History and Wargaming

Wargaming the War for Independence 1780-1781

These comments are directed to John Hiller’s simulation of operational and tactical ground combat during the American War for Independence but apply to any attempt to depict tactical combat during the AWI. The problem is the scale. For the scale of hexes to properly represent the tactical challenges of combat, it should reflect the effective range of the basic weapons, the size of combat formations and the distances units could move over a scale of time. The effective range of the primary infantry weapon was 50-100 yards. The size of the combat unit, the battalion, was 180 to 1,000 men.

The selection of 125 feet (41.67 yards or 38.1 meters) for the width of the hexes is an interesting one. The four armies represented here, the American (Continentals, State Line and Militia), the British (including Provincials), the French and the German mercenaries, used the battalion as the tactical combat unit. Within the battalion, the platoon/peleton/ division (not be confused with the higher echelon “division” of brigades and regiments, just beginning to gain currency since their use by the French in the Seven Years War) was the primary fire and maneuver unit within the battalion. These could be paired into divisions, grand divisions and even half-battalions. While the battalion executed it’s maneuvers with these internal elements, the battalion as a coherent whole was the combat element for fire and movement. Even when using “platoon” firing, the battalion fired as a coherent and integrated unit. In no case was any sub-unit of the battalion intended to fight on its own (However, see comments on the British Army in America). This was, of course, the normal conditions on the frontiers in the west and north. For all but a few units in the American or British armies, the term regiment was synonymous with battalion. When arrayed for formal battle, such as at Cowpens, even independent American militia companies would be “converged” into “battalions”. By 1780, the Continental Army had few rifle-armed units, though the Southern militia, especially those from the frontier featured rifles. The French were the only army with multi-battalion regiments as the normal table of organization (TO), though individual battalions were often deployed in expeditionary forces. The German forces being formed units of princely armies, were reorganized before shipping to America from two battalion to single battalion regiments. In all four armies, light (Chasseur) and grenadier companies were usually “converged” into battalions as elite infantry for use on the battlefield or special missions. The companies in these battalions were the responsibility of their “parent” regiments and generally drew off the best men and were maintained at higher manning levels. The companies often served in different theaters then their “parent” regiments.

Companies and detachments could operate on their own, but this was generally outside the context of battle, involving raids, cordons, pickets, what was then called “petite guerriere” by the French or “partisan warfare” by the British. The Germans also fielded “foot” jaeger companies armed with rifles and raised independent light infantry battalions and companies from their line units to support the army during a campaign. Both the Americans and British also created “legions”, mixed arm (not necessarily combined arms) forces with light dragoons and infantry.

The interesting thing about the drill regulations or their variations, such as simplified drill for militia, used by the combatants, is that all four armies used some form or derivation on the drill adopted by the Prussian army from 1741 to 1778. All the systems required that the battalion be paraded on a recurring basis to allow the adjutant to redistribute the soldiers, NCOs and officers among the sub-formations to maintain them at near equal size to facilitate the execution of the battalion drill. This meant that regardless of the number of companies in a battalion, it was always divided into eight fire and movement elements. A battalion maneuvered and fired using these eight elements. They used the same pace and timing, the same methods of maneuver and fire, and the same formations and alignments with minor deviations.

Tactical doctrine was also similar across the national armies. Again, the drill and doctrine for the cavalry and artillery were similar enough that a trooper or gunner of one army would not be lost if dropped into a troop or “battery” of another.

Width of Battalion Formed in Line

Nation	Platoon	Division	Grand Division	Battalion
US	20-40′	40-80′	80-160’	160-320′
British (2 ranks) w/o elite companies	40-56′	81-112′	163-225’	326-448′
British (3 ranks) w/o elite companies	28-37′	57-75′	114-150’	229-298′
French Infantry & “Converged” Chasseur Battalion	26′	53′	107’	214′
French “Converged” Grenadier Battalion	23′	46′	93’	187′
German Infantry	44′	88′	177’	352′
German “Converged” Grenadier Battalion	32′	64′	129’	256′

Depth and Width of Battalion formed by “peletons/platoons” into Open and Closed Column

Nation	Division	Battalion (Open)	Battalion (Closed)	Width
US	9′	232-292′	144′	55’
British (2 ranks) w/o elite companies	9′	416-520′	144′	50-75’
British (3 ranks) w/o elite companies	12′	325-394′	192′	20-24’
French Infantry & Conv Chasseurs Battalion	12′	330′	96′	24’
French “Converged” Grenadier Battalion	12′	292′	96′	22’
German Infantry	12′	448′	192′	33’
German “Converged” Grenadier Battalion	12′	352′	192′	24’

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