"Building the South Essex for Sharp Practice" Topic

I was thinking of building the Battalion for use with the rules but how big should it be? I haven't played the rules yet so how many figures would make up a company and then of course how many companies would make up a Battalion.

In the example scenario to be found here:
link

it suggests that a company be represented by 10 figures and that a British battalion consist of 4 companies. Of course, historically a British battlion consisted of 8 centre companies, a light company and a grenadier company, but I suspect representing the unit with only 4 cpmpanies is a game expedient.

Ok thanks for the start.

In the ratio of one figure representing 20 humans, a battalion of 40 figures is common, but with 4 grenadiers with wings and white hackles; 4 light company figures with wings and green hackle, and the rest centre company figures. You could do a "real" battalion, and withdraw 10, 20, or 30 centre figures of them with cadre unique to the fictional South Essex, and be able to do "double duty" for gaming. I like 1 and 2-figure bases, put into a carrier tray for whichever rule set may prevail.

GdeP

I thought Sharp Practice was one figure is one man, is it not?

There are rules for large game scales somewhere in the back of the book, IIRC.

-Will

In the ratio of one figure representing 20 humans, a battalion of 40 figures is common, but with 4 grenadiers with wings and white hackles; 4 light company figures with wings and green hackle, and the rest centre company figures.

I'm pretty sure SP does not use a 1:20 figure ratio.

If this game is 1:1, then 10 figures would not be a "company." Perhaps a squad.

I am suggesting that if you plan to do battalions of 40 figures, make them usable in 1:20 ratio or similar for more than one type of game.

GdeP

If this game is 1:1, then 10 figures would not be a "company." Perhaps a squad.

I don't think it's intended to be 1:1 either. Also, I don't think they had "squads" in the Napoleonic period.

The original (Napoleonic) SP is written with 1:1 games in mind, but works equally well up to about 1:5 scale.

There are additional rules for larger scale games (1:8/10)in the ACW supplement that are easily adapted for all periods – so an under-strength company could be represented by a single 'group' (SP term) of 6-8 figures, with a full 10 company battalion of 60-80 figures.

The knack is then to get the balance of 'Big Men' right to give the command/control challenges that make SP different from most other games

Sharp Practice works up to about 1:5 scale, so a British company would be 12 figures, and a battalion would be 10 groups of 12 – an impressive 120 figures.

If you are being truly accurate to the TV series, then the whole South Essex regiment is about 20 men strong at 1:1 ratio, 4 of whom are Sharpe and his chosen men.