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I have been waiting for this with bated breath for so long that I should be a cadaver. All other battles, including my least favorite Waterloo, pale in comparision to Eylau, in my mind. The desperate battle in a snow storm is the stuff of legends. Augereau, who should have been on sick leave, is ordered by Napoleon to attack the Russians. In the swirling snow storm his corps is led astray into the belching mouth of numerous Russian artillery. His corps devastated, Napoleon then orders Murat to attack with all 10,000 of the available cavalry. The greatest cavalry charge in Napoleonic times then takes place. The Russian center is then sliced through. Numerous Russian units are ridden down or dispersed. Then the cavalry regroups in the middle of the Russian Army, and cuts its way back out. Now that would be something to see in CGI in a film. Then of course we have Friedland. The Russian general Count von Bennigsen loses all caution, and apparently his mind. He crosses a river into a bottleneck that not only has his army trapped by the river behind, but his two flanks are pretty much cut off from each other by the topography. He does this with Napoleon somewhere on the other side of the river. His attempt to sneak into the tiger cage works all too well. A rejuvenated Grande Armee proceeds to utterly destroy his army. Eylau is the first real time that Napoleon is held at bay by another army. It sent shock waves through Europe, until his completely lopsided victory at Friedland. The Russian troops who had earned a reputation in the Seven Years War as incredibly tough only add to their glory.





















So what comes in the game:





Scenarios

Twenty-two battles and over two-hundred and twenty scenarios, to include the battles of Eylau, Friedland, Heilsberg, Guttstadt, 1st and 2nd Ostroleka and Mohrungen

Tutorial scenario that helps the player learn the game system.

A wide range of scenarios which allow the players to command an entire army or just a few brigades.

A select group of campaign scenarios available for play as stand alone battles.

Bonus battles that add in forces that were not used in the campaign or standard scenarios.

Campaigns

The 1806 Winter Campaign - Includes the Battles of Pultusk and Golymin.

The 1807 Winter Campaign - Includes the Battle of Eylau.

The 1807 Spring Campaign - Includes the Battles of Heilsberg and Friedland.

The full 1806-07 Campaign - Covers the entire campaign in Poland.

Features

Turn scale is either 10 or 15 minutes.

A Design folder includes files and information that will aid the customer in learning how to build their own scenarios.

A Terrain Effects Chart is included that helps the players determine the effects of terrain and the movement allowance of their units.

A Weapons Chart is included that allows the players to determine the range and effects of all weapons in the game.

Over sixty-two maps (to include submaps) are included covering the famous battles such as Eylau, Heilsberg and Friedland

Scenario and Campaign Editors.

Changes

New 2D Magnified view

Night turn length extended to 4 hours (240 minutes)

Maxium visibility range can be extended up to 180 hexes

I have had my say about the changes in the games since they came out. The graphics are totally updated and while not state of the art are still fully functional on 2D, and eye pleasing on 3D. I usually play on the 2D magnified view now, unless I need the big picture for a moment. As far as the AI, again I have pontificated enough about it. There are now many scenarios that were built from the ground up as single player ones. They are tough to win, and not because the computer cheats or has extra troops by the ton (this is the usual practice in computer games to try and make single player worthwhile). Napoleonic tactical warfare was a sophisticated game of rock, paper, and scissors. For those of us who are sticklers for historical battles down to the last musket and grenadier, this game delivers. The campaign games adds a little of what if for players who enjoy that aspect of a game. In a day and age when the amount of scenarios that come in a game can be counted on two hands, this game comes with over 220! To put that in layman's terms, that is enough to be stranded on a desert isle for a very loooong time.





For those of us who suffer from enjoying reading an encyclopedia or a PDR (Physicians Desk Reference, yes I liked to read through it as a child), the game comes with all these extras:





Preview Documents

The Armies of Campaign Eylau-Friedland - pictoral display of the uniforms and soldiers of the various nations and minor allies which fought during the 1806-07 Polish Campaign.

The Battles of Campaign Eylau-Friedland - a listing of each historical battle in the game to include a jump map image, strength comparison and historical briefing.

Terrain Effects Chart - lists each terrain type and the movement costs for each troop type.

Weapons Effect Chart - lists all of the weapons in the game and their firepower value by range.

Parameter Data File Guide - breaks down each line in the PDT files and is for the customer in designing their own battles.

Situation Maps - helps the players understand the history of the campaigns in CEF and acquaints them with the locations where the battles were fought.

Order of Battle Guide - gives a detailed explanation of the units in the order of battle files.

Order of Battle Compendium - a PDF of all of the order of battle listings for the battles in CEF.

Campaign Eylau-Friedland Artwork - lists all of the units in the game and their location in the graphics files.

Leaderlist for Campaign Eylau-Friedland - lists all of the leaders in the game and their location in the leaders graphics file.

Turn Tracks - useful for the long battle and campaign scenarios.

Special Rules - used in the certain scenarios where certain restrictions need to be applied for more historically accurate game play.

NEW: Unit Listings for Campaign Eylau-Friedland - lists every unit's order of battle line entry for review by the players or in building new OB files for custom scenarios.

So for those of us who are only happy when steeped in minutiae this is a game for us. For the casual gamer of Napoleonics, it has many shorter scenarios for your gaming pleasure. You can play by Direct-Play, Email, or Hot-Seat among others. I have been a fan of John Tiller games since they were first brought out by HPS (HPS Simulations). As I mentioned, the bar of the games keeps rising. Not only that, but all of the updates on the newer games are always implemented for the consumer on the older games. Imagine other companies updating almost twenty-year old software. Thank you, John Tiller Software for the chance to review my new favorite game of theirs.





This is a link to the game page:

http://www.johntillersoftware.com/NapoleonicBattles/CampaignEylau.html





A link to John Tiller Software:

A review of Petersburg from John Tiller Software:





A review of Panzer battles North Africa 1941 by Wargame Design Studio and John Tiller Software:

https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2018/12/panzer-battles-of-north-africa-1941-by.html

Review of Panzer Battles of Normandy by Wargame Design Studio and John Tiller Software:

Review of Panzer Battles Kursk Southern Flank by Wargame Design Studio and John Tiller Software:

https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2016/12/panzer-battles-kursk-southern-flank-by.html

Robert



