Lockdown Treat

IT has been some time since I read Wargames Soldiers & Strategy, but as a treat during Lockdown 3 I bought issue 112, which covers January to February.

The magazine has lots of battle scenarios, which make reasonably interesting articles even though they are illustrated with rather disappointing mini dioramas.

Even more disappointing is that none of the battles is recreated on the tabletop, so they come across as  nothing more than could be gained from Wikipedia and a cursory internet search. 

WS&S ... trick or treat?

All in all it will probably be some time before I buy another copy of the magazine.

All Booked Up

I MENTIONED in an earlier post (http://timspanton.blogspot.com/2021/01/lockdown-irony.html) how a highly favourable review in Ancient Warfare magazine persuaded me to order Ian Hughes' biography of Attila from Pen & Sword.

It arrived on the same day as I went to a local Post Office to collect three books bought from Amazon.

These are Procopius's History Of The Wars, which covers the Roman Empire (aka the Byzantine Empire) under Justinian I taking on Persians, Vandals and Ostrogoths.

I have tried many times to buy the books in a bookshop, especially Foyles in Charing Cross Road.

But the only Procopius volume I have seen there is his Anecdota, published under the title Secret History, which has very little military content.

True, Foyles stocks the Loeb editions of classical works, where the English translation is printed alongside the original Greek (or Latin).

But Loeb books are expensive and somewhat irrelevant if, like me, you have no knowledge of ancient Greek and your final Latin exam score of 11% included 8% for drawing a Roman underground heating system.

Anyway, I am pleased to have made these four purchases and I look forward to reading them, perhaps in a Greek or Italian taverna, when the government restores our liberties.

Books to enjoy

Refighting Wissembourg/Weissenburg (aftermath)

THERE is no doubt refighting the Battle of Wissembourg cannot by any stretch of the imagination be called a balanced scenario.

Indeed the battle would not get the attention it does in the Franco-Prussian War were it not for having been the first battle of the conflict.

But the lack of balance is not something that unduly worries me or my regular wargames opponent - we both enjoy recreating history more than fretting over the outcome.

However there are ways to make the scenario more 'fair'.

For starters the French could be allowed to receive reinforcements during the battle in a similar way to the German side.

There were French units within the sound of the guns in 1870, but their commanders, without orders from above, did not react in the same way as their German counterparts.

Allowing French reinforcements would certainly be an alternative history.

Another method of introducing balance is to refight the battle twice, with victory going to the player who beats the French in the shorter number of turns.

Naturally this assumes the French will inevitably lose, which is probably a fair assumption - the Prussians and Bavarians do have overwhelming numbers.

In our refight my opponent chose to more-or-less keep his forces in their opening dispositions, apart from manoeuvring with his dragoons.

But it could be interesting to see if General Douay would be better off reinforcing the town of Wissembourg rather than keeping the bulk of his forces on the heights.

One thing that did please us was that the rules, adapted mainly from Bob Cordery's The Portable Wargame, with a big assist from Neil Thomas's Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe, worked well and do not seem to need further tweaks.

Refighting Wissembourg/Weissenburg (part five)

TURN 11

Overview from behind the French lines at the start of turn 11

My rolls for reinforcements bring on to the table a unit of Bavarian lancers for 1st Corps.

My troops continue advancing towards the heights, with one unit occupying Wissembourg. This unit opens fire on the French infantry on the Geisberg and, despite having moved and the target being behind cover, scores a hit, which means the compulsory loss of a strength point.

Douay's gun misses, and so do the infantry next to them (the infantry on the Vogelsberg, behind the sand-coloured emplacement, are still out of range), but he is able to activate the dragoons, who charge my most advanced, and very isolated, infantry in the flank. However, Douay rolls a 1 in the subsequent melee, which, despite +1 modifiers for attacking in the flank and for being cavalry fighting infantry, is not enough to score a hit. The infantry, much more reasonably, also fail to be effective.

After 11 turns the Germans have lost 11SP and three units, the French 5SP and one unit.

TURN 12

No German reinforcements arrive this turn.

