"engineers" Topic

I have just started to collect 10mm Napoleonics and want to represent a Spanish, Portuguese and British Peninsular war Supply train and Engineers stands and would be interested on how other wargamers base these ie number of figures/wagons used per base/ unit.I am thinking of using General de Brigade 1 figure represents 20 men scale.Plus any info on Spanish, Portuguese Engineer Officer uniforms would be gratefully appreciated.Thanks.

I game in 28mm with a 1/20 scale. Each brigade gets two wagons as their 'park'. For infantry one is an appropriate ammo wagon/caisson and the other a suitable supply wagon. For the cavalry I replace the ammo wagon with a forge. On top of that their is an artillery 'park' with a caisson for each battery in the orbat.

For each army I have about 18 – 24 engineers (for the British that is split between the Royal Staff Corps and the Royal Sappers and Miners) with one or two wagons. There is also a bridging train with a couple of pontoon wagons.

In 10mm you could happily double the numbers.

Hope that helps.

For info on Spanish Enginer Officer uniforms, check out my web page on the Royal Regiment of Sapper and Miners (Regimiento Real de Zapadores y Miradores). This unit was officered by Engineer Officers. You didn't give a date, and the uniform changed during the Peninsluar War.

link

From "ESTADO MILITAR GRAFICO DE 1806"…

Thanks again for your help and advice.

From the lack of replies ,do wargamers not represent these units on the table? Are they a" luxury" item not required or not high on the priority list and therefore not needed/bought by gamers.Have just bought supply wagons,forges,caissons and Engineer figures.Was this a waste of time and money? I like the visual look of these units even though it seems they are not that useful on the games table.

I have recently returned to Napoleonic wargaming after some 40 years absence. My fighting units are done on a 1 model to 10 real men and I intend to provide my armies with a supply train, ammunition wagons and forges in the same way as the real thing. To this end I have been looking at the Perry Miniatures vehicles that are available. Having read the post above by Artilleryman I will seriously consider the formula he has given as regards the number of wagons etc he uses. Of course one has to take into account the size of the table being played on but his ratio seems to be a sensible one. An interesting book to read on this subject is Wellingtons Engineers by Mark S Thompson where detailed figures are given in respect of ammunition supplies and equipment required for sieges in the Penisular War. In addition a history of the Engineers is given and an insight into the structure of the units being made up of Spanish Engineers and or volunteers from the British regiments all in all a fascinating read.

In the time span of a game, engineers are not very useful for defensive purposes. Your rules might give some benefit for their use in assaults on prepared defenses as active players or as giving assault units some bonuses in getting through such barriers. These are easy to abstract, so there is not as much need to have the painted figures. Except that they are more eye-candy, and that is important to the enjoyment.