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FREDERICK THE GREAT:Play Optimization

The purpose of this article is to provide thewargamer with useful tactics and strategiesto play Frederick the Great. The lack offronts, unique movement sequence andCombat Results Table can perplex thenewcomer. Despite the novel game system,though, there are certain patterns, tacticsand strategies which an experiencedwargamer can recognize and use whenplaying Frederick the Great. The first halfcovers the tactical aspects and the secondpart covers the .strategical aspects for bothsides.

TACTICS

Unlike other games, in Frederick the Great,the art of maneuver is very important. Hencethe uppermost thought is to properlymaneuver into position. The particularposition depends upon what one wants to do.For example, if one wants to use theoverwhelming attack, then at what is it bestto initiate the attack? If one wants to besiegea fort, then what position is it best to achievebefore one storms the fort? The implicitlesson is to think backwards: Pick a target,then figure out where you must be prior tothat target's position. Maneuver to thatposition, then launch your attack. The sectionon strategy has some guidelines on the use ofdiversion while maneuvering. Since thinkingbackwards is important, the remainder of thetactical section discusses tactics which oneshould use with maneuver.

The Overwhelming AttackThe first and most important tactic is theoverwhelming attack. Let's study an actualexample to learn about its execution and itsimportance and to study the maneuverelements involved.

The map on page 24 depicts NorthernSilesia, kingdom of Poland and East Prussiaduring the Campaign of 1758. The Russiansstarted with leaders Fermor, Rumanjev andTottleben, "1," "2," and "3," respectivelycommanding 175,000 men (30 StrengthPoints). The Russians had constructed twodepots and had garrisoned them each with2,500 men (1 Strength Point). Ignore theunits shown in italic type for this example.The Russians have maneuvered to theextent of their supply limit. The Russiansplan to create one more depot before theycommence their siege of Colberg (hex #3330).

As shown, the Prussians, under thecommand of leader "4," Dohna, total 25,000men (10 Strength Points), which had beenaccumulated from the surrounding forts.The Prussians had also constructed onedepot and had garrisoned it with 2,500 men

by Frederick Georgian

(1 Strength Point). Nevertheless, thePrussians face the following problem - theyare outnumbered three to one, and thePrussian leader has no advantage with hisAttack Bonus. Hence, in a direct assault onthe Russians, the Prussians would surelylose. How then can the Prussians thwart theRussian advance?

The key is the overwhelming attack on thedepot chain. First, the Prussians gatheredextra strength from nearby forts in order toconstruct the one extra depot, which isconnected to Glogau (hex #2030). Second,the Prussians left a weak garrison at Colberg(#3330), in order to draw the Russians towardit and away from their depots. Third, thePrussians maneuvered to the position shownbecause of the depot that they hadconstructed earlier. Such a position enabledthe Prussians to overlook and to descendupon the Russian depot chain. At this point,the order of events is critical.

The Prussians used their next two MovementPhases, the Prussian/ Allied Force MarchPhase and then the Prussian/ Allied MarchPhase, in that order, to march, to overwhelmand to withdraw back into supply asindicated by the arrow. By using the twomarch Phases, enough Movement Pointswere assured to enter the enemy occupiedhex (see rule 5.43). Since the Russians onlyleft one Strength Point on the depot, theconcentrated Prussian ten Strength Pointswere more than enough for the 4000/0percentage ratio attack. The entire Russiangarrison was captured and the Russian depotwas destroyed. The Prussians then used theremaining Movement Points to withdraw tosupply.

The immediate consequences were that theRussians were then placed out of supply andhad to retreat. Because of rule 10.53, theRussians had also lost one Strength Point.The most important consequence was thatthe Russians could not afford any delays ifthey wished to capture Colberg. Much time isconsumed creating depots without having toretreat and start over again. In an actualgame, by the time the Russians recover,create new depots and then resume theiradvance to Colberg, they would have toretreat because of winter attrition. Chancesare that the Russians would be at the gates ofColberg and would then have to turn aroundand retreat back to their winter quarters. Ifnot, the Russians could be devastated bywinter attrition. Thus, the true consequenceis that, though the Prussians wereoutnumbered three to one, they were able tothwart the Russians and to save Colberg.

