Spicheren Turn 12

Situation at the start of the last turn before night falls

I start with the continuing melee on the high ground, but no hits are inflicted.

My guards in Spicheren shoot unsuccessfully at the French infantry that they drove from the town last turn. The Brunswick hussars then charge the same French unit, inflicting a hit, but only thanks to a +1 modifier for being cavalry meleeing infantry. The hit is resolved as the compulsory loss of a strength point, and so the French are beaten as their total number of strength points has fallen below 50%.

Spicheren Turn 11

Situation after 10 turns

My final reinforcements, uhlans, arrive in St Johann.

I start with the melee at Spicheren, We both inflict a hit, and both get a choice as to how to resolve the hit. I accept the loss of 1SP, but Frossard prefers to see his men retreat from the town, leaving it in my possession.

The melee on the high ground sees no hits inflicted, and the same goes for the melee involving my same Prussian unit and the men beside the ironworks. However the latter are then charged by another of my units, and in that melee I inflict a hit, but Frossard is again able to choose to resolve it by having his men fall back a hex.

None of my men's shooting is effective, so, despite scoring two hits this half-turn, I have not inflicted the loss of any strength points.

My Prussians are starting to break through the main French defensive line - Spicheren to the Stiring-Wendel ironworks - but will they be in time?

Frossard starts with the melee on the high ground, where his men, despite having a numerical advantage, suffer the compulsory loss of 1SP, meaning the French are on the brink of defeat.

However, the other French in and around the ironworks take a terrible toll on the advancing Prussians, causing the loss of 3SP by shooting.

Naturally, Frossard does not want to initiate any potentially bloody melees, but equally he cannot allow my Brunswick hussars to charge his infantry, so he tries to attack my cavalry with his dragoons, but they refuse to activate.

Spicheren has fallen, but the battle is far from over

TOTAL LOSSES

French: two units, 15SP (out of 30)

Prussians: one unit, 19SP (out of 40)

I suddenly realise I have been careless in accepting strength-point losses - my army is just 2SP from defeat, so the battle remains very much in the balance.

Spicheren Turn 10

Situation after nine turns

I do not receive reinforcements, but my guards charge the French in Spicheren, meaning a melee. I roll a 6, which scores a hit despite a -1 modifier for the enemy being in cover. Frossard rolls a 2 - two short of the necessary score. He accepts a 1SP loss rather than withdrawing from the town.

My full-strength infantry in the centre cause the French ahead of them and beside the Stiring-Wendel ironworks to lose 1SP.  The same French unit is then charged by my forward 3SP-unit, whose men mount the high ground to do so. However in the resulting melee it is my unit that suffers a hit, and I choose to accept the loss of 1SP.

Fighting in the centre is intensifying

Frossard decides to resolve the ongoing melees first. At Spicheren my men suffer a hit, and I accept the loss of 1SP. However, the opposite result happens in the melee beside the ironworks, with the French suffering a compulsory loss of 1SP. Then the zouaves ascend the high ground and attack my unit, creating another melee, only to lose 1SP. Finally, my four-strength unit beside the Brunswick Hussars loses 1SP to shooting.

Losses are mounting on both sides

TOTAL LOSSES

French: two units, 14SP

Prussians: one unit, 15SP

Neither side is close to losing thanks to destroyed units - the French have lost two of eight units, so would need to lose three more to be beaten, while the Prussians have lost one of 10 units deployed on the table.

However, the French loss of 14SP is more serious as they have 16SP left, so the loss of two more strength points would put them below 50%, handing me the victory.

Meanwhile my Prussians have 23SP left on the table, and could still receive two more strength points if the uhlans arrive as reinforcements.

There are two turns left before night falls, at which point it becomes too dark for the battle to continue.

Spicheren Turn Nine

Situation after eight turns

I receive another brigade of infantry as reinforcements.

With evening approaching, I decide to change tactics and order a general advance with the intention of initiating melees that will hopefully be resolved faster than shooting duels. In particular, my men close in on Spicheren, where firing from my brigade of guards causes the loss of 1SP, and the brigade gets in position to charge the town next turn. My other success comes in inducing the French infantry to the right of the Stiring-Wendel ironworks to retire (Frossard chose this rather than suffer the loss of 1SP - after all, French rifles outrange Prussian ones, so falling back in the open, as opposed to withdrawing from cover, should not prove detrimental).

