"OK, Division/corps frontage and depth?" Topic

Ok, I'm checking my table to se just how roomy it can get.

The problem is that I'm used to tactacl games, were two divions cover like the entire table.

I'm not used to actualy thinknig of real inch to years conversion, or how much forntage a corps too up.

So anyway I cut out 35 papaer cuts the same size as my bases will be, one base is one battalion simple as that.
So I plaes this cutouts on the table just to check out how much room they took up on my table.
35 bases is 35 battalions or 30 battalions and 5 cav regiments ect. I plased them in line of divion that is one divion in line with 3 brigades, then another divion behind that(about 250 yards behind the first) also 3 brigades strong, and finnaly a last divion of just two brigades in reserve about 400 yards behind the second line.
This gives my corps of 35 battalions or ca. 21 000 men if you count an avrage of 600 men pr. battalion a frontage of 2500 yards and 450-500 yards depth?
Just how far is this from reality?
I have place quite the gap betwwen the brigades in the first line.

As much as 300 yards btween two of them. This might be a lot or not enough I honeslty have no ide. I have never crunched those kind of numbers before and never realy thought about how much room a divion or corps have in frontage.

BUT I'm sure atleat 500 of you have

You'd be better off thinking in terms of real OOBs rather than hypothetical ones.

BTW, did you remember my suggestion that a cavalry unit with the same frontage as an infantry battalion would be HALF a cavalry regiment?

This was based more or less on a realy one.

Yorck corps had 36 battalions.

About cavalry

How many squadrons was there in each cavalry regiment?
I know it waried but what is the norm.

"How many squadrons was there in each cavalry regiment?
I know it waried but what is the norm."

I usually reckon on about 4.

Works out great then, I had 102 squadrons total in the OOB, I simply cut that in half to get 51 regiments.
Or 51 bases. So I had the right number of bases I only have to redfine regiments.

So the 51 regiments I had was based on a regiment of 2 squadrons pr. regiment. While it was realy 25 regiments, but each regiment has 2 bases now.
In the end it turnes out to be the same number of bases and figs. I only have to put to bases togeather.

But there must have been some sort of regulations, so and so many yards bewteen each battalion, so and so many yards between brigades, so and so many yards between divions.
So and so many yard behind the main line for reserves ect.
Ofcourse it has to be adopted acording to terrain, but I'm sure there was some sort of drill manual that give some spesific numbers

Perhaps this will help:

picture

Thanks, I need a map of the battlefield, but it dosn't give size of the field.

The map could be 10 sq miles or 50 sqm or more

"Thanks, I need a map of the battlefield, but it dosn't give size of the field.

The map could be 10 sq miles or 50 sqm or more"

According to the index here:
link

the Mockern map is 1:36000 (presumably when you print/display it at full size).

The other way of working it out is to use Google Maps to measure the distance between two landmarks (say villages) to give you a scale to work from on the map.

So 1 inch or cm is 36000 inches or cm?

36000 inches makes most sense as it is exaclty 1000 yards

"So 1 inch or cm is 36000 inches or cm?"

Yes to both. 1in = 36000ins, 1cm = 36000cms.
As you say, 1in = 1000yds.

Thanks, form what I've gather from the map, it's higly variable, Divisons range in forntage from 1000-2000 yards
Dependiing on if there is 2 or more brigades. Thats is with battalions in line.

I find that with a ground (table) scale of 1" = 100m (120 yards) a Corps needs @ 3 feet of table to deploy. that is roughly 2 miles or 3000m of fronatage. Obviously terrain and unit size will dictate changes.

Is that with the whole korps deployed in one line? or I sevral lines. Or one line with one divison in reserve?

"a Corps needs @ 3 feet of table to deploy."

depending on how many divisions in the corps, how many brigades in each division and how many battalions in each brigade. None of these are constant.

"a Corps needs … roughly 2 miles or 3000m of frontage."

The French army at Austerlitz consisted of 4 corps with supporting army level reserves and cavalry. The width of the battlefield was approximately 5 miles.

FYI – There were two battles fought in and around places called Mockern during 1813, one fought in the Spring campaign, and one later in the Fall. The two battlefields are separated by about 60 miles – the map link in this thread is to the later battlefield north of Leipzig, not the earlier one to the east of Magdeburg.

Yes. I found that out the hard way, I was well on my way to make the first battle, when I realy wanted to make the later one part of leipzig. But I got it sorted out.

I game at a scale of 1 foot on the table = 1 mile in reality and I used brigade bases of 60mm square representing approx 2500 infantry or 1000 cavalry. Bases already assume that brigades will deploy with some kind of reserve.

An "average" corps of 30,000 men will typically deploy on a 2-mile frontage, allowing for some separation between divisions.

If deployed "in depth" because of other supporting forces being available, or to make a particularly determined defence (e.g. Waterloo), or to make a massed attack then obviously a smaller frontage will be held.

The corps would be pushed to hold a wider frontage than 2 miles without there being too many gaps, or gaps that are too large.