Hal's 20mm Franco-Prussian War Project

Organization and Figures

by Hal Thinglum

My 20mm Franco-Prussian War project began on September 7, 1999. I know this because I keep a "journal" for each of my "projects" in which I enter period/project information gleaned from my readings (I would not be so bold as to refer to these very amateur efforts as "research") including tidbits about organization, figures, and accessories. It started because BROOKHURST HOBBIES kindly sent me sample packs of the new B&B Miniatures French Lancers and Zouaves, and a pack of Prussian Guard Infantry.

I kept these figures around for awhile, not knowing what to do with them. I'd tried to do the FPW once before in 15mm with figures from some now-forgotten UK company though I'd sold or traded them off long ago. The "chunky" B&B figures finally got to me and I decided to tackle the period in 20mm.

B&B Miniatures packaged their FPW line for the popular THEY DIED FOR GLORY wargames rules by MWANer's Dave Waxtel and Bob Burke which I am using for my project although I would like to try Larry Brom's CHASSEPOT AND NEEDLEGUN rules as well. These rules were first published in THE COURIER many years ago and then made their way, through Dave's publishing firm, to the wargames market in a glossy edition. There are pluses and minuses to having a manufacturer package their line to a set of rules. THEY DIED FOR GLORY has a figure ratio of 50:1 for both infantry and cavalry and each artillery crew member equals two guns. Thus, B&B's packaging has 16 French/20 German infantry or 12 cavalry. If you wish to collect figures for any other rules system, you are pretty much out of luck because you can not purchase separate figures and command are included with each pack. Infantry packs feature two officers, a drummer, and one standard bearer and either 12 French infantry or sixteen German. The positive factor(s) were that (!) I really liked the figures, and (2) B&B provided a pretty extensive line for the period!

THEY DIED FOR GLORY has an excellent historical order of battle section; this however, at the beginning, seemed over-whelming, so I just started "collecting" figure packs without a thought to organization. Luckily I came very well in the end because I caught myself about two-thirds of the way through the project and after sitting down and comparing the orders of battle with what I had on hand, I was able to come to a semi-historical conclusion, at least to my satisfaction.

As an aside, I would like to add that I found Brookhurst Hobbies to be very helpful, as they always are, and I was pleased with their stocking of the B&B Miniatures line.

I am including the Orders of Battle for my project within this article. I have also added command staff figures to my armies as follows:

  • Army Command Stand (2 mounted/1 dismounted)
  • Corps Command Stand (2 mounted)
  • Division Command Stand (1 mounted/1 dismtd)
  • Brigade Command Stand (1 mounted)
  • Division/Corps/Reserve Artillery Command Stand (1 dismtd)

The number following each regiment refers to the number of battalions (i.e., Prussian Guard X 3 means there are three battalions of infantry in that regiment) while the number in parenthesis refers to the number of figures in that battalion or regiment. The two numbers in parenthesis after a battery refers to the number of guns/crew figures. Batteries are of one gun/limber. Foot batteries have a two horse limber team and five figures while horse batteries have a four horse team and six figures although in both cases, only three figures are considered for firing purposes. The rules, however, allow one to utilize pioneers and engineers to replace crew casualties.

Here is what my organization looks like for the project:

German Army

1st Corps (Prussian/Bavarian)

1st Division (Prussian)

    1st Brigade
      Prussian Guard X 3 (60)
      Prussian Guard X 3 (60)

    2nd Brigade

      Prussian Guard X 3 (60)
      Prussian Line X 3 (60)

    Attached to Division

      Prussian Jagers X 1 (20)
      Prussian Foot Btys X 4 (4/20)
      Pioneers X 1 Co (4)
      Prussian Uhlans X 1 (12)

2nd Division (Bavarian)

    1st Brigade
      Bavarian Grenadiers X 3 (60)
      Bavarian Line X 2 (40)

    2nd Brigade

      Bavarian Line X 3 (60)
      Bavarian Line X 3 (60)

    Attached to Division

      Bavarian Jagers X 2 (40)
      Bavarian Foot Btys X 4 (4/20)
      Pioneers X 1 Co (4)
      Bavarian Chevau Leger X 1 (12)

    Corps Artillery

      Prussian Foot Bty X 2 (2/10)
      Bavarian Horse Bty X 1 (1/6)
      Prussian Horse Bty X1 (1/6)
      Pioneers X 1 Co (4)

2nd Corps (Saxon/Prussian/Baden)

1st Division (Saxon)

    1 Brigade
      Saxon Grenadiers X 3 (60)
      Saxon Line X 3 (60)

    2nd Brigade

      Saxon Line X 3 (60)
      Prussian Line X 3 (60)

    Attached to Division

      Saxon Jagers X 1 (20)
      Saxon Foot Btys X 4 (4/20)
      Pioneers X 1 Co (4)
      Saxon Uhlans X 1 (12)

2nd Division (Prussian/Baden)

    1st Brigade
      Baden Grenadiers X 3 (60)
      Baden Line X 3 (60)

    2nd Brigade

      Prussian Line X 3 (60)
      Prussian Line X 3 (60)