Spicheren is under serious threat

The French shooting is again impressive - my brigade of guards loses 1SP, and two other units lose 1SP, including a unit that had only a single strength point left. My other 1SP-unit also suffers a hit, but I am able to withdraw it rather than have it wiped out.

But perhaps the most significant moment of this half-turn comes when Frossard activates his dragoons, sending them onto the high ground between Spicheren and the ironworks.

The French counterattack is looking good, with Prussian losses mounting

TOTAL LOSSES

French: two units, 10SP

Prussians: one unit, 12SP

Spicheren Turn Eight

Situation after seven turns

In the artillery firing phase, only the French can realistically shoot, and they do so, scoring a hit on the two-strength Prussians to their front, despite a -1 modifier for the artillerymen having fewer than 3SP. The hit forces the loss of 1SP as my men have nowhere to retreat.

*****

I do not receive any reinforcements.

My now-1SP unit shoots back, also scoring a hit, which turns out to be the compulsory loss of a point, so eliminating the French artillery. My right-flank infantry shoot at the men in the ironworks, but unsuccessfully. My other front-line infantry units also fail to score a hit - clearly the Prussians are going to have to step up their firing practice.

*****

The second and final brigade of French reinforcements arrives, is activated and advances to behind the String-Wendel ironworks.

Frossard's front-line men prove more successful than mine at shooting, causing my right-flank unit to lose 2SP.

The battle is well into the afternoon, and my Prussians, apart from clearing the Rotherberg, have not made much progress

TOTAL LOSSES

French: two units, 9SP

Prussians: no units, 9SP

Spicheren Turn Seven

Situation after six turns

The French artillery shoot at my men directly to their front, but, perhaps not surprisingly considering the losses the French unit has taken, without effect.

*****

Reinforcements arrive for me in the shape of artillery and the Brunswick Hussars, both of whom I ma able to activate so they can move towards the fighting.

My right-flank infantry in the front line again shoot at the defenders of the Stiring-Wendel ironworks, but a 2 is not enough. The two-strength brigade next to them also shoots unsuccessfully. Then the two-strength unit in the second line advances right up to the artillery, but also fails to score a hit. Amazingly, my other front-line unit also fails when it shoots at the French in Spicheren.

My brigade of guards advances and also shoots at Spicheren, rolling a 3. There is a +1 modifier for being at full-strength, but -1 modifiers for having moved and for the target being in cover, so yet another miss.

There is more embarrassment when my rearmost infantry fail to activate - I roll a 1 - and so do not advance.

Possibly my most frustrating half-turn as a wargamer - it is not as if the newly arrived artillery are likely to be of much use in the time available

The French in Spicheren fire at my furthest-forward men, scoring a hit that I am able to choose how to resolve, and I accept falling back a hex rather losing a strength point. The brigade in the ironworks shoots at the same unit, but without effect. The French to the left of the ironworks shoot at the full-strength Prussians nearest them, scoring a hit that is a compulsory loss of 1SP.

Finally, Frossard activates the zouaves in Forbach, sending them forward, perhaps to plug the gap that could at any moment appear between Spicheren and the ironworks.

The battle seems to be hanging in the balance

TOTAL LOSSES

French: one unit, 8SP

Prussians: 6SP

Spicheren Turn Six

Situation after five turns

The French artillery shoot at my three-strength infantry, rolling a 6, which is good enough despite a -1 modifier for being French imperial gunners. The hit is resolved as the compulsory loss of a strength point.

*****

I roll for reinforcements, but receive none.

My unit that just suffered a hit fire back at the artillerymen, but unsuccessfully. The unit to my infantry's left fire at the same target, easily scoring a hit. Frossard resolves the hit by rolling a 6, giving him the choice of losing 1SP or accepting that the artillery cannot fire next turn. He chooses the former.

My two-strength infantry are also able to fire at the artillery, scoring a hit despite a -1 modifier for having fewer than three strength points. The hit is resolved as the compulsory loss of 1SP.

