Building an army

Hi there! I'm totally new in this kind of game, even if I have boardgaming experience. I bought original rules, map and scenarios from TFL and I'm still checking them. After a first reading of the rules, I have some questions about the size/scale of the maps and blocks and about the exact (type and number of pieces and size) composition of an army. Can someone help me? Best, Paolo

Hi Paolo

Welcome to the group.  

The composition of an army depends on the period, the number and experience of available players, and the scenario.

Here's an example which may help.  Let us say you are planning a mid 19th C scenario.  It's best if most players command a brigade-sized force.  It's a good idea to make these combination of horse, foot and/or guns, with say at least a couple of the arms being included in each brigade.  A good size for a new player might be 3 or 4 battalions plus a battery of guns.  A cavalry force might be 4-8 squadrons, with either a jaeger battalion or a horse battery attached.  You can also have a force of all three arms.

The problem with having a force composed of a single arm is that it is too easily stymied by the enemy.  For example if you just have cavalry, enemy infantry can go into square without penalty.  Mixed commands are also more interesting and fun to play.

The above forces might seem quite small, but they accord with historical force structures, and do prove lots of game options.  Remember too, that your battalions are each composed of 2 half-battalion blocks, and your batteries of 2 half-battery pieces.

The size of an army will then depend partly on how many players you have to command individual brigade-size elements.  You also need a player to take the CinC role, although you might be able to also give them a reserve brigade to command directly.  A typical game might be between division-sized forces.

There is no reason to stage a fight between two armies of equal size.  Although there is also no particular reason why not!  It all depends on the scenario.  Most of our games feature imbalance in size, composition and objectives.  That tends to make for a more interesting game.  It is also more historical, as there were few battles between exactly equal sides.

The maps are scaled at 1:8,000, which is quite detailed.  They include all militarily significant terrain.  The troop blocks are scaled to the size of the map - ie they occupy a frontage that the real unit would have occupied.  You can flex this a bit, and we often do.  In the 1824 rules an infantry battalion was 900 men.  That's pretty large for any army on campaign.  Should you wish to say have 500-man battalions instead, you could use a half-battalion block as a full battalion.

Hope that helps, but please do post any other questions you have and we'll try to answer them.

Martin (J)

Thanks Martin. It helps! Probably I'll be back with new questions, sooner or later, Best, Paolo