A matter of debate in wargames circles was whether Grenz
infantry should be based as close order troops or as
skirmishers in open order because, apparently, Napoleonic
Grenzers were not used exclusively as light infantry. For
this reason, many figure manufacturers supplied both
marching and skirmishing Grenzer poses – as did
Pendraken in 10mm. However based on my reading of the
battles of 1809, the Grenz regiments appeared to either act
as sharp-shooters ahead of the main body of a corp or be
deployed in bad going or built-up areas. Therefore, it
seemed appropriate for gaming the Franco-Austrian War of
1809 to base Grenzers as skirmishers in open order – which
is what I did. I based my painted battalion of Grenz
Regiment No. 13 (see the last post) in open order, three
figures instead of six to a standard 25mm-square base – in
effect doubling the close-order frontage. I resisted the
temptation to over-populate the bases with cover. I felt it
better not to get too botanical with adding tufts and twigs
in case the figures found themselves in a built-up area
looking somewhat out of place.
Originally (see my previous thoughts on basing back in
Post 37) I had wanted to base skirmishers on round bases. It
was a fine idea for larger scales but with smaller scales and
rules that excluded figures representing skirmish screens, it
became more or less impractical. The only 1809 infantry
figures that I planned to base solely in open order were
Austrian Jäger and Grenzers. I felt it was important to give
these open-order units a proper unit frontage which a
round base couldn’t provide.
Based Grenzer Battalion
I needed one unit of 12 Grenzer figures (see Post 120)
to represent a battalion of 650 men of the Wallach-Illyria
Grenz Regiment No. 13 at 1:50, rounded down.
POST 125
125
