View manual text
261 BG Prelude Man UK
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Page 1
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
2.0 THE BASICS OF PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
HEX OUTLINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
THE HOT SPOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
THE TOOLBOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
SELECTING UNITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
FORMATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
FACING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
MOVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Column Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
COMBAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Ranged Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Melee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
LEADERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
QUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
DISORDERED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
ROUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
RALLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
FATIGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
SUPPLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
TERRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
STACKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
3.0 CHOOSING A SCENARIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
3.1 THE MENU SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
3.2 THE SCENARIO SELECTION SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
3.3 THE TYPES OF A/I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
3.4 RESUMING A SAVED GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
4.0 THE GAME INTERFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
4.1 THE TITLE BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
4.2 THE MENU BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Phase Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Units Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Melee Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Reinforce Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Status Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Display Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
A/I Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Special Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Options Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
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4.3 THE MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Scrolling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Place Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Hex Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
4.4 THE UNIT LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Unit Classification Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Unit-List Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Formation Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
The Pop-Up Selection Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
The Terrain Info Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Selecting a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
4.5 THE TOOLBOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
4.6 THE STATUS BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
4.7 SAVING A GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
4.8 SNAPSHOTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
4.9 RECORDING/ REPLAYING BATTLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
5.0 THE UNIT TYPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
5.1 UNIT ICONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Military Symbol Icon Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
5.2 LEADERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Command & Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
5.3 ARTILLERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
5.4 INFANTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
5.5 CAVALRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
5.6 AMMO & SUPPLY WAGONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
5.7 THE THREAT ZONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
5.8 OVERRUNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
6.0 PLAYING A SCENARIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
6.1 TERRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Obstructed Hexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Hexside Terrain Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
6.2 VICTORY CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
6.3 USING THE A/I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Commander Control A/I & Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Unknown-Unit Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
6.4 GAME TURNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
6.5 THE SEQUENCE OF PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
6.6 MOVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Reinforcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
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6.7 COMBAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Ranged Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Restrictions on Ranged Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Resolving Ranged Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Melee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Resolving Melee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Cavalry Charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Morale Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Disorder & Rout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
6.8 RALLY & REFORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
6.9 FATIGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
6.10 OPTIONAL RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
6.11 AND NOW... FORWARD TO WATERLOO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
7.0 MODEM & PLAY BY E-MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
7.1 MODEM PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
7.2 NULL MODEM PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
7.3 PLAY BY E-MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
7.4 TCP/IP INTERNET PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
8.0 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
8.1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
8.2 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
8.3 HOT KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
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Introduction
Prelude to Waterloo
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Prelude to Waterloo is an historical strategy game dealing with the epic confrontation between the
French Army of Napoleon and the Anglo-Allied and Royal Prussian Army of the Lower Rhine. In the
days prior to Napoleons historic defeat at Waterloo, twin battles were fought at Ligny and Quatre
Bras that could have changed history and stopped the Emperor sooner. A series of battles, called
scenarios, is presented for play on this map and recreates various confrontations of this epic conflict.
Each hexagon (hex) on the map represents an area 100 meters wide (a mile equals about 16 hexes),
and each Game Turn represents fifteen minutes in a daytime turn or one hour in a nighttime turn.
ATTENTION!! VETERAN BATTLEGROUND GAMERS
Prelude to Waterloo is, in many ways, similar to the first seven games in TalonSoft’s BattlegroundTM
series. The interface (the toolbar, menu options, 2D and 3D displays, etc.) all conform to the
standard BattlegroundTM style. However, there are enough differences in game play features to
make it worth your time to review these guidelines again.
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The Basics of Play
2.0 THE BASICS OF PLAY
After picking a scenario to play (see 3.0 CHOOSING A SCENARIO), you and your computer or
human opponent maneuver, attack and defend with units representing battalions of infantry and
regiments/squadrons of cavalry (the “S#” in the Unit List represents total number of soldiers) plus
artillery batteries (each “S#” in the Unit List represents one gun) and individual leaders.Your goal in
each scenario is to either capture or hold specific objectives, while trying to eliminate as many of the
opponent’s units as possible. However, you must also husband your own forces, for the casualties
suffered by each side are added to the other side’s victory-point total. For more details see 6.2
VICTORY CONDITIONS.For illustrations of sample unit icons, see 5.1.
The visibility in a daytime turn is limited only by the presence of LOS (line of sight) obstacles. In
a dawn or dusk turn, visibility is limited to four hexes. In a night turn, each turn is 1 hour long and
visibility is restricted to one hex. See the chart below.
Turn Type
Dawn
Daytime
Dusk
Visibility
4 hexes
unlimited
4 hexes
Starts At
2am
4am
8pm
Turn Length
15 minutes
15 minutes
15 minutes
Each Player Turn consists of five phases: Movement, Defensive, Offensive Fire, Cavalry Charge, and
Melee (see 6.5). Two consecutive Player Turns (one for each side) having the same turn number
comprise a Game Turn.When the specified number of Game Turns has been played, the scenario
ends and the victor is announced.
Each time you Select the “find next stack” Toolbox button, the program will indicate and
Select a unit on the map that has not yet conducted an action in the current phase.This
lets you check for units you might have forgotten to move or fire before going on to the
next phase.
To advance the game to the next phase,Select the “advance to next phase” Toolbox button.
At the start of each new phase, the Phase Box appears
and announces the phase and gives the current turn
number. Left-click with the mouse on the Box to begin
the phase—or right-click on it to begin the phase and
make it disappear automatically after a few seconds
each time it appears afterwards.
HEX OUTLINES
The concept of “hexes” is very important to successfully grasping the
fundamentals of movement and attack ranges. Since the hex outlines are
“off” by default at start, it is strongly recommended that you make them
visible by Selecting the Hex Outlines command in the Options menu when you begin your first
game.
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THE HOT SPOT
The red square- or rectangle-shaped indicator that appears on the map is known as the Hot Spot.
The hex currently containing the Hot Spot is called the Hot Spot hex.
THE TOOLBOX
The Toolbox allows you to perform certain actions without having to use the pop-down menus.
Selecting a Toolbox button initiates the command associated with it. Some are explained here,but for
a full listing of its buttons and commands see section 4.5.
SELECTING UNITS
You must Select a unit before you can have it perform an action.To do so,
1. Select the hex the unit occupies by left-clicking with the mouse in that hex. Doing this will make
the selected hex the Hot Spot hex.
2. Left-click with the mouse in that unit’s data area in the Unit List at the bottom of the screen.
(For an alternative method, see THE POP-UP SELECTION DIALOG on p.29.)
You can Select more than one unit in a hex, which will enable you to move (or attack with) all of
them at the same time. All the units in a hex can be Selected at once by double-clicking with the left
mouse button in that hex.
If you right-click in a unit’s data area in the Unit List, you will see its organizational information. In
addition,if the unit is not at full strength,this will also temporarily display the unit’s original strength.
FORMATIONS
The units in Prelude to Waterloo move and attack in a variety of different “Formations” that were used
during the Napoleonic Wars.Below is a list of the unit types and their Formation options.
Infantry Formations
Infantry is always in either regular line,column,skirmish,or square Formation.
Regular line represents the men lined up “shoulder-to-shoulder” for
attacking or defending.
Extended line represents the dividing of an infantry unit into (roughly)
two equal halves and then “extending” the newly formed unit either to
the right or left flank.
Column represents being either in marching order or in column attack formation.
Square represents the unit creating a “square” of men within the hex for defense
against cavalry attacks.
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The Basics of Play
Skirmish represents the creation of a small company of 100 men or less which “breaks off”
from the parent unit.
Cavalry Formations (and Leaders)
Cavalry and leaders are always mounted and in column Formation. Cavalry units
can,during their Movement Phase,break into squadrons of 100 men or less.
Artillery Formations
Artillery is always in either limbered (i.e., hooked up to its horses and
ammunition caissons) or unlimbered (ready to fire) Formation.
Supply Wagon Formations
Supply wagons are always in column Formation.
When Can I Change A Unit’s Formation?
You can change a unit’s Formation either during your Movement Phase or your Defensive Phase
(depending on the unit’s type).
• During your Movement Phase: You can only “limber” artillery, or create and
recall skirmishers and squadrons, and change infantry lines into column formations.
• During your Defensive Phase: You can perform all the other Formation
changes discussed above.
How To change a Unit’s Formation
1.Select the unit.
2.Then, Select one of the various Change
Formation Toolbox buttons (see
illustration at right).To see what a unit’s
current Formation is, see UNIT-LIST
ICONS on p.27.
Column to Line/Line to Column;
(Un)Limber Artillery
(Un)form Square
Make/recall Skirmishers and Squadrons
Formation Change Restrictions
• Leaders,Cavalry (squads included), and Skirmishers do not change formation.
• Disordered and Routed units cannot change formation.
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FACING
All units,regardless of their present Formation,have a Facing—
i.e., always face towards one of their hex’s hexspines (the
exception being Skirmishers, Leaders or units in Square
Formation, see p.36).A “hexspine” is the point at which two
hexsides meet (see illustration below).
A unit faces the hexspine of
a hex.
IMPORTANT #1: The current Facing of each infantry unit in line or column Formation and each
unlimbered battery determines its Field of Fire (i.e., the direction in which it attacks and defends); see
6.7 COMBAT.You do not have to change a unit’s Facing to move it.
IMPORTANT #2:Skirmishers & infantry in Square formation can fire in all directions.
IMPORTANT #3: If a hex contains more than one infantry unit in line formation, all such units
must have the same facing.Any change to the facing of one infantry in line must be made for all
such units in the same hex.
You can change a unit’s Facing only during its Movement Phase.To change its
Facing, Select the unit, then Select one of the “change Facing” buttons in the
Toolbox. One button changes the Facing clockwise, one hexspine at a time;
the button next to it does likewise but in a counter-clockwise direction; and the third button makes
the unit do an “about face.”
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MOVEMENT
In Prelude to Waterloo, you can move your units either
during their Movement Phase (i.e., they can change
their Facing or move from hex to hex; infantry in line
can change to column), or they can change Formation
during their Defensive Phase. In addition, cavalry (and
any leaders stacked with them) can move during the
Cavalry Charge Phase.
You can move units in three different ways:
Hex-by-Hex. One way to move a unit is to Select it, then right-click in a hex adjacent to it.You can
continue right-clicking in adjacent hexes until the unit either is where you wish it to stop or has used
all of its movement allowance.
Drag-and-Drop.Another way is to use “drag-and-drop.” Select the unit, place the cursor on that
unit’s hex, press and hold down the left mouse button, move the cursor to the hex you wish to
move the unit to, and then release the mouse button.The program will move the unit from hex to
hex for you,using the path that costs it the least to take.
Auto Movement.A third way to move a unit is by Auto Movement.To use this method, Select the
unit, then hold down the Alt key and right-click in the hex you wish that unit to move to. The
program will move the unit from hex to hex for you,using the path that costs it the least to take.
1
2
3
Each hex a unit moves into and each Facing change performed costs that unit a portion of its
movement allowance; these costs are listed under Change Costs in Parameter Data, which can
be found by Selecting Scenario Notes in the Help menu. See also 6.1 TERRAIN for the effects of
terrain (including roads,etc.) on movement.
Unless Fog of War is in effect for the opposing side, the most recent movement (or
Facing/Formation change) made by a unit can be canceled by holding down the Ctrl key and
pressing U,provided that unit is still Selected.
Selecting either the “HIGHLIGHT MOVED UNITS” Toolbox button or the Moved Units
command in the Display menu will highlight all units that have moved thus far in the
Movement Phase.
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Column Movement
You can use column movement to move as a single entity a group of units stacked together
and/or in a string of adjacent hexes.There are two types of column movement: organization and chain.
Organization. To conduct organization column movement,
1.Select the hex occupied by the “leading” unit.
2.Then Select a unit in that hex, hold down the Ctrl key and right-click in the adjacent hex you
wish that unit to move to.
As it moves, all units in the group that belong to the Selected unit’s organization (brigade, division,
etc.) will follow it. (To see a unit’s organizational information, right-click in its data area in the Unit
List.)
Chain. To conduct chain column movement,
1.Select the hex occupied by the “leading” unit.
2.Then, after making sure that no unit in that hex is Selected, hold down the Ctrl key and rightclick in the adjacent hex you wish that unit to move to.
As it moves, the entire group will follow, with each unit in turn entering the hex just vacated by
the one in front of it. Note, however, that chain column movement will not work in a hex that has
two or more friendly units adjacent to it if those units are in different hexes and are adjacent to each
other,or if the “leading” unit is adjacent to two or more units in different hexes.
Column movement can also be conducted using Auto Movement (see above).To do so, hold
down both the Ctrl and Alt keys when you right-click in the hex you wish the “leading” unit to
move to.
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COMBAT
There are two basic types of combat in the game: Ranged Fire and Melee.An infantry unit that takes
casualties from combat has its manpower (“S#” in the Unit List) lowered by 25 men or more; an
artillery unit may lose one or more guns (each S# = one gun). If a unit’s strength (S#) is reduced to
zero in this manner the unit is eliminated. See below for more details.The combat results tables for
both types of combat appear in Parameter Data, which can be found by Selecting Scenario
Notes in the Help menu. IMPORTANT: Each infantry unit and battery has a Field of Fire that it
cannot attack outside of; see section 6.7.
Ranged Fire
Ranged Fire is simply one infantry unit or battery shooting at another at a range of one or more
hexes. You conduct Ranged Fire during the Offensive Fire Phase of your Player Turn and the
Defensive Phase of your opponent’s Player Turn. During that fire phase, each of your units able to fire
can make one Ranged-Fire attack,and that attack can be made vs. only one enemy unit.Routed units,
and those that are out of ammunition and/or facing “away from” (see 6.7) the enemy cannot attack.
Artillery that moved (even just to change Facing) in the Movement Phase, or unlimbered during the
Defensive Phase cannot fire in the ensuing Offensive Fire Phase. See also 6.7 COMBAT, RANGED FIRE
on p.53,and RESOLVING RANGED-FIRE on p.54.
You can perform a Ranged Fire attack in three different ways:
Right-click target Hex.To use Ranged Fire, Select the battalion or battery that will fire, then rightclick in the target hex.
1
2
3
Drag-and-Drop. Another way to conduct Ranged Fire is to use “drag-and-drop.” Select the unit
that will fire, then place the cursor on that unit’s hex, press and hold down the left mouse button,
move the cursor to the target hex, and then release the mouse button.
Auto Fire. A third method is termed Auto Fire. Hold down the Alt key and right-click in the target
hex.A dialog box will appear, listing the name and location of one of your units that is eligible to fire
at that hex.If you Select OK in the box,that unit will fire.
Melee
A Melee occurs when one side attempts to advance one or more of its infantry or cavalry
units into an adjacent, enemy-occupied hex during the Melee Phase. Routed units, artillery,
supply wagons, and battalions facing “away from” (see 6.7) the target cannot advance into
a Melee. Disordered units can initiate melee.A unit can attack in Melee only once per Melee
Phase. If all defending units are eliminated or forced to retreat, the attacking unit(s) will
automatically occupy the defending hex.
Drag-and Drop. One easy way to conduct a melee is to use “drag-and-drop.” To do this:
1.Select all the units in a hex which you wish to attack with.
2.Then place the cursor on that hex, press and hold down the left mouse button, move the
cursor to the adjacent hex you wish to attack,and then release the mouse button.
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The Basics of Play
3.
Repeat this for each hex containing one or more units you wish to add to that Melee,
then resolve the attack by Selecting the “resolve Melee” Toolbox button.
For more details,see 6.7 COMBAT,and MELEE and RESOLVING MELEE on pp.55-56.
LEADERS
Each brigade, division, corps and army has its own historical leader.A leader provides no
benefit to movement or Ranged-Fire attacks, but can aid in Melee attack/defense and
lower the chance that a unit he is stacked with will Rout. Most importantly, however, a
leader can use his Command and Leadership ratings to aid Disordered/Routed units
under his command in their attempts to Rally and Reform. The proper positioning of brigade and
division leaders is vital to maintaining the cohesion of one’s forces. For more details see 4.4 THE UNIT
LIST,5.2 LEADERS and 6.8 RALLY & REFORM.
QUALITY
Each unit has a Quality rating (“Q” in the Unit List) ranging from “9” (best), to “1” (worst). The
program uses this rating at various times to make die rolls to determine if the unit will Disorder,
Rout,Reform or Rally.See MORALE CHECKS and DISORDER & ROUT,on pp.59-60.
DISORDERED
A unit may become Disordered whenever it takes casualties, and automatically becomes
Disordered whenever it is involved in a Melee or when they occupy the same hex in different
formations.A unit in line formation moving at night is also automatically disordered.
Disordered status is indicated by a “D” icon in the Unit List. For more details see DISORDER &
ROUT on p.60. In addition, moving into certain terrain features Disorders a unit (see THE TERRAIN KEY
on p.42).
ROUT
A unit may become Routed whenever it takes casualties, loses a Melee, or another
friendly unit in or adjacent to its hex Routs. Routed status is indicated by an “R” icon
in the Unit List and by a unit icon containing one or more running figures.Various
conditions can affect the chance that a unit will become Routed; see DISORDER &
ROUT on p.60.
RALLY & REFORM
At the beginning of each Player Turn, the program attempts to Reform Disordered units and Rally
Routed units in order to bring them back to Good Order. The results are displayed in the
Command Report dialog.For more details see 6.8 RALLY & REFORM.
FATIGUE
Each unit has a Fatigue level (“FA” in the Unit List) ranging between “0” and “9”. Fatigue can occur or
increase due to combat.The higher a unit’s Fatigue, the weaker it is in Melee and the more likely it
will be to Rout when it suffers casualties.For more details see 4.4 THE UNIT LIST and 6.7 FATIGUE.
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SUPPLY
Whenever an infantry unit makes a Ranged-Fire attack, the program checks
to see if it has depleted its ammunition supply. (The initial probability is 1-in24.) If it has, a “hollow musket ball” (indicating no ammo) or “half-hollow
musket ball” (indicating low ammo) icon appears in its icon section in the Unit List. A battalion
suffering from low or no ammo has certain restrictions placed on its Ranged-Fire capabilities, but can
be resupplied by a friendly supply wagon;see 5.4 AMMO & SUPPLY WAGONS.
There is a separate ammo supply limit for artillery;see ARTILLERY AMMO on p.38.
TERRAIN
Terrain can affect movement, LOS and Ranged-Fire combat, and also
affect Melee combat and block LOS. These effects are listed in 6.1
TERRAIN, and in Parameter Data (which can be found by
Selecting Scenario Notes in the Help menu).
STACKING
In Prelude to Waterloo,there is a limit to the total number of
men and units you can have in one hex.For example:
• Infantry: 2,000 men (S# total) in no more than 8 units
• Artillery: 16 guns (S# total) in no more than 4 units
• Cavalry: 1,000 men (S# total) in no more than 8 units
Though leader stacking is unlimited, only 4 leaders are shown in the Unit List. Stacking limits
apply per side in Melee.Regardless of other stacking rules, only one supply wagon may occupy a hex.
You can move a unit from the bottom to the top of a stack in the Hot Spot hex by Selecting
To Top of Stack in the Units menu.That menu also contains a To Bottom of Stack command.
When using the 2D Normal View map (see p.24), you can place all leaders on the top of their stacks
by Selecting Leaders on Top in the Display menu.
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Choosing a Scenario
3.0 CHOOSING A SCENARIO
3.1 THE MENU
SCREEN
When you launch Prelude to
Waterloo, the Menu Screen appears
after the introduction. This screen
presents you with four choices:
• Start New Scenario: Select this
to proceed to the Scenario
Selection Screen to start a new
scenario.
• Resume Saved Game: Select this
if you wish to resume playing a nonmodem game you had saved and
quit previously.
• Start Game as Modem Host: Select this to become (or resume being) the Host for a modemplay game or Internet Game.
• Start Game as Modem Caller: Select this to become (or resume being) the Caller for a
modem-play game or Internet Game.
• Special Options: Select this to start (or resume) a Play-By-E-Mail (PBEM) a Two Player Hot Seat
game or start a Campaign game that will follow on to Battleground Waterloo.
3.2 THE SCENARIO
SELECTION SCREEN
This screen lets you pick a new
scenario to play. First, Select the name
of a scenario. Once you’ve decided
on a scenario, make sure its name is
highlighted, and Select the Play
button.A dialog box will then appear,
giving you the choice of what type of
A/I you wish to use for each side.
(For your choices, see 3.3 THE TYPES
OF A/I.) When you Select OK, the
scenario will begin.
Different scenario types include
both historical,“what if” scenarios and “Art of War” scenarios.
The Previous button takes you back to the Menu Screen, and the Exit button takes you
completely out of the game.
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Choosing a Scenario
3.3 THE TYPES OF A/I
The type of A/I you choose will determine the
amount of control the game’s “Artificial
Intelligence” exerts on play.When A/I is being
used, the program will make some or all of
the decisions for a particular side and
automatically conduct all appropriate actions,
such as firing and moving.The A/I can be used
in four modes: Manual, Commander Control,
Automatic, and Automatic with Fog-of-War.
Any one mode can be applied to each side.
Manual equals no A/I. Select this for a
side if you want to make all the decisions for
that side, including conducting all moves and
attacks for it.This is the default mode for both
sides.
If you Select Commander Control for a side, you’ll be able to give orders (attack, defend, etc.)
to the various leaders you choose to command on that side, while letting the program automatically
handle all other actions for the side,such as moving and firing.
If you Select Automatic for a side, the program will handle all the decisions and actions for
that side.
If you Select Automatic with FOW (Fog-of-War) for a side, the program will handle all the
decisions and actions for that side, and Fog of War will be in effect.This mode is most appropriate
when you want to control one side and have the program control the other.
The Set Advantage bar at the bottom of the A/I Selection screen allows you to balance play
between two players of unequal skill or to balance A/I play.To set an Advantage, hold down the left
mouse button over the needle and move it to the left or right (The keyboard’s arrow keys can also
be used to adjust the advantage). Advantage values can range from 0 to 100 for either side.
Depending on the value you set, the side with the advantage will inflict higher than normal combat
losses on the other side, and suffer lower than normal combat losses themselves.Advantage must be
set before play begins in E-Mail or Modem Play games. Otherwise, the Advantage can be adjusted at
anytime during the game.
Select Rules to go to a list of optional rules that you can disable and enable to enhance
gameplay.See Section 6.10 OPTIONAL RULES for detailed information.
Selecting Help takes you to the online help guide.
To use the A/I during play,see 6.3 USING THE A/I.
3.4 RESUMING A SAVED GAME
To open a previously saved (non-modem, non-E-mail) game, Select Resume Saved Game in the
Menu Screen.A dialog box will appear, in which you must Select the saved-game file you want.Then
Select OK.
For resuming a saved modem-play game see page 64; for resuming a saved E-mail game see page
66.
If the game had been saved and quit during a phase that was controlled by the A/I, you may have
to Select the Activate A/I menu command (or its corresponding Toolbox button) to restart it.
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The Game Interface
4.0 THE GAME INTERFACE
4.1 THE TITLE BAR
This appears at the very top of the screen, and displays the name of the scenario currently being
played.
4.2 THE MENU BAR
This appears below the Title Bar, and displays the names of the various pop-down menus. These
menus and their commands are explained below.
File Menu: Use this menu to load a previously saved game, or to save
and/or exit a game.
Select New to start a new scenario. (Do not change directories in the dialog
box that appears.) A new scenario has the extension .scn.
Select Open to resume a previously saved game.A previously saved game file
has the extension .btl.
Select Save to save the game you are playing (see 4.7).
Select Save As to save a game under a file name other than the one
currently being used for it.
Select Snapshot to save a copy of the portion of the map (including the
position of all unhidden units) that is currently in memory as a bitmap (.bmp)
file (see 4.8 Snapshots)
Select Replay to view a recorded battle.To halt the replay, press the Esc key (see also “Recording/
Replaying Battles ”,p.31)
Select Exit to quit the scenario and return to the Menu Screen. If the current game has changed since
the last time it was saved,a dialog will appear giving the option to save it before exiting.
