Orders of battle - Mons Campaign
Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 10:30 am
Hi All;
I have been steadily adding to my lead pile to try some early WW1 gaming - namely part of the Mons campaign. This was inspired by seeing the 1914 battle displayed at Newark back in February.
I wondered if anyone has looked at any Orders of Battle (ORBAT) from historical sources? I have done some research and have decided to build the13th Infantry Brigade for the British and their opponents, 5th Infantry Division, who were part of III Corps for the German Army. The British Army was significantly outnumbered. On looking at the Orders of Battle, the actual numbers involved are staggering. The British Brigade consisted of the following troops:
13 Brigade Order of Battle 1914
(Brigadier-General G J Cuthbert CB)
2nd Battalion, Kings Owns Scottish Border Regiment
2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment
2nd Battalion, Kings Own Shropshire Light Infantry
“A” Squadron 19th Hussars (-)
27 Field Artillery Brigade
119 Battery (18 Pounder)
120 Battery (18 Pounder
121 Battery (18 Pounder)
37th (4.5” Howitzer) Battery
Divisional Assets
Artillery Support (off table)
Each Battalion will have 16 bases, plus two machineguns.
"A" Squadron - 6 bases of Cavalry
Each Artillery battery = 6 guns.
The German Division had two brigades - OK, so initially, it sounds like the British were outnumbered 2:1, but on studying the actual ORBAT, it reveals that a German Brigade was made up of REGIMENTs. Each Regiment consisted of three battalions. Therefore, 9th (German) Infantry Brigade had SIX battalions which could be reinforced by a further three battalions of Jaegers. I have also included 10th (German) Brigade to give the full picture of 5th (German) Division.
5th Division
9th Infanterie-Brigade
8th Leib-Grenadier-Regiment “König Friedrich Wilhelm III” (1st Brandenburgisches).
48th Infanterie-Regiment “von Stülpnagel “ (5th Brandenburgisches).
18th Feldartillerie-Regiment General-Feldzeugmeister (2nd Brandenburgisches)
1st Company, 3rd Pionier-Bataillon “von Rauch” (1st Brandenburgisches)
10th Infanterie-Brigade
12th Grenadier-Regiment “Prinz Karl von Preußen” (2nd Brandenburgisches).
52nd Infanterie-Regiment “von Alvensleben” (6th Brandenburgisches)
54th (Neumärkisches) Feldartillerie-Regiment
Divisional Assets:
3rd (Brandenburgisches) Jäger-Bataillon (Allocated as the commander saw fit)
3rd (Brandenburgisches) Husaren-Regiment “von Zieten” (1-3 Squadrons))
Infantry Battalion = 18 bases + 2 machine gun bases
Jaeger Battalion = 20 bases + 6 machine gun bases
Artillery battery = 6 guns
Pioneers = 8 bases
So on my calculation, a German Infantry brigade has 108 bases + 6 MGs, the jagers 20 bases + 6 MGs, + 8 bases of Pioneers. A staggering 136 bases of infantry Versus 64 British Infantry bases.
Ouch!
David
I have been steadily adding to my lead pile to try some early WW1 gaming - namely part of the Mons campaign. This was inspired by seeing the 1914 battle displayed at Newark back in February.
I wondered if anyone has looked at any Orders of Battle (ORBAT) from historical sources? I have done some research and have decided to build the13th Infantry Brigade for the British and their opponents, 5th Infantry Division, who were part of III Corps for the German Army. The British Army was significantly outnumbered. On looking at the Orders of Battle, the actual numbers involved are staggering. The British Brigade consisted of the following troops:
13 Brigade Order of Battle 1914
(Brigadier-General G J Cuthbert CB)
2nd Battalion, Kings Owns Scottish Border Regiment
2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment
2nd Battalion, Kings Own Shropshire Light Infantry
“A” Squadron 19th Hussars (-)
27 Field Artillery Brigade
119 Battery (18 Pounder)
120 Battery (18 Pounder
121 Battery (18 Pounder)
37th (4.5” Howitzer) Battery
Divisional Assets
Artillery Support (off table)
Each Battalion will have 16 bases, plus two machineguns.
"A" Squadron - 6 bases of Cavalry
Each Artillery battery = 6 guns.
The German Division had two brigades - OK, so initially, it sounds like the British were outnumbered 2:1, but on studying the actual ORBAT, it reveals that a German Brigade was made up of REGIMENTs. Each Regiment consisted of three battalions. Therefore, 9th (German) Infantry Brigade had SIX battalions which could be reinforced by a further three battalions of Jaegers. I have also included 10th (German) Brigade to give the full picture of 5th (German) Division.
5th Division
9th Infanterie-Brigade
8th Leib-Grenadier-Regiment “König Friedrich Wilhelm III” (1st Brandenburgisches).
48th Infanterie-Regiment “von Stülpnagel “ (5th Brandenburgisches).
18th Feldartillerie-Regiment General-Feldzeugmeister (2nd Brandenburgisches)
1st Company, 3rd Pionier-Bataillon “von Rauch” (1st Brandenburgisches)
10th Infanterie-Brigade
12th Grenadier-Regiment “Prinz Karl von Preußen” (2nd Brandenburgisches).
52nd Infanterie-Regiment “von Alvensleben” (6th Brandenburgisches)
54th (Neumärkisches) Feldartillerie-Regiment
Divisional Assets:
3rd (Brandenburgisches) Jäger-Bataillon (Allocated as the commander saw fit)
3rd (Brandenburgisches) Husaren-Regiment “von Zieten” (1-3 Squadrons))
Infantry Battalion = 18 bases + 2 machine gun bases
Jaeger Battalion = 20 bases + 6 machine gun bases
Artillery battery = 6 guns
Pioneers = 8 bases
So on my calculation, a German Infantry brigade has 108 bases + 6 MGs, the jagers 20 bases + 6 MGs, + 8 bases of Pioneers. A staggering 136 bases of infantry Versus 64 British Infantry bases.
Ouch!
David