Hi all,im new to all this and I really could do with some advice on basing my French Naps.Im thinking of putting them on 60x30 bases for polemos rules but I don't want to just put them in 2 rows like the Brits.I would like them to look different to the said British.All advice and help would be greatly appreciated.

You could base them with the Voltigeurs out in front as a loose skirmish line and then base the main French Infantry behing them in a column of attack 4,6 or 8 figures wide. After all the main tactic appeared to be column attack and smash the enemy by sheer weight of numbers in a small area. A sort of very early Schwerpunkt assault. Plus I personally think it would look good.

You can generalize and say the the British fought in a 2-deep line and the French in a 3-deep line.

On a 60x30 "polemos" base, I placed my French line infantry in 3 ranks of 8 figures (including the command figures in the front rank). Located towards the back of the base so that I had room to add a mounted officer towards the front leading the infantry.

For light infantry, I did the same 3x8 but had a few skirmishers in front instead of the mounted officer.

This is also the way Pete builds his packs, so that a pack will give you exactly four (or occasionaly two) bases.

thanks for that i like the idea of 2 columns of 4 men wide by 3 men deep with skirmishers out front.If i go with this would it still be only 1 command strip per base or 1 per column?

Hi, I've done my French as attack columns with 3 rows of 8 figs with an office and standard in the middle of the front row and drummers at the back. It means that each baccus base of 4 men becomes a company and you can use elites for the back row (grenadiers and light). Unfortunately it means 27 figures on a base which doesn't fit the figure packs but I think it works. Some pictures on the joy of six review part 2 and preview of break the line might show them if you blow the pictures up.

Cheers Tim

Hello Smudger1893!

Including skirmishers for a fourth row is a little tight and you will proably find that you really have no room for basing material and the firing muskets will extend beyond the base and be prone to damage. If your British don't have a skirmish line then mounting the French the same way but including a skirmish line will give them a different look.

If you want to have two seperate columns of three rows with four figures each then you will only have one command stand available in the pack. However, if you want extra command stands for each column then Baccus will adjust your order if you ask them i.e. eight command strips, and sixteen line strips per pack.

The most common choice for showing the French in a column is to simply show a single column eight figures wide (two strips) by three deep which is your standard twenty-four figures. Put the command strip in the center at the front and cut a line strip in half (two figures each) and place one on either side to give you your eight figures. Some add in a mounted officer on the side and others place a couple of skirmishers on both sides in a random pattern. This gives you three slightly different looks from the same basic design. Since you get four units in a pack I would mount the fourth one in a two rank line like the British with some skirmishers in front.

If your after a different but more balanced approach my choice would be to always build two bases in column and two in line. That will certainly make your army look different from the British and also reflect the fact that the French were not always in column.

Hope this helps you in some way.

Best regards,

Glenn