I continue advancing and firing, where possible, against the heights. The unit in Wissembourg, following up their success last turn, again inflict a hit on the defenders of the Geisberg. Douay could let his unit drop back a square but, presumably fearing his artillery is about to get overrun, accepts the loss of a second strength point. The only other unit able to fire is infantry at the foot of the heights, but they make no impression on the French artillerymen.

In the second round of the cavalry-v-infantry melee, the dragoons, although no longer getting a bonus for attacking in the flank, score a hit, which means a forced loss of a strength point for the Prussian infantry.

Douay's gun scores a hit on my infantry, and I accept the loss of a strength point. His unit on the Vogelsberg moves east along the ridge to support the Geisberg infantry. Both infantry units open fire, with the the unit that moved scoring a hit on my infantry, and I again accept the loss of a strength point.

The dragoons inflict another hit in the melee, and I have to accept another SP loss.

German ranks are starting to noticeably thin

After 12 turns the Germans have lost 15SP and three units, the French 6SP and one unit.

TURN 13

I receive another unit of reinforcements - infantry for 1st Corps.

My units keep advancing, and the infantry at the foot of the heights score a hit on the French artillery, with Douay accepting the SP loss.

In the melee the sole remaining Prussian infantryman, an officer, rolls a 6 against the cavalry's 1. There are -1 modifiers for being understrength and for being infantry fighting cavalry, but it is enough for a hit, which is resolved as the compulsory loss of an SP.

Douay's gun rolls a 4, but the only modifier is a -1 for being French Imperial artillery and so no hit is scored. His infantry inflict one hit, which is resolved as the loss of an SP.

In the melee my Prussian officer again inflicts a compulsory SP loss, thus eliminating the dragoons.

After 13 turns the Germans have lost 16SP and three units, the French 9SP and two units.

This dramatic turn seems to have turned the tide against the French, who will lose the battle if they suffer another SP loss

In fact, with defeat now inevitable, my opponent concedes.

(To be continued)

Refighting Wissembourg/Weissenburg (part four)

Overview from the south-west at the end of turn seven - the French position on the heights is unchallenged, but the zouaves in Wissembourg are unlikely to hold out much longer

TURN EIGHT

My most successful rolling for reinforcements - a unit of infantry for 1st Corps and a unit of Prussian uhlans for 2nd Corps.

My artillery is still masked but I am able to activate all my other on-table troops, ordering two units of infantry to turn away from the town and instead aim for the heights.

Prussian infantry prepare to ford the Lauter

I still have two infantry units able to fire at Wissembourg, and they score a hit, but Douay is again able to ignore it by rolling a high enough die (a 6 in fact) for resolution. Another unit is able to fire at the dragoons, but a -1 modifier for having moved that turn means it misses.

Douay's artillery at last finds the range of my infantry, scoring a hit that cannot be negated by withdrawing.

The dragoons pull back behind the easternmost heights and so out of harm from Prussian rifle fire.

Zouave firing from the town narrowly fails to score a hit (Douay rolls a 4 but suffers a -1 modifier as the unit is understrength).

After eight turns the Germans have lost 8SP and three units, the French 3SP.

TURN NINE

2nd Corps received more reinforcements, this time an infantry unit.

I do not know why I had not thought of this before, but I activated the 1st Corps gun and advanced it in the hope it can play a role in capturing the heights.

Menwhile I had three infantry units able to fire at Wissembourg, and between them they scored two hits. Douay was able to negate one with his roll to resolve the hit, but the other was fatal, laying low the last of the zouaves.

Wissembourg has been emptied of French troops, and the first Prussian infantry are fording the Lauter

Douay's gun again scored a hit, and again I was forced to remove a strength point from an infantry unit. He had no other moves to make as the infantry next to his artillery is just out of range of the Prussian infantry.

After nine turns the Germans have lost 9SP and three units, the French 4SP and one unit.

TURN 10

Another infantry unit from 1st Corps arrives on the battlefield - the 3rd Garde-Regiment zu Fuss, no less - and a gun from 2nd Corps.

I advance on the heights as much as possible, with two infantry units able to fire, albeit unsuccessfully, at the French artillery.

