Strategy in ‘Soldier Emperor’
Spring 1805
By Doug McNair
September 2006

The Emperor turns every which way in this week’s episode of my season-by-season replay of Soldier Emperor.

As winter 1804 closed in last turn, Spain just barely missed snatching an Automatic Victory, coming up one VP shy because of the Portuguese army’s staunch defense of Lisbon. But Spain made a staunch defense of her own conquest in Constantinople, and with the help of her ally Egypt she conquered Turkish Smyrna and Karamanlia.

Turkey is in desperate straits now, having lost her entire fleet to freakishly icy conditions in the Sea of Azov, and suffering under the effects of the Debase Currency card that Austria played on her two years ago. She’s down to 20 Money, and unlikely to get any subsidies from her ally France, who has plenty of troubles of her own.

Admiral Jervis finally managed to dent Napoleon’s armor last turn, taking control of Provence on the southern French coast and holding it against a counterattack by Napoleon himself. But the British army defending it died in the process, so whoever gets initiative in the spring is likely to have control of it at the end of the turn.

Napoleon is also beleaguered on his eastern border, with Marshal Murat having repelled an overwhelming Russian assault at Bayern. Murat’s victory was less a matter of generalship than economics — Russia had only 3 Money left by the time Bagration got to Bayern, so he could only attack for two rounds. The Russian armies that took damage in there also died due to lack of winter maintenance, so Russia will pose a lesser threat come spring. This may cause Bagration to shift his focus southward and try to gobble up Turkey while she’s weak and poor.

Austria, on the other hand, is in a good position to exploit France and Turkey’s weakened states, and if she can get cash subsidies through an alliance with Britain she can attack relentlessly and make significant gains this year.

Finally, Prussia has come out of her torpor with the emergence of Blücher, and if she can secure an alliance and cash subsidies from either Britain or France, her armies can turn the tide of the war decisively against Napoleon.

Winter Preparations

In the Diplomacy Phase of winter 1804 the rule against free alliances still applies, so only powers who drew Minor Country Alliance cards are able to make alliances with each other.
Britain and Austria approach each other with Minor Country Alliance cards extended, and since only one is necessary, Britain convinces Austria to play hers to cement the alliance between them. That leaves Britain free to play her card on Prussia, forming a tripartite alliance against Napoleon.

Britain plunges both hands into her giant war chest and doles out 20 Money to each of them. She tells Charles of Austria that he can have everything between Venezia and Paris, so long as Lorraine stays under British control and Charles helps Britain take control of Spanish Etruria. Britain also tells Prussia that His Majesty considers all of Germany Prussia’s by right, but that the long-term health of the Anglo-Prussian alliance depends on Prussia doing something about Russian expansion.

While all this is going on, Spain is keeping her own Minor Country Alliance card close to her gold-filigree breastplate. The writing on the wall is very clear, and Napoleon will obviously be of no help to Spain this year. He will certainly pull the Old Guard out of Spanish Etruria to defend Piedmonte from the Austrians, thus leaving the Spanish army there at the mercy of Admiral Jervis’ accursed invaders. Losing rich Etruria would set Spanish victory prospects way back, and with all of Turkey’s richest territories already in Spanish hands, it will take long time for Spain to get back into the race for victory just by conquering the East.

Spain is also now embroiled in a war with Britain’s ally Portugal, and vulnerable to British seaborne invasion on the north Galician coast. So while she would like to take advantage of Napoleon’s impending fall, break her alliance with France and try to beat the Austrians to Paris, her forces are just too weak and spread out to accomplish that effectively. Also, there are no potential allies nearby who could help guard the Spanish homeland. So, Spain keeps the Alliance card in her hand for now, hoping to play it later when some other power runs out of Money and will be willing to switch sides in exchange for a lifesaving cash transfusion.