The essence of the overwhelming attack onan enemy's depot are summarized:1) Maneuver to a position from which onecan overlook the enemy's depot.

2) Use the two Movement Phases in theirproper order - Force March and thenregular March - to maneuver and tooverwhelm an enemy's depot.

3) Make sure you have sufficient strength tooverwhelm the garrison on the depot duringthe Movement Phase. This feature permitsone to destroy the enemy garrison and thenkeep moving away from any superior enemyforce nearby which may attempt revenge.

This tactic enables a small force to thwart alarger force by placing the large force out ofsupply. This tactic involves minimum risk tothe attacker and allows maximum resultsagainst the enemy. Hence it is one tactic thatshould always be kept in mind andattempted.

SiegeThe second tactic is siege. The successfulsiege of a fort is enough to be victorious.Keep in mind that, although one may gainfive Points for a fort, the enemy loses fivePoints; therefore the difference is actuallyten points. In the 1756 Campaign, shouldFrederick capture Dresden (hex #1623), hehas earned a Marginal Victory and perhaps aSubstantive Victory with one successfulattack. In the 1759 Campaign, though bothsides start equally in terms of Victory Points,Frederick is placed more on the defensive bytrying to fend off the numerous threats theCoalition can mount. There are severaluseful points to keep in mind when besieginga fort.

1) It is preferable to arrive on a fort in yourForce March Phase. This enables you tocommence constructing a depot immediatelyin your subsequent Friendly Depot CreationPhase. Then, during your next Player-Turn,you can start the siege procedure.

The time factor is very important. Acommander should not tolerate the enemybesieging a fort unmolested. The loss of afort means the loss of Victory Points, aSupply Center, and possible loss of men ifattempts are made to recover the lost fort.Prevention is far less costly. The point is thatshould you move on an enemy fort duringyour Friendly Movement Phase, then youmust wait two Turns, rather than one Turn,before you can construct a depot and theninitiate siege procedure. That one extra Turnis usually more than enough time for theenemy to converge on your besieging forces.

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2) It is best to threaten or to besiege as manyforts as far away from each other as possible.For example, an ideal French situation is tobesiege Munster (hex #2206) and Magdeburg(hex #2217), rather than Munster andMinden (hex #2310). The reason is threefold:One, the Allies will only be able to deal withone threat at a time; two, valuable time isgained during besieging while the enemy is intransit from one fort to the other fort; andthree, while the enemy is forced marchingfrom one besieged fort to another, there isthe possibility that he will lose valuableStrength Points before he can bear his weighton your besieging forces.3) Never besiege a fort if a superior force iswithin force marching distance. The reasonis that the superior enemy will be successfuleither in cutting your. supply path or in itsattack on your besieging force, thereby liftingthe siege and demoralizing your forces.4) Don't voluntarily break the siege if thecombat would result in a draw. Often, bysome intelligent guessing, one can figure out

a Combat Result might be a Draw. In thatcase, persist with the siege. In reality, a drawmeans that both sides claim victory, which,in the game, translates to the fact that thebesieging depot is still active and can be usedto besiege the fort. The enemy must have aclear-cut victory in order to destroy the depotand to retreat the besieging forces in order tosave his fort.S) If, by any chance, your forces successfullybesiege a fort and if the fort was garrisonedby more Strength Points than your forces,then grant the Honors of War. If you don'tand if the defenders decide to refuse tosurrender, then you must exchange StrengthPoints on an equal basis (rule 13.33b). In thiscase, since the defenders have more forcesthan your besieging forces, then, in fact, thedefenders retain possession of the fortbecause they are the sole survivors.

