Slobobian Log and GM notes

Slobobian Log
June 1st : At 0600 Slobobian Dragoons dismantle the border crossing at Herinval and the Army crosses into Freedonia by 2pm it is through Chetogne. By 5pm the Army halts in the open 7 miles north of Bertogne camping in the woods and thick fields by the road. No news yet from Group B. However your cavalry reports superior enemy cavalry forces screening the scouting effort forward. Intense skirmishing. Telegraph lines along the main road have been cut in numerous places. Otherwise apart from the inability for the scouts to range far forward, the Army has been unimpeded in it's progress.

GM Notes:
Because of the distance between the two Slobobian forces and lack of rapid information, there is currently a 24 hour lag in information sharing between the two wings. The Slobobian commander, co-located with Group A, only knows what is going on there. The Freedonian commander can make use of the telegraphs running along the main roads to both covering frcs and gets more frequent updates.

The first major clash we will game out is to take place with Group A and Force N at bretogne. This will be a Slobobian Division vs a Freedonian Brigade. With the holidays here we've been forces by HIGHER HQ to take down our game table to make room for a tree. I am going to try a combination of several  wargaming systems:

TFL's 1862 Kriegsspeil rules http://toofatlardies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8&zenid=65a2f6f47457a9bcf95155f30b242907 for this. I have found a suitable spot on the Meckel map for detailed terrain and have made up briefing packets for each commander to plot his battle strategy. I have made up a Kriegsspeil set that may be easier and quicker for smaller actions.


For resolving battles on my own (using orders and guidance from the players)  I often use Carnage & Glory a computer moderated rules set by Nigel Marsh:
Carnage & Glory II Here is an overview of the system.
I use it in conjunction with powerpoint to game out the battles at leisure and send results.  I used C&G in conjunction wit a long dramatic and quite successful earlierpbem campaign set in 1866 with 6 participants. (Someday I'll get around to posting about that!)

I will be using other systems as well such as the Gettysburg: Scourge of War computer game with it's excellent multiplayer and courier systems (more on that later). More on that later...

For face to face battles I have Grand tactical Rules-1866  where elements can be either battalions or companies. For the larger battles I wil try out the Bruderkrieg supplement for Polemos  Kommondant der Armee .

I also have a homegrown set of mass skirmish rules I am working on that allow the players to be battalion commanders.

I will use various maps as I see fit to provide the best battle experiences, at times the tactical maps may not jive with the strategic map, but that's OK. It will all work out in the wash.

I hope to bounce around through these sets tailoring them to the situation to derive the experiences I want for the players. This will assist me in planing additional future campaigns.

So who are the two players I have foisted this particular campaign upon? They are my two sons (14 and 9). Do not let their ages fool you as they are both veteran wargamers, always up for something new, love history and will not shy away from the competition. They have experience with some short campaigns. The older one will command the Slobobians, the younger one the Freedonians.  More on the two of them later.