"Wurttemberg Skirmish" Topic

Hi

I'm using 'Blucher' – these are high level – a base equals 3000-5000 men (at 'Grand' scale) and it really has only one formation change – 'Prepared', which is effectively some of that 4,000 men being in square.

Wurttemberg are listed as 'Other Allied' for the French, and don't get skirmish bonus*

The question is – Should they? I am reading that the Wurttemberg light were renowned for their skill, and I am wondering why this isn't carried forward in the rules. Is it because they were not used in the 'skirmish' role as we would understand it in the rules?

Thanks

*The effect is small. At a range of 1-2 units use 'Skirmish fire', which means they fire at half strength – so 3 dice, hitting on a 6. Skirmish ability means one 5 counts as a hit

What other nations don't get skirmishers?

In the 1809 campaign the Wurttemberg lights and jaegers were grouped in a vanguard division.

In the 1812 campaign all of the infantry brigades had organic light infantry or Jaeger support.

Three things come to mind:
1 Sounds like it is from an army list. Could be a mistake?
2. Maybe it's a mechanism that make smaller, allied countries slightly weaker to try to reflect that they weren't as well trained.
3. It's your world now! Your research may be better than the author's, so change it!
You could also go and compare other countries in the lists and see if they all have this handicap.

cheers

I think I've worked it out.

All armies get a skirmish chance – fire at half effect hitting on a 6, usually starts at 3 dice for a fresh unit

Skirmish bonus let's you do a hit on one (and only one counts) 5.

So non skirmish bonus, 3d, no hit 91 in every 216 = 42% miss
Skirmish bonus, 3d, no hit 64 in every 216 = 30% miss

The French get it, if you look at Wagram 20 to 25% of units were legere. This is on top of each battalion having a light company that would skirmish.

With Wurttemberg, although they had jager battalions, the line had no light company, so they don't have the numbers of skirmishers the French do.

Its not about whether they skirmish, in the rules everybody does, its about numbers that can.

I was wondering if the French got a bonus due to the number of legere battalions that they had. Glad you figured it out.

Depends on the year. (units after the 1812 debacle took some time to reorganize) For Wurtemburg, Rawkins says this:

"In October 1799 the soldiers of
the musketeer battalions were tested and
the best shots were transferred into a
new sharpshooter unit the ‘FussjägerKompanie'. Duke Frederick of
Württemberg and been very impressed
with the military ideas of Count Rumford
which had revolutionised the Bavarian
army and commenced plans to reorganise his own forces starting with new
uniform."

Remember that the purpose of Light Troops was to harass the enemy unit and create confusion (not to create mass casualties) by selectively deprive the enemy unit of leadership.

Considering the scale of Blucher with one stand being a brigade or division, perhaps the rules are looking at how MANY light troops would be attached typically to a formation that size. A single battalion of lights, even very good lights, might not be enough to really help a 5000 man formation.

Basically what I realised. The French had Light companies, then 1 in 4 or 5 battalions are light. With Wurttemberg though they have light battalions they don't have the light companies with the battalions – I reckon about half the amount of lights.