Nick Dorrell

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 Great Northern War
Published by: Baccus 6mm Ltd 2015

Text Copyright: Nick Dorrell

Layout and Design: Baccus 6mm Ltd

Photography: Peter Berry and Alexandra Barbareau

Line Drawings: Marc Grieves

Buildings and Scenics: Timecast, Per Broden and Baccus

Baccus 6mm figures painted by Peter Berry and Per Broden

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means
without the express written consent of the authors.

Produced in the UK

For more information about the figures and models used in this catalogue as well as the other rules sets
in the Polemos series, visit: www.baccus6mm.com

A Yahoo group has been set up to allow for discussion of all aspects of playing games using Polemos
rules. If you have any questions, are looking for tips and advice or just want to talk to other gamers, you
can join by logging on to http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/polemoshttp://httht http://
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/polemos

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

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Introduction ii

Part One – Setting up the Game Firing examples 43-45

What you need to play 4 Close combat 46
Figure and base sizes 5-6 Close combat outcome 47
Organisation of the army 7 Rallying 48
Ranks and grades of officers 8 Risk to generals 49
Monarchs 8-9 Army Morale 49-51
Troop types 10-14 Climax test 52
Troop quality 14-15 Random commanders 52
Markers 16

Part Four – Army Generators

Part Two – Laying out the Game Using the lists 54
Terrain features 18 The battle of Narva, 1700 56-59
Terrain generation 18-19 The battle of Kliszow, 1702 60-64
Terrain effects 20-21 The battle of Lesnaja, 1708 65-68
Visibility, Line of sight and weather 22-23 The battle of Poltava, 1709 69-76
Deployment and scouting 24 The battle of Helsingborg, 1710 77-80
Officer placement 25
Turn sequence 26
Part Five – Appendices
Great Northern War armies 81-90
Part Three – Playing the Game Designer’s notes 91-93
Tempo bidding 28 Frequently asked questions 94-95
Bombardment 29-30
Tempo point costs 31
Movement rates 32
Interpenetration and reforming 33-34
Column of march and flalling back 35
Passage of Lines 36-37
Terrain features 38
Ranged combat 39
Charges 39-41
Firing 41
Firing and charging procedure 42

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

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This is the set of rules in the Polemos series for
warfare in the Great Northern War, 1700 to
1721.
It relies very heavily on the excellent work done
so far in the rules in the series, in particular the
War of Spanish Succession rules. I have kept the
basing etc. the same as the War of Spanish Suc-
cession set so that armies can be used with both
sets. Despite these facts I hope that you will find
that these rules are different to these other rules
and reflect the very different nature of ‘Eastern’
European warfare of this period.
If they fail to do so this is solely the fault of this
writer. These rules are for fighting large battles in
the period 1700 to 1721. All but the largest bat-
tles should be ‘playable’ in a ‘normal’ gaming ses-
sion, although of course this largely depends on
what ‘normal’ is!
There is no set scale of figures that should be
used with these rules although it is probably fair
to say that the author envisages the smaller scales
being used generally. The‘standard’ figure size
used in the rules is 6mm but various playtesters
successfully used a variety of figure sizes. The
main focus of the rules is the war against Swe-
den, and her allies, fought by a varying coalition
of Sweden’s enemies. But also included are aux-
iliary operations, wars and battles to this central
conflict, for example the Russo-Ottoman war of
1711.
It should also be possible to use these rules for
other ‘Eastern’ conflicts of the period. The Hun-
garian revolt, the Imperialist campaigns against
the Ottoman Empire and the Russo-Persian wars
of the 1720s for example. The main focus is on
historical battles and campaigns but also ‘what if’
battles could be fought. What if the‘ Western’
powers had intervened in the Great Northern
War? What if Sweden had intervened in the War
of Spanish Succession? May be you would even
like to game the planned Swedish invasion of
Britain?
Like many similar works these rules have been
built on others' work. I would like to take the
opportunity to thank some of the many people
who have helped.
Peter Berry: For giving me the opportunity to
write these rules but also for a number of other
matters. His articles on this war first got me in-
terested in it, his encouragement generally and
work on the Polemos English Civil War rules,
and others, all helped greatly.
Chris Grice: For his work on the Polemos War
of Spanish Succession set and again for his
friendly help and advice generally.
The Polemos 'team' and discussion group gener-
ally: For their work on the rules, suggestions,
questions, etc, in the development of these rules.
The playtesters generally: In particular Keith
Gendle, Ian Cluskey, Colin Nash and the various
members of their gaming groups and also the
members of the Prague Historical Wargaming
Group and Wyre Forest Wargame Club.
Andrew Wharton and Harvey Charlesworth for
kindly proofreading the rules for me.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my wife
Nina. Without her support and encouragement
this would have been difficult to do. But I would
also like to thank her for putting up with me and
my 'crazy' hobby generally.
Nick Dorrell, March 2005

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

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WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY
There are a number of required components for
a game of Polemos Great North War:
 Two armies of miniature figures.
 A playing surface with relevant terrain.
 This rulebook and enclosed quick reference
sheet.
 A six sided die(D6).
 A measuring stick or ruler.
 One or more players.
You may also require ten sided dice (D10) and av-
erage dice (DAv) - a six sided dice numbered
2,3,3,4,4,5) for some operations, while you may
also find the army lists useful as well.
Armies
The basic playing piece in Polemos is the Base.
An army is comprised of a number of bases, either
from historical orders of battle or on army lists,
and grouped into brigades.
Polemos Great Northern War is designed to allow
the player to represent an army using a limited
number of bases each of which represents a tacti-
cal element that may act individually.
The game mechanics will work with any basing
scheme, provided it maintains a 2:1 proportion.
There is no set base size, but we have found that
the optimum for 6mm figures is a 60mm x 30mm
base. Bases of 20mm by 10mm, 30mm by 15mm,
40mm by 20mm, or 80mm by 40mm are also suit-
able.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
The actual position of the figures on the base is
not important, as it is assumed that the officers
know their business well enough to adopt the most
suitable formation for any given circumstance.
Nor is it vital that the base sizes given below are
strictly adhered to, these are simply recommenda-
tions based on what we think would look right on
the table. As long as both armies use the same
basing system, the rules should not be affected.
We do recommend, however, that the 2:1 ratio of
base width to base depth is retained. All distances
are given in base widths (BW) or base depths
(BD), so if you do wish to use a one figure: one
man figure scale using three foot wide bases,
please feel free to do so as the rules should still
work!
Table
The size of table you use depends on three factors:
(a) what you have available, (b) how much are a
you wish to represent and (c) the base sizes you are
using. We have found that using 60mm x 30mm
bases we can fight with two small to medium ar-
mies of about 20 bases each, on a table 150cm x
90-120cm (5' x 3-4') and enjoy a good game of ma-
noeuvre. In more restricted terrain a smaller table
is feasible. Guides to table and terrain construction
can be found in the wargaming press, and a num-
ber of websites.

SCALES
Ground Scale
One base width (1BW) represents around 200
paces. One base depth (1BD) represents about
100 paces. All measurements, base sizes, etc are
based on multiples of these two distances.
Figure Scale
The actual ratio of figures to real men will vary
depending on how many figures you put on a
base. A base represents the following:
 A base of infantry, except skirmishing in-
fantry, represents between 400 and 600
men. They can be a single large battalion,
a pair of smaller ones or a group of sub-
units up to this approximate strength.
 A base of cavalry, dismounted dragoons
and skirmishing infantry represents two to
three squadrons or similar groups, repre-
senting 200 to 300 men. A cavalry base is
assumed to include wide intervals between
squadrons, allowing friendly cavalry bases
to pass through each other.
 An artillery base represents four to eight
guns. The number of guns that a base
represents varies depending on the size of
the real guns. Four heavy guns will be rep-
resented by one base. While eight light
guns will also be represented by one base.
Base Sizes
A standard base for infantry or cavalry is 200
paces wide and 100 paces deep, i.e. 1BW by
1BD.
Dismounted dragoons, eastern horse, light horse,
charging infantry and skirmishers bases are 200
paces square, i.e. 1BW by 1BW.
Commander and artillery bases are 100 paces
square, i.e. 1BD by 1BD.
A train base is a standard 100 by 200 paces, i.e.
1BD by 1BW.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
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As mentioned above, the actual composition of
bases is left to the individual gamer, but here are
some suggestions.
The numbers of figures quoted are for 6mm fig-
ures on these size bases. Half of these numbers
of 10mm or 15mm figures could possibly be
used with similar sized bases. The suggested
standard base width and depth is 60mm and
30mm respectively.
 Infantry using the a prest (AP) system,
typically drawn up in 4-5 ranks, can be de-
picted by three ranks of eight figures each.
 Infantry using the Dutch (DS) system,
typically drawn up in 3-4 ranks, can be de-
picted by two ranks of twelve figures each.
 Infantry using the Russian (RS) system,
typically drawn up in 4-5 ranks, can be de-
picted by two or three ranks of 12 or 8 fig-
ures each. Four to eight of the figures will
normally be pike-armed.
 Infantry using the GåPå (GP) system, typi-
cally drawn up in 4-5 ranks, can be de-
picted by two or three ranks of 12 or 8 fig-
ures each. Normally eight of these are pike
-armed and are placed in the centre of the
unit.
 Infantry using the Charging (CI) system,
typically in a ‘mob’ formation. These are
24 to 36 figures in three or four loose
ranks, i.e. in a ‘mob’ formation.
 Infantry using Skirmish (SI) tactics can be
depicted by a single, loose, rank of figures.
 Dismounted dragoons (DD) can be de-
picted by a single rank of dismounted fig-
ures. Their mounts, with suitable horse-
holders, should be based at the rear of the
stand. Alternatively, a single stand of dis-
mounted dragoons may be represented as
two stands, 100 paces deep. With the
horses on one base and the dismounted
dragoons on the other.
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Dismounted infantry should consist of a
normal infantry base of the appropriate
type and a second base with the horses on.
 Western horse (H), galloping horse
(GH), eastern horse (EH) and mounted
dragoons (D) can be depicted by 10-15
figures in one or two ranks. Eastern horse
units perhaps being in less orderly lines.
 Light Horse (LH) can be depicted by 6 to
12 figures. in one or two loose ranks, with
the ranks being looser for mixed tactics LH
compared to melee tactics LH. Shooting
tactics LH would be a ‘swarm’.
 An artillery base may hold one or two gun
models.
 A train or bridging base is of standard size
and may comprise a number of wagons or
pack animals. Field gun limbers are
counted as train bases.
 A general’s base must contain at least one
mounted figure. We recommend that the
higher the status of the general, the more
aides, messengers, lackeys and hangers-on
occupy his base.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Finally the two most important rules on basing
and base sizes will be repeated again.
 Use whatever base width and depth that
suits you and your opponents but keep to
the 2 to 1 ratio.
 Use as many or as few figures as you like,
as long as it looks ‘right’. Add officers,
‘clutter’ and anything else you feel like and
to add ’flavour’ to the base. Remember a
base is a ‘unit’ try to make it look like one.
It is also useful if you have some basing
system that will enable you to tell the type
of unit it is by looking at it. Perhaps for
example by using the arrangement of cav-
alry on a base to show which units are
horse and which dragoons.
Time scale
There is no specific time scale in these rules. An
action could be over quickly or could drag on
most of a day. A turn represents a focus of ac-
tion during the engagement and it is of no fixed
length. See also p.22 Visibility, Line of Sight and
Weather.
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YOUR ARMY
Higher organisation
Cavalry and infantry are organised into Brigades
of generally three to six bases. There can be no
mixed cavalry/infantry brigades. Brigades are
assigned to commands.
The number of commands varies with the size of
the army, though there should be at least two. A
command will comprise a minimum of two bri-
gades.
An army will have an Army Commander and
usually one other commander for every three to
five brigades in the army.
Some of these other commanders maybe desig-
nated as Wing Commanders. In general every
fourth commander will be a wing commander. It
is also common that allied troops would be led
by a wing commander - some of these may in-
stead be designated as an Allied Commander if
inter-allied cooperation was not very good.
Sometimes these commanders, or an additional
commander, may be designated as a Monarch.
The army lists give details of the command struc-
tures of various historical armies.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Ranks and grades of officers
There are a number of different ranks and grades
of officers and each has a different role to play in
the battle. The ranks available are:
 The Army Commander (i.e. the player) is
the officer in sole charge of the army,
sometimes referred to as the C-in-c.
 A Wing Commander is an officer to help
command the army.
 An Allied Commander is an officer in
charge of a command or group of com-
mands of allied troops.
 A Commander is the officer in charge of
a command.
 A Brigadier is the officer in charge of a
brigade. A brigadier need not be depicted
as a separate base, but maybe included on
one of the unit bases if desired. Alterna-
tively a single mounted figure mounted on,
for example, a small coin could be used. If
not, his presence with his brigade is taken
as read.
 In addition some officers may also be rated
as Monarchs.
All officers, except for brigadiers, have two rat-
ings. The first is their Leadership rating (Ldr)
and the second their Tempo Points rating
(TPR). This is sometimes expressed as two
numbers.
Leadership rating is used when making Army Mo-
rale checks. Leadership may be Poor, Average or
Exceptional, usually abbreviated as P, A or E.
Tempo points rating is a number in the range one to
six, with six being the best rating. The TPR is
the number of TPs that the officer contributes,
in various ways, to the operation of the army.
The first are called the Strategic Rating (SR)
and they may be ‘sent’ to other commanders.
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 
In general, higher commanders receive higher
TPRs to reflect their better staff and support.
Wing commanders divide these between their
two main tasks, Allied Commanders keep them
all.
The Army Commander (C-in-c) is usually you,
the player. The Army commander has authority
over all troops in the army, except for those un-
der the authority of an allied commander. He
may personally be in control of some troops
himself, in which case such troops are a com-
mand, but he does not have to be in personal
command of anything.
The Army commander’s Ldr may be used in
Army morale checks for any troops that he per-
sonally commands. The Army Commander’s Ldr
also provides TPs which he must use personally,
i.e. he may not ‘send’ them to a subordinate they
are TR. Poor Army commanders receive 2TPs as
TR, Average 3TPs and Excellent 4TPs. In addi-
tion he may count as a ‘Superior officer’ in Army
morale checks for any troops over which he has
authority.
Wing Commander: A Wing commander’s pur-
pose is to aid the army commander to direct the
army. He may himself be in control of some
troops, in which case such troops are a com-
mand, however, he need not have to be in per-
sonal command of anything. He may have one
or more other command under his authority.
He must always have less than half of the com-
mands in the army under his authority.
His TPR is used in two ways, hence the reason
he has a two-number TPR. The first number is
his contribution to the TP pool. This is his stra-
tegic rating (SR) and is sent to the Army com-
mander. The second number is used in a similar
manner to the Commander’s TPs, (see below).
This is his tactical rating (TR). The Wing com-
mander may use these TPs to perform actions
with units under his direct authority or the con-
trol of a commander over which he has author-
ity.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
His Ldr may be used in Army morale checks
for any troops that he commands personally .
In addition he may count as a ‘Superior offi-
cer’ in Army morale checks for any troops
over which he has authority.
Allied Commander: An Allied commander is,
in general, similar to a Wing commander. The
main difference is that he and his troops are
sufficiently independent to be effectively out of
the control of the ‘main’ army. Usually he has
under his command all troops of his nationality.
Like a Wing commander this may be direct in a
command of his own or via commands over
which he has authority.
Allied commanders do not ‘send’ TPs to the TP
pool, hence they have only one number as their
TPR. These TPs are used in a similar manner to
a commander’s TPs, (see below). He is in effect a
Wing commander who only has a TR. The Allied
commander may use these TPs to perform ac-
tions with units under his direct command or
under the control of a commander over whom
he has authority.
His Ldr may be used in Army morale checks
for any troops that he personally commands.
In addition he may count as a ‘Superior offi-
cer’ in Army morale checks for any troops
over which he has authority.
Commander: A commander is an officer in
charge of a command and is not one of the
above. He is always subordinate to another com-
mander. This may be an Army, Wing or Allied
commander, the default is the Army commander.
His TPs are not ‘sent’ to the TP pool. Instead he
keeps them and may use them to perform actions
on and with troops he commands. His Ldr may
be used for Army morale checks for any troops

