It's the beginning of October 1806.
On one side of the Thuringian Forest are the forces of the King of Prussia. An army that gave the Battle of Austerlitz a miss a little under a year earlier and had begun to smart under a series of indignities -- real and perceived -- from the victorious Emperor of the French.
On the other side of the forest was Napoleon I, more than aware of the Prussian resentment, not to mention mobilization, and preparing to strike north before the prevaricating Prussians could fully prepare for war.
What followed was the campaign of Jena-Auerstadt that ended in the shattering of the Prussian army and kingdom and, coupled with the 1807 campaigns further East, cemented Napoleon's version of peace in Europe until his ill-considered journey into Russia in 1812.
As a sidebar to the series of articles I'm writing for the Mythical Front Page (tm), I had thought to run a kriegsspiel of the 1806 campaign, via this forum, using Pratzen Edition's "Le Vol de L'Aigle" rules, volume I. This is the short operational system that places an emphasis on maneuver, reconnaissance, and, yes, the logistics, if simplified, of Napoleonic warfare. Participants will be corps commanders with someone being selected to be both a corps commander and either Napoleon or the Prussian commander Hohenlohe. I have run this system for Napoleonic tyros and veterans and both groups found they provided a comprehensible, only moderately complicated, and satisfying experience. Turns are not hard things to submit and I'm going to try to adopt the relatively leisurely pace of two turns per week.
If you're interested, I'd ask you to shout out here. If you have a preference of side, please say so. If you have a preference as to commander, you have my admiration, and please say so.
In the meanwhile, I look forward to both running this game and seeing you all out on the battlefield!
Best,
Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)
