I know very little about the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 but I recently had the pleasure of playing the Prussians at a game of the Battle of Fröschwiller (or Wörth).
The beautiful 15mm figures are from Ernie Fosker’s collection. The rules used were Bloody Big Battles. The game scenario and excellent table layout was set up by Richard Speedman.
One of our (German players') objectives was to take the town of Fröschwiller which was held by a very stubborn unit of Zouaves.
The Prussian XI Corps pushed hard on our left, taking the high ground, chasing off some French cavalry, then turning the French right.
In the centre the Prussian V Corps at Wörth took a pounding from the French. Even when reinforcements were fed in we could make no headway.
The Bavarians on our right advanced boldly through the difficult terrain but were held by repeated French counter-attacks. Although the Bavarians managed to drive the enemy off they too made little headway.
We had managed to drive in the French right and were beginning to advance to take Fröschwiller. As dusk was beginning to fall we had not yet managed to achieve our objectives. The French position was untenable but they would have been able to withdraw in good order with relatively light casualties. The game, therefore, was a draw.
😓 Ils sont morts pour leur fromage puant
Chalk on felt is not an aesthetic I would normally choose but I thought it was just acceptable bearing in mind the complexity of the terrain on the scenario map. With enough of Ernie's big bases on top, the table actually looked pretty good.
Perhaps we can have another similar game but with a slightly simpler scenario and slimmed-down rules, along the lines you suggested at the end of the game, Simon. I like the bell curve effect when rolling a pair of D6 but rolling lots of dice is always more fun!
It was indeed a cracking game with special thanks to Richard Speedman for setting it all up in 'The Pillbox', his purpose built wargaming facility. Great company in Martin (Waller) Geoff (Wootten), Richard and, of course, yourself, Simon.
And a delicious, lunch, too! Simon, we've got to stop being allied, mate, every time I'm on your right wing (in this case the Bavarians and Wurtemburgers) we somehow fail to achieve our objectives!!!!! 😂
Ernie