image/svg+xml Cavalry: combatIn combat, the task of the cavalry is to charge the enemy with cold steel. Thanks to its speed and maneuverability it can exploit weak spots in the enemy formation, flank, surprise units en marche, and turn breech in the enemy line ground outby the infantry into a complete rout. Even costly frontal chargesagainst prepared infantry or artillery formations are not unheardof in the period.Here, two squadrons of the 8th Curassier Regiment stand in lineformation ready to charge. Infantry: line formationThe 1st Battalion of Austria's 21st Inf. Reg. is facing in south west direction to cover the right flank of the Austrian forces.An infantry battalion is always represented by two half battaliontokens to allow the depiction of different formations. However,splitting a battalion and using its parts independently is not partof the textbook at the time. The battalion is the smallest tactical unit that moves inde-pendently!This battalion is in line formation, the most widely used combat formation, that combines maximum fire power with rea-sonable protection against frontal assaults. Infantry: marching column1st and 2nd Battalion of Austria's 32nd Inf. Reg. are en routefrom their reserve positions to the front line. They are formedin marching columns, the usual formation for rapid movement through terrain. To indicate a marching column, the two tokensthat constitute a Battalion are stacked and oriented with thebroad side in moving direction. Infantry: attack columnOn the other side, 1st and 2nd Battalion of the 40th Prussian Inf. Reg. are in attack column formation preparing a bayonet charge against the northern flank of the Austrian force. This formation is ideal for rapid assaults, but is does not provide significant fire power. In attack column, the tokens are alsostacked battalion wise, but oriented with the short side to thedirection of movement. Infantry: light infantry and skirmish linesLight infantry units can be discerned by the green coloration of their tokens. Here, the Prussian 8th Jäger Battalion has deployedin skirmish line at the norther edge of the wood. In this formation, a part of the batallion constitutes a reserve tothe rear of the skirmish line. Skirmish lines minimize losses byenemy fire, but they are extremely vulnerable to cavalry and bayonet charges.Traditionally a speciality of designated light infantry units, the Prussian army by 1866 trained all regular line regiments in lightinfantry tactics. Infantry: indicating casualtiesIf a battalion sustained losses roughly equivalent to the strenghtof one company (four companies constitute one battalion in the1860s), reduced strength is indicated by replacing one of the halfbattalion tokens with a company token. After losing 50% of its strength, the battalion would be represented by only one halfbattalion token. Infantry: fusilier battalionsSome Prussian regiments call their third battalion "fusilier ba-ttalion". This can be a source of confusion, though it is just another regular infantry batallion.Here, the fusilier battalion of the 28th Inf. Reg. faces north east in line formation. Artillery: open orderA battery of the Prussian 7th Artillery Regiment has taken position on a hilltop to support attacking infantry. A battery has a paper strength of four guns. It is represented by two half-battery tokens and another token for the limber. When ready to fire, the limber is placed to the rear of the guns. As with infantry battalions, gun batteries cannot be split into independent units. Artillery: rifled artilleryOn the opposite hill a battery of the 9th Austrian Art. Reg. has taken position. This battery is equipped with rifled cannons that have better range and accuracy than traditional smoothbore guns. Whereas this new technology was standard in the Austrianand Saxonian armed forces by 1866, the Prussian army was had not yet completely adopted it. Artillery: close orderThis full strength battery of the 11th Art. Reg. is in close order and can position all of its guns on a rather narrow hill top.Close order allows to pack more guns in less space at the cost of higher losses if exposed to enemy fire. Artillery: movementThis is yet another battery of rifled cannons from the 9th Aus-trian Art. Reg., moving to the front to stiffen up the Austrianposition. To indicate the guns are limbered, all tokens of thebattery are stacked. Artillery: horse artilleryThe Prussian forces are also moving their reserve guns, in thiscase a battery of horse artillery that can move more quickly thana conventional unit. Cavalry: marching orderThe horse artillery is accompanied by four squadrons of the 11thHussar Regiment. In cavalry, the squadron represented by a single token is the smallest tactical unit that can operate inde-pendently. Here, the squadrons of the regiment are in marchingcolumn, which is indicated by the tokens being stacked in twos. Cavalry: patrolsPatrolling and reconnaisance are among the most important tasks of cavalry. Though cavalry regiments often go on scouting missions in force, it is also possible to detach a small patrol from a squadron. Command personel Tracking the positions of commanders in the terrain is especially important for the umpires to assess what kind of first hand obser-vations of the battle field situation players should have, and how long messages and orders will travel between their position and a distant unit.In the 19th century, small dots made of lead were used for that purpose. In modern reconstructions, that usually use tokensmade of lighter material, a pin with a small flag stuck into a ca-valry patrol token is used to indicate the position of importantcommand personel. Tschischwitz 1867The symbols and their mode of use as explained here are from a set of rules published by Wilhelm von Tschischwitzin 1867. In this publication Tschischwitz, a Prussian infantry officer and veteran of the Battle at Königgrätz, updated his existing rules according to his experien-ces in the Austro-Prussian war. A fictional tactical situation in 1866This demonstrates how tokens are used todepict units and their formations. Steffen Pielström & Jorit Wintjes2019The map is used by permission of the British Library (BLL01004805936) Units, formations and token useThis short presentation shows how to representunit types and formations on the map accordingto the Kriegsspiel rules written by Wilhelm vonTschischwitz.The setting of the game is the Austro-Prussian war of 1866 that was decided in the Battle at Königgrätz in Bohemia. Austrians Prussians forward back slide overview forward back slide overview
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  1. Start
  2. Welcome
  3. Tschischwitz
  4. Overview
  5. Infantry line formation
  6. Infantry marching column
  7. Infantry attack column
  8. Infantry skirmish line
  9. Infantry casualties
  10. Fusilier battalions
  11. Artillery open order
  12. Rifled artillery
  13. Artillery close order
  14. Artillery limbered
  15. Horse artillery
  16. Cavalry marching order
  17. Cavalry patrols
  18. Cavalry attack formation
  19. Command personel