I definitely go along with Shaun Travers (http://shaun-wargaming-minis.blogspot.co.uk) that somewhere around Battalion or maybe company level actions are a nice size to manage and use the table effectively. More than a battalion and there is really rather too much to consider as well as the issue with it getting just too crowded.
I am working on a basis (using 1/72 troops in the latest series that I am going to record, here) of reducing numbers down by a factor of 10 so a section/squad becomes 1 man so let's say 3 to a platoon and with HQ 12 to a company. Since 3 companies plus an HQ element make up a battalion, that's going to be about 50 men plus other elements for each side (where the numbers are equal). That ought to be manageable.
When I play 1/35 (or full size soldiers of the standard toy sort), it's better to keep to a maximum of 3 x 10-12 men plus elements or it really gets crowded so it's nice to either scale down and make 12 men a platoon operating in small skirmishes or use the same scale as above.
I also have 1/300 scale modern in my collection. That ought to be played at full numbers but I expect I will settle on a reduced number where one base = 1 squad with 3 bases making a platoon plus odd elements. Of course, modern organisation is very different from the past. We will see. I remain open on that until I have exercised 1/72 again. It has been some years since I have pulled them out and you will have to excuse me as they will not all be painted at the outset.
When I found I had time, recently, to return to wargaming and get my collection from the loft, I found that I had neglected to paint an enormous number of troops and other items. If I could borrow the TARDIS, I would certainly kick my teenage self up the backside and tell him to paint troops when bought and not just wait and store them. I now have a gargantuan task. Not only do I have an extensive collection of soldiers from many periods but I have had to rebuild most of the scenery pieces and other items I want, repaint most of the armour and many other units beside.
I digress. So back in the alt-earth that I have been mapping out using my old fantasy world as a base, it was 1942. The last major war was thirty or so years earlier when the rising communist alliance and the facist alliance more or less went head to head but via anyone else whose land was either valuable or in the way. In the end, the Allied Forces of the East Indies Alliance, Hardican Empire and a good portion of the free democratic world turned the thing around, beating back the invasion and at a high cost to several of the old powers. One beneficiary was Doza, a French-like state who joined the allies on that occasion. Back in the 1820s, they were the enemy, having attempted to conquer the old Nordovician Empire and surrounds.
By 1942, Doza had quietly built up a large army, turned out armour and a new air force. Rumour said that they were going to intervene in Northern Tropicania from Tripotania Maxima where they held part of that land (Dozan Tripotania). A potential campaign against the poorly armed Emirates and maybe the Surmeyan Ephiniate might follow. The Papal forces could be allied to such a campaign. The Pope had been calling for action against the Surmeyans for supposedly preventing pilgrims from having access to holy sites.
Some analysts, however, suspected Doza were gearing up for a much more serious war and one that did not require them to set their fleet against other powerful factions. If they invaded their neighbour, Le Pays De Cheval, its forces were woefully old fashioned. That state had complete faith in gunnery and had established gun positions and trenches all along the border "The wall of steel" they called it. A spearhead of armour and fast moving vehicles could penetrate this and use manouvreability to quickly neutralise the "Wall of Steel".
Some nations moved to try to reduce the likelihood of war by repealing the international moritorium on arms dealing, allowing countries that had fallen behind to buy arms on the market and so make themselves a lot harder to overrun. Hardica in particular, urged the Nordovician East Indies Alliance to take the opportunity and to ensure that countries like Pays De Cheval amd Aquila were ready. They brokered deals between the old communist enemy, Tobaria and countries that needed armour and small arms. Hardica supplied weapons at good rates, itself and persuaded Esjamer to sell to the Arabic countries.
Despite the effort to persuade nations to bring their security to some standard and to always have some mobilised troops, the inevitable occurred.
At 03:30 Zulu time, Dozan armour breached the Pays De Cheval border in at least five places. Heavy weapons teams followed, using LMG, MMG, explosives and flamethrowers to clear the trenches and take out gunnery and sniper nests. Half tracks and lighter tanks then advanced, the high power machine guns mowing down retreating soldiers. The Pays De Cheval troops quickly realised that the border defence was down. They moved back to secondary defence positions. Most of those were overrun in the second phase of the Dozan attack. Now, the Pays De Cheval have established two main commands, one at Semille on the River Laune and one at the capital, Verdoune on the River Val. Nordovic has also mobilised and a state of war exists between it and Doza. Some older Nordovician armour has been sent to assist the Pays forces. Nordovician command has bases at Furneux, Thessia and the capital, Riassa. The actions planned are linked so depending on results as to which scenarios get played.
Action on the Semille Road
The decision tree is a simple one. There are three seperate actions by Dozan forces but the thrust from Le Meux depends on the Semille Road being in friendly hands. Forces that survive carry through to linked scenarios so Semille (Dozan) forces go to Advance on Semille whereas Le Pays forces go to add to the counter at Le Meux if they win. Similarly, if Doza fail to win at Le Meux (Breakout), Le Pays troops go to Counter Attack and Dozan retreated forces remain. At Aucherre, if Le Pays win, their forces add to the Falcieu Factor. If Doza win at Aucherre, then that releases forces to Advance on Semille. If Le Pays win at Aucherre and at Falcieu then they push Doza back to Pantinole and carry forward all forces against what has survived of the Le Meux and Aucherre Dozans.
Given the balance, a Le Pays victory is a long shot. The Dozans have the initiative and better equipment. The forces for Action on the Semille Road are shown below;
The Le Pays De Cheval have been bolstered by the arrival of Nordovician armour but the squadron is one short, already. They have two small Nordovician N2 "Welland" tanks, a small apc forward observer for the artillery (a daimler pretending to be a humber), a radio van and a panhard apc posing as a Nordovician "Hunter". Three companies of foot (3-4 men to a platoon) make up the battalion. The HQ element is the apcs and radio truck where command have men. The Pays De Cheval have three off table fire resolutions from 25mm howitzers. Programmed fire has been set on a small wood on the right, a foxhole nearby and the roadside opposite the inn.
The Dozan forces are three companies plus an HQ company represented by the FFL. The HQ unit is a light scout one with rifles only but come with a half track that sports a high velocity MMG and an LMG. Half the company will be on board. They also have a radio van to co-ordinate with the armour. Three Somua tanks make up a squadron of armour attached to the 18th "Tombee De La Nuit" Battalion. They have no off table artillery as the units are thrusting forward so fast but they can call an air attack delivered by a pair of Dewoitine D520 fighters carrying a single bomb slung under the fusilage and using strafing in addition.
You may notice that I have not used bases at a set scale as I woulld with most eras. With modern, I like to vary as the movement of men and way they operate is so variable that you find individuals operating at a distance from their unit, others grouped and so on. I like to reflect this by creating differing spaces if you put a unit together, at all. I will probably trim some off once I have tested this in practice.
I may revise the scale of troops down to 10-12/platoon level and make it company rather than battalion. It's not really that important. The scale of the overall action may be the deciding factor.
