When we think of light troops, most of us immediately think of Richard Sharpe and his 95th Rifles, even if we are aware that the character of Sharpe is purely fictional, the image of the heroic rifleman is deeply ingrained in all of our wargaming consciousness. And the role of the sniper is therefore significantly overrated; it is not for nothing that you meet significantly more riflemen than line troops at reenactment events.
In our imagination, the snipers enter the battlefield and a short time later the enemy flees the field defeated, not without having lost their standards of course.
But unfortunately, it is not that simple in reality. Not only is the role of the light troops usually different, their origins are not in Britain either.
Because if you stick to the historical facts, light troops existed long before the infamous 95th Rifles of the Napoleonic Wars. The first hunters, known as sharpshooters or riflemen, already existed in the Thirty Years’ War, with the hunter troop consisting of hunters and foresters, set up under the reign of Landgrave William V of Hesse-Kassel in 1631, being the oldest in the German-speaking world. Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, set up his corps of foot hunters in 1744, and British officers were able to gain an impression of the effectiveness of these hunters, equipped with rifles, at the Battle of Minden, when they brought down several French officers from well-entrenched positions in a forest.
Even if this behaviour may be considered dishonourable, the British learned first hand during the American War of Independence how effective units operating in open order can be, and how they can quickly retreat when a superior enemy appears.
On the basis of these experiences, England founded its Experimental Corps of Riflemen in 1800, from which the 95th Regiment of Foot, better known as the 95th Rifles, emerged in 1802.
But why do we actually need these light troops?
Quite simply, they are the eyes and ears of the army. It is easy to forget how difficult it is to find your way around the terrain without a GPS and navigation system. And this is where the hunters come in. At the beginning of their history, they were recruited from forestry officials and hunters who knew their way around nature and were able to find their way around. They explored the paths, found passable fords and delivered messages. Their combat mission was rather secondary.
Over time, in addition to the hunters on foot, there were also mounted hunters who were able to perform the role of scout and messenger much better – and by that, I mean more quickly – because they were much faster on horseback and could escape from unpleasant situations way faster.
How important these light troops were was already evident in Prussia at the beginning of the first Silesian War, when Frederick the Great painfully realized that his six squadrons of light cavalry were numerically too weak to be able to stand up to the light Austrian cavalry. So, he not only increased the number of light cavalry, but also formed the famous Prussian Freikorps in order to be able to oppose the Austrians in the small war.
The small war was about threatening the enemy’s supply routes, attacking supply convoys and generally relieving the standard troops of guard and escort duties.
But how can these troops be used effectively in tabletop games?
To do this, it is first necessary to determine what exactly are light troops? In the infantry, these are usually skirmisher units but also light infantry, which can then also fill this role as required, but is also suitable for operating in the battle line.
In the case of cavalry, these are mounted hunters, hussars and lancers, all units that look fantastic on the battlefield, and this is where the weakness of light cavalry becomes immediately apparent. It is often too good to just wait at the edge of the battle until the enemy is defeated and then start pursuing them. Much more often, it heroically throws itself into the fight, only to get a bloody nose.
This characteristic can be seen up to modern times. One example here is the reconnaissance units of the Wehrmacht, which had one of the most modern reconnaissance vehicles of the war at their disposal, the Puma. However, the Puma's powerful armament, with its 7.5cm cannon, led them far too often to attack the enemy offensively instead of just reconnaissance.
So we can say that light troops can fight, but they have to think carefully about when and, above all, where to attack the enemy. Skirmishers usually start the battle by deploying in front of their own battle line and opening harassing fire on the enemy in order to disrupt their approach and deployment. However, they have to be able to fall back in time to avoid becoming victims of a rapid cavalry advance.
Here, the light cavalry can also intervene offensively in the battle, because it is more than effective against light troops. The role of the light cavalry is first of all to find the enemy and then to keep in touch with them until the main force arrives and can engage them in battle. While the main force prepares for battle, the light cavalry monitors the advance and protects the approaching infantry and artillery from the enemy's light troops. Once the actual battle begins, however, the role of the light cavalry becomes passive. They continue to observe the battle, protect the supply train and are ready to pursue the flying enemy once the battle is won, or to cover their own retreat should the luck of the battle not be on their side. However, they do not usually intervene offensively in the battle, unless of course the enemy is careless and exposes their flanks or something similar.
And this is where the wargamer comes in, this is where it becomes clear who knows his troops and knows how to use them correctly. Hussars usually look great and every tabletop general will be tempted to lead as many of them into battle as possible, but they will struggle against heavy battle cavalry like cuirassiers. Here it is a matter of waiting and deciding when the right time is to let them off the leash.
This is where victory and defeat are decided, because the success of a battle depends not only on the general's luck, but also on his knowledge of the abilities and skills of his troops. A battle can only be won through the perfect interaction of all types of troops.
Because a battle can only be won through the interaction of all troop types.
I hope you enjoyed the little excursion and I'll see you again soon
Yours, Martin