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Phase Menu: Use this menu when you want to proceed from one phase
to the next.
Select Next to advance the game to the next phase.
Units Menu: Use this menu to change the position of
unit(s) within a hex, and to change a unit’s formation.
Select To Top Of Stack to move a Selected unit to
the top of its stack.
Select To Bottom of Stack to move a Selected unit
to the bottom of its stack.
Select Turn Clockwise to change the Facing of a
Selected unit one hexspine in a clockwise direction.
Select Turn Counterclockwise to change the Facing
of a Selected unit one hexspine in a counterclockwise
direction.
Select About Face to change the Facing of a Selected
unit 180º.
Select Change Column to change a Selected column
to regular line, or to change a Selected regular line to
column.
Select Change Skirmish/Squadron to create or
recall a skirmish unit (for infantry) or squadron unit (for cavalry) from the Selected unit.
Select Change Square to change a Selected unit to or from square Formation.
Select Extended Line to change an infantry unit that is currently in regular line to extended line or
return it to regular line from extended line.
Select Remove From Map to voluntarily eliminate a unit. Removal can occur only during a friendly
Movement Phase,and the unit must be in a map-edge hex.
To remove a unit from the map,
1.Select the unit.
2.Select the Remove from Map command. Removed units only count towards victory
conditions if they exit from an exit objective hex.
Select Artillery Dialog to make attacks with artillery units during the Offensive Fire or Defensive
Phase.
Select Undo Last Movement to cancel the entire movement of the most-recently-moved friendly
unit, so you can instead move it in a different way (or not at all).This command is disabled during
modem play, Internet play, and when Fog of War is in effect for the opposing side.This command also
will not undo a Formation Change.
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Melee Menu: Use this menu to conduct melee.
Select Clear Melee to cancel a melee without resolving it.
Select Add to Melee (after right-clicking in a hex to mark it as a
Melee hex) to designate the currently Selected unit(s) as participating
in the Melee.
Select Resolve Melee once to resolve a Melee in the Hot Spot hex.
Select Show Melee Odds to review the odds ratio (attacker vs.
defender) of the two sides in the Melee in the Hot Spot hex.
Reinforce Menu: Use this menu to review the availability of reinforcements..
Select Scheduled to display the reinforcements scheduled to arrive during
the current scenario, as well as the per-turn arrival probability for each unit.
Double clicking on the selection will bring up a Dialog Box showing the
individual units in the reinforcement. If Fog of War is in effect for one or both
sides, only the reinforcements for the side currently having its Player Turn will
be displayed;otherwise,all reinforcements will appear.
Select Arrived during a friendly Movement Phase to display the reinforcements that are currently
available to be placed on the map.Double clicking on the selection will place these units on the map.
Select Releases for a display listing the release time of Fixed units; Choosing an entry in the Release
Dialog causes that organization to become highlighted on the screen. Double clicking or selecting
OK causes the release dialog to be dismissed and the organization to remain highlighted. Selecting
Cancel causes the organization to become unhighlighted.
NOTE: In “Art of War” scenarios reinforcement arrival and release probabilities are hidden. To
enhance the intrigue some reinforcements listed will have no chance of arrival.
Status Menu: Use this menu to display current strength, objective,
and victory information.
Select Strength to see the current “manpower” strength of both
side’s forces. If Fog of War is in effect for a side, its strengths will
appear only during its own Player Turn.
Select Objectives to see the number, value and hex location of
each Objective. Selecting any of the Objective-hex lines in the dialog
box will put the Hot Spot in (and scroll the map to) that hex.
Select Leader Casualties to display a list of all the leader casualties incurred during your current
scenario. A K indicates that the leader was killed, a W indicates that he was wounded, and a C
indicates that he was captured. Selecting the leader will scroll the map to the location where he
became a casualty.
Select Victory to see the current level of victory and related items.
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The Game Interface
Display Menu: Use this menu to control how
information is displayed on the map.
Select Units Off to toggle (off or on) the on-map
display of all units and markers.This option is provided
so you can hide them to see the underlying map terrain
better.
Select Unit Bases Off to toggle (off or on) the bases
of the unit icons on the 3D (Battleview™) map.
Select Unit Flags Off to toggle (off or on) the flags of
the unit icons on the 3D (Battleview™) map.
Select Leaders on Top to control the on-map display of
leaders on the 2D maps.When this command has a check
mark next to it, leaders appear above all other units in
their hex.
Select Objectives to toggle (off or on) the display of
Objectives on the map. When this command has a
check mark next to it each Objective hex will be
marked with the flag of the side that controls it.
Select Locations to help you find a certain location on
the map.When you Select one of those listed, the map
will scroll to that hex and put the Hot Spot in it.
Select Visible Hexes to toggle (off or on) a display of
which hexes are in the LOS of the current Hot Spot
hex. An “X” in a hex indicates no LOS. When on, this
command has a check mark next to it.
Select Full Screen Map to toggle (off or on) the Unit List and Terrain Info Box. When this
command has a check mark next to it, these items are hidden. Units can still be Selected when the
Unit List is hidden;see THE POP-UP SELECTION DIALOG on p.29.
Select Show Organization to see which units belong to which organizations.When you Select an
organization name in the Organization Dialog, each of that organization’s component units becomes
highlighted on the map. If Fog of War is in effect for one or both sides, only the organizations for the
side currently having its Player Turn will be displayed. An organization name printed in light gray
indicates that all of its units are currently off-map (i.e.,are reinforcements yet to arrive).
Select Find Leader or Units to display a dialog box that will let you find a specific unit or leader
on the map.After Selecting this command,
1.A cursor will appear in the white box labeled “Enter search.”
2.Type in the name of the leader or unit (being sure to spell, capitalize, & punctuate it the same way it
appears in the game).
3.Select Search.
All occurrences of that name in the Order of Battle will appear in the larger white box. Select the
one you’re looking for,then Select OK.
Select Jump Window to display a miniature of the map. When you click on any spot in the
miniature version,the game map will automatically scroll to the corresponding spot.
Select Highlight to get a submenu of the following options:
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Fixed Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units in the scenario that are classified as
“fixed” (i.e.,they cannot be moved).
Spotted Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that have a LOS to (and thus are in
the LOS of) at least one enemy unit.
Low on or Out of Ammo, or Uncrewed toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units
that are low on or out of ammunition and/or have no crew (the latter applies only to artillery
batteries).
Fired/Fought Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that have either fired at an
enemy unit or fought in a Melee during the current phase.
Moved Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that have moved during the current
phase.
Disordered Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that are Disordered.
Detached Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that are Detached.
High Fatigue Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that have a fatigue level of 7
or higher.
Extended Line Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that are currently formed
into Extended Line.
Isolated Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that are Isolated.
Non Full Strength Units toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that are not at Full
Strength.
Supply Wagons toggles (off or on) a highlight around all Supply Units.
Organization toggles (off or on) a highlight around all units that are part of the same
organization as the first Selected unit,or are subordinate to the Selected leader,in the Unit List.
Note:The Highlight menu options, beginning with Fixed Units and ending with Organization,
are mutually exclusive; i.e., Selecting any one of them will toggle-off any of the others that had
been previously Selected. During the Melee Phase, each unit that is designated to engage in
Melee becomes highlighted if no other highlight is currently Selected.
Select 2D Normal View to change the map to its 2D version.
Select 2D Zoom-Out View to change the map to a smaller, low resolution 2D version allowing
more of it to be seen.
Select 3D Normal View to change the map to its full-size 3D (Battleview™) mode.
Select 3D Zoom-Out View to change the map to Battleview™ mode but with the hexes at half
their normal size.
Select 3D Extreme Zoom-Out View to change the map to Battleview™ mode but with the
hexes at a quarter of their normal size.The units on this map will appear as various shaped blocks,
with their current facing indicated by a light green stripe.This view allows you to see a larger portion
of the battlefield in 3D mode.
Select Rotate Toolbox to toggle the Toolbox between its vertical and horizontal orientation.
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A/I Menu: Use this menu to control the “Artificial Intelligence” capabilities of the program.
Select [Manual] (i.e., no A/I) for a side if you
want to make all the decisions for that side,
including conducting all moves and attacks for it.
This is the default mode for both sides.
Select [Commander Control] for a side if
you’d like to choose certain leaders to command
yourself (i.e., to give orders to), while letting the
program automatically take care of all other
decisions and actions for that side. (To learn
more about how Commander Control A/I
works,see p.46.)
Select [Automatic] for a side if you want the
program to handle all the decisions and actions
for that side.
Select [Automatic with Fog-of-War] for a side if you want the program to handle all the
decisions and actions, and have Fog of War in effect,for that side.
Select Set Advantage to balance play between two players of unequal skill or to balance A/I play.
Advantage values can range from 0 to 100 for either side. Depending on the value, the side with the
advantage will inflict higher than normal combat losses on the other side, and suffer lower than
normal combat losses themselves. Advantage must be set before play begins in E-Mail or Modem
Play games.Otherwise,the Advantage can be adjusted at anytime during the game.
Select Activate A/I to restart the A/I after you have canceled it, or if you started the phase not
using A/I but wish to activate it for the remainder of the phase.
Special Menu: Use this menu to play a scenario with
someone else over the telephone, using a modem at both
ends,without having to exit back to the Menu Screen.
Select Modem Host before you start a modem game if
you wish to be in charge of opening and saving the scenario,
and to configure your modem for play.The Host player can
also use this command to close the playing session.
Select Modem Caller before starting a modem game if you
wish to let the other player be responsible for opening and
saving the scenario, and to configure your modem for play.As
the Caller, you are responsible for specifying an encryption
key (see p.65).The Caller can also use this command to close
the playing session.
Select Play by E-Mail to begin an E-Mail game. (See 7.3
PLAY BY E-MAIL for more information.)
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Select Two-Player Hot-Seat to play a scenario with another human opponent on your computer
with Fog of War automatically in effect.After this is invoked from the Special Menu, you must then select
New (or Open to resume a saved game) from the File menu.The extension .btt is used to denote a
Two-Player Hot-Seat saved-game file.
Select Record Battle to toggle (on or off) the option that allows you to save a record of the game
you are currently playing.
Select Null Modem if you wish to start a game using a null-modem cable.
Select Internet Connection if you wish to start a game using a TCP/IP Internet Connection.
Select New Encryption Key in a modem game if you are the Caller and wish to specify a new
encryption key. As the Caller you must ensure that the same encryption key is used when reopening a saved-game file as was used when the file was saved previously.The extension .btx is used
to denote an encrypted saved-game file.For more on encryption keys,see p.65.
Select Resync With Remote in a modem game if the two sides get out of sync (e.g., due to a bad
data transmission). Using this command re-transmits the entire scenario to the other player’s
computer.The Resync option should rarely be needed, as error checking is incorporated into the
modem protocol used by the program.Before using it, check with the other player to ensure that he
agrees a scenario resync is necessary.Alternatively, the Host can save the current scenario and open
it again.
Select Replay... to restart the replay of a previously halted recorded battle file. (See p.32 for more
information.)
Select Communication Dialog in a modem game to display the “chat window” if you had closed
it previously.
Options Menu: Use this menu to set the default for certain
options associated with the main program.A check mark next to a
command in this menu means that it is “on”.
Select Introduction to toggle (off or on) the introductory
material that plays when you launch the game.
The Prompt For Scenario feature is only usable if you selected
a “Custom” installation during set-up and chose the “Map Icon”
option. With this feature toggled on, you will be prompted for a
new scenario when you enter the game directly via a “map icon”
(instead of using the “Prelude to Waterloo” icon).
Select Beep on Error to toggle (off or on) the option that causes
a beep when you make an error.
Select Blink Hot Spot to toggle (off or on) the option that
causes the Hot Spot to blink. [Exception: the Hot Spot never blinks
on the 3D Normal View map.]
Select Smooth Scroll to toggle (off or on) the option that causes
the map to scroll incrementally to a new Hot Spot. When this
command has no check mark next to it, the map redraws directly
at the new Hot Spot hex without scrolling through the intervening
hexes.
Select Sound Effects to toggle (off or on) the playing of sound
effects.
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Select Background Music to toggle (off or on) background music which plays during the game.
Select Video Effects to toggle (off or on) the playing of the video effects during combat.
Select Graphical Unit Icons to toggle the display of unit icons between graphical and military
symbol schematic versions.
Select Leader Faces (when using the 2D Normal View map with Graphical Unit Icons on) to
toggle between a portrait-type and a graphical icon for each leader.
Select Hex Outlines to hide or display the map’s hex outlines.When the hex outlines are visible,
this command has a check mark next to it.
Select 3D Dialogs to toggle the appearance of the program dialogs between an enhanced 3D
version and the standard WindowsTM version.
Select Dialog Help Buttons to hide or display the Help buttons in the program dialogs.
Select Auto Save to have the program save the game automatically at the end of each phase
[Exception: it will not save a phase conducted under Automatic A/I (with or without Fog of War)
control].
Select Graphics Buffering to enable a graphics mode which will eliminate flicker in the 3D views,
however,may cause the game to run slower on certain systems.
Select Low Memory Option to disable the 3D Normal View.This will greatly reduce the memory
requirements of the program, resulting in faster gameplay.This Option is recommended for systems
with less than 16 MB of RAM, especially those running Windows 3.1.TM
Select Initial View to define the initial view of the map when the main program is started.The
views may be set to any of the standard views, or to default to the last view used while playing the
game.
Select Optional Rules to go to a display of the optional rules in effect for the current scenario.These
rules must be set at the start of a scenario and cannot be changed during gameplay. Once set, the
game will default to use the options marked upon the start of a new scenario.
Help Menu: Use this menu to get information about
how to use the Prelude to Waterloo program, about the
battle being fought, and the program itself.
Select General Help to open the Prelude to Waterloo
General Help file.
Select Scenario Notes to find miscellaneous information on
the two armies, their orders of battle, the data used internally in the game (such as the height of
obstacles,the movement costs and defensive modifiers of the various terrain types),etc.
Select About Prelude to Waterloo to display a dialog containing version number and copyright
information about Prelude to Waterloo.
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4.3 THE MAP
The map can be viewed in six different scales.
2D Zoom-Out View. The smallest playable size is the 2D
Zoom-Out map, which is displayed by Selecting 2D Zoom-Out
View in the Display menu.This is best used for a quick, overall
view of things. Units on this map cannot be distinguished from
each other as easily as on the other maps, but their positions
relative to the opponent’s units are readily apparent over a
wider area.
2D Normal View. The next scale is called the 2D Normal
View, and is displayed by Selecting 2D Normal View in the
Display menu (or,if the map is currently in the 2D Zoom-Out
mode, by Selecting the “Zoom Map” button in the Toolbox).
This presents the terrain in more detail than the 2D ZoomOut map while showing a larger area than the 3D maps.You
can choose to display units on the 2D Normal View map with
either graphical icons or MILITARY symbols (see 5.0 THE
UNIT TYPES).
3D Normal View. The ultimate map view is the 3D Normal
View mode, which is displayed by Selecting 3D Normal View in
the Display menu (or, if the map is currently in the 3D ZoomOut mode, by Selecting the “Zoom Map” button in the
Toolbox). This presents the Battleview™—a high-resolution
map in 3D-type isometric perspective, presenting much more
detail on the screen. In this view, units are shown as
“miniatures” with individual positions within their hex.
3D Zoom-Out. The 3D Zoom-Out view displays the
Battleview™ map at half of its normal size, thus allowing twice
as much of it to be seen at a time.This is the default map when
you start the game.
3D Extreme Zoom-Out View. The 3D Extreme Zoom-Out
View displays the Battleview™ map in a fourth its original size,
thus allowing you to view more of the 3D map at once.The
units in this view are displayed by various shaped blocks, with
their current facing indicated by a light green stripe.
Jump Map. The sixth map view is the Jump Window (see
SCROLLING below).
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Scrolling
In most cases the map is too large to fit completely onto the screen, even in those scenarios where
only a portion of the overall map is used.Therefore, several different ways to scroll it are provided.
You can use the standard Windows scroll bars, the arrow keys on your keyboard, or the Jump
Window.
To use the Jump Window, Select either its button in the Toolbox or the Jump Window
command in the Display menu.This will display a miniature of the map being used (along
with an indication of where each side’s units are).Then Select the desired spot in the jump
map,and the game map will automatically scroll to the corresponding point.
ΤΜ
Place Names
Press the Shift key to display the names of various roads, farms
and other geographical features.
Hex Coordinates
Each hex on the map has a unique set of coordinates, given in the form “#,
#”.The number on the left represents the vertical row of hexes (beginning
with “0” for the left-most row of hexes on the map), while the number on
the right represents the horizontal row (beginning with “0” for the topmost row).
The coordinates of the Hot Spot hex are displayed at the far right of the Status Bar (see 4.6).
4.4 THE UNIT LIST
The Unit List is the portion of the screen displayed immediately below the map. It contains a
representative drawing of each unit that occupies the current Hot Spot hex, plus that unit’s name
and pertinent game data.
To Select a unit in the Unit List, left-click anywhere in its data area.To view the organizational
information for a unit, right-click on its name in the Unit List and hold down the mouse button.This
will also show the original strength of the unit.
When there are more units in a hex than can be displayed in the Unit List, the
arrow buttons appear in the lower right corner of the screen and can be used to
scroll the Unit List.
The Unit List can be hidden by Selecting either Full Screen Map in the Display menu or
its equivalent Toolbox button.
Command Rating
Leadership Rating
Movement Allowance
Leader’s Name (right click for organization info)
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The following explains the abbreviations and numbers displayed for leaders in the Unit List:
C (Command):The leader’s Command Rating, given in the form “A” (best),“B”,“C”,“D”,“E” or “F”
(worst).This rating is used to determine the leader’s ability to stay “in command”, thereby aiding the
Reform of his Disordered units.When a leader’s command rating is displayed in yellow, it indicates that
leader has failed the command test for that current turn.See COMMAND RADIUS/RATING on p.61.
An
icon “behind” the letter when the Leader is Selected indicates that he is currently
Detached.
L (Leadership):The leader’s Leadership Rating, given in the form “A” (best),“B”,“C”,“D”,“E” or “F”
(worst).This rating is used to let the leader aid in the Rally of a Routed unit he is stacked with; see 6.8
RALLY & REFORM.
M (Movement):The leader’s current Movement Allowance.This number will decrease as he moves
or changes Formation. Leaders are always mounted.
A gold star appearing in the lower righthand corner of a leader’s Unit-List portrait indicates
that he has been “promoted” to the command of a higher organization due to the elimination
of that organization’s original leader.
S (Strength)
RG (Range)
MV (Movement)
QL (Quality rating)
FA (Fatigue level)
Unit List Icons
Unit Name (right click for organization info)
The following explains the abbreviations,numbers and colors displayed in the Unit List:
S (Strength): The unit’s current basic attack (and defense during Melee) strength. This number
represents the actual number of men in the unit (rounded to the nearest 25).This number is also used
to determine stacking limits; see STACKING on p.13.A yellow S# indicates the unit is not at full strength
(due to casualties or deployment of skirmishers/squadrons).To display a unit’s original strength, right
click on the unit box.
RG (Range): The maximum range at which the unit can make a Ranged-Fire attack.A unit with a
range of “–” cannot attack in any way.
MV (Movement): The unit’s current Movement Allowance.This number will decrease as the unit
moves or changes Facing/Formation.
QL (Quality):The unit’s Quality,given in the form “9” (best) to “1” (worst).
FA (Fatigue): The unit’s current Fatigue level. “0”-“3” cause no adverse effect (these numbers
appear in green).“4”-“6” represent Low Fatigue (and appear in yellow).“7”-“9” are High Fatigue (and
appear in red).See also 6.9 FATIGUE.
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Unit Classification Icons
Some units in Prelude to Waterloo have special icons appearing near the top of the unit portrait.These
icons are:
An “L” in the unit’s portrait means that the unit is a “light” unit and can deploy more than one
Skirmisher unit.
An “H” in the unit’s portrait means that the unit is a “heavy” unit.
A “Horse” icon in the unit’s portrait means that the unit is horse artillery.
A “G” icon in the unit’s portrait means that the unit is a “guard” unit.
An “Uncrewed” banner in the unit’s portrait means that artillery unit is currently without its crew.
Unit-List Icons
One or more of the following icons will appear from time to time in the lower-center compartment
of a unit’s data area. These icons, as they appear from left to right on the screen, represent the
following:
Infantry: When the full-color musket ball appears, the unit is eligible to attack.
Once it has attacked, the ball turns black. If the unit becomes low on ammo, the
ball will change to “half hollow” (i.e., half color and half outline). If the unit becomes out of ammo, the
ball will change to completely hollow (i.e.,outline only).
Battery: When the full-color cannonball appears, the battery is eligible to attack.
Once it has attacked, the cannonball turns black. If the battery is low on ammo
due to Isolation, the cannonball will change to “half hollow”. If the battery is out of ammo, the
cannonball is hollow (i.e., an outline). If the battery is uncrewed, a red X is drawn through the
cannonball.
The letter indicates the kind of weapon the unit is equipped with:
When a number appears in the unit box it signifies the percentage chance that the unit can
sucessfully change formation that turn without becoming disordered.
When the wheel appears,the unit is eligible to move.Once it begins to move,the wheel turns
black.When it has used all of its movement allowance,the wheel disappears.
When the “F” on a black background appears,the unit is Fixed,meaning that it cannot leave its
hex.A unit’s Fixed status is removed whenever its hex is attacked by enemy units, the unit
becomes Routed or is “Released” according to the scenario’s Release Schedule.
Weapon Types
A:
B:
D:
L:
12-pounder battery
6 or 9-pound battery
Horse battery
Lance
M: Smoothbore muskets
R: Rifle
S: Sword
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Formation Icons
These icons show the unit’s present Facing (as indicated by the direction the arrow is pointing) and
Formation.
This icon indicates that the unit is in regular line.
This icon indicates that the unit is in regular line and is able to change into Extended
Line (see below).
This icon indicates that the unit is in extended line.
This icon indicates that the unit is in column.
This icon indicates that the unit is in square.
When the “S” appears,the unit is a Skirmisher company.
When the “D” appears,the unit is Disordered.
When the “R” appears,the unit is Routed.
When the full-color binoculars appear, the unit is currently in the LOS of (and thus
also has a LOS to) at least one enemy unit [Exception: if the only enemy unit having a
LOS to the unit is an enemy supply wagon, the binoculars are black, indicating that the identity of
your unit is not known to the enemy if Fog of War is in effect].
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The Pop-Up Selection Dialog
The Pop-Up Selection Dialog allows you
to Select any unit(s) in the Hot Spot hex
even if the Unit List is hidden.To display
this dialog, simply press the spacebar.You
can then Select a single unit by left-clicking
on its name in the dialog, or Select
multiple units by holding down the Shift
or Ctrl key when you left-click. Doubleclicking on a name is the same as pressing
Enter, which is the same as Selecting OK.The information at the beginning of each unit name is that
unit’s S# and weapon type. Disordered and Routed Units will have an icon to indicate their current
state.
The Terrain Info Box
The Terrain Info Box appears in the lower-left-hand corner of the
screen, presenting certain information about the current Hot Spot
hex. It displays a digitized photo of the type of terrain in the hex
(clear, orchard, forest, etc.), then lists that terrain type by name and
gives its Ranged-Fire combat modifier*, its elevation in feet, and its
Objective value.
* “Building” and “Rough” hexes will show two numbers (e.g., -2/0) for its Ranged-Fire combat
modifier.The first number indicates the modifier for skirmishers, and the second number (which is
always 0) indicates the modifier for all other units. In short, only skirmishers receive a Ranged-Fire
combat modifier from Building and Rough hexes.
The bottom line of the Terrain Info Box shows the current artillery ammunition supply for the
three main sides (in the form “#/#/#”,with the English total on the left, the French total in the middle
and the Prussian total on the right.) See ARTILLERY AMMO on p.38 and THREAT CHECKS on p.40.
