French Revolutionary Wargames 1789-1802: August 2016

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.

Monday, 15 August 2016

Wargaming the American Revolution (Game Report)

A group of SKG3 members gathered in Devon recently to fight a wargame set in South Carolina, during the American Revolution. To inspire us all to raise and paint up our collections, players are allowed to raise armies without restriction on points or numbers that are fielded, as long as time and effort has been made to paint and base them in an attractive manner. To put it another way, there are no point or numerically balanced armies in history. This system has certainly inspired us all to clear those lead figures, if only to field something new each time we play a game.
I took up the dubious position of raising the Rebel Americans, to be commanded by a family member, Chris. Opposing us was a largely elite force of Crown light troops under George, and a diverse contribution of German mercenaries and native Indians under Lucas. There was a possibility that Lucas would arrive late from work, and we included this into the game, giving George the expectation of reinforcements.
Our House rules played extremely well and although it ended in a tactical draw all agreed it had been a spirited action. Here are a few photos from the game which was played over two evenings. While the Rebels were able to inflict heavier casualties it was the splendid showing of the 63rd Foot which took the glory, their volleys driving off larger numbers, and while they broke on occasions it was special to see them rally and once more enter the fray. MGB