TM
Quick Reference Sheet ____________________
____________________
__ Sequence of Play __________________________ In each full turn both sides take an individual or ‘player’ turn in the following manner.
• Command – moves units starting with initiative moves. • Shooting – shoots with units.
• Hand-to-hand – both sides resolve any hand-to-hand fighting.
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Command ________________________________________ Command modifiers -1 Per 12" distance from commander to unit -1 Enemy unit within 12" of unit receiving order +1 Attack Column +1 March Column/Limbered Artillery unless on road or track +2 March Column/Limbered Artillery on road or track
Movement _______________________________________
Move Distances Infantry, Limbered Foot Artillery, Wagons ......................12" Cavalry, Limbered Horse Artillery.................................. 18" Manhandled Artillery ...................................................... 6" Manhandled ‘Battalion’ Guns..........................................12" Commanders on foot .................................................... 36" Commanders on horseback ............................................ 48"
Move Modifiers Woods.......................... Half pace skirmish infantry only Rough ground ............ Half pace infantry/cavalry, skirmishers as normal only Crossing Obstacle ...... 6" penalty Entering Building........ 6" penalty March Column .......... Free move if Command roll failed Limbered Artillery ...... Free move if Command roll failed Square ........................ One move if failed Command roll (one move maximum)
Hand-to-hand Combat___________________________ Combat To Hit modifiers (hit on roll of 4+) +1 Charging +1 Won last round of combat -1 Shaken or Disordered -1 Skirmishers -1 Engaged to flank or rear
Combat Result modifiers +1 Support to the rear +1 Per flank support (L/R) +3 Square vs Cavalry +1-3 Occupying building (size)
Morale____________________________________________
Save modifiers (most troops save on a roll of 4+) +1 Infantry in Attack Column unless hit by artillery +1 Target within woods, hedgerows or similar (light cover) +2 Target is within buildings/fortifications (heavy cover) -2 Target is in March Column -1 Hit by artillery fire at long range -2 Hit by artillery fire at close or medium range
Shooting___________________________________________ Ranges Pistols, Shotguns and Thrown Weapons .................... 6" Bow and arrow ........................................................ 12" Smoothbore Carbines .............................................. 12" Smoothbore Muskets................................................ 18" Rifled Carbines ........................................................ 18" Rifled Muskets.......................................................... 24" Breech-loading Carbines.......................................... 24" Breech-loading Rifles .............................................. 30" Bolt-action Carbines ................................................ 30" Bolt-action Rifles...................................................... 36" Light Smoothbore Artillery...................................... 36" Smoothbore Artillery .............................................. 48"
Shooting To Hit modifiers +1 Artillery shooting at Column or Square +1 Close Range (6"), Closing Fire, or Skirmishers -1 Shooters ‘Shaken’ or ‘Disordered’ -1 Target is Skirmishers, deployed Artillery, or Not Clear -1 Artillery at over half range -1 Cannon shooting overhead Size modifiers Large unit ........................ +1 dice Shooting, +2 Combat Small unit ........................ -1 dice Shooting, -2 Combat Tiny unit .......................... 1 dice only Shooting/Combat Formation modifiers Attack Column ................ Shoot 1 dice Mixed Formation ............ Shoot 1 dice Square.............................. Shoot 1 dice/face, fight 2 dice/face March Column ................ May not shoot/fight 1 dice Limbered Artillery .......... May not shoot or fight! Tactical modifiers Enfiliading Infantry or Artillery ...................... Shoot double dice Buildings ........................ Shoot 2 dice/face, Fight 2 dice/face
© Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2009. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to photocopy this Quick Reference Sheet for personal use only.
TM
Quick Reference Sheet
Break Test___________________________
Break Test modifiers Per excess casualty -1 Disordered -1 -1 Suffered casualties from artillery for tests A or B
Modified Dice roll
4 or less
5
Combat Type
a. b. c. d. e.
Test if excess hits suffered from Shooting Test if Shaken or suffering artillery casualties by closing fire Test if defeated in Hand-to-hand Combat Test if Shaken by drawn Hand-to-hand Combat Test supporting units if supported unit breaks and flees
Break Test Result Table
Outcome
Shooting and Hand-to-Hand
Infantry, Cavalry & Artillery The unit breaks and is deemed destroyed – remove the entire unit from the field.
Shooting and Hand-to-Hand
Infantry & Cavalry The unit retires one full move to its rear without changing formation and at all times avoiding contact with the enemy. Once it has moved, the unit becomes disordered if it is not already so. If unable to comply, the unit may make two moves to its rear if this enables it to reach a tenable position. If unable to comply with this further requirement, the unit breaks as described for 4 or less above.
