Age of Musket …………………………………………………………………………….
Tricorne and Musket 1740 – 1763 Wargame rules for battles in the Age of Reason Peter Morffew Copy right 2000 Edited 2010
Forward These rules are part of a series that covers the era of the Musket . Starti ng when the smoothbore musket became the primary weapon for Infantry in the 1690's , to the e nd of the era when the smoothbore Musket's were being converted to rifled muskets or being discarded for more modern weapon's in 1862 during t he American Civil War .
These rules are designed to capture the flavour of specific war's or campaign's with the subtle changes and inuendoes . They are also designed to be easy to use , fast flowing and capable o f covering small and large scale games . Happy gaming .
Contents of rules Troop types - Description's of the type of troop's of the period . Unit size - A description of the maximum size for unit's when using these rules . Formation's - A description of the the different formation's used within these rules . Scale - Description of the scale used in the rules and in a game Definition's - A description of word's used within these rules and their definition's . Setting up the game - A description of how to set a game , pre-game rules and sequence of play . Charging - A description of the rules cover charges and charging . Response to a charge - A description of the rules cover unit's that are being charged and their response . Break through - A description of the rules for a break through after a charge and the melee . Melee - A description of the rules covering the melee . Movement - A description of the rules cover movement . Firing - A description of the rules covering Artillery and Musket fire . morale factor's . Morale - A description of the rules covering morale check's and the morale Morale result's - A list of the morale result's and the reaction's from a morale check
Troop types Musketeer / Fusilier : These troop's were the line Infantry of the day . The Fusilier's had lost their role as baggage guard's and were now front line troop's . Neither of these troop's were used as Light I nfantry in Europe and cannot be used in skirmish formation . Grenadier's : These troop's were the assault troop's of the period . The Grenadier's were the taller men of a Regiment . They carried a musket and and manoeuvred the same as other Infantry on the battle field . Also Also they carried a axe and Grenades . Because of this ability to carry out an attack on troop's in or behind cover there is no deduction on their melee factor against troop's in cover . Light Infantry : These troop's were used in varying quantities by different armies . The Austrian's put great stead on light Infantry and used them to great effect . Frederick loathed the tactic 's of Light Infantry , being able to retreat at will and were referred to as I nfantry that desert . Light Infantry form up i n extended order only . Light Cavalry : These troop's were chiefly Hussar's . Light Cavalry unit's were either regular , Militia , Freicorp or irregular such as the Bosniaks in Prussian service or Cossack's with the Russian army . The irregular unit's tended to be unreliable in battle and were used for r econnaissance . There were very few regular lancer unit's because of the skill needed to weald a lance in battle . The best lancer tr oop's were irregular unit's but gave poor service in battle . Medium Cavalry : These troop's were Dragoon's , Horse , some Guard Cavalry and Horse Grenadier's . The Dragoon's had lost their role as mounted Infantry and were now classed as Cavalry . Heavy Cavalry : Heavy Cavalry at the time were Cuirassiers , some being Guards such as the Garde du Korp in the Prussian army . They had just a front plate for protection . Battalion Gun's : Battalion Gun's were light Artillery piece's attached to a Battalion . In the case of the Prussian army some battalion's had six pounder gun's , by the end of the Seven Year's War most Battalion's had seven pounder howitzer's . To represent a battalion gun one artillery crew figure will represent the gun a nd crew . The figure will keep pace with the Battalion as it advance's . Infantry from the Battalion would assist with moving it on the battlefield to ensure that it did not lag behind . As a rule the Battalion gun would stay with the parent Battalion . Where a Regiment has two or three Battalion's the other Battalion gun's can be attached to one particular Battalion of that Regiment . Battalion gun's will fire at the same same target as the battalion they are with unless the range exceeds musket range ,then the gun's can fire at any target within a 45 degree arc to the front . The Battalion's Infantry fire is amalgamated to the fire from the Battalion guns or gun's and then the factor's are applied . The Battalion gun crew adopt the same morale a the battalion they are with and will carr y out the same morale reaction's as the Battalion they are with . If a Battalion retires or retreat's the gun will move back regardless of the distance and is unable to fire that bound . If the Battalion rout's the Battalion gun or gun's are abandoned and lost for the rest of the game . Garrison troop's : Most armies had garrison Infantry that would act as the training Battalion . They rarely would be used on the battle field . The exception being the P russian Garrison Regiment's who were used by Frederick later in the Seven Year's War to bolster his army . T hese troops were the invalid's or older troop's and were unable to be of any great use on campaign's . Militia : Prussia raised a number of militia unit's to deprive the invading armies of extra man power . Prussia raised six militia Grenadier Battalion's , a number of Infantry Battalion's and some Hussar Regiment's . Freikorp : Prussia found that it had to recruit more and more mercenary unit's as the Seven Year's War progressed . Initially only Infantry Battalion's were used but Cavalry Regiment's were also formed . By the end of the Seven Year's War Friekorp brigades had been formed with Infantry and cavalry combined . These troop's varied in quality but very rarely were on par with the Prussian Unit's .
Horse Artillery : Horse Artillery was still in it's infancy during t his period . Russian Dragoon and Horse Grenadier Regiment's had a Artillery battery attached to them . Frederick formed a horse battery which suffered badly and was wiped out twice in battle . Other than these two countries no o ther country used horse artillery . Field Artillery : Field gun's varied in size , but b ecause of their weight the maximum size tended to be twelve pounder gun's and eighteen pounder howitzer's . The ammunition type was limited to canister and round shot for long range fire . The canister would comprise of stone's and glass . Field Batteries consisted of six , eight , or twelve gun team's . Depending on the nationality . For game purposes one artillery gun and crew represents a who battery. The base size is for two guns in the battery. For more guns expand the size of the base. Irregular troop's : Irregular unit's were used during the Seven Year's War , such as Cossack's ,Bosniak's and Trenk's Pandoour's . These were used in either reconnaissance , raiding parties or on occasion actually on the battle field where they tended to be of poor quality and not very reliable.