A race against time as the Prussians approach the heights

Douay's gun again scores a hit on my infantry, causing the loss of a strength point. He is unable to activate his dragoons, which is a missed opportunity as he could have charged my leading unit in the flank. His infantry on the Geisberg, which has the green emplacement, scores a hit on my infantry, causing another strength point to be lost (the unit had nowhere to withdraw to even if I had wanted to do so).

After 10 turns the Germans have lost 11SP and three units, the French 4SP and one unit.

(To be continued)

Refighting Wissembourg/Weissenburg (part three)

TURN FIVE

The situation at the start of the turn

I again fail to receive any reinforcements.

My gun scores a hit on the defenders of Wissembourg, and Douay rolls a 1 when resolving it, meaning the zouaves lose a second strength point.

I advance those units that are active and not in firing range, which means all bar two of 2nd Corps' infantry units, which each rolled a 1. Infantry rifle fire directed at Wissembourg proves ineffective.

Between the heights and the wood my unit of Bavarian chevaulegers is one square short of being able to intervene in the cavalry melee, which ends when my unit of Brunswick hussars suffers a second hit, which means losing a strength point as there is nowhere to retreat. The hussars are therefore eliminated.

Looking from the south halfway through turn five after the hussars have been destroyed

Douay's gun fires at the 3rd Corps infantry attacking the town, but miss.

His dragoons fail to activate, meaning their left flank remains exposed to a possible charge next turn from my unit of Bavarian chevaulegers.

The zouaves fire at the much-depleted unit of 1st Corps infantry, but miss.

After five turns the Germans have lost 5SP and one unit, the French 2SP.

TURN SIX

At last some Prussian reinforcements arrive - a unit of 3rd Corps infantry.

My 1st Corps gun fails to score a hit on the Wissembourg garrison, but the Bavarian chevaulegers are able to charge the French dragoons in the flank.

All my infantry units are able to advance, but the two already within rife range of the town again stand still and fire, but again unsuccessfully.

In the cavalry melee my chevaulegers, although outnumbered, make good their flanking advantage by inflicting a hit while not suffering one in return. Douay rolls a 4 for resolving the hit, and chooses to have the dragoons fall back a square. We decide this would be directly away from the Bavarians, rather than backwards from the direction they were facing, and would end with the dragoons now facing their enemy.

Douay's gun again fails to score a hit.

The zouaves fire at the 1st Corps infantry and roll a 4, which would normally be a hit, but the zouaves suffer a -1 modifier for having fewer than three strength points.

His dragoons charge my unit of chevaulegers, but neither of us manage to score a hit.

The cavalry melee continues in the foreground, while in the distance Prussian infantry close in on Wissembourg

TURN SEVEN

No more German reinforcements arrive this turn.

My gun is partially masked by Prussian infantry and so has to fire at the western side of Wissembourg, but it scores a hit on the defenders, although without destroying the fortifications in that part of town. Douay's resolution roll means the zouaves have to lose a strength point, reducing them to just 1SP.

After movement I have four infantry units within firing range of the town, including two that had moved that turn and so would suffer a -1 modifier. However only one unit scores a hit, and Douay is able to ignore it under the special rules for Wissembourg by rolling a 4 for resolution.

The cavalry melee again results in no casualties.

It is looking desperate for the defenders of Wissembourg, unless General Douay sends a unit from the heights to bolster their numbers (my opponent explained after the battle that he thought of doing this but felt any such unit would soon be overwhelmed, hastening a French defeat) 

Douay's gun again misses but the gallant zouaves score a hit on the 1st Corps infantry, which loses its last remaining strength point. There is a further setback for the German cause when the French dragoons destroy the remaining strength point of the Bavarian chevaulegers.

After seven turns the Germans have lost 7SP and three units, the French 3SP.

(To be continued)

Refighting Wissembourg/Weissenburg (part two)

COMMANDING the French forces, and sinking his identity into that of General Douay, is my regular wargames opponent, whose love for all things French I have remarked on before.

As usual I will be writing up the battle as we go along.

