Musket Formations

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Will roll, or will based soldier. Skill with a musket won't help. Leadership rolls can give boosts.

Skill with a musket in GURPS terms may not help, though I would certainly allow it to in any of my games. As I said previously, actual skill with a musket was almost entirely about the drill and the drill took you through loading and firing without missing any essential steps. Highland Discipline of 1758, a drill manual for using the musket in battle had, again IIRC, some 16 individual steps to loading the musket. Skill at musket would govern whether you forgot an essential step or shook the powder all over the place, getting more on the ground than in your musket. The other thing that being well-drilled would allow is performing the drill at speed, thereby allowing quicker reloads between volleys.

As for standing your ground, the point where most soldiers will break and run will usually be when the enemy charges home with the bayonet. Volleys were usually few in number and in the event troops advance towards each other, time will be required to dress the troops before firing again. As an example, at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, only three formed volleys were fired. The French fired the first volley at about seventy yards. Fifteen minutes later, after marching and dressing ranks, they fired a second volley from forty yards. The British then fired a double volley (two bullets loaded together). The French, now outnumbered, began to retreat and the retreat turned into a rout when the British, the 79th Frasers in particular, charged.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Skill with a musket in GURPS terms may not help, though I would certainly allow it to in any of my games. As I said previously, actual skill with a musket was almost entirely about the drill and the drill took you through loading and firing without missing any essential steps. Highland Discipline of 1758, a drill manual for using the musket in battle had, again IIRC, some 16 individual steps to loading the musket. Skill at musket would govern whether you forgot an essential step or shook the powder all over the place, getting more on the ground than in your musket. The other thing that being well-drilled would allow is performing the drill at speed, thereby allowing quicker reloads between volleys.

In GURPS terms, line infantry trained in Europe in the late eighteenth century have more Soldier/TL and Fast-Draw (Ammunition) than Guns. They did not fire very many rounds per year, or practice hitting small or moving targets, but they practiced using their weapons in proximity to other soldiers and loading quickly. But light infantry, or grenadiers, or earlier or non-European troops may have different sets of skills.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Skill with a musket in GURPS terms may not help, though I would certainly allow it to in any of my games. As I said previously, actual skill with a musket was almost entirely about the drill and the drill took you through loading and firing without missing any essential steps. Highland Discipline of 1758, a drill manual for using the musket in battle had, again IIRC, some 16 individual steps to loading the musket. Skill at musket would govern whether you forgot an essential step or shook the powder all over the place, getting more on the ground than in your musket. The other thing that being well-drilled would allow is performing the drill at speed, thereby allowing quicker reloads between volleys.

That's not Guns (Musket), that's Fast-Draw (Ammo)

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Polydamus

In GURPS terms, line infantry trained in Europe in the late eighteenth century have more Soldier/TL and Fast-Draw (Ammunition) than Guns. They did not fire very many rounds per year, or practice hitting small or moving targets, but they practiced using their weapons in proximity to other soldiers and loading quickly. But light infantry, or grenadiers, or earlier or non-European troops may have different sets of skills.

While I agree generally with most of your post, I'm less certain that the late eighteenth century (1700s) line infantry had more of his training in Soldier and Fast-Draw (Ammunition), although that may be a good GURPS approximation of the effect. Personally, I'd put that sort of a construction as closer to representing late nineteenth century (1800s) line infantry training.

[DanHoward]

This can all be subsumed into the Soldier skill.

[weby]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Also, muskets generally weren't used for suppression fire. They were used to soften up the enemy formation before you charged it. Everyone would fire at once, in a volley. The hope was to mess up the enemy's formation so they were vulnerable when you hit them.

Towards the end of the musket era there were also alternative fire patterns like "platoon fire".

[NorphTehDwarf]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

While I agree generally with most of your post, I'm less certain that the late eighteenth century (1700s) line infantry had more of his training in Soldier and Fast-Draw (Ammunition), although that may be a good GURPS approximation of the effect. Personally, I'd put that sort of a construction as closer to representing late nineteenth century (1800s) line infantry training.

I've been talking with someone who studies 16th century mercenaries (30 Years' War germans, mainly), and she indicates that while they probably had more points in Carousing than anything else the musketeers were all well-drilled with their weapons, to the limits of contemporary drill. I'd be surprised if this standard declined during the centralization and professionalization of militaries that started in the big European monarchies in the 17th century.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

While I agree generally with most of your post, I'm less certain that the late eighteenth century (1700s) line infantry had more of his training in Soldier and Fast-Draw (Ammunition), although that may be a good GURPS approximation of the effect. Personally, I'd put that sort of a construction as closer to representing late nineteenth century (1800s) line infantry training.

The books which I have read say that in the late eighteenth century line infantry fired a few tens of rounds a year in the general direction of the imaginary enemy. Their training focused on marching and manipulating their weapons in close formation (Soldier skill) and sometimes on loading quickly (Fast Draw (Ammo) skill). In GURPS terms, about one point in Guns would be appropriate for line infantry. By the late nineteenth century, most infantry practiced looser formations and hitting specific targets, and their employers could afford more powder and shot.

Again, any university library and most public libraries and large bookstores will have books which give very specific details of how things worked in particular countries in particular years. Historians have gathered and Englished all the details which a gamer could dream of. Edit: That drillbook which you cite would be as good a place for lexington to start as any.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by lexington

What is the best way to represent a musket formation outside of the Mass Combat rules?

Its also worth saying that the canonical way to represent characters in a great battle with people firing in all directions is to pick a chance of being hit (from 9 for "only a madman would stand up to such fire!" to 3 for "come on lads, they couldn't hit an elephant at this- <gack>" and a typical enemy weapon and roll against it whenever they take a risk. If they are hit, they can make an Active Defense (or not if the GM feels harsh) and if they fail they take damage from that typical weapon. There is no need to try to model details which nobody in the smoke and confusion of battle can tell, like exactly how many enemy are hit by a volley.

Edit: And for a another gameist perspective, here are Kromm's seat-of-the-pants, six-fantasy-heroes-just-charged-a-hundred-legionaries-so-how-do-I-game-that? rules for mass throwing of javelins