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Tactics in the Franco.Prussian

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Tactics in the Franco.Prussian 32 TACTICSIN THEFRANCO.PRUSSIAN WAR FROMOPENING SHOTS TO TIIE BATTTEOF SEDAN By Mikelohnson "shell" INTRODUCTION 3. French wasonlyeffectiveat certainpre-set ranges. 4. TheFrench Mitrailleuse was not aslethal as expected due to Although an in€reasingnumber of books are coming forward thes€arcity of mentrained to operateand service the weapon regarding the €ampaignsand battles of the Franco-Prussian and its very narrow coneof fire. War, and thereare now someexcellent sets of rulescoverins this fascinaringconflicr. whose duthors clearly have an insighi Iwould alsolike to makeafew pointson the diagramswhich into thisperiod,I find that neithersource of informationseems youwill find in thesearticlesl to dealconcisely with tacticsused and formarionsadopted by 1nThe diagmmsmainly depict infantry formations. I havenor "clutteredthem bothsides. up" withcavalryandtoo many artillery units In my opinion this is why the period, althoughenjoying asthe roleofthese latter arms is best explained in the textas popularitya few yearsago fuelled by the releaseof some a supplementto the diagrams. astoundingranges of figuresnotably in 15and 25mm (and now 2. The essentialinfantry fighting unit on borh sideswas the in 10mn),has never really broken intothe NineteenthCentury "big battalion.In realitymany more battalions would participare Period's league"which is dominatedby Napoleonicsand in the eflgagementthan the diagramswould suggest, but as ACW. All the other ingredientsare there spectacular wargamingis all aboutrecreating history in miniatwe- in uniforms,battles with momentsof dramaand pivotal tension, organisationalas well as visualscale - by deployingyour andweaponsofdauntinglethality. Without an understandingof 15mmor 25mmbattalions as depicred in th€ diagramsyou "feel" tacticsand formationsthose lovinglypainted armies are all will €apturethe of thesedesperate battl€s in the dressedupwithnowhere togo, andleft tolanguishonthe shelf "ForSale" Imperialphase of thewar. Ifyou fightin 6or 2mm(ye gods!) or edgeever nearer to the columnofthis masazine. youcan pour in morebattalions, but stillfollow the batralion ln theseanicles I hopeto changeall rhatl leveltactics. Suffice it to say that researchedrules will reflect the You will seethat in the text and in the diagams,I referto developmentsin weapontechnology in thisperiod, the salient "Prussia" "Prussians". onesofwhich can be summarisedas follows: and Thisis becausethewaris DoDularlv knownlrn thi\ countD at leasr)as the Franco-Prus:ran War. In l The FrenchChassepot rifle in the mainoutranged those of fact, as a quick perusalof any Order oI Battle will show,a theirGerman counterpa(s. considemblenumber of troopsfrom Prussia'sGerman Allies 2. The German Krupps artillery outrangedand was more (forexanple "shell" Bavaria)fought alongside rhe Prussians and their effectivethan Frenchartillery, mainlydue ro the organisationchiefly followed by the Prussianpattem. So, for rounds being fitted with percussionfuses, leading to Prussia.read "Prussia andher cermanAlies". explosionon impactat allranges. Enoughof the preliminaries,to battle . PART1: FRENCH TACTICAL DOCTRINE "furia 1. INFANTRYTACTICS circumstancesof battledid not warant a francese"sryle ot attack.rhen orher radics would be implemenleda\ ihe Until 1869French infantry tactics had been steeped in the vatue Commanderthought f'r. ideally(o crearethe circumsrances of offensiveaction, relying heavilyon French6lan and the where such an attack would meet with success.In shorr, inesistiblemomenrum of the bayonetcharge - tacticswhich dynamism venatility. "fuia ' and came to be known as francese (French Fury). These And then camethe 1869Drillbook. In 1867(in the lishr of werethe tacticswhich had beenadopted in the Crimeaand Pru\sia\crulhing deteat ot Ausrnain a mere6 seek\rh; year morerecently in Austriaand Italy. Refarring to DiagrarnA1, an before) Committeeswere establishedby NapoleonIII to attack " would commencewith a probe by a thin screenof re-evaluatethe tacticsof futia francese". mey h^d ro examine skirnishers(typically Chasseurs a Pi€d if theywere available, if just howsuccessful such tactics would be when pitted aAainst a not Zouavesor Tirailleu^ Algeriens- the dreadedTurcos) modern(and recenrlyvicrorioust army equippad *irh breech- designedto draw fire on themselvesand protectrhe massed loadingartillery and brcechloading rifles. The reportsofthese tbrmationsmoving up behindthem. These skirmishenwere to c-ommitteeswere not unanimousin their recommendations. thin out the enemyranks, and wefe certainlynot to be€ome Although the t^ctics of futia tancese" still enjoyed nuch boggeddown.in long rangefiring. Forwardmotion was all. suppon(especially in the rank and file and junior NCO'Sof Behind