A People’s War: a solo adventure for Rebels & Patriots.
A 'Choose Your Own' Adventure for Rebels & Patriots
This is the first part of a two part game. In this first part, you will play the role of a young French Captain of Napoleon’s army attempting to cross Saxony in 1813. The second part, which will be available in the next issue, is a solo scenario for Rebels & Patriots by Dan Mersey, but could probably be adapted to any black powder skirmish set. This first part is played like a choose your own adventure book. The opening paragraphs will explain the situation and eventually you will be offered a choice. Select the choice you want and turn to the paragraph indicated. Your choices will determine your forces and deployment when you play the second half of the game next month. Think of it as a sort of one man campaign game before the battle. You can, of course try again, if you’re unhappy with your choices or if you die...
INTRODUCTION
1. August 1813, outside Magdeburg. It is after nightfall when you clatter into the village of Rottknullwald, startling the sleepy sentry into wakefulness. The disconcerted voltigeur was sheltering from the summer rain shower under the eve of a house and looks at you wide eyed as you thrust your steaming mounts reins into his hands.
“Captain…” he stammers, forgetting to salute. You brush aside his questions and demand to be taken to his commanding officer. The commander, a bespectacled Swiss medical officer, who introduces himself as Major Torelli, rises from the remains of his dinner and greets you when you arrive at his billet.
“I am Captain Henri Boehmermann currently on General Girard’s staff,” you introduce yourself. “My orders are to muster all those men who are able bodied and bring them to Germelshausen outside Magdeburg. The ceasefire will end soon and the General requires every man.”
Torelli nods. “Well Captain, you find us pretty much as you see us. I have most of the sick back on their feet. You’ll have about thirty men of the 8ieme Ligne, a detachment of Voltigeurs from the 37ieme, some artillerymen and a few other odds and sods to take back with you.”
You thank him and accept a glass of wine. “Now, the route could be a bit tricky,”
he muses. “The locals are good enough about leaving the sick alone, but formed troops in small numbers are a different matter. It’ll take you the best part of two days to get back by my reckoning. Do you have a map?” You shake your head and Torelli calls for pen and ink. You sip the wine as he sketches.
“There are two roads suitable for a party of your size, here and here. The north road is longer, but the road is more suitable for wheeled transport. The southern route is quicker, but will take you through rougher ground. Either will take you to Bad Sooden and from there it’s a day’s march via Witzenhausen to Germelshausen.”
He hands you the sketch and retires. Looking over your notes, you have under your command:
Half company of the 8ieme Ligne (Veteran Line Infantry); half company of the 8ieme Ligne (Veteran Line Infantry); a single 8lber cannon and crew (Light artillery with Limber); and a detachment of 37iem Legere (Light Infantry).
You call your officers, a couple of fresh faced lieutenants named Desproges and Ferroni, in and brief them regarding your intent to leave first thing in the morning. They seem like a sound bunch. Sergeant Major Debbouze, a grinning fellow with a ferocious moustache, attaches himself to you as your adjutant. You rise early and
review the men in the cool August air. They are pale and a bit out of condition, the relic of recent illness, but are clearly steady and pleased to be returning to the main army. Their firelocks are clean and well kept. The gun team is a concern, as they are understrength, but those horses that you have seem sound.
Write down your order of march, marking 1 next to your first unit, 2 next to the second, etc.
As you march out of the town, waving goodbye to Torelli and the other wounded, you notice that a wagon seems to have attached itself to the rear of your column. The driver is a small infantryman in a long overcoat, who looks uncomfortable when you ride down to inspect him.
“Corporal Claude Dobbler with the supply wagon Sir,” he replies “grub and the lads packs. Seeing as they is recovering from being poorly and all that. They can do without the weight.”
Do you wish to investigate the wagon? Turn to 11.