The battlefield at the start

TURN ONE

As the attacker, I go first, and my first action is to fire 1st Corps' gun at Wissembourg. I roll a 5, getting +1 for being at full strength but -2 for the defenders being behind fortifications. That results in a 4, meaning a hit. To resolve the hit, Douay rolls a 4, so it has no effect in the special circumstances of occupying a fortified town. My second die for having fired at a section of the town with fortifications is also a 5. There is a +1 modifier for being at full strength, meaning a section of fortifications has been destroyed (the fencing is removed).

I fail to activate 1st Corps' Prussian infantry (I roll a 1, when 2 is needed) or the Bavarian chevaulegers (I roll a 2, when 3 is needed).

The on-table units of 2nd Corps to the north-east and 3rd Corps to the east prove to be more energetic, advancing towards Wissembourg, with the Brunswick hussars turning to cross the River Lauter.

Looking from the north-west after a section of the Wissembourg fortifications has been destroyed

The French gun, being Imperial artillery with a range of six squares, cannot quite reach the troops of 1st Corps. Similarly, the rife range of the zouaves in Wissembourg also falls one square short of reaching 1st Corps, so Douay stands pat.

TURN TWO

I dice for reinforcements, but only 2nd Corps in the north-east receives any, and it is a unit of infantry.

The 1st Corps gun fires at Wissembourg, but a throw of 3, with modifiers of +1 for being at full strength but -1 for the target being behind cover, means a miss. Both the other 1st Corps units on the table, the Prussian infantry and Bavarian chevaulegers, are activated - the infantry advance on the town, and the cavalry move straight forward.

All the other on-table German units are activated, apart from one unit of 2nd Corps infantry, and all advance in the general direction of Wissembourg.

Looking from behind the French lines

Douay fires his gun at the Brunswick hussars beside the wood, rolling a 4. Modifiers of -1 for being French Imperial artillery and +1 for being at full strength keep the score at 4, and so a hit. To resolve the hit, I roll a 6, giving me a choice of letting the hussars lose a strength point or withdraw a square, and I choose the latter.

The zouaves in Wissembourg easily score a hit on the 1st Corps infantry. My die roll to resolve the hit is a 2, so the infantry have to lose one strength point.

Douay stands pat with his other units, so the situation at the end of turn two is that the Germans have lost 1SP and the French none.

TURN THREE

My rolls for reinforcements are unsuccessful.

The 1st Corps gun scores a hit on Wissembourg, and it turns out to cause the zouaves to lose a strength point. The 1st Corps infantry fire at the defenders of the town, but narrowly miss scoring a hit (a roll of 4 is reduced to 3 by a -1 modifier for the target being behind cover). The Bavarian chevaulegers fail to activate.

All the on-table units of the other two corps advance, with the exception of the newly-arrived 2nd Corps infantry who, perhaps hesitant after getting their first sight of the battle, fail to activate.

Close-up of the French position on the eastern heights, with the Brunswick hussars in the distance

It was only after I took the above-photo that we realised the French gun should not have been able to fire at the hussars last turn as the cavalrymen are not within the gunners' arc of fire. This turn the gun fires at the Bavarian chevaulegers, but misses.

The zouaves again score a hit on the 1st Corps infantry. This time I have a choice of falling back a square or losing a strength point. I choose the former because I do not want the infantry to be out of firing range (German rifles only having a range of three squares, compared with the four squares of French rifles).

Douay again does nothing with his other units, so the Germans have now lost 2SP and the French 1SP.

TURN FOUR

My rolls for reinforcements are again unsuccessful.

1st Corps' gun fires at Wissembourg, but misses.

I am able to activate almost all the German units, with the hussars lining up opposite the French dragoons, while the chevaulegers cross the River Lauter.

1st Corps' infantry fail miserably to inflict any hits on the defenders of Wissembourg, but infantry from 3rd Corps almost do better. Arriving within firing range of the town, they roll a 4. They get a +1 modifier for being at full strength, but -1 for moving and -2 for firing at a fortified part of the town.