Shooting
6 Hand-to-Hand
Shooting
7 or more Hand-to-Hand
Infantry & Cavalry The unit holds its ground – it stays where it is and does not move.
Artillery The unit breaks and is deemed destroyed – remove the entire unit from the field.
Artillery The unit breaks and is deemed destroyed – remove the entire unit from the field.
Infantry & Cavalry The unit retires one full move to its rear without changing formation and at all times avoiding contact with the enemy. Once it has moved, the unit becomes disordered if it is not already so. If unable to comply, the unit may make two moves to its rear if this enables it to reach a tenable position. If unable to comply with this further requirement, the unit breaks as described for 4 or less above.
Artillery The unit breaks and is deemed destroyed – remove the entire unit from the field.
Infantry, Cavalry & Artillery The unit holds its ground – it stays where it is and does not move. Infantry If the unit is infantry then it holds its ground – the unit remains where it is and will continue fighting in the following combat round.
Cavalry If the unit is cavalry the unit retires one full move to its rear without changing formation and at all times avoiding contact with the enemy. If unable to comply, the unit becomes disordered and may make two moves to its rear if this enables it to reach a tenable position. If unable to comply with this further requirement, the unit breaks as described for 4 or less above.
Artillery The unit breaks and is deemed destroyed – remove the entire unit from the field.
© Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2009. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to photocopy this Quick Reference Sheet for personal use only.
26th August 2010 TM
Frequently Asked Questions
1
After religiously adhering to the rule that disorder means a unit can't move, we noticed a few situations where this is not true. For example, following combat in some instances, and in the case of broken brigades where a disordered unit can fall back voluntarily. This has led some of us to wonder if the intent was always to let disordered units pull back on initiative to avoid being 'stuck' in front of another round of firing and probably getting disordered again, etc.
The general rule is that disordered units can’t be given orders and can’t use their initiative to move automatically in the Command part of the turn. To be brutally short (careful Sawyer…) the idea is the unit ‘misses a move’ – although we also apply ‘to hit’ penalties for shooting and hand-to-hand fighting, as well as a result penalty on break tests, just to make things interesting. The rule doesn’t stop units moving in other parts of the turn – and often units are obliged to move following hand-to-hand combat or shooting, or they might have a chance to do so if they are victorious in combat. So, I’m afraid the bad news is that getting stuck in front of the enemy is part and parcel of our game and not an oversight on my part! The rule that allows units from broken brigades to retreat – and obliges them to do so if within 12" of the enemy – is an exception to the general rule that we found helps to settle the end game. You are quite right in saying it is an exception.
2
The diagram at the bottom of page 60 shows a blue unit moving into contact with two red units in a line formation. It ends up corner to corner with one unit. Am I right in saying that this unit in corner-to-corner would not count as being engaged as less than half of its front is covered and therefore cannot use closing fire or attack, but just adds support into the combat?
Yes that is exactly right! The unit won’t fight in the combat but can support. It can’t make any response to the charge – which includes forming square, counter-charging, and closing fire. In these situations we find it a good idea to separate the units slightly to make it more apparent that the unit isn’t engaged.
3
We had been playing that disorder markers came off the turn after disorder happens as the rule on page 48 states ‘A unit that becomes disordered remains disordered until the end of its following turn…’. However, watching the Perry’s demonstrate the game recently we noticed that they always removed the disordered markers at the end of the player’s turn regardless of when the disorder was inflicted. Which is correct?
At the end of each side’s turn all that side’s disorder markers are removed apart from units still engaged in combat and units from broken brigades. So, Alan and Michael were correct to remove the disorder markers at the end of their turn. The rules for disorder are given as part of the rules for shooting – so they brashly assume we are talking about disorder resulting from enemy shooting. Hence ‘following turn’ is intended to refer to the other side’s turn. Bearing in mind that disorder can occur at other points in the game, the sentence should read, ‘A unit that becomes disordered remains disordered until the end of its own turn…’. (Note that this correction has been included in subsequent printings of the rulebook).
4
What is the best way of handling battalion guns in the game? I am mainly thinking of the Seven Years War. If one gun model represents approx 4-6 guns and a battalion gun represents 2, then would it be correct to shoot 1 dice above close range and 2 dice as close range, or would it be better to include them as part of the unit and just throw an extra dice counting as artillery?
In our own games we don’t field battalion guns unless the battle features some kind of attack/defence where a gun can be emplaced, or where a gun is needed to winkle the enemy from a defended position. In those cases we’d represent it with a model and use whatever the Seven Years War seemed to fit – 2-1-1 would do nicely for a very small weapon. However, it all depends on the scale of the action and how you want to represent things as well as on how many guns you happen to have painted up
5
Some of our players asked why there is no reduction in the firing ability of troops if they move. We just wondered why not?
