My blog about my wargaming activities. I collect a lot of 15mm miniatures for the American War of Independence and so collect a lot of rules for this period. I started miniatures with Napoleonics, so I have a number of armies in 6mm and 15mm figures for skirmishing. I have15mm WW II figures that I use for Flames of War, Memoir '44, and someday, Poor Bloody Infantry. Finally there is my on-again, off-again relationship with paper soldiers that I sometimes write about.

Monday, November 17, 2008

DBAWI Design Notes: Basing and Order

I still need to post the rules, but I thought I would put the bits and pieces out there so I could comment on each section.

In the AAR I refer to Closed Order, Open Order, and Skirmish Order. Because those terms so many different things to different people (many contend that true "skirmish order" did not exist in the AWI), I have decide to use Close Order (CO), Loose Order (LO), and Open Order (OO).

Here are the basing recommendations:

Unit TypeOrderBase DepthFigures
Line InfantryCO20mm4
Line InfantryLO20mm3
Light InfantryCO20mm4
Light InfantryLO30mm3
Light InfantryOO30mm2
German RiflesOO30mm2
American RiflesOO30mm2
IndiansOO30mm2
CavalryLO30mm3
CavalryOO30mm2
ArtilleryLight40mm2
ArtilleryMedium40mm3
ArtilleryHeavy40mm4
CommanderN/A40mm1-3


Close Order (CO): This represents the early war formations of standing shoulder-to-shoulder, usually three ranks deep. The Hessians infantry (save a few specialty units) will fight in this order throughout the war. The unit gets a benefit in standing off cavalry and morale, but suffers in movement speed and musket range. The lower movement range is justified by the need to dress the line more frequently and so on. A discussion of musket ranges will follow.

Loose Order (LO): This order represents fighting in two ranks with a full arm's distance between each file. The Patriots and British fought mostly in this order. It is what is referred to in the phrase "loose files and American scramble". This order gives the infantry a better movement rate, less penalty from terrain and a slightly longer musket range.

Open Order (OO): Finally we have the AWI equivalent of skirmish order, which are the files spread much farther out. This order gives the best movement rate, no real penalty on terrain, and the best range with a musket.

UPDATE: All references to "Patriot Rifle" are now "American Rifle" to reflect that Loyalist militia can also be armed with the same rifle.

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Huachuca City, Arizona, United States
I am 58 yrs old now. I bought a house in Huachuca City, AZ working for a software company for the last three years. To while away the hours I like to wargame -- with wooden, lead, and sometimes paper miniatures -- usually solo. Although I am a 'rules junkie', I almost always use rules of my own (I like to build upon others' ideas, but it seems like there is always something "missing" or "wrong").