I have more units than are able to use the space between the two woods, but I am able to manoeuvre one brigade so it can shoot, choosing to fire at the defenders of the Stiring-Wendel ironworks. I roll a 5, which is enough as there is a +1 modifier for having more than 3SP, as well as -1 modifiers for having moved and for the target being in cover. The hit forces the loss of 1SP.

After the Prussian half-turn

The French in the ironworks shoot at my men directly to their front, but fail miserably with a 1. The infantry in Spicheren shoot at the Prussians nearest them, scoring a hit that is resolved as the loss of 1SP as there is nowhere for the unit to retreat.

French reinforcements arriving this turn are successfully activated, advancing a hex and shooting at the Prussians menacing the ironworks, but fail to score a hit.

The French defensive line is holding, but if the artillery are wiped out there will be a sizeable gap between Spicheren and the ironworks

TOTAL LOSSES

French: one unit, 8SP

Prussians: 5SP

Spicheren Turn Five

Situation after four turns

In the artillery phase, Frossard's gunners shoot at the Prussian infantry directly ahead of them, but come up well short with a roll of 2.

*****

I roll for reinforcements, receiving a brigade of infantry between the Saar river and Saarbrücken Wood.

My infantry, directly in front of the French artillery, open fire, but without effect. The brigade next to them is just out of range (German rifles only have a range of three hexes), but I successfully activate the unit, advancing it a hex so it can also fire at the artillery, and I am rewarded with a roll of 6, the hit being resolved as the compulsory loss of a strength point.

I am also able to activate my three-strength brigade, which advances two hexes to shoot at the defenders of the Stiring-Wendel ironworks, but no casualties are inflicted.

The rest of my infantry also advance, massing in the gap between the two woods

Frossard successfully rolls the 6 he needs for reinforcements, meaning an infantry brigade has responded in a timely fashion, and will arrive on the battlefield next turn, with a second brigade arriving two turns later.

He has less luck, however, with the brigades in the front line - both the unit in Spicheren and the one in the ironworks roll a 2 for firing, which is not quite enough despite a +1 modifier for having more than three strength points.

TOTAL LOSSES

French: one unit, 5SP

Prussians: 3SP

Spicheren Turn Four

Situation after three turns

Frossard's artillery fail to score a hit.

*****

I roll for reinforcements, but unsuccessfully.

My left-flank infantry finish off the remaining defenders on the Rotherberg, which is not all-bad news for the French as it means they can now roll for reinforcements each turn. But first I activate all my other units, advancing them towards the the main French defensive line. One unit gets within range of the artillery, but shoots wildly.

The French defences from Spicheren to the Stiring-Wendel ironworks will be a tough nut to crack

Frossard begins by rolling for reinforcements from his reserve brigades to the west of the battlefield, but fails to throw the necessary 6 (French staffwork in the Franco-Prussian War was much poorer than that of the Prussians, and French troops were far less likely to march to the sound of the guns).

His infantry in Spicheren shoot at my furthest-forward brigade, scoring a hit that is resolved as the loss of a strength point. The infantry in the ironworks also shoot (remember, French infantry have a range of four hexes, one more than the Prussians), and also score a hit, which again destroys a strength point.

As predicted, my Prussians will certainly not get this part of the battle all their own way

LOSSES

French: one unit, four strength points

Prussians: three strength points

Spicheren Turn Three

Situation after two turns

The French artillery fire at my unit directly in front of Saarbrücken, easily scoring a hit, which is resolved as the forced loss of a strength point.

*****

I roll for reinforcements, getting a brigade of guards in St Johann - or, rather, that is where they will arrive once the town is cleared of its present occupants.

My full-strength infantry in range of the Rotherberg shoot at the French defenders, scoring a hit which mandates the loss of a strength point. My three-strength infantry shoot at the same target, but have no effect. I successfully activate the third brigade around Saarbrücken, moving them so they can also shoot at the French on the Rotherberg. My men score a hit despite a -1 modifier for moving and another for the target being behind cover, and it is resolved as the compulsory loss of a strength point. I also activate my right-flank infantry, and they advance and shoot at the same target, but my roll of 4 is not enough, despite +1 for being at full-strength, because they also have -1 modifiers for moving and for the target being in cover. Finally, my men in St Johann cross the river and enter Saarbrücken, leaving the former town free for the guards to enter.

