless renowned for his excellent organizational skills and being able to understand and carry out the emperor’s directions to the minutest detail: an emperor who wanted a man capable of relieving him of all administrative drudgery, to understand him instantly, while successfully anticipating what he would need and when he’d need it.  In these things Berthier excelled.

Following Napoleon’s first abdication, Berthier retired, but on Napoleon’s return to France, he withdrew to Germany where he died a few weeks later on 1 June 1815 in a fall from an upstairs window. The circumstances of his death remain uncertain. According to some accounts, he was assassinated by members of a secret society, while others maintain that, maddened by the sight of Russian troops marching to again invade his beloved France, he threw himself from a high window and was killed.

The loss of Berthier’s skills during the Waterloo Campaign was keenly felt by Napoleon.

Apparently a low 2-value card, Berthier has +2 modifier for the Issues of “Recruitment” and “Military Operation”. However, his great value in CoV is combining him with Napoleon’s card in battle. In this case, it has a +2 DRM and duplicates Wellington’s double dice roll tactical ability.  Napoleon with Berthier as his Chief of Staff is a powerful partnership indeed!

Davout, Louis-Nicolas, 1st Duke of Auerstädt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl (1770 – 1823) was a French general who was Marshal of the Empire. His talent for war along with a reputation as a stern determined disciplinarian earned him the title “The Iron Marshal”. Davout fought at Austerlitz (1805) with great distinction. He then fought and won the Battle of Auerstädt against the main Prussian army, which had more than twice as many soldiers at its disposal than the French. During the war of 1809, Davout took part in actions which culminated in the Battle of Eckmühl, while also distinguishing himself at the Battle of Wagram, where he commanded the right wing.

With the 1812 invasion of Russia, Davout commanded the 70,000 man I Corps and defeated the Russians at the Battle of Mohilev before uniting with the main Grande Armée. With the retreat from Moscow his fortunes declined slightly. In 1813 he commanded the Hamburg military district, winning the action of Lauenburg and staunchly defending Hamburg, through a long siege, only evacuating it after the fall of Napoleon in April 1814. 

Davout was such a good and talented administrator that, with Berthier’s absence (see preceding summary), Napoleon kept him in Paris as Minister of War rather than in a field command during 1815’s The Hundred Days.  His military talents would be sorely missed during the Waterloo Campaign.

Davout is an excellent French 5-value-card with a +2 modifier for the “Norway” and “British Financial Aid” Issues. It has a -2 when used by other players so they will likely normally use it during the initial diplomatic round and you will not have opportunity to trade it with them. As a battle card, Davout has an impressive +6 DRM in defensive battles after the Armistice in Northern Europe. That makes him a hard barrier to Allied generals!

Eugene Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (1781 – 1824) was the first child and only son of Alexandre de Beauharnais and Josephine, first wife of Napoleon. He was born in Paris, and became the emperor’s stepson and adopted child. He was Viceroy of Italy under his stepfather.

During the War of 1809, he was put in command of the Army of Italy. In April he fought and lost the Battle of Sacile against Archduke John’s Austrian army; but he decisively won the rematch at the Battle of the Piave in May and the Battle of Raab in June. After joining the main French army, he took part in the Battle of Wagram.

During the Russian campaign of 1812, Eugene again commanded the Army of Italy with which he fought at the Battles of Borodino and Maloyaroslavets. After Napoleon and then Murat left the retreating army, he took command of Grande Armée remnants and led them back to Germany in early1813. During the spring campaign of 1813, he fought at the Battle of Lützen. Napoleon then sent him back to Italy, where he organized its defense against the Austrians, holding out on the river Mincio, keeping them at bay, until Napoleon’s 1814 abdication.

After this, Eugene retired to Munich and at the behest of his father-in-law King Maximilian of Bavaria; he did not get involved with Napoleon and France again. His undoubted qualities as both man and soldier earned him Napoleon’s respect.

This is an average French card (3-value) with +2 modifier for the “Italy” and “Bavaria” Issues. If you use Eugene in these Issues you can easily obtain both VPs and additional military units. However, it is an excellent battle card in Northern Europe before the Armistice and especially on the Italy front afterwards; since there are few capable French generals available to defend that wealthy region from a possible Austrian invasion.

