"Warfare in the age of Auftragstaktik part 3" Topic

Part 3 now up on my blog:

link

RC,

I find all this fascinating, as it is the period I am currently concentrating on. I am curious about the decision in your chosen rules to have two gun models represent a single battery, and that to have a frontage equal to a battalion. Does Zouave 2 have a ground scale?

Mollinary

Hi Mollinary,

Thanks very much. Obviously most other rules use 1 artillery stand for a battery but in Zouave II it's says the following about grounds scale and artillery:

Ground scale: 1 inch on the tabletop equals 50 yards linear distance on the battlefield.

Artillery basing: Field artillery is illustrated as a single gun with 4 crew figures mounted on a 1 inch hex stand representing an artillery section of 2 to 3 guns. Two such stands make up a battery.

These rules were primarily designed for 10mm, I asked the author about using 6mm with these rules and he suggested that minimal adjustments only need be made.

I see what you are saying about an infantry battery occupying the same ground as an infantry battalion but with 6 guns, crews, officers etc the frontage probably wouldn't have been that dissimilar.

As I am sure you know, battalions tended to deploy in deeper formations still at this point to allow a concentration of reserves to be fed in or retained according to the tactical situation. So this still feels right to me. And a regiment still has, deployed in line, a 6 inch frontage.

Rhys

Hi Rhys,

Thanks for taking the time to come back to me. I understand the compromises involved in making rules for this period, I certainly made a number in coming up with a modified RFF! I think what looks wrong to me is something where one infantry man is representing at least forty-50 men, but one gun represents three guns. I think a 6 gun battery would have a frontage of about 80-100 yards at a maximum, so that would work on your ground scale, but 100 yards would be a bit tight for an infantry battalion, even an Austrian one in closed division masse linie. My rules also use two guns per battery by the way, but my battalions contain twelve bases, each with four 10mm figures and using a fifty yards to the inch scale, as yours. Hmm, I need to think a bit more of this!

Mollinary

Hi Mollinary,

No worries, always good to have a discussion about these things and get someone else's perspective.

Yeah agree that 100 yard frontage for a Prussian or French battalion is unlikely. I think I may make an adjustment whereby 1inch equal 100 yards and adjust all accordingly.

I think the main reason for the two base batteries is to ensure that the artillery for this period has the right historical feel if used well, particularly on the Prussian side.

I have played wargames, where a forces artillery or it's crew or both were particularly effective historically, but on the table top have a minimal influence on the game. This may be as a result of wargamers tending not to use their artillery to the best effect, but, in some instance I have felt that the artillery arm has seemed weak on the war games table when historically they were anything but.

You should give Zouave II a go and let me know how you get on!?

Rhys

Thanks Rhys,

Funnily enough, I do actually have a copy, but not played it yet. Perhaps I'll give it a go once I get my games room finished. Even with one gun model a battery, an average Prussian Corps will have 14-16 guns – not bad for only 25 infantry units. The French get rather fewer, but that is because they put more divisions in a corps, so had fewer corps reserve artillery batteries per division. They also replaced every third battery of 4pdrs with a mitrailleuse battery. This left a Prussian division with four batteries of guns ( 2x4pdr, 2x6pdr) to the two batteries of 4pdrs the French had. This is Prussia's great plus point! By the way, have you looked t To The Last Gaiter Button by Real Time Wargames? It has a good campaign system, and interesting and challenging mechanisms.

Mollinary

Oh a games room… One day I will have one!

Yeah the French artillery is weak throughout, fewer guns, timed fuses rather than impact fuses like the Prussians, and poorly trained/poor doctrine within the teams themselves compared to the Prussians.

I really want to get hold of a copy of TTLGB, but so far haven't been able to. If it has a campaign system as well then that would be perfect as I definitely want to create a campaign!

I like challenging mechanisms as well.

Thanks very much for the info.

Rhys

TTLGB can be purchased from: realtimewargames.webplus.net

Knock twice, and say Mollinary sent you!

Awesome, thanks Mollinary :-)