Prussians close in on the Rotherberg in overwhelming numbers

The much-depleted French on the Rotherberg shoot, but a 4 is not enough as there is a -1 modifier at having fewer than three strength points.

Frossard's other units remain where they are.

Overview at the end of turn three

Spicheren Turn Two

Situation after turn one

The artillery phase sees the French gunners fire at the Prussians nearest them (remember, units do not have to pass an activation dice to shoot, only to move). A 4 is needed for a hit, but there is a +1 modifier for the unit being at full strength and a -1 modifier for the firers being imperial French, so a 4 is needed, and Frossard rolls a 6.

I in turn roll a die to see the effect of the hit, and it lands as a 4, giving me the choice of losing a strength point or falling back a hex. Since, after falling back, my men will still be able to shoot at the French on the Rotherberg, I take that option.

*****

With the artillery phase over, I start by rolling for potential reinforcements, getting a brigade of infantry at St Johann. However, the town is already occupied by one of my units, so the new reinforcements will have to wait until the current occupants have moved on.

Both units in front of the Rotherberg shoot at the French occupying the fortified position. Modifiers in both cases are: +1 for being at full strength; -1 for the target being in cover. I score one hit, which is resolved as the compulsory loss of a strength point.

I successfully activate both units that arrived on the battlefield as reinforcements last turn, and they advance two hexes, leaving St Johann free for my latest reinforcements to occupy the town.

*****

Frossard's infantry on the Rotherberg shoot at the Prussians nearest them, but roll a miserable 1. The rest of the French stay pat.

My Prussians have drawn first blood

Close-up of the Prussian advance

Spicheren - Turn One

Looking from behind the French position

There is no artillery-firing phase as the French battery on the high ground between Spicheren and the Stiring-Wendel ironworks is just out of range of my men in Saarbrücken.

The Prussians are undoubtedly the attackers in this battle, so I go first, starting by rolling for possible reinforcements. The dice land 6 & 5, and further dice-rolling shows a brigade of Prussian infantry arriving at each entry point. I therefore place a unit next to Saarbrücken Wood, and another in St Johann.

I successfully activate both the brigades already on the battlefield, and they advance two hexes towards the French-held Rotherberg, firing at the defenders. There are -1 modifiers for firing after moving and for the target being behind cover, but a +1 modifier for the firers having more than three strength points. Since 4+ is needed for a hit, I have to roll 5 or 6, but the dice land 4 and 1.

Frossard starts his half-turn with the men men on the Rotherberg shooting at my advancing Prussians, but without effect.

His other units remain in their positions.

Prussian reinforcements have already begun arriving

Spicheren - The Rules

HERE is an update of the Project Kaiser battle rules, which 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).

I am using 54mm toy soldiers on a Hexon II grid, formed of hexes 100mm across, from Nottinghamshire-based Kallistra.

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             0

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 I think the huge numbers of men involved in battles of the Franco-Prussian War 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.

Phases:
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.
RESOLVING HITS
When artillery suffers a hit from 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
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 exclusively 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 at full strength, ie 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.

SPICHEREN SPECIFIC
High-ground hexes with trees are impassable.
High-ground hexes with bushes count as rough ground (impassable to cavalry and artillery), and reduce infantry movement to one hex.
High-ground hexes with neither trees nor bushes do not affect movement, but block line-of-sight and give the usual -1 modifier for troops meleeing from lower ground.
The Rotherberg at the front of St Arnual Wood on the east side of the battlefield is fortified, including have barbed wire facing Saarbrücken.

Infantry on the Rotherberg hex, and infantry in a town or the ironworks, count as having cover (artillery and brigades of cavalry can pass through towns, but not Rotherberg or the ironworks, although they can gain a cover-bonus).

REINFORCEMENTS AT SPICHEREN

Prussian reinforcements can potentially total six brigades of infantry, one of which is elite, two brigades of cavalry and a corps of artillery.

