The Polish Division in Ordre Mixte

Gentlemen:

I thought players a bit less familiar with historical formations might be interested (at least a little :-) in the following rendition of the French 'Ordre Mixte' (as discussed in the excellent article on the main site BTW), using (in this instance) the Polish division structure from V Corps Borodino, as in the 'Never Too Late' scenario.

Players may not understand all of the tactical reasons for the formation and system. There is a tendency to reduce the French idea to just 'stay in column' when more is involved in that. There is also a BG-player tendency (out of ACW and Frederick-the-Great era thinking, frankly) to put everyone in line - reinforced by some of common optional rules (unhistorically so, IMHO). I hope this explanation of how to translate (parts of) the French system into BG terms will show that a lot more is going on and a lot of it is very sensible and useful, in BG games no less than in historical reality.

I will first describe the BG deployment of the division (I use the 16th, with only 3 regiments present as 'Never' gives you). Then discuss its BG usefulness and some of the reasons to try it out.

Starting on the left, put the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions of the 3^rd Line regiment in one hex, in column formation. Then detach the 1/3^rd Skirmish company and leave it in the same hex, top of the stack.

Detach the 2/3^rd skirmisher and move it on hex to the right.

Next hex over, put the 3^rd Battalion of the 3^rd Line Regiment in line formation, plus the Brigade commander. That completes the deployment of the 3rd Line regiment.

Next hex, put one of your two batteries - as is historical, in the interval between the Regiments.

In the next hex put the whole 15^th Line regiment in column formation. Plus the division commander. But then detach its skirmishers, moving them one hex to the left, one hex to the right, and leaving one where it is on top of the column stack.

Next, the other battery (you should arrange for it to be on top, though, so move the 15^th skirmish company in the same place out and back).

Next, again one hex to the left, the 3^rd Battalion of the 16^th Line Regiment, in line formation.

Next hex will go to the 1/16^th's skirmish company.

Last hex, the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions of the 16^th Line, stacked in column formation. Then detach the 2/16^th skirmish company and leave it on top in that hex. And the Brigade commander (or, optionally, he can be with the line battalion, 3/16^th).

Overall, then, from left to right you have a column of 2 battalions, a line, a column of 3 battalions, another line, then a column of 2 battalions again. With batteries between the regiments and skirmishers between the formed infantry positions, and stacked with the columns.

Out of the 3500 men in the division (infantry), 2100 can fire (counting the columns 1/3rd) - 60% of them. From just 2 lines, and all the skirmishers. In addition, though, 60% of the men are in column formation, and only 22% in line formation (the remainder are skirmishers, and that 22 can be dropped to 17% by deploying the skirmish companies of the line-formation battalions).

If you look at the fires the whole will get at range 1, you will find that the expected results of the 'lots of little' fire attacks is 100 men dropped if not moving/advancing, and 75 men when moving/advancing, per fire phase. Plus the batteries, naturally. The actual total firepower is 126, but rounding items and groupings reduces the effect slightly (while small fp shots recover some of that, especially with 1/2ed 'moving' fire).

In addition, every hex ahead of the division is threatened by a combined melee 'charge' of the center column *plus* the nearer of the two flanking columns. With the column bonus, those threats are of 1800+ attacks. The placement of the columns gives excellent prospects for launching those melees at from flanking positions. This is especially true of any enemy infantry that attempts to melee-attack the 2 thin line battalions. 'Entry' into the formation in that manner invites the counter - 2 columns move one hex and launch 1800+, led, held fire, flank melee - regardless of the intruder's facing.

If thin lines used ahead by your enemy, then you can melee with the columns in straight-ahead fashion. If larger columns/stacks (or very large ~600 man battalions, perhaps) are used, then don't melee with the columns, just fire. (Although the combined, center-plus-one-flank column charge, remains an option when needed, even at the larger targets).

The formation has many possible alterations to account for tactical situations. For instance, in the presence of cavalry, pull in the skirmish companies to the nearest column. Each is only 1 hex away (2/3 moves 1 left, 1/15 one right, 3/15 one left, 1/16 one right). That also creates intervals for your own horsemen to charge through. To cover the guns from melee or charge threat, advance the infantry 1 hex, pulling in the interior skirmishers - giving a line of ZOCs ahead but short-range gaps for the batteries to fire case through, though with limited fields of fire obviously. To advance without wearing out the men, against light opposition, advance the skirmishers 1-2 hexes ahead. The lines may accompany them forward, or may detach their skirmish companies to complete the screen if they don't have targets to shoot right away.

