Fire Tactics - Picton's Division

Gentlemen:

Third in my series on national tactics and formations above the battalion level in BG games. This one deals with the fire combat tactics of the British/Allied army, through the example of Picton's 5th Division at Quatre Bras (QB for short).

Everyone knows the British used lines. Not everyone knows how they used them or why they worked. I have seen Brit commanders at QB line their entire army up, one battalion next to the other and all in line, all along the line of the stream or bearing back a bit on their left to fit the hex-grain - for all the world as though the 'oblique order' of Frederick the Great were still the norm in European tactics. In that case, I had the French and the morale-boosting optionals (flank morale, rout limiting, etc) were off.

The French approached the position using artillery and skirmish fire, with some 'ordre mixte' lines but mostly skirmishers, their columns (supporting the skirmish companies, but at a little distance) in the dead ground just waiting. Within 45 minutes the bulk of the Allied army was in disorder, and fatigue must have been hitting yellow in many places along the line. Yes, they had lots of muskets to fire back with - at skirmish companies, often at range 2 (wherever the rye would allow it), and many of those with 5 morale (lights) and small units of course, so quite insensitive to occasional hits.

At the hour mark, with some progress already made toward slipping around the flanks of the huge line, the columns charged in 3-4 places where all the defenders would only get 1/2 firepower, disordered shots. Victorious melees added +3 fatigue to the men hit, always putting them into yellow and sometimes into red fatigue - they were also disordered of course. Not enough leaders to have one in every hex. Result? -3 morale checks on the men meleed, and -1 or -2 checks (disorder, yellow) on their neighbors to either side, spreading from the points hit until everyone had to check practically. 3 disordered lines stood it and the rest all routed. Those 3, with 6 MPs in rye and no flank support, were surrounded and captured the following turn. Chasseurs pursued the flying fugitives, and a major French victory of course resulted.

The French columns had spent an hour doing essentially nothing, then charged. But they were fresh and in good order because of it. The Allies had been firing with maximum musket firepower - then seeing it quartered for skirmish targets and losing the duel. Skirmish and arty fire, plus column or cavalry charges once someone is disordered and tired, beats one thin line, hands down. (With the morale-boosting optionals turned off).

Does this mean British fire tactics are ineffective? No. It means the last European army to fight like Frederick the Great was the Prussians in the rout at Jena in 1806. That is what the above tactics by my QB opponent amounted to. The British system was far superior to what he tried; all they have in common is the use of line formations at the battalion level. The rest of the story is what the rest of this post is about.

Let's start by deploying the division. First off, the Royal Green Jackets are going to fight in skirmish order. Leave ~100 men in the battalion in column (to help with ammo resupply and such) and leave them in the rear (guarding ammo if you have any). That leaves 7 British battalions, 3 and 4 in the two brigades, plus 4 Hanoverian QL 2 ones.

Put the Hanoverians in column formation, 2 stacks of 2 each, and leave them in the rear for now - they are your reserve brigade.

Take the 7 Brit battalions and line them up in one line, in line formation, 7 hexes long - the 3 of one brigade on one end, then the 4 from the other. I recommend the Gordan Highlanders for the center position (more on why, later) - the rest is mostly a matter of indifference.

But isn't this the Frederick the Great formation? It is. But we aren't done yet ;-) Next, detach the skirmish companies of each battalion and march them straight forward 4 hexes. You now have a skirmish line 7 hexes long, ahead of the formation. Next, starting with the battalion on one end march every other battalion directly forward two hexes. Ta da! The famous 'checkerboard' formation, which in square defeated the French cavalry charges at QB and Waterloo.

So, now you have a skirmish line 7 hexes long, 1 company in each. Behind that you have a line of line-formation battalions in every other hex, with hard ZOCs covering an 8 hex front. Behind them you have a 'second rank' of battalions, 3 of them, behind the gaps in the first. Now, move up your Hanoverian reserve brigade so that its two columns stand 2 or 3 hexes behind the rear line. The Royal Green Jacket skirmish companies (if not detached elsewhere) can reinforce the skirmish line. Finally, place the two batteries with the division (if you have them) slightly ahead and toward the flanks of the two center, forward line battalions, unlimbered.

When moving, the batteries would be back two hexes - similarly, to cover them against melee threat - preferably by advancing the entire formation 2 hexes ;-) Where those 2 batteries are is where you want the crest-line to be if you line up along a crest - meaning the formed men are behind it. But step up in front of it to cover the guns (forward battalions only) when they are needed ;-)

How do you get the time for that? From the skirmish line. You merely advance to where it was. Your second rank, and reserve brigade, remain behind the crest.

When attacked by French infantry, you want to advance to contact, not the reverse. He will probably slam your skirmish line. If he uses formed columns to do it, it is time to advance to contact certainly.