Selecting a Unit
To Select a unit in the Unit List, left-click anywhere on its area in the List.You can quickly Select all the
units shown in the Unit List by double-clicking with the left mouse button in the Hot Spot hex.
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4.5 THE TOOLBOX
The Toolbox enables you to conduct certain actions without having to use the pop-down menus.
Selecting a Toolbox button initiates the command associated with it.These commands are:
Advance the game to the next phase.
Change the screen display between the 2D Normal View and 2D Zoom Out, or 3D
Normal View and 3D Zoom Out, mode.
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) one hexside in a counterclockwise direction.
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) one hexside in a clockwise direction.
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) by 180º.
Change the Formation of the Selected infantry unit from column to line (and back) or to
limber/unlimber artillery.
To create or recall a skirmisher or squadron unit(s) from the Selected unit.This can only
be performed during the Movement Phase.
To change a Selected infantry unit to or from square Formation.This can only be performed
during the Defensive Phase.
Toggle (off or on) the on-map display of all units.
Toggle (off or on) the bases of all unit icons on the 3D map.
Make the Artillery Dialog appear.
Resolve the Melee in the Hot Spot hex.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that are suffering from low/no ammo or
uncrewed.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have a LOS to (and thus are in the LOS
of) at least one enemy unit.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have moved during the current phase.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have either fired at an enemy unit or
fought in a Melee during the current phase.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that are Disordered..
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that are part of the same organization as the
first Selected unit in the Unit List.
Hide (or display) the Unit List and Terrain Info Box.
Toggle (on or off) a display of which hexes are in the LOS of the current Hot Spot hex.An
“X” in a hex indicates no LOS.
Display (or hide) the flag of the controlling side in each Objective hex.
Display the Jump Window. Select any spot on the jump map, and the game map will scroll
to the corresponding spot.
Cycle the Hot Spot to another unit that has yet to (be designated to) perform an action
pertinent to the current phase.
Activate the A/I (after you have halted it, or if you started the phase not using A/I but wish
to activate it for the remainder of the phase).
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4.6 THE STATUS BAR
The Status Bar (see illustration above) appears at the very bottom of the screen. Its main functions
are to show the current time of day, the current phase, the coordinates of the Hot Spot hex, and a
set of scroll arrows (if the current Hot Spot hex has more units in it than can be displayed at one
time). It also displays various types of messages from time to time (e.g., to explain why the program
won’t let you perform a certain action). In addition, it gives a brief explanation of each menu
command and Toolbox button when you place the cursor on that command or button and hold
down the left mouse button.
4.7 SAVING A GAME
To save a game you are currently playing, use the Save command in the File menu to save it. A
dialog will appear so you can specify a name for the saved-game file. Normally you should use the
extension .btl.Alternatively, you can Select Auto Save in the Options menu, in which case you’ll be
prompted at the end of the first phase to save the game. Once you’ve saved the game this way, it will
be saved again automatically by the Auto Save function at the end of each subsequent phase
[Exception: it will not save a phase that was conducted under Automatic (with or without Fog of
War) A/I control]. Should you wish to save the game at some other point in a phase, you can do so
via the Save command.
To save the game under a file name different than the one currently being used for it, Select
Save As in the File menu. This allows you to save the current state of a battle in another file
without affecting the file being used for the battle.
4.8 SNAPSHOTS
The Snapshot command in the File menu allows you to save, as a bitmap (.bmp) file, a copy of the
portion of the map (including the position of all unhidden units) that is currently in memory.A fileselection dialog will appear so you can specify the name of the file.
You can use the Paintbrush graphics program (supplied with Windows™) to open the file later.
Refer to your Windows™ manual for instructions for the Paintbrush program. The Paintbrush
program can also be used with your printer (black and white or color) to supply you with a printout
of the map.Paintbrush will allow you to resize the map (as desired) before printing.
4.9 RECORDING/REPLAYING BATTLES
Recording Battles
The Record Battle feature of the Special pop-down menu allows you to record a scenario
as you play it.You can then “replay” this saved battle later by selecting Replay from the File pop-down
menu (see below).
Why would you record a battle? During a hotly contested scenario, you might anticipate that the
next few turns will decide the winner. You may want to keep a record of this and show it to
someone later, or (for your own satisfaction) review the moves you made to help improve your
strategy for future scenarios.
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You can record just a few turns of a battle,or an entire scenario.To record a battle,
1.Select Record Battle from the Special pop-down menu. Doing so places a check mark ( )
next to the feature. Immediately, a file window will appear allowing you to name this file (or
accept the default filename).
2.After naming the file, select OK to return to the game. From this point forward, all scenario
turns you play will be saved into this file.
You cannot record modem play or PBEM battles.
Note: The Record Battle feature is a toggle.At anytime during play, you can select the feature again
to turn it off.Anytime you start recording,it will overwrite any existing file of the same name.
Replaying a Recorded Battle
When you want to view the turns of a recorded battle, simply select Replay from the File
pop-down menu and the recorded turns will automatically replay.
To halt the replay, press the Esc key.To resume the replay again, select Restart Replay from
the Special menu,and the recorded battle will resume where it left off.
Note:When you replay a battle that has been recorded with Fog of War in effect, the replay is from
the perspective of the other side.
EX: If you replay a battle that you played vs the computer, the replay will be from the perspective of the
computer (not your perspective). This means you’ll see what the computer saw.
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The Unit Types
5.0 THE UNIT TYPES
Infantry, cavalry, artillery batteries, individual leaders and supply wagons are represented in the game.
All, aside from unlimbered artillery, have an inherent movement capability; and all, aside from leaders,
limbered artillery and supply wagons, can make attacks. Most of their characteristics are covered in
2.0 THE BASICS OF PLAY, but more details on the special capabilities of the various units are given
below.To see the attributes of a specific unit during play, Select its hex to put it in the Hot Spot and
check its data in the Unit List.
5.1 UNIT ICONS
Many different icons are used to represent the units in the game.A complete listing is provided at
right.
Military Symbol Icon Colors
The color of each “Military” symbol indicates a general category of unit types, as explained here (note
that these colors appear only on the 2D Normal View map by selecting Graphical Unit Icon in the
Options menu):
Light Green:Infantry
Yellow:Cavalry
Red:Artillery
Gold (Star):Leader
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Map Type:
2D
2D
zoom zoom-in
out graphical
2D
3D
3D
zoom-in
zoom-in &
zoom out
extreme
zoom out
mil.sym.
Unit Type:
Infantry Battalion in line
Infantry Battalion in column
Routed Infantry Battalion
Infantry Battalion in square
Infantry Skirmisher
Cavalry
Routed Cavalry
Unlimbered Artillery Battery
Limbered Artillery Battery
Uncrewed Artillery Battery
Leader
Supply Unit
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5.2 LEADERS
For the basics, see CAVALRY FORMATIONS (& LEADERS) on p.7. One leader per side can aid in Melee
(when stacked with a unit) by increasing his side’s attack or defense strength by one.A leader lowers
the chance that a unit will Rout by adding a –1 modifier to its Morale Check die roll, and can aid units
under his command in their attempts to Rally.See also 4.4 THE UNIT LIST and 6.8 RALLY & REFORM.
A leader can be attacked as an individual target only if no other unit (aside from one or more
other friendly leaders) is in his hex.Leaders do not become Disordered or Routed.
A leader can be killed, wounded or captured. In each case he is eliminated and another leader is
promoted at the start of the next friendly Player Turn to take over his command. (A leader so
“promoted” has a gold star in the lower righthand corner of his portrait in the Unit List.) All
replacement leaders have a command rating of F. (To get a list of leaders killed, wounded or captured,
go to Leader Casualties in the Status menu.)
Command & Leadership
Each leader has both a Command and a Leadership rating, which affect his ability to influence certain
actions of other units under his command; see 4.4 THE UNIT LIST. In addition, brigade and division
leaders have a limited Command Radius;see COMMAND RADIUS/RATING on p.61.
5.3 ARTILLERY
Artillery batteries in Prelude to Waterloo are broken down into three categories:A,B, and D. Below is a
description of each category:
• Category A artillery is classified as heavy artillery.The number and types of guns in an “A” battery
consists of a complement of six 12-pounders and two 10 pound howitzers or six 12-pounders and
two 6-inch howitzers or eight 12-pounders and four 18-pound Licornes.
• Category B artillery is classified as medium artillery. The number and types of guns in a “B”
battery consists of a complement of six 6-pounders and two 7 pound howitzers or five 9-pounders
and one 5.5-inch howitzer or eight 6-pounders and four 9-pound Licornes.
• Category D artillery is classified as horse artillery. The number and types of guns in an “D”
battery consists of a complement of four 6-pounders and two 5.5 pound howitzers or five 6pounders and one 5.5-inch howitzer or six 6-pounders and four 9-pound Licornes.
For artillery ammo supply rules, see ARTILLERY AMMO on p.38. For artillery in Melee, see MELEE and
RESOLVING MELEE, on pp.55-56.
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5.4 INFANTRY
For the basics, see INFANTRY FORMATIONS on p.4. For a more thorough overview of all the various
movement/Formation change options for infantry,refer to the bullet points below:
• Infantry can move, change facing, deploy/recall skirmishers, change into column formation in the
Movement Phase.
• Infantry can change formation from line,column,and square,in the Defensive Phase.
• Infantry can fire in the Offensive Fire and Defensive Phase.
• Infantry can conduct melee attacks during the Melee Phase.
Skirmishers
• Skirmishers can be deployed and recalled in the Movement Phase by clicking the “S” button in the
Toolbox.
• A Skirmisher unit equals 1/8 of full strength (S#) of its parent unit.
• Light infantry and guard units can deploy entirely into Skirmisher companies. Other infantry units
can deploy only one Skirmisher company.
• The facing of Skirmishers has no effect on their function.Skirmishers have a 360º field of fire.
• In addition to other terrain modifiers, Skirmishers receive a –2 terrain modifier from Building and
Rough (Wolf Pit) hexes.
• Skirmishers can rejoin their parent unit during the Movement Phase.To combine a Skirmisher unit
with its parent unit, make sure the Skirmisher unit is in the parent unit’s hex. Select the Skirmisher
unit, then select the “S” button in the Toolbox. If the skirmisher unit has a higher fatigue rating than
the parent unit,then the fatigue of the parent unit increases by 1.
Squares
• Squares can be formed in the Defensive Phase by undisordered,unrouted infantry.
• Squares fire at 1/4 effectiveness and have a 360° field of fire.
• Normally, cavalry attacks against units in the Melee Phase are tripled. Infantry units in Square
Formation negate this tripling.
Extended Line
• Infantry units can change into and out of Extended Line in the Defensive Phase.The ability to
form an extended line is based on the size of the infantry unit.An infantry unit whose Regular
Line icon (in the Unit List) shows three parallel lines
is able to form an Extended Line.
• Extended Line units cannot be extended or reformed across obstructed hex sides.
• Units in Extended Line cannot change into Column or Square Formation without first changing into.
NOTE:To recall an Extended Line Infantry Unit,the two
“halves” of the extended line must occupy adjacent hexes
from each other. These two units occupy adjacent hexes to each
other.
After selecting one of the halves, then select Change
Extended Line from the Units pop-down menu.
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5.5 CAVALRY
In Prelude to Waterloo cavalry is broken down into three different categories:
Light: Hussars, Light Dragoons, Chasseurs.
Heavy: Dragoons, Cuirassiers, Carabiniers, Grenadiers on Horse.
Lancers: Lancer cavalry units have a weapon type of “L”.
• Cavalry can move (from hex to hex and change facing) during the Movement Phase.
• Cavalry can charge in the Charge Phase, but are automatically Disordered at the end of the
turn.
• Cavalry units that have moved in the Charge Phase get an advantage when attacking in the Melee
Phase if they are attacking non-square infantry in unobstructed hexes across unobstructed hex sides.
Squadrons
A cavalry unit can break into Squadrons during the Movement Phase by Selecting the cavalry unit
and then clicking the “S” button in the Toolbox.The size of a cavalry squadron is 1/4 the size of its
parent unit.An entire cavalry unit can be broken down into squadrons. Cavalry squadrons can move
and melee in the same way as cavalry regiments.
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5.6 AMMO & SUPPLY WAGONS
When an infantry unit incurs a depletion of its ammo, it becomes “low on ammo” and thereafter
cannot fire in its Offensive Fire Phase until resupplied. If a unit that is already low on ammo incurs
another ammo depletion, it becomes “out” of ammo and can make no Ranged-Fire attack at all until it
is resupplied.
For a unit to be resupplied, it must be within 5 hexes of a friendly supply wagon.The path of
hexes traced to the supply wagon may not cross an impassible hexside or pass through a hex adjacent
to an enemy unit.If it does,the unit cannot be resupplied.
Whenever an infantry suffering from low/no ammo starts a friendly Player Turn in a non-Routed
state and in the supply path of a friendly supply wagon,the program will resupply it.
A resupplied unit is always returned to a “full” ammo state.The number of units resupplied is
announced in the Command Report dialog.
Each time a supply wagon resupplies a battalion, that wagon’s supply strength (“S#” in the Unit
List) is reduced by one.When its S# becomes zero, it is eliminated.Wagons themselves cannot be
resupplied.
A supply wagon that incurs a loss due to an attack does not have its S# decreased, nor does it
become Disordered or Routed. Instead, its “crew” is considered killed and the wagon becomes
immobile (i.e.,its movement allowance becomes—and will remain—zero).An immobile supply wagon
cannot be “recrewed”, but can continue to resupply friendly units.A supply wagon captured in Melee
becomes a supply wagon of the captor’s side.
Resupply and Skirmishers
Resupply works the same way for Skirmishers as with other infantry units. However, when
a Skirmisher is resupplied, the S# on the supply wagon is not reduced.
Artillery Ammo
The artillery ammo supply of each side is displayed in the bottom line of the Terrain Info Box (see
p.29). Each time an artillery battery makes a Ranged-Fire attack, its side’s artillery ammo supply is
reduced by one. In addition, each reduction of one in an artillery battery’s S# (including its capture in
Melee) reduces its side’s artillery ammo supply.When a side’s artillery ammo supply reaches zero,
none of its artillery units can fire.A side’s artillery ammo supply can only be increased through the
arrival of artillery reinforcements.Neither captured artillery nor its ammo can be used by the captor’s
side.
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5.7 THE THREAT ZONE
In Prelude to Waterloo, each undisordered or unrouted unit exerts a “Threat Zone.” The unit’s
threat zone equals a certain distance that extends through the hexes the unit is facing. Being
in the threat zones of enemy units interferes with a unit’s ability to change formation and
could possibly Disorder it. Units have both a “Threat Zone” and a “Threat Value.” The
percentage chance a unit will sucessfully change formation without becoming disordered is
shown in the unit box.
Threat Zones
Infantry units (including Skirmishers) exert a Threat Zone of 2 hexes.
Artillery units exert a Threat Zone of 4 hexes.
Cavalry units (including Squadrons) exert a Threat
Zone of 6 hexes.
• Supply wagons and leaders do not have a Threat Zone.
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Threat Values
A unit’s threat value of infantry and cavalry is based on its strength in men (1 point of threat per 100
men).An artillery unit’s threat value is 1 point of threat per strength number (S#).
• The threat value of infantry units is doubled at a distance of one hex from the unit.
• The threat value of artillery is double up to a distance of 2 from the unit.
• The threat value of cavalry is tripled up to a distance of 2 from the unit and doubled up to a
distance of 4 from the unit.
Threat Checks
During play, whenever a unit attempts to change its formation, a check is made based on the threat
on the hex and the morale of the unit.The total threat on a given hex is the sum of the individual
threats of all enemy units the hex is in.
If the threat value of the hex is zero, you can change formation with certainty. Otherwise, an
attempt to change formation may fail. If a unit fails the check, it becomes disordered.A hex’s threat
value can be seen by Selecting the hex and then right clicking on the terrain box.
Threat Value of the Hot Spot hex
Example: The three circled cavalry units are exerting a threat value of “33” on the Hot Spot hex.
The cavalry unit shown in the lower right of the illustration does not contribute to this threat value,
since the Hot Spot hex is not in its Threat Zone.
Things to remember: The higher the threat value against the hex, the less likely a unit’s
chance of completing a Formation change. Also, the lower a unit’s Quality, the less likely it
will make that Formation change if the hex is in a threat zone. The percentage chance of
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the unit being able to change its formation sucessfully (without becoming disordered) is
shown in the unit box.
5.8 OVERRUNS
An overrun is a special movement where a unit can move into an enemy unit’s hex. Overruns may
occur in the Movement Phase and Charge Phase.
In Movement Phase
An enemy hex may be entered during the Movement Phase if it contains only enemy leaders and/or
uncrewed enemy artillery.
In Charge Phase
In addition to overruns in the Movement Phase, an enemy hex may be entered by charging cavalry
during the Charge Phase if it contains only enemy leaders, skirmishers, and artillery (crewed or
uncrewed).
Overrun Effects
Leaders in an overrun hex are eliminated. Artillery that is overrun by infantry is eliminated.
Unlimbered artillery that is overrun by cavalry becomes “uncrewed.” Limbered artillery that is
overrun by cavalry is eliminated.An attempt to overrun a hex occupied by skirmishers may fail or
succeed based on a probability calculated using the strength of the skirmishers vs. the strength of the
cavalry.
Recrewing Artillery
Artillery that has become uncrewed can become recrewed at the beginning of a Player turn once
the enemy cavalry in the hex has left, provided that the battery is with or adjacent to a friendly
infantry unit.
Note: This does not imply that the infantry unit “recrews” the battery. It means that the infantry
crew dispersed and took shelter and has now returned to their battery.
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6.0 PLAYING A SCENARIO
6.1 TERRAIN
The Prelude to Waterloo maps contain numerous types of terrain, each with an associated effect on
movement, LOS, and combat. If you wish to inspect the terrain in a hex obscured by the presence of
units, Select that hex to put the Hot Spot there; then consult the Terrain Info Box, or Select the
“toggle units” Toolbox button (or the Units Off command in the Display menu). If using the 3D
map, you also have the option to Select the “toggle unit bases” Toolbox button or the Unit Bases
Off command in the Display menu.
A Terrain Key summarizing the effects of the various terrain types follows.The +/– number in
the Combat Effect line alters the ranged-fire results by that many columns (i.e., its die roll); see
RESOLVING RANGED-FIRE on p.54.) Both in-hex and hexside Terrain Combat Effects apply vs. RangedFire,but only hexside Terrain Combat Effects can apply to Melee.
TERRAIN KEY
Below is a list of the various terrain types in Prelude to Waterloo
CLEAR
Movement Cost:2 (infantry);2 (cavalry);2 (artillery);and
3 (supply wagons)
LOS Effect: none
Combat Effect: none
BUILDING
Movement Cost: same as clear
LOS Effect: none
Combat Effect: –2/0; Skirmishers get a –2 ranged-fire
defense benefit when attacked in a Building hex. No other
units receive this defensive benefit.
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FOREST
Movement Cost: 4 (infantry); 6 (cavalry); 8
(artillery/supply wagons). Infantry in line automatically
becomes disordered when entering this terrain type.
LOS Effect: Based on elevation; Forest hexes are 12
meters tall
Combat Effect: –1
ORCHARD
Movement Cost: 3 (infantry); 4 (cavalry); 6
(artillery/supply wagons). Infantry in line automatically
becomes disordered when entering this terrain type.
LOS Effect: Based on elevation; Orchard hexes are 5
meters tall
Combat Effect: 0
VILLAGE
Movement Cost: 4 (line infantry); 2 (column infantry); 4
(cavalry); 4 (artillery/supply wagons). Infantry in line
automatically becomes disordered when entering this
terrain type.
LOS Effect: Based on elevation;Village hexes are 10 m
eters tall
Combat Effect: -2
ROUGH
Movement Cost: 3 (infantry); 3 (cavalry); 4 (artillery and
supply wagons). Infantry in line automatically becomes
disordered when entering this terrain type.
LOS Effect: none
Combat Effect: Skirmishers get a –1 ranged-fire de
fense benefit when attacked in a Rough hex.No other
units receive this defensive benefit.
MARSH
Movement Cost: 4 (line infantry); 4 (column infantry); 8
(cavalry); artillery and supply wagons cannot enter Marsh
hexes. Infantry in line automatically becomes disordered
when entering this terrain type.
LOS Effect: none
Combat Effect: none.
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WATER
Impassable.
LOS Effects: None
CHATEAU
Movement Cost: 2 (artillery/ infantry); 3 (supply wagons);
Cavalry cannot enter Cheateau hexes
LOS Effect: based on elevation, Chateau hexes are 10
meters tall
Combat Effect: –3.
FIELD
Movement Cost: 3 (infantry); 3 (cavalry); 3 (artillery); and
5 (supply wagons)
LOS Effect: Based on elevation, field hexes are
2 meters tall
Combat Effect: none.
Obstructed Hexes
In Prelude to Waterloo, all hexes are classified as either “obstructed” or “unobstructed.” Clear and Building
hexes are unobstructed hexes.All other terrain types are obstructed.All units (except infantry in column
and artillery) become Disordered (“D”) when entering obstructed hexes.
Hexside Terrain Features
In Prelude to Waterloo, certain terrain features appear along hexsides.These features can be viewed by
clicking in the terrain box. When units move across these hexsides, they will pay an additional
movement cost. In addition, all hexside terrain features are considered “obstructed,” and therefore
will Disorder (“D”) all units that cross them (except infantry in column and artillery). Below is a list
of the hexside terrain features.
HIGH WALL GATE
Additional Movement Cost:
+1 (infantry);+2 (all others).
LOS Effect: Based on elevation: High Wall
Gates are 10 meters high
Combat Effect: –4 in Melee only; no other combat
allowed.
HIGH WALL
Additional Movement Cost:
Impassable hexside;found only around Chateau hexes.
LOS Effect: Based on elevation: High Wall
Gates are 10 meters high
Combat Effect: No attacks across.
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WALL
Additional Movement Cost:
+2 (infantry);+4 (cavalry);+6 (artillery/ supply wagons)
Combat Effect: –2
HEDGE
Additional Movement Cost:
+1 (infantry); +2 (cavalry); +2 (artillery/ supply wagons) Infantry
in line becomes disordered when crossing
Combat Effect: –1
EMBANKMENTS (SUNKEN ROADS)
Additional Movement Cost:
+2 (infantry);+4 (cavalry);+6 (artillery and supply wagons).
Combat Effect: –1
CREEK
Movement Cost:
Impassable, except at Bridges
Combat Effect: none.
STREAM
Additional Movement Cost:
+1 (infantry);+2 (cavalry);+2 (artillery/ supply wagons)
Combat Effect: none
BRIDGE
Movement Cost:
Must be using Road movement
Combat Effect: Only 1 unit may melee across a bridge hexside.
PIKE
Movement Cost:
1 for all units except infantry in line has regular terrain costs.
Combat Effect: none
ROAD
Movement Cost:
1 (infantry in column, cavalry, and artillery); 2 (supply wagons);
Infantry in line has regular terrain costs.
Combat Effect: none
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PATH
Additional Movement Cost:
1 (infantry in column, cavalry, and artillery); 2 (supply wagons);
Infantry in line has regular terrain costs.
Combat Effect: none
ELEVATION LEVEL
Each elevation change represents 10 meters.
Additional Movement Cost:
• From lower to higher: +1 (infantry and cavalry); +2 (all
others)
• From higher to lower: +1 for supply wagons and
limbered artillery.
Combat Effect: –1 for Ranged Fire if target is
one level higher than firer, or –2 if target is two or
more levels higher than firer. In melee, the
modifier is equal to the most levels ascended by
any attacking unit.
6.2 VICTORY CONDITIONS
Each scenario has its own set of Victory Values,which are point values that determine victory.They can
be viewed from the Victory command in the Status menu. Using this command causes the Victory
Dialog to appear, which lists a variety of data. It shows the number of units each side has lost so far
and their point value. It also names the side the victory conditions apply to (calling it the First Side), the
total point value of all Objective hexes that side currently controls,and that side’s current overall point
total (which the program calculates by subtracting the value of its unit losses from the sum total of its
controlled Objectives plus the enemy’s losses).
