Austro Prussian Wars of 1866 Rules

[mollinary]

We will be in Linz in Upper Austria in early August and Bohemia is just a stones throw away. So out of interest, where abouts are you going?

Hi Steve,

We will be doing the APW, so it is NE Bohemia for us - but the trip is only a week, so we will be out by the end of the month.  We will take in all the major actions up to and including Koniggratz, so that includes Podol, Jicin, Nachod, Trautenau, Skalitz, Burkersdorf, Scwheinschadel, Koniginhof and the big K itself.  Staying in Jicin and Hradec Kralove, it really is a lovely country.

Mollinary

[Steve J]

Yep, beautiful part of the world, as we took a day trip there a few years ago. Fingers crossed we hope to do the same again.

[holdfast]

A tardy and rambling response for Dour Puritan on the issue of the maps from the map and board designer (and co-author).

We start by walking the ground and reading the reports. From these two activities we identify the ground features that are/were key. These do not always feature on maps as the contour interval is usually greater than a man's height. A significant bump or dip that hides a unit or allows a covered approach may not appear as such on a map. The obvious example is the Gully of the river Cidlina at Gitschin which is appears on maps as a small trace but actually allows units with a 50 yard frontage to advance in cover. It has to be represented in such a way as to allow the attacker to use it as a covered approach, with no single blocking position available to the defender. The question is how much you then put out on the board, since both sides have a bird's eye view of the covered approach. Here it all depends on how many and how good your umpires are. If they have walked the ground and the players have not then the umpires can announce extra detail in the micro terrain as units arrive at a particular point.

We also try to look at the approaches to a position from the viewpoint of both the attacker and the defender. It is surprising how much 'dead ground there is, and how difficult it is for the defender to identify all the dead ground.

The best maps are often those drawn at the time as they show the features that were known to be important at the time. A modern map can have too much detail or too little detail. The sort of micro-cover that the Prussians were trained to use - and did use  - does not show up in any maps and has to be assumed to be there. Again the umpire has a role here.

Generally we will only reproduce an unique, odd looking hill if the shape was significant in the action being gamed. Fancy shaped features on the periphery where very little happens, are too much trouble. Water courses are somewhat more important to portray as areas that are well drained today might not have been then, while areas that were simply boggy then may have been deliberately flooded to produce significant water features (again, Gitschin has areas that are now lakeside holiday camp sites that were just soggy and poor going then).

In the end it all boils down to common sense and umpires. In 1866 the Prussians will always squeeze more advantage out of whatever cover is available that the Austrians, by dint of their tactics, training and their small unit leadership. So if you want to give a Prussian unit an advantage for using cover in an area where the Austrians would not get any advantage that is entirely supportable.

Holdfast

[Leman]

Thanks for that Holdfast. In the past I have used green card squares on the table which, when turned over, give info about the terrain and its advantages and/or disadvantages. It really helps to walk a battlefield, as I discovered at Mars la Tour. I have returned today from 2 1/2 weeks on the canals, which took me through Market Drayton so I took the opportunity to walk up to Blore Heath (1459). Still cannot really see what prompted Audley to make a mounted charge across a stream and then uphill, even if the Yorkists were pulling a fast one on him by way of a feint withdrawal. Can only assume chivalric honour as Audley was a French Wars veteran. This battlefield is virtually untouched, other than by farming, and there is a fascinating booklet on it edited by Paddy Griffith. Caliver may have a copy (?).

[sdennan]

The rules are here and I have nearly fought off the jet lag enough to have a look at them.

For just a quick game down at the club for 3 or 4 hours how many units do you recommend?

Simon

[mollinary]

Simon,

If you haven't played these rules, or any variant of them before, I would be inclined to start off with just a brigade, a battery, and a cavalry regiment a side.  So say 8-9 units a side. Anyone else have a view? 

Mollinary

[sdennan]

I have played RFF a lot. So maybe two brigades a side then.

[Hertsblue]

It's very easy to be over-ambitious when playing a new set of rules. Remember Sod's First Law - "everything takes longer than you think". The more troops you deploy the more set-up time is required and the the more time spent packing up. With small forces, if the game finishes early you can always play another.

[Leman]

So very,very true.

[holdfast]

Do bear in mind also that these APW brigades are large and take a lot of punishment. An ACW Brigade is rarely more than 2,000 whereas an APW brigade is rarely less than 6,000. Obviously you can make a stand represent any number you like but it takes a lot of casualties to bring a brigade to a grinding halt. Especially at the start when the Austrians (and most of the world) are supremely confident that their tactics will work. So an Austrian brigade action, perhaps against a Prussian Advance Guard of 2-3 battalions, is a good start. Think early moments at Nachod, when that is precisely what takes place.

[Leman]

Unlike the original Altar of Freedom, where a Civil War brigade is represented by a 60x30 stand, for the European Wars I have put a regiment on a 60x60mm base, so two large bases represent a brigade.

[mollinary]

Unlike the original Altar of Freedom, where a Civil War brigade is represented by a 60x30 stand, for the European Wars I have put a regiment on a 60x60mm base, so two large bases represent a brigade.

Sorry,  not sure I understand this post, DP. Have you adapted AOF for 1866? Am a bit surprised, as I can only imagine it being useful for Koniggratz. But then, no-one in UK stocks hard copies, and I am old school when it comes to rules!

Mollinary

[Leman]

Yes, looking for the quick game with a relatively small number of units. Have played some FPW with it very successfully. And fear not; I am preparing my vast 6mm collection for use on 30x20mm bases for 1859/66/70 and RF&F.

[sdennan]

Ok so I'll start with a brigade of Prussians and two of Austrians.

[holdfast]

So how do you know what formation your one big base, representing 3,000 men, is in? March column or shock column or extended line and so on? Or do you just roll marbles at them?