Bavarian Attack on the French Left at Froeschwiller - FPW Hex Game, 1st Test

My preferred set of rules for the Franco-Prussian Wars is They Died for Glory.  However, the mechanisms do not translate well to playing remote games via Zoom.  So, I bent some thought towards producing a serviceable set of rules for use on hexes.  See my last post, Thinking about FPW Hex Rules, for my musings on this subject.

I'll make some comments on the mechanisms as part of the game narrative. For those not interested in the mechanisms just read the comments with the photos.

Scenario
This game is based on the Bavarian attack on the French left flank at Froeschwiller, 6 August 1870.  Despite the French being in a perfectly defendable position on the heights around Froeschwiller, the Germans surprised the French first thing in the morning as they fetch water from the river.  The first attacks were developed by the Bavarian 2nd Corps, 4th Division on the French left.  

In the battle. the action started at 10.30am when the Bavarians advanced out into the open.  They were repelled by the well positioned defenders and after two hours were ordered to break off the attack.

So, this game should prove a very tough job for the Germans.

The scenario was lifted from the rulebook, They Died for Glory.  The attacking Bavarians consisted of 12 infantry units; the French were defending with 11 line infantry, two guns and a mitrailleuse - one unit less for each than in the published scenario.

The Deployment

The French line occupying the wooded heights.

The Bavarians about to advance from the opposite woods.

The French in a battle line whilst the Bavarians have deployed into open order and open order attack columns.

The Battle

If the rules work in a half way decent and historical fashion, the Bavarians should find it very hard to close with the French who enjoy cover, height and small arms range advantages.

As the Bavarians step out of the woods, French gunners open up at long range.  Forcing a battalion to take a disruption point (I'm still trying to think of a better name) and go prone.

Once an infantry unit takes a third disruption point (DP) it is destroyed.  The second DP can be rallied off but never the first.  So, once some disruption has occurred it sticks.  A DP is considered a disadvantage for the owning unit when shooting and assaulting.

The Bavarians advancing towards the French enter artillery and mitrailleuse range.

Bavarians make their approach in open order.

Inevitably the Germans enter the range of the French chassepot rifles.

Two French units fired.  Luck does play a part.  Both the attacker (shooter) and defender (target) roll 1d3.  The attacker's result moves up the results ladder, the defender's moves down.  In short, there is a potential net advantage to the attacker of between +2 and -2.  In the above situation the French had a minus 1 on their luck.  This disadvantage, along with the other disadvantages of long range and a target in open order, meant that the Bavarian unit suffered no harm.

The Bavarian advance is becoming disjointed as troops are forced to go prone; slowing their progress.

However, the French were now in range of the German rifles.  Concentrating their fire on the mitrailleuse forced the crew to abandon their guns.

Some sharpshooting by a battalion of jagers produced the same result on one of the artillery batteries.

With the Bavarian advance slowing on their left, they had yet to move into effective range of the chassepot.   Seeking to concentrate their attack, the Germans drifted their line towards the French left.

The French line opening up from the cover of the wooded heights.

Now that the Bavarian line had drifted to the left, two French units on the right flank reformed into attack column in preparation to harass the exposed German flank.

Continuing the advance towards the French left, all sides exchanged fire.  With the air thick with lead, the Bavarians in the open were taking the more significant damage.

A French battery hits with devastating effect.
Now you see it...

... now you don't!

Belatedly, artillery arrives to support the Bavarian attack.

Moving to engage, several charges begin to develop.

However, the defending infantry let loose with withering volleys.  The Bavarian troops, reeling from the rifle fire are forced to recoil and many go prone.  One unit disperses under the lead storm.

On the French right, the commander launches a counter attack against the Bavarian left.

Units in melee fight.  However, certain units may also provide support to those fighting.  Units supporting an attack act as advantages which climb the result up the results ladder.  Units supporting the defenders act as disadvantages which bring result down the ladder.  In the above, the attacker on the flank had two supporting units.  The defender had one supporting unit.  So, a net climb of plus 1.  The flank attack added another advantage.

With the attackers' advantages mounting, the Bavarian unit disintegrated.  The supporting unit was spooked sufficiently to retire out of harms way.

The risk of giving support in a melee is that the supporters may suffer a consequence.

Whilst the French are seeking to turn the Bavarian left flank, the Germans were massing on the French left.

Undeterred by the first faltering assault, the Bavarians launched themselves up the slopes again.

From top to bottom:  French volley fire failed to stop the charge into contact; however, the dual attack suffered from a volume of fire that forced them prone and did much to significantly disrupt them; on the French flank, the charges went in without defending fire.

The bottom attackers suffered no defending fire as the French had been forced prone by previous Bavarian shooting.  Because they were prone they had to stand up when charged.  This meant that they could not shoot.

The supported flank attack went in...

The fighting was savage but the Bavarian advantages were too much and the French unit routed.

The other melee was closer.  However, luck and courage deserted the French...

... taking two disruption points the French were forced to retreat, allowing more Bavarians onto the hill.

However, the French quickly responded by a swift charge.

The attack against the German unit's rear led to the troops dispersing in panic.

The French now sought to move fresh units from the right to the left to try and stall any further Bavarian advances.

The Bavarians with a foothold on the heights may now be in a position to turn the French left at Froeschwiller.  However, the hidden truth was that most of the attackers were now carrying disruption points while many of the French line units were still fresh.

I was running out of playing time.  So, I called it a draw.  The Bavarians had done better than their historical counterparts.  However, it had come at a cost.

Afterthoughts

That was an enjoyable solo game. 

The Bavarians did a little better than history but they did require luck being on their side at crucial moments.

I was generally happy with the way the rules worked.  Not perfect but something to build on.  Nonetheless, the result of the game was plausible and therefore pleasing in itself.

The idea of variable results based climbing up and down a results table depending on the number of advantages and disadvantages seemed to work well and is now open to further reflection.  What I expected was the Bavarians to have a hard time closing against the chassepot armed French in a defendable position, and they did.  A couple of things that immediately arose was that I may revise the luck to an opposed dice roll so if the attacker wins they gain one advantage (step up), if the target wins then one disadvantage (step down) and a draw is no movement on the ladder.  Likewise, with unit grades I may move to a comparison - similar equals no movement on the ladder; attacker with better grade is one step up; defender with better grade is one step down.  I'll need to play around with this and may need to tweak the ladders.

Regardless of the rules, it was nice getting the FPW collection out again.