"Muskets" Topic

Muskets were used as lines on mass because they were so inacuarate you could not hit a barn door, so fired as a line hit some. so I was thinking how to dice this, if you rolled 20 D6s for a line… 6 Hit 5 Miss 4 Missfire 3 aiming 2 Reloading 1 Reloading. each hit likely inflicts a wound roll D6 5-6 Kills 4 or less unit is injured modified by hard cover -2 softcover -1.

I think this is the only rule you need for the game , except move rates

Why would a figure randomly be reloading, especially if it apparently hasn't already fired and achieved a result of hit, miss, or misfire?

I think the need for anything other than a hit or a miss depends on the time scale and figure ratio.

I agree with 79PA, everything is a miss regardless of what it is called. Only a 17% chance to hit. I had change the chance to hit to two numbers.
You might check the results of the Prussian tests on mass shooting at a mas targets. They used five foot high bed sheets sewed together to a width of a standard company or battalion in line. Then use those number %.

yes you guys are right thanks

Even 17% seems a bit savage, when you bear in mind 17% losses in a battle would be extreme. There is no mention of range or whether this firing is meant to represent several volleys over a period of time or a single volley.

Range and the amount of smoke in the area are also massively important.

they were so inaccurate you could not hit a barn door

– is only true at long range or when the target is obscured by smoke, or if the shooters are panicky.

And are we talking massed shooting against a mass target, or individuals firing against potentially moving or hidden targets?

An expert said in 1814 that: "I do maintain … that no man was ever killed at 200 yards (180 metres) by a common musket, by the person who aimed at him."

From:

link

I don't know the veracity or otherwise of the statistics.

Actual vs. what we want to model. If the musket is given a realistic chance to hit and cause a casualty, you will end up with lots of melee actions.

What I want to model is hits taking the fight out of the target unit.

I do not consider a hit as a kill. Light wounds and severe wounds and temporary stunned are all possible results of hits. A save roll could account for stuns, light capable of fighting results.

Have pondered this for decades, yet a new book, Waterloo Casualties has me really thinking how much this small arms fire matters. Then Lord Hill's video of Maj Hulls I Troop at Waterloo it happens again a unit goes into battle in this era and has hardly any casualty. Seems the least outcome of a battle you will be killed. Most likely if you lose your is being captured, middle is wounded, and this period still gives you a chance to die days, weeks maybe year later.
I am confident hitting a man at 5p yards is almost a given. But suspect much is fired at much longer range, with smoke, noise and very probably your being shot at as well that I am starting to doubt a musket is that dangerous. But as Empire 3 says a figure lost is not just those hit, 1 solder is hit, 1 or 2 drag him back, a few seem to have had enough and remove themselves. Maybe that figure removed is also taking the unit is shaken just a bit and cohesion is degraded.

Even if a volley miss everyone being shot at, the fact that someone is trying to kill you is more than a distraction! The resultant loss of unit cohesion creates challenges for unit leadership to keep the men's attention focused upon their tasks at hand! (Not an easy task!- Knowing which of your men requires the most attention comes with how long the unit has been together.)

Throughout history one can find examples of units running with little or no casualties while others lasted to nearly the last man. Remember, the main idea of battle is to make the enemy give up his land/controlled area or hold yours!

NOT holding meetings in the middle of the field with comparing how many casualties each have inflicted upon the other! 8>)