Good Evening everyone,
I was wondering if someone could help me translate this 19th century English writing into more contemporary explanation. I'm trying to figure out how German Battalions moved and operated during the FPW. As far as I can tell company columns and half battalions (whatever that is...im still researching) were the real units and not battalions working solid masses.
I found this manual on company columns and how they form up but it's going over my head at the moment. It's pages 7-9 of this link.
https://books.google.ca/books?id=KE8BAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=company+columns++prussia&source=bl&ots=o1P3WQOQnI&sig=74RCWOfqYnQKUcyltJgXhKsMIdM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ-eqYtMTLAhXhtoMKHQeQCvMQ6AEIOjAF#v=onepage&q&f=true

Warmest regards
-Patrick

There is a very large and easy to understand section of Wargaming in History Vol 8, The APW, The Opening Battles, available from Ken Trotman books.  The book was written jointly by myself and Mollinary, but he wrote the pieces on Prussian fighting formations and how to represent the formations on the Wargames table using our variant of Regimental Fire and Fury.
By 1870 very little had changed, although it is our view that a preference for staying in column for too long when approaching the enemy had crept in, ie they were being less true to their tactical doctrine, and this cost them losses that they needn't have suffered.
The reason Mollinary wrote it in the detail he did was that there was so little in English that actually explained 'who did what'.

an old wargames illustrated article is a good starting point
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/all_images/WargamesIllustrated/ArticlePics/WI313/archive%20articles/Tactics%20in%20the%20Franco-Prussian%20War.pdf

That looks good, Redstef. A touch of nostalgia too with the mag itself. Looking forward to reading that.

I've just downloaded it to read and refer to later on. Thanks .

I've had this stuff for years, since it first came out, but to now have it saved on my computer is a real bonus. Many thanks indeed.