As promised, here is the report on our Franco-Prussian War Battle of Sedan wargame WITH Photos, rules and game description ! Nine of us played on a 20-foot board with 1000 28mm figures for some five hours. Here is the FULL description with Rules and the whole works and photos on the HMGS-MidSouth site:
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Here are just the Photos in SLIDESHOW:
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OR in individual photos:
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The game uses a variable number of "extra actions" that a player can exercise. At the beginning of the game each of the players was given a certain number of ordinary playing cards which represented the "extra" command points. Napoleon III can distribute Fifty-two face down Red cards to the French as he sees fit at the beginning of the game; Fifty-two black to Bismarck for the Germans. The players can then look at their cards.
The command point cards cannot be shared with other players or imparted to units under the control of another friendly player. If a unit wants to burn a command point for any activity beyond the first "free" activity, then the player must pay a card for EACH unit who wants to play ANY extra activity.
Aces can be used for any unit, including artillery.
Face cards can only be used for cavalry.
Numbered cards can only be used for infantry and cavalry.
A joker can be used to bring on reinforcements. Playing a Joker allows for the return of one destroyed unit of the owner's choice. It appears adjacent to the command figure stand.
The Emperor – Victory
Napoleon's Figure is placed on the French side. On his turn he may move six dice worth of distance but must obey any terrain restrictions. He cannot utilize command points. If under short range small arms fire, he is reduced to three dice of movement. Napoleon cannot otherwise be fired upon or engaged in combat. If the Germans move a combat stand next to him, Napoleon is captured.
If Napoleon can exit off the German side of the board and also exit 12 French stands of troops of any sort he is considered safely on his way to Paris; a significant French victory.
If the Prussians do not achieve a significant victory or a victory, the French have achieved a victory –albeit of a lesser sort – because with the Emperor safe and his army intact, he can continue on with the field battle and possibly relieve the siege of Metz and allow another French field army to vex the Germans. The Germans eventually win the war but are unable to annex Alsace-Lorraine. Napoleon retains his title.
The Prussians – Victory
The Germans can claim a significant victory by capturing the Emperor and, in addition, must also exit 18 combat stands off the French side of the board. They have cut off the French Army in Sedan and forced its surrender and made the Emperor a prisoner. Game over; Second French Empire at an end.
The Germans can claim a victory –albeit of a lesser sort – by exiting 18 combat stands off the French side of the board. The Emperor has skulked away in the night but his army is trapped and surrenders. He makes his way to Paris to continue the fight but the Parisians declare a Republic and Napoleon escapes in a balloon. He continues the war by a Levée en masse. The Germans eventually win but are unable to annex Alsace-Lorraine. Napoleon is deposed.
The rules for the game are my Charge of the Light Brigade originally designed for the Crimean War but modified for later conflicts.
The Germans began our game with a defensive posture, hoping the French would waste themselves in attack. Then, when the French were down to the last cartridge the Germans would sweep the field and capture Sedan and Napoleon and win the war in an afternoon. Or so they hoped.
These rules reward the offense. The French had superior small arms and could lay waste to the larger German formations squashed up against the side of the board. The superior German artillery was frequently masked and could not properly deploy. The German cavalry dashed itself to bits against more numerous French squadrons. By late afternoon, the Germans had not progressed but a foot or two across the board in a vain attempt to win by not losing. The French were still in possession of every defensive position. Many a Hun found himself skewered on French lances.
The game was called five hours after it began to avoid useless slaughter. Napoleon III cast his eyes to the heavens and heard his Uncle murmur his approval.
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