"Black Powder rules - what is a battery?" Topic

N.B. This post relates to wargaming Peninsular War battles.

As far as I read it, Black Powder 'bath tubs' (that is: battalions can represent battalions in small battles, battalions can represent brigades in larger battles) just about everything. I don't have problem with this approach and I use it for SYW battles using other rules all of the time. However, being a little unfamiliar with Napoleonic gaming and Black Powder rules I have a problem with balancing my armies regarding the proportion of artillery to have present.

Unusually, Black powder has units of guns fielded as individual models. The rules, unless I'm missing something, are a bit wooly as to what a gun is – quoting, they represent a " 'battery' ". In a game where battalions represent battalions, what would you say each gun represents?

Thanks in advance.

James

The examples in the main rule book suggest that typically the battery they had in mind is 6 guns. However as you say it is flexible, in Glory Hallelujah, the infantry battalions are weaker than the "typical" Napoleonic ones and the batteries represent only 3 or 4 guns. Some people interpret it as two gun sections per battery but unless infantry units are less than battalion sized this probably over powers the artillery.
I think this scaling to the infantry is important, because a standard sized infantry unit has a stamina of 3 regardless of actual size. I use two gun sections for battalion guns but reduce their shooting dice.

Regards

Garry
caseshotpublishing.com

The rules mainly use one gun model on a base to represent a battery of artillery with however many guns that would historically have had.

Some people, including me, use two models on separate bases to represent a full strength battery allowing one to be removed to represent a half battery.

I have also seen three based models used.

Also a fully deployed battery would have had a frontage similar to a battalion deployed in line and given our clubs chosen basing scheme two bases better reflects this.

I have also seen three based models used.

Hi Jabba,
I have initially based my batteries on three guns (2 guns & 1 howitzer) for both British and French batteries (even though French batteries were bigger) as this better reflects the frontage of a full battery in relation to a battalion of infantry. I will probably downgrade this to two guns for a battery but I can't see myself reducing it further.

When using two guns, do you fire them as two guns or as one gun?

If the answer is one, how do you do fire from a one gun (half) battery?

In relation to game balance, what I'm really after is how many guns to field for, say, a British battery attached to a British Division of two or three brigades each of three battalions (a battery for 6 – 9 game units). I rather imagine that the answer is two game firing pieces.

I think given that at Bussaco and Salamanca for instance each of Wellington's divisions was supported by one company of artillery each of 6 guns, the answer would be one BP firing unit per division, with 3/2/1 dice.

Regards

Garry Wills
caseshotpublishing.com

I always use 2 guns on a frontage at least 3/4 of a battalion. Mostly for the look, but it does also stop the sniper ability of single based guns rotating on a dime & firing thru all kinds of small gaps to mass on targets

As far as I read it, Black Powder 'bath tubs' (that is: battalions can represent battalions in small battles, battalions can represent brigades in larger battles) just about everything.

No. BP does not "bath tub" anything. It is clear from the way the rules are designed that a single infantry unit is intended to represent a battalion.

For Napoleonics I use two models per battery and they can fire individually.

I game in 15mm

No. BP does not "bath tub" anything. It is clear from the way the rules are designed that a single infantry unit is intended to represent a battalion.

Do you have the Albion Triumphant supplement? Salamanca is bath tubbed. Though, to be fair the core rule do say battalions and I should have said "can bath tub just about everything."

However, it's the battalion thing that has thrown me as to what a model gun represents. Why is a BP battery (if it is a battery) only represented by a single gun when, as mentioned in this thread, the average frontage of a full battery (when deployed in line) is about 2/3 that of a battalion?

As written the rule always brings to mind an old wargame chum (M.D., you know who you are) who always represented ACW batteries with a single gun because he didn't like having to part with his money buying artillery pieces!

In the AWI supplement the unit can be companies so also bathtubbed?
In 15mm and 28mm we always used 2 guns for a battery. Looks better. We only fire once at it is suppose to be one battery.