Any of five levels of victory are possible for the First Side: Major Defeat, Minor Defeat,
Draw, Minor Victory and Major Victory. Each has an associated number of points which that side
must equal or exceed at the end of play in order to achieve the next-higher level of victory.
Specifically:
• The First Side suffers a Major Defeat if its point total is less than or equal to the total listed for
“Major Defeat” in the Victory Dialog.
• The First Side suffers a Minor Defeat if its point total is greater than the total listed for “Major
Defeat”,but is less than or equal to the total listed for “Minor Defeat”,in the Victory Dialog.
• The First Side achieves a Draw if its point total is greater than the total listed for “Minor Defeat”,
but is also less than the total listed for “Minor Victory”,in the Victory Dialog.
• The First Side wins a Minor Victory if its point total is greater than or equal to the total listed for
“Minor Victory”,but is less than the total listed for “Major Victory”,in the Victory Dialog.
• The First Side wins a Major Victory if its point total is greater than or equal to the total listed for
“Major Victory” in the Victory Dialog.
The program takes the First Side’s current overall point total, finds which level that total equates
to,and displays that level’s name as the First Side’s current level of victory.
A scenario does not automatically end when one side achieves a Major Victory (or suffers a
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Major Defeat); the level of victory may change during the course of play as casualties occur and
Objectives change hands. Only the level that exists at the end of the scenario applies for determining
the winner.However the scenario will end if all units from one side are eliminated, and the opponent
has all of the objectives.
Objectives
As the name implies, an Objective is a vital hex to control in a scenario because of its victory-point
value.All Objectives are controlled by one side or the other at scenario start.To gain control of an
enemy-controlled Objective, you must occupy it with one of your own units. By themselves leaders,
supply wagons,and routed units cannot be used for this purpose.
To display all Objectives on the map, Select Objectives in the Display menu.When
this command has a check mark next to it, each Objective hex is marked with a flag
icon to denote its location and ownership.
To find the point value of a specific Objective hex, Select Objectives in the
Status menu. Selecting one of the Objective-hex lines in the dialog box that appears
will move the Hot Spot to that Objective hex.
Some scenarios have Exit Objective Hexes, where points are awarded for exiting the map
from these areas. Exit Objective Hexes start with a point value of zero and increase in value
determined by the point value of the unit.The objective value of an Exit Objective Hex is followed by
an X in the terrain info box.Exit Objective Hexes never change sides.
Other scenarios are Art of War scenarios.These scenarios are designed to be played with the
“Extreme Fog of War” Optional Rule. Reinforcement arrival probabilities will be hidden and some
reinforcements will be listed with no chance to ever arrive.As commander, you will be called on to
determine the strength of the enemy forces and judge what objectives your forces can take or hold.
6.3 USING THE A/I
When the A/I is conducting an action, the A/I Action Dialog appears to tell you what the A/I is doing,
and the map will scroll to display the corresponding action.
The A/I Action Dialog has four buttons: Step, Run/Pause, Cancel and Help.The Step button is initially
the default.The current default button is outlined in black, meaning that it can be chosen by pressing
Enter while the dialog is on-screen.
The Step button runs the A/I for one action,after which A/I processing halts.
The Run button makes the A/I run continuously until there are no more A/I actions for the
current phase.When you Select Run,it changes to Pause (which becomes the default).
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Note: When the A/I for the side conducting the actions in the current phase is set to
Manual, you can Select the Activate A/I menu command (or its corresponding Toolbox
button) at any time to have the A/I complete that phase for you.Also, the type of A/I being
used (Commander Control,Automatic, or Automatic with Fog-of-War) can be changed via the A/I
menu at any time for either or both sides [Exception:if playing a modem-to-modem or PBEM game,
Fog of War cannot be turned off once the game has begun].
The Pause button halts the A/I temporarily. (While the game is halted, you cannot Select
anything from the Menu Bar or Unit List—but the Toolbox and other A/I Dialog buttons remain
active.) When you Select Pause,it changes back to Run (which becomes the default).
The Cancel button cancels A/I processing. (When you Select Cancel, it becomes the default.)
To re-activate the A/I, Select the “Activate A/I” button in the Toolbox or the Activate A/I command
in the A/I menu.While the A/I is activated and the A/I Action Dialog is on-screen, the Esc (Escape)
key acts as a Cancel button.
Commander Control A/I & Organizations
Selecting the Commander Control option in the A/I menu at the start of the scenario lets you
issue your own orders to one or more leaders (and thus to the units under their command). If you
choose this, the Leader Selection Dialog will appear (see below), from which you must Select the
leader(s) you wish to control. (To choose more than one,hold down the Ctrl or Alt key as you Select
each name.)
Afterwards, an Order Dialog for each of your leaders will appear (see below) at the start of his
friendly Player Turn.This dialog shows the order his superior has issued to him (unless he is the army
leader)—which you can change if you wish—and allows you to issue orders to his subordinate
leaders (and thus to their units and/or batteries).“Location” shows the coordinates of the hex the
named leader presently occupies. “Size” indicates the highlighted organization’s current strength.
“Health” indicates the percentage of units in that organization that are in Good Order, crewed if
artillery,and not suffering from High Fatigue.
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To give an organization an order, Select its name and then Select one of the orders from the list
in the dialog. Then choose the organization’s “objective” for the turn by right-clicking on the
appropriate hex. Once you’ve given orders to all your organizations, Select the OK button and play
will proceed.
If you click the Cancel button in the Order Dialog,A/I processing is canceled. Processing can be
resumed by Selecting the “Activate A/I” button in the Toolbox or the Activate A/I command in the
A/I menu.
Summary of Commander Control A/I Order Types
Attack Order.A regular Attack order causes units to move so as to take the specified objective.
For Brigade or higher organizations, flank units will be deployed in an advanced position.
Attack (Extreme).An Attack Extreme order will cause units to attack in a more concentrated
formation with maximum stacking in each hex.Also, extreme order will cause units not to fall back
until all units of that organization are no longer in good order.
Defend Order. Units will move so as to hold specified objective. For Brigade or higher
organizations,flank units will be deployed in a refused formation.
Defend (Extreme).A Defend Extreme order will cause units not to fall back until all of the units of
that organization are no longer in good order.
Unknown-Unit Markers
When Fog of War is in effect for a side, its units are partially revealed—in the form of
Unknown-Unit markers—whenever an enemy unit becomes adjacent to them. An
Unknown-Unit marker indicates only the presence of a hidden unit; the actual type(s)
and number of units are not revealed until the start of the next phase.A unit’s move
automatically ends when it reveals an adjacent Unknown-Unit marker.
Additionally, if a supply wagon is the only friendly unit that can spot an enemy unit when Fog of
War is in effect,that enemy unit’s identity will remain unknown.
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6.4 GAME TURNS
Each scenario has a maximum number of playable Game Turns.When that number has been played
to completion,the game is over.The number of Game Turns is displayed in the Phase Box (see p.5).
6.5 THE SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Each Game Turn comprises two Player Turns—one French and one Allied. Furthermore, each Player
Turn is made up of five phases,which occur in the order listed below.
For simplicity,the player whose side is “active” in each of these phases (aside from the Defensive
Phase) is called the Phasing Player. Except in the last Player Turn of the game, the completion of each
Melee Phase is followed by the Movement Phase of the next Player Turn, in which the opponent
becomes the Phasing Player.To advance the game to the next phase, Select either the “advance to
next phase” Toolbox button or the Next command in the Phase menu. (For details about how to
conduct a melee,see MELEE,p.55.)
1. Movement Phase
In the Movement Phase, the Phasing Player may move some, all or none of his units that are
capable of movement. However, as the first action of this phase, the program finds all of the Phasing
Player’s units that are Fatigued, Disordered, Routed, low on ammo and/or out of ammo, and checks
to see if each loses any Fatigue, is resupplied and/or Rallied [Note: Rally attempt chances are
decreased in night turns]. It then announces on-screen, in the form of the “Combat Report”, the
results of these checks. (For more details,see 6.6 Movement,below)
2. Defensive Phase
In the Defensive Phase, the Phasing Player’s opponent may fire some, all or none of his units
capable of making a Ranged-Fire attack. In addition, the Phasing Player may make any Formation
changes with those units eligible.
Also during the Defensive Phase, cavalry units can perform a Cavalry Counter Charge if that
option has been selected in the Optional Rules menu.For more details,see 6.10 OPTIONAL RULES.
(For details about how to conduct combat, see 6.7 COMBAT; to find details about changing
Formation,see 5.4 INFANTRY.)
3. Offensive Fire Phase
In the Offensive Fire Phase, the Phasing Player may fire some, all or none of his units capable of
making a Ranged-Fire attack.(For details about how to conduct combat, see 6.7 COMBAT.)
4. Cavalry Charge Phase
In the Cavalry Charge Phase, the Phasing Player may move some, all or none of his cavalry
unit (and leaders stacked with them) capable of making cavalry charges. (For details about how to
conduct cavalry charges, see CAVALRY CHARGES, p.58.)
5. Melee Phase
In the Melee Phase, the Phasing Player may conduct a melee with some, all or none of his
Melee-capable units adjacent to an enemy unit.
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6.6 MOVEMENT
The Phasing Player can move his units during their Movement Phase, at which time he may
move all, some or none of them that are capable of movement (e.g., unlimbered artillery cannot
move from one hex to another). For a basic explanation of how to use the mouse to move units,
see MOVEMENT on p.9.
If more than one unit in a hex is currently Selected, you can move all of them using any
movement method just as if they were a single unit (within stacking limitations; see STACKING on
p.13). Note, however, that moving any stack of units, or entering a hex that contains even one other
unit, negates the benefits of moving along a road. Hence if you try to move two or more units
simultaneously along a road, they must pay the non-road cost of the hex they are entering. Likewise,
if a unit already occupies a road hex and you attempt to move another unit into it, the non-road cost
will be charged.Leaders do not count as units for the purposes of these road movement limitations.
If a hex contains more than one infantry unit in line formation, all such units must have the same
facing.Any change to the facing of one infantry in line must be made for all such units in the same
hex.
Each Formation change a unit makes, and each Facing change made by infantry in line or
dismounted cavalry, costs it a portion of its movement allowance; these costs are listed under
Change Costs in Parameter Data,which can be found by Selecting Scenario Notes in the Help
menu.
If you move a unit but want to start its move over again, you can Select Undo Last
Movement in the Units menu or hold down the Ctrl key and press U on the keyboard,provided
that unit is still selected.This command will not undo formation changes.
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[Exception:A move cannot be undone if Fog of War is in effect].
If you move a unit but use only part of its movement allowance, you can move one or more
other units and still go back and finish moving the first unit.A unit can become the “leading” unit in
column movement even if it has already expended part of its movement allowance.
A unit’s movement allowance drops to “0” whenever it moves within the ZOC of an
Unknown-Unit marker, or moves within the ZOC of a non-Routed or non-Artillery or nonSkirmisher enemy unit.
All the various types of terrain in the game have an associated movement cost, or provide some
kind of benefit or restriction to movement.See 6.1 TERRAIN for details.
Reinforcements
Many of the scenarios have reinforcements, which are units that enter from off-map during play.You
can display the Schedule Dialog to see when, where and how many reinforcements are available by
Selecting Scheduled in the Reinforce menu. (However, you cannot see the opponent’s
reinforcements if Fog of War is in effect for his side.) Also displayed is a percentage for the probability
of the unit arriving at the specified time, hence units with less than 100 percent may arrive late.
Selecting any line in this dialog automatically scrolls the map to the arrival hex of that reinforcement
unit and makes that hex the current Hot Spot. Double clicking any selection in this dialog displays a
complete list of units associated with this reinforcement.
At the start of a Movement Phase in which reinforcements are due to arrive, a message to that
effect will appear on the screen.The arriving units may be brought onto the map at any time during
the Movement Phase,or they may be ignored and brought on in a subsequent Movement Phase (i.e.,
they will remain available indefinitely until entered).
To bring on reinforcements,
1.Select Arrived in the Reinforce menu to display the Arrived Dialog, which will show a list of
the available units.
2.Double-click with the left mouse button on the name of a unit in the list.When you do so,the
dialog will disappear, the map will scroll to the entry hex and that unit will appear there. If
more reinforcements are available,
3.Select Arrived again, and repeat the procedure until you’re done bringing on your
reinforcements.
Note: An asterisk in front of a unit’s name in the Scheduled Dialog indicates that it did not arrive at
its earliest scheduled time.
Fixed Units
Many of the scenarios have Fixed Units. Fixed units are shown in the Unit List with a black “F” icon.
Such units are frequently “released” automatically during the scenario.The Release Dialog displays the
turn the unit(s) is first eligible for being released is shown, followed by the percentage chance of it
being released.If not released on the first turn eligible,a die roll is performed at the start of each turn
for that unit(s) until it is released.The Command Report at the start of a players turn will list units
that have just been released. Fixed units are released immediately if fired on by an enemy unit or if
they become routed. Units cannot be fixed during play.When playing with Fog of War, the Fixed
status of enemy units and their release schedule is not known.
To view the Release Dialog, Select Released from the Reinforce menu. If the unit is selected, the
units affected by the Release are highlighted on the map.
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6.7 COMBAT
For the basics, see COMBAT on p.11.A supply wagon cannot attack; its S# is used only to show how
many units it can resupply (see 5.4 AMMO & SUPPLY WAGONS).The same unit can be attacked
more than once in the same phase [Exception: not in the Melee Phase]. However, a unit may make a
Ranged-Fire attack or advance into Melee only vs.a target that lies within that attacker’s Field of Fire:
Field of Fire Diagram
X
X
The darker gray shading in these illustrations shows a units (an
infantry regiment in line armed with muskets with a range of “2”
hexes) current Field of Fire. It cannot attack (even to advance
into a Melee) any unit that lies outside this Field of Fire unless it
first makes an appropriate facing change during its Movement
Phase. In addition, the units Zone of Control (ZOC) is its front 2
hexes (shown by hexes marked with an “X” in these illustrations).
X
X
Ranged Fire
Ranged Fire can be performed only during the Defensive Phase or Offensive Fire Phase. Ranged Fire
uses a combination of the firer’s S#, weapon type (as denoted by the letter on the tan background in
the Unit List; see 4.4), and the hex range to the target to determine the actual strength of the attack.
All Disordered units have their strength factor halved before any other modification. Routed units,
cavalry, and those that are out of ammunition and/or have no valid target within their Field of Fire
cannot use Ranged Fire.
For a basic explanation of how to use the mouse to conduct Ranged Fire, see RANGED FIRE on
p.11.
Restrictions on Ranged Fire
Ranged Fire can be conducted vs. only one target unit at a time. If the target hex contains only
one unit, or several units all of the same type, the attack will be resolved automatically. (In the latter
case the program chooses the unit to be affected.) If the target hex contains more than one type of
potential target, a Target Dialog will be displayed to let you Select one of those units as the target.A
unit name appearing in gray in the Target Dialog indicates the unit is suffering from low/no ammo.
If a hex contains more than one infantry in line, any unit behind the first line infantry unit cannot
fire.The first infantry in line behind an artillery battery can fire, however. In short, no unit behind an
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infantry unit in line formation can fire. On the 2D map, the “front” unit is the counter on the top of the
stack,and the unit on the top of the stack is the first unit shown in the Unit List.
If a hex contains more than one infantry in line, only the front line infantry unit (top counter in a
stack on the 2D map) can be targeted. Exception: an attack receiving the enfilade bonus can target
any unit. Furthermore, if infantry in line is the target of artillery, then all infantry in line, in that hex, can
be affected.
The units in a hex can be rearranged using the To Top (Bottom) of Stack features in the
Units pop-down menu (see the Units menu on p.17).
LOS and terrain can affect the attack. Ranged Fire cannot be used vs. a target the firer has no
LOS to. Selecting either the “show LOS” Toolbox button or the Spotted Units command in the
Display menu will highlight all units that have a LOS to at least one enemy unit.
No unit may conduct more than one Ranged-Fire attack per friendly fire phase. Selecting either
the “highlight fired units” Toolbox button or the Fired/Fought command in the Display menu will
highlight all units on the map that have attacked thus far in the current phase.
An easy way to fire artillery is via the “Display Artillery Dialog” Toolbox button (or the
Artillery Dialog command in the Units menu). Selecting either of these makes the
Artillery Dialog appear, which lists all friendly artillery units capable of firing.To fire a unit
using the Artillery Dialog, first Select the unit’s name in the list, then right-click on the target hex.
(Note that when a unit in the Artillery Dialog is Selected, all of its potential targets are highlighted
on the map.) Once the unit fires, it disappears from the list and the next unit is automatically
Selected, so all you have to do to fire this next unit is to right-click again on a target hex. A unit
name printed in light gray in the dialog means that particular unit currently has no eligible target.
Resolving Ranged-Fire
The range from the firing unit to the target is used to determine a “weapon effectiveness” based on
the weapon type.The weapon effectiveness values of each weapon type are listed in Parameter
Data,which can be found by Selecting Scenario Notes in the Help menu.
The applicable weapon effectiveness value is multiplied by the firing unit’s “strength points” (SP) in
order to arrive at a “fire value”.(25 men = 1 SP for infantry;1 cannon = 1 SP for artillery.)
The fire value is then increased/reduced as applicable in the following order:
• Fire from infantry in column is reduced by 80%.
• Fire from infantry in square is reduced by 75%.
• Fire from infantry against infantry in column or square is increased by 25%.
• Fire from Disordered units is reduced by 50%.
• Fire in the Offensive Fire Phase from units that have moved in the previous Movement Phase is
reduced by 50%.
• Fire against skirmisher units is reduced by 75%.
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• Artillery fire vs.infantry in column or square is increased by 50%.
• If the firing unit is not artillery,its fire value is reduced by 75%.(This is to compensate for the above
change from men to SPs.)
• Fire from a unit with a Quality or 6 or more receives a benefit; fire from a unit with a Quality of 2
or less is detrimentally affected.
The final fire value is used to determine a row in the Fire Results Table (see the Parameter
Data).The program then makes a random die roll to determine a fire result.The die roll is altered
by the defensive modifier of the target’s hex (listed as the “Combat Effect” in the Terrain Info Box)
and of the hexside of the target hex that the firing unit is firing through. Only skirmishers get any benefit
from Building and Rough hexes.
If the target unit was not an artillery unit, the fire result number is the amount of SPs it loses.
Multiplied by 25, this amount represents its casualties in men (and will appear as such in the Fire
Report on screen).
If both the firing and the target unit were artillery, the fire value is divided by 4 (this is to
compensate for the above change from men to SPs).This amount represents the target’s casualties
in cannon (and will appear as such in the Fire Report on screen).
Melee
For the basics, see MELEE on p.11.An artillery battery has a basic strength of 25 men per cannon
when defending in Melee.A leader stacked with a unit under his command increases the strength of
his side by one in Melee, but any additional friendly leader present in the Melee provides no further
benefit.A leader can advance into Melee only if accompanying a friendly unit. Units cannot advance
into Melee in excess of stacking limits, nor if they are Routed.
Melee can also be used to damage an empty Bridge.
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To initiate a Melee, first choose—using the right mouse button—an enemy-occupied hex or
bridge adjacent to the unit(s) that will conduct the Melee.Then Select each friendly unit (or
stack of units) that will participate in the Melee and Select Add to Melee in the Melee
menu. (Selecting Show Melee Odds in that menu will display the attacker/defender odds ratio for
the Melee.) Once you’ve added the desired attacking unit(s) to the Melee, resolve it by Selecting the
“resolve Melee” Toolbox button or the Resolve Melee command in the Melee menu.A dialog will
be displayed to give the results (see RESOLVING MELEE below). Each Melee must be resolved before
the next one can be initiated. Lone leaders cannot Melee each other.
Semi-Auto Melee
You can also use “drag-and-drop” to conduct a melee; see MELEE on p.11.
Auto-Melee
You can have the program conduct Melee for you even if not using the A/I.To do this, hold down the
Alt key and right-click on an enemy-occupied hex adjacent to at least one friendly, Melee-eligible
unit.The program will find all units eligible to attack that hex, and will give their names, their locations
and the attack differential.If you click OK,they will automatically attack the hex.
A/I Melee
Another option for conducting Melee is simply to Select the “activate A/I” Toolbox button. The
program will then conduct all melees in that phase automatically.
Resolving Melee
Even though the advancing side is termed the attacker, both sides engage in Melee
simultaneously; hence the attacker can also suffer casualties. To resolve a Melee, the
program follow this procedure:
The attack value of the attacking units and the defend value of the defending units is
calculated.The nominal attack or defend value of an infantry or cavalry unit is its S# divided by 25;
the nominal defend value of an artillery unit is its S# (an artillery unit cannot initiate a melee
attack). In addition, there are a series of modifiers that are applied to a melee:
These modifiers are applied to defending units (these are cumulative):
• The defend value of cavalry with lancers is reduced by 25%.
• The defend value of Routed units is reduced by 50%.
These modifiers are applied to attacking units (these are cumulative):
• The attack value of heavy cavalry and cavalry with lancers is increased by 25%
• The attack value of disordered units is reduced by 50%.
• If all attacking units consist of undisordered Cavalry or Leaders that moved in the proceeding
Charge Phase, and the defenders do not consist entirely of cavalry and infantry in squares, then the
total attack value is multiplied by 3. Note:This bonus only applies if the cavalry units moved in the
preceding Charge Phase.
Whether attacking or defending in melee, a unit with a Quality of 6 or more receives a benefit,
and a unit with a Quality of 2 or less is detrimentally affected.
A melee modifier is calculated (these modifiers are summed):
• If none of the attacking units have fired in the proceeding Offensive Fire Phase, a modifier of +1
applies (Note: this automatically applies to attacking cavalry, unless the attacking cavalry is entering
obstructed terrain).
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• If there are attacking units with low fatigue,a modifier of –1 applies.
• If there are attacking units with high fatigue, a modifier of –2 applies (this takes precedence over
the low fatigue modifier).
• If any attacking units are attacking through an obstructed hexside, the maximum hexside modifier
of these hexsides applies.
• If the attacking units are accompanied by a leader,a modifier of +1 applies.
• If any attacking unit advances uphill into the melee hex, a –1 modifier applies.
• If any attacking unit advances from a hex outside the Field of Fire of all defending units, a modifier
of +2 applies.
• If the defending units have a leader,a modifier of –1 applies.
Note:Melee losses against Skirmishers are reduced by 80%.
The melee odds of attacker divided by defender are used to determine a row in the Melee Table.A
random die roll, modified by the melee modifiers, is used to determine a melee result.The melee result
determines the number of strength points lost by the attacking and defending units. If the defending units
suffer higher loses than the attacking units,they must retreat from the defending hex.Unlimbered artillery
that must retreat is automatically eliminated.Supply wagons that must retreat are captured instead.All units
which participate in a melee are disordered.
An attacking cavalry unit that does not “lose” in melee may continue to advance into (and melee in) an
adjacent hex up to four times in the same Melee Phase,provided each new hex it advances into contains at
least one enemy unit that was not attacked in a previous melee of this Melee Phase.
Versus Vacant Hex: If all defending units in a hex are eliminated during the Offensive Fire Phase, a
red triangle icon will appear in that hex to mark it as aVacant Hex.Such a hex may be attacked in
the next Melee Phase, and the meleeing unit(s) will automatically occupy that Vacant Hex without gaining
any fatigue or becoming Disrupted.
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Cavalry Charges
Cavalry units in Prelude to Waterloo have a special movement phase called the Cavalry
Charge Phase.This phase is conducted right before the Melee Phase, and its purpose is to
allow you to move your cavalry into position next to enemy units to attack in the Melee
Phase. Depending on the kind of cavalry you move during this phase, you will receive certain
melee attack benefits by using those cavalry in the ensuing melee. The basic information
about how cavalry charges are factored into melee resolution is discussed above. However,
more information about cavalry charges is below.