Example
General Schmidt is a P2 Commander. His Ldr is Poor
and his TPR is 2. After a successful battle, and a
quiet word from some friends at Court, he is pro-
moted. He now counts as P 1+2 Wing Commander.
Unfortunately in his next battle he is leading a force as
allies of the Russians. So he counts as a P3 Allied
commander. Despite this, and following some expen-
sive gifts, he is promoted to Army commander. He
now counts as P4, but now he sends the 4TPs to the
TP pool. In addition he receives 2TPs as his TR and
based on his poor leadership
Monarchs
Sometimes a general is so important to the army
that he counts as a Monarch as well as a general.
Alternatively someone who counts as a Monarch
may be present on the battlefield in addition to
the normal command structure. Usually such a
person is actually a monarch of some description
but in theory it could be any person who is of
special importance to the army. Examples would
be the leader of a revolt or the Grand Vizier in
an Ottoman Army.
Effects of a Monarch
The army lists usually define who counts as a
Monarch and which groups regard him as such
for the purposes of the rules.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
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Abilities of a Monarch
All monarchs, of whatever type, count as a Mon-
arch on Army morale and climax tests. The close
proximity of a Monarch gives a plus to a com-
mand’s Army morale test, while the death or seri-
ous injury of the Monarch, of whichever type,
gives minuses to all climax tests and all Army
morale tests. Monarchs, of whichever type, are
also more effective at rallying units than ordinary
officers. They give a +2 rather than a +1. Simi-
larly having a Monarch, of whichever type, at-
tached to a unit in melee gives a +2 rather than a
+1. These are the only additional effect that a
Wing commander or Allied commander Mon-
arch has. Other than this he is counted as a nor-
mal commander of his type.
Reassigning Officers
A limited number of randomly generated
commanders may be reassigned by a C-in
-c Monarch. See p.24, Officer Seniority and
Army Organisation.
Actions and operations:
A Monarch has a two-number rating similar to
Wing commanders, a SR and a TR. Monarchs
never ‘command’ anything but they can still use
their TPs in a number of ways. They may con-
tribute these TPs to the TP pool or spend them
on performing actions, in a similar manner to a
Wing commander. However in both cases they
must be within 2 BW, and visible, of the in-
tended target of the TPs, i.e. of the Army com-
mander or bases that are going to receive them.
In the case of spending TPs directly on bases or
groups of bases any such bases that consider the
commander to be a Monarch may receive them.
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Infantry Types RS: The Russian school was a variation of
the a prest school and was generally more
The basic infantry type is the musketeer, formed defensive. Units often included a proportion
in close order and armed with a firelock musket of pike armed men, typically in the order of 1
and bayonet. Possibly also with a proportion in 5 or 1 in 6. The emphasis was on stopping
armed with pikes or with other weapons. the opponent with fire before using superior
There were six basic ‘schools’ of infantry fighting numbers to defeat them. The pike’s primary
in the Great Northern War: role was anti-cavalry. The majority of Russian
units used this system during the GNW.
AP: The a prest school used by the bulk of
Sweden’s enemies during the GNW, fa-
voured the offensive. Troops using this sys-
tem would, advance to close range and dis-
charge their muskets, usually by ranks, be-
fore rushing in with the bayonet. The enemy
would not wait to receive the cold steel but,
having been shaken by the volleys, would
take to their heels. Often this tactic would
degenerate into a less efficient attempt to
use fire to overcome their opponents. Infan- GP: The Gå På school, (pronounced as ‘Go
try using this system receive bonuses when Po’), emphasised attack at all costs and with
they advance into contact. the minimum of shooting. Units would ad-
vance in silence towards the enemy, pausing
twice for2 ranks to fire volleys at the enemy.
After the second volley at about 20 paces the
whole unit would charge in with bayonet,
pike and sword. Often the ‘shock’ of such an
attack was enough to defeat its opponent. In
contrast to the a prest school failure would
lead to regrouping for another such attack
and not an attempt to use fire to defeat the
enemy. These tactics were used by all Swed-
DS: The Dutch school placed less emphasis ish and Finnish units during the war. Usually
on the bayonet. Troops using this system units had 1/3rd of their strength pike armed
would hope to make the enemy waver by the but this was not always the case. Units which
use of fire tactics alone. Volleys were usually do not have enough pikes, but are still using
delivered by platoon, allowing a rippling fire these tactics, count as GP(-P), see below.
down the length of the unit. This tactic was
first practised by the Dutch and British infan-
try, although others took it up in time. These
tactics were used by some or all of Sweden’s
opponents during the later part of the GNW.
Dutch, Hanoverian, Danish and possible oth-
ers, for example Prussians, used these tactics
during this period.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)


GP(-P): Later war Swedish units which do
not have enough pikes, or indeed any
pikes. These units are marked GP(-P) and
test to charge as charging infantry. Also
they do not get any of the other benefits of
having pikes such as increased defence fac-
tors when charged by cavalry and in melee.
They count as GP in all other respects.
CI: Charging Infantry: Troops armed
mainly, or totally, with melee weapons.
Because of this they rely on charging into
melee. Examples would be some Turkish
and Persian ‘Levy’ infantry.
SI: Skirmish tactics infantry: Infantry
operating in relatively loose order and rely-
ing on aimed, individual fire. They are re-
luctant to engage too closely and are vul-
nerable to any mounted troops. They may
be able to evade away from potential close
combat situations. All SI bases do not have
a ‘flank’. Any factors for attacking a flank
do not count against them. Examples
would be Turkish Arnaut and similar infan-
try, also some Persian and Cossack infan-
try.
Other types of infantry.
Grenadiers (Gr): At this time, these were
still armed with the small explosive devices
which gave them their name, although they
were never used in the field and only really
of use in confined areas, such as during
sieges. Grenadiers were traditionally the
biggest and strongest men available, and
their tall headgear (intended to allow the
musket to be slung, leaving both hands free
to handle the grenade) made them more
intimidating to the enemy. In Polemos
GNW, grenadier companies may be de-
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
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picted as part of an infantry base, but given
their small numbers they have no effect on
the performance of the unit. Some armies
amalgamated grenadier companies from
several units into converged grenadier bat-
talions or permanent grenadier battalions
these units will have advantages when fac-
ing certain terrain features. Units that enjoy
these benefits are classified as Grenadiers
(Gr). Examples would be the Danish and
Russian grenadier battalions.
Janissaries (J): Ottoman Janissaries are
difficult to classify, perhaps because of a
lack of information about them. Their tac-
tics seemed to consist of individual aimed
fire to disorder the enemy before they
closed to force the issue. In Polemos they
are treated as a ‘hybrid’ troop type. In gen-
eral they are treated as a prest (AP) infan-
try but they use the offensive factors of
skirmishing infantry (SI). In addition to
this they were trained ‘assault’ troops so
they also count as grenadiers (GR), see
above.
Dismounted Dragoons (DD): While not
strictly speaking infantry, it is perhaps ap-
propriate to mention dismounted dragoons
here. It was not common for most dra-
goons to fight dismounted in this period
but it was done and by the Russian Dra-
goons, for example, fairly frequently. When
dismounted dragoons relied on fire they
were vulnerable in close combat unless in
cover.
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  
The second are kept by the commander and are
called the Tactical Rating (TR).
Mounted Infantry (MI) Some infantry
may be designated as mounted infantry,
either permanently, for example Segban or
Segmen in Ottoman, Tartar or Cossack
armies, or temporarily in the case of Rus-
sian and possibly Polish armies. These
function as ordinary infantry of whatever
type except that they have horses available
to transport them around the battlefield.
When mounted they are at a severe disad-
vantage in close combat. They count as
Dragoons but may not charge and suffer a
-1 to their defence and a -2 in melee.
Cavalry Types
There are five basic types of cavalry available in
the Great Northern War:
Horse (H) Regiments of horse were made
up of big men, who may have had some
armour (perhaps a cuirass and/or an iron
‘secrete’ within their hat) mounted on big
horses. The normal method of attack
would be the charge to contact, usually car-
ried out at a trot or fast trot. They were
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
also trained to deliver fire from pistols or
carbines as an alternative or addition to the
charge to contact.
Galloping Horse (GH) Units of horse
that charged, at the gallop, to contact, usu-
ally with no firing and relying on the
sword, or other melee weapon, alone. All
Swedish mounted troops, whether called
‘Cavalry’ or ‘Dragoons’, and Polish-
Lithuanian (Winged) Hussars are examples
of this troop type.
Dragoons (D) Originally mounted infan-
try, in this period they were increasingly
seen as a cheaper alternative to horse and
were used in a similar manner on the bat-
tlefield. Dragoons were also trained in in-
fantry tactics and carried a firelock musket,
but many dragoon units never dismounted
to fight.
Eastern Horse (EH) These are not as
powerful in a charge as other horse but are
better in a continuing melee. They are
more manoeuvrable than their ‘Western’
counterparts. They rely more on firing and
outflanking than ‘Western’ cavalry do while
they are also often driven off by volley fire.
Examples would be Turkish ‘Spahi’, Polish
Pancerni and Russian ‘Noble’ cavalry.

Light Horse (LH) Irregular light cavalry,
they formed part of many GNW armies,
including the Swedish, Polish-Lithuanian,
Russian and Ottoman armies. They were
distinguished by their looser order and
swarming tactics and, although they could
not face a charge of formed cavalry, they
were invaluable for raiding and scouting.
They also had an unenviable reputation for
barbarity and were accomplished looters.
There are three sub types of Light Horse;
 Fire (LHf)
 Mixed (LHx)
 Melee (LHm)
Light horse mixed (LHx) is the ‘default’
type and may be used for all light horse or
when no other information is available.
All LH bases do not have a ‘flank’; any fac-
tors for attacking a flank do not count
against them.
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Typical LHf would be Polish, Turkish, Tar-
tar, Kalmuck or Cossack ‘horse archers’.
These could be armed with the traditional
bow, carbines or indeed a variety of other
missile weapons. Tactically they empha-
sised shooting and rarely would engage in
melee.
Typical melee light horse (LHm) would be
some Polish, Swedish, Turkish and Tartar
units designed to counter other light horse
types. These units placed a greater empha-
sis on close combat and are more often
armed with additional melee weapons, such
as spears, lances, etc.
Light horse mixed (LHx) is an intermediate
type and they use a combination of the tac-
tics of the other two Light horse types.
Generally they would skirmish with an en-
emy until a suitable situation developed,
then they would close. Examples would be
found in the Polish, Turkish, Tartar and
Cossack armies.
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Artillery and others
Light artillery (LG) Guns, up to 4-
pounder, on a relatively light carriage, able
to be manhandled. In some armies these
were an integral part of infantry formations
and such ‘battalion guns’ are not repre-
sented on table. Their firepower is included
in the infantry base’s firepower. Light artil-
lery are similar pieces to these but which
have been massed to provide ‘close sup-
port’. They may form part of a group, with
other light guns or infantry, for group
movement.
Field artillery (FG) Guns over 4-pounder,
they need a team of horses to move them,
invariably directed by civilian drivers and
therefore counting as train bases. Unless
beginning the game limbered they are ex-
tremely difficult to move during the game.
Field artillery may ‘bombard’, see p.30,
Bombardment.
Train. Limbers, wagons and other similar
bases. Limbers may be used to move artil-
lery, while wagons and other baggage bases
may be present on the battlefield, perhaps as
part of a scenario.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Troop quality
There are five categories of troops:
Levy Troops of very low combat ability
and often unwilling. For example some
early Russian troops and some Ottoman
troops.
Raw Either untrained or unfit. Often
newly raised or suffering from poor mo-
rale. For example newly raised Saxon in-
fantry or Dragoons and much of the Rus-
sian army.
Trained The majority of troops in
most armies.
Veteran Battle hardened or high mo-
rale troops. Examples would be high
quality ‘Line’ units of many nations and
much of the Swedish Royal army as the
war progressed.
Elite The best of the best. Troops with
high morale and ‘élan’. Many Guard
units are examples of Elite troops.
In addition troops may be classified as
‘Determined’ or ‘Wavering’. Both classifications
are in addition to the categories above. A unit
may be ‘Trained’ and ‘Determined’ or it maybe
‘Trained’ and ‘Wavering’. It can be just 'Trained'
but it cannot be just ‘Determined’ or ‘Wavering’.
Determined (Dt) These troops have a
high level of confidence in their ability to
win, whatever the odds. They gain advan-
tages in aggressive actions as long as they
remain ‘Determined’ enabling them to per-
form better than would normally be ex-
pected. Defeat, or setbacks, can cause a
unit to lose this status. Most of the Swed-
ish army would be ‘Determined’ up to the
battle of Poltava in 1709. Elite units may
not be ‘Determined’, they are already per-
manently ‘Determined’.
Determined status is lost when a base re-
coils or routs, it cannot be recovered.

Wavering (W) These troops are suffering
from a low level of motivation for a variety
of reasons. For example the Polish Crown
Army would be ‘Wavering’ in 1702 for po-
litical reasons, while the Russian army at
Narva (1700) would be ‘Wavering’ because
of being ‘abandoned’ by their commander
and the speed of the Swedish advance.
Such troops are likely to react to setbacks
or defeats by withdrawing from the battle
or otherwise ‘disappearing’. They are also
likely to be less aggressive than would oth-
erwise be the case. In other circumstances
it is possible that the same units would not
be Wavering and may even be Determined.
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Markers
It is often useful to have markers, counters or
some other method of marking various matters
in the game. Markers of some kind would be use-
ful for TPs, Shaken, Permanent Shaken, Reform-
ing, Determined, Wavering, Pursuing and Rout-
ing.
The author uses small counters, stickers and
markers for this purpose.
Quality
 Elite: Green counter or sticker.
 Veteran: Blue counter or sticker
 Trained: No counter or sticker
 Raw: Red counter or sticker
 Levy: Yellow counter or sticker.
Morale
 Wavering: Black counter or sticker
 Determined: White counter or removable
sticker.
Game play
 Tempo Points: Blank / White markers
 Shaken: Yellow markers with a ‘P’ on them
for permanent or a ‘T’ for temporary.
 Reforming: Markers with ‘R’ on them.
 Pursuing: A single mounted officer
‘charging’ on the front of the base or in
front of the unit.
 Routing: Markers with ‘R’ on them.
It is also useful to have on the rear of bases in-
formation concerning the bases identity, quality,
etc. The author uses a thin strip of paper with the
unit’s identity, quality, brigade, command, etc on
it.
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 
Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used throughout Polemos Great Northern War rules

AP A prest infantry FG Field Guns

DS Dutch school infantry L Levy
RS Russian school infantry R Raw
GP GåPå school infantry T Trained
GP(-P) GåPå infantry without pikes V Veteran
CI Charging infantry E Elite
SI Skirmish infantry Dt Determined
Gr Grenadiers W Wavering
J Janissaries P Poor Commander
DD Dismounted Dragoons A Average Commander
MI Mounted Infantry Ex Excellent Commander
H Western Horse D6 A six sided dice numbered 1 to 6
GH Galloping Horse Dav A six sided dice numbered 2 to 5
D Dragoons D10 A dicenumbered 1 to 10
EH Eastern Horse Cav A cavalry commander
Lhf Light Horse Fire Inf An infantry commander
Lhx Light Horse-Mixed Mix May command both infantry and
Lhm Light Horse-Melee cavalry.
LG Light Guns C-in-C Commander in chief

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 
TERRAIN
There are three types of terrain feature:
Area: Must cover an area at least as large as
two standard bases. No maximum size.
Spot: Should be equal in size to one standard
base.
Linear: Minimum length 1BW, no maxi-
mum length.
Area features
On the table, these can be marked by pieces of
card, cloth or carpet tile to show their extent. If
part of a base occupies an area feature, its effects
apply to the whole base.
Slopes: May be isolated features or cover a
large part of the battlefield. There are three
levels of steepness of gradient; 1 being gen-
tle, 2 being steep and 3 impassable.
Swamp/marsh: An area of waterlogged
ground posing a serious obstacle to the
movement of troops.
Woods: An area of woodland posing a
serious obstacle to both movement and
visibility.
Enclosures: An area of farmland, criss-
crossed with hedges or walls, impeding
movement but possibly an aid to defence.
Rough ground: An area of scrub or
undulating terrain posing an obstacle to
movement.
Town: May be negotiated in march column
using roads; otherwise an obstacle to move-
ment, though useful in defence.
Camp: (May instead be a spot feature.) An
obstacle to movement.
Spot features
Troops moving into base contact with a spot fea-
ture may occupy it, adding any defence factor to
their ranged combat and close combat factors.
Bridges: Must be crossed in column of
march.
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Fords: May be either narrow (1BD must be
negotiated in column of march) or broad
(1BW), allowing a deployed base to cross.
Village: A small built up area. An obstacle
to movement and useful for defence.
Linear features
Rivers: A minimum of 1BD wide, these
represent an impassable obstacle except by
the use of a bridge or ford.
Streams: These can be crossed by all troops
except train, though they will cause such
troops to become shaken.
Walls, hedges and ditches: Provide an ob-
stacle to movement and allow advantages to a
defender.
Road: An aid to movement, roads also
provide a crossing point across otherwise
impassable obstacles.
Breastwork: (May also be a spot feature, e.g.
a redoubt) An obstacle to movement, with
advantages to the defender.
Random terrain
Your wargame may be fought as part of a cam-
paign, a re-fight of an historical battle or as a one
-off battle. If the latter, you may require a
method of generating the terrain to be fought
over. First you should decide on your scenario; is
the battle to be an encounter between two armies
in motion, or is one army to attack and the other
defend? The army lists provide additional sce-
nario types that are appropriate to the armies in-
volved.
In an encounter battle, the terrain may not be of
either side’s choosing, so all the terrain may be
diced for at random. But remember that encoun-
ter battles are in reality quite rare and in the con-
text of this war attack defence games are perhaps
more suitable. Usually the Swedish army will be
the attacker, especially if Charles XII is in com-
mand. Other possibilities exist and especially if a
Russian Korovolan (flying column) is used or
one of the other Swedish armies. The army lists
frequently detail other possibilities.

An army placed in a posture of defence will
have had time to choose a suitable place to
deploy, and also may have had time to pre-
pare the ground for defence.
First step
Divide your table into an imaginary grid of
squares. This may be best done first on paper.
The size of these is open to choice, but per-
haps 5BW (1000 paces. If using 60mm bases
this is about 1 foot/300mm).
For example, with a 6' by 4' table:

Now throw a further 1D6, a score of a 5 or 6 indi-
cating that the town is fortified. If so, the players
should each throw 1D6, the town being friendly to
the player with the highest score. If the players’
scores are equal, the town is neutral.
Roll 2D6 and add the scores. This is the approximate
size of the part of the town on the table in 1BW by
1BW bases. Therefore if you score 8 the town may be
4BW by 2BW, for example.
The friendly player may place 1D6 field gun bases
on the bastions of a fortified town.

