Another person motivated for a new project

[Ed Youngstrom]

Hi everyone,

OK, the game at the FLGS didn't work out for various reasons. In particular, there was an episode where a British Light Dragoon regiment of 12 figures frontally charged a French attack column of 27. The French got off a shot, causing one or two casualties, but then the British rolled zero hits. None, nada. Nary a 4, 5, or 6 to be seen. The French caused enough that when the Close Combat Casualty Table was consulted the remainder of the British evaporated to raucous shouts of "The Game is Broken!"

I rechecked the mods several times, but found no errors. So, scratch a couple R2E converts. Me? I thought the result of a small regiment frontally charging a close-packed column wasn't that far-fetched.

Anyway...personally, I'm excited again about Napoleonics and have decided to build up a new project around Gerard's IV Corps/Army of the Moselle at Ligny. [Note: I can neither confirm nor deny that the sudden appearance of plastic Prussians had anything to do with the picking of Ligny ] Scraping up the figures squirrelled around the house produced:

2 boxes each Perry French infantry, dragoons, hussars, and cuirassiers, plus 18 Perry metal French chasseurs a cheval and a full foot battery of 6pdrs (no limbers).

Gerard's 6th Cavalry Division included the 6th Hussars, 8th Chasseurs, and the 6th and 16th Dragoons. So I'm good for the chasseurs and the hussars, but short for the two dragoon regiments. Or am I?

Here's a question for the group: when you start a project like this, how do you organize your units? This is my first foray into 20:1. Do you tend to organize strictly to the Orbat at hand, or do you pick the appropriate regiments and then build to "paper strength" so that they are more useful in other scenarios? Paper strength of 4 squadrons is a hefty 24 figures, at least!

I spent a sizable chunk of the weekend cleaning, assembling, and priming cavalry figures. Monday I will pick up some primer, and hope to start getting in some weekday evening sessions. Another question (if you're still here): how much time do those of you with huge collections actually get to spend painting?

And one last question: I am not a good, nor fast painter. I know, practice makes perfect, etc. The Army Painter system intrigues me. Have any of you used it for Perry French plastic infantry? I've only got, what? 26 battalions to go!

Ed

P.S. Just out of curiosity, I counted. This is my sixth time "starting over" in Napoleonics since 1984.

[quindia]

It's always best to hold 12 model units to charge flanks or Disordered infantry battalions. There's not many dice in a unit of that size. Sounds like your mates are laboring under the notion that cavalry ALWAYS wins against infantry unless they are in a square.

Infantry in line, in two ranks even, may withstand cavalry, if in compact order, and attacked in front. But the slightest cavalry charge on the flank of a line will rout it. At Quatre Bras, a French infantry line, advancing, repulsed a charge of the Brunswicker Lancers under the Duke of Brunswick, by receiving it in steadiness and good order, and then pouring in a destructive fire.

Where infantry is well disciplined, and its commander is cool and prompt, it may sometimes avoid the effect of a cavalry charge by other means than its fire, or formation in square. At Talavera, a French infantry division, drawn up in close column, seeing an English cavalry regiment charging down upon them, avoided the shock by simply stepping aside, thus allowing the cavalry to pass by them. A portion of the charging troops wheeled round to follow them; but, by the cross-fire of another division, and the charge of other cavalry, which fell upon it in its confusion, it was completely annihilated.

I'm sure there are more examples. Rules are written with the assumption that cavalry normally will defeat infantry in close combat, but bad luck with the dice will defeat any weighted charts. The same thing could happen on the other side, with an infantry square broken by poor die rolls, the the chance is against it.

Complaining the rules are broken based on one turn of one game is silly. Again expect cavalry to be invincible without picking the right target and providing support speaks more to poor tactics than poor rules.

[Ed Youngstrom]

Thanks for that, Clarence. In case it wasn't clear, I had no problem with the result.

Oh, wait...it was my attack column.

For those who may be interested (like me!), I've extracted a couple questions from my essay above:

1. When you start a project like this, how do you organize your units? Do you tend to organize strictly to the Orbat at hand, or do you pick the appropriate regiments and then build to "paper strength" so that they are more useful in other scenarios?

2. How much time do those of you with huge collections actually get to spend painting?

3. The Army Painter system intrigues me. Have any of you used it for Perry French plastic infantry?

Thanks,
Ed

[John Michael]

Hi Ed,

I have played around with both ideas in respect to strength of units. I started by building to orbats, but really I have come to the conclusion that it is better to stick to some regularly sized units. The rulesets I have are mostly base dependent rather than figure dependent like RtE. I wanted to be able to play and test several rulesets as well as RtoE so I decided to go with either 4, 5, or 6 base battalions all with 6 infantry to each base. A British battalion would have 4 bases, while a British guard or some highland units would have 6 bases and so on.

It does take a lot of time to paint up a division, but I like painting.

I use the AP method, very reluctantly at first, but it has halved my painting time and I now think it is great.

Good luck,

John

[Ed Youngstrom]

John,

I have been following your blog for some time but had missed the posts about Army Painter. Those and your other information about washes, for example, are very useful.

Thanks!

Ed