The Beginner’s Guide to Napoleonic Wargaming

(using WRG  1650-1845 Horse & Musket Rules)

by Bryan Orsbourne

 The purpose of this article is to provide a guide to organising and building a Napoleonic army and is specifically aimed at those people new to the period, and who are looking for all the basic information to get an army up and running quickly.

 The first decision to make is what nationality of army to build. In this article I’ve covered the five main European countries at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. These are France, Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia. However many other countries participated in the Napoleonic Wars and if anyone wants more specifics about any countries outside of the five mentioned above I can provide details about their organisations, etc.

 The next decision is what time period during the Napoleonic Wars your army will represent. Most armies changed significantly as the Wars progressed and it’s easiest to divide the period into an early period (1795 through to 1808) and a later period (1809 through to 1815). Most armies peaked during the later period and is probably the best time to base an army around. This covers battles such as Borodino in the 1812 Russian campaign, the majority of the Peninsula campaign in Spain, and the 100 days campaign culminating with Waterloo. Therefore this article is based on organisations prevalent in the later part of the period. If anyone is specifically interested in early period armies then, once again, I can supply more details upon request.

 As a bit of background, my Napoleonic armies have, over the years, participated in many National Tournaments achieving the ultimate prize (first place!) twice, along with several second places, during 10 years of  competitive play in the late 80’s and early 90’s. My main successes has been with my Russian army based on an Order of Battle for Borodino,. The Russians were my first army in 25mm, and still remain my most favourite out of all the different armies I’ve played. My other 25mm army is British organised for the Waterloo campaign and has, as you would expect, numerous allied contingents. I also have two 15mm armies – French and Austrian – for the campaigns of 1809. 

 Right, so now you’ve decided your nationality and the focus is on the later period, so how do you organise your army? I’ve included specific details about each of the main five countries in the named sections below, but first some basic information and terminology. Armies organised under the WRG rules typically total 2000 points (based on the points system in the rules) . There are three main types of units used, the size of which (in number of miniatures) varies depending on nationality. These are infantry battalions, cavalry regiments and artillery batteries. Each of these can be further divided into different types but more of this in the sections below. Miniatures are based together on the base sizes specified in the rules and are termed elements. For example, a Line Infantry element contains 4 miniatures, a Heavy Cavalry element contains 3 miniatures and so on. The rules covers this fairly clearly so I won’t go into any further details here.

 Anyway, on to the individual nationality sections. I’ve listed them in order of effectiveness under the rules.

 FRENCH ARMY ORGANISATION.

This is the best army,  having several favourable special rules (e.g. the “shaken” rule), coupled with some excellent troop types and enormous variety. You  really can’t  go wrong with  building a French army – they fought everyone else (and won more often than not!) and this is amply reflected in the rules!

 Infantry are organised into Battalions consisting of either 12 or 16 foot miniatures. 16 is probably more common, especially for conscripts, trained and elite battalions. Veteran battalions are probably better as 12 miniatures. Infantry battalions consist of line companies, light companies and grenadier companies.One line infantry element of four figures should represent the battalion command and should be made up of an officer, a standard bearer,  musician, etc.  The battalion could consist of all line infantry or optionally two miniatures could also be based as a light company, giving the battalion some skirmishing capability. To do this,  two light infantry miniatures are used and are based separately from any line infantry. Two grenadier miniatures could also be used  to make up a grenadier company, therefore giving a typical battalion 6 companies of line infantry (two miniatures each, but based together as a four miniature element), one company of light infantry (two miniatures) and one company of grenadiers (two miniatures).  As well as the line infantry battalions you can also have complete battalions consisting of light infantry and complete battalions of grenadiers. Four to five infantry battalions make up a Brigade and this Brigade gets assigned to a Brigade General which is represented by a mounted officer miniature. (Generals are much more common in this period, with armies having several Brigadier Generals who report through to Corps Commanders and then to the overall Army Commander).

 Cavalry are organised into Regiments consisting of 12 miniatures. Two to three regiments make up a cavalry brigade, which then gets assigned a general to command it. Cavalry brigades usually all consist of the same type of cavalry. So for example, you could have a Light cavalry brigade made up of regiments of Hussars, Lancers, etc.,  or a Heavy cavalry brigade with Cuirassiers, Dragoons etc. Guard troops usually formed their own brigades so you could have a Guard Light cavalry brigade and so on.

 Artillery batteries consist of 4 model guns,  with 4 crew per gun, plus limber models. Batteries can either be foot batteries (heavy or medium guns, slow speed, because all the gunners walk), or horse batteries (light-medium guns, faster speed because the gunners are mounted). Of the four guns in a French battery, 3 were cannons and 1 was a howitzer. (Cannon fire roundshot and cannister, whereas howitzers fire shells but can also fire cannister as well).  Guns come in different sizes (e.g. heavy guns, medium guns, etc.) but all the guns in a battery would be the same size. So, for example, you could have a heavy battery made up of 3 heavy cannons and 1 heavy howitzer. Gun sizes are not mixed within the same battery.

 A typical 2000 point French army would have a Commander-in-Chief (a mounted general, maybe with an aide or two), two to  four infantry brigades (one of which could be elite Guard), one or two cavalry brigades, plus probably two 4-gun batteries.