Side B

3
Side C Side D
2

1
1 2 3 4 5 6

Side A

Second step
Rivers: Throw 1D10. A score of a 10 indicates a
major river abuts the battlefield. Throw 1D6,
scoring:
 1 River runs along side A.
 2 or 3 River runs along side C
 4 or 5 River runs along side D
 6 River runs along Side B
Any troops recoiling off the table into the river
are lost. (Feel free to place one or two pontoon
bridges if the river is on your base line.)
Towns: Throw 2D6. A 12 indicates that a town
is a feature of this battlefield. The town will only
be placed on a corner of the table, diced at ran-
dom. If there is a river along one edge, the town
is more likely to occupy one of the same corners,
so scores 1,2 and 3,4 indicate that the town is on
one of these, with the river flowing through it.
Scores of 5 or 6 place the town on the ‘vacant’
corners. Otherwise roll with an equal chance for
each corner.

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 
Third step
If an encounter battle, or the defender throws 1,
Work through the following table, throwing for
2 or 3, dice for the location of the piece on the
each terrain type in order. If an attack/defence
game, the defending player throws 1D6 for each grid, first die counting on the x axis, the second
terrain piece. If he scores 4, 5 or 6, he may place die on the y.
the piece wherever he wishes, or discard it alto-
gether.

Terrain Type Die Roll Outcome

2 or 3 One hill
Roll 1D6 for each hill. A 5 or 6 indicate it is a large hill. Roll a further
D6 and add 1. This is the approximate number of squares that the hill
Hills 4 or 5 Two hills occupies. Dice for each hill – score 1 is gradient 2, otherwise gradient 1.
Gradient 3 is only available in scenario games or with mutual agreement
6 Three hills of the players.

2 or 3 One stream Dice at random for the starting point, unless chosen by the defender.
Streams will flow to a river edge if 4, 5 or 6 thrown, otherwise dice at ran-
4 or 5 Two streams dom for table edge. Streams will not occupy the same grid square as a hill,
Streams unless it is the stream’s starting point, but will flow round them. If a
stream crosses another one placed previously, it will flow in to it. If it is
Three summer a stream may in fact be just a ditch. Roll 1D6 and on a 1 or 2 it
6
streams is a ditch.

Roll 1D6 for each grid square that contains a stream. Score 1 indicates
Marsh
marshy ground. A score of 1 or 2 if two streams are in a square.

2 One wood
Roll 1D6 for each wood. A 6 indicates it is a large wood or forest. Roll a
further D6 and add 1. This is the approximate number of squares that the
Woods 3 or 4 Two woods
wood occupies. Dice for position at random, unless chosen by defender.
Woods can occupy the same squares as streams or hills, but not marshes.
5 or 6 Three woods

One rough
5
area Dice at random, unless chosen by defender. May not be in the same
Rough Ground
Two rough square as marshes.
5
areas

4 or 5 One village
Dice at random, unless chosen by defender. May occupy the same square
Villages
as stream, hill, or wood, but not marsh or rough ground.
6 Two villages

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Enclosures: On 4, 5 or 6 on 1D6, villages will
have an area of enclosed farmland near them.
Roll 1D6 for all villages. 1, 2 or 3 there are no
enclosures, 4 or 5 there is one area of enclosures,
6 there are two areas of enclosures.
Terrain Sizes:
 Stream or Ditch: Less than 1BD wide.
 River: 1BD wide or more.
 Marsh: 1BD to 1BW either side of the
stream.
 Villages and enclosures: approxi-
mately 1BW by 1BW.
 Woods, Hills and Rough Ground: Unless
rolled as large, see above, these should be
one to ten bases 1BW by 1BW in size. Roll
1D10 for the approximate size. For exam-
ple on a roll of a 4 you could place a 2BW
by 2BW area of Rough Ground.
Roads: If there is a town on the table, two roads
will leave the town, exiting each of the opposite
table edges; dice for the point they cross the table
edge. Roads will avoid woods, marsh and rough
ground.
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If there is no town, roll 1D6. A score of 1 or 2
one road, 3 or 4 two roads, 5 or 6, three roads.
Dice at random for entrance and exit points to
table. Roads will pass through any village within
same grid square. Any streams encountered will
be crossed by a bridge (5 or 6) or a ford (1, 2, 3
or 4).
Defensive works:
Depending on the scenario in use, a defender
may be able to prepare the ground for the com-
ing battle.
In one day, an infantry base can dig an obstacle
level 1 earthwork with one BW frontage. Each
command may bridge a stream in one place.
In two days, providing there is a wood within 3
BW, an infantry base can erect a level2 breast-
work 1BW wide. Add an extra day for each ex-
tra 3BW away from the wood.
The defender may, within reason, choose the
number of days preparation he has. The attacker
may though, use the number of days preparation
as a dice modifier when deciding the time the
battle starts and the visibility.
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VISIBILITY, LINE OF SIGHT
AND WEATHER
Line of sight is blocked by: hills, woods, towns,
villages, enclosures, walls, hedges and all bases.
Bases inside any of these types of terrain, except
hills, may be targeted if they are within 1BD of
the edge. Bases on hills may always be targeted.
Artillery may shoot over the heads of friendly
troops at enemy bases on hills or from hill to en-
emy bases on the flat. No intervening friendly
base may be within 1BW of the gun or within
2BW of the target to do this.
Weather
The author is not convinced that weather was of
great importance in this period. It was not usual
for battles to be fought in bad weather and those
which were are best done as scenarios or based
on historical actions. If you wish to you may fight
a scenario with adverse weather conditions and
add suitable modifiers. Where the weather played
a part in an historical battle this is catered for in
the army lists.
It is therefore assumed that in general the
weather is suitable for fighting. The main effect
of weather is on visibility. Periods of low visibility
can be seen as times when the sky is overcast, it is
lightly raining, etc. Periods of good visibility
would be periods of fine weather.
Visibility and Game Time
Before the players start the game they may agree
to ignore this rule altogether and assume that
the weather is good. If they do this maximum
visibility is 10BW and the battle takes place in
daylight. Otherwise each player rolls 1D6 and
the scores are added together. The result +3 is
the maximum visibility at the start of the game.
It is also the maximum visibility during the game
but this has a minimum of 8BW.
Game Time
If both players agree, or if one player wishes, you
can dice to see what time the game starts. Roll
2D6 and total them. A total of 2 or 3 means it is
early morning, dark but the dawn is near (3
means it is closer). An 11 or 12 means it is light
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
but dusk is near. Any other score means there is
plenty of daylight. If it is appropriate for your
game you may use dice modifiers. For example,
in encounter battles, the dice roll should be with-
out modifiers, while in an attack/defence game
the attacker could announce that he wishes to try
a dawn attack. In this case he would be able to
use his TPR as a negative dice modifier but his
army would start in march column, even if it is
light when the battle starts!
If you have rolled for early morning and it is
dark, visibility will be 1BW if you rolled a 2, and
2BW if you rolled a 3. Each time the players roll
the dice for the number of TPs they have avail-
able the visibility improves if they both roll the
same result. So if the visibility is 2BW and this
turn both players roll a 3 for the random element
of their TP pool then the visibility has improved
to 3BW. Once the visibility improves in this way
to 4BW the visibility will improve automatically
over the following turns by 1BW a turn, i.e.
morning has come.
If you have rolled an 11 or 12 the visibility starts
at the maximum visibility level you established
above. The process is then essentially the re-
verse of the one above. Each time the players
roll the same number for the TP pool the maxi-
mum visibility decreases by 1BW. When it gets
to 5BW it will automatically fall from then on,
down to 1BW minimum.
You may also if you wish have the possibility of
darkness coming in a ‘daylight’ game. In this case
if both players roll a 1 when dicing for the TP
pool, darkness is approaching. From the next
turn use the process described above as the light
starts to fade.
If the players wish they may have varying visibil-
ity because of the weather conditions during the
game. In this case when each player scores the
same for the TP pool dice roll, the maximum
visibility will change. If they both roll 1 it goes
down 2BW, 2 or 3 it goes down 1BW, 4 or 5 it
goes up 1BW and 6 it goes up 2BW. It may never
go higher than the maximum visibility that was
established at the beginning of the game. You
may combine this with rolling for darkness com-
ing, i.e. two rolls of a 1 starts the above proce-
dure.
 
Smoke
This is an optional rule but its use is recom-
mended. While the weather rarely had much ef-
fect on the battles of this period, thick smoke
from the black powder did. All battlefields of this
period quickly became covered in smoke and it
made communication very difficult. If at least ten
infantry or artillery bases fired in the previous
turn reduce the maximum visibility by 1BW.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Each turn after this applies reduce the maximum
visibility by an additional 1BW if at least 20 infan-
try or artillery bases fire, but no lower than 2BW.
If less than ten infantry or artillery bases fire in a
turn the maximum visibility will improve by 1BW,
but only smoke lost visibility will be recovered.
In all cases the number of bases firing is in total
and not just on one side. In larger battles the
players may wish to separate the battlefield in
sectors for smoke purposes.
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 
DEPLOYMENT
In an encounter battle the two sides should be set
up at maximum visibility distance apart and in
sight. Both sides must move on to the table in
the order of march, advance guard first, followed
by a number of columns conforming to the num-
ber of lines in the army, each led by their right
wing. The advance guard may start the game on
table and deployed.
For a set piece battle it is best for both sides to
draw deployment maps. The deployment area
should be no closer than 3BW to the table’s
centre or the table flank edges, i.e. no unit may
start the game within 3BW of the table’s centre
or the table edges.
In an attack/defence game the defender may set
up anywhere up to half way into the table. But
this may vary a little to allow the defender to oc-
cupy features that are partly in their half of the
table and partly out of it, etc. The attacker may
enter from the table edge on the first turn or they
may be deployed at least 5BW away from the de-
fender. All bases moving on to table from the
rear edge get a free move to bring them on table.
The defender may not move or act in any way
until one or more of his bases can see an enemy
base. Therefore if it is dark or the weather is bad
the enemy may move into position just out of
visual range before he attacks.
Scouting
Before commencing the fisticuffs, it is important
to gain as much information as possible about
the foe and the battlefield.
A defending player may dice for any streams,
ditches, enclosure walls, villages, towns and hills
on the table to ascertain their defence and ob-
stacle value, but may be able to keep these de-
tails secret.
To determine the effectiveness of scouting, total
up the following for both sides:
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
 2 points for each Light Horse base
 1 point for each base of other cavalry.
 1 point per base of skirmishing infantry
(SI)
 Add the Army Commander’s TPR.
 The score of 1D6
If one player’s score exceeds his opponent’s by
50% or more, the loser must inform him of how
many brigades of cavalry and foot he has in his
army. The winner may also know the obstacle
values of all terrain on his own half of the table.
If one player’s score is double that of his oppo-
nent, he may know the obstacle values of all ter-
rain on the table, numbers of brigades of horse
and foot, plus a general idea of the whereabouts
of each enemy command if deployed in defence.
If a player’s score is three times that of his op-
ponent, the player may be told the obstacle and
defence values of all terrain on the table, plus
his opponent must deploy his army first.
Officer Seniority and
Army organisation
Before the game starts, all bases must be as-
signed to a command. Bases may not be trans-
ferred between brigades while the game is in
progress, neither may brigades be transferred
between commands. Similarly all commands
must be assigned to a higher command; the
Army commander, a Wing commander or an
Allied commander.
Please note that often it is easier to complete
this final section when the armies are actually
deployed onto the table.

Officer placement
Officers may be placed in charge of commands
in two slightly different ways. The first way is to
use randomly generated officers. The second is
to use historical personalities for all or some of
your commanders. Whatever method you are
using you should decide the number and loca-
tion within the army before you decide which
commander is in charge of which command.
Commands must be placed, if not already on
table, in an appropriate location based on their
title i.e. the front line, right wing cavalry must be
in the front line and on the right.
If dicing at random, it should be done in the fol-
lowing order of seniority. Seniority was never
evidence of ability and you could find your least
able generals in the most important commands.
If you wish to use random commanders. See
p.52, Random Commanders.
 First line
right wing
left wing
centre commands, from right to left.
 Second line
right wing
left wing
centre commands, from right to left.
 Advance guard. (Not just a few scouts an
advance guard could be quite a substantial
formation)
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 Third line
If using the historical commanders, a dice roll
should still be made to decide who is in charge of
each specific command if more than one suitable
historical commander is available. For example
the player’s army list contains three historical cav-
alry commanders but he is only fielding two cav-
alry commands in this game. Therefore he must
dice for which two commanders are in command
of each of his, nominated, cavalry commands. He
therefore declares, for example, that he is rolling
for his right wing cavalry commander. He has
three historical cavalry commanders available
therefore he nominates commander A as 1 and 2
on his dice, commander B as 3 and 4 and com-
mander C as 5 and 6. He then rolls to see who is
actually in command.
If a C-in-c Monarch is present on a battlefield
he may swap commanders before the battle
starts. Perhaps his main strike force is under the
command of a poor general and he wants some-
one more active in charge. A C-in-c Monarch
can make a number of ‘swaps’ equal to his TP
value. It ‘costs’ 1TP per officer moved and so it
costs at least 2TPs to swap commanders A and B
to each other’s command, for example.
If the C-in-c is incapacitated, the most senior
subordinate takes over after a delay of one turn
plus one turn per 3BWs distance between the
stricken C-in-c and his successor. If a general is
incapacitated, a successor takes over after one
turn delay. His ability is then diced for (p.52).
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 
TURN SEQUENCE
D. Non-Tempo player:
A Tempo bidding. 1. Moves general if required.
2. Allocates TPs.
B. Both sides Bombard with their field guns. 3. Moves other bases.
4. Ranged combat.
C. Tempo Player: 5. Outcome moves from ranged com-
1. Moves generals if required. bat.
2. Allocates TPs. 6. Non-tempo player Close combat.
3. Moves other bases. 7. Outcome moves from Close combat.
4. Ranged combat.
5. Outcome moves from ranged com- E. Both sides may rally shaken bases and then
bat. discard TPs.
6. Tempo player Close combat.
7. Outcome moves from Close combat.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 


Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
TEMPO BIDDING
Tempo bidding is an important part of Polemos
GNW. At the start of each move, both players
may attempt to gain the initiative, allowing them
to carry out attacks on their opponent and forc-
ing him to respond.
At the start of each move, each C-in-c receives a
number of Tempo Points (TPs), the TP pool.
The number of points available is calculated as
follows:
 2 to 6 points for the Army Com-
mander TPR.
 plus any available Wing Com-
mander’s SR.
 plus the Monarch’s SR if he is
within 2BW of the Army Com-
mander.
 plus the roll of 1D6.
Each player then decides, in secret, how many of
his TPs he will bid to gain the initiative, either
writing this figure down or concealing a die with
his bid on the uppermost face. The highest bid-
der gains the tempo and is known as the Tempo
player for the duration of that move.
If the bids are equal, the tempo player of last
turn retains the tempo. If it is the first move, the
tempo player is the attacker or, if this is not
clear, decided using the 50% rule (i.e. toss a
coin!).
Both players deduct their tempo bid from the
number of TPs they hold. Tempo points may
not be saved for use in future game turns.
The tempo player may now assign his remaining
TPs to his army, wing or allied commanders. The
non-tempo player will do the same at the start of
his phase. All TPs assigned to an allied com-
mander are halved, rounded up. In addition 1TP
is ‘lost’ if the two commanders are more than
5BW apart and less than 10BW. 2TPs are lost if
the commanders are more than 10BW apart.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
All commanders now receive their allocation of
TR based TPs. For most commanders this is
their only number, for some it is their second
number and for the Army commander it is based
on the Leadership (Ldr).
Tempo points may be used for various purposes
during a turn but they may not be ‘saved’ from
one turn to the next. At the end of the turn all
unused TPs are discarded.
Examples (using the full Kliszow armies)
TP pool: The Allied player gets 3TPs (August's TPR) plus the
score of 1D6. If the Polish Allied commander had been a Wing
commander, a 1+1, then he could also have added +1 for the
Wing commander. The Swedish player has 6TPs (Charles’s
TPR) plus 1D6. The Allied player rolls a 5 and the Swedish
player a 1. They have a total of 8 and 7TPs respectively.
Bidding: Charles XII (the Swedish player) decides he will bid 2
for the Tempo but he loses as August(the Allied player) has bid
3. Both players deduct their bids from their total TPs available.
This leaves them both with 5 left. Next it is the Bombardment
phase but neither player manages to successfully bombard
anything.
Each player now allocates his remaining TP pool and gives all
his commanders their TR based TPs. Each of the Saxon com-
manders receive 5TPs as their TPRs are 2, 2 and 1. The Polish
commander receives 4 (2 for each commander) and August
receives 3, as he is an Average leader and the C-in-c receives
TR tempo points based on his Leadership.
The Saxon player decides that the Polish Allied commander will
need an extra TP. Because he is an Allied commander he will
lose half of whatever he sends. Luckily he is within 5BW of the
Polish commander so he sends 2TPs to him, which is halved to1.
If the Polish commander had been 5 to 10BW away he would
have had to send at least 3TPs for something to arrive. (2 TPs
halved= 1, then-1because of the distance=0 TPs.) However,
3TPs halved and rounded up=2 TPs, -1 for the distance=1 TP
arrives.
Having sent 2TPs to his Polish ally he decides that he will send
the other 3TPs to his right wing cavalry commander, Flemming.
Unfortunately he is 9BW away and so 1TP is lost and only two
arrive. His right wing commander has 4TPs (2 from his TR and2
from the TP pool). His other Saxon commanders still have 2
and1 TP each, Sieniawski has2 TPs. He still has 3 TPs and so
does Lubomirski(2 from his TR and1 from the TP pool).
 
