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AAR: France 1805 PBEM game

 
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AAR: France 1805 PBEM game - 7/2/2005 11:40:08 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		The following is the first few turns of a PBEM game I am playing as France against a British opponent (1805 scenario). Because it is a PBEM game I’ll only post a few turns at a time, and only after the game has progressed well past them, so that my opponent (should he be reading these forums) gets as little information from them as possible!

September ‘05
I used Ralegh’s excellent guide to configure my economy. It really does make a difference when you change your labor from being spread out to simply focusing on one or two commodities in each province. In many provinces, there is labor allocated by the default scheme which does not even produce any commodities with the labor allocated. Why have some percentage of your manpower assigned to Iron in a province but still have the Iron output be zero? So thanks to Ralegh for pointing this out. I also re-configure my draft and crank up my tax rate as high as possible. France will need the money.

My strategy for the first few months is clear: defeat Russia and Austria as quickly as possible through large battles. At the same time, I can’t afford to let Britain sneak in the back door. My solution is to bring the Army of Italy and the Italian Corps up from the south, and I Corps and II Corps down from the Low Countries to converge on Ile de France. The Batavian Army will wait in Batavia in case my British opponent decides to invade there. Likewise, VII Corps will wait in Brittany where it can be reinforced from Ile de France once all my forces have converged. The troops in Flanders will all head south.

I re-assign my units until I have a more even distribution of unit types in each corps. This is more important for games with tactical battles, but I need all of my corps to be self-sufficient in case they get separated. So I dismantle the famous French “Reserve Cavalry” and “Reserve Artillery” corps in favor of this:
[image]armies.jpg[/image]

I am going to try and keep my corps somewhat spread out this turn (although that is difficult since there are really only a couple provinces – Baden and Württemburg – to move to) to limit foraging losses. Next turn I think I will have to place a depot in Würettemburg to keep my army fed.

I send my privateers into the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic, and a merchant fleet into the Balearic Sea. I am going to wait and see what happens with British naval movements before I commit any of my French fleets.

I think as a beginning player it is easy to forget about your diplomats, but this is a serious mistake. As France I have four to start. Talleyrand will go straight to England to Pressure Peace and hopefully cost my opponent lots of money (60 gold to maintain a state of war). He has the highest combination of Influence and Legal (70 + 50) and thus is the best candidate for this mission. Caulaincourt has the next best Influence (50) and thus is being sent to Prussia to try and improve relations with that country. Jerome and Fouché will travel through Austria, Jerome on his way to Turkey, and Fouché, with his low Influence but high Espionage, to remain in Austria and try to locate the Russian armies.





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French Battles: Sept '05 - 7/2/2005 11:50:47 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
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Status: offline 		Notable French battles in September '05





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< Message edited by bluemonday -- 7/2/2005 11:58:31 PM >

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French Glory: Sept '05 - 7/2/2005 11:59:18 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		French Glory after Sept. '05




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RE: AAR: France 1805 PBEM game - 7/3/2005 12:03:54 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		October ‘05
It looks like all of my armies moved except for … Napoleon’s. I’m not sure how the initiative and command bonuses work, because in every game as France this concentration of forces seems to move erratically no matter how I arrange the troops or structure the command.

An Austrian army has marched into Burgundy. The Austrians have placed a line of depots all the way to Paris, so I guess that’s where they’re headed. I am going to try to delay them in Champagne while I assemble my forces. The main force tasked with attacking Austria will assemble in Württemburg and Bavaria this turn, where I’ll probably have to put down a depot.

I managed a naval victory with my privateers, and the fact that I know my opponent is less experienced with the game than I am makes me inclined to be a bit more aggressive with my fleets that I would be otherwise. I’m going to send the French fleet from Brittany and Villeneuve’s fleet from Andalusia to rendezvous off the coast of Portugal with whatever remnants of the Spanish fleet might be left there.

My opponent has placed Canning in Ile de France, up to no good I’m sure. I’m going to bring Fouché back to try and expel him.





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Notable French battles: Oct '05 - 7/3/2005 12:08:45 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		Battles in October '05.





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< Message edited by bluemonday -- 7/3/2005 12:14:33 AM >

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French glory: Oct '05 - 7/3/2005 12:09:54 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		French Glory after October.




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French turn Nov '05 - 7/3/2005 12:18:42 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
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Status: offline 		November ‘05

Uh-oh. It looks like the Austrians are coming straight through the heart of France. I lost a battle to the Austrians in Champagne last turn, with a loss of 6 Glory and 11,000 French casualties. Ouch. My naval results weren’t so good, either.

Fortunately, I planned for the defense of Ile de France, only against the British! There is no sign of them, but with the Austrians next door to Paris, I’ll have to do a little improvisation. Luckily for me, the Austrian army has no generals attached, so its initiative will be low. Still, my forces are far away, so I will need time to concentrate them. In yet another stroke of luck, I have Fouché right where I need him, although I originally placed him there for other reasons. Why? With his Legal rating of 70 (!) he can use Delay Battle in Ile de France while my forces converge. The Army of Italy and the Italian Corps move from Provence, II Corps moves from Batavia, and VII Corps comes in from Brittany.