them the battalionswould be advancingdeployed, France'slmperial amy, as well as among those in high wherethe gound permitted,altemately in Iineand in column. command)there was a movementtowards adopting a more Whenthe columnswere within charging distance (see Diagram defensiveposture. It has to be saidthat rhe resultof all the A2) the skirmishline would part like a curtain,allowint the reports,counter-reports and obseNationswas inconclusive. lt column,lo chargeforqard. supporredb) rhevo eysof rheir wasnot until 1869that a new infantryDrillbook appeared. It comradesin line who would rhen advanceeeneraltv to waslhe worst of all worlds,neither reinstating the racticsof "furia consohdarethe gainedground. The columns.tayonets 6iea tancese", nor comprehensively adopting the new andsometimes in echelon,would sweep all beforethem. The defensivetactics.In hindsight, j ust when France needed a clear tactr€was not universallysuccessfut, but wasideally suited to statementof tacticaldoctrine, there wasconfusion. The damase thefrench lemperament wdsdone, and Francewenr ro war qirh her confidencein rie Another hallmarkof Frenchtactical doctdne prior to the bayonetcharge severely shaken. oulbrealo[ lhe Franco-Pru!:idnWar wd, fiexibitiry.It rhe The operingengagement of the War - the Frenchatrack at "A ": Flg, t Fu.laFrance8e ffi KEEPWARGAMING t Dirscuonol FrsnchAltack ffi PaulandTeresaBailey Fffie TheKe€p I ffiE& LeMarchant Barracks, London Road, tt "*'1:i'#l':i;!"d.1!l3A'Ju' ttatall, ffiffi W.3h.ll b€.r th.lollowing 3|jos in rlr. ndrftnlE: - Leionary,kmourh E nourh Coll€re,GiDry lan. 10th/1ilhS€Dlomb.r C.lou6,n@dins l3r2ndocrohsrF&f,tfr!ii'0.*n,0,*.o, Asomblv Rom. -l-l-l- stMnh frober Shmlsh, Chipp€nhan 16rhOclob€r SElwG, cwd.l P3l.€, London w..c n& edino HasM ol.d'c rcr4.trorrnh tuiim'i Mfthbd, ^llfir; 8d.ll e Plo@ n@ d-h*. nddardod E*ilroim ou' 'rno€dsrodifiidhiGin obt iFins Hrcuon.otafl endtthMwrwnorviciou'.hoDo' u*odma'lotd.'sdiotOur "A2": dixri ao ano.qdrh€ mocqtmDBhonli6 'n rh. bu.ih* Fq tulld@ilt $ndtn Flg, FurlaFranc6e s-A"E.or2Fc5@rho!bdr.dd'4ddins,ilFosiblayout'aorhffi u.'*.*,n"*, ^,'r'##Hoi ?5mm6na6&8arPanha H.rch3 & F@ FiouG t Rund*.y Mi.iaM6 - r[ nouE 6ns6 Dixon!Minirto6-All 15mm&25FFEns6.MLR-!.rd.d E^gd t t Tdton,D*6- sldod Enq6. N.fu t'h.tc|(nt Mll.hborshid6; Aitf! nd.ll; tujimi f, Hee!.wr' Vrdc Wr DalmeiL'i6: w!r F.atuB Filmt€lq I T cdrdG.ntRul- TurnReaEhsytuh{Dftidnouohlel.l Enshihc6mpd€rw.tlahe. s;r.af,ub waElm6 R.*rch GouD: Trbl@o G!m6: Nsbury 3ul.r: i (}6D';M.ndramq Elia;V.^su.td&Gnp6i0ns.riE: Fa'ft r; olua$lededrid6lromm.nydh.rDubli$e6. Tdln & Mod.lalndhF K&MT@: Hddclcinlj M!inlvMilibrylcinl, rn.Drum(6i^): "ilna HrddorD6ionl@'dl:D6ts'Modalcll5mm tpol@nicardb{ildinss) Saarbrucken - saw the French using the favoured fiatcese" tacti6, but ftankly as the French attacked in such overwhelming numbers, almost any tactical formation *ould still haveresulted in a Frenchvictory. However, the subsequent en, where time allowed the French infanfy adopted the batdes of those fateful days of August 1870and the Battle of defensive tactics (notably at Spicheren and Froeschwiler), Sedanat the beginning of Sept€mberbore witnessto the fact though when hard-pressedthey simply had to cope with the tlat the defensive tactics had become prcmineot in French Fig. "Bl " r French "Defemlve" military thinldng, and had become"the official line". So let us tak€ a €loser look at these defensivetactics. They En€myAilack stressedtbe desirability of solid defensive positions giving a good field of fire for the French Chassepot rifles. Such "positio6 magnifiques" t}?ic.aly comprised ridges, hills and prominent spuis, upon the top and facing slopesof which the French infantry would be lessdensely d€ploy€d than before, \Z lying prone in line fomation. Where time allowed, shelter ..laaaa5ri. trenches(mercly "scrape$') and other rudimentary earthworks were prepar€d. Vilages and walled farms were swiftly trans- e formed into loopholed bastionsto form strongholdsin the line of defence. Woods and vineyardstoo would be defended.As can be seenfrom Diagram 81, behind this solid line and on the revers€slope the r€serveswould be formed up in clos€column. How€ver, in front of this seeminglyimpregnable line would be Key: swarmsof skirnishers (again, Chasseursa Pied, Zouaves and nnirety 'Jful,afdncrs€" fiifiEiffi* Turco6,but in grcater numbersthan the tactics) "82": "Delenslve" using cover wherever possible and picking off enemy gunners Fig. French and infantry The whole idea was that the enemywould break itself by attempting to storm such a position, and would then (seeDiagam 82) be ddven off by a counter-attackcomprised of open oder formations screenedby skirmishersor, i{ the enemy werc sufficiently d€moralised, by deep columns (as Diagram 82 shows).To the detriment of the Frcnch, in practice suchcount€r-attacks
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