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Notes to the Napoleonic battle victory conditions

Links in the headers and text return you to the relevant section on the victory conditions page.

The 35% cut-off

The reason for the 35% total can be found by looking at some data from real battles.

Austerlitz - estimates vary but around 30% allied losses and 12-13% French ones (27k vs. 9-10k) - generally considered one of the most crushing defeats in history.

Eylau - Chandler's figures work out to 33% French (25k) and 20% (15k) Russians - with the battle ending for night, the Russians the ones withdrawing, but generally considered, by being the first real set-back for Napoleon, as a bloody minor Russian victory.

Waterloo was 26k French or 37% vs. 14k allies. A major victory, though a little under 2:1 really. But the French losses were high.

Ligny - the Prussians lost 34,000, the French only 11,500 - so that on the ratio only looks like a defeat in detail. But the Prussian losses, while about 33% of their force not counting Bülow's late arriving Corps, were more like 25-30% with Bülow included. So one might say Bülow's inclusion saves a defeat in detail and makes it only a major French victory.

One thing is very apparent in these examples - the loser almost always lost around 30-35% of his force. These were bloody battles, but that does seem to be the "breaking point" for casualties among those engaged.

The victory level varies mostly with how cleanly the victors achieve the result. The mauled 20%-loss Russians at Eylau hardly felt like victors when they withdrew that night, while the French at Austerlitz enjoyed one of the greatest triumphs ever - the losing side in each case having lost about the same portion of its force.

The lower % inflicted levels are meant to force one to engage and do damage, to shoot for the higher levels of victory. But the ratio requirements are the hard ones to meet, the thing that make the difference between a bloody artless draw or near-draw, and a masterful win.

Examples of loss ratio calculations

Some scenarios demand that allowance is made for the difference in the strengths of the opposing forces. This has come to light in playing scenarios where one side, with perhaps half the other's strength, has to work twice as hard for the same result. Below are some examples of how the calculation works on some real battles.

A 'near run thing' only turned around by the arrival of the Prussians. Wellington's defensive stage was too bloody to feel more victorious.

A major turnover result emphasised by the winners being much the lesser in strength.

Forces and losses too close to call any other result.

The disparity of losses and winning the field was only what a superior force could expect to achieve.

A simple spreadsheet is available, in Excel or other format, for calculating game results as above and can be obtained from me.

Modifications, penalties and bonuses

Any or all of these clauses can be ignored by mutual consent, or be found not to apply in many cases, though those who enjoy sifting the statistics after battle may find them useful and interesting.

(1) This clause has the purpose of making players preserve their cavalry as a strategic asset, rather than expendable storm-troops to be thrown at any likely target. Obviously, preserving any and all units in the army as a whole is a worthy aim, but cavalry was the most useful arm for the strategic follow-up. The opposing cavalry strengths must be compared using the strength ratio modifier. For example, a side that starts with twice as much cavalry as the enemy must end with twice as much required by the rule, so with a ratio of 6:1.

(2) A simple head-count of batteries divided into rounds remaining is all that is needed if relying on the game's artillery ammunition record. If maintaining individual battery records manually, every battery must have at least one round (preferably canister) in its own record for its own protection at the end of the battle. See the artillery page for details of battery record keeping.

(4) This has arisen from a game in which Napoleon was captured! While we do try to consider our battles in a strategic and historical context we must also look at each game on its own merits. To call a halt to a game due to the loss of a C-in-C, even Napoleon, could deny one or both players the remainder of an interesting and enjoyable game and is in itself not a reason for saying the game is lost. This is particularly so if the side losing their C-in-C is in a winning position. However, some recognition of the fact that a coup has been pulled off and the consequences of it to the aftermath of the battle should be made.
As an example: a side inflicting 24% casualties at a ratio of 0.65 (a draw) would score the result in the next column, a minor victory, if capturing the enemy C-in-C. If the vanquished was Napoleon, the result would be a major victory.

Multiple Forces

In battles where two armies fight together - Waterloo and Eylau for example - theirs cannot be separate results. Firstly, their opponent is the same as has been fighting their ally and will suffer or enjoy one final result. Secondly, in a strategic context their fate will be tied up with their ally's, being an aspect very much to be promoted as part of the victory assessment.

Thus the Prussians at Waterloo cannot gain a victory if their arrival is an accompaniment to Wellington's defeat due to 35% losses. At Eylau, Lestocq's corps is similarly calculated as part of the Russian army and almost certainly saved the latter from defeat though sharing its subsequent retreat.

The onus in such situations is on Napoleon at Waterloo (or both Bennigsen and Napoleon at Eylau) to bring about a result before enemy reinforcements arrive. Besides, the BG victory dialogue groups allied and Prussian casualties together and the system is best kept simple and verifiable.

In scenarios with fixed forces and reinforcement schedules, the totals can be calculated in advance by "walking through" a game, both sides set to human and just advancing the phases, and reading the strength dialogue as reinforcements arrive.