BOMBARDMENT the enemy army a field artillery base must have a
clear line of sight to, and be in range of, at least
During this phase all field guns, which did not four bases of the enemy army. All field gun bases
fire or move in the previous turn may bombard firing at a particular command or at the enemy
enemy formations within bombardment range. army must fire together.
This rule represents a general bombardment of
a command, a group of commands or the entire For each target roll 2D6 and consult the tables
enemy army. The purpose of this is mainly to below. A natural roll of 2 is always a ‘Miss’ what-
disrupt the target’s movement, make life ever the modifiers.
‘difficult’, etc. rather than specifically to cause Target Type 2 or less 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
casualties. Command Miss - - - - - - -
Army Miss - - - - - - -

Firing Eligibility Target Type 9 10 11 12 13 14 15+

Command - 1+0 1+0 1+1 1+2 2+2 2+(D6+1)
To be eligible to fire in this phase a field gun Army - 1 1 2 2 3 D6+2
must not have fired in the previous turn. You
could mark FGs that fire in a turn with a suitable Dice Modifiers
marker, perhaps a small ball of ‘smoke’ (cotton Plus One: ` Target stationary (less than half
wool). As guns fire in the bombardment phase of the bases moved).
they too could be marked with ‘smoke’ to keep Same target as last turn.
track of which guns have fired. At the end of the For each extra artillery base
bombardment phase all ‘smoke’ is removed. firing above one.
Minus One: Target is 11 to 20 bases strong.
On the first turn of a game all defending field per additional 10 bases or part
guns are assumed not to have moved previously thereof.
and can bombard if otherwise eligible. Similarly New target (not when firing on
in a ‘set piece’ battle game both sides can be first turn).
assumed not to have moved in the previous Target in cover (half or more
‘turn’ (i.e. as the armies deployed) and may of the bases).
bombard if otherwise eligible. In other situa- Minus Two: Target is 21 to 30 bases strong.
tions, such as river crossings (see the 1701 Swedish Target is more than 5BW
Royal Army list for example) , it is also possible away.
that the ‘attacker’ may bombard. Some guide- Minus Three: Target is 31 to 40 bases strong.
lines for this are given in the army lists, where
appropriate, and can form part of any scenario Effects: All targets.
or if both players agree.
‘Miss’ The bombardment has no effect. In
Field guns have a longer range of 10BW when addition the bombarding base or
bombarding, but they may still only fire di- bases may not fire next turn because
rectly ahead. They must have a clear line of of crew exhaustion, lack of ammuni
sight to their target. See p.22, Visibility, Line of tion, etc.
Sight and Weather.
- The bombardment has no effect.

Bombardment procedure
Each eligible base of field guns can either target
an enemy command or the enemy army. To tar-
get an enemy command a field gun base must
have a clear line of sight to, and be in range of, at
least two bases of the target command. To target



Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
Effects: Target is a command.
The first number is the number of additional TPs
that must be spent when performing any action
with units in this command during this turn. This
additional cost is per action. The second number
is the number of bases which receive an extra
level of shakiness. On a result of 15 or more an-
other 1D6 is rolled and one added, indicating the
number of shaken units. These levels of shaki-
ness are applied to the lowest class unit in the
command first. If there is more than one unit of
the same class the owning player may chose
which unit or units are shaken. An individual
base may not receive more than one level of
shakiness unless all bases in the command have
received one.
Example
General Kretinovsky started the turn with nine TPs in the
TP pool.
He bid 2 TPs and managed to secure the ‘Tempo’ for the
turn, leaving seven TPs. Then the Turkish artillery bom-
bardment was rolled for and obtained a modified result of
12.
This means that he must lose two of his seven remaining
TPs, leaving him with only five to allocate in the TP allo-
cation phase.

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Effects: Target is the army
The number is the number of TPs that the en-
emy C-in-c loses this turn. If the final modified
result is 15 or more then a further 1D6 is rolled,
and two added indicating how many TPs are lost.
Example
General Onmeheadsson’s command has been under
heavy fire and received a 2+(D6+1) result against his
command.
This means that he will have to pay an additional 2 TPs
for each action he performs this turn. In addition 1D6+1
units of his command receive a level of shaken. He rolls
the D6 and gets 3, so four of his bases receive an extra
level of shaken.
His worst class is two bases of raw infantry unit so these
receive an extra level of shaken each. His next lowest
class is trained. He has only one trained unit so this is
also shaken. Normally he would now assign the remain-
ing shaken result to any veterans, but casualties have
been heavy and he has no more bases in his command.
So now that all bases in his command have received a
level of shaken he returns to his raw infantry. One of
these bases, of his choice, will receive the remaining level
of shakiness.
 
MOVEMENT Tempo point costs
There are two movement phases in a turn, the Non
Tempo
Action Tempo
Tempo player’s and the Non-Tempo player’s Player
Player
movement. During this phase the player whose
To move a Commander of any type 0 0
phase it is spends TPs to perform actions. Offi-
cers may only perform actions with units that are To move a single base * 1 2
subordinate to them. To move a single base to close musket
range or to contact with an enemy, not 2 3
GH, CI or GP. **
The precise sequence within the phase is as fol-
lows: To move a Group of bases * 1 2

To move a Group of bases to close

musket range or to contact with enemy, 2 3
(i) The player moves all bases moving as a not GH, CI or GP.
result of previous outcome moves. For ex-
To initiate or stop a Reform order. 2 3
ample routing, falling back or pursuing
bases. See p.35 Falling Back and p.47, Break- For each additional two bases after 4 1 1
ing or routing and Pursuit. Unlimber artillery 1 2

Limber artillery 4 5
(ii) The player announces all Charges and
Pivot an artillery base 2 3
Advances to contact, expends TPs and
marks but does not move charging bases. Dismount/mount dragoons 1 2

Rally one level of shakiness 1 1

(iii) The player expends TPs and moves
Second or more orderi ssued to a bri-
other relevant bases. gade
+1 +1

Command is retiring because of Army

‘x 2 ‘x 2
Before the player begins moving and spending Morale
his TPs he may first of all reposition all his com- Acting in the other player’s phase ‘x 4 ‘x 4
manders.
The following are the costs, in tempo points for
A player, may intervene in the sequence of play
performing various actions.
and move or act with some of his units. See Steal-
ing the Tempo below.
* and ** +1 TP if the base or any part of a group
is ‘Wavering’.
A group is two or more bases which are all part
** +1 TP if infantry both moving into short
of the same brigade and are in side to side con-
musket range and contact (i.e. advancing into
tact with at least one other base within the group.
contact from long range).
Field artillery may only act as individual bases
unless in march column and limbered. Light artil-
lery may move as a group.

Any number of orders may be given to bases

within a brigade but each one in addition to the
first costs an additional TP to make. An extra
TP is required if the base or group is out of line
of sight or is more than 5BW from the com-
mander issuing the order.



Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
Movement Rates
The basic movement rates of the various troop
types are shown below. These may be modified
by the terrain they are operating in or the specific
actions they are performing. For the effects of
terrain see page 20.
Basic Movement rates
 Infantry and dismounted dragoons may
move up to 1BW per game turn.
 Infantry skirmishers may move up to 3BD
per game turn.
 Light artillery may not move and fire in the
same turn. It may be manhandled 1BD per
game turn. It may move 1BW if limbered,
2BW if moving by road.
 Cavalry may move up to 2BW per game
turn. There is no bonus for charging.
 Light Horse may move up to 3BW per
game turn.
 Train (including limbered field artillery)
may move up to 1BD per game turn, or
1BW if moving by road.
 Generals may move up to 3BW per game
turn.
Actions and manoeuvres
 To dismount or mount dragoons or
mounted infantry takes one game turn. The
horses remain where the dismounting took
place until required for remounting, when
they are considered to have moved up to
where the dismounted contingent needs
them.
 Mounted pikemen: The Russians used
mounted infantry which included pike
armed men. When they first dismount they
are not equipped with their pikes. They
count as Russian School but do not get any
bonuses for having pikes in charge tests
against cavalry or in melee. A brigade’s
bases can equip themselves with pikes by
spending a ‘group move’ standing still and
declaring they are doing so. Any group
with pikes may not count as MI unless they
similarly spend a ‘group move’ storing
them.

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
 Wheeling: A base or group may wheel by
keeping one end of the base or group sta-
tionary and moving the other end. Each
1BD of wheeling takes 1BW from the
unit’s movement.
 Infantry, Eastern horse or dismounted dra-
goons may ‘backstep’ 1BD, ending their
move facing the enemy.
 Cavalry may face about, taking one full
move to do so. They must have at least
1BD of clear space to either flank and to
the rear, of the base or group, before com-
mencing the manoeuvre.
 A foot or dismounted dragoon base may
turn, to face its rear, taking a full move to
do so.
 Unlimbered field artillery may not move,
but may pivot in place up to 45 degrees
without firing.
 Light horse and skirmishers may make a
free turn to face any direction at the start
of their move. They then move as normal
and at the end of their movement make
another free turn to face in any desired di-
rection. A free turn may not be used to
bring the base into contact with an enemy
base.
 Eastern horse may make a free turn to face
any direction either at the start of their
movement or at the end of their move-
ment. They may not make more than one
such free turn in any move. A free turn
may not be used to bring the base into
contact with an enemy base.

Interpenetration
 Friendly cavalry bases may freely pass
through each other.
 Light horse (of any type) and skirmishing
infantry may freely pass though any other
friendly base.
 Any unit may freely pass through LH, SI,
FG and LG bases.
 Any other interpenetration is covered in
the passage of lines rule see page 36.
Reforming
A brigade may be ordered to Reform. This is a
special order and is designed to bring all of the
bases of a brigade back together. The dispersal
may be a result of combat or perhaps as a result
of moving through difficult terrain.
It involves part of the brigade standing in place
while the rest of the brigade moves to reform the
brigade by positioning themselves alongside the
stationary bases. The moving bases are no longer
keeping formation but instead concentrating on
moving back into position. This makes this is a
dangerous manoeuvre to perform when near the
enemy as the moving troops are very vulnerable.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

Reforming Procedure
The player pays the TPs to issue the reform or-
der. This is a form of group move but it does not
matter if all the bases in a brigade are not touch-
ing each other. All bases in the brigade are af-
fected by the order. The player then nominates
the base or bases that will be the reform point. This
must be the largest group of bases, within the
brigade, according to the usual definition of a
group. If there are two or more, groups of bases
or indeed no groups of bases then the player may
chose the reform point.
Bases in the reform point group will not be able
to move until the brigade has reformed or the
order is cancelled. All other bases in the brigade
must move, towards the reform point group to a
position that would form part of the group.
These reforming bases move at normal rates but can
freely turn without penalty, about face, etc. No
part of the base may move more than the normal
movement of the base’s type. Measure the dis-
tance from the farthest corner, from the direction
you will travel, to where that corner will be at the
end of the movement. Reforming bases can filter
through any terrain that normally is a problem to
them if they were in formation. They could, for
example, move through a wood or village but not
across an unbroken obstacle like a river, unless a
bridge or ford was available.
Reforming bases continue to move each time the
player has a movement phase but they do not
need any additional TPs to do this. They in effect
move for ‘free’. Once a base gets into position
alongside the reform point group it halts and may
not move any more, in effect it is now part of the
reform point group. Once it is in position it re-
ceives one level of Shaken, unless this would
cause it to rout. This can be automatically rallied
if it spends the player’s next movement phase
halted. When all surviving bases of a brigade are
part of the reform point group the reform order
is finished. But the player may still like to hold
ground in his next movement phase to recover
the levels of Shaken that some bases will have for
completing the operation.
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 
At any point when the brigade is still reforming
the order can be cancelled at a cost of 1TP. None
of the bases in the brigade may move on the turn
that this is done. They may turn to face in any
desired direction but they will also receive an ad-
ditional level of Shaken. This is automatically ral-
lied if the base halts in the next movement phase
of the player.
While the brigade is reforming none of the bases
in the brigade may initiate combat in any way.
The reform point bases may fire at any enemy
bases in range. The reforming bases may not fire
until they have joined the reform point group.
While a base is reforming it will receive a -2
modifier in combat related dice rolls, except
against long range artillery. For example a re-
forming base that was charged would receive -2
in the Charge test, a -2 if it managed to fire at the
charger and a -2 if it then fought in close combat.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
If a base that is part of the reform point group is
forced to move, it recoils or breaks. The Reform
order is cancelled, except if the move is forced by
long range artillery. All bases in the brigade re-
ceive a level of Shaken which may result in some
breaking thus cancelling the order.
Movement restrictions
No base can contact or move to within one quar-
ter of a Base width to an enemy base without
first either declaring an advance to contact or a
charge.
In addition no base may cross the frontal area of
an enemy base. The frontal area is an area, imme-
diately in front of the enemy base, 1BD deep and
as wide as the enemy base. Any movement within
this area must be either towards the enemy base
or directly away from the enemy base.

Column of march
Infantry and cavalry may move in column of
march, moving at twice the normal rate. This is
depicted by moving the bases sideways, with a
brigade forming a ‘string’, each base maintaining
contact with at least one corner of the base in
front. To deploy out of column of march, the
brigade marches to the right until its front is par-
allel to the enemy. There is no points cost to de-
ploy, other than those needed to move the bases.
No firing is permitted by any base within a march
column, and if any base within a column is at-
tacked, it ceases to be a march column and each
base must act individually.
Passage of lines
Passage of lines, or interpenetration, is possible
in a number of different ways. First of all as
noted above some unit types or combination of
types may freely interpenetrate.
 Friendly cavalry bases may freely pass
through each other.
 Light Horse (of any type) and skirmishing
infantry may freely pass though any other
friendly base.
 Any unit may freely pass through friendly
LH (of any type), SI, FG and LG bases.
Interpenetration is also possible for other types
of unit or combinations of units. In such cases
two procedures may be used. Bases may be or-
dered to Fall Back , or alternatively they may
attempt a Passage of Lines.
An order to Fall Back has the advantage that it is
easy and cheap to do but the troops may not
want to stop once they start to withdraw.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

A passage of lines is more difficult to do and may
end with the units in confusion, i.e. shaken. This
does not risk the continuing withdrawal of the
troops.
Falling Back
During the Outcome phase of any move, a player
may exercise the option to declare a brigade to be
Falling Back. This will take effect in the player’s
next Movement phase. If the brigade contains
any ‘Determined’ bases this will cost 1TP next
turn and must be the first action paid for.
In the first turn that a base or brigade is falling
back the base(s) will be moved directly to their
own rear for 2BW if Foot and 3BW if Horse.
There is no specific way of marking this.
Bases which are falling back may pass through
friendly bases to their rear. There must be a gap
of 1BW or more between the initial position of
the bases that are falling back and any friendly
bases behind them for no penalties to be in-
curred as a result of the pass through. If the gap
is less than 1BW then those bases to the rear will
each receive one level of shaken. The bases to
their rear do not need to be lined up with them
as it is assumed that troops falling back will filter
through intervals between subunits or, if the
friendly base is more side-on, to the front and
rear of the friendly unit.
During the next Rally phase a player may attempt
to halt the fall back. If the attempted halt is un-
successful, a levy or raw base/brigade will rout
and is immediately removed from play. Trained,
veteran or elite base(s)/brigades will continue to
fall back in the following movement phase at
1BW for foot and 2BW for horse. A trained bri-
gade will have one more attempt to halt, a vet-
eran or elite two more attempts in the following
Rally phase(s). If they fail these further efforts,
they too will rout and the bases removed.
Bases/brigades which contact terrain move into
it reducing their move appropriately or halt if the
terrain is impassable for their troop type. Bases/
brigades which would contact opposing force
bases halt 1BD from the enemy.
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 
During the subsequent rally phase a player may Modified Result Efffects
attempt to halt the fall back. Die Roll

Lowest class shaken 2 levels

If a brigade or base is falling back the player may
attempt to halt them in the rally phase. This is
done by spending 1TP and rolling 1D6. If rolling
for a brigade with mixed quality levels use the
worst. A levy base requires a score of 6, a raw
base requires a score of 5 or 6, a trained 4, 5 or 6,
a veteran or elite 3, 4, 5 or 6. An attached Com-
mander or Monarch modifies the roll by their
leadership. A poor rating gives a +1, an average
rating +2 and an excellent rating a +3. ‘Wavering’
units receive a -1 modifier and ‘Determined’ a +1
modifier. If the halt is successful, the brigade will
reform, facing the enemy, in edge-to-edge con-
tact, using the right hand base as the reference
point. All Shaken levels will remain in force.
If the attempted halt is unsuccessful, a levy or
raw brigade will convert the fall back to a rout
and will be removed from play. Trained, veteran
or elite brigades will continue to fall back in the
movement phase. A trained brigade will have one
more attempt to halt, a veteran or elite two in
future rally phases. If they fail after these further
efforts, they too will rout.
Passage of Lines
This is an attempt to pass one line of troops
through another in an orderly fashion. Any units
can try to do it but it can be risky. TPs must be
spent to activate both bases or brigades involved
but only one set of bases will actually move.
Bases which are attempting a passage of lines
may pass through friendly bases to their front or
rear. There must be a gap of 1BW or more be-
tween the initial position of the bases and any
friendly bases behind or in front of them. If the
gap is less than 1BW then a passage of lines may
not be attempted. The bases do not need to be
lined up as it is assumed that the troops will filter
through intervals between sub-units or, if the
friendly base is more side-on, to front and back
of the friendly unit.
Next roll 1D6 adding and subtracting the modi-
fiers and consult the table below.
9+ Failure
Highest class shaken 1 level
8 Failure All shaken 1 level
7 Success All shaken 1 level
6 Success Lowest class shaken 1 level
1 to 5 Success None
Plus One
 If bases involved are from two different
commands.
 If bases involved are from different ar-
mies/different nationalities.
 If worst class of base involved is raw.
 If any of the bases involved are level 1
shaken
 If the command or army of any of the
bases was bombarded this turn.
 If any of the bases are in normal range of
any artillery at any time during the manoeu-
vre, in addition to above.
Plus two
 If worst class of base involved is levy.
 If any of the bases involved are level 2
shaken
Plus four
 If any of the bases are in small arms range
at any time during the manoeuvre.
Minus One
 If worst class of base involved is veteran or
elite.
 If a commander or Monarch is attached to
any involved bases.
 If any of the bases are or J or DD.
Minus Two
 If cavalry are passing through non-cavalry.
Results and effects
Success: The moving base or bases can move
2BW if foot and 3BW if cavalry and pass through
the non- moving base. They cannot end their
movement in contact with an enemy base.
Failure: The moving base moves until it is di-
rectly behind or in front of, depending on which
direction it is going, the non-moving base and
stops there.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
Lowest or Highest class 1 or 2 levels shaken: Stealing the Tempo
All units of the lowest or highest class involved
in the action receive 1 or 2 level of shaken. Note The player may, during his opponent’s move-
this could mean all bases receive the shaken level ment phase, steal the initiative and move some of
if all are the same class. his own troops out of turn. This costs four times
the normal TP cost for the manoeuvre in ques-
All 1 shaken level: All bases involved receive 1 tion and is only possible if a commander is
extra level of shaken. within 2BW of the unit doing the stealing.
No base may go to shaken level 3 because of a
result. If an individual base would receive a third
level of shaken because of a passage of lines re-
sult it fails to pass through, whatever the result
above, and remains in position. If possible the
base, or bases, that were to be passed through
receive an additional level of shaken.
Example (passage of lines)

General Wuppsendazy decides he needs to relieve Von Knill’s

hard-pressed frontline brigade. Luckily he has a second line
brigade (Tuenglund’s) immediately behind Von Knill’s brigade
and with a gap of slightly more than 1BW. He decides to attempt
a passage of lines. Von Knill’s brigade consists of five bases of
trained infantry, one of which has two levels of shaken. Tu-
englund’s brigade consists of two trained infantry bases and two
raw infantry bases.