• Only cavalry units in Good Order may charge.
• A cavalry unit must not be Disordered when it initiates a charge.If,however,it becomes Disordered
during the charge (by moving over or into Obstructed hexes) it can continue.
• Cavalry may move up to their normal (full) movement allowance during a charge (even if
Disordered during a Charge).
• Charging cavalry may not change facing, so it’s important to remember that when you move your
cavalry into position to attack during the ensuing melee, the cavalry is able to move into the melee
hex without changing its facing.
• Charging cavalry may not use Road Movement.
• Cavalry that has charged automatically becomes Disordered at the end of that player’s turn.
• Leaders may move during the Cavalry Charge Phase if stacked with a charging cavalry unit.
• Charging cavalry may overrun skirmishers and artillery in clear hexes crossing unobstructed hex sides
based on a probability calculation.The probability of overrun is 0% if the cavalry is not at least half
the strength of the skirmishers (face value strength used).The probability increases as the strength
of the cavalry increases. For example, the probability is 1/2 when the two forces are of equal
strength and 3/4 if the cavalry is twice as strong as the skirmishers. Overrun skirmishers and
limbered artillery are eliminated.Overrun unlimbered artillery becomes uncrewed.
• Cavalry that charges and melees against units other than infantry in square or other cavalry has its
strength tripled in the melee calculation. Lancers and Heavy Cavalry get a further 25% increase
when they attack.Heavy cavalry defends normally,but Lancers defend at 75% of their value.
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Morale Checks
Whenever a defending unit suffers casualties (i.e., has its S# reduced) due to combat but is not
eliminated or have its crew killed, the program rolls a six-sided die to make a Morale Check for
it. If the casualties were incurred during the Defensive Fire Phase, the Morale Check occurs at
the end of that phase. If the casualties were incurred during the Offensive Fire or Melee Phase,
the Morale Check occurs at the start of the next Player Turn.
In addition, each time a unit becomes Routed, every friendly unit in its hex and those adjacent
to it must take a Morale Check.The exception being skirmisher units, for when a skirmisher unit
routs,only other skirmisher units must take a Morale Check.
Also, when a unit is eliminated by fire, one unit is randomly determined in the same hex to
make a Morale Check. However, eliminated skirmishers do not cause Morale Checks of nonskirmishers.
The Quality (Q) of a unit is used as its “morale” for rout purposes.A routed unit has a morale of
zero.The following cumulative modifiers can apply to the Morale:
+1 If the unit is stacked with any friendly leader
+2 If the unit has a Fanaticism Quality Rating (in gold)
–1 If the unit is suffering from low/no ammo
–1 If the unit was already Disordered
–1 If the unit was already suffering from Low Fatigue
–2 If the unit was already suffering from High Fatigue
–2 If the unit was fired on or melee attacked Enfilade
–2 If it is a night turn
The possible results of a Morale Check depend on whether the combat that caused it occurred in the
Defensive Phase, the Offensive Fire Phase or the Melee Phase (the results of Morale Checks made at the
start of a Player Turn are displayed in the Command Report dialog):
Defensive Phase: If the die roll is less than or equal to the unit’s Morale, it “passes” the Morale
Check and there is no effect. If the die roll is greater than its Morale, it “fails” it and becomes
Disordered.
Offensive Fire Phase: If the die roll is less than or equal to the unit’s Morale,it “passes” the Morale
Check and becomes Disordered. If the die roll is greater than its Morale, it “fails” it and becomes
Routed.
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Melee Phase: If the die roll is less than or equal to the unit’s Morale, it “passes” the Morale Check
and there is no effect (though the unit is automatically Disordered anyway, due to having engaged in
Melee;see p.55).If the die roll is greater than its Morale,it “fails” it and becomes Routed.
Disorder & Rout
For the basics,see DISORDER AND ROUT on p.12.
When a unit becomes Disordered, a “D” icon appears in its area of the Unit List.A Disordered
unit has its attack strength and movement allowance halved, and receives a –1 modifier for Morale
Check purposes.
Whenever cavalry and infantry (Exception: skirmishers) exist in the same hex both will become
Disordered.Whenever an infantry column and infantry line exist in the same hex both will become
Disordered.Whenever skirmishers and cavalry occupy the same hex, the skirmishers automatically
become disordered, however, the cavalry only becomes disordered if the number of skirmishers
exceed 250 men.
Units moving in line formation at night automatically become disordered.
When a unit becomes Routed, an “R” icon appears in its area of the Unit List, it cannot attack, it
defends at half strength in Melee, and it has a Morale of zero for Morale Check purposes. Routed
units are considered in Column Formation for movement calculation purposes and for determining
modifiers when being attacked. Cavalry and limbered artillery do not change Formation when they
Rout, but their 2D icon still changes to the standard “running-man” icon to make them stand out
better on the map.A Routed unit cannot move closer to the closest (to it) unhidden enemy unit that
is in the LOS of any friendly unit (and so cannot advance into Melee).
Leaders and supply wagons neither become Disordered nor Routed. A Routed unit cannot
become Disordered (except when it Rallies; see 6.8), and loses any Disordered status it might have
had. If a Routed unit suffers another Routed result, it loses strength factors (as determined by a die
roll made by the program); such units are termed “lost stragglers” in the Command Report that
appears at the start of the next Player Turn.
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6.8 RALLY & REFORM
For the basics, see RALLY & REFORM on p.12. In a Rally attempt, the program makes a six-sided die roll
for each of the Phasing Player’s Routed units. In a Reform attempt, the program makes a six-sided die
roll for each of the Phasing Player’s Disordered units.
The Quality (Q) of a unit is used as its “morale” for rally purposes. If a unit is stacked with a
leader of the same or higher organization, the Leadership rating of that leader modifies that unit’s
morale. In addition, the Leadership rating of a Corp,Wing, or Army Commander will modify the
morale of units under their command in adjacent hexes, except at night. If the leader’s Leadership
rating (with A=6, B=5, etc.) is higher than the unit’s Quality, his Leadership rating is used as the unit’s
morale.If his Leadership rating is the same or lower than the unit’s Quality, a +1 is added.
If a Routed unit’s die roll is less than or equal to its morale, it Rallies (i.e., loses its Routed status
and becomes Disordered—but cannot be returned to Good Order in the same turn).
At night,the morale of a unit for rally purposes is halved,with fractions rounded up.
If a Disordered unit’s die roll is less than or equal to the units command rating, it Reforms (i.e.,
loses its Disordered status and returns to Good Order).Each Disordered unit has a nominal Command
Rating of “1” for Reform purposes. If it is not Detached and its brigade leader is “in command”, its
Reform die roll will be successful if less than or equal to “1 plus the applicable Command Rating
modifier”. If its brigade leader is “not in command”, it will Reform only on a die roll of “1”. See
COMMAND RADIUS/RATING below for further clarification.
Command Radius/Rating
The Command Radius of a brigade leader is the maximum distance in hexes he can be from one of
his units and still be able to provide it with a Command Rating modifier.The Command Radius of a
division leader is the maximum distance in hexes he can be from one of his brigade leaders and still
be able to pass a Command Rating modifier to the latter.
Any unit (including brigade or division leader) outside the pertinent Command Radius of its/his
superior officer is Detached,meaning that it/he can not receive a Command Rating modifier.
At the beginning of each Player Turn, the program determines each friendly leader’s Command
State (i.e., whether he is “in command” or “out of command”). Starting with the highest (the army)
leader, a six-sided die roll is made. If the die roll is less than or equal to his Command Rating (his
“C#” in the Unit List), he is “in command”.If he is found to be “in command”,he automatically passes
down to each of his corps commanders a –1 Command Rating modifier to their Command State
die roll. Each corps or wing commander found to be “in command” passes down a –2 Command
Rating modifier for the die roll of each of his division commanders (because each time a subordinate
is found to be “in command”, the Command Rating modifier he passes down to his subordinates
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increases by one). Each division leader found to be “in command” in turn pass down a –3 Command
Rating modifier to each of his non-Detached brigade leaders. Each brigade leader who is found to be
“in command” will pass down a –4 Command Rating modifier to the Reform die roll of each of his
Disordered but non-Detached brigades.Whenever a leader is found to be “out of command” (or is
Detached), the modifier he passes down becomes “0”. [For example, if a division leader is Detached,
his brigade leaders will be able to pass down only a –1 (i.e., their own) Command Rating modifier to
each of their non-Detached, Disordered brigades—meaning that each such brigade will Reform only
on a modified die roll of less than or equal to “2”.
Isolated leaders never benefit from their superiors’ modifier in command tests.
Many artillery batteries are corps-level units, which means they can gain a Command Rating
modifier only from their corps and army leader.
All Command Ratings are treated as being one lower than normal in a night turn.
6.9 FATIGUE
For the basics, see FATIGUE on p.12. Fatigue has an adverse effect on a unit’s strength in Melee and on
its ability to avoid Routing when it takes a Morale Check. Fatigue occurs in a unit in the following
ways:
• If it suffers a Fatigue result (“F” result in the Fire Results Table) when attacked by Ranged Fire, its
Fatigue is increased by one (this can apply only once per phase);
• If it suffers casualties,its Fatigue is increased by one (this can apply only once per phase);
• If it engages in Melee, its Fatigue is increased by one, or by two if it loses the Melee. However, conducting a
melee vs a skirmisher or leader causes no increase in the attacking unit’s fatigue level.
A unit whose Fatigue level (“FA” in the Unit List) is 0-3 suffers no adverse effects.A unit suffering
from Low Fatigue (“FA” of 4-6) receives a –1 Morale modifier to each Morale Check it takes. One
suffering from High Fatigue (“FA” of 7-9) receives a –2 modifier to its Morale Checks. In addition, if
one or more attacking units in a Melee suffer from Fatigue, that attack’s total strength is reduced by
one if Low Fatigue applies,or by two if High Fatigue (or any combination of Low and High for different
attackers) applies.
At the beginning of each friendly Player Turn, each Fatigued unit has a chance of reducing its Fatigue by
one if in the two preceding Player Turns it has not moved (including a Facing/Formation change), fired, been
fired upon,or participated in a melee.This chance is increased at night.
When a unit is eliminated by fire, the fatigue loss is applied randomly to one unit in the same
hex.Skirmishers eliminated do not affect non-skirmishers.
Units at maximum fatigue (9) that receive a fatigue loss must undergo a morale check.
If Fog of War is in effect for a side, the opponent cannot see the Fatigue level of the other side’s
units.
6.10 OPTIONAL RULES
The following rules can be toggled on or off at the start of a scenario:
Select Cavalry Counter-Charges to enable defending cavalry units, that are in good order, to
conduct counter-charges during their Defensive Phase.You can only perform counter-charges against
enemy cavalry that has moved in the preceding Movement Phase to within range of the defending
cavalry.The defending player selects one or more cavalry units from the same hex to perform the
counter-charge, and then right clicks (or drag-and-drop) on the target hex to initiate the countercharge. If the attack is valid, the selected cavalry unit will move to the target hex and immediately
conduct a melee against that hex. It will then become Disordered, and if the counter-charged cavalry
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loses the melee it too will become Disordered. Each counter-charging unit conducts its melee attack
separately.
Select Rout Limiting to apply a morale modifier when determining the spread of unit routing
in order to reduce the frequency of multiple-hex routing.
Select Victory Points for Leader Casualties to gain victory points for enemy leaders who are
killed,wounded or captured.Leader casualty points are displayed in the Victory Dialog.
Select Isolation Rules to have units that cannot trace a line of hexes free of enemy units and
uncontested enemy ZOC to a board edge be considered isolated.A non-fanatical isolated unit will
defend at half strength in melee.An isolated leader receives no benefits from his superiors during
command checks.
Select Extreme Fog of War to hide each units name and quality from the opponent. Its
strength is given only partially: e.g., a 300-man unit would have “3??” displayed as its strength. Leaders
under Extreme Fog of War have all data except their name hidden from the opponent.The unit’s
name will only be revealed when in ZOC of the opposing unit.
Select Partial Retreat to allow units to retreat from melee, even when the retreat will cause
overstacking in the retreat hex.Excess strength points are subtracted from retreating units.
Select Line Movement Restriction to cause infantry units that move in line formation to
automatically become disordered.
6.11 AND NOW...FORWARD TO WATERLOO
For owners of Battleground Waterloo, an added feature is the ability to “import” your results
from Prelude to Waterloo into your Waterloo game and continue the battle.This Campaign Style
game must be started and accessed from the special options menu.
To prepare for a Campaign game, first install and update your Battleground Waterloo to version
1.11 or higher.
Select Special Options in your Prelude to Waterloo game.
Play your Prelude to Waterloo scenario.
At the end of the Prelude to Waterloo scenario the results will be written to your Waterloo
game.
Start Battleground Waterloo and go to the Special Options menu.
Select Campaign game and continue the battle.
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7.0 MODEM, PLAY BY E-MAIL &
REPLAY FEATURES
7.1 DIAL UP MODEM PLAY
Dial Up Modem play allows two people to play the opposing sides in a Prelude to Waterloo scenario
without having to be together in the same place. All each player needs is an installed copy of the
game,and a modem hooked up to his computer and phone line.
To start a new scenario and play it by modem, first call your opponent on the phone, pick a
scenario to play, and agree on who will be the Caller and who will be the Host.The Host will be
responsible for opening and saving the scenario on his computer. The Caller will provide an
encryption key at the start of the scenario to ensure that,when the scenario is saved,no one but the
Caller will be able to open the saved-game file later (see p.65).
Each player should launch Prelude to Waterloo and, when the Menu Screen appears, Select Start
Game as Modem Host or Start Game as Modem Caller as agreed on beforehand. Both Host
and Caller should select Dial Up Modem for the connection type.(If you’re presently viewing the Scenario
Selection Screen,Select Previous to go to the Menu Screen.)
For the Caller, a dialog box will appear, offering a choice of which game map to open. Be sure to
Select the correct one for the scenario.
For the Host, a dialog box will appear, asking him to Select whether a new or a saved game will
be played. Select a new game, and then the Scenario Selection Screen will appear.Then Select the
appropriate scenario and the Play button.
Once the map and Modem Settings dialog box appear on-screen the Host should configure his
modem port.The most important setting is Baud Rate. If you’re not sure what your modem’s baud
rate is, choose something conservative like 2400. If you have a 28.8 modem, select the baud rate
38400.The next most important setting is Port.A typical configuration is for the modem to be on
COM2 (if the mouse is on COM1), but you may have to consult your hardware documentation (or
use trial-and-error) to find your correct setting.
Once the map and Modem Settings dialog box appear on his screen,the Caller should configure
his own modem port.The baud rates need not be the same.The modems will negotiate the highest
rate both can handle.
Both sides now hang up the phone.
The Host clicks OK in the Modem Settings dialog box, and should see the Answer Dialog
showing that it is waiting for a call.He then waits.
The Caller clicks OK in his Modem Settings dialog box, and should see the Dial Dialog. He then
left-clicks in the phone entry line and types in the phone number of the Host system (i.e., the phone
number of the line connected to his opponent’s modem). He may also type in an encryption key now
(see p.65). Lastly he Selects the Dial button or presses the Enter key, and the modem will call the
Host.The Host system should answer after the first or second ring.
Momentarily both players should see the Communications Dialog (a “chat window”).This may
be used by both players to type messages to each other. Each player may close his Communications
Dialog at any time during modem play.It will automatically reappear if the other side types a message
or, if due to a data transmission backlog, the number of messages waiting to be sent reaches 20. It
can also be re-opened at any time by Selecting Communication Dialog in the Modem menu.
Immediately after the Communication Dialog appears, so will a dialog box enabling the host to
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Select the side he has chosen to play and, if both players have agreed, Fog of War. Once he does this
and clicks OK, the scenario will be transmitted to the Caller. Only the player who goes first will see
the Phase Box that denotes the first Movement Phase of the game. He should left-click with the
mouse on the Phase Box to make it disappear,and he may then begin playing in the normal manner.
As the game proceeds,both players will see their own and enemy units fire and move in turn.As
each player completes a phase and advances the game to the next phase, the player who will be in
control for that phase will see the Phase Box appear. He should left-click on the Phase Box and
proceed with his actions for that phase. The Status Bar at the bottom of the screen will show
whether the current phase is under Local (your) or Remote (your opponent’s) Control. During a
phase that’s under Remote Control you should not attempt to move or fire any units, but rather
wait until you see the Phase Box appear, indicating that you are now in control (i.e., it’s your phase to
move or attack).When the scenario is over,the Victory Dialog will be displayed for both sides to see.
If the game must be halted prematurely but the players wish to resume it later, the Host should
choose Save or Save As in the File menu and save the scenario. Both sides then simply exit the
program.Alternatively,after the Host saves the scenario he can Select Host and the Caller can Select
Caller again in the Modem menu;doing this will close the scenario without exiting the program.
ENCRYPTION KEY
While the Caller has the Dial Dialog on-screen before the start of play, he should enter an
encryption key (i.e., a password) in the appropriate spot in order to encrypt the saved-game file so
that once it is saved the Host cannot open it. (If no encryption key is entered at this time, the file can
still be saved later but it won’t be encrypted.) The Caller should pick an encryption key that will be
easy for him to remember but difficult for the Host to guess. It can be a word or a phrase, and
numerals and/or punctuation marks can be used.
The extension .btx indicates a saved-game file that has been encrypted using the Caller’s
encryption key. Encrypted scenario files are stored in a binary format, and the user should not
attempt to view or print them directly without using the Prelude to Waterloo program.
When re-opening a saved game,the Caller must specify the same exact encryption key that was
in use when the scenario was last saved.
RESUMING A SAVED MODEM-PLAY GAME
The procedure for doing this is the same as starting a new modem-play scenario, except that when
the Host is prompted to Select a new or saved game he must pick the latter. He then picks the
agreed-upon scenario in the ensuing dialog box.
If the scenario doesn’t open, the Host should check to make sure he Selected the right one. If
that’s not the problem, the Caller should Select New Encryption Key in the Modem menu and
type in the key again,for he probably entered it incorrectly the first time.
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7.2 NULL-MODEM PLAY
Null-modem play requires a direct cable connection between the two computers. Users should
obtain a suitable serial communication cable and a null-modem connector (available at computer
supply stores). Select Null Modem connection type after Selecting Host or Client. Note that
under null modem,the exact baud rate for both machines needs to be Selected. Note also that some
older machines may not have serial ports that can handle speeds at or above 9600 baud, so a lower
rate may have to be used. Except for baud rate and port, all other modem setting are ignored for
null modem play.
7.3 PLAY BY E-MAIL
To Start a PBEM Game...
1. Select the Play By E-Mail option from the Special Options of the Menu Screen (see illustration
on p.14)
2.You will then be asked “Do you want to start a new battle?” Select Yes if you are starting a new
game.
3. The Scenario Screen will then appear. Choose the scenario to be played. Note that as each
scenario’s name is selected on the Scenario Screen, that scenario’s “Module” is displayed in the
Module window of the Scenario Screen. It is imperative that the PBEM gamefile be kept in that
subdirectory in each player’s PTW game. See the chart below listing which “module” corresponds to
which PTW subdirectory.
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PTW Modules & Subdirectories
Module Name
Corresponding Subdirectory
Twin Battles
tb
Quatre Bras
qb
Ligny
ln
IMPORTANT!
The player starting a PBEM game must note which “module” the
selected scenario is from and convey this information to his opponent.
After being transferred via E-mail and downloaded, the PBEM game file
must be kept in the corresponding PTW subdirectory on each player’s
computer.
Please refer to your WindowsTM Tutorial Guide (supplied with your
computer or packaged with your original Windows® installation software)
if you need instructions on transferring files.
4.When the map appears, choose the local side (i.e., the side you will play) and whether or not
Fog of War will be used. You can also set the Advantage (see p.10) at this point. Then Select
“OK”, and proceed with play.
5.When the first phase under the control of the other side begins, you will see a message that local
control is over.You will be prompted to save the game (note that it must retain a “.bte” extension)
and E-mail the saved-game file to your opponent.
To Resume a PBEM Game...
1.To resume a Play By E-mail game, you must download the file into the subdirectory that contains the map
used by that scenario.
2.Then double-click on the Prelude to Waterloo main program icon and select the PBEM option from
the Special Options in the Menu Screen.
3.You will then be asked “Do you want to start a new battle?”. Select No if you are resuming a
PBEM game.
4. When the “Battle Selection Dialog” window appears, Select the appropriate module. All PBEM
games saved in that module (subdirectory) will be displayed in the bottom window.Select the proper
PBEM battle file and click the “OK” button.
5. After the map and scenario are loaded, you will be given an option to see a “Replay” of your
opponent’s most recent moves/attacks.After the Replay is finished (or if you choose not to view it),
the next phase begins and play resumes.At the end of local control, a prompt to E-mail the file will
appear.
The same procedure is followed to play the remainder of the game, with each player
alternately playing and E-mailing the game to his opponent.
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7.4 TCP/IP INTERNET PLAY
To Start an Internet Game...
Prior to beginning TCP/IP Internet play, both players should ensure that they have a valid TCP/IP
connection established on their computers. Typically this is a service of your Internet Service
Provider.
1.Select Modem Host or Modem Caller from the Menu screen.
2.Select Internet Connection.
3.The Modem Host should select a new scenario or resume a previously saved game.The Modem
Caller should select the corresponding module for the chosen scenario or battle.
4.A dialog on the Modem Host system will appear, containing the Internet address for the Modem
Host.Note:Typically this address is changed by your Internet Service Provider each time an Internet
Connection is established.
5.The Modem Host should then provide the Caller with this address.This can be done by calling the
Caller on a separate line, by sending the address through E-Mail, or by using an Internet “Chat”
program.The Modem Caller will then type this address into their Internet connection dialog.They
can also specify an encryption key at this time. They should then choose Connect on the
Connection dialog.
6.At this point, both players will have a Communication Dialog and play will start or continue similar
to standard Dial Up Modem Play.See section 7.1.
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8.0 APPENDIX
8.1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
PRELUDE TO WATERLOO: QUATRE BRAS AND LIGNY
© David C Hamilton-Williams 1997
‘No man can doubt that this Napoleon stands as Emperor of France by the will of the French
people.’-Sir Francis Burdett (Speech in Parliament, 7 April 1815)
IN MARCH 1814, NAPOLEON WAS 45 YEARS OLD AND HAD RULED his Empire for
ten years. At its zenith in 1810, the Empire encompassed France, The Netherlands
(created the Kingdom of Holland for his brother Louis), Belgium, and parts of Italy and
Yugoslavia, these being considered as departments of France proper. He had sovereignty
over the Kingdom of Italy, and Naples, the artificial German Kingdom of Westphalia
(created for his brother Jérôme), the Kingdom of Spain (given to his brother Joseph),
parts of Portugal and, as Mediator of the Swiss Confederation, a supply of troops from
and right of passage through the Confederation. He controlled his ‘vassal’ Kingdoms of
Saxony, Bavaria, Württemberg and the ‘Grand Duchy’ of Warsaw – the rump of Poland
taken from Prussia and Austria. He had stripped the Austrian Emperor, Francis II, of his
title of ‘Holy Roman Emperor’, thereby reducing title and numeral to Francis I of Austria.
The hotchpotch of German micro-states of the old Holy Roman Empire, which were
neither holy nor Roman, were converted to a manageable land area known as the
Confederation of the Rhine, under Napoleon’s direct control. His allies consisted of the
dual Kingdom of Denmark-Norway, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Empires of Russia
and Austria, the latter having the double distinction of having fought France the longest,
and being allied to Napoleon directly, he having married Francis I’s daughter Marie-Louise
in 1810.
