Franco-Prussian War "NACH PARIS" AAR

My friend Bob & I recently brought out Bob's 15mm FPW figures and we had an enjoyable game of Nach Paris (NP). NP is a set of rules by Paul Koch & Roger Wells that was featured in an old Courier magazine issue. Paul & Roger were also the authors of the ACW rules "On to Richmond" (OTR), also published in the Courier. Bob's figures, while not specifically based for NP, were close & easily adapted to the rules with no problem.

For our game, we both commanded about a corps of troops, or about 8 infantry regiments, 2 light infantry battalions, 6-8 Cavalry regiments, and 6-8 artillery battalions per side.

Above shows the French deployment. Cavalry on the wings and infantry in the center. A chasseur battalion is deployed in the wheat field and in front of the far woods. Infantry is based 3 battalion stands per regiment, while light battalions are composed of 4-5 small bases that operate together as a single stand unit in the game.

 The Prussian deployment is above. A German ally division of Bavarian & Wurttemberg troops were on the near flank, and Prussians were on the far flank,

A closer look at the Prussians & Allies. Miniatures are Rank & File, many of them painted by our friend, the late Charlie Prosek, whose hobby store in the area was our hangout for many years.

 A close-up of the French advancing in the center, a regiment of Turcos leading the way in column on the road. In NP, column is a marching formation, not a fighting formation. Units need to deploy into line when they get closer to the enemy, in order to avoid significant penalties in combat.

French Cuirassiers & Dragoons on the far left flank of the French.

 Another view of the Turcos advance. We counted the Turcos as elites in our game.

In an opening salvo of the game, French artillery hit this Prussian Uhlan regiment, routing it. The CO came over and fortunately, rallied it. However, the unit suffered BP (breaking point, or a unit's battle worth) loss from a "6" down to a "4," as indicated by the die. A unit that reaches zero BP is eliminated, however in NP a unit is more likely to be destroyed by failure to rally from rout status.

The Prussians responded by hitting the Turco regiment with long range Krupp steel rifled artillery fire, causing it to run, and drop in BP from 7 to a six, per the die. The Turcos were automatically rallied by the French CO while another French regiment marches past.

The French right has deployed into line and is advancing towards the woods on the Prussian left. A Bavarian Jager battalion has pushed through the woods and into Chasspot rifle fire range (which is 12" in NP, while Prussian/German rifle range is only 6").

This Prussian regiment on their right flank was hit by French artillery fire, and ran away, suffering a loss of BP down to 5. The orange pipe cleaner is used to mark the unit status as "run." The NP combat table is used for resolving both firing and melee, and is very simple to use. The unit firing or in melee simply rolls a D10, uses a combat result on the column of the table representing the enemy unit's status (advancing, halted, prone, in cover, etc.). The D10 result is compared (plus, minus, or equal) to the the enemy unit's current BP and the result is read on the combat table. Regiments that are stationary roll 2xD10 when firing, and choose the resulting number they want for the combat result. Combat results include Prone or Pinned (unit goes prone, cannot fire or move), Fire (prone, can fire but not move), Fall back, Run, & Rout. There is a separate combat table for counter battery fire.

 French infantry pushing ahead in the center in front of the rallying Turcos. A French grand battery of 3 battalions on the right. The black marker indicates the French regiment has gone prone/to ground.

The French infantry regiment (top) fired at the Wurttemberg infantry regiment (bottom) and rolled a "zero," causing the Wurttembergers to make an uncontrolled advance into contact with it. Uncontrolled advances are a feature of NP that carried over from OTR. The Wurttembergers were repulsed.

These two French regiments routed. One rallied, the other did not. To rally, a unit has to roll less than it's current BP on a D10, which in the case of these units is a 4.

The photo above gives an overview of the battlefield. The yellow line marks the front between the two armies. On the lower left, the Wurttembergers have run away after their uncontrolled advance into the French. On the far right, a single Prussian Dragoon regiment is fighting a continuing melee against 2 French heavy cavalry regiments. Prussian losses have been heavy in units routing, and their center is getting thin.

This is an overview of the Prussian right flank, showing the continuing cavalry melee on the far right. The French Chasseur battalion is prone/pinned and cannot move or fire, marked in yellow. The Prussian regiment in the near ground, lower right, is advancing after running away and suffering BP loss earlier in the battle.

The French have driven off the Prussian/Allied left flank units (lower left).

As this overview shows, the Prussian left is now defended by one cavalry unit rallying after running away (orange marker). The Prussians do have two batteries unlimbered ready to blast the French if they can get a clear shot.

The dead pile at the end of the game. Prussians lost 5 infantry regiments and 1 battery. The French lost 1 infantry regiment.

Overview of the battle's end from above the French right flank.

The Nach Paris rules provided us with a very enjoyable game that was fast moving & fun. We are planning to try these again soon, with even more troops on the table (as we only used 2/3rds of what we had available).