"Table Top Teasers" Topic

Hi,

I am looking through these scenarios put out by Battlegames, and have a question.

When Charles Grant using the term regiment and battalion interchangeably in the scenarios, it is a little hard to figure out.

Sorry if stupid question.

John

This is probably because in the British Army (of the 18th or 19th century) a regiment and a battalion are more or less synonomous. That is, a regiment usually only fielded one battalion. The 2nd battalion was a depot unit back in England.

This gets my vote as the most disappointing thread title of 2010… ;o)

It would be nice if people who answered actually had knowledge of Grant's scenario's. I actually believe none of the scenarios issued by Battlegames magazine have a British unit in them.

But nothing is really surprising on TMP!!!

Most of the time he is discussing French or Austrian units.

John

ps it is a good title is it not!

It would be nice if people who answered actually had knowledge of Grant's scenario's.

I have copies of most of the Table Top Teasers from when they were FIRST published in "Battle" magazine and then "Military Modelling".

No, they don't specifically refer to British units because they are "generic" scenarios, usually with forces designated Red and Blue, and designed to be played with whatever figures you have to hand. The point is however that Charles Grant is (was) British and thus would have a "British" take on what constitutes a regiment.

What Margard said. I've also got most of the original ones.

I agree with Margard – I have an original copy of his book "The Wargame", and he treats regiments/battalions interchangably – and all of the battles he outlines are Austrian/French/Prussian

Actually 'The Wargame' has a regiment of 2 battalions each 24 figures strong. They are however deployed as one unit. Since this is the rules CSG grew up with I have always taken then to mean that organisation. Sp you can vary things a little to fit your own setup.

Yes, I noticed the same thing as 138SquadronRAF has; that indeed in the introduction to the Battlegames version, he describes base regiments as 48 figures, thus suggesting that maybe a regiment is 2 battalions and that he does not treat the terms interchangeably.

In some of the scenarios, he uses the term French battalion and in other French regiment

Is Henry Hyde out there??????

John

Hi John

Yes, as far as Charles Grant is concerned, "battalion" and "regiment" are interchangeable.

To quote from p.89 of "The War Game":

All the above, of course, refers to a system wherein the infantry unit of which we speak (I call it a regiment, although in terms of frontage, it is only a battalion) is the tactical unit. Some players do prefer subdivisions, ie the breaking up of their battalions into companies for independent action.

This is also the case for cavalry, where his "regiments" are often, in fact, only single-squadron strength. His excuse, on p.91, is

It is a regrettable fact that the cavalry regiments of the Vereinigte Freie Städte have never reached this strength [referring to a 150-trooper squadron in two lines of 75 with a squadron frontage of 100 yards] and the 24 troopers of a cavalry regiment ranged in two lines have a front of but 7", indicating that the unit numbers only about 105 troopers. Alas, cavalry is an expensive arm to raise and maintain!

Charles Grant was, of course, British (a Scot in fact) and therefore used to the British Army's normal organisation of single-battalion regiments, with a second battalion sometimes retained on a nominal footing for homeland recruitment or garrison duties.

Oh, and by the way, several of the Teasers in BG have British units -- but the photos show Charles S Grant's set-up, using his own rules, not his father's!

Henry
Battlegames
battlegames.co.uk

Thanks Henry,

I can now plunge into the teasers without further delay. I was getting worried as if they were true regiments (2-3 battalions) in the European sense, I was running out of units.

John

Jolly good, John.

A note for future reference to anyone who wants me to see or comment on a particular thread -- please email me (henry at battlegames do co dot uk) with a direct link. I'm so busy these days that I rarely have the time to just 'trawl' here on TMP.

Henry
Battlegames
battlegames.co.uk

Just got my copy in the mail this morning, flicking through it over tea and toast……looks fantastic. I do have a few of the originals somewhere, but it's good to have them all in the one volume I must say ( not to mention all the extras ). Good stuff Henry.