Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

Trying to understand how a Infantry Batt or Sk company could stand in the same hex as 8 Art. guns ? Not to mention the large Russian 12 guns?

Col de Art 6/3 II Corps AN Marbot CS

Hi Clifton
Yes and arguable point I agree. I guess it comes down to how big an area a hex is (yards of frontage). The other aspect is game practicality. Under the rules its easy to frontally charge a battery and destroy it. This was not the case in the actual wars as frontally assaulting artillery usually led to disaster. I personally use artillery at close range a lot but protect it with infantry. I guess this is an abstract representation of the security a gun would provide itself. This security was obtained historically through the deadly use of canister. Very messy.

In my tabletop games (25mm) its almost impossible to frontally attack batteries as we have to test morale to charge home.

Salute!

Colonel Colin Knox,
Baron de l'Empire
2e Regiment Gardes d'Honneur
La Jeune Garde
IIIe Corps ADN
http://www.aspire.co.nz/colinknoxnwc.htm

Mon ami first off the area of a hex is only An HPS game hex symbolizes the roadway length of 100m.

According to the regulations, each man occupied 0.5m in the rank and 0.3 in the file, each horse occupied 1m
in the rank and 2m in the file, a gun carriage with limber and team occupied 18m, and an ammunition wagon
with its team occupied 15m of road length, approximately. In my calculations, I take into consideration all During road/street marches, Infantry formed a column by section (3 ranks, 6 files) or double-section (3 ranks,
12 files), if the road/street is wide enough (6m at least).

Maximal possible number in one hex: on a byroad - up to 450 men, on turnpike - up to 860
men. The maximal possible number in one hex is: a single column of 8-guns battery with 1st Line
Caissons (at least) up to 260m, a column of 6-guns battery up to 200m. So, we must to leave two
empty hexes after each 8-guns battery symbol and one empty hex after each 6-guns battery symbol
on byroads, and one empty hex after each 8-guns battery symbol on turnpikes. An HPS game hex symbolizes the ground area of 100mX100m. In opened position: intervals between cannons supposed to be 10m - 15m (some sources give 12m -
20m); in closed/fortified position: 6m-8m. Why intervals were so huge? Gun limbers should have
space for speedy maneuvering between and around cannons. Also we have to consider the width of
space that occupied each gun carriage on the position: 3m - 4m. Their limbers were placed at a
distance of 20m behind the pieces, 1st Line caissons of Light pieces were to be placed at 20-30m
behind the limbers one per one gun, and 1st Line caissons of Heavy pieces, which had no
ammunition boxes in limbers, 10m behind the limbers. The rest of caissons - 2nd and 3rd Line -
were placed at 50-100 up to 300m behind a battery.

Maximal quantity of guns per one hex is 8 pieces. Batteries never positioned in two rows. This could be solve if the game engine wouldn't let a Battset in the middle of the guns and the guns had a highter +factor
How many times has a gamer played with a 8or 10 guns in the middle of the road with a batt in the middle of them sytoping an Army till they are removed? On the other hand in Min Fgs it would not be so for the Min Fgs rule would not allow it.

Col de Art 6/3 II Corps AN Marbot CS

I would agree that the switching of the battery and line infantry back and forth is probably unhistorical but skirmishers could and did slip through a battery on occaision.

Bill Peters
Armee du Rhin - V Corps, 5ème Division, 20ème légère Brigade de Cavalerie, 13ème Hussar Regiment
HPS Napoleonic Scenario Designer (Eckmuhl, Wagram, Jena-Auerstaedt and ... more to come)

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