2mm Franco-Prussian War Battle Report

The game in full swing!

Good afternooon everyone, and I hope wherever you're reading this it's in the shade.  The UK has broken out in an unprecedented spell of exceptional weather, with temperatures up into the low twenties for one brief period.

So I've been safely indoors wargaming away - and last night it was time for another 2mm game of Line of Battle.  This is a nice quick game for us to set up, as all the terrain and models are upstairs in Mike's attic.  The rules are available now, and remember, the next two people who buy the rules and write a review will get their money refunded as a thank you.

Anyway, this was a nice simple game set in the Franco-Prussian War, where the attacking Prussians had to seize and hold a bridge across a vital river.  We used Irregular Miniatures - the same ones as from our Supercampaign last year, The Bridge of Blood.

The deployment is shown above.  Nothing too complicated - it was very hot, so neither of us were in the mood for any subtle machinations.  A straight up fight - first one to die loses!

This shows the opening moves on the Prussian side of the river.  The French were being very static, content to shoot it out - I moved up some skirmishers and infantry towards the river to try and suppress the enemy while I crossed.

The skirmishing doesn't go very well.  The French rifles are much better than my old needle guns, so my infantry are repeatedly driven back.  The presence of cover on my side of the river helps to tip the odds in my favour as far as casualties are concerned, however.

The battle begins properly!  I move up my infantry columns in the centre, which take a tremendous pumelling at the hands of the French gunners.  My cavalry sneakily form up behind that wood...

Charge!  This was disappointing for the Prussians.  Normally skirmishers are easy to clear with cavalry - one successful round of combat and they automatically desperse.  Here, however, the long bridge means that I take some murderous volleys as I close the distance.  Mike's skirmishers only have to perform a moderate feat of chance-defying luck to win the combat and drive me back.

If at first you don't succeed - the firefights rage all along the river, as my sorely-tested infantry move up for another attempt...

A good example of the role of generals in Line of Battle.  Mike is using his Senior General as a simple, but effective, morale booster.  This keeps his skirmishers in the line.  I have my Divisional Commander perform Passage of Lines, allowing me to bring in fresh troops - but the artillery fire is so intense that my reserves are already battered when they come to the front!  Verdammt!

Meanwhile, this petty firing continued all through the game... it tied up my skirmishers very effcetively though.  They would have been useful elsewhere.

Here I prepare for a third attempt, but by now my infantry are all but exhausted.  Despite managing to drive back one French unit, they soon disintegrate and begin retreating back off the bridge.
 

End game, ninety minutes later.  You can see I came off the worse for casualties, and my army was also in a very poor state.  The 'shattered' units are marked with dashed edges, and are pretty much useless until they can be rested.

On the basis of this, we agreed that the French had won a crushing victory.  A well-fought game, and one that was very nasty - normally it's me who sits on the hill and defends, it wasn't nice charging into the arms of a well defended position!  But, it was a very enjoyable game.

Thanks everyone!