"Franco-Prussian War Board" Topic

Any interest in a Franco-Prussian War board? This is a big step for me as I am usually against additional boards. But in this case I think there is an actual need for it.

Since this is one of the periods in which I game, I would support it.

Jim

Yes, please.

I'm in. Working on both armies this year.

Always a favorite of mine. Check out the Franco Prussian War week by week on YouTube. YouTube link

Sure. I've done a bunch of FPW gaming and wouldn't mind a board.

Actually started pulling these out for a touch up/re-base project

Have only gamed it occasionally but there seems to be lots of interest in it

I would be good with it – though suggest it should cover the Austro-Prussian War as well

One of my favourite periods. I would certaionly support this proposal.

My armies in 6 and 28mm are quite large but the new Perry stuff is forcing me to get more, would like to see a FPW board,

Tally Ho!

I believe it is a period ripe for some good gaming. This would include figures, rules and ideas.
I have no personal interest in it but applaud all historical battle periods.
Hope it does not get swamped by 11 men a side "it's a battle" type games.

martin

I am a Bloody Big fan of FPW, as witness the BBB rules written primarily to fight it (and not with just 11 men a side, Martin).

BUT …

I don't think there's enough interest to sustain it. There's just about enough to keep the general 19th Century board ticking over, even if most days there's nothing on that to excite me, despite my own broad interest in the period. FPW alone would be too narrow.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES
groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles
FPW on the BBBBlog:
link

No

It could be called … Austro Franco Prussian Wars! : )

How about calling it Bismarck's Wars? He was after all a chief architect of much of the bloodshed and misery while European warfare transitioned from muzzle loaders to breech loaders.

There is probably enough interest to start it, but I don't know if there is enough interest to sustain it long term unless it becomes the private board of a handful of people.

There would be just as much interest in the "hyphenated" wars (Danish, Italian, Austrian, and Prussian) if these were combined into a board as there are in the Carlist Wars, Crimean War, and Spanish-American War, each of which have their own groups.

Submit this as a poll, please.

Jim

..I like the idea of a board dedicated to the European Wars of the mid to late 19th century. The Carlist Wars and the for lack of a better word, "Germanic Wars" involving the German States (which would include Prussia) and the Austrians and their varied opponents.

Don't forget the Franco-Austrian War of 1859.

There is a 19th century board already so if people feel a separate FPW board would be too narrow then what about a board dedicated to the Second French Empire. This could also include the current Crimean War board.

you wish always more news separate boards but I have never seen the 19th Century Board as the most active and once they exist…we need only look at the Crimean Board with not a single thread opened throughout july or even the Spanish-American War, all the threads since 2016 can be seen on a single page as well as the Carlist Wars since 2014 with 4 news threads for this year and 7 in 2020, the same matter with others like the War of Spanish Succession and etc…
that is the cart before the horse
it will be interesting to see more participations in the main boards before to hope to divide them in sub-boards

I hear you loud and clear. I am usually making the same arguments. I look at some of these boards and I see only one post in the past six months and wonder why have them?

I then think, if you can have a a lot of boards that get only a couple of posts every few months, then why not a FPW board. FPW is more popular than a few of those conflicts.

If you can have a Carlist Wars board (a conflict I had never heard of before seeing it mentioned on TMP) and a Swashbuckling board, for heavens sake. You can certainly have a FPW board which in my opinion is more popular than those conflicts and others.

Especially since there are now so many excellent figures in both 15 and 28mm and recent articles in the wargame magazines lending support to the period. I think despite my trepidation, it is the right time for a FPW board.

The 19th Century Discussion Board is a bit of an odd bird. It encompasses most of the Napoleonic Boards, Colonial, Native American wars, War of 1812, ACW etc.

I will occasionally see all of these subjects brought up on the 19th Century Discussion Board. Sometimes without being cross-posted to the appropriate board. It is confusing to some people, particularly newbies.

I have an interest in the FPW and I have a mammoth FPW collection and I am reasonably knowledgeable about the conflict. So I search all the 19th Cent. boards for anyone with a question about gaming the period. It would be nice if there was one place for those questions.

I understand this is a big ask for a less than one year conflict. It maybe once the current popularity wanes it will be a ghost town of a board. But no more so than others on TMP.

For whatever reason Bill does not close inactive boards. The Principles of War board should have been buried years ago. To me, the dead boards are not a reason to open another one but, rather, a reason to stop fragmenting a board that does not see a lot of use. That said, if there is to be another board, perhaps a " hyphenated wars" board would see some use.

I'd also appreciate a special board to the FPW (perhaps with possibilities to discuss the prequel wars of 1864 and 1866 – 1859 is a bit out of time, als the French army had some migrations, e.g. in their appearance).

So a board of 1864 to 1871 would be great and I'll be a follower and contributor … and perhaps some French experts may also join it.

I've two German-language sections on my Napoleon Online board (cf. link ) which company my site of 2e Empire (cf. 2empire.de ), but in Germany the interest in FPW is also growing slowly – often as you mentioned with the release of figure sets.

Greetings from Berlin
Markus Stein

Absolutely!

