Angus Konstam's Edinburgh Wargames

 

 

Die Kreigskunst

("The Art of War")

Wargaming the Seven Years War

Based on the General de Brigade system of brigade-level rules

Click on the logo to order a copy from: 

Brent Nosworthy, author of The Anatomy of Victory

Errata (Coming very soon - I promise - by early November)

There are a few typos in the text, a diagram was messed up, and - most seriously of all - there are errors on the playsheets. Like any good author, I blame the copy editor cum designer! However, in truth I'm sure it was all my fault. Oh, we'll also include a clarification of the charge procedure, which was giving a couple of people problems. Fortunately the response to the rules has been very favourable. Almost everyone said it really caught the spirit of the period, and a reviewer even described the mechanisms as "simple and elegant". What more can you ask for?

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They're here!  They're out, they're available, and they look good!

They rules include four scenarios (Emsdorf, Paltzig, Hochkirch & Moys), a walk-through of a game, pretty colour order markers, and several Orders of Battle. they're reasonably priced at £17.50.  Plans are already afoot to produce a scenario book, containing a ten or a dozen more scenarios, and a small campaign system.

For those of you who don't know about them, they're part of the General de Brigade stable of rules, those highly successful (and slightly "old-school") Napoleonic set. One of our aims was to keep the general flavour of GdeB, while adapting the rules to fit our idea of what battles in the Seven Years War were all about.  After all, it represents a completely different period with its own set of tactics.

I know that Die Kriegskunst ("The Art of War") is difficult to say after a beer or two without getting into trouble, but the publisher liked the title.

As for the authors, "Tricorne" is the collective nom-de-plume for Angus Konstam & Dougie Trail, assisted by Dave Brown. Dave wrote the original GdeB rules.

One of the biggest differences is the figure scale (1=40 rather than 1=20). Then there's the way you move your units around. In GdeB the orders system means that you can't always do what you'd like and when you would like it. In Die Kriegskunst this is even more apparent, as we've made it a little harder to change orders. We've also introduced a new type - the "Approach" order - used to recreate those great Frederickean flank marches. Is "Frederickean a word? Well, it is now! Even more restricting is the way units manoeuvre. there are no columns (well, only in really limited situations like storming breaches), and in the age of linear warfare, moving a brigade from column of march into line was a complicated business.

We think we've found a way to simulate this fairly simply, but even so you really have to figure out where your troops are going and where they'll deploy well in advance. For example, a battalion in column of march (one stand behind the other) has to wheel to the right, then halt. the next turn it moves all the stands through 90 degrees, so that they no face the enemy - thereby forming a line.  Now, if you imagine doing this for a whole brigade, then for a division-sized force with one or more brigades forming a second line, and you've got some idea of how tricky the whole thing is. Of course, you can start your games in line, facing the enemy and raring to go, but we needed to produce a system to get the guys there in the first place! 

Other differences include modifications to the firing mechanics, a new system for firing at chargers (charging cavalry into formed infantry is rarely a smart move), and a downgrading of skirmishers. While these may sound like little more than little tweaks, they actually represent a lot of work and experimentation - trying to keep the basics of the existing system while adapting it to reflect the linear tactics of the period.

Left: The Leib Infantrie Regiment of the Archbishop-Elector of Köln (Part of the Reichsarmee). In the rules they're classed as "Garrison" troops, which means they aren't very good - but at least they look nice! In fact these Front Rank French figures will soon be replaced by ones in more accurate Austrian-style uniforms - and by touching up the facings and redoing the flags these figures will suddenly become the von Anhalt Rgt. - a German unit in French service - who wore French-style coats.

Basing is the same as for other General de Brigade sets (although we use slightly larger bases ourselves - four 28mm infantry figures on a 40x40mm base). A full strength Prussian battalion is 20 figures, an Austrian one is 24, and a Russian one is 16. Heavy cavalry ride around in 20 man units, although the Russians should really be smaller due to their chronic cavalry resupply problems - 12 man for Cuirassier units and 16 for others. I just have to have more Russians to make up for the small units - and of course there's my pretty but less than effective Cossack horde...

 If you want to try them out (and you already  have GdeB) then you'll be able to pick up the basics from the playsheets. If not then drop me a line. If you want to look at a scenario, you can download Gross-Jagersdorf (1757), a battle we designed as a demonstration game at a show. At some stage we'll be doing a scenario book, which will include about a dozen more battles, amongst which will be Kolin, Prague, Breslau, Minden, Kunersdorf and the assault on Schweidnitz.

Before you ask, these rules only cover the Seven Years War in Europe. We've deliberately left out the battles fought in the Americas or India, as they'd need special rules which would complicate the basic system. We therefore decided to include rules for these periods in a special scenario book, which will also include rules amendments and scenarios for the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and the War of the Austrian Succession.

Notes on Die Kriegskunst Basing and Unit Sizes             A sample Order of Battle (Kolin, 1757)

Copy of the Die Kriegskunst Playsheet (Word File) 

 Sample Scenario: Gross-Jagersdorf , 1757  (Prussians v Russians)  

Rules discussion group etc.  on the General de Brigade site

Eventually this site will contain any errata to the rules  an unfortunate necessity), new scenarios, articles about the rules, and other useful things.

Meanwhile, if any one has scenarios of their own, and want them posted here, then please, drop me a line.

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