Photos of the FPW Froschwiller Demo game action @ Cancon 2013

Very remiss of me as I should have published these days ago BUT I have been a) recovering from Cancon and b) working my a@# off around the house - the endless list of jobs that I was obliged to tackle as I had been let off for three days by the Minister for War and Finance (SheWhoMustBeObeyed) to 'play with my soldiers' at Cancon.  No rest for the wicked!  The photos are sequential starting from the set-up on Day 1.

Turn 1: the first Prussian division (V Corps Grenadier & Hessian Brigade) marches on opp Froschwiller & the entrenchments in front of Elsasshausen

French (Turkos) in the vineyard with Chasseur skirmishers occupying the woods below.

The Turkos occupied the Niederwald forest

In the first version of the Froschwiller scenario we included the village of Morsbrunn anchoring the far right of the French position on the other side of the Niederwald.  This proved to cause a bit too much congestion on a 12' table so we removed it and simplified the French position (and removed a division of Prussians!) to make things run a bit more smoothly when we played it on Day 2, which it did, not that it helped the French much!

The Zouaves defend Morsbrunn to the  right of the Niederwald

French Line reinforced by Zouaves in the entrenchments in front of Elsasshausen...

...and the French reception committee in front of Froschwiller!

Detail of the French outside Froschwiller: some determined looking Zouaves behind the deadly Mitrailleuse MGs

We have played the scenario well over half a dozen times now and the closest the French have come to winning is a draw (where they were not forced to withdraw) - once!  All the rest have been varying degrees of Prussian victory, including both games played at Cancon.  This was not, I would argue, because the French were so completely disadvantaged to begin with.  In fact, we tweaked with the scenario to give the French more of a chance, particularly with regard to Prussian numbers and artillery.  The problem (as it was for French CinC MacMahon) was that the French were outnumbered at Froschwiller and Prussian artillery - even our very watered down version for the game - inflicted fatal damage on the French positions at several points, allowing the Prussians to eventually break through.

I must add that the Mitrailleuse (the French machine guns) proved to be a particularly ineffective weapon, despite all the hype.  Historically MacMahon had 24 of them at Froschwiller and although they did provide a few nasty surprises for the Prussians, many were destroyed by Prussian artillery targeting the French guns they were positioned with.  In the rules they fire as normal MGs (3 x 2D6, re-rolling any misses in the first roll) but have an alarming tendency to jam (rolling a 1 on a D6).  They can only be cleared by rolling a 6 in the next turn. In the second game in particular the French generally had rotten luck with all of their Mitrailleuses jamming at some point, most after only firing once.

Turn 2 (Day 1): the 1st Prussian brigade of the 2nd division (XI Corps) comes on opp the French right.

The Prussians assault the French right (Day 1 game) - it took them four Turns before they finally broke into the village.  The French artillery with the birds-eye view of massed Prussians directly in front were remarkably ineffective.

French reinforcements march through Froschwiller as the fight for the vineyard intensifies

The Wurttemburg Brigade come on behind the assault on Morsbrunn  (Turn 4, Day 1)
to force the issue. Note to their left front the half brigade still held up outside of the town - the other half of the brigade is gradually forcing their way into the Niederwald forest.

Situation at end of Turn 6, Day 1 game.  Prussians trying to force their way in  across the French position, being particularly held up at the vineyard at one end and Morsbrunn village at the other.  They have started to drive the Turkos back in the Niederwald.

The fight for Morsbrunn reaches its final phase (Turn 7) with the Prussians finally starting to gain the upper hand in the village.  

The last Zouave unit still maintains a toehold in Morsbrunn while the Wurttemburgers have assaulted and destroyed the gun battery in front of them (at the cost of a Prussian battalion! - what are 'friends' for eh?) while the remainder of the Prussian brigade begins to clear out the Niederwald

Turn 8, Day 1: in front of Froschwiller the last two Turko units still hold the edge of the vineyard, still inflicting heavy losses on the Prussians.  Behind them the Prussians have just taken the entrenchments in front of Elsasshausen by storm ( a feat they managed in both games).

