Basing Mounted Dragoons

[Last Hussar]

Bonjour ma petits.

Next bit of my ECW painting is Mounted Dragoons.  Leon will be getting an order at some point, but I happen to have found enough cavalry to make a single unit of mounted. (You need to show mounted/dismounted in FK&P).

The cavalry is mounted 2 rows of 3 on a 30 wide, 40 deep base.
Infantry is on 30 x 30.

My plan is to base the mounted dragoons one row of three.

Do I mount them on 40 deep, like the cavalry, because they are mounted.

OR
Mount them on 30 deep, because they are effectively mounted infantry?

(I am also wondering if 40 deep will make them look a bit lost)

Cheers.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Try both and go with what looks best. You'll also need empty horses with horse holders.

[Last Hussar]

I have the horse holders - 3 horses on a 30 x 30.

[Radar]

Historically dragoons are a bit of a conundrum. Certainly start of the wars they were intended to be mounted infantry. As the Wars progressed and suitable horses became a bit harder to source (from a Royalist point of view) they became cavalry. The swallow tails of their guidons were cut off on conversion.

In other words, base them how you think is pretty.

[Last Hussar]

It's the aesthetics that is making me wonder!

[Orcs]

How about basing them as a single row of 3 mounted dragoons on a 25mm deep base with a 15mm deep base of dismounted dragoons.
Whichever is at the front shows if they are mounted or dismounted, and they have the same depth as Cavalry.
Two bases of Dismounted dragoons in column match the infantry bases 

[fred.]

This is similar to what I did. 

[Last Hussar]

Because of the rules, unfortunately that doesn't fit. When they dismount you mark the dismount point, the men on foot can then move away. Theoretically they can return and remount, but they have to return to the dismount point. For this I have a base of a man holding 3 horses (actually a standard bearer with no flag!)

[Gwydion]

I'm not sure about dragoons' use as cavalry even late in the ECW. In extremis perhaps but their transition to cheap cavalry feels later from my reading.

For aesthetics I'd have a mounted version on the 40mm bases for movement and a substitute dismounted version for when they do what they were supposed to do and fight as infantry - if you want horseholders integrated into your firing line - do them on 40mm bases also. If you want a firing line with the horses a little way back - 30mm firing line and separate horseholder bases behind.

(just seen your latest post - 30mm firing line and separate horseholder bases it is then! )

Ps - Mes petits!

[Last Hussar]

So here is the comparison

Test Basing for ECW Dragoons by Last Hussar, on Flickr

On the left is a cavalry base 2 x 3 on 40mm depth (Here for comparison, not a option or choice)

Middle is 1 x 3 on 40mm (Option 1)

Right is 1 x 3 on 30mm (Choice B )

[jambo1]

For the look option B the 30x30 base, the bigger base of option A makes the figures look a bit lost.

[Big Insect]

For the look option B the 30x30 base, the bigger base of option A makes the figures look a bit lost.

I'd agree. I feel they need to be easily distinguished from cavalry.

The FK&P dragoon rules seem very restrictive. Having to leave your unmounted dragoon mounts in a specific place, ahead of remounting. I don't know if we have any contemporary TYW or ECW accounts of how dragoons operated though?