STRATEGYIn Frederick the Great, strategy and tacticsare intertwined so that, to be successful, it is

imperative to be able to see how both broadplans and detailed plans are mutuallynecessary. This section provides someimportant guidelines for both sides. First,let's examine the strategy from the Coalitionpoint of view.

The Coalition StrategyThe basic strategy for the Coalition remainsfairly constant throughout each of theScenarios. There is no need to rush one'splans; a plan should be carried outdeliberately and carefully, rather than rashlyand quickly.

The Coalition's first weapon is numbers. Tostart, some leaders should be sent to roundupadditional Strength Points from distant forts.Never strip a fort completely of its garrison;always leave one Strength Point in the fort. Ifthis procedure isn't followed, the enemy mayquickly march into the fort and sieze itwithout a fight. Furthermore, an ungar-risoned fort cannot be used for Supply or forVictory,Point purposes (rule 17.0). After this

KEY: Ru = Russian,Pr= Prussian.L = Leader,D = Depot,SP = oneStrength Point. Depots and Leaders are numbered consecutively. Italic

units are referred to under "The Overwhelming Attack;" units inregular type are referred to under "Russian Strategy."

routine task, the Coalition should start tothink more offensively.

Though the Coalition has more numbersthan the Allies, that does not necessarilymean that they have superior forces.Remember that numbers, as well as theleader's attack value, determine the outcomeof a battle. With the above in mind, theCoalition's advance should resemble the ebband flow of the ocean's tides as it extends tothreaten the Prussian/ Allied forts and thenretreats before Frederick's army. A properbalance between concentrated forces and anumber of independent forces is important.

For example, in the 1758 Campaign, theFrench work best when one force operatesfrom Wesel (hex #2104), while anotherFrench force operates from Frankfort (hex#1210), in conjunction with the Empire fromNurenburg (hex #0816). As long as theHanoverian leader "2," Ferdinand, isprotecting Munster (hex #2206), the Frenchforce from Frankfort is free to advance. Thisforce should advance between the roughterrain stretches of hexes #1414 to #1613 andof hexes #1217 to #1716. Ideal hexes to createdepots are on #1413, #1815 and #1517; tosupport the French penetration; such anadvance, which threatens both Magdeburg(hex #2217) and Torgau (hex #1821), isdifficult to parry.

Should Ferdinand move from Munster tothwart the French penetration, the Frenchforces at Wesel should prepare to move ontoand to start besieging Munster. When theHanoverians approach the invading Frenchforce, the French should recede before them,thereby not risking battle as well as drawingthe Hanoverians farther out to permit theother French force to strike at the unguardedfort Munster.

Ey implementing this see-saw double-threatprocedure, the French can hope to accom-plish two conditions: one, that attrition will

ear the Hanoverians down due to forcedmarching; and, two, that a fort can becaptured should the Hanoverians reactslowly to either threat. At the same time, theFrench want to avoid combat. If a French• rce were demoralized, it would be verydifficult to become undemoralized; the realconsequence is that the Hanoverians could

en concentrate on the remaining Frenche and effectively check any French threat.

The French strength lies in the number ofthreats that it can mount. The greater theaumber of threats there are, the harder it isto parry them and, consequently, a fort maybe captured. The fewer number of threatsgreatly facilitates the Hanoverians' defense.

The same fluid dynamics also pertain to theAustrians. Prague (hex #1125) and Olmutz.ex #0834) are two important bases of

operations. From Prague a depot set on hex=1423 can be used to threaten either Dresden(hex #1623) or Torgau. From Olmutz, adepot created at hex #1136 can be used to

ch an attack on Neisse (hex #1434). Thedepot which is created at hex #1136 and

ich overlaps with Olmutz is well placed.

