La Bataille d' Eggmuhl 1809

While Demont’s Division had experienced non-commissioned officers, and one experienced depot company, most of the troops in the battalion had extraordinarily little training and had fired their muskets, maybe, a half-dozen times. How did that change the combat at Eggmühl; and what did this mean in the real world of events? The Germans of the Confederation of the Rhine had more training, and their experience made them more reliable. Further they had been on campaign and successfully crossed the Continent. In game terms, we find these new fourth battalions train and fight with slightly different tactics due to their lack of experience and quality leadership. The lack of leadership to be impactful in all aspects of game play. For the most part, morale and melee values

are 15-20% less than standard French values. As these troops are engaged, they immediately become more of a detriment to the line formations. The lack of quality light infantry, and the skirmish ability of the light companies hurt even more so the battalions. Therefore, those fourth battalions are not able to be effective when on the offence; obviously, it is easier to defend than it is to attack. Furthermore, these battalions are less able to fight in line formation. Columns or Carres are likely to stand more effectively.

Fourth battalions are best used in holding villages; forests or ridges. Reducing the number of morale checks will improve the player’s ability to hold and will limit the unlucky rolls of the dice.

Monte’s Tactical Advice

To conclude, the French army has excellent formations (Guard), and standard formations (Line/Light), as well as weaker formations (Confederation of the Rhine and fourth battalions). The better player will use the weaker groups to defend and will protect them as much as possible, while using them to trade losses with higher quality enemy troops.

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