Basing 15mm French Napoleonic cavalry for General de Brigade

[Ockius]

Hi everyone,
I'm a newcomer to Napoleonics, and have just got a few French dragoons done in 15mm and am trying to work out how to base them before I go any further.

I've done my infantry with 30mm frontage for 3 figures.

1. I have ordered 40mm bases to put 3 cavalry on, but have now seen that is maybe a bit big. Do you think it'll be a problem?

2. Also, how many figures (or bases of 3) will I need for a unit - am I right in thinking the cavalry operate as regiments (unlike the infantry which are by battalion)?
3. How many standards per regiment? I so far have bought Old Glory 15s, which come in packs of 9 including command. Does this mean I'll have loads of superfluous standards and trumpeters?

Perhaps if you have a picture of a completed General de Brigade cavalry unit it would answer my questions. I have tried researching this but it all seems a bit confusing!

[LazyStudent]

Hi Ockius,

Welcome to the best era in historical wargaming (IMHO!:)) And one of the best, if not the best, rules set out there! I have been playing GdB for about 15yrs. It is an excellent set of rules.

As for your question. It is a little difficult to answer, as for GdB, there is no 'set' basing. The rules have a system of regimental sizes based on a ~1:20 ratio of minis to men. So for a cavalry regiment this normally gives 9, 12, 16, 18 figure per unit depending on the date and the unit. I know there are some Austiran cav regiments in the books, that in theory would have 32mins per unit. But this is their paper strength, and they would operate in wings anyway. But I digress.

The rules practice a mixture of book keeping and casualty removal. So in theory you can base your minis individually, and do away with the book keeping, but this not advised as it would be very tough for maneuvering. I have all my 15mm Cav based on 40mm frontage bases, with 3 figures per base. It is probably the best middle ground between book keeping and casualty removal. I hope that helps, sadly I don't have any photos to hand.

Do you have a particular battle or army or theater of combat that you are starting with? There are some blogs out there which have write ups of people playing GdB, those might have better pictures.

Best,
Ed

[Ockius]

Thanks Ed. You using 40mm for 3 figs is reassuring, as I have ordered bases in that size and was planning on using them but then had doubts, so you have convinced me they would work okay.

I have gone with the French, and after looking into the various campaigns I've decided my army are roughly themed to 1809, as I quite like the Wagram campaign when the Austrians start to offer stiffer resistance, and figured 1809 would also fit with fighting against the British in the Peninsula as well. 

So far I've done 1.5 battalions of infantry and a squadron of dragoons. Not quick or easy to do all the uniform details on this time period!

[LazyStudent]

Hi Ockius,

No worries. Happy to have helped.

All I can say is try not to get too hung up on the uniform details if you can avoid it! It helps to keep the painting motivation going! And at 15mm you will struggle to see the tiny details anyway. 

Best,
Ed