"How to use Opolchenie?" Topic

A genuine wargaming topic!
OK I've painted heaps of these Russian militia figures (in their rough & varied 'uniforms' they provide a great contrast to my mostly full-dress Russian regulars) & want to work out how to use them in a game.
My rules include a 'militia' category but I'm not totally sold on it. It specifies what they can't do rather than what they can.
So here's a few ideas I have.I hope they have some basis in historical fact. Feel free to shoot them down; provide others etc.
1. battalions of 24 figures. Regulars have between 12-16. This will make them harder to shake after taking casualties. My rules say 50% casualties & units lose any forward motion etc. Given the famed Russian tenacity (stolidity?) this will make them hard to destroy.
2.Keep the existing morale tests. This will make them susceptible to retreating if things look bad.
3. In spite of the number of figures, only allow a maximum of half the figures to shoot. This is to mirror the lack of muskets/ the poor quality of their firearms.
4. Don't allow them to form square but due to the presence of pikes, allow them, if in column to have a decent chance against cavalry.
5.No forward movement in line formation. Poor training?
Any good so far?

Sounds realistic.

Add cannot interpenetrate other formations without causing chaos.

The death of a senior officer within seeing distance might affect them more than regulars.

Not bad. I think their colonels & generals were local grandees: well known to the rank & file. Seeing someone like that fall would probably cause some form of chaos.
Thanks.

Also, regulars should not check for seeing militia run away. That was expected. Militia seeing regulars cut and and run should be a different story.

While I give all Russian troops the Mother Russia morale bonus during a check, I would not allow them to be used outside of Russia. Also if pike armed, they must make a morale check just to move closer to any enemy unit.

I also agree w/ vtsao on regulars seeing militia flee as having no impact.

Sparingly and with great care?

Really last ditch troops. Could be High Morale and Low skill, or Low skill and Low morale. I would use rules that kept their quality and morale hidden from the players until needed.

My understanding is that they never were used as front line troops or in a pitched battle against professional troops. They were used for security details, digging entrenchments, distant backup reserves, haulers of supplies and wounded and as a way of feeding partially replacements into professional units.

If you have knowledge of this, please share it. (I'm not being sarcastic)

Pike/musket/rifle arming varied by unit.
Ability to use outside of Russia varied by unit.

Good rules ideas overall (original and added suggestions above). I wou dnot see them retreating after bad morale or loss of their commander, instead more like freezing in place.

It shoud take them a really long time to form a deployed line. Actually, I don't recall them ever doing so – except for the volunteer unis from the Imperial family's personal holdings. It is possible that they were not trained to do it.

1st Separate Corps did use Petersburg opolcenie in pitched battles. Some of them did quite well. Generally the mounted untis from the south and east were not too different from Cossacks (indeed some were exactly that – Cossacks). This question is also almost one of unit-by-unit variation.

Okay, serious legit question. Maybe one should treat them as levy/militia/rabble/whatever in 1812. But some units went on to do siege work and fight (I don't have my references in front of me, but at Leipzig, for example) in Germany in 1813.

If these units had been in service for a year or more by Leipzig, wouldn't they rate closer to regulars than not?

If and when I get around to gaming those units serving in Germany, I will treat them as regulars for morale purposes, but restrict their formations, movement, etc. otherwise.

I would say no. There is mor to soldiering than experience, I believe. Doing something over and over and doing it wrong will just make one good at doing it wrong.

I must first declare an interest; I like the Opolchenie and have a number of units. 1:33 figure ratio

I started on the premise that they would be larger units, 32 figs of Infantry as against 24 for "Line" troops. I do not have any Guard, but they would be 24 figs too. This would equate to 1000 Opolchenie against 800, line, infantry.

The cavalry regiments are in 5 squadrons of three figs, as per the Cossack units, 100 men per squadron. Line cavalry are in four squadrons of four figures.

However, over the years the amount of information available as to the makeup of these units has increased so all further units will be 24 figures strong. As it does not appear as though Opolchenie units were significantly larger, to me it would smack of gamesmanship to produce larger units, just to gain an advantage with the rules. That would be like buying the guard, because they are better… can't see the point.

Some of my units are pike armed, some have the front company with muskets and the rest pikes, and some will be entirely armed with muskets.

I have two classes of Opolchenie; Jagers and Foot Cossacks, the Jagers are all musket-armed, the Foot Cossacks vary. The units all march in Column; the Foot Cossacks may form square but not line; they do not skirmish.

