Eylau 1807
Battles of Napoleon Volume I
by
Sound of Drums
A Uwe Walentin Design
I will confess up front that I am a Napoleonic fanboy, and not only in my choice of wargames. If I had my way, some of the decor in my house would be of the Napoleonic variety, much to the chagrin of my better half. To top it off, the Battle of Eylau has for some reason always been my favorite Napoleonic battle to read about and to wargame. So, I might look a little more harshly on a wargame based on the battle compared to others.
The Battle of Eylau need not have happened. After the destruction of 90% of the Prussian Army in the 1806 campaign, Napoleon was trying to come to grips with the Russian Army who were allies of the Prussians. Time had moved inexorably forward, and it was now almost full winter. Both Armies had pretty much gone into winter quarters. The Battle of Eylau was mostly caused by Marshal Ney disregarding his orders (He might have been the 'Bravest of the Brave' but he was certainly not the brightest of the bright) and causing the Russian Army to stir. Both armies finally met at Eylau in typical norther European weather. The battle was technically named Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, this being the town's actual name. However, the slaughter in the snow would make a more accurate description. The Russian Army was as tenacious as always, as Frederick the Great, Napoleon, and others came to find out. Sometime during the battle, a raging snowstorm took place to make the soldiers and generals jobs that much harder. Marshal Murat at the head of 10,000 French horsemen is usually credited with stopping the battle from becoming Napoleon's first defeat. It ended as the first check and not the outright victory that Napoleon had encountered. The battle was summed up by this conversation between Napoleon and Marshal Soult: Napoleon told Marshal Soult, "The Russians have done us great harm," to which Soult replied, "And we them, our bullets were not made of cotton." This famous interaction between a commander and his troops also took place at Eylau: "At the battle of Eylau, seeing his horse grenadiers lowering their heads as bullets whistled around, Lepic uttered the famous words: "Heads up, gentlemen, these are bullets, not turds!" (Haut la tête, messieurs, la mitraille ce n'est pas de la merde !)."
This is what comes with the game:
two 88 x 56 cm map sheets
1120 counters (15 mm)
220 alternative counters (15 mm)
40 grey and 42 black cubes
20 blue and 20 green cube
2 army charts
2 OOB charts
2 play aid charts
2 tally sticks
2 counter trays
4 custom dice
1 rulebook
One thing about the game that was brought up before it was released was the map. This wasn't a discussion about how excellent it looks but the fact that it has a white overlay to it. Apparently, some people wanted to see the little brown buildings in the town etc. Well, here is a news flash. The battle was fought in the middle of a hard winter during a snowstorm. I thought from the very beginning that the map color added to the game and actually added to the historical immersion of it.
Before I dive into the various components that come with the game there is something very important I have to say. That is, this game has some of the finest materials that I have seen in a game. It truly looks like the labor of love that it is. I was impressed by their earlier Hellas game, review link below, and its pieces but I am blown away by what you find inside this box. Now to be clear, I am talking about what comes in the 'regular', seems a pity to use that word, game box. I was lucky enough to get some of the special items from Mr. Walentin like the mounted map and the special dice. These only added to the magnificence of the ensemble.
Unfortunately, my descriptions and the pictures do not do the game components justice. However, I will list off what comes in the box to the best of my ability.
So, let us start off with the map. As mentioned, it comes in two pieces. The size is a little over 22" X 34". I remember that we were supposed to change over to the metric system in the early 1970s, but I digress. It is simply a real wonder of an understated style. It is designed to show a landscape draped in winter and in this it succeeds admirably.
Next up are the counters. Many games have huge amounts of counters. Usually, these counters are on the small size and rather hard to read, but not with all games. These come in around 5/8". This size is quite sufficient for most people to be able to see the pertinent information. They also have a small picture of the different Marshals and Generals, and they use what we have come to call the NATO symbols. The game places a lot of emphasis on command and control of the different units, as it should in a Napoleonic battle. So, being able to read the different Corps and division numbers is very necessary. The actual game units only take up two and 3/4 of the countersheets. The other 7 1/4 are the counters used in gameplay. The counters also come prerounded. I know this puts a damper on those of you who revel in piles of cut off pieces of counters. There are two types of alternative counters. The first is a set of alternative Marshal and General counters which have a flag instead of a small portrait. The other are 'Pollard" markers to show unit loss of strength. The game has regular loss counters of one number on each. The "Pollard" ones have four numbers on each side of the counter, and you put the correct number toward the front of the counter. Each counter also has a line or a column side. The game also comes with small wooden cubes to keep track of the different parts of the game. These are all uniform and do not have flash or bits of wood hanging off the ends.