It’s a long way, but I hope Fouché can delay the battle long enough for me to gain numerical superiority or at least parity.

This screenshot summarizes the situation:





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Southern front in Nov 1805 - 7/3/2005 12:26:56 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		Meanwhile, in the Tyrol ...




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< Message edited by bluemonday -- 7/3/2005 12:28:11 AM >

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French battles in Nov 1805 - 7/3/2005 12:29:25 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		Notable battles in Nov '05




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French Glory after Nov 1805 - 7/3/2005 12:30:13 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		Glory for Nov '05




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France PBEM AAR: December 1805 - 7/3/2005 12:51:17 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		December ‘05
Success! The battle in Ile de France took place with a victory for the French forces and a reward of 14 Glory (actually two battles, as the Austrian armies moved separately due to their poor command).

In addition, there were two battles in Tyrolia, also both won by the French. That’s 34 Glory this turn from battles, Paris saved, and the French armies in Austria are on a roll. My next moves will be to harass the Austrian army as it retreats from France, and perhaps even trap it against the Spanish army that has moved into Burgundy.

Despite its victories, my main force in Austria is in a tight spot. One army is in Tyrolia, facing a two-province march to Styria and the Austrian capital. Another army, under Napoleon, is in Linz, adjacent to Styria but is menaced by a large Austro-Russian army in Carniola. Instead of allowing the allied armies to join up by having my armies converge on Linz, I will push Napoleon’s army into Styria, hoping that the mountains in Carniola (and better French initiative) will allow that battle to occur before allied reinforcements arrive. The Tyrolian army will press ahead into Linz and perhaps be available as reinforcements for a second battle. If I can win these battles, I can force Austria and perhaps also Russia to surrender. If not, I will have to hope a second attempt can do so once I bring down the reinforcements chasing the defeated Austrian army from the north.

But what about Britain? Will my opponent finally land British troops in France? That would tie down my northern army and force Napoleon to win on his own. It’s December – time for another Austerlitz?

==============

Since this is getting close to the current state of the game, I will refrain from posting for a while until we get ahead again.




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RE: French Glory after Nov 1805 - 7/3/2005 12:51:30 AM   
Banquet

 

Posts: 1184
Joined: 8/23/2002
From: England
Status: offline 		Excellent AAR bluemonday. I look forward to future updates. You've already helped my understanding on a couple of issues

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RE: French Glory after Nov 1805 - 7/3/2005 2:23:05 PM   
Ralegh


Posts: 1557
Joined: 2/1/2005
Status: offline 		If you make significant changes to the composition of an army, and issue movement orders, the movement probably won't occur.

I am not completely sure why - I think of it by the rule "dont detach and expect to be able to move".

Attaching units and then moving seems to work fine.

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HTH
Steve/Ralegh

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RE: French Glory after Nov 1805 - 7/3/2005 6:00:50 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Ralegh

If you make significant changes to the composition of an army, and issue movement orders, the movement probably won't occur.

I am not completely sure why - I think of it by the rule "dont detach and expect to be able to move".

Attaching units and then moving seems to work fine.

Interesting - thanks for the tip, Ralegh. I'll have another turn up today.

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Notable battles in Dec 1805 - 7/3/2005 7:19:23 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		Notable battles in Dec 1805




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French Glory: Dec 1805 - 7/3/2005 7:20:05 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		French Glory: Dec 1805




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France PBEM AAR Jan. 1806 - 7/3/2005 7:22:27 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		January 1806
Things didn’t exactly turn out as planned. The Austrians and Russians got the jump on me in Linz, but I actually won that battle and gave them a pretty severe thrashing. 33,000 Allied casualties and only 13,000 French. Unfortunately, that’s where things came unhinged – as my victorious army followed up into Styria (Vienna), it met Allied reinforcements and got trounced. Then, to make matters worse, Berthier’s corps showed up late … and also go trounced. I’m actually speculating here, because the PBEM replay function isn’t working for me. I can’t see the turn as it played out – only the results. In any case, Berthier fell back on the depot at Linz, while Napoleon was forced deep into Croatia.

Things are going better in France itself: the Austrian army that threatened Paris was almost completely destroyed in a battle in Champagne that earned me 10 Glory, and all that remains is to chase it out or just destroy it. I can also re-deploy some reinforcements to the Austrian front, where I clearly need some help.

One thing to remember as France: naval battle losses can really hammer your National Morale. I lost over 200 morale points on those two big losses I took a couple months ago. That really hurts.




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France PBEM AAR Jan. 1806 - 7/3/2005 7:23:32 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		However, this is worrying ...




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France PBEM AAR Jan. 1806 - 7/3/2005 7:45:58 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		So with the threat of Prussia breathing down my neck, I can't afford to wait for reinforcements. I think I am still able to defeat the Austrians and Russians, but I need to concentrate my forces. So I attach all my corps to their respective armies (Grande Armee I and Grande Armee II) and give orders for both to move into Styria. Jerome is there, and I set him to "delay battle" but his Legal rating is too low to do much good I think.




