Hi
My apologies in the case this topics was already discussed and for my poor english.
I am making the calculations for adapting my NB bases to the Lasalle system and a question has arosen to me.
Small four-base infantry units represents around of 500-700 men (600 as a mean) in three ranks. Therefore the widht of each base represents: (600/4)=150 men, so each rank will have 150/3=50 men.
On the other hand, small four-base cavalry units are 300-500 men (400 as a mean) in two ranks. The widht of one base represents 400/4=100 men, and each cavalry rank 100/2=50 men, i.e. the same than one infantry base.
However, the regulations of the era assigned a frontage for a cavalryman that was twice than the assigned to an infantryman. Therefore, the cavalry bases would have double frontage than the infantry ones!
Any idea?
Regards
Antoher silly question: infantry and cavalry frontages
(5 posts) (3 voices)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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Well, not double, no. A four base unit might be only two large squadrons, or several smaller ones, etc. But if we assume a somewhat understrength squadron of @120 men - which seems to be pretty normal in most campaigns - then there are a little over 100 men actually in the ranks (the others being trumpets, officers, supernumaries, etc.) That's @50 files
The French ordonnance said that a Peloton of 12 files would occupy a frontage of 9-10 meters. That somewhere around 45 meters, then, for 100 "cavalry."
Anyway, that's the baseline I was using. So a "small" cavalry unit in Lasalle might be 360-400 men, and thus about 130-150 meters. That's very close to the approximate frontage of an infantry battalion with about 500-700 men in the ranks.
Posted 2 years ago # -
OK, same lenght for infantry and cavalry units....
Posted 2 years ago # -
Sorry, but I don’t understand and I don’t know reality datas.
But :
Average battalion represented by four bases = 600 infantry men in three ranks = a front of 200 infantry men in line.
Average regiment of cavalry represented by four bases = 400 cavalry men in two ranks = a front of 200 cavalry men abreast.
If cavalry bases and infantry bases have the same frontage, it means that a horse and a man have the same front.
It works maybe better with british infantry which is in two ranks = a front of 300 men. It means in this case that the front of a cavalry man is 1.5 X the front of an infantry man.
Sorry for my english.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I realize now that it's quasi the same formulation than rpardo with one base, but I didn't understand the explanation.
Posted 2 years ago #
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