Most of the well-known battles of the Franco-Prussian War tended to be large affairs, involving a few divisions to several corps on each side. However, several of the smaller battles also had significant results, and are worth studying as examples of battalion level tactics, rather than the grand tactics of corps level battles. One such small battle was that of Villers-Bretonneux, in which the recently formed French Northern Command engaged the German army sent to pacify the north of France. The basic unit for this game, therefore, is the infantry company, the cavalry squadron, and the battery, each represented by one stand (base) of figures. In this battle, all German battalions had the usual four companies per battalion, but the French could muster only five per battalion, instead of their usual six. Both sides maneuvered as battalions or half-battalions.

Historical Setting

At this time, most of the German field forces were tied down besieging Paris, or concentrating to defeat the 3rd Republic's most significant field army, in the Loire River valley. The French Army of the Loire had, in fact, just managed to provide France with its first major victory of the four month old war, at Coulmiers (9 November 1870), and the German high command was understandably wary of another territorial army mustering in the north. General von Manteuffel's First Army, recently released from the investment of Metz, was therefore ordered to march into northern France and (among other duties) to defeat the small Republican army there.

The French forces in the north, soon to be designated the Army of the North, consisted of about 15,000 men in three brigades, commanded by the army's chief of staff, Gen Farre (pending the arrival of Gen Faidherbe). Only one reinforced brigade would participate in the Villers-Bretonneux battle, however: ten battalions, and four batteries, or about 7900 men. Another two battalions would play a minor role supporting them. They consisted almost entirely of recently mobilized marche regiments and Garde Mobiles; most had not been with the colors longer than two months, and some battalions had fewer than three officers for 750 men. Artillery was in short supply, and cavalry was virtually non-existent. On the German side, nine battalions and 11 or 12 batteries of the I. Corps participated, totaling about 8500 men. Besides the decisive advantage in artillery, the German forces were all confident, well-trained veterans, who had seen much action around Metz. Each side had additional forces that were not fully engaged, but are included in the scenario as "possible reinforcements".

Tactical Situation

In late November, Gen Farre learned of the advance of the German army upon Amiens, a critical communications hub of northern France, and felt compelled to attempt its defense despite the meager forces at his disposal. He resolved to position his three brigades astride the German axis of advance, anchoring his left flank on the town of Villers-Bretonneux, about 14 km east of Amiens. The town is located on a low plateau, sloping down to rivers to the north and south; to the southwest are the small sturdy villages of Gentelles and Cachy, and to the west an extensive forest. This position was entrusted to the 3rd Brigade, under the capable leadership of Colonel Du Bessol.

Du Bessol's brigade was composed seven battalions of infantry, which included three of Garde mobiles and one of Marine infantry. Four batteries of field artillery were also posted on the left: two light, and two heavy. Du Bessol had earthworks dug covering the southern approaches to the town, and along a portion of the railroad line. Upon the reported approach of the German advance guard, he requested additional reinforcements from Gen Farre, who sent him, from the neighboring Lecointe Brigade, three marche battalions (one Chasseur, two infantry). These reinforcements were quickly fitted into the 3rd Brigade's line. Du Bessol's line extended about 9000m -- an unreasonable distance to defend, with only 7900 men.

The German advance guard, approaching from the southeast, was not particularly strong, however. Although aware of the presence of some French troops on the VillersBrettoneux plateau (there was a German cavalry division operating in the neighborhood) Manteuffel did not expect to meet serious resistance on the 27"'. His lead formation -- a brigade of the 2nd Division -- was divided into three columns, each with widely separate objectives. Following them by about three hours was the head of the corps' main body -- a regiment and the bulk of the corps artillery. Another regiment followed 1.5 hours behind that. Like the French, the Germans had an unreasonable task to perform with the forces available to them.

Disposition of Forces

The French were deployed exactly as shown on the map (the battalions or half battalions are referred to by their parent regiment's numbers). The broad "crest" of the plateau roughly follows the center east-west axis of the board, along the road from Gentelles to the double redan field works; this "crest" conceals the units north of that road from forces approaching from the south until the latter are nearly on the road. I put a low ridgeline along the road on my board to accentuate the "terrain masking" that this crest provided the defending troops. Thus, much of the center of the French line was not visible to the Germans as they headed up the slope towards their objectives...

The German left column's mission was to clear the handful of French troops from the Bois de Domart, and capture the village of Gentelles; it had only six companies, a squadron, and a battery to do this. The center column (five companies, a squadron, and a battery) was to clear the Hangard woods on its approach to Cachy before capturing that town. These two small columns were to secure the right column's left flank, and maintain contact with elements of the VIII Corps, off-board to the west. The right column, of 15 companies, a squadron, and a battery, was to capture Villers-Bretonneux, the principle objective.

