Your 18thC units.......

[Essex Boy]

Can I have your help please?

I'm looking to expand my early 18thC rules (much tweaked Rank and File rules) to cater for 28/30mm mid 18thC. I'll need to address the issue of how to cope with the different unit strengths and frontages likely to be encountered.

May I ask.......

(1) Close order foot
a) How many figures do you have in your units,
b) How many bases is that,
c) When formed in line, what is the total frontage (I'm assuming a depth of two figures per base is standard).
(2) Close order horse
a) How many figures do you have in your units,
b) How many bases is that,
c) When formed in line, what is the total frontage (assuming you form your cavalry in a single rank of figures).
(3) Open order troops
a) Are your open order troops on a permanent open order base
b) How many figures in a unit
c) How many to a base
d) How big is the base?

Many thanks

Iain

Many thanks

Iain

[Paul]

1
a) 24, 30 or 36
b) six figures a base so 4, 5 or 6 bases
c) 45mm per base so 180mm-270mm

2
a) 24 or 18
b) 8 or 6
c) 480mm or 360mm

3
a) Yes but I might change that
b)24
c) 3
d) 45mm frontage 40mm depth

I also have light cavalry based in 2s, twelve to a unit on 60mm frontage per base.

[garyp]

Infantry are 24 figures based in eights on a 60x40 base, so 3 bases and frontage of 180mm

Cavalry 12 figures based in pairs on 40x60 bases, so 6 bases with a 240mm frontage. Sometimes I field each regiment as 2 6 figure squadrons, particularly if fighting smaller actions.

Open order infantry, same bases, same frontage as other infantry, but only 4 figures per base so units of 12.

Same basing as my Marlburians.

With nearly 2000 SYW figures painted, I'm not rebasing!

[Essex Boy]

Thanks chaps.

Definitely no rebasing, Gary

Iain

[grizzlymc]

I read the title as 18th cunts. Must read more carefully.

[Purple]

18th century thread! Wooooooo!

I’m currently rebasing on to steel because I’m a tough yet refined gentleman!

(1) Close order foot

a) 30 for standard Infantry battalions.
24 for converged Grenadiers and militia (new idea, I think it works- May scrap and go back to 30)
I also now have all officers on separate vignette bases around the unit.

b) 5....... (sort of)
c) 25cm

(2) Close order horse

a) 12
b) 4
c) 20cm.

This all will change when I decide what I’m happy with.
The line/column question is a good one.
The line keeps you right frontage wise but doesn’t accurately realise the depth of your squadrons. But then who wants to paint 24 figure horse, that would be horrific!
If I’m playing with myself on a normal sized table, I use the column of two ranks of 6 helps clear up space for manoeuvre.

(3) Open order troops

This is difficult...

Prussian Jäger detachments were only of around 50 men with the exception of Von Kleists corps who had around 600 lights and just engage in the little war.
So modelling them is awkward and a bit pointless. I’ve done three stands with 6 figures on bases spread over 15cm just to represent that they are there... as these are just attached to militia though they wouldn’t be used in field battle as we are fine Prussian gentlemen.
Light troops are so gauche.

However...
The Austrian Grenzer corps can field battalions of 1200 light twats. Although they did converge there 200+ Grenadiers to special elite hard bastard light twats... so Really they should be getting up to similar frontage of your infantry battalion in most cases but half size in others!
16 figures perhaps... Mine are based in 2s on 5by2cm strips so they can spread about a bit and look even more gauche and skirmishy.

Moving on to the Russians.... there Pandur units basically vary from 500 men to 2500! So good luck there. And they also may have had Jäger from memory, but they were probably wank.

French and the British will be Gary’s domain. I doubt I’ll get round to reading or modelling them until 2028

With all of them, frontages are going to massively vary. The Austrians deployed shit loads of them all over the place.
I’d just ban them for being ungentlemanly and not of proper conduct.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

(1) Close order foot
a) 30 for standard Infantry battalions.
24 for converged Grenadiers and militia (new idea, I think it works- May scrap and go back to 30)
I also now have all officers on separate vignette bases around the unit.

I'd say you have the ratios about right - typically a line battalion was about 600 men, whereas a grenadier battalion was about 480, so a 5:4 ratio, which is what you have.

(3) Open order troops
However...
The Austrian Grenzer corps can field battalions of 1200 light twats. Although they did converge there 200+ Grenadiers to special elite hard bastard light twats... so Really they should be getting up to similar frontage of your infantry battalion in most cases but half size in others!

The problem for Iain is that Grenzer units rarely fought in such large formations - a 1200 strong battalion would normally be split into pairs of companies (divisions) for tactical operations - at least that was what happened in the Nap period. Also, didn't the Grenzer have sharpshooter detachments with double-barrelled rifles that used a half-pike as an aiming rest, and one or two (Szecklers?) had integral hussar detachments, and there were also light artillery/battalion guns, or were they also FRW/Nap developments? If I'm right, some Grenzer units were proper little legionary corps, in the mode of de Saxe - you could have a decent little scrap with one of these against the von Kleist Frei Korps with its band playing some "mood music" to get everyone geed up.

BvW

[Essex Boy]

Actually, I can't see me worrying about that at all.

Much obliged for all the detailed responses - please keep them rolling in.

Iain

[Jeremy]

(1) Close order foot
a) How many figures do you have in your units, 24
b) How many bases is that, 4
c) When formed in line, what is the total frontage (I'm assuming a depth of two figures per base is standard). 24cm
(2) Close order horse
a) How many figures do you have in your units, 12
b) How many bases is that, 4
c) When formed in line, what is the total frontage (assuming you form your cavalry in a single rank of figures). 16cm's
(3) Open order troops
a) Are your open order troops on a permanent open order base yes
b) How many figures in a unit 12
c) How many to a base 3
d) How big is the base? 60mm x 40mm

[Essex Boy]

Cheers Jezza.