Or have you wasted enough time and wish to press on? Turn to 3
2. The Corporal regards you with disbelief when you order him and his men to abandon the apple barrel.
“But they’re right there Sir,” he argues,
“nothing wrong with ‘em”. You bark at him to fall in and get moving. Lt Ferroni approaches and having learned what the fuss is about, approaches you.
“Seems hard to deny the men a windfall like that Sir.”
“You have you orders.”
“Indeed Sir,” Ferroni replies and returns to his company.
You march on, turn to 20.
3. Shaking your head, you wave Dobbler on and he leaps up onto the wagon, moving on quickly to take up a position at the rear of the column. You move down the road without wasting any further time.
Turn to 15.
4. You arrive at Bad Sooden. It’s a narrow, medieval town full of cobbled streets. The narrow timber framed houses overhang the streets, leaving you in pleasing coolness in the August heat. You move cautiously through them, wary that there may be an ambush lying in wait for you - but it seems your caution is misplaced. You quickly present yourself to the Mayor, a tall thin fellow by the name of Roth. Roth doesn’t seem pleased to see you, but he is at least relieved when he learns that you will only be staying one night. You inform him that you will be billeting your men in the town hall and will be moving out at first light. Ferroni and Desproges make the arrangements and you inspect the guard before joining Roth and some other local worthies for dinner.
The meal is surprisingly good and the company excellent. Roth is quite well informed and discusses the administrative changes wrought by the Code Napoleon with the confidence of an expert. You are also lucky enough to be seated next to Frau Kalkofe, a young widow, who is a sparkling conversationalist and presses you for stories of your adventures and tales of Paris. She seems particularly taken with Paris and you regale her with stories of the fine new bridges the Emperor has thrown across the Seine.
“We’ve had some trouble with bridges around her, of course, Captain,” she smiles, sipping her wine, the light glinting on her iron wedding ring, a curious German affectation. “The bridge at Witzenhausen was destroyed by bandits only last week. Such a shame, it was a beautiful bridge.” This is most concerning and you press her for details, but she doesn’t know much about it, though you do learn that there is a ford several miles up river. Something worth knowing. As the party breaks up, you pay your respects to Mayor Roth and are about to leave, when Frau Kalkofe asks if you would do her the honour of escorting her home. She had not intended to stay so late and it is dark.
Will you do the gentlemanly thing and squire her home? Turn to 8.
Or make your excuses and head for the town hall to check on your men?
Turn to 17.
5. The men are toiling uphill as you press on along the winding up hill. You thank your lucky stars for the shade of the trees as you the Sun rises higher and higher in the sky. Unfortunately, after an hour, Lt Desproges comes to you, furrowing his brow. “The gunners are making heavy weather of the hills, Sir. I’m going to need to pull some men from my company to lend a hand with ropes on the sharper turns. Any objections?” You nod and he carries on, but fifteen minutes later, there is a crash and you find the gunners and Desproges gathered around the gun, which is now on its side, one wheel turning disconsolately. They turn to you for orders.
Do you want to keep moving and abandon the gun? Turn to 12.
Keep marching, but use the infantry to help haul the gun? Turn to 18.
Take the horse from Dobblers wagon and hitch it to the gun? Turn to 24
6. “What walk Sir?” Dobbler looks at you aghast. You send him running with a curt order and call SM Debbouze to distribute the men’s packs. Your decision is met with much muttering and dark looks, but you are on the road ten minutes later, marching hard for the crossroads.
Turn to 15.
7. You slowly wend your way through the hills, keeping your little force moving, slow, but steady, but with it’s honour and most importantly it’s artillery intact. Considering the care you have to take moving the gun, you make good time and you are congratulating yourself, when shots ring out at the head of the column. You move forward and see the Corporal kicking in the dust, a pool of blood spreading around him as he struggles vainly to staunch the pulsing flow from his neck. Your advance guard are engaged to the front and you see men in civilian dress firing from the trees ahead. Musket balls whistle around you as you order a charge.