The Course of the Battle

The German center and left columns entered the board as shown, a little after 1000, and easily cleared the woods to their fronts. The left column was lucky; a few shots from its supporting battery and an infantry charge was enough to convince the 20th Chasseurs to withdraw from Gentelles. The 20th played no further part in the proceedings that day. The defenders of Cachy, however, were made of sterner stuff. Seeing the two German columns preparing for a concentric attack on their town, the battalion charged out upon the center column, but took heavy casualties when it came into the Germans' lethal close short range fire, and retreated back to the village. Nonetheless, it held successfully against the few half-hearted attempts to storm the village for the rest of the day.

On the eastern flank, the leading elements of the right column cleared the Bois de Hangart, but were prevented from advancing further by the fire of the two French battalions along the "crest" of the plateau. Two battalions of the German 44th Regiment, plus an accompanying battery, swung to the right, and attacked the entrenchments near the railroad line. By 1300, the Germans had ejected the company of the 48th Mobiles that manned the easternmost portion of the entrenchments, and held it against local counter attacks by the nearby Chasseur and Marine battalions. About this time, Col Du Bessol, perceiving that the enemy's fire was slackening from the Hangart Woods, shifted his reserves (nine companies of the 48th Mobiles) to his center, and, at about 1330, sent the eight marche companies there charging down on the Bois de Hangart. This attack was supported by his batteries, which had also been shifted to the center. Although it enjoyed some success, pushing back the Germans in the woods, they were too late. The lead elements of the 1st Grenadiers arrived in time to push back the disorganized French infantry, and the initiative swung back to the German side.

At the same time, the Germans' corps artillery began to arrive, most of it deploying on the open eastern flank. Overwhelmed by these 54 guns, the French gave way before the attacks of the 44th and 1st Regiments towards Villers-Bretonneux, about 1530. The withdrawal of the French was hastened by two morale incidents: the wounding of Col Du Bessol at the head of his troops, and the hurried withdrawal of a French artillery battery, which spread panic among some Mobile units. The town was in German hands, together with about 1000 prisoners, by dark.

The battle at Villers-Bretonneux slowed the German advance on Amiens, but only by one day. Their casualties while not negligible (about 1200 in I and VIII Corps, as opposed to about 2400 French losses) were more than they had expected, and more than they would be willing to lose in future battles of this size. For the French, the loss of Villers-Bretonneux (and Amiens) was expected, given the difference in combat power of the forces engaged. But the battle served to give experience to a very green army, provided some basis for pride, and -- most importantly -- kept the Army of the North in field as a counterweight to Von Manteufful's Ist Army for another two months. The German conquest of northern France would prove to be much more difficult than expected.

Who Else Was There?

Three additional sources of reinforcements were available to the Germans: LtCol Hullesheim's composite regiment, which arrived on board at about 1530, but was never engaged, and a battalion of the VIII Corps, which could have entered the board from the west any time after about 1330, if it had been needed. Two cavalry regiments of the 3rd Cavalry Division, one horse artillery battery, and two Jaeger battalions also operated just off-board to the east of Villers-Bretonneux, but did little more than skirmish with the French outposts. The French Lacointe Brigade, after the loss of Gentelles, sent two battalions and possibly two batteries against the Germans in that town after about 1400, with mixed success. They withdrew when the VillersBretonneux position collapsed.

Gaming the Battle

This scenario was fought several times on a 6 by 8 foot terrain board, with the victory going to both French and German sides. The scale used is 1 inch cm = 100 m. On the map, each unit represents one company. The numbers represent terrain elevation levels, each roughly 1/2 or 3/4 inches high. The lowest level is "1"; the highest is "4".

Because their forces were so divided and intermixed, the French are most easily commanded by dividing their front geographically. Cachy, Gentelles, and the two center battalions are under the Right Wing commander; the 48th Mobiles and 2nd Chasseurs are under the Center commander; and the Left Wing commander has the remaining units positioned east of Villers-Bretonneux. The Germans are also divided into three commands. The original columns are the basis for each command, but these can be rearranged as reinforcements arrive. The alphabetic arrival points for reinforcements, number of order chits allocated, and the commander ratings are shown on the OBs. Commanders are all considered to be rated "Average" unless noted otherwise.

The German and French missions are identical to the historical orders; they win by doing at least as well as their historical counterparts. This would mean that the Germans should try to take their original objectives by 1800, and lose fewer stands than the French in doing so. The French must deny the Germans their terrain objectives, or at least inflict more casualties than they lose themselves. In any case, the French (and Germans) must still be able to withdraw off the board at the end of the game. For the French this is to the west or north; for the Germans it is to the south or east. The game begins at 1000, and ends at 1800.

