Austerlitz to Waterloo is a set of rules for playing tabletop wargames representing battles in the Napoleonic period of European history, using 25-30mm size model soldiers. The rules cover the period roughly 1805-1815.
Napoleonic warfare is marked by a rough equality between infantry, cavalry and artillery. The footmen are not as well-drilled as in the earlier “lace wars” decades. If cavalry can catch them out of square they will usually overrun them. Cavalry is powerful but relatively more expensive due to the mass conscription of infantry and more efficient cannon production methods. Artillery is coming into its own as the battle-winning arm of service but still needs support to survive on the field of battle. Command and control has improved due to permanent grand-tactical formations: Brigades and divisions. This is reflected with an increased radius of command compared to lace wars armies.
One model infantry or cavalry figure represents 25 actual men. One cannon model represents two actual guns. Two gunner or crew figures represent enough personnel to serve one actual gun; therefore a fully-crewed gun model would have 4 gunner models.
Distance Scale
One inch on the game table represents 20 actual paces (about 50 feet), taking an average of the many shifting definitions of a “pace” as two and one-half feet.
Turn Length
A turn in the game represents more or less 15 minutes of real time: a lot of “hurry up and wait” mixed with bursts of intense activity.
