1813 Campaign Supply Rules

Until now the supply rules have been designed to force both armies to take steps to provide and protect their lines of supply.

Each corps starts the campaign with four days supplies, which is also the maximum that they can carry.   To resupply they have to halt, avoid the enemy and be within one day’s march of a depot.   As they advance they have to establish depots so that they do not have to retreat to resupply.

All of this was designed for a series of one off, stand alone, mini campaigns.  At the start both armies had sufficient supplies for four days, plus one days supply in their depot.

The new Regional Military Command system requires a change in this stand alone, mini campaign system.   However I still need a system which will bring a natural end to each mini campaign.

I am testing a new supply system which should bring about this result.

At the start of each campaign phase each army will have sufficient supplies for 7 days.   This translates as 28 days supplies (7 for each of the four corps).   As now, each corps will start the campaign with four days supplies.   The remaining 3 days per corps will be held in their depot.   This depot will be the nearest town to their location at the start of the campaign.

It will no longer be necessary for a corps to detach an infantry brigade to form a garrison.  I have found that these detachments add nothing to the wargame, and just reduce the number of figures available to wargame.

However as they advance, or retreat, they will have to establish depots to resupply. Each corps can establish as many as they want.  To do so they must halt in the town and avoid contact with the enemy for one day.

This means that each campaign will last a maximum of ten moves.   There will be a clear campaign objective, usually to take and hold a specified town.  

I have found with the wargame that having a maximum number of game moves (in this case 12) really applies the pressure to the attacker.   In my games it tends to take four moves to move within artillery range, four moves for artillery fire and the final four moves to move into contact and decide the outcome by musket fire and melee.   If the attacker allows too many moves for artillery fire he will run out of time to reach the enemy and fire and melee.

I am hoping that this principle will also apply to the campaign phase.

I will be testing how well this works in the first campaign phase, and if it works will rewrite the campaign rules.