"How many miniatures per battalion do you play with?" Topic

The answer depends on what rules I'm using.
My 28mm figures are on 40mm square bases with 4 infantry or 2 cavalry per base.
If I'm using Shako, then it is 3 bases per battalion.
For Lasalle it would be 4.
For GdeB it would be 6.

I don't care what the man to figure scale is; what does it matter? All the matters is the frontage of a battalion.
I'm also not a fan of a single rank of figures for a unit in line; I know the depth is more correct, but horse & musket units need to be at least two deep or they don't look right, and we don;t care about appearance, why use models at all?

I've never really got to grips with the scaling of minis to a battalion. Surely the most important issue is obtaining the correct frontage of your battalion in line for whatever rule system you are using. That said, many of us play different rule sets for a different level of game, i.e. unit is battalion or a brigade. As far as cavalry is concerned, most rules a unit is a regiment others use the squadron as the movement element which is far more historically accurate. How do those who create battalions of say, 24 or 32 figures deal with the frontage requirements of a ruleset without radically adjusting the scale and then find opponents with a similar basing system.
Then when another rule system or level of game (eg brigade level like Age of Eagles) sparks your interest what do you do rebase? Not likely?
Or maybe you just like collecting & painting minis.

For the French, I use 108 figures (9 companies of 12 figures each) for 1805-1808 and 72 figures there after (6 companies of 12 figures each). Gives a good visual appeal and gives battalions some lasting power in combat…i.e. units don't "disappear" in a single 15 minute time span. Brits are 60 to 120 man battalions, Russians 60-72, Prussians 60-80, and Austrians 72-108. But to each their own…it is after all only a "representation"!

Always a problem for Napoleonics, but as a rule 16. Occasionally I have units more or less depending on the number of figs I have available.

isttexas,
what rules do you use for this amount of figures per battalion?

isttexas,
what rules do you use for this amount of figures per battalion?
And what scale?

Brunet,
Rules are "In the Grand Manner" with some major changes, scale is 1 figure equals 10 real men, 1 inch equals 20 yards; table is usually 36 to 72 feet long, 5 feet deep but sometimes we use 3 table lengths (36 to 72 ft long) to make it a total of 15 feet deep.

@isttexas

Sounds like a rather large table for a skirmish game!