Tactical Tips for General D’Armee

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In this video Carlo and I discuss table top tactics for General D’Armee 2, though the overriding principles are applicable to any Napoleonic Wargame. Apologies for the sometimes poor audio. It’s an issue I continue to try and improve. The author and co-author of the rules, David and Christopher Brown have also contributed with the following tips. TACTICAL TIPS - GdA2
DEPLOYMENT:
1. Have a plan - however simple! Ensure that your deployment of on-table and Reserve brigades fit your battle plan!
2. If able, always have a reserve. Is the reserve brigade fit for the task? Is it to be used as a stop-gap brigade or is it an assault brigade designed to punch through the enemy?
3. Ensure artillery is deployed on high ground.
4. Deploy Light Infantry (LI) battalions in woods or other rough terrain. This means that they can operate in skirmish or close order depending on the tactical situation.
PREPARING THE BATTLEFIELD:
1. Be prepared to engage in counter-battery fire prior to assaulting. At Long range, counter-battery fire is better (more efficient) in the long run than trying to harass columns.
2. Use Assault Fire to assist with suppressing enemy batteries or shooting your infantry/cavalry columns in.
3. Win the skirmish combat! Be prepared to use LI battalions to reinforce the skirmish line and/or use the Skirmishers tasking to achieve this. If battalions are going to spend long periods of the game "inactive" then considering using them to reinforce the skirmish line. This way the battalion is actively engaging and contributing firepower to the battle. Winning the skirmish combat is the first step towards victory. Don't ignore them as Skirmishers can cause a lot of casualties over time esp. with a tasking.
4. Be efficient with your ADCs. For example, attach your artillery to your assault brigades. Then Brigade attachment taskings keep your brigade moving and your artillery firing at long range.
5. Do not commit your reserves too early. Don't use your C-in-C Commands too early.
THE MAIN ASSAULT:
1. Ensure that you have your brigades in the right place at the right time and in the right formation! Don't get into a volley exchange with infantry lines when in columns! (Or you repeat the peninsular experience!)
2. Chose your point of attack - don't attack all across the battle line. Concentration of effort upon a single objective.
3. When launching attacks or just holding the line use Glory, Forwards and Infantry Assault.
4. Consider Not firing your columns if you wish to charge next turn. An FD result could thwart your breakthrough entirely, all for the sake of a single casualty.
5. Consider using a C-in-C Command at this point - e.g. a clever use of the Chief of Staff command could give you around 7 ADCs - this permits an assault brigade to use a combination of Glory/Forwards/Infantry Assault all together in one turn as your big push. Don't use C-in-C Commands in situations where success isn't very likely. E.g. Cavalry charge vs. a Square.
BLOODY COMBAT:
1. Infantry supports for charges are essential. They create breakthroughs! (They can turn a Double 1 into a Double 6)
2. Have a second Line for units to fall back on. Small or weakened units are best for this as they are still contributing to the battle without being in direct danger.
3. Don't charge fresh supported units. Wait for or create an opening first unless the target is isolated, Unformed, Lost FD, lots of casualties etc.
4. Be prepared to suffer or grimly hold out in one area to achieve victory in another. One shouldn't reinforce defeat - but simply give units just enough to hold out and prevent them from breaking. This permits you to concentrate command effort at your chosen point where you hope to achieve victory.
5. Your tactics/battlefield pressure should be aiming to force your opponent to commit his reserves before you commit yours! (OODA loop.) He who commits his reserve last usually wins - as he can chose exactly where to commit it in to action. Consider C-in-C Command "Commit the Reserves" at this point.
6. Designate sufficient men to BUA combats. Accept you will take hideous losses and plan round this.
7. If you have not yet used your C-in-C Commands now is the point to use them. Do not finish the game with unused C-in-C Commands!
8. Have fun! If you win it's clearly down to your genius and superior tactics. If you lose then obviously your dice have let you down!

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12 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 41

@get_the_lead_out 8 месяцев назад

That was an interesting comment you made about most gamers not keeping a reserve. I think that part of the blame is to be shared by game designers, as most of the game systems I’ve played don’t reward using reserves. In fact, the more troops you can bring to bear the better your chance for victory. The reserve rules are one of the many reasons I enjoy playing Mr. Brown’s rulesets - he not only recommends using reserves, he pretty well guarantees you won’t prevail unless you have them!! And he doesn’t only deal with strategic reserve brigades, but also local reserves within each brigade. You have to keep a battalion behind the battle line in order to fill in gaps, as well as to keep retreating battalions from routing off the table.

