Animating campaign maps: what programs can I use?

[HarryInk]

Earlier this year I tried using PowerPoint to animate one of Petri's chapters about the 1807 campaign.  It was a way of studying the campaign through his fairly colourless text.  However PP was just too much fidding in the end and visually was off the mark of what I wanted.  What I wanted was an animation of the various forces marching simultaneously through each day and night.

I wondered about using FLASH or some other animation program to show units moving about a scanned map with notes on orders changing, etc., popping up from time to time.  I don't know FLASH apart from its name and apparent popularity, and I know of no other program.

Can anyone here helpout with suggestions?

[Cpl Steiner]

Earlier this year I tried using PowerPoint to animate one of Petri's chapters about the 1807 campaign.  It was a way of studying the campaign through his fairly colourless text.  However PP was just too much fidding in the end and visually was off the mark of what I wanted.  What I wanted was an animation of the various forces marching simultaneously through each day and night.

I wondered about using FLASH or some other animation program to show units moving about a scanned map with notes on orders changing, etc., popping up from time to time.  I don't know FLASH apart from its name and apparent popularity, and I know of no other program.

Can anyone here helpout with suggestions?

I don't know Flash either but I'm pretty sure it would be the best application to use. Years ago I saw a nice Flash animation on a BBC history site of the battle of Waterloo, in which you could choose what to do at each stage of the battle and maybe change the course of history.

Here's a link:

BBC Waterloo Flash Game