Smaller Scale Gaming - Part 2

On Wednesday I exposed my ideas on smaller scale games to two other gamers.

The  Background

War was declared on 16 July 1870. The very next day Colonel von Pestel was hastily despatched from Trier to Saarbrücken, a critical crossing point of the River Saar, within a few hundred meters of the Frontier with three squadrons of the 7th Uhlans and Major van Horn's Second Battalion, Hohenzollern Fusilier Regiment, number 40 (II/40th). The next day French troops were sighted across the Frontier on the heights South of the city.

The following day a French cavalry patrol had approached the Customs House and taken three Prussian customs guards prisoner.  Every day thereafter for the next ten days there were sighting of French troops on the Rotherberg, the iron stone hill that rose steeply to the south. On Thursday, the 28th, a body of French troops, appeared on the high road and two guns rolled out onto the Rotherberg, the dominant hill in the area. With the prospect of a good show dozens of townfolk had gathered at the Bellevue Tavern. Van Horn called a company from the Second Battalion to arms and formed it  on the drillground to the west of Saarbrücken. Their appearance caused the French to pause then fall back. The guns, however, opened and the first shot slammed into the Bellevue Tavern scattering the civilian observers in all directions and blowing out the windows and part of the roof of the tavern. After a few more shots the French guns ceased firing.

That afternoon Major General Count Niedhardt von Gniesnau, commanding 31st Brigade, Sixteenth Division arrived at Saarbrücken with the I/40th and III/40th. Von Gniesnau kept the two new battalions at St Johan, Sarbrücken's twin city on the right bank of the river, and suggested to von Pestel that he should join him, but supported by another two battalions, von Pestel believed he could safely hold out and sought, and received, permission to hold his position on the left bank.

On the morning of Saturday von Gniesnau ordered van Horn  to cross the Frontier and see what lay beyond around the French village of Spicheren. "Push south," he said, "up the heights, through the woods and beyond. Tell me what is there."

Von Horn's battalion consisted of:

• 5/40th - Captain Kosch
• 6/40th - Captain Grundner's
• 7/40th - Captain von Rosen,
• 8/40th -Captain Neydecker

A section of  Captain von Helden-Sarnowski 6th Light Battery, 8th Regiment was posted near the Bellevue Tavern in support.

*******

Bataille's Division was sent forward to Forbach, within a few hundred metres of the Frontier, on the 16th. On the 17th German troops were sighted on the heights south of Saarbrücken, a critical crossing point of the River Saar less than a kilometre from Forbach.

On the Spicheren Heights Colonel Mangin of the 67th Regiment had been called forward by the pickets to the Rotherberg. German infantry had been observed forming  the Saarbrücken Heights. Mangin watched them as they started to press across the open potato fields. Commandant Kienlin's 2nd Battalion held the forward position today and Mangin has confidence in Kienlin. "Just stop them on the edge of the woods," he told the commandant, "don't let them get to the heights. I'll put the other battalions on alert, but hold them off, there's not that many of them. I'll send forward a section of Bobet's battery."

Kienlin's troops are:

• 1st Company - Captain Quintin
• 2nd Company - Captain Vadon
• 3rd Company - Captain Chevroton
• 4th Company - Captain Maulbon
• 5th Company - Captain Lombard
• 6th Company - Captain Cassagnade

1st Squadron, 4th Chasseurs à Cheval

Section of Bobet's 7th Battery, 5th Regiment

The 1st and 2nd Companies begin the game on the northern edge of the woods. The remaining companies and the cavalry are on the heights south of the woods. Bobet's section will be on the Rotherberg 

******

The Germans chose to come at the position from the left, oblique to the French position, while the French chose a static defence in front of the woods. The French soon began to inflict casualties on the German platoons at ranges they could not respond to, but the Germans still edged forward and took firing positions, although they caused little damage to the French.

In the meantime the squadron of uhlans skirted far around the French right. They were able to escape any fire and until they rounded the woods at the far right of the French position. One platoon suffered heavy losses in the first volley, but they had achieved their objective. Beyond the curtain of trees and hills they sighted a French divisional camp. Von Horn was able to break off the action and report his findings.

The game highlighted a few things that need to be changed in the rules - simplifications mainly.

And now for the few pictures I took...