Reinforcements will arrive either through St Johann or via the gap between the River Saar and Saarbrücken Wood.

At the start of every turn roll a die for each entry point, 4+ meaning a unit, randomly diced for, arrives on the edge of the battlefield, and I can start trying to activate it next turn.

If St Johann is occupied when a unit should arrive, the reinforcing unit's arrival is delayed until the logjam is cleared.

The French can only call for reinforcements after the Prussians clear Rotherberg of French troops, or the Prussians start attacking either the ironworks or Spicheren.

Once this condition has been met, Frossard rolls a die each turn. A 6 means one of the two reserve brigades will enter the battlefield between Forbach and Saarbrücken Wood on the following turn, and attempts can be made to activate it from the turn after that.

The other infantry brigade will enter two turns after the first brigade - there is no need to dice for its arrival.

TURNS

I consider a turn to encompass 45 minutes of action. The fighting at Spicheren started around noon on an August day, which left about nine hours before darkness would bring a halt, so the refight will last a maximum of 12 turns.

Spicheren - The Prussians

RATHER as at Wissembourg/Weissenburg two days earlier, the Prussian attack was more-or-less unplanned, happened piecemeal and involved units marching to the sound of the guns (something the French were singularly unable to do).

I will be commanding the Prussians, and my forces start with a brigade of infantry in Saarbrücken, and another crossing the River Saar by the bridge linking Saarbrücken to St Johann.

Looking from Forbach towards the arriving Prussians at the north of the battlefield

Prussian reinforcements can potentially total six brigades of infantry, one of which is elite, two brigades of cavalry and a corps of artillery.

Reinforcements will arrive either through St Johann or via the gap between the River Saar and Saarbrücken Wood to the west.

At the start of each turn I shall roll a die for each entry point, 4+ meaning a unit, randomly diced for,  arrives on the edge of the battlefield, and I can start trying to activate it next turn.

If St Johann is occupied when a unit is due to  arrive, the reinforcing unit's arrival is delayed until the logjam is cleared.

Close-up of the first Prussians

Spicheren - French Setup

MY opponent, 'Reg', as a dyed-in-the-wool Francophile, has chosen to take on the persona of General Charles Frossard.

He commands the French force of six units of infantry, one of cavalry and one of artillery, and from now on I will refer to him by his adopted name.

Nearest the camera, guarding the depot at Forbach are zouaves, with a brigade of dragoons ahead of them

The French artillery are on the high ground between the Stiring-Wendel ironworks and the town of Spicheren, both of which are occupied by a brigade of infantry, as is the fortified Rotherberg.

The view my Prussians will get of the French dug in on the Rotherberg

The two French infantry brigades who start the battle west of Forbach and off the table

Spicheren - The Battlefield

THE second battle we are going to refight as part of Project Kaiser is Spicheren, which took place on August 6, 1870, two days after the French defeat at Wissembourg/Weissenburg.

General Charles Frossard, commanding almost 30,000 troops, had occupied the town of Saarbrücken on the south side of the River Saar.

But fearing his position could be easily outflanked, he fell back to what he considered a stronger line, based on the towns of Spicheren and Forbach.

Looking from the southwest, where in the foreground is Forbach, which the French used to establish a depot

Directly north of Forbach are the Stiring-Wendel ironworks, and east of them is Spicheren, with some high ground between the three sites.

In the far distance can be seen Saarbrücken, with, on the far side of the river, the larger town of St Johann.

To the west is Saarbrücken Wood, which is on high ground, while immediately north of Spicheren, and also on high ground, is St Arnual Wood.

Both woods are largely impassable to brigades of infantry and cavalry, and also to artillery.

However the lower slopes, shown by having bushes rather than full-fledged trees, count as rough ground, and can be occupied by infantry.

At the front of St Arnual Wood, opposite Saarbrücken, is the Rotherberg, which Frossard fortified (shown by a fence of barbed wire).

Note that, bearing in mind the scale and the size of the tabletop armies, the battlefield has been simplified to only include those features that played a significant role in the fighting.

Frossard has six units of infantry, one of cavalry and one of artillery.

One unit of infantry is dug in on the Rotherberg.

