A battalion-scale Abstraction for Blood & Steel / Blood & Valour
Issued as an appendix to the Regimental History of the Queen’s North Durham Rifles (89th Foot)
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| Colonel Tiberias Farthingdale inspects the North Durham Rifles at Cestria Barracks prior to their embarkation for Egypt. |
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| And in service during the Gallipoli campaign. |
PURPOSE
Battalion Scale allows a full British infantry battalion (c. 800–1,000 men) to be represented on the tabletop using 30–40 figures, without changing core Blood & Steel or Blood & Valour mechanics.
Figures on the table represent:
- The decisive point of the action
- Engaged companies
- Battalion command and support weapons
The full battalion may not be all deployed keeping reserve companies off-table, influencing morale, reinforcement, and reputation.
TABLETOP ESTABLISHMENT
On-Table Force (Typical)
Battalion Command
- 1 Commanding Officer (Colonel or Lt-Col)
- 1 Adjutant / Senior Officer
- Optional Colour Party (2 figures)
Infantry Companies (Abstracted)
- Each 2 groups = one full company (c. 200 men)
- Each group contains:
- 1 Junior Officer or NCO figure
- 5–7 riflemen
- So each Company has a named officer and a Sergeant Major
Support Weapons
- 1 Maxim MG detachment (1890s onward)
- 1 Lewis gun (1912–14 only)
Scale Note: Casualties represent disruption, loss of cohesion, and exhaustion — not literal body count.
Around 1900 the revisions that would alter battalion structure from eight to four (stronger) companies began. Under these abstraction the earlier Battalions count a single group as a company. Later Battalions count two groups.
THE BATTALION FATIGUE TRACK
The battalion as a whole tracks cumulative strain.
Fresh → Steady → Worn → Exhausted → Shaken
Advance the track when:
- A rifle group breaks
- An officer is killed
- A scenario objective is lost
- A mass morale test fails
Effects:
- Worn: −1 to all battalion morale rolls
- Exhausted: No offensive bonuses; MGs limited ammo
- Shaken: Any further loss forces withdrawal
Fatigue resets only between Volumes, never between scenarios.
OFFICERS & RISK
Officers are force multipliers and liabilities.
Officer Attachment
- Attaching an officer grants:
- 'NCO' bonus (per core rules)
- BUT the officer must roll on the Exposure Table if:
- Section takes fire
- Section enters melee
- Position is overrun
Exposure Table (1d6)
1 – Killed 2 – Seriously Wounded (miss remainder of Volume) 3 – Wounded (miss next scenario) 4–5 – Shaken but unharmed 6 – Commended (+Reputation)
Officer loss immediately advances Battalion Fatigue.
OFF-TABLE COMPANIES
The battalion may begin with 2–4 off-table companies.
They may:
- Feed reinforcements (restore a Spent section to Disordered)
- Absorb narrative casualties
- Be lost to disease, detachment, or political interference
At the start of each scenario roll 1d6:
- 1: One off-table company unavailable
- 6: One off-table company reinforces (GM discretion)
THE COLOURS
If the Colours are on table:
- All groups within command range gain +1 Morale
If the Colours are lost or captured:
- Immediate Battalion Morale test
- Battalion Fatigue advances by 2 steps
Officers may voluntarily expose themselves to save the Colours.
PERIOD ADAPTATION
1880s–1890s
- Single Rifle Groups represent a company
- Maxim rare or scenario-limited
- Close order doctrine
- Narrative is derring do!
1900–1908
- 2 Rifle Groups are a company
- A Maxim is standard
- Extended order, entrenchments
- Narrative is professional detached.
1909–1914
- 2 Rifle Groups are a company
- Maxim + Lewis gun
- Fire superiority doctrine
- CO often off-table
Models remain unchanged; doctrine shifts narratively to operation orders.
The Campaign segments
I'm using a period style map with campaign game inserts. Each posting will have a corresponding map, and the Sudan has two! Each posting/map has four scenarios.
In some postings, such as the Sudan, i have added several 20 figure smaller scale encounters. I will stick with Blood and Steel however.
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In lower margin, faint and slightly smudged: “Water worse than reported.” “Native guide uncertain — or lying.” “Men steady under fire. Young officers less so.” “Heat more destructive than the enemy.” Capt. Henry Markham, Acting Adjutant, 1st Battalion |
VICTORY & CONSEQUENCES
Victory is judged at battalion level, not by figures remaining.
A tactical win with heavy fatigue may still count as a strategic failure.
At the close of each Volume:
- Surviving officers roll for promotion
- Battalion Reputation adjusts
- Fatigue effects carry forward
Structure of Infantry Operation Orders 1880s to 1914
Orders generally followed a standard format designed to ensure coordination, often incorporating:
- Information of friendly troops: Supporting artillery, flanking units, and neighboring battalions.
- Mission of the battalion: The specific objective (e.g., capture a trench line).
- Execution: Specific tasks for each company (direction of advance, objectives), artillery barrage timing, and "cleaning up" parties.
- Administrative/Logistical Details: Rations, ammunition, stretcher bearers, and communication methods (runners, pigeons, flares).
- Command and Signals: Locations of Brigade and Battalion HQ, and flare signals for identifying advanced positions.
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