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

Indeed, rules authors must take a lion’s share of the issue of reserves being made redundant.

@basement1908 3 месяца назад

I'm asking myself, "How did I miss this". Thanks Scott

@rct75001 8 месяцев назад

Another great video and discussion - thanks Scott and Carlo

@ShaunTame-re5us 8 месяцев назад

That was great, thank you and regards from England. Cheers.

@aaaai81 8 месяцев назад

Great video fellas! Another great tactics book I'd add to the list is "Forward into Battle: Fighting Tactics from Waterloo to the Near Future" by Paddy Griffith. Rory Muir used it as one of his main sources for his tactics book. That Davout book looks awesome, it's really hard to find at any kind of reasonable price unfortunately.

@svenfolkesson7571 8 месяцев назад

Excellent discussion, cheers

@stigofthedump181 8 месяцев назад

Really interesting discussion, I thought you were going to launch into the seven questions there! im looking forward to getting the 2nd edition, it sounds great. cheers.

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

Thanks. 7 Questions?

@stigofthedump181 8 месяцев назад

@@CheckYourLeaderTV the combat estimate, its what we used, not sure if its the same in Aus, to be fair its more a planning tool to help with formulating orders etc. 1 - What is the situation and how does it affect me? 2 - What have I been told to do and why? 3 - What effects do I need to achieve and what direction must I give to develop the plan? 4 - Where and how can I best accomplish each action or effect? 5 - What resources are needed to accomplish each action or effect? 6 - When and where do the actions take place in relation to each other? 7 - What control measures do I need to impose? anyway, good vid, are you going to film a playthrough?

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

@@stigofthedump181 ah,.. gotcha. IMAP, CMAP, etc. Helpful but given a miniature wargame is essentially a ‘one man show’ without a higher command directing nor do you have subordinates to direct I decided I ought to keep any advice easy to comprehend and simple to formulate and implement. I’ll probably do a video of a play through in a couple of weeks

@stigofthedump181 8 месяцев назад

@@CheckYourLeaderTV yeah, I know, i blame german beer... tell you what, id love a walkthrough of the charge mechanics, its something that we always got wrong when playing GdA and picketts charge. cheers.

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

@@stigofthedump181 I do have some play throughs of GdA, PC and ‘O’ Group in the playlist if that helps.

@leonleese4919 5 месяцев назад

I’ve found that any attack should have support because attacking troops will more often than not will be too worn to exploit any advantage they may have gained.

@leonleese4919 5 месяцев назад

I know of no napoleonic rules that cope with assaults on a B.U.A. However the size of even a village may well hold a brigade and if one move takes a total of 30 minutes attacking the enemy either side using artillery to attack the village it depends on artillery is allocated but it could take a possible two hours or more??

@CheckYourLeaderTV 4 месяца назад

Just noticed this comment. Blackpowder artillery would take an inordinate amount of time to shift a garrison from a village or strongpoint. That’s why villages were taken at the point of a bayonet.

@Vlad65WFPReviews 8 месяцев назад

Another question - dealing with reserves. In Brown's excellent O Group rules for WW II, some reserves can be deployed well into the battlefield onto terrain features already in the possession of friendly forces. This is a great system as it allows reserves to play an effective role in the game - as opposed to trundling slowly from the starting baseline. My question: does GdA2 allow/encourage forward deployment of reserves to speed play and make the arrival decisive - or are they used in another way?

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

There are a few things to consider re Reserves. Firstly reserves are brought onto the table in the 2nd phase of ‘Movement’. That is to say the phasing player does on table movement, then the reacting or non-phasing player does on table movement THEN reserve movement happens. This means the non phasing player can’t react immediately to the arrival of reserves unless he has off table reserved AND he’s just so happened to commit them in the same turn. Remember you don’t reveal what your ADC taskings are until you carry them out. The other option re: ‘Reserves’ pertains to CinC Orders so they can also be committed by the cinc and this can happen with addition flexibility including moving on a flank. Short answer, YES, the manner in which reserves are committed can have a large impact.

@tracygrove3484 7 месяцев назад

@@CheckYourLeaderTV RE: slowly trundling - does GDA2 have the "Forwards" tasking for additional movement?

@CheckYourLeaderTV 7 месяцев назад

@@tracygrove3484 yes.

@leonleese4919 5 месяцев назад

By supporting troops I mean close support and not reserves. (As an umpire is needed to prevent blood being drawn)

@Vlad65WFPReviews 8 месяцев назад

A question: I felt in the original rules that the combined negative modifiers for total casualties and "just suffered" casualties made it more difficult for charging units to succeed (especially as they had no impetus/charge bonus) and this discouraged charges (eventually causing us to ignore "just suffered" penalties). Does GDA2 touch on this or did other gamers think this was not an issue?