First of all he pays the TPs to activate both brigades. He is the

Tempo player so this costs 2TPs for Von Knill’s brigade (1TP
plus 1 because it is larger than four bases) and 1TP for Tu-
englund’s brigade. Now he must decide whether Von Knill’s or
Tuenglund’s brigade will stand while the other brigade moves
through. Von Knill’s is just out of small arms range (1BW) so if
Tuenglund’s brigade advances it will put them into small arms
range and also make the manoeuvre more difficult. Wuppsen-
dazy therefore decides that Von Knill’s brigade will move back
through Tuenglund’s and declares this is what he will attempt to
his opponent.

Next he works out the dice modifiers that will apply. He gets +1
because some of the units involved are raw, +2 because one of
the bases has two levels of shaken and +1 because he is in
range of the enemy’s artillery. He decides that he had better
oversee the operation himself so he receives a -1 modifier as he
attaches himself to Tuenglund’s brigade. This gives a +3 modifier
overall.

He rolls a 4 and successfully achieves a passage of lines, but at

a cost of all bases involved receiving an extra level of shaken.

One of Von Knill’s bases already had two levels of shaken. It

cannot receive another, so this base fails to pass through and is
left directly in front of the base, or bases, it tried to pass through.

Luckily it was only passing through one of Tuenglund’s bases.

This base therefore receives an extra level of shaken taking it up
to two.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
TERRAIN FEATURES The exception is shaken levels caused by linear
features, except for SI who lose them as above.
Feature
Effects on
Other effects and combat
Shaken levels caused by linear features are recov-
movement ered if the bases spend a turn halted after cross-
Foot uphill and cavalry ing them. Alternatively they may be rallied as
Slope level 1 None. standing +1 in close com- normal shaken levels.
bat.

Foot and light guns The Defence value is added to the defence factor of
move1BD. Cavalry Any bases, except SI and
Slope level 2 and SI move 1BW. LH, count shaken when units occupying, or sheltering behind, these types
Impassable to train moving. of terrain. Terrain features which do not give any
and field guns.
cover only give advantages in close combat. Ex-
Slope level 3 Impassable to all. Not allowed.
amples would be streams, ditches and slopes. If
Foot and cavalry opposing units both occupy an area of terrain
move1BD. All bases, except SI and
Swamp/marsh SI move1BW. LH, count shaken when which has a defence value, it will apply to both
Impassable to artil- moving. sides in ranged combat if applicable to ranged
lery and train.
combat. Only the defender will receive it during
SI and LH move1BW a charge test or in close combat.
Any bases, except SI and
Other bases-
LH, count shaken when
Woods max.move1BD.
moving.
Impassable to artil-
lery and train.
Defence factor 0 to 2. Charging and terrain
All bases, except SI and Bases may charge from outside of terrain a target
Enclosure /
Rough None.
LH, count shaken when that is at the edge of a piece of terrain. The target
moving.
Ground
Defence factor 0 to 2.
will receive the defence value of the terrain as a
dice modifier in the Charge test. If a close com-
All troops, except SI, All bases, except SI and
Village or move 1BD. Impass- LH, count shaken when bat follows the charger will not count as charging
Town able to artillery and moving. but the defender will receive the defence value as
train. Defence factor of 4.
a dice modifier.
Infantry move1BD,
Cavalry 1BW. SI
Camp Defence factor 0 to1. If the bases are both within terrain or the at-
and LH move nor-
mally. tacker must cross intervening terrain, perhaps not
Ford None.
All troops count shaken, being at the edge of a piece of terrain, the a
except SI and LH.
tacker may not charge. He may instead with the
Obstacle value of
All troops count shaken. target base. If the defender is within the terrain
Streams Defence factor for banks1
1 to 3.
or 2. the attacker will not receive the advance to con-
tact bonus in any close combat but he will re-
Walls, hedges Obstacle value of All troops count shaken.
or ditches 1 to 3. Defence factor1 or 2. ceive any defence value that the terrain may give
if fired upon. The defender will receive the de-
Breastwork or Obstacle value of All troops count shaken.
redoubt 1 to 3. Defence value 1 to 4.
fence value in any close combat.
Negate any negative
Bases must be in march
Roads movement factors
from other terrain’
column to use. Crossing obstacles
To cross an obstacle, infantry lose 1BD multi-
Count shaken means add a level of shaken to the plied by the obstacle value from their movement.
existing level. If a base is at Shaken level 2 the Cavalry lose 1BW multiplied by the obstacle
effect of terrain cannot increase this to level 3, value from their movement. For example while
i.e. the base cannot rout as a result of terrain. crossing a stream with an obstacle value of 1
most infantry would have a maximum movement
A shaken level incurred as a result of being in of 1BD. SI and cavalry could move 1BW; SI
terrain is automatically recovered in the Rally- move 3BD and lose 1BD, while cavalry move
phase of the turn after the base exits the terrain 2BW and lose 1BW.
feature.. Train and artillery take one full move multiplied
by the obstacle value to cross.


Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)


RANGED COMBAT
Ranged Combat
Ranged combat consists of both firing and charg-
ing. This is because charging is treated as a form
of ranged attack.
Closing
There are two ways that a base may engage an
enemy in close combat (CC) . They may Ad-
vance to contact or they may Charge .
Charges
Cavalry (except LHf), Charging infantry and Gå-
På infantry may charge and this is treated as en-
gaging in ranged combat. This represents the ef-
fect that the threat of their charge will have on
their target.
The charge is declared at the beginning of the
phasing player’s move. The effect of the charge
declaration is resolved during the ranged combat
phases (c and h, see above page 26 Turn Se-
quence. ) using long-range factors. Units making a
charge move often have to pay extra TPs for
such a move.
A charge test is taken for each base, rather than
per brigade. Bases which do not intend to con-
tact the enemy but do intend to provide flank
support for another base, may advance into contact.
The cost of this is included in the cost of a
Group move, if the group is issuing a charge
threat. Such bases are moved during the Ranged
combat outcomes phase if the unit they are sup-
porting advances into contact.
Infantry are not allowed to charge or advance
into contact with cavalry.
Bases may not charge into an ongoing melee. If a
base wants to join an existing melee it must ad-
vance into contact. Bases that are in terrain that
causes shaken levels, e.g. woods or towns, may
only advance into contact rather than charge.
Advance into contact
All other unit types, except for train and artillery
(FG and LG) may advance into contact. Infantry
are not allowed to charge or advance into contact
with cavalry.

An advance into contact must be used if the tar-
get base is already in an ongoing close combat. A
Maximum of two bases may be engaged with a
single base on a single face. Therefore if two
bases are already in combat with the front edge
of a base no more can join from the front.
Bases wishing to advance into contact with an
enemy base must pay additional TPs.
If a LH (any type), SI, J or EH base is the target
of an advance to contact they may withdraw in
front of the advancing unit. The advancing unit
moves 1BD forward, without the withdrawing
base moving. If the ‘withdrawing’ unit is con-
tacted by this movement then it may not with-
draw but must fight a close combat. If it is not
contacted it withdraws in front of the advancing
base, maintaining the gap established after the
advancing unit’s initial advance. If a base with-
draws more than half of its movement allowance
it is turned to face away from the enemy.
If a base that can charge is the target of an ad-
vance into contact they may counter charge the ad-
vance. To do so they must be in a position to
charge in normal circumstances.
Troops electing to stand to receive an advance
into may fire before contact if this would be pos-
sible in normal circumstances. Both firer and tar-
get using their close range defensive factors.
If the player whose bases are advancing into con-
tact wishes to do so, they may stop moving after
the initial 1BD advance.
Charge Procedure
The charging base or bases are not moved during
the player’s movement phase. During the player’s
Ranged combat phase the player rolls to see if
the charge threat is in fact converted into a
charge. Each side determines their initial factor
from the table below, (see p.42 Firing and Charging
and factors). The offensive factors are used by
units testing to charge, defensive factors are
used by the target. These factors are then modi-
fied according to the circumstances and 1D6 is
rolled for each base. The players now consult the
Charge test table determine the outcome.



Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
During the Ranged Combat Outcomes phase  If the defenders counter charge, the two
any movement resulting from a charge threat is units meet at the halfway point between
made, including moving supporting bases. This their starting positions. If a unit was charged
also includes any firing by the charged units from the flank or rear it may only turn to
against charging units. face its attacker. It may not fire, counter
charge or perform any other action.
If the charge threat has led to a close combat this
is fought in the player’s Close Combat phase.  LH and SI evading roll 1D6. A1=1BD/BW,
Charge test a 2, 3 or 4=2BD/BW and a 5 or 6=3BD/
BW. Bases may fire at the charging base be-
Consult the following table for the result of an fore retiring. They fire then roll as above
attempted charge. with a -1 dice modifier for the distance they
evade. The evading unit moves this distance
Defender’s score ex- Refuse to charge. EH, CI and backwards, in BD for skirmishers and BW
ceeds that of tester’s: GP perform charging fire.
for Light Horse, with their backs to the en-
Testers charge home, unless emy. Chargers move full distance towards
wavering. EH may charge home the evading unit, unless they successfully
or perform charging fire. De-
fenders may elect to stand and limit the charge (see below). Any units con-
Scores equal, or
fire against charging home. CI tacted during such a ‘pursuit’ are treated as a
and GP infantry charged by foot fresh target of a charge threat.
tester’s up to 2 higher:
can counter charge. Cavalry can
counter charge anything. LH
and SI may evade. Artillery crew  If artillery crew shelter inside an infantry unit
may shelter in infantry units with
which they are in base contact.
in base contact the charger remains in place.
Testers charge home. Defend-
Tester’s score 3 or more
ers stand shaken, wavering
 Train contacted by enemy is automatically
higher: overrun and captured. It can subsequently
bases, LH and SI recoil shaken.
Defenders receive 3 levels of be recaptured.
Tester’s score 6 or more
shaken and break before con-
higher:
tact. Target no longer in charge range
 If the unit wishes to limit its charge, for ex-
Note: All bases that have a choice of action ample if outdistanced by the evading units, it
must decide which action they will take before rolls 1D6. On a score of 2 or less it must
the next test is taken. pursue the evading unit for the full distance
Failing to charge: Defender’s score ex- of its move. On a score of 3, 4 or 5 it must
ceeds tester’s move to the original position of the evading
stand and then may stop. On a score of 6 or
Usually troops failing to charge will remain more mounted units do not have to move at
stationary. EH CI , and GP are placed in all, units on foot must move 1BD forward.
short range (within1 BD) but not in con
tact.  Dice modifiers: Elite +2, Veteran +1, Raw-
EH units may perform charging fire, see p.412 1, Levy -2, Wavering -1, +1 if a TP spent by
Charging Fire. CI and GP may fire. Commander, +1 if Commander is with the
unit, +1 if unit is mounted.
Tester’s charge options: Scores equal, or tester’s
up to 2 higher  If the defender breaks before contact, the
 Troops electing to stand to receive a charge charger completes their move and then takes
may fire before contact, both firer and target a pursuit test.
using their close range defensive factors.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

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Charging fire Field artillery may fire over friendly units if both
the guns and the target are on higher ground
EH who fail to charge are placed at 1BD dis- than the intervening friends.
tance from their target and fire at them. If the
target unit does not recoil or worse, then the EH Bases may have further restrictions on their abil-
unit is moved back 1BD facing the enemy. ity to fire because of terrain or visibility restric-
tions. See p.38, Terrain Effects for terrain and p.22,
Visibility, Line of Sight and Weather for visibility
FIRING restrictions.
During the player’s Ranged combat phase the
player rolls to determine the effects of any of Effect of firing
his bases that are firing. All bases that have a
target in their firing arc, in sight and in range Result Outcome
may fire.
No effect, but EH recoil against AP, DS, RS,
Each side determines their initial factor from the Defender beaten by 1 or less
GP, H and D
table below, see p.42 Firing and Charging Factors. Defender recoils shaken, SI and LH (any) just
Defender beaten by 2 to 4
The offensive factors are used by units belonging recoil.
to the phasing player and defensive factors are Defender recoils with two extra levels of
used by the target. Defender beaten by 5 or
Shaken (one if SI or LH). ‘Determined’ units
more
lose that rating.
These factors are then modified according to the
circumstances and 1D6 is rolled for each base.
The players now consult the Effect of firing ta- The offensive player may never be affected by
ble below to determine the outcome. offensive fire.

A prest infantry. skirmishing infantry, Janissaries,

Firing arc and ranges light horse and eastern horse may follow up re-
coiling enemy with no need for tempo points
There is no arc of fire. All units may only fire expenditure.
straight ahead, except light artillery, which may
engage targets with which it is in corner-to- Train bases which are fired upon will automati-
corner contact. In all cases only part of the target cally rout. If field artillery limbers, the guns will
needs to be in range, or in close range, to be fired be abandoned in situ.
at. All follow-ups take place in the outcome
Within moves phases-C5, C7, D5 and D7, see p.26,
Close Long Bom-
Weapon Ranges
Range Range bard
woods or Turn sequence .
towns
Musket Maximum
1BD 1BW -
(Dismounted fire) 1BD

Pistol, Carbine, Bow Maximum

MULTIPLE UNIT COMBATS
(Mounted Fire)
1BD Charge -
1BD If more than one base is firing at a single tar-
get base use the following procedure. A die
Maximum roll is made for each attack and to defend
Light Guns 1BW 3BW -
1BD
against each attack. Additions or subtractions
Field Guns 1BW 5BW 10BW
Maximum to this are made for each individual base to
1BD reflect its own qualities and circumstances.
Each of the attacking total scores is then
compared with the defender’s score and all
results applied simultaneously. A single base
may not recoil more than once in a phase.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
FIRING AND CHARGING Modifiers
FACTORS
Plus One :
Offensive Defensive
 to defence if veteran or elite troops.
Firing and charging Close Long Close Long
Range Range Range Range  to offensive if elite troops.
A prest Infantry 4 1 3 3
 if testing to charge and an adjacent base
has succeeded in charging this move.
Dutch School Infantry 5 1 3 3
 if testing to charge enemy flank, not against
Russian School Infantry 3 1 3 3 (4) LH (all types) and SI.
Gå På infantry 3 0 or 3 3 (4)  if testing to charge, reacting to a charge or
charge being fired on in a charge and
Charging Infantry 1 Charge 2 3 ‘Determined’.
Dismounted Dragoons 2 1 2 2
Plus Two :
Skirmishing infantry 3 2 2 3

Field or light guns 4 2 1 3  if LH testing to charge other LH (all types),

SI, FG or LG in the open.
Train 0 - 1 2
 if testing to charge enemy rear.
Cavalry (H,D, GH, EH)* 1 (0) Charge 2 3

Light Horse - Fire 2 - 3 3 Plus:

Light Horse - Mixed 1 Charge 3 3
 The defence factor of terrain if defending
Light Horse - Melee 0 Charge 3 3
(Gr and J deduct 1 point of defence factor
Testing to charge if their target is defended by walls, settle-
Light Horse - Mixed - 0 - -
ment, breastwork or towns.)
 The score of 1D6.
Light Horse - Melee - 1 - -

Western Horse and Dra- - 3 (4) - - Minus One:

goons
Eastern Horse - 2 (3) - -  to defensive factors if raw or levy troops.
Galloping Horse - 4 (5) - -  to offensive factors if levy troops.
Charging Infantry - 3 (-) - -
 for each level shaken.
 if testing to charge and ‘Wavering’.
Gå På infantry - 4 (-) - -
.

