II. THE ARMY OF THE
ORIENT: BONAPARTE IN EGYPT 1798-99
A. INTRODUCTION
Following his successful Italian campaign, ending in
1797, General Bonaparte was suddenly in the spotlight in Paris and had gained
notoriety throughout Europe. How would he follow up to this success? Inspired
by Alexander the Great, Bonaparte designed to strike at the English in India,
by way of Cairo. Partially out of a desire to send the vibrant young Corsican
away from Paris and partially out of a need for more successes on France’s
various fronts, the Directory agreed to his ambitious idea for a campaign to
conquer Egypt with hopes of cutting the English trade route to India.
General Bonaparte wasted no time gathering the best and
the brightest including a core of veteran soldiers from The Army of Italy. He
gathered 40,000 soldiers and an armada of 335 ships varying in size and shape
from tiny ships to the enormous battleship “Sans-Culotte” newly titled
“L’Orient.” With this force he would drive the English out of India.
Very early on, however, events would not go according to
plan. Nelson’s forces achieved a stunning victory over the larger French Fleet
anchored off of Aboukir Bay. The French Foreign Minister, Charles-Maurice de
Talleyrand-Perigord, refused to make the promised journey to Constantinople to
assuage the Turks who then declared war on France. Eventually even the dreaded
bubonic plague, the disease that had ravaged Europe centuries earlier, would
assault his ambitions. Embattled on all sides, General Bonaparte would prove
his resilience and leadership time and again, but would eventually return to
Paris, leaving his Army of the Orient behind.
B. GAME EQUIPMENT
1. The scenario is played on the Egypt area of the map
board. The remaining map board areas may be used if the optional naval rules
are in play.
2. The scenario required French, Mameluke and Turkish units.
If option naval rules are used British units are also required.
C. VICTORY CONDITIONS
1. The French player wins a Decisive Victory if the current
City Points is 9-11 at the end of the scenario, a Marginal Victory if the
current City Points is 6-8, a Tie if the current City Points is 5.
2. The Non-French player wins a Decisive Victory if the
current City Points is 0-2 and a Marginal Victory if the current City Points is
3-4 at the end of the scenario.
3. The scenario begins in July 1798 and ends in October
1799.
D. SPECIAL RULES
1. Alliance Phase
a. There is no Alliance Phase prior to the August 1798 game
turn. During the August anti-French Alliance Phase, a siege marker is placed in
Syria and incremented to “2.” A die is rolled. If the result is equal to or
less than the value on the siege marker Turkey becomes anti-French. Each
subsequent Alliance Phase the siege marker is incremented by one and the die
then rolled again. If Turkey is still neutral during the anti-French player’s
November Alliance Phase the status is immediately changed to anti-French and
the siege marker removed from play.
b. At the start of the scenario Spain is pro-French,
Austria, Prussia and Turkey are neutral, and both England and Russia are
anti-French.
c. Pro-French forces may not enter Syria as long as Turkey
is neutral.
d. Turkish forces may opt be moved as long as Turkey is
neutral.
e. A single City Point is awarded for each of the following
cities controlled by pro-French forces: Alexandria, Aswan, Damietta, El Arish,
Gaza, Jaffa and Jerusalem. Two City Points are awarded for each of the
following cities controlled by pro-French forces: Acre and Cairo.
2. Supply Sources
a. French forces are supplied from the city of Cairo so long
as one of two possible conditions is true: (1) Cairo is unbesieged, controlled
by France and Bonaparte is within 1 hex of Cairo, or (2) Cairo is unbesieged,
controlled by France, and Aswan is controlled by France. Any unit in a hex with
the Nile River on a hex side is supplied as long as Cairo is unbesieged and
controlled by France. If, at the start of any French Attrition Phase, the hex
containing Cairo has fewer than 6 strength points of French forces roll one
die. A result of 3 or less and the Nile River cannot be used as a supply source
for that turn, including the current Attrition Phase (this die roll must be
made prior to Attrition determination for French forces).
b. Mameluke forces under Ibrahim Bey are supplied from
Cairo, El Arish, or any city in Syria, so long as the city is not occupied or
besieged by French forces. A city in Syria can only be a supply source if
Turkey is allied with the Anti-French.
c. Mameluke forces under Murad Bey and Hassan Bey are
supplied from either Cairo or Aswan as long as the city is not occupied or
besieged by French forces. Any unit in a hex containing the Nile River is
supplied so long as Aswan is opt occupied or besieged by anti-French forces.
d. Mameluke forces under Murad Bey or Hassan are supplied
from the Bawiti Oasis if both Cairo and Aswan are controlled by France.
e. Turkish forces I Syria are supplied from any hex on the
last hex row on the Northern border of Syria.
f. The supply source for Turkish units in Egypt is, in
addition to any supply line through Syria, any port city if there is at least
one un-besieged Turkish strength pint inside
the city being used as a supply source.
g. French forces are considered in supply for the duration
of turn 1, regardless of the situation of the situation.
