Bathtubbing is a way of shifting command levels in a game to represent higher level formations. By re-designating units as larger units without changing the rules in any way, a much larger scope of game may be played with the same table, rules and miniatures. For example, in Flames of War the basic unit is the platoon. If one wanted to re-fight the Battle of the Bulge you would simply make each game unit represent a division or corps in the real battle.
Bathtubbing
April 8th, 2010
Pavlov Grenadiers
January 18th, 2010
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The Pavlov Grenadiers were a Russian unit, especially noted for having retained their distinctive mitre headgear, in place of the shakos and bearskins adopted by the Russian army. They were allowed to retain them by Tsar Alexander as a mark of their bravery at the Battle of Friedland.
Cossack
January 18th, 2010
A cossack is a member of one of a number of tribes from the Ukraine and Southern Russia. Superb horsemen, they were semi-nomadic and among the finest ligth horse in the world. While not well suited to acting as cavalry in a set piece battle, as mounted skirmishers they had no equal. Napoleon is often quoted as saying “Cossacks are the best light troops among all that exist. If I had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them.”
Busby
January 18th, 2010
A busby is a tall, cylindrical hat usually made of fur. Often worn by Hussars and certain guard infantry units of the Napoleonic Wars.
Carabinier
December 29th, 2009
Originally a carabinier was simply a carbine-armed cavalry soldier.
Gribeauval, Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de
December 29th, 2009Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval is generally credited with overhauling the French artillery, starting in 1776. His overhaul included a complete re-examination of all equipment and tactics. He was able to push through a comprehensive system which featured standardized and interchangeable parts. The “Gribeauval System” as it has come to be known allowed the French to produce lighter, standardized guns without a loss of range or performance. It was quite revolutionary at the time, and was copied (with modifications and some changes) by nearly every country in Europe.
Squadron, Cavalry
December 29th, 2009During the Napoleonic Wars the squadron was the basic tactical unit for cavalry. Where infantry was organized into regiments, in the cavalry it was squadrons. A squadron was typically expected to be about 100-200 soldiers (varying very much depending on which nationality, time period and losses due to disease, combat, straggling etc.). At the Battle of Wagram French squadrons averaged about 140 men.
Chevau-légers
December 29th, 2009Chevau-légers is a general term for light cavalry of various types. Lancers, for example, would fall into this category.
Dice Notation
December 23rd, 2009
In order to simplify and make clearer the different ways in which dice can be rolled and modified, game designers have developed a system of dice notation. These semi-formula looking notations indicate how many dice of whihc type to roll, and how to modify the results.
The most common form of notation is simply the use of Dn to indicate the type of dice being used, where n is the number of sides the die has. Thus a normal six-sided die is noted as a D6, while a die with 20 sides becomes a D20. A number prior to the D indicates how many of that type of dice should be rolled. Thus 3D6 means to roll three six sided dice. 2D12 means to use two dice each of twelve sides, and so on. When using this notation, it is generally (but not always) assumed that the dice should be added together to generate a single sum.
It is also common to indicate modifiers to the dice rolls. These are numbers that should be added to the sum of the dice rolled. Thus 2D10+3 means to roll two D10 and add three to the sum. This creates a range of outcomes from 5 – 23. Of course, modifiers may ask you to subtract or multiply the dice. These notations can even be strung together like a mathematical formula. For example, 2D8+2D4 means to roll two eight-sided dice and two four-sided dice and add the dice together.
The use of parenthesis can indicate how to roll and modify the dice. For example 2D6+(D10+1) would mean to roll a ten-sided die, add one to it, and then add that result to the sum of two six-sided dice.
There are more esoteric possibilities but these are rarely used in most gaming situations. The simple 2D6 or 3D4+2 notations will cover most die rolls a gamer is likely to come across.
Fusilier
December 17th, 2009
Early muskets were called fusils, and the men trained to fire them were Fusiliers. Originally specialists, over time they became the norm as all soldiers learned to fire a musket. During the Napoleonic Wars, three distinct troop types made up most units: light infantry, grenadiers and fusiliers. Traditonally the fusilier companies of a battalion were flanked by the lights and the grenadiers, so fusilier companies have also became known as “center companies.”
