"Project Help with MS CoPilot" Topic

To represent the Battle of Marengo using 0.5" squares for historical divisions or commands, let's break down the order of battle and calculate the number of squares needed.

French Army at Marengo
Commander: Napoleon Bonaparte

Advance Guard (Lannes)
Watrin's Division
Rivaud's Cavalry
Corps (Duhesme)
Boudet's Division
Loison's Division
Corps (Victor)
Monnier's Division
Chambarlhac's Division
Chabran's Division
Cavalry (Murat)
Austrian Army at Marengo
Commander: General der Kavallerie Michael von Melas

Right Column (Melas)
20,000 troops
Left Column (Ott)
7,000 troops
Third Column (O'Reilly)
3,000 troops
Calculating the Number of Squares
Assuming each 0.5" square represents:

1,000 infantry
500 cavalry
12-16 artillery pieces
French Army
Advance Guard (Lannes)
Watrin's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Rivaud's Cavalry: Approx. 1,500 cavalry = 3 squares
Corps (Duhesme)
Boudet's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Loison's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Corps (Victor)
Monnier's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Chambarlhac's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Chabran's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Cavalry (Murat)
Approx. 3,000 cavalry = 6 squares
Austrian Army
Right Column (Melas)
20,000 troops: Approx. 20 squares
Left Column (Ott)
7,000 troops: Approx. 7 squares
Third Column (O'Reilly)
3,000 troops: Approx. 3 squares
Total Squares
French Army: 45 infantry squares + 9 cavalry squares = 54 squares
Austrian Army: 30 squares
So, you would need a total of 84 squares to represent the historical divisions or commands at the Battle of Marengo using 0.5" squares.

Does this help with your game setup? If you need more details or adjustments, feel free to ask! 🎲🏰

<not a bad breakdown by ai of my 30"x22" mini- campaign plans. I asked how many soldiers would be needed to fill a frontage of 200 yards for a .5" square and how many troops would be needed to cover that frontage- well….1k infantry, 400 cavalry, and/or 16 guns? Sounds correctish?>

To represent the Battle of Marengo using 0.5" squares for historical divisions or commands, let's break down the order of battle and calculate the number of squares needed.

French Army at Marengo
Commander: Napoleon Bonaparte

Advance Guard (Lannes)
Watrin's Division
Rivaud's Cavalry
Corps (Duhesme)
Boudet's Division
Loison's Division
Corps (Victor)
Monnier's Division
Chambarlhac's Division
Chabran's Division
Cavalry (Murat)
Austrian Army at Marengo
Commander: General der Kavallerie Michael von Melas

Right Column (Melas)
20,000 troops
Left Column (Ott)
7,000 troops
Third Column (O'Reilly)
3,000 troops
Calculating the Number of Squares
Assuming each 0.5" square represents:

1,000 infantry
500 cavalry
12-16 artillery pieces
French Army
Advance Guard (Lannes)
Watrin's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Rivaud's Cavalry: Approx. 1,500 cavalry = 3 squares
Corps (Duhesme)
Boudet's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Loison's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Corps (Victor)
Monnier's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Chambarlhac's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Chabran's Division: Approx. 6,000 infantry = 6 squares
Cavalry (Murat)
Approx. 3,000 cavalry = 6 squares
Austrian Army
Right Column (Melas)
20,000 troops: Approx. 20 squares
Left Column (Ott)
7,000 troops: Approx. 7 squares
Third Column (O'Reilly)
3,000 troops: Approx. 3 squares
Total Squares
French Army: 45 infantry squares + 9 cavalry squares = 54 squares
Austrian Army: 30 squares
So, you would need a total of 84 squares to represent the historical divisions or commands at the Battle of Marengo using 0.5" squares.

Does this help with your game setup? If you need more details or adjustments, feel free to ask! 🎲🏰

<not a bad breakdown by ai of my 30"x22" mini- campaign plans. I asked how many soldiers would be needed to fill a frontage of 200 yards for a .5" square and how many troops would be needed to cover that frontage- well….1k infantry, 400 cavalry, and/or 16 guns? Sounds correctish?>

You could have done that with a simple spreadsheet.

