Game Play Rules

Movement When an order is given to a brigade or a division all of its various parts will move with it unless units have been detached for special missions. Units out of command range may not use all MP to represent the delay in receiving orders.   A Player commander can assume that his brigade or division will bring along all of its parts unless ordered not to. If a player commander orders a unit to detach itself from its brigade or its division I.E. leave command range, it will need another order to rejoin its command. Attachments may be made by Corps/Army leaders, placing a division under a different Corps commander or attaching a brigade to another division. Commanders should be aware that there is no way to move a brigade to another division for Command Control purposes in the game engine. So doing this will leave that brigade/division at a disadvantage for the officer in making his In Command checks. Units that rout or are detached by me will return to their commands on their own. Units ordered to detach by players will not return without a written order. Artillery directly attached to brigade or division will also return to their parent command unless ordered not to. Artillery grouped in separate artillery battalions or brigades without a leader icon on the field will attempt to stay with their parent command unless they are attached to a unit. Thus an artillery battalion at division level will act as a single unit and remain within 5 hexes of the division commander unless ordered to do otherwise. If a player commander orders a battery or artillery battalion to detach itself from its brigade or division, it will require another order to rejoin its command. Artillery formations attached to Corps or Army level will always be kept within command radius unless ordered to detach.   Detailed Skirmisher rules are not necessary for this era, or this system. However, Civil War infantry and cavalry units in line formation in the presence of an enemy always deployed them. So it will be assumed that Skirmishers deploy unless ordered not to, any time units do not have a clear line of sight to prevent surprise. Skirmishers will be recalled before units move adjacent to the enemy to maximize combat ability.   HQ staff escorts will move with their leader. Separate orders for their movement need not be done as long as they remain with the leader. I will attempt to keep them from getting disordered while moving through woods whenever possible.   D'd units will not move into an enemy ZOC. They will remain adjacent to the enemy unless at high Fatigue in which case they will fall back. Brigades will attempt to relieve D'd units with fresh ones whenever possible, passing thru them or reteating them when necessary.   A battery not stacked with or shielded by infantry supports, will limber up and leave if it is within the range of enemy infantry to move adjacent to it in a single turn. A battery unprotected like this was an easy target for advancing infantry. Battery commanders were very careful not to put themselves in this situation and left promptly. Their first charge was not to lose the guns. If a battery is ordered to stay at all costs it will of course stay.

    

    

    

    Cavalry did not have the equipment or the mind-set to build fortifications so they did not build them. In all other cases the building of fortifications will not be assumed, it must be ordered.

 

Stacking

    We are using the standard pdt from Gettysburg for this game. Normal stacking limit for this pdt is 1000 men or 8 units, however you will not see units stacked this high in this game. We will normally keep stacking to 2 regiments or @500 men, or 12 guns at the end of movement. When combining infantry/cavalry and guns in the same hex the limits would be 1 regiment (2 if <200 men in both and 6 guns. I say 6 guns because that is size of the largest battery. Most CSA batteries and some Union are 4 guns. By using 6 guns isntead of 1 battery the smaller ones are not at a disadvantage.

    Units moving in column down the road will not exceed 500 infantry, 300 cavalry or 6 guns per hex unless a single unit exceeds this limit. Infantry units will normally be kept to one unit per hex except for smaller regiments. In any case they will not exceed 500 men per hex in line. Units may exceed this limit during movement as one unit passes through another but we will not melee/fire with more than 2 regiments or @500 men in a hex.

 

Combat

    Units will fire at the most threatening target. This means that if a column is 5 hexes away and a line is 2 hexes away the unit will fire at the line. Rifled artillery will fire at enemy guns unless infantry is advancing against it. Smooth bore guns will fire at infantry first and guns if no other targets are threatening.

    Troops ordered to melee will of course melee, provided they are not disrupted, FA does not exceed 800 and the moderator charts permit it. Troops that find themselves adjacent to enemy artillery will melee because to stay and do otherwise invites ruinous casualties from canister fire.

    Units will not melee in column except at bridges or fords as this is the only way to melee across them.

    In all other cases melee will be on a random basis as the opportunity presents itself for a significant chance of victory. (generally a 3-2 advantage in numbers) This assumes the units in question have orders to attack. The exception here is dismounted cavalry, which will never melee unless specifically ordered to do so. So a player commander may order an attack, which will be an approach to contact and a gunfight with a random melee where the opportunity presents itself. On the other hand a bayonet charge or some other wording that clearly intends general melee may be ordered. In which case the attackers will pin their ears back and make an all out assault. Melee will be conducted in the order chosen by the moderator. In no case will melee be conducted in precision sequence in order to trap an enemy unit. This kind of control on the actual field of battle was impossible but since melees will be done in random order it may happen.

    A cavalry unit ordered to take an objective will dismount and assault it on foot as infantry would, unless a mounted charge specified. By this time in the Civil War mounted charges were the exception not the rule. However if the target is enemy mounted cavalry then a mounted charge will be done.

Night Rules

    Movement at night will be limited to column movement along roads or trails. There will be a chance a unit will make a wrong turn at each crossroads and units may fire at any unit they come adjacent to, even friendly ones.

    If a player insists on making a night attack it will be allowed. However there is a chance that a unit ordered to fire will fire on adjacent friendly units by mistake.

    These rules are in effect from one hour after dark until two hours before dawn. This allows units to rest as they did historically while still allowing players to begin movement before dawn which was also done.

 

Last updated 04/03/20