Looking from the east as German cavalry approach the heights while German infantry advance to within firing range of Wissembourg 

Douay's gun scores a hit on the chevaulegers, who lose a strength point (I roll a 2 for resolving the hit and so cannot choose to fall back a square).

He activates the dragoons, who charge my hussars. Before fighting the melee, the zouaves fire at the 1st Corps infantry, again scoring a hit, and I again choose to lose 1SP. This might seem strange, but the Germans have no shortage of manpower, and if this unit falls back it is out of range of being able to fire at the town but can be fired at by the longer-range French rifles.

The cavalry melee is on level terms, but whereas the dragoons roll a 6 and so emphatically score a hit, the hussars roll a miserable 1. I resolve the hit by rolling a 4, which would normally allow me to avoid a strength-point loss by getting the hussars to fall back a square. But their backs are to the wood, which is impassable to cavalry, and so they must lose a strength point. It is hard not see my handling of the hussars as being tactically dubious (a more-accurate word might be inept).

After four turns the Germans have lost 4SP and the French 1SP.

It is fair to say that the early stages of our refight are going rather like the original battle in that the Germans are suffering disproportionately heavy losses in assaulting the strong French defensive position.

(To be continued)

Refighting Wissembourg/Weissenburg

THE Battle of Wissembourg - the opening battle of the Franco-Prussian War - was fought just over 150 years ago on August 4 1870.

A French division of some 7,500 men, with a small attachment of cavalry and about 15 guns, occupied the partially fortified town of Wissembourg (Weissenburg in German) and the steep ground behind it.

Between the town and the hills is the River Lauter, a tributary of the Rhine but of no great width or depth.

Looking at the battlefield, which has a 14x12 5inch grid, from the south-west 

The French are under the command of the experienced General Abel Douay.

His orders are to watch the nearby border for German incursions, and to hold Wissembourg if possible, but in any event to hold the high ground overlooking the river.

Close-up of the French dispositions. Wissembourg is occupied by zouaves, while the heights have been improved defensively by digging emplacements - Vogelsberg to the west and Geisberg to the east. Both are occupied by line regiments, and immediately to the east of Geisberg is the French artillery, with dragoons on lower ground behind them.

Advancing on Wissembourg in overwhelming numbers, but in a completely uncoordinated manner, are the best part of two Prussian and one Bavarian corps.

Most of them will in effect be marching to the sound of the guns, arriving piecemeal throughout the day, with no overall command structure.

Exact numbers engaged are hard to be sure about - sources, as usual, vary - but somewhere in the region of three-to-four times the number of Frenchmen.

The Germans will enter the battlefield from the north, north-east and east. For the sake of convenience in the upcoming narrative, they will be numbered 1st, 2nd and 3rd Corps, working clockwise from the north.

Here is an abbreviated summary of the battle from Wikipedia:

"The battle saw the unsupported division of General Douay of I Corps, with some attached cavalry, which was posted to watch the border, attacked in overwhelming but un-coordinated fashion by the German 3rd Army.  During the day, elements of a Bavarian and two Prussian corps became engaged and were aided by Prussian artillery, which blasted holes in the defences of the town. Douay held a very strong position initially, thanks to the accurate long-range [rifle] fire of the Chassepots but his force was too thinly stretched to hold it."

The on-table action starts with the German 1st Corps having units of Prussian infantry, non-Prussian German artillery and Bavarian chevaulegers on the battlefield. 2nd Corps has two units of Prussian infantry on the battlefield, and 3rd Corps has Brunswick hussars and Prussian infantry.

The first German units arrive

Each corps can receive reinforcements to bring it up to a maximum of four units of infantry, one of cavalry and one gun.

In addition, the first gun that is destroyed and the first unit of cavalry that is destroyed can be replaced by a similar unit (but this can only be done once for the whole army, not once per corps).

Roll a die for each corps at the start of each turn except the first. A 5 or 6 indicates a unit of reinforcements arrives - its composition being diced for from those still available to that corps.

The river is fordable everywhere but requires two movement points instead of the usual one. Firing is not possible from river squares.

