"100 Days" Topic

Has anyone ever done a campaign game without the original deployments being part of the set up?

I ask because this is such a popular refight. But in every case I've ever seen, the historical deployments are employed. How can that be fun, time after time?

We know Wellington was VERY concerned about his western flank, because it was the key to his line of communications. That's why he ordered Perponcher out of Quatre Bras. What if that threat had been realized? What if Napoleon had deployed his main force against Quatre Bras and not Ligny? What if the Prussians had retreated beyond Ligny, declining battle on the 16th? What if Napoleon employs Ney as Guard CO (replacing Mortier) instead of giving him the left wing?

Unless these possibilities are part of the scenario, the historical situation seems just too predictable. The Prussians know Napoleon's OB at Ligny, and vice-versa. The French know the AA arrival schedule at Quatre Bras. It seems like the only "unknown" is D'Erlon.

Just wondering.

If you contact the Wellington Museum in Waterloo, they have a set of large maps/display boards showing all the initial dispositions of both sides (including approximate numbers) before the campaign actually starts – these cover central and western Europe so you can also see where the other Allies are concentrating and in what numbers.

I do know that Napoleon did make a feint to the west, involving mainly National Guard troops, but also (perhaps) a division of Young Guard.