Edinburgh Wargames

     Die Kriegskunst  

Wargaming the Seven Years War

A Brief Note on Figure Scales, Basing and other-such basic stuff

Figure Scale:    1 figure = 40 men, 1 model gun = 4 artillery pieces    Note that this is different to General de Brigade, which uses a 1=20 scale.

25mm Figures:

• Infantry: 15-20mm per figure mounted in two ranks, normally with four figures to a base, but you could use six or eight figure bases if you wanted

• Cavalry: 20mm to 25mm per figure. Can be mounted in pairs or in threes.

• Artillery: 50mm to 60mm per model gun. Each gun crewed by four figures.

• Skirmishers: From 20mm to 30mm per figure, with two or three figures per base, in a single rank. Irregular shaped bases look best.

15mm Figures: (if you really have to use these tiddlers...!)

• Infantry: 8mm to 12mm per figure mounted in two ranks, normally with four figures to a base - although six or eight figures bases are fine too.

• Cavalry:  10mm to 15mm per figure. These can be mounted in pairs, or even on three or four figure bases.

• Artillery: 30mm to 40mm per model gun. Each gun crewed by four figures.

• Skirmishers: From 12mm to 15mm per figure with two or three figures per base.

 Unit Depth for both figure sizes: Use whatever works for you! For my own 28mm figures I mount them four to a base, using square 40x40mm bases. You can get away with reducing the frontage to 15mm a figure - it all depends if you like that cramped look or not...

 

      

Two 16 figure Russian infantry battalions clash with a 20 figure Prussian unit. All figures are mounted on 40x40mm bases, with four figures per base.            The little white die are being used as casualty markers. Once it reaches four the die is removed, and so is a base - which means a morale test for the unit.

Basing up your Infantry      -     Remember, these are mounted in two ranks.

 

 

 

 

Although each base would represent a company (or two small ones if British or Hanovarian etc.), the internal organisation of the battalion is less important that the overall strength of the unit. A full strength Austrian battalion would have 24 figures, a Prussian or Hanovarian battalion 20 figures, and a Russian, French or British one 16 figures.

Example: A full-strength Prussian battalion of 800 men, mounted on five four-figure bases.

  

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Prussian battalion is a little under-strength, and has just four stands          - 16 figures - representing a 640 man unit. 

 

 

 

Basing up your Cavalry        - These are mounted in single ranks.

A three-figure base or a two-figure base can be used for most cavalry regiments.   

 

 

 

 

 Three or four figures represents a squadron. Most Austrian and Prussian heavy cavalry units had five squadrons, while the British, French and Hanovarians had two. The Russians also used five squadron regiments, but a shortage of horses meant they were usually woefully understrength. I use 12 figure Cuirassier Regiments and 16 figures for my Dragoons.  

 

  

These Prussian hussars are mounted two figures to a base, while the French Guard cavalry are on three figure bases, as this better suits the organisation of the French cavalry. Whatever floats your boat - both work the same under the rules, as melees are worked out using whole units.

 

 Unit Sizes:

The following strengths reflect the normal battlefield strength of units in Die Kriegskunst. This means they are a little lower than the accepted “paper strength”, but are a better representation of an infantry battalion or cavalry squadron as it would have appeared at the start of the campaigning season. After a battle these strengths would have been much lower, and some regiments might even have been combined into one in order to maintain a reasonable “presence” on the battlefield.

 

	Prussia	Austria	France	Russia	Britain	Hanover	Sweden	Saxony
Infantry Battalion	20	24	16	16	16-20	16-20	16	20
Grenadier Battalion	16	20	16	16	16	16	16	16
Light Infantry Battalion	16-20	16-20	-	-	-	12-16	-	-
Cuirassier Regiment	20 (5)	20 (5)	8 (2)	12 (4)	8 (2)	8 (2)	8 (2)	20 (5)
Dragoon Regiment	20 (5)	20 (5)	16 (4)	16 (4)	16 (4)	16 (4)	16 (4)	20 (5)
Hussar Regiment	24 (6)	24 (6)	12 (3)	16 (4)	-	-	-	-

Note: The numbers in brackets represent the number of squadrons in the regiment

 

 

Here you have a real mixture. On the bottom left is an 18 figure Hessian infantry battalion, with a 12 figure unit of Hessian foot mounted (for some reason) on individual bases. They face a 20 man French infantry unit (two reduced strength battalion brigaded together judging by the flags), supported by a 6 figure skirmish unit. On the right the skirmishers are being threatened by a reduced strength Prussian battalion of 16 figures. On the hill behind is another weak French unit - just 12 figures strong, with a Reichsarmee unit of 16 figures covering their front. these guys can get away with gaming using such a variety of different bases because all the figures are mounted on the same frontage - apart from the skirmishers of course, who do their own irregular thing.

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