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At Any Cost Metz 1870 by GMT Games  The Franco-Prussian War; not many besides historians and wargamers have even ...

At Any Cost Metz 1870 by GMT Games At Any Cost Metz 1870 by GMT Games

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

Franco-Prussian War



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 The Franco-Prussian War; not many besides historians and wargamers have even heard about it. The Franco-Prussian War is really the catalyst for the events of the next seventy-five years in European history. If France had not lost this war, and had Germany not taken Alsace-Lorraine from her as one of the spoils our world might be very different. France's burning desire for revenge and the return of those areas was one of the main reasons behind World War I. Had Germany not lost World War I there would have been no need for a second war with Germany looking for revenge. The Franco-Prussian War was the last act in Bismarck's successful attempt to unite Germany under Prussia. 


Full Map


 The next part about the Franco-Prussian War was not just how France lost, but how she lost so badly. There have been few wars where one side had weapons that were so technologically enhanced over the other side yet still lost (except for wars of liberation). The French rifle, the 'Chassepot', had a range twice that of the Prussian rifle. It also had a higher rate of fire. The French also had the Mitrailleuse that was the first well functioning machine gun used in large numbers on the battlefield. Time and again, the Prussians and their Allies stormed into the hail of lead that was thrown at them by the French forces. The Mitrailleuse was, unfortunately for the French, used as an artillery piece, and rarely made its presence felt as much as it should have. The war came down to a lop-sided game of chess between the efficient Prussian Generals, and the lax, and almost comatose French generals. The French High Command acted like prey transfixed by the eyes of a serpent. More than a few times, the Prussians and their Allies broke or almost broke under the weight of French fire while attacking. The French High Command could not overcome their malaise, and constantly pulled defeat from the jaws of victory.


First Counter Sheet


 At Any Cost is a simulation (I hate using the word 'game' for a wargame) of the French Army under Marshal Bazaine's attempt to escape from the environs of the fortress of Metz, and meet with another army under Napoleon III. The six scenarios of the game take place during August 15th to August 18th 1870. They run from small two corp battles on each side to two different campaign scenarios. 


Second Counter Sheet


 This 'game' uses the 'Blind Swords System' to play out the different battles. It is essentially a chit-pull system that emphasizes the three 'FOWs' of war: fog-of-war, friction-of-war, and fortunes-of-war. The Blind Swords System is meant to put the player on the horns of a dilemma and to keep him there during the entire game. The game itself is based upon infantry brigades, cavalry, and artillery. This was the last war where cavalry really made any useful contribution on the actual battlefield. The situation that the Prussians find themselves in is that they have lost the French Army. The Prussians outnumber the French, but due to fatigue and weather Bazaine's Army has escaped their grasp. The French forces are trying to go West, however their somnambulist state plays against them at every turn. The Prussians find the French, but assume that it is their rearguard. Unfortunately for them it is actually the slow moving French vanguard. 


Map Close up from the 'A Day Of Battle' scenario


 So what do you actually get with the game:

 RuleBook - With play examples
 Playbook - This contains the scenarios, and the historical notes
 Game Track Card
 Prussian Strategic movement Card
 4 - Player Aid Cards ( 2-Prussian, 2-French)
 4 - Ten-sided Die (1-Blue, 1-Red, 2-White)
 22" x 34" map
 Two Standard Size Counter Sheets

 The six scenarios are :

 The Afternoon Crisis (Small Battle Scenario)
 Twilight Of The Guards (Small Battle Scenario)
 A Day of Battle (Full Battle Scenario)
 Bloody Thursday (Full Battle Scenario)
 A Beckoning Victory (Campaign Scenario)
 It Will Cost What It Will (Campaign Scenario)

 The sequence of play is:

1. Planning Phase
2. Chit Draw Phase
3. Activation Phase
 A. HQ Command Step
 B. Fire Combat Step
 C. Movement Step
 D. Assault Combat Step
 E. Rally Step
 F. Out Of Command Step
4. End Turn Phase
 A. French Command Step
 B. Prussian Command Step
 C. Victory Determination Step
 D. Housekeeping Step
 The Rulebook is twenty-eight pages long. Both it and the Playbook are in color and well set up and easy to read. The counters and map are your typical GMT fare. Which means they are extremely well done with great artwork. On the map each hex represents 500 yards. 

 This is a few of the French Event Chit Descriptions:
 Beaten Zone: Play immediately of hold. Any one French Infantry or Mitrailleuse unit conducts an immediate fire combat following all normal procedures.
 Command Initiative: Hold. Play at the end of any enemy's HQ Command Step (after the opponent assigns an Order to the activated HQ units). Roll a die and apply the following.
 1-2 = Active HQ unit is given a different Order by the Prussian Player.
 3-4 = Active HQ unit is given a different Order by the French Player.
 5 = Active HQ unit must be given a March Order.
 6 = Active HQ unit must be given a Defend Order.
 7 = Active HQ unit must be given a Regroup Order.
 8 = Active HQ unit must be given an Attack Order.
 9-10 = National Doctrine: French HQ must be given a Defend Order. Prussian HQ must be given an Attack Order. 