Napoleon was a genius, gifted with massive mental faculties which enabled him
to rise from being an obscure artillery captain at twenty-three to a brigadier-general at
twenty-four. His rise was meteoric: major-general and army commander at twenty-six, he
seized control of the government by coup d’état at thirty-one; Emperor at thirty-five;
Master of most of Europe at forty-one. The range of his abilities was immense and not
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restricted to purely military matters, his skill in which being equalled by his ability in civil
administration, education, law and science. Many of his far-reaching reforms have survived
in Europe to this day. As a historical figure he emulated Charlemagne and the Roman
Emperors, and in fact surpassed them. He gave his name to the epoch. A great Captain,
who governed his Empire and army personally from wherever he happened to be, like
Charlemagne his palace could be at Paris, Rome, or in a tent in Poland.With the aid of a
vast amount of data kept in a special filing system that was continually updated, he was
able to deal instantly with any matter, be it a new uniform button or a complicated law,
without reference or dispute.Since the declaration of war with Britain in May 1803, when
the ‘experimental’ Peace of Amiens had been broken, Napoleon and Britain had imposed
an economic war on each other; Britain by sea, Napoleon on land. In pursuit of this policy
Napoleon was compelled to invade and conquer more and more countries to ensure
that their ports ceased commerce with Britain. By these means he was hopeful that – as
in 1801 – a peace party would come to power in Britain and seek an end to hostilities,
if only for economic reasons. But the unique circumstances that had brought about the
Peace of Amiens would not recur. Napoleon, ignorant of the factors involved, felt that ‘the
nation of shop-keepers’ would, if excluded from all European markets, bring about its
own demise.
For other political reasons, Britain was determined to harness all her wealth
and might as the largest commercial maritime nation to finance any allies against imperial
France. These took the form of French pro-royalist groups, guerrillas in Spain, and
coalitions of nations. Britain was prepared to expend years of national income, if
necessary to the point of bankruptcy, to subsidize these allies provided they maintained
their armies in the field against Napoleon in this fight to the finish.The British government
passed several ‘Orders in Council’ (these instruments having the effect of an Act of
Parliament without actually having been discussed in the House) giving the Admiralty
comprehensive powers; in essence the seizure of all French vessels, and neutrals that had
traded with France or her allies without first having purchased a British licence.The Royal
Navy was empowered to search or detain neutral ships at will and forcibly impress any
British seamen found aboard.2 Napoleon retaliated with his own land blockade, passed
several decrees confiscating all British goods and ships, and declared any British subject
found in his Empire a prisoner of war, regardless of condition, age or sex.
This situation damaged the economies of Europe grievously, many of the great
trading ports fell idle, and smuggling became rife and mushroomed into a growth industry.
The lack of luxuries suffered by France and her allies prompted exploration into
synthetics, the French discovering how to extract sugar from beet and the use of chicory
in place of coffee. Napoleon, hoping to fill the void in the market with French
commodities, instituted favourable tariffs for French goods and towns within his Empire,
which enhanced his image as benefactor to his own people, but alienated his enforced
allies, for example, the Prussians. Further offence was given by the annexation of the great
industrial province of the Ruhr and its incorporation, with other parts of Germany, into
the artificial kingdom of Westphalia.
Having been repeatedly defeated by Napoleon, Russia had formed an alliance
with France at Tilsit in 1807. Tsar Alexander was encouraged by Napoleon to seize
Finland from Sweden to stop Britain obtaining tar and wood on which her Navy was
dependent, and induce Sweden to adhere to the embargo. While this was happening
Napoleon invaded Portugal via Spain in 1808, ostensibly for the purpose of closing
Portugal’s ports. Having been given access by the Spanish Bourbons, he decided to keep
his army in Spain, dethrone the monarch and replace him by his brother Joseph.This was
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counter-productive because the Spanish people rose en masse to protect their country,
opened the hitherto closed ports to Britain and allowed her to land an expeditionary
force.
In Italy, the only region of the peninsula to continue trading with Britain and
allow British ships entry was the Romagna, the Papal territories which, by their very
nature, were neutral.When the Pope refused to close his ports, French troops occupied
the Romagna. In retaliation the Pope excommunicated Napoleon, for which act he was
imprisoned and deprived of any means of communicating with the Church and the
outside world.The Spanish clergy promptly declared a holy war against the French which
resulted in ‘the war even to the knife’ that tied down huge forces that were constantly
harassed and attacked. It has been estimated that the lines of communications with Paris
alone required the deployment of one army corps to maintain effective maintenance.The
drain on manpower to hold down such a huge area became ‘the running sore’ of the
French army and the military graveyard of the Empire. On 21 July 1808, at Bailen on the
road to Madrid, General Dupont with 23,000 troops found himself facing 30,000 Spanish
soldiers, irregulars and civilians. Instead of withdrawing immediately, over the mountains,
Dupont unwisely divided his command. Sending his subordinate General with 10,000 men
to force open the road, he found himself surrounded and cut off. After several attempts
to break out, Dupont capitulated.The surrender of this insignificant force, which included
a unit of Napoleon’s élite Imperial Guard, struck a blow at French military prestige that
was irreparable. Since the elevation of Napoleon as head of state, first as Consul then as
Emperor, the French army had defeated every European army and coalition that dared to
stand against it. In 1805, Napoleon had defeated a combined Austro-Russian army at
Austerlitz, inflicting a humiliating and crushing defeat on Austria. In a lightning campaign
in 1806, the Prussian army had been annihilated at Jena and Prussia was occupied and
dismembered. In 1807 at Friedland in Poland, Russia had been dealt a crushing defeat by
the Emperor. It appeared to all Europe that the French army with its new methods of
waging war was invincible. Now a rag-tag collection of Spanish troops – universally
considered at that time as being of little account – had captured a French army including
a unit of the Praetorians.This event sent shock waves throughout the Empire and a wave
of hope through the courts of Napoleon’s enemies. Immediately, it brought an enraged
Napoleon and his Guard to Madrid.
In 1809, having defeated the junta forces in a whirlwind campaign and forcibly
ejected Britain’s expeditionary force commanded by General Sir John Moore, Napoleon
had no time to deal with Spain personally because Austria had re-armed. Smarting from
his humiliating defeat of 1805, and the loss of his lead in German affairs, the Austrian
Emperor was encouraged by what had transpired in Spain and determined to regain his
former status and possessions. Leaving the pacification of Spain nominally to his brother
King Joseph, in practice to his marshals who, each having been assigned an area the size
of a small kingdom, acted without cohesion and almost like independent warlords,
Napoleon in the meantime attacked the Austrian armies with great ferocity in a series of
lightning battles that sent them reeling back across the Danube. Having occupied Vienna,
he now wished to conclude this episode quickly, fearful of a chain reaction of discontent
among his other allies whom Britain was continuously attempting to entice away from
him. Intelligence reached the Emperor that the main Austrian army was located near
Brünn; in fact it was closer, in the Marchfelds on the other side of the Danube, near the
city. Napoleon instructed his army corps to effect a river crossing in order to obtain the
decisive battle, but the destruction of his sole bridge across the Danube trapped him and
part of his army for a time, facing the entire Austrian army at Aspern-Essling. Holding his
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position until the bridge had been repaired, he withdrew from the field to allow his forces
to concentrate. This enforced retreat from the field by Napoleon – albeit a strategic
withdrawal in the true sense of the term – had far-reaching consequences. Following the
episode at Bailen, the legend of French invincibility was shattered. Europe acknowledged
Napoleon as a military genius, but given the right circumstances military thinkers believed
that the master could be beaten. Napoleon later crossed the river on several bridges and
defeated the Austrians at Wagram. Austria made peace and gave Napoleon a princess to
bride.
Meanwhile events were taking place in the Iberian peninsula. Since 1809 Britain
had maintained an expeditionary army in Spain to help the people to achieve freedom,
command being given after the death of Sir John Moore to General Sir Arthur Wellesley.
Napoleon had tried to control his armies as he had his Empire, personally, by written or
verbal instructions. But the farther he was from the theatre of operations – as in Austria
and later in Russia – the more outdated and useless his instructions became. By the time
of his return from Russia, Wellesley had advanced into Spain and had defeated some of
the best marshals and generals that Napoleon had sent against him. After defeating
Marshal Marmont at Salamanca, Sir Arthur had been elevated to Viscount, Marquess and
Field Marshal. In 1814 he would become Duke of Wellington, with an unprecedented
record of continuous defeats of the French to his credit.
Tsar Alexander, having by now become fed up of playing second string in
Napoleon’s new world order, began to resume trade with Britain. This prompted
Napoleon to assemble the largest invasion force that the world had yet seen, and in 1812
he invaded Russia. He had hoped either to bring Alexander to battle early and annihilate
his army, or winter in Russia and resume the offensive in the spring.
At the débâcle that was the Battle of Borodino, the Russians, fighting what
amounted almost to a ‘holy war’ to evict the heretics from Mother Russia, sustained a
technical defeat and Napoleon a Pyrrhic victory, the losses totalling 30,000-40,000 men
per side (25 per cent of those engaged). By nightfall Napoleon had gained the Russian
positions, and the Russian troops were tenaciously holding their ground over the next
ridge and eager to continue the fight on the morrow.Their commander-in-chief, Kutusov,
making the most important decision of the campaign, decided to abandon the capital and
withdraw. ‘Moscow is a city, Moscow is not Russia,’ he told his despairing generals.
Napoleon entered an empty city, with no one to receive him or surrender to
him, the Governor, General Rostopchin, having evacuated the inhabitants. Soon the
weather changed. Rostopchin sent in peasants as ‘incendiaries’ to set Moscow ablaze and
make it untenable, while the Russian army lay in wait beyond the walls, attacking French
patrols and harassing their lines of communication. Against his better judgement and
historical precedent, Napoleon began his winter retreat, but, savaged by the Russian army,
local partisans and Cossacks, the Grande Armée sank slowly to its knees in the mud and
lay down to die in the snow. Of the 450,000 men mustered for the invasion, barely 20,000
returned.
Just as the tyrannical disregard of human rights by the useless Bourbon kings
had unleashed in France the nationalistic feelings of Frenchmen, culminating in revolution,
so was the enforced imperial system of Napoleonic France about to unleash nationalistic
revolt in Germany.
The one fly in the imperial ointment was Prussia, the only German state to have
been made a kingdom – by a previous ‘Holy Roman Emperor’. Napoleon, who admired
the late King, Frederick the Great, on visiting his tomb after his triumphal entry into
Berlin in 1806, is reputed to have said to his Generals: ‘Hats off gentlemen. If old Fritz
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were still alive we would not be here.’ This warrior king had raised the small Kingdom of
Prussia to become a great military power that had fought France, Russia and Austria to
a standstill, and enlarged his kingdom in the process. His descendant, the present ruler,
was a weak man with no military ability. In Napoleon’s resurrected Charlemagnian Empire
there was no room for a Prussia that could compete in either grandeur or military
power. Napoleon systematically did everything possible to reduce and debase Prussia in
the eyes of Europe and the German states. He elevated smaller kingdoms such as Saxony
to greater distinction at his state functions, thereby humiliating the Prussian monarch
who had to stand and wait his turn like a flunkey until the rulers of these erstwhile little
duchies had been received. So Prussia was now an emotional powder-keg. Napoleon had
deliberately betrayed, exploited, bullied and humiliated Prussia’s King William III, and his
consort, Queen Louise, revered as embodying the very soul of her country, had been
exposed to insults so outrageous that most Prussians attributed her early death to
Napoleon’s treatment of her.The French retained garrisons in the fortresses of the Oder
and at the seaports. The Continental System had brought about a total collapse of
Prussia’s maritime trade. Napoleon had exacted a thousand million francs in tribute,
reduced Prussian territory and prestige to that of a third-rate power, and under the
Franco-Prussian Treaty of 1808 her army was restricted to 42,000 men for ten years.
Napoleon had induced the newly created King of Saxony – former ally of Prussia’s and
now given also the Grand-Duchy of Warsaw (former Prussian and Austrian provinces of
Poland) – to confiscate all Prussian property in the Polish provinces, something that
would never be forgotten or forgiven.
Prussian youth had empathized with their young Queen and formed
anti-French Tugendbunde, societies promoting freedom and German unity. Napoleon
knew that the Queen, whom he referred to as ‘the only MAN in Prussia’, with Baron Stein
the minister appointed to help reconstruction, and von Scharnhorst and von Gneisenau
of the military, had been refashioning Prussian life. Napoleon was convinced that William
III was too frightened to offer national resistance: ‘Besides, with what?’ he asked those
advisers who warned him of Prussia’s rumblings. But he had instructed William to dismiss
and exile Baron Stein and other Prussians whom his police considered subversive. All
thinking Germans had been appalled by the apathy into which Prussia had sunk after the
defeat at Jena in 1806. As garrison after scared garrison surrendered, even to a troop of
French cavalry, it seemed as if the Prussian people had lost not only their military
confidence, but also their national pride.
By this persistent contempt and personal abuse of their monarch – descendant
of the ‘Great Frederick’ – Napoleon unwittingly gave the Prussians the stimulus of hatred
and an ever-increasing thirst for vengeance that needed only the appropriate catalyst to
trigger an intensely violent reaction. Since 1808 young Germans had been assimilating the
philosophies of Kant and Fichte.They were introduced to the concepts of ‘The Nation’,
and ‘The Fatherland’, to which each individual should devote his life – body and soul.
These ideas permeated the young officer corps and especially influenced thinkers such as
von Clausewitz. Henceforth the Prussian battle-cry For the King! would be replaced by For
the Fatherland! In the meantime Generals Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had helped to
refashion the army and had found a way to get round French restrictions. Their
commission compared the faults of the old ‘Fredrician Army’ and Napoleon’s new
methods. With the concept of ‘The Fatherland’ as inspiration, they abolished corporal
punishment – no longer would a Prussian soldier fear his officers more than he feared
the enemy. Talent would replace nobility as a criteria in the army, justified as providing
service to the state. New organization and tactics based on Napoleon’s methods were
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defined and introduced. The mindless marching automata of Frederick the Great had
received their obsequies on the field of Jena.
The commission introduced the shrinkage-system (Krumper) whereby recruits,
after intensive training, passed into the army for a short period and were then
demobilized, but recalled for short refresher periods. The army remained the same size
– but by January 1813 had built up a reserve of some 80,000 men.
The triggering of the catalyst was the sight of the remnant of the indomitable
Grande Armée staggering through East Prussia.
Terrified of Napoleon, King William continued his obsequious compliance with
his allies’ wishes. In East Prussia on 30 December, Major-General Yorck von Wartenburg,
commanding the Prussian auxiliary corps under Marshal Macdonald, had negotiated a
Convention with the advancing Russians at Tauroggen. On 28 February at Kalisch, King
William was induced to join the Tsar in war against Napoleon.The Tsar, through one of
his advisers, the exiled Prussian minister Baron Stein, told William not to dither; the
people of East Prussia and General Yorck were in open revolt against Napoleon. Stein
suggested that if William wished to remain king he had better come to terms with the
Tsar and his people’s wishes.William promptly signed on condition that the Tsar help him
regain his lost territory. On 27 March 1813, Prussia, dragging its timid and reluctant
monarch in its train, declared war in an eruption of hatred against the French nation that
a century would not erase.
Austria discreetly withdrew its auxiliary corps, lent to Napoleon for the
invasion, first to Warsaw then to Bohemia, leaving a large gap for the Russians to pass
through, and in the process, declaring itself neutral.
But speculations as to the demise of Napoleon’s military machine were
premature. Far from having been idle, the Emperor had been displaying all the abilities that
had made him the most powerful emperor in history. By withdrawing cadres of trained
troops from Spain, from the navy and coastal garrisons, and conscripting the drafts of
1809, 1810 and 1811, he put together a new Grande Armée of 400,000 men. Having had
the foresight to call-up the class of 1813 before the invasion, he already had some
137,000 men who were on the point of completing their training.The Confederation of
the Rhine, Denmark and the occupied territories remained loyal, but Napoleon, no
simpleton, knew that he could only rely on them as long as they feared him. He had no
illusions about Austria, which would sit on the proverbial fence.That left Britain, Prussia
and Russia. Britain would be contained in the peninsula; Prussia must be defeated and
Berlin occupied; Russia isolated and defeated. All then was not lost. He had chased the
Russian army all the way to Moscow, expecting to deal it a decisive defeat. Now it was
coming to him to receive it.The status quo would be restored, his Empire remain intact.
He would then be free to oust Wellington from the peninsula.
As the new year 1813 began, all over Europe the crowned heads celebrated the
demise of the feared warlord following his disastrous retreat from Moscow. Prussia had
been browbeaten into joining Russia in liberating Europe from Napoleon’s yoke. In fact
the Tsar hoped to parade triumphally in Paris in revenge for Napoleon’s capture of
Moscow. He also planned that if instead he had to come to terms with Napoleon, he
would keep all the Polish territory then occupied by Russian forces. This at least would
give him a satellite buffer zone along the traditional invasion route into Russia from
Europe. In 1805, King Frederick William III of Prussia had agreed not to join Russia and
Austria in their attack on France in return for possession of King George’s patrimony,
Hanover. The next year, 1806, however, in response to a series of annexations and
indignations which included Napoleon’s offer to return Hanover to King George in
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exchange for peace, Prussia declared war on France. The Prussian army, developed by
Frederick the Great, had been feared in Europe for its successes against the armies of
France, Russia, Austria and the lesser German states. But in his war against Prussia and
Russia in 1806-7, Napoleon shattered the Prussian army in a lightning campaign lasting
less than a month. Prussia suffered the additional humiliations of the occupation of Berlin
and the loss of almost all its territory. Napoleon, brooking no rival in Germany, had
reduced the Prussian state and army to a level of impoverishment. Now, in 1813, the
Prussian king was promised by Russia substantial restitution of what he had lost, plus the
kingdom of Saxony whose stature had been elevated above that of Prussia by Napoleon,
the further to humiliate the Prussian king.
Austria had risen against Napoleon in 1809 and been badly beaten and
bankrupted as a result.The Austrian Emperor, Francis, had then given his daughter, MarieLouise, in marriage to Napoleon. Within a year the French Emperor had a male heir of
Habsburg blood. In 1813 Austria sat on the fence to see how events would develop.The
general celebrations of Napoleon’s demise were, of course, premature. Early in 1813 he
raised another army of 400,000 men with which to regain his lost position. Suddenly, he
erupted into the German plain and trounced the Russo-Prussian forces there, driving
them out of Dresden and back across the Elbe, but was obliged to grant a temporary
armistice because he had outstripped his supply lines. He was then presented by his
father-in-law with a diplomatic blackmail.Austria would use its rapidly assembling army of
300,000 to support a peace plan if Napoleon would give up his domination of the
Confederation of the Rhine and his claims on Poland and Austrian Italy. If Napoleon
agreed Francis would force Russia and Prussia into negotiations; if not, Francis would join
the other emperors against his son-in-law. Napoleon was disgusted by this ‘family stab in
the back’. He spurned Francis’ threat and embarked on a brilliant campaign that was
hampered by having to fight on three widely divergent fronts and by a lack of suitable
army commanders.
Early in 1813 he raised another army of 400,000 men with which to regain his
lost position. Suddenly, he erupted into the German plain and trounced the RussoPrussian forces there, driving them out of Dresden and back across the Elbe, but was
obliged to grant a temporary armistice because he had outstripped his supply lines. He
was then presented by his father-in-law with a diplomatic blackmail.Austria would use its
rapidly assembling army of 300,000 to support a peace plan if Napoleon would give up
his domination of the Confederation of the Rhine and his claims on Poland and Austrian
Italy. If Napoleon agreed Francis would force Russia and Prussia into negotiations; if not,
Francis would join the other emperors against his son-in-law. Napoleon was disgusted by
this ‘family stab in the back’. He spurned Francis’ threat and embarked on a brilliant
campaign that was hampered by having to fight on three widely divergent fronts and by
a lack of suitable army commanders. As Napoleon marched and countermarched on
extended lines of communication, he found that for every gain he made his subordinates
suffered three losses. The great Battle of Leipzig was fought over the three days of 1618 October 1813. During the battle Austria and Russia fell out because the Austrians
were reluctant to fight in a decisive manner. As a result of the defection of some of his
allies at a critical juncture, Napoleon was forced to retreat.The only avenue open was a
single bridge over the River Elster, Metternich having arranged for this route to remain
unblocked to ensure Napoleon’s escape back to the French border. After Leipzig,
Metternich nearly tricked the impressionable young British envoy Lord Aberdeen into
agreeing a peace treaty which would not only leave France in possession of Belgium, but
would asserted that France had maritime rights equal to those of Britain. The British
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Cabinet was sufficiently shocked by this development to send Lord Castlereagh, the
Foreign Secretary, to the allied Headquarters to represent Britain. Castlereagh had been
vested by his Cabinet colleagues with a wide authority amounting to carte blanche. He
bribed his impoverished allies with five million pounds in gold, an incredible sum for the
period, and blackmailed the Tsar over Russia’s fleet which was being held in British
custody for the duration.
Using this combination of carrot and stick, Castlereagh engineered an Allied
policy of attacking France until Napoleon would agree to accept the return of France to
its ‘ancient’, or pre-revolutionary, borders, which excluded Belgium. Britain’s allies
favoured offering Napoleon a France confined within its ‘natural’ borders, the Pyrenees,
the Alps and the Rhine. The continental allies did not regard Belgium as of any
importance.The Emperor of Austria, who did not think in terms of sea power and who
had owned Belgium before the French revolution, would have been content to have it
remain in the family, first with his son-in-law and later with his grandson. But adherence
to ‘natural’ borders in this case would have left Antwerp and the Scheldt within France.
Such was the Machiavellian character of alliances in Europe of that period (and, indeed,
in most places and periods throughout history), that Castlereagh could not be so candid
as to reveal that the British Government viewed Belgium as Britian’s strategic Achilles’
heel and would feel obliged to fight on indefinitely as long as it remained in hands as
unsafe to British interests as Napoleon’s.
When the Allied armies invaded France in 1814, Napoleon was inspired to fight
one of his most brilliant campaigns. The Duke of Wellington was of the opinion that if
Napoleon had been allowed to continue he would undoubtedly have won. In one
engagement Napoleon faced 100,000 Allied soldiers with only 30,000 men and the Allies
remained most of the day in a defensive position fearing his attack. Napoleon then
casually withdrew his small army from this dangerous position apparently without fear of
interference from his enemy.At Montereau on 17 February, with fewer than 60,000 men,
Napoleon threw an Allied army of 120,000 into headlong flight. In these victories he was
aided by Austria’s politically motivated preference for retreat rather than running the risk
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of losing its army.A crisis arose when Austria and Russia argued over their respective war
aims.Austria threatened to withdraw from the coalition and make a separate peace with
Napoleon,18 but Castlereagh persuaded Metternich that, if Austria carried out its threat,
it would have no voice in the settlement discussions following the likely Allied victory.To
induce Francis to fight on toward the goal of replacing his son-in-law with the Bourbon
claimant, thus disinheriting his daughter and grandson, Castlereagh assured Metternich
that Britain would provide additional funds to bankroll Austria and would support her
against the claims of Russia and Prussia. Such support, Castlereagh told Metternich, would
also be forthcoming from a Bourbon France.After all, he reasoned, the Austrian Emperor
could retain possession of the French Emperor’s acknowledged heir, his own grandson,
and hold him in pledge.Therefore any Bourbon monarch installed on the French throne
would be obliged to comply with Austrian wishes or the Austrian Emperor could take up
arms in the time-honoured cause of dynastic war: in this case to secure for his grandson
his French imperial inheritance.
Napoleon then sent a letter to the Empress that had fatal consequences. In it
he revealed his intention to strike northward then east, cutting across the rear of the
Allied armies nearest Paris and severing their communications.This, he felt, would cause
them to halt their advance or even recoil into defensive positions. As he traversed the
Allied rear, Napoleon intended to gather troops from the garrisons of border fortresses.
With his augmented force he would attack the disconcerted Allied armies piecemeal and
send them scuttling yet again back toward the Rhine. The messenger carrying this most
indiscreet letter was captured by Prussians under the command of Field Marshal von
Blücher and a copy was sent to Allied Headquarters. On the strength of its information,
coupled with Talleyrand’s advice, the Tsar decided to move the armies forward to capture
Paris when Napoleon was several days’ march into his intended sweep.