Unit size The following table's give the maximum size of Infantry Battalions and Cavalry Regiment's that are permissible in these rules . The number of figures is arrived at by only accounting for the Musketeer's , Fusilier's or trooper's in a unit . Staff are not accounted for . Where here are two figures in a cell the follo wing applies . Sweden - The smaller number was the size of a Hussar unit at the beginning of the Seven Years war , the musketeer unit size for Sweden can be either . The Austrian Musketeer unit size is given for the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War respectively . France
Sweden
Russia
Bavaria
Austria
Saxony
Dragoon's
12
14
18
14
18
14
Cuirassier's
8
14
16
14
18
10
16
8
16
16
20
12 - 16
14
Horse Grenadier's
20
Horse Guards Hussar's
10
Musketeer's Fusilier's
12
Grenadier's
8
Guard Infantry
20
14
10 12
14 / 16
8
8
8
12 14
Jager's
Dragoon's
8
Britain
Hanover
Holland
Prussia
6
10
12
12
Cuirassier's
12
Hussar's
20
Guard Cavalry
6
4
Horse
6
6
8
12
12
2
Horse Grenadier's Musketeer's
12
10
14
12
Fusilier's Grenadier's
8
8
8
8/10
Guard Infantry
8
8
10
12
Jager's
12
Garrison Infantry
12
Freicorp Infantry
12
Militia
12/10
Formations Line : Line is a formation of t wo rank's of figure's to indicate the unit in close formation in three rank's . The exception being the Russian's who used four rank's . Factor's take into account the deeper formation .
Column of route : This formation is a column of figures two figures wide . This formation is to assist a unit to move from A to B in an orderly manner and then to be able to deploy in line .
Skirmish line : This formation is used by Light I nfantry only . It is a single line of Infantry double spaced which charging Cavalry and Infantry will automatically break through .
Square : This is a formation that is used by Infantry in defence against Cavalry . The figures form a hollow square with an even number on the four side's . The Infantry can fire , each figure counting that is facing the Cavalry unit . Each face of the square has an arc of 45 degree's to it's front . Square's that have been formed in the same bound whilst being charge can attempt to be broken through .
Unformed : This is a unit that has had it 's uniformity disrupted , this could be caused by a number of reason's . Melee , breakthrough , routing , etc. . To signify that a unit i s unformed each base / stand is turned diagonally to the next one .
Reforming : When a unit comes to refor m the unit must be stationary . The unit changes it's formation from that as above i.e. unformed and adopts the reforming formation . T o signify a unit is reforming the stand's / bases are formed up in staggered line with the corner's of each base touching .
Scale The following scales apply to these rules Ground scale : 3'' = 100 paces Time scale : One bound = 5 minutes Figure scale : Each figure represent's fifty men or horses on a base size that represent's an area covered by the given ground scale in three ranks' or in the case of the Russian's , four rank's shoulder to shoulder and one rank for Jager's . The unit size represents the troops that would fight in a battle , this excludes officer's and drummer's . The factor's are taken into account for the diff erent depth's and the base size is kept the same for consistency . These rules are designed for 15mm and 25mm figures . For 6mm , 10mm figures halve the firing and movement . For 2mm figure's treat each firing and movement measurement in centimetres . One gun represents a whole battery based on a card of a suitable size, see below. The base size is extended according to the number of guns in the battery. E.g. a battery of four guns in 15mm would have a base size of 80mmx 40mm. Figure base : Below are the figure base sizes . These are per figure except for field artillery where this is the base size for gun and crew . For Battalion gun's one single Artillerist figure represent's the Battalion gun and crew , this is the same width as t he infantry figure but double the depth of a Infantry figure . Infantry
Cavalry
Field Artillery, 1 or 2 guns
General
2mm figures
10mm x 5mm
10mm x 4mm
10mm x 10mm
10mm x 10mm
6mm figures
5mm x 5mm
10mm x 5mm
20mm x 20mm
15mm x 15mm
10mm figures
10mm x 6mm
15mm - x 10mm
35mm x 35mm
20mm x 20mm
15mm figures
10mm x 15mm 15mm x 15mm
10mm x 20mm 25mm x 50mm
40mm x 40mm 70mm x 70mm
30mm x 30mm 40mm x 40mm
25mm figures
Definitions Retire : A unit will move away from the direction of t he charge , attack , fire or melee in good order towards it's own base line for one bound. If attacked the unit will defend itself and only retire for half of a bound. If a friendly unit is blocking the direction to be r etired in the unit will halt in front o f the friendly unit and turn to face the enemy . If a friendly unit is dir ectly behind blocking the route to retire in the unit retiring will pass through the friendly unit's rank's leaving it unformed . After retiring the full bound the unit will turn to face the enemy . A unit retires at the normal line pace . Retreat : A unit retreating will move away from the direction of charge , attack , fire or melee towards it's own base line for one bound . If the unit is followed up and contact is made the retreat will become a rout . If the unit is retreating in response to a charge and the charging unit can make contact the unit will then rout for the remainder of the move . If no follo w up is made or contact made the unit will retreat as nor mal . If the line of retreat is blocked by a friendly unit the retreating unit will pass through the friendly unit's rank's thus unforming it self and the friendly unit . At the end of the retreat the unit will r emain facing away from the enemy and will have to turn to face next bound . A retreating unit will move at column of ro ut pace . Rout :A unit routing will move away from the direction of a ttack , fire , charge or melee towards it's own base line for one bound . If followed up the unit will rout for a f urther bound , if the morale check dictates yet another bound of rout this will be added to the number of bounds that have already been dictated . If the line of rout is blocked by a friendly unit t he unit will rout through it's rank's thus unforming it . At the end of a rout the unit will be facing away from the enemy and will also be unfor med . A unit that rout's has to spend two bound's reforming . Artillery that rout's will abandon the gun 's and will not return to them for the rest of the game . A routing unit will move at column of rout charging pace . Battalion : A unit of Infantry that can be j oined with other Battalion's to form Regiment's . Reform : An action carried out by a unit so that it can dress it's rank's . This is carried out after a ro ut regardless of circumstance's . It can also be carried out after a melee , charge , breakthrough or being broken through by another unit . In the later the r eform is optional . Shaken : A unit has become unsteady and need's to reform , the morale is affected and could have a detrimental affect on any future action's . Breakthrough : A charging cavalry unit has impacted on another unit and the impetus of the charging unit has caused it to penetrate the rank's and exit the opposite side/end of the charged unit . Any unit behind can be engaged during the same bound if contacted . The first engagement must be resolved first . Both unit's that have been contacted must resolve the melee . A stand : One stand is four figure's = 200 men . Referred to in the response to a charge , one stand may turn to face . Unformed : A unit that has lost it's cohesion and is unable to operate as normal i.e. it will lack impetus in a charge . An unformed unit can charge but will have it's limitation's .
