SS Youth in
Beyond Normandy

Soldier Emperors
A Look at the Generals of
Soldier Emperor, Part One
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.

Play in Soldier Emperor often depends on the quality of one's generals. Since the game's release in the fall of 2003, we've received numerous queries as to the identities and historical record of these men. Here's a look at some of them; more will follow.

Austria

Austria spent most of this period at war, fighting major campaigns against France in 1805 and 1809, a brief war with Russia in 1812, and then back to war with France from 1813 to 1815.

In game terms, Austria begins with one excellent leader in Charles and a pair of lightweights. Like the emperor Franz, the Austrian player usually feels constrained to put most of his forces under Charles. better leaders will arrive later, with Schwarzenberg entering the leader pool in 1809 and two good leaders in 1812, plus another "1" leader.

Austrian generalship suffered from the favoritism shown to those of high birth, and it shows in game terms as well. Career soldiers from the lower nobility like Radetzky and Frimont had to wait well into middle age or beyond before being trusted with command, while teenaged archdukes led armies into battle.

Frimont

Johann Frimont, an Alsatian soldier of fortune in Austrian service, commanded at the 1809 victory of Sacile over Eugene de Beauharnais' Army of Italy (though Archduke John had the titular command). In 1812 he was second in command (to Schwarzenberg) of Austrian forces in Russia. He led the Austrian Army of Italy in 1815, clashing with the French in some minor skirmishes. Considered one of the empire's top soldiers, Frimont commanded Austria's forces in northern Italy for the next 20 years, crushing insurgent forces in 1823 and 1830.

Radetzky

Austria's greatest battlefield commander, Josef Radetzky von Radetz had an undistinguished career for most of the Napoleonic wars. A cavalry division commander in 1809, he won praise for independent action at Landshut in Bavaria. His talents remained untapped until he served as chief of staff of the combined Allied armies in 1814 and 1815. After more years of obscurity, he succeeded Frimont as commander in Italy. At age 84, he won a brilliant string of victories in 1848 over the Piedmontese, crowning these achievements with the victory of Novara in 1849. The old man remained in the saddle until 1857. A beer magnate paid his worthless son Theodor to inter the great general's remains alongside the millionaire. Radetzky is the only historical figure in the game to receive a leader piece but not hold an independent command, though he could easily have been selected.

Bianchi

Tapped early for future greatness, Friedrich Bianchi led a division in the 1812 campaign and a corps in 1814. With a meteoric rise unseen in Austrian service for those not of the imperial family, he received an independent command in 1815. In that campaign he defeated Joachim Murat's Neapolitan army at the Battle of Tolentino despite being outnumbered 3 to 1, and then crushed the satellite kingdom. Sharing Radetzky's vitality, he remained on the army's active list until 1863.

Mack

The "unhappy General Mack" of Tolstoy's War and Peace, Karl Mack had carried a musket as a private soldier and risen through the ranks. Despite these harsh origins he possessed courtly manners and made a soldierly impression on many influential people. Mild success in 1800 when seconded to the Kingdom of Naples brought him the key command in 1805 (held in name by Archduke Ferdinand). When he found Napoleon's troops had infiltrated behind his positions at Ulm, he promptly surrendered Austria's main field army.

John

Archduke John, brother of the emperor and of Archduke Charles, went straight to the top. His first military experience consisted of "command" of the Austrian army smashed by Jean Moreau at Hohenlinden in 1800. Franz Lauer held the real command of the 18-year-old archduke‘s army. Granted command again in 1809, he served as a figurehead for Frimont until the latter was wounded. Taking direct control of his army, his jealousy of his brother Charles led him to keep it off the battlefield at Wagram. Banished in disgrace, he spent the next four decades hunting in the Alps, emerging during the revolutions of 1848 as the "people's archduke" and nearly winning the crown in the process. In game terms he may be overrated.

Charles

Destined for a military career, 21-year-old Charles accompanied his guardian Duke Albert of Teschen to the 1792 campaign and soon received his own command. A series of victories in 1796 in Germany (some of them achieved through bribery rather than bullets) cemented his position as Austria's top field commander. Small and sickly, Charles often missed crucial moments due to epileptic fits or general poor health, though he at times avoided difficult situations with this excuse. In 1805 he defeated Massena at Caldiero, and in 1809 defeated Napoleon himself at Aspern and nearly did so again at Wagram. After the 1809 campaign he never again held active command, briefly returning to the colors in 1812 as military governor of Mainz.