Murat, Joachim (1767 –1815) was a Marshal of France under Napoleon. He was also the 1st Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808, and King of Naples from 1808 to 1815. He received his titles in part by being Napoleon’s brother-in-law through marriage to his younger sister, Caroline Bonaparte, as well as through personal merit. For Murat was an excellent and charismatic leader of cavalry. He was in charge of the French Army in Madrid when the popular 2 May uprising (1808) that started the Peninsular War broke out.

Murat fought in the Russian Campaign of 1812 and during the German Campaign of 1813. However, after France’s crushing defeat at Leipzig, Murat reached an agreement with the Austrian Empire in order to save his own throne. He realized the European nations meeting at the Congress of Vienna had the intention to remove him from power and return the Kingdom of Naples to its Bourbon rulers.

Murat deserted his new allies before the Waterloo Campaign. He was defeated by Austrian forces in the Battle of Tolentino (May 1815). He fled the field but was soon captured by forces of the Bourbon King of Naples. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death by firing squad.

Without a doubt Murat is the worst French card for the Diplomacy Phase.  However, to reflect his superb performance as French cavalry leader during the 1813 campaign; we have given him a +3 DRM in battle. As he defected from the French cause after the battle of Leipzig, Murat has no value in the War Phase during the game thereafter. In CoV this fact has been included so when the Allied tide approaches France (when either or both the spaces of Italy or Bavaria become Allied-controlled) his battle DRM disappears.

Ney, Michel, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of Moscow (1769 –1815), was a French soldier and military commander during the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Marshals of the Empire.

During the retreat from Moscow, Ney commanded the Grande Armée’s rearguard. After being cut off from the main army by fighting the Battle of Krasnoe, Ney managed to escape under cover of a heavy fog. For this action Ney was given the nickname “the bravest of the brave” by Napoleon. He then fought at the Berezina and helped hold the vital bridge at Kovno, where legend portrays Ney as the last of the invaders to cross the bridge and exit Russia.

During the 1813 campaign Ney was wounded at Lützen and commanded the left wing at Bautzen. The Chief of Staff of Ney’s group of corps was Jomini, who rendered distinguished services before and at the Battle of Bautzen (Yes… this is THE Jomini who would later go on to author a host of military theory works such as 1838’s “Summary of the Art of War”.). During the armistice Jomini went into Russian service. Jomini’s absence caused Ney´s performance to suffer.  

Ney was heavily defeated at Dennewitz and was wounded at the Battle of Leipzig. During the 1814 campaign in France, Ney fought several battles and commanded various units. At Fontainebleau, Ney became the spokesperson for the Marshals’ revolt on 4 April 1814, demanding Napoleon’s abdication.

In 1815, when he heard of Napoleon’s return to France, Ney, was determined to keep France at peace and show his loyalty to Louis XVIII. He therefore organized a force to stop Napoleon’s march on Paris. He also pledged to bring Napoleon back alive in an iron cage. Napoleon, aware of Ney’s plan, sent him an affectionate letter which swayed him. Despite his promise to the King, Ney joined his emperor for The Hundred Days. When Napoleon was defeated and exiled for the second time; Ney was arrested, found guilty of treason, and executed.

Ney was admired by the French common soldiers. However, he had certain shortcomings as a strategist and planner, but was an extremely able and aggressive battle commander who displayed boundless courage and dash.

This is an average French 3-value card. As a battle card Ney is an excellent companion before the Armistice but a mediocre general after it.

Oudinot, Nicolas Charles, Duc de Reggio (1767 –1847) was a Marshal of France. He was wounded a remarkable 34 times in battle. He took a leading role in the Campaign of 1805, commanding the famous division of “grenadiers”, made up of hand-picked troops, with whom he seized the Vienna bridges. In 1807, he fought with resolution and success at the Battle of Friedland.

In 1809, after the Battle of Wagram, he was promoted to the rank of Marshal of France. He was made Duke of Reggio in the satellite Kingdom of Naples. From 1810 to 1812 Oudinot administered the government of Holland and commanded the II Corps of La Grande Armée in the Russian campaign. His corps was instrumental in building the bridge-of-escape over the Berezina.

