David R. Moody - Jan 15, 2004 11:44 am (#5472 Total: 5481)   
Last played: Age of Napoleon, Carrier, Tokyo Express, MechWarrior,
PanzerGrenadier, Attila (GMT), Corsairs & Hellcats (GMT). Reading: Flash
for Freedom (George MacDonald Fraser). 
 
On the Table last night at Endgame in Oakland, CA: Age of Napoleon. 

Joe Oppenheimer wanted to give this one another go, and I agreed. And
what a game! Much glory was won, indeed. 

Once again, I was the French (wore my Marengo T-Shirt for the occasion),
and once again, I did my standard opening of marching on the unfortunate
Marshal Mack and thrashing him. By the beginning of 1807, I had once
again conquered the homeland of our new governor and knocked Russia out
of the war, with the added bonus of offing the Archduke Charles (thanks
to card play), which hamstrung the Austrians for the rest of the game
(Joe never did get Radetsky). I also took Naples, making all of Italy
part of the First Empire. Alas, though Nelson did not win at Trafalgar
on schedule (Wellington was reduced to parading around Horse Guards,
being unable to land anywhere), Joe played Continental System and got
Spain to go neutral. He also, in what proved to be an important
decision, played Napoleonic Dynasty upon Austria's surrender, turning
Austria into a French Dominion. Prussia remained neutral, probably
showing greater wisdom than she did historically. 

1807 was quiet, as I mopped up some rebellions in Wurtemburg and
Switzerland and the redcoats marched around Scotland for a change of
pace. Realizing I needed Spain to win at least a Marginal victory, I
sent Boney and four corps in in 1808, stomping the crappy Spanish army
and taking Madrid. So far, so good. I had a small Allied force in
western Germany, and I had designs on taking Denmark and Pomerania. 

Then, in 1809, all hell began to break loose. Austria went into
insurrection, so Boney moved the Grande Armee out of Spain (leaving
Oudinot to garrison Madrid). I stomped up the weak Austrian army (now
under Archduke John, which gives you some idea), most of which had the
good sense to hide either in the 'Tyrolean Redoubt' or in the
Carpathians (making it hard for me to get at them--damned Attrition
rolls!) and had the army strung out, attempting to occupy every space in
Austria and put down the rebellion. 

Then Russia struck. In 1810, Alexander called a holy war on the Corsican
ogre, and soon a big Russian stack was crossing the border into Austria.
Boney hurriedly regrouped on Vienna, massing a big stack, and then he
hit the Russians, using the Art of War card. Both sides lost heavily in
this battle, though the Russians got the worst of it, losing half their
army and retreating. I was unable to follow up, though, so Boney had to
pull back to Vienna for the winter. Up north, the Swedes under
Bernadotte (Charles John--I removed the French Bernadotte from play, for
history's sake) invaded Denmark, and an allied force under Augereau
kicked them back to Sweden and took both Denmark and Pomerania. 

Meanwhile, Berlin was a hotbed of diplomatic activity, with both sides
trying to get Prussia to join the war. Prussia, perhaps seeing what was
going on, had modernized her army (Joe played the Stein card), but kept
on the fence for now. Back in Paris, Fouche attempted a coup, so Boney
had to scurry back there, removing him for both the 1811 AND 1812
campaigning seasons (I didn't have anywhere to put him in 1812, as I was
maxed out). Davout, now in charge of the Grande Armee, abandoned Vienna
and massed in Bavaria, with Massena in north Italy. The Russians moved
in, liberating Austria from good government and marching into Vienna to
cheering crowds. 

In 1812 the tide continued to turn, with England at last able, thanks to
Nelson, to land troops to reinforce the Swedes (though once again I was
able to thrash him). The Russians under Tolly attacked Davout and beat
him badly, driving him back. And Spain at last rose against the French,
forcing Oudinot to head for France post haste. So Boney came back, in
1813, with the added news that Prussia had now thrown in with the
Allies. 

Undaunted, the Emperor marched out to meet Blucher and the main Allied
army, and suffered a disasterous defeat. Thanks to Joe's Pursuit card,
the ENTIRE army was wiped out (most going into the POW box)! The way to
Paris was now open, and despite a last stand by Massena (marched up from
Italy with his army to save the capital), France fell, and Boney was
sent off into exile in 1813. 

But he came back from Elba with the violets of spring, in 1814. Playing
Call to Arms, I was able to raise ten corps (almost all I had left--the
wars had not been kind to the youth of France), and was also able,
thanks to Out of Favor and Napoleonica, to keep Nosey and Blucher off
the map, but Joe hit me with that damned Royalists card again, so Boney
had to deal with more coup attempts and was unavailable for field
service. My plans at thrashing one of the Allied armies thwarted, I had
to sit tight, with Davout along the Pyrennes with two corps, Massena
along the Rhine with four, and the main army under Soult, I think, in
Paris. An Anglo-Spanish army, under Moore, did invade the south of
France, and beat Davout badly (Davout did not have a good war, alas),
but I hit them with winter attrition and whittled them down. 

So in 1815, Boney came back, and I tried for the Minor victory (holding
France and one other territory). At first stalling with Peace Talks, I
sent Massena into Italy, but a Prussian force under Scharnhorst (I
think) stomped him and sent him back into France. Blucher took command
of a combined Russo-Prusso-Hanoverian army and marched into Holland.
With Wellington now in command of the Anglo-Spanish army in southern
France, I moved Massena's remnant back to Paris and marched out with
Boney and the Grande Armee into death and glory in the Low Countries.
Alas, the Emperor once more met his Waterloo, losing to Blucher, and
Wellington then marched north and took Paris, ending the game and
sending Boney off to St. Helena. Most glorious, and an awesome game. 

We had a blast--so many twists and turns, advantage switching back and
forth, and it felt historical, for the most part. And it only took about
3 hours to play to conclusion. More than a few onlookers came by to have
a look and comment on the beauty of the map and components, and I think
at least one planned to buy the game (we were effusive in our praise).
We will definitely give this one a try again at some point. 

Alas, we didn't have time for the next week of the Guadalcanal campaign
in Corsairs & Hellcats, so next week we plan on doing that first, then
probably Eylau from Avalanche's Eagles of the Empire series (on Sunday
I'm getting my copy out of The Big Metal Box on the Ancestral Lands). 

The other players (and there was a full house, as there usually is on
open gaming night) were involved with the usual assortment of Euros,
though we did see one group playing Ivanhoe (GMT).