VIII.

Disengage from Melee and Retire– This special action is available only to Light Cavalry & Light
Chariots, Battle Status Cavalry, being Partially Armored, Armored, Heavily Armored Cavalry, Unarmored
Cavalry or Heavy Chariots (not Scythed Chariots) that are Battle Status and in melee with enemy infantry.
Only the Cavalry or Chariot Tactical Units designated above that hold the initiative may elect to attempt to
Disengage from Melee under this option. When this action is elected, the Cavalry or Chariots simply disengage
from the infantry by maintaining their same formation and move away from the infantry. The Cavalry/Chariot
Tactical Units that choose to Disengage and Retire will turn and face away from the infantry unit, move out of
Melee up to their maximum movement allowance, and turn around again – all in the same owned initiative.

This action is not automatic, and TAC’s must dice on the table below to activate this action. The basic chance
for success depends on the rating of the Major Unit Command Stand or an attached Army or Sub-Command
Stand (at the Major Unit or Tactical Unit level, whichever applies) of which the Tactical Unit is part. (An Army
or Sub-Command Stand attached to a Tactical Unit can only affect the TAC he is attached to).

Commander Rating Basic chance to Activate

Superior or Excellent 1 to 18
Good 1 to 16
Mediocre 1 to 14
Poor 1 to 12

Modifiers to Basic chance to Activate

Unit testing is Elite or MG 18 +2
Unit is MG 17 +1
Unit testing is Fanatic, Religious Zealot, or Tribal -2
Testing Unit is Disrupted = -2
other European Medieval Knights -3
French Medieval Knights or the testing TAC is in Disordered status -4

If the number rolled is in the range listed, the TAC may Disengage and Retire.

Tactical Units that conduct this action are Disordered until they Reorganize in an owned initiative.

Roman Hastati, Principe’s, and Triarii in the Camillan (Manipular) period may attempt to Disengage from
Melee and Retire if in melee with other Infantry. The Tactical Unit must dice to accomplish this by taking a
normal Morale Test. This is the only time or type of infantry not operating under a Withdraw Order that may
Disengage from Melee and Retire. If the Tactical Unit passes its normal Morale Test, it may Retire up to one-
half of its normal movement distance and even move through another Tactical Unit of the same Major Unit.
Further, Tactical Units to the rear may even move forward through the retiring unit and into melee at the point
the retiring unit withdrew from. The relieving Tactical Unit does not count as charging. (This is to represent
relieving the line).

If the Tactical Unit attempting to Disengage from Melee fails its Morale Test, it will Retire according to normal
morale results (see Chapter 8) In this case, the TAC that failed morale Retires with a normal morale failure and
the TAC to the rear may not move through the retiring TAC to relieve it in the melee, and indeed may itself
desire to fall back in order not to be contacted by the retiring unit (see Chapter 8).

IX Reorganize– Whenever certain events have occurred such as becoming Shaken, Disrupted, or
Disordered, or a Tactical Unit has Evaded (an option possible only during a non-owned initiative),
Broken Formation and Moved, or Disengaged from Melee and Retired, it must Reorganize before it
will return to Good Order. The Tactical Unit may adopt any allowable formation and face any
direction in its initiative of reorganization, but it may not perform any other action in the initiative it
Reorganizes. Tactical Units that are presently in Melee may not Reorganize.

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 Tactical Units that have become Shaken, Disrupted, or Disordered due to morale loss or movement must
Reorganize in order to recover. Once the Tactical Unit has spent one initiative reorganizing the Tactical Unit is
once again considered to be in Good Order.

Tactical Units may never Reorganize and bring themselves into Melee by virtue of reorganizing. They may not
Reorganize and position themselves as to be in base-to-base contact with the enemy or position themselves so
that they would qualify as an overlap.

X. Fortify– If the Major Unit is on a Fortify order the Tactical Units of the Major Unit may construct
Fieldworks as outlined in Chapter 9. TAC’s operating under a Fortify order may not conduct any other
action. Only Infantry or Dismounted Cavalry TAC’s may operate under a Fortify order.

XI. Attaching or detaching troops to other Tactical Units – Individual move stands or entire Tactical Units
of troop types may be attached to other troop types (called the parent TAC). No more than one TAC per MU in
your army may be broken down and attached to other troop types. You may not attach more move stands of
troops to another Tactical Unit than the parent TAC has in it. This is useful to attach missile troops to a Close
Order Infantry TAC for indirect fire support, or to create the ‘cohors equitatae’ as in the Roman Imperial Army.
The troops that are attached become a part of the new Tactical Unit for all purposes, including morale.

The attached troops suffer the same adverse results of any Morale Tests that the parent unit may suffer. If, for
any reason the parent unit is eliminated from play, the attached troops are automatically Broken. If these troops
subsequently rally, they must move to rejoin their own Tactical Unit as fast as possible.

If individual move stands are attached to different parent TAC’s, the different parent TAC’s must each stay
within a single move distance of another parent TAC that has missile troops attached to it from the same missile
Tactical Unit.

The troops that are attached may be placed anywhere in relation to the parent TAC so long as their move
stand(s) remain in base-to-base contact with move stands of the parent TAC. Once deployed in this manner, the
troops can change their relative position by the parent unit Reorganizing or by changing formation in an
initiative, or if operating under a Deploy order.

Above, we have three Tactical Units of Close Order Infantry, two move stands each in size. To their rear, you
have one Tactical Unit of archers consisting of three move stands. In an owned initiative, the archer TAC may
break down and attach one move stand to each of the three Close Order Infantry TAC’s.

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The new formation could appear thusly:

Once deployed in this manner, the Light Infantry and Close Order Infantry may redeploy only in an owned
initiative by Reorganizing or Changing Formation of the TAC.

If the new Tactical Unit is brought into melee, each move stand fights as the appropriate troop type in base-to-
base contact. If this new Tactical Unit has both troop types brought into melee simultaneously, each fight as
their own type against the enemy they are engaging.

Another way to utilize this is by creating a mixed TAC such as a ‘cohors equitatae’. These types of TAC’s are
limited to those armies that actually utilized a mixed Tactical Unit consisting of infantry and cavalry, such as in
the Roman Army. If players are unsure of who may, and may not utilize such a unit, a ‘cohors equitatae’ may
only be used with mutual agreement of the players.

A ‘cohors equitatae’ operates in the same manner as above, and the infantry portion of the TAC is always
considered the parent TAC. This type of TAC moves at the movement allowance of the Infantry and move
stands must still always remain in base-to-base contact.

Additionally, players may decide to combine Tactical Units of like types (Close Order Infantry, Auxilia, etc.)
due to the tactical circumstance.

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 In his initiative, the player decides to combine the Tactical Units of the front line with those of the rear line:

In so doing, the six Tactical Units have now become three Tactical Units. If for any reason, the two Tactical
Units that are combined have different Morale Grades, or one TAC is Elite and the other is not, the new TAC
will have the lower characteristics of the two combined TAC’s.

Tactical Units that are already in Melee may not have other troops joined to them in this manner while they are
still in melee. Both Tactical Units must Reorganize in order to form a new single Tactical Unit. Move stands
must begin their move within one move’s distance from one another in order to attach or combine in the above
manner.

In any of the examples above, such a restructuring is considered a formation change and may trigger Targets of
Opportunity by the enemy if he is in range. (see: Chapter 7.6). The above rule covers creating these types of
TAC’s after the battle has started. Tactical Units may be created in this manner before the battle begins.

This particular rule allows flexibilities that some armies in history may not have had. Players may wish to
decide whether this particular rule will be allowed by the participating armies before a game begins. If not
addressed, the rule is allowed.

XII Dismount or Mount - Cavalry & Chariot TAC’s with Morale Grades of 16 or higher, may Dismount or
Mount during their initiative. When cavalry Dismounts the dismounted figures may be represented in
The following manner:

Light Cavalry move stands that Dismount may be represented by an equal number of Light Infantry move
stands armed the same as the cavalry, or may replace two move stands of Light Cavalry with one of Auxiliary
infantry armed the same as the cavalry.

Cavalry base mounted three or four figures to a move stand that dismount are represented by an equal
number of Auxiliary Infantry move stands armed the same as the cavalry. Therefore, if a European
Knight TAC of three move stands were to Dismount, it would be represented as a Dismounted Knight
TAC of three move stands.

The riderless horses of a Dismounted TAC are kept in place on the battlefield and are not an
operational TAC in the game. They remain in place until such time as the Dismounted soldiers return
and Mount (if ever) and if the horses are ever contacted by an enemy TAC, they are eliminated from
play automatically. Half the normal point losses are incurred in the game for eliminated horses. Each
move stand of horses eliminated in this manner count as one-half a move stand loss for MU Morale
purposes.