Getting started To run a game the player need's a measure , pencil , note paper and a six sided die . Prior to setting out the figures and starting the game player's on each side must mark where they will set up their figures . This can be done with a notation of each Battalion , Regiment or Brigade on a map of the game area . Also the objectives of each Brigade must be either written out or marked on the map . The objective can be to hold ground or a feature , hold the right or left flank /wing , attack t he left or right flank or even capture a certain geographical feature on the table . Having drawn up the starting position's the figures are laid out on the table . Once set up both side's determine if either have the initiative ,i.e. the tactical advantage . Both player's role a six sided die each . The player with the highest score has the initiative . The d ifference between the scores indicates the number of bound's the player can move before the opponent . Where the score's are the same both player's start in the same bound . There are die role adjustment's to for certain player's for historical representation . For the War of Austrian Succession and Seven Years War games the Prussian's have one added to their die role . The exception being a game between the Swedes and Prussian's in a Seven Year's War game . For Russian's in Seven Year's War games one is deducted from the die role . In a game during the War of Austrian Succession the Anglo - Allies army have two added to their initiative die role .
Sequence of play 1 ) Declare charges - move charging unit up to maximum musket range of t he intended target . 2 ) Charged unit's need to check their response to the charge . 3 ) Charged unit carries out it's response to the charge . 4 ) Where contact is made carry out melee . 5) Charging unit check's to see if it's break's through . 6 ) If the unit breaks through and contacts another unit carry out the same as above for charges , i.e. response to charge , etc. 7 ) If the charging unit breaks through and makes contact with another unit , again check charged unit's response and then carry out action's and melee . 8 ) Other movement , those that moved in the morale reaction's fro m the previous bound or charge phase do not move . 9 ) Other firing - unit's that fired in the charge response phase cannot fire . 10) Morale check's . 11 ) Morale reaction's - retire , retreat , rout , follow up . These unit's cannot move in the next bound's movement phase
Charges All charges are declared at the beginning of the bound cycle . T he unit or unit's charging must be indicated as well as the unit or unit's being charged . The unit or unit's charged must check their response to being charged . If a charged Infantry unit has a rout reaction and the charging unit is Cavalry which makes contact in the charge phase the Infantry unit is considered to have been ridden down and will take no f urther part in the game and will carry on routing for the rest of the game . This does not mean that the entire unit i s destroyed . If the game is part of a campaign the melee phase is resolved as normal to see what casualties are inflicted . An Infantry unit formed up in square from a previous bound does not have to check it's response to being charged . If the Infantry unit has a obey order's reaction to being charged the Infantry unit may form square or it may have a reaction to form square . When this is the case the Cavalry can still attempt to b reak through if it makes contact as the square might not be fully formed . T he Infantry form square , the Cavalry make contact , the melee phase is resolved as normal and then the Cavalry try to break through . If unsuccessful it is considered the square is fully formed and there may be no further attempt to break through whilst that unit remain's in square . Whilst forming square the Infantry unit cannot fire . If a charging unit is fired on and takes casualties . The casualties are removed before contact is made . If the casualties amount to more than fifty percent of the front rank the c harge has been broken and will halt at at the next range bracket i.e. if fired at from short range the Cavalry will halt at short range . If fired at from medium range the unit halts half an inch short of contact . If the Cavalry unit has any movement left it may use that up , taking into account the deduction for turning about . If there are any frie ndly troops behind the unit that has been stopped who are also charging they will move up to base to base contact with the rear rank and halt there . When this happens the front unit , the one that has had it's charge broken cannot elect to use up any movement that remains and will stay where it is for the rest of the b ound . The unit behind can if it wishes use up any remaining movement and turn about . In the event of a Cavalry unit breaking through that melee must be r esolved first and the casualties taken off . The breakthrough takes place and if a second unit is contacted that melee is then resolved . Charging Infantry cannot fire regardless of the distance they have too move. With the order to charge Infantry would do j ust that thus ensuring momentum and shock on impact
Response to a charge A unit being charged must check it's response to being charged . The only unit t hat does not have to check it's response to being charged by Cavalry is a Infantry unit formed up in square . A unit that has checked it's response to being charged and chooses to form square cannot fire and the square can still be br oken through , the square would not have been formed properly and is still vulnerable to a Cavalry charge . If a friendly unit is in base to base contact with a charged unit this unit must check it's response to a charge as well . A Cavalry unit that has a reaction to obey order's and is un formed can remain stationary and dress rank's . The unit will be for m to receive the charge . If the Infantry or Artillery response to a charge is to fire and the target is closer than the range given then the unit does not fire as it is construed that the unit is unable to respond quickly enough and is shaken . I nfantry will stand and receive the charge . Artillery crew's will abandon the gun's . Artillery crew's who abandon the gun's will seek cover with Infantry within six inches and when the threat has receded can return to the guns . If the closest Infa ntry are further than six inches but less than twelve inches they will abandon the gun's and will need a morale check to return to the gun 's unless an Infantry unit moves to within base to base contact with the gun bases , physically recapturing the gun's . If the closest Infantry are more than twelve inches the Artillery crew's will abandon the gun's and not return for the rest of the game . Where the Artillery crew's seek refuge with an Infantry unit t hey are effectively part of that unit and will adopt the same charge and morale reaction's . Where the Infantry unit rout's the gun's are also lost for the rest of the game . To check a unit's response to being charge . Role a six sided die and compare the score against the unit 's present morale status on the chart below . Die role score Response to the charge 6 or more points under Infantry fire at 2'' , if charge is halted will counter charge . Artillery will fire at 3'' and stay with gun's . present morale status Cavalry counter charge and use charge factor's
4 or 5 point's under present morale status
Infantry fire at Cavalry at 2'' range , Infantry counter charge charge Infantry . Artillery fire at 3'' range and retire to closest Infantry . Light Infantry fire at 3'' and retire . If attacked in the flank Cavalry and Infantry turn to face .Cavalry counter charge but do not count the charging factor . Artillery crews of 8lb or less turn the guns . Heavier gun's crew's abandon gun's and retire to nearest Infantry unit .
