"Command:Troopers ratio in Wargames" Topic

What ratio you use? How many troopers per officer/NCO/flag/musician?

I have standard infantry units of 12, which tend to be one each of officer, musician, standard bearer, and nine R&F.

For bigger units, I would have had more R&R but no more command figures.

The number of officers and musicians I use depends on the number of standards the unit has. For armies like the French with a single standard I generally use one officer and two drummers. For, the British carrying two colours I would use two officers and two drummers (though I might replace one of the officers with a sapper figure if I have one available). I don't really bother with NCOs since I use 15mm figures and I find the uniform distinctions too tricky to paint on figures that size.

I would probably do this for units based on any figure ratio from 1:15 up to 1:33.

What rules do you use? I prefer Black Powder and General de Brigade. As a result my battalions are 36 figures strong on six bases of six (at least to start with). To allow for variations in rules etc, one base is the 'command' base with the colours and drummers. The other bases each have either a sergeant or officer giving, in effect 2 officers and 3 sergeants (though, depending on nationality, there may be an extra sergeant on the command base). This gives a pleasant variation in the ranks and allows some bases to be mini dioramas.

I use 28 or 30mm figures, with 36 for the French in Spain; 40 for the British; 30 for the Portuguese; and "odds and sods" for the Spanish: 36 for early light battalions; 32 for line battalions.

For a French battalion, 1 officer, usually carrying the eagle. 1 drummer (too "many," as the whole battalion had only 11 or 12, and 4 sergeants or corporals with short sword and bayonet. 6 "cadre" to 30 privates. Sometimes I may also use a cornet in the voltigeur company, or an extra drummer or officer in the grenadier company. This allows some "cadre" for a converged grenadier or voltigeur "battalion."

I can deploy these as 36 in 2 or 3 ranks; as 2 "battalions" of 18; or as 3 "battalions" of 12.

I try to use the 1 of 36 ratio for my British (40) Portuguese (30 and Spanish units (36; 32; 20; 24, etc – "odds and sods.")

GdeP

My units in 15mm tend towards 16, used to be 12. In either case as above I use one "command set" of standard (if appropriate) officer, drummer/cornet and if I have one a sergeant or sapper.
Cavalry units tend to be smaller, 6-12 for 6 I'll use only 2 command, larger I'll go with the full set.

Looking forward to your revolutionary French.
Phil

I use one command stand per battalion. My figures are all on a ratio of 1:30 and single rank based.

Most of my British battalions are 20 figures, based in pairs (as companies), with a couple based separately, since I like casualty removal. This gives a command stand of two figures, one officer (who is also a standard bearer, unless it is a Rifles unit) and a drummer, piper or bugler. My larger British units have 30 figure battalions, so three figure command stands. Normally the third figure would be an officer, but I used fifers for Foot Guards and sergeants for Rifles. I only have one standard for each British battalion, normally the Regimental Colour, although for Foot Guards it is the King's Colour.

My French are in 18 figure battalions (6 x 3 figure companies). Again one of these is the command stand (normally 1st Fusilier Company). For 1st Battalions I have an Eagle Bearer, Sappeur and drummer. Second, third etc battalions have an officer, NCO Fanion Bearer and drummer.

My Prussians are in 24 figure battalions, but organised as 8 x half companies (zugs). One zug is the command stand.

You can see many of these figures on my website rodwargaming.wordpress.com

Rod

My units are usually 24 figures and in 15 or 6mm. As the others note, one command stand, no NCOs. Frankly even at 1/6 the ratio of chiefs to indians is a bit silly….but flags look so darn cool.

64 figures in 6mm of which 3 or 4 are command.
Usually Officer+ColourBearer+Drummer

One Grenadier, one light, two centre, all ten men plus one officer each. One or two standard bearers, one mounted Colonel, one Sapper and two colour escorts, one drummer. Fifty men per unit on average. Looks the part and works well.