3. The Mamelukes
For attrition purposes Mameluke Cavalry strength points that
are not in the same hex as a Leader have their die roll modified by +2.
Mameluke Cavalry in the same hex as a Mameluke leader are placed under that
leader’s counter and may not move to an adjacent hex or any other hex without
that leader moving along the unit(s).
Note” The leader
counter does not have the same limitation and may move as per the standard
rules.
4. Sieges
Any Assault on a fortress has the die roll modified by +1 If
the Defender is the Smaller Force and by -1 if the Defender is the Larger
Force.
5. French Casualties
a. French strength points lost to Attrition are sent to France’s Force Pool. All other losses are removed from
play without being sent to the Force pool.
b. French forces that suffer a Combat Loss of 1 or more
strength points do not automatically lose the strength point(s). Roll 1 die.
The leadership value of any leader involved in the combat may be added to the
die roll. If the modified value is 5 or greater 1 strength point is reduced
from the losses sustained by the French force. If the original loss was 1 sp
the French suffer no losses. Otherwise treat the Combat Result normally.
6. Overrun
The overrun rule in the standard rules is not in effect for
this scenario. Disregard rule L.
7. Combat Resolution
The Combat Resolution rules for
odds of 4:1 or greater, or 1:4 or less, are not in effect. Disregard rule O.1.d.
8. Morale
a. The Turkish and Mameluke forces have morale of 1.
b. Any French units in com bat with either Bonaparte or
Desaix have their normal morale of 2. Otherwise their morale is 1.
9. The Turkish
Amphibious Invasion
a. During the non-French player’s June 1799 Reinforcement
Phase, he receives the following Turkish forces: Mustapha, 6I. These may be placed in any coastal hex no further
than 3 hexes from Alexandria so long as no French forces are present.
b. During his Combat Phase, the non-French player may use
these Turkish units to initiate an attack against any adjacent port city even
if the attacked hex is unoccupied. If the hex is unoccupied, the Turkish units
may immediately advance and take control of the city. If the hex is occupied by
French units, the normal Combat rules are used to resolve the combat. If the
opposing force withdraws, the Turkish units my advance into the hex.
c. If the non-French player captures any port city in Egypt,
the city may be used as a Turkish supply source (see 2d. above).
d. If the non-French player gains a Turkish supply source
from one of the port cities in Egypt the next Reinforcement Phase he receives
the following Turkish forces in that city: 6I.
E. INITIAL DEPLOYMENT
1. French Players
(deploys first)
At Alexandria: Bonaparte,
Desaix, Lannes, Kleber, Murat 14I, 1C
2. Non-French Player
a. Mameluke Forces: At Damietta: 1C(Im) * One hex East of
Cairo: Ibrahim Bey, 3C(Im) * At
Cairo: Murad Bey, 4C(Md)
b. Turkish Forces: At Gaza: Leader (0), 2I * At Jaffa: 1I * At Acre: 2I * At Jerusalem: Djezzar, 3I.
F. REINFORCEMENTS AND
REPLACEMENTS
1. French
Replacements:
Every other month starting in October 1798 – At Cairo: 1I
Replacement months are: October and December 1798, February,
April, June, August and October 1799
2. Mameluke
Reinforcement:
October 1798 – At Aswan: Hassan
Bey, 4C(Hn)
3. Mameluke
Replacements:
Every month so long as Aswan is not controlled by pro-French
forces – At Aswan: 1C(Im)
4. Turkish
Reinforcements:
April 1799 – At any hex on the North edge of Syria that does
not contain 1 or more strength points of French forces: Abdallah, 14I(T).
May 1799 – If at least one of the following cities is not
controlled by the French an addition 7I may be placed at any one of the uncontrolled cities: El
Arish, Gaza, Jaffa, Jerusalem or Acre.
September 1799 – At Acre: Leader (0), 10I.
G. OPTIONAL RULES AND
OTHER SCENARIO NOTES
1. Notes by the
Design John W. Gant
This scenario is the greatest deviation possible from the
original game’s purpose, while still remaining within the list of Napoleon’s
campaigns. The scale of the Egyptian Campaign was smaller in most every way
from that of his other campaigns. The use of naval forces, one exception, was
different in every way from previous campaigns. It was one of only three
campaigns he would lead when not Emperor of France. Finally, it was the only
time Napoleon would face the forces of Turkey in battle. These unique
characteristics made the design of this scenario challenging, but fun. The
scale of the game has mostly been halved from that of the original War and Peace scenarios. Instead of
strength points representing 5,000 men they represent roughly 2,500 men.
