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, 11 July 2015

FRENCH BATTALION FLAGS c.1792

I have always painted my own flags using sticky-back address labels, a system described by Stuart Asquith some thirty years ago. Modern wargamers are now spoilt with superbly printed renditions for sale, but I will stick with my familiar method. So here are my flags for six white-coated battalions, the soldiers in two of these battalions still needing some serious work before they can take the field. The flag designs are taken from the 1791 regulations, with 1792 tricolour patches placed over the fleur-de-lis (this actually happened). These designs still look very typical of the French army in the 18th century so I hope the collection will serve in several earlier conflicts, while still taking their place as centre battalions in 1794 demi-brigades. MGB

   
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4 comments:

  1. Phil C11 July 2015 at 17:35

    You have a lovely French Revolutionary collection - marvelous - thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. MGB12 July 2015 at 01:05

      Thank you, Phil, appreciate the kind comments, making plans for a larger battle to use the new whitecoats. Michael

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  2. Captain Brummel12 July 2015 at 07:38

    Yes those units are really impressive, even more so now that they have been flagged! Quote from the Hornblower episode Frogs & Lobsters about some white coated french.... "They may lack discipline, but they are no cowards!"

    Looking forward as always to the next post.
    Best regards
    CB

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    Replies
    1. MGB12 July 2015 at 11:28

      Hello CB, I love the Hornblower series, and the Frogs & Lobsters episode is among the most memorable. I have often thought about raising Royal Louis. This was a Royalist battalion recruited in Toulon by the British, in white coats faced with blue. It had a good record of service, later serving as marines. Michael

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