Interestingly, as was the case historically, the Prussians may have won but never actually took Froschwiller itself in all of our games. In fact in all but one of our games it took the Prussians the entire game to kick the French out of the vineyard in front of the town - and several times the French still held on to at least part of it again, pretty much the same result as in the original battle.  Mainly the Turkos held the vineyard and the Niederwald - two crucial parts of the French position anchored along a ridge that ran from Froschwiller to the hamlet of Elsasshausen and ending in the Niederwald.  In all of our games they took the predominant amount of casualties and were driven out of the Niederwald, being virtually wiped out in both games at Cancon.

On the second day at Cancon we changed things up a bit as described and adding more cavalry units on both sides to make things a bit more interesting.  The cavalry actions on Day 2 provided some real highlights.  As part of our adaptation of Black Powder special rules for the scenario, instead of not allowing unshaken infantry to be charged frontally by cavalry (as historically they tended to be shot down doing so) I devised the 'Death Ride' option.  The cavalry could charge steady infantry frontally by rolling 5 or 6 on a D6.  However, if they rolled 3 or 4 they halted short of the target unit, if they rolled 1 or 2 they were deemed to have been seen by the target unit and shot down - remove the cavalry unit from the table. If they were successful (5 or 6 on a D6) they were deemed to have surprised the targeted infantry unit, who do not  get closing fire, and both units go straight to hand-to-hand.

Prussian Kuirassier supported by infantry charge over the French entrenchments and destroy the last remaining French artillery. Vorwarts Meine Kinder! (Von Bredow is the one with the natty greatcoat slung over one shoulder).

The Prussian Dragoons about to die for the Fatherland!  Their infantry mates behind them weren't much use either and  also died next turn - but the Prussians did take out that pesky French battery.

The courageous French lancers make a desperate and successful  last minute charge over the earthworks to hold up the Prussian assault threatening to break through the French centre.  Although successful, it was a case of too little, too late - and ultimately did not stop the Prussians from breaking through and cutting the French defences in half.

The brave French lancers eliminated two units in front of them before counter-charging the Prussian Uhlans sent in to  destroy them.  The game ended with both still locked in a hand-to-hand - and the French with the advantage. Salute mon Braves!

I'm pleased to say this special rule worked well with both Prussian and French commanders trying it on no less than four occasions on the last day.  The results were mixed for both.  On one side of Elsasshausen the Prussian dragoons charging guns were wiped out while French cuirassiers charging were deemed to have been destroyed.  On the other side the French Lancers did a suicidal charge over the earthworks at two units of Prussian infantry who they surprised and destroyed. They were eventually charged in turn by a larger Prussian Uhlan (lancer) regiment but managed to hold them off, inflicting greater casualties!  On the other side of them the Prussian Kuirassier attempted to replicate Von Bredow's 'Totenritt' at Gravolette and like their historical predecessors, took and destroyed the last remaining French artillery battery (the French lost all 12 guns & Mitrailleuses in the Day 2 game) and a defending regiment of Zouaves.  With support from Prussian infantry they had eliminated the last French reserves, punched a hole through the French centre and effectively ended the game!

The Zouaves charge down the slope in front of Froschwiller, effectively stopping the Prussian progress  on the town, but at a cost.  Other than the Lancers, it was the last French success of the game on Day 2.

I must say I had a great time although, having forgotten to take my meds the day before I was definitely running on very low batteries by the time the fun concluded.  I was particularly impressed by the behaviour and enthusiasm of a number of young players who participated - young Mischa on Day 1 and Guido's son on Day 2 (sorry I've forgotten his name).  Both did an excellent job commanding the Prussian assault on Froschwiller - arguably the most difficult bit for the Prussian side.  The WA boys Cookie, Dean and Steve also providing congenial and enthusiastic company with Stevo even coming back on Day 2 to try his hand at a French command.  I must also give a 'hat's off' to my mate Paul who despite never gaming Black Powder or FPW before, took over command of the Prussians on Day 2 and his inspired generalship resulted in one of the most comprehensive Prussian victories seen with this scenario.

Turn 6 on Day 2: the height of the Prussian assault on Froschwiller.

Finally I must say a big 'thank you' to my partner in crime Doug, fellow owner, collector and painter of half of the 2,000 or so FPW figures on the table.  Doug also devised and adapted the scenario and was the rules guru for the two days, patiently explaining how it all worked over and again to each new wargamer who came to try their hand at 'Froschwiller'.  I would have liked to have seen Doug (as the French commander) finally clinch a win for a change, but alas I don't think that will ever happen with this scenario!

