MUSKETS & SPRINGFIELDS: Wargaming the American Civil War 1861-1865

1-237340

Rules for operational battles in the American Civil War is used with any scale and basing system. The player is the army commander with sub command groups. This will be typically a Corps. The basic unit is the infantry brigade grouped with cavalry and artillery into Corps or Divisions, but also include sharpshooters and skirmishers. Turns use a bag-pull system in which it is possible for the non-active player to able to interdict the play.?

The game system uses grids as the unit of measurement. The game space is broken into several square grids which represent 300 yards in ground scale. Taking a balance of the various drill guides of the period this is approximately equal to 600 men in two ranks. For a typical 6x4 playing space, it is recommended a ratio width x depth of 1.5 x 1. A typical 6x4 table provides the following 12 (3600 yds) by 8 (2400 yds) squares of battlefield.

Morale is handled at the corps level and attrition is held at the individual unit base. Morale is not the usual average, veteran, elite often used, but a reflection of the state of mind on the day: Unknown, Nervous, and Steady. The first time a unit takes damage, the player rolls on a chart to discover the morale rating (dependent on year and side). Morale failures are held at corp level until enough occur for the corps to run away.

Attrition at the unit level represents loss of cohesion, battlefield casualties, or supplies running low. A unit can absorb six hits before it is automatically destroyed.