The wood is passable only to infantry, each square requiring two movement points. Firing range within the wood is one square only, and with a -2 modifier. Infantry firing from the edge of the wood are able to fire as normal, and count as being behind cover.

Infantry in fortified Wissembourg can fire from any square. Troops firing at them suffer a -2 modifier. Every time artillery fires at a fortified part of the town (shown by the presence of fencing), roll an extra die, a 6 removing that section of the fortifications (usual artillery modifiers apply). Subsequent firing by infantry or artillery that passes through a non-fortified square only suffers a normal -1 modifier for the target being behind cover. Attackers can only melee with defenders through a square that is no longer fortified.

Infantry in Wissembourg never have to withdraw as the result of suffering a hit. In other words, if a die rolled to resolve a hit gives the commander a choice of losing a strength point or withdrawing one square, he can choose the latter option, which in these special circumstances has no effect (unless he wants the unit to withdraw).

Only infantry can enter the town, and then only through a square where the fortifications have been destroyed, and it takes two movement points instead of one.

Troops on the Vogelsberg and Geisberg count as being behind cover.

The French have five units with a total of 18 strength points. They lose if three units or 10 strength points are destroyed.

The Germans lose if they cannot capture Wissembourg and the heights by the end of turn 20. Since they can field up to 12 units of infantry, four of cavalry and four guns, they also lose if 11 units or 37 strength points are destroyed.

The Portable Franco-Prussian Wargame Rules (updated)

I HAVE made some small adjustments to the rules I will be using for my Project Kaiser refight of the Franco-Prussian War using 54mm toy soldiers.
The rules are based around Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame series of books, in particular the late-19th century rules from his original publication, The Portable Wargame (Eglinton Books 2017).
Because the figures for my 150th anniversary refight of the Franco-Prussian War are 54mm toy soldiers, I will be using a 5in square grid.
By putting my two wargame tables together, I can create a grid of 14x12 squares.
You will need Cordery's book to understand the brief summary of my rules that follows.
I have changed a few of his concepts - sometimes to fit in with how I like a wargame to work, sometimes adapting ideas from Neil Thomas's Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe, and sometimes to give the rules a more-distinct flavour of the Franco-Prussian War.
The summary below mainly covers the changes I have made to Cordery's core rules, and below that I give my reasons.

UNITS
Type                                           Strength Points Move Weapon Range
French Infantry                                     4                2                4
German Infantry                                   4                2                3
Cavalry                                                 2                3                N/A 
French Imperial Artillery                       4                2                6
French Republican & Non-Prussian

German Artillery                                   4                2                9
Prussian Artillery                                  4                2              12
There is no separate commander figure as the huge numbers of men involved in the battles would make such a figure disproportionate.
VICTORY (replaces Exhaustion Point)
An army has lost once it loses more than half of its strength points OR more than half of its units.
TURN SEQUENCE
Turns are alternate (aka IGOUGO). Defender goes second. If neither side is obviously on the defensive, dice for who goes first in turn one, continuing with alternate half-turns.
1. Artillery fire.
2. Move activated units. To be active, a unit needs to roll a minimum die score.
Prussians and Garibaldi Redshirts: 2.
Others, including non-Prussian Germans: 3.
Elite: +1. Poor: -1.
3. Rifle fire (available to inactive as well as active troops).
4. Resolve melees.
ARTILLERY FIRE
Line-of-sight firing only.
Roll a die, needing a 4 to score a hit.
Prussian: +1
French Imperial: -1
Target in cover: -1
Firers have more than 3 strength points: +1
Firers have fewer than 3 strength points: -1
MOVEMENT
No deduction for firing, but artillery that has fired cannot move.