 BRITISH ARMY ORGANISATION

The second best army (in my opinion), primarily because it is unaffected by the “shaken” special rule that the French have, coupled with veteran troops with good firepower in line, but offset somewhat by it’s small amount of cavalry which, being rash, tends to be hard to control, and it’s raw allies.

 Infantry battalions are small and typical size would be 12 to 16  miniatures, although this increases to 16 or even 20 miniatures for the Highland battalions and the Foot Guards. A light company can form part of a line infantry brigade (see the French organisation for how this works) and the British also had complete battalions of light infantry, some armed with rifles. Brigades are four battalions.

 Cavalry regiments are normally 9 miniatures for the Heavy Dragoons and Dragoon Guards, but only 6 miniatures for the Household cavalry – the Lifeguard and the Blues & Royals. Light cavalry, Hussars and Light Dragoons, would be 9 to 12 miniatures. Brigades are formed of common types so the Heavy cavalry would be brigaded together, the Lights together, etc., with either one or two regiments only per brigade.

 Artillery batteries consisted of three guns, each with 4 crew plus limbers, and can be either foot (medium guns,  no heavies) or horse (light-medium) batteries. Two guns would be cannons and one would be a howitzer, all of the same size as per the French comment above.

 A typical 2000 point British army would have a Commander-in-Chief,  three to five infantry brigades (one of which could be elite Guard, and one which should be raw allies e.g. Dutch-Belgians, Hanoverians or Netherlands),   only one cavalry brigade (because British cavalry was scarce), and two or three artillery batteries.

RUSSIAN ARMY ORGANISATION

The third ranked army, and my personal favourite. Special rules include stubborn (stupid?)  troops who, if halted, stand around and take everything that is dished out to them,  supported by big artillery batteries – Russians have the largest number of guns per battery.

 Infantry battalions are once again the typical size of 16 miniatures including the normal command element. However Russian battalions do not have any integral light infantry as part of a line battalion. All light infantry are formed into their own battalions, and quite often into their own brigades as well. Four battalions to a brigade. Line infantry, Light infantry and the Guard infantry (Grenadiers) usually form separate brigades of the same types, e.g. a Light Infantry brigade consists of four Light infantry battalions – but sometimes they had mixed brigades.

 Cavalry regiments are typically 12 to 15 miniatures for both the Heavy and Light types, with two to three regiments per brigade (of the same type). They also had numerous Cossack regiments which should be 8 to 12 miniatures strong and in their own brigades of four to five regiments.

 As mentioned above Russian artillery batteries are big! Six guns per battery, made up of 4 cannons and 2 howitzers, with the normal 4 crew miniatures per gun and limbers. All the guns in a battery would be the same size, with heavy foot guns being the most common type.  Horse artillery used light-medium guns and there was even some Cossack artillery batteries for variety!

 A 2000 point Russian army would consist of two to three infantry brigades (at least one of which should be made up of raw troops),  two to three cavalry brigades (at least one of which should be cossacks) plus probably two artillery batteries of six guns each.

 AUSTRIAN ARMY ORGANISATION

Austrian infantry battalions with a special rule “Austrian Masse” that allow battalions to be combined into one massive formation. Battalions anyway tended to be on the large size with typically 16 to 20 miniatures per battalion. No light infantry are included in the line battalions. All light infantry are formed into their own battalions and can include a large number armed with rifles. Grenadiers were also very common and these formed their own battalions as well, once again typically 16 to 20 miniatures strong. Four battalions to a brigade.

 Austrian light cavalry regiments were large and should consist of 15 to 18 miniatures. Heavy cavalry was a bit smaller in the 12 to 15 miniatures range. Two to three regiments per brigade.

 Artillery batteries consisted of four model guns with four crew per gun. The four guns were 3 cannons and 1 howitzer and tended to be lighter guns, with most batteries consisting of light-medium guns, and a few with medium guns.

  A 2000 point Austrian army would have three to four infantry brigades (at least one of which should be grenadiers), two to three cavalry brigades and two light-medium gun batteries.

 PRUSSIAN ARMY ORGANISATION

The Prussians complete the line-up of the big five nationalities. I’ve rated them last as, whilst they are very similar to the Russians and Austrians,  they don’t have any special rules and I feel this makes them somewhat weaker than the others.

 Line Infantry battalions of 16 miniatures with no integral light infantry. Light infantry were formed into their own battalions.  Around half of the infantry should be raw Landwehr battalions, usually formed into their own brigades.   Brigades were generally termed Regiments in the Prussian army and these consisted of three battalions each.

 Prussian light cavalry regiments were reasonably large and should consist of 12 to 15 miniatures. Heavy cavalry was a bit smaller in the 9 to 12 miniatures range. Two to three regiments per brigade, some of which should be raw lancers.

 Artillery batteries consisted of four model guns with four crew per gun. The four guns were 3 cannons and 1 howitzer with most batteries consisting of light-medium guns, and a few with medium guns. Horse artillery was very scarce.

 A 2000 point Prussian army would have three to four infantry brigades (at least one of which should be raw Landwehr), two to three cavalry brigades and two light-medium gun batteries.