Two units of infantry are off the battlefield, west of Forbach, defending against an outflanking manoeuvre that Frossard expected.

The other three units of infantry, along with the cavalry and artillery, can be placed anywhere as long as they are not north of a line drawn from Spicheren to the Stiring-Wendel ironworks.

In the battle Frossard, for quite some time, thought he had been contacted only by Prussian skirmishers, and he may have thought they were intended to divert him from a main attack on Forbach from the west.

Accordingly, several hours elapsed before Frossard ordered the units west of Forbach to come to help stop the Prussian attack.

In the game Frossard can only call for reinforcements after the Prussians clear Rotherberg of French troops, or the Prussians start attacking either the ironworks or Spicheren.

Once this condition has been met, Frossard rolls a die each turn. A 6 means one of the reserve brigades will enter the battlefield between Forbach and Saarbrücken Wood on the following turn, and attempts can be made to activate it from then on.

The other infantry brigade will follow two turns after the first brigade, without needing to be diced for.

Hexes Replace Squares

WHEN we fought the battles of Colonieblanche and Wissembourg/Weissenburg we used a grid composed of 5in squares, but since then I have bought Hexon II hexes from Nottinghamshire-based Kallistra.

A quickly built Hexon II grid

Each hex is 100mm across, ie just under 4in, which makes for a tight-but-workable fit for units of infantry, cavalry and artillery

Relaunching Project Kaiser

MORE than six years ago, in March 2019 to be precise, I launched Project Kaiser.

The idea was that my regular wargaming opponent and I were going to refight the battles of the Franco-Prussian War on or about their 150th anniversaries.

As I explained in a follow-up post, this was a toy-soldier project in that the battles were to be refought using 54mm plastic figures.

That prompted further posts, starting here, on how to paint plastic soldiers - not as easy as it might seem.

Converting such figures proved even trickier ... until I discovered Tricky Stick.

I then had to decide on suitable rules, finally settling on a set I adapted from Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame, but with a big assist from Neil Thomas's Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe.

We tested the rules on a 14x11 5in square-grid in the Battle of Colonieblanche, and I adjusted them slightly before we began our refights with the Battle of Wissembourg/Weissenburg.

Both battles, we felt, showed the rules worked well, but unfortunately covid intervened, and the project went onto the backburner, with the battles' anniversaries passing in (relatively) quick succession, but unmarked by us.

However, the time feels right to start up again, and that means refighting the Battle of Spicheren, which requires, among other things, a lot of trees.

These proved harder to source than expected, especially as I did not want to spend a small fortune.

I had no luck on eBay or amazon.co.uk, but eventually found two suitable-looking bags of 12 trees each at amazon.com, which came to £38.93, including postage.

At first I thought the bags were identical, but on further inspection the contents are slightly different

Bag One - looking good, despite a fair amount of foliage breaking off in transit

Bag Two - taller, thinner, but just as good-looking

So that is 24 trees, working out at just over £1.60 each.

The only disappointing aspect is that the trees in the first bag are not very stable, but with any luck a solution will not prove too difficult.

Trees, with a French infantryman and dragoon for comparison

Legendary Resource

ANYONE interested in the history of wargaming can discover much by reading classic books by such as HG Wells, Donald Featherstone, Charles Grant, Young & Lawford, et al.

But to get a flavour of the nuts and bolts of how the hobby developed in its relatively early days, there is no more useful resource, I believe, than Wargamer's Newsletter.

This is the monthly magazine produced by Featherstone from 1962-80, of which more than 200 issues are available free at FourCats.

The newsletters, especially the early issues, look amateurish, and read that way too, at least when compared with publications for today's hobby.

But it should be remembered Wargamer's Newsletter was highly regarded at a time when wargaming magazines were scarce indeed, and resources for researching uniforms, battles, etc, were not a great deal better.

Ploughing through each issue is hard work, I find, but skimming while keeping an eye out for interesting titbits can be very rewarding.

Featherstone pictured at his famous sand-table (photo by Richard Tennant for Tackle Model Soldiers This Way) 

Another Great Read

LAST month I highly praised Winston Churchill's The Story Of The Malakand Relief Force, his detailing of a Victorian campaign on the Northwest Frontier in India, as a "must-read" for fans of colonial wargaming.

