French Revolutionary Wargames 1789-1802: August 2015

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.

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

French Headquarters Marquee/Tent (28mm)

The French Army appears to have occasionally received white tents with blue stripes in the 18th century. During the Revolution some of the officers' marquees are shown with additional red stripes. Here is my Command Headquarters, made of cardboard and wood glue. Rather than loose figures I have fixed twelve staff officers and sentries to the base, and will treat the whole model as a wargame unit and potential military target. MGB