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

Once a unit is worn (that is 6 or more casualties) getting the unit to fight effectively (be that by fire or in close assault) is difficult. Suffering 3 or more casualties in a charge will also make charging home more difficult. This is certainly how it should be. It’s best to use fresh troops or reserves to deliver the final ‘push of bayonet’.

@Vlad65WFPReviews 8 месяцев назад

@@CheckYourLeaderTV very interesting that troops are "worn" at 6 casualties, given 4 and 8 casualties impacting firing/melee in the original rules

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

@@Vlad65WFPReviews to streamline a unit is either fresh or worn.

@Vlad65WFPReviews 8 месяцев назад

@@CheckYourLeaderTV Got it. David split the difference between 4 and 8 and got "worn" at 6. That works! Thanks for the info.

@leonleese4919 8 месяцев назад

The thing that always concerns me is that once you get your brigade or division on the move they will continue until something happens that affects the whole body of troops or the lead brigades being such a heavy fire that could affect them. That is: a morale test. If you don’t have the right supports, secure flanks, sudden heavy artillery fire with a considerable effect.

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

I don’t quite understand what you’re saying I’m afraid

@leonleese4919 8 месяцев назад

@@CheckYourLeaderTV Basically, you shouldn’t have to roll a dice to continue moving. One you start to move, that means you have your orders and will continue until something happens that is severe enough to force a morale test, such as a threat from a brigade of cavalry to front or flank/ rear, or infantry to flank or rear that is close enough to be a threat. Napoleons first attack to the allied left was only stopped by British heavy cavalry charging through the French dragoons and into the attacking French infantry. The French were under orders to attack, there was no faltering and no threat until the surprise attack. Just my 2p wort. I have GdA and constant rolling to continue orders every move doesn’t work for me. British cavalry was difficult to stop once it started an advance (too much Weetabix.?

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

@@leonleese4919 the reason you have to roll for orders to be followed is simply because of the phenomenon of ‘friction’ that Clausewitz speaks of. If you order troops to advance on an objective then only someone who has never commanded troops in the field would believe they will always carry out those orders all the time. Friction is the unexpected screwing up your plans. You want a brigade to continue to advance? Fine, ensure you give them the command support to ensure they don’t go hesitant. In GDA that means allocating an ADC with a Brigade Order Tasking. I have seen with my own eyes many time on exercises and on combat operations subunits and units fail to complete simple tasks due to unforeseen issues or simply because of misunderstandings. The strength of GdA is the fact units can fail to follow orders. Units that are in motion have halted prior to completing their orders. The history is on the rule mechanism’s side.

@leonleese4919 8 месяцев назад

@@CheckYourLeaderTV the reason that Napoleon had success on the field was his use of the corps system where the whole Corps was advancing as one. Elements of the corps were tasked with specific duties cavalry to guard flanks, light cavalry to clear skirmishers, light infantry to form a skirmish screen these were simple orders that were standard procedures each brigadier and colonel with their staff new this. Where this went wrong was unexpected action from the enemy that could cause confusion, but that is up to the opposing officers. If they did nothing I can’t see what would upset the advancing troops. By 1pm or there about if there was so much smoke that concerted command was impossible because of the lack of visibility which I have seen as an addition to rules in my old club at Stoke-on-Trent where 2d6 were rolled and that was the visibility in inches. Originally used for snow fall but then smoke in a later game. However you can’t claim support from a unit you can’t see or couriers being able to find who they were delivering a message to. It took a lot of time but initially it was good fun. But when poor die rolls always seem to happen to one player you loose players in the games.

@CheckYourLeaderTV 8 месяцев назад

@@leonleese4919 I’m sorry, but to conclude that everything on a battlefield goes like clockwork is simply not true. For starters: The timescale that a Wargame played is not fixed, certainly not in GdA anyway. This means that a ‘hesitant’ brigade could be a brigade command structure grappling with a severe command and control issue or simply a brigade that has a battalion held up for one of a thousand reasons. Secondly: friction on the battlefield is a real thing. I’ve seen it first hand. Have you? Clausewitz is very clear on this. If you want a set of rules that permit unfettered movement of your troops on a battlefield like manoeuvres on a parade ground then I would not recommend GdA. If you want to experience the kind of challenges and frustration that a Divisional Command may have experienced in 1812 then I would recommend GdA.