Garry Wills

Figures per base are only important in terms of if they look right. The key thing is that the frontage of the units are the same at each unit size.

BP 2 and GH were both written before Epic existed.  BP2 does give the principles for base sizes, the frontages are what matters and so the standard units for cavalry and skirmishers will be the same as for the close order infantry. See p.16 of BP2, 200-250mm standard and 120-150mm small, you can change these up or down depending on how many epic…[Read more]

The dishonesty is not related to GH but to the assertion by modern rules writers that scales are not important, when they are actually intrinsic to game design.  As I said I wasn’t criticising you in particular, GH is probably my favourite supplement, it got me playing ACW.  I think that Jim has shown that what we take for granted in historical g…[Read more]

Since I started Napoleonic wargaming in the 1970’s I have always enjoyed the process of scenario creation and it has therefore been straightforward to adapt BP to historical scenarios. However I must say I find the ‘modern’ fad for rejecting scales as being too ’70’s’ a dishonest approach to rule writing. BP is no different to other ‘modern’ sets…[Read more]

To be fair, the core rules don’t use figure scales and only have implied ground scales. Many of the supplements use this flexibility to change the size of standard units from battalions to companies etc. GH is one of the best supplements so don’t be put off. Anyway using your unit sizes and the brigade compositions in the scenario will enable you…[Read more]

Frustrating isn’t it! I believe they vary in size, one of the maps is easy to size as 6 feet across by 9 feet, others are clearly smaller. The best bet is to scale them relative to your brigade frontages. Obviously these will be different depending n whether you game with 28 mm or 15mm figures.

George,  leaders only have to check for casualties inflicted after the unit is shaken, so probably only once in your example. (p.74 in BP2)

The important thing is to keep the unit frontages  as close as possible.

I apply it such that mixed formations always have 1 dice, which is the literal interpretation of the rules. Giving them an extra skirmisher die doubles their fire power with only a 50% increase in numbers.

The 2nd edition ruleset couldn’t possibly accommodate the scenario books, but by and large there is good consistency with BP2, but you need to check  each specific rule that you select. For example the rules for Generals were modified in BP2 but you still have the option to go with the BP1 option in order to fit with CofE for example.  An e…[Read more]

I would definitely recommend going with 15mm rather than 28mm, the key benefit is that the normal size playing area will represent significantly greater battlefield and give better games as a result, this is particularly important with respect to the depth of the table. I have been gaming with 15 mm for a long time, but if I was starting again I…[Read more]

From AT2;

H2H 9;Shooting 0; Morale 3+; Stamina 3; Hvy Cav D3, Reliable; 58 points

I play with 15mm figures and convert everything to centimetres. For the frontages I do as you suggested, convert to inches and change that to centimetres. Seems to work well. I make two other changes that work for me. With 15mm scale the normal 6×4 battlefield represents a bigger space and consequently I increase artillery ranges by 25%, as these…[Read more]

Hello, welcome to Black Powder. I can’t answer the question directly but these orders of battle should help;

French:

https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/nafziger/705GAF.pdf

British:

https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/nafziger/705GAG.pdf

Regards

Garry

IO – I know nothing about this thread but I am interested in clarifying the posts. George said that the French introduced socket bayonets in 1703, are you saying that the socket bayonet was introduced earlier in France? Secondly LAOK has plug bayonets as being not removable in action, is this backed up by the literature?

Thanks

Garry

Garry

The Portuguese line battalions had 4 line companies and 1 grenadier company each.  No light company after 1808. Loads of info here LINK

The rules talk about half the brigades in the army as a whole, so I would interpret the situation you describe, as the army is defeated when any two of the three brigades are broken. Obviously some scenarios involving less reliable coalition partners might interpret it differently.

Thanks IO so you are happy with the RAW.

I would recommend the Last Argument of Kings supplement (£7.50 for the pdf). It amends the rules for the 18th Century battles in several interesting ways. As has been said it removes the attack column and also modifies how march columns deploy.…[Read more]