Introduction
Welcome, everyone, to my new forum game, The Fate of Nations: 1805! I plan for this to be the first in a series of mini-forum games oriented on historical military campaigns that shaped the face of the world and decided the fate of wars, nations, and entire peoples. You – the players – will play as the generals that fought in these campaigns and played a huge part in bringing them to their decisive conclusions. The chosen campaign for this first installment will be the Ulm and Austerlitz campaigns of the War of the Third Coalition, taking place in southern Germany and northern Italy in the final months of 1805.
I have learned much from the failure of my previous game, Liberty or Death: A Revolutionary War Game, and have done what I believe are the best ways to iron out the kinks of the previously-untried game structure. Depending on the campaign presented, the game will either take place over several weeks, several months, or, potentially, even a year or more. Players will play as the leader of their nation and subordinate high-ranking military officers. The former – in this case, the monarchs of France, Austria, and Russia – are the ultimate decision-makers for their nation's decision-making, and hold total sway over the military and its commanders (in-game, anyway). Each country will be given stats – the qualities and skills of generals, and the number of troops at their disposal – which will give them the information needed to effectively prosecute the war.
One thing before we get started: I have already reserved one spot in the game for a friend. @Riccardo93 will be playing as Napoleon, and thus no one else can claim this spot. You can request to take a spot by posting a reply to this thread, asking to become your chosen general (for instance, “I would like to play as General Prince Pyotr Bagration,”). I will then confirm all players as generals. Making a request does not ensure that you will get that general.
Setup & Procedure
The 1805 installation of this game series will begin on 15 September, 1805 – a few days before the historical beginning of the Ulm campaign, which resulted in the surrender of Karl Leiberich von Mack's Austrian army and the eventual decisive French victory at Austerlitz that December. The game can technically only be played by three players at a minimum: one person playing as Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and commander of the Grande Armee, and two others as his enemies: Franz II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Tsar Alexander I of Russia. Subordinate generals can optionally be filled by other players, but it is not necessary for the game to continue to its conclusion (of course, that might not be too fun for most people).
Each general (including the three leading monarchs) will be given stats to show their skills as a battlefield commander: their abilities in reconnaissance, attacking, defending, their charisma and obedience, and organizational skill. These skills are described and expanded upon below:
Reconnaissance: 1–10; ability/willingness to scout ahead thoroughly and gain knowledge of enemy strength and positions
Attack: 1–10; ability to effectively organize and lead offensive operations and attacks on the field and on campaign
Defense: 1–10; ability to effectively organize and lead defensive operations and attacks on the field and on campaign
Charisma: 1–10; ability to inspire his men and maintain the morale of his forces
Obedience: 1–10; willingness to follow orders and not "do his own thing", along with willingness to "stick to the plan" (10 being absolutely obedient, which is both good and bad); for leaders, this only indicates ability to adapt on the field (10 being an absolute inability to adapt, refusing to change plans according to current circumstances; 1 indicates an inability to follow through with plans at all, aka being too “spontaneous”)
Organization: 1–10; ability to maintain the cohesiveness of his forces and to organize them for maximal battlefield & campaign effectiveness
While these generals' stats can have a huge effect on the results of battles and the campaign, they do not ensure victory or defeat. A poor general can potentially defeat a very skilled one, but don't count on it.
Leaders of each involved nation will be supplied with stats regarding their military (in this case, the size and location of armies, plus how much artillery each army has); from there, the leader apportions these troops and cannon among his generals. For example, if Napoleon had 50,000 troops and 150 guns, he could put 20,000 men and 50 guns under the command of Marshal Michel Ney, 20,000 men and 50 guns under Marshal Jean Lannes, and the final 10,000 men and 50 guns under his personal command as a reserve (let's assume this is the Imperial Guard plus some other troops). Napoleon will then issue distinct orders for Ney, Lannes, and his own troops; depending on the obedience skill of Ney and Lannes, Napoleon's orders will either be carried out to a T, altered slightly, or completely ignored or disobeyed. Since both generals are pretty loyal (obedience levels of 6 and 8 respectively), the likelihood of them directly disobeying the Emperor is very, very low.
