"Line and column changing formation wargaming" Topic

Hi all!
A lot of times, when I look at pics of some wargame table what you see it a bunch of (few) soldiers posing on a stand and simulating all the rest: I mean usually this stands represent 1 battalion i.e. 550 men, and forcebly they cannot provide any idea of the issues that a real battalion could have during a battle (as for example to split from 1 of its companies to match an enemy etc), and even worse, I never saw the possibility of representing a true changing formation from column to line, that was the top of the Prussian maneuovre. I decided than to try to recreate it with my papersoldiers:

here above a battalion arrayed in line is changing to column for advance

the papersoldiers are sticked to their stand through a magnet that also allows to remove the 5 stand unit from the company during the wargame.

In this way it possible to recreate the reality of a battle.
So the rules will be on battalion scale, with possibility to down-scale to company and squad, but also to increase to brigades

paperbattles.it

a total vision at brigade-level

and even worse, I never saw the possibility of representing a true changing formation from column to line, that was the top of the Prussian maneuovre.

In most wargames, when about 20-30 figures represent a battlion, that level of detail is abstracted out. It's not wrong, it's just a different way to view it. When you want to portray a complete Napoleonic period battle, where you could have as many as 100 battalions on each side, that level of detail is superfluous in any case.

Are those pictures at a 1:1 representation?

The other issue here is time scale. If a battalion takes a few minutes to change formation, you'll never "see" the interim steps unless your turns are very, very short (say, 20-30 seconds).

I'm working on a Napoleonic project with battalions at 1:2 or thereabouts but it's really just an exercise in showing what units really look like.

Agree. Using rules that dispense with formation changes is abs. required in order to have games take less time to play; the only issue when showing battalion = stand is when troops are in fact, in march column on a road. Remember, the fact is the length of the column is huge so if a battalion is on the road and getting the road bonus, the next closest battalion behind it also getting the bonus would have to be like 3 hexes away.

Paperbattles, I love the pictures and what you are doing with your troops!

The other comments here are correct, of course: at the scale of most games, the mechanics of formation changes are just factored in and rarely ever get seen in a game.

As a long-time Civil War reenactment battalion commander I probably have more experience with that sort of thing than just about anyone and it is interesting how quickly well-trained troops can carry out these maneuvers. Even complex changes can be done in a couple of minutes or even less.

Still, I love to see this sort of thing in a game. Perhaps you should find a copy of the Chef de Battalion rules which did do this sort of thing on a 1-1 scale.

I don't think that column of half divisions would have been used in that period. Column of march was formed by a simple right face for column of threes, then march off, turning as necessary (aka filing/defiling). What you are showing is ploying/deloying, which doesn't come in until Guibert.

I have Chef de Battalion (nominal figure ratio of 1:5) and having read through once I cannot imagine the resulting game would be anything enjoyable.

rmarker: pag 122 of Christofer Duffy's "The Army of Federich the Great describes the changing from column to line, speaking even of open and close columns.

Extra Cripsy: actually, I am doing my self rules trying to make things simple and fast.Still working on it.

Scottwashbrun: thank you! well your paper soldiers are very cool. I would like to try the Chef de Bataillon rules. And good to know you has experience in commanding a unit of the past…

1968bilsfan: yes 1:1 ratio

For the rest, the idea is actually that a simple wargame will last not just 3-5 hours, but some days or more, keeping the figures on the table as long as it needs, enjoying the single details. It's hard but for me it's worthy. Just a different way of thinking a wargame looking like a live diorama.

Thank you everybody

Chef de Battalion--I kept thinking of the Sam Adams Beer commercials: "Do you LOVE charts?"

Then again,if you're really wanting a 72 hour game…

I played an ACW game called "Line versus Line" once that simulated this kind of micro-tactical minutiae. I can't find it on line now, so I'm afraid I'm not much help. :-\

This kind of gaming was interesting and challenging that one time, but I wouldn't want to do that as a regular part of my gaming experience. I might enjoy playing the role of colonel in WWII or later, but in other eras I prefer to play general.

BTW, Regimental Fire and Fury is a bit more abstract than you show above, but it does have some of the flavor of forming and reforming regiments/battalions, more than most horse & musket games I've tried.

- Ix