French Revolutionary Wargames 1789-1802: Low Countries Wargame c1793

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.

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Low Countries Wargame c1793

Members of SKG3 attended Honiton Wargames Club in early October. Our game comprised a British-Emigre force (155 figs) holding a town against a larger French Revolutionary army (255 figs).

Chris commanded the British and surprised us all with a general advance on the French, under Luke, before they had time to fully deploy. This plan had some initial success in sweeping back the advanced French light infantry and cavalry, the York Hussars proving particularly effective in this. But problems slowly mounted as enemy numbers increased and many British units found themselves outstretched and often unsupported.

The game lasted three hours, the simple rules receiving praise from players. A French victory was granted since the town's garrison was too reduced to keep the French at bay. Special thanks to Andy for taking some fair photos.

3 comments:

Andy4 November 2011 at 03:18
A very pleasant evening, the table, background and miniatures all looked fantastic. Some bold moves by the British Commander, the French held their nerve and weight of numbers prevailed. Looking forward to the next game.
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Unknown12 December 2014 at 16:59
Game and figures look great. I have some Revolutionary French and Piedmontese and Austrians and a small number of Emigres and Vendeans. More to paint up, your units are inspiring me to complete them.
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