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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Monday 5 October 2015

French Foot Gendarmes c.1793 (Gendarmerie a pied)

Here are my two companies (or sections) of foot gendarmes for the late 18th century. Period and contemporary illustrations show some diversity in uniform detail but its also probable that there were variations in the local units. Interestingly, the 32nd Division of gendarmerie a pied, 400 strong,  participated in the battle of Hondschoote in 1793 (see illustration below) so their place on a wargames table is quite appropriate. I have based mine individually as skirmish games may require gendarmes to provide occasional sentries and road blocks in my Georgian town and harbour. MGB
ps. these figures were originally part of my white/green battalion which was paint-stripped.

 





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2 comments:

  1. Captain Brummel5 October 2015 at 08:53

    Superb! That paint stripping was really well worth the time. Very attractive unit for the tabletop.
    CB

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  2. MGB5 October 2015 at 11:46

    Thanks CB, risky, but it turned out worthwhile, the other two independent companies are also ready, and they too will add to many scenarios. Michael

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