by Paul LaFontaine, 7 June 2026
Gravelotte was one of the pivotal battles of the Franco-Prussian War. Four players, Lewis++, Rebelsqrl, Seabass and Popa participated in this historical play.
All players and the umpires had physical sets at their locations and the umpire reports were given verbally via Discord. We distributed a map with grid coordinates on it to allow the players to orient.
Seabass and Popa worked together to concentrate on one of the enemy formations, routing it and winning the battle.
General Briefing – Both Sides
This is late 19th Century Europe. Breech loading rifles have made infantry fire deadly. Rifled artillery is the norm, with ranges increasing to 3KM effectively. Due to these innovations, cavalry is the weaker arm.
most images can click to enlarge
The umpire will give you reports of the enemy in terms of numbers of soldiers, saddles or guns. You will want to translate this to units on the board.
Calculating Distances
For quick resolutions, all distances are measured in block widths, which are approximately 1KM.
Prussian (Blue) Briefing – Order of Battle
All units must start west of the River (blue line). Bridges are sufficient to allow full road speed when crossing along roads. Rivers cannot be forded. The slopes west of Kleindorf and around Bergenthal are steep.
Your mission is to defeat the enemy force, which is 10% smaller than yours and prepare for a move on the enemy capital which is southeast down the rail line out of Altbruck. Note: the road southeast out of Hinterfels does not lead easily to the capital. Only the road north of the river will be sufficient.
French (Red) Briefing – Order of Battle
All units must start to the east of the red line:
Reports are that large enemy formations have sent advanced units to Steinhafen and Haupthof. Your capital is to the southeast. You must defeat this force and keep it from marching down the rail line toward the capital. The enemy has a force around 10% larger than yours. Note: the road southeast out of Hinterfels does not lead easily to the capital. Only the road north of the river will suffice for the enemy to reach the capital and must be defended.
Turn 1
Seabass marches his column northeast toward Weisen (1) as Popa marches to Kleindorf (2). Lewis++ moves his infantry to Weisen and sends his cavalry west to scout (3). Rebelsqrl keeps his main force at Altbruck, and detaches one infantry unit west to determine the enemy situation (4). He also sends a cavalry south to ensure there is not a flanking threat (5). The unit of infantry he sent west he calls a “tripwire” in a dispatch to Lewis++.
Turn 2
Seabass‘ cavalry begins to outpace the infantry on the route north (1). Popa has pushed his artillery forward to get them into position near Kleindorf (2). Lewis++ gathers information from his cavalry who catches wind of an enemy column coming their way from the west (3). The lone infantry tripwire unit continues to march west (4). Rebelsqrl orders his units into defensive positions near Altbruck (5). The detached cavalry continues its ride and reports no enemy contact (6). The French command has chosen to fortify the towns east of the high ground, the Prussians are rushing to take the high ground west of Kleindorf.
Turn 3
Cavalry under Seabass and Lewis++ encounter each other at the crossroads in the north (1). The Prussians outnumber the French, who yield ground. Seabass‘ infantry continues to move northeast. Popa remains focused on Kleindorf and approaches the outskirts (2).
The detached French infantry continues to make its way along the forest road (3). Lewis++ remains in place reporting by dispatch to Rebelsqrl the large enemy cavalry formation on which he has gotten the word (4). Rebelsqrl continues to fortify Altbruck (5). The cavalry continues its ride without making contact (6).
Turn 4
Lewis++ moves his cavalry to high ground to try and discern the enemy movements (1). The 3200 Prussian cavalry hold the crossroads. Seabass pushes his infantry on (2). Popa has reached the ridge line west of Kleindorf. He takes care to place his artillery to take advantage of the ground. On deploying the artillery begins shelling lines of infantry they see in the woods.
Lewis++ holds at at Weisen (4). Rebelsqrl remains at Altbruck (5), and sends a dispatch to Lewis++ on the enemy buildup at Kleindorf. The cavalry continues its ride, having found no enemy and now moving toward the crossroads south of Kleindorf (6). Lewis++ sends a dispatch saying that he can hold Weisen if Rebelsqrl can hold Altbruck.
