David R. Moody  - Aug 18, 2005 4:30 pm (#10581 Total: 10617)  
Last played: Gringo, The Devil's Horsemen, Lobositz, Franco-Prussian War, 
Risorgimento (campaign game), Lock 'n' Load (ANZAC expansion), 
War of the Ring, B-17, Settlers of Catan, Down in Flames. 
Reading: The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien) 
	 
On the Table last night at Endgame in Oakland, CA: Franco-Prussian War,
part of the Wars of the Imperial Age series from Strategy and Tactics. 

After about a month away from the field of glory, Joe Oppenheimer and I
responded to the bugles' call once again, meeting up for a playing of
the early war scenario, covering August and September 1870. I was the
French against Joe's Prussians. We set up and had at it. 

The first turn saw some fighting near Worth and Thionville. At the
latter place, the French repulsed the Prussian 1st Army's attempt to
drive on Metz from the north. At Worth, however, MacMahon and part of
his Army of the Rhine were defeated and forced to withdraw, partially
demoralized, to Strasbourg, there to be invested by the 2nd and 3rd
Armies. 

Meanwhile, at Metz, Napoleon III massed an army to try and take
advantage of the Prussian defeat by driving from Thionville on Trier
along the Luxembourg border, but thanks to an Ineffective operations
chit (DOH!), his army was soundly thrashed by the Prussians and forced
to retreat back toward Metz. Bazaine's Army of Lorraine, mostly inert
thanks to bad March rolls, also started pulling back toward that
historic fortress as the Prussian 1st and 2nd Armies surged across the
border. 

Disaster struck in mid-August, as the Prussians caught Boney III and his
army strung out on the road to Metz and stomped them, capturing Boney
and all but (ironically) the Imperial Guard (they were the only ones not
already demoralized, and thus didn't have to surrender due to being
demoralized a second time in combat). So the Second Empire came crashing
down. In a possibly related development, Marshal MacMahon and a small
part of his force surrendered (or was captured trying to get out) at
Strasbourg, thanks to Joe's play of a Morale marker. The remnant of his
army fought on, while the Guard was all but wiped out in a rearguard
action outside Metz. The Guard dies but never surrenders. 

The mass depression of the French army in those waning days of August
1870 soon passed, however, in a wave of republican fervor as the Third
Republic was declared in Paris. Trochu and Gambetta quickly roused the
Garde National to fill the defenses of Paris, while Bourbaki took
command of the new Army of the Meuse massing at Vitry le Francois,
consisting of regulars, Legion Etranger, North African, and Garde
National troops. While this was going on, Strasbourg beat off a massive
assault by the 3rd Army, and Metz continued to hold out despite heavy
bombardment. French forces continued to hold on at Belfort and Toul. 

With the approach of the Army of the Meuse in early September, Bazaine
pulled his army out of Metz and marched to Verdun to link up with it.
Metz soon fell to another furious bombardment by the big guns of the 1st
and 2nd Armies. While the battered Army of Lorraine (down to two
weakened corps) tried to regroup, Bourbaki moved his army out to try and
catch the Prussians before they could unite. He thrashed a cavalry
division, but once again the Prussians got the jump on him, and his army
was mostly annihilated, he himself escaping toward Sedan. Verdun also
fell to a heavy bombardment, Bazaine surrendering his army. The way to
Paris lay open. 

But the hero city of Strasbourg held out despite continued bombardments
and assaults. Furthermore, francs-tireurs had begun to appear in the
Prussian rear areas, harrassing supply lines and forcing the diversion
of troops to deal with them. Secret treaties kept Austria out of the war
(Joe had the Austrian Intervention chit, he told me later) but also kept
Luxembourg neutral, preventing the Prussians from shifting
communications that way. Strasbourg would still have to be reduced, and
the supply lines secured, before the drive on Paris could begin. 

And that was where the scenario ended. Gamewise, it was a draw, as both
of us had achieved one of our three victory conditions (Joe had
eliminated, via battle or capture, around 50 SPs; I still held Paris). I
was in bad shape, with three field armies either eliminated or far away
from Paris, but Joe had failing supply lines and regrouping to do. Had
the game continued, I would have kept throwing francs-tireurs at him,
built more Garde National units at Paris, and sent Bourbaki to Tours to
build another army up. Great game, with a couple weird rules thingies
that we may not have played correctly--the aforementioned surrender of
MacMahon and only part of his force, and the annoying habit of the
Prussians to turn around and head back to Trier whenever Joe got a 'B'
result for them on the March Table. Now I want to try the Russo-Turkish
War game, or play the whole war (or one of the later scenarios) of this
one. 

An interesting contrast to Sedan Campaign, a more recent S&T game that
covers essentially the same ground and time as the scenario we played.
In that one I gave Joe's Prussians a right proper thrashing. This one is
certainly more detailed. 

At any rate, next week a scenario from the ANZAC expansion to Lock 'n'
Load (Joe's anxiously awaiting the Normandy version) and Day 2 of the
Battle of the Bismarck Sea (Down in Flames mini campaign from C3i). Ayn
Jalut still set up on the flattened cardboard box at home--hope to
finish it soon and move on to Churubusco. Also hoping to FINALLY build
my forces for our MechWarrior PBEM game.