1813 Campaign Completed

This past Saturday we completed the final battle in the 1813 campaign that I've been running for the past few months. Our second session in the battle of Preuilly started as shown in the photo to the left with the French guard infantry supported by a couple divisions of provisional conscript infantry was pressing the allied southern flank while both armies were still waiting for two more corps each to arrive to the battle. In the far distance the allies pressed the French on the northern end of the battlefield.

As the battle proceeded the allied momentum from the first day of the battle continued to gain energy. As French divisions began to exhaust and collapse the tide of the battle turned. At the conclusion of the second full day of battle (game time not real time) Napoleon decided to withdraw from the battlefield and in turn to retreat back to France, ending the campaign. At dusk the battlefield positions were as pictured below. Additional photos taken throughout the second session of the game can be seen on the Northern Conspiracy's Club web gallery.

This was an interesting campaign. Both armies chose to mass their armies and settle things across two epic battles instead of manoeuvring smaller corps or wing sized formations along several routes in order to capture the enemy's supply cities. In the end the allied army was able to achieve a victory in the first large battle which gave them a decided advantage in the second. One interesting outcome is by losing the first battle the French commanders felt obligated to attack in the second battle - a task made more difficult by their disadvantage in numbers.

Both sides played well both on the tabletop and on the campaign map. I had a good time running the campaign and I would like to thank the players for 'rolling with the punches' whenever I made small mistakes in managing the campaign. Next up I'm looking forward to participating in a War of 1812 campaign my friend Mark is going to start up now that the 1813 campaign is done. Also some of my friends and I are working on a large Field of Glory scenario for the Battle of Magnesia.