'Disorder' in the Horse and Musket Era?

Not a snowy Christmas image, but the 11th Hussars in among the Russian guns during the Battle of Balaklava, October 25th, 1854.

A question for the readership, who are better versed than I in military concepts and related terminology. For the horse and musket era, how do you understand the term 'disorder'? When do troops -- say a battalion of line infantry in a firefight, receiving (or running from) an enemy charge, or a squadron of cavalry about to engage with a unit of charging enemy cavalry -- become disordered? At the moment, I associate the term with retreat (temporary disorder) and a rout (permanent disorder). Is this in the ballpark? I'd really appreciate some clarification and related explanation, if you please. Thank you in advance.

-- Stokes

Comments

daveb said…

I think it depends on the ruleset and how the author has chosen to label various states. Some rules rout is potentially temporary and can be rallied off. Disorder may be seen as a progression of a morale state (steady, disordered, wavering, rout) or it can be seen as a organizational issue not directly mapping to morale (i.e. a rigid formation moving through tough ground/woods/fording makes the unit disordered......it lacks it's usual tight formation that makes it effective). Often in the latter case the disorder makes the unit less effective at fighting and more brittle in morale. It can be resolved with a bit of time for the 'dressing of ranks'.

Cavalry charging 'too early' or in an un organized way (too exuberant) would decrease their striking power and make them more likely to 'bounce'. Foot getting ragged lines from light casualties (i.e. not sufficient effective in the rules to remove models etc), malingerers, or troops getting a bit worried about those cavalry rolling around their flanks and clumping up instead of being in nice long lines could also represent 'real' effects of being disordered.

12:53 AM

Whiskers said…

I can give a couple of examples of disorder in 1800 mm wargaming, both from the Waterloo 2015 re-enactment.

A British line unit about 200 strong, surprised by cuiirassiers. Attempting to form square, the Light Company got themselves gut off, leaving the rear of the square open. The gap was plugged by supernumaries and a few fellows shoved into place by NCOs. It would not have held against a real enemy. It was disordered, but not retreating.

The same square was ordered to reform line, when more horsemen appeared through the smoke. Half the blokes tried to follow orders while half tried to reform the square. The approaching cavalry were our Dutch allies, in their French-style uniforms. Again, disorder without falling back.

5:24 AM

The 18th century? What's the Fascination?

Hessian musketeers by All the King's Men Toy Soldiers of Snellville, Georgia, U.S.A. Just a quick post post today, but I thought the above question might be interesting food for thought. Obviously, there is an array of possible periods, theaters, and conflicts that might catch our eyes. But what is it about the era 1700-1799 -- either real, or imagined? Is it the commanders and politics? The fairly straightforward tactics? The myriad of uniforms and flags? The variety and scope of the conflicts? The patchwork of various and sundry petty states, (at least in Central Europe)? I'm very interested to learn your thoughts. Don't be a lurker! Please leave a comment -- or even two or three. Have a nice day everyone!

An Early July Hussar Update. . .

Marginally neater in appearance with green bases, girths, and ivory horse markings added, but I need to neaten up some hooves now before moving onto the rest of the tack. W here in the world did June go? While I still ponder the answer to that question, how about a quick painting update on the first batch of 14 Minden Austrian hussars and Nadasdy? Good. I'm glad we are of a like mind. Still on the sloppy side, but I've managed to move things along, painting the green bases, white (ivory) horse markings, and beginning the miles and miles of tack adorning the various horses. I always like to begin with the girths spanning the horses' ribs which helped hold the saddles in place. Even with the figures mounted individually on temporary painting bases, these can be kind of tricky to access, but there we are. I've also used various Army Painter washes (Mid-Brown and Strong Tone) as well as their Speed Paint (Grim Black) to make the manes and tails of the horses a bit m...

Basic Reds Done at Last. . .

S till quite a way to go with the current batch of 20 human figures and a horse (of course), but they're actually starting to look like something after all of the red distinctions. Quite a bit of painting in hour-long sessions the last week as and when time has allowed. Mostly applying the basic dark red to facing areas and turnbacks followed by the inevitable touch-ups to clean up wobbly edges and those misplaced, minute splotches of Citadel Khorne Red. They're looking like so many Austrian infantry regiments of the era at this point, but the eventual flags will turn them magically into the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, more or less, of the AWI period. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. One frustrating point (ahem) of sad discovery. I've started trying to use those Winsor & Newton 'Series Seven' brushes (#1 rounds) purchased last spring, and the blasted things simply will not keep a point. Very frustrating since I have heard over the y...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

Search This Blog