Travis Reynolds
United States
Amma
West Virginia
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Turns played: Initial set up, January and February of 1805.
June 8, 2008
Our local group recently managed to pull together a group to play this great game. We will be playing as often as possible, although that very well may be only once per month. The players and the countries they are controlling are:
Great Britain – Charlie Davis
France – John Moore
Russia – Ken Stamper
Austria – Kris Hall
Prussia – Tom Hancock
Spain- David Gilligan
Turkey – Travis Reynolds
Two of our players have never played before and one has very limited experience. So, our first session went very slowly, as I expect the next couple will as well.
We conducted our initial pre-game diplomacy and the lines began to be drawn between allies and enemies. Surprisingly, there were not any declarations of war during the free pre-game declaration phase. Since nothing had changed, the diplomacy in the actual January turn was somewhat uneventful.
Once again, no major powers declared war on any others. However, several countries looked to expand their empires by invading minor countries. France invaded Romagna, Prussia invaded Mecklenburg, Russia invaded Papacy, Spain invaded Portugal, Turkey invaded Egypt, Great Britain invaded Sweden (the Tsar was not happy, perhaps he should have cared for his own neighborhood before he vacationed in Italy) and finally Austria invaded Bavaria.
Of the countries with forces to be controlled, Great Britain came to the aid of Portugal, Spain came to the aid of Egypt and (unfortunately for Austria) France came to the aid of Bavaria. Napoleon proceeded to take advantage of the opportunity and declare war upon Austria over the invasion of Bavaria. It must be the cream pies. Charles was not happy.
In February, the aggression continued as Russia (in an effort to make the pain of Sweden subside) declared war on Tuscany and Prussia declared war on Duchies. Oh, and France. Prussia came to the aid of his stout ally the Austrians.
Here is a general overview of how it went for each country.
Great Britain – The Brits of course have a large amount of their navy tied up in blockading French fleets into ports. If one should get out with a Corps at this point in the game, it would be disastrous for the English. His aggressive move against Sweden almost backfired as France came to its aid. This gave the French one more fleet that the English had to worry about. Fortunately, his naval engagements with the Swedish went his way. However, the siege of Stockholm has not gone as well. The English infantry is very limited in number, but extremely well trained. They should be able to hold the siege through until they take control of Sweden.
France – Things have gone great for the French. They were able to split the Prussian/Austrian war, forcing one of them to eat the political points for declaring war. France of course also paid for declaring, but he has a much easier time earning them back, as was evidenced by his mopping up of the Austrians in several battles. He certainly has them on the run. However, the Prussians are pushing towards Hanover and Holland, with little standing between them and the French border.
Russia – Russia made it clear during early diplomacy that the Tsar had plans to claim both Sweden and the boot. With the rest of the world either pre-occupied watching France or not powerful enough to have any say in the matter, the time was right for him to follow through on those claims. However, England threw a wrench in the works when he declared war upon Sweden. 70-80% of the Russian forces deployed on the board appear to have been prepared for a campaign into Sweden that is now put on hold. The big question now is what Russia will do. He is not likely to sit idly by and watch things develop. The Russian forces are very formidable and will have a major impact no matter where they go.
Austria – Things have not gone well so far for Austria. In two battles that he stood a good chance of winning, he was out maneuvered by the French, resulting in some notable losses. Now he is on the run and Charles is besieged in Mantua. However, on the bright side France has not gained much ground. Even better, Prussia is now in the war and it looks like that will cause France to fight a two front war (not counting the English who can drop in anywhere, anytime). It won’t be fast and glorious, but there seems to be a faint light at the end of the tunnel.
Prussia – Much like his Austrian ally (our other new player), Prussia is getting a trial by fire. He will learn combat going against the French and both of them are learning all about how expensive it can be to feed those troops during a war…especially in the winter! However, so far the Prussian advances have gone off without a hitch. Now that Prussia is at war with Napoleon that will surely change.
Spain – Spain has kept its nose clean and done what it should. Problem is that the war with Portugal seems to be lagging on much longer than would be preferred. The Spanish really do not have many military advantages (their strength is in their navy), so even Portugal proves to be a test. However, it is just a matter of time before Portugal falls. Where will Spain turn its attention then?
Turkey – Like Spain, Turkey’s moves so far have been pretty standard. Expand into Africa, starting with Egypt. The Egyptians however are no push over and they have proven to be a thorn in Turkey’s side. The only successful battle was in the field at Damietta, where the Turks won handily. However, when they moved on to Cairo, things seem to have gone downhill. Unable to break into the city and ineffective when they do, the war in Egypt is taking longer than planned.
March 1805 and beyond coming soon!
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Tom Hancock
United States
Charleston
West Virginia
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Re: 1805 Grand Campagin Session 1 - Appalachian Gamers
Thanks for doing this Travis. Great session report.
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Vidar Ambrosiani
Sweden
Lindesberg
Örebro
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Re: 1805 Grand Campagin Session 1 - Appalachian Gamers
Good start. Hope you keep up the game and the reports. I will enjoy reading it!
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Charles A. Davis
United States
Greeneville
Tennessee
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Re: 1805 Grand Campagin Session 1 - Appalachian Gamers
News from Great Britain.
Report of the aggression of the French in central Europe has been un-welcomed news. Bonaparte appears to want the entire continent. King George has vowed to help his allies, Austria and Prussia, to stop this unprovoked aggression. Our diplomats continue to have discussions with the French ambassador but there appear to be many months of talks before any news will be available. The British siege of Stockholm has been longer than expected due to the French unnecessarily provoking the Swedish to fight to the end. Have heart the siege will be over soon. The seas remain calm under British guidance. Long Live The King.
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Steve M
United States
Lubbock
Texas
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Re: 1805 Grand Campagin Session 1 - Appalachian Gamers
Awesome report, please keep updating us.
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Kenneth Stamper
United States
West Virginia
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Re: 1805 Grand Campagin Session 1 - Appalachian Gamers
*Folding his arms, the Tsar gazes across the map, glaring*
Excellent summary of the 1st 2 turns... And yes, I am still smarting over that silly king on his small island, invading my long time enemy the sweds......*huffs and puffs* heh
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Warren Bruhn
United States
Portland
Oregon
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Did you guys keep playing this game? How did it turn out? Where is your club located? I ask because the first time I played EiA was at Origens in Atlanta in 1990, where I played with a bunch of guys from Knoxville.
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Warren Bruhn
United States
Portland
Oregon
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Oops! Never mind. I see you guys are in West Virginia.
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Posted Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:49 pm