The 19th Century Board is pretty quiet already, and I'm not in favour of more fragmentation. I'm not sure what makes 1870 different enough to all the other European wars of the period. If anything, 1866 was far more significant, albeit somewhat shorter:)

I am certainly part of the FPW constituency, but I'm against fragmenting the present TMP board. It would not be helpful to separate 1870-71 from 1866, so why hive these off from the Danish war of 1864? And from that logic, why divide these from the Crimean and Franco-Austrian Wars?

My interest is in Continental wars from late Napoleonics (1812-) onwards, as a 'classic' age of European militaries. Doctrinally and technologically, there's little to distinguish this period from the Crimean conflict – although these things change fast thereafter. I have little interest in the Carlist War or the Hungarian Revoluton per se, but would skim these for scenarios to steal.

I think the real divide on this board is between those like me, whose interests are primarily with conventional clashes of broadly similar European armies, and others who focus of further-flung colonial adventures. Even this distinction is not clear-cut, as Britain's battles in India make clear.

As Martin R has already said, it's not as if this board gets congested. I doubt that a dedicated 1870 or 1064-71 board would result in more traffic. I consider that things are better left as they are.

What's the difference whether there are 10 boards or a 100.Just go on the ones you want.
Mark

I'm for it!

It seems like there are a cluster of mid century conflicts that come under the 19th Century Board. But in this case, I do not think having an FPW board based on its scope and scale. Can't hurt.

I would be for a FPW board. I would also be for a slightly broader board on German Wars of Unification (or similar title) to focus on 1864, 1866, and 1870/1871.

The more boards, the more difficult it becomes to search for past posts. Hard enough at the moment, when something might be under "19th Century Discussion" but might not, if the author chose to file it as "Scenarios" or "Battle Reports" instead. Please don't fragment further.

Yes, please.

Yikes left a word out of my post. I say yes.

Where have you critics been? Usually I am one of the very few voices against fragmenting the boards. Now the one time I see a need for a board and every critic comes out of the woods.

I have no problem including the other late 19th Cent. European conflicts.

Yes.

no

I have no problem including the other late 19th Cent. European conflicts.

At what point of expanding coverage does it become effectively a duplicate of the 19th Century board?

I don't see a need for a FPW board, particularly, and as a general thing I think the TMP message boards are oversplit, but if we're to have a new board, it would seem more sensible to me to have one focused on the FPW, to stand alongside the ones for the Crimean and Carlist Wars, rather than to have a vaguer Late 19th Century European one, which'd to a considerable extent duplicate the main 19th Century one.

IMO a FPW Board would be quite active whilst the new Perry range is released and a lot of gamers pile into that period not knowing much about what it was about regarding uniforms,equipment, tactics etc. Then inevitably once everyone has supped from the well they'll move on, or the majority will I should say, to the next new shiny period that appears in 28mm. Having said all that I'd still vote Yes!! but for a board that was time specific, 1859 to 1870.

What ever happened to this idea? I have just started reading and ordering figs for the FPW. I would surely be a participant.

Given the scope and scale of this war, it would certainly seem to merit its own board, especially given some of the other boards listed under 19th century, some of which do not seem more notable than the FPW. Are there a lot of Carlist gamers? Spanish American gets a board, yet it was neither a large nor a drawn out affair. That's fine, I just wonder what criteria FPW lacks.

It's in the queue for a future poll, once discussion settles down.

Thank you, Bill!

Too narrow. 1857-1872 is a fascinating period and a favorite of mine.

However, isn't that what the 19th Century board is for?

Perhaps "19th Century Europe" should be differentiated from "19th Century colonial wars" which in gaming terms is the real difference, I think.

In other words, I don't see The Sword and the Flame posts sharing the same interest group as Crimea to Italian War of Liberation to FPW.

All I am saying is that there are already separate boards for narrow topics like Carlist Wars, Spanish American War on 19th Century. . Given the vast armies, scope and impact of FPW, what criteria does it lack to also get a board?

@joan the greater.. please not Franco-Austrian. The Piedmontese Army fought like lions, winning San Martino Battle and others. I never understood why the ITalian (or Piedmontese) Are always forgotten, while they were a primary component of the final result. No idea.

Splitting the 19th C board into a Colonial and a European one actually strikes this lumper as a decent idea.

As I've thought over these specialty boards, my real reluctance is about the editing and sorting.

While I may have a post that is both 19th C. and Carlist, it simply won't get a quick answer in a small board like the Carlist Wars [about which no one would know anything if the Perry Brothers hadn't started making figs for it].

So IF – and only IF – I'm able to cross post my concern in both the main 19th C. board, AND the niche interest board, would I be interested in the splicing of the boards.

In that case, it is helping to sort posts out. If they will be edited to only be in a small niche-interest board, then I'm against another small board.

Hope that makes sense.

Yes, it does Stalkey, but I wonder what the interest level really may be.

I think FPW is far less of a niche board than some others. It has some well know rules to choose from, scenarios available, and again a huge scope of action, massive armies, new weapons. A number of figure makers and scales to chose from.

Bruce Weigle is well known for his incredible realistic game tables and his 1870 rules, history, and scenarios book is one of the best, most complete ever produced for historical gaming IMO.