He fought at the Battle of Lützen and the Battle of Bautzen (May 1813). When Oudinot held independent command of the force directed to take Berlin, he was defeated at the Battle of Grossbeeren. He was then superseded by Marshal Ney; but the latter was defeated at the Battle of Dennewitz.

Oudinot held important commands at the Battle of Leipzig and in the 1814 campaign of France. On Napoleon’s abdication, he rallied to the new government and was made a Peer of France by the Bourbon Restoration. Unlike many of his old comrades, he did not join Napoleon during his return to France in March-June of 1815.

This is a French average 3-value card. As a battle card, Oudinot is a suitable companion to Napoleon with a +2 DRM. With independent command in Northern Europe, he is an average commander but incompatible with the Ney card.

Poniatowski, Prince Josef Antoni (1763 –1813) was a Polish leader, general and Minister of War, who became a Marshal of the French Empire. A nephew of former Polish King Stanislaw II, his military career began in the Austrian army, but later he patriotically joined the Polish army. He took part in the Polish-Russian War of 1792: when Polish forces were defeated he suffered exile.

In 1806, after Napoleon’s military triumphs allowed creation of the Duchy of Warsaw, he returned to his homeland and was appointed its Minister of War. In 1809 he commanded against Austria an allied to France Polish army.

He voluntarily took part in the French invasion of Russia in 1812. He was injured during the fighting for Moscow which eventually forced his return to Warsaw. After the disastrous retreat of the shattered Grande Armée from Russia, when many Polish leaders began to waver in their loyalty to Napoleon, Poniatowski resisted the pressure to change his allegiance and remained faithful to Napoleon and France.

On 5 February 1813, as the Russian army was about to enter Warsaw, Poniatowski and his Polish units moved out, uncertain of their immediate purpose. Eventually they reached Krakow, ostensibly under a now neutral Austria’s supervision, where they stayed a few weeks getting ready for whatever would come next. On 7 May, as the Russians were getting close to their positions, they departed Krakow and went through Bohemia to rejoin the emperor’s forces.

The Polish soldiers Poniatowski brought to Napoleon during the Armistice numbered 22,000. As a reward for his services, on 16 October, during the Battle of Leipzig, he was made a Marshal of the French Empire and entrusted with the duty of covering the French Army’s retreat. In the general final confusion, the French pre-maturely blew up the bridge of retreat before he and many other Imperial troops could cross it. Poniatowski tried to escape but, badly injured, drowned in the river.

This is a poor French card of but 2-value. However, its +3 DRM for the “Poland” or “Armistice” Issues for all players provides opportunities during Diplomacy Phase negotiations. As a battle card it’s +2 DRM makes it good for French battles in Central and Northern Europe. Alas, this card has a 1/3 chance of being removed from the game as a result of Poniatowski being killed in action from every battle in which he participates.

There are four personage cards that can die during a game’s course because of their advanced age or serious injuries in battle: Kutuzov, Von Scharnhorst, Tecumseh, and Poniatowski. This is indicated within the rulebook’s last paragraph of chapter 5.3 Game Cards (Character and Event):

We considered making more than these four susceptible to permanent or temporary removal; but chose to only have these included since they were historically eliminated during the game period and having more vulnerable could be unbalancing and impede player enjoyment.

Soult, Jean-de-Dieu, Duke of Dalmatia, (1769 – 1851) was a French general and Marshal of the Empire who also served three times as Prime Minister of France. Soult played a great part in many of the Grande Armée‘s famous battles, including the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805 and the Battle of Jena in 1806. In 1808 he was appointed to command the army with which Napoléon intended to conquer Spain. He was detailed by the emperor to pursue Sir John Moore’s British. At the Battle of Corunna, at which Moore was killed, Soult failed to prevent British forces escaping by sea. For the next four years Soult remained in Spain engaged in the trials of the Peninsular War.

In 1809, he invaded Portugal and took Oporto, but was eventually driven from Portugal by the Second Battle of Porto by Wellington. After the Battle of Talavera (1809) loss, Soult won a crushing victory at the Battle of Ocaña and then invaded Andalusia, taking Seville (1810) and Badajoz (1811). But the capture of Cadiz eluded him and led to a prolonged and futile two year Siege which proved a strategic disaster for the French.

