Davout
Posted by Ken on May 21, 1998 at 13:24:58:
In response to Games, written by Captain Everett on May 21, 1998 at 08:31:34
Ligny was the other battle, fought on the same day as Quatre Bras.
That was the one I couldn't remember.
While the French might call Quatre Bras a victory, the British also gained some of their objectives in just checking the French advance, even if only for a day. It gave Wellington time to organize his forces to meet the threat from that direction.
Well, they were roughly handled & left the field, and Napoleon certainly had the result he wanted from the initial encounter. But with Ney so slow to attack the one wing & Grouchy to pursue the other, it worked out ok for the British the next day.
I agree with Ken, the outcome of the campaign might have been different if Davout had been present. I often wondered if Napoleon didn't feel Davout was just a little too good, and took some of the glory away from himself, and therefore didn't employ him as often as he might have.
Davout's star waned after the retreat from Moscow & the silly wangling between him and Ney, but I don't think his abilities did. Napoleon wanted someone thoroughly capable and reliable to keep an eye on Paris after he was betrayed in 1814, but that meant he was minus his best field commander at Waterloo.
Davout was the one marshal Wellington never faced/beat. A battle between armies led by the 2 of them would have been one for the ages (-:
I realize that the logic behind it is that one "turn" is supposed to represent say 15 minutes, or half-an-hour, etc., and it does take time to enter/record your orders. But I think they miss the need to make ery quick decisions (and reap the consequences) as real commanders would have to do.
Some games allow for timed play. Others impose a delay between the time you give your orders & the time they are executed, which is even more like real life. The best do all this and hide your opponent's troops until they can actually be sighted by your own, or otherwise give away their position.
YHOS,
Snarkhunter
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