The Battlefield

Bobet's Section in position on the Rotherberg

The French taking position

A German company forming a firing line

The French response

The Germans occupy the  Bellevue Tavern

A German skirmish platoon in action

The Lead Pile (...Well Mainly a Plastic Pile in Reality) Restored

A group of Bavarian soldiers in 1866

With the release of the Perry plastic FPW Bavarian infantry I ordered enough figures to create a brigade - my first purchase of figures since November. A second brigade, to complete a division will be ordered later. Artillery and cavalry will follow at some point.

While the Royal Bavarian Army was reformed along Prussian lines after 1868, there were structural differences between the two armies. The infantry of Bavarian Army in 1870 consisted of two corps, each of two infantry divisions, each of two brigades, each of six battalions mainly drawn from two regiments. The regimental structure was like that of the Prussians: three battalions each of four companies, each of around 250 men. Where the differences came in was with the allocation of the jägers, which were far more numerous than among the Prussian formations. Whereas the Prussians assigned one jäger battalion to each corps, the Bavarians assigned a jäger battalion to each brigade and one to each division. To retain the balance of six battalions to the brigade line battalions were taken from three infantry brigades and those battalions combined into the fourth brigade.

I have decided to build the 4th Division for two reasons. First, it contained that combined brigade which gives the opportunity to create an interesting mix of facing colours in the battalions. Second, it was a part of the  Bavarian 2nd Corps commanded by Jakob Hartmann, who is an interesting character. 

Born at Maikammer, in the Palatinate, on the 4th of May, 1795, Hartmann was a posthumous birth. Adopted by his maternal uncle French General Geither he received the best military education at the French military schools of Bonn and Saint Cyr. At the age of eleven Geither entered Hartmann as volunteer on the muster-roll of the 1st Regiment of the Grand Duchy of Berg where promotion through the non-commissioned ranks to sous-lieutenant came quickly. In 1811 at the age of sixteen, while he was still at Bonn and St. Cyr, he joined the regiment in active service as first lieutenant. When the Confederation of the Rhine was broken up, Hartmann continued in French service until 1815, largely with the 27th Infantry Regiment. At Planchenoit, during the Battle of Waterloo, he saved the regimental eagle from capture by the Prussians. Resigning his commission in the French Army in 1816 he transferred to Bavarian service and joined the 10th Infantry Regiment. He transferred to the Topographic Bureau in 1818 and then six years later to the general staff. In 1827 he was made captain and was attached to the War Ministry. Promotion in the peacetime Bavarian Army was slow, but in 1842 he was promoted to major and made adjutant to the Bavarian Crown Prince. Under this royal patronage his rise through the ranks was accelerated and by 1848 was a major-general. His suggestions for the reform of the Bavarian military systems gained acceptance, but were only partly enacted. Made lieutenant-general in 1861 he commanded the 4th Infantry Division in the campaign of 1866, fighting at Rossdorf, Kissingen and Wurzburg. For his loyal service the proprietorship of the 14th Bavarian Regiment was bestowed on him. In 1869 he was raised to the rank of general of infantry and given command of Bavarian II Corps in the restructured army. He led the at Corps Wissembourg, Wörth, Sedan, then during the Siege of Paris in the engagements of Corbeil, Bourg-la-Reine, Petit-Bicètre, Moulin de la Tour and Sceaux.  He died in 1873, still in command of II Corps.

The 4th Division was led by sixty-five year old Lieutenant General Friedrich Graf von Bothmer. Having entered the army from the Cadet College in 1827 as an ensign, he was in line service two years later and was made lieutenant in 1833. He resigned later that year to take up service under King Otto I of Greece, where he rose to the rank of captain. Returning to the Bavarian service he made captain in 1847 and the following year became adjutant to Prince Karl of Bavaria. Like Hartmann his royal patronage saw rapid promotion being made major general in 1866 and given command of the Bavarian artillery reserve in the campaign against Prussia, which he led at Kaltennordheim and Bad Kissingen. The 4th Division was roughly handled at the opening actions of Wissembourg and Wörth, but fought well throughout the rest of the campaign of 1870. Bothmer died in 1886.

So here is the stack that will become the 8th Infantry Brigade.

I did consider building third brigade and putting them all in fatigue cap for use in 1866, but the Bavarian personal equipment was different in 1866.

Also in this batch of figures are some for conversion into French and Prussian commanders, mounted and foot.