To count as charging a flank the base must have

The numbers in bracket are against cavalry, ex- started its movement entirely behind an imagi-
cept for * which is for GH cavalry. nary line draw across the front of the target base.

To count as charging the rear the base must have

started its movement entirely behind an imagi-
nary line draw across the rear of the target base.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

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Example of Firing

General Kretinsky has a brigade of five raw, RS infantry. He has moved them into close range of a brigade of Swedish infantry that is ad-
vancing towards them. Two bases of this brigade are veteran and the rest are trained. One of the trained bases is shaken and they are all
GP infantry.

His base A can only fire at the V1. Base E can only fire at the T2. Bases B, C and D can each fire at one of two enemy bases. General
Kretinsky decides to fire bases C and D at bases V2 and T1 respectively. He decides he will concentrate fire on to base V1 and so his base
B will also fire at it.

He starts with base E firing on T2. E is RS at close range so has an offensive firing rating of 3. T2 is a GP base and has a close range
defensive factor of 3. As no other factors apply both players roll 1D6 and add their rating. Kretinsky rolls a two and his opponent rolls a five
for a final result of five against eight. Base E’s fire result is -3 which gives no effect on the Effects of firing chart.

Next he fires D at T1 The factors are the same but because T1 has a level of shaken it receives a –1 modifier. The factors are 3 to 2 in
Kretinsky’s favour, and he rolls a three and his opponent one. The final total is six to three, a total of +3 in his favour. Consulting the Ef-
fects of firing chart, T1 must recoil 1BD and receives another level of shaken.

Finally, bases A and B fire at V1. Each has a factor of 3 and Ve1 has 4, (3 for GP + 1 for veteran). Kretinsky rolls 1D6 for each of his
bases. His opponent also rolls 2D6 to defend against the two attacks. Kretinsky’s luck has obviously changed and he rolls a four and a five
while his opponent rolls a one and two respectively. A has scored seven (factor of 3 plus 4 from the dice) while V1 defended with a five,
(factor of 4 plus 1 from the dice), resulting in a difference of +2 in favour of Kretinsky. Similarly, base B scored eight while V1 defended with
six, again a difference of +2 in Kretinsky’s favour. V1 therefore has two results of ‘recoil shaken’ against it. No more than one recoil result
can be applied although it can suffer both levels of shaken.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

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Example: Charging

Lt General Von Schpedding spends 2TPs to order a brigade of three bases of Swedish cavalry, (A, B and C), under Brigadier Onmeheads-
son, To charge the Danish cavalry, (1, 2 and 3), to his front. Onmeheadsson tests for his base A to charge. Their factor is 5, (Long range
offensive), their enemy’s is 3 (Long range defensive). Onmeheadsson throws three, making a total of eight. The opposing general throws
five, a total of eight points. The Swedish base refuses to charge and remains embarrassingly stationary.

Onmeheadsson now tests for his base B. The factors are the same. This time he throws a three as does base 2. The total scores are now
eight and six, so the Swedish troopers set spur to their mounts and commence their charge. The difference in scores being two, the Danish
commander can choose how he wishes his men to react to the Swedish onslaught. He chooses to countercharge, and the two bases are
moved to meet each other halfway between their respective starting points.

Onmeheadsson tests for his base C. This time his factor is 6, as he receives an extra +1 for his adjacent base having initiated a charge this
move. His opponent still has a factor of 3. Onmeheadsson throws four, his opponent a two. The totals, therefore, are ten and five. The
Danish base 3 is so intimidated by the Swedish assault that it turns on its heels and runs. The Swedish base moves its full move of 2BW.
During the outcomes phase it will test to see whether it will halt and reform or continue to chase the fugitives.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
Example: Charging Fire

Mustapha Kuppa Pasha is in charge range of a brigade of three trained Russian school bases, (1, 2 and 3), two of which have a shaken
level. His ‘brigade’ consists of three trained Eastern horse, Ottoman Timar, (A,B & C). The two Russian bases at either end have a shaken
marker so Mustapha decides to start with the left hand side. Base A has a long range offensive factor of 2 for being EH but the Russian
base 1 has a long range defensive of 4, -1 for a level of shaken making 3. Both players roll 1D6. The Russian rolls one for a total of four,
while Mustapha rolls five for a total of seven, giving a difference of +3 in his favour. His first base charges home on the Russian base, which
stands and receives another level of shaken.

Next he chooses base B. Here the Russian base is not shaken so it remains on 4 but now Mustapha’s base will get a +1 because an adja-
cent base is charging, so it is 3 for Mustapha and 4 for the Russian player. Both roll 1D6 and both score four for a total of seven and eight
respectively . As a result, this base cannot charge home but instead performs charging fire. The EH base is moved to within 1BD of the
enemy and fires. His EH are on a factor of 1 and the Russian base is on 3. Mustapha rolls a two and the Russian player a five for a total of
three and eight respectively. This is a no effect result but as the EH are performing charging fire they must now retire 1BD.

Finally it is the turn of the base C. The EH are on 3, (2 +1 because the centre base has performed charging fire). The Russian target base
is on 3, (4-1 because it has a level of shaken. Mustapha rolls a four and the Russian player rolls a two, for totals of seven and five and a
difference of two. The EH may charge home or perform charging fire. Mustapha decides to charge home although the defending Russian
base may fire at them. Both sides use their close range defensive factors. For the Russian base this is 3 -1 for a shaken level for a total of 2.
For the EH it is just 2. The Russian player rolls a five and Mustapha a four, giving seven and six in total for each base respectively. This is
no effect on the firing chart, so the EH charge home and a close combat must be fought.

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CLOSE COMBAT
Minus Two if:
Close combat takes place when bases are in  Levy troops
physical contact with each other. Contact may
be with more than one enemy base, in which Plus or minus:
case the tempo player may choose which com-  The defence value of terrain
bat to fight first.
* Only for mounted bases supported by other
Close combat should not be seen as necessarily mounted bases and in combat with enemy
being ‘melee’. Indeed, especially with infantry in Mounted bases.
the open, it was very rarely be actual clashing of
weapons, rather a sequence of close range fires, **To count as secure, a base’s flanks must be in
advances, feints and possibly actually crossing contact with an infantry or cavalry base or
swords or bayonets. impassable terrain.
Result Outcome
Procedure Difference No result, continue combat next round.
0 -2 Wavering units recoil if they lost.
Both sides throw 1D6, modified as follows:
Difference Loser recoils and adds a shaken level.
3–4 Determined units lose their status.
Plus One if: Difference of
Loser receives 3 levels of shaken and routs.
 EH Charging or countercharging, AP or J 5 or more

advancing into contact.

 Following up recoiling enemy, (not against Close Combat Result
EH). If cavalry are in melee for two full turns (i.e. two
 Rear support *. tempo and two non-tempo rounds) and neither
 Horse (H or GH) vs. Dragoons (D). side breaks, the cavalry will immediately retire
 GH vs. Non GH cavalry in 1st round. 1BW to regroup. All bases will add one shaken
 EH in 2nd and subsequent rounds. level, unless they already have two, in which case
 Veteran troops. they will not get any worse.
 Commander with unit.
Winners of close combat add one shaken level
Plus Two if: after combat is complete, unless they already
 Charging or counter charging. have two, in which case they will not get any
 Close order troops vs. LH (any) or SI in worse.
the open.
 Attacking artillery, pioneers, etc. Retiring cavalry bases can pass through friendly
 Elite troops. cavalry bases, and vice versa.
 Monarch with unit.
In certain armies of the period, infantry were
Plus Four if: trained to provide close support to cavalry for-
 Attacking enemy flank (not against LH or mations. In these armies, cavalry will ignore one
SI) or rear. level of shaken if friendly infantry are within one
BW to rear and facing the same direction.
Minus One:
 For each level of shaken. Cavalry, CI and GP will always follow up if their
 For each flank overlapped (attackers only enemy recoils. This includes any bases that only
on first round, all in second round). provided flank support. Any other bases in con-
 Infantry without a secure flank** attacked tact may follow up if they wish. This follow up
by cavalry, per flank. takes place immediately rather than during the
 Raw troops. outcomes phase as with fire effect.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)


OUTCOME MOVES
Recoil
The affected base will turn to face nearest threat
and moves straight back 1BD. If pushed back
into another friendly base, the latter falls back to
make way for it, and both add one level of
shaken. A base recoiling into enemy troops will
break.
Shaken
Shaken represents a loss of cohesion. There are
five levels of shaken and they range from 0 to 4.
The table summarises the effects of different lev-
els of shaken.
Shaken
Result Result if levy or wavering
Level
0 Carry on
1 May continue to advance
2 Must halt or charge

Routing train will pass through all troops, caus-
ing them to become shaken.
Dismounted dragoons and gunners will pass
through all troop types.
In the 2nd or subsequent turn of routing the unit
may freely move round any friends that are in its
path.
No unit may move through a routing base. If a
routing base is contacted by an enemy base it
automatically goes to shaken level 4 and may be
removed, see p.48 Rallying from rout.
Pursuit
Cavalry and charging infantry, whose opponent
in close or fire combat routs, will pursue at their
normal speed for one game turn and then may
test to halt.
Must halt

3 Rout but may rally Rout and may not rally
4 Rout and may not rally
No unit will rout as a result of terrain effects.
Breaking or Routing
The base will move at normal speed plus 1BD
for infantry and artillery crew, and 1BW for cav-
alry, towards their army’s base line. Artillery
abandon their guns and must return to them to
continue their function.
During the first move of rout, if their route is
obstructed by obstacles or friends, routers will
head for any gap 1BD wide within 1BW.
If routers encounter friends they cannot veer
round:
Infantry routers will burst through artillery, dis-
mounted dragoons and train causing them to
rout also. They will pass through cavalry and in-
fantry, causing them to become shaken.
Cavalry routers will pass through other cavalry,
causing them to become shaken, but will burst
through other troops, causing them to rout.
Gå På infantry, whose opponent in close combat
routs, will roll to avoid pursuing. If they fail they
pursue for one turn then test to halt again. If they
succeed they can halt or occupy the enemy’s po-
sition at the player’s choice. No TPs are spent to
occupy the enemy bases former position.
Roll 1D6. Wavering troops get a +1, and if a
Commander or Monarch is within 1BW +1.
 Elite and Veteran troops: 3 - 6 to halt.
 Trained troops: 4 - 6 to halt.
 Raw troops: 5 - 6 to halt.
 Levy troops: 6 to halt
This should be repeated each turn until the pur-
suers rally successfully. If rallied, they halt at the
end of their game turn, facing in the direction of
the player’s choice. The erstwhile pursuers re-
ceive one shaken level, unless they are already
shaken two levels, when it is assumed that their
cohesion is already lost and cannot get worse.
All pursuit movement is performed without the
need to spend Tps.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
Rallying
Rallying from Rout
Any base that has four or more, levels of shaken
may not be rallied from rout. Levy or wavering
bases that have three levels of shaken, or more
may not be rallied from rout.

In theory a routing unit is moved in each subse-

quent turn until it exits the table. In practice once
a routing base that cannot be rallied has cleared
your battle line it is easier to just take it off the
table.

If both opponent’s agree you may attempt to

rally routing bases.

If a non-levy or non-wavering base has three lev-

els of shaken it may be rallied. They must be at
least 2BW away from any enemy bases. It costs 1
TP per attempt and only one attempt may be
made a turn.

Commanders or Monarchs in contact may make

an attempt for free and so may make two at-
tempts if 1TP is spent.

Throw 1D6.

Plus One if a commander (+2 if it is the Mon-

arch) is within 1 BW.
Minus One if under fire.
Rallying Shaken levels
 Elite troops 3-6 to rally. Shaken bases can recover one or more levels if
 Veteran troops 4-6 to rally. they have not made any ranged combat attacks or
 Trained troops 5 to rally. been engaged in close combat this turn.
 Raw troops 6 to rally.
The numbers of levels of shaken which may po-
tentially be recovered in each Rally phase of the
Rallied units are halted and turned in any desired turn are as follows:
direction. They now have two levels of shaken
Circumstance -
and one level of permanent shaken. The
Each TP expended to rally (max1unless
‘ordinary’ levels of shaken can now be rallied as veteran or elite when max 2).
+1
normal and indeed at least one level must be ral-
Base has been fired on in RC this turn or
lied before the base can perform any actions. has been charged but not contacted.
-1

Base is wavering, raw or levy. -1

The permanent shaken level, as the name implies,
can never be rallied and the base will keep it for Base has not moved this turn. +1

the rest of the game. It is possible to have two Monarch within 1BW, or commander
+1
attached to base or group.
permanent shaken levels.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)


RISK TO GENERALS
Each time a base with which a general is in con-
tact is fired upon or is in melee, throw 2D6. If
the total score is 3 or less, the general may have
been hit.
-1 to dice roll for poor commanders.
-2 to dice roll if base with which general is
in contact routs.
+1 to dice roll for excellent commanders.
(Note: it is not permissible to fire upon a general
if his base is not in contact with other troops.
This is simply not the act of a gentleman.)
If hit, throw 1D6
1 An aide standing close by is killed, allowing
general to strike phlegmatic pose. (Good
subject for a painting.)
2 General’s horse is killed. No movement for
one turn as a new mount is found.
3 A scratch. General wipes away blood heroi-
cally and carries on.
4 Slight wound. No movement made or or-
ders passed next move as wound is dressed.
5 Severe wound. General must be carried
from the field and a successor appointed.
6 General is killed instantly.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

Also, if a general’s base is contacted by enemy
troops, either as a result of his own having routed
or simply by being in the way, throw 1D6:
 Excellent generals: score 1, general
captured.
 Average generals: score 1 or 2, general
captured.
 Poor generals: score 1, 2 or 3, general
captured.
If he escapes capture, move the general immedi-
ately to the nearest friendly troops.
ARMY MORALE
Morale is checked for each command individu-
ally. It may be checked whenever at least one
base is broken, and at least one base has broken
since the last Army morale check was made. It
may also be checked if a friendly command in
sight is retiring or has been broken as a result of
an Army morale check. A maximum of one Army
morale check per command may be made in any
one turn.
.
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 
Army morale checks are instigated by the oppos-
ing player and can be taken at any time during the
turn that the opposing player wishes. So the
player could say call for one at the beginning of
his move hoping to ‘rattle’ the enemy before he
moves in for the kill. With the risk that the enem
command will pass the test and be able to func-
tion normally for the rest of the turn. Maybe he
might want to wait to the end of all the combat in
the hope that there will be a greater chance of fail-
ure then, etc. It is completely up to the opposing
player when he thinks the best moment for the
test is. But remember only one test is allowed for
each command per turn
Roll 3D6 and combine the scores. Then add or
subtract the following dice modifiers from this
score.
Plus TWO if:
 command is protecting army’s camp and it
is overrun.
 The commander is killed or severely
wounded.
 enemy to flank or rear.
 Poor general in command (+4 for no Com-
mander).
Plus FOUR if:
 the Monarch is killed or severely wounded.
Minus ONE if:
 average superior officer within 2BW of
commander.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Minus TWO if:
 nearest enemy command is forced to retire/
breaks and is in sight.
 supported by friendly command or bases to
rear and facing same front*.
 Monarch is within 1BW of commander.
 Excellent general in command.
 Excellent superior officer within 2BW of
commander.
* The supporting command must be at least half
the size of the command to be supported. Nor-
mally commands would be deployed in a single
line with a different command providing support.
In certain circumstances, for example, where a
limited number of commands exist, a command
may deploy in more lines.
If your score exceeds your current army morale
level the test has been failed.
Your current army morale level depends on the
number of bases in your command which are lost
or routing at the time of the test.
Number of bases lost or routing Army Morale Level
10% or less 18
More than 10% and up to 20% 16
More than 20% and up to 30% 13
More than 30% and up to 40% 10
More than 40% and up to 50% 7
More than 50% 3

Effects of Army Morale failure
The effects of failing an army morale test depend
on by how much your modified dice roll exceeds
your army morale level.
 Morale factor exceeded by up to 5 – All
bases add one shaken level. Wavering units
retire from battle, non-determined units
become wavering and determined units
lose this status. The command counts as
shaken for Climax tests.
 Morale factor exceeded by 6-10 – As
above, except all bases add two shaken lev-
els and must retire from the table. Raw and
levy troops break. The command counts as
retiring for Climax tests.

infantry or 1BW for cavalry to the rear. If there
are no enemy within 4BW they move a full move
towards their table edge, not facing the enemy.
Artillery will limber on the first move they do not
have TPs and then move on subsequent turns.
When half or more of the commands in an army
are broken or retiring due to morale tests the re-
mainder of the army becomes shaken and must
retire.
Army morale level table
Cross reference the number of bases that were
originally in the command with the number of
bases lost, or currently routing, to find the cur-
rent army morale level. Round up to the nearest
applicable number.

