Your thoughts on including artillery limbers in an army (acw)

[Hertsblue]

Thank you. You need to be slightly careful when transporting the army, however. Otherwise all your guns wind up in a heap at the bottom of the case! 

[petercooman]

Thank you. You need to be slightly careful when transporting the army, however. Otherwise all your guns wind up in a heap at the bottom of the case! 

I have some pluck foam trays so that would work. I only glued 4 guns to their bases so not that bad actually, can still change them.

As a thought, would you guys find it 'wrong' to have for example, one battery accompanied by a limber, one by a covered wagon, one by a foield forge and so on? gives me some more variation, and allows me to use some of the stuff occasionly to represent supply trains and such 

[Westmarcher]

I've sometimes wondered if we should approach artillery batteries the same way we approach ACW cavalry units. Most of us have mounted and dismounted cavalry units with either a separate horse holder marker or tethered horses integrated on a command base (or similar). So why not have two artillery units, limbered and unlimbered? Mad in 28mm of course but surely do-able in 10mm or smaller? Horse artillery could also be signified by including a separate mounted gunner on the limbered base and dismounted gunner on with horse on the unlimbered base (using cavalry figures).

As for battery limbers, supply wagons, etc., stretching out behind the guns, some will know that this is a feature of the Republic to Empire rules (see link with image of a battery so deployed).

http://www.leagueofaugsburg.com/gallery/gallery-339-359.html#

[Image 8 in the Borodino 1812 re-fight game photo gallery)

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Not at all

[petercooman]

Good idea Westmarcher, but using my 40x 30 bases, i barely have room for the gun and crew so much more is undo-able:

[Hertsblue]

Horse artillery could also be signified by including a separate mounted gunner on the limbered base and dismounted gunner on with horse on the unlimbered base (using cavalry figures).

My horse artillery teams have 6 horses, foot artillery have 4 horses.

[getagrip]

My horse artillery teams have 6 horses, foot artillery have 4 horses.

Could you explain the difference between the two please,  new to this so that looks like an oxymoron. 

[Hertsblue]

Horse artillery had all their personnel mounted in order that the guns could be extremely mobile. The standard foot batteries made the gunners march on foot, slowing them down appreciably.

[getagrip]

Horse artillery had all their personnel mounted in order that the guns could be extremely mobile. The standard foot batteries made the gunners march on foot, slowing them down appreciably.

Thanks.

Does BP make that distinction?

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

You're not wrong!
Horse artillery was supposed to be more mobile and supported the cavalry, often moving quickly to where guns were needed.
Foot artillery less so, but supported the infantry.

By the FPW, it just meant different uniforms!

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Thanks.

Does BP make that distinction?

Not really!

[getagrip]

Not really!

Okay.  Cheers Will.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

The main distinction is light, heavy or howitzers.
It's really an excuse for an artillery unit with different uniform or slightly higher morale!

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Basically they are usually light artillery attached to cavalry.
Beardy bit:
1870:
French had foot, which could be heavy or light, horse and guards artillery (the latter being veteran crewed horse artillery in posher uniforms).
Prussians had light and heavy artillery, then light horse. All in same uniform.
As did the Saxons.
Bavaria had artillery and horse artillery in different uniforms.
Wurttenbergers, just to annoy EVERYONE, had half-horse heavy batteries (basically heavy horse artillery).

In the ACW, pick a formation, their orbat will be available, it will tell you what sort of guns were used and whether the battery was artillery or horse artillery (again, mostly with the cavalry).
That's half the fun, the research!
And Mollinary and Cameronian will no doubt be along soon to correct my errors!

[Westmarcher]

Not really!

Although limbered horse artillery does move faster than foot under BP rules. Horse artillery can also limber or unlimber at the beginning or end of a move without penalty and can limber at the start and unlimber at the end of a move. Foot artillery take one whole move to limber up or deploy for firing.

BP does stipulate that if artillery pieces are to move other than manhandling, they must be provided with separate horse drawn limbers. I don't have limbers for my 15mm ACW collection (I painted one for each side - that was enough for me - they now draw caissons and just sit on the table as ornaments - except if I need a supply train for a scenario .... anyhoo ....) but as I have usually have 2 pieces per battery, I'm happy to denote 'limbered' status by placing the two bases one behind the other as per the following photo from Brent Oman's (Field of Battle) Wargames and Stuff blog.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Qk7z4idbM8o/TSoUeIY4x9I/AAAAAAAAAgY/8pj0pcyFpCY/s1600/DSCN2361.JPG

(Not the best example as both guns should be pointing the same way when limbered - however because there is a 'firepower' label on the back of one of the bases,  and the player wants to hide this from his opponent, he has ignored the rules and placed them back to back).

With my 10mm minis, I replace one of the guns with a limber.