Smaller Scale Gaming

Nothing pleases me more than the sight of a wargames table dressed up with an attractive terrain and groaning under the weight of hundreds, if not thousands, of metal miniatures...well maybe a nice piece of eye fillet, cooked medium-rare with honey glazed carrots, roasted potatoes and a red wine jus, washed down with a nice Pinot Noir or Grenache might please me more...and even more if there was a cheeseboard...but the meal would be but a fleeting pleasure whereas the vision of a table laden with toys is a joy for the soul that never fades.

A Prussian company with its
skirmish platoon deployed forward

Recently I have been thinking about some smaller scale games. I want something that could be used in our weekday games that would last a couple of hours. Now I have to say that I am not a fan of skirmish gaming. If someone in the group puts on a skirmish game I will play it, but I struggle in games where I am in control of a bunch of individually based figures that I have to move around then decide where a Bob has been hit and whether he can accurately aim his rifle with half his right ear missing...it's just not my thing. But the idea of each player commanding a battalion is of interest me.

The same company in company line

I wanted to create something for the Franco-Prussian War that captured the low level tactical differences between the armies. Both German and French armies frequently fought with their battalions broken down into companies and platoons, but they did it in different ways and I wanted to represent that difference. 

A French company with skirmishers

One of the great tactical innovations that the Germans introduced in the 1860s was the ability of battalions to divide and sub-divide and reunite as the tactical situation required. This allowed the German infantry, armed with an inferior rifle, to be more effective than their French counterparts at the lower levels. 

A French company in line

So my idea was to make the platoon the smallest component and it would consist of one of my existing stands. In the German armies three platoons would form a company and four companies the battalion. The French would have companies of two platoons and a battalion of six companies. Platoons could fight in companies, independently in formed lines or could be broken in to three of my skirmish stands. 

To add variety to a game a cavalry squadron of two platoons or an artillery section of two guns might support. I also wanted to represent the command structure of the battalion. Platoon commanders are assumed to be intrinsic, but captains, majors and the battalion colour party will be treated as separate units.

With the basic idea established I began to piece together some rules. It was relatively easy to adapt the combat mechanisms of my existing rules to do what I needed, but I wanted something quite different for the way in which orders were issued and obeyed. I quite like the way that Bolt Action handles this, but it was not a simple taking their idea as is - it needed adaption. The Bolt Action orders apply equally to all unit types because everything operates in a single mode, but formed infantry will act differently to skirmishers and cavalry. 

I also needed to make allowance for formed units to become disordered and shaken.

It only took a couple of days to pull some workable rules together then I set up a quick test game on 5x5 table, in which four companies of French infantry and two guns are facing off against a Prussian battalion (four companies) and two guns. The Prussian objective is to secure the bridge. The French are deployed around the bridge and the ford and the surrounding woods. The Prussians enter the table from the edge. The stream is fordable at all points, but artillery must cross at the bridge or the ford. It might seem a tall order for four companies attacking four companies especially since the French are armed with a much better rifle and in position, but French companies have only two platoons whereas the Prussian companies have three platoons, so the Prussians count twelve platoons to the French eight.

The battlefield

The French have deployed the Third Company in the woods with Fourth Company in support to the rear, and on the opposite side of the table First Company is opposite the ford with one platoon forward as skirmishers and Second Company is in reserve. The section of artillery is between the two infantry wings with a clear view of the bridge.

The Prussians have deployed in two half battalions with Third and Fourth Companies on the right (with the skirmish platoon of Third Company thrown forward). The artillery section is to the left

On the left First Company (with its skirmish platoon forward) leads the Second. The major and the battalion colours are with this half battalion. 

The French skirmishers were the first to draw an activation and chose to fire at extreme range on the Prussian skirmishers from 1st Company.

First Blood to the French

From the woods the French 4th Company opened on the skirmishers of  Prussian 3rd Company, causing 3 casualties. Even at extreme range the Chassepot is doing severe damage

The French 4th Company moved towards the bridge

The French artillery dropped a shell right on their point of aim, between the Prussian 3rd and 4th Companies, causing casualties to both companies and killing one of the platoon leaders

Losses in the 1st Platoon 3rd Company are mounting rapidly

The Prussian 1st and 2nd Companies have formed and are ready to take on the French

The skirmish platoon on the left is holding its own

1st and 2nd Companies are taking losses, but the major is there to calm them.