It is assumed a turn allows sufficient real time for considerable movement including assembling a firing line and shooting several times where opportunity permits. The time represented by a turn isn’t fixed – or even constant – but we imagine it to be sufficient for troops to both move and shoot without compromise. In game terms it also encourages movement – or rather it does not overtly favour a static defence – giving the game something of its sweep. Which we rather enjoy!
TM
www.warlordgames.co.uk
© Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2010. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to photocopy for personal use only.
26th August 2010 TM
Frequently Asked Questions
6
In hand-to-hand combat, if the victorious unit receives casualties in excess of the troops’ Stamina value what happens to these casualties? Does the unit need to take a break test, or – as they won the engagement – are the extra casualties ignored?
7
How do you handle detaching light companies from infantry battalions.
8
Artillery suffer a -1 to hit penalty for shooting at over half range, but there isn’t an equivalent penalty for infantry firing. This seems a bit harsh for the poor gunners! We wonder why the penalty wasn’t also applied to other shooting?
9
If two or more units charge one enemy unit using their initiative, do they do it simultaneously or one at a time. If simultaneously, how is closing fire calculated? Similarly, is it possible to ‘brigade order’ two units to charge simultaneously, and if so how is closing fire worked out?
10
Imagine you have a brigade of 4 cavalry regiments. If the first 2 are ordered to charge can the other two (behind, for example) move up in support on the same order or must they be given different orders.
11
A small unit of rifles were holding a farm (8" square). It was attacked by 2 assault columns on one face. It was argued that as only one standard unit could occupy the farm how could 2 units attack it? We allowed the attack but only one unit followed up and occupied the farm. Correct?
The unit that wins the combat simply discards all casualties in excess of its Stamina value and no break test is required.
If you mean to form a skirmishing screen then we use the mixed formation rules. If you mean to form separate bodies – then we’d represent them with units of the appropriate size. The same would go for 18th century grenadiers – where grenadier companies from different regiments can form separate battalions.
Our rules for artillery did go through several phases of development before we got it right – and part of that was to make sure the guns didn’t dominate the battlefield unduly. In reality, long range artillery fire was more ‘annoying’ than decisive, and that’s the feeling we aimed to represent. In the end we found that applying a penalty at over half-range worked very well because it instantly differentiates between guns of different types, and it ensures that long range shooting is useful but rarely decisive. Combined with this – we allow artillery to pick targets at over half range – which has two effects: firstly it allows for bombarding selected enemy formations as they assemble, and secondly it permits you to concentrate fire if you wish. The penalty for shooting at over half range means we can allow concentrated fire within reason without it becoming unrealistically effective.
In most cases the mechanics of the game assume units move one after the other – even where in reality movement would be simultaneous. So, where two units are using initiative to charge an enemy, move one unit and then the other. It’s actually quite rare to get situations where two units can both charge into the (say) front of an enemy because the rules oblige the first charger to cover the maximum portion of the enemy’s frontage. In situations where it does happen, closing fire is discharged against the first unit according to the rules – but this is a good case for judgement. If you have an umpire he may very reasonably ask you to divide fire. When giving orders, again it is usual to choose one of the units in receipt of orders and move it first, then the other. Where two units are ordered to charge a common enemy it is perfectly reasonable for one to end up engaged whilst the other supports – the supporting unit will be following its order as closely as it can.
The rule is simply that you have to give the same order to the whole group and the group has to end up without any units separated by more than 6". Exactly how you frame orders is up to you. Amongst a group of friends it shouldn’t be too hard to reach a level of mutual understanding that all players are satisfied with. When we play we certainly allow a brigade of several units to charge with one order even though not all the units are able to engage – units unable to engage interpret the charge order to move into support. This is fulfilling the order as closely as possible. In situations where this is likely to happen a typical order might be, ‘This cavalry brigade will charge these enemy – the front two regiments will engage these foot regiments, and those behind will support from the rear.’
Yes correct! So long as there was enough space for both assault columns to get in (which sounds about right) then both fight but only one unit can occupy the farm. TM
www.warlordgames.co.uk
© Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2010. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to photocopy for personal use only.
26th August 2010 TM
12
Frequently Asked Questions
A unit of cavalry charged a gun taking 2 casualties. The gun was destroyed and the cavalry halted on the spot ready to charge next turn. The British ordered a unit of infantry to advance against the face (ie, within the charge arc) to within 3" of the cavalry and deliver a volley. This caused 2 casualties and the cavalry failed their morale test for shaken badly and were a 'pick up'. This caused much discussion about the rightness of such a manoeuvre as some players felt it was not historic to the period. What’s your opinion?