Equal to the morale status or 1,2 or 3 point's under present morale status
Infantry charged by Cavalry fire at 3'' or can form square . Cavalry and Infantry against Infantry obey order's . Light Infantry fire at 6 '' and retire . If attacked in the flank or rear one stand my turn and face . Artillery fire at 6'' then retire to safety .
1 or 2 points over present morale status
Infantry fire at 5'' , Artillery fi re at 8'' , Light Infantry fire at 8'' and retire , Light Cavalry retire , Medium and Heavy cavalry dress rank's and receive charge . If being charged in the flank rear will retreat .
3 or 4 point's over Infantry shaken , will not fire . Artillery fire at 10'' , Light Cavalry retreat , Medium and Heavy Cavalry present morale status . retire . Light Infantry retreat . If being charged in the flank or rear will rout . 5 or 6 points over present morale status
Infantry rout . Artillery fire at 15'' , Light Cavalry rout , Medium and Heavy Cavalry retreat . If being charged in the flank or rear will ro ut for two bounds .
More than 6 points over present morale status
All rout for two bounds . If charged in the flank will rout off table .
Break through A charging Cavalry unit can check to see if it breaks through the unit or unit's it is charging . A Cavalry unit cannot break through a Infantry unit that had formed square in the previous bound . Infantry that have formed square this bound in response to a charge can be broken through . If two Cavalry unit's charge each other and only one breaks through , that u nit will carry on . The other unit will have it's movement arrested at the point of contact and will remain stationary for the rest of the bound . It will reform if not attacked . Infantry and Cavalry will automatically break through infantry in skirmish line . To test for a break through . Total up the factor's below to determine the factor needed required to break through . Role a six sided die . If the score is less t han the factor the charging Cavalry unit has broken through . Charging unit factor : Heavy Cavalry .............................................................5 Medium Cavalry..........................................................4 Light Cavalry.............................................................. 3 Factor's : If charging a unit in the flank or rear .......................+ 2 Cavalry charging Cavalry .........................................- 2 Both unit's charging each other ..............................+ 1 Each casualty lost during the charge .....................- 1 Charging unit unformed ...........................................- 2 Charging Russian Infantry .......................................- 1 Charging square formed this bound .......................-2 Charging square formed last bound .......................-7
Melee When a melee is carried out the first two rank's of a unit are counted . There is also an over lap of two figures at each end . Infantry in square can only count those figures facing the opposing figure's . After one bound of melee all troop's become unformed unless in square . T o reform the unit need's to be stationary for one bound and carry out no other fu nction , i.e. fire , move or co me under fire . A unit unformed can still charge , test for a break through and melee but with impediment's . Unit's in skirmish line will avoid a melee . If charged they will fall back as indicated by the response to a charge and will then reform in skirmish line at the end of the bound , unless in hard cover then the unit will stay where it is . If a Cavalry unit contact's with a unit in skirmish line i t will automatically break through . Artillery that is attacked will fall back to safety to the closest Infantry within 6'' . They will return to the gun's once safe and will not be able to fire until next bo und . If a Cavalry unit has broken through a square that has been for med this bound then the factor for Cavalry against Infantry in square does not apply . The melee factor for the charging unit breaking through is a pplicable for both units whether they have broken through or have been broken through .
Casualty calculation : Multiply the melee factor's by the number of figures . Add or subtract the tactical factor . Subtract the score of a six sided die . For each total score of six one figure or o ne gun is lost . If the final score is less than six than the die is r olled . The score must be equal or be less than the re maining melee factor . Melee factor : In contact : melee from last bound
Charging : first bound of contact
Infantry / Light Cavalry........1
Infantry / Light Cavalry .......1 . 5
Medium Cavalry ..............1 . 5
Medium Cavalry.........................2
Heavy Cavalry.......................2
Heavy Cavalry.......................2 . 5
Tactical factor adjustment : Being attacked in the rear or flank .........................................................................................Deduct 2 Infantry meleeing against troop's behind hard cover .............................................................Deduct 2 Cavalry meleeing against Infantry in square *.......................................................................Deduct 2 Meleeing up hill .....................................................................................................................De .....................................................................................................................Deduct duct 1 Reforming , shaken , unformed, un formed, retreated last bound ...........................................................Dedu ...........................................................Deduct ct 1 Unit routed last bound ...........................................................................................................Deduc ...........................................................................................................Deductt 2 Grenadiers meleeing against troops in hard cover ................................................................Deduct 1 * Not applicable if Cavalry have broken through .
