Adding The Armies

WHEN I first fought the 20 scenarios from Mike Lambo's solo wargaming book, Battles Of Napoleonic Europe, I edged the AI by 11 wins to 10.

However, that total included one scenario where I was so disgusted at my poor generalship that I immediately refought it, emerging victorious.

If the refight is removed from the score, I tied with the AI 10-10.

The campaign got off to a bad start when, commanding the Allies, I lost part one of the Battle of Roliça.

My account of that defeat, written turn-by-turn, starts here.

The setup I chose in that battle used all five activation areas below the red dotted line

The problem with spreading my army so wide was that, since I could only activate units in, at most, three areas per turn, a wide spread made for a slow-moving force.

I will choose a more-compact formation this time, with my five units of infantry, two of cavalry and one of artillery (plus Sir Arthur Wellesley as commander)

This scenario is unusual in that the victory condition is an apparently simple one - the Allied army has 'merely' to occupy the blue outlined hex (the blue outline is replaced by a green bead on my gridded table) - at any point during the 10 turns of the battle.

My setup, with cavalry easily distinguishable from infantry at a distance because the former are in column

I have sited the artillery on the same hex as in my previous refight of Roliça as it gives the gunners a relatively uncluttered field of vision.

Again I have put cavalry on the flanks, but the big difference is that this time the army is spread across just three activation areas - 2, 3 and 4 - rather than all five.

The AI also receives five units of infantry, two of cavalry and one of artillery (plus General Henri-François Delaborde)

The placing of French infantry is fixed by the scenario, but the starting hexes of cavalry, artillery and general are decided by dice throws.

The French cavalry are aggressively placed on the army's left, while the artillery will be able to give flanking fire against any Allied advance in the centre and in front of the French cavalry

Overview of the battlefield before the start of turn one

Both armies, with the exception of the respective artillery units, set up rather differently in my first refight, which is one reason why the scenarios have plenty of replayability

Close-up of the French cavalry

Wellesley's view of the battlefield from behind the Allied lines