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 Chariot models that Dismount additional crew figures are represented by Infantry from the crew
figures on a one-to-one figure ratio of any extra crew figures that were purchased for the model. If a
chariot model had one additional crew purchased, then when it Dismounts, one figure is available as
infantry. This infantry is the same type as was purchased. Heavy chariots will yield Close Order or
Auxiliary infantry, while Light Chariots will usually yield Light Infantry. In cases like the Ancient
Britons, Tribal Warriors are the Dismounted troops. Therefore, for a Light Chariot TAC to yield a
single move stand of Tribal Warriors on foot, it requires three Light Chariot models to Dismount (as
Light Chariots may only carry one additional crew figure). Tactical Units of chariots that have extra
crew figures Dismount in this manner are still operational as Tactical Units, they simply do not have
Extra crewmen on board any more.

It takes two actions to Dismount or Mount and is considered a formation change. Troops that Dismount are
physically placed down on the game area adjacent to the transports, facing in any desired direction. TAC’s
Dismount or Mount with the number of actions they had for their relative troop type. Infantry has two actions
and may therefore only Mount in an owned initiative. TAC’s of mounted troops possess three actions and may
Move and Dismount or they may Dismount and move.

Move stands that represent the mounts for Mounted Infantry are assumed to possess the number of
horses adequate to transport the Infantry move stand they carry. You may very well have a Mounted
Infantry move stand that has three figures on the move stand that is actually carrying a four figure
move stand of Infantry. The move stand of Mounted Infantry simply represents the transport for the
Infantry. If the Mounted Infantry are brought into melee before the passenger can Dismount the
Infantry TAC is Disordered. Only Infantry with a Morale Grade of 15 or higher may utilize Mounts.

Dismounted troops in Melee may not Mount as long as they are in melee.

7.43 When Tactical Units do not have the initiative.

TAC’s that do not currently own the initiative may:

I. Counter Charge if Charged

II. Attack Targets of Opportunity
III Evade, if charged.
IV Hold.
V Retire

I. Counter Charge – To Counter Charge, a Tactical Unit must be in Good Order (may not be Shaken,
Disrupted, Disordered, or Broken) and must be charged by an enemy TAC. The Counter Charging TAC must be
able to contact the charging TAC by movement straight ahead when the charging TAC stops at 4 (6) cm. A
TAC that is being charged from the flank or rear, or that cannot charge the enemy TAC when it halts at 4 (6)
cm, may not Counter Charge. When Infantry is in Melee with Cavalry and the Cavalry Disengages and Retires
from Melee in the Cavalry's initiative, the Infantry unit may not Counter Charge in that initiative, even if
another enemy TAC charges it in the same initiative that the Cavalry Retired.

When a Tactical Unit is charged, it remains stationary. The charging Tactical Unit is moved straight forward to
4 (6) cm of the receiving TAC or TAC’s. If the receiving TAC elects to counter-charge, the Tactical Unit is then
moved straight forward into base to base contact by moving forward the distance of 4 cm (6 cm) into contact.
Infantry may never Counter Charge against Cavalry other than Light Cavalry, nor may Infantry Counter Charge
against Elephants, Heavy or Scythed Chariots. Tactical Units in All Around Defense or the Medieval Swiss
Square may never Counter Charge into melee.

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II. Attack Targets of Opportunity - may be conducted when:

1) An enemy TAC presents its flank to the TAC and moves visibly along its front within one-half of its
normal movement allowance, or
2) An enemy TAC Changes Formation within one-half move distance of your TAC.

When attacking a Target of Opportunity the attack is not automatic: see 7.6 #B for details.

III. Evade - When a Tactical Unit is charged, it may attempt to Evade. When evading, the TAC faces away
from the enemy and makes a full move away from the charging Tactical Unit. The Tactical Unit may Break
Formation and Evade just as a TAC would Break Formation and Move in rule 7.42 #VII.

Evading Tactical Units may not move through other TAC’s (exception: 7.42 #I or Skirmishers – see Optional
Rules Chapter 17) and if no retreat route is available, the Tactical Unit may not Evade and must stand and fight.
Evading is not automatic; see 7.6 for details.

Evading Tactical Units will continue to evade as long as they are within charge reach of enemy TAC’s that are
capable of charging the TAC that is evading. Tactical Units that choose to evade will be Disordered until they
spend one initiative Reorganizing. Once Reorganized, they are permitted any other allowable action. If evading
Tactical Units are subsequently contacted for melee by enemy Tactical Units before reorganizing, the evading
Tactical Unit(s) are automatically Broken.

At times when Tactical Units Evade from attackers, their movement will take them out of play and off the
battlefield. If a Tactical Unit(s) Evades off the board and is pursued off the battlefield by the charging Tactical
Unit(s), the evading TAC’s are removed from play and are counted as losses when determining winners and
losers in the game. The pursuing TAC’s are removed from play, but are not counted as losses when determining
the winner and loser of the game.

Tactical Units that Evade off the battlefield and are not pursued off the battlefield by attacking TAC’s may
return to the battle area in their next initiative at a point equal to one move’s distance to either side of the exit
point that they left the field of battle, if this area not blocked by enemy TAC’s. If the area is physically blocked
by enemy TAC’s, the TAC may not re-enter the playing area until the allowed entry point is cleared.

IV Hold – The Tactical Unit holds its position. Tactical Units being charged that are in Good Order (not
Shaken, Disrupted, Disordered or Broken), and are armed with missile weapons may always shoot at
a charging enemy TAC that comes within missile range. Such fire is resolved in Combat, Chapter 8.
If two opposing Tactical Units are both armed with missile weapons and one shoots at the other, the
targeted TAC may return fire. The shooting is considered simultaneous.

V Retire– Cavalry and Chariot Tactical Units in Good Order (not Shaken, Disrupted, Disordered or
Broken) that are not already engaged in Melee and are charged frontally (enemy not charging from
Their flank or rear) may Retire up to one half of their normal movement allowance away from the
Charging enemy and still maintain facing towards the enemy. The Tactical Unit that Retires suffers no
penalty and is available for any allowed action in its next initiative. Elephants may never Retire.

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7.44 Capabilities of Engines, Artillery, War Wagons (and Carts & Wagons)
When a Major Unit owns the initiative, Engines, Artillery, War Wagons may select one of the following actions
to be performed.

I. Shoot
II. Prepare to move
III. Deploy for battle
IV. Move
V. Reorganize
VI. Change facing up to 30
VII. Manhandle and Shoot
VIII. Re-man engines or artillery

Shoot– In order to shoot an Engine, Artillery, or to shoot crew and/or Artillery from War Wagons, the TAC
must have previously been Deployed for Battle. If an Artillery or Engine move stand was being carried by Carts
or Wagons, they must Dismount from the vehicle as outlined in rule 7.42 # XII above, before they can Deploy
for Battle. They may only fire on enemy TAC’s that are within their range and arc of fire. If in Melee, they may
not shoot. There are no ammunition restrictions on these troop types. They may shoot as long as they are
eligible and there are eligible targets.

Prepare to Move –Preparing to move a Cart or Wagon carrying passengers such as Engines or Artillery, or a
War Wagon and passengers, is the preparation of the draw teams being hitched and made ready by the crewmen
for movement. In the case of Carts and Wagons (Not War Wagons) carrying Artillery or Engines these pieces
must first spend an initiative to Mount (which represents the machines being broken down and then loaded into
the Cart or Wagon, and is conducted in the same manner as for other troop types – see 7.42 #12), and then one
initiative to Prepare to Move. War Wagons and crew only have to spend one owned initiative Preparing to
Move before being allowed to move. Passengers in War Wagons do not have to spend one initiative to Mount.
If War Wagons, Engines, Artillery, Carts or Wagons carrying passengers are Prepared to Move are brought into
melee, the passenger TAC is Disordered. If a TAC is in Melee it may not Prepare to Move.

There were a number of types of Engines, and Artillery as gunpowder made its way into warfare that were
deployed in the field for battle. Some of these Engines and Artillery were carried in Wagons or Carts and were
transported to the field and deployed. Only one move stand of Engines or Artillery may be carried on a Cart or
Wagon move stand. Only one move stand of Infantry may be carried in Carts or Wagons.

Heavy Artillery and Heavy Engines were very large and/or heavy machines that required much time to deploy.
To represent this in the game, once Heavy Engines or Heavy Artillery are deployed on the game table they must
remain stationary for the duration of the game. They can change facing by thirty degrees in an owned initiative,
but may not shoot if they change facing.

Any Cart, Wagon, or War Wagon that is Prepared to Move, and whose draw team is contacted by an enemy
TAC in Melee automatically have their draw team (the horses or oxen) eliminated from play. In this case, crew
or friendly TAC’s may only move the vehicles to change facing or to move them by man handling the vehicle at
the same movement rate for Engines. They may not be moved if they are in melee. Unoccupied Carts, Wagons,
or War Wagons may be moved by the non-owning side just the same as the side that owns them.

