Napoleon Retreats: Campaign in France, Part II

About this board game

Napoleon Retreats: Campaign in France, Part II is a 2–4-player board game with a 60-minute play time, covering the Campaign in France from 6 to 13 March 1814.

Set during the winter campaign, the game follows Napoleon’s attempt to challenge the Allied armies after Craonne and the fall of Soissons. Players can explore three battles: the struggle for the plateau at Craonne, the massive confrontation at Laon, and Napoleon’s quick success at Reims.

• Craonne, 7 March: French forces attack Russian positions along the chemin des dames.
• Laon, 9–10 March: Napoleon’s smaller army assaults Blücher’s strong position around Laon.
• Reims, 13 March: Napoleon drives St. Priest’s forces from the city and cuts communications between Blücher and Schwarzenberg.

The campaign game combines all three maps into an irregular playing area measuring 44 by 68 inches and covering a full week of fighting. The standard TLNB system uses a scale of 480 meters per hex, with each strength point representing 500–800 men and each turn lasting one hour.

Napoleon Retreats includes three 22-by-34-inch maps, 560 die-cut units, 100 playing cards, two rulebooks, and 15 player aid cards. Together, these components present a focused study of Napoleon’s battles in France during one of the campaign’s final phases.