The Winds of War stir a new Draft (Amended)

The ideas pot has now been seriously stirred. Over the last few days I have seriously considered a late 19th/early 20thC version of Charge! as well as a set based on Featherstone's Battles With Model Soldiers, Dick Larsen's rules for that inspirational 40mm Anglo-Egyptian game and of course good old MacDuff.

Apart from aiming for fast, simple and decisive, I'm hoping that the effect will be to emphasize player choices with quick success or failure and the ability to possibly recoup from failure and try again. Since my table is relatively small, I am keeping movement and ranges short so that rifle fire does not sweep the table. Long range fire is assumed to be happening without decisive effect and thus without being resolved or noted. This should allow the use of on table reserves. A side effect is that once troops enter the danger zone they will cross it rapidly meaning fire must be fairly deadly.

Following on from previous discussions morale will largely be integral. For a long time I have considered wargame casualties to represent a loss of fighting capability rather than a direct representation of killed and wounded and I am going to stick with that. For now all troops will be considered equal and I'll leave the question of how to handle inferior and superior quality units until I see how things go. Basic units are companies of 8 infantry, squadrons of 4 cavalry and batteries of 1 gun plus crew. Several of these plus an HQ can be grouped into a battalion equivalent.

Test game Oberhilse vs Faraway and Rebels circa 1905

Here is the Quick Reference version:

The Tin Brigadier
(Using combat option B)

Sequence: igougo. Roll 1d6 for orders. An order is required to move, rally, entrench or to use indirect artillery fire. HQ can store up to 6 orders. Battalion may activate on 1 order if BHQ present and all doing same thing.

Movement. Infantry: move 12" or move 1/2 and shoot/melee. +6" in column on road.
Cavalry 18"  May mount/dismount at end of turn.
Artillery 12" ending limbered. Heavy artillery 6" ending limbered.
MG 12" or shoot.
Occupy village 1/2 move.
Terrain effects by scenario for now.

Shooting. Must have LOS except indirect arty fire.
Double dice vs column in open
1/2  dice vs entrenched or in cover. Round down but minimum of 1.
Killing zone: Reroll misses vs next unit in line of fire within 6"

Rifles 12". 5,6 hits  1 die per 2 extended or entrenched infantry or dismounted cavalry.
MG 18",  4,5,6 hits  3 dice per gun

Artillery.  Arty must roll die equal to or more than range in feet to hit then roll for effect. Light gun 2 dice, -1 to acquire. Medium Gun 3 dice, Heavy gun 4 dice +1 to acquire. If target is acquired fire may be repeated without rerolling if there is LOS and target does not move more than 6". Indirect fire requires an order each turn (abstraction of need to pass fire request etc). Howitzers may fire over terrain, other guns may not shoot over terrain within 6" or at target with 6" of dead ground or over high hills.

Charges. Defender may choose to shoot and remove enemy casualties before melee or may fight in melee.

In melee 1d/2 infantry, dismounted cavalry, artillery, 1d/1 mtd cavalry on initial turn only. 4,5,6 hits.

If one side takes more than it inflicted, it immediately retreats a double move in disorder.  If tied, melee continues on next player turn  with no defensive fire. Active player may choose to retreat in good order instead of fighting.


Morale. A company forced to retreat in disorder may not advance or shoot until rallied by throwing 5,6. This requires an order. Unless specified otherwise by the scenario a side losing more than 1/2 of its companies/batteries/squadrons must concede.

Entrenching. An infantry unit not within 24" of visible enemy may entrench. This requires an order to begin. Roll 1d6 per company needing to accumulate 10 pts to entrench. Add 1 d6 if sappers are attached. Entrenchment is lost if unit moves. Units without tools may not entrench.

I'm gonna need more men!

Combat Option B

Roll 1 d/2 inf, 2 per gun 3 per MG. 6 hits fortified, 5,6 vs cover inc arty with gunshield, 4,5,6 extended in open, 3-6 column in open. Indirect fire arty must roll 1 d6 =>range in feet. Etc  
Melee 1 d/2 inf/gunner, 1d/cavalry. 4,5,6 hits.