Turn 5
Seabass sends his four cavalry northeast toward Weisen (1). The lone French infantry sent west begins to take casualties from the guns set in place by Popa (2). The woodline being shelled, the French fall back. Popa reports this contact to Seabass by dispatch.
Lewis++ remains in place (3). He sends one unit of cavalry south to try and see the situation at Kleindorf. Rebelsqrl remains in Altbruck and takes reports from his far flung units (4). The cavalry continues to ride (5).
Turn 6
There is a cavalry fight in the north, and the Prussians who have superior numbers push the French off (1). One French cavalry unit, finding itself caught between superior cavalry numbers and artillery, withdraws eastwards (2). Popa adjusts the positions of the guns and artillery to ensure the ridge line is strong (3). The tripwire French infantry unit pulls back (4). The southern traveling French cavalry finally breaks the woodline, but it sees an infantry unit that Popa has sent south (5). This is reported back to Rebelsqrl who shares the sighting with Lewis++ by dispatch. At this point, the French have reports of infantry from Kleindorf south and cavalry in the north. The do not know the location of Seabass‘ main infantry formations.
Turn 7
Seabass sets a cavalry screen in the north (1). He begins putting his infantry units in line for a push to the southeast (2). He reports this to Popa, who is ensuring the Kleindorf ride position remains strong (3). Popa also sends infantry and artillery south to bolster the southern approach where he has spotted the French cavalry (4). Lewis++ is seeking to find out more with his cavalry, but he stays in Weisen (5). Rebelsqrl now gets a message from Lewis++ that there is a standoff in the north (6).
This is another of a series of Kriegsspiel AARs very similar to the events in our Wargame HQ at the Origins Game Fair. You can find the original article here.
Turn 8
The Prussian cavalry in the north (1) screens the movement southeast of Seabass‘ infantry forces (2). Popa sends artillery north to support Seabass who he knows is going to attack across his front (3). Rebelsqrl, looking to pin the enemy in Kleindorf and not knowing about Seabass‘ maneuver, orders his forces out of position in Altbruck and west to Kleindorf (4). He pushes his cavalry north to try and determine the enemy force locations (5).
Here is a key moment. The Prussians had to attack the French to drive them off the field and open the way to Metz. The French had set up strong defenses in Altrbruck and Weisen. With the misunderstanding of enemy locations and the lack of information about Seabass‘ infantry, Rebelsqrl moves forward of his defenses. A key decision.
Turn 9
Lewis++ holds at Weisen, though he is beginning to get suspicious of his view of the situation as there has been no push his way (1). Seabass‘ cavalry screens and keep Lewis++ blind (2). Seabass begins his attack on Rebelsqrl moving infantry (3). Popa, coordinating with him, moves off the ridge and begins a simultaneous attack (4). Rebelsqrl has his artillery in the back of the column because he expects to reach the woodline and set up a blocking position rather than fight a battle in the forest (5).
There is a key point of coordination here. Last turn Seabass informed Popa by dispatch of his plan to move southeast, called for Popa to join him. Popa orders the movement this turn. It is an example of excellent coordination.
Turn 10
Lewis++, suspecting a problem, sends his cavalry south but it is screened by the Prussians (1). Seabass conducts his attack from the north (2). Popa attacks from the west (3). Rebelsqrl‘s forces are outnumbered, in the woods and moving. Casualties begin mounting.
END OF SCENARIO
Lewis++ begins moving south now understanding there is a problem (1). But Rebelsqrl‘s force has already collapsed, outnumbered and attacked from two directions (2). The French position collapses and in a repeat of history, the Prussian’s have prevailed in the Battle of Gravelotte.