Deploy for Battle– Engines and Artillery being carried in Carts or Wagons must Deploy for Battle after
Dismounting before being eligible to shoot. Therefore, if a Wagon is carrying an Artillery move stand and in
one initiative it Dismounts, then in the second initiative it Deploys for Battle, and may shoot in the third owned
initiative. War Wagons carrying Infantry, Engines, or Artillery must Deploy for Action before being allowed to
conduct any other action. Since troop types normally associated with War

45
Wagons fought from within or around the War Wagon, to Dismount and Deploy for Battle requires only one
initiative.

These actions represent the War Wagon, Wagon, Cart, Weapon, Infantry and/or crew being Deployed for Battle
with the draw team unhitched and sent to the rear. When Deploying for Battle, the War Wagon, Wagon, Cart,
and passenger move stands may be deployed facing in any desirable direction. Once Deployed for Battle,
passenger move stands may shoot as normal if armed with missile weapons. Engines or Artillery deployed on
the ground must Mount in one initiative and then Prepare to Move in a subsequent initiative, before being
allowed to move. Passengers being carried on War Wagons are considered to be deployed on, under, or around
the War Wagon once it is Deployed for Battle. They may conduct combat like any other troop type, the
passenger receiving benefit of Light Cover from the War Wagon.

Wagons and/or Cart lines were sometimes formed in the rear of armies, and with some like the Hussites,
deployed their War Wagons in lines with combat troops or Artillery in and between them ready for battle. Some
armies carried small dart throwing engines on Carts and sometimes even troops on them. A Wagon or Cart
provides light cover for troops defending in them. They can be set on fire with fire weapons, being made from
wood, but provide a barrier against mounted troop types. Mounted TAC’s, except for elephants, may not pass
through a Wagon or Cart move stand (a Cart, Wagon, or War Wagon impose the same movement restrictions as
cippi and abatis. See Chapter 9), nor may they melee with TAC’s that occupy them unless they Dismount first.
Mounted TAC’s that possess missile weapons may of course shoot at enemy TAC’s in a War Wagon, Wagon,
or Cart that has been Deployed for Battle.

Move– A War Wagon, Cart, Wagon, Engine, or Artillery move stand must be Prepared to Move in order to
conduct movement (Exception: Manhandling). Any of these that are Prepared to Move may move all or only
part of its movement allowance just like other units. TAC’s in Melee may not move.

Reorganize - This is the same as for other types of troops.

Change facing up to 30– Any Light or Medium Engine or Light or Medium Artillery move stand that has
previously been Deployed for Battle may change its facing up to 30 degrees in an owned initiative and still
shoot. Heavy Engines and Heavy Artillery that change facing by any degree may not shoot in that initiative.

Move stands may change facing greater than 30 degrees up to 180 degrees, but cannot shoot in the same owned
initiative it changes facing more than 30 degrees. This change of facing is conducted by individual move stand.

Manhandle and Shoot– Manhandling is allowed only for Light Engines and Light Artillery. This represents the
crewmen moving the Light Engines or Light Artillery by hand. Movement by manhandling is at a reduced rate
while still being able to shoot in the same owned initiative. Only Light Engines or Light Artillery may be
manhandled. TAC’s in Melee may not use this action.

Re-manning – Engine or artillery crewmen that have previously evaded an enemy who now wish to re-man
their machines use this action. Crewmen that re-man engines or artillery may not shoot in the same initiative in
which they re-man the machines.

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7.45 When you do not have the initiative, Engines, Artillery and/or Passengers may only:

Evade– An evade means that the crew of the Engine or Artillery or passenger in a Cart or Wagon will abandon
their pieces or transport and move to the rear in the same manner as infantry Evades as described in 7.6.
Remember, evading is not automatic – see 7.6 for details.

Hold – The TAC holds. It may shoot at enemy TAC’s that are charging it or other friendly units (if the shooting
TAC qualifies as an overlap), or return fire at enemy TAC’s that shoot at it, the same as other TAC’s armed
with missile weapons (see Chapter 8 for specifics).

7.5 Retrograde Movement

Retrograde movement is a move away from the enemy while still maintaining the same facing towards the
enemy as when the movement began. A Tactical Unit may conduct retrograde movement and then conduct
other allowable actions, such as facing changes or shooting, up to the maximum number of actions that the
Tactical Unit possesses.

Allowable Retrograde Movement is directly related to the depth of the TAC in move stands. The depth of a
formation in move stands for the different figure scales determines the movement allowance of a Tactical Unit
that conducts Retrograde Movement.

Figure Depth of Tactical Unit in Move Stands

Scale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+
1 to 25 &
1 to 50 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 1/4
1 to 100 1/2 1/2 1/3 1/3 1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4

If you are playing figure scales of 1 to 25 or 1 to 50, a Tactical Unit that is 6 move stands deep may conduct
Retrograde Movement at one-third the normal speed a Tactical Unit would make if it was moving forward.

If playing 1 to 100 figure scale, a Tactical Unit that is one or two move stands in depth will move at one-half its
regular movement allowance.

7.6 Evading and Targets of Opportunity:

Tactical Units that wish to Evade, or elect to attack Targets of Opportunity, do not perform these actions
automatically. Tactical Units are bound by the restrictions below when attempting to evade or opportunity
charge.

Evade - Tactical Units that are not in melee and that are charged by an enemy TAC may elect to
attempt to Evade the charging enemy. In the case of Engines and Artillery, the crews attempt to evade,
leaving their machines in place. Tactical Units already in melee may never attempt to evade. This basic
chance to Evade may be modified to arrive at the Tactical Unit's odds to successfully Evade from an
enemy charge.

Base Chance to Evade:

Light Infantry, Light Cavalry, or engine and artillery crew: 1 to 15

Auxiliary or ‘Tribal’ Warrior Infantry 1 to 10
All others 1 to 5

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 Modifiers to base chance:

1. Tactical Unit is part of a Major Unit that is currently operating under an Attack
order = – 2
2. Tactical Unit is Elite status = + 2
3. Tactical Unit is Tribal Warrior, European Knights, Fanatic or Religious Zealot = -2
4. Tactical Unit has an Army, Sub-Command, or Major Unit Command Stand attached
directly to the Tactical Unit:

Superior + 4
Excellent +3
Good +2
Mediocre +1
Poor +0

5. Tactical Unit is being charged from flank or rear = – 10

In order to successfully Evade a player rolls one 20-sided die in the normal manner, and if he rolls within the
range needed to Evade, the Tactical Unit successfully Evades and may move accordingly.

Tactical Units that do not successfully Evade must stand and receive the enemy charge and may not
countercharge or shoot missile weapons. Tactical Units may never attempt to Evade enemy TAC’s that are
conducting an attack on Targets of Opportunity.

Targets of Opportunity:

Tactical Units may have circumstances develop that present them an opportunity to charge
or an opportunity to shoot on an enemy TAC during the opponent’s initiative. Such
situations that develop are called Targets of Opportunity.

A friendly Tactical Unit may attempt to exercise this option by conducting a charge at an
enemy Tactical Unit when:

1) The enemy TAC presents its flank to your TAC and moves visibly along your TAC’s front forward or
backwards by any distance, within one-half of your Tactical Unit’s normal movement allowance, or

2) An enemy unit Changes Formation or Reorganizes within one half move distance of your TAC.

The type of TAC attempting to exercise this option and/or the ability rating of the TAC’s MU Command Stand
determines the chance for a Tactical Unit to successfully activate an opportunity charge. If an Army, Sub-
Commander, or Major Unit Command Stand is attached directly to your Tactical Unit, or if your TAC is Elite
or Battle Status, the charge is automatic if desired.

In other cases roll once on the table below for each Tactical Unit attempting to exercise a Target of Opportunity
charge. If your die roll is in the listed range, the charge is successfully initiated.

Command Stand Ability Rating:

Superior 1 to 18
Excellent 1 to 16
Good 1 to 14
Mediocre 1 to 12
Poor 1 to 10

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 Modifiers to Base Chance:

TAC is Fanatic or Religious Zealot = +1

TAC is other Medieval European Knights = +2
TAC is French Medieval Knights = +4
TAC is Morale Grade 13 or 14 = -1
TAC is Light Cavalry = +1

Tactical Units that are armed with missile weapons may opt to shoot at a Target of Opportunity rather
than charge it. In such instances, the normal situation that would trigger the charge at the Target of
Opportunity must present itself. The TAC that has the opportunity to charge simply elects to shoot,
rather than charge the Target of Opportunity. If successful, the TAC conducts normal missile shooting
on the enemy Tactical Unit.

Tactical Units that are Shaken, Disrupted, or Disordered, Broken or in All Around Defense may not elect to
charge or shoot at a Target of Opportunity. Tactical Units of Fanatics, Religious Zealots, or European Knights
must always dice to charge or shoot at a Target of Opportunity.

If the Major Unit leader has been killed or seriously wounded and has not yet been replaced, halve the listed
odds. (A 1 to 16 would become 1 to 8, and so on).

Tactical Units that were the cause of the opportunity to charge or shoot may not Evade or shoot in the current
initiative. Tactical Units that move and trigger such a charge must halt at the point the TAC opted to take
advantage of the Target of Opportunity and receive the charge or missile fire. Tactical Units that are shot at will
receive any missile fire from the enemy TAC and then may complete any movement, but may not shoot in the
current initiative.