Instead of a Fleet Unit representing 6 ships of the line it represents roughly
3 ships. Other special rules help the scale of this game to more accurately
reflect the campaign while still remaining with the bounds of the original
game’s design.
While historical accuracy is very important, I want this
scenario to be fun and challenging as well. Some liberties were taken to
further that end, and some abstractions were required to tighten the timeline
in question. The invasion of the Island of Malta has been removed completely,
with the game starting at approximately the time Napoleon’s forces were landing
in Egypt.
Also the Arabic irregular forces, that displayed little or
no interest in combat, have been excluded in their entirety. Thus the force
under Ibrahim Bey that is listed at 100,000 in David Chandler’s The Campaigns of Napoleon is limited to
the small Mameluke force under his direct command.
The overall lack of artillery in this theatre of operations
made fortresses more effective than in many of the European campaigns.
Consequently, a full siege was more likely to happen in the Egyptian campaign.
This increases the changes of the siege of Acre occurring during the scenario.
Finally, occurrences such as the blockade of Naples and the
attack on Corfu are abstracted out of this scenario and represented only in the
most peripheral of ways such as the removal of Nelson.
All together this scenario should provide a fun and exciting
challenge for fans of both War and Peace
and of the Egyptian Campaign.
2. Optional Rule for
the Bubonic Plague.
Any force in a River Nile hex, including a city hex, is
susceptible to the plague. On an Attrition die roll of 6 another die roll is
performed for each River Nile hex containing a phasing force. This is
considered to be a second Attrition die roll. Both Attrition results are then applied
to forces in that hex.
Note: These
losses are moved to their respective Force Pools and, if French, are available
as Replacements.
3. Optional Naval
Units
Bonaparte’s campaign to “Egypt was unique for him in that it
involved substantial naval forces successfully delivering his ground forces.
Nelson had many close calls with the French fleet and could have disrupted
Bonaparte’s plans with just a little bit of luck. This optional rule
incorporates naval units into the scenario. It is recommended players use this
as practice for the naval rules to be used in the Grand Campaign Game.
a. The rules section of the Grand Campaign Game titled
“Naval Units” is in play for this optional rule.
b. Naval Transports in this scenario have a capacity double
that listed in the GCG: 4 strength points of infantry, or 2 strength points of
cavalry, or 2 infantry with 1 cavalry, and any quantity of leaders.
c. French Initial Setup: At Toulon: 4T, 5S. All French
ground units also setup in Toulon instead of in Alexandria.
d. Mameluke Initial Setup: Add the following force: At
Alexandria: 1C(Im).
e. English Initial Setup: “At Sea” in West Mediterranean: Nelson, 4S.
f. English Reinforcements:
October 1798 – Nelson
and 1S are removed from play.
January 1799 – “At Sea” in West Mediterranean: 1S
October 1799 – “At Sea” in West Mediterranean: 1S
g. Turkish Reinforcements:
June 1799 – “At Sea” in Mediterranean: Mustapha, 6I, 3T, 2F
h. Russian Reinforcements:
June 1799 – “At Sea” in East Mediterranean: 1S
i. If Bonaparte is in any city inside of France on the last
turn of the scenario a single City Point is awarded to the pro-French player.
j. A single City Point is awarded to the pro-French player
for control of Valletta on Malta.
k. The victory conditions are replaced with the following:
* The French player wins a Decisive Victory if the current
City Points is 10-13 at the end of the scenario, a Marginal Victory if the
current City Points is 7-9, a Tie if the current City Points is 5-6.
* The Non-French player wins a Decisive Victory if the
current City Points is 9-2 and a Marginal Victory if the current City Points is
3-4 at the end of the scenario.
l. The forces of Egypt are considered neutral and not in
play until pro-French forces move in to any land hex in Egypt.
m. Forces under Bonaparte may amend the naval rule Z.X.F.3.b
A force of up to 12 strength points, of any combination of Cavalry and
Infantry, may move normally the same player segment as a naval transport
landing if accompanied by Bonaparte. Any additional leaders may also move with
Bonaparte, though no additional strength points may be stacked with those
leaders.
n. The scenario begins in June 1798.
4. Optional Rules for
removing Nelson.
Starting in the August 1798 anti-French
Reinforcement/Replacement phase roll 2 dice. With a result of 8 or greater Nelson and 1X (English) are removed from
play. This Optional Rule replaces the standard scenario rule for removing
Nelson.
5. Optional Rule for
Hidden Naval Movement.
If the optional naval rules are used it is recommended the
hidden naval movement rule be used (in the GCG optional rules section). NOTE:
If the “Fleet” concept is used the French get 3 Fleet units they can use
however they choose, dummy fleet(s), etc.