The squadrons can be either singles running around alone (very brittle) or brigaded together in a Regiment of up to 4 squadrons. So yes you may brigade different squadrons into a dragoon regiment before the game starts. As long as they remain in base to base contact, when the time comes you may dismount them as 2-4 stand foot unit.
Sorry, Joe, but that's not how I read Barry's philosophy regarding squadrons of dragoons (or horse for that matter). I do not see squadrons ever needing to be in base to base contact to be a regiment except when they form that way to perform an "All or Nothing" charge - a once a game tactic for the units involved.
Otherwise single BLB sqn's representing real life regiments are brigaded together as a brigade, not a regiment.
Perhaps Barry can clarify his intent in this matter - as I read the words on p 44 only multi-sqn regiments (representing real life regiments of more than 240 sabres - eg German & Austrian types esp.) can "All or Nothing" charge. Others do not appear to be able to do so by the wording of this section - they are a brigade, not a regiment. BUT...is that the intent? - See P8 describing Horse.
Can BLB sqns representing small regiments that are together in a brigade form up base to base & perform the "All or Nothing" charge too? If so, then surely Dragoon Sqn's can move into base contact, becoming an ad-hoc regiment-sized unit to then dismount as such.
I would really like this to be clarified, as it has some relevance to this discussion as well as being important to armies with smaller historical units.
If you leave them as single squadrons if ever you decided to dismount them it would be a single stand. You should not be brigading dragoon squadrons together during the game and then dismounting them as a unit. There is no rule for or against it but if I were running a game I wouldn't allow it. Commanders would make that call before a battle starts.
Why? At Schellenberg and Blenheim, and probably other battles too, British & French dragoons did so during the battle. Their actions on foot seem to have been coordinated enough when on foot to be classed as a single unit ie represented by a 2-4 stand battalion, rather than 2-4 independent companies.
I submit that the private sentinel
in this era was so used to being lumped together with fellows from other units & nationalities, that beyond their immediate unit (generally company/troop level) NCO's & officers, they just got on with what they were told - this flexability is very different to units from later periods eg Napoleonic style units. Dragoons & grenadiers especially were often sent in penny-packet detachments to form larger units to do tasks with soldiers from other units under higher officers they did not know. It should be emphasised that in this era they often didn't have any great association with the higher officers in their own unit as these worthies were often absent for long periods!! Officers of this era had a very different view of their duties to those of a later period. Barrett's book I mentioned in my previous post makes these points very clear.
I refer you to my signature quote; ie Barry could well over ride anything I just said.
And rightly so, too - it's his baby!
We probably need an appendix to the rules covering Dragoons & dismounting, as well as a clarification on my "All or Nothing" query above. Please, Barry??
I would propose :
DISMOUNTING DRAGOONS.
Squadrons of mounted dragoons in a brigade, no matter what their "regimental" organisation, can, with FORM orders for each Sqn, move into base contact with each other to then dismount into a "Battalion" of foot dragoons of 2-4 stands. Such sqn's must be within 4" of whichever sqn will be the centre point of dismounting, taking a full move to perform this operation.
They must also be within the command radius of their Brigadier, or the Commander (also allowing dragoon sqn's from different brigades to be deployed), reflecting the need for such a worthy to initiate this order. This occurs during step 8 "Other Manouevres" and the unit is disordered until the beginning of the next turn. The dismounted unit then performs as a single unit entity - any casualties on the previously mounted sqn's are transferred to this unit.
A "Horse Holder" stand can be used to mark the dismounting point. The Holder stand may move 6" with a MOVE order, reflecting the difficulty of herding mounts. The stand counts as RAW morale, cannot fire or melee & disperses completely if it sustains any casualties, or get in the way of a charge. This marker has the lowest shooting priority.
Should the dismounted dragoon unit wish to return to mount up again, it must MOVE to the holder stand then take a full move to remount using a FORM order, being disordered until the beginning of the next turn. Any casualties on the foot unit (including removed stands) are equally distributed among the reforming mounted sqn's. The remounted sqn's may form up in line or Column of Manouevre with at least 1 stand of each sqn within 4" of the remounting point, being in normal order after the disorder mentioned above expires.
Single sqn's can dismount as a single stand unit if desired, as per the rules, taking 1/2 a move to do so. Likewise, dismounted dragoon battalions can be deployed at the beginning of a game, but without the option of remounting.
Gents, this to my mind best represents the actions of dragoons
in our era. It takes time & organisation to initiate a dismount, and the 5-casualty stands (as opposed to 6 of infantry) make the unit fragile enough, without insisting that they be single stand units, which is far too fragile in rule terms to reflect the historical performance of such troops.
Barry, I would very much value your thoughts when you are able - I understand from other threads that "life" is very busy for you at present. I hope all resolves positively.
Cheers, Rohan.