The French are coming!

At the beginning of July, we informed about the revolution in the production of figures in 6 mm scale, in the form of 3D printing. More information can be found here: http://www.gmboardgames.com/blog/druk-3d-rewolucja-w-skali-6-mm/

On the occasion of this article, we presented the first figures that we created with this method. They were units of the French army.

In today’s post, we would like to share more information about this army.

Why French army?

With the advent of Rule, Britannia army book, we introduced the first nation outside the American continent. Game development plans related to the second edition of the rulebook are to extend it to other conflicts and armies of this and perhaps even other periods. The British were the first choice for a new army, also because there was a little opportunity for them to actually join the American Civil War. This opened the possibility to play a whole range of hypothetical scenarios. Rule, Britannia, however, went far beyond the possible conflict in America. The British have there lists of armies and generals allowing them to fight both in the colonies (Asia, Africa and others) as well as to deploy the troops who fought in the Crimean War.

Therefore, a logical continuation for our publishing is the issue of the French, who could also take part in Crimean conflict. But, issuing the army book for the French, we do not need to remain only during the Crimean War, but we can also create an army list for the war of 1859. This, of course, means that the next armies we will release will be the armies of French opponents: Russians and Austrians.

Of course, at the same time, work is also underway on Indians, to which the modified rules of the so-called small war will be created. We will inform more about the Indians in another post, now let’s focus on the French.

“Napoleon the Third” will be the second army book (expansion) for Gods of War: Lee, comprising two army lists, the French Army of the Orient, that is, the army in the Crimea, fighting in 1854-1855, and the French army in Italy in 1859. Both army lists differ to a large extent by the organization, special units or armaments. However, the year 1870 and the Franco-Prussian war will be included in a separate book, due to major changes in armament and infantry tactics.

France under Napoleon III

Napoleon III Bonaparte was the son of Louis Bonaparte, king of the Netherlands and brother of Napoleon I, the Emperor of the French. The February Revolution of 1848 in France overthrew the monarchy and paved the way for the return of Bonapartes, who were still very popular. Napoleon III won the election and became president of France. A few years later he proclaimed the creation of French Second Empire. It appealed to the tradition and symbolism of the Empire from the time of Napoleon I.

France under the rule of Napoleon III returned to the role of the most important power in Europe, also led a very active colonial policy. The Crimean War, the Second War of Italian Independence, the wars in Algeria, China and Vietnam ended with the victory of the French and their allies, contributing to the consolidation of the opinion of the French army as the best in the world.

Strengths and weaknesses of Napoleon’s III army

What are the strengths of the French?

Good generals – generally French command was at a high level, officers were mostly educated at St. Cyr military school, many of them already had experience in fighting in Algeria. They will allow complicated tasks to be performed by the various corps of the army.

High-quality infantry. The French army in those days was a professional army, soldiers served for 7 years, many of them enlisted again. Colonial conflicts meant that they were often already fought in battle. The player will be able to place both experienced and “green” units. It is, of course, worth mentioning many unique units, such as fanatical Turcos, zouaves legendary French Foreign Legion and, finally, Imperial Guard. The French will be good at firefighting, but they will also have a special rule regarding bayonet attacks.

The Cavalry of the Second Empire was very diverse. It was not one of the best cavalry in Europe (especially in 1870 it showed itself from the worst side), but if someone likes heavy units, he will be almost in heaven. Cuirassiers, used at the right time, can break the formation of the enemy and resolve the battle.

Like any army, they will also have weaknesses.

The Orient Army will have a weak artillery, especially the ordinary one. She will be able to use naval guns, but otherwise the enemies will rather surpass her range of fire.

The special rule of the French will be so-called gambling debts (of Napoleon III), which will make the opponents of the Second Empire receive victory points for appropriate card play (we will the details closer to the premiere of the Army Book).

In addition, only a few types of French cavalry will be able to dismount, so the French player will have to look for the right area to carry out his charges.

Having elite units also has its drawbacks – their price. This means that a good French army will certainly be less numerous than the Union Army or even the Confederacy, although it will have a greater concentration of impact force.

Miniatures

Most of the figures for the French will be produced in 3D printing technology. The production versions of several basic sets for this army are in preparation and sales will begin soon. The first sets are, of course, generals, La Hitte system guns, infantry, dragoons and, of course, cuirassiers. We already started a presale of them. You can find them here: https://bolter.pl/en_US/c/NEW-PRODUCTS/1020

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Miniatures painted by “Nutka Paints” : Nutka maluje.

Due to the colors, it is also worth noting that the French are one of the most colorful and nicest looking armies of this era. As one of the generals said, “Red pants is France!”.

When the premiere?

The Polish version will hava a place in the autumn of 2019. The army book is already written and the army itself goes through the testing period. We need to check if it is balanced with other armies, whether it can be won but also whether it can lose. So everything depends on the tests. “With good winds”, there is a chance to see them on the Fields of Glory near Cracow (end of Sept. 2019), although we would bet more on a later date.

English version will be published after we will translate main rulebook.

You can now see how the army will look like in the army builder. Remember – it’s still work in progress: http://www.gmboardgames.com/ab/index.php

General, the glory of the great Napoleon I is looking at You. Will you lead the great army of his nephew to the victorious battle? Will you deserve the rank of marshal or even the title of Prince of Magenta?