The French too are beginning to suffer (above and below)

In front of the French 3rd Company the Prussian losses are mounting

Here I paused the game. On the whole I like the way that the game sequence worked, but I need to give a bit more thought to the way companies act when subunits have been damaged. I really liked the way that the Chassepot was doing damage at ranges that the Prussians couldn't respond atand the way that the Prussian artillery cut onto the French infantry, although in all fairness that was more a matter of luck than anything else.

The game was a successful enough exercise to encourage me to keep working on the concept. In fact I am sufficiently pleased that I may apply the idea to other 19th Century periods. 

The Battle at San Sebastien

Following on from Wednesday's game, On Sunday we played with the larger group, adding another six players.

On the Isabellino side were three new commands:

• The British Auxiliary Legion (BAL)
• 1 battalion of marines
• 4 battalions of line infantry
• 1 battalion of Spanish infantry
• 1 field battery
• 1 rocket battery
• 1 lancer regiment
• Isabellino First Brigade
• 2 battalions of guard infantry
• 1 battalion of light infantry
• 3 battalions of line infantry
• 1 line cavalry regiment
• 1 light cavalry regiment
• 1 horse artillery battery
• Isabellino Second Brigade
• 2 battalions of guard infantry
• 4 battalions of line infantry
• 1 line cavalry regiment
• 1 field artillery battery
• 1 mountain battery

While the Carlist reinforcements were:

• Carlist Brigade
• 1 battalion of Valencian Volunteers
• 4 battalions of line infantry
• 2 cavalry regiments
• 1 mountain battery
• Carlist Brigade
• 1 battalion of guides
• 5 battalions of line infantry
• 1 cavalry regiment
• 1 field artillery battery
• Carlist Brigade
• 1 battalion Cabrera's guides
• 4 battalions of line infantry
• 1 cavalry regiment
• 1 field artillery battery

Wednesday's game had determined which side the reinforcements arrived.  The positions of the troops that fought on Wednesday are shown on the map below, with the Carlists in Blue and the Isabellinos in red. The deployment restrictions for the reinforcements were:

The BAL had to arrive at A, while the other two Isabellino brigades could arrive at either B or C. The Carlists could could arrive at C, D or E. Only one brigade can arrive at each point in any one turn.

If both sides decided to try to bring on a force at C, players would roll 1xD6 for each unit in their command and add the scores together. The higher score will arrive at C on Turn 1, while the lower would arrive at B if Isabellino or D if Carlist, on turn 3.

The Carlist chose to bring on one brigade at E and two at D. The Isabellino brough one brigade on at B and one at C, much to the concern of the Foreign Legion commander who felt he was left without direct support.

The FFL and the Carlists around the Abbey were content to stand back and trade a few artillery rounds while the other brigades got into position.

On the right of the FFL, on the other side of the dividing hills, General De Lacy Evans advanced with the BAL under the cover of the lancers.

The Carlist mountain gun threw a few rounds into the deploying British, but without much effect.

Then a Carlist cavalry unit charged a battalion of BAL infantry. Caught before they could form square, things looked grim for the infantry, but they held firm and repulsed the cavalry.

The BAL infantry followed up against the retreating cavalry, but the cavalry rallied and pushed them back.

After this brush with the BAL, the Carlist on this side of the hills, struggled to keep control of their force and both sides resorted to exchanging artillery fire while moving across the hills to support the FFL.

At the far end of the field, one of the Carlist brigades attempted to support the force in the Abbey, but was forced to direct most of his force to the Isabellino brigade that arrived at B, while the right most Carlist brigade had to deal with the Isabellinos that came on at C.

In front of the Abbey things began to heat up as both sides in this sector began to advance.

The FFL cavalry charged...and were repulsed

In the center and on the Carlist right the battle intensified in open field where the infantry could deploy en-masse.

The Carlists, with a number of priests in their ranks fought valiantly.

But  the Isabellino troops managed to form up into more stable lines and they piled on the pressure.

The townspeople were just happy none of the troops entered the town.

In front of the Abbey the FFL cavalry charged again and were driven back again.

The FFL had been knocked around badly, but still held. When the BAL came through the ridge and deployed, the Carlists were on the back foot.

The Isabellino command was happy as they watched the Carlists begin to crumble.

The final positions...victory to the Isabellino forces

An a few random 'spare' images

Many of the images here are provided by John L.