Some Franco-Prussian War Book Reviews

I haven’t done any book reviews for a little while so here are three all at once. Each is a new or revised edition of volumes published by Helion a dozen or so years ago focussing on the opening moves of the France-Prussian War. They are of course wonderful.

The Campaign in Alsace August 1870 by Brigadier-General J.P. Du Cane CB is a new edition of the book originally published by Helion in 2010. It is number 56 in their excellent ‘from Musket to Maxim’ series. It provides an account of the early phases of the Franco-Prussian War, specifically examining French and German military actions in the Alsace region and the battles of Weissenburg and Wörth. First published in the late nineteenth century, it combines historical analysis with military commentary and reflects the author's experience as a British officer observing European warfare during this period.

 

The focus is primarily on high-level operations and command decisions, with less attention paid to the experiences of rank-and-file soldiers or broader socio-political context. Du Cane examines troop movements, command decisions, and battlefield outcomes using a methodical approach. The analysis is presented in a factual, restrained manner without emotional or nationalistic language. This approach provides credibility when comparing French and German military operations. The author reviews the structure of the French command, noting challenges with cohesion and preparedness, and describes the strategic discipline and operational efficiency exhibited by the Prussian forces.

 

A notable strength of the book is its inclusion of seven clearly drawn maps and tactical sketches, which I found helpful in visualising complex manoeuvres, particularly those related to the battles of Weissenburg and Wörth. These features contributed to my understanding of the ways in which terrain and timing affected the outcomes. There are four appendices which give detailed orders of battle for Weissenburg and Wörth.

 

 

Overall, The Campaign in Alsace August 1870 remains a valuable resource for students of military history, especially those like me who are interested in the Franco-German War, nineteenth century warfare, and the evolution of operational doctrines. While not a narrative history in the modern sense, it offers a disciplined, insider’s look at a pivotal campaign through the eyes of a contemporary military observer.

 

ISBN: 978-1-804518-82-3        101 pages, paperback

 

The Battle of Spichern is a new edition of the original book Helion published in 2009. It is more than a retelling of a nineteenth century clash but more of a tactical masterclass. Written by G.F.R. Henderson in 1891, who was a British Army officer and respected military thinker, this book breaks down the August 1870 battle between French and Prussian forces with great precision and dramatic clarity.

 

Through detailed maps, tactical sketches of the battlefields drawn from ground level, eyewitness reports, and detailed analysis of each stage of the battle, Henderson explains how leadership, terrain, weaponry, and sheer human will, contributed towards the ultimate the outcome. What unfolds is a timeless study in battlefield decision making, command under pressure, and the real consequences of tactical error. Despite its age and writing style I found the narrative completely enthralling and despite knowing the ending it was a difficult book to put down.

 

In addition to aforementioned maps and so forth there are a large number of contemporary black and white illustrations and a complete order of battle for both the French and Prussian armes and a breakdown average strengths and of losses suffered. One fact I found especially interesting was that in terms of number actually engaged, the figures are pretty much even.

Whether you're a military history enthusiast, student of leadership, or just love a gripping true story, The Battle of Spicheren remains essential reading. I found it clear, compelling, and surprisingly relevant more than 130 years after it was written.

 

ISBN: 978-1-804518-50-2      273 pages, paperback

 

Originally published in 1891, The Battle of Wörth by George F.R. Henderson represents a significant contribution to classic military history literature. The work provides a concise yet comprehensive analysis of one of the earliest major engagements of the Franco-Prussian War, detailing the conflict between Marshal MacMahon’s French troops and the German forces led by Crown Prince Frederick. This revised edition, first issued by Helion in 2013, incorporates a curated collection of pertinent images and an extensive bibliography related to the Battle of Worth. Additionally, it features a new foreword by Helion owner Duncan Rodgers.

 

Henderson, a British Army officer and one of the most respected military historians of his day, wrote this primarily for fellow professionals — and it shows. If you enjoy studying how nineteenth century armies were armed, organised, moved, fought, and failed, you’ll find it deeply rewarding. Certainly the depth of research and the detailed analysis of every moment of the battle makes for a gripping read as we get a blow-by-blow account of the battle. 

