Spicheren Play-by-WhatsApp Game

Last weekend I decided to umpire a game of To The Last Gaiter Button for FG and Martin via WhatsApp. I used the Battle of Spicheren scenario, and trimmed the order of battle down to two divisions per side, with two battalions per brigade instead of three.

Martin, playing the Prussian, was told to take the road and rail to the west end (near side in our photo - the town of Forbach) to enable the army to pursue the fleeing French. FG, playing the French, was told to hold the Prussians off while the remainder of the French army prepares to fight off a Prussian flanking attack further to the west.

I took photos of the table from both the Prussian view and the French view, and sent them to Martin and FG respectively, and they gave me their orders. Playing in this manner, we were able to play the game over Saturday and Sunday afternoons, between lunch and dinner time.

On his left Martin sent the 27th Brigade on a headlong charge to the French position on the wooded ridge across from them - the result was a bloody repulse. Seeing the Prussians in retreat, the French in turn charged from their position, and were decimated by Prussian artillery, and finished off by the Prussian cavalry.

On the right Martin sent his 28th Brigade up the wooded ridge in an attempt to get close to Forbach, which FG withdrew his French into. Here the Prussians found that their artillery was ineffective against the infantry in the town, or the chasseurs in the woods, and that their rifles were outranged by the French.

Late in the afternoon the Divisional artillery finally arrived, and the Prussians were able to take the woods - but by then it was too late to press the attack into Forbach.

The last time Martin and FG played TTLGB was literally years ago, but since I was making all the moves and resolving all the attacks for them, they did not need to know the rules and could just give their orders. The process did take a lot longer than it would have if the game was played face-to-face, but unusual times call for unusual manner of gaming.

The lockdown will end this weekend, and while the law says that we may now gather in small groups, it does not mean that we *should* do so. I am planning to wait a couple weeks and see how the situation goes before resuming face-to-face gaming again; in the mean time, we can probably try some WhatsApp gaming again.