I want to try Napoleon at War (NAW) for Liberators and one of the first questions is … what do I do about my Big Bases? Luckily Phil from Wargaming in the Sun has some useful suggestions for using units based for Lasalle / FoGN with Napoleon at War. I can just add to his analysis to cope with my 2 x 80mm x 40mm basing.
Infantry
My infantry battalions have two big bases of 80mm wide x 40mm deep. The footprints of each full strength infantry formation using my scheme, NAW, Lasalle and FOG are:
| Formation | Steven’s Big Bases | NAW | Lasalle and Fog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line | 160mm wide by 40mm deep | 156mm wide by 32mm deep | 160mm wide by 30mm deep |
| Attack column | 80mm wide x 80mm deep | 78mm wide by 64mm deep | 80mm wide by 60mm deep |
| March column | 40mm wide x 160mm deep | 26mm wide by 192mm deep | 40mm wide by 120mm deep |
| Square | 80mm wide x 80mm deep | 78mm wide by 64mm deep | 70mm wide by 70mm deep |
| Skirmisher | 40mm wide x 20mm deep | 30mm wide by 15mm deep | 20mm wide by 15mm deep |
Infantry Line
My two big base, when side by side in line, are 160mm x 40mm. So not too from NAW’s 156mm x 32mm and Lasalle’s 160mm x 30mm. Obviously my line formation is deeper but probably not enough to change the game.
Infantry Attack Column
I achieve the Attack Column formation by putting my two big bases one behind the other. That gives a formation 80mm x 80mm. NAW comes in at 78mm x 64mm and Lasalle 80mm x 60mm. So again I’m deeper, but again I suspect this won’t make a difference.
Infantry March Column
I admit March Column is tricky. I can see only a couple of solutions.
- Separate the bases with one or more option “blank” stands
- Put the two stands side by side but with the stands facing in opposite directions, with the formation moving towards the short end.
The second option gives a footprint that is closer to NAW and Lasalle so what I’ll go with that. My March Column would be 40mm x 160mm compared to NAW’s 26mm x 192mm and Lasalle’s 40mm x 120mm.
I have to admit that it isn’t super obvious that this is a march column and it is headed to the left of the photo. So I put an arrow at the front of the column. Now my March Column becomes 40mm x 180mm.
Or with a different style of arrow.
In you add in a skirmisher stand at the front then my March Column becomes 40mm x 180mm. Put a second skirmisher at the the back and the column is 200m long, wider but about the same length as NAW.
Infantry Square
Using big bases I form square by putting the two stands back to back.
Infantry skirmishers
In both my basing scheme and in NAW skirmishers are additional stands used for markers. Lasalle has the smallest skirmish bases at 20mm x 15mm. NAW skirmisher bases are bigger at 30mm x 15mm. For reasons not entirely clear even to me I’ve gone with 40mm x 20mm for my skirmisher bases. But actually, being markers, the size of the stand doesn’t matter.
Cavalry
The footprints of each full strength cavalry formations are as follows:
| Formation | Steven’s Big Bases | NAW | Lasalle and Fog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line (ordre mince) | 160mm wide by 40mm deep | 180mm wide by 40mm deep | 160mm wide by 30mm deep |
| Attack column (ordre profound) | 80mm wide x 80mm deep | 90mm wide by 80mm deep | 80mm wide by 40mm deep |
| March column | 40mm wide x 160mm deep | 45mm wide by 160mm deep | 40mm wide by 120mm deep |
Cavalry Line (ordre mince)
My cavalry lines are 160mm wide and 40mm deep, just like the infantry. This is the same width as Lasalle and the same depth as NaW. However, NaW has a wider cavalry line at 180mm width and Lasalle has a shallower formation at 30mm.
Cavalry Attack Column (ordre profound)
My cavalry attack columns are 80mm wide and 80mm deep, also just like the infantry equivalents. Lasalle has a formation the same width but only 40mm deep. NaW has the same depth but slightly wider at 90mm.
Cavalry March Column
Again, to show March Column, I’ve put the two big stands side by side but with the stands facing in opposite directions, with the formation moving towards the short end. This is the same depth at the NaW formation but slightly narrower; NaW march columns are 45mm wide. Lasalle march columns are much shorter, at 120mm.
However, one of my two “arrow” solutions makes it more obvious, both the formation and the direction of travel. However, this adds 20mm to the depth making the formation longer than NaW and much longer than Lasalle.
Artillery
My artillery bases are 40mm square, exactly the same as in Lasalle and FoGN. In NAW Artillery units are comprised of bases 45mm wide and 40mm deep, so a little wider.
I haven’t really thought about limbers as they are basically just markers. As markers I’m thinking the smaller the better, so I was toying with the idea of 40mm squares like the guns. That size of base will only fit a stripped down team with a limber and two horses.
In contrast NaW and Lasalle go for length.
| Formation | Steven’s Big Bases | NAW | Lasalle and Fog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foot Artillery | 40mm wide x 40mm deep | 35mm wide by 120mm deep | 40mm wide by 80mm deep |
| Horse Artillery | 40mm wide x 40mm deep | 35mm wide by 159mm deep | 40mm wide by 80 mm deep |
Commander
My officers come on round bases. I’ve experimented a bit but I’ve settled on 40mm diameter circles with either 3 figures (Commander) or 2 figures (Sub commander).
| Officer | Steven’s Big Bases | NAW | Lasalle and Fog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commander | 40mm diameter circle with 3 figures | 45mm wide by 40mm deep | 40mm by 40mm |
| Sub commanders | 40mm diameter circle with 2 figures | 26mm wide by 32mm deep | 20mm wide by 30mm |
My Commander bases are 40mm diameter circles. This is similar to both NaW and Lasalle although both these games use rectangles (NaW) or squares (Lasalle).
My Sub-commander bases are also 40mm diameter circles. This is considerably bigger than NaW (26mm wide by 32mm deep) or Lasalle (20mm wide by 30mm deep) because my sub-commander bases have two figures and these rules use one figure.
Casualties
For infantry units if they receive four casualty the unit is lost. For cavalry or artillery units, if there more casualties than half the theoretical size in NaW bases then the unit is lost.
Phil from Wargaming in the Sun uses cottonwool to mark casualties. I prefer using casualty markers marked on each side with the number of casualties the unit has suffered, from 1 to 4. I just turn the marker around when the unit suffers more casualties.
References
Phil. (2014, 21 September). Napoleon at War Variations Part 1 Base Sizes. Wargaming in the Sun.