The Battle of Königgrätz

[Hertsblue]

In their unceasing efforts to get me to buy things, Amazon have suggested The Battle of Königgrätz: Prussia's Victory Over Austria, 1866 by Gordon A. Craig. Has anybody read it, and if so, is it any good? I note that its was originally published in 1964 by the University of Pennsylvania and at a tenner seems good value.

[Leman]

My dad bought me a copy in 1968 (which I still have). It was very inspirational and is a great intro to the whole Bohemian campaign, not just the Battle of Koniggratz. I would snap it up. Like Michael Howard's Franco-Prussian War it's a classic which has stood the test of time.

[mollinary]

DP is right - it is brilliant - and still commands the field.  It is really a history of the whole war, not just Koniggratz, and it is a great read.  Buy, buy, buy!!   

Mollinary

[Steve J]

After a bad day at work I've just ordered this for some retail therapy. Sounds like a great read and a good gaming period that is not the ACW or the FPW, the latter which may yet get a visit from me .

[Hertsblue]

That seems pretty conclusive. Many thanks, gents.

[Leman]

It is an unusual gaming period Steve, as the Austrians changed their doctrine from defence to attack as a result of the 1859 war against France. Poor buggers were up against the Prussians armed with the Needlegun whereas the Austrians had gone with the Lorenz muzzle loader. In a two month war there were many battles and the Prussians made enough mistakes to give the Austrians a fighting chance. Furthermore the Prussians also fought against many of the other German states (with a notable tactical defeat against Hanover), and the Austrians fought against the Italians, where they were much more successful. Might I suggest Bruce Weigle's 1866 rules as, whether you play them or not, contain a great deal of information on tactical doctrines, OOBs and a summary of the war. Ralph Weaver, of the Continental Wars Society, has also produced a couple of good books for the period on Custozza, Austria v. Italy, and Langensaltza, Hanover v. Prussia.

[Steve J]

Thanks for the info Dour .

[Chad]

The Western Theatre is also worth a look with
the Federal and Bavarian Corps

Chad

[Hertsblue]

Be warned, though, the Bavarian corps is four divisions strong - if you were thinking of doing them all. Lots of different pretty uniforms in the Federal corps however.

[Steve J]

I might have enough stuff do this in 2mm, but really want to field 10mm forces. I'll wait until I've read the book, done some research etc. before deciding upon the units I want to field.

[Chad]

HB

True, but the regiments only seem to have fielded
2 btns and more often than not all 4 Divisions were not
present at one time. Divisions of 8th corps often fought
In isolation. On the Prussian side again there was often
Only 1 Divn in action.

Chad

[holdfast]

For some ideas of the challenges of the period and the rules fixes needed to produce historical results in a Wargame you may wish to look at Wargaming in History Vol 8 which covers the opening battle. Mollinary is my co-author and did all the deep thinking on tactics how to portray them on the wargames table. 10mm is absolutely the scale for the period as the forces are so large.
Holdfast

[Steve J]

It's on my list Holdfast, have no fear .

[mollinary]

I might have enough stuff do this in 2mm, but really want to field 10mm forces. I'll wait until I've read the book, done some research etc. before deciding upon the units I want to field.

Steve,

A very sensible approach.  Whatever scale you choose, and whatever rules you decide to use, I think you will find the basis for refighting historical battles is about a "generic" corps for each side, or about 20-30,000 men. In organisational terms this is about 20-30 battalions of infantry, 12-18 batteries of artillery and two or three regiments of cavalry.   More cavalry if you attach a cavalry division.  For rules, I started with the Real Time Wargames rules which, for 1866, have been added to with a campaign system under the title "Trapped Like a Fox". These have the advantage of having been designed with Pendraken figures in mind. On this forum Bernie can fill you in on them, as he is the author!  Bruce Weigle's 1866 rules have a lot going for them, not least the fantastic scenario information, tactical excursions and amazing bibliography.  Holdfast and I ended up with producing a variant of Rich Hasenauer's Regimental Fire and Fury for a couple of reasons. First we had got very familiar with it in ACW games, and liked its mechanisms and the flexibility of the basic mechanics.  Second it offered the chance of reflecting the tactical detail which makes this war so special, while still doing a full corps on corps battle.  But I recognise that doing it as we did requires a lot figures (not that Leon will complain!). It would still be possible using fewer figures per base, or compromising on number of bases per battalion. I know many people who use 10mm figures for the ACW version use one base equating to two in the rules.    Anyway, as Holdfast intimates, we have set out our ideas in the WiH book, but don't claim it as a complete rule system - we are still working on it.  If anyone has any questions regarding the variant, I will be happy to try and answer them on the forum.   Good luck with this fascinating period, and beware - it can be addictive!

Mollinary

[Steve J]

Thanks for the info Mollinary. With my 2mm stuff I can easily field 20-30 bases per side, if 1 stand counts as a Battalion, so nice to know that I can do the large battles on a 6'x4' table (probably!). When the book arrives and I get into it I'm sure more questions will crop up!