There are no adverse effects on TACS that attempt to try and take advantage of a Target of Opportunity and that
fail to activate the charge.

7.7 Morale Tests in Combat

At the end of each Stage, players may have Morale Tests for individual Tactical Units. After Combat
has been conducted for all Major Units for each Stage, any Morale Tests that need to be made are
conducted in accordance with the rules in Chapter 8.

These Morale Tests for Tactical Units are made by Major Unit, in the same sequence order as
Tactical Combat was conducted. Therefore, any Tactical Units required to make a Morale Test
are first conducted for TAC’s in the Major Unit that moved first, then any TAC’s in the Major Unit
that moved second, and so on until all Morale Tests have been made for Tactical Units.

Always begin Morale Tests for Tactical Units within a Major Unit with the Tactical Unit that has
incurred the most casualties of any in the MU and then by the lowest Morale Grade Tactical Unit.
If all Tactical Units are the same Morale Grade then the owning player may select the order he
wishes to make required Morale Tests.

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Chapter 8 - COMBAT
Combat consists of Missile Fire, Hand to Hand Combat, which we call Melee, and Morale (as it is in integral
part of all combat).
Combat may take place as Tactical Units are selected for action in each Major Unit’s owned initiative. When a
Major Unit owns the initiative, a player must first declare if any Tactical Units within the Major Unit is going to
Charge any enemy Tactical Units before conducting any other actions with any other Tactical Units that are a
part the Major Unit. This is verbally declared, including the charging TAC’s and the enemy TAC’s that are the
object of the charge. Once this is declared, the player is free to move any and all TAC’s as permitted in any
order the player wishes, with some exceptions outlined later in this section.

A player is not required to Move or conduct Combat with any Tactical Units within a Major Unit other than
with Tactical Units that were already in Melee when the Major Unit acquired the initiative (other than moving
Broken or Routed TAC’s). During Combat, Major Units of opposing sides that have Tactical Units in Melee
with enemy Tactical Units must Melee simultaneously during each Major Unit’s initiative portion of the Stage.

For example: Side A has a Major Unit with six Tactical Units and Side B has one with eight Tactical Units.
Each side’s Major Unit has two Tactical Units in Melee from the previous Stage. Side A’s Major Unit has a
higher initiative than Side B and moves first. The Tactical Units from both sides that are in Melee resolve their
Combat simultaneously, including any new Melees that may develop from Side A’s movement. Once it is Side
B’s movement for his Major Unit any Tactical Units that are in Melee, or that are brought into Melee as a result
of Side B’s movement will result in Melee being fought again.

8.1 Description of Troop Type

Each troop type in the game has certain characteristics that are measures of their effectiveness. The higher the
Melee or Missile Combat Factor, the more effective the type of troop will be in Combat. The lower a TAC’s
Melee or Missile DVA is (Defensive Value Adjustment), the better. Combat Factors are assigned by move stand
and listed on the Description of Troop Type chart in Appendix B. Move-stands have a Melee Combat Factor, a
Melee Defensive Value Adjustment (Melee DVA), a Missile Combat Factor if armed with missile weapons, a
Missile Defensive Value Adjustment (Missile DVA), and an Impact Class.

Melee Melee Missile Missile Impact

Description Of Troop Type CF DVA CF DVA Class

313 Close Order Pike 6 -2 0 0 5

In the example above is troop type 313, Close Order Pike. A move stand has a Melee Combat Factor of six (6),
a Melee DVA of negative 2(- 2), a Missile Combat Factor of zero (0) (no missile weapons), and a Missile DVA
of zero (0). Melee Combat Factors are used when Tactical Units become involved in Melee, or Hand to Hand
Combat. The Melee DVA is a defensive die roll adjustment that will apply to an opponent’s die roll when
fighting against this type of troop in Melee. Missile Combat Factors are used when Tactical Units have missile
weapons and elect to Shoot at enemy targets. The Missile DVA is a defensive die roll adjustment that applies to
an opponent’s die roll when Shooting on a particular troop type. The Impact Class is a measure of the troop
type’s density, cohesion, and shock value in Melee. The higher the Impact Class, the better.

See the Description of Troop Types chart in Appendix B for a complete list of types of troops, and specifics.

51
8.2 General Combat Procedures

Melee Combat is normally conducted by individual Tactical Unit, but in some cases there will be instances of
multiple TAC’s engaged in the same Melee. Shooting is conducted by totaling the Combat Factors of all move-
stands from one or more Tactical Units that are Shooting on a particular enemy TAC. Whether in Melee or
firing missile weapons, the Combat Factor for all involved move-stands is combined into a total. This Combat
Factor is cross-referenced on the Combat Resolution Chart and a letter value is obtained. This letter value
determines which column (or columns) are used and cross-referenced with the players die roll on a twenty-sided
die. The chart lists Combat Factors up to forty. If a combined Combat Factor exceeds forty simply take the
amount over forty and go down the chart again for a second letter value. For example: A Combat Factor of sixty
would be represented by rolling on the CRT and cross-reference column “T” (for 40 CF) and then column “J”
(for 20 CF). In such cases roll one 20-sided and one 6-sided die (the six sided die is used for a Random
Modifier). Cross-reference the 20-sided die roll with the appropriate letter column to see how many figure
casualties are inflicted on the enemy. There may be additional die roll modifiers that apply such as Melee or
Missile DVA’s, charge bonuses, and so on that are listed on the Combat Resolution Chart (See Appendix A,
Chart 2).

Once your final modified die roll is cross-referenced on the appropriate column, the results of the Combat are
represented in figure casualties. A result of three (3) on the CRT means you inflict 3 casualties (figures) on the
enemy. A result of zero (0) means no effect.

8.3 Missile Fire

Missile armed TAC’s (bow, javelin, slings, engines, hand-held gunpowder weapons, and artillery) that are in
Good Order, are Shaken, Disrupted, or Disordered, and that have a target within range and within their Shooting
arc may Shoot in an owned initiative.

When a Major Unit owns the initiative the TAC’s of that Major Unit that are armed with missile weapons may
Shoot unless they are already in Melee. Individual move-stands in Melee or Engaged as an Overlap may not
Shoot or be shot at. When a TAC is armed with missile weapons and is shot at by an enemy TAC, it may return
fire at the TAC that shot at it if the enemy TAC is in range and firing arc of their weapons.

In instances when TAC’s Shoot and then Charge, or when Tactical Units are being charged and elect to Hold
and Shoot, Combat Factors for both Shooting and Melee are combined, and is covered in the Hand to Hand
Combat (Melee) section below.

Shooting Arc of Fire - Tactical Units have an arc of fire that is measured from the corner portion of the firing
move stand to the closest point of the target TAC.

The Shooting arcs by troop type are as follows:

Stone throwing Engine or Artillery 30

Dart throwing engine 45

Infantry 45
Light Cavalry 150 to left 45 to right
Other Cavalry 90 to left; 45 to right
Chariots & Elephants 360 around

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 To be eligible to Shoot in an initiative, missile armed troops must:

1. Be armed with bows, crossbows, javelins, slings, be engines, artillery, hand gunners, or
elephants or chariots with a crewman armed with javelins or bows and,
2. Be within range and Shooting arc of its given weapon and troop type, and
3. The Shooting move stand may not already be in Melee or Engaged as an Overlap, and
4. The target move stand may not already be in Melee or Engaged as an Overlap or supporting
rear rank, and
5. The Shooting TAC may not have interpenetrated (moved through) other friendly TAC’s in
this initiative.

If missile armed troops meet all the above five qualifications, it may Shoot its weapons at the enemy in an
attempt to inflict casualties.

Missile armed troops, with the exceptions of Medium and Heavy Artillery, must always fire at the enemy TAC
that is closest to them, that is an eligible target, and that is within their Shooting arc.

8.31 Shooting Distances of Weapons:

Shooting distances are below and list the various ranges that constitute Close, Effective, Extreme, and
Maximum range for various weapons in the game:

Range in CM (1-50 & 1-100)

Range Modifiers
Close Effective Extreme Maximum
Modifier to Combat Factor x1.5 (*x2) x 1.0 x .50 x .25
Light Artillery 10 20 30 40
Medium Artillery 20 40 60 80
Heavy Artillery 25 50 75 100
Light Engine 10 20 30 N/A
Medium and Heavy Engine 10 20 N/A N/A
Recurve Composite Bow 5 10 15 25
Long Bow; Crossbow 5 10 15 20
Ordinary Bow 5 10 15 N/A
Slingers, Javelins, Handguns 5 N/A N/A N/A

The ranges listed above are for 1 to 50 figure scale and 1 to 100 figure scale. For 1 to 25 figure scale these
ranges are doubled. The indication (*x2) in the chart applies to crossbow armed troops. At close range, their
Combat Factor is doubled while troop types armed with bow have their Combat Factor increased by a factor of
1.5. Skirmishers, and/or TAC’s armed with slings, javelins, or handguns do not increase their Combat Factor
when shooting.

