New Forum for PBEM Campaign

Now that both sides are in contact along the river Saale in the PBEM campaign there have been a lot of questions raised regarding the rules. At this stage I need quick answers from each player to avoid slowing down the campaign, and these emails require a lot of time and cause delay. Worse, different players often ask the same questions but in a slightly different way, and that requires two long answers.

So I have started a new forum just to deal with the current PBEM campaign. In this way all players can read all questions raised, and also my answers. If they wish they can take part in the discussion, but need not if they don't want to. But all will have the opportunity to read all that is written about the rules and any problems arising from the campaign.

The blog will remain the public record of the campaign, but if anyone would like to follow the background they will find it at:

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/napoleonicpbemcampaign

Battle of Vimerio

Starting positions for the battle of Vimerio

Its been a very frustrating week. All of my efforts have gone into setting up the new PBEM Halle campaign and getting it started. Our wargaming has been put on hold and we are both missing it.

Jan and I will wargame any battles which need to be fought for the PBEM campaign, and we need to be able to wargame them quite quickly to avoid holding the campaign up. However we anticipated that there would be periods when there was a lot of campaign movement, but no fighting. So I came up with the idea of fighting Wellington's Battles to give us an ongoing wargame to fight.

Last Wednesday I set up Vimerio, which was to be the second in the Wellington's Battles series. For various reasons we were unable to get started on the game before the weekend, but expected we could start it on Saturday and finish Sunday.

On Friday the campaign movement resulted in two cavalry contacts. This involves four players, and each had to confirm what they wanted to do before I could proceed with the campaign. Unfortunately they live all over the world, so time zones (not to mention real life) get in the way. By Saturday I had three replies, but had to wait until Monday for the fourth. What the players decided could easily result in a campaign battle, so Jan and I could not start Vimerio until I received the fourth reply. And it could have arrived at any time.

So no wargame over the weekend. Today I got a reply, but one which requires clarification. So another wait. Meanwhile the table (see above) sits there waiting for us. Tonight I expect confirmation about the campaign.

However we have a busy few days coming up, and are not likely to be able to start either Vimerio or a campaign game.

I wanted to open my 1813 campaign to PBEM, so I can't really complain. Indeed I am really enjoying the experience, but I do miss the days when we could set up a game whenever we liked and play for as long as we liked.

Russians enter Leipzig

Although the King of Saxony has declared his country neutral this has not prevented the Russian army from entering Leipzig and taking possession of its military stores. Cossacks are approaching the east bank of the river Saale as the 1813 Halle campaign "hots up".

The PBEM campaign is approaching the first critcial phase, when the cavalry screens of each army contact each other, and both try to find out what the enemy is doing but prevent them from doing the same. With four corps, and four players, per side the next few moves of the campaign will be interesting as I try to keep track of who can see who and what each of them do.

You can follow the progress of the campaign by clicking on 1813 PBEM Halle Campaign Blog buttion on the right.

Napoleon on the March

Napoleon reviews his army at Fulda

The 1813 Halle PBEM campaign has finally started. Napoleon and Kutuzov are marching towards the river Saale and the first campaign moves have taken place. The rules have changed considerably from the previous Magdeburg campaign, and there has been some delay as I exchanged emails with the ten players to get the first moves done. The whole routine is different this time, and there have been a few teething problems.

The system is now in place. Napoleon and Kutuzov send daily orders to their eight corps commanders, who then issue daily movement orders. I plot both on the campaign map, notify the corps commanders if they have a contact with the enemy, and they then confirm what they want to do. There are three moves each campaign day to allow for all of this to happen. I then send a daily situation report to Napoleon and Kutuzov, and they issue the next days daily orders.

We have completed the first day and are starting on the second. So far so good. Mind there has been no contact with the enemy yet! I remember reading that one general (I can't remember who) said something along the lines that all plans go out of the window as soon as the two armies meet in battle. We shall see.

There will be a daily report on the blog. As all movement is hidden from the enemy it will not be a daily updated map as with Madgeburg. The blog will be a general account of the campaign, along the lines of a newspaper or bulletin. I have to be careful not to give the players too much information about what the other side is doing. If you would like to follow it you can do so by clicking on PBEM 1813 Halle Campaign on the right.

Visit to Almeida in Portugal

Almeida was an important border fortress in 1810 when it protected Portugal from invasion from Spain. It was also the setting for Bernard Cornwall's "Sharpe's Gold", which tells the story of the explosion which led to the premature surrender of the garrison to Marshal Ney in the same year and opened the road to Busacco and the Lines of Torres Vedras.

We visited the town in 1994 and this weeks "Walking Napoleonic Battlefields" deals with that visit. To read about it click on Spain and Portugalal Two on the right.

Battle of Rolica

This is the first of a new series of wargames based on Wellington's Peninsular battles. Each wargame will be based on one of Wellington's battles, but is not intended to be a refight of the historical battle.

Orders of battle will be changed to allow for a more balanced wargame. The idea is to have an enjoyable wargame, rather than a historical refight.

The first is based on Rolica, Wellesley's first battle in the Peninsular.

You can read the battle report by clicking on Wellingtons Battles on the blog list on the right.

Start of PBEM Halle Campaign

There has been an unexpected delay in starting the Halle campaign. The start up enmails went out on Monday, together with maps and player briefings. The first stage is for Napoleon and Kutuzov to issue their initial campaign objectives, and I did not set a deadline as I wanted them to have plenty of time to plan their campaign.

I was not surprised to be advised that they would like to delay until Monday, so that they could consult their corps commanders. However getting replies when they are spread throughout the world can be a time consuming problem. I have asked for the initial orders by Monday at the latest.

Each corps commander will then have to issue movement orders for the following day. The days are broken into three moves, each of four hours. So when the two armies get close together a lot might happen during one campaign day. They will also have to choose their route with care, as there are movement penalties for moving off road or through difficult terrain. Finally they will have to ensure that they have a clear supply route to their forward supply depots.

Nine of the ten players took part in the Magdeburg campaign, so I know they can be trusted to respond promptly and issue orders on time. However that was a very simple campaign compared to this one. All corps were displayed on the daily situation map, so there was little need for careful planning. It will be interesting to see how they get on with this more complicated campaign.