charles vasey - 06:19am Apr 26, 1999 PST (#249 of 261)
This Space For Rent

Hohenlinden 1800 by Laurent Garbe for Delires SARL

Those French chappies appear to run a boardgame as part of their annual
Championnat de France. Rather than use an American game they produce
their own, showing a level of inventiveness usually only found in the
figure hobby. Délires reside at 4 rue de Sergeant Hoff, 75017 Paris, but
do not bother writing as they never reply. Their games can be found in
good shops (I picked up mine at Esdevium). [Sergeant Hoff was, I
believe, a top sniper in the siege of Paris in 1870-71]. The games are
of good quality with very smart professionally mounted and die cut
counters. The subject usually has a French element (although one I have
not yet played covers Arsouf, which is French only if Coeur-de-lion is
French, which of course he is).

Hohenlinden was a victory for Moreau and his Rhine Army men (including
Grouchy and Ney amongst others) against the Archduke Johann. It makes an
interesting change from the Army of Italy and Napoleone Buonaparte. The
French army, strung out in a cordon finds itself, confronting five
columns of Austrian/Bavarian foot and cavalry. The Austrians must seek
to damage the weaker French formations and capture vital terrain, the
French must do the reverse using the division of Decaen moving on from
the right flank.

The map and counters are really very good. The illustrations have a
strong blocky appearance, although limited in types in a way which
modern games would not be. One could moan about the French infantry
being dressed in a shako (in fact that+s just what I will do, moan moan
moan) but the standard of illustration is excellent. Each unit is a
multi-battalion regiment (or grouping of battalions) with a wide range
of strength. Units come in five varieties: horse and foot artillery,
infantry, and heavy and light cavalry. There are enough historical
designations to keep us all happy but not too much to get in the way of
play. It is easy to see which units each counter belongs and command is
accordingly easy.

Hohenlinden 1800 has a basic traditional chassis with a couple of good
innovative ideas, so it is admirably suited to strong game play while
still avoiding Blue & Gray-itis (a horrid condition). Counters have
combat, morale and movement factors, leaders have combat, bonuses, and
movement. Combat is odds based, movement is standard hex-to-hex fare.
Combat results are SPs lost, morale tests and retreats. There are rules
for cavalry avoiding combat, fight-and-march, advance after combat etc.
etc. of the type we all know, understand and can play. Aside from the
rules being in French there is nothing about Hohenlinden 1800 that will
get between you and the game. Nor is there anything to unreasonably
prolong play.

Let us move swiftly from the columns of helmeted Austrians as they
approach the French outposts and get over to the interesting bits of the
rules. Firstly, movement and combat all costs Initiative Points and
these are in limited supply. If I have read the rules correctly you open
play with 55 PI and each turn you move a -PI Restants- marker (and not
the -PI Disponibles- marker) down the chart as you use up PI marching
and fighting. The effect is of command limitations as the entire force
cannot fight and move in the same turn. You must pick your areas of
activity. At the end of each turn the -PI Restants- marker heads back to
the -PI Disponibles- position. However, as each unit is eliminated (all
SPs killed) the -PI Disponibles- total reduces by two points (three for
the death of a commander). Significant losses will therefore sap the
ability to act on the part of the army. However, capturing villages will
have the opposite effect, building up the activity levels against the
flow of losses. Whatever you do, do not lose a lot of men and fail to
capture the village.

Losses have other effects, all losses are noted as -Pertes Générales-
and as they increase they break through three levels. These occur at 25,
45 and 60 points lost (both armies are well over 150 points so these are
not slaughters and historically this is correct). As each level is hit
morale retires one point per level. After the first level is hit all
retreats are two rather than one hex; and special attacks (see below)
gets a +1 benefit. After the second level all retreats are three hexes,
no advance after combat may occur and attacks by your opponent are
improved further. At the third level defeat occurs. These demoralisation
levels are vital stuff. One must seek out weak enemy forces to defeat at
low cost driving them inexorably over the limits in advance of yourself.
However, you will still suffer losses yourself and must make maximum
advantage of the opportunities to get dice advantages before you, too,
slip down another level. If losses are pretty even then combat will
begin to drift down to the bloody inconclusivity of much Napoleonic
combat. The model is a strong one, and agrees with the analysis in
Muir+s book reviewed elsewhere. Victory is otherwise handled by terrain
captured and losses.

The possibilities for inter-arm co-ordination are neatly handled. Two
types of unit do not get you a modifier but they do get you a second
roll of the dice if you do not like the first (this could be worse of
course!). All three types will get you two shots and a dice modifier.
These are improved greatly where your opponent+s morale is wobbly.

There is not much else to say. The field of Hohenlinden is wooded with
many villages. Units fight to-and-fro in the finest traditions of the
period. Combat is seldom overwhelming, but as losses mount positions
will have to be abandoned to shorten lines. Sudden retreats or morale
collapses (2d6 against morale ratings of 7-9) can accelerate the
problems. Similarly heroic regiments can turn the tide - -Close up,
close up-! There are some neat rally rules that allow losses to be
recovered on the board but not on the Pertes chart. There also weather
rules, but I cannot spot when they are applied, their effects are to
bring snow-showers fogs and the like across the battlefield.

So one has a good three-hour game of losses and combat using simple but
well-prepared systems - a veritable cuisine bourgeoise of gaming. The
units with their numbers and names (we have Grenzers, Polish Legions,
and much Bavarian exotica) provide a good flavour. Indeed, the only
problem is that we ignorant Brits lack a good source on the battle so I
cannot really comment on the historical atmosphere. What I can note is
that this is not a Victorious French Arms game, instead both sides are
evenly balanced (six strength points divide them) and have a hard fight
on their hands. There are no sudden advantages conferred by a mysterious
French Column Tactic, or a ridiculous Austrian linear approach, as some
of our more credulous American cousins believe. No, Monsieur Garbe knows
that the Revolutionary Wars were a great deal more complex than that
(John Lynn+s Bayonets of the Republic provides much evidence for the
neighbouring Army of the Sambre et Meuse). Should one really mass the
Austrians to overwhelm the Right Wing of Grenier, leaving Moreau+s
Centre to hammer into Kollowrath? The game is more traditional in its
system that Richard Berg+s Victory system, represented under Lend Lease
by Rivoli 1797 it is Igo Hugo rather than LIM activated, but its combat
is slightly better in feel (in my view). There is not much between
them., and that denigrates neither. An excellent competitive game,
perhaps a little mechanistic for my tastes but bearable. Now to find a
book on the topic.....