In any woods, maximum Shooting distance for all the above is only 4 (5) cm (regardless of figure scale). Bow
armed crewmen on Elephants Shoot as Ordinary Bow.

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8.32 Move-stands Eligible to Shoot

Determining which move-stands are eligible to Shoot is calculated by individual move stand
within each Tactical Unit (TAC’s may consist of one or more move-stands).

If any part of an enemy move stand is within a Shooting move stand’s firing arc, the move stand may Shoot at a
given enemy TAC. The firing arc must simply contain some part of an enemy move stand in order for it to be an
eligible target.

8.33 Overhead Shooting

The standard base mounting of figures in most any game with a ground scale precludes the use of actual depths
of historical formations. A Tactical Unit that is four stands deep in the game, in real life barely exceeded the
depth of a single move stand in the game.
Because of this mechanical limitation in miniature games, a Tactical Unit that is permitted to Shoot overhead
may fire rear ranks of move-stands overhead up to three additional stands deep (in addition to the lead stand, for
a total of four stands) at 1 to 25 or 1 to 50 figure scale. If using 1 to 100 figure scale a Tactical Units may Shoot
rear ranks of move-stands overhead one additional rank deep (for a total of two move-stands). In these cases,
measure the Shooting ranges from the lead edge of the move stand that is closest to the target TAC in order to
determine the range and combine the Combat Factor of the move-stands that are Shooting.
Example:
Below, a Tactical Unit is deployed 4 move-stands deep and wishes to shoot at the enemy TAC on the right. If
using figure scales of 1 to 50 or 1 to 25, all 4 move-stands can shoot on the enemy if the lead move stand is
within range of the enemy TAC. The Shooting distance is determined by measuring the closest move stand to
the enemy TAC.

Overhead shooting is allowed for missile troops armed with bow or crossbow, engines, and for artillery when
the Shooting TAC is on higher ground than the troops that are being fired over. In this case, the target TAC
must be at least as far away as one-half the distance away from the TAC being fired over than the TAC is from
the Shooting TAC. Javelin, sling, and handgun armed troops may not utilize overhead shooting.

54
For example, a light dart-throwing engine (ballistae) is in a Camp Tower and there is a friendly TAC two cm in
front of it on the rampart. Beyond these troops some 11cm away is an enemy TAC that is on a lower terrain
level than the friendly TAC being fired over. In this example, the light dart thrower could fire over the
intervening troops and onto the enemy TAC up until the enemy TAC reaches one cm from the intervening
TAC.

Another example of overhead shooting:

In the example above, the archers are on a hill and are shooting over a friendly intervening TAC that is 4 cm in
front of it, on the same level as the enemy target TAC some 14 cm away. If the enemy TAC was closer to the
intervening TAC B than 2 cm (one-half of 4 cm – the distance between the archers and the intervening TAC),
then the archers could not Shoot over the intervening friendly TAC and on to the enemy TAC. If the enemy
TAC and the archers were both on higher elevations than the intervening TAC, the enemy could be shot at
without regard to the TAC on lower ground.

55
Tactical Units armed with bow or crossbow, engines, or artillery that are bombards (mortar style cannons) may
Shoot over intervening TAC’s ON THE SAME TERRAIN LEVEL when the distance from the target TAC to
the intervening TAC is at least equal to the distance of that between the Shooter and the intervening TAC.
Bombards may not Shoot over friendly TAC’s that are within Close range.

In the example below, TAC “A” is two CM behind friendly TAC “B”. The distance from TAC “B” to the
enemy TAC is 5 cm. TAC “A” may fire on the enemy TAC and may continue to do so until the enemy TAC
comes closer to TAC “B” than 2 cm.

Other artillery may fire over intervening TACs ON THE SAME TERRAIN LEVEL when the distance from the
target TAC to the intervening TAC is at least twice the distance from the Shooter and the intervening friendly
TAC. Artillery may not Shoot over friendly TAC’s that are within “Close” range.

Medium and Heavy Artillery or Bombards may shoot over enemy TAC’s that are in Close range.

In instances when a Tactical Unit is in Melee, but not all move-stands of the TAC are in base-to-base contact or
have qualified as an Overlap or supporting rear rank, any move-stands that are not in base-to-base contact or
that do not qualify as an Overlap or supporting rear rank may be shot at by enemy TAC’s possessing missile
weapons. Individual move stands that are not in base-to-base contact but that are within 20 meters of an enemy
move stand (one or two centimeters depending on the ground scale you are using – see Chapter 1.2) may not be
shot at by indirect fire.

Move-stands that are giving support in Melee by virtue of an Overlap or supporting rear rank are considered in
Melee and are not an eligible target for missiles.

56
The diagram below illustrates this:

In the diagram above, TAC A has a friendly Tactical Unit (B) consisting of two move-stands in Melee with an
enemy TAC. Assume both TAC’s may fight two ranks deep. Both move-stands of TAC B are Engaged in
melee. The enemy TAC is 4 ranks deep. Only the 1 st and 2nd ranks can fight in the Melee. The 3 rd and 4th ranks
are not in Melee and may be fired upon by TAC “A”, shooting at the move-stands that are not Engaged.

TAC’s shooting overhead as described above have their Combat Factor halved.

57
8.34 Artillery Rates of fire

Gunpowder was just making its entrance into warfare in the medieval period. Rates of fire were nothing like we
see in the Napoleonic Wars and later. At times, some guns only fired off a few rounds each day. To represent
the uncertainty of an artillery crew reloading their guns in order to fire, roll once below on the table below for
each gun model (move stand) that is attempting to fire in an owned initiative. This applies only after the guns
have fired once for the day. The guns will fire as normal the first time they Shoot in the game. In second and
subsequent times that artillery attempts to shoot, they must roll on the chart to see if the crews were successful
in reloading their guns in time to Shoot:

Die Roll 1 2 3 4 5 6
Light Artillery Y Y Y Y Y N
Medium
Artillery Y Y Y N N N
Heavy
Artillery Y Y N N N N

A die roll result of “Y” means the crew was successful in timely reloading their guns and may fire. A die roll
result of “N” means the crew has not finished reloading and must roll again at their next opportunity to shoot.

58
8.4 Hand-to-Hand Combat (Melee)

Opposing Tactical Units that come into base-to-base contact with an enemy move stand as a result of one or the
other side's Charge movement results in Melee. Once a TAC is in Melee it will remain in Melee until it or the
enemy TAC retires due to Morale Loss or is pushed back and you or your opponent does not follow up, is
eliminated from play, receives a Withdraw order, or are TAC’s in Melee that successfully Disengage from
Melee and Retire.

Melee is resolved simultaneously for opposing sides even though only one side’s MU will hold the initiative. If
Side A has a Major Unit that currently holds initiative and engages in Melee with Side B, both sides fight
simultaneously, even though Side A’s MU holds the initiative. When it becomes Side B’s initiative, any TACs
already in Melee will fight again, including any new TAC’s that Side B may bring into the Melee.

Move-stands that are eligible to Engage in Melee are representative not only of weaponry used by the various
types of TACs, but also of the historical density of the soldiers within the formation. A pike formation had a
much greater density of men in a formation than for example a Roman cohort, and both are base mounted four
figures to a base in the game. To represent the greater density that pike armed formations adopted they are
allowed to engage rear rank move-stands to a greater degree than some other types of Close Order Infantry.

With certain exceptions, all move-stands in base-to-base contact with the enemy are eligible to participate in
Melee. Additionally, ranks behind those in base-to-base contact are eligible to participate as follows:

Figure Scale of 1 to 100

Pike armed infantry: 2 additional ranks deep
Long Spear or Halberd armed Infantry: 1 additional rank deep
All other Infantry Weapons: 0 additional ranks deep
All Cavalry, Elephants & Chariots: 0 additional ranks deep

Figure Scale of 1 to 50 or 1 to 25
Pike armed infantry: 5 additional ranks deep
Long Spear or Halberd armed Infantry: 3 additional ranks deep
All other Infantry Weapons: 1 additional rank deep
All Cavalry, Elephants & Chariots: 1 additional rank deep

Charging or Counter Charging Tribal Infantry fights two ranks deep in the first round of Melee at 1 to 100
Figure scale. If playing at either 1 to 50 figure scale or 1 to 25 figure scale, Charging or Counter Charging
Tribal Infantry fights four ranks deep in the first round of melee.

Below are examples of Tactical Units of 400 man Roman Cohorts at each of the figure scales in the game:

59
Below are examples of 800 man Etruscan Hoplite Tactical Units in each figure scale:

60
8.41 - Overlap

Overlap occurs in Melee when TAC’s have move-stands that are in corner to corner contact with friendly move-
stands, which are not in base-to-base contact with the enemy, but have at least one corner in contact with the enemy.

The diagram below illustrates an Overlap by Dacian Warriors on an enemy Roman TAC. Side A, the Dacians
have a three stand wide (A-1, A-2, & A-3) Tactical Unit, and the Roman TAC one stand wide and two stands deep
(B-1 & B-2). (For the purpose of this example we will use the figure scale of 1 to 100).

