Home Forums Horse and Musket General Horse and Musket How do you organize your armies?

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  • #21475
    Avatar photoOldNick
    Participant

    [poll question=” answers=”]I am curious how people organize their miniature armies. Do you follow a historical orderof battle or paint what captures your interest? Also do you go with standardized unit strengths or follow a historical strength at a particular battle?

    For my Crimean armies i use a standard infantry regiment has four figures per stand and six stands per battalion. The morale/close combat/firing charts take into account different strenghts and morale. I also follow a historical OB. My AWI started with the units at Camden/Guilford Courthouse but has morphed into similar types (substitute different loyalist units for those present and grreen rather then red coats).

    “the regular troops, who had the keen edge of sensibility rubbed off by strict discipline and hard service, saw the confusion with but little emotion.” 

    #21477
    Avatar photokyoteblue
    Participant

    For some of my armies I just go generic WW2 Russians for example. Others I try for a bit more historically accurate . Just depends with me.

    #21478
    Avatar photoHwiccee
    Participant

    Generally I play high level games and one of the great things with doing this is that you just get the whole army! But when I do get a smaller army or an army for a smaller scale of game then I always get whole formations of real units. So I will get X division or Y brigade or whatever.

    #21482
    Avatar photoSteve Johnson
    Participant

    I generally will use a standard OOB, then add in favourite support units such as anti-tank guns, tanks etc.

    #21501
    Avatar photoMark Strachan
    Participant

    I have armies from numerous H&M conflicts and tend to organise along historical lines, but I find that organising against an actual order of battle becomes rather restrictive. Also since OOBs can change so radically during a given campaign, I tend to build to a typical OOB.

    Using the Franco-Prussian War as an example I take a typical French Infantry Division of the Imperial phase to be two infantry brigades: the first has a chasseur battalion and two regiments of line infantry (each of three battalions); the second brigade has two regiments of line infantry; the divisional artillery consists of two field batteries and one mitrailleuse. This divisional organisation (with perhaps the substitution of some zouaves or Turqos for a line infantry) suits for all divisions except the guard. Other troops such as reserve artillery and cavalry are attached at corps level. The Republican armies are more chaotic, but basically similar.

    Prussians are even more regular, as you might expect. A division consists of two brigades each of two regiments (each of three battalions). Divisional artillery consists of four batteries (two light and two heavy). A single regiment of dragoons or hussars is attached. All other troops, e.g. jager battalions and reserve artillery are attached at corps level.

    Actual unit construction is more basic. A French battalion consist of three stands and a Prussian battalion of four stands, each of four figures. All cavalry regiments consist of three stands of two figures and artillery batteries consist of one gun and crew.

    I apply this to all my main H&M collections that include Napoleonic Wars, Austro-Prussian War, Crimean War, American Civil War, and even to the Russo-Japanese War, although the number of figures that make up the battalion stands of the different periods does vary – the Crimean troops have six to a stand whereas the Russo-Japanese have three.

    #21506
    Avatar photoRod Robertson
    Participant

    Old Nick and all:

    When I collect a formation of figures and models, I usually organise them into full strength formations, but almost never field the full formation. I pick and choose units from the formation and often the units are fielded at under-strength levels. This holds true for all miniature periods I own from Bronze Age ancients to modern micro-armour. For Napoleonics I have a Bavarian Army of  9 battalions of infantry (6 line and 3 light), three Chevauleger regiments, three batteries of artillery. They do not usually get fielded all together and to be honest they have not been deployed at all since the early 1990’s.

    Rod Robertson.

    #21823
    Avatar photowillz
    Participant

    I tend to buy a shed load of figures / vehicles or equipment  for the period I am working on and then make multi flexible units.

    For my WAS / WSS / SYW armies I have my infantry based on 40mm x 40mm for 4 infantry, same base size for 2 light infantry and 50mm x 50mm for 2 cavalry figures.  The armies are generic uniform mainly style French based, thus I can have 16, 24, 32 or 48 man infantry regiments and 12, 18, 24 man cavalry regiments.  Therefore hey can be used for several rule sets, also I have made movement trays 60mm x 60mm that the smaller bases can fit into thus more flexibility.

    #21859
    Avatar photogrizzlymc
    Participant

    I pick an OOB, develop a schedule to paint it up.  Then I cheat like hell!

    #22918
    Avatar photoWhirlwind
    Participant

    I normally start with a generic army pack so I can play “standard” generic wargames scenarios: table-top teasers and suchlike.  Then I add the units I need to cover specific historical battles or published scenarios.

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