An Allied force of cavalry 10,000 strong manoeuvred to screen the march on
Paris and to make Napoleon’s men think it was acting as the advance guard of the Allied
army. In the meantime Talleyrand had lost no time in suborning many prominent figures
in Napoleon’s government. That a man of Talleyrand’s political stature and known
astuteness was openly opposing Napoleon persuaded them that their master’s cause
must indeed be lost and that they too should follow the old French maxim of sauve qui
peut. Among the more than 800,000 souls living in Paris in 1814 was the largest royalist
community in France.These people were at once set to work pasting up anti-Napoleonic
and anti-war posters, and generally spreading dissent.The wealthy royalists precipitated a
run on the banks and refused credit in their establishments, thus creating a cash crisis in
the capital. Napoleon’s Minister of War, General Clarke, and the garrison commander,
General Hulin, together with the Chief of Police, Baron Pasquier, turned their coats at
Talleyrand’s solicitation. Napoleon had left his inept brother, Joseph, in Paris as LieutenantGeneral of the Kingdom. Joseph was prevented by the turncoat Ministers from carrying
out measures to defend Paris. As the Allies approached Paris a paralysis seemed to
overtake the civil services and departments controlled by the turncoats. Joseph was
unable to raise more than 12,000 National Guardsmen, while unknown to him tens of
thousands of volunteers were being sent out of Paris by General Clarke to parts of
France remote from the capital or the Emperor.
Joseph was obliged to arm half his men with pikes because he had been told
that there were no serviceable muskets to be had. In fact 20,000 good muskets were
stored in the Paris magazine, but these were said to be awaiting repair.
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Joseph had been frightened by the conspirators into believing that Paris was
indefensible. In a panic he repeatedly pressed the Empress to write to Napoleon asking
him to make peace on any terms. Napoleon, infuriated with his brother’s craven attitude,
suspected him of treason and instructed the Empress to keep away from him. Believing
that all was up with his illustrious brother, Joseph contacted his brother-in-law,
Bernadotte, the Crown Prince of Sweden, through his wife’s sister, the Crown Princess,
who was living unmolested in Paris. Bernadotte advised Joseph to make only a token
defence.This advice accorded with the plans of the conspirators.
Napoleon, attacking the Allied cavalry screen, soon realized that there was
nothing behind it. While awaiting some development, he received a warning from his
Postmaster-General, Count Lavellette, to return immediately to Paris, as ‘... there are men
in league with the foreigners encouraged by what has happened in Bordeaux, they are raising
their heads, supported by secret intrigue.The Emperor’s presence is vital if he wants to keep his
capital from being handed over to the enemy.There is not a moment to lose.’ Bordeaux, in the
southwest of France, had been betrayed to Wellington’s advancing Anglo-Portuguese
force by its royalist mayor who was a leading member of d’Artois’ organization. The
mayor and his secret ‘regiment’ of fellow royalists had made a theatrical occasion of their
treachery by their effusive greeting of the Duc d’Angoulême, d’Artois’ son, and their
giving of the city to him for King Louis XVIII. The propaganda value of this act to
Talleyrand in Paris and to Castlereagh was immense.
Alerted by Count Lavellette, Napoleon ordered his army to march on Paris and
raced ahead himself, accompanied only by his personal guard. Paris is bisected by the
River Seine, which is joined by a tributary at the south-east edge of the city. Thus, from
Fontainebleau on the south-easterly approach to Paris around to the north-easterly
approach there are forty miles and two rivers intervening. Napoleon hoped that if the
northern defences of Paris were held for a day, he could, as he had done at Dresden,
enter the besieged city from the south, followed at their best speed by his army. He could
then rally the citizens, organize a combined force and sally forth to deliver the Allies a
stunning blow.
As a result of Napoleon’s foray to the north the Allies’ communications had
been cut. Not one cannon or musket-ball had reached them for eleven days. The Allies
did not have enough ammunition for the 33-hour bombardment they calculated would
be needed to force the surrender of the city. Further, as the Allied army had been reduced
to 180,000 men, it was not numerous enough to hold the city’s full perimeter.
On 28 March, Joseph acted out a charade before the Council of Ministers,
reading from an outdated letter from Napoleon to himself, purporting it to be a current
order from the Emperor. By this means the Empress and many government officials were
induced to flee Paris.Their decision was, of course, approved by General Clarke and the
other conspirators. General Clarke also deliberately stationed a mobile artillery park of
heavy field pieces in the south of the city, away from the scene of the impending battle.
Marshals Marmont and Mortier alerted Paris that they were retreating on the city before
the Allied advance. On their arrival Joseph placed the command of the city and its defence
in Marmont’s hands, wishing to distance himself from it.
The next day, the 29th, found a city demoralized by royalist posters announcing
the departure that day of the Empress and the government.With the citizens having been
prevented from arming or volunteering to fight, Marmont had next to nothing with which
to confront the Allies and no time to take stock of the situation and prepare a defence.
No earthworks had been dug and no wooden ramparts erected, although there was
plenty of labour and wood available. Although Napoleon had ordered the strategic
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heights of Montmartre to be fortified with redoubts and 600 heavy calibre cannon,
Generals Clarke and Hulin had neglected to do this and the cannon remained stored in
the arsenals. Marmont himself placed 30 cannon on Montmartre, but Clarke removed the
National Guardsmen who were assisting the few trained gunners manning the cannon,
with the result that only six cannon could be employed.
Marmont’s defence was superb, given the material, or rather the lack of it.The
Allies, expecting no resistance, were blooded. But no sooner had Marmont decided to
withdraw from the northern suburbs to man the walls of the city, than Joseph sent him
an order either to hold his position in the suburbs until the Emperor should arrive, or to
surrender. Joseph thereupon rode out of Paris to join the Empress. Marmont arranged an
honourable surrender which would allow his forces to withdraw southward from the
city, with their equipment, to join their advancing Emperor.At dinner that night Talleyrand
convinced Marmont that all was lost with Napoleon and the war. He suggested that
Marmont follow his example and agree to accept high office under a restored Bourbon
monarchy. Talleyrand produced documents signed by the Allies and d’Artois attesting to
the Allies’ approval of these terms. Marmont was seduced and agreed to betray his
Emperor.A messenger then arrived from Napoleon with his order to Marmont to refuse
to sign any surrender document.The message informed him that Napoleon was only four
hours’ away and would be in the city by midnight. Constant in his treachery, Marmont
expedited the withdrawal of his troops and advanced the planned hand-over of the city
to the Allies.This, of course, was not known to Napoleon.
Napoleon heard the incredible news of Marmont’s withdrawal at Juvisy. At
Fontainebleau he awaited his army. From there he would attack the Allies in Paris and
recapture the city. He knew that the Allies were in a difficult situation. They would have
to defend a 14-mile front and the circumference of the city, with a largely hostile
population of 800,000 at their backs. Indeed the Allies did fear that if Napoleon attacked
there would be an insurrection such as had occurred at Reims which could trap their
army in Paris. Accordingly Schwarzenberg and the Tsar made plans to evacuate
northward toward Belgium and the relative safety of juncture with another Allied army
still in that vicinity.
Napoleon’s plans for an attack were thwarted by Talleyrand. Talleyrand,
however, having duped the Tsar into appointing him head of a provisional government, had
started printing masses of copies of a decree declaring Napoleon removed from office
and warning soldiers to adhere to the new government or be treated as traitors. Coupled
with an effective whispering campaign started by royalist agents, this did much to
undermine the morale of many of the officers in Napoleon’s army. His marshals, led by
Ney, mutinied and refused to attack Paris. Napoleon tried to convince them that his fall
would mean a return to pre-revolutionary standards and that their prominent positions
would be much reduced.When they still refused to fight, Napoleon in desperation offered
to abdicate in favour of his son. For a time it seemed as though this gesture might bring
his marshals into line.
Talleyrand, hearing of Napoleon’s efforts to retain the loyalty of his marshals,
became concerned that he might lose his newly created position as head of the
provisional government. He arranged for Marmont to betray his corps, which was acting
as advance guard to Napoleon’s army. As they advanced by night the men of Marmont’s
corps believed they were moving forward to attack positions. At first light they
discovered that they were actually in a trap surrounded by Allied forces.The soldiers of
Marmont’s corps assaulted their officers, whom they blamed for their predicament.
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Marmont’s corps was thus held in check, but was still under arms and could still pose a
threat to the Allies if Napoleon should mount an attack.
Although shocked by the news of the fate of Marmont’s corps, Napoleon
remained at Fontainebleau while his army concentrated around him. He did not alter his
plan of attack in light of Marmont’s action, but still intended to attack on two fronts. A
small force would cross the Marne and the Seine above Paris to launch an assault by way
of Meaux. His main body would make a direct approach from Fontainebleau. Napoleon
hoped that the Allied army, in trying to meet his multiple threat, would become dispersed
in the great labyrinthine city. Also he trusted that, as had occurred at Reims, the civilian
population would rally to him and aid in the discomfiture of the enemy.
In Paris, the Tsar was heartened by Napoleon’s offer to abdicate, but was still
fearful that, despite the defection of Napoleon’s marshals, the soldiers of his army and the
people of Paris might still fight. The Tsar felt it expedient to offer Napoleon a treaty. In
return for an unconditional abdication and immediate ceasefire, Napoleon could become
sovereign of Elba, retaining his current title.The Tsar was prepared to offer further minor
concessions if the broad intent of the treaty were preserved. Napoleon’s marshals
accepted the Tsar’s offer on Napoleon’s behalf. Most of them then went to Napoleon at
Fontainebleau to persuade him to agree. Ney, however, had already gone to offer his
allegiance to Talleyrand’s provisional government.
Napoleon felt unable to fight without the assistance of his senior commanders
and he feared it was too late to reverse the effects of the civil treachery of Talleyrand and
the royalists in Paris. Accordingly, he grudgingly agreed to abdicate on terms, ‘I abdicate,
but I yield nothing.’ His terms were that: the new French government would guarantee his
personal and family property; he and his family would be paid annual pensions, with his
amounting to two million francs, in return for which he would return the treasury and
the crown diamonds; his wife and child be provided with passports to join him on Elba;
he be given a bodyguard of 1,000 men of all arms; the cannon and stores of the fortress
of Elba be under his control; and, finally, the frigate of his choice, HMS Inconstant, be given
to him as his personal property. The Tsar agreed to Napoleon’s terms on behalf of the
Allies, and Napoleon, together with Prussia, Austria, Russia and the French Bourbons,
signed a treaty embodying the terms. Castlereagh, who had remained at Dijon working
with Metternich to arrange a Bourbon restoration, was furious with the treaty, and
although he was obliged to accede to it, he did not sign.
Earlier, Napoleon had sought asylum in Britain. No doubt the idea of life as an
English country gentleman seemed congenial to him in his circumstances. Instead, upon
his abdication, Castlereagh offered Napoleon a commissioner to escort him on his
journey to Elba and to remain there as long as Napoleon required his services. The
appointment went to a Colonel Campbell, who was given a broad authority. The other
Allies also appointed commissioners after their own fashions; the Russian commissioner
had been charged on pain of losing his head to keep Napoleon safe during the journey
to Elba. Nor were the fears leading to these precautions unfounded.When Napoleon left
Fontainebleau for Elba on 20 April 1814 the Comte d’Artois, Lieutenant-General of his
brother’s Bourbon Kingdom of France, had ordered agents to arrange assassination
attempts at Orange and at Avignon. These were to be carried out under the cover of
staged popular demonstrations. The attempts were unsuccessful thanks to the vigilance
of the Allied commissioners and the effectiveness of the disguise Napoleon adopted.After
he arrived safely on Elba he dismissed all the commissioners except Campbell, upon
whose services, and those of the Royal Navy, he continued to rely for protection.
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Four events precipitated a second French revolution and the return of
Napoleon. First, the Bourbon King’s Minister in the Chambers indicated the King’s
sympathy for the claims of the old émigrés to land restitution - in other words all the
land, bought, farmed, and lived on for 25 years since the revolution would be returned to
its pre-revolutionary nobles -without compensation. Secondly he allowed his brother
d’Artois to behave like a dictator. D’Artois, who liked his ‘English’ Sundays, ordered the
cafes to be closed on Sundays without reference to the Chambers of Deputies for
legislation. He encouraged the Church to re-introduce many of its old customs, for
example religious processions to the sites of martyred royalists, executed by the State.
Not only was this illegal -the statutes having not been revoked – but the people had no
feeling of collective guilt for, in their opinion, a bunch of traitors who, like Cadoual, had
received their just deserts.Thirdly, the Duchesse d’Angoulême, d’Artois’ daughter-in-law
and niece, insulted Ney’s wife. Passing her in a corridor of the palace with another
marshal’s wife, she addressed the princess thus: ‘... and you must be Madame Ney’, implying
that in her eyes the princess was but a commoner. When Ney heard of this he rode
straight away to the palace. Booted and spurred and covered in mud, he strode into the
King’s apartments unannounced. He pushed the guards aside, saying ‘Out of my way,
lackeys!’ Thrusting past the King, he entered d’Angoulême’s rooms and in the language of
the barrack room told her what he thought of her, her manners, her ridiculous pedigree
and the fat king and all his relatives.With that he strode out again.When the news of this
encounter hit the streets and the army, France went wild.The bubble had burst.The King
and his livid family could neither arrest nor punish him in any way. Had they attempted
to do so the Parisian mob would have stormed the palace. In the cafes the soldiers joked
and ridiculed the royal family, and their derision carried like a wave to the provinces. One
colonel of hussars exclaimed at the price of his meal, with a wink to the room, ‘In Paris
for a napoleon you can get a whole fat pig.’
The final event that pulled down the Bourbon house of cards was an invasion.
On 1 March 1815, the Lilliputian Elban army, commanded by its emperor, landed at Fréjus
in the south of France.The Boubons having broken the treaty of Fontainbleau, by seizing
his property in France and refusing to pay his yearly pension, and indeed had negotiated
and both his assassination and removal from Elba; had under the International
conventions of the period, given Napoleon the right to asume the same position that he
held prior to the treaty - to be outside Paris with his army. Napoleon marched
unoppossed into Paris without firing a shot. Louis, styled XVIII, left hours before with all
the state treasure, jewels and negotiable bonds, after having sworn to the people in the
chamber of deputies, to remain in Paris and give his life in defence of his crown and
people.
Sourced from the Author’s books:
Waterloo New Perspectives. David C Hamilton-Williams, London & New York,
1993/1994.
The Fall Of Napoleon. David C Hamilton-Williams, London & New York,
1994/1995.
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8.2 TERMS & DEFINITIONS
[Certain terms and abbreviations used in this manual are defined here for your convenience]
Adjacent: Two units or hexes that are directly next to each other on the map, with no intervening
hex between them.
A/I: Artificial Intelligence; the capability of the program to make decisions and conduct actions for a
given side.
Command Radius:The maximum hex distance at which a brigade or division leader can pass down
a Command Rating modifier.
Command Rating: A rating (“C #” in the Unit List) given to a leader, and used by him in his
attempts to Reform Disordered units under his command. See also the definition of “Command
Radius”.
Detached: A unit (usually a battalion) that is outside the Command Radius of its brigade leader.A
brigade leader who is outside the Command Radius of his division leader.
Disordered: A unit that is not in Good Order but is not Routed.A Disordered unit fires and melee
attacks at half strength.
Encryption Key: A “password” specified by the Caller in a modem-play game to keep the Host (the
Caller’s opponent) from opening the saved-game file.
Enfilade:A Ranged-Fire attack made from outside the defender’s Field of Fire.
Extreme Fog of War: A game option that hides from the opponent each unit's name, quality, exact
strength (including weapon type and range), organizational info and current movement allowance, plus
each leader's command and leadership ratings
[Exception: the strength of unlimbered artillery is not hidden].The unit's name and organizational info
re-appear whenever it is within an enemy unit's Zone of Control.
Note that Extreme Fog-of-War has no effect unless normal FOW is in effect for a side.
Fatigue: A rating (“FA #” in the Unit List) given to a unit and used by it for Morale Check and Melee
purposes.
Field of Fire:The 60° arc through which a an infantry unit or battery can fire. See also the definition
of “Enfilade”.
Fog of War:A game option that lets a player who chooses Fog of War for the opposing side see all of
his own (i.e., friendly) units, but only those enemy units that have moved/attacked while currently in the
LOS of a friendly unit.
Game Turn:Two consecutive Player Turns having the same turn number.
Good Order:A unit that is neither Disordered nor Routed.
Hex:Each hexagon on the map. Hexes are used for movement, range and LOS calculations.The hexes
are displayed/hidden via the Hex Outlines command in the Options menu.
Hot Spot: The red square- or rectangle-shaped indicator that appears on the map.The hex currently
containing the Hot Spot is known as the Hot Spot hex.
Leadership Rating:A rating (“L #” in the Unit List) given to a leader, and used by him in his attempts
to Rally Routed units under his command.
LOS:Line of Sight;an imaginary line between units that the program uses to determine if they can “see”
each other. If the LOS is blocked (see the definition of “Obstacle”), they cannot see (and hence have no
LOS to) each other.The existing LOS to/from the Hot Spot hex can be viewed via the Visible Hexes
command in the Display menu.
Melee: An attack made from a hex adjacent to the defender during the Melee Phase, in which the
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Appendix
attacker can advance into that hex if the Melee eliminates all defenders in the hex or forces them to
retreat.
Menu Bar: The line in the screen display immediately above the map, which contains the titles of the
various pop-down menus.
Morale Check:A die roll made by the program for a unit that has taken casualties due to an attack,or
that is in the same hex as (or is adjacent to) another friendly unit that becomes Routed.The possible
results are No Effect,Disordered or Rout;see MORALE CHECKS on p.59.
Objective:A scenario-specific hex with an assigned point value used to determine victory and defeat in
a given scenario.
Obstacle: Terrain that can block LOS through its hex. Forest, Orchards and Villages can block LOS,
depending on the relative heights of the firer,obstacle and target.
Phase:Any of the five main segments of a Player Turn:Movement Phase,Defensive Phase,Offensive Fire
Phase,Cavalry Charge Phase,and Melee Phase.
Player Turn: Each turn in which one side or the other is the “moving” side. See also the definition of
“Game Turn”.
Quality:A rating (“QL #” in the Unit List) given to a unit,and used by it when it takes a Morale Check
or tries to Rally.
Rally: A die roll made by the program for each of the Phasing Player’s Routed units at the start of each
friendly Player Turn in an attempt to return it to a Disordered state.
Ranged Fire:Any non-Melee attack made by a unit.
Reform: A die roll made by the program for each of the Phasing Player’s Disordered units at the start
of each friendly Player Turn in an attempt to return it to Good Order.
Rout: A unit becomes Routed whenever it fails a Morale Check caused by either an attack or by the
Routing of another friendly unit in/adjacent-to its hex.
Scenario:Each of the specific battles that are listed in the Scenario Selection Screen.Different scenarios
can include Historical,What If? and Art of War. Historical Scenarios follow the course of action as close
to actual events, as possible.What If? scenarios place different variables into scenarios that could have
changed how events happened.Art of War Scenarios limit the knowledge you have of your enemy and
force you,as commander,determine the strength of enemy forces and judge what objectives your forces
can take or hold.
Select:To click on an item using the left mouse button.
S#: For infantry and cavalry, the number of actual men. For a supply wagon, the number of units it can
resupply. For cannon, the actual number of cannon.The S# is displayed in the Unit List, and can change
during play (i.e., it decreases whenever the unit takes casualties or when the supply wagon resupplies
another unit.)
Stack:The collective name for two or more units in the same hex.
Status Bar: The line at the very bottom of the screen display, which contains the current time of day,
phase,and hex coordinates of the Hot Spot.
Stragglers: A Routed unit that suffers another Routed result loses one or more strength factors (as
determined by a die roll made by the program);such units are termed “lost stragglers” in the Command
Report that appears at the start of the next Player Turn.
Strength Factor: See the definition of “S#”.
Unit List: The portion of the screen display immediately below the map, listing the data pertaining to
each unit in the current Hot Spot hex plus a representative drawing/portrait of the unit.
ZOC (Zone of Control): Each combat unit exerts a ZOC into the front three hexes it is facing.
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Appendix
8.3 HOT KEYS
Ctrl-N:Advance to next phase
Ctrl-U:Undo last movement
Ctrl-X:Move to next stack
Shift:Displays on the map the names of various geographical features
Esc:Cancels A/I processing while the A/I is activated and the A/I Action Dialog is on-screen
Left Arrow:Scroll map to the left
Right Arrow:Scroll map to the right
Up Arrow:Scroll map up
Down Arrow:Scroll map down
F1:Invoke general Help
F2:Invoke Scenario Notes Help
F5:Slow down the scrolling of the AI action dialog
F6:Return to normal scrolling of the AI action dialog
F7:Speed up the scrolling of the AI action dialog
The following hot keys can be used to move units from one hex to another:
Keypad 1:Move Selected unit(s) down and left to next hex
Keypad 2:Move Selected unit(s) down to next hex
Keypad 3:Move Selected unit(s) down and right to next hex
Keypad 7:Move Selected unit(s) up and left to next hex
Keypad 8:Move Selected unit(s) up to next hex
Keypad 9:Move Selected unit(s) up and right to next hex
The following hot keys can be used to move units within their hex:
Keypad 0:Change Formation of Selected unit(s)
Ctrl-B or End:Move Selected unit(s) backward in hex
Ctrl-F or Home:Move Selected unit(s) forward in hex
Ctrl-L or Delete:Change Facing of Selected unit(s) one hexside counter-clockwise in hex
Ctrl-R or Page Down:Change Facing of Selected unit(s) one hexside clockwise in hex
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Appendix
CREDITS
Executive Producer: Jim Rose
Producer: Shawn Franklin
Game Design & Concepts: Joseph Hummel, Bob McNamara, Jim Rose and John Tiller
Programming: John Tiller
Game Graphics: Stephen Langmead, John Boettinger-Lang, Charles Kibler, Joe “The
Buzzard” Amoral & Tim Kipp
Technical Director: Matthew Henning
Video & Sound: Jim Rose
Scenarios: Shawn Franklin
Playtest Coordination: Shawn Franklin
Players Guide: Matthew Henning
Map Layout: Rick Barber
Production Coordination: John Davidson & Linda Wratchford
Historical Overview: David Hamilton-Williams
Playtesters: Rob Anderson, Ernie Berg, Eric Boyle, George Chow, Mark Cuomo, Peter
Gelman, James W. Johnson, Chuck Lane, Eric Larsen, Tom Padgett, Phil Palmer, E. Mark
Smith, David Naquin & Andrew Wagenhoffer
We would like to extend a very special thanks to David Hamilton-Williams for his time
and consideration.
In Europe:
Packaging Artwork: Sharon O’Neill, Gary Lucken & Matt Venn
Production: A J Bond
Quality Assurance: Darren Thompson, Danny Rawles, & Nick Fellas.
© 1997 TalonSoft,Inc. All Rights Reserved
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Appendix
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
If you have a technical problem concerning the operation of our software, please contact our
technical support staff.When you call, be at your computer if possible and have the following
information ready: computer type,WindowsTM version, available hard drive space, total RAM,
type of video card,and a list of options you chose when you installed the game.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT: (0)181 343 9143 9.30am-6.00pm
If you have a modem and would like to contact us on-line,you will find us:
WWW:http://www.empire.co.uk
CompuServe: Once you are on-line, type “GO GAMEPUB”
INTERNET:E-mail us at [email protected]
Thank You
To all of our loyal customers,
Enough thanks can never be given to all of our customers for their support over the past few
years. In a short time, TalonSoft has become a name recognized and respected in the wargame
community.All of the work we do means nothing if the consumer does not appreciate it, and all of
you have continued to follow us and support us while we have grown.
While Prelude to Waterloo is the last game that will carry the Battleground title, we will continue
to explore new grounds and pave new roads to continue what we have started.We hope that your
support will follow us, and that we will continue to make the high quality games that all of you
enjoy so much.