The Rulebook and the Scenarios, Notes, & History Booklet come in magazine type style. They are both in full color. The Rulebook does come with examples of the rules and play. The Rulebook comes in at 33 pages and the other at 19. The size of the lettering could be a little larger. However, the size of the Rulebook would then become a bit unwieldly. It comes with two large colorful foldout Orders of Battle, one for each side. The two identical Player Aids are made of the same material as a mounted map. All of the charts and tables needed to play are on them. You also get two foldouts to keep track of orders etc. These are also made of the same material as a mounted map. It also comes with two Tally Sticks, (more on them later), along with four custom dice. The entire game, except the map, is a bloom of color like a Napoleonic battle should be.
Strangely, for a game this size, the designer attempted to make it as easy as possible to play and remember the rules, without the constant checking and cross referencing that is needed in some game systems. The game is listed as a 5/10 on the complexity scale and the game length is listed as 180 minutes. This time is naturally based on knowing the rules and system and not for complete tyros. For a large game like this that is pretty amazing. The amount of counter clutter on the map has been cut down to as small as it can be. Mr. Walentin was trying to design a game series that would involve the player and be historical and yet still be extremely playable. I believe he has succeeded admirably in his assignment to himself. You get all the flavor of a Napoleonic battle without all the fluff and added rules that other systems use.
The gameplay is the very meat and potatoes of our chosen hobby. There are many beautiful games that gather dust on numerous shelves because of coming up short in this aspect. This game, and series, will not be one of them. The weather is also a large part of the rules and indeed that of the battle. Augereau's Corps staggered toward the Russian lines in a snow whiteout and was almost destroyed by the Russian cannon. This led to one of the most magnificent feats of the entire Napoleonic Wars. Murat led forward 10,000 French horseman who cut their way through the Russian Army and then repeated the process on the way back. The tableau has been used by numerous painters of the Napoleonic Wars.
The game is won or lost by the amount of each army's fatigue points. As usual, you lose fatigue points for eliminated units, commanders, and the loss of objectives. However, you also lose fatigue points for each order that you issue. The way that fatigue is kept track of is also different. Instead of just having an army fatigue number that if you hit or go under, your side loses. The black and gray cubes are used to keep track of it. Essentially you have a stock of cubes at the beginning of the battle and scenario. You can win or lose them according to the rules above. When one side loses all of its cubes it has lost the battle. You can play with the historical weather, or you can roll a die to see what it is that turn. Now onto the Tally Sticks. Instead of having to find a bone or possibly a slide rule these are just included to help the player keep track of the army fatigue points etc. that are used in the game. These are a small but elegant addition to the game.
I am going to break another one of my review rules now. That would make two in this month. While I will not mention the actual price, I can tell you that it is way below what a lot of other companies would charge for a game this size and is designed so well. There are so many outlets for buying games that I feel that it is not to the grognards' advantage to mention just one price. I do understand that it is best to send the money straight to the companies. However, some companies do sell their games to outlets that sell them for as low as the KickStarter prices. The grognard community as a whole is an older group. A lot of us are on fixed incomes and the 'younger' ones are dealing with college tuition for their children and many other things. In this day and age every penny counts.
Please take a look at the other games that Sound of Drums has released and also take a look at the ones forthcoming. In their Battles of Napoleon Series, the next game is the Battle of Quatre? bras. That one, like Eylau, is a battle that could have gone either way.
Robert Peterson
Eylau 1807 Battles of Napoleon Volume I
My review of Hellas: History of the Ancient Seas I:
Hellas: History of the Ancient Seas I by Sound of Drums - A Wargamers Needful Things
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