"Unit Size and Scale - My Peninsular Plans" Topic

I'm about to jump head-first into gaming the Peninsular War in 13.5mm (the Warlord Epic Scale, I find it gives a great compromise between figures big enough to have detail and the mass battle effect). I've got a 3D Printer and will be printing both sides myself and probably using a homemade set of rules focusing on a division per side, roughly.

I enjoy the planning of an army as much as any other part of the hobby, so I've been giving basing/sizes lots of thought.

I'll want to build my units bigger than most rules require them, and then be able to scale down or group up as rules require. For the best opportunity to model unique color schemes and units, I'll represent things at the infantry battalion, calvary squadron, and Artillery battery level.

I found Rod McArthur's wonderful blog and a lot of what he posted fits what I'm looking for. rodwargaming.wordpress.com/horse-musket/napoleonic/napoleonic-infantry/ This article posits a 1mm = 2ft scale, and suggests that 2ft is a reasonable distance per file, formed up.

Infantry would be based on 30mmx20mm bases, representing roughly a company/half-division. Using the suggested ground scale above, that'd be approximately 60 men in two ranks for the British and 90 men in three ranks for the French. Give the French 6 companies and the British 9 (converging lights as seemed to almost always be done), and this represents 540 men (ignoring for now officers and file closers etc), with the British 33% longer in line. British units in line would be about 10.5 inches long, French 7 inches.

Calvary would be uniformly represented by four 30mm bases per squadron, allowing quarter-squadrons to be represented. At between 120-150 riders per squadron, each base should represent 30-36ish men in two ranks. Rod's blog suggests that regulations suggested around 40 inches per rider. Given the earlier base scale, that'd be between 25 and 30mm per base. I've decided to go with 30mm x 40mm bases for the cavalry.

An Artillery battery should have a footprint smaller than a infantry battalion in line, per the reading I've done it comes down somewhere between 50 and 100 yards across for 6 guns. I don't think an artillery piece can fit on a 30mm wide base with it's associated gunners, so I will have two 60mm bases for a battery. 120mm is 240 scale feet or 80 scale yards, right in the middle of the 50-100 yards suggested. Bigger batteries will be a third stand.

Commanders will be on small circular bases, as I enjoy the look of that.

One thing I haven't worked out is how to represent skirmishers. I'll probably do a stand of lights/volts skirmishing and then two or three others of center companies to represent some "skirmish factor" of the unit. A compromise, but not super fiddly in play. Actual light infantry Battalions will get each company formed and skirmishing, doubling the work but it seems appropriate.

I'll be doing 10 figures (two ranks of 5) per infantry stand, 2 or 3 figures per cavalry stand, and 1 gun per artillery stand. This'll give me a infantry and cavalry ratios of 1:6 and a gun ratio of 1:3. Not bad.

So, how will all of this marvelous setup be used.

1) In my home rules, as described above.
2) For Black Powder, using 4 stands for small, 6 stands for average, and 8 stands for large infantry units, and similar ratios for other branches.
3) For LaSalle rules as written, using only parts of the units.
4) For Grand Armee, Polemos and other "brigade" games, I'll put a couple bases together on a sabot.

So, thoughts? Anything I'm missing?

How wide is your table? A ping-pong table at this scale (1mm = 2 feet or one pace) would be a bit over a mile wide (1830 yards, more or less), adequate though not excessive for a detached division. It would allow a six- or eight-battalion frontage with some room for squadrons, although not a lot of space left over on the flanks for maneuver. Depth is a bit over 1000 yards, which is 9-pounder range more or less.

Just as a thought, if you used a 1mm=1m scale and 20mm x 20mm stands with six figures each you'd have a 1:10 figure ratio (54-figure battalions) with half again as much maneuver room. But the spectacle would be reduced somewhat, so it's quite understandable if you stuck to your original plan. Good luck however you slice it, and do post pix please!

In particular, I would consider trying Carnage & Glory and General d'Armee, both of which will work with what you have regardless of how you finish up.

There are so many different opinions on Napoleonics that I would do what makes you happy, unless you want to match someone else's army

Im my opinion, too many cavalry bases for a regiment. Although they would charge a squadron at a time, squadrons didn't usually move to different locations, except for occasional use as scouts.

John