Movement Formation's : Line is a unit of figures formed up in two rank's . Skirmish line is a unit - battalion formed up in
single rank . Column of route is a unit for med up in a column , two figures wide . Advancing and firing : Infantry may advance and fire . The distance they can advance and fire depend's on the type of Infantry they are . Light Infantry can advance 5'' and fire , Prussian Infantry can advance 4'' and fire , other Infantry can advance 3'' and fire . Infantry cannot charge and then fire. Formation changes : These are carried out with the unit stationary and will take one bound to complete . A unit forming square can change formation whilst being charged . This can only be carried out during the response to the charge phase . Turning about , turning to the right or left only takes half a bound . Reforming : Unit's take two bound's / cycles to reform after a rout and o ne bound to reform after any other event i.e. melee , charge , breaking through another unit or being broken through . Unit's reforming must be stationary whilst carrying out this action and cannot change formation . If a unit need's to defend itself it cannot reform u ntil it has finished firing or meleeing . Any troops routing off table will not return to the game . Any troops following up a r outing unit off table will need a morale check to return i.e. obey order's or better . Arriving on table they will be unformed . Obstacles : Wood's , wall's , hedge's , uphill , moving in and out o f building's , crossing stream's and ditches reduces a unit's speed by half .Wood's , wall's , ditches , stream's building's and hedges nullify the charge impetus of Infantry . Wall's , wood's and building's nullify the charge impetus of Cavalry . Artillery : Movement of Artillery is restricted by the weight of the cannon / howitzer . Light Artillery : 1lb , 2lb , 3lb cannon's and Howitzer's up to 7lb . These are considered to be light gun's for the period . These move at line pace when unlimbered and at skir mish pace when limbered up , i.e. Battalion and Regimental gun's . Battalion gun's alway's move at the same pace as the Battalion they are with . Medium Artillery : 6lb , 7lb , 8lb , 10lb , 12lb cannon's are considered to medium gun's for the period . T hese can only be moved limbered up . When unlimbered they can be pivoted through 90 degree's per bound or 45 degree's and fired at half effect . Heavy Artillery : 18lb , 24lb 30lb cannon's and howitzer's are considered to be heavy gun's for the period . These can only be moved limbered up . Once unlimbered they cannot be p ivoted but fire from the position they are pointing in , with a 45 d egree arc to the front . Infantry Line
Light Infantry
8''
Skirmish line
Light Cavalry
Medium Cavalry
Heavy Cavalry
Light
Medium
Heavy
Horse
14''
12''
10''
6''
4''
3''
10''
11''
Charge
+3''
+3''
+6''
+5''
+4''
Column of route
10''
12''
18''
16''
14''
Limber up unlimber
+5''
one Bound
Two Bounds
Half bound
Firing Both rank's in a Infantry unit formed up in li ne may fire when stationary . Infantry may advance and fire, Musketeers and Fusiliers can advance advance 3”and fire. Light Infantry can move 5'', Prussian Infantry can move 4'' when advancing and firing . When a unit advances and fires only the front rank may fire . If a unit being charged charged intends to fire it must must remain stationary . There are three types of fire in these rules they are direct , diagonal or oblique and enfilade fire . a) Direct fire is directed at right angles to the target unit at the front or rear. b) Diagonal or oblique fire is directed at a 45 degree angle and is aimed at the widest part of the target u nit thus firing across the target unit and can be aimed at the front or rear of the target unit . c) Enfilade fire is directed at right angles to the target unit aimed at the narrowest part of the target unit i.e. the the end firing along the target unit . A unit firing has a 45 degree arc to it's front . Any target in this arc can be fir ed upon by all of the figures in t he Battalion or Battery . If an intended target is outside this arc the firi ng unit must wheel or pivot around with the distance moved measured from the outer edge . When a target is within range of the musket's in a Battalion the Battalion gun's will also fir e at this target . The Battalion gun fire factor is added to the Battalion musket fire . Then the firing factor's are added or subtracted along with the die score . Calculation of casualties : To calculate calculate firing casualties multiply the weapon factor by the number of figures firing in a Infantry Battalion or the number of gun's in the battery. Apply the firing factor's then subtract the score of a six sided sided die. The remaining figure is the casualty factor factor . For each score of six a figure or battery gun is lost . If the final fig ure is less than six or there is a remaining amount then a six sided die is rolled , the die role must equal or be less than the factor to gain a casualty . E.G. 10 figures at 3” have a weapons factor factor of 10, they are firing for the first time which has a +2 giving a total of 12. A die role of 3 is subtracted leaving 9. One figure is lost with a remainder of 3. A di e is role of 3 or less is need for a second figure. Weapon factor's
Short range
Medium range
Long range
Musket - per figure
2'' - 1 . 5
4'' - 1
6'' - 0 . 5
Jager's / Rifles - per figure 1lb / 2lb gun - per gun
3'' - 1 . 5 6'' - 1 . 5
6'' - 1 12'' - 1
9'' - 0 . 5 21'' - 0 . 5
3lb / 4lb gun - per gun
9'' - 1 . 5
15'' - 1
24'' - 0 . 5
6lb / 7lb / 8lb gun - per gun 10lb / 12lb gun - per gun
9'' - 2 9'' - 2 . 5
18'' - 1 18'' - 1 . 5
30'' - 0 . 5 30'' - 1
9'' - 3
18'' - 1 . 5
33'' - 1
9'' - 3 . 5
18'' - 1 . 5
36'' - 1
18lb / 24lb gun - per gun 30lb gun - per gun
Firing factor's : Target formed up in skirmish line . Target enfiladed or in column of route. Target in square or diagonal / oblique fire. Target in or behind hard cover . Target in or behind soft cover , i.e. in a wood Musket fire at Cavalry. Artillery fire at Cavalry. Infantry advancing and firing . Firer shaken , unformed , retired this bound or retreated last bound . Infantry firing first volley of the game, ( each group of 3 figures ). Russian Infantry firing . Firing unit routed last bound . Target is Russian Infantry ..