In 1812, after Wellington’s great victory of Salamanca, Soult was obliged to evacuate Andalusia. Soon thereafter, he was recalled from Spain at the request of Joseph Bonaparte with whom he had always disagreed. Soult transferred to the Central Europe front.

In March 1813 Soult assumed command of the Grande Armée‘s IV Corps and fought at Lützen and Bautzen. The emperor soon had other plans for him and the experienced Soult was sent, with unlimited powers, back to Iberia to repair the damage done by the French defeat at Vitoria and counter Wellington’s invasion threat to the homeland.

It is to Soult’s credit that he was able to reorganize and inspire the demoralized French forces. His last offensives into Spain were turned back by Wellington in the Battle of the Pyrenees (Sorauren) and by Spaniards at San Marcial. Pursued onto French soil, Soult was maneuvered out of several defensive positions at the Battles of Nivelle, Nive, Orthez, and at the Battle of Toulouse. He nevertheless inflicted severe casualties on Wellington and was able to stop him from trapping French forces. Soult was consistently loyal to his emperor and his indubitable military skills merit a place alongside Napoleon’s ablest commanders.

This is undoubtedly one of the greatest French cards in CoV with its 4 value and +1 for the Issues of “Military Operations” or “Recruitment”. But if Soult is held for the War Phase, it is also an excellent battle card against the British within appropriate terrain (Gascony is best). With appropriate event battle cards or Suchet; he could be a formidable opponent indeed against Wellington. In fact, without this card in your French hand you cannot oppose Wellington in Spain with any realistic opportunity for success.

Suchet, Louis-Gabriel, Duke of Albufera (1770 –1826) was a French general and Marshal of the Empire. During the campaigns of 1805 and 1806, he fought at battles of Austerlitz, and Jena. Transferred to Spain, he took part in the Siege of Saragossa, after which he was named commander of the Army of Aragon.

In that role, Suchet soundly defeated Spanish armies in many battles. After the siege of Tarragona, he was named Marshal of France on 8 July 1811. In 1812, he captured Valencia, for which he was rewarded with the dukedom of Albufera.

When the tide turned against France, with his immense military talents, he stubbornly defended his Iberian conquests one by one until compelled to entirely withdraw from Spain, after which he took part in Soult’s defensive campaign of 1814.

Suchet is apparently a low 2 value card. However, it presents a +2 French modifier, which converts it into 4 value, for “Recruitment”. 

As for other players, unless used for “British Financial Aid”, it remains only a poor 2 value card. Consequently, France will likely receive it offered in trading card actions many times during a game/

A French player should take advantage of that for the war in Spain because of Suchet’s +3 DRM against Spanish units, increased by another +3 DRM for the Mediterranean front, which makes him a hard nut to crack in those three specified map spaces!

Finally, the French Allied Warrior Card (and He’s an American!)

Andrew Jackson (1767 – 1845) was an American soldier and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, Jackson gained fame as a general in the United States Army. Born in the colonial Carolinas to a Scotch-Irish family in the decade before the American Revolutionary War, he became a frontier lawyer and served briefly in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate representing Tennessee.

In 1801, he was appointed colonel of the Tennessee militia and was elected its commander the following year. He led troops during the Creek War of 1813–1814, winning the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. In the concurrent war against the Britain, Jackson’s victory in 1815 at the Battle of New Orleans made him a national hero. Jackson then led U.S. forces in the First Seminole War, which resulted in the annexation of Florida from Spain.

This is an average French card. As a battle card its remarkable and unique +3 DRM makes it a good asset for battles in America.

That brings this article segment and series to a close. The Congress of Vienna Design/Development Team apologizes that due this article’s format constraints, the game’s rules must be left implicit. We recognize appropriate rule references would better explain how CoV’s personage cards function within context of play and appreciate readers’ understanding.

Therefore, please feel free to pose any question and/or need for more information within the section InsideGMT provides for this purpose. 

Thank you for spending time learning more about the Congress of Vienna game!

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Meet the Statesmen of Congress of Vienna – The British Contingent (Part 1 of 4)

Meet the Statesmen of Congress of Vienna – The Austrian Contingent (Part 2 of 4)

Meet the Statesmen of Congress of Vienna – The Russian Contingent (with their Prussian and Swedish Allies) (Part 3 of 4)