This will be the last foray into FPW for a while as other projects await, with hundreds of figures to paint.  But for the Prussians at least - Cancon 2013 was a blast!

Cheers,
           Doc

Cancon 2013 - Black Powder Group Demo Games

Well, another Cancon has come and gone, the only difference this time is I actually went to it for all three days and was heavily involved, along with my wargaming mate Doug in presenting our Franco-Prussian War demonstration & participation game, Froschwiller.  I have posted on it before as we have repeatedly play-tested and tweaked the scenario, gaming it at our local club.  In retrospect there were a few things we would have done better (a bigger bloody table would have helped!) but all in all it went well and well over a dozen wargamers got to experience it over the two days, for many their first experience of gaming the period or historical wargaming.  The games presented by our group were Zulu - Isandlawana, Peking (siege of the foreign legations during the Boxer Rebellion) and Froschwiller - one of the crucial frontier battles in Alsace at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War.  As you can see the latter I promoted at Cancon with an enormous ad banner nearly 2 meters tall - I didn't realise it was going to look that big but now I've done one we have the perfect vehicle for on the spot advertising for our games at future cons.

Some of the guest gamers in action at Isandlawana
(part of the WA contingent)- note Greg's enormous hill in the background!

The terrain for Zulu was striking with a beautifully scaled version of Isandlawana Hill as a backdrop but its hat's off to the crew led by Andrew who recreated the entire section of Peking that housed the foreign legations, bordered by two enormous sections of the wall of the Forbidden City.  Did I mention the maniac Andrew actually took photos of the British Legation building when he visited Beijing, just so he could get it right?  It was more than just an act of extreme devotion by a dedicated wargamer as the bloody building is now MSS headquarters (the MSS are the Chinese secret police by the way).  Absolutely bonkers BUT he didn't spend his holiday in a Chinese prison and the result of such painstaking research was an amazing recreation of that part of old Peking.  In fact the lads put on one of the most amazing demo/participation games I have ever seen and it was first in best dressed for the very long queue of gamers wanting to try their hand at it.

The passing crowds next to our games during
the three days of Cancon

All three games really pulled the crowds, attracting a huge amount of attention at the 'Con - to the point where crowd control became an issue (a first in my experience) as at times the large numbers of onlookers made it hard for some participants to actually play - that AND the near 30C heat!  By the end of the day both Doug and I were absolutely knackered... but happy!

Greg's terrific piece of scenery at one end of the table -
Isandlawana Hill with  the British encampment at its base

The following pics have kindly been supplied by Greg and Ian (who ran the Zulu demo game) but it shows an exciting quick play scenario with of course, hundreds of Greg's beautifully painted Zulus.

At the other end - hordes of Zulus!

The horns of the Zulu impi close around the thin British picket line

...and closer!

'I say Carruthers, there do seem to be quite a lot of the blighters this morning!'

The Zulu game was a lot of fun and very well attended, winning the award for best demo game at Cancon. Congratulations Greg! The simple straight-forward scenario surprisingly ended up with the Zulus being driven off nearly as many times as the British were wiped out under a sea of flashing asegai blades.

The most spectacular demo game at Cancon in terms of terrain and variety of figures was undoubtedly Peking.  This was played as a campaign over the three days, with the multinational relief column arriving in the nick of time on the third day.  I have scads of great photos of the action but too many to show so to give you an idea of just how big the game was, here is a selection of some of the best shots of the action.

The main table - a section of the Forbidden City wall in the foreground
towers over the foreign legation buildings

Just one example of the amazing detail - the Russian Legation  compound

Hordes of Boxers (and some Imperial troops) begin to invest the legations

Attack on the US Legation is underway

Lookout - the Boxers are on the Wall above the US Legation building!

Colourful Chinese lancers (Imperial?) and artillery with Boxer jingals
 - shoulder mounted cannon.
 They had a three man crew so they could fire at least twice more
when the trigger-man inevitably broke his shoulder!

More Boxers on the wall - this time with artillery

The wall is also stoutly defended by civilian members of the besieged legations.