"1870" Conversion

Several changes had to be introduced to enable the "1870" rules (which are optimized for grand tactical combat) to be used with this scenario. The original system of brigade/division/corps commanders was abandoned in favor of tactical commanders, at a ratio of about one officer figure per five or six infantry stands. For the French, each "Group Commander" is represented by a two-horse command stand, Col Bessol is a three horse stand, and the other named commanders shown in the Orders of Battle are one-horse stands. For the Germans, the left and center columns, and the 1./28. Infantry, are led by one-horse stands; the right column, 44th Regt, and the composite regiment all are led by two one-horse stands and a single two-horse command stand apiece. Gen Pritzelwitz is a three-horse stand.

The means of controlling forces is still through "order chits", but at the proportion noted in the OBs. The Morale Rating (MR) for units is the same as in "1870": German line units are all MR 8; French marche units are MR 7, and mobiles are 6's. Only the battalion of Marines is MR 8 on the French side. All commanders are rated "Average" except as shown in the OBs. All German infantry and artillery stands have three combat points each, as do the French marche companies and batteries; the mobiles and cavalry stands are but two each.

Finally, some adjustments had to be made to the "1870" Morale Rating Modifiers to accommodate the non-standard units of this scenario. Morale is now checked by battalion, cavalry squadron, or battery. Morale is checked for individual infantry companies only if they are separated from their parent battalion by more than 3 inches. There is now a loss of one point to the base Morale Rating for each combat point lost in three-stand battalions; and for every second combat point lost for four- and five-stand battalions.

There is a loss of two points to the MR for each combat point lost in two-stand battalions and cavalry squadrons, and a loss of three points to the MR for each combat point lost in individual infantry stands. Morale checks due to combat attrition (this usually equates to figure losses if the figures are mounted three per infantry stand) are made in five-stand battalions when each fifth combat point is lost; when each forth point is lost in four-stand battalions; at each third point lost in the three-stand units, etc.

Orders of Battle

FRENCH FORCES

NORTHERN COMMAND (GEN FARRE)

3rd BRIGADE (Col Bessol) (GOOD) [one order chit]

Western Group (Cmt Roslin) [one order chit]
20th Bn de march de chasseurs (Cmt Hecquet) (Gentelles)
I Bn/43rd Regt de marche (Cmt Roslin) (Cachy)
II Bn/75th Regt de marche (3 co's east of Cachy)
I Bn/65th Regt de marche (Cmt Enduan) (GOOD) (SW of Viller-Bretonneux)

Center Group (LTC Duhamel) (GOOD) [one order chit]

48th Mobiles (LTC Duhamel) (12 co's south of Villers)
2nd Chasseur Bn (Cmt Giovanninelli) (SE of Villers-Bretonneux)

Eastern Group (Cmt Tramond) [one order chit]

Bn d'infantrie de marine (Cmt X) (east of Villers-Bretonneux)
48th Mobiles (2 co's NE of Villers; 1 co in field works along RR line)
II Bn/75th Regt de marche (Cmt Tramond) (2 co's NE of Villers)
Engineer Co (NE of Villers-Bretonneux)
2 4-pdr btrys 1 8-pdr btry 1 12-pdr btry (west of Villers-Bretonneux)

REINFORCEMENTS:

From 1- Brigade [one order chit]

1 Bn, 91st Regt de marche (LTC Gislain) (Off-board at (D))
1 Bn, 46th Mobiles (LTC St Martin) (Off-board at (D))
2 4-pdr btrys (Off-board at (D))

GERMAN FORCES

AVANT GARDE/ I CORPS (GEN PRITZELWITZ)

Left Column (Col Hennig) (GOOD) (C) [one order chit]

9. and 11. Co's/4. Infantry Regt
I.Bn/4.Inf Regt (4 co's)
1. Sqdn/ 10. Dragoons 1 btry

Center Column (B) [one order chit]

5. 6. 10. 12. Co's/4.Inf Regt
2.Sqdn/10. Dragoons
5.Pioneer Co. 1 btry

Right Column (MG Memerty) (A) [two order chits]

7. and 8. Co's/4 Inf Regt
3.Sqdn/10. Dragoons
44.Inf Regt (12 co's)(Maj Dallmer) (GOOD)
1 btry
3 .Pioneer Co.

Main Bodv/Avant Garde (Col Bocking) (GOOD) (A) [two order chits] (arrives sometime after 1230, depending on march speed)

1 btry
I.Grenadier Regt (12 co's) (Col Massow) 3 btrys
2 Horse Artillery btrys
4. Sqdn/ 10. Dragoons 2 btrys

Composite Rent (Maj Hullesheim) (1530; (C)-(A)) [two order chits] (arrives a hour or two behind Col Bocking)

I./3.Inf Regt (4 co's)
I/41.Inf Regt (4 co's)
Fusilier Bn/41.Inf Regt (4 co's)
1 btry

I./28.Inf Rent (Maj Koppelow) (GOOD) ((C)-Gentelles) [one order chit]

(4 co's) (arrives some time after 1330, with a die roll 6)

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