 

There are 22 contemporary black and white illustrations and photographic portraits of some of the key players on both sides. The images of troops in action are excellent, being full of movement. There are five excellent maps and two detailed panoramic sketches of the battlefield, one each from the French and German perspectives. 

 

The book also boasts seven appendices. As well as the extensive orders of battle, there are others covering the losses incurred by both armies; some French regiments suffered between 77 and 93 percent losses and were effectively annihilated. Indeed a staggering 50 percent of the infantry and 32 percent of the cavalry were casualties on the day, which totalled around 8,000 killed and wounded and 6,000 unwounded prisoners. German losses were numerically slightly higher but as a percentage just 11 percent of those engaged. German artillery expenditure (nearly 10,000) is also included, together with a breakdown by target type of the effective range of German artillery. We then have extracts from regimental histories which give an insight into infantry fighting at regimental and lower levels. Finally, Duncan has compiled a comprehensive guide for further reading which is an extensive, massively diverse, list of reference material. Some of it is general ‘stuff’ (official or general histories of the war) but also included are a significant number of French and German regimental histories, usefully grouped together by corps or division.

 

There is very little on the politics, civilian experience, or larger context of the war; rather the focus is wholly on what it should be – the battle. This is a soldier writing for soldiers, and the style could be considered dry and dated by today’s standards, it being written in 1899. I cannot say I found this to be the case. Henderson’s clarity of thought and respect for both French and German command make it a most worthwhile read for any serious student of military history. I am fascinated with the Franco-Prussian War and have no problem in recommending this book to like-minded souls. If you missed Helion’s first release then it is well worth buying now.

 

 

ISBN: 978-1-804517-90-1                 119 pages, paperback

Paraguayan Anti-Aircraft Tactics Humaita 1867

This was in an Ascuncion-based newspaper during the war.

Very silly but why not…..?

The Brazilian Aeronautical Corps

Yes, the Brazilians really did have such a thing (see image above at the siege of Humaita), so making a hot air balloon was a no brainer. The balloon is a suitably-shaped piece of recycled or regurgitated cardboard (the stuff they make sick bowls out of in hospital) thing from Hobbycraft with the netting from a bag of onions stretched over it. The basket was made from a few bits of wattle fencing. I think it looks pretty good crewed by a pair of valiant aeronauts.

A Change of Continents - India 1846, the First Sikh War

I had a few of the Burrowers over on Saturday to play a Sikh Wars game. I don’t think I’ve had these on the table for almost two, years which is a great sin; when setting the game up I was reminded how gorgeous the collection was - ok I am biased but it is striking and wish I could still paint that consistently well. Thank you Covid as this collection was born of the pandemic. I decided we should use Valour and Fortitude as there was a tested set of army sheets on the V&F Facebook page and I enjoyed the game last time when we were in a swampy Paraguay.

The British were following a withdrawing Sikh army. The latter chose to make a stand around a small town and behind a dried up nulla and a long stretch of jungle. For the British to win they had to break more than half of the Sikh brigades and capture the town.

John the Red and Nigel played the British while Richard and Jon were the Sikhs. The latter deployed with their Gorchara cavalry and camel guns split between each wing. One brigade of regulars held the centre, while a mass of irregular infantry were placed beside the cavalry on the Sikh left. A large mob of Akali filled the gap between the town and the cavalry on the right. The best Sikh infantry (the elite French-trained battalions) were held in reserve. Several batteries of guns were placed along the front. There was also a surprise waiting for the British as their scouting had been dreadful. Unseen by the British at the start was an emplaced battery of heavy guns immediately to the front of the town, which would only be placed on the table when it became possible to see it. 

The British also split their cavalry, one brigade on the right and the other on the left. The left brigade contained the only Queen’s regiment of cavalry. The four infantry brigades were spread across the entire front , two heading for the jungle, one towards the nulla and the other on the far right. They were supported by what artillery was available, namely a few troops of Bengal Horse Artillery, Bengal Foot Artillery and a battery of heavy guns accompanied by a rocket!

The battle began with a general advance along the British line, although the troops on the right were somewhat slow in getting into position. I’m not going to give a blow-by-blow account of the game, but hopefully readers may be able to make sense of the photos. 