Should Frederick of Prussia, leader "1,"march to destroy this remote depot, then theAustrians from Prague should attempt tobesiege Dresden. If Frederick is nearDresden, then the Austrians should stormNiesse or Glatz (hex #1532). Like the French,the Austrians should not risk battle unlessthe odds are heavily on their side. Ademoralized Austrian force decreases thenumber of threats that Frederick must fendand makes his task easier. The Austriansshould threaten Prussian forts as widelyapart as possible. Such a procedure willcause Frederick to either suffer attrition dueto forced marching or to lose a fort due toreacting slowly or by being distracted by adiversionary force.The use of Koniggratz (hex #1230) had beenomitted from the above discussion. TheAustrians at Koniggratz can have twofunctions: They can act offensively orinterferingly. Offensively, the Austrians can·sortie from Koniggratz and pounce on Glatzor Schweidinitz (hex #1631). It should benoted that often such an offensive move iseasily undercut by Frederick blocking themountain pass at #1530, and thereby cuttingthe Austrians' supply path.Another role is to interfere with Frederick'smobility between Dresden and Neisse. Suchinterference can either consist of physicallyintervening or blocking Frederick's supplypath. An effective commander is Daun,leader "2." If given sufficient StrengthPoints, by maneuvering in rough terrain,both the advantage of rough terrain andDaun's Defensive Bonus are enough to wardoff an attack; hence, should Daun block amountain pass according to rule 5.54,Frederick either risks a battle with anunfavorable outcome or expends moreMovement Points in a detour maneuver.Such a detour may permit one Austrian flankenough time to successfully besiege a fort.The other weapon the Austrians possess isZone of Control. Should Frederick attemptto march into Austria, the Austrians' Zone ofControl enables a wide coverage to blockFrederick's supply path and to cause himeither to suffer attrition or to withdraw.

In reviewing the Austrian's situation, thefollowing points should be kept in mind:1) The Austrians should maintain a highnumber of threats, preferably as far apartfrom one another as possible; Dresden andNeisse are ideal for this purpose.2) An Austrian force from Konnigratz cantry to capture Glatz or Schweidinitz, but abetter task is to interfere with Frederick'smobility between Dresden and Neisse.3) The Austrians' Zone of Control is ideal forblocking Frederick's supply path should heever attempt to invade Austria.4) The Austrians should not risk a battlebecause a demoralized force would decreasethe number of threats the Austrians canmount.

5) The Austrians, if not in their forts, shouldonly move in rough terrain to gain thedefense bonus.

25The Attrition AttackAnother strategic concept that the Coalitionshould keep in mind is the attrition attack.Toward the end of the game, some losses arebound to have occurred either due to combator to attrition. Regardless of the cause;'according to rule 17.0, the Prussians can notafford that many losses because of thedoubling effect that occurs after fifteenStrength Points. If the Prussians have lostthirteen or more Strength Points, then theCoalition can use its numbers as a weapon.

To a certain extent the Coalition shouldengage in combat to run up the Prussiancasualties. Though the Coalition may losemost of its attacks, in terms of VictoryPoints, the Prussians are the actual losers. Acertain amount of caution is necessary. Forinstance, demoralization can be hard torecover from, hence, use leaders who have atwo or three Initiative Value so that therecovery from demoralization is moreprobable. Also attack with a sufficientlylarge force. Remember that although thePrussians may lose more in terms of VictoryPoints, on the map board the Coalition mayhave lost more counters than the Prussians.A possible backfire of the attrition attackmay occur as follows. The Coalition engagedin combat for the sake of causing Prussiancasualties and increasing the CoalitionVictory Points. However, because of theattack, the Coalition necessarily lost a largefraction of their force. In the Prussian MarchPhase following the attrition attack, thePrussians were able to muster enoughstrength to execute an overwhelming attackon the weakened Coalition force. Such aPrussian attack enabled the Prussians toreceive many Victory Points, as well asremoving a Coalition force from the map.

All in all, the Coalition, by virtue of theirgreater numbers, can afford an attrition styleof warfare, but only-up to a point. That pointis the point at which the Coalition hasweakened itself to the extent that it isvulnerable to counterattacks. In the aboveexample, such a Prussian attack removed aCoalition force/threat and every 'Coalitionthreat removed is one less' threat that thePrussians have to parry.