Spring 1805

Purchase Phase: Most of the armies and fleets on the board are damaged from lack of winter maintenance, so everyone spends lots of Money and Manpower to repair them. Afterward, Britain is still flush with cash but has only 17 Manpower, so rather than build more armies, she’s going to have to rely on her allies Prussia, Austria, Sweden and Portugal to keep France and Spain busy on the Continent. Turkey has plenty of Manpower but only 11 Money, so she too will have no chance to build new armies. But most other nations are in good shape resource-wise and build new armies. Prussia and Austria only draw one weak army each, but Russia, Spain and France do better.

Initiative Phase: Napoleon has to re-deploy his forces defensively before the British-financed invasions begin, so he adds +2 to his initiative roll. The initiative order comes out: Turkey, Spain, France, Austria, Prussia, Britain, Russia.

TURKEY is spread rather thinly, but with the Spanish army out to the east in Karamanlia only a weak Egyptian 2/1 army is holding Constantinople. The Turkish leaders Pechlivan and Kusch Ali converge on Constantinople with one army each, pulling back another from Bosnia to help guard against the Russians in Moldavia. The Turks spend 1 Money for a Probe, assuming they can get the one hit necessary to eject the Egyptians on nine dice (the Egyptians have six due to Constantinople’s defenses). They get exactly one hit and the Egyptians get none, so the Egyptians retreat south to Smyrna and the Turks spend another 1 Money to besiege Constantinople for two rounds. The first scores one hit and the second scores three more, and the Spanish garrison scores none, so Constantinople falls back into Turkish hands with no losses to the Turks.

The stranded Turkish army in Russian Azov (brought there by the Turkish fleets that broke up in the ice last winter) besieges it for one free round, but does no damage while taking one hit and being forced to retreat to neutral Daghestan, just north of the Russian army in Georgia.

Having just lost the richest of her eastern conquests, SPAIN is unfortunately not in a position to take it back. Turkish defensive strength at Constantinople is now 13, and Spain’s army is too far away to get there this turn by land. It could get there by sea, but only with an attack strength of 6 — not enough.

The Spanish concede Constantinople for now and instead pick up the new Egyptian army that appeared in Cairo this Spring and transport it north to defend Smyrna. The weaker Egyptian army moves east to defend Karamanlia, and then the Spanish fleet and army sail west from Karamanlia to besiege undefended Turkish Epirus on the Balkan Peninsula (just south of Turkish-held Dubrovnik). Meanwhile, Spain invades Lisbon once again while another Spanish army heads up to Galicia to guard against a British invasion.

The Portuguese army in Lisbon is trapped with no retreat route, so Spain pays 5 Money for an unlimited Invasion. It goes in at seven dice to five, but does no damage the first round while taking a hit and a step loss to a 2/1 army (which retreats back to Porto). The second round is an even five dice to five, and no hits are scored then or on the third round. But on the fourth the tough Portuguese score two hits, ejecting the Spanish fleet.

All that remains is a 3/2 Spanish army which fights on, and after many, many more rounds it finally rolls two sixes on three dice, destroying the Portuguese army. Not to leave anything to chance, Spain spends another 3 Money to besiege Lisbon for unlimited rounds, and after many rounds Lisbon falls to Spain, and the conquest of Portugal is complete. Spain then spends another 3 Money to besiege Epirus for unlimited rounds, and it falls to Spain much more quickly.

So, even though she lost four victory points for losing Constantinople, Spain has gained another five for taking Lisbon and Epirus. That gives her the 12 VPs she needs to win the game: If she can hang onto all her territories ’til winter.

NAPOLEON is far less worried about Spain winning than him losing, so he starts by playing Naval Mutiny on Jervis’ fleet in the Mediterranean. He rolls a 4, causing one step loss to a weak British fleet and, more importantly, immobilizing Jervis and all his forces for the turn!
Following up this piece of good luck, Napoleon sends his 3/2 fleet in the North Sea to blockade the British 2/1 fleet moored on the Midlands coast, but Austria plays her own Naval Mutiny on it. Unfortunately, Austria rolls only a 2, so nothing happens and the blockade goes in. Another French fleet leaves Normandie and heads to Wales to blockade the British fleet there (thus keeping it from embarking any invasion forces), and the British-Portuguese fleet group in the Eastern Atlantic fails to intercept it.