I can only say the same for Churchill's hefty The River War - An Historical Account Of The Reconquest Of The Soudan, of which I have the 1902 revised edition.

As well as being a riveting read, it contains detailed orders-of-battle for a long series of major engagements and minor skirmishes as the 'Mahdi' and his successor, the 'Khalifa', war against Egyptians and their British allies/overlords, as well as against Ethiopians and Arab rivals/rebels.

Churchill gave a co-byline to "Colonel Rhodes, who has not only assisted me with his store of knowledge and experience, gained during many years of war in the Soudan, but has also procured me much valuable information which I could not have otherwise obtained"

Some of the early pages, setting the background to the war, cover familiar ground, to me, as they are largely based on Rudolf Slatin's remarkable Fire And Sword In The Sudan, but after that it was, to me, mostly new, exciting and very entertaining.

Slingshot 360

The Sep/Oct issue includes a brief retrospective of the journal's first 60 years

As usual there is plenty in the magazine to interest me, but the best for me this time is the review section at the rear, especially a look at a game I knew of, but knew little about, The Cousins' War.

It covers the Wars of the Roses, and can supposedly be finished by two players in 30 minutes, although, according to reviewer David Mortimer, it is impossible to play solo.

A Bit Of All White

EARLIER this year I read journalist Tom Parfitt's High Caucasus, his telling of therapeutic walking in the Caucasus after being traumatised covering the 2004 Beslan school siege.

I think it may have been there that I got the idea of reading Florence Grove's The Frosty Caucasus - An Account Of A Walk Through Part Of The Range And Of An Ascent Of Elbruz In The Summer Of 1874.

Clumsy title - far-from-clumsy writing

The book, which I got as a reprint, turned out to be entertaining, informative and full of cliffhangers, in more ways than one.

An interesting aspect is that the author refers to fellow mountaineers and travelers by their initials, rather than first names, and uses initials on the cover of the book - perhaps due to his own first name being Florence.

The year 1874 does not seem all that long ago, but, with the benefit of hindsight, some of Grove's views seem quaint, even though he was one of the top mountaineers of his day and a president of London's Alpine Club.

To quote but one example: "It may be taken for granted that no human being could walk to the top of Mount Everest."

That was proved wrong in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, and possibly Everest was first ascended even earlier, in 1924, by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, but they did not live to tell the tale.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and sped through it, which was just as well as at nearly 350 pages it was quite a hefty tome to tote in my backpack.

Housing Update

LAST month I told how I bought two 10mm-scale houses, meant as decorations, for £1.50.

I thought they would be particularly suitable for my mid-18th century wargaming, albeit they might need a lick of paint.

I have merely painted the roofs, leaving the rest of the houses as-purchased (for comparison purposes, the hexes are 100mm across, with sides approximately 60mm long)

The houses make me yearn to return to refighting battles from the War of the Austrian Succession!

Astonishing!

I SPENT a recent weekend in York, but failed to take a book with me to read.

I could not find anything I fancied in the bookshops, so I ended up buying the latest issue of History Today, which I formerly subscribed to but gave up because I found the writing rather shallow.

It proved generally quite interesting, but the most interesting thing to me was one of the answers given in the magazine's On The Spot section, where "we ask leading historians why their research matters, what history has taught them, and what we should be reading."

What interested me - astounded, would be a better word - was the answer given by Richard Butterwick-Pawlikowski, professor of Polish-Lithuanian history at University College London and historian of Warsaw's Polish History Museum, to the question: "Is there an important historical text you have not read?"

Astonishing content

His reply: "I've been meaning to read Tacitus' Histories for a long time."

I do not know what astounds me more - that a "leading historian" has not read Tacitus, or that a "leading historian" should publicly admit to having not read Tacticus.

More Chariots

10mm-scale Syrian chariots

The figures are from Tenth Legion (formerly Magister Militum).

I have painted them with Israel and Judah's Syrian enemies in mind, but they could also form part of a Canaanite or Philistine army, or, indeed, a Hebrew one.