Basic help needed with 28mm Napoleonics

[vodkafan]

So... I played a few Nappy games with a friend a long time ago using his home brew rules and all his own miniatures...looking back it was the most fun I ever had playing wargames, it was in a sense very PURE and surprisingly satisfyingly tactical.

I think we used 24 figure battalions. I was thinking about this all over again today. Are 24 figure battalions standard in most rules? What is the usual composition?

And which are the current most popular Nappy rules?

[grant]

Well, it seems like Sharpe Practice 2 is on a tear right now, but I think it's more skirmish. I know little about it.

For me, I like Black Powder, it's fairly open and fun, and plays quickly. You can choose the size of your battalions, and there is nothing wrong with 24. I went with 36 but I am using AB 15mm.

[olicana]

As far as I can see it is horses for courses. Most 'modern' rules tend to be fairly non-specific so they can please everyone.

[julesav]

Unit size tends to depend on rules played - and on national or campaign variables. I have played with assorted rules over the years with battalion sizes varying from 16 -48 figures!

Some rules use a strict real men to figure ratio where 1 figure equals 20, 33 or 50 'real' men. Other systems are more flexible - for example Black Powder uses small, medium and big battalions.

If you want rules that allow for detaching companies to skirmish then you probably need to use a unit basing system that shows individual companies to represent this.

Perry 28mm box sets are notionally battalions (I think for Black Powder?) so contain relevant figure options for light companies etc.

[vodkafan]

Thanks for the info chaps. I think I am going to go with Front Rank figures but that may change. I looked at their British  24 figure battalion packs which seem to have 2 command groups, (i presume one each for the left and right wings) 8 centre company figures and 8 flank company figures, which definitely doesn't seem representative.
Maybe I better start with looking at some rules first and decide what sort of game I want.

[Sarge Canard]

While I'm a huge fan of Front Rank, I'm not fond of the selection of figures in the battalion packs.

Looking at 'the real thing' in line. Some rough generalities:-

A British battalion in line had 10 companies: 8 centre, 1 light, 1 grenadier in two or three ranks.

It had 2 colours - the King's colour and the regimental colour, these were in the centre of the battalion line.

The light company took the left side of the centre companies, and the grenadiers the right.

The battalion was commanded (usually) by a Major, sometimes a Lt. Colonel. He would be found at the centre of the battalion, behind the colour party.

Forget the actual distribution of subalterns, NCO's and drummers for now.

Simplifying this into a 24 figure unit, I would go with:-

2 Ensigns carrying the colours (E)
1 Officer (O)
1 Drummer (D)
2 Light infantry (B)
2 Grenadiers (G)
16 Line infantry (L)

Arranged in two ranks thus:

B L L L L O D L L L L G
B L L L L E E L L L L G

Regimental colour on the left, King's colour on the right

Make sense?  

[olicana]

Thanks for the info chaps. I think I am going to go with Front Rank figures but that may change. I looked at their British  24 figure battalion packs which seem to have 2 command groups, (i presume one each for the left and right wings) 8 centre company figures and 8 flank company figures, which definitely doesn't seem representative.
Maybe I better start with looking at some rules first and decide what sort of game I want.

No, they have two standard bearers per unit. In this the British are not unique, but two flags per unit in most cases (non French) is apt. I'm just getting into this period too, but my British units, based on historical president and war games standard, look like this:



I'm not sure that there is a 'true' standard, or that there ever has been but, given the usual page views to my blog (12,000 a month) no one has crushed me yet on my 24 man unit organisation.

As said, horses for courses. I plan on a typical (for me) 750 figure per army structure. I'll never be able to do everything in 28mm, so that is not my starting point. I have a 12 x 6 table (sometimes extendable to 15 x 6). I'm buying and organising to fit that with enough spare for 'battle variability' and for doing war game 'campaigns'.

