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
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.
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.
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.
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