The Napoleon player will then send all of his orders in a PM to me (distinctly titled so as to not be confused with the orders from the other national leaders). Each “order” will apply only to one general and any troops assigned under his command. Each of these orders must be at least one full sentence, but preferably not an entire essay (3-5 sentences would be ideal, but again, are not necessary). These orders will include orders of maneuver, tactical and strategic goals (occupying a certain town, crossing a bridge over river X, etc.) and rules of engagement, along with any other notes and commands you deem relevant. The most important point I'd like to make regarding these orders is succinctness. Just like campaigns and battles of this period, unclear and confusing orders from a commanding general to a subordinate can mean the difference between a crushing victory or a humiliating and devastating defeat. Imagine each of your generals is actually being handed these orders from a messenger; make sure that the general's orders are clear, and everything that is expected of him is not in question. This can certainly mean the difference between victory and defeat for your side.
One other thing that requires clarification is when a leader commands troops in the field himself. As mentioned before, national leaders are the ultimate decision makers when it comes to which generals receive soldiers, and how many soldiers are deployed among them. Someone playing Napoleon would find it very much in his favor if he were to give at least a few troops (*cough* the Imperial Guard *cough*) to him as a commander, as Napoleon's stats are, naturally, very high. Franz II, however – not really renowned for his military ability – would find it much more in his interest if he were to avoid directly commanding any soldiers at all. However, he may be forced to command troops personally if certain misfortunes were to befall his army – as happened historically.
Each order will receive three dice rolls (a d10), which will then be averaged together for a final tally. These rolls will strongly influence, but will not decide, the performance of commanders in the field.
The Austrian and French armies in Germany and Italy cannot be redeployed – to clarify, Austrian and French troops in Italy cannot be sent to reinforce the armies in Germany, and vice versa. Armies may receive gradual reinforcements as time goes on – from new regiments and brigades being recruited and absorbed into the army – and they may also suffer attrition through disease and desertion.
Another key factor to take into consideration during the campaign are the supply and morale stats given for each nation's army. Morale can greatly affect the performance of troops during battle: troops high in morale are more likely to hold their ground for longer periods of time, fight more fiercely, and are generally harder to break. They are also more unlikely to surrender if in very difficult situations. Morale can be improved or decreased based on the general war situation, performance in battle and the outcomes of battles, and the supply situation. This stat represents the amount of food, water, ammunition, and powder that an army brings with it while on campaign.
Supply is affected by several factors: distance from home regions (for the purpose of this campaign, eastern France and the Vienna area will serve as “home regions”), the size of the army in question, location, and the weather. Supply can degrade and crumble as time goes on if the army is continuously on campaign, marching, and fighting battles. Seizing armories and small towns may help with the supply situation somewhat, but not by much. Stationing an 80,000-man army in the Alps in December, for instance, will not do much to help the supply situation. This, further, can cause desertion, disease, and death among the army's ranks. It can also lower morale; in this way, both the morale and supply stats work in conjunction.
Another important mechanic to consider is national morale. National morale is a simplified and easy-to-understand way to gauge the public's opinion regarding the war. If the army scores successive victories against the enemy, the national morale will remain high. This, however, can be canceled out (or even reversed) if casualties are high, and especially if you are dealt major defeats. Major hits to national morale can potentially affect the morale of your armies, which is what you want to avoid.
A brief key to supply and morale stats are thus:
National Morale: Riots for peace/Begging for peace/Upset/Mixed/Reasonably supportive/Strongly supportive/Feverishly jingoist
Morale: Collapsing/Critical/Poor/Average/Good/High/Implacable
Supply: Nonexistent/Poor/Adequate/Good/Plentiful
The last major game mechanic you should be aware of is general's prestige. As the game is played out and battles are fought, successful generals (in attack, defense, and maneuver) will receive prestige points. You can only gain prestige points; you cannot lose them for suffering a defeat or making a severe blunder. At the end of the game, the general with the most prestige out of the generals of their side (French, German, and Russian) will become the “hero” of their army. You can only gain prestige for directly leading troops on campaign and in combat.
IRC AND TEAM COMMUNICATION
Obviously, this game is all about communication between the national leaders and their subordinate generals. To help facilitate this communication, I implore all national leaders and commanders to jump on IRC. To do this, access an IRC client (I use this link) and type '/join #WiR_Main' without the apostrophes. Please make sure that your name is not obscure, and that people can identify you easily! I leave it to the national leaders to form their own team channels (it would be best if the Russians and Austrians collaborated closely) to help ease this process.
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