The ebb and flow of battle - A Franco Prussian War game

These smaller Franco Prussian War games are proving very appealing, and most challenging. We are able to play a game in a couple of hours (depending on the yarning and beer drinking), creating a most engaging distraction from busy work lives.

This was last week's tussle, again using our Heroics 6mm armies. The French began with a division on table and stationary, with reinforcing divisions to come on at random turns between turns 2 and 4.

The Prussians entered the fray with one corps (two infantry divisions and a reserve cavalry division) turn 1, and the second randomly between turns 2 and 4. Prussian entry had to be within a fixed distance of their Line of Communication, hence the relatively constricted looking position at the end of their first turn.

The battlefield from the Prussian perspective. The French have deployed in the centre right, occupying the town sector. The Prussian Corp has entered with two infantry divisions left and right, and the reserve cavalry to the rear.

The French occupying the town sector, the lynch pin of their initial deployment

Prussian infantry advance

The Prussian reserve cavalry division

Turn 2 the Prussians throw in an assault on the town sector, and evict the French defenders. The town sector is seen here occupied by the Prussian infantry brigade (disordered havin entered the town sector

The French commander counter attacks immediately, hoping to take advantage of the disordered state of the Prussian brigade as it has just entered the town. The dice don't go his way and the attack is repulsed.

The Prussians line up with the French centre and occupy the dominating ridge line

The Prussian right now attacks a second brigade of French around the town

The Prussian Brigade fails its morale check and goes in disordered.. this is not likely to end well

The Prussians go prone on the ridge, supported by a build up in Prussian artillery, Krupp guns galore

The French now counter-attack on their left, hitting the Prussian brigade that had come up to support the second assault

The French commander withdraws his centre in the face of the withering fire from the Prussian guns

The French now attack the prone Prussian infantry on the ridge in the centre, supported by a battery of mitrailleuse, and bronze 'napoleons'.

French reinforcements arrive along their Line of Communication

Seeing the weakened French centre, the Prussian commander decides to risk his cavalry, launching a brigade into the centre against a defending artillery battery (which was not stationary) - the time was right

A Prussian brigade had come out of the town and attacked . aFrench brigade in the rear, supported by a second infantry brigade (seen lower right) and a stationary artillery battalion.  The odds of success seemed good. Sadly the dice gods were not kind, and the attacking Prussians failed their initial morale check and were driven back in route

The Prussian centre now appears as a disordered mass of troops

The French left continues to exploit its successes

Prussian reinforcements have occupied the centre ridge line.. however it's too late

French troops re-occupy the town sector.

This was a fascinating game. After initial success, the battle turned against the Prussians with several attacks which might most usually have succeeded all turning to a shambolic route. After all, it's a game with dice, and this stuff happens.

However, regardless of the outcome this was another deeply satisfying game of Volley and Bayonet. The capacity of the rules set to cope with the numerous sub periods within the 1700-1900 period with only minor tweaks to the mechanics continues to enthral and excite me. The base mechanisms are the same, but the differences in outcomes generated by the seemingly small adaptations to the rules make each sub period feel significantly different. What's more, each sub period has the table top 'feel' that seems to match the written sources describing the ebb and flow of battle. Still my all time favourite rules set (and that is said after fifty years of wargaming).