Sikhs on the left, British on the right

British cavalry brigade on their right. No European regiment, just the Governor General's Bodyguard, two regimenty of Bengal Light Cavalry and one of Bengal Irregular Cavalry, with a troop of Bengal Horse Artillery in support.

The Sikh centre. Six battaliopns of Khalsa with lots of guns.

The British left, with their other cavalry brigade, this time including European light dragoons (HM 4th) a regiment of BLC and the 2nd Bengal Irrrgular Cavalry.

Lurking behind the town were several battalions of elite (French-trained) Sikh infantry and more cannon.

Nigel wisely lurked in the undergrowth for a little while rather than face three heavy Sikh cannon.

The cavalry on the British right were soon in action, getting the better of  hoards of Sikh Gorchara cavalry.

The biggest threat to the British centre was in theory four units of Akali irregular and fanatical infantry. Richard couldn't get them to move for a coiuple of turns. 

Bengal Horse Artillery about to bombard the Akali.

There was also a fierce cavalry fight on the British left.  This is the second stage of the combat as HM 4th Light Dragoons had already defeated one enemy unit and charged on into another. Ultimately the Sikh cavalry were disposed of, just as the Sikh reserves made their appearance from behind the town.

The nulla proved to be a help and a hindrance to both armies. Troops descending into the nulla could not be seen but their was no guarantee that they could see out without first climbing back up the other side.  At least that saved one Queen's battalion from the attention of Sikh artillery which was forced to target the Gurkha battalion to its rear.

Nigel's brigades launched an assault on the Sikh redoubt and captured it more easily than I had thought possible. Rules tweak required I think?

On the British right Jon and John launch their cavalry at each other, and ther Sikhs were able to catch and overrun a troop of artillery that was unable to get away. Most of the remaining Sikh horsemen were destroyed or driven back. 

The horse artillery were unable to prevent the Sikhs from overrunning their position.

With the Sikh cavalry now rendered ineffective the British cavalry made several fruitless attacks on the irregular infantry to their front. All were surprisingly beaten off, causing more than a little consternation. Jon kept throwing 6's when testing to see how 'unpredictable' his men were, resulting in their stats being bumped up. 

Even the British infantry brigade struggled against the irregulars, loosing one  battalion of Sepoys 

                                                                   

Zumi our Persian kitten inspecting the town. 

Finally the 'Avitables' .emerged from behind the town, 

                                             which was now in the hands of the British

The Akalis were anihilated.

The Sikhs tried to recapture the town but weree unable to gain a foothold.

So there ended a very close and exciting game. I declared it a British victory, just. The town was captured and much of the Sikh cavalry and the Akalis had been destroyed, as had several regular battalions ikn the centre. There was certainly a much bigger 'dead pile' behind the Sikh lines!

V&F worked well. There were a couple of amendments which certainly made a difference, insofar that Sikh artillery HAD to engage in counter-battery fire, and any losses taken by a European battalion could be shifted onto a sepoy battalion in the same brigade. I was surprised the Sikhs held back their best infantry until it was too late, and I don't think Jon's brigade in the centre needed to advance, as it put them at a disadvantage against the British hiding in the nulla. I could be wrong of course. I need to add a rule for Sikh artillery when defending their guns in melee, and I wonder if the tenacity of these big batteries should be increased.  

Anyway, it was an enjoyable game. Even the weather made it feel like we were in the Punjab. (Not really but it was very warm and humid).

I think I will try GdA II with the Sikhs next time. Not because I don't like V&F (which I do and are perfect for most big Saturday games here) but because I am curious. 

Right, back to Paraguay for a while as these ships won't paint themselves!

A Paraguayan Gunboat

 

Here is my attempt at a gunboat for the Paraguayan navy. It’s from Actual Size Miniatures via eBay, as is the cannon. Crew are Perrys. There were a whole set of rails round the bridge but they’re far too fragile so most have gone the journey. I probably ought to give it at least one mast so it may go into dock for a refit before too long. Finally I just need a flag and a figure to be the captain and away we go…..

More South Americans

Today I finished these three units for the Paraguayan War armies. I really hate the Paraguayans and their shakes with the tricolour bands! Aaargh!

A battalion of Brazilian Volunteers of the Fatherland .