My Opolchenie Jagers will march about in Column & they may form square but, until I read the link below, would not form line and they would not skirmish.

TMP link

Now I am not so sure.

If they do form line they will be very slow, probably taking twice as long as line units. They will also take longer to reform from skirmish screens, if my opponents allow them to skirmish? I have also read that some skirmish units were foresters and gamekeepers who came with their own rifles and were very good shots, possibly better at skirmish style combat than the line Jagers?

I have painted Clergy for the Russians, some have an Icon with them, some are just waving crosses or weapons, when with a unit, the unit gains a morale bonus, although I will not paint more than one priest per brigade.

Furthermore, my understanding is that the pikes were not English Civil War style pikes, 18 or so feet long. Many of them were made from disused, old pattern, musket stocks fitted with a spear point, so the "pike" would look very much like a musket and would be as much use against cavalry as a musket with a bayonet fitted.

I have in the past tried to claim a charge bonus for pike armed Opolchenie as per Lancers, but this really is pushing the gamesmanship scale.

I tend to use Opolchenie as poor grade infantry, conscripts or similar, they will run if they get an adverse morale score, although I do like Seroga's idea that they might just freeze. (Unformed, either no fighting back or reduced fighting back if engaged?). However, I have had many successes, when used en masse and or supported by other troops. I use them as a ram; attempt to charge home, chew up the enemy or at least dent them sufficiently to allow your line units a better chance of victory. They will also count as routing for the purposes of other line units, expectations notwithstanding.

There are certainly accounts of them fighting and they were present on the battlefields so I think we should paint and use them for what they were. Troops of varying quality of variable skills and morale, although possibly somewhat less well trained than their line counterparts.

I already have an Opolchenie battery, but as the rules I use (GdeB) have Russian artillery as 2nd rate already, they are no worse than my normal gunners.

rabbit

Ghost02, fair point. But what evidence do we have that the Opolchenie consistently did everything wrong?

Inexperience, and a peasant background – yes, they started out "brittle" – but didn't every new unit of just about every nationality? The Americans got better over the course of the War of 1812; Prussian Landwehr sharpened their skills and improved – why would these Russians not get better?

If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend Dr. Stephen Summerfield's "Brazen Cross of Courage." He notes on p. 29 that the Opolchenie fought at Borodino, Polotsk, Viazma, Krasnoi, and other battles in 1812, and that "some irregular units passed into the regular army…." On p. 35, he notes that many Opolchenie units were "predominantly involved in seiges and blockades" during the 1813-14 campaigns. They attempted to stand against a strong French sortie at Dresden on 17 Oct. 1813; Summerfield writes on p. 37: "Though they fought with bravery, the foot Opolochenie supported by Bashkirs and Cossacks were defeated."

I don't see anything in this that indicates repeated screw-ups. I'm not arguing they should be treated as Guard in 1813 – just that by this time, they'd had enough training and experience to perhaps be rated better than in 1812.

First, let me note that the opolchenie were really not very much "peasant" or serf. They were either rather bourgeois or very much like Cossacks.
I wrote some details here : TMP link

The forrester-type units (see rabbit's link) were not exactly like Jägers. They were more like "grande bande' style skirmishers. They mostly did not use their own rifles (hunting rifles too light) but were mostly issued M1805 rifles. They were good shots, and excellent in petit guerre. When in pitched battle (2nd Polotsk, for example), they really could not stand and fire in a chain like skirmishers – but were soon told to lie down and snipe – with excellent results.

In general the mounted units from Cossack, Bashkir and similar peoples should be like average Cossacks. No more and no less. There were a couple of volunteer cavalry units raised at the expense of nobles in Petersburg and Moscow. These should be like average hussars or uhlans – i.e. pretty good horsemen on rather excellent "spare-no-expense" horses. One of the Moscow units was taken into the Army. Most were kept in service all they way to Paris.These were not strictly speaking opolchenie, but usually are inlcuded in the discussion of opolchenie.

