1813 Campaign Maps

Salzwedel Campaign Map

This is the seventh revision during this current attempt to improve the command and control of the overall 1813 campaign.

On the previous six attempts I had tried to make the new system work on the existing campaign maps.  However this has proved impossible.

So for this attempt I have gone back to basics.   I want to keep the wargame maps, and also the maps I used for campaign phases.   The map above is the campaign map for the Salzwedel campaign, the last one in Northern Germany

This is about the right size to use for the campaign diary blog.   Each square is a 2x2 foot scenic square on the wargames table.   The number of the scenic square in shown top right on each square.   There are nine wargame tables on this map, which gives me sufficient space to manoeuvre the eight corps which will fight the campaign.   Most important it is easy to follow what is happening, even on a small screen.

So reluctantly I have decided to remake all maps above this level.

New Map of German Military Regions

The new map looks similar to the previous one.  But there are important differences.

Each square is a wargames table.  

There are now only nine Military Regions in Germany.   

The top three will be north Germany and feature 1^st French and Prussian armies

The middle three will be central Germany with 2^nd French and Russian armies

The bottom three will be south Germany with 3^rd French and Austrian armies

I have also taken a lot of liberties with the actual location of cities.   On the far left are Berlin, Dresden and Vienna, the three allied main depots.   Here they are shown as being in direct line north to south, in fact this is not so.

The same applies to the three on the left hand side.   Osnabruck, Dusseldorf and Strasbourg are the depots of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd French armies.

The three regions on the left will be the home depots of the French armies.    Those on the right the same for the allied armies.  

The campaign will be fought in the three centre regions.   The capitol of each region is shown in the centre of the map.  Again a liberty with the true location of these cities.   But this will make running the campaign much easier.

This map will not be used for the campaign diary blog.  It is only for planning purposes and to help me plan the rest of the maps.

Each of these regions are the same size as the Salzwedel map above.   But they cover a much larger area.   Each of these regions will be the scene of an ongoing series of campaign phases. 

So not only will the maps have to be redone, but the concept of stand-alone mini campaign phases will also have to be updated.

Big job, but at last I feel I am starting to make progress.

1813 Campaign Maps

New Military Regions in Germany

This map shows the proposed military regions in Germany.

Each square is a military district and a campaign phase, so there are a possible 99 such phases.   They are grouped together in sets of four, making a military region.  So there are 25 regions in Germany.

Each of these districts are nine wargame tables.

These will be dived into three campaign areas as at present.   North, Centre and South.   Each will have a French army fighting against either Prussian, Russian or Austrian armies.

The aim is to be able to run each of these three areas on the computer, to provide an oversight to the many campaign phases.  

New Brunswick Military Region

To play test this concept I produced a map showing all of the tables in the Brunswick Military Region.

Each square on this map is a 2x2 foot scenic square on the wargames table.   Nine of them make up one wargames table, outlined in red on this map.   So this region alone has 36 wargame tables.

The whole map is one Military Region.  The white lines show the four Military Districts in this region.

It is immediately obvious that there is just too much detail for one map.   The campaign is run on my desktop, and I can zoom in for all of the detail I need.  But it would not transfer to the Campaign Diary Blog.   Anyone wanting to follow the campaign on the blog would probably be using a mobile phone or tablet.  On either it would not be possible to grasp what is happening.

In addition because there is so much detail it would be difficult for me to coordinate the overall campaign.   Remember this is only one of 25 Regions in Germany.  And there will be a similar number in Spain.

Clearly this is not the answer.

Back to the drawing board.