"Black Powder orders" Topic

Hi all,

I'm working on a huge BP set-up using my 2mm figures and my plastic-rod infantry. I'm fast closing in on a battalion level set for Wagram. I'm very excited to try this out, as battalion level Wagram games are a rather rare creature. I'll also be using the blocks Im creating for my 3mm Wagram, which will most likely use SBUs, in light of the success I'm having with these.

Anyway, in BP, when you give an attack order, is it permissible to have this include a wheel? Or should the attack order have to go directly forward?
In general, do you use house rules to limit movement, or do you just use the rules as-are?

We pretty much use rules as is. You can wheel when you charge.

Cool-
I'm going to try to get a big corps on corps game in this weekend- I need to find someone who wants to play first.

Here's how I'm doing my "hybrid" army. A mixture of handmade kriegspiel blocks contain a bunch of unit information and my 2mm figures.

These have the basic coat color, the facing color, and a letter or letters showing the unit type on the top. On the side, which you can't really see in this photo, there's the OOB information with the corps, div and brigade, as well as the regiment. The block follows the models around the board, making them instantly identifiable. It is rotated to show hits.

In most Black Powder era engagements, you don't see wheels into a charge, either by infantry or cavalry… perhaps before a charge if adequate [read safe] distance away.

It was very difficult to wheel a line of infantry or cavalry quickly with any order. The SOP was to form company/squadron columns to wheel beyond about 20%. Once within 1000 or less yards of the enemy, it was straight in. The practice was to pick a landmark to maneuver on to keep the lines perpendicular to the enemy to be attacked. That isn't something that can be done easily wheeling close to the enemy.

What about maneuvers to strike the flank of an enemy that a battalion is overlapped on?

The Russians attempted to do this early at Borodino south of the Great Redoubt, if IIRC. I think it failed though and they ended up being charged in their flank also.

I do generally agree on the wheel thing, btw. I was thinking maybe a house rule that forbids a wheel on the move to contact, but wheel ok on prior moves.

Also, isn't "safe distance" a subjective judgment made by the commander given the totality of the circumstances?

IIRC in Black Powder you can only wheel st the start of a move so you have to "line up" your shot so to speak?

The other thing to be aware of is that you have to announce what your order are aloud to your opponent. You don't just roll for orders and then do what you want.
You say "This unit will advance, then wheel, then charge"

We allow change of direction, but the last "order" has to be straight. So if a player rolls 2 or 3 orders, he can flex around, but if only one then that will not work.

So a standard charge order for us may be:

"The 29th regiment will advance to the crest of the hill, turn to face the enemy unit on its left and charge" How far the unit will get in carrying those out will depend on how many orders they roll.

I don't know if that is a "house rule" as it is my reading of the accounts and how the order system interacts with movement/charging