Original size Army Morale Level

 Morale factor exceeded by more than 10 of Command
– all units break. The command counts as 18 16 13 10 7 3

broken for Climax tests. 6 0 1 2 3 4+

7 0 1 2 3 4+
Example
8 0 1 2 3 4 5+
Army Morale test. 9 0 1 2 3 4 5+

General Von Durring’s command has lost a base since it last took 10 1 2 3 4 5 6+
an army morale test and his opponent has decided he now wants
him to take another test. He rolls 3D6 and scores 10. Checking 11 1 2 3 4 5 6+
through the dice modifiers he finds that he must apply +2 as he is 12 1 2 3 4 6 7+
a poor commander, so his final score is 12.
13 1 2 3 5 6 7+
He now checks on the Army Morale Level table to discover his
current value. He originally has 13 bases in his command and he 14 1 2 4 5 7 8+
has lost four of these.
15 1 3 4 6 7 8+
Consulting the chart he sees that there is no entry for four bases 16 1 3 4 6 8 9+
lost on the row for a 13 strong command. Therefore he must
round up to the nearest number in this row, in this case, five. This 17 1 3 5 6 8 9+
gives him a current army morale level of ten. As he has a modi-
fied dice roll of twelve his command has failed by two and suffer 18 1 3 5 7 9 10+
the effects outlined above.
19 1 3 5 7 9 10+
20 2 4 6 8 10 11+
Shaken levels above can be rallied as normal.
21 2 4 6 8 10 11+
The death or severe wounding of a Monarch is
22 2 4 6 8 11 12+
known to everyone within 4BW on the turn it
23 2 4 6 9 11 12+
happens. The rest of the army know about it on
the following turn – bad news travels fast! 24 2 4 7 9 12 13+
25 2 5 7 10 12 13+
26 2 5 7 10 13 14+
Units in a command that is withdrawing or retir-
ing from the battle automatically move back- 27 2 5 8 10 13 14+

wards facing the enemy if they do not receive any 28 2 5 8 11 14 15+

TPs to move or to stand them in place. If any 29 2 5 8 11 14 15+
enemy units are within 4BW they move 1BD for 30 3 6 9 12 15 16+



Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
CLIMAX TEST
There comes a point in many battles when it Plus One if:
appears the climax has been reached - the  Poles and Lithuanians only fighting other
‘Moment of truth’. Once only in the game, each Poles, Lithuanians Ottomans, Cossacks or
C-in-C can decide that this moment has been Tartars.
reached and call for a climax test. At least one  Russians or Swedes rolling for the C-in-C.
command (on either side) must have broken  A post 1706 Russian army
before the test can be called for.  The Swedish Royal Army before 1710.
 Rolling for the C-in-C.
Each army starts with 12 points:
Minus One if:
Deduct 3 points for each broken command  Cossacks under Russian command.
Deduct 2 points for each retiring command
Deduct 1 point for each shaken command Next roll 1D10 for the number of TPs the com-
Deduct 1 point for each general mander or Monarch has.
killed/severely wounded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Deduct 3 points if the Monarch is killed / Poor 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2
severely wounded
Average 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
Deduct 1 point if army’s camp has been
overrun Excellent 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3

Add the score of 1D6

All wing and allied commanders receive an extra
If one army’s final score is double that of its op- TP to reflect their greater staff. Army com-
ponent, the losing army becomes shaken and manders receive an extra two TPs. No officer
must retire from the field. may have less than 1 TP.

RANDOM COMMANDERS Thus the 0 rating on the table means that a com-
Commanders may be given their grades with mander, wing or allied commander will always
reference to the performance of their historical be rated as 1 TP and an army commander as 2
counterparts, or may be diced for below. TPs.

Roll 1D10 to discover the general’s Leadership A 1 rating on the table means that an army com-
rating. P = Poor, A = Average, E = Excellent.. mander will be rated as 3, wing or allied com-
mander is rated as 2, while other commanders
NATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+ will be just 1 TP.
Denmark
Hanover Wing commanders and Monarchs divide this
Norway P P P A A A A A A E E
Prussia
total into two equal parts – the SR and TR,
United Provinces rounding in favour of the TR. Therefore a wing
Ottoman commander with a TP total of 4 would be a
Cossack P P P P P P A A A E E 2+2, while one with a TP total of 3 would be a
Tarter
1+2.
Poland
P P P P P P A A A A E
Lithuania

Russia P P P P P P A A A A A

Saxony P P P A A A A A A A E

Sweden P P A A A A A A E E E

Others P P P P P A A A A E E



Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 Part 4
Army Generators

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
ARMY LISTS
Using the lists
The army lists work in units. Typically a unit is a regi-
ment but sometimes it is just a grouping of stands.
For example, more irregular forces such as Cossacks
units are loose groups of bases. A unit will consist of
a number of bases of figures. Usually units are infan-
try or cavalry. Artillery and command bases are nor-
mally assigned in addition to the units of infantry and
cavalry you have.
For each army list there are some brief notes about
the army that is portrayed in the list. Following this
there is often a section called Battle types and setup
which will contain notes or options that you could
use with the list. For example it may be possible to
fight a cavalry only action.
Using the above section and also the Maximum army
size and the Unit type determination sections of a list the
players must agree how many units each will have
and of what type. It will not usually be the case that
the players have the same number of units each. The
number of units could be the whole of the available
army. It could be some proportion of each army is
used or each army could have a different proportion.
Similarly the players could roll for the type of each
unit, use all the units or whatever they want to, but in
each case the limit should be the maximum number
of units of that type available.
Once the characteristics of the units and the
number of artillery, brigadiers and commands
you can use have been decided you can organise
your army.
Place units or parts of units together to form
brigades and then group brigades together into
commands. The commands should then be des-
ignated ‘Left Wing’ or ‘Centre 1 line’, etc, to re-
flect there general position on table.
The final step is to determine which commander
is in charge of each command. Often it is more
convenient to do this once the armies are actu-
ally deployed on the table. If using random com-
manders now the dice should be rolled to decide
the qualities of the individual commanders. If
using the historical commanders a dice roll
should still be made to decide who is in charge
of each specific command, if more than one
suitable historical commander is available. For
example the player’s army list contains three his-
torical cavalry commanders but he is only field-
ing two cavalry commands in this game. There-
fore he must dice for which two commanders
are actually in command (i.e. available) and of
which of his cavalry commands they are in com-
mand of. This reflects the common problem of
officer seniority in this period.

The next step is to determine the characteristics of

each unit how many bases it has, what morale level it
is, what tactics it uses, etc. Once again the players
may choose this or use the Unit qualities tables to de-
cide randomly. Again notice should be taken of the
maximums that apply. You will also see that normally
the amount of artillery you may use is in proportion
to some other element of your army, perhaps for ex-
ample one gun for each two infantry brigades you
have. Similarly the number and type of brigadiers and
commanders you may use is in proportion to other
elements of the army.


Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
 The Battle of Narva - Estonia 1700
This list is based on the army at the Battle of Unit Qualities Tables
Narva, In the early stages of the war the Russians
besieged the Swedish fortress of Narva. Charles Infantry
XII landed nearby and marched to relieve the be- For each infantry unit you have roll 1D10 to deter-
sieged fortress. The historical battle featured the mine what type of regiment it is.
Russian army heavily fortified in siege lines, and a
blinding snowstorm which helped the Swedes to Roll once on the table below to determine the
storm this fortification. type. Roll 1D8 if you are doing an attack on a de-
fensive position, 1D10 if a field action.
Battle types and set up.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
With the agreement of both players you may fight
a cavalry only action. In such an action only cav- Type R/Dt T T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt E E R T
alry units may be used by both sides. Bases 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2

Other than this the players must decide if they
wish to fight in a field action or in an attack on a
defensive position. The second was the situation in
the historical battle and the players will only have
the forces present at this battle. In a field action
these forces are supplemented by ad hoc forces
drawn from garrisons and other forces in the area
which were not engaged in the real battle.
A maximum of one raw unit (three in a field ac-
tion) may be used.
A maximum of one trained unit (three in a field
action) with two bases may be used.
A maximum of four trained/determined units may
be used.
A maximum of one elite unit may be used.
All units use Gå På( GP) tactics.

Infantry Brigades: One brigadier is available for each

The Swedish Army, Narva two units in the main army, rounded up. A maxi-
mum of four brigadiers may be used.
Maximum army size: 17 units for an attack on a
defensive position, 21 for a field action. Artillery
Artillery is always veteran.
Opponents
Defence Action: You may use one gun per infantry
Historical: The Russian Army, Narva (1700)
fielded. Up to half of the guns may be field guns,
the others are light guns.
Possible: The Danish Army, Holstein
Campaign (1700)
Field Action:
The Saxon Army, Livonian
Roll on the table below for the amount of artillery
Campaign (1700)
available.
Unit Type Determination 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Stands 0 0 0 1 1 1 2+1 3+2 4+3 4+3
Maximum Maximum
Dice Roll Type
Units bases
7 (9 if a field
If you have ten units or less, minus one from roll.
1-45 Infantry 14 (17) If the Russian player has fortifications add +1 or 2.
action)
If the Russian player is in a strong defensive ter-
10 (12 if a field
46-100 Cavalry 22 (26) rain add +1 or 2.
action)

The first, or only number, is the number of Light

guns you receive. The second number is the num-
ber of field guns.

Polemos Great North War 55

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 The Battle of Narva - Estonia 1700
Cavalry Cavalry (in 3 brigades):
Roll 1D10 on the table below for each unit you Part of Abo Nylands Temporary
have. Cavalry (2 R/Dt)
Part of Karelska Dragoons (1 T)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Karelska Cavalry (3 T/Dt)
Type R/Dt T T T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt E E E Life Cavalry (3 E)
Bases 3 1 2 1 3 3 3 1 1 2 Nylands Cavalry (3 T/Dt)

If using the historic forces each die roll is a spe- Right Wing: Rehnskold (Ex: 3)
cific unit and may only be had once. If doing a Infantry (in 2 brigades):
field action each R or T unit may be used twice. Dal (2 T/Dt)
Narke-Varmlands (2 T/Dt)
All cavalry are Galloping Horse( GH). Vastmanlands (1 T/Dt)
‘Finnar’ (2 T)
Cavalry Brigades: One brigadier is available for each
two units of cavalry you have, rounded down. A Cavalry (1 brigade):
Maximum of five cavalry brigadiers (six if fighting Drabants (1 E)
a field action) may be used. Life Dragoons (1 E)
Part of Abo Nylands Temporary
Commands Cavalry (1R/Dt)
Part of Karelska Dragoons (1 T)
Army Commander: Charles XII. (Ex: 6), C-in-C,
Monarch
.
Commanders: You may have one General for each
four brigades you have, rounded down.

Commanders available: Rehnskold (Mix: Ex: 3) and

Vellingk (Mix: A: 3)

Historic Army

Army Commander : Charles XII. (Ex: 6),

C-in-C, Monarch

Artillery: 3 Field Guns and 4 Light Guns.

Reserve Cavalry (1 brigade):

Abo lans Cavalry (3 T/Dt)
Estonian Nobles (1 T)
Estonian Cavalry (1 T/Dt)

Right Wing: Vellingk (A: 3)

Infantry (in 2 brigades):
Life Guard (3 - E)
Halsinge (2 T/Dt)
Vastmanlands (1 T/Dt)
Abo Bjorneborgs Temporary (1 R Dt)

56 Polemos Great North War

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 The Battle of Narva - Estonia 1700
The Russian Army, Narva All Line units are R, RS infantry. In addition they
are wavering if the Tsar is not present on the bat-
Maximum army size: 36 units (historical battle) or tlefield. Roll below for the number of stands per
47 to 56 units (field action). unit.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Opponents and Allies
Bases 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Opponents: The Swedish Army,

Narva (1700) Guard and Experienced units (Gd/Exp)

Possible allies: The Saxon Army, Livonian A maximum of two Guard units and one experi-
Campaign (1700) enced unit are available.

Unit Type Determination Roll once on the table below per unit. A maxi-
mum of one unit of each type may be used.
Maximum Maximum
Dice Roll Type
Units bases 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
31 in a defence Type T T T V V V V V V V
53
1-85 Infantry (34 to 43 if a
(57 to 75)) Bases 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4
field action)
5 n a defence
86-100 Cavalry (13 if a field 22 (60) All guard and experienced units use RS tactics.
action)
Infantry Brigades: You may use one brigadier for
Add a +15% dice modifier if you are fighting a each veteran unit you have and one for each
field action. three other units you have, rounded up. A maxi-
mum of 12 brigadiers are available, up to 17 in a
Unit Qualities Tables field action.

Infantry Artillery
Russian Artillery is raw.
For each unit you have roll a D10 to determine
what type of regiment it is. You may field one base of artillery for every in-
fantry brigade you use in a defence action. You
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 may field one base of artillery for every two in-
Type Str Str Str Line Line Line Line Line Line
Gd/ fantry brigades you use in a field action, (rounded
Exp
down).

Streltsi (Str): A maximum of 10 units, 11 in a field Up to half of the available artillery is field artil-
action. lery, the remainder is light artillery.

All Strelsti are 1 base of L, RS infantry. These Cavalry

units do not have pike and so count as RS with-
out any of the benefits of the pikes. In addition First of all roll for unit type. Roll 1D6 if you are
they are wavering if the Tsar is not present on fighting an action from defences. Roll 1D10 if
the battlefield. you are fighting a field action.

Line: A maximum of 18 units. You can increase 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

this up to 20 in a field action, or 29 if you use Type D D Noble Noble Noble Noble Noble Noble LHx LHx
Repnin’s troops see Historical Army below.

Polemos Great North War 57

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 The Battle of Narva - Estonia 1700
Dragoons (D): A maximum of 2 units may be dra-
goons.
All dragoon units are raw. Dragoons, may be
deployed dismounted. They are wavering if the
Tsar is not present on the battlefield.
Roll 1D6 for the number of bases 1, 2 or 3 = 3
bases, 4, 5 or 6 = 4 bases.
Noble Levy Cavalry (Noble): In reality these were
old style ‘regular’ cavalry but of very poor fight-
ing quality.
Commands
Army Commander:
De Croy (P:2) Historical commander.
F. Golovin (P:3) Field actions only. He was ab-
sent at the time of the battle but was titular Rus-
sian army commander.
Monarch: Tsar Peter (A: 2) Field actions only.
Commanders: You may have one General for
each three brigades you have, rounded down.

A maximum of three units may be noble in a de- Commanders available:

fence action, eight units in a field action. Buturlin: (Mixed: P:1)
Trubelskoy: (Infantry: P:1)
All Noble units are L, EH and wavering. A. Golovin: (Mixed: P:2)
Weide: (Infantry: P:1) or (Mixed: P:1+1) as
Roll 1D10 on the table below for the number of a wing commander.
bases. Scheremetjev: (Cavalry: A:2) May be a wing
commander in a field action (A 1+2).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Repnin: (Infantry: P:2)
Bases 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 6
Use generic commanders for any others needed.
LHx (Cossacks): All LHx units are raw. They
are wavering if Tsar Peter is not present. Historic Army
A maximum of three units are available in a field Army Commander: De Croy (P:2)
action.
Buturlin: (P:1) Infantry in 4 brigades.
Roll 1D10 on the table below for the number of Cavalry (1 brigade):
bases. Schneven Dragoons (4)
Guard Infantry
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Preobrazhenski (4)
Bases 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 Semenovski (3)
Line Infantry
Fliwerk (2)
Cavalry Brigades: You have one brigadier per cav- Ivanitski (2)
alry unit and the maximum number of brigadiers Mewes (2)
you can use is 13 in a field action and five in a Bieltz (1)
defence action. Bohlmann (2)
M. Treiden (2)
Artillery
2 Field Guns, 2 Light Guns.

58 Polemos Great North War

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 The Battle of Narva - Estonia 1700
Trubelskoy: P:1) Tsar Peter (A: 2) Monarch
Line Infantry (1 brigade):
Colomb (1) F. Golovin (P: 3) Army Commander or
Dewitzon (2) (P: 2) Commander.
Streltzi (1 brigade):
Bruce (1) Cavalry 6 to 7,000 Noble cavalry 4 brigades
Z. Westhof (1) Cossacks Unknown number 3 brigades
Amirof (1) Line Infantry
J. Bajov (1) R V Bruce (2)
Facing Narva (1 brigade): P M Apraksin (1)
J. Westhof (1) Streltsi
F. Bajov (1) Baturin (1)
Kosadavlev (1) the above are Streltsi.
Von Belt (2) Line. Marching to the area - these are the additional
Artillery Line infantry units mentioned above.
2 Field Guns, 2 Light Guns.
Repnin: (P: 2)
Weide: (P:1+1) Wing commander Line Infantry (in 4 brigades):
Line Infantry (in 3 brigades): G. Goulitz (2)
Von Werden (2) I. Bouch (2)
N Balk (2) N. Von Werden (2)
Von Schweden (2) Z. Crowe (2)
Junger (2) A. Dudhuit (2)
. Balk (2) P Von Boukovin (2)
W. Von Delden (2) I. Berner (2)
I. Von Delden (2) P. Berner (2)
Artillery I Angler (2)
1 Field Gun, 1 Light Gun.

A. Golovin: (P: 2) under Weide’s command.

Line and Streltsi organised into 2 brigades.
Cavalry (1 brigade):
Gulitz Dragoons (3)
Lima (2 Trained)
Gordon (2)
I. Treiden (2)
Streltsi
Strekalov (1)
Jeltjaninov (1)
Sucharov (1)
Artillery
1 Field Gun, 1 Light Gun.

Schermetjev: (A: 2)
Cavalry 4 to 5,000 Noble cavalry,
3 brigades.

Also in the area but not engaged (use for field

actions).