Deduct 2 Add 2 Add 1 Deduct 2 Deduct 1 Add 2 Add 1 Deduct 1 Deduct 1 Add 1 Deduct 1 Deduct 2 Add 1
Morale Morale check's are carried out for the following reason' s . Having taken casualties during a melee , casualties from Artillery or musket fire , if a friendly routing unit passes through another unit's rank's - unless either are Light Infantry or if when for med up in line the unit is in base to b ase contact with the next unit which rout's , if a unit that follow's up a routing unit and goes off table , it will need to take a morale check to return . Morale checks are carried out at Battalion level for Infantry , Regimental level for Cavalry and b attery level for Artillery . Any morale check on an Infantry Battalion will also affect the Battalion gun's . T his rule also applies to the Regimental gun's with Russian Dragoon and Grenadier-a-Cheval Regiment's . To check the present morale status of a unit you you add or subtract the morale factor's to the relevant unit morale factor below . The resulting score is the present morale status . Role a six sided die and consult the morale result's chart , the bold type refers to the die roll . Unit morale factor : Fortress troop's or Militia Musketeer's Artillery , Cavalry , Irregular troop's or Freicorp Militia Grenadiers & Regular Musketeer's/ Fusilier's
3
4
5
Regular Grenadier's
Guard's
6
7
Morale factor's : General with unit - base to base contact Unit in hard cover General within 3'' Prussian , British troop's , Swiss troop's , Irish in French service , Hanoverian troop's Each casualty taken by a unit during game . Each bound Cavalry are in co ntinuous melee Battalion , Regiment shaken or retired this bound / Infantry rank's broken through b y Cavalry Being attacked in the flank or rear Unit retreated this bound . Unit routed this bound Unit routed last bound
Add2 Add2 Add1 Add 1 Deduct1 Deduct1 Deduct3 Deduct2 Deduct3 Deduct 2
Morale results 5 or more point's under the morale status : Cavalry in melee follow up routing , retreating or retiring unit's for one bound . Infantry in melee follo w up routing or retreating Infantry for half a bound , ( unless in square ) . Artillery man gun's . Otherwise obey order's . 4 points under the morale status : Cavalry in melee follow up routing or retreating unit's for o ne bound . Infantry in melee follow up routing Infantry for half a bound , ( unless in square ) . Artillery man gun's . Otherwise obey order's . 3 point's under morale status : Cavalry in melee follow up routing unit's for one bound . Infantry in melee follow up routing Infantry for half a bound . Artillery man gun's . Otherwise obey order's . Equal or 1 or 2 point's under morale status : Obey order's . 1 point over morale status : Shaken , will not initiate a charge , halt for half a bound to dress rank's . Artillery battery that is limbered up will unlimber to fire . If unlimbered will hold unless in melee will then abandon guns . 2 point's over morale status : Shaken , will not initiate a charge , Infantry in melee will recoil 3'' , if followed up will retire . Infantry in square against Cavalry will hold . Cavalry will retire for one bound . Artillery battery unlimbered will hold present position . Artillery limbered up will unlimber to fire . Artillery in melee will abandon gun's . 3 point's over morale status : Shaken , will not initiate a charge , halt for one bound to dress rank's . Infantry in melee will retire , if followed up and casualties received will become a retreat . Infantry in square against Cavalry will hold . Cavalry will retire for one bound . Artillery unlimbered will hold present position for the rest of the game unless it has a reaction to retire , retreat or rout . Artillery limbered up will r etire for one bound and unlimber - will not advance any further for the rest of the game . Artillery in melee will ab andon gun's for two bound's . 4 point's over morale status : Retire for one bound at line pace , if follo wed up and casualties received will become a retreat . Infantry in square against Cavalry hold . Artillery unlimbered or limbered up will limber up and retire for one bound and not advance for the rest o f the game . Artillery in melee will abandon gun's . 5 point's over morale status : Retreat at line pace for one bound , if retreat is followed up the retreat becomes a route . Infantry in square against Cavalry can be broken through , Cavalry can role for the break through . If successful square will break and rout for one bound . Artiller y retreat for one bound whether unlimbered or limbered up , If battery is attacked or fired upon whilst retreating it will become a rout . 6 points over morale status : Route for one bound at column of rout pace , Artillery will abandon gun's for the rest of the game . Unit will take two bounds to refor m . More than 6 points over morale status : For each point the die roll exceeds 6 point's over the morale status the unit will rout one extra bound . I .e. a unit has a morale status of minus one . A die roll is six . This is one point above six and so the unit will route two bounds .
