Wargame Rules, Ratios, etc


RAISING MINIATURE ARMIES FOR THE LATE 18TH CENTURY

I am very keen to keep my wargame rules as simple as possible, yet capture the character of the 1790s. Morale dominates the games as the opposing sides are very different. Most of the French troops are 'levee' battalions, which I have chosen to base in column as their ability to change formation on a battlefield must have been limited, nor do I believe their volley fire had any great value. Of better quality, able to change formation, will be white-coated regular and blue-coated volunteer battalions, aided by a fair number of skirmishers. The British, Austrian, Dutch and German armies are often outnumbered, but they maintain the discipline and order of typical 18th century armed forces. Interestingly, French revolutionary cavalry have little in common with their later Napoleonic counterparts, the former are few in number, often poorly mounted, and no match for those in the service of the Allies. All figures are 28mm in scale, using a 1=25 ratio.

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Saturday 16 November 2013

Duke of York's Army and a River Crossing Wargame

Just fought another action at the Honiton club. In this battle a British-Dutch-Emigre force, under Dan's command, took up positions using a river crossing for additional defences. Here they awaited the French horde under Olley's generalship. Dan wisely decided to hold his position, while Olley rushed headlong aware each move could see the morale of his levee troops break with every casualty. Unfortunately for the Allies, their artillery was largely battalion guns and this allowed the French to reach the riverbank. Only at this point did grapeshot and musketry cause some levee formations to break, but not sufficiently to stem the French assault. Regretably the three hour game could have used another 30 minutes to conclude the action. I would have liked to see how long the Dutch light infantry in the watermill continued to melee with the French. But all enjoyed the occasion.
Here is a few photos of the game. MGB 




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8 comments:

  1. James Fisher12 December 2013 at 18:20

    Another lovely looking game and beaut figures. I particularly like the look of those British light dragoons and Dutch hussars at the back.

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    1. MGB14 December 2013 at 01:37

      James, your kind comments boost my resolve to clear more lead, and are most welcome. The unit behind the British light dragoons is the York Hussars. Raised in 1793, recruited from emigres and European volunteers, occasionally called Irwin's British Hussars. It was a high class unit. I am seriously thinking of raising genuine Dutch hussars, there were two units and appear to have continued in service after the French defacto occupation, which means they can be used on either side for wargames! By the way, I cut the napoleonic horse tails on the British dragoons, correct for much of the 18th century. Cheers, MGB

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    2. James Fisher15 December 2013 at 05:28

      Thanks for the info. about the hussars. My focus has always been more Napoleonic than revolutionary, so there are many gaping knowledge gaps to fill!

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  2. Vinnie30 December 2013 at 23:16

    Excellant blog just cam across it only recently. I intend to build a Revolutionary Period army myself but using Elite Miniatures

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    1. MGB4 January 2014 at 02:08

      Hi Vinnie, your collections are always very good, if you do raise FRW 28mm I will put up a link. Hey, you are also on my other blog, Scimitar and Crescent Wargames, for my Ottoman and Corsair collections. Expect a few entries on both, I have been clearing lead over the holidays. Those Elite Miniatures are certainly producing a large range for the period, so is Trent. My castings are a little smaller, Dixon and WF, with some of my own converts. The British and Emigres are also mine, but I expect to buy some Austrian napoleonic jaeger to represent some Emigre riflemen.

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  3. Chris13 March 2014 at 12:45

    Hi,

    You mentioned at the outset that you like to keep your rules simple. Hear, hear! Have you written your own, or do you use a set from the web?

    Best regards,

    Chris

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    1. MGB11 April 2014 at 01:50

      Chris, apologies for the delayed reply, family member has had a stroke.
      My rules originally derive from a casualty chart created by Redoubt Miniatures for the AWI period. With two 10 sided dice it gives a percentage likelyhood of a casualty according to numbers firing and factors that might influence the results. It was easy to adjust the factors to the FRW. The remainder of the rules are very much my own, and I keep it simple. A short list of points, or deductions gives me my melee results. Some are shocked by the simple method so I decline to promote them, but the results are logical and quick. I've seen others use calculations which are drawn out, involving several referrals to their rules, and still get daft results! At least I can complete a large game in an evening with players keen to fight again with the same rules.

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  4. Malcolm Howard18 November 2020 at 07:59

    Hi
    I have 15mm Revolutionary Armies and have only just found your Blogg
    Which is brilliant, I have also been searching for a set of Rules that are simple but reflect the actions of this period have you or can you publish the ruile set that yuou use?


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