Could opolchenie form line? Well, I suppose the 1st Cohort of Petersburg could have learned it. They were a very upper middle class bunch (nicknamed something more or less like the "Businessmen") and were certainly trying hard – lots of extra voluntary drilling. But they would be slow, I think. The Grand Duchess' volunteers from her Tver properties were really excellent – and served with Guard all the way to Paris. Like the Imperial Militia battalion of 1807, which became the LG Finns, the Tver regiment might have been taken into the Guard if hostilities continued. They sure could form line, and likely rather quickly. I don' why – but these Imperial family units, which did have (Imperial) serfs in them, were better than one might expect. I suppose that the serfs on these properties were very carefully selected and cared for.

The first and second Finnish Jäger garrison opolchenie were pretty much just ex- Swedish soldiers and could certainly drill (line, column, square, skirmish chain) – but they did not face the French. They would be like average Jägers. The 3rd regiment, raised by conscription in the Vyborg area, would be like any rather new infantry regiment. The Russo-German volunteers of course could also drill – the Jägers were real Prussian Jägers that had changed sides as a unit, and even had some Baker rifles. Excellent troops.

Other opolchenie infantry units – well, I really think not so much ability to do the drill. Really, a unit-by-unit description would be best. But as I noted at the linked page, they were not peasnat rabble and not prone at all to run away. And they units chosen to make the "foreign march" in 1813/1814 were indeed selected for (relative) quality.

<<<<see disclaimer at the bottom>>>>>>

We have a few people here who are much more expert than me on Russian affairs and army. My memory is that the Opolchenie were not the "levee en mass" on the French model, which maybe, I think, the model some posters here are tending towards.

The peasants from the countryside were brought into reserve units, most far from the battle, partially trained in local camps of instruction, then marched for months (with training, seasoning and weeding out) to the active areas of combat, and then either feed into existing veteran units, or gathered into new units. These were quite seasoned and high quality additions. I think that you don't see the WWII Sovient practice of gathering up villiagers and driving them into Nazi machinegun fire.

The Opolchenie seem to have come from two sources. One was the "militia" or "Home Guard" from the few very big cities. They were modestly trained, known to be brittle and the Russians did not expect too much from them and rightly used them in the best way as auxiliary support troops to release regular army units so they could concentrate on fighting battles and contact with professional opponents. I time, I would expect some of these to become quite adequate or good regular units.

A second source of Opolchenie was sort of a levee en masse in the frontier areas, where the feedstock was similiar to that that supplied the Cossack calvary. These peoples, (run-away serfs who had to fight slave raids, native tribes, and Russian authority), were real good military materal by both training, local ethical standards, tradition and hardiness. Look to the Pandours & Croats in the 7YW for a close parallel. These guys (in my opinion) could kick and were deadly in fluid situations, (which is where they came from).

I would suggest that people not try to make the opolchenie into a dumb peasant mass, but to put different units into some stage of the catogories that I have listed above.

PS I write slower then Serogov, so I started this post before seeing his post, which is directly above.

At Borodino I thought the Opolchenie were formed in mass on the Russian left late in the battle. Unlike gamers, the French didn't know what that mass of troops was and so they didn't press the attack. We would know better: "They have lousy morale and only some of them have muskets".

@1968billsfan

Well, you write better!
If I knew such a good post was coming, I would have waited and let your quality go before my quantity!
:-)

Would elite militia be a good category?

with the DBN Rules, Opolchenie are classed as 'Levie en Mass' (LEM) this is in effect, 'Militia Class'(Poor)troops with no effective fire, who might run away when first fired on, also they are more difficult to move for the first time. It seems to work well, also they have no effect on game Victory Conditions therefore they are very expendable.

Seems the volunteer units were like most countries, dependent on how & where the unit had originated.
But there are several primary determinants which determine combat effectiveness on a main battlefield.
Weapons technology, and tactics is generally not dis-similar in this era, but allow for pike armed not being able to fire.
Except that is Command structure & Training/Experience.
An opolchenie with the same training and experience as a line unit will perform the same as them IF they have the same command structure in numbers and placement.
If the command structure (and I mean at the platoon level through to battalion) was weaker in any respect then they would perform weaker in that area.

The only way a unit would never improve was if they had no access to manuals and regulations, nor knowledgeable officers and NCOs available to instruct the others what to do. Not very likely I think.

Dear All
It is again to understand the Opolchenie and its structure. Parts were poorly trained but others were volunteer units. They were used after Borodino to replace casualties.

The number and variety is shown on Page 28 but does not include the volunteer units.
link
Stephen

I agree with Dr. Summerfield. A look at the organization of the opolchenie should be helpful. I know the Petersburg organization (see below).
But really, if you don't have Russian language, his books appear literally essential to getting the right idea about these Russian units.

