Honour Forums

Discuss the Honour system.

1. Pickton
   Member

   I really like the way the lists are done for La Salle. The principle is good. However, the British list does evoke some disquiet. Other than the first couple of battles in Spain the British consistently fought with Allied troops in support no matter how much we might denigrate them in later times.

   It might have been better if the British had been compelled to field some of these lesser quality troops as in the case of the French who have to field conscripts etc.
   eg,. Spanish or Early Portugese.

   Again, it seems that no British force functioned entirely without cavalry and the omission of at least a LC detachment in the core forces the British commander to either dispense with cavalry, or acquire too much of it, for an evenings gaming. In other words if you get a unit or two of cavalry in the core it buys flexibility of choice

   6 inf
   4 Cav
   2 guns
   seems about a good couple of hours gaming for the present British, but it also underlines why Sir Arthur was loathe to move without allies. It is all too easy to be borne down by sheer weight of guns and/or numbers without them.

   I don't want to imply great dissatisfaction here. My favourite units all fit into the scheme of things. La Salle has actually made me enthusiastic about Napoleonic war gaming again.

   regards

   Pickton

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. NDPerry
   Member

   [Other than the first couple of battles in Spain the British consistently fought with Allied troops in support ...]

   True enough, but the allied troops were generally integrated into the British command structure. Certainly the Portuguese were an integral part of British divisions and should be treated the same as other British troops. This often held for Spanish troops as well [Morillo's division ...]. But I would also like an option for a Spanish allied contingent - to do the Albuera campaign. The C2 structure there would qualify the Spanish as allies. [The veteran infantry unit from the Spanish list ?]

   But instead of integral light cavalry, what about an integral Spanish irregular cavalry unit? To represent the effect the guerillas had on French movement.

   Nigel.

   Posted 2 years ago #

3. Basilhare
   Member

   Exactly why we are developing our own scenarios, based around the painted 28's that we have available...we dont want to be locked into a tournament system...or any certain to&e...for the seeming majority of Lasalle players that enjoy the army builder & game generator, I thinks its an awesome system, it just doesnt do anything for us...Faron

   Posted 2 years ago #

4. Rich Jones
   Member

   Well to be fair I see the army builder as being a tool for throw together games ... even some of the examples of how to convert a OOB into forces on the table in the book would be hard to do with the core list. For people who want to base the forces on historical battles or specific points I suspect it is easy to do and the army builder would be superfluous ... for our club games it is a godsend!

   Rich

   Posted 2 years ago #

5. kustenjaeger
   Member

   Greetings

   By the time Portuguese troops were a fixture their quality had improved but generally (exc Light Division as indicated) they formed separate brigades so the list structure works. I can't see any reason for not adding Spanish as Allied brigades to represent Albuera, East Spain, the 1813 campaigns etc.

   Cavalry is a bit more difficult. At times the British were very short of it and often chose positions they could negate the French cavalry advantage e.g. Busaco. On the one hand, unlike the French, it was (I think) rarer for individual cavalry units to be detached from brigades; on the other some cavalry brigades were very small. Mixed brigades were not unknown e.g. at Fuentes.

   Regards

   Edward

   Posted 2 years ago #

6. Pickton
   Member

   I think you state my point here. The British list is not really a representative of British armies in the smaller games. After Vimero how many purely British armies take the field anyway? Wellington was in no doubt as to his need for allies on the field of battle, whatever he or others might have written later, and often he would not move or stand without them. Lets not labour this too far though (as with a certain German Historian and Prussians)just understand that British man power was finite and every man mattered.

   As to the cavalry. There is no argument with the lists or how they are arranged to represent historical organisation, but a list where you do not have cavalry in the core pick is going to be pushed towards a virtual compulsory Cavalry brigade choice is it not? Even at Barossa the British manage to have a small regiment of Light dragoons present. While the Cavalry may not appear on permanent divisional organisation this does not mean they were not assigned even a regiment to cover the march while detached. Or does it?

   Regards

   Pickton

   Posted 2 years ago #

7. Sam Mustafa
   Le Grand Fromage

   A couple of considerations: First, you can certainly have Portuguese, Brunswickers, etc., as British allied choices. Second, whether or not cavalry is mandatory as a Reserve choice also depends upon how many supporting brigades you're playing with. Third, a Lasalle "army" isn't an army; it's just a fragment of an army, or a little detachment of an army: a spotlight shined on a portion of the battlefield.

   Posted 2 years ago #

8. Pickton
   Member

   I see. I admit to assuming we were expected to follow these lists for pick-up games.

   As far as allies are concerned, the point I was really trying to make is not that the British can have these in their armies but that from Vimero the British seem reluctant to stir without them and wouldn't it be more accurate to have some allies as compulsory, even if only for attacking forces.

   For cavalry. If you have none at all and the other guy has lots then you are in trouble, hence my comment about being compelled to go for cavalry for an evening game An all infantry force other than the Light Division would need scouts and screens at least.

   Don't take me wrong on this topic. I intend the questions here as a genuine enquiry and constructive comment.

   Regards

   Pickton

   Posted 2 years ago #

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