Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of the Big Battalions => Topic started by: StoneMtnMinis on January 27, 2020, 02:59:32 PM
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I like a figure ration that looks plausible on the game table. Let me preface that by saying I treat it as a game and not a simulation. Therefore, to me, the "look" is important.
So, what is the opinon of the rest of the forumites? And what ration do you prefer, 10:1, 15:1, 20:1, etc.? Also, do you use a different ration for cavalry vs infantry?
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Figure ratio not ration, duh!
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If the "look" is what is most important to you, then I would suggest 1:10 maximum for battalion-level games (ie the battalion is the basic unit),as AWI battles were small by European standards, and units were often considerably below paper strength. For smaller battles, possibly even drop down to 1:5 and merge figures from several wargame units with similar uniforms, or lack thereof (eg militia, or yellow-faced British units); these can then be fought using grand-divisions (ie pairs of companies) which was often done in petite guerre type actions. Regardless of which ruleset you are using, can I recommend getting hold of the British Grenadier scenario books, as these (and particularly the latter two) have detailed orbats for historical actions of either size from across the war
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I'm not sure what ratio I am using but I settled on primarily 18 figure regiments with some at 24 figures which may settle around 20:1 or so. Since I've decided to stick with Rank and File for my rules and because of how the morale system works, I wanted a minimum of six stands per unit. I base my figures, 15 mm, on 1/2" by 1 1/2" bases for the infantry, deeper for cavalry. Rather than having lots of different sized units as historical, I'll use the quality level of the troops to adjust for stronger versus weaker units - or, if it works for a given scenario, use one or two fewer stands but never fewer than four at game start (again, because of the rule's morale system).
And, yes, there are a 'few' Stone Mountain AWI figures in the mix! lol
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I'm not sure what ratio I am using but I settled on primarily 18 figure regiments with some at 24 figures which may settle around 20:1 or so.
Actually, that's more like 1:10 for British/Loyalist and Continentals for most of the war; German and French units were typically 450-500.
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Baron, I was basing on average unit strength in the range from 250 - 375, I think the former more for the Patriot side and the latter more for the Oppressive, pardon, British side. :D Did I just reveal a prejudice there? :o Why, yes, I believe I did. lol Though never as game master, of course.
I thought about building really big units for Germans and French but decided they were too likely to throw off game balance and also field strengths were usually smaller from most of my reading. What I may occasionally do is double up two battalions to achieve those 'larger' units if I need to. I've already primed all my Franco-Spannish figures, 17 units total for foot (13+4) and I've recently primed the first 6 of a total of 30 total German foot units with nine more just needing to be washed and glued to painting bases - the other 15 still needing to be 'attacked' with scalpel and file.
Re: prejudicial leanings - family arrived over here (America) circa 1630 so I tend to lean heavily towards the patriot cause. Then again, there is a highly distinct likelihood that we have strong Hessian ancestry given the maternal line family name of Giesen (almost certainly derived from the town of Giessen in Germany) so I can lean both ways - well, a little bit only for the other side. So not entirely partisan, only somewhat! ;)
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Tangent: my wife has ancestors who fought on the Whig side in the Revolution. One was a New Hampshireman named Forrest who fought in Stark's regiment at Bunker/Breed's Hill, then followed Arnold to Quebec and attacked that city. He mustered out, went home, joined the local militia and followed Stark again to Bennington. Her southern ancestor was Joseph McJunkin from South Carolina. Listed as Major, he was a brigade major in the Southern army. I suspect he was actually a captain since officers of that rank usually performed the brigade major function. He fought in various scrapes under Sumter and at Cowpens. He was captured by Tories later on and eventually paroled. After the war he became a sort of professional veteran, going from place to place telling his story.
My search for family members is less well documented, turning up some who lived in the US during the Civil War. As for veterans, my grandfather and father both served in the Merchant Marine during WWII and managed not to be torpedoed. I appreciate my dad's luck since I was born well after the war.
My AWI stuff is 1:20 ratio, but then I get by with a single rank of figures.
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Oliver Woolcot, revolutionary governor of Connecticut and militia general, is a progenitor of mine. Got to take wife to National Archives in DC and gaze upon his signature on the Declaration of Independence. He also got to chase his brigade back to Connecticut when it deserted at the Battle of Long Island!
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My dear chap, prejudice is a natural state of being. Just as long as you don't discriminate and are prejudiced against everyone..... 8)