Soldier Emperor Second Edition
Developer's Preview
By Doug McNair
January 2009

Writing the Third Edition rules and scenarios for Second World War, the series which encompasses Third Reich and Great Pacific War, was a gargantuan effort that took up much of my time and energy in 2007. It was also an excellent opportunity to work with some top-notch playtesters who brought to light all sorts of nuances in the game that the Second Edition rules hadn’t covered. The net effect on the game was to make the Third Edition rules far more comprehensive and user-friendly than previous editions. The net effect on me was to hone my rules-writing skills considerably, particularly with regard to all the issues that need to be covered in a rulebook for a multi-player game.

So when Mike informed me that the warehouse crew had uncovered a cache of Soldier Emperor games that were missing rules and boxes, I welcomed the chance to revisit this old favorite and bring the rules up to our current standards. The Second Edition rules incorporate feedback we’ve gotten from players since the game debuted in 2003, and delve into several issues in far more detail.

Just a few of the rules that get a much more comprehensive treatment include:

• Rules for alliances between players, and between Major Powers and Minor Countries.
• The effects of one player surrendering to another, and how they must behave toward each other during the peace.
• Creating satellite nations (the Kingdom of Italy, etc.) and how they differ from minor country allies.
• Interception rules in naval combat.

I made several rules changes, including a system for determining leader casualties that is far less deadly because it gives credit for hits scored on defense and allows leaders to be wounded, captured, relieved of duty or killed (not just killed).

I streamlined land combat a bit by getting rid of the need to secretly declare the level of attack one is making (a more realistic approach since a Napoleonic army mounting an Invasion is far harder to conceal than one mounting a Probe, due to the need for a much bigger supply train).

I also updated and included the optional supply rules that I introduced in a Daily Content article a few years ago, plus another rule that takes into account logistical disruptions caused by the loss of home areas when determining the total number of units a nation can have on the board. When I get the time, I will adapt the Second Edition Soldier Emperor rulebook into a Second Edition rulebook for Soldier Kings as well.

But the best thing about Soldier Emperor Second Edition is that it comes with three times as many scenarios as the original game. First Edition had four campaign-type scenarios that lasted from a given year until 1815, or until any pre-selected turn when the players agreed to end the game. Second Edition still has two campaign games (a long one covering the whole scope of the wars and a short one just covering the climactic years), but it also has ten short scenarios that are two years long apiece. Each two-year game has far more period-specific detail than the campaign games, and lets players deal with the strategic issues faced by Napoleon and the Crowned Heads at a specific time in the wars.

Quick introductions to all twelve Second Edition scenarios are below. We hope you enjoy them!

Scenario One
1803: War Renewed

The Treaties of Luneville and Amiens ended the wars of the French Revolution. Peace briefly returned after almost a decade of warfare, but began to break down almost immediately. Britain violated the treaty by refusing to remove her naval base at Malta, while France pressed Holland and Italy closer into her orbit in violation of the spirit if not the letter of the agreement. The British restored their blockade of French ports, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte ordered all British males present in France imprisoned, and each nation declared war on the other in May 1803. This time, the conflict would last another dozen years.

Scenario Two
1805: The Third Coalition

The first years of war between Britain and France proved that each could do little to hurt the other without allies. The British turned to Austria and Russia with heavy cash subsidies, while France looked to Spain to balance the Royal Navy's superiority. The war would end with two of the most decisive battles of the entire age, with France crushing the combined Austrian and Russian armies at Austerlitz while Admiral Horatio Nelson destroyed the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar.

Scenario Three
1806: The Humiliation of Prussia

Having inflicted a decisive defeat on Austria and dissolved the Austrian-led Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon went about replacing it with a French-sponsored Confederation of the Rhine. This fulfilled a French policy goal stretching back over three centuries to the Valois kings, but it caused the Queen of Prussia to press her husband to seek compensation for his kingdom. When the French refused to allow the Prussians to annex Hannover, Prussia declared war without consulting any of her potential allies. It would lead to one of the most decisive defeats ever suffered by a major power.

