"WSS Company numbers and actual array in battle ?" Topic
7 Posts
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| paperbattles | 16 Aug 2025 4:19 a.m. PST |
Mes Gentilhommes,
here I am with another problem. As you know I use flat papersoldiers at 1:1 ratio. It gives a lot of pleasure but also problems that people that use different ratios (I think 99,99% of wargamers except skirmish) don't have.
I was deploying a French Battalion of the Regiment Normandie (see my other threads here) and I had this doubt.
I did reseaches about the French Army and the correct numbers of a Battalion
see here for more details
link All this infos were used in the fantastic site that you all know Kronoskaf WSS by my friend Richard. link (you can read over there in correct English) Nonethesless, if an infrantry coy had 42 men + 2 NCO + 2 Officers + 1 Captain (aside the drummer that was put together) total 47, we have a total strength of 45 men in the coy formation with 2 standing behind out of the formation (the NCO) and so arrayed on 4 ranks we have 3 ranks of 11 men and 1 of 12. Good.
But after a campaign I considered that the unit lost around 10% or 15% of this numbers, reducing hence the total of the Coy (forgettin the NCO) to a merely 37 men more or less.
37 :4ranks: 9 men x3 ranks and 1 rank of 10.
But as we all know the coy (and the battalion) never was supposed to reduce its width and hence the front of a company had to remain up to 11/12 men; so my SOLUTION:
first rank 11
second rank 11
third rank 11
forth rank (reduced) 5 what do you think? Grazie |
79thPA  | 16 Aug 2025 7:01 a.m. PST |
As someone who doesn't know anything about the period, does 10, 10, 10, 8 make more sense? Can the 4th rank do whatever it is supposed to do if it starts at less than half strength? |
| RittervonBek | 16 Aug 2025 10:06 a.m. PST |
From my understanding of the period companies were the administrative unit but when forming for battle the battalion would be divided into equal numbers of files across its frontage for fire control purposes. NCOs and officers would similarly be distributed, leading to situations where soldiers would be fighting under unfamiliar leadership. It was only later in the c18th that companies would be the basis of fire control rather than file frontage. David Chandler's works on the period explain this more eloquently. |
| Martin Rapier | 16 Aug 2025 11:25 p.m. PST |
What RittervonBek said. In battle the men were just divided up according to how many there were. |
| paperbattles | 17 Aug 2025 1:15 a.m. PST |
Thanks for your help. So if I well understood, while in SYW the companies were fighting units (so it has a sense to make basis for wargame at 1:1 ratio ) for WSS they were mixed and so no sense to make 12 basis for 1 battalion but just 1 huge basis. Correct?
PS: which Chandler's books you @rittervonbeck refer? thanks |
| RittervonBek | 17 Aug 2025 1:27 a.m. PST |
Principally this book. There may be cheaper copies out there! link |
| paperbattles | 17 Aug 2025 9:24 a.m. PST |
Thanks I have it. I will have a lookj at. |
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