Froeschwiller 1870 - A Bloody Big Battles AAR

[Steve J]

The latest game in our narrative Franco-Prussian War campaign. As always details can be found below:

http://wwiiwargaming.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/the-battle-of-froeschwiller-1870-bloody.html

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Very nice report. Sounds very accurate.  Apart from the sacrificial charge of the French cuirassiers, no, wait, you had one of those.
Having walked this battlefield, I can assure you it's REALLY steep and high, almost 1/3! 

[Steve J]

Thanks Lemmey. When the kids have flown the nest etc one of the things to do on my 'wish list' is to tour the 1866 and 1870 battlefields. Until then Google maps and Streetview will have to suffice...

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Last time we did it, we did it over a long weekend and at about £200 quid a head.

Basically because it's not a tourist area. 

[Chris Pringle]

Nice job, Steve. Commiserations on your defeat. If it's any consolation: Dr Murray ran this scenario a few times at the US Army's Command & General Staff College. Apparently the officers playing the French side consistently replicated the debacle as well, not so much because of inferior numbers, more because of failing to have a plan, forgetting to give orders to entire divisions ... So you're not doing any worse than the professionals!

Chris
Bloody Big BATTLES!
https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.fr/

[Steve J]

Well that's nice to know Chris . During the post game discussion, I mentioned one plan for the French is to basically fall back on Reichshofen as quickly as possible, to take advantage of the wooded defensive position in front of it and the good fields of fire towards Froeschwiller. Given how slow it was to move troops, this might be a good plan, but not too historically accurate, given that the French acted rather aggressively on the day. This is certainly a scenario I would like to play a few more times just to see how things pan out over a few games.

[Chris Pringle]

This is certainly a scenario I would like to play a few more times just to see how things pan out over a few games.

Yes, it's surprising how, at this scale, even an apparently simple attack-defence scenario like this can offer multiple options and plenty of replay value and variety.

Chris

[Steve J]

That's one of the joys of these rules and scenarios Chris