Scenario Four
1807: The Road to Tilsit

Prussia's army collapsed after only 19 days of fighting, and most of the state apparatus followed suit. But the Russian army came forward still full of fight, engaging Napoleon in a tough winter campaign across Poland. The French drove the Russians back, restoring Polish independence under the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and finally making peace with the Russians at Tilsit.

Scenario Five
1808: Dos de Mayo

After the Peace of Tilsit, Britain stood alone. Russia had switched sides, while Austria and Prussia had been badly defeated. Turkey remained at war with Russia, but British military threats made any cooperation from that quarter unlikely at best. Napoleon's attempt to install his elder brother, Joseph, as king of Spain changed everything. The Spanish monarchy was just as venal and incompetent as Napoleon believed, but at least they were Spanish. An uprising broke out in Madrid on 2 May 1808 that soon swept across the country, as Spanish workers, peasants and soldiers turned on their former allies with a ferocity as yet unseen in these wars.

Scenario Six
1809: The Alps Aflame

Austria's generals spent four years rebuilding their armies and preparing for a renewed war against the French. They were not quite ready when a pro-Habsburg revolt broke out in Tirol. After changing strategy at the last minute, the Austrians finally invaded Bavaria while Napoleon himself was thought to still be in Spain. But the emperor rushed back to Germany in time to push the Austrians back past Vienna. Archduke Charles defeated Napoleon at Aspern on the right bank of the Danube, but was defeated himself in a huge and closely-fought encounter nearby at Wagram some weeks later. Having received no useful aid from their British allies, the Austrians signed a punitive peace treaty.

Scenario Seven
1812: Roads to Moscow

Russia and France never became easy allies, and Russian refusal to join the
French Continental System (the exclusion of British goods from the European economy) angered Napoleon. The Russians did his bidding by forcing Sweden into the system, but in the spring of 1812 Russia signed a secret alliance with Britain. Napoleon invaded in June, hoping to force the Russians back to the peace table, but instead they refused battle and lured him deeper into Russia. Of the 600,000 French and allied troops who marched into Russia, less then 30,000 would be fit for duty by the end of the year.

Scenario Eight
1813: War of Liberation

The Prussians switched sides as Napoleon's venture into Russia crumbled, touching off the Befreiungskrieg, or War of Liberation, of Germans against the French. Napoleon raised new armies and plunged into Germany to stop the advancing Russians, but the Allies refused to fight him in open battle and tackled his subordinate marshals instead. Once Austria joined the war against him, the tide turned as many of his German allies switched sides and the French were forced back towards the Rhine.

Scenario Nine
1814: Napoleon at Bay

Defeated in Germany, Napoleon again attempted to raise fresh armies, but this time hundreds of thousands of French teenagers called to the colors years before their conscription date bolted for attics, forests and other hideaways instead of reporting for duty. With small numbers of these young draftees, Napoleon showed why he was still Europe's most feared general. Yet his battlefield victories could not stop the Allied armies pressing in from all sides. When his oldest friend, Auguste Marmont, refused to carry on the Emperor knew his reign was over.

Scenario Ten
1815: The Hundred Days

It is 1815 and the Crowned Heads are happily redrawing the map of Europe, making the world safe for Divine Right monarchy. Petty nationalism comes close to igniting war between the powers, especially over Prussia’s desire to annex Saxony. Then the Corsican Ogre embarks on his last journey. . . .

Scenario Eleven
1803 Campaign Game

This is a grand campaign that can potentially cover the entire span of the Napoleonic Wars (if nobody scores an Automatic Victory before 1815).

Scenario Twelve
1812 Campaign Game

This short campaign game covers the climactic years of the Napoleonic Wars.

The Second Edition rules are now available by themselves
and with all the components for Soldier Emperor.