by Paul LaFontaine, 1 March 2026
Three players participated in this historical Battle Decisions Kriegsspiel of the Waterloo Campaign of 1815. AaTeWe took command of the French as bonk and goraph opposed him as the Prussians and British respectively.
AaTeWe had a clear plan that involved keeping the Prussians and British from joining forces, and he planned to use speed to his advantage. Players bonk and goraph grasped their problem completely, and planned to join forces as quickly as possible. Though the terrain on the map was different from the historical battle, the events that transpired had the same shape as the historical. The French could not keep the Prussians from joining the battle and the outcome of another Prussian/British victory.
The Problem
In this problem the French have a smaller force, but the British forces are scattered and the Prussians do not have sufficient resources to oppose the French alone. The French have to defeat the Prussians then deal with the British without spinning all of their combat power. The British and Prussians must converge without being caught by the French and defeated individually.
French (Blue) Briefing
You face an enemy that is combined numerically larger than your force, but qualitatively weaker. It is to your north assembling to prevent you from marching to seize a vital port that is off the northern edge of the map. You know the enemy forces are spread out widely. Once concentration is about Hauptohof, the march into the area, and their headquarters is somewhere along the Steinhafen-Weisten road.
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Your Division is split into two forces, and their locations are shown on the map. The forces:
You estimate the force at Haupthof is about half the size of your total force. Your mission is to defeat the enemy in a way that allows you to march off the map to Weisen with a significant force.
Prussian and British (Red) Briefing
You face an enemy that is numerically smaller than your combined force, but qualitatively stronger. Is is marching north to seize a vital port that is off the northern edge of the map, but to get there it must exit on the road network north of Weisen. Your problem is due to previous operations your forces are spread out widely. Your 1st Brigade is at Haupthof, your 2nd is assembling from points north as it only has cavalry in the area at Kleindorf.
Both HQ are on the map. The 1st BD is fully on the map. This is your OOB with start points and entry timing:
Your mission is to stop they enemy by defeating him and keeping him from being able to exit off the north road via Wiesen with a significant force.
The orders of battle are expressed in Brigades, though in the historical battle the main units were Corps.
Opening Position
In this scenario the Prussians are to the west (1), rather than the east as they were historically. Haupthof replaces Ligny. Player bonk commands the Prussians. The British assemble on the map using different routes. To start, goraph has only two cavalry units on the board (2). Their plan is to have the Prussian force move quickly east.
Turn 1
AaTeWe moves his larger, eastern force, north with an eye for reaching Kleindorf as quickly as possible (1). To keep the western enemy force from joining the fight, he sends the cavalry north to bottle up the crossing (2) as infantry crosses to try and pin the force (3).
Player goraph sends his cavalry south (4) to screen and it encounters the main French column. They are not to engage, so they keep their distance.
Turn 2
AaTeWe’s gambit to keep the enemy from crossing the river works (1), and bonk sent his column north to cross at Steinhafen instead. This delays their move to join the assembling British forces. The Prussians are not hampered by the infantry attempts in the south (2).
The French column in the east splits into two columns (3), one going full speed to Kleindorf on the western approach. The second moves northeast to attack the British cavalry, and are successful in catching them. Though casualties are light, it puts the cavalry on its heels.
Turn 4
Two turns later, AaTeWe has sent his infantry north to join the cavalry and hold the Prussian force to the west (1). The eastern force holds at Kleindorf (2), a hesitation that allows more British forces to come into the battle area.
Player goraph places his artillery in a blocking position while one of his columns comes down from Grunthal (3). The British forces are still outnumbered by the French. There is one additional column to join, however, and time for the French is short.
Turn 6
AaTeWe redirects his cavalry from the western screen (1) toward the enemy column pushing through the center. The shift is coordinated with an infantry assault from the east. Their combined weight pushes the column back. The success comes at a cost. With the western flank guard stripped of mounted support, it cannot hold (2). The position buckles.
On the eastern side, goraph forms his three battalions into a battleline (3) and anchors them with well-placed artillery. The guns command the northern approach, forcing any advance to pay for passage.
Turn 8
With no time to waste, AaTeWe commits the Guard to attack the British center (1). On the opposite wing, goraph pulls his formations back to the forest edge (2), forming a defensive line supported by well-placed guns. His intention is to hold the line.
The French are forced to divert a full column to delay the Prussian advance from the west (3), drawing strength away from the main effort. Player bonk pushes his own columns forward. Everything now turns on a single moment: whether the Guard can break through the British center before the Prussians roll up the flank.
END OF SCENARIO
The French thrust in the center collapses under sustained Allied artillery fire. AaTeWe’s command had driven hard but reached the point of exhaustion. The assault faltered, then broke. With no reserves and no prospect of regaining momentum, AaTeWe had no choice but to fall back and preserve the remnants of his force.
This is another of a series of Kriegsspiel AARs very similar to the events in our Wargame HQ at the Origins Game Fair. You can find the original article here.
Player bonk and goraph were equally spent, but their line held firm at the decisive point. By absorbing the shock and denying the French any breakthrough toward Brussels, they achieved their objective. Lacking the strength to pursue the main French column, they instead pivoted on the weakened secondary column, encircled it, and forced its surrender. This final capture shattered the French campaign and ended any realistic hope of restoring Napoleon I’s rule.
Historical Campaign
On Napoleon’s return from Elba he decided to strike first before the Seventh Coalition could assemble in strength. He targeted Belgium, aiming to split and defeat Wellington and Blücher before Austrian and Russian armies arrived.
On 15 June his Army of the North crossed the Sambre at Charleroi, securing the central position between the two Coalition forces. On 16 June he beat Blücher at Ligny while Ney fought Wellington to a draw at Quatre Bras but failed to seize the crossroads. This failure prevented Napoleon from destroying Wellington the next day.
On 17 June Wellington withdrew to the Mont-Saint-Jean ridge south of Waterloo. Napoleon pursued, assigning Grouchy to follow the Prussians. The French misjudged the Prussian movements, leaving Grouchy too distant to influence events.
On 18 June Wellington held his defensive line against successive French attacks. When the Prussian corps arrived on Napoleon’s right flank late in the day, the combined pressure shattered the French army. Grouchy won a tactical fight at Wavre but failed to block the Prussian march to Waterloo, making the French defeat decisive.
Conclusion
AaTeWe was skillful in his maneuvering to bring about a French success. In the After Action Review (AAR) he identified a few missed opportunities that might have come from more aggressive moves, but his decisions generally cannot be faulted. Player bonk did a great job keeping the pressure on. The eventual arrival of the Prussians made the difference and drew away forces that could have been used to break the British line. Player goraph did not overextend. He methodically brought in forces and picked good ground in which to base a defense. Superb play by all three players.
Waterloo is another one of the battles that is a popular wargaming topic. As we started the AAR I asked the players if they knew which battle this was, and they all admitted they did not. The command decisions for the players were eerie in their similarity to the decisions taken historically. Revealing the battle was a revelation for everyone.
The 9 turns were conducted in 73 minutes with 8.3 minutes per turn. We used arrows to indicate locations and the reports verbally described the action and this worked well.
Thanks to AaTeWe, bonk and goraph for playing. All three were skilled and had a pleasant attitude which makes umpiring for them enjoyable.
Player bonk sent a reminder of the only downside of physical pieces:
We’ll see you out there.
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Classic lesson from one of the original Kriegsspiels: “No plan survives contact with the enemy, or with von der Tann’s verrückte cat!
You got that right! Or according to Baldwin’s lesser known quip, “The cat always gets through!”