Russian Napoleonic Cavalry usage.

[Last Hussar]

Gentlemen, your advice and guidance please.
You DO NOT need to know the rules, but this is for 'Blucher'.

When converting historical orders of battle the rules for 'Grand Scale' state 1 unit is "3,000 – 5,000 men (6-9 battalions)".

This works fine – It's about 500-550 men per battalion, and when I convert Borodino Russians it is fine – 11,000 men in II Corps comes to 3 units, and the 24 battalions also comes to 3 units.

The problem is Cavalry.

"2,000 to 3,000 men (12-18 squadrons)" per unit on the table. This gives 130-170 horses per squadron.

I've not worried with the French too much, there are enough horses in a corps that the elasticity in the figures can be fudged.

The problem is the Russians. The data I have shows Russian Squadrons of 100, but more importantly, Corps size of 2,900.

My choices are;
1)   1 Russian Cavalry Corps of 4 bases (based on numbers).
2)   3 corps of 2/2/3 bases (based on squadrons).

The question of which does not come down to maths, it is table top representation.

In the rules 2 corps of 2 are less flexible than 1 corps of 4; you may get to move just 1 of the 2, rather than get to move all 4. With a corps of 4 you will get to move all 4.

Which do you think is better?

[Ithoriel]

I fear the answer may be "it depends."

Depending on the tactical situation, a single large corps gives you a sledgehammer but 3 smaller corps gives you a series of scalpels?

[fred.]

I fear the answer may be "it depends."

Depending on the tactical situation, a single large corps gives you a sledgehammer but 3 smaller corps gives you a series of scalpels?

This. 


How flexible do you perceive the Russian command and control?

Even with Blucher's pip system the difference between activating one 4 unit corp and two 2 unit corps isn't that significant. It only matters if you activate the 4 unit one, when there is only 1-2 pips left. 

[Last Hussar]

I'm really after what "feels" right, even if it makes Russian Cavalry overstrength.

Do I count men or squadrons?

[fred.]

I find when converting units, you are better off going to the lowest level (eg men or guns) and aggregating these up. Everybody had different sizes of units so comparing squadrons just gets complicated.

Where you might want to break this is when you look at manoeuvre elements - this is where the feel comes into it. Do you want more smaller units or fewer bigger ones. And this probably comes down to how the forces where used in the battle, and more generally the tactics of the army in question.

[Last Hussar]

That's the problem I'm having. How did the Russians use their Cavalry? On a purely numbers game it is one Corps of 4. But if I want them to have lots of little attacks it's the 2/2/3 approach.

One larger Corps that can make a big attack, or 3 lots of disruption?

[Ithoriel]

I make no pretence at being a Borodino expert but I did read up extensively on the battle some time ago.

Platov and Uvarov's abortive foray with the Cossacks and 1st Cavalry Division, Duka's complete 2nd Cavalry Division being thrown into the fight for the fleches and the charge of the Russian Guard Cavalry to stabilise the Russian position when the Raevsky redoubt fell suggest to me that the Russians tended to use their reserve cavalry units en mass, I suspect the cavalry attached to individual divisions may have been used in a more piecemeal fashion but can't lay my hands on any evidence to prove that!

I'm not sure this is helping you any!!

[Last Hussar]

I make no pretence at being a Borodino expert

More than me!

I'm not sure this is helping you any!!

Actually it is - you do know this is the Pendraken Forum, don't you?

I think I will start by doing a single cavalry Corp - one of 4 units.

Blucher is very high level, so the little units swirling around are subsumed into a larger unit and give a small advantage. I may well add some cavalry to individual units to make them 'Mixed', which gives a small advantage in combat, and negates enemy skirmish advantage. (This is an idea of how hig level the game is. There are no 'Skirmish' units, instead certain armies receive a 'Skirmish' ability for individual units - eg the French. When firing is done 6s hit. Skirmish lets ONE (and only one) 5 count as a hit at Skirmish range, a full strength  a unit gets skirmish 3 dice.

[fsn]

I have consulted many learned tomes. I have read 4 relevant eye witness testemonies. I have traced the movements of all units as best I can on a 3d-computer generated model of selected parts of the battlefiled.

My considered opinion is 1-3: 1 corps, 4-6: two corps.

[Last Hussar]

I have a solution!

I forgot there was an Under-/Over-strength rule. This is only for historical Orbats in Blucher, not constructed ones.

Where a historical unit is up to 25% under the rules stated above it can be classed as 'understrength'. Its 'Elan' (effectively its strength in game terms) stays the same, but it rolls 1 less dice in combat. (Elan effectively as Hit Points, your Elan is also the dice you roll)

I can use this to have 3 corps each of 2 understrength units, or, if I stick strictly to the rules, combine 1st and 2nd into 1 unit of 2 understrength, and 1 at normal strength. However as Borodino is somewhat... fluid in what we know , either is good for me.

The only downside is that this is for Historical - there is no points value. There is a 2 point difference between Elan 6 and 5, so I may point that as 1 lower - they retain the HP, but not the Fight skill.