1.) In the colonial range, does the british standard bearer have a molded flag or just a flag pole.  I may have asked this before but could not find it in my search.

2.) My brother-in-law has been reading some books on the Franco-Prussian War (FPW) could someone help me with organization.  If I were to buy enough figs for both sides to do a small game what core units would I need for both.  I was thinking 4 battalions of Infantry, 2 cavalry units, 2 artillary and command per side.  Just starting and I know this is a pretty open ended question.  Any help on getting started would be appreciated.

ty

I'll answer longer when I get home.  The basic low level organization of infantry for both sides is 3 battalions to the regiment, 2 regiments to the brigade.  The noticeable difference is 1000 man Prussian battalions vs 750 (roughly) man French.

Policies for the attachment of guns, chasseurs/jaegers, and horse are different.  The Prussians in particular had a regiment of ulhans or dragoons at division.  (2 brigades is a division).

What rules, and how many figures were you thinking per unit?

I enjoy Fire and Fury, I have Piquet Field of Battle but nothing specific to the War, I also have Battles for Empire which is a colonial system that might work.  Looking at your description of organization I would think 1:50 scale so 5 men to a stand/ four stand for a Prussian battalion and three stands for a french battalion.  Were there light infantry in each battalion or would they be grouped in their own battalions.  How about battalion guns?  I will need to start reading on this for sure.  Thanks for the initial information.  I noticed in the big FPW battle report the guys were doing four men to a stand with 25mm X 15mm bases that looked pretty nice.  That would mean roughly 1:60 ratio.  That means I would need to buy 2 prussian infantry packs and command to field one regiment and the same for the french very affordable to start out. 

Next Question which dress would be for the majority of troops, tunic and picklehaube or line in tunic and feldmutze or in coats instead of tunics?  I guess I better start at the beginning and get an Osprey lol 

Quote from: Captain Verbeek on 22 September 2010, 12:51:06 PM
1.) In the colonial range, does the british standard bearer have a molded flag or just a flag pole.  I may have asked this before but could not find it in my search.

The British standard bearer has the flags moulded on.

For a decent game I'd go for a division i.e.
French - 2 brigades, each brigade having 2 regiments and each rergiment having 3 battalions. Divisional artillery was 2 4pdr batteries and 1 mitrailleuse battery. There may also be a battalion of  chasseurs a pied. They may also be accompanied by a cavallry brigade, e.g. a regiment of chasseurs a cheval and a regiment of dragoons. Cuirassiers operated in exclusive brigades or even in exclusive divisions made up of 4 cuirassiers regiments.
Prussian - infantry division same as French but battalions usually about 1/4 bigger. May be accompanied by a battalion of jagers, although only one battalion available per corps. Divisional artillery would be 2 batteries Krupp 4pdr and 2 batteries of Krupp 6pdr. These could be beefed up with additional batteries from corps reserve. Each division accompanied by a cavalry regiment eg. hussars, dragoons. Cavalry divisions usually contained cuirassiers, uhlans, dragoons and even hussars. Hope this has been of help. For an in-depth look at a Franco-Prussian battle I would recommend A Day Of Battle by Michael Ascoli about Mars la Tour. Hope this has been of help as I remember how hard it was for me to get started in this back in the 80s. Cheers, Andy;)

Hi Captain!

FPW is my current favourite period, and I was one of the two organisers of the big FPW game of Gravelotte St Privat.  First an apology, I forgot the base size of my own figures, even after basing thousands of the little......darlings. They are actually 25mm by 20mm, not 15mm.  The extra 5mm giving you slightly more of the staggered line look that I like for this period.   A lot of good info already here on basic French and Prussian organisation. On uniforms, the Prussian infantry wore tunics for most of the big battles which took place against the Empire in August, by the winter against the Republic it would be greatcoats. The latter are easier to paint, but a LOT DULLER!  The French wore their greatcoats throughout the war.   On rules, you could try "1870" by Bruce Weigle.  designed for 6mm, they are easy to use in 10mm. They also contain a vast array of data on OOBs scenarios, weapons, tactics, and a detailed bibliography with helpful comments on a large number of books in a variety of language. It is worth getting whether you use the rules or not!  If you like Fire and Fury, there is a variant for this period available on the web, called Furia Francese. I think it originates with Nick Dorrell and friends.  Personally I love the Real Time Wargames Rules available from Realisrtic Modelling Ltd.  However, they are at there best for truly large games, and you might be better with others while your forces are building. Hope you get as much enjoyment from the period as I have, and Dave's figures are THE choice for it!

Best,

Mollinary