Polemos rules provided a breakthrough for me. They simplified things and speeded the game up, even if the combat mechanism was a bit brutal. As well as getting me back into Napoleonics, it inspired me to rebase my H&R SYW figures and touch up the painting on figures I’d done many years before.
Old Fritz assembles his battalions outside Olmütz (or some such place).
The square bases are command bases, the officer on a round base is an ADC heading off to the flank with the King's instructions.
We had some good SYW games using a bowdlerised version of MDE but it felt a bit too, well, Napoleonic. The ebb and flow and combined arms action didn’t feel right for SYW. After lots of tinkering I still found it wasn’t getting that linear warfare feel. So I started completely from scratch. If indeed you ever can start from scratch and forget everything from before.
What were the principles I was looking for in my new ruleset?
- Friction
- If possible 'the fog of war'
- Lady Luck (see the quote above), and finally
- I wanted to replicate the difficulty of changing a plan once battle was underway.
- Lively (3): Those with good coup d’oeuil i.e. generals with plenty of vision and the ability to read the battlefield. They are able and willing to react to developments without always having to receive new orders. Examples would be Loudon and Seydlitz.
- Middling (2): The bulk of competent generals who will go about their business under orders
- Myopic (1): Generals with either poor vision (literally) or without the ability or willingness to take the initiative. This can include those whose attitude requires extra 'management' by the Commander (Sackville at Minden springs to mind).
What do I mean by changing orders?
Any of the following requires a change of orders:
- Commencing a move (except at the start of the games, when any or all formations can start moving). If you elect not to move a formation in turn 1, then you still have to successfully change the orders (the original plan may have been misunderstood, or they missed their time/signal to start marching)
- Halting a move (the only other ways to stop are to end up in Combat or reach an impassable obstacle)
- Direction Changes (i.e. EVERY direction change)
- Formation Changes (line or road column only)
- Rallying
- Changing pace - i.e. Forced march (faster but adds to attrition)
Next up was Combat
This is basically a series of opposed die rolls, modified by circumstances and quality. Pretty standard fare so far. Bases can be pushed back, suffer attrition (disorder/losses - I use casualty markers), and ultimately get removed. By the way, bases represent 2 battalions or c 5 squadrons - i.e. regiments for Prussians and Austrians. Combat occurs when foot and horse are in base-to-base contact. There are actually 3 types of combat each with different sub-phases:
- cavalry v cavalry
- cavalry v infantry
- infantry v infantry
Turn Sequence
Turns are UGOIGO, but only 1 ‘action’ is permitted per unit per turn. This speeds up the turn and means the non-phasing player isn't waiting around for so long. Also I reasoned that a unit shouldn't be able to go through a fire fight and then march a given distance in the same time it takes another unit to move the same distance. I gave a lot of thought to the turn sequence and how the different phases interact and ended up with the following:
- Enforced Moves Phase
- Artillery and Skirmishing Phase
- Combat Phase
- Manoeuvre Phase
- Orders Phase
If you’re in combat that turn, you cannot then move that turn. If you have an enforced move you cannot initiate combat. Artillery and skirmishing is ‘ranged combat’ which seeks to degrade the enemy units. One option that I've experimented with is to run Combat and Manoeuvre as if it is one phase, running across the table from left to right and performing the relevent action with each formation. So for example, Left Wing Cavalry might be in combat with their opposite numbers so you carry out the Combat phase for them. Then next up is the Left Wing Infantry who might still be advancing and you perform their Manoeuvre Phase. Then on to the Centre Infantry, Right Wing Infantry and Right Wing Cavalry each performing Combat OR Manoeuvre.
The Orders Phase is when you move ADC figures from your Commander towards where you want them to go. Ones already en route also continue to move during this phase. The “order” in the form of an ADC figure is sent immediately after the Manoeuvre Phase, and cannot in effect be carried out before the next Movement Phase. The player may have to anticipate what might happen in the other player’s turn or in his own subsequent Combat and Artillery Phases. The test to change orders is actually carried out at the beginning of the Manoeuvre Phase. There is no limit on the number of changes except that a unit or command can only have one attempt to change orders each turn - no ‘if X doesn’t work I’ll try Y’.
There are other features which I could expand on, but won't for now at least. These include how troops are graded by Type, by level of Discipline and by Temper. The latter (possibly unecessary gloss) was inspired by an idea in the Gå På rules.
Action about to commence in a playtest at Schloß Nundanket
I'll leave you with the full quote that this post's title came from. It sums up my feeling on Early Modern Warfare.
"The Hazard and doubtful Chance of
Wars, the mighty and surprizing Revolutions of Human Affairs;
particularly the unaccountable Events of Engagements and Stratagems,
which we see happen daily; and wherein, when the nicest Policy hath done
its utmost, Providence hath still the chief Hand, and gives the
finishing Stroke; For it is obvious to every Man’s Observation, that
what the World calls Fortune, cannot pretend to so absolute a Dominion
in any one Instance, as in the Decisions of the Field. And accordingly
we often see, that One Hour there turns the whole Face of Affairs, and
exalts or reduces a Prince to the very Reverse of what he was an Hour
ago." Of Wisdom, Book III, Pierre, Sieur de Charron, transl. George Stanhope, London 1707
It was interesting reading on your design principles and thinking so far. I look froward to reading about how your rules progress.
ReplyDeleteCheers peter. What I realise now that would have been a good idea, was to record some examples from play-testing in order to show how things worked out in practice.
DeleteThe thing that's causing me the most bother at the moment is when to do the Enforced Move phase. As it stands it can get lost in the heat of the moment, or I follow my instinct and do it straight after Combat (a la Polemos), which then messes up the 'one action per turn' principle.
Great stuff mate. I'm going to have to read it again I think to fully digest it. Are you anywhere near a bit of battle testing?
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit of a long post wasn't it? 😀
DeleteI play-tested through several small actions, tweaking along the way, before doing the game in the last picture. The basic structure works but will need several small developments.
By then I'd taken the plunge into the ECW so the SYW has taken a back seat while I built up my forces and rules for that.
Excellent - I enjoyed that very much - I shall read it again, too. Statement of objectives is very useful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony. Appreciate it.
DeleteI was pleased with the way the C&C mechanism worked so I adopted it for my ECW rules.