Napoleonic Cavalry

This is another strategy wargame that takes the ideas of the previous game one step further. I have seen few Napoleonic wargames that captured the essence of Napoleon's technique, which was to use cavalry to blind the enemy while sending the main army along a variety of routes, converging them on the true objective at the last moment. All movement in those days was road-bound, and the road network in Europe was thin enough that it constituted the primary constraint on strategic movement. Cavalry, however, could move cross-country, so Napoleon would send out swarms of small cavalry bands that would serve as Napoleon's eyes, and turn back enemy cavalry so as to blind the enemy. This screen of cavalry could be two hundred miles wide; behind it, Napoleon's army would crawl like so many ant trails spread over a huge area. As he developed a clearer idea of the enemy's dispositions, Napoleon would start to concentrate his armies in such a way as to cut the enemy's supply lines. If all went well, the enemy would find himself surrounded before he even realized what Napoleon was up to. It was every general's dream: victory through maneuver.

Such a game would also show the benefits of central position. If an enemy's army splits up too much, and you keep your armies in a central position, your information comes in faster than your enemy's; in a war of maneuver, this gives you an advantage.



Chris Crawford on Game Design
Chris Crawford on Game Design
ISBN: 0131460994
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 248

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