Note: these rules are heavily influenced by Russ McFalane's Morschauser-inspired rules for the late Renaissance era, "Rough Wooing".
Morschauser-style gridded Horse and Musket Rules, Mark 3
Organize the Army into commands, each with a Leader. Leaders only affect their Command.
Players alternate turns. Dice for who goes first at the beginning of the game.
MOVEMENT
Unit Type | Move-boxes | Hits | Melee- Front | Melee- Other | Fire - base dice |
Militia Infantry | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Light Infantry | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Infantry | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Grenadiers | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Light Cavalry | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Heavy Cavalry | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | - |
Foot Artillery | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Horse Artillery | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Guard Infantry | 2 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Guard Cavalry | 4 | 8 | 5 | 3 | - |
Leaders | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
Counts as 1.5 boxes to move, or measure range, on the diagonal
Costs 1/2 box for each turn of 45 degrees
Increase Move by 50% if the entire move is along a road.
Units may move directly to their rear at half speed.
Only Light Infantry may enter woods. Cavalry and Artillery may not enter buildings.
If entering an enemy zone of control [ZOC] (within the 3 boxes to the front) must stop, and
melee will result. Must face into the box of at least one enemy unit whose ZOC you enter.
MELEE
All attacking units facing into a box containing an enemy unit fight in melee.
All defending units who are attacked fight in Melee
All defending units which have an enemy in their ZOC may fight in melee.
Resolve multiple unit melees so as to involve the fewest possible units in each.
All units in Melee roll as many dice as they have hits remaining.
Each die that has a score less than or equal to the Melee rating of that unit is a hit!
Minus 1 to melee rating when attacking uphill, from stream, into woods, or units in buildings.
Minus 1 to melee rating if their Command is Shaken.
Units losing a melee (causing fewer hits than the enemy) Fall Back 2 boxes, facing the enemy.
MISSILE FIRE (Shooting)
Unit Type | Range-boxes | To Hit | Firing: Base Dice |
Militia Infantry | 4 | 5, 6 | 2 dice |
Light Infantry | 4 | 4, 5, 6 | 3 dice |
Infantry | 4 | 5, 6 | 2 dice |
Grenadiers, Guard | 4 | 5, 6 | 2 dice |
Light Cavalry | 3 | 6 | 1 die |
Heavy Cavalry | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Artillery-Shot | 12 | 4, 5 ,6 | 3 dice |
Artillery-Grape | 6 | 2, 3, 4 ,5, 6 | 3 dice |
Units may Fire at the beginning or end of their move, but not in between; EXCEPTION - Foot Artillery may not fire at all if it moves, other than to change facing.
Guard Artillery adds 1 to its score when shooting - a "7" = 2 hits at close range only
Losses: Roll 1 die less if the unit has lost 50% or more of its hits
Long Range: Roll 1 die less if non-Artillery unit is shooting from over half range
Minus 1 to shooting into woods, at targets behind walls, or in buildings.
Minus 1 to shooting if their Command is Shaken.
Units in a stream or ford may not shoot.
Units suffering 2 or more hits due to fire in a single turn Fall Back 2 boxes, facing the enemy.
MORALE
Command MoraleWhen ½ of the units in a Command have been removed it becomes Shaken and must
immediately retreat 12”/4 boxes. Units which are part of a Shaken Command move at half
speed, except to the rear (retreating), and suffer an additional minus 1 penalty to shooting
and melee.
Army Morale When all the Commands in an army are Shaken the General must concede. For large battles,
could certainly use HALF the commands in the Army Shaken as the point where the General
must concede
LEADERS
Must stay w/in 6 boxes of his command; units farther away move ½ speed (round up)
Leaders can’t shoot, but do participate in melees.
If a Leader is in a box that is shot at or engaged in Melee, roll 2D6, on a total score of 2 or 3,
the leader takes a hit. 2 hits eliminates a Leader, all his units then move half speed (round up)
May Rally 1 unit within 6 boxes at the start of their Move:
1.2 = Fail, 3,4,5,6 = unit regains 1 hit, 7+ unit regains 2 hits!
Leader Quality
Assigned Historically, or Roll a D6 for each Leader at the start of the game:
1 = Abysmal (minus 2 to Rally rolls)
2= Poor (minus 1 to Rally rolls)
3,4 = Average (no change)
5 = Good (plus 1 to rally rolls)
,6 = Superior (plus 2 to rally rolls)
The quality roll itself could be modified -1 for armies with overall poor leadership, and +1
for armies with excellent overall leadership.
NAPOLEONIC EXTRAS
(I am as yet undecided whether to use any or all of these).