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Battles in Jan. 1806 - 7/4/2005 3:34:51 AM   
bluemonday

 

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Status: offline 		Jan. '06 battles




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French Glory: Jan. 1806 - 7/4/2005 3:35:57 AM   
bluemonday

 

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Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		French Glory: Jan. 1806




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RE: French Glory: Jan. 1806 - 7/4/2005 4:57:13 AM   
Reiryc

 

Posts: 4991
Joined: 1/5/2001
Status: offline 		So your human opponent got the prussian AI to declare war on you? Is that correct?

If so, then I applaud him on his treaty proposal as that was a good one. No offence to you of course... Great aar, thanks!

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RE: French Glory: Jan. 1806 - 7/4/2005 5:16:16 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Reiryc

So your human opponent got the prussian AI to declare war on you? Is that correct?

Yes sir!

quote:


If so, then I applaud him on his treaty proposal as that was a good one. No offence to you of course... Great aar, thanks!

No offense taken of course - I applaud him as well. And I curse him simultaneously.

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French PBEM AAR Feb. 1806 - 7/4/2005 7:07:32 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
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I got the battle I wanted in Styria. In fact, I got battles in both Linz and Styria, and won them both. The victory over the Russians is crucial because I need to force those jokers to surrender. I'm afraid I've lost a few too many battles to them, though, to deal them a knockout blow along with the Austrians. It's going to take longer.

Incidentally, this game is being played with no changes to the default settings except the fact that the French and British players are human. However, it has already taken me far longer to defeat Austria than it ever has playing solo with the same difficulty settings. I can only assume this is because my human opponent in Britain is setting rally points, and otherwise directing the Allied armies. I've lost more battles in this game in the 1805 campaign than I probably lost in all previous games combined. He also got the Turks to attack me early, which means they probably aren't bothering the Russians so much. Nice job on that.

So what to do now? I can't really go chasing the Russians and Austrians around now that I am besieging Vienna, because the faster I take Vienna down the sooner Austria surrenders. I'm going to place depots in Bavaria and Linz and hope my army stays together long enough to take down Austria. If the Austro-Russian army counterattacks, so much the better. What I need is another big battle, not a siege.

That Austrian flag to the west is really a Prussian army with a token Austrian lt. inf. division, as noted. I'm concentrating some forces around the Army of Italy and sending them north to protect Paris. The earlier threat to Paris has evaporated with that Austrian army basically annihilated. As soon as Napoleon finishes in Vienna he needs to go chase down the Prussians. The pressure is on.




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Battles in Feb. 1806 - 7/4/2005 7:17:07 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
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Status: offline 		No battles this turn, just sieges.




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French Glory: Feb. 1806 - 7/4/2005 7:18:05 AM   
bluemonday

 

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Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		Feb. Glory. Slim pickings with no battles ...




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RE: AAR: France 1805 PBEM game - 7/4/2005 10:21:55 PM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		March 1806
So no response from the Austrians or Russians. I breached the walls in Vienna again. Pretty soon the city is going to surrender, I hope. This delay in getting Austrian surrender is really a problem because ...

I'll post a composite screenshot of the map this time because things just got very interesting. Britain is about to land troops in Batavia. (You can see them on the transports as part of the fleet.) As soon as the Austrians decide to surrender, I can think about dealing with that problem.

The Prussian advance is tying down my troops who would otherwise be heading for Batavia right now. I hope next turn is the last turn I have to occupy Styria.




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Battles in March 1806 - 7/5/2005 3:36:27 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		Battles in March '06




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French Glory: March 1806 - 7/5/2005 3:37:49 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
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Status: offline 		French Glory: March '06




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RE: French Glory: March 1806 - 7/5/2005 3:50:01 AM   
bluemonday

 

Posts: 233
Joined: 6/20/2005
Status: offline 		April 1806
Now the extended campaign in Austria is really costing me. Still no surrender, and I just lost Batavia as a protectorate as the British have "liberated" it. That cost me five Glory. In addition, I've lost the income and production from two provinces.

This is where I think I'm really saved by having an AI Prussian opponent. Prussia has declared war on me, but besides that single army in Württemburg, I'm not feeling any pressure. Additional pressure from Westphalia into Berg would make my situation very tricky. As it stands, the British army isn't big enough to threaten Paris. Still, it is causing me problems, and who knows when I'll finally get Austrian surrender. I've breached the walls and inflicted casualties several turns in a row now, so his militia should be just about ready to surrender.

My Army of Italy didn't move last turn, probably because of some re-arranging of units under its command that I did. That's ok because Prussia is taking its sweet time about invading France. I even have a Spanish army covering my flank in Switzerland. As it turns out it's raining in Baden, so the game tells me it's faster to go through Switz. If the Prussians go through Baden I can get behind them and destroy their depot, then chase them as they forage.




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