Artillery Limbers

[PAULSPENCE]

I'd be interested to hear how you manage with these as I find that to make them look convincing with the batteries they support you need a limber per gun and at least 4 horses per limber. On top of which you should have say one caisson per battery.

Now this looks great but takes up a large amount of space on the tabletop making it, for example, quite an obstacle for you troops to march around and offering a big target for flank attacks!

So as a compromise I wonder whether whilst limbered I should halve the number of limbers so that a 4 gun battery is represented by 2 limbers, 2 guns and a caisson but when deployed 4 guns are on table with a single limber and caisson behind both at right-angles to the guns.

Reckon I'll try this tomorrow but good to hear what others do.

Cheers,

Paul

[Prof.Witchheimer]

Being mad about boards full of things and details I just would use  a larger table

[Goldwyrm]

Most games I've played the limbers and caissons are an abstraction.  If we have them and there's space they are put on the table for visual appearance. If they get in the way, like a lone tree, they get moved or pulled.

[Plynkes]

Because of the ground scale in some 15mm big battle games I've played the damn things can actually be longer than the range of a smoothbore musket. For that reason (and, yes, my own terminal laziness) I tend not to bother with them.

[Extra Crispy]

That traffic jam behind a battery is very true to life. One set of rules (Republic to Empire IIRC) requires you to mark out a "no go zone" behind all batteries extending back several hundred yards. Whether you fill it with models or not, it does realistically portray the traffic op aspect of command.

Ask any one who has been part of a large military operation of any sort. Making sure your MPs know how to manage traffic is as critical as making sure your tanks have ammo.

[jamesmanto]

I like limbers and caissons.

Our wargames artillery batteries really don't take up enough ground.

[OSHIROmodels]

Being mad about boards full of things and details I just would use  a larger table

I'm with the Prof on this one 

If you have them you can always leave them off.

cheers

James

[valleyboy]

I like the RTE rule where there is a no go area behind a battery

[DonVoss]

I adgree,  there should be a no go area or at least a disorder-area. How big it should be, depends on the table. But to go without it, would be somewhat unrealistic...
I myself was to lazy so far, but I am intending do something to ptu behind my guns.

And its a good place for dioramas...

DV

[Etranger]

I agree with Extra Crispy. It's battlefield clutter & part of generalship is managing it. I have 2 oe 4 horse limbers as appropriate & all the other bits & pieces to go with it.