In a recent SYW campaign battle this is what came up. I didn't have to 'scale down' the encounter because I have enough figures (mostly 24 man infantry) to fight it. I'd love 36 man units, but what is the point - a unit is a unit in most 'modern' rules - and the frontages of extra large units is somewhat restrictive in recreating historically based encounters.

[vodkafan]

 Thanks guys for good advice!
@ Olicana: Great looking British unit there    And that wargaming room is fantastic..

@ Sarge Canard: Yes that organisation does appeal to me.

[Jabba]

Our club has naps based for Shako II which has two different basing schemes. The one we use has 18 figs on 3 bases of 6 for a standard size infantry unit, extra base for a large unit, plus bases to represent deployed skirmishers when deployed. Cavalry is 3 to 4 bases of 3 figs dependant on unit size. We also use these units for Black Powder.

My British have a command stand with officer, two ensigns, drummer, sergeant plus another, and two stands of four centre company figures plus two flank.
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=81121.0

Advantage I see for these unit sizes is you get more units from a box (plastics) or need less metals, plus the smaller footprint means bigger battles, more units, on the same size table.

Tony.

[vodkafan]

Our club has naps based for Shako II which has two different basing schemes. The one we use has 18 figs on 3 bases of 6 for a standard size infantry unit, extra base for a large unit, plus bases to represent deployed skirmishers when deployed. Cavalry is 3 to 4 bases of 3 figs dependant on unit size. We also use these units for Black Powder.

My British have a command stand with officer, two ensigns, drummer, sergeant plus another, and two stands of four centre company figures plus two flank.
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=81121.0

Advantage I see for these unit sizes is you get more units from a box (plastics) or need less metals, plus the smaller footprint means bigger battles, more units, on the same size table.

Tony.

 Thanks Tony I do like that 6 on a base idea very much.....
Mine will be all metal. I bought a box of Victrix plastics  years ago when they first came out but within an hour of assembling a few figures i had bust off a couple of bayonets. I know that metal bayonets are not immune to accidents but I was dismayed how fragile the plastics were and it has put me right off. 

[vodkafan]

 Jabba, Please tell me more about the two basing systems for Shako II? You have mentioned one, how does the other one go?

[SteveBurt]

My 28mm Napoleonics are based 4 infantry or 2 cavalry to a 40mm square base.
4 of those make a unit - so 16 figures (or for large units, 6 bases, making 24 figures).
Most rules these days don't care about the actual number of figures, so you can go with what appeals to you.
4 bases is the minimum to show line, attack column, square and column of march.
I normally use Lasalle for battalion level stuff, sometimes Shako.
Smaller units allow you to fight bigger battles in the same space!

[vodkafan]

My 28mm Napoleonics are based 4 infantry or 2 cavalry to a 40mm square base.
4 of those make a unit - so 16 figures (or for large units, 6 bases, making 24 figures).
Most rules these days don't care about the actual number of figures, so you can go with what appeals to you.
4 bases is the minimum to show line, attack column, square and column of march.
I normally use Lasalle for battalion level stuff, sometimes Shako.
Smaller units allow you to fight bigger battles in the same space!

 Thanks Steve I quite like that idea too for the flexibility but I would probably make them 50x50mm square bases. This is an agonizing dilemma already and I haven't even got any figures or rules yet....talking of rules I just looked at the price of the Black Powder Rules..£30! I had to look twice to believe it. I know I have been out of the hobby for a few years but that just seems ridiculous

[grant]

It's a pretty book.

I have two copies, although one is signed   

[vodkafan]

I have been thinking about this all day and the decision is made 
I am going to go for 4 figs on a 40 x 40mm base as my basing standard for maximum flexibility and minimum footprint.

The basic 24 figure (British) battalion will look like this:
1 x command base with officer, 2 standards and drummer
4 x centre company bases (2 of the bases will have a sergeant figure in place of one of the soldiers)
4 x light and grenadier company figures based singly on 20 x 20mm bases

by adding extra bases and swopping out the command base I can enlarge this to a 36 or 48 man battalion.