The well barricaded French Legation compound on the second table.
Two tables were used as historically the two areas were separated by a canal.

The Boxers managed to penetrate the defences, forcing the French back
to their concentric  inner barricades

The US Legation finally overrun on the last day - but that was as far as the Boxers got
with the timely arrival of the International Force relief column

Our game of Froschwiller went quite well, attracting a lot of interest, inquiry (most had never heard of the Franco-Prussian war!) and generated much positive comment, particularly from those who had never witnessed the awesome sight of 2,000 28mm figures on a table in a historical spectacular!  That said, we were stymied on the table size which caused overcrowding with that many figures and slowed down the action at several crucial points during the game.  It was an oversight, not quite sure how it happened but nonetheless it didn't stop the action from becoming fast and furious once the two sides were fully engaged by the third turn!  

With fellow demo deviser Doug  (the French CinC) in the middle with his
Marshal's baton (or izzat a measuring stick?), participants observe the tabletop carnage.

French lines of defence at the start of Day 1

Prussian assault underway against the defences outside Froschwiller

Doug in his fetching Flouro of Power explains how the French really should be able to win this one to some skeptical Westralians while some other Old Fart in another flouro messes about in the background.

Doug and one of the guest Prussians try to ease traffic congestion
mid-table with the removal of a few hundred dead-uns!

The French observe the giant hand of an approaching Prussian!

I have to thank Greg and Ian for the above photos of the Froschwiller game. I have dozens of action shots which I will be posting over the next few days but I think the above is enough to give followers of this blog a good idea of the terrific action at Cancon 2013.  You know, there are thousands and thousands of wargamers and hobbyists of every stripe participating or visiting Cancon over the three days in late January every year. You never know, august publications like WI may even some day cover the biggest wargaming convention in the southern hemisphere. Some day...

Cheers,

            Doc

Empire French cavalry (again) and some dead horses!

As followers of this blog will know, I have somewhat of a fascination with French cavalry of both the first and second Empires (considering the number of posts, that maybe a bit of an understatement!)  Found some photos I'd taken of my Franco-Prussian War French cavalry that I'd forgotten about.  These and more (the cuirassiers I posted about earlier this year) are now ready for our big FPW demo game at the next Cancon gaming convention in 2013.  Just finished off the last two battalions of line infantry (and one of Algerians) and now with my wargaming scenario partner Doug, we should have enough figures to stage pretty much a full corps scale action (Froschwiller - see also some of my earlier posts on our test games).

French Dragoons - from the marvelous Foundry FPW range with a particularly wonderful officer figure - very hard to get!

The famous Chasseurs D'Afrique - arguably the most effective French cavalry of the war.  These figures have the taller shako-style parade cap worn at the start of the conflict - which they soon swapped for the soft kepi on campaign. Note the Spahi Algerian native cavalry behind them - they were the most effective French cavalry in the second  or Republican phase of the war.

French Guard Lancers in mantle with command in full uniform (the officer in the white 'parade' jacket) - again, some of the simpler but nicest of the Foundry figures in the range.

One of the things that came up with our test games was the number of casualties suffered by many of the units engaged and how to record these with markers during the game - we ran out of figure markers constantly and had no cavalry markers at all.  To help solve that little problem I found a really good use for my old plastic 20mm and some old broken Minifigs horses.

One Russian hussar, an Austrian kuirassier and uhlan (lancer) - alles kaput!

The French version -  a Carabinier, lancer and cuirassier - hors d'combat!

 and some dead 'orses!

Revell, Airfix, Italeri (plastics 1/72nd) & Minifigs

A dead cuirassier horse - being French they'll probably use the breastplate to cook a bit of him up after the battle!

 Carabinier detail

 Uhlan (Austrian)

Cuirassier (Airfix)

I was loath to use good 28mm horses as casualty markers - too expensive and fiddly to alter - then I found the old plastics when selling my 20mm collection. I know they are 1st Empire Napoleonics but  they actually fit in and look better on the table than other markers.  I've  mounted the horses (excuse the pun) on two overlapping card bases, the idea being that one casualty marker can represent up to four casualties per unit.  I've used exactly the same method on the casualty figures for the French and Prussian infantry. You can never have enough casualty figure markers in large Black Powder games!

Cheers,

           Doc