Another French fleet leaves Bretagne (and is also not intercepted by the Brits and Portuguese) and moves to blockade the Prussian-allied Danish fleet at Denmark. So, with Jervis busy hanging mutineers, the Royal Navy (except the lone British fleet and her Portuguese escort) is effectively neutralized for the turn.

This is a huge break for Napoleon, who can now send just one army south to retake Provence, while himself turning to hit whichever enemy force he chooses. Unfortunately there are a lot of them, and it’s a tough decision. He finally ends up doing what Spain thought he would do, pulling the Old Guard north from Etruria to guard his rear at Piedmonte, then speeding past them to attack Charles of Austria head on at Venezia before Charles can invade the south of France. He tries to gather up his Italian allies to join him, but Austria plays Miscommunication and they stay behind in Lorraine and Piedmonte.

Thus weakened, Napoleon isn’t so sure about his chances against Charles, so he turns again and plays False Orders and Bad Intelligence and Cossack Revolt on two of Bagration’s armies in Saxony, eliminating one of them and sending an elite Russian 4/2 army to East Prussia. He then answers Murat’s call and rides northeast to hit Bagration’s weakened army in Saxony. This is a very risky move, as he’s way out on a limb in Saxony with Prussians and Russians to his flank and rear, but he figures that if he fails he can always retreat to a strong position with Murat at Bayern. And to give himself more retreat options (and give the Prussians a reason not to attack west toward France), he has his three armies in Hessen move east to attack the two Prussian armies in Magdeburg.

France starts by paying 3 Money for a two-round Assault on the Prussians at Magdeburg, in Napoleon’s rear. But the Prussians play Dysentery, causing a step loss to Napoleon’s 3/2 army there. Then they play Trap! which lets them fire first and hit on every roll of 5 or 6. They roll eight dice and score two hits, doing step losses to the two 2/1 French armies there. The other one takes an ineffective parting shot and retreats with them, back to Hessen.

Napoleon then attacks Bagration, spending another 3 Money for an Assault (he really just wants to hurt Bagration rather than stay in this exposed position in Saxony, so there’s no need for an Invasion). On the first round the battle is at 13 dice to 13, but Napoleon hits on a 5 or 6. Napoleon does five hits on the first round to only one for Bagration, and Bagration retreats to Posen with his damaged armies to join his other armies there. Napoleon would love to stay and besiege Saxony, but he and his two remaining armies would be all but surrounded by 15 enemy armies, so he pulls back to join Murat at Bayern.

Napoleon spends 3 Money for unlimited siege rounds in Provence and takes it back from Britain.

AUSTRIA’s path is much more straightforward — invade the south of France while Napoleon is in Bayern. Charles maneuvers forces out of Bohemia to cover his flanks and rear, and then hits the Old Guard, a French 3/2 army and an Italian 2/2 army in Piedmonte with everything he’s got in Venezia and Tirol. He spends British money lavishly on an Invasion, which goes in at 20 dice to 12. He does only two hits on the first round, which are dutifully absorbed by an Italian army, taking its only available retreat route down to Spanish Etruria. The French do three hits in return, causing two Austrian armies to take damage and retreat.

The second round is at 16 dice to 10, and this time each side scores three hits. The Old Guard has to take the step loss and retreat to Etruria, and two more Austrian armies take damage and retreat. The third round is at 11 dice to five, and Charles does two more hits, ejecting the last 3/2 French army from Piedmonte. One of his armies also takes damage and retreats, but his remaining two 3/2 armies are more than enough for a siege, which takes Piedmonte for Austria in two siege rounds. The French and Italian armies that used to hold Piedmonte are now cut off in Spanish Etruria, and Provence and Lorraine are guarded by only one army each. Napoleon will have to pull back from his German conquests to defend his homeland.