Are the light infantry at the head of the column? Turn to 16
If not, turn to 21
8. Frau Kalkofe is pretty, vivacious and a good listener and it seems like the walk to her home takes no time at all. You drop the
lady to her door and say your goodnights, thanking her for a lovely evening when you see her glance over your shoulder and nod. The three bravos bearing blades take you completely by surprise and strike before you can draw your sword. General Girard’s staff has lost another officer and your adventure is over.
9. You nod to the corporal and he quickly distributes the apples down the line as the column moves off. You walk alongside your horse, to spare her back in the hot midday Sun, the rhythm of tramping feet behind you, interspersed with the crunch of apples being munched by a contented soldiery.
Turn to 20.
10. After two hours marching, you slacken the pace, as you can see the troops beginning to flag. They haven’t marched in several weeks and there seems little point in driving them so hard that they fall out or land back in hospital. The crops are tall in the fields and you reflect that soon it will be harvest time.
Around eleven, you pause for a halt and to draw water from a brook that crosses the road. Far to the west you see two horsemen observing you, but can’t make out their uniforms at this distance. You are pondering this intelligence, you notice a corporal and several men rolling a barrel back to the company. He hails you: “Found these at the side of the road Sir. Half barrel of apples, just sitting there. Must have fallen off a cart. I was just going to dish them out.”
Do you let your men eat the apples? Turn to 9.
Or keep them marching? Turn to 2.
11. Dobbler twitches nervously behind you as you inspect the wagon. It is in fact loaded with packs and some bags of beans. But on closer inspection, you find several barrels of spirits and sacks of silverware. Dobbler spreads his hands, “Well, the lads didn’t want to leave anything lying around and well we’ve been here for a while…” He trails off.
Do you want to turn a blind eye to the looting and carry on without wasting time? Turn to 3
Or do you want to unload the loot and order Dobbler to carry on? Turn to 14
Or do you want to leave the wagon behind? Turn to 6
12. Studying the gun for a few moments, you rapidly come to a decision and order the men to abandon it. The gunners attempt to argue, but you over-rule them. These woods could be full of Prussian franc tireurs and you need to keep moving.
You press on. Turn to 4.
13. You arrive in the sleepy village of Witzenhausen to discover the bridge as solid as the day it was built. The locals seem irritated and sarcastic when you question them about it. “I don’t rightly know Mon-sewer,” says a sullen rustic, “but she seems right enough to me.” He returns to sharpening a scythe. Still befuddled, you send the light infantry jogging ahead to check that the way is clear and when you hear their answering whistle, you force march the column through and make for Germelshausen. As you leave the village, you notice two men on horseback carrying lances, shadowing your column.
Turn to 22.
14. You order SM Debbouze to unload the loot from the wagon. A squad do so with much grumbling and irritation. There are dark looks as you ensure that the property to handed back to Major Torelli for return to the owners. Torelli smiles wryly at your delicate conscience and waves you off again, an hour later than you’d intended to get going.
Turn to 15.
15. The morning mist is burning off as you ride ahead to check the way forward. Do you:
Direct the column to the longer northern route? Turn to 10
Or do you wish to take the southern road through the hills? Turn to 5.
16. With a yell, you plunge into the undergrowth, followed by your yelling light infantry who fall on, running at full pelt. The skirmishers break and flee before you, but not before Corporal Cateau shots a top hatted fellow in the back as he tries to get away. You approach the dying man to learn what prompted this attack, to discover that your enemy is a skinny youth, probably a student wearing a Prussian cockade. He writhes in agony on the ground, but refuses to speak to you. Only yelling “Prussia forever!” before he expires. The light infantry take one casualty.
Turn to 4.
