Quick Guide
New to Berthier or Napoleon's Battles? This page explains what the game is, how this site is organised, and how to read the general ratings you'll find throughout.
What is Napoleon's Battles?
Napoleon's Battles (NB) is a grand-tactical wargame covering the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1792 to 1815. Players take the role of army or corps commanders, manoeuvring brigades and divisions across the tabletop to recreate historical engagements.
The rules are designed for flexibility: a compact tournament scenario can be played in two hours, while large historical battles like Waterloo or Austerlitz can support multiple players per side over an afternoon. The fourth edition (Napoleon's Battles IV, published by Caliver Books) is the current ruleset.
The game was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design — a testament to its enduring appeal in the wargaming community.
How Berthier is organised
Berthier is the community reference library for Napoleon's Battles. Everything is cross-linked: a scenario links to its order of battle and the generals who commanded; a general links back to the scenarios they appear in and their nation. The main sections are:
| Section | What you'll find |
|---|---|
| Scenarios | Historical battles with maps, orders of battle, and force lists. Filter by year, campaign, nation, or source book. |
| Generals | Commander profiles with NB ratings, officer notes, biographies, and links to scenarios they appear in. |
| Units | Unit profiles with morale, fatigue, and combat statistics. Includes national reference tables and dispersal charts. |
| Nations | National overviews with regimental listings and uniform references for the armies of the period. |
| Documents | Charts, rules references, errata, scenario PDFs, and printable play aids for the game table. |
| My Armies | Build and save personalised army lists (requires a free account). |
Understanding general ratings
Every commander in Napoleon's Battles is rated across four attributes. These ratings determine how effectively a general can command troops in battle.
| Rating | Abbreviation | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Span of Control | Span |
The number of subordinate units a general can effectively command without penalty. A general with Span 3 can control up to three brigades before command friction sets in. |
| Quality | Q |
Overall quality rating, used in command resolution and certain rule checks. Higher is better. Ratings typically range from Poor to Brilliant. |
| Response | Resp |
How quickly and reliably a general reacts to orders. A high Response rating means the general is more likely to act during a given turn. |
| Combat Modifier | CM |
A positive or negative modifier applied when the general's unit is involved in close combat. Reflects personal bravery and tactical skill in the melee. |
You'll see these abbreviated in scenario orders of battle and general listings throughout Berthier. The Generals index lets you filter and sort by any of these ratings to compare commanders across nations and periods.
Using Berthier at the table
Here are a few ways players use Berthier during game prep and play:
- Before the game: browse the Scenarios index to find a battle, open the order of battle tab to see all forces, and print or download the scenario PDF for the table.
- Looking up a commander: use the Generals search to find a commander by name or nation. The detail page shows their ratings, officer notes, and a list of every scenario they appear in.
- Checking a unit: the Units section lists morale, fatigue values, and combat stats. National reference tables group units by country so you can compare the quality of different armies.
- Printing play aids: the Documents section has downloadable PDFs — quick-reference charts, dispersal tables, and scenario sheets formatted for A4 and letter paper.
- Building an army: log in and use My Armies to assemble and save custom army lists with unit stats included.
If you spot an error, missing scenario, or officer biography worth adding, log in to contribute — the site is community-maintained.