Generals and Comanders

The officer corps of any army is tremendous assets that must be carefully managed. In the case of the up coming Campaign generals provide various bonuses. Each nation except Prussia has one Marshal with a +2 bonus and three Generals with a +1 General. What do these bonuses mean you ask... well two important things. First we are using the deployment cards(See Volley and Bayonet Road to Glory) to handle initial set up before battles. Normally players get to draw two cards, if you Marshal or generals are in command of the army then you get to draw two additional cards for you Marshal and one additional card for generals, and yes these stack so then can greatly increase your starting options. In addition these commanders give a bonus to the moral of troops directly under their command.

Prussia is a special case: They have Frederic the Great and he Give a +3 Bonus, they also have a +2 Marshal and two +1 Generals... Prussia is just special in the 18th Century.

In addition to ordinary Generals both France and England may field their Kings as generals. Monarchs are subject to special rules as Per V&B. The big advantage they provide is their ability to rally more than one routing unit at a time.

So who are my army Commanders?

As the French Marshal for the 18th Century only one option really suggests it self. Maurice de Saxe. Truly a Magnificent Bastard de Saxe was one of those rare people who combine both theory and practice. Reveries on the Art of war is a classic of military theory and His string of victories though out the War of Austrian Secession show his practical mastery as well. Saxe will command the Armee Du Nord For more on de Saxe


For command of the Army of Lorraine I have nominated Victor François Duc de Broglie the stand out field commander for the French during the Seven Years war. Sadly Broglie was not a popular man at court and was frequently superseded by less talented men who squandered the victories he gained. Broglie was a pioneer of the use of Light troops in the French army. He established the first Companies of Chassures and began light infantry doctrine the armies of the French revolution and Napoleonic wars would utilize. Broglie will have my smallest but in many ways most critical commands in Central Germany. For more on Broglie

For command of the Army of Italy I have made a very ahistorical selection. This one is purely because the man involved is a personal favorite Louis Joseph de Saint Véran better know as the Marquis de Montcalm. Yes I know he should be running around Canada but the point of this is to have some fun with history. Montcalm is probably not as good a general as most casual students of the French and Indian War think he is. He did have several key military talents that cannot be under estimated. First he was very good at inspiring loyalty in his subordinates. Second he new how to manage sieges and the logistics associated with these undertakings. Third he was very good at creating prepared positions and defending them. These Talents will be useful in Italy which will probably be a secondary theater in this war. For more on Montcalm

My Fourth French commander will be Louis Charles César Le Tellier the comte d'Estrées. Similar to Broglie despite his victory ealry in the Seven Years war at Hastenbeck he was removed form command do to political unpopularity. He was also an outstanding cavalry commander in the War of Austrian Secession and commanded the Cavalry of the Maison du Roi at Fontenoy leading the attack that blunted the English drive. He'll be serving with the Armee Du Nord at least untill I need him for an independent command.
For on d'Estrees

Next up will be the Prussian comanders.