Two units of unmounted Paraguayan cavalry- swords and lances will be very useful when facing off against a decent Coalition battalion (not) but they may have a place in a fortress.

Paraguayan Horror. War of the Triple Alliance Game #2

Yesterday saw another run out for my new Paraguayan War armies, this time using Valour and Fortitude. I had been planning to use BBB but decided at the last minute to use V&F just to see how they worked and because I wanted to put my entire collection (as it stands now) on the table.

There were six of us playing. The Alliance were played by Jon (Brazil), John (Argentine) and John (Uruguayan). Conrad, Nigel and I were the Paraguayans, Nigel taking the role of the dictator López. The objectives of the game were simple. The Alliance were tasked with capturing a Paraguayan fort covering a tributary of the Parana river.  The Paraguayans needed to destroy as much of the Brazilian and Argentine forces before the Uruguayans arrived ( when John the Red had finished dad’s taxi duties). A passive defence was unlikely to work. The Paraguayans rather sneakily had another emplaced battery of heavy guns across the river ready to enfilade the Allied attack.  

Terrain wise, there were a number of small impassable lagoons, lots of marsh and broken ground/scrub and the river was deemed to be twice as wide as represented on the table so the heavy guns would only be able to fire at a limited number of Alliance forces. Here are a few photos which hope will give some idea of how things unraveled or developed during the day.Blogger has as usual buggered up the order of the photos but I’ve made an attempt to put them back in the right sequence, I hope.

A view of the Paraguayan line.

Conrad commanded the entire Paraguayan cavalry arm, and deployed all seven regiments on our left.

Despite starting the game amidst the scrub and difficult terrain the Paraguayan cavalry advanced as quickly as they could in order to attempt a flanking attack on the Alliance forces.

Conrad’s horsemen massing to envelop the Argentinian flank. 

Paraguayan cavalry threaten the rear of the Argentinian infantry. Two battalions were forced into square.

On the right Jon’s Brazilians were struggling to make any headway against the fort but did pile the pressure on my infantry between the fort and the river. One cavalry attack was   beaten off.

The Paraguayan  right about get overwhelmed by the Brazilians

In the centre Nigel’s infantry closed with the Argentinians and held them up. Casualties were heavy and several battalions on both sides were broken.

An expanded view of the fight in the centre.

Our cavalry were poised to outflank the Argentinians but were held by several charges by the outnumbered and outclassed Argentine cavalry.

A nice view of the fort.

In the nick of time the Uruguayan division arrived to save the Allied army. They blunted several attacks from the Paraguayan cavalry. 

Paraguayans getting the worse of the fight against the tough Uruguayans.

In the centre one of Conrad’s regiments broke an Argentinian square. President Mitre above was almost captured.

The last throw of the Paraguayan dice as the sole surviving cavalry regiment took on a regiment of Argentinians. 

The fort looking packed full of Paraguayans. They infantry were all militia types and not as good as Nigel’s veteran troops in the centre .

 

The Brazilians had meanwhile annihilated my division by the river. 

Another shot of the gallant Uruguayans who saved the day. 

Well that was superb and much fun. Highs and lows were me forgetting to fire my artillery across the river most turns, me forgetting the rules until well into the game, the tenacity of the Paraguayan cavalry was remarkable although they were wiped out in the end. The Brazilians under Jon wiped out my division by the river but were struggling to make any progress against the fort. Interestingly nobody put their infantry into skirmish order where such a thing was allowed, and the skirmished rule was forgotten until well after the battle.

I think the statistics for the Paraguayan army seemed to work. I maybe need a little more thought regarding the Alliance forces as some of the troop stats didn’t seem right and I wanted to separate out Volunteers of the Fatherland and National Guard. I think the artillery was possibly a little too powerful as I’d used two guns per battery as it looks better. Jon struggled against the fort but maybe that’s accurate? 

Anyway, everyone enjoyed the game and the rules so we shall try them again soon. Maybe the Austrian-Prussian War of 1866?  Meanwhile ai had some fun with ChatGPT or whatever it’s called.

John as the Uruguayan commander

John ‘President Mitre’ Hogan

A battered me

    
                 Conrad above and Nigel        below

Jon the Brazilian