Russian StrategyThe usual Russian strategy is the direcapproach to Colberg (hex #3330); however,discussion of alternatives will be given lateron. The Russians should approach Colbergwith a double depot system as shown inillustration. The . numbers assignedDepots indicate the order in whichdepots should be created. Leaders ''1""2" are used only for exemplary purposesand should be considered stacked 0depots. Only the units in italic are COIJ£eGEC

with this example. ,Let's d_significance of such an elaborare •system.

The idea is to construct a' serieslocking depots so that, shoulddestroy one depot, thefunction. The following

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the double depot system is suggested. Afterdepot number one has been constructed,the Russian force splits into approximatelyequal groups under leader "1" and leader"2." Depots number two and three areconstructed simultaneously by each leader.Leader "2" then constructs depot numberfour, while leader "I" remains at depot two.Leader "I" is in position to intercept and toguard against a Prussian overwhelmingattack on the depot chain, while leaner "2"continues his advance on Colberg. Shouldthe Prussians fall back to defend Colberg,then leader "I" should advance to createdepot five and to support leader "2" if thePrussians should attack him. From depotsfour and five, the Russians can now besiegeColberg. The same idea is used here as wasexplained for the French, namely that onePrussian force is faced with a double threatfrom either Russian force. The time factor isimportant and such a procedure consumesmuch time; hence some prefer to have asingle depot chain, but to protect it with alarge garrison. Regardless of the procedureused to construct Russian depots, if theRussians haven't captured Colberg by Turn12 to 14, they had best retreat hometo Konigsberg (hex #3741). If the Russians donot retreat, the losses due to attritionaccording to the Winter Rules will whittleaway the forces from their leaders.

The next most feasable Russian strategy is torush past Colberg and join up with theSwedes at Stralsund (hex #3321). Such astrategy enables the Russian/Swedish armyto operate against the very heart of Prussia,namely Stettin (hex #2925), Kustrin (hex#2427), Berlin (hex #2522), and possiblyMagdeburg (hex #2217). The advantage ofthis option is that Frederick is hard pressedto fend off these threats because they are sodistant from any substantial Prussian force.A loss of a fort in this area could provedecisive.

There are disadvantages to such anadventurous plan. The main disadvantage isthat this plan consumes much valuable time.Unlike the French and Austrians, theRussians do not have the luxury of time.Much time is spent creating depots. Shouldthe Russians fail to join with the Swedes, theRussians must then protect themselvesagainst winter attrition. Also, the Russiandepot line is often very tenuous. To increasetheir speed of penetration to join with theSwedes, the Russians ought to create only asingle line depot system. This system is easilyprone to being severed by the Russian force.For this plan be sure to use leader "1,"because there may come a time to leave one'ssupply to join with the Swedes quickly. Onlyleader "1" may leave his supply source (seerule 10.53).

The other Russian approach is to descendupon Golgau (hex #2030) or Breslau (hex#1733). Such a plan has the same drawbacksas above, except in this case the Russiansmust also contend with Frederick. Sincethere is no rough terrain, the Russians couldbe easily beaten and demoralized by

Frederick. Again, a demoralized Coalitionforce means one less threat against thePrussians.

All in all, the Russians' best strategy is tobesiege Colberg, by means of a double depotsystem. Should the Russians be successful atcapturing Colberg, they could then pressonwards and join with the Swedes. Alter-natively, the Russian leaders could gather theStrength Points garrisoning the depots andthen head for a fort to enter winter quarters,thus preserving their strength after havingscored a victory. The least desirable strategyis for the Russians to move south towardsSilesia. This threat is easily parried byFrederick.

The Prussianl Allied Strategy

The strategy for the Prussian/ Allied forcesalso remains fairly constant throughout theScenarios. What may change is the urgencyand precision with which the strategy mustbe carried out. Nevertheless, there is no needto rush one's maneuvering or tactics.Initially, like the Coalition, the Prussian/Allies can round up extra men fromsurrounding forts, but should never leave afort ungarrisoned. Afterwards, the basicstrategy is to wait until a Coalition force hasextended itself. At that time, the Alliesshould commit themselves by severing theCoalition's supply line or by attacking, asthe Hanoverians can operate very effectivelyagainst the French depot supplies.

