A Franco-Prussian game

Last night I had the second of two trial games using Rebels and Patriots for the Franco-Prussian war. This is a period I have longed to fight since I first read of it years ago and a few weeks ago I was able to swap some unused figures of mine for some for Graham H's collection.  These have been rebased and cleaned up and a couple of freshly painted recruits added to bolster the French.

Last nights game was a pick up using the Lament Ridge scenario from the rules. We threw down some hexion tiles under a green mat and added some hedgerows. Then deployed our figures.

The French were given the Chassepot for one point while the Prussians I selected as Shock troops due in part to the shorter range and the natural drive of their tactics to close with the enemy.

After deploying we found that the hedges were just out of rifle range, meaning someone had to hop over them into the open ground to get to the objective. A chilling prospect in the bolt action period. The random layout of the terrain gave both Mike , commanding the French and myself with the Prussians some tactical headaches. My Prussians would be in range of the French as soon as they moved, but the French would be able to almost close on the objective before I could fire. The lie of the land also meant one half of the field could not see never mind actually engage the enemy. It was a real pig of a situation for the Prussians. But part of the fun of gaming is to take on a challenge!

I decided to rush the objective and get a turn in front of it to see if I could at least get ownership and prevent the French from getting close. That unit dissolved in a hail of chassepot fire. Then Mikes's French shot up my left flank and drove it back. Then I fumbled an activation and fired on a friendly unit. I was hanging on for dear life but it was in vain and the game ended with me taking almost 50% casualties and gaining no honour. The French held the objective for 4 turns and suffered only minor losses. Unlike the real war they counterattacked when able and inflicted a sharp defeat.

Turcos on the flank.

The French approach the objective.

The Prussians break cover

The Victors.


Some tweaks are really required to get the Prussians to function properly. The shock troop selection itself sounds right, but the higher cost means you have less of them on the table than French Line which shouldn't be the case normally. I will work on these as it's too good a period to ignore.