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The Seven
Weeks War - 1866
A wargame campaign |
TimeCast Historic Buildings in Miniature  |
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The
War of 1866
Prussia's "nightmare" scenario The files on this page are the Umpire's record of a wargame campaign of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, also known as the Seven Weeks War. Historically the Prussian Army defeated their Austrian opponents in a mere seven weeks, hence the appelation of The Seven Weeks War. The Austrian defeat was the result of a spectacularly inept performance by its leadership and a poorly thought out tactical doctrine rather than due to any inherent faults within the Austrian army itself. The wargame campaign produced a rather different result... |
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Having an interest in the
wars of the
later 19th century, and also having access to several thousand 15mm
model miniatures representing the Prussian Army and their Austrian and
Saxon opponents, I felt that with a bit of tweaking this
might
make a good wargame campaign. In particular there were many
factors
which could be modified to give the Austrians a better chance in a
wargame recreation of the campaign. The scenario chosen for the
campaign assumed that the Austrians would not make the same mistakes as
their historical counterparts, and also allowed them to develop their
own plan of campaign which, as it turned out, was very close to the
worst case scenario envisiaged by the Prussian General Staff in their
own planning for the war.
The wargame campaign took about 6 months to prepare, starting in 2011, and about two and a half years to play, ending in October 2014 with a spectacular Austrian victory! Over the past two years a number of TimeCast customers and wargaming contacts have suggested that I publish the results of the campaign, as it was felt that it might be of interest to other gamers. After some consideration I decided to do so - here are the results. I hope it inspires an interest in the period in other gamers. Please note however, the files are provided "as is" for personal use only. However, please do not e-mail or write as I do not wish to enter into any correspondance regarding the campaign. It has taken nearly three years to run and I now wish to move on to other projects... The files... The Official History Campaign actually generated 700+ Mb of data and 906 files, including maps, player corresondence, reports, orders of battle etc. This was collated by the umpire into an "Official History" . This includes:
The Campaign in Maps A PDF file showing the manouevres and positions of the armies, superimposed on the Perthes map, at the end of each day is included. Campaign Map Reference (PDF) 27.7 Mb - right click here to download In addition, a copy of the main Perthes map used in the campaign can be downloaded here: 1850 Perthes Map of Bohemia (jpg) 3.6 Mb - right click here to download Player Administrative Instructions Finally, each player was given a basic administrative instruction with details of hsitorical background, mapping, formats for reports and orders, details of communications, weather, daylight hours etc. 1866 Campaign Player general Admin Brief (PDF) 100 Kb - right click here to download Please note that all files, text and images are copyright Barrie Lovell 2014, with the exception of the Perthes map. |
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Please
note that TimeCast models are not toys. They may contain small
pieces, or white
metal parts, which may cause a choking hazard and are therefore not
suitable
for children under 12 years. All images and models shown are copyright TimeCast and may not be copied or reproduced without permission. |
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| TimeCast Historic Buildings in Miniature |
TimeCast,
Unit 5E, Centurion Park, Kendal Road, Shrewsbury, SY1 4EH,
England
Tel: 01743 465676 Email: sales@timecastmodels.co.uk Website: http://www.timecastmodels.co.uk |