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.