Historical Outcome
On 18 August 1870, the French failed to recognize the full strength of the advancing Prussian pursuit. Early in the day, Helmuth von Moltke directed the Prussian First and Second Armies forward against entrenched French positions. Initial German attacks ran into devastating fire from French Chassepot rifles and mitrailleuses, whose range and rate of fire badly outmatched the Prussian needle gun. Assaults across the Mance Ravine by elements of the Prussian First Army stalled under heavy casualties, and repeated infantry attacks failed despite increasing artillery support from Krupp steel breech-loading guns. By late afternoon, entire Prussian formations were pinned down or withdrawing in disorder without reaching their objectives.
The decisive phase developed around the village of St. Privat, defended by French forces under Marshal François Certain de Canrobert. Beginning around 16:50, successive brigades of the Prussian Guard attacked the French-held heights but were repeatedly cut down by concentrated rifle and artillery fire. Rather than abandon the effort, the Prussians reinforced continuously, eventually combining massed artillery bombardment with fresh infantry assaults from the Guard, Saxon XII Corps, and II Corps. While the Prussian right struggled, this growing concentration on the left gradually overwhelmed the French flank. The capture of nearby Roncourt and the advance of additional Prussian divisions stabilized the German line and enabled a final coordinated assault on the ruins of St. Privat.
The game being used is Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel from Catastrophe Games.
By evening, the French position had become untenable. Ammunition shortages, mounting casualties, and Prussian artillery envelopment convinced General Charles Denis Bourbaki that the battle was lost, and he refused calls to commit the French Old Guard in a counterattack. Around 20:00, Prussian forces finally captured St. Privat, forcing the French Army of the Rhine into retreat. Fighting faded by 22:00. The next morning, the exhausted French army withdrew toward Metz, where it was later surrounded and besieged. The defeat effectively trapped one of France’s main field armies and became a decisive turning point in the Franco-Prussian War.
Conclusion
This was an enjoyable, complex scenario. Lewis++ and Rebelsqrl attempting to create strong points in the east somewhat mimicked the French approach of creating a strong defensive position. But it may be that their strong points were too far apart for mutual support. All of their scouting and reactions were subject to a large amount of distance, which hampered them. The result was Rebelsqrl was caught on his own as he tried to move forward.
Seabass and Popa kept their forces physically close enough to provide mutual support. Popa sent an artillery unit to Seabass even though Seabass did not need it for his attack. This type of support made their combined position stronger. When they finally did conduct their attack, they were able to concentrate it on both the front and flank of Rebelsqrl‘s position.
We had a discussion in the after-action review and online about how the Kleindorf ridge position always seems to carry the day. This is true when the ridge is a key feature, however, this was really a battle of the defense of Altbruck and Weisen. The French chose to fortify those two towns and in the end made provisions that did not work for an adequate defense. Likewise, Seabass and Popa did an excellent job coordinating an attack on an isolated part of the enemy line. The Kleindorf Ridge played very little role in this scenario. It forced the battle eastward, which is where it was decided.
For the second time, I experimented with the use of the verbal grid system for reporting unit locations to players, and they reported it being difficult to get used to on a first try. The visual information of a map helps orient the players quickly, and as has occurred in the earlier test game, the time savings of a minute or so per turn is not worth the players being unclear about the location of the reports. I won’t use the grid system in the future.
The four-player format works well. Two players per side allows for the fog of war to go both from the enemy to the friendly forces. One side sent 14 dispatches, the other 16, for an active communication line between players throughout the game. This is the equivalent of user-generated content and increases the tension and gameplay for all the players. It’s really critical that one of the sides at least has multiple players on it.
Thanks to Lewis++, Rebelsqrl, Popa and Seabass for playing. Come join us next time as we continue to play the great battles of history using this unique format. We’ll see you out there.
If you’d like to join one of Kriegsspiels you can pop into this part of our forum for more
and you can also find out about the International Krieggspiel Society here
Thank you for visiting the Regiment of Strategy Gaming and riding with The Armchair Dragoons.
Rather than list a bunch of social media links, the easiest thing to do is to check out our LinkTree, which connects you to all of our various locales around the web.
You can also support The Armchair Dragoons through our Patreon, and find us at a variety of conventions and other events.
Feel free to talk back to us either in our discussion forum, or in the comments below.
