Command and Control, Order of Battle etc
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In the previous posts I discussed the infantry, cavalry, artillery and combined arms tactics. This one would be about how to model large Napoleonic armies using MTW engine.
For starters let me recapitulate the command structure of a Napoleonic army. I will use the French army structure as an example. But this would, with minor variations apply to most of the armies of the era.
The battalion was the basic unit of maneuver in the infantry. A battalion had between 6 and 9 companies. Each company had approximately 120 muskets. Thus at full strength (which was a rarity), a battalion could number between 720 and 1080 muskets. The average was somewhere between 600 and 800 muskets.
I believe that the MTW Napoleonic mod (hereafter referred to as MTW-N Mod) should use a battalion as the basic unit. Thus I would not get into the sub units structure in a battalion (like the grenadier companies, fusilier companies and the light companies). So we could use a 60 man unit to abstract a 600 man battalion. So far so good.
A regiment usually consisted of 2 battalions, sometimes 3 and very rarely 4 field battalions. It would be safe to assume that a regiment had two field battalions. Usually a regiment consisted of soldiers from the same geographical area. (Flanders regiment, Tiralleurs du Corse etc etc). A full colonel commanded a regiment. Battalions were usually commanded by lieutenant colonels, sometimes by majors.
A brigade usually had two regiments and would be commanded by a brigadier. A division usually had two brigades, very rarely three. The French, at times would have two brigades of line infantry and a single regiment of light infantry forming its own brigade. Leaving such exotic examples aside, it would be safe to assume that a division would have two brigades. A major general would normally command a division.
An army corps would have between 2 and three divisions and be commanded either by a lieutenant general or by a marshal. An French army corps would invariably be a combined arms force (infantry, cavalry and artillery) and indeed this combination was one of the secrets behind Napoleon’s operational flexibility. In the later stages his opponents too would try to emulate his corps system with some reasonable success. So before dissecting an army corps we have to look at the command and control structure for the cavalry and the artillery.
The regiment was the basic unit of maneuver in the cavalry. A regiment had between 3 and 5 squadrons. Each squadron had approximately 150 sabers. Thus at full strength (which was a rarity), a regiment could number between 450 and 750 sabers. The average was somewhere between 300 and 500 sabers.
I believe that the MTW-N Mod should use a regiment as the basic unit for cavalry. Thus I would not get into the sub units structure in a cavalry regiment (like the grenadier companies, fusilier companies and the light companies). So we could use a 50 man unit to abstract a 500 man cavalry regiment. A full colonel commanded a regiment.
A brigade usually had two regiments and would be commanded by a brigadier. A cavalry division usually had two brigades, very rarely three. A major general would normally command a cavalry division.
Napoleon was a firm believer in the shock action (at the right time of course) after he had witnessed the spectacular charge by a body of heavy cavalry led by Kellerman at Marengo. He took care to mass the heavy divisions into reserve corps of cavalry, with 2 to 3 divisions per corps.
The battery was the basic unit of maneuver in the artillery. A battery, foot or horse, almost always had 4 guns and two howitzers. Each infantry division usually had an artillery complement of one battery of foot artillery and was under the division commander. This would invariably be comprised of 6 pounders. In addition to this the corps commander would have an artillery reserve of a heavy battery. This would normally have 12 pounder guns. A battery of artillery needed around 120 highly trained gunners. In a pinch, the line grenadiers and the Guards could man the batteries (and in many occasions they did). The line grenadiers and the Imperial Guardsmen were the only footsloggers that had some basic artillery training.
A heavy division of cavalry almost always marched with an elite battery of horse guns comprised of 6 pounders. Light cavalry divisions did not have the luxury of accompanying horse artillery. The batteries would have been an encumbrance anyways for the swift marching light cavalry
An army corps invariably had a brigade of light cavalry for scouting work. Sometimes it would have a full division of light cavalry.
Thus we see that an army corps would have 3 divisions of infantry, 3 light batteries and 1 to 2 heavy batteries and a division of light cavalry.
So much for the actual organization. In the next post I will discuss how we could model the army and command structure using the MTW engine.
-Cuirassier
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Originally Posted by [b
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