Special Napoleonic Italian Campaign HITS Event: Sat. 4 May

[exp101]

Special Napoleon Italian Campaign HITS Event
Saturday May 4/GCM TeamSpeak HITS Channel http://www.sowmp.com/gcm/home/teamspeak
In Europe: 19:00 GMT; 20:00 British Summer Time; 21:00 Central European Summer Time
In the US: 3:00 pm EDT; 2:00 pm CDT; 1:00 pm MDT; 12:00 pm PDT

Sign up to play at: http://doodle.com/2bq3q7rcv2vmat8w#table

Through the magic of modding, Scourge of War is now the best way to recreate Napoleon-era battles in multi-player. To introduce more players to Gunship24’s wonderful Napoleonic mod, “Road to Wagram/Peninsular” a special Napoleonic Italian Campaign MP game will be hosted on Saturday May 4. There’s no need to run the GCM Launcher or join the Battle Queue for this one!

There are many unique aspects of play involved with the Napoleonic mod. You will experience, for instance, cavalry charges, infantry squares, and 120 yard rifle ranges. The style of play is also different. As Marching Thru Georgia notes, “unlike the ACW games, [in Napoleonics] there tends to be a preliminary period before the infantry engages. During that time, artillery bombardments take place, cavalry try to establish their superiority and some of the infantry can go on long marches to attack an enemy flank.” In other words, preliminary action and maneuver is typically prolonged – with less of the dash-in for a quick fight.

Those new to this mod and format should consult the Step-by-Step Guide included in the previous Waterloo Event for a list of mods, maps & files that must be downloaded & activated for the game.
http://forum.kriegsspiel.org.uk/t698-sp ... t-april-13

For more background, screenshots, etc., visit these threads:
http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/napole ... -sp-and-mp
http://forum.kriegsspiel.org.uk/t695-sc ... f-war#6080
http://forum.kriegsspiel.org.uk/t663-na ... king-in-mp

Sides French (commanded by Prince Eugène) or Austrian (led by Archduke Johann ) and specific commands will be determined from preferences expressed in the Doodle sign up and as players show up. This will take a few minutes, so please be patient. Most standard KS and HITS/GCM game practices will be in place (e.g., Army CinC’s, 10 minute Council of War at launch; foliage remains always turned-on, etc.)

A full-resolution map of the battlefield may be downloaded at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ymufqe5lnqmhn ... -05-04.pdf

See you there!

W.J. Palmer

[Leffe7]

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Report by Archduke Johann
Commanding Austrian Forces in the Battle against French near Eixo, May 4th

The battle went very well and I am very pleased by the action of our men.
My Plan consisted of a diversionary movement in the north (Palmer), while the main attack would come from the south (Hays, Forrest, Khryses) against the French positions near Eixo.

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The splitting of my command meant a considerable risk, as the lines of communication were very long. Additionally I ordered to maintain a courier-silence until enemy contact was made to prevent courier interceptions by the enemy.
I stayed with Palmers division and the artillery in the center while our cavalry (Mitra) was nearby and spotted enemy cavalry to our south.
The first French colors were seen NE of Rio Duro, and reports came in about infantry moving north.
Palmers advance in direction of Eixo was halted when several French batteries lined up on a ridge just east of the Rio Duro. This was good news, because when the French artillery was here, they couldn't stop our southern attack.
There was a lull in the battle, when both sides artillery were taking their shots without huge effect.
No word or sighting of our southern force for a long time.

Mitra informed me that lot of enemy troops were deploying near Vimicso to counter our southern divisions, but I couldn't see much from my position. What if the enemy was concentrating on the south too with all of its forces and the artillery in the center was just a diversion for us? There was not much infantry to be seen, just one or two regiments around the artillery. But also some of the French Senior officers.

It was time to put everything on one card and to shorten our lines.
I ordered Palmer and Mitra's cavalry to move southwest to attack the French infantry which should (hopefully) also be attacked from the south soon.
I followed behind with the artillery.

Heavy action took place north of Vimicso, but the French lines crumbled soon under combined attacks from multiple directions.

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Palmer had to leave one Brigade east of the Rio Duro in squares as they were threatened by the French cavalry under Grouchy.

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The battle in the center was intense and the French lines had several holes in them.
Palmer went directly NW to the objective with just one brigade and even held it for a short time, while Hays and Forrests Divisions advanced N like an impregnable force.

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From my position NE of Vimicso I had to witness the charges of the French cavalry. They moved cautiously before, but repeatedly pushed the remnants of one of Palmers brigades and finally all-out charged my two artillery batteries there.

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I was not amused but it was a price I was willing to pay as the main action was going very much in our favour.
The enemy concentrated all its remaining infantry and artillery in a desperate attempt to maintain control of the objective, but it was obvious that it was only a question of time until they would be driven away by our forces.


I also enjoyed reading the courier messages during the battle. Not all of them were easy to understand: "Enemy spotted W of Estrada" - which Estrada?
And as a result of the deployments, the enemy cavalry was SE of our lines, while the rest of the French were NW. Lots of French couriers were intercepted and even some French Generals were captured when they fell drunken off their horse

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[Leffe7]

An intercepted message from French CinC to Grouchy

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2 Messages from Grouchy to French CinC (Kevin, I thought you would like to read them at some point

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And I also loved this message by AI-controlled Durutte to the French CinC.

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[exp101]

Archduke Johann’s Austrians met the French under Prince Eugéne Bonaparte in a desperate struggle for the vital cross-roads at Eixo on the Italian frontier. This contest featured the classic elements of Napoleonic conflict: preliminary, wide-ranging maneuver; feint; deception; cavalry charges; infantry squares.Over 50,000 men were involved.

Seeking to deliver a decisive blow from the south, the Austrians executed a brilliantly conceived plan and managed for a time to take the objective with a single brigade. They could not, however, hold. The French, harried by command-control difficulties and with a number of highly-placed leaders rendered hors de combat from weakness for the Italian grape, nevertheless held on to win a narrow victory.

Battle Replay: https://www.dropbox.com/s/196la31g25973 ... -05-04.zip

Follow the link below to see a summary of the battle results and player Order of Battle.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dy2s86j1va9lo ... -05-04.pdf

Respectfully submitted,
W.J. Palmer