    Attached to Division

      Prussian Jagers X 1 (20)
      Prussian Foot Btys X 2 (2/10)
      Baden Foot Bty X 2 (2/10)
      Pioneers X 1 Co (4)
      Prussian Hussars (12)

    Corps Artillery

      Prussian Foot Bty X 1 (1/5)
      Baden Horse Bty X 2 (2/10)
      Saxon Horse Bty X 1 (1/6)
      Pioneers X 1 Co (4)

Wurttemburg Division

    1st Brigade
      Wurttemburg Line X 2 (40)
      Wurttemburg Line X 2 (40)

    2nd Brigade

      Wurttemburg Line X 2 (40)
      Wurttemburg Line X 2 (40)

    Attached to Division

      Wurttemburg Jagers X 2 (40)
      Wurttemburg Foot Btys X 4 (4/20)
      Pioneers X 1 Co (4)
      Wurttemburg Reiters X 1 (12)

German Cavalry Division

    1st Brigade
      Pruss Gd Cuirassier X 1 (12)
      Prussian Cuirassier X 1 (12)
      Prussian Dragoons X 1 (12)

    2nd Brigade

      Prussian Dragoons X 1 (12)
      Bavarian Cuirassier X 1 (12)
      Baden Dragoons X 1 (12)

    3rd Brigade

      Saxon Reiters X 1 (12)
      Prussian Uhlans X 1 (12)

    Divisional Artillery

      Prussian Horse Bty X 1 (1/6)
      Pioneers X 1 Co (4)

French Army

Guard Corps

Guard Infantry Division

    1st Brigade
      Chasseurs X 1 (24) Voltigeurs X 3 (48) Zouaves X 2 (32)

    2nd Brigade

      Grenadiers X 3 (48) Grenadiers X 3 (48)

    Attached to Gd Division

      Foot Btys X 2 (2/10)
      Mitrailleuse Bty X 1 (1/5)
      Engineers X 1 Co (4)

Guard Cavalry Division

    1st Brigade
      Lancers X 1 (12) Dragoons X 1 (12) Chasseurs X 1 (12)

    2nd Brigade

      Cuirassiers X 1 (12) Carabiniers X 1 (12)

    Attached to Guard Cavalry Division

      Guard Horse Btys X 2 (2/12)
      Engineers X 1 Co (4)

Guard Reserve Artillery

    Guard Horse Bty X1 (1/6)
    Guard Foot Bty X 1 (1/5)
    Engineers X 1 Co (4)

French 1st Corps

1st Division

    1st Brigade
      Line Chasseurs X 1 (24)
      Line X 3 (48)
      Line X 3 (48)

    2nd Brigade

      Line X 3 (48)
      Line X 3 (48)

    Divisional Artillery

      Foot Btys X 2 (2/10)
      Mitrailleuse Bty X 1 (1/5)
      Engineers X 1 Co (4)

2nd Division

    1st Brigade
      Line Chasseurs X 1 (24)
      Line X 3 (48)
      Line X 3 (48)

    2nd Brigade

      Line X 3 (48)
      Line X 3 (48)

    Divisional Artillery

      Foot Btys X 2 (2/10)
      Mitrailleuse Bty X 1 (1/5)
      Engineers X 1 Co (4)

3rd Division

    1st Brigade
      Line Chasseurs X 1 (24)
      Turcos X 3 (48)
      Turcos X 3 (48)

    2nd Brigade

      Zouaves X 3 (48)
      Zouaves X 3 (48)

    Divisional Artillery

      Foot Btys X 2 (2/10)
      Mitrailleuse Bty X 1 (1/5)
      Engineers X 1 Co (4)

4th Division

    1st Brigade
      Line Chasseurs X 1 (24)
      Marines X 3 (48)
      Marines X 3 (48)

    2nd Brigade

      Guarde Mobile X 3 (48)
      Guarde Mobile X 3 (48)

    Divisional Artillery

      Foot Btys X 2 (2/10)
      Mitrailleuse Bty X 1 (1/5)
      Engineers X 1 Co (4)

Cavalry Division

    1st Brigade
      Line Dragoons X 1 (12)
      Line Cuirassier X 1 (12)

    2nd Brigade

      Line Dragoons X 1 (12)
      Line Lancers X 1 (12)
      Line Hussars X 1 (12)

    3rd Brigade

      Line Chasseurs X 1 (12)
      Line Chasseurs X 1 (12)

Reserve Artillery

    Line Horse Btys X3 (3/18)
    Line Foot Bty X 3 (3/15)
    Engineers X 1 Co (4)

Figure Totals
TypeGermansFrenchTotals
Infantry124010642304
Cavalry260240500
Artillery29/15025/13154/281
Engineers323264
Total figures168214673149
@ 50:1 Ratio 84,10073,350157,450
Command Staff
Mounted232851
Dismtd151631
Total Staff384482
Grand Totals172015113231

Where have I been unhistorical?