I use one at work everyday, kinda nice to let someone else do the math, no?

Besides, I gave the ai no order of battle and it did its own research.

So Bonaparte's army was much larger then his opponent's at Marengo – no wonder he won. Your AI may done some ‘research' but it needs to go back to school – a simple Google for the Marengo OOB would do so much better.

Besides, I gave the ai no order of battle and it did its own research.

OOBs are easy to find online these days. And how do you know that the OOBs the AI found are correct?

True Billy, I noticed that enormous French inflation as well. Point of all this and its flaws recognized is this thing is getting there. Pretty soon it will be cranking out rulesets, mark that.

Napoleonic Wargame Rules
1. Setup
Units: Each player has units of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, represented by figures or bases. Additionally, each player has a commander unit (Napoleon or a general).
Board: Use a grid-based board or a tabletop with terrain features like hills, forests, rivers, and villages.
2. Turn Sequence
Each turn consists of the following phases:

Initiative Phase: Both players roll a die. The higher roll decides who goes first.
Command Phase: Players issue orders to their units.
Movement Phase: Players take turns moving their units.
Combat Phase: Players take turns resolving combat.
Morale Phase: Players check the morale of their units.
3. Movement
Infantry: Move up to 6 inches per turn.
Cavalry: Move up to 12 inches per turn.
Artillery: Move up to 3 inches per turn.
Commanders: Move up to 9 inches per turn.
4. Combat
Range: Infantry can shoot up to 12 inches, cavalry up to 6 inches, and artillery up to 24 inches.
Attack Roll: Roll a six-sided die (D6) for each attacking unit.
Infantry: Hits on a roll of 4, 5, or 6.
Cavalry: Hits on a roll of 5 or 6.
Artillery: Hits on a roll of 3, 4, 5, or 6.
Damage: Each hit removes one figure or base from the target unit.
5. Morale
Morale Check: When a unit loses half of its figures, it must make a morale check.
Roll a D6. On a roll of 4, 5, or 6, the unit passes and continues to fight. On a roll of 1, 2, or 3, the unit retreats 6 inches.
Commander Influence: If a commander is within 6 inches of a unit making a morale check, add +1 to the roll.
6. Special Rules
Square Formation: Infantry can form a square to defend against cavalry. This formation reduces movement to 3 inches but gives a +1 bonus to defense against cavalry attacks.
Charge: Cavalry can charge an enemy unit within 12 inches. Roll two D6 for the attack roll and take the higher result.
Artillery Bombardment: Artillery can choose to bombard an area instead of targeting a specific unit. Roll a D6; on a roll of 5 or 6, the bombardment hits and affects all units within 3 inches of the target point.
7. Victory Conditions
The game ends when one player has no units left or after a set number of turns.
The player with the most units remaining or who controls key terrain features wins.
8. Unique Die Roll Mechanic: Command Points
At the start of each turn, each player rolls a D6 to determine their command points for the turn.
Command Points can be spent to:
Reroll a failed attack or morale check (1 point).
Move an additional unit during the movement phase (2 points).
Issue a special order, such as a forced march or a rally (3 points).
These additions should give your wargame a distinct Napoleonic flavor and add some strategic depth. Enjoy commanding your troops on the battlefield! 🏇⚔️

If you have any other ideas or need further customization, feel free to ask!

<not quite there, but it tries and is responsive to feedback>

If 1 inch equals 200 yards your infantry firing range should be about 1/4".
Effective musket range is under 100 yards, though if you are including skirmishing you could extend it with a less effective to-hit number.
Artillery max effective range about 1000 yards.

Agreed, I think infantry firing at this scale is laughable and extended range skirmishing wasn't enough to budge an opposing division/brigade. This scale requires home brew rules maybe.

The rules that co-pilot produced, while comically error riddled, show some design potential and unique and interesting dieroll and C&C mechanics. I did not ask for C&C rules in my parameters, I hardly asked for anything, yet it produced them on its own initiative.