 So, you can see by the chits how the Blind Swords System at times actually gives your opponent the chance to change your own forces' orders. This unique use of the chit pull system has now become the ultimate in fog-of-war. You,as the French Player, could give your HQ's defend orders only to see the Prussian Player able to change your orders to attack and vice versa. Remember that the chief goal of the French Player is to escape (in the campaign scenarios). So, not only is good play needed on the tactical level, you must also be ready to have all of your well thought out plans thrown to the winds. The system took an old grog like me a little bit of getting used to. Then I was able to embrace it, and see how artfully it depicts not only the fog-of-war, but also the friction, and fortunes-of-war. 

This is the setup for my favorite scenario 'Twilight Of The Guards'

 I have been a student of this war since I was a child. I have played out these battles in my mind and table for the last fifty years. I can say, unfortunately for me, this game is the best tactical representation of the conflict I have played. I said unfortunately because I have always wanted the French to win these battles. The smaller scenarios, including my favorite 'Twilight Of The Guards' are able to show how close the French came to victory, and can actually have the French winning them. The campaign scenarios are a bit tougher on the French side to win. The 'French Army Morning Deployment Rule' (they are essentially laying in their tents waiting for water to boil for their cafe) in the campaign scenarios really hamstring the French Army's retreat. This is not a bad thing, and is totally historic, but it is tough to overcome. I have liked the postings I have seen by the designer Hermann Luttmann, and his very prompt answers to game questions. He also does not treat the rules as if they were etched in stone, but encourages players to experiment with changes to them. That is the one thing that board games will always have over computer ones. If you find a rule that is non-historical or doesn't work, don't use it and make your own. It's your game.

 I can unequivocally recommend this game to anyone with an interest in the era. I can also recommend the Blind Sword System to grogs who are looking for a change of pace. The system is going to be used in a number of upcoming games from the 19th century.

 This is a link to the Rulebook:

 This is a link to the Errata and FAQ:
 This is an excellent write up about the Battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat:

Robert

T he Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 Volume 1 by Quintin Barry     The Franco-Prussian War in 1870 set Europe on a course of dea...

The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 Volume 1 by Quintin Barry The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 Volume 1 by Quintin Barry

For your Wargamer, Toy soldier collector, MiniFig collector, military history nut. Reviews, interviews, Model Making, AARs and books!

Franco-Prussian War






  The Franco-Prussian War in 1870 set Europe on a course of death and destruction for seventy-five years. The French loss engendered the revenge seen in World War I, which in turn brought on the vengeance of World War II. You might tie the Franco-Prussian War to the collapse of Europe from its dominant place in world politics, due to the above.

 In order for Germany to be united, the War had to happen. The smaller German states would never have rallied around Prussia if there was still a powerful outside nation to play them one against the other. The defeat in 1866 of Austria-Hungary set up Bismarck for his final challenge: to defeat France and then unify Germany over her prostrate form. Had Bismarck not taken Alsace-Lorraine as one of the spoils of war, maybe France would not have seethed so long and hard with the idea of revanche.

Helmuth von Moltke the elder
           

 The Franco-Prussian War was brought on by a telegram, helped by Bismarck's artful editing, before it was released to the press. The Ems telegram was made to look by Bismarck to be a French ultimatum for assurances that the crown of Spain would not go to a Hohenzollern.

 Mr. Barry, in this first volume about the war, goes into all of the different sticks laid on the proverbial camel's back from 1866 until the aforementioned telegram. He also goes into the building of the Prussian Army, and especially of its general staff under Moltke the elder. The book shows all of the different strengths and weaknesses of both the France and Prussia and her allies' armed forces. The technological superiority of the French Chassepot rifle had almost twice the effective range of the Prussian needle gun. It also explains how the French also misused their 'secret' weapon, the Mitrailleuse, which was the world's first effective machine gun, although it was much closer to a Gatling gun in its actual operation. The Prussian steel breech loading cannon, and their more effective use by them in 1870 compared to 1866, is shown to the reader.

Napoleon III


 The book goes into all of the battles on the frontier, and shows how the French gave better than they received through most of the engagements. The French, with a determined and centralized command structure, might have been able to at least bloody the Prussian nose enough to give Moltke pause. Unfortunately for them, the French soldiers' magnificent fighting was thrown away time after time by their generals. The near suicidal attacks by the Prussian and German soldiers on the French at Spicheren, Weissenburg, and Wörth pushed the French relentlessly back out of some excellent defensive positions. This was only after the French had inflicted large casualties on their attackers.

 The encirclement battles of the siege of Metz, and the final battle of the first part of the campaign Sedan are told to the reader along with all of the might have-beens had the French been able to work as an army instead of just as separated units.

 In the beginning of the book there is an interesting memorandum written by Moltke on the subject of the possibility of Austria entering into the war on the side of France:

  "If the political situation brings about a war of France against Prussia then the attitude of Austria will be either decidedly hostile or at least very doubtful. Should we oppose one half of our army to each of these two powers, we would be superior to neither. Therefore the first thing to be considered is: against which enemy will we in the start assume the defensive with minor forces, in order to advance offensively as strong as possible against the other?"

 Seeing that Schlieffen was tutored in the great general staff under Moltke, is it possible that this is where the 'Schlieffen Plan' actually comes from?

   The book was published by Helion and Company and distributed by Casemate Publishing. It includes seventy-four black and white pictures and also has seventeen maps of the campaign and battles.


Robert


Book: The Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 Volume 1
Author: Quintin Barry
Publisher: Helion and Company
Distributor: Casemate Publishing
Date of Review: 11/12/16
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