Columbia Games’ Borodino 1812: The Game As History By: Carl Willner Columbia’s “Borodino: while presenting the armies on a of one of the designers. The map Napoleon in Russia, 1812” game, division and corps scale, goes features, OB and game rules of published in the 200th deeply into the latest research and Borodino 1812 were repeatedly anniversary year of Napoleon’s historical sources on the Russian compared to the actual battle invasion of Russia, has now and French armies at Borodino. history in the design process, to joined the ranks of many earlier At the same time, Columbia’s ensure that it was possible to wargaming recreations of this game retains the relative simplicity recreate the historical actions of famous battle. This treatment of of rules mechanics and the “fog of the commanders and that they Borodino, part of Columbia’s war” approach that have made sense in game terms, while Great Battles of History series, is distinguished its earlier releases, still allowing the players full distinguished by a high degree of while capturing the flavor of scope to explore alternative faithfulness to history. The Napoleonic combat with squares, strategies, some considered by game map, drawn from multiple artillery bombardments, the the historical commanders but 19th and 20th century Russian, famous redoubts at Borodino, and rejected. English and French sources as combined arms tactics. As a well as personal exploration of result, this great battle extending Setting the Stage: the battlefield by this designer, over two days can be recreated in a Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia reveals terrain and the Russian few hours of play. names in greater detail than most Many gamers have shown When Napoleon commenced his other games on Borodino, interest in the history of the invasion of Russia on June 23- including some features that have campaign and battle, and how it 24, 1812 he had amassed the not appeared on any previous relates to the Borodino 1812 game. single largest army ever seen in game maps of the battle. In This article provides a “behind the Europe to that time along the addition, the order of battle, scenes” look from the perspective Niemen River. 450,000 French Columbia Games’ Borodino 1812: The Game As History (Continued) and allied troops invaded Russia But, surprisingly, this 48,000 men. at the outset, and with the part of massive array did not give This front line force of the reserves later sent into Russia Napoleon an overall numerical 225,600 – 241,000 was as well, about 500,000 troops advantage over the Russians, for outnumbered at the outset two to under the Emperor’s command Tsar Alexander I could also draw one by the forces of Napoleon’s actually took part in the on enormous forces throughout his Grande Armée that initially campaign. In the center, the vast dominions. The Russians crossed the border, as much of main mass of the Grande Armée had some 517-528,000 regular the Russian army was still on consisted of the Guard (Marshals troops, plus 64,000 Cossacks and other fronts at the start of the Mortier and Lefebvre, both other irregular cavalry initially campaign. The Army of the represented by Mortier in the available and another 40,000 Danube/Moldavia, recently game), I (Marshal Davout), II raised during the campaign, for a commanded by Gen. Kutuzov (Marshal Oudinot), III (Marshal total of over 100,000 irregular and replaced by Admiral Ney), IV (Army of Italy, headed light cavalry, and to these more Chichagov, faced Turkey with by the Viceroy, Gen. Division than 600,000 troops the Russians 50,000 -54,500 men, while the Prince Eugene de Beauharnais, could also add 223,000 militia of Finland Corps, with 28,500 - Napoleon’s stepson), V Polish dubious combat value. 30,000 men, held this province (Gen. Division Prince Napoleon’s key initial advantage captured from Sweden in 1809. Poniatowski), VI Bavarian (Gen. lay not in total numbers but, as so The Crimea had a garrison of Division St. Cyr), VII Saxon often in his other campaigns, in 19,500 men, and in the Caucasus (Gen. Division Reynier), and superior concentration. the Georgian Corps deployed VIII Westphalian (initially The Russians had three another 24-34,000, while behind headed by Napoleon’s brother armies deployed along their the Russian lines in the center King Jerome and Gen. Division frontier, with the 1st Army under were 84,000 more men in the I Vandamme) Corps and the four War Minister Gen. Barclay de and II Reserve Corps. Most of cavalry corps (I-IV) of Marshal Tolly the largest, numbering these 206,000 – 222,000 men Murat’s Reserve Cavalry. The 127,800 – 136,000 men with I, II, would eventually join the Franco-Prussian X Corps