So, to get me started, I decided to utilise Mr. Empson's interesting solo wargamuing mechanisms and tables sheets I downloaded recently by creating two imaginary army lists - one Union and one Confederate. As I was rolling dice though I got worried at first because the formations and units rolled ended up being quite large. In other words, army-size large.
This then led me to consider scale ratio. I noticed in Mr. Empson's Index of sources he listed Terry Wise's Airfix Guide to ACW. Memory reminded me that Mr. Wise used 1:33. But it gives numbers that did not quite sit well with me. So I switched to 1:45. Why? Well, I noticed that the unit figures listed in Tables 2.1 and 3.1 (Union and Confederate respectively) share a common value - being multiples of 5. And 1:45 is large enough to enable fielding large-scale action.
ActuallyI could have easily chosen 1:25 or 1:35. Both will enable fielding lower-level formations (divisions and brigades) - the kind commonly preferred in modern-day gaming. But 1:45 seemed, to me, suffice for corps and army level.
In rolling for the Union force, I ended up with 3 corps formations which I have arbitrarily numbered 51st, 52nd, and 53rd Corps. The Confederates meanwhile rolled and received only the 1 corps formation which I have temporarily numbered the 1st CSA Corps. The dice rolling for formation structure is designed to give an unbiased (or un-influenced) composition without unconscious bias from the gamer, so Mr. Empson explained. The results though are just the infantry. I had yet to roll for both artillery and cavalry.
Eventually I came up with the following structure for both sides. But because they are quite large I am going to focus on utilising on part of each list for my eventual playtesting in the coming weeks (or months depending on how I'm progressing with my major Makeover Project).
The following below is the structure and composition of the 53rd (imaginary) Corps:
- 4 infantry divisions including divisional artillery of between 4-5 batteries each
- Corps artillery - a reserve of six batteries
- Corps cavalry comprising four brigades of between 3-4 regiments each
I have gone as far as defining each unit within their respective corps as far as rating their quality and experience. Example below is the composition of the 1st Division from the same Union 53rd Corps.
1st Division (2 infantry brigades and divisional artillery)
1st Infantry brigade
1 Elite, 1 Veteran, 2 Seasoned, 1 Green regiments
2nd Infantry brigade
2 Elite, 1 Veteran, 1 Seasoned regiments
Divisional artillery
2 x 4-gun batteries
2 x 6-gun batteries
In contrast, the 1st Division from the 1st CSA Corps looks like this:
1st Division (5 infantry brigades plus divisional artillery)
1st Infantry brigade
2 Veterans and 2 Seasoned regiments
2nd Infantry brigade
1 Elite, 2 Veterans, 1 Seasoned, 2 Green regiments
3rd Infantry brigade
1 Seasoned, 3 Green regiments
4th Infantry brigade
3 Veteran, 2 Green regiments
5th Infantry brigade
3 Veteran, 2 Seasoned regiments
Division artillery
3 x 4-gun batteries
As shown, Confederate formation were generally larger than Union ones although the numbers lay with the Union for the most part. And the Confederates were generally more adept at war than their Northern counterparts for some reason. Especially their cavalry.
The term "regiment" for me has a modified meaning to the normal meaning. I prefer to append the name "regiment" to a unit that has variable strength, i.e. not necessarily full-strength. And full-strength was only ever a rarity (at least by 1863). This is due to the losses incurred over time plus lack of sufficient reinforcements to bring numbers up to their deemed combat effectiveness. And paper strength is different to actual campaign strength as any ACW wargamer will tell you. So although it looks imposing written down, the actual numbers are much less impressive.
I have not started on commander profiling which will happen next. I am contemplating re-using my 1999 campaign commanders but locating that information may take some time. If unable, I will happily generate "new" commanders.
Cheers...
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Addendum
Mr. Empson has basically provided sufficient material for me to generate my own simple set of rule variant, stuff like ground scale and weapon ranges (except artillery) can be worked out later. I believe that's the intent and therefore won't be pursuing hopes of ever locating the full ruleset.
Already I've started "fiddling" with what's given, i.e. using 1:45 figure scale for instance. Next post should include simple commander profiles for everyone from top to bottom using his charts, dice, and cards. And weapons per unit such as breech loading carbines, rifled muskets, etc.