Thank you again
TalonSoft and Empire Interactive
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Page 3
NOTE: If your CD-ROM drive letter is not E: (as shown above), then substitute the
appropriate letter (e.g., D:\PTW\SETUP).
5. When you reach the “Welcome” screen, click on the Next> button to continue.
6. When the “Choose Destination Location” screen appears, either choose the default
directory by clicking the Next button, or see the note below.
NOTE: The default directory for installation is C:\PTW. If you wish it to be something
other than that, click the Browse button and enter a new destination in the Path box.
If the directory you specify does not exist, the program will prompt you to create it.
7. Prelude to Waterloo permits three levels of installation: TYPICAL, COMPACT, or CUSTOM
(for optimum performance, select CUSTOM and click all four option boxes that then appear).
The installation time will vary depending on the level of installation , the transfer rate of
your CD-ROM drive, and how much free memory you have during the install process.
NOTE: If your HD does not have enough space for the selected options, the Installer
will notify you to change the configuration.
8. Prelude to Waterloo requires that you have Microsoft Video For Windows 1.1
installed. If the installation process detects that it is not installed, you will be prompted
to install it.
9. When installation is complete you will have a new Program Group called Prelude
to Waterloo in your Program Manager. To launch the game, double-click on the
Prelude to Waterloo icon.
10. Prelude to Waterloo will check your system for available RAM. Any system with
less than 16 MB of RAM will automatically install with a low memory option enabled.
B A T T L E G R O U N D
Prelude to
ATERLOO
LOADING INSTRUCTIONS
CONTENTS
Your Prelude to Waterloo historical strategy game should contain a User Guide,
a CD-ROM, Quick Start instructions and an Empire Registration and Warranty card.
INSTALLING FOR WINDOWS 95
1. Launch Microsoft Windows 95®.
2. Place the Prelude to Waterloo CD in the CD-ROM drive.
3. From the Desktop, click on the “Start” button on the Taskbar and select “Run”.
4. When the “Run” window appears, type E:\PTW\SETUP and click “OK”.
NOTE: If your CD-ROM drive letter is not E: (as shown above), then substitute the
appropriate letter (e.g., D:\PTW\SETUP).
5. When you reach the “Welcome” screen, click on the Next> button to continue.
6. When the “Choose Destination Location” screen appears, either choose the default
folder by clicking the Next button, or see the note below.
NOTE: The default folder for installation is C:\PTW. If you wish it to be something
other than that, click the Browse button and enter a new destination in the Path box.
If the folder you specify does not exist, the program will prompt you to create it.
7. Prelude to Waterloo permits three levels of installation: TYPICAL, COMPACT, or CUSTOM
(for optimum performance, select CUSTOM and click all four option boxes that then
appear). The installation time will vary depending on the level of installation , the transfer
rate of your CD-ROM drive, and how much free memory you have during the install
process.
NOTE: If your HD does not have enough space for the selected options, the Installer
will notify you to change the configuration. Furthermore, if you have less than 16 MB
of RAM the Installer will automatically load your game with the low memory option
enabled.
8. When installation is complete, click on the Start button on the Taskbar. Then select
Programs, then Prelude to Waterloo. Finally, select Prelude to Waterloo again to begin.
MEMORY NOTES (for Windows 3.1 only)
Prelude to Waterloo requires that Windows 3.1 Virtual Memory be currently active. If
you are not sure if it is active, perform the following steps prior to installation.
1. Launch Microsoft Windows®.
2. In the Program Manager, double-click the “Main” program group.
3. Next, double-click on the “Control Panel” icon.
4. Next, double-click on the “386 Enhanced” icon.
5. Then click on the “Virtual Memory” button. Next to the word “Size” ensure that
at least 8,000 KB is allocated.
6. If you do not have at least 8,000 KB set, select the “Change>>” button.
7. Enter the recommended size in the “New Size” box.
NOTE: Windows 3.1 performs best if the Virtual Memory “Type” is set to
“Permanent”.
8. Click the “OK” button and follow the prompts. If you changed the “Size”,
Windows must be restarted for the change to activate.
9. On an 8 Mb RAM machine, you’ll need at least 6 Mb free XMS memory in order
to open the larger scenarios and maps.
NOTE: Due to memory constraints, multiplayer games (modem, Internet, or nullmodem) in the some Modules will not be playable in Windows 3.1.
TROUBLESHOOTING
INSTALLING FOR WINDOWS 3.1
The performance of Prelude to Waterloo on your system will depend on how “fast” your
video card is, how “fast” your system is, and how much total system memory is available.
Be sure to add the latest available drivers for your system hardware to ensure optimal
performance
®
1. Launch Microsoft Windows .
2. Place the Prelude to Waterloo CD in the CD-ROM drive.
3. From the Program Manager, open the File pop-down menu and select Run.
4. When the “Run” window appears, type E:\PTW\SETUP and click “OK”.
SYMPTOM: When I open a scenario, the map area is white or only the units appear.
REMEDY: Either you have an old Windows video driver, or you don’t have at least
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6 Mb free of XMS memory. You should either update your Windows video driver (by
downloading a new one or contacting your video card manufacturer), or reconfigure
your memory so that you can free up more XMS memory (for Win 3.1 users, try
running Memmaker in DOS).
SYMPTOM: The install program hangs up, crashes, or stops after displaying the
“Loading Battleground” dialog box.
REMEDY: There is probably an incompatibility issue with the Install program and
something already running on your computer, or you don’t have at least 550K of free
conventional memory. Win 3.1 users can free up more conventional memory by
running Memmaker in DOS. Alternately, try playing the game directly from the CD.
Here’s how: If using Win 3.1, create an icon in your Program Manager and attach it
to the BG_Start.EXE on the PTW CD. If using Win 95, create a shortcut on your
Desktop and attach it to the BG_Start.EXE on the PTW CD.
SYMPTOM: When the (intro or action) video starts, the game locks up or a
horizontal black line appears where the video should be.
REMEDY: Try reinstalling MS Video for Windows. This program is included on the
PTW CD for your convenience. To reinstall the program, select Run from the File
menu in Win 3.1 or the Start button in Win 95. Type D:\PTW\VFW\SETUP in the
Window’s Run Command Line (where D = the letter of your CD drive), then follow
the on-screen prompts.
card is properly installed. If you hear the initial “chime” when Windows starts, your sound
effects should work.
SYMPTOM: Spouse is threatening to use my PTW CD as a chew toy for the dog.
REMEDY 1: Save your current game of PTW and turn off computer.
REMEDY 2: Resume saved game with sound effects off while spouse is snug in bed.
SYMPTOM: The pop-up videos seem to run slow or “jerky”.
REMEDY: Your overall system performance is not “fast” enough to keep up with the video
information coming from the CD-ROM. Re-install the game software and select “Custom”
installation. When prompted, make sure the “Video Files” box has an “X” in it.
SYMPTOM: When playing modem-to-modem, the game loses connection.
REMEDY 1: If you have “Call Waiting” on your phone system, you must type *70 at the
beginning of your opponent’s phone number. Otherwise, an incoming call will break your
modem connection.
REMEDY 2: Check your phone line for a loose connection.
SYMPTOM: I’m having trouble connecting with my modem opponent.
REMEDY 1: Make sure that both systems are set to the same Baud rate.
REMEDY 2: Try a lower Baud rate selection.
SYMPTOM: The TalonSoft logo appears and the intro music starts but then immediately
cracks and stops.
REMEDY: Your sound card drivers are too old. Call your sound card manufacturer for
new drivers, or download them from an on-line service.
SYMPTOM: I don’t see any intro videos or videos during the game.
REMEDY 1: Make sure you have checks next to “Video Effects” and “Introduction” in the
game’s “Options” pop-down menu.
REMEDY 2: Try re-installing MS-Video from the CD. Run the Setup.exe file from the
VFW folder in Windows.
SYMPTOM: The computer seems to “lock up” during the computer player’s turn.
REMEDY: The size of the scenario, coupled with your computer’s “speed”, will have a
direct impact on the computer player’s performance/speed. Periodically during the larger
scenarios the computer A/I may take a few minutes to reaccess its “strategy”.
WARNING: We recommend that you don’t run the game in a display mode of more
than 8 Bit mode (“256 colors”). If you attempt to run the game in 16 Bit mode
(“Thousands of Colors”), or 24 Bit mode (“Millions of Colors”), you may see a noted
decrease in scrolling and screen graphics speed; in fact, the game may not even load.
To change your screen display:
WIN 95: Press the Start button, then select Settings from the Task Bar, then select
Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon, then select the Settings “folder” at the
top of the window. In the Color Palette area, set your display to “256 Color”.
WIN 3.1: Select the Main Program Group from the Program Manager, then select the
Windows Setup icon. From the Options pull-down menu, select Change System
Settings. Press the arrow button and select SVGA 640x480x256, and close the window.
Lean & Mean Basics...
SYMPTOM: When I launch the game, I get an error message stating “Object Windows
Exception, GDI Failure.”
REMEDY: This can happen if you inadvertently try to launch the game while it’s already
running. It can also happen if you try to run the game at the same time as some other
program that uses graphics. Be sure to exit all other programs prior to running the game.
If all else fails, restart Windows; this will restore your GDI resources to their maximum
value.
REMEDY: Try running the game with the low memory option enabled and possibly some
of the video, sound, or background music disabled.
REMEDY: Make sure that you have the latest available drivers for all of your systems
hardware. (Sound Card, Video Card, CD Rom drive.)
SYMPTOM: Map scrolling is very slow.
REMEDY: Check the Windows system settings for your video card. If it’s not set to 256
colors, change the settings to 256.
SYMPTOM: The sound effects don’t work.
REMEDY: Check your Windows drivers in the Control Panel to ensure that your sound
Game Overview
So, the game’s installed and you’re ready to go? Only thing is, you don’t
want to take a quick “time out” to read the Players Guide. OK, that’s
understandable. However, you would like to know some of the basics of the
game. Well, you’ve come to the right place!
Prelude to Waterloo™ simulates the historical battles in 1815, at Ligny
and Quatre Bras, in the days prior to Napoleons defeat at Waterloo. You,
as the player, control battalion-sized units and individual leaders on the side
of your choice. The map scale is approximately 100m per hex.
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Click the Phasebox
CONTINUOUS MODE: If you’d rather sit back and just watch the computer play
itself, select “Automatic” A/I for both sides in the A/I Selection dialog, and rightclick on the Phasebox when it first appears. Then press the Cancel button on the
A/I Action Dialog box. Next, on your keyboard, hold down the Ctrl key and hit
the C key. When the “Continuous Mode On” message appears, right-click the on
the “OK” button. Finally, click the “A/I” toolbar button to let the A/I resume.
To cancel Continuous Mode play, you must again hit the Cancel button of the
A/I Action dialog to stop play. Then again depress the Ctrl key and hit the C key.
A message should appear stating “Continuous Mode is off”.
After you’ve set the A/I and clicked OK, a
“Phasebox” appears announcing the
(French) Movement Phase. Left-click on the
phasebox to begin the phase (or right-click
on it to begin the phase and make it
disappear automatically after a few seconds
each time it appears). When the phasebox is
gone, you will see part of the “3D” game map; closer inspection will reveal
“units” on blue (French), or red (Russian) bases.
Launch the game
Double-click on the Prelude to Waterloo icon (found within the Prelude
to Waterloo program group now appearing in your Windows Program
Manager (if in Windows 95, from the “Start” button select “Programs” then
“Prelude to Waterloo” and “Prelude to Waterloo” again ). You will soon see
the Menu Options screen. Click the “Start New Scenario” button. This will
bring up the “Scenarios” screen.
Turns & Phases (Briefly!)
Each scenario in the game has a set number of Game Turns. Each Game
Turn consists of a Player Turn for each side (usually French first, then
Allied). Each Player Turn consists of five phases:
MOVEMENT
DEFENSIVE
OFFENSIVE FIRE
CAVALRY CHARGE
MELEE
Pick a Scenario
The “Scenarios” screen displays a scrolling list of the game’s scenarios. As
you highlight individual titles of this list, each scenario’s historical introduction
is displayed. Also displayed in this box is the number of Game Turns the
scenario lasts (in general, the shorter the turn length, the simpler the scenario).
Since this is probably your first experience with Prelude to Waterloo, allow us
to suggest the scenario entitled “The Vanguard”, then left-click on the Play
button.
THE MOVEMENT PHASE
In the Movement Phase the phasing player can move his units; e.g., in the
French Movement Phase, only French units can move. In order to move a
unit, you must first Select it.
Hex Outlines: The various scenario maps of the game can be overlaid
with a grid of hexagons, used to regulate movement and attack ranges.
Since the hexgrid is “off” by default, it is suggested you make it visible
by selecting Hex Outlines from the Options pop-down menu.
Choose a Side to Play
After a brief pause, the scenario’s map will appear and you will see the
A/I Selection dialog box. Select Manual for the side you want to play, and
Automatic or Automatic with FOW (Fog of War) for the side you want the
computer to play. When “Fog of War” is in effect, you can see an enemy
unit only if one of your units has a “line of sight” to it—a more realistic and
more challenging method of play. Alternatively, to control all units of both
sides, select Manual for each side.
Selecting a Unit
To Select a unit, left-click once on the map hex it occupies (this will place the
“Hot Spot” red-rectangle in the hex you just clicked). Below the map the
“Unit List” will appear, showing any unit(s) in the “hot spot” hex. Next, leftclick once anywhere in that unit’s data area in the Unit List (see below
illustration); a lighter shade of background color in the Unit List indicates
the unit has been selected. Note that a double left-click in a hex will select
all units in that hex. On the “3D” map, a Selected unit is shown by a darkercolored base.
Historical Note: In many of the scenarios of this game, the French are burdened
with the task of attacking; in such scenarios they are therefore given the first
“Player Turn”. If you wish to take a more active role, choose the French; however,
if you would rather “sit back” and defend, select the Allies.
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Leader
Artillery unit
Nationality
Flag
Horse
Strength
Artillery icon number
16/9/97 1:37 pm
Infantry unit
Range
(in hexes)
Move
points
Page 6
Cavalry
Cavalry unit
Quality
rating
current
Fatigue
Mounted
can move & melee
Routed
no melee/run away!
Artillery
Unit
Name
Fired Weapon Formation
icon
Type
& Facing
info
icon
Moved
icon
Skirmish
icon
Spotted
icon
Disordered
icon
Unlimbered
can fire/no move
Unit Types
Several different unit types are represented in the game; see the illustrations
below. The basic Infantry or Cavalry unit represents a battalion of varying
strength (the number after the “S” in the Unit List represents an infantry
unit’s strength in men or the number of cannons in a battery). Each artillery
unit represents a battery of 6 to 12 guns. Individual leaders are also
represented; although a leader can’t fire or attack by himself, he is important
for reforming and rallying troops and is useful in melee.
Infantry units can be in several types of formations; artillery are either
limbered or unlimbered. Cavalry and leaders are always considered mounted.
Not all formation types can move and/or fire. See the illustrations below for
a brief explanation of what effect a unit’s formation has on its ability to move
or fire.
Leader
Mounted
no fire/can move
Supply Wagon*
“Mounted”
no fire/can move
In the Movement Phase you can create (or recall) skirmisher units
from full strength infantry battalions. You can also create (or recall)
squadrons from cavalry units. To create a skirmisher/squadron, Select
the infantry/cavalry unit and click the “S” toolbar button.
Most other formation changes are done in the Defensive Phase
(Exception: you can also change an infantry unit from line to column
formation in the Movement Phase). To have a unit change formation:
(1) Select the unit, then...
(2) Left-click on the appropriate change-formation toolbox button (see the
description of the various Toolbar buttons on page 6 of this folder).
Infantry
Square
can fire
limited move
Uncrewed
no fire/no move
Create/Recall Skirmisher or Squadron
Formation Summary
Line
Column
can fire/melee reduced fire/melee
can move
increased move
Limbered
no fire/can move
Skirmisher*
Routed
can fire
no fire
can move run away!
Moving a Unit
Right-Click: Make sure the unit is Selected (see “Selecting a Unit”, above),
then right-click in a hex adjacent to the selected unit. The unit(s) will enter
the hex you right-clicked on if that hex is adjacent to the unit, the unit was
Selected, the unit has movement points (the MV number in the Unit List)
remaining, and it was that unit’s Movement Phase (you can’t move a
Russian unit in the French Movement Phase!). Also, you can’t move an
unlimbered/uncrewed artillery unit.
*A Skirmish unit can be created from a full-strength infantry battalion; see the Players Guide
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Drag’n’Drop: You can also move a unit using the “drag and drop” method.
(Select the unit; then, holding the left mouse button down, drag the mouse
cursor to the hex you wish the unit to move toward, and release the mouse
button.)
Column Movement: Hold down the Ctrl key and right-click or drag’n’drop
the “lead” unit of a column. This is also a real nifty way to move a “line”
of units (usually regiments belonging to the same brigade).
Facing Change: The front facing of an infantry unit in
line formation (or an unlimbered artillery unit)
determines the hexes it can fire at. To change the facing
of a unit, Select the unit and click on the appropriate toolbox button.
Illustrated above are the “turn counter-clockwise”, “turn clockwise”, and
“about-face” buttons, respectively. Units can only change facing during their
own Movement Phase.
Facing: The firer must be facing the target. A unit can fire only within an
arc defined by the two hexes it is “facing”. See the illustration below:
In the illustration at left,
the infantry battalion (with
a “Range” of 2) can
conduct ranged-fire only at
a target in the darkershaded hexes.
Firing a Unit
Error Message
To find a unit eligible to fire, click the “Next Unit” toolbox button.
The program will automatically find a hex with a unit eligible to fire!
However, you still must Select that unit in order to fire it. To Select
the unit, left-click once in that unit’s data area in the Unit List (or double leftclick in the hex to select all units in the hex). Next, right-click on a nearby
enemy unit. If that enemy unit is in the firer’s range and LOS, the attack will
be performed (if not, check for an error message along the bottom of the
screen explaining the problem). You can also Drag’n’Drop a Selected firer
onto an eligible target to carry out the attack. For more information, see
section 6.7 of the PTW Players Guide.
If you attempt to do something that the program won’t allow, you
should hear an error “beep”; a corresponding error message will appear in
the status bar along the bottom of the display detailing the wrongdoing.
The “Status bar” normally displays the current time and game phase.
Advance to Next Phase
To end the Movement Phase, click on the toolbox button that looks
like a pocket watch (or hold down the Ctrl key and press N).
THE DEFENSIVE PHASE
Combat Results
In the Defensive Phase, eligible infantry and artillery units of the nonphasing side are allowed to shoot (conduct “Ranged Fire”) at enemy
targets. The Defensive Phase can also be used by the defending (nonphasing) player to conduct formation changes among eligible units.
When an attack is performed, you will see a “Fire Report” giving
details of the attack. The effect on the target can vary from no effect to
increasing its battle fatigue to a strength-point loss (which also increases
its fatigue). Furthermore, a unit that suffers a loss can become disordered
or routed. A disordered or routed unit has a
or
icon (respectively)
printed in its icon area in the Unit List.
To find another eligible unit to fire, click again on the “Next Unit”
toolbox button.
Important: A unit that fires in the Defensive Phase cannot also change formation,
and vice versa. A formation change required in order to move a unit in the next
Movement Phase needs to be made now, so remember to plan ahead!
Firing Qualifications
When the message “All units have been considered” appears, it is
time to advance to the next phase (click on the “timepiece” toolbox
button).
There are several “qualifications” for a unit to conduct a Ranged Fire
attack:
Formation: To conduct a Ranged Fire attack, an infantry unit must be nonrouted, and an artillery unit must be unlimbered. (Leaders,
limbered/uncrewed artillery, and cavalry cannot conduct Ranged Fire.)
LOS: The target must be within the firing unit’s line of sight.
Range: The target must be within the firer’s range. A unit’s range is the
“RG” # in its Unit List data. Most infantry battalions in Prelude to
Waterloo have a range of “2” and can fire at a unit one or two hexes away.
Changing Formation
It is important to remember that in the Defensive Phase you can change
the formation of units. If a unit does not fire in the Defensive Phase, it
may be eligible to change to a different formation. For instance, an
infantry battalion in line formation can change to square or column, or go
into “Extended Line” formation, or vice versa.
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THE OFFENSIVE FIRE PHASE
Advance the game to the next phase.
Firing in the Offensive Fire Phase is identical to firing in the Defensive
Phase, except that in this phase only the eligible infantry and artillery units of
the phasing side (the side that moved in the current Player Turn) are allowed
to fire.
Change the screen display between the 2D Normal View and 2D Zoom Out, or 3D
Normal View and 3D Zoom Out, mode.
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) one hexside in a counterclockwise direction.
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) one hexside in a clockwise direction.
THE CAVALRY CHARGE PHASE
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) by 180º.
Cavalry units that move (“charge”) in the Cavalry Charge Phase
automatically become Disordered, but receive a bonus if they engage in
melee combat in the following Melee Phase. Basically, in the Cavalry
Charge Phase you should move only cavalry units that are capable of
moving adjacent to an enemy unit you wish to engage in melee combat.
Change the Formation of the Selected infantry unit from column to line (and back) or
to limber/unlimber artillery.
To create or recall a skirmisher or squadron unit(s) from the Selected unit. This can
only be performed during the Movement Phase.
To change a Selected infantry unit to or from square Formation. This can only be
performed during the Defensive Phase.
THE MELEE PHASE
Toggle (off or on) the on-map display of all units.
Melee represents hand-to-hand combat between opposing units. The
meleeing unit attempts to enter the location of an adjacent enemy and
displace it.
Toggle (off or on) the bases of all unit icons on the 3D map.
Make the Artillery Dialog appear.
Who Can Melee?
Resolve the Melee in the Hot Spot hex.
Only unrouted infantry or cavalry units of the phasing side (even if
mounted or in column) can initiate melees (i.e., advance into an
enemy-occupied hex in the Melee Phase). To find a unit eligible to
melee, click the “Next Unit” toolbox button. Having a leader attack (or
defend) in a melee is beneficial.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that are suffering from low/no ammo or
uncrewed.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have a LOS to (and thus are in the
LOS of) at least one enemy unit.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have moved during the current
phase.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have either fired at an enemy unit
or fought in a Melee during the current phase.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that are Disordered..
Conducting a Melee
Drag’n’Drop: Select all the units in one hex you wish to make a melee attack
with; place the cursor on their hex, then (holding the left mouse button
down), drag them into the adjacent target hex. An odds box is displayed if
this is done properly. You can add more adjacent units to the melee by this
same method.
When all units have been added, click on the “Resolve Melee”
toolbox button (the crossed rifle and sword with upward pointing
red arrow), and the melee will be performed. For more details, see
page 35 of the PTW Players Guide.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that are part of the same organizatiON
.
Hide (or display) the Unit List and Terrain Info Box.
Toggle (on or off) a display of which hexes are in the LOS of the current Hot Spot
hex. An “X” in a hex indicates no LOS.
Display (or hide) the flag of the controlling side in each Objective hex.
Display the Jump Window. Select any spot on the jump map, and the game map will
scroll to the corresponding spot.
Cycle the Hot Spot to another unit that has yet to (be designated to) perform an action
pertinent to the current phase.
Activate the A/I (after you have halted it, or if you started the phase not using A/I but
wish to activate it for the remainder of the phase).
Next Player Turn
When all melees you wish to conduct have been resolved, click on the
“Next Phase” toolbox button. Play will now proceed to the Player Turn
of the next player (the non-phasing player of the turn just-completed).
Once the first two Player Turns have been completed, Game Turn two will
begin.
PLAYTEST CREDITS
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the following
individuals for lending their invaluable services:
Rob Anderson, Ernie Berg, Eric Boyle, George Chow, Mark Cuomo,
Peter Gelman, James Johnson, Chuck Lane, Eric Larsen, David Naquin,
Tom Padjett, Phil Palmer, E. Mark Smith & Andrew Wagenhoffer.
TEC-BATPRCDRUK
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