But before he can do that, PRUSSIA gets her own chance to take a bite out of France. The two Prussian armies in Magdeburg chase the French armies back to Hessen, with Blücher and a 2/2 army riding south to help. Then Hohenlohe and the Danish army attack French-held Hanover. Both attacks go in as Assaults. Blücher attacks at 10 dice to six, but since all three French armies are damaged and in danger of destruction, they all retreat before battle, heading west to Kleves. Hohenlohe doesn’t get the same welcome since the 3/2 French army in Hanover is at full strength, and his attack goes in at 12 dice to five. But Hohenlohe scores four hits on the first round, wiping out the 3/2 French army there and taking only one step loss in return. Prussia besieges both areas for two rounds each, but takes both in one round.

His Majesty of BRITAIN can do little but sit back and act the proud father to his suddenly ferocious allies on the Continent. Admiral Jervis is immobilized by the mutiny, all the British home fleets are blockaded by the French with little chance of escape, and the Swedish fleet is blockaded by the Russians in Scania. But, there is one British fleet in the Eastern Atlantic which is free to act, and she has a Portuguese escort, so they sail for Wales to attack the blockading French fleet there. The British get the wind gauge and attack at six dice to two, doing two hits on the first round and driving the French away into the North Atlantic. That makes at least three British fleets that can embark troops and invade the Continent next turn.

But before that, RUSSIA gets last licks. Russia plays New Leader and draws Benningsen. Where to put him? Napoleon and Murat are in a very strong position in Bayern. Attacking them head-on would be suicide, and they’ll have to leave there soon anyway since the Prussians and Austrians are about to close the pincers behind them in Baden and Lorraine. Russia would love to take the elite 4/2 army that got sent to East Prussia on false orders and sail it to invade French Holland. Bbut that would require breaking the blockade of the Swedish fleet at Scania, thus leaving Russia’s Baltic coast open to invasion.

Rather than continuing to throw human waves at Napoleon, Russia decides it’s time to teach those Infidels a lesson. He puts Benningsen with the two Russian 3/2 armies in Moldavia and sends them south to attack the Turks in Wallachia, with the Black Sea Fleet providing support. Bagration sends most of his armies into Saxony to wait and see what Napoleon does, but then heads south through Hungary with three Russian armies and attacks Ahmed and his army in Bosnia.

Both Russian attacks go in as Assaults. Benningsen’s goes in at 10 dice to six and does two hits on the first round to none for the Turks. One Turkish army takes damage and retreats west to Serbia, hoping to cover it against an advance over the mountains from Bosnia by Bagration. The second round is at 10 dice to four, and the Russians damage and eject the last Turkish army, which also retreats to Serbia. Bagration’s attack is at nine dice to seven, but Ahmed is made of sterner stuff and fights them off with one step loss to the Russians and none to himself. Nevertheless, Benningsen takes Wallachia in just one siege round, but the Turkish garrison rolls boxcars and ejects the Black Sea Fleet.

At the end of spring 1805, Napoleon has done a brilliant job of keeping the British out of France but has taken severe losses from Britain’s new allies Prussia and Austria. France’s ally Spain has gained more than she’s lost in the East, and Turkey is doing a good job of fighting a defensive war with what little she’s got left. Russia has shifted focus south, trying to take land from Turkey while waiting for Napoleon to fall back in the west. And Britain has done little other than finance her new allies, having been shut down by mutinies and blockades. But summer is another turn, and whoever gets the initiative will have plenty of opportunities to swing things in their favor.

Will Charles and Blucher cut Napoleon’s retreat and trap him in Germany? Will Russia take Turkey from Spain? Will Lucky give up his addiction to win back his wife? And what will happen when Prussia’s peace with Russia expires? Tune in next time and find out!

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