  • Prussian Corps Artillery historically had six batteries (two horse and four foot) and I gave them only four (two horse and two foot).
  • French Reserve Artillery for the 1st Corps had eight batteries (four horse and four foot) and I gave them only six (three horse and three foot). Artillery is a very expensive arm!
  • The internal composition of forces within both armies is drastically different than the real forces they were modeled after. This is the case because I wanted all of the German and French troops types offered by B&B Miniatures. I attempted to keep the German divisions "pure" (i.e., Prussian Guard or line, Saxon, Bavarian, Wurttemburg, and Baden) though this was not entirely possible as you can see. Baden and Wurttemburg are too small to warrant a Corps force and I built too many Bavarian line infantry battalions (their regiments had two battalions, like Wurttemburg, instead of the usual German three). In my "weak" moments, I have considered taking two of the eight Bavarian line battalions (leaving three twobattalion line regiments and a three battalion Grenadier regiment) from the Bavarian Division and using them as a start of a 2nd Division along with the Wurttemburg Division to create a German 3rd Corps. However, this would mean adding three more infantry regiments, probably Prussian (nine line battalions), a lager battalion, four foot batteries, a cavalry regiment, and a company of pioneers. I would also have to then add Corps Artillery with two horse and two foot batteries and another pioneer company. In other words, another 200 infantry, 8 pioneers, 12 cavalry, and eight guns/42 crew as well as command figures. Little too expensive and insufficient table space though I'll probably do it down the line!
  • I'd like to make the 1st Division of the 1t German Corps a Prussian Guard Division and if I add a Prussian 3`d Corps I would transfer the lone Prussian Line Regiment from the Guard Division to the 2"d Division of the new 3`d Corps and purchase three more Guard battalions to replace it. Then I'd only need two more Prussian line infantry regiments (six battalions) to complete the line infantry component of the 3rd Corps. Aside from the fact that the Prussian Guard have huge beards, there is little to differentiate them from their line comrades, or the Saxons for that matter, so uniform-wise they can co-exist within the same division/brigade.
  • My French Guard Corps should have a second infantry division consisting of three regiments of Guard Grenadiers (I have two) and a two-battalion regiment of Guard Zouaves (which I have). The 1t Division should have four regiments of Guard Voltigeurs (I have one regiment) and the Guard Chasseur battalion (have it). B&B Miniatures does not produce Guard Voltigeurs so I used Guard Chasseurs in fatigue cap with Guard Grenadier command in bearskin headgear. I did not, however, want a "full" Guard Corps, as this would have resulted in a lop-sided Guard/Line ratio for the French. I purposely reduced the Guard Reserve Artillery from four horse batteries to one horse battery and one foot battery to reflect a smaller Guard Corps.
  • My French 1st Corps is based upon its historical counterpart with four infantry divisions, a cavalry division, and reserve artillery. I have two "true" French Line Divisions (the 1st and 2nd) while the 3rd consists of Turcos and Zouaves and the 4th of Marines and Guarde Mobile. Although I would not substitute French Guard infantry for Line on the tabletop (doesn't seem right visually!), I would have no problem with considering Marines and Guarde Mobile as regular French line infantry. By the way, one of the Guarde Mobile packs (marching, I believe) has them in kepis while the second pack (advancing) has them in shako, a nice touch!
  • The French Line Cavalry Division is probably "lighter" than it's German counterpart but this is unavoidable because I wanted at least one of each of the B&B Miniatures French cavalry offerings and I did not wish, for financial and general usefulness reasons, to "over-build" the French cavalry. I am, afterall, an "orderly" wargamer, plus, if I built another French Cavalry Division, I would feel compelled eventually to add more French infantry and artillery to create another French Corps, whether or not it would all fit on the tabletop!

The size of the armies at a ratio of 50:1 for figures and 6:1 for guns (Germans 84,100 men and 174 guns vs French 73,350 men and 150 guns) allows me to refight most Franco-Prussian War battles on the tabletop. Although both armies uniformed the majority of the units in "blue", it really is a colorful period and as I mentioned previously, I really like the B&B Miniatures figure line! A final "plus" for me is that it is in my favorite figure scale - 20mm! I only wish someone would make a compatible 20mm figure line for the 1866 Austro-Prussian Conflict to allow me to field an Austrian army. I have thought of asking Nic Robson of EUREKA MINIATURES in Australia to have an Austrian army sculpted in 20mm via his "100 Club" (whereby you pay for 100 25mm castings of a requested figure and Nic will have that figure sculpted, along with some variants, for you and it goes into his figure listing for EUREKA) but thus far, I have resisted the urge. I don't know much about the Austrian Army of 1866 so I guess I should do a little research to determine what figures would be required. There must be someone else out there in the wargaming world who is collecting the FPW in 20mm who would be interested in such a project.

I have asked THEY DIED FOR GLORY co-author Bob Burke to review this article as to my organization/justifications and make comments/suggestions and he kindly agreed. This is probably a dangerous measure as the last time I requested his input, it cost me a lot of money as he recommended that I increase my infantry regiments from two to three battalions!

A Few Reflections on Hal's 20mm Franco-Prussian War Project by Robert Burke.

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