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.
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| The battlefield at the start |
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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)
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