The point is to have your first fire phase when formed meets formed be your offensive fire phase. Hits then will create disorder even when morale checks are passed. Disordering one unit in a stack will 'lock' that stack into column, preventing deployment to line (lest mixed line and column in one hex, cause disorder). A disordered French column gets 1/6th firepower, an ordered British line gets full.

Then you don't care about his shots very much. Just shoot till he runs. He won't want that, so he will try pushing with the bayonet. Fine.

Here is how your formation is set up to deal with French melee attacks (in column especially) from infantry. As all of your battalions are seperated by open 'interval' hexes, and the whole front is a solid ZOC-line, there is only one place he can go with his melee. He comes into your formation and ends up where one of your lines used to be.

Look at your formation. Look at one of the forward, center two lines. There are four battalions within 1 hex of point-blank to it. From 4 different directions. Even a disordered line can rotate once and move a hex - all that is needed. No one can face 4 different hexes. Therefore, you will have the option of multiple flanking fires against any stack that melees into your division formation.

Let us look at what happens to the lead battalion of any French stack trying this. It moves adjacent to a British line. It thus faces a defensive fire attack of 30-37 fp. That will probably fatigue it once and likely drop men too. Then it melees - successfully, say. +2 more. Then 1-2 battalions close with its flank or flanks, and fire again, enfilade and column target but down a bit for moving. One of them probably hits/causes casualties, and this time in offensive fire.

Well, that is +4 fatigue likely, then a disordered flanked fatigued morale check ;-) Bye bye Frenchies.

See the idea? The defense of the British formation is by morale failure on the part of the attackers. That is brought about by fire attacks delivered to a flank, on a unit that has disordered and fatigued itself by its own melee attacks.

In addition, it is possible to 'clamp' onto an intruding stack this way, sending battalions to locations that cut off its retreat with ZOCs - unless the French wins side-by-side melees on two battalions in the same turn. 2 battalions 180 degrees apart, with the proper facing, will put ZOCs into the two hexes from which the attackers 'entered' your formation. When you 'seize' a stack like this, the French must get you off be meleeing you again, otherwise you will fire until that seized unit routs, then melee and capture it yourself.

The effect you want is that charging into your formation via melee leds to stinging fire-based counterattacks, from which men either run, or you won't even let them run if the overall situation warrants taking that risk. The center battalion in the second line will be the one most frequently called on to deliver these local counterattacks - thus the point above about putting the Gordon's there (your biggest QL 5 unit in the division).

When battalions of your formation get disordered, back them up (or about face etc) while sending the nearest second-rank unit up to replace it on-line. The point is to get the disordered battalion out of musket shot so it can re-order. When a whole brigade has become fatigued (yellow), relieve the whole brigade by putting the Hanoverians into line and advancing them to take their places, then pulling back the relieved men.

Facing cavalry, obviously you can just form square with both ranks. Even a successful, square-breaking charge (always possible against single battalions) will not seriously hurt the formation. The spaced 'checkerboard' has more than enough ZOCs to cover everything, and allows squares to block off an area after a rout easily, etc.

At longer ranges, this particular division fires with its elite rifles and supporting batteries, rather well. That allows it to harry cavalry whose attack has been repulsed, particularly well - as (disordered) typically they can't quite get out of range, and QL 6 shooters at +2 targets, even little shots will drop men quite often.

When units are lost or routed, the formation can adapt to their absence easily enough. The reserve brigade may have fewer battalions in it resting, for instance. Or the line may be shortened a tad to 3 across. In a pinch, the second rank of lines can be 'thinned' to only 2 local counterattack battalions.

This formation can occasionally, for brief periods, and when starting from good order all around, adopt the continuous 'Frederick style' line for maximum musket firepower. Simply advance the second rank of lines into the gaps in the first. You want to do this only when you need to disorder formed attackers ahead of you as soon as possible - and obviously, to do the work needed in your offensive fire phase (when every hit will disorder someone, regardless of morale). The next turn, step half the men back to avoid getting everyone disordered at once, and to avoid morale contagion effects, and to let men reorder if already disordered. Do not try to use this just to inflict casualties, for long periods. You will send all your men into disorder and then the formation will lose its manueverability, flexibility, and ability to counterattack against melee-intruders smashing into you. It is a temporary formation change for one brief and intense purpose - to disorder an attacking formation.

When attacking, use the same formation. The skirmishers can preceed the line, but when you need to 'push' someone, have then fall back into the gaps between the forward battalions, doubled-up. They can also fight that way once in contact with formed infantry. When cavalry is around, put them back where the second rank is, so the ZOCs of the first rank protect them (and without providing chances to melee first one unit, then another, etc, through the whole formation). If you need to melee large units on the attack, use the reserve brigade in column formation to charge. Rotate that role same as you do for fatigued units when defending.

A darn sight more complicated than the Frederick-style line. A darn sight more effective too, I assure you.

I hope this is interesting.

Sincerely,

Jason Cawley

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