The Napoleonic OOB File

or

How to Make a New Army

 

Below is an example of a BG OOB file, edited for brevity but showing the structure used for, in this case, the French army. Sections from this are colour coded and dealt with individually in the text underneath, which explains each part and the meanings of the various letters and numbers. Click on the arrows by the coloured text to move between the listing and its explanation beneath. Note that the files described are for the 32-bit version of the games, not those found on the original CDs.

 1                                      
French A l'Armee du Nord
 
Begin
    L 4 6 0 l'Empereur Napoleon
 
W Gauche Aile
      Begin
      L 4 6 0 Marechal Ney
   
C Garde Imperiale
        Begin
        L 4 4 0 Gen de Division Drouot
     
D Division des Grenadiers
          Begin
          L 3 4 0 Gen de Division Friant
       
B 1er Regt. des Grenadiers (V.Garde)
            Begin
            L 2 4 0 Gen de Brig Petit
         
U 26 8 G M 0 13 1er Bn. 1er Gren.
            U 26 8 G M 0 13 2e Bn. 1er Gren.
         
End
       
S 6 39 Chariot Fourniture
          End
     
D Division de Chasseurs
          Begin
          L 3 4 0 Gen. de Div. Morand
          ...etc.
          End
        S 6 39 Chariot Fourniture
        End                                
      C I Corps d'Armée
        Begin
        L 4 4 0 Gen. de Div. d'Erlon
        ...etc.                                
                                         

1
This is the file identifier, 1 for BGW, 2 for NIR and PTW. The two are not interchangeable because those for the Waterloo campaign have 3 armies. Both have the provision for wings within an army, for the French in BGW/PTW, for the Russians, where they are used for the different "Armies of the West", etc., in the NIR file.

French A l'Armee du Nord
"French A" tells the program that this is, well, the French army. This is followed by the name as it appears in the game.

Begin
Indented once, this marks the start of the components of the army. Only one item is listed in this case - its leader (L), before the next, nested sub-command begins. Leaders are covered in detail on another page. All subsequent formations are marked with this line below the title of the formation and before any sub-formations or units within it.

W Gauche Aile
Aligned under the previous, superior command, the first wing (W) of the army. As for the army, this wing has an indented "Begin", a commander and then its first subordinate command:

C Garde Imperiale
C indicates a corps level formation, again followed by an indented "Begin" and a leader.

D Division des Grenadiers
D for division, indented again

B 1er Regt. des Grenadiers (V.Garde)
The lowest level of formation is the brigade, for the last time having a "Begin" and leader immediately below its name.

U 26 8 G M 0 13 1er Bn. 1er Gren.
Within the brigade, units are aligned under their leader and described using a string of numbers and letters, as detailed on another page.

End
Just as each formation has a "Begin" line, it also has an end, aligned directly below the "Begin" and following the last unit or sub-formation within it. This is the case at the end of each brigade, division, corps, wing and army.

S 6 39 Chariot Fourniture
Units can be placed outside a sub-formation, in this case an infantry ammunition wagon belonging to the grenadier division. Others might include artillery, couriers or anything directly subordinate to the higher formation commander. More on what the code for supply units means on another page.

D Division de Chasseurs
Following the "End" of the first Division is the next Division, lined up under the D above. Any subsequent Corps and Wings will be similarly lined up, each with "Begin", "End", leaders, sub-formations and units as above.

Finally
The end of the file seems to require the addition of a wagon for each army that is included in it:

  End    
French S 6 39 Chariot Fourniture
British S 6 98 Supply Wagon
Prussian S 6 99 Nachschub Wagen