Schwarzenberg

Karl Phillip zu Schwarzenberg spent most of his career as a diplomat, but had some military command experience when he burst into prominence. In 1812 the emperor tapped him to lead the Austrian auxiliary corps into Russia alongside Napoleon, and he defeated Tormassov's Russian army. The next year he commanded the Austrian armies that intervened against the French, and was named supreme Allied commander. He commanded the combined Austrian, Prussian and Russian armies at Leipzig and Dresden. Schwarzenberg then oversaw the strategy that drove Napoleon back into France and ultimately off his throne, and also served as supreme commander during the Corsican's abortive comeback in 1815.

Turkey

The Ottoman Empire has the weakest generalship of the major powers. Though there are six Turkish leaders, only three of them are available at any one time. Bayrakdar, Ebubekir and Seyit Ali start the game in play. Pechlivan, Kuschanz Ali and Ahmed enter play only if the Janissary Revolt card is played, in which case any of the other three still in play are removed. This makes the New Leader card useless to the Turkish player, but on the plus side there is the Banner of the Prophet. This can be given to one leader, who then raises his rating by 1 and never vacillates (through card play, a leader can be forced to retreat). Historically this was carried by Alemdar Mustafa "Bayrakdar" Pasha, but players usually give it to Pechlivan Khan or Kuschanz Ali (as they'll be around after the Revolt card appears).

During the Napoleonic Period, Turkey was at war with Russia from 1806 until 1811, signing an armistice in early 1812 before the campaign season opened. The Turks also repelled a British naval attack in 1807.

Bayrakdar

Alemdar Mustafa Pasha of Silistria, known as "Bayrakdar" (the Banner Bearer). When the Russians invaded in 1806 he quickly mobilized his provincial army to oppose them. With the Sultan's army and court in disarray, he formed an alliance of Balkan governors and incited popular resistance against the Russians. He defeated Miloradovitch's Russian army at Rustchuk in 1807, and was called to the capital to serve Sultan Selim III but arrived to find him overthrown. When the new Sultan Mahmut II was in turn assailed by rebel Janissaries in 1808, Bayrakdar was trapped without his loyalists. Rather than submit to their tortures Bayrakdar ignited the capital's main powder store, vaporizing himself, 300 of his bodyguard and 300 rebels.

Ebubekir

Ebubekir Pasha commanded the Ottoman forces that put down the Serbian revolt of 1804. He suffered the indignity of being kidnapped by Janissaries and held for ransom, but regained the Sultan's favor. In 1807 he went to the eastern front to command all Ottoman forces in the Caucasus, but failed to hold the important border fortresses there and was relieved after the Janissary revolt toppled Selim III.

Seyit Ali

Seyit Ali commanded the Ottoman fleet in the 1807 campaign, successfully plaguing Russian supply lines and avoiding battle with the more powerful fleet led by Senyavin. He finally accepted battle with the Russians at Lemnos in July, 1807, and after a hard-fought engagement both sides claimed victory: the Russians sank more ships, but the Ottomans drove them away from the Straits and allowed grain convoys to reach the capital. Bayrakdar fired him later that month for failing to protect Selim III from his murderers. However, Seyit's actual crime appears to have been accusing Bayrakdar of "weeping like a woman rather than seeking vengeance like a man" upon discovering Selim's corpse. Bayrakdar sent him into exile.

Ahmed

Laz Ahmed Agha, named Grand Vizier in 1811, led the Ottoman armies during the 1811 campaign on the Danube. Inexperienced but energetic, he forced Kutuzov back across the big river and re-captured Silistria and Nikopol. He defeated Kutuzov again at Rustchuk, but allowed his army to become trapped on the north bank. The wily Ahmed managed to extract an armistice from the Russians, however, and rescued his army from disaster.

