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Soldier’s Companion gives detailed
descriptions of various Martian war bands already rated for that
game. Because of the scale of the miniature battlefield, these war
bands, like their European counterparts, are represented by
considerably smaller numbers of figures than would appear in the
actual unit.
So, just how big was a late
19th century Martian war band? Interestingly, clues to this puzzle
appear all throughout the published literature.
In both Soldier’s
Companion and Conklin’s Atlas of the Worlds, sequences
to design Martian cities appear. Under "Quality of the Army,"
mention is made of 60-man bands, and under "Size of the Army," the
modified population roll gives the number of bands in the army (two
infantry, one cavalry, and two guns). Interestingly enough, 60 men
is roughly the size of a European company (Space 1889, pg.
31).
We also know that under the
Soldier’s Companion rules, regiments contain only half the
companies that would normally be found in a standard order of
battle. Soldier’s Companion British regiments contain four
companies, while their historical counterparts contained eight (Space
1889, pg. 31). If this holds true for Martian war bands, then
all generated war bands actually represent two war bands, each of 60
men and three officers (see below). Therefore, each army size number
represents four bands of infantry and two bands of cavalry, or about
378 actual troops.
In regards to artillery,
Soldier’s Companion says that each army size number indicates
two guns. In the "Unit Organization" section (pg. 28), each gun
represents one gun section, and three gun sections equal one battery
(company). Historically, each gun section represented two guns, with
each battery representing about six guns. So in the case of Martian
artillery, each army size number indicates four guns.
For the actual organization
of the war band, we’ll use Soldier’s Companion directly.
Each Martian war band is organized like an irregular unit, with
three officers and the remainder being troops. We are also told that
while there are NCO equivalents in Martian armies, they do not have
the same responsibilities as do NCOs in terrestrial armies. If we
take the Oenotrian Army organization as representative of all
Martian armies (it’s not, I know, but the example will do), then we
know that the Martian war band is divided into two half-companies.
With three officers, this indicates that each half-company is
commanded by a Bannerman (lieutenant) and the company is commanded
by a First Sword (Captain) or Swordmaster (Major). This would
indicate the actual paper strength of a Martian company to be 63
troops (two half companies of one officer and 30 men, plus the
company’s commanding officer).
Legion
Victorious
Using the information
above, we can now determine the historical makeup of a Martian unit,
in this case the Oenotrian 1st Legion, "Victorious."
Victorious is listed as
having four companies, which historically represented eight
companies, or approximately 504 troops. In addition, the legion has
two bands of mercenary infantry and two bands of mercenary cavalry
attached, for an additional 504 troops. The legion also has two
light guns and four
heavy guns attached for a grand total of 1008 legionnaires and 6
artillery pieces, a rather respectable force, especially when one
considers that these are elite troops.
Half of the regular infantry are armed with
smoothbore muskets and
swords. The other half have rifled
muskets. All officers are armed with
horse pistols and
sabers. The regular cavalry is armed
with
sabers, lances, and smoothbore carbines. Their officers
are armed with
horse pistols and
sabers. The mercenary infantry and cavalry are
both armed with
smoothbore muskets (or carbines for cavalry), lances
(cavalry) and
swords (or
sabers for cavalry).
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