| maciek72 | 11 Sep 2015 8:57 a.m. PST |
From the series:
"Wargamer's only problem " How to base Brititish dismounted dragoons for British Grenadier ?
Like skirmishers or line infantry ?
Recently I found a decription of their action at Princeton, where they fought against Patriot riflemen. I know that they probably fought in "open order" (2 lines) also, but how often ? The same concerns all infantry in legionary corps.
Lee's legion infantry fought as a part of infantry line at Camden and Eutaw. Did they ever skirmish (in single line) in battle ? |
| mbsparta | 11 Sep 2015 9:31 a.m. PST |
I mount mine as skirmishers Mike B |
| rmaker | 11 Sep 2015 10:19 a.m. PST |
ALL British infantry fought in two ranks in the AWI. That was doctrine for fighting in America and had been for years. When Dragoons (Light or otherwise) were trained for dismounted fighting, they were trained as light infantry, which meant they could skirmish but also form line if necessary. |
| Supercilius Maximus | 11 Sep 2015 3:08 p.m. PST |
Yes, good point by rmaker – light infantrymen skirmished in pairs, one man covering the other and one always loaded and ready to fire whilst the other re-loaded, so in essence even they were always in a two-rank line of some form. The use of dismounted light dragoons in "British Grenadier" depends on (a) your figure:man ratio, and then (b) on how many dismounted dragoons are present. Some of them were armed with rifled carbines, so there is a fair chance they were deployed as marksmen, rather than as part of the line of battle – that said, if enough were present, they could be a potent flanking force in a small action. I would suggest that gamers Use them as 2nd Rate skirmishers – ie one die per three men, rather than 1st Rate (one die per two) as there doesn't seem to have been anything special about them in terms of battlefield success. [I'm willing to be corrected on that if anyone has some primary accounts.] The problem is, we don't know for sure how well they were trained, or the exact nature of that training. Equally, we are not 100% sure whether the dismounted troops operated together, or alongside the corresponding mounted troop (one captain in each regiment was put in overall charge of the six dismounted troops, and this seems to have been more than a simple administrative post). Given that the "dismounted troop" added to each mounted troop, was part of the late 1775 augmentation of the infantry and cavalry, and these dismounted men arrived in America in late 1776, it is problematic as to how much expertise they had acquired in light infantry tactics – in fact, we don't even know where most of the recruits came from (a sensible source would have been volunteers from the light companies of existing units, in the same way that volunteers were drafted in to bring Line units up to strength before they headed off to America, but there is nothing to indicate this). |
| GiloUK | 12 Sep 2015 2:58 a.m. PST |
I based my dismounted light dragoons in pairs, but happy to regard them as non-elite for dice-rolling purposes: link I also based up Lee's Legion as skirmishers, after posing the same question to the GB! rules author (ie skirmishers or close-order bases): link Giles |
| maciek72 | 12 Sep 2015 4:10 a.m. PST |
Gentelmen,
thank you for your advice.
I think I'll base them as skirmishers with possibility to pair bases to get close order. A couple of questions:
How many of them were armed with rifles ? AFAIR very few. I know that whole British army were trained in open order tactic. So what was the difference in light infantry tactic when fighting alogside lets say grenadiers as it happened at Brandywine ? Did they use different tactic ? Was it visible at the battlefield ? |
| GiloUK | 12 Sep 2015 5:55 a.m. PST |
I've just noticed that the Weitzel's Mill scenario in the forthcoming 4th scenario book from Caliver has a unit of Lee's Legion infantry of 14 figures. You'd probably want that based up as formed infantry rather than skirmishers, I'd have thought. Oh well, I'll just have to paint it up again. |
| maciek72 | 12 Sep 2015 6:08 a.m. PST |
've just noticed that the Weitzel's Mill scenario in the forthcoming 4th scenario book from Caliver has a unit of Lee's Legion infantry of 14 figures. You'd probably want that based up as formed infantry rather than skirmishers, I'd have thought. Oh well, I'll just have to paint it up again. This one belongs to series:
"Problem of wargamers who stick to scenarios written by others"
Imagine that two of them become sick just before this action. |
| Winston Smith | 12 Sep 2015 6:16 a.m. PST |
Scenario books are not Holy Scripture. |
| Eclaireur | 12 Sep 2015 10:00 a.m. PST |
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| maciek72 | 12 Sep 2015 10:17 a.m. PST |
OK guys.
I now how impotant scenarios are, especially if I write it myself.
But please, dont hijack this thread all you, renowned scenario-writers and play-testers.
I'd like to now something more about light dragoons. |
paints brigs for the British fleet.