Organization of Saint Petersburg Opolchenie Infantry

Druzhina Staff
legion comander : colonel, general-major – formed with the 1st Sotnya
3x staff-officer : major, lieutenant colonel – 1 per each other Sotnya
senior under-officer from the training battalion – like a regimental sergeant major
quartermaster lieutenant
2x clerk for the quartermaster
2x adjudant sub-lieutenant
2x clerk for the adjudants
drum major
doctor
barber medic
driver for the ambulance wagon
driver for the medical supplies caisson

Sotnya Staff – 4x sotnya per druzhina
hundred commander : staff-captain, captain – formed with the 2nd Vzvod (a staff-officer formed with the 1st Vzvod)
under-officer from the training battalion – formed with the 1st Vzvod, like a company sergeant major
company clerk
militia corporal in charge of munitions
driver for the company ammunition caisson
2x driver for equipment/supplies waggon
militia corporal in charge of provisions
8x militiaman mess manager (or mess steward)
4x driver for bread cart

Vzvod – 2x vzvod per sotnya, 8x vzvod per druzhina
lieutenant
sub-lieutenant
under-officer of the internal guard or senior militia corporal
6x militia corporal
2x senior soldier (lance corporal) from the internal guard
96x militiaman
drummer

Notes
-- units were full strength upon enrollment – an extra drushina, the 16th, was formed from the over-complement volunteers at enrollment
-- although the units started out "large" compared to Army equivalents, they experienced an average of ~25% early attrition and entered active operations at strengths near to full strength for the equivalent Army formations
-- ~2x бригада/brigada/brigade (functional regiment) = отряд/ otrad/detachment (functional brigade) – commanded by a general officer, with 3x adjudants and 3x Church functionaries – the size of the otrad varied according to circumstances
-- 3x дружина/druzhina/cohort (functional battalion) = бригада/brigada/brigade (functional regiment) – commanded by the senior druzhina commander – the size of the brigada occasionally varied
-- 4x сотня/sotnya/hundred (functional company) = дружина/druzhina/cohort (functional battalion) : like the Army, the "battalion" was a key tactical unit
-- tactically : 2x взвод/vzvod/platoon = сотня/sotnya/hundred (functional company) – the vzvod was the principal tactical sub-unit, just as in the Army
-- 4x десяткѣ/decyatke/decade or 4x артель/artel'/mess = взвод/vzvod/platoon – these were supposed to be similar to the "otrad" sub-unit in the Army formations and drill regulations, but really acted mostly as administrative or logistics sub-units (and hence are usually referred to in memoirs as "artel'", instead of "decyatke") …. this appears to support the idea that more advanced drill was not learned or used
-- most drushiny had a возглавлял/vozglavlyal/sponsor from the higher nobility and/or senior government administration – these lead the organization of the unit, but usually did not take the field
-- training battalions for the Saint Petersburg opolchenie were the Voronezhskiy infantry regiment and 1st Marine regiment
-- the Internal Guard was essentially the former Army garrison battalions of the region (veteran soldiers)
-- drummers were from the training battalion, the regional invalid companies and the internal guard
-- most of the non-combatant ranks were from the region's invalid companies (veterans also) and employees of state military factories

So the "big city" Opolchenie, were tradesmen/urbinized patriatic VOLUNTEERS, who were heavily stocked with a variety of seasononed, veteran soldiers.

I think that they might, as green units, fight to the last man, and as 3-6 month units fight as well as standard line troops, and beyond that be classed as solid veteran line troops.

They had a solid core of veterans, who knew what to do, and basic feedstock who were motivated to serve. They may not have early on been able to maintain themselves on compaign, but would quickly get up to speed. In a "stand and die for the Motherland" mode, they would, even early-on been very solid in defense. At Borodino, in a defensive position, (e.g. the right wing later in the battle), they would have been a rock, that would be hard for the French & allies to digest. Rules should reflect this, in my opinion.

What a good question from the OP.

I wonder if he's still around.

Anyway, the issue for me is long resolved.

Opolchenie are Class 1 militia.

Can only fire every second game turn.
Unable to form hasty squares. Must halt to change formation (ie extra turn required)
Lower morale in most situations. They tend to run fairly easily.

I like all my Nap armies to have a range of infantry: ideally from Guards to militia.