RIFLE FIRE
Roll a die, needing a 4 to score a hit.
Firers moved this turn: -1
Target in cover: -1
Firers have more than 3 strength points: +1
Firers have fewer than 3 strength points: -1
MELEEING
A melee occurs when a unit tries to enter a square occupied by an enemy unit.
Both units roll a die, needing a 4 to score a hit (if, with modifiers, the score is 8 or more, two hits are inflicted).
Attacking in flank or rear: +1
Being attacked in flank or rear: -1
Enemy uphill: -1
Enemy in cover: -1
Unit is infantry or artillery with more than 3 strength points: +1
Unit is infantry or artillery with fewer than 3 strength points: -1
Unit is cavalry with fewer than 2 strength points: -1
Unit is cavalry fighting infantry: +1
Unit is infantry fighting cavalry: -1
Unit is cavalry fighting artillery: +2
Unit is artillery fighting cavalry: -2
Unit is infantry fighting artillery: +1
Unit is artillery fighting infantry: -1
A unit that wants to break off from a melee (as opposed to withdrawing as the result of a hit) must move in a straight line directly away and end its turn with its backs to the enemy. Breaking off is not available to troops on foot fighting mounted troops.

RESOLVING HITS

When artillery suffers a hit form firing and it is resolved as: lose a strength point or withdraw one square; this is replaced by: lose a strength point or be unable to fire or move next turn.
ALL OTHER RULES
All as in The Portable Wargame, unless a scenario requires a rule to be modified.

THE THINKING BEHIND THE CHANGES
UNITS
Cordery uses strength points of four for infantry, three for cavalry and two for artillery. I have debuffed cavalry and upgraded artillery to make them in line with my reading of the Franco-Prussian War.
Weapon ranges are largely based on Thomas's figures.
I have removed the ability of cavalry to fight dismounted with rifles and/or carbines as that basically did not happen in the Franco-Prussian War, at least not at division or brigade level.
TURN SEQUENCE
Prussian staff work was ahead of its time, which is why Prussian units are more likely than most other units to activate. Garibaldi's Redshirts showed similar abilities.
ARTILLERY FIRE
Cordery's artillery needs a 5 to score a hit, but guns using line-of-sight get a +2 modifier, meaning they only need a 3. I am only using line-of-sight because howitzers were largely anonymous in battles involving many tens of thousands of troops, so it would make sense if my artillery only needed to roll a 3. I am making it 4 because I have also added modifiers for a unit's strength points, so an artillery unit with four strength points gets +1, which means it only needs to roll a 3 to score a hit. I have introduced modifiers for the number of strength points because it seems strange that a unit at full strength can fight as effectively as a unit with only one strength point remaining.
The modifiers for Prussian and French imperial guns represent the quality of the guns and the respective armies' use of guns.
RIFLE FIRE
Cordery's units need a 5 to score a hit. But units that have not moved get a +1 modifier, meaning they only need to roll a 4. I prefer to to say units need a 4 (the same as for artillery) to score a hit, but with a -1 modifier for having moved.
MELEEING
Cordery has units meleeing when they are in adjacent squares. But at the scale of my battles, I think combat in adjacent squares should be determined by firing, with melees taking place when a unit tries to enter a square occupied by the enemy.

Lockdown Irony

ONE of the ironies of lockdown - England is on its third as I write - is that I read less than in more-normal times.

The reason is I that do most of my reading in cafes, restaurants and while travelling, whereas when at home I am too busy with other things.

Nevertheless I am still reading, and here is a selection of magazines I have gone through in the past few weeks.

Six of the best magazines

I will mention each in turn, starting in the top-left corner and proceeding clockwise.

The October/November issue of Ancient Warfare concentrates on the early days of the Roman legion. But arguably the most useful article for me is a review of a biography of Attila the Hun by Ian Hughes - such a positive review that I promptly ordered the book from Pen & Sword.

The October/November issue of Toy Soldier Collector has the magazine's usual wide-range of excellent paint-jobs.

The November/December issue of Slingshot has so many good articles, but most interesting for me is Nick Harbud's discussion of troop numbers at the Battle of Castillon in 1453. 

The December/January issue of Toy Solider Collector has interesting articles on the Ashanti Empire in West Africa and a battle between Redcoats and North American Indians in 1763.

The December/January issue of Ancient Warfare concentrates on siege warfare, but also includes a fascinating piece on how Spartan army commanders were sent coded instructions and intelligence.

The September/October issue of Slingshot includes interesting analysis of Roman numbers at the Battle of Mons Graupius in AD 83 or 84 in what is now Scotland.