The two move-stands in full base-to-base contact (A-2 & B-1), as well as each move stand in corner to corner
contact
(A-1 & A-3) with the enemy move stand count their Combat Factor in the Combat. The Roman B-2 does not count

its combat factor as pilum armed Romans only fight one rank deep (in 1 to 100 figure scale).

In its next
initiative,
The Roman
move stand
B-2 could
expand the
formation
and
advance
into Melee
as
illustrated
below. The
four stands
that are
now in
base-to-
base
contact (Dacian A-2, A-3 and Roman B-1, B-2) calculate their Combat Factors. The Dacian also includes the
Combat Factor of the single Overlap move stand (A-1) that remains.

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In the diagram to the
right we have a Dacian
Warrior TAC that
consists of three move-
stands that charges into
Melee in their initiative
against a Roman
Auxilia TAC (also
consisting of three
move-stands) and the
Roman counter-charges
into Melee. Note that
the Dacian TAC has an
overlap on the Roman
TAC.

In The Roman player’s initiative, the unengaged move-stands in the rear of the column may expand the TAC’s
frontage and advance into melee (TAC’s in melee may expand their front by one move stand on each flank in each
owned initiative).

Notice that now, the Roman TAC has an overlap on the Dacian TAC’s left flank. Once unengaged rear rank
move-stands have been brought forward as above and become engaged in melee either in base-to base contact or as
an overlap, they may not subsequently be voluntarily moved back and out of melee.

Once a move-stand has been brought forward from unengaged rear ranks and adopts an Overlap position, it is
considered in Melee, by virtue of the Overlap. Its relative position within the Tactical Units formation may not be
changed until the Tactical Unit is no longer in Melee and the TAC conducts a formation change in an owned
initiative.

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The following diagram illustrates a move-stand that does not have an Overlap. We have a Dacian Warrior TAC (A-
1, A-2, & A-3). Move-stands A-1 & A-2 are both in base-to-base contact with Roman move stand B-1, and therefore
count their combat
factor in melee.
Dacian move stand
A-3 is not in base-to-
base contact, nor is it
in corner-to-corner
base contact and
therefore does not
qualify as an overlap
in melee.

8.42 In-depth Overlaps

When dealing with

deep formations,
Overlaps may
occur
due to retreats
and/or advances by
TAC’s in melee.
This may result in
these multi-rank
TAC’s aligning
flank to flank.
Ranks of these
TAC’s that support
the front rank in
Melee (2nd rank
for long spear, or
2nd & 3rd rank for
pike armed troops
at 1:100 scale) do
not qualify for
overlap support.

If however, the
TAC has
additional
ranks above those
that can support
the front rank, and
these move-

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stands come into base-to-base contact with an enemy move-stand, these move-stands are included in Melee
as an Overlap of an enemy TAC.

Here, we have a situation where both sides are armed with long spear (1:100 scale) and both Side A and Side B
have in-depth overlaps. Side A’s TAC-1 is engaged in Melee with Side B’s TAC-A, and Side A’s TAC-2 is base-to
base contact with Side B’s TAC-B. In this example, the move-stands that are overlaps are Side A’s TAC-2, move
stand A-3, and Side B’s TAC-A, move stand B-3. These move-stands are the third rank stand of each TAC and is
not otherwise in Melee to the front (as long spear in1:100 scale fights two ranks deep). The third rank move-stands
in the TAC’s described above each qualify as an overlap and count their Combat Factor in melee.

A Tactical Unit not directly in Melee (base-to-base contact) that lends Overlap support uses all its allowed actions
for the owned initiative.

Move-stands in Melee DO NOT have to be part of the same Tactical Unit. This means that if you had
two Tactical Units of one move stand in size (such as Close Order Infantry armed with long spear – one stand
of four figures) with bases abutting, one behind the other, the move stand in base-to-base contact with the
enemy would fight and the rear rank may include its Combat Factor in the Melee as support.

If a Tactical Unit that is in All Around Defense (AAD) is brought into Melee, calculate Melee as normal for the
TAC and divide any casualties inflicted on the enemy TAC’s it is in Melee with as evenly as possible.

For example: A Tactical Unit is armed with long spear, is in All Around Defense (AAD) and has three move-stands
in it. It is attacked frontally. It will fight Melee as normal. If the same square were attacked on two sides
simultaneously, it fights the Melee normally, dividing the casualties it inflicts on the two enemy TAC’s, and if it was
attacked on three sides it would divide any casualties it inflicts on the three enemy TAC’s as evenly as possible.

No benefit is received by TACs in All Around Defense for any Overlap that may exist on an enemy TAC. Therefore
if an enemy TAC attacked a TAC in All Around Defense that was two move-stands wide, the TAC would not
include Combat Factors for Overlapping move-stands. Tactical Units in All Around Defense have no flank or rear.

Tactical Units that are attacked in flank fight only with the same number of stands that the attacking
TAC has in base-to-base contact with the flanked TAC. Therefore, if an attacking TAC was one stand wide and
attacked into the flank of an enemy TAC in a column that was 4 stands deep, the actual attacking move stand
makes contact with more than one move stand. Due to base mounting limitations, the TAC that is attacked in
flank will Melee with the same number of move-stands as the attacking TAC has in base-to-base contact, up to the
maximum in the TAC (providing of course it passes its Morale Test for being attacked in flank). This also applies to
TAC’s in AAD that are attacked in what would normally be their flank (exception: Medieval Swiss Square. See
Optional Rules – Chapter 17).

For example: If an attacking TAC that was one stand wide (40mm for 15mm figures) and contacted a Close Order
Infantry TAC in flank that was 4 stands deep (15mm, 4 stands deep = 60 mm deep), the attacking move stand
actually contacts three enemy move-stands. In this example, the TAC contacted in flank fights with only one move
stand, that being equal to the attacker’s frontage. (Exception: Medieval Swiss Square – see Optional Rules – Chapter
17).

8.43 Special Melee Modifiers

1. Cavalry that Melees frontally with any infantry (except for Foot Soldiers) that are armed with Long
Spear, Halberds or Pike are Disordered, unless the infantry is already Disrupted, Disordered, or Broken.
2. Cavalry that Melees frontally with Foot Soldiers armed with Long Spear or Halberds are Disrupted.
3. Cavalry that Melees frontally with Foot Soldiers armed with Pike are Disordered.
4. Cavalry may voluntarily charge into Melee frontally against any infantry armed with Long Spear,
Halberds, or Pike with no penalties if the infantry that are being charged are Disrupted, Disordered, or
Broken.

64
 5. TAC’s that have been contacted (attacked) in flank or rear are automatically Disordered (unless already
in Broken status) for that Melee. Light Infantry and Light Cavalry will only Disorder other Light Infantry
or Light Cavalry when attacking enemy TACs in the flank. They will not Disorder heavier troop types,
although the flank attack will still trigger a Morale Test for the TAC being charged in the flank.
6. Any troop type except Light Infantry, Light Cavalry, or Pike Armed infantry in Melee frontally with
Elephants are automatically Disordered. TAC’s attacking elephants in flank or rear are not so affected.
7. Any troop type in Melee with Scythed Chariots except Light Infantry, Light Cavalry or Elephants are
automatically Disordered.
8. Battle Status cavalry in Good Order that charge or counter-charge into Melee against an enemy TAC will
Disrupt any non Long Spear or Pike Armed infantry, other cavalry, or heavy chariot TAC, including other
charging or counter charging Battle Status cavalry or Battle Status heavy chariot TACs. If two opposing
Battle Status TAC’s charge each other and proceed into Melee, both sides become Disrupted. This does
not apply if the Battle Status cavalry are Disrupted or Disordered.
8.44 Assessing Casualties

Whenever the Combat Results Chart calls for casualties to be inflicted or received, each casualty results in one
figure from a move stand to be eliminated from play. A result of “3” on the Combat Results Table means that three
casualties are inflicted. Always assess figure casualties on the rear rank move stand of an Infantry or Cavalry TAC
first, if one exists. Rear ranks of a formation are considered to move forward into the holes of the formation created
by fallen comrades. For Elephants, Chariots & Battle-Carts, Engines, and Artillery, attached Infantry (if any) and
then crews become casualties first. When all of the crew figures are eliminated on Engines or Artillery move-stands,
the move stand is removed from play. For Elephants, Chariots, & Battle-Carts, casualties are assessed on attached
infantry (if any), then crews, and the elephant or chariot/battle cart is the last casualty when the move stand is
eliminated from play. Simply place an indicator on a figure of the move stand of the Tactical Units. Such indicators
can be casualty caps or any other type of marker that players prefer. The authors use magnetic bases with flocking
and small stones on them to illustrate casualties on a move stand.

Players utilizing figures smaller than 15mm will always want to base mount figures based on what looks appealing
to them. This results in more figures on a move stand than with 15mm or 25-28mm figures. When assessing
casualties on move-stands with these smaller figures, just remember that each move stand of Light Infantry has two
figures for game purposes, Auxiliary has three figures, and Close Order Infantry has four figures, and so on
throughout the different types.

