Building a force for Et Sans Résultat (ESR)

Et Sans Résultat or better known as ESR is a Napoleonic ruleset that we’re devoting several stories to over the next few weeks. In this edition, we’ll be looking at one of the essential elements of the game. Minis!

Miniatures, of course, represent your army on the tabletop. In ESR a single stand represents an infantry battalion, a cavalry squadron, a formation commander, an artillery battery or a reformation area. The size and shape of the base and the miniatures mounted on the base specifically identify what the unit is.

As with all miniature war games, one of the early choices you must make is what scale will you play it in. Many games select the scale for you and don’t let you choose anything else. ESR offers the rules such that if you want to play with 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, 25-28mm or other scales it’s a snap. The quick reference sheets .

The Wargaming company also sells a great set of starters boxes and army boxes for you to put together your own 10mm force. If you don’t have a strong opinion, I think 10mm is a good choice for scale. If you have lots of figures already, don’t be afraid to utilize your existing figures.

Let’s take a look at one of the Wargaming Company starter boxes now.

I picked up the 1809 starter box, which contains forces for two players, Austrian and French. This gives me a way to have a force to lend to a friend to play as they try the game as well as giving me the flexibility to play either side. All in all, there are about 240 figures in the box which retails for approx $120.

On the back is the list of the forces you can build with the contents. What’s really nice is the extras that are included like bases and flags!  Two things that often times when you buy Napoleonic figures you have to supply yourself. Researching exact flags can be a lot of fun, but it can also be frustrating too as you try and get good usable results out of your printer.

In ESR at 10mm scale, a 30mm x 30mm square base is used for infantry, cavalry squadrons and artillery batteries. The limbers for the artillery battery go on to a 30mm x 90mm base. All those wagons with ammo, powder and so on, take up lots of space. The formation and force commanders go on a round base. The formation commanders go on the smaller 20mm round bases and the force commands go on to the 30mm round bases. The reformation area goes on a 30mm x 90mm base.

The Wargaming company sells which will help you build whichever army you have in mind.

So what do the figures look like?

Primed. I usually prime black or white. These Austrians are in white since their uniforms are white.

Wait a second?! This isn’t just some bag of bits. The folks at the Wargaming Company were actually paying attention to detail to gather together exactly what something is, put it into its own plastic bag. This is one of the biggest frustrations for people new to the era of Napoleonics, learning what is what.  Now when you’re painting you won’t be lost on the difference between a Grenzer figure or a Line Infantry figure. They’re labeled and in separate bags.

Weren’t there lots of different uniforms during the Napoleonic era? How do you know what to paint?  This is where the come in. They include historical guides with how the uniform should be painted. They also give you lists of what battalions you’ll need in your force to play during a certain period during the Napoleonic era. Here is an example:

Easy right?  Well yes and no, this is where the right paintbrush can make the job easier.

Meet the Army Painter: The Psycho. This is an awesome brush for painting detailed work. They are fantastic!

Now you have some figures painted, how do you know how they go onto the bases? Simple. The Wargaming Company has an online . A little bit of glue, some material such as static grass and a few other things to spruce up the base and you’re ready to play. Sound Le Assemblee!

Next time we’ll look at one of the campaign guides. These books provide a great way to set up a series of battles during the Napoleonic era which includes Orders of Battle (OB) that lists what units you’ll need. These generate great historically based ‘what if’ battles. Will you as General be able to pull off a victory?