Why use mixed formation when in line?

[Dr Dave]

Consider two ordinary units: shooting 3 and save 4+. One unit (A) in line and the other (B) in mixed formation line + skirmish screen. A has 3 dice when shooting and hits B on a 5+ (B’s skirmishers are not clear), so A should get one hit and then B has a 50% chance of a save. But when B fires it has only 1 die and hits on a 4+ and A saves on a 4+, hence B has a 25% chance of inflicting 1 hit on the line.

So A has a 50% chance of scoring 1 hit against B and B has a 25% chance of scoring 1 hit on A.

So the fire from the line is twice as effective as the fire from the line shielded by the skirmishers.

My question is – why use mixed formation when in line?

I accept that the skirmish fire will be more sporadic and “thinner” (potentially fewer shooters per metre of frontage) but units habitually fought with their skirmishers deployed. In BP2 this seems like a really bad idea.

Views sought…

[Big Al]

I had to double check this because of the rule changes.

It isn’t just about shooting. The advantage for using a Mixed Formation is mainly for when the unit is charged. When they are contacted, the charging unit stops when it meets the skirmishers. They Then withdraw into the ranks. After that, the charging unit can try to move into contact if they have enough movement left.
This shouldn’t really happen that often because a player can pre measure. But how many times do players get carried away and not y just declare the charge and roll the dice!

[Garry Wills]

Well it is not really an effect of 2nd edition, under 1st edition the ratio is 33% vs 50%.

I guess the one effect overlooked is that unit B could fire its first volley on unit A once the skirmishers are withdrawn.

I guess this comes back to the deficiencies of mixed formation as applied. The rules requires 1/3rd of the miniatures to be deployed in skirmish order (hence 1 dice) and therefore doesn’t represent individual skirmish companies of battalions being deployed for either the French or the British. The British deployed their skirmishers in provisional battalions and therefore shouldn’t be allowed mixed historically.

Secondly mixed formation requires the skirmishers to stay too close to the main body – in Morand’s 1811 instructions the skirmish line is 300 paces ahead of the main line ie a lot more than 6 inches.

Regards

Garry

[Big Al]

While you are right, Garry, it is still something in V2 that is different to V1 because the rules for skirmishers have changed. There were more modifiers to shooting for being in Open Order in V1. For example, the skirmishers could be given the +1 to hit just for being skirmishers. That has changed, making the Mixed Formation skirmisher firing less effective (used to hit on 3+). They only get that for being at close range now.

[Garry Wills]

Understood Big Al – but in 1st edition the same apparent anomaly still applies 3+ to hit still only gives a 33% chance of casualty.

I tend to give skirmishers light cover as a minimum because the -1 for skirmishers is inadequate on its own to reflect the actual dispersion of the target. This changes Dr Dave’s calculations reducing the chance of a casualty to 33%.

Regards

Garry

[Big Al]

That’s why I said you were right.
However, you can’t really give the skirmishers of a Mixed Formation cover. I mean, you can, but it is a bit more difficult – they are the cover for the parent unit!

[Dr Dave]

Oddly, despite my asking this question, I think that the rules have it about right in terms of casualty levels… But clearly something else is missing since mixed formation places units in line at a real disadvantage – despite the fact that (almost)everyone did it – if they could.

So the question is if the rules have casualties right why did units deploy skirmishers? I think it was done primarily:
1. to avoid the use of the main line firing and losing a “first fire” of the carefully loaded smoothbore (much less of an issue with percussion capped weapons)
2. to prevent the main line coming under fire when not in a position to respond due to 1.

So my thinking is now one or both of the following should be applied:
1. all smoothbore musket armed units have the first fire rule
2. units suffer a morale penalty when under skirmish fire and NOT having their own skirmishers deployed.

What d’ya think?

[Garry Wills]

I believe that the skirmisher’s job in game terms is to keep unit A at greater than 18 inches so that its fire doesn’t affect unit B, if they can provoke unit A to use its first fire so much the better. Consequently in mixed formation skirmishers need to be able to advance further than 6 inches from the main body.

Under Reille’s instructions, the skirmishers will put 40 men out to screen the front of a 500 man battalion, with another 30 men or so in reserve, so the target density difference is 6:1, so -1 to hit for unclear is nowhere near sufficient.

My solution is deploy the skirmishers on 6cm square (for 15mm figures) movement trays the rear of which is kept within the 6cm range of the main body and then always give the deployed skirmishers at least soft cover. The 6×6 trays cover the ground that the skirmishers and their local reserves deploy on. The reserves deploy 100 paces behind the skirmish line. The photo illustrates my approach with some republicans at Linselles.

On the whole I prefer separate units of skirmisher but in the rules they are slower than columns when deployed.

Regards
Garry

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