Once a move stand receives casualties equal to the number of figures on the move stand it is eliminated from play.
All move-stands are fully operational in the game until eliminated from play.

8.45 Melee Push Backs and Follow-up

TAC’s that are engaged in melee who inflict as many or more casualties in an initiative as they receive and that have
a higher Impact Class than their opponent, will push back their opponent a distance equal to one move-stand’s depth
of the retiring TAC. (See Appendix A, Impact Class Modifier #6).

TAC’s that have an Impact Class lower than their opponent but who inflict more casualties than received, will push
back their opponent a distance equal to one move stand’s depth of the retiring TAC.

The victorious TAC may follow up to remain in base-to-base contact with the enemy TAC but is not required to
unless one of the following applies:

1. The victorious TAC consists of European Knights, Fanatics, or Religious Zealots or

2. The victorious TAC is Tribal, and is on an Attack order or, is on an order other than Attack
and charged or counter-charged into the melee.

65
Examples of Play

In the following images we have a Mongol Cavalry

TAC charging a Russian cavalry TAC. The attack
begins from the front of the Russian cavalry TAC as it is
beyond the front line (indicated by red line) of the target
of the charge. The Russian cavalry TAC does not have a
valid line of attack on the Mongol TAC and therefore
may not counter-charge.

The Russian cavalry TAC may therefore Hold and

Receive the charge, or since the attack began from the
Russian cavalry TAC’s front, the TAC may elect to
Retire, in which case it moves straight backwards one-
half normal move, still maintaining the same facing.
Had the Mongol TAC began the charge with at least one
full move stand in the Russian cavalry TAC’s flank
zone, the charge would be a flank attack and the Retire
option would not apply, forcing the Russian to either
Hold and Receive the attack in flank, or attempt to
evade.

For the purpose of this example, we will say that the

Russian cavalry TAC chose to Hold. In the center image
below you see that the Mongol cavalry TAC has moved
straight forward into base-to-base contact. All charges
must be straight forward. The move stand making contact
must halt at that point and no further movement is
allowed. The move stand on the Mongol TAC’s far left
may continue forward (but is not required) in an attempt to
contact an enemy move stand. In the right image below,

we see that in this example, the move stand could not

make contact as all move-stands within a TAC must
remain in base-to-base contact with another move-
stand of the same TAC. In this example, the initial
round of melee will include one move-stand from each
opposing TAC.

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Now let’s look at the same two cavalry
TAC’s, this time with the Mongol TAC
beginning its charge from the flank of
the Russian TAC. Note that the Mongol
TAC has one complete move stand
beyond the front (notated by red line).
The Russian TAC therefore can only
Hold or attempt to Evade. For the
purpose of this example, we will assume
that the Russian attempted to Evade
unsuccessfully. The Russian TAC must
now Hold and Receive the charge. The
Russian TAC being attacked in the flank
must now test morale immediately and
any results applied before going further.

Let us say that the morale test was

passed. The Mongol TAC now moves
forward into contact.

The Mongol TAC’s right most move-

stand makes base-to-base contact and
must stop at that point.

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The Mongol TAC’s left most move-
stand may continue forward and into
base-to-base contact with the
Russian TAC if it still maintains
base-to-base contact with a move-
stand from its own TAC. In this
example, it is able to do so.

The ensuing melee will involve the

two move-stands from each side that
are in base-to-base contact.

Now let’s look at an example of melee (1 to 100 figure scale). Here we have a TAC of English Longbow defending
behind stakes who are being charged by a Medieval Knight TAC. For the purposes of this example, the Knight TAC
has barded armor and is Battle Status Cavalry. The stakes are difficulty C.

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The Knight TAC charges forward in its initiative and the archers elect to Hold & Shoot. First the Knights must pass
through the stakes, and a die roll is made for each move-stand entering into the stakes to determine if any casualties
are incurred. (See Appendix A, Chart 3). In the diagram below, the Knight TAC has been moved adjacent to the
Longbow TAC and the stakes have been moved to the rear just to get them out of the way. As previously mentioned,
the stakes are a C difficulty rating. This difficulty rating does not Disrupt or Disorder the cavalry, and requires a die
roll of 1, 2, 3, or a 4 to inflict a casualty on the advancing Knight TAC. As can be seen below in the image, a 20, a
16, and a 19 was rolled therefore the Knight TAC passes through the stakes unaffected.

When TAC’s that can shoot missiles are attacked in melee, and if the charging enemy TAC is within the shooting
TAC’s arc of fire, the defending TAC may shoot at the attacker. This is not conducted separately, but combined with
the melee in one combat resolution.

In this melee, we have two opposing troop types:

Melee Melee Missile Missile Impact

Description Of Troop Type CF DVA CF DVA Class

311 Close Order Longbow 4 3 6 0 3

504 Barded or Partial Armored Cavalry Lance Battle Status 8 -1 0 -2 4

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The Longbow TAC has a melee Combat Factor of 4 per move stand and has two move-stands in melee for a total of
8. However, because it is holding and shooting, in the first round of melee, it adds in its missile Combat Factor as
well. All four move-stands can shoot in this example, and the missile Combat Factor is 6 per move stand for a total
of 24. This 24 + the melee Combat Factor of 8 gives the Longbow TAC a total of 32 Combat Factors in the initial
round of melee. The Knight TAC has a Combat Factor of 8 per move stand for a total of 24 in the initial melee
round.

Now look at the Combat Resolution chart (Appendix A, Chart 2). For the Longbow TAC Missile Modifier #4
applies as we will consider that the Longbow TAC did not move in the current initiative. As the attacking Knight
TAC is Battle Status, the Longbow TAC is Disrupted (see 8.43 #8 for details). This gives a plus two (+2) for the
Longbow not moving and a minus two (-2) for being Disrupted, and an additional minus one (-1) because of the
Knight’s melee DVA for a net modifier of minus one (-1). No other modifiers apply for the Longbow. The Longbow
TAC rolls on Combat Results Table “P” with a minus one to the die roll.

The Knight TAC has a Combat Factor of 24. Melee Modifier #2 applies as the Knights are charging and give a plus
four (+4). Also, since the Knight TAC is Battle Status and is charging, its Impact Class is doubled in the first round
of melee. Normally, this type of cavalry has an Impact Class of 4, but is doubled in the first round of melee because
it is charging. This gives the Knight TAC an Impact Class of 8 vs. the Impact Class of 3 for the Longbow. The
Impact Class of the Knight TAC is therefore 5 higher than the Longbow so Impact Class Modifier #4 applies. The
Knight TAC normally rolls on Combat Results Table L with a Combat Factor of 24, but because of the Impact Class
Modifier #4 it increases two columns, up to column N. It also has a plus four (+4) to its die roll because it is
charging and an additional plus three (+3) due to the melee DVA of the Longbow.

The Knight TAC rolls a 17 on a 20-sided die and a 2 on a six sided die. The Longbow rolls an eleven on a 20-sided
die and a 1 on a six sided die.

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We have determined that the Knight TAC is rolling on column N. The six-sided die is the random die roll and a 2 is
plus two (+2) to the die roll. With its charge bonus of plus four (+4) and the plus three (+3) from the Longbow
melee DVA the total modifiers to the die roll is plus nine (+9), added to the roll of 17, equals a final modified die
roll of twenty six (26). Cross-referencing the die roll of 26 with column N, the result is four casualties inflicted on
the Longbow TAC.

The Longbow TAC has a net modifier of minus one (-1) but rolled a one on its random six-sided die, giving a plus
three (+3) to its die roll of eleven (11), for a total of 13. This die roll, when cross-referenced with column P gives 3
casualties on the Knight TAC.

Impact Class modifier #6 applies as the Knight TAC has inflicted as many or more casualties as it received and it
has a higher Impact Class than its opponent. The Longbow TAC is therefore pushed back the distance equal to the
depth of one move stand. After casualties have been assessed, the TAC’s look thus:

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Both the Knight TAC and the Longbow TAC have one move stand eliminated from play. When it becomes the
Longbow TAC’s initiative the two TAC’s will fight again. The Longbow TAC will not include its missile Combat
Factor, only its melee Combat Factor. In the second round of melee, the Medieval Knights with two move-stands
will have a Combat Factor of 16 while the Longbow TAC will have a Combat Factor of only 8. Other modifiers
apply as normal.

Of significant importance to this example is the difficulty class of the stakes (see Chapter 9 for details). In this
example, they were a difficulty rating of C. Had they been a difficulty of D or higher, not only would there have
been higher probability of the Knight TAC incurring casualties when moving through them, but the Knight TAC
would have been Disrupted or Disordered. In either case, being Disrupted or Disordered, the Knight TAC’s Impact
Class would not have been doubled. Furthermore, had the Knight TAC been Disrupted it would have a minus two (-
2) to its die roll and if Disordered, its Combat Factor would have been halved (See Appendix A, Chart 2 – Modifiers
affecting both Shooting and Melee).

