Franco-Prussian War Skirmish Using Bolt Action

Had a great play test using Bolt Action for a Franco Prussian War skirmish game today thanks to my buddy, James S. He also didn't show up empty-handed, but had a 6-pack of Guinness Stout to add to our discerning rules review during the game. Both sides had 8 units a piece. The Prussians having the only cannon on the battlefield and the French a "hero" who could lend his Morale value to units in his area of influence. Here are some images from the game with captions of game play as best I could recall. James chose to run the French and I ran the Prussians. We set it at 6 turns, with victory conditions being the occupation of more than half the buildings, of which there were 4 total, and/or killing off more than 50 percent of the enemy. Oh, and we were using the 1st edition rules as neither of us have the 2nd edition.

Prussian Jaegers assaulting Zouaves occupying a building. The Zouaves lost the combat and were routed out - this even after using their 2 Attacks in HTH. We actually played this out after the game, which the French won, just to see how HTH would work.

Zouaves and Chasseurs a Cheval firing upon attacking Bavarian infantry. The Chasseurs were given a -1 to hit while firing their carbines from the saddle. This was at the end of Turn 2, I think.

French Line Infantry occupying a building - which they managed to do for the entire game, even after being shot at by Prussian and Bavarian foot, as well as the Prussian 12 pounder. The -2 to hit while in hard cover was very helpful.

Unit dispositions after the end of Turn 1. Prussians advancing on the left, and French on the right. Note the tree stumps in the "wooded" areas. The area in and around the stumps were considered light cover. I found them convenient to use, particularly with multi-figure bases, as they can be moved around a bit to fit the bases.

Zieten Hussars firing upon Algerian Turcos after making an advance move. They caused a Pin, but no casualty in this turn. Litko "Disordered" markers were used for Pin markers.

End of Turn 3. French infantry occupying two of the four buildings, and also in firing line along the hedges to stop the Prussian advance.

Two Bavarian infantry squads attacking the French right. They sustained a lot casualties during the game due to the longer range of the Chassepot rifles. I gave the Chassepot a 24" range and the Dreyse Needle Gun an 18" range. In spite of this disadvantage, the Bavarians still managed to inflict a good number of casualties on the French, particularly their cavalry.

Prussian infantry sustaining a lot of fire from multiple French units. They were eventually wiped out with the French ending up occupying the building.

Another Prussian squad advancing and firing upon the French behind cover.

Zieten Hussars taking long range fire from Turcos in cover in the distance. French Line Infantry along the hedges having taken a lot of Pins from both the Hussars and Prussian foot.

French left, with their "hero" lending his Morale support. It was not enough for the French Line Infantry on the right above, as they were eventually routed off the table.

That all said, the French were victorious in this skirmish. They held more buildings at the end of Turn 6, and had a few more units left than the Prussians. It was a see-saw battle for the most part, and if I had used the cannon a bit more effectively, it may have helped turn the tide. In any case, both James and I felt these rules work excellently for this scenario. He later admitted that he initially had reservations about using Bolt Action for this period, but he quickly changed his mind. I don't plan to change this scenario for an upcoming game day at Fort Steilacoom next month. However, I may add a few more units if they arrive in time. Best wishes to you all and thanks for stopping by.

Franco Prussian War Skirmish

Just some staged shots before a play test tomorrow.

Prussians assaulting a French occupied village.

Prussian artillery supporting the assault.

Prussian hussars and French chasseurs a cheval charging into the fray.

An heroic French officer leads an attack against Bavarian infantry

Stoic French Zouaves holding a key piece of terrain.

Pardon the indulgence, but I wanted to get some decent photos of the terrain and figures before the actual game. I invariably forget to take pictures during the game; and the ones that I do are usually blurry and out of focus. I will, however, post the game play and results afterwards. Until then, thanks for stopping by and best wishes to you all.

I Need A Hero

"He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast,"...okay, enough with the 80's big hair throwback. This is a Franco Prussian War "French Hussar Hero" that Soren from Eagles of Empire sent me as a freebie figure along with my recent order.

He's wearing the uniform of the 1st Hussars as he would've appeared at the Battle of Sedan.

Another fine sculpt from Eagles of Empire. The horses by Ebob are among the finest around.

I'll have to see how he'll be used, but I'm assuming some kind of leadership "plus" kind of stuff for the minions.

Again, as with the other Eagles of Empire figures, the uniform and equipment details are most-impressive.

I also painted up some nice resin terrain from War World Gaming. I happened upon them while using my free 30-day Prime trial with Amazon. They were basecoated black and then quickly dry-brushed with browns and tans.

I now should have more than enough figures for a Bolt Action game - hopefully this coming Friday if players can make it. I'm also thinking of adding a few more units - like North Star Prussian Cuirassiers and Eagles of Empire French Cuirassiers as well. Thanks for stopping by by and wishing you all good gaming and painting.

2nd Empire Chasseurs a Cheval - Eagles of Empire

These are Eagles of Empire French Hussars painted up as Chasseurs a Cheval.

Another set of nicely sculpted and finely detailed 2nd Empire figures.

Again, I'm very impressed with the research that went into the details of these figures. For instance, the fascine on the saddles are a nice historical touch.

They are all in more charging poses than the North Star Prussian Hussars, but still match up with them nicely.

This set comes with extra sword arms in different poses.

Again, only 6 figures as they'll be used in small skirmish games.

All of the units for a play test are ready; which should be soon as I plan to host this at next month's Fix Bayonet game day at Fort Steilacoom.

Wishing you all the best, and happy gaming and painting!

Zieten Hussars - North Star 1866 Prussian Range

Just six figures, but enough for supporting infantry squads in Bolt Action skirmish games.

Nice, sturdy figures with good sculpting details to assist painting.

I found the flag on the web while searching for Zieten Hussars. It was only one-sided, so one side has the eagle upside down, but I curved the flag to minimize seeing this.

They're on Litko 60mm plywood round bases. This way the players won't be able to line them up in close formation, as I find they instinctively like to do.

Although these figures include a command pack, I couldn't distinguish the officer. All of the figures, except the flag bearer and musician, have carbines. I figured a "real" officer wouldn't have one.

Lately, my photos seemed to be washed out. Not sure if it's because of the lighting in my new place. I didn't seem to have this problem at my old place.

Next up are the Eagles of Empire French Hussars; which I may paint up as Chasseurs a Cheval. Then it'll be time for a play test to see if Bolt Action will feel okay for the period. Eventually, I may get some French and Prussian Cuirassiers. Until then, best wishes to you all and happy gaming and painting!