There’s nothing in the rules that prevents an infantry battalion manoeuvring to shoot at a body of cavalry in the way you suggest – you could make a case either way. On the one hand here you have a cavalry unit milling around post-combat and plainly in the act of reforming and obviously shot up and exhausted – it could have retired to a safe position following combat but deliberately chose not to do so. Ergo – the cavalry deserved all they got! On the other hand here is a cavalry unit reforming and readying for further action, suddenly an enemy infantry regiment steams half way across the field to within a hair’s breadth of the horse and lets them have it! Surely – infantry would never dare approach enemy horse in this brazen way because the cavalry would either attack them or avoid them! If you take the latter view I’d suggest allowing the cavalry to react as soon as the enemy approached within close fire range (6”) either evading and avoiding the fire, or charging and taking closing fire before combat.
13
A unit with the form square special rule has to form square if charged, and it must take a test to see if it forms square successfully. Does this test only apply to units with this rule, as they are forming square whilst the charge takes place – I assume it does not apply to units forming square in other circumstances as they would be doing this during the Command part of their turn? You are correct – the test is only needed where a unit that is not already in a square is charged. Only units with the ‘form square’ rule can react in this way so only they need to test.
14
If a unit fails its test to form square by throwing double six then it forms a disordered square. Cavalry can charge home on a disordered square, but can they opt not to do so in the same way as cavalry charging a square that is not disordered?
15
An infantry unit is charged by cavalry and forms square. The cavalry are unable to charge home and ride back. An infantry battalion now charges the same square. Can the square shoot closing fire at the infantry – or is it unable to deliver closing fire because it has been charged by cavalry?
16
Once enemy are within 12" units are only allowed to move into their front or rear quarters – not into their side quarters. However, does this restriction allow the unit to change its orientation, or does it have to remain facing the same way as it moves? We ask because our players automatically assumed the latter, arguing that otherwise it is too easy to move round flanks or between enemy units.
The cavalry have to obey their orders in so far as they can – so if the square is disordered they have to charge home. Failure to do so would be an act of the most despicable cowardice, and one has to ask whether you are really cut out for a military career.
By the letter of the rules the square can shoot at the infantry – the cavalry charge and the infantry form square as a response, the infantry are now in square and can shoot closing fire as a response to the enemy infantry. Given that closing fire from a single face of a square is 1 dice it seems a little mean to deny them it – but the umpire might consider imposing a discretionary ‘to hit’ penalty.
There is no further restriction intended – so long as the unit finishes its move wholly within its own front or rear quarter then it can move anyway you wish. We’ve never had the problem you suggest – although were we to do so I would say that your alternative is a good response. You would then have to allow for a separate order to change facing – as otherwise it would be altogether impossible to move round an exposed flank.
17
If a unit has a Stamina value of 3 and suffers 3 casualties is it ‘shaken’ or does it become shaken only once it has suffered a fourth casualty? Once a unit has suffered casualties equal to its Stamina value it is ‘shaken’. TM
www.warlordgames.co.uk
© Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2010. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to photocopy for personal use only.
26th August 2010 TM
18
Frequently Asked Questions
The Quick Reference Sheet (QRS) states that a break test is required for units suffering artillery casualties from closing fire (b. Test if Shaken or suffering artillery casualties from closing fire). Because the best result that cavalry can get from such a test is ‘retire’ this makes it practically impossible for cavalry to charge home onto artillery (they would have to suffer zero casualties from 3 shots per cannon requiring 3+ to hit and -2 saves).
This is a case of a rule being added a little late in the day and not quite being explained properly. Originally we had things arranged so that only Shaken units tested – and this works well enough. After a while we felt that units taking artillery casualties on the way in – but not being Shaken – should also have to test their resolve to see if they charged home. What we failed to make clear is that this test should be taken using the Shooting results on the Break Test, and not the Hand-to-Hand results as you would for a Shaken unit. As the testing unit would have charged into position at the point the test is made, a result of ‘unit holds its ground’ means that the charge is successfully completed and the charger and artillery are engaged in combat. With the usual -1 modifier for artillery casualties this means a test score of 7 or better will see the unit charge home successfully.
Some players do prefer to use more artillery that we typically might – and the relatively narrow frontage of artillery pieces does make closing fire from massed guns even more effective than reality would suggest. Where a unit charges onto multiple guns we’d recommend allowing only a single gun to shoot closing fire – this is plenty dangerous enough without making such attacks suicidal.
TM
www.warlordgames.co.uk
© Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2010. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to photocopy for personal use only.