Formations:
Cost 1 box move penalty to change formation
Column: +1 die in Melee, add 1 extra die to shooter when shot at. Increases base move to
3 boxes for infantry.
Line: No change.
Square +1 die in Melee, no Flanks or Rear, cannot move, add 1 die extra to shooter when
shot at.
Rifles: as Light infantry, but with Range of 6 boxes
Sharpshooters: Hit on 4,5,6
National (leader) Characteristics:
Napoleon: All infantry may move an extra 1 box; +1 to all French Rally rolls (7 = 2 hits regained)
Wellington: Rifles (light infantry that shoot out to 6 boxes), British Line infantry (only) rolls an extra die when firing at close range.
Erzherzog Karl: Gets two roll TWO rally attempts, but if either is a "1" he has a seizure, and NO rallying takes place that turn.
Marshal Kutusov - Russian infantry does NOT retreat when suffering 2 hits, nor when their command becomes shaken.
Blucher - Prussian Militia infantry add 1 die when ATTACKING, only.
Spain - When a Militia unit is eliminated, a 1 hit stand of Guerillas (fight as as Militia) is placed anywhere on the table of the Spanish player's choosing, but must be at least 5 boxes from any enemy.
Army Composition:
France: Imperial Guard
Great Britain: Rifles, no Militia
Austria: Less Light Infantry
Russia: More Artillery
Prussia: More Militia Infantry
Spain: More Militia infantry, less Cavalry
Preliminary set up for the Austerlitz Test game -looking South, with Murat's Cavalry Reserve in the foreground.
Looking Southeast
Looking North from Davout's position
Looking North from Russian side
Eagle's eye view from above the Pratzen Heights
View from behind the Russian lines
Overview from the South. Both sides have their Imperial Guard/Oudinot Grenadiers in reserve off the table
Overall, I have decided this is just too many troops, and will be decreasing the numbers from those in the OOB below by about 13. I think the terrain needs a bit of simplification as well; less swamps/lakes top the South, eliminate all of the streams except the main course of the Goldbach, and move the Southern course of the Goldbach back 1-2 boxes. All of these changes will have the added advantage of speeding up set up of the game as well. I also think half of Davout, Soult, and Bernadotte should start off the table to simulate the fog and deception that were a key part of the battle.
Austerlitz
Orders of Battle are based upon the following ratio
1 unit = 1200 Infantry, 800 Cavalry or 12 Guns.
French Army - Emperor Napoleon I
Imperial Guard, Marshal Bessieres
3 Guard Infantry
2 Guard Cavalry
2 Guard Horse Artillery
4 Grenadiers
1 Foot Artillery
1st Corps, Marshal Bernadotte
7 Line Infantry
2 Foot Artillery
2 Light Infantry
3rd Corps, Marshal Davout
3 Light Infantry
5 Line Infantry
1 Foot Battery
1 Heavy Cavalry
2 Light Cavalry
1 Horse Artillery
4th Corps - Marshal Soult
2 Light Infantry
11 Line Infantry
3 Foot Artillery
2 Heavy Cavalry
5th Corps - Marshal Lannes
2 Light Infantry
10 Line Infantry
2 Foot Artillery
2 Heavy Cavalry
plus
2 more Foot Artillery (deployed on Santon Mound, cannot move except to change facing)
Reserve Cavalry Corps, Marshal Murat
5 Heavy Cavalry
3 Light Cavalry
1 Horse Artillery
ALLIED ARMY - Tsar Alexander I, and General Mikhail Kutusov
Russian Imperial Guard - Grand Duke Constantine
1 Light Infantry
4 Guard Infantry
2 Guard Foot Artillery
3 Guard Cavalry
1 Guard Horse Artillery
1st Column - Lieutenant General Buxhowden
2 Light Infantry
2 Grenadier
5 Line Infantry
2 Foot Artillery
1 Horse Artillery
2 Light Cavalry
2nd Column - Lieutenant General Langeron
1 Light Infantry
2 Grenadier
5 Line Infantry
1 Heavy Cavalry
2 Foot Artillery
3rd Column - Lieutenant General Prebyshevsky
1 Light Infantry
4 Line Infantry
2 Foot Artillery
(This command can be included under the same player as the 2nd Column if there are fewer than 7 Allied players)
4th Column - Feldzeugmeister Kolwrat
2 Light Infantry
9 Line Infantry
1 Grenadier
4 Foot Artillery
5th Column - Feldmarschal Leutnant Prinz Johann von Liechtenstein
3 Heavy Cavalry
3 Light cavalry
2 Horse Artillery
Advance Guard of the Army - Major General Prince Bagration
2 Light Infantry
4 Line Infantry
4 Light Cavalry
2 Heavy Cavalry
1 Foot Artillery
2 Horse Artillery
