Four Days to Change the World

On 18 June 1815, south of the small Belgian hamlet Waterloo in what was then the Kingdom of the Netherlands, occurred one of the most decisive battles of history. Napoleon Bonaparte hoped to destroy the coalition armies arrayed against him by means of a quick, decisive campaign. His plan was to defeat in detail each of his main antagonists, the Anglo-Allied army under Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, and the Prussian army under Generalfeldmarschall Gebhard Leberecht Fuerst Bluecher von Wahlstatt. While this campaign encompassed several months of the spring and summer of 1815, and ranged all along the wide flung frontiers of France, the four days of the Waterloo campaign, from the crossing of the Netherlands border by Napoleonls ArmÚe du Nord on 15 June, the indecisive actions at Quatres Bras, Ligny and Wavre, and the disastrous French defeat at the hands of the combined Anglo-Allied and Prussian armies on 18 June, decided the fate of the emperor, and by implication, the Empire. But now you have the opportunity to take command in this great campaign and change the course of history.
Waterloo contains some sixty scenarios. These include the major actions of the campaign, such as the battles of Quatres Bras and Waterloo itself, as well as several hypothetical actions based on alternative approach marches. Several of these scenarios place the entire French Army against both the Anglo-Allies and the Prussians for one grand battle of annihilation.
Units represent historical regiments, battalions, skirmisher companies and artillery batteries, as well as all major leaders and unit commanders. Players can view units in several different modes, including 3-D ôminiaturesö style figures or NATO style military symbols. Each map hex is 100 meters across, and each turn averages 15 minutes of real time. Players can select formations for units and employ a wide array of tactics. There are also special rules for light infantry, heavy cavalry and pioneers.
Waterloo is part of the HPSls Napoleonic Battles series of games that cover the battles and campaigns associated with the French Empire. Each game can be played versus the computer, or against a human opponent using Play-By-E-Mail and Network Play (over a Local Area Network or the Internet). A series of battles can be played together to form a complete campaign.