Pechlivan

Pechlivan Khan rose to army command out of the officer ranks rather than those of the provincial governors (unusual in this period, when career soldiers were distrusted). He lost to Bagration at Tartaritza in late 1809, but in the summer of 1810 inflicted three stunning defeats on Kamenski's Russians. He also led the inspired defense of Bazardzik, but plunged into the hand-to-hand fighting himself and was killed.

Kuschanz Ali

Pechlivan's command went to Kuschanz Ali, another old soldier. He defeated Kamenski at Shumla in 1810, but then lost the battle of Batin in August of that year. In the next year's campaign he served under the command of the Grand Vizier.

Prussia

Prussia has only four leaders, and with its exposed position in the middle of Europe needs all the help it can get. With Queen Louisa holding the title of "only real man in Prussia," her husband Friedrich Wilhelm III relied on aged veterans of Frederick the Great's army. The results were less than encouraging, and no Prussian army won a major battle by itself during the Napoleonic period.

Yorck

H.D.L. Yorck von Wartenberg became a Prussian national hero in 1812 when he signed the Convention of Tauroggen. Commanding the Prussian army that accompanied Napoleon into Russia, by this treaty he declared his troops neutral but in effect switched sides. Forced to either join the war or declare Yorck and his officers outlaws, the king decided to endorse the move and the War of Liberation began. Prior to this command, Yorck had held a subordinate command in the 1806 war and led Prussian troops throughout the War of Liberation.

Blücher

One of Frederick's officers, Gerhard von Blücher commanded Brunswick's cavalry at the disaster of Auerstadt in 1806, when he was already 64. As the Prussian army disintegrated in the following days, he hatched a scheme to escape with his troops to Britain and fight on, but became despondent when his chief of staff fell into enemy hands and surrendered without firing a shot. In 1813 he commanded the Prussian field army and defeated Napoleon at La Rothiére in 1814. "Old Forward" is best-known for his role in Napoleon's final defeat in 1815. A heavy drinker, also known for his belief that an elephant had impregnated him, Blücher's reputation is probably overrated and the "2" he receives in the game is likely overly generous.

Hohenlohe

Prince Hohenlohe, hot-tempered and eager for war with the French, commanded the Prussian forces at Jena in 1806. Intensely jealous that he had not received supreme command, it fell to him anyway after the twin disasters at Jena and Auerstadt. Pursued by Murat's French cavalry, he accepted without question the French claim that he was surrounded by 100,000 enemies and ordered his troops to lay down their arms. In game terms Hohenlohe is probably overrated and deserves a 0.

Brunswick

Prussian supreme commander in 1807, the 72-year-old Duke Karl of Brunswick had lead his king's armies since the 1792 campaign. Though he out-numbered Davout by almost 2:1 at Auerstadt, he allowed the French general to attack and disorganize his army. Prussian official reports state that he was then killed leading a counter-attack by a grenadier regiment, but it appears more likely that the senile duke's horse-holder panicked and the old man wandered into range of the French, who shot him through both eyes.

Persia

Persia remained at war with Russia for most of the period covered by this game. The Shah fielded two very different types of armies: tribal levies, mostly infantry, provided by provincial governors, and a professional army led by Europeans. In 1811 border incidents led to an unauthorized Persian attack on Baghdad, that was smoothed over in early 1812 before full-scale war with the Ottoman Empire erupted.

Abbas Mirza

Crown Prince Abbas Mirza led his father's troops in the 1804-1813 war with Russia. A small and sickly youth, he was the younger of Aqa Mohammed's sons and lacked the warlike qualities of his elder brother, Mohammed Ali. Abbas strongly supported Westernizing the Persian forces, importing French and British drill-masters and cannon-founders. Only 15 when the war began, he continually risked his life in battle to prove his courage and eventually became a competent leader. He defeated Tsitsianov at Echmiadzin in 1804 and led the successful 1812 invasion of the Caucasus. He was defeated by Kotliarevsky in October, 1812, but favored continuing the war despite Russian advances. He defeated the Ottomans in the 1821-23 war, but lost the 1826-28 war to the Russians and still more of Azerbaijan. He died in 1833 of illness, while attempting to conquer Herat in Afghanistan.

Learn more about Soldier Emperor here.