To relieve disordered units in the line positions, change the whole center regiment into line formation, send the replacement or replacements needed to the line positions. Back up the disordered lines. If both need relief simultaneously in this fashion, leave the last battalion of the center column in line formation (thus giving column, line, line, line, column across the whole division frontage). If only one does, change the two battalions remaining in the center regiment, back into column formation, just with 2 battalions (like the 'wing' columns) rather than 3. When elements of the columns disorder, let them wait and reorder or back up whole column 1-2 hexes, leaving the skirmish companies to hold that area until the column re-orders.

When the entire division or the majority of it is disordered or badly fatigued, then relieve the entire division with the other one in the corps - assuming it is not already 'blown' or committed elsewhere, obviously. If a disordered division does not have relief, leave lines and skirmishers as best you can to cover the front, then withdraw the columns 2-3 hexes to try to reorder covered by them.

If threatened by (non-cossack) cavalry (doesn't happen in 'Never' but can in Borodino, obviously), form square obviously - and preferably a hex ahead of the guns to cover them, also obviously. Pull in the skirmishers when/if you have the chance. The columns when in square should be strong enough to resist most cavalry attacks (a function of the lower cavalry stacking limit, to a degree). The lines will be more vunerable even in square. But the formation can handle that - here is how.

If one of the lines forms square but is charged and beaten nevertheless, then the neighboring columns (assumed also to have made it to square) will be 4 hexes apart, and with leaders. You can thus close the gap with ZOCs by moving either or both squares up next to the intruding cavalry (withdrawing the beaten one, if it did not rout). In addition, those line positions should be 2-3 hexes from a battery, which can rotate slightly to bear on the intruding cavalry, sheltered by the squares. You will thus recover the line of ZOCs, and punish the attackers with case and musketry (some of the latter from a flank, at the least). Naturally, the formation will also have intervals through which supporting cavalry can counter-charge as well, if available.

On the whole, a remarkably flexible formation. It offers strong melee defense along most of the line, with the few 'weaker' spots having something of the character of *traps* (inviting flank melee by columns, and caseshot-range artillery fire). Most of the men can move through any terrain without disorder (and the 2 lines, obviously, can change to column to move through such, then back once out of it). Maximum melee attacks are threatened over a wide area, with flanking chances on anyone not closely covered by ZOCs on both sides. And the fire combat ability of the whole is superior (at 60% muskets 'bearing') to the 1/2ed Russian columns, little below what continuous lines would give, with much greater melee security than continuous lines would give. In addition, morale contagion (other than for skirmishers) is avoided, intervals present, etc - again better than continuous lines. Reliefs are much easier as well, so the whole handles battle disorder far better than one solid line can.

To see the full strength of this sort of flexible (and historical, for the French that is) formation, though, turn off 'rout limiting'and 'flank morale modifier';-) A continuous line of line-formation battalions (Frederick the Great or US Civil War era, frankly, not Napoleonic) is worse not better in morale terms with those off. Instead of +1 morale, they get easy spread of disorder, compared to the columns-with-intervals formation described above.

BTW, the other, 5-battalion regiments in the French army can obviously be used in a similar fashion, with each in the form - 2 battalion column, line, 2 battalion column - again with the columns aided by skirmish companies to put more muskets on-line (and cover the gaps if desired). Again you get 60% of the maximum, all-line firepower (4 x 1/4 skirmisher x 1 fp, + 1xline, + 3/4 battalions-with-skirmisher-deployed x 1/3rd column fp x 4 battalions -> 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 battalions worth of firepower).

In other words, the formation is 3 ranks deep in line and skirmishers across the center, but 9 deep on the column-anchored flanks - for an average of 5 deep overall, effectively, but with much better melee and movement characteristics than all-lines. In BG terms, you get intervals, lack of morale contagion, easier relief, and many other benefits compared to wall-to-wall lines, in return for the modest greater depth.

I hope this is interesting.

Sincerely,

Jason Cawley

[Written by Jason Cawley. Courtesy of The Napoleonic Wargame Pages.]