Background to the new 1813 campaign

 National map showing campaign areas

New 1813 Campaign

This is a fictional campaign designed to produce interesting wargames.   It is not intended to recreate the historical campaign, but is loosely based on it.

The current campaign allows me to fight mini campaigns throughout Germany and Spain.   Each is a stand alone campaign, bearing little relation to those which went before or come after.

The new campaign will allow me to introduce a grand strategy element which will coordinate the five campaign areas and each mini campaign fought within those areas.

The first step is to create a new military command system throughout Germany and Spain.   This is now complete, including new maps for the whole campaign area.

The next step is to create the administration to allow me to control and coordinate these mini campaigns.

First I need a fictional historical background, a framework for the mini campaigns which will follow.   Below is the first attempt at this background      

Regional map showing start positions

Background

In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with an army which included many nationalities, including Prussia, Austria and the Confederation of the Rhine.   The invasion ended in his complete defeat and rout.   By the end of the year the broken survivors of his Grande Armee had reached the relative safety of Germany.

In January 1813 Napoleon ordered the creation of five new armies, three in Germany and two in Spain.  There were three sources of manpower available to him.   The survivors of the Russian campaign.   The large number of experienced men serving in Spain.  And new conscripts from France, Germany and Italy.  

Large numbers of experienced men were transferred from Spain to Germany to form the cadre of these new armies.   They were replaced with inexperienced conscripts.

The threat was from the large, but exhausted, Russian army which had halted at the river Elbe.

In Germany he could rely on Prussia to hold his northern flank, and Austria the southern flank.   What was left of the Grande Armee would hold central Germany.   The new brigades, divisions and corps would be formed in France, and deployed in Germany when completed.

Allied Plans

In early January Britain held secret talks with Austria, Prussia, Russia and Spain to form a new alliance against Napoleon.   They agreed a coordinated plan of attack in Germany and Spain.

The Prussian army would concentrate at Berlin and take Brunswick

The Russian army would concentrate at Dresden and take Erfurt

The Austrian army would concentrate at Vienna and take Munich

The British/Portuguese army would concentrate at Oporto and take Burgos

The Spanish army would concentrate at Seville and take Madrid

French Plans

On 1 February 1813 the allies declared war on France.  

This was not a complete surprise to Napoleon, who had received intelligence throughout January which caused him to prepare for an Austrian/Prussian/Russian attack in Germany.

However he had not yet completed the major reorganization of his new Grand Army.   Consequently he would not be able to oppose the initial allied army advance into central Germany.

On 20 February 1813 he issued orders to his five armies

1^st French army concentrate at Osnabruck and invade northern Germany

2^nd French army concentrate at Dusseldorf and invade central Germany

3^rd Bavarian army concentrate at Munich and hold Bavaria

4^th French army would concentrate at Burgos and hold northern Spain

5^th French army would concentrate at Madrid and invade southern Spain