[Crossposted from the 'Books' section]

I've taken the plunge into a new era for me, with my first batch of French Naps just arrived(lovely sculpts by the way). My intention is to build a Peninsula French force then follow on with Brits, Spanish, Portugese etc as they are produced

Previous experience has taught me to start small and build up, so I'm planning to build forces to fight the smaller engagements initially then add to them, rather than try to build the entire Armee d'Espagne straight off

But first up, research is required. As more of an ancient gamer, I'm astounded and a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of Napoleonic material that's out there  Shocked

Can anyone recommend any books that detail the French forces present in the Peninsula campaign's smaller battles please ?

Any assistance (and tips for painting/basing 10mm Naps) greatly appreciated  Wink

Hello mate,
Welcome to napoleonics! lol

As you rightly observed there is a mass of material out there and it's not always easy to know what to get to guide you along the way of building your collection.

First question to ask of anyone starting the period I guess is what rules you will use and to decide that you need to decide on what scale of game you want to have i.e. a couple of brigades to a couple of divisions per side having at it OR entire corps per side.

For example I have chosen the former and am using the General de brigade rules (I am also doing the Peninsular). General de brigade have a series of scenario books which include order of battles as well number of figures required and most napoleonic rulesets will have something along those lines. Thus choosing the rules you will use will allow you to get one of those scenario books, pick smallish battle and start from there. For eg. General de brigade has a scenario book called Wellington's victories which has 11 peninsular scenarios. http://generaldebrigade.blogspot.gr/2011/12/general-de-brigade-scenarios-vol-5.html

The battle of Rolica was relatively small (a british vs. french affair) or if you prefer french vs spanish the battle of Bailen is also a good choice. There is lots of free info available online as well although that is not always correct.

Still having been burned by this myself I would seriously suggest you pick a ruleset first and then build your armies on a scenario for that ruleset.

Speaking of generic books that you can't go wrong with the Oman volumes on the Peninsular war are the bee's knees if you are really into the period although they may represent too expensive a purchase for someone who is just diving into the period.

Re uniforms Windrow & Embleton's Peninsular Uniforms is excellent if you are to get just one book on uniforms.

There of course dozens of Ospreys on the period but not all are equally good though the three books on the Spanish uniforms are very good indeed.

Greetings

Taking Rolica (16 August 1808) as an example:

British - Wellesley (date of returns unclear)

1st Brigade (Hill)
  5th  - 990*
  9th  - 833*
  38th - 957
2nd Brigade (Ferguson)
  36th - 591
  40th - 926
  71st -  903
3rd Brigade (Nightingale)
  29th - 806*
  82nd - 929*
4th Brigade (Bowes)
  6th - 946
  32nd - 874
5th Brigade (C Crawfurd)
  50th - 948
  91st - 917
6th Brigade (Fane)
  45th - 670
  5/60th - 936 *
  2/95th (4 coys) - 400 *
20th Light Dragoons  ~ 240 **
3 batteries of artillery ~ 226 total 18 guns
Trant's Portuguese
  elements 6th, 11th, 12th Cavalry ~ 258
  6th Cazadores  ~562
  12th, 21st, 24th Infantry ~1514

* engaged at Rolica (less about 30 earlier killed and wounded from 2/95th and 5/60th in a skirmish around Obidos)
Note that the other British and Portuguese lost only 38 men total, while these units lost 441 between them. 
** excludes dismounted left behind

French - Delaborde (15 July returns less estimated detachments, ignoring possible sick).

70e Ligne (2 bns) - ~2100
2e Leger (1 bn) - ~970
4e Leger (1 bn) - ~970
4e Suisse (2 coys) ~220 (rest detached)
26e Chasseurs a Cheval - 263
Artillery - 5 guns

Note all the grenadier companies had been detached.

source: Oman Vol I p230-238

I hope this whets the appetite.

Regards

Edward

Thanks for your replies gents,  I think my first job is going to have to be putting up another bookshelf !

Theo - I'd heard of the GdeB ruleset but had no idea on the scenario books, the Peninsular one looks spot on and has has some good reviews. I presume I need to purchase both ruleset and scenario book ?

Edward - the Oman History of the Peninsular seems to be pretty definitive, the set is beyond me I'm afraid but I will try to pick them up one at a time

Hi,

for a good readable overview with nice maps you could do worse than Col N. Lipscombe`s Atlas of the Pensinuslar War, published by Osprey as part of the Peninuslar200 project.  There`s also a website for the project with plenty of useful info.  Pensinsular200.org IIRC.

I agree with Theo that picking a set of rules first is a great help and gives an iniutial structure to your collection.

Good luck with it 

Quote from: rangerdad on 16 June 2012, 08:12:09 AM

Theo - I'd heard of the GdeB ruleset but had no idea on the scenario books, the Peninsular one looks spot on and has has some good reviews. I presume I need to purchase both ruleset and scenario book ?

No you don't need to buy both unless of course you intend to game with the particular rules. If you want to use another ruleset then you could just get the scenario book and adapt it. It's easy enough to do; just keep in mind that GdeB works on an 1:20 basis i.e. each figure represents 20 real men. For example if the scenario book says a battalion has 36 figures then that means that is a battalion of 720 men. Knowing that you can adapt it to other rulesets as well.

There is a forum for the general de brigade napoleonic ruleset which is set up by the author Dave Brown who is a top cookie and which will answer any questions you might have on the rules. http://generaldebrigade.13.forumer.com/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=7e8642512db1a3cfff86c90d4b750348

If you just want OoBs try the Nafziger Collection at http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/nafziger.htm Takes a bit of browsing but there are literally dozens - and they're free! 

I've treated myself (well an early birthday present ) to Lipscombs Peninsular War Atlas after reading some outstanding reviews online, and found the county library had a copy of Windrow and Embleton's uniform book so thats on it's way too, I just need to convince the management that I really really need those GdeB scenarios aswell !

Hertsblue - thats an amazing site, painstaking to navigate but a marvelous source thanks

most oobs can be found on line but can take a lot of looking for, my gaming group are about to start a peninsula campaign using General de brigade, having spent the best part of a year building forces and trying to get to grips with the rules and general tactics of the period (which i find the most difficult is playing upwards of 5 periods)

jon

if you require any help with oobs as i many saved to the computer and/or general de brigade if that is the rule set you go for

QuoteI've treated myself (well an early birthday present ) to Lipscombs Peninsular War Atlas

Strange to relate, I also received my copy as a birthday present