Napoleonic Action in Spain using Battle Command

Battle Command is a relatively new (released in January) evolution in the world of Picquet. Closely related to Field of Battle by Brent Oman, it is even more of an evolution of the classic Picquet system. We decided to put it to the test and gathered some forces for a fictitious battle set in Spain in 1809. 

The scenario was planned as a meeting engagement between British / Portuguese troops under LtGen Wellesley and French, Polish, and German forces under Marshal Soult. Both sides had seven brigades in total and the march order onto the table had to be planned beforehand. After rolling for each leader and unit (and then labeling), I had roughly an hour and a half of invested preparation time. Both Wellesley and Soult had high leadership rolls (both a D12) and the troops on both sides ranged from Raw to Crack. There were even a couple of British Foot Guard units on the table. The French had a numbers advantage, but the British had a quality advantage. We allowed two brigades on each side of the table to be deployed. After rolling for Morale Chips (French 29, British 24), we were ready to go. 

In characteristic fashion, the French outmarched the British, and as this was a meeting engagement, the ability to get the French into position was critical. The British stumbled with movement the first couple of turns. This allowed the French to take possession of the center town at the pivotal crossroads. It also allowed the French to deploy a couple batteries into position to begin bombarding the British columns as they advanced. 

One by one, each side’s brigades entered the table. The British under Mackenzie was able to advance and deploy onto the overlooking ridge that dominated the table. Sarrut’s brigade, made up of Nassauers and Badeners advanced to attack the ridge. At this point, it was obvious that the French were targeting the British artillery that was struggling to get into firing position; two entire batteries were lost. On the French right flank, the British cavalry under Cotton had gotten off to a bad start and was uncharacteristically inept in its movements. Meanwhile, French cavalry maneuvered from the right flank into the center to keep the clumsy British advance further disrupted. 

Mackenzie’s British on the ridge were able to throw back the German troops, but the brigade’s battery was destroyed in the process. With the arrival of the French cavalry, Mackenzie fell back to regroup. Both sides suffered a few routing units, but the French were slowly grinding the British, as Morale Chips were being lost at an alarming rate. 

Both sides suffered from traffic jams, as arriving brigades struggled to get to the front line. Finally, the British cavalry recovered their sluggishness and moved to attack the French infantry near the town. Unfortunately, for the Anglo cavalry, a French battery was able to escape in the nick of time, while French infantry formed square amidst the vineyards, effectively blocking the British cavalry attack. 

French cavalry closed against the British infantry at the bottom of the ridge. British musketry were able to repel the Chasseurs and Hussars, but the 13th Cuirassiers charged and broke some British infantry caught in March Column, as the British squared up around them.

As the Morale Chips fell on both sides, the British were able to knock the French out of the center town, but were immediately counterattacked and thrown out themselves. The British were down to zero chips at this point to the French 8, and the battle was called (didn’t wait for an Army Morale Card). The French did suffer significant casualties as well, but held their ground admirably, winning a Minor Victory. The British fell back to lick their wounds. 

So how did the rules work?  First off, we had a great time and the game definitely told a story. With the new Action Matrix, the decisions that needed to be made were ample and provided a challenging context.  One of the criticisms of Classic Picquet was that “the cards dictated the game and no decision-making or planning was necessary.” With Battle Command, nothing could be further from the truth. At no point did either of us feel that we weren’t in control; the card deck merely presented the situations that we had to think through. The constant interaction between Initiative and Reactive sides provided a fast-moving game that flowed well and kept our attention throughout. Also, because the maximum cards that can be drawn is now 2, there were no longer any periods in which one side or the other went on an extended roll, while the other side sat there while being outmaneuvered. 

We both gave the rule and the experience two solid thumbs up ! 

We did draft some house rules that would satisfy our views of Napoleonic warfare, but these were minor and just added to the experience. Specific areas were infantry moving in line vs column, no “first fire” for units in skirmish order, artillery prolong moves, artillery bouncethrough, and a couple of others. 

I probably put a bit too much restrictive terrain on the table, which severely hurt the British after the French “got the jump” and forced the Brits to attack a tough defensive position. 

I’ll be setting up a new scenario with the British deployed on the ridge and the French attacking (in other words, a classic Peninsular War scenario) using the same orders of battle and modified terrain. I can’t wait !

Picquet: What’s it All About ?

In the world of historical wargaming, the Picquet family of rules seems to be on the fringe of an already niche hobby. Picquet has its raving fans, as well as its detractors who positively hate it. I personally am not an experienced veteran of the system, but I have played in several games, at least enough to formulate an opinion. 

Picquet is a gaming system which is based on the underlying foundation of fog of war. Each side has its own sequence card deck that can be based on leadership or national military philosophy (for example. Imperial Romans and Germanic warriors have very different decks). Each unit and leader is meticulously rolled for in the areas of Firing, Combat, and Morale (in the Classic Picquet system - see below). The game then begins with a roll-off to determine how active one side is and for how long. I won’t go into nitty-gritty details, but turning cards to see what units can do and then actually executing these actions per unit burns up these actions. When the actions are completed, another roll-off determines the next set of actions. At the end of a total number of actions (20 in Classic PK), the turn ends and the card decks reshuffle and a new turn begins. 

Fans of the systems say that the games play like a story and that the fog of war provides true realism when it comes to control of the flow of battle. Detractors state that the cards dictate the game and too little control is left to the players. In addition, the biggest criticism is that one side can continue rolling for actions at the expense of the other side. In theory, the turns should balance out, giving each side equal opportunity to make their moves. In reality, these “swings” can happen. 

The Picquet family is further split into the afore-mentioned “Classic PK” (originated by Bob Jones) and what I’ll call “evolved PK” under the ownership of Brent Oman. “Classic PK” has master rules and separate period rules for more grit and flavor. The period rules like Hallowed Ground (ACW), Archon (Ancients/Medieval), and Les Grognards ( Napoleonic Wars) are just a few examples that cover almost every period in history. Field of Battle (covering the horse and musket period and a WW2 version), Pulse of Battle (covering the Ancients period), and Din of Battle (covering colonial actions) are rules based on the principles of “Classic PK,” but the criticisms of that system have been addressed. No longer does one side go on an extended streak of actions while his opponent sits there idly as his army is destroyed before his eyes. The initial rolls dictate the number of impulses for both sides in an alternating fashion. There is now more decisions to be made with each card that puts the wargamer in the driving seat. The cards provide a context; the original concepts of the cards providing a “storyline” and fog of war remain, but the gamer is now in control of how to use the cards. This “evolved PK” has been refined even further with release of Battle Command. My initial reaction to these rules is that it’s an even more refined and improved version of Field of Battle. I’m excited to play my first game this weekend. 

So, in summary, Picquet has a reputation among wargamers. Some love it, some hate it. But I really think there’s a brilliance lurking in the system that many rules do not contain. I think Classic PK is more suited to 1-2 players of like-mindedness; it is especially entertaining as a solitaire platform. I do think that the series of rules under the leadership of Brent Oman are improved versions of the classic system. I highly recommend the Field of Battle family of rules for solitaire or group games. I do think the many detractors of the “Classic PK” series would be mildly surprised at the improvements. Give them a try and join me in traveling down this path.