Addenda History Between 1740 and 1763 there were three major wars in Europe that shaped the national boundaries that were to become familiar in the next century . This period was to be known as ' the Age of Reason ' where old conflicts over religion gave way to war's over industrial resources . Armies became more professional and were modelled on the Prussian style developed by Frederick the Great . Between 1740 and 1763 Austria was at the centre of three wars . Firstly with Pr ussia under Frederick the Great . In 1740 Frederick invaded the Austrian province of Silesia starting the First Silesian War . With Austria occupied with Prussia in Silesia , Bavaria supported by France advance up the Danube valley attacking Austria . at the same time France advanced into Austrian - Nederlands . This attack was opposed by an allied army composing of British , Hanoverian , Dutch , Hessen , and Austrian troops . In southern Europe Spain and France attacked Italy ,a Austrian possession at the time . T his war ( The War of Austrian succession ) lasted until 1748 . T he Silesian War ended but Maria Teresa was determined to take back Silesia and so Austrian troops advanced on Silesia , sparking the Second Silesian War . This second war lasted until 1748 in which Prussian maintained possession of Silesia . There was a period of peace which was broken by Prussian in 1756 in a pre-emptive attack on Saxony , a minor Austrian ally with the intention to also attack Austria . T his was to prevent the Grande Alliance of Russia , France , Sweden , Austria , Bavaria , a number of other smaller states and Principalities plus the Reich Armee attacking Prussia . Frederick thought that by defeating Austria the other nation's would back down . This did not happen and the war dragged on for the next seven years . The Seven Years War was a world wide conflict where Britain , Prussia , Hanover and other German states were pitted against The Grande Alliance , ( Spain joined in 1762 ) . The Anglo allied army fought in the west whilst Prussian fought the Russians and Austrian's in the east . The Anglo allied army under the Duke of Cumberland was defeated by France and capitulated . Prussia wa forced to fight on all fronts by itself . A Russian army marched into East Prussia , Austrian troops marched into Silesia , the Franco allied army advanced from the west and the S wedes attacked from the north . Frederick prevented his Kingdom from being over whelmed with an outstanding victory at Rossbach , where 20,000 Prussian's defeated 60,000 French . At Leuthen Frederick defeated the Austrian army . The Anglo allied army reformed and supported by some Prussian troops defended the west flank for the rest of the war . The commander was the Duke of Brunswick , who was put forward by Frederick the Great . The Allies inflicted a serious of defeat's on the French over the next few years in campaign's that involved considerable manoeuvring . During the next four years Frederick won some masterful victories against the poorly organised Grande Alliance . Costly victories at Zorndorf in 1758 and at Leignitz in 17 60 as well as Frederick's worst defeat at Kunnersdorf drained the Prussian army . At the end of 1761 the Austrian's advanced into Saxony and Silesia and the Russians held Pomerania . Prussia was stretched to the limit . The Prussian army now composed of a large contingent of Frei Korp units . Peter the III succeeded the Russian throne and withdrew Russia from the War . Austria was unable to defeat Prussia alone and withdrew from Silesia leaving it in Prussian hands
Tactic's of the period Tactic's of the period covered by these rules tended to be slow and ponderous . Armies would manoeuvre onto the battlefield in column of route and deploy for battle in line ( linear formation ) . Smaller Armies such as the Prussians managed to out manoeuvre their enemies and gain the upper hand by deploying to the flank . Which was perfected by Frederick the Great . Once deployed for battle Battalion's would advance on their objective at a slow pace ensuring that the rank's remained closed up . Where gap's appeared they would be closed quickly as possibly with the cohersion of the Ensign's and Sergent's . Infantry were considered to be the taker's and holder's of ground . The I nfantrymen were drilled to fire five round's per minute . In battle this proved difficult for several reason's . The musket barrel getting hot , the priming pan getting clogged up with carbon from the gun powder , ram rod's breaking - a number of ar mies still employed wooden ram rod's , breakages i.e. the trigger mechanism , flint's breaking and even ram ro d's being fired by mistake . The Infantry marched literally shoulder to shoulder at about 65 pace's a minute , similar to to the modern slow march and as previously mentioned in line . Column during this period had died out of fashion during the previous century after Adolphus Gustaph had used line to maximum effect to inflict casualties in his enemies . Line was three rank's deep , the Russian's changed back to a four rank formation after a period of experimentation . battalion's would march to within 200- 100 yards and then fire a number of volleys befor e charging or would advance closer and fire again and then charge . The Prussian's fired from the hip whilst marching at ra nges of 300 - 400 yard's . This tactic was used well to effect at Chotusitz . If Infantry were charged by Cavalry they would ideally form square but what happened on a number of occasion's the Infantry would stand and wait until the Cavalry got close and then let loose a murderous volley such as that fired by the British Infantry at Minden . If the Cavalry were not stopped and carried on charging the Infantry would lay down a let the Cavalry run o ver them saving them from the sabre slashing . Some veteran unit's even stood up after the cavalry had passed and fired a volley into the back of the Cavalry .Grenadier's were the assault troops of the period . They were armed with a musket as other I nfantry but also an axe and a pouch of grenade's made of porcelain or wood . Grenadier battalion's were formed b y withdrawing the Grenadier company's from the Infantry Battalion's and amalgamating them into unit's of about 400 men . Some Armies formed ad hoc Grenadier Battalion's for the duration of the battle or campaign . Other armies , such as the Prussian's and Russia's formed regular Grenadier battalion's .Cavalry would form up in line , three rank's deep almost boot to boot . When advancing they stopped every so often to redress the r ank's to ensure the squadron's were in good order . The initial pace was the trot , this would build to a canter as they closed to the enemy . In the last 100 yard's the Cavalry would gallop at the enemy . The Prussian Cavalry were expected by Frederick to charge before the enemy , adding to the shock effect . Austrian Cavalry would fire a volley with their pistol's as they rode in . This reduced the impact effect of the full charge , plus it proved difficult to put the pistol away and then use the sword . Cavalry melee's tended to be short , especially if it was light or ir regular Cavalry .Artillery fire was slow and not very accurate outside canister range . Artillerist's would fire without running up the gun or even fire without aiming the shot . Some Infantry commanders knew this and used tactic's to evade artillery fire , such as marching diagonally . During this period all Infantry Battalion's had Battalion gun's . These were mostly two or three p ounder's . In the case of the Prussian Army some Battalion's had six pounders and towards the end of the Seven Year's War most Battalion's had seven pounder howitzer's . Because of the weight of the field gun's their movement was very restricted . Once set up t he gun's would not be moved and stay in the same position through out the battle . T his was due to the limber train was all staffed by civilian's . Horse artillery was just coming into use . First with the Russian Dragoon's and Horse Grenadier's and then Frederick formed a Horse Artillery unit which was ruthlessly used . It was wiped out twice but rebuilt and survived to the end of the Seven Year's War .