For French infantry battalions, I am using 24 figures on foot, including: one officer (captain), one NCO (sergeant-major), one standard bearer, one drummer, four grenadier/carabinier, four voltigeur, and 12 fusilier/chasseur. They are mounted on six bases with four figures per base. The mounted chef de battalion is on a separate base, which is actually a numbered dial that can be set to any value to represent the battalion strength.

Totally depends on what I have available. Most of my battalions are 24 figures. French battalion I often have 2-3 officer figures, standard and a musician. I am doing a Highland battalion at the moment and I have one drummer, one piper, two ensigns, two sergeants and two officer figures leaving sixteen rankers.

Thank you all, guys.
Seemingly if I prepare moulds with 1 officer and 1 NCO per 6 trooper poses and 1 flag, 1 musician and 1 colonel per 12 trooper poses, all used variants of units will be covered. And separate moulds will give additional troopers for bigger units.

I never use musicians in units – just 1 officer and 1-2 color bearers (depending on what was used historically) and as many rank & file as I can fit depending on the game.

However, I do use musicians and such as markers when I can.

Some as CAEenWolde above. (actually I'm starting this for new units and slowly upgrading older ones). I use a stand of 3-4 drummers for some units and give those units special morale and melee bonuses. If NCO figures are available, they go on the front rank of the flank companies.

Mine are 18 figure units based 6 per base for Shako II. 1 base is the command base and as doing British I have 1 officer, 2 ensigns with colours, 1 drummer, 1 sergeant and an other rank or sapper.

Tony.

My new units are 18 figs and usually 3 in command stand Officer, drummer/bugler/fifer/piper, flag. So 1:6.

Previous units were set up per C.S. Grant's old school standard 5 command and 48 Soldiers so 1:10. Cav was smaller 3 command 24 Troopers 1:9.

Another variation. I am now basing my (18mm) figures on bases of 6 (3 by 2, 1 inch square). These can be assembled into units of 12, 24, 36 or 48 depending on whether I'm playing Blucher at one ned or General de brigade at the other.

I have tried to limit myself to one officer/standard/drummer figure per base. I put standard bearers on the front left corner, so that they can be paired up with another base with an officer on the front right. drummers go on one of the back corners.

I do light infantry slightly differently. One base has an officer and a bugler/hornist as a pair, but paired with a base with all rank and file. I split the command base into two strips of three so it can represent a reserve standing behind deployed skirmishers.

…and with the french I sometimes put an eagle escort into the mix (just one – though there should be two). This might be on the front right of a base.

I have recently purchased a bunch of Napoleonic figures after a 10-15 year hiatus and I was surprised to find the difference. Back in the day you'd buy a 100 figure pack from Old Glory and get enough figures for a two battalion regiment at 1:20, including a command group for each battalion (the extra flags were the four extra figs and you'd stick an officer or drummer on the odd stand to fill out the unit). The set I just bought was 50 figures including 16 command figures, a 1:2 ratio of command to line troops. Minifigs 15mm were sold in blisters of 24 figures with either all troopers or command packs with (IIRC) 9 command figures, now you can buy 8 figures in a pack or 6 all command figures. Not really complaining, but it's apparent that figures are being sold for 1:60 games rather than 1:20. In the meantime does anyone need 40 French Young Guard command figures?

Do whatever you like the look of best. They are toy soldiers, YOUR toy soldiers.

@ Murvihill – I believe the 1:2 ratio was aimed at creating four 12-figure battalions for the "Age of Reason" rules, back in the mid-90s. I recall buying the 100-figure packs of Prussian SYW infantry to use as AWI Hessians, and they had a fantastic array of rarer poses that infused a great deal of variety into the units; the 50-figure packs were were much less useful – I actually complained about the ridiculous number of command figures (including standard bearers in grenadier packs) to their UK rep at a show. His reply "just do what I do, and throw the extra figures away" *d me off so completely that I stopped buying OG figures all together.

I been using 32 figure units with 2 each of officer, standard bearer (pioneer replaces one where history dictates) NCOs, and drummers. This allows me to break the unit down into two 16 man units if rules call for more but smaller units.