Action/Reaction in Miniature Wargaming (Part 1)

My grandson and I had a great time at Fall-In and anticipate running games next year. Alas, the photos did not turn out well, therefore they are not in this entry. Since then I have been rewriting, tweaking and testing the rules for Chaos, Confusion, and Casualties, my Civil War  rules set.

While the rules are designed for 54mm, they can be scaled down to other sizes. Scale and basing are up to the individual. I play with 54mm because that is the scale I prefer. I used that scale in my history high school classes because they were economical, and easier to see, and handle. I used then to teach tactics and command and control, in which the students had to write afteraction reports.

What I intend to do in the next several blogs is to introduce the rules, solicit suggestions on refining them and explain the logic behind why I adopted the rules to encourage others to generate their own systems.

I am a detail oriented individual, a firm believer that For want of a nail, a shoe was lost/ for want of a shoe, a horse was lost/ for want of a horse a battle was lost/ all for the want of a nail.” Ignoring the small stuff can create larger than life problems. For want of socks, blistered feet disabled men as much as bullets. I study battles from the ground up. I interpret battlefields the same way. Fog, smoke, rapidly undulating terrain, high humidity, and very faint breezes transformed bucolic farm fields into separate fields over which no general had control. That is what I wanted to simulate in a game. I believe to a degree, I have achieved that objective.

I also wanted to get minimize charts and make the outcomes of engagements far less predictable. Why is it, that in popular history, Confederates never deserted the field? That the Civil War was civil? That elite troops never reached a breaking point? That artillery projectiles always exploded? That generals really knew what was going on within their zones of control? I attribute Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong will at the most inconvenient time) as the basis of the concept behind this system.

Isaac Newton’s Third Law says that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” With physics that is true but not so much for human interactions. There was a great cartoon from Carl Rose in 1942 picturing two GIs on a forward observation post in the Pacific. The first frame shows the one guy on the berm of the trench snapping off a round toward the unseen Japanese followed immediately by the second frame which depicts 13 artillery rounds passing low and horizontally over their trench. The fellow who started the mess calmly tells his mate, “Touchy, aren’t they?” How many big firefights started by a loose round on the perimeter? How many high school brawls from one remark? How many arguments over a trivial remark?

That is how this system operates. Action/reaction, unless an officer sees it and succeeds in stopping it. It also makes the players use the terrain, ground cover, smoke and/or fog to their advantage.

Basic Linear Tactics

Diagram 1 illustrates 5 stands (representing 500 men in two ranks) in line of battle. Their normal movement is 9 inches less any deductions for terrain, fog, and smoke.

 Diagram 1

Diagram 2 shows 4 stands (400 men in column of 4's) facing by the narrow end of the rectangle. Their normal rate of speed is 12 inches less deductions.

Changing from column into line can occur by turning the pieces 90 degrees to face right or left by the deduction of 1 movement point.

Going from column into line or line into column other than by changing facing takes all of the movement points because they require more intricate manoeuvres to execute and more exertion by the men into line. while the illustrations below have specific commands, the important thing to note it where the point of pivot company (the anchor) in the line changes and gives the commander flexibility in handling his/her regiment.

Note how the left of the line becomes the tail of the column and places the head of the column closest to the opponent's line.

Here the line faces to the rear and forms column in the opposite direction.

Column to the Right (or Left) Into Line allows the commander to quickly move his regiment to either flank to protect his front.

Column Forward Into Line allows the officer to reduce his front for regiments on his flanks to come one line.

     Column Front to Rear Into Line allows the commander to face a threat from the rear. Note the center stand (the front of the column) about faces and the other companies go on line to both flanks.

Front to Rear on the Left (or Right) Company is a left wheel to the rear. This changes front by 90 degrees. (For some reason I missed placing the 3rd Company in the new line.) It is the reverse of a Left (orRight) Wheel into Line. 

     Into Column on the Center Company. This places the front company closer to the enemy.

There are no movement points used in this maneuver when in column of fours.

A Right (or Left) Quarter Wheel takes hale of the line's movement points (5 inches) with no deductions.

In the game the player does not have to issue those specific commands but has to know how to change the formations to his/her advantage.