Now let’s look at another melee example. The

image at right shows us a Roman TAC of two
move-stands that charges a Dacian TAC
armed with the Falx. The Roman TAC stops at
4 cm and the Dacian TAC opts to counter-
charge.

Since it is counter charging, the Dacian TAC

moves forward the final 4 cm into base-to-
base contact. Melee will now ensue. The
Dacian TAC is armed with the Falx, a two
handed weapon, and has a Combat Factor of 8
per move stand. The Roman TAC is armed
with pilum, a heavy throwing weapon, and
also has a Combat Factor of 8 per move stand.

The Description of Troop Type below (also

see Appendix B, pages 1 & 2 for complete
details) shows the characteristics of the two
Troop Types. The Impact Classes of the two
troop types is only a difference of one, so this
will not affect the melee in any way. The
Dacian TAC has a Melee DVA of plus four
(+4), and the Roman Melee DVA is a minus
one (-1).

Melee Melee Missile Missile Impact

Description Of Troop Type CF DVA CF DVA Class

226 Tribal Warrior with 2H Weapon (shieldless) 8 4 0 0 3

304 Close Order Heavy Throwing Weapon 8 -1 0 -1 4

Both sides Charged into Melee, therefore each side receives a plus four (+4) for charging. The Dacian, being Tribal,
fights two ranks deep in the initial round of melee, therefore the move-stand behind the one in base-to-base contact
may fight. The Dacian also has one move stand that qualifies as an overlap, giving the Dacian TAC three move-
stands that may apply their Combat Factor to this melee. The Roman only fights one rank deep, and therefore fights
with only one move-stand.

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The Combat Factor for the Dacian TAC is 24 and rolls on table L. The Roman Combat Factor is 8 and rolls on Table
D (see Appendix A, Chart 2). The Dacian has a plus four for charging (+4) and a minus one (-1) for the Roman
Melee DVA, giving a net plus three (+3) to his die roll ten (10), but has also rolled a minus two (-2) on his random
six-sided die, by virtue of having
rolled a five (5). The net effect on the
Dacian die roll is a plus one (+1),
making his modified die roll an eleven,
inflicting two casting casualties on the
Roman TAC.

The Roman TAC rolled an 8 on the 20-

sided die and like the Dacian, rolled a
5 on the random 6-sided die, giving a
minus two (-2). The Roman however
has a plus four (+4) for charging and
also receives another plus four (+4)
because of the Dacian Melee DVA.
This gives a net plus six (+6) to the
Roman die roll of 8 for a final
modified die roll of 14, inflicting one
casualty on the Dacian TAC.

The Roman TAC is pushed back

because it inflicted fewer casualties
than it received, even though its
Impact Class is higher than that of the
Dacian TAC.

It now becomes the Dacian TAC’s

initiative and the Dacian decides to
move what is now an unengaged move
stand to expand the frontage of the
TAC, giving the Dacian TAC an
overlap on both sides of the Roman
TAC.

Once again, the Dacian TAC has three

move-stands eligible for melee and has a Combat Factor of 24, meaning it will again roll on Table L. The Roman
TAC has one move stand eligible for melee and has a Combat Factor of 8, and rolls on Table D to inflict casualties.

The Dacian TAC rolls a 12 on the 20-sided die and a five on the random 6-sided die. The Roman TAC has a Melee
DVA of minus one (-1), and with the random die roll of minus two, the modified die roll for the Dacian is a nine (12
– 3 = 9) and inflicts two more casualties on the Roman TAC, eliminating one Roman move stand.

The Roman TAC rolls a six on the 20-sided die and a four on the 6-sided random die for a net die roll of five (5).
The Roman also receives a plus four (+4) due to the Dacian Melee DVA and therefore has a final modified die roll
of nine (9). Fighting on Table D, this is zero (0), or no effect.

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After two rounds
of melee, the
Roman TAC has
suffered four
casualties and
inflicted only one
on the Dacian
TAC.

At the end of the

Stage, both sides
must now test
Morale. The
Roman TAC has
two Morale tests;
one for first
casualties, and a
second for a move
stand being
eliminated.

The Dacian TAC

has one Morale
test for first
casualties.

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8.44 Overkill and Overrun Movement

On occasion, circumstances may develop where a Tactical Unit receives more casualties than it has remaining
figures in the TAC, resulting in overkill. When this overkill takes place, the victorious TAC may use overrun
movement. To use overrun movement, the victorious TAC must first occupy the former position of the eliminated
enemy and may then convert overkill casualties inflicted into overrun movement at a rate of 2 cm (3 cm) for each
overkill casualty loss inflicted on the enemy.

The sequence of events is detailed as follows:

1) The victorious TAC first occupies the former position of the eliminated TAC;
2) The victorious TAC could then:
a. Change facing up to 45 degrees (this change of facing is made by each Tactical Unit involved and not
by the center of the attacking force [all TAC’s involved]), or
b. Convert the overkill casualties into overrun movement: 2 cm (3 cm) of overrun movement for every
one overkill casualty loss inflicted. This movement must be directly straight and forward with no change
of facing allowed.

Only TAC’s that utilize overrun movement may contact new enemy TAC’s and conduct another Melee Combat in
this same owned initiative. All charge bonus modifiers will apply to the TAC that is making the overrun movement
(as well as any other modifiers that may apply) as this movement is considered as part of the same charge. Enemy
TAC’s contacted during overrun movement may never Counter Charge or evade! Total overrun movement in a
single owned initiative can never exceed a TAC’s regular movement allowance.

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8.5 Morale

Morale is an extremely important aspect of the game. Some Morale Tests are made at the conclusion of each
Stage, while others are made immediately upon certain circumstances being met in Combat. All TAC’s in the
game have a Morale Grade from 13 to 18. To pass a Morale Test, a TAC must roll equal to or less than its
Morale Grade on a 20-sided die. (See Appendix A, Chart 4).

8.51 Tactical Units test morale when:

1. The TAC takes its first figure casualty in the game or has a move stand eliminated from play.
2. When a friendly TAC has Broken, Routed, or been eliminated from play is within, or comes
within 15 (20) cm ((8 (12) if testing TAC is in Melee).
3. When mounted TAC’s (horses) attempt to Charge or Counter-charge into Melee vs. Elephants.
4. When a TAC is charged by elephants or Scythed Chariots.
5. When a TAC is charged in flank or rear.
6. When a TAC is shot at by medium or heavy stone throwing engines or shot at by any artillery. (Hit or
miss; still causes a Morale Test).
7. When TAC's are shot at by handguns, and no gunpowder weapons exist in target TAC's army. (Hit or
miss; still causes a Morale Test).
8. When Impetuous troops come to within a single move’s distance (the Impetuous TAC’s movement
rate) of an enemy TAC, and who is operating under an Attack order. Impetuous troop types are
Fanatics, Religious Zealots, and Mounted European Medieval Knights. (Dismounted knights are not
impetuous).

In cases one and two, Morale Tests are made at the end of the current Stage. In cases three through eight,
Morale Tests are made immediately and any results applied.

When making Morale Tests at the end of a Stage, TAC’s of each MU test morale by order of the most damaged
MU’s TAC’s checking first, the second most damaged MU’s TAC’s checking second, the third most damaged
MU’s TAC’s checking third, and so on. For the purposes of this rule, the most damaged MU is determined by
totaling move-stands eliminated from play plus any that are in Broken or Routed status and still in play. Light
Infantry and Light Cavalry count as one-half move-stand for the purpose of this rule.

8.52 Morale Test Modifiers

There are a number of circumstances that will add to or subtract from a TAC’s Morale Grade for any given
Morale Test. Refer to Appendix A, Chart 4. This chart has six sub-charts on the page that correspond to the
different Morale Grades of TAC’s, and what their basic chance to pass a Morale Test is based on the number of
stands the TAC began the game with, and what this basic Morale Grade is adjusted to based on eliminated
move-stands in the TAC.

A TAC with a Morale Grade of 16, that began the game with three move-stands in it, has a basic Morale Grade
of 16 if the TAC has not lost any move-stands to casualties. If this same TAC had lost two move-stands in
casualties, its basic Morale Grade becomes a ten (10).

Looking down on the chart you will find Leadership, Positive, and Negative modifiers that further adjust a
TAC’s Morale Grade. For example, take the TAC mentioned above that has two move-stands eliminated, and
let us assume it is Disordered. Negative modifier #5 shows us that a Disordered TAC incurs an additional
negative three (- 3) modifier. This TAC would now have a Morale Grade of seven (10 – 3 = 7). This means that
if this TAC had to take a Morale Test, and no other modifiers applied, it would pass its Morale Test on a die roll
of from one to seven on a 20-sided die.

When a TAC fails a Morale Test (having rolled above its modified Morale Grade) the results of the failure will
vary depending on by how much the TAC failed by. A TAC that fails a Morale Test by four or less is Shaken
and retires 4 (6) cm, still facing the enemy. A TAC that fails its Morale Test by from 5 to 8 becomes Disordered
and retires 8 (12) cm, still facing the enemy. A TAC that fails a Morale Test by 9 to 12 is Broken. The TAC

76