17. You plead that you have an early start in the morning and leave the good lady in the care of Mayor Roth. She is obviously disappointed, but you do not
tarry. You inspect the guard, who are ready and alert, before turning in. All is in order. You make an early start in the morning and are on the road before dawn. Rolling fields surround the road, criss-crossed with narrow laneways and dotted with copses of trees. The men are whistling with good humour as you near a fork in the road. The signpost pointing left reads: “Witzenhausen 1 mile”. From Frau Kalkofe’s conversation last night, you believe that the bridge there was destroyed, though it may have been repaired since. However, the other arm of the sign post reads “Donreal 2 miles”, and you know from your conversation last night that is the direction of the ford. What direction do you choose?
To Witzenhausen? Then turn to 13
To Donreal? Turn to 23
18. You rally your men around the gun and using ropes, you drag it out of the ditch. Young Desproges, stripped to the waist and hauling with the best of them, leads the efforts to get the gun moving. It’s a hard slog and the men are red faced and sweating within minutes, but with half the infantry lending a hand, you make faster progress.
Turn to 7
20. Around one o’clock, the fields get smaller and the ground more densely cultivated. You mount your horse to see the church spires of Bad Sooden ahead. The news filters down the column and the pace picks up again as the men grow eager to get to their destination for the day. There are a few drawn faces here and there, but for the most part the men are healthy. You shift the column to the left to take advantage of the shade of a line of trees, when you spot a small balding man in a ragged suit up ahead. He is clutching a bruised face and has cuts on his hands. SM Debbouze brings him to you. Up close, he looks like he’s taken a beating. The man addresses you in heavily accented French.
“Thank you Sir. It is heartening to see troops of the Emperor. The warriors of reason and justice on the march. My name is Stefan Schultz, a school master by trade.
I am something of an advocate of reason and therefore, of France, in this ridiculous country.” He indicates his torn clothes and cut head. “It is not without cost. I am on my way to Rottknullwald, but I would caution you against the burgers of Bad Sooden. They do not love the Emperor.”
Turn to 4.
21. After some hard fighting, you drive off the riflemen who fall back, taking their dead and injured with them. The unit at the head of the column takes three casualties. You creep through the woods for the rest of the day, before eventually arriving at Bad Sooden.
Turn to 4.
22. The dead heat of the day lies heavy on the column as you near Germelshausen, your destination. You are already daydreaming about a good meal and cool drink of water, when one of your scouts dashes up to you.
“It’s the Prussians, Sir. At least, I think they’re Prussians – I don’t recognise the uniforms. They’ve barricaded the town. Looks like some kind of militia.” Trotting forward on your horse, you examine the position. The outskirts of the town have been fortified and you will have to fight your way in.
Turn to 25.
23. The village of Donreal is a few hundred yards away when you spot the ford marked with stones. With the light going and unwilling to bivouac short of your goal, you order a forced march across the ford. The light infantry go first pressing through the deceptively fast flowing waist high water. The rest of the column follow, groaning at the necessity of wading, cartridge boxes held high, across. The light infantry are almost across when the first volley hits. It’s high and causes few casualties, but for the next few minutes you are under constant fire from thirty or forty men in civilian attire. Lt Ferroni leads a charge that disperses the damned skirmishers.
Unfortunately in the confusion, your gun (if it is present), cracks an axle as the team panics and it becomes caught in the rush of water. It slips off the ford and is fouled in deeper water. Cursing the damned locals, you order your men to abandon it.
Turn to 22.
24. Dobbler is horrified, but you order SM Debooze to nominate some men to take charge of his horses and bring them to the gun. Meanwhile, Ferroni and Desproges, detail a pair of sergeants to unload the wagon and disperse the packs to the men. Dobbler hops from foot to foot, alternatively furious and despairing, but manages to rescue some of his property from the wagon, before you order it pushed into the ditch.
Turn to 7.
25. You have reached the end of this part of your adventure and now face a battle at the village of Germelshausen.
Your adventure will conclude in next month’s issue. Part Two will consist of a solo scenario for Dan Mersey’s Rebels & Patriots, but which should be adaptable for any similar ruleset. How many men and what resources you will be able to bring to bear in this second scenario will depend on the choices you’ve made in this month’s issue. ■