Typical Hanoverian strategy would proceedas follows: By keeping a good leader, likeleader "2," with about 15 Strength Points atMunster (hex #2206), he is effectivelychecking any threat from French forces fromWesel or that area. Furthermore, if theFrench do not protect Wesel, theHanoverians are ready to capture the fort.For the most part, another French force fromthe south will attempt to advance northtowards Magdeburg or Hanover (hex #2413).The French have only one depot in clearterrain at hex #1612. At this point, theHanoverian strike at the French depot. First,the French are placed out of supply and,hence, their advance is immediately halted.Second, since the French are out of supplyand must retreat to the nearest SupplySource, the Hanoverians can wait for theFrench, should the Hanoverians desire toattack them. If the French are caught inclear terrain, the Hanoverians may demor-alize the French force as well as inflictingFrench losses. The reason why theHanoverians should not go directly at theFrench to attack them is that the French mayevade an attack and simply draw theHanoverians further away from Munster.The French force at Wesel may be able tobesiege Munster during this "wild goosechase."

Basically, a large retreat is produced if theHanoverians strike at the base rather than atthe head of any French advance. By severingthe depot chain, the Hanoverians can either

be content with a French retreat and thenreturn to defend Munster or else they can liein wait to attack the retreating French forces.

The PrussiansAs long as Frederick remains in Silesia, inthe vicinity of hexes #1731 to #1434, hispresence should check any Austrian advance.If the Austrians venture onto any clearterrain, then Frederick should be able todefeat and demoralize them. Frederick'sdefense task then becomes easier with everydemoralized Austrian force. This does notmean that Frederick should necessarilyhunt down Austrian forces. Remember thatin any attack other than a 400% superiorityattack, the attacker will suffer some lossesand the Prussians cannot afford that manylosses due to their small numbers and lowconservation level (i.e., 15 Strength Point losslimit before each loss counts double, rule17.0).

Should the Austrians threaten Dresden, thisis effectively thwarted by Frederick marchingto Prague, thereby cutting the Austrians'supplies and threatening the siege of Prague.Frederick has a great deal of mobility whenhe needs it, but needless forced marching willcause senseless losses due to attrition.

Should the Austrians threaten Neisse, thenFrederick should destroy the depot chainwhich supports them. If that particular depotis well guarded, then, alternatively, Frederickcan attack the Austrians which are besiegingNeisse. Since Neisse is in clear terrain,Frederick should win provided he hassufficient strength. Notice that Glatz is inrough terrain; hence, if Frederick attemptsto attack any Austrians besieging this fort, hehad better make sure that he has a largeforce for favorable odds to counter the roughterrain bonus to the defenders.

Against the Russians the best strategy is todisrupt the Russian depots as outlined in thetactical section on the overwhelming attack.Even if not successful, good feints at theRussian depots may cause them to leavebehind larger garrisons (and consequentlyuse a weaker force to threaten Colberg).In conclusion, the Prussian/ Allies havesuperior mobility whenever they need it;however, this superior mobility may incurlosses due to attrition while forced marching.Often the Prussians are outnumbered and,hence, should operate as much as possibleagainst the Coalition's supplies. ThePrussian/ Allies' superior mobility makes thisidea feasible. If the Prussian/ Allies mustattack, then it is imperative that theyconcentrate as much as possible and with thebest available leader. The Prussian/ Alliescannot afford warfare based on attrition. Ademoralized Prussian/ Allied force usuallymeans that an entire front is wide open topenetration, whereas a demoralized Coali-tion force means that the front is secure andthat the Prussian/ Allied force can go on theoffensive and capture a fort, or thatPrussian/ Allied forces can be dispatched foranother front. ••