FPW Game 1, Umpire's Cut

I see wahj has beaten me to the post while I was writing about my goblin king...

Well, here's my version of the story and I'm sticking by it.

I drew the 'River' table, which had the French 1st Division bolstered by their Corps Artillery reserve facing the Prussian 13th and 14th Divisions.


As you can see wahj has cut enough felt squares for us to use it to indicate the terrain.

I did not have enough figures to represent all the forces involved (I bought enough for one full division per side, and the Prussians brought two to this fight) so I ended up using a 2-base system with a tab for each unit - the tab indicated the unit designation and has a number of '0' on it to indicate the Combat Effectiveness - we simply checked one off each time the unit took a hit, which allowed me the umpire to be able to have a record of the unit strength after the battle.


I mounted my camera on a tripod and stopped it down to f22, so you can see the players in action. The French have effectively divided the battlefield on the east bank into two by their terrain placement, and the Prussians have returned the favour.

The Prussians mass their guns on their left flank...

As the combat heats up, drawing in the French reserves, the 15th Division arrives by the other road and begins to cross the river.

Fierce melee at the riverbank sees both sides taking heavy casualties.

Eventually the French manage to extricate themselves just as the sun sets, preventing pursuit. The 1st Division had stalled the Prussians, but paid a heavy price in return. The Prussian infantry have taken a beating themselves crossing the river under Chassepot fire and charging into the mouths of the French guns, but their artillery have emerged from the battle unscathed and will lend their full weight at the final battle.