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Post by bruce on Apr 25, 2015 4:12:17 GMT
Does anyone have any experience with rules that allow field works to be erected? Lasalle has an optional rule to allow engineer units to be used to throw up limited unspecified barriers in open ground after which they are spent. Not much detail. Nothing about this in March Attack, I think. I realize that we are not in an era of trench warfare except maybe in sieges but field works from barricades to redoubts did appear on occasion and I am thinking about having some house rules that allow commanders the option to dig in or barricade their troops that are realistic and consistent with circumstances and actual practices of the times. Any thoughts, examples, ideas? Bruce
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Post by tim on Apr 25, 2015 6:56:11 GMT
I can't think of any rules in my experience that allow defences to be built in the timeframe of a battle. Hasty barricades may be thrown up in villages but proper field works take time, the correct tools, and trained engineers. Unless an army has been sat in a defensive position for a day or two then they were quite rare on a napoleonic battle field methinks.
Tim
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Post by Richard on Apr 25, 2015 8:28:00 GMT
I have looked into the same thing, the seemed very common in the awi period but less so in napoleonics, maybe troops became more mobile and night camp attacks were not a gentlemanly thing to do!!!
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Post by bruce on Apr 25, 2015 19:52:56 GMT
Thanks guys, these are excellent historical points and I will stick to working out rules for town barricades unless I get into a campaign mode, where some of this might have been more likely and appropriate, a la Kutosov or Wellington. Maybe I just subconsciously wanted to play with some forts! Bruce
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Post by suchet on Apr 26, 2015 6:26:52 GMT
We only allow actual fieldworks as a campaign thing - it was done over the course of days, never during a battle. But we have rules that players must prepare a build up area for defence (loopholing and making barricades). The better a units skirmish ability, the quicker they will prepare an area. I have an idea that some troops who were particularly inept at combat i buid up areas seemed to retain their standard tactics more as opposed to toops like the french in the early years.
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Post by Richard on Apr 26, 2015 6:47:41 GMT
I know a lot of rules allow for defensive values these can be shown with barricades equal to the value and as bombarded attacked the value reduces you can remove the corresponding number of obstacles less paper work and visually more attractive!!
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Post by grizzlymc on Apr 27, 2015 2:39:36 GMT
Even modest breastworks and wagon lagers take time to be of cover or concelment value.
A good excercise is to pay some idle teenagers to dig a trench. Start off with 1m deep, 0.5m parapet. Then deepen 0.5m, leaving a firing step. Now get your lads to cut down a tree and split logs for revemtents. By now you are onto your second weekend and it is expensive and there are less people and they are less interested.
From my personal experience of hand excavation (where after a certain limit, many hands just get into each others' way) it would be hard to put together a basic redoubt in less than 2days and anything sophisticated would take much longer.
Oh, leather gloves and when you are splitting logs goggles.
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Post by bruce on Apr 27, 2015 4:02:59 GMT
Point taken grizzlymc. While I suspect this kind of work can go a little faster when you and a large bunch of other guys are contemplating getting shot at and there are sergeants involved, even a rule allowing engineer units to create a barrier as in LaSalle, or requiring a certain number of turns to create a barricade or enhance natural cover is unrealistic except over time. And those French can sure get around in a hurry! Again, this seems to be a campaign rule consideration, and thanks to all for the reality lesson! Bruce
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