Friday, September 28, 2012

Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules

"Of Hector and Minnow  and such great cats as these.
 But of all the world's great heroes, there's none that can compare
 With a tow, row, row, row, row, row,
to the Rosish Grenadiers."


The first platoon of Grenadiers, formed from some of the PA Rosbach  molds.

The first platoon of the King's Irish Grenadiers put their coats and pants on 18 months ago, their gaiters and hats yesterday. Hopefully they will never be asked to dress in a hurry.  Now to cast up 10 more plus a drummer and sergeant and a Mounted Colonel for the combined Grenadiers.

While savoring the last game and contemplating practical options, I've decided on a reduced, achievable short term goal. The basic Charge! structure for line infantry and grenadiers is a 60 figure Regiment composed of 3 identical companies. My ideal would be 8 of these per side plus light infantry, guns and cavalry which tops out at about 3,000 figures or about 10 times the number of figures I had on the table last weekend. I've known for a while that I'm never going to build that and haven't got room to play with it if I did, hence the various head scratching while I decide which alternative is the best for me.

The alternate structure in the book is a mixed regiment of 1 grenadier, 2 line and 1 light company, about 75 figures and this is my current target but only 4 full  regiments not 16 and then 2 "National"   battalions each of only 2 line companies. The "National" battalions will be formed by promoting the Pandours and the Brownstone Brigade which both deserved the honour (This involves adding 4 figures to each company plus a flag for the Regiment).

This will give me  a total of 4 Grenadier, 12 line and 4 light companies, ample for Civil Wars or to contribute contingents as needed for service with the Northern Alliance. When I get that done, then I can think some more about expansion and a larger table.

and now back to the song,( that's Hector at the top of the page btw ):





I understand that the song was so popular that some other countries made it as their own..



9 comments:

  1. Hi Ross,

    The idea of the mixed Charge style regiment as the basis for your set is a good one and can break down as required very conveniently. It is also very useful for other periods as well.

    Love the grenadiers as well, very impressive looking!

    All the best,

    DC

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    1. My first choice was the original org as it gives more control over proportions but it works well for my current needs.

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  2. A great photo of the Grenadiers and a nice version of the tune too.


    -- Jeff

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    1. I like that one, its from the sound track. I did look at a clip of the scene in the movie, an attack by a British line but it has the voice over and the version is not as good.

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  3. Really like the grenadiers, Ross. I have that mold too, although as of yet I have done very little with it.

    While I'd love to see those 3,000 man armies, your compromise seems a most reasonable one.

    Regards,
    Steve

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    1. The Rossbach molds are certainly an uneven lot. I wouldn't have minded having a steadier hand do the cap design but then they wouldn't be mine. We'll see how they fight.

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  4. Dear Battle,
    Grenadiers are splendid but too many elites in your army! Most were "hatmen." Food for thought?

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    1. Jubilo, Good comment! on the surface and if you take the figures at face value your comment is right. I offer 3 distinct answers.

      1. The rules in question only have 3 grades of infantry, not 6 or 8. So any unit that can be judged better than average based on performance would either be classed as average or be classed as Grenadier equivalent regardless of title or uniform. Considering that these are fictional armies that are played with by strangers at conventions more often than my self, having them dressed as Grenadiers makes it easier for those gamers to know which units get a bonus.

      2. The ideal OB that I am working on calls for 1 elite unit out of 8 which is not excessive in my mind. Since I am working towards 4 units per side at the moment for home game my choice is 1 in 4 or none and having some form of elite is useful in games, evokes the period where not all troops were equal, and lets me paint a different unit. Besides in the sort of Petit Guerre scenarios that I tend to play, elites and especially Grenadiers tended to take a disproportionate role. In some cases these forces were all grenadiers, lights and cavalry even though the grenadiers were only 10% of the army.

      3. Lastly and perhaps most important. This lot are Toy Soldiers, they're pretty and they are being used to play wargames not to recreate actual historical battles.

      -Ross

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  5. fine looking platoon of Grenadiers

    --Allan

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