Battles of the War of Austrian Succession & the First & Second Silesian War 1740 - 1748 Mollwitz :10th April , 1741 - Prussian's 22,000 , victors / Austrian's 18,000 Chotusitz : 17th May , 1742 - Prussian's 23,500 , victors / Austrian's 28,000 Dettigen : 27th June , 1743 - Anglo , Austrian , Hanovarian , Hessen 40,000 , victor's / French 60,000 Velletri : 11th August , 1744 1 744 - Spanish Neopolitan 10,000 / Austrian's 6,000 ,victor's Amberg : 7th January , 1745 1 745 - Bavaria's / Austrian's , victors Fontenoy : 11th May Ma y , 1745 - Anglo , Dutch , Austrian 's 53,000 / French 70,000 , victor's Hohenfreiberg : 5th June 1745 - Prussians 60,000 , victor's / Austrian's 80,000 Sohr : 30th September , 1745 - Prussian's 18,000 , victor's / Austrian's 40,000 Hennersdorf : : 23rd November , 1745 - Saxony / Prussian's , victor's Kesseldorf : 15th December , 1745 - Austro Saxon's / Prussian's , victor's Placenza : 15th June , 1746 - Austrian's 56,000 , victor's / Spanish Rocoux : 11th October , 1746 - Allies 80,000 / French 120,000 , victor's Laffeldt : 2nd July 1747 - Allies 90,000 / French 120,000 , victor's Col De L'assiette : 19th July 1747 - Austro- Piedmontesse 4,000 , victor's / French 29 Battlion's
Battles of the Seven Year's War , 1756 - 1763 Lobositz : October , 1756 - Prussian's 28,000 , vicotor's / Austrian's 33,350 Prague : 6th May Ma y , 1757 - Prussian's 67,000 , victor's / Austrian's 60,000 Kolin : 18th June ,1757 - Prussian's 32,000 / Austrian's 40,000 , victor's Hastenbeck : 26th July , 1757 - Anglo-allies 36,000 / French 60,000 , victor's Gross Jagersdorf : : 19th August , 1757 - Prussian's 24,700 / Russian's 54,800 , victor's Rossbach : 5th November , 1757 - Prussian's 22,000 , victor's / Franco - allies Leuthen : 5th December , 1757 - Prussian's 35,000 , victor's / Austrian's 60,000 Crefeld : 23rd June, 1758 - Anglo - Allies 30,500 , victor's / French 47,000 Zorndorf : 14th August ,1758 - Prussian's 25,000 / Russian's 40,000 Hochirch : 14th October , 1758 - Prussian's 30,000 / Austrian's 78,000 , victor's Bergen : 13th April , 1759 - Allies under Duke of Brunswick 27,000 , victor's / French 30,000 Zullichau : 12th July , 1759 1 759 - Prussian's / Russian's Kay : 23rd July , 1759 - Prussian's 27,000 / Russian's 52,000 Minden : 1st August , 1759 - Anglo - Allies 42,500 , victor's / French 54,000 Kunnersdorf : : 28th August , 1759 - Prussian's 40,000 / Austro - Russian army 90,000 , victor's Maxen : 20th November , 1759 - Prussian's 15,000 / Austrian's 32,000 , victor's Warburg : 31st July , 1760 - Allies under Duke of Brunswick 24,000 , victor's / French 21,500 Leignitz : 15th August , 1760 - Prussian's 26,700 / Austrian's 100,000 Torgau : 3rd November , 1760 - Prussian's 44,000 , victor's / Austrian's 64,000 Belle Isle : 7th - 8th April , 1761 - Briti British sh 8,000 , victor's / French 3,000 Bruzenitz : August , 1761 - Austro -Russian's / Prussian's Burkersdorf : : 21st July , 1762 - Prussian's 55,000 , victor's / Austrian's 75,000 Freidburg : 29th October , 1762 - Prussian's , victor's / Austrian's
Bibliography Warfare in the Age of Reason: :................................................................................................ :..........................................................................................................Wordsworth ..........Wordsworth Frederick the Great :................................................................David Fraser :.................................Penguin Press Dictionary of Battles :..........................................................................................................................Hutchinson Guide to the Battles of Europe :............................................ Peter Chandler :...... .............................Wordsworth Dictionary of Military Biography :......................................................................................................Wordsworth Eighteenth Century Europe , 1700- 1789 :..............................Jeremy Beach :.....................................Macmillan Frederick the Great :..............................................................Giles MacDough :...........................Pheonix Press Famous British Battles :.........................................................Geofffrey Regan :............Michael O'Mara book's Great Battles of the British army :.........................................David Chandler :...........................Bramley book's Art of warfare in the age of Marlboro ugh :..............................David Chandler :.......................................London History of warfare :................................................................H. W. Koch :........................................W. H. Smith Firer power , weapon effectiveness’ effectiveness on the battlefield :..............................................Major General B.P. Hughes.....Arms and Armour Russian uniform's & flags of the Seven Years War :.................................................... R.D. Pengel , G.R. Hurt Russian Infantry of the Seven Year's War :....................................................................R.D. Pengel , G.R. Hurt Swedish Army in Pomerania 1756 - 1763 :....................................................................R.D. Pengel Prussian Infantry uniform's of the Seven Years War :...................................................R.D. Pengel , G.R. Hurt Austro-Hungarian infantry regiment's :..........................................................................R.D. Pengel , G.R. Hurt Basic guide to Armies & uniform's of the Seven Years War :................................................Active service uniform's Austria France British Saxon's Hanoverians’ Prussia
