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.