Napoleon's Russian Campaign



Introduction

Napoleon's Russian Campaign covers Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. The invasion was the culmination of the deterioration of the French-Russian friendship which had been formed at Tilsit in 1807. Assembling a huge army of over 600,000 men Napoleon embarked on perhaps the largest military campaign the world had known up to that time. While there were actions along much of the Russian frontier, the most significant action was in the center where Napoleon led the main army. Napoleon had intended to bring the Russians to battle in a matter of weeks. Months later Napoleon was fortunate to escape with a small remnant of his once Grande Amree.

Historical Scenarios Covering

The Battle of Borodino-including several variants
The Battle of Smolensk-variants include 1 and 2 day scenarios
The Battles of The First and Second Polotsk
The Battle of Ostrovno
The Battle of Salta-Novka
The Battles of First and Second Krasnoi
The Battle of Lubina
The Battle of Gorodetchna-where Austrians fought Russians
The Battle of Maloyaroslavets
The Battle of Vyazma
The Battle of Berezina
The Battle of the Borisov Bridge
The Battle of Tarutino
The Battle of Shevardino

What if? Scenarios Covering

The Battle of Drissa-including several variants
The Battle of Vitebsk
The Battle of Mosocow
The Battle of Gzhatsk





Tournament Play

A special senario entitled Twin Peaks is provided. This scenario presents a huge balanced fantasy scenario ideal for tournament play. The forces for each side are roughly balanced with each army having over 300,000 men. The fictional map created for this scenario is designed to balance terrain features so that both armies have similar terrain to move, attack and defend in. There is ample room to move on the map which represents and over 200 square miles in size.

With the balance in forces and terrain, players can truly test their skills against other opponents. The outcome of this scenario will rest soley in the hands of the player.

Campaign

The campaign is the central aspect of the game. Although there are well over 100 scenarios that come with the game can be played individually most of the scenarios are integrated into the campaign. Each player is provided with up to four operational choices at each stage (called a "situation" in gaming terms) of the campaign game. A campaign editor and a scenario editor are provided with the game.

The operational choices of each side result in a tactical battle that is fought on maps of varying size at a scale of 1 hex= 100 yards. A player may may fight up to 8 battles to complete a campaign. Depending on the choices both sides make it is possible that the campaign could end with the first battle if a decisive outcome is achieved. More likely the campaign will take several battles to conclude. Various critical junctures are reached in the campaign where a decisive victory may complete the game. These battles vary from small rearguard actions to large pitched battles depending on the choices made by the player. Extensive areas of Russia are mapped including a number of sites where battles did not occur. This allows the player to deviate from the historical path if they wish.



Maps

Berezina
Borodino
Drissa (the fortified camp at Drissa)
Gorodetchna
Gzhatsk
Krasnoi(1st)
Krasnoi(2nd)
Lubina
Maloyaroslavets
Moscow
Ostrovno
Polotsk(1st)
Polotsk(2nd)
Saltanovka
Shevardino
Smolensk
Tarutino
Twinpeaks(fantasy map)
Vitebsk
Vyazma



The campaign tree branches in different directions depending on the choices of the gamer, providing for a non-linear sequence of events. Both sides are given offensive and defensive options in many situations providing a great deal of replay value for the game. Below is a glimpse at part of the campaign tree as seen with the campaign editor that comes with the game.



Some Game Features:

· Bridge destruction
· Single phase or multiphase turn options
· Optional opportunity fire
· Individual man losses
· Skirmishers
· Cavalry squadrons
· Weak zones of control
· Fixed fortifications
· Realistic terrain effects on combat
· Proximity releasing of fixed units
· Winter Terrain
· Great music by Thomas Hook
· Scores of Orders of Battle files to more realistically represent the strength and organization of units in stand alone scenarios
· Twenty maps most representing at least 100 square miles of terrain
· Varied weapons types such as lance, sword, pike, musket, rifle and various cannon types
· Troop density affects fire effectiveness
· Special Russian morale modifier which may be affected based on campaign game decisions
· Seven historical maps of campaign provided by Michael Avanzini




Play options:

· play by email (PBEM)
· online single or multi-play
· single play against AI
· hotseat


Campaign features

· Loss carryover between battles
· Fatigue carryover between battles
· Leader promotion/replacement
· Straggler return between battles
· Limited reconstitution of destroyed battalions
· Morale affects based on campaign decisions
· Campaign flow chart provided in Help document

Where to go to order the game

HPS - http://www.hpssims.com
HPS is the publisher of Naploeons Russian Campaign. Anyone who is interested in more information about the game, screenshots, or ordering information can go to the NRC product page on the HPS website: http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/products/


Links of Interest:

NRC Preview on the Wargamer.com - http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/napoleons_russian_campaign_preview.asp

Interview of Charlie Cutshall on the NWP - http://napoleon.musketwars.com/newsl/NL_2000_09.html#101

PBS Interactive Waterloo Campaign - http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/

PBS Interactive Roman Empire Game - http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/special/index.html

Charlie did the historical research for both of the preceeding interactive games.



This page updated on 12/09/02.