III, IV, V Guard, and VI Corps, Russian forces facing Napoleon, (Marshal MacDonald) to the the I, II, and III Cavalry Corps and apart from those in the Caucasus, north and an Austrian auxiliary a Cossack cavalry corps. This but the ones from other fronts corps (Gen. Prince force was positioned to cover would have to march great Schwarzenberg) to the south Lithuania and the approaches to distances to do so and could not guarded the flanks. In reserve either St. Petersburg or Moscow. be used in the struggle against were the IX (Marshal Victor) and To its south was Gen. Prince Napoleon for the first few XI (Marshal Augerau) Corps, Bagration’s 2nd Army, with 52,000 months. and other garrisons scattered – 57,000 men and the VII and VIII throughout Poland and Germany, Corps and IV Cavalry Corps, The French and Russian and of these forces, the entire IX covering Byelorussia. And Armies: 1812 Corps was sent into Russia in further south below the great September, with various smaller obstacle of the Pripyet Marshes, (Russian strength is total army at units coming in as well. The protecting the Ukraine and the outset of the campaign; 225,000 men in reserve, together separated from the other two front- French strength counts forces with the initial invasion force, line armies during most of the available for the Russian totaled 675,000 men available to campaign, was Gen. Tormasov’s campaign in Poland and Napoleon. These included 3rd Army, with IX, X, and XI Germany, but not on other fronts 513,000 infantry and 98,000 Corps and a cavalry corps in like Spain) cavalry, a total of over 611,000. reserve, altogether 45,800 – Columbia Games’ Borodino 1812: The Game As History (Continued) structure. Kutuzov determined Formations French and Russians to fight again to try to save Allies Moscow, and the place he chose Infantry Corps 13 15 was Borodino. Cavalry Corps 4 6 (including 1 Cossack) Attrition, battle losses at Infantry Divisions 41 51 Smolensk and detachments had Cavalry Divisions 24 19 still further reduced Napoleon’s Infantry Regiments 204 170 (not counting militia) Grande Armée to 135,117 men, Cavalry Regiments 120 66 + 83 Cossack, irregular with the corps remaining – Guard, I, III, IV, V, VIII (now commanded by Gen. Division Napoleon struck into into the Russian heartland. Junot), and the four in the Russia with the objective of Napoleon was forced to detach Cavalry Reserve – down to an bringing on a battle near the three entire corps from the Grande average of about 45% of the border, and dividing the Russian Armée, the II, IV and VII, to cover troops with which they had 1st and 2nd Armies, seeking to the ever-lengthening flanks, and crossed the Russian border in isolate and destroy the smaller leave other detachments behind June. Napoleon, realizing that a 2nd Army first. But those two from the remaining corps as major battle was about to take Russian armies, following the garrisons. The Russians, too, had place, halted his army at Gzhatsk strategy urged by Barclay in light to detach the strong I Corps (Lt. on Sept. 2 and 3, and the muster of Napoleon’s numerical Gen. Wittgenstein) with 1st there gives us an accurate total of advantage in the center, fell back Cavalry Division from their 1st the strength of each of the corps and refused to give battle. The Army to cover the approaches to of the French army just before more aggressive Bagration St. Petersburg, as the rest of 1st the battle, with about 123,000 retreated reluctantly and only Army fell back toward Moscow. present and another 12,000 due narrowly escaped the trap set for At last the Russian 1st and to return within 5 days, in time him, with Davout’s I Corps at 2nd Armies combined at Smolensk for the battle. Though it is not one point getting ahead of the and sought to give battle for the certain if all these detachments Russian 2nd Army in its advance. city in mid-August. Though arrived, the largest of them, Napoleon blamed Jerome’s Napoleon’s advantage in the including most of IV Cavalry slowness for Bagration’s escape, strength of the main armies had Corps (though one brigade was and in a huff the King quit and narrowed from the initial 2-1 to absent) and a division of II returned to Westphalia. just 1.5-1, the 120,000 Russians Cavalry Corps, are indeed known Napoleon’s opening advantage in were still heavily outnumbered by to have returned in time. And concentration now began to work Napoleon’s remaining 180,000 with some additional troops of against him, as the territory and they were forced to abandon the Young Guard not counted in through which the Grande Armée the city after significant losses by those totals that likely reached was passing could not support its both sides.