Polemos Great North War 59

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 The Battle of Kliszow - Poland, 1702
Unit Type Determination table
Maximum
Dice Roll Type Maximum Units
bases
1-55 Infantry 9 units 18
56-100 Cavalry 7 units 23

Unit Qualities Tables

Infantry
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Gr
Type Temp Temp Line Line Line Line Line Line Grd
d

Size 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2
Quality R/Dt R/Dt T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt V/Dt V/Dt E E

Roll 1D10 once on the table below to determine

This list is based on the army at the Battle of the unit type, number of bases and quality.
Kliszow, 1702. In 1702 the war moved firmly  A maximum of one regiment may be
into Poland and Polish troops reluctantly got in- Guard.
volved. The main action of the campaign,  A maximum of six Line units may be used.
Kliszow, saw the Swedes marching to attack the  A maximum of two ‘Temp’ units may be
Saxon army in a defensive position. Unknown to used. These are temporary units.
the Swedes, the Polish Crown army, the ‘official’
Polish army, was also nearby and had decided to All units use Gå På (GP) tactics.
join the war.
Infantry brigades: You may use one brigadier per
Battle Types and Setup two units you have, rounded up. A maximum of
With both players’ agreement a cavalry only ac- five infantry brigades are allowed.
tion may be fought.
Artillery
You may also wish to fight an action using either
just the Saxon army or just the Polish army. The Artillery is always Veteran.
Saxons or Poles could also have a Russian allied
contingent. If this is in addition to the Saxon- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Polish army the Swedish player may use his full Stands 0 0 1 1 1 1 2+1 3+2 4+3 4+3
artillery train without rolling for it.
 -1 if you have ten units or less .
The Swedish Royal Army,  +1 if the opposing player has fortifications.
 +1 if the opposing player is in a strong
Kliszow (1702) defensive terrain.
Maximum army size: 16 units. The first, or only number, is the number of Light
guns you receive. The second number is the
Opponents and allies number of field guns.
Opponents: The Saxon Polish Army, Kliszow
(1702)

60 Polemos Great North War

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 The Battle of Kliszow - Poland, 1702
Cavalry
Roll 1D10 for unit type. Army Commander Charles XII. (Ex 6) C-in-c,
Monarch
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
.
Stands Line Line Line Line Line Line Guard Guard Guard Guard
You may have one General for each four bri-
gades you have, rounded up.
 A maximum of 3 units may be Guard.
Guard cavalry are always elite, galloping Commanders Available:
horse. Rehnskold (Ex: 3) (Any)
 A maximum of 4 units may be Line. Line Von Liewen (Ex: 1) (Infantry)
cavalry are always determined, galloping Vellingk (A: 3) (Cav)
horse.

Unit Sizes Historical Army

Roll 1D10 for each unit. Use the result to deter-
mine the size of a guard unit and both the size Army Commander: Charles XII (Ex 6) C-in-c,
and quality of a line unit. Monarch
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Reserve Cavalry:
Guard size 1 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 5 6 Albedyl’s Livland Dragoons (2)
Line size 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 Artillery:
Line quality T T T T V V T T T V
1 Light Gun

Right Wing: Rehnskold (Ex: 3)

 Guard: A maximum of two units may be
one base strong, the Drabants and the Life Cavalry: (in two brigades):
Dragoons. Drabants (1)
 A maximum of one unit may be four to six Life Guard Cavalry (4)
bases strong, the Life Horse. Life Dragoon (1)
 A maximum of one unit may be two bases Ostgota cavalry (3)
strong, the Life Dragoons.
 Line: A maximum of three units may be Centre: Von Liewen (Ex: 1)
three or four bases strong. A maximum of Infantry: (in five brigades):
one unit may be two bases strong. Life Guard (3)
Upplands (2)
Cavalry Brigades: One brigadier is available for Narke-Varmland (2)
every unit with three or more bases and one for Vastmanlands (2)
every two other cavalry units you have, rounded Dal (2)
up. Vasterbottens (2)
Kalmar (2)
A maximum of six cavalry brigades are allowed. Upplands ‘Temp’ (1)
Sodermanlands ‘Temp’ (1)

Left Wing: Vellingk (A: 3)

Cavalry: (in 2 brigades):
Life Guard Cavalry (1)
Life Dragoon (1)
Smalands cavalry (3)
Sodra Skanska cavalry (4)

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 The Battle of Kliszow - Poland, 1702
The Saxon Polish Army Artillery
Kliszow (1702) Saxon Artillery is trained. One field gun may be
used for each Saxon infantry brigade. One light
gun may be used for each Saxon infantry com-
Maximum army size: 35 units, 21 Saxon and 13
mand.
(14 with the ‘free’ unit) Polish.
Cavalry
Opponents and allies Roll 1D10 for unit type.
Opponents: The Swedish Army, Kliszow (1702) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Allies: Russian Allied Contingent. Type D D D D H H H H H H

Unit Type Determination table  A maximum of four units may be

Note. One unit is missing from here. This is the dragoons.
Polish Levy cavalry unit, see below.  A maximum of seven units may be horse.
Maximum Maximum Roll 1D10 twice on the table below, once for
Dice Roll Type
Units bases
quality on the appropriate line based on type, and
1-35 Saxon Infantry 10 20 once for the number of bases.
36-70 Saxon Cavalry 11 34
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
71-100 Polish 13 27
Dra-
T T T T T T T V V V
goon
Unit Qualities Tables Horse T T T T T T V V E E
Bases 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3
Infantry
For each unit you roll 1D10 twice to determine
what type of regiment it is. Roll once for quality Horse: A maximum of one unit may be elite and a
then once for the size based on the unit’s quality. maximum of one may be veteran. The veteran
unit has four bases.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Quality R R R R T T T T V V Dragoons: A maximum of one unit may be
veteran.
Size; Trained 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Size: Raw 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 Cavalry Brigades: You receive one cavalry briga-

 A maximum of two units may be veteran,
all veteran units have two bases.
 A maximum of four units may be trained.
 A maximum of four units may be raw.
All infantry use AP tactics. Up to half of the
Saxon infantry bases may have portable or fixed
minor defences.
Infantry Brigades: One infantry brigadier is avail-
able for each three units of Saxon infantry,
rounded up. A maximum of four may be used.
dier for each two Saxon cavalry units, rounded
up. A maximum of six Saxon cavalry brigadiers
may be used.
Polish Crown Army
Polish units are wavering and all Polish com-
mands are uncommitted.
Uncommited: If a command is ‘uncommitted’ it
acts normally but if a friendly command, either
of the army or an allied command, morale breaks
then all will withdraw off the table. If an enemy
command, of any type, breaks before this hap-
pens the uncommitted commands lose that
status.

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 The Battle of Kliszow - Poland, 1702
Once the uncommitted troops withdraw the Heavy Cavalry
player’s opponent must decide how he wants this Roll a D10 for the composition of each unit.
done. He can decide to take the bases affected off 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
the table. If he wishes he may keep them on table
Hussars - - - - - 1 1 1 1 1
and they are then a retiring command or group of
commands and must be ‘walked’ off the table in Pancerni 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2
the hope that they will in some way impede the
remaining parts of the opponent’s army.  A maximum of one unit may be three bases
strong.
Unit Types  A maximum of five units may have Hussars.
For each Polish unit in your army roll 1D10 and  A maximum of six units may be Pancerni
use the table below to establish its type. only.
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 Hussars are Veteran, Galloping Horse and Waver-
Type Foot LH HC HC HC HC HC HC HC HC
 ing.
Pancerni are Trained, Eastern Horse and Waver-
 A maximum of one unit may be foot. ing.
 A maximum of one unit may be Light
Horse. Noble Levy Cavalry
 A maximum of 11 units may be Heavy Cav- If any Polish units are fielded the player also re-
alry. ceives a free Noble levy cavalry unit. It is two
bases strong, counts as levy Eastern horse and is
Now roll below to establish the details of each wavering. It does not count as one of the available
unit. units. This unit is not assigned a brigade but is un-
der the Polish wing commander’s direct control.
Polish Foot and Artillery
The Polish Foot unit is one base strong and uses Polish Cavalry Brigades: You receive one brigadier
AP or RS tactics, (player’s choice). Roll 1D6; on a for every two units rounded down, but not includ-
score of 5 or 6 it is trained, otherwise it is Raw. ing the Noble levy cavalry. The Light horse must
be fielded in a separate brigade, see above. A maxi-
If the Polish infantry is used, then one base of ar- mum of six Polish cavalry brigades may be used.
tillery is also present. It is the same morale level as
the infantry. Roll 1D6; on a 4, 5 or 6 it is a Field
gun otherwise it is a Light gun.

Polish infantry and artillery are not brigaded, rather

they must be commanded directly by the Polish
army or Allied commander.

Light Horse
The Polish light horse unit is three bases strong. It
uses LH: Mixed tactics (LHx) and is trained. This
unit must be kept in a single brigade but one base
of Pancerni may be added to the brigade.

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 The Battle of Kliszow - Poland, 1702
Commands Raw Infantry: Gortz (1)
Beichlingen (1)
Army Commander: Augustus, Elector of Saxony Zeitz (1)
and King of Poland. (A 3). C-in c, Monarch. He Flemming (1)
has no influence on any Polish units.
Left Wing: Steinau (Ex: 2) organised into three
Allied Commander: Lubomirski (A 2). He has brigades.
no influence on any Saxon units. He is only used if Horse: Part of Leib (2 V)
any Polish troops are used and either directly, or Jordan (3)
via a Polish commander, controls all Polish troops. Steinau (2)
He is the army commander in a Polish only army. Konigin (3)
Dragoons: Kurprinz (3)
Commanders: You may have one General for each Milkau (2)
three Saxon brigades you have, rounded down.

You may have a single Polish commander if you Polish Army (1st Line): Lubomirski (A 2), an
field more than 3 brigades of Polish troops. Allied Commander.
Heavy Cavalry (in three brigades):
Available Commanders: King’s (1H, 2P)
Flemming (Saxon) - (P 2): Cavalry Prince August’s (1H,1P)
Steinau (Saxon) - (Ex 2): Cavalry Hetman H. Lubormiski’s
Schulenburg (Saxon) - (A 1): Infantry. (1H, 1P)
Sieniawski (Polish) (P 2): Cavalry. D. Lubomirski’s (2P)
(Subordinate to Lubomirski.) Miaczynski’s (2P)
Noble Cavalry: Sandomierski (2)
Infantry: Combined Lubormirski/
Historic Army Katski (1)
Artillery: One Light Gun
Army Commander: Augustus, Elector of Saxony
and King of Poland. (A 3) C-in-c, Monarch.
Polish Army (2nd Line): Sieniawski (P2),
Artillery: Four field guns and one light gun. subordinate to Lubomirski.

Right Wing: Flemming (P: 2) organised into three Heavy Cavalry: Organised into 3 brigades.
brigades. Hetman A. Sieniawski’s
Horse: Garde du Corps (3 E) (1H, 1P)
Part of Leib (2 V) Radziwill’s (1H, 1P)
Kurprinz (3) Katski’s (2P)
Eichstadt (2) Leszczynski’s (1P)
Dragoons: Leib (2 V) Potocki’s (2P)
Goltz (3) Sobieski’s (1P)
Light Horse: Jazda lekka (3)
Centre: Schulenburg (A: 1) organised into four
brigades
Guard Infantry: Polish (2)
Saxon (2)
Trained Infantry: Kurprinz (2)
Konigin (2)
Steinau (2)
Pistoris (2)

64 Polemos Great North War

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 The Battle of Lesnaja - Russia, 1708
The Battle of Lesnaja, Russia (1708) Unit Qualities Tables
This list is based on the battle of Lesnaja in the
1708 campaign. The battle of Lesnaja saw Lewen- Infantry
haupt's Swedish army from Lithuanian, loaded
down with supplies for the main Swedish army, Roll 1D10 once on the table below.
attacked by a flying column from the main Rus- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
sian army. The loss of these vital supplies would GP GP
Tactics GP GP GP GP GP GP GP GP
change the course of the campaign and the war. (-P) (-P)

Size 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2
The Swedish Baltic Army, Lesnaja (1708) Quality R T T T T V V V V V

Maximum army size: 21 units

Opponents and allies:
Opponents: Historical:
Possible:
 A maximum of one unit may be raw.
 A maximum of five units may be trained
 A maximum of five units may be veteran.
Russian Korovolan,
Lesnaja (1708). Each veteran unit should roll an additional D6.
Russian Main Army, On a 3, 4, 5 or 6 they are determined.
Russian Campaign (1708).
Polish Crown Army, A maximum of one veteran and three trained
Koniecpol (1708). units may be strength two.
Russian Baltic Army,
Russian Campaign (1708). A maximum of two units may be GP(-P) tactics.

Allies: Possible: Swedish Royal Army, Infantry brigades: You receive one brigadier for
Russian Campaign (1708). every three units you have, rounded up. A maxi-
Lybecker's Finnish Army, mum of four brigadiers may be used.
Russian Campaign (1708).
Leszczynski's Polish Artillery
Army, Koniecpol (1708).
Krassow's Swedish Army, Swedish artillery is veteran. One light gun is avail-
Russian campaign (1708). able for each two infantry brigades you use,
rounded up.
Unit Type Determination
You may swap one light gun for a field gun. In
Maximum Maximum addition you may use another field gun if you
Dice Roll Type
Units bases
have a large supply train.
1-50 Infantry 11 15
51-100 Cavalry 10 20 Cavalry

Roll 1D10 once on the table below per unit.

Each die roll is an individual unit and can only be
had once.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Tactics LHm GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH

Size 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 4 4
V/ V/
Quality T R R T T T T T/Dt
Dt Dt

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 The Battle of Lesnaja - Russia, 1708
Cavalry brigades: Cavalry brigades should be three o Infantry: Stackelberg (A: 2), organised into four
five bases strong. You receive one brigadier for brigades.
each four base strong unit and one per two other Indelt (V): Abo lans (1)
units, rounded down. Bjorneborgs (2)
Halsinge (1)
A maximum of six cavalry brigadiers may be used. Nylands (1)
Osterbottens(1)
Command
Roll 1D6 for each unit. A score of 3,4,5 or 6 clas-
Army Commander: Lewenhaupt (Ex: 3) sifies the unit as determined..

Commanders: You receive one commander per three Varvade/ Abo, Bjorneborgs och Nylands
brigades, rounded down. Temporary (T) (1)
Estlandskt (2 GP(-P))
Commanders available: Narke Varmlands Temp (1)
 Stackelberg (Infantry: A 2) Smalands Temp (2)
 Schreiterfelt (Cav: A 2) Upplands Temp (2)

Train: Lewenhaupt's army was escorting a large Militia (R): Oselska (1 GP(-P))
supply train. Unless agreed by the players the
Swedes should deploy this on the table when using Cavalry Reinforcements: Schreiterfelt (A: 2)
this army. There should be between one to three
wagon bases, for each base in the Swedish army. Cavalry: (in 3 brigades):
These may be surrounded by light fortifications. Upplands Stand Dragoon (2 T)
Schlippenbach Dragoon (2 T)
Historical Army Schreiterfelt Dragoon (2 T)
Livlandsk Drag Sqn (1 T)
Army Commander: Lewenhaupt (Ex: 3) Karelska Land Dragoon (1 R)
Train: 40+ Wagon bases. Oselska Land Dragoon (1 R)
Artillery: Two Field guns, one Light gun.
Light Horse: Buda (2) may be assigned to
cavalry brigades. Russian Korovolan, Lesnaja (1708)

Initial Cavalry: Under Lewenhaupt’s command Maximum army size: 22 Units

Cavalry: (in three brigades).
Abo och Bjorneborgs Cavalry
(4 V/Dt)
Karelska Cavalry (4 V/Dt)
Livland Adelsfan (1 T/Dt)
Opponents and allies
Opponents: Historical: Swedish Baltic Army,
Lesnaja (1708).

Possible: Swedish Royal Army,

Russian Campaign (1708).
Lybecker's Finnish Army,
Russian Campaign (1708).
Leszczynski's Polish
Army,
Koniecpol (1708).
Krassow's Swedish Army,
Russian Campaign (1708).

66 Polemos Great North War

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 The Battle of Lesnaja - Russia, 1708
Allies: Possible: Polish Crown Army, Cavalry
Koniecpol (1708). Roll 1D10 for each unit you have.
Russian Baltic Army,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Russian Campaign (1708).
Size 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 1
Quality R T T T T T T T T V
Unit Type Determination
 A maximum of one veteran unit is available.
Maximum Maximum  All cavalry may dismount or start the game
Dice Roll Type
Units bases dismounted.
1-35 Infantry 4 10
36-100 Cavalry 18 52
Cavalry Brigades: One brigadier is available for each
two units you have, rounded up. Nine cavalry
brigadiers are available.

Unit Qualities Tables Command

Army Commander: Tsar Peter (A: 3)
Infantry C-in-c Monarch.

Roll 1D10 once on the table below for each unit Commands: You may have one general per four
that you have. brigades you have, rounded up.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Commanders available:
Size 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Menshikov (Cav / Mix: A 2)
Quality T T T T V V V V V V
Golitsin (Cav / Mix: A 1)
Bauer (Cav: A 2)
Quality: A maximum of two trained and two vet-
eran units are allowed. Historic Army

Size: A maximum of one unit of each type of Army Commander: Tsar Peter (A: 3)
trained unit is allowed, i.e. one of one base and C-in-c Monarch.
one of three.
Artillery: 2 Light Guns
All infantry are mounted infantry (MI). They have
pikes but must spend an extra turn, i.e. be acti- Menshikov’s Command: Menshikov (A: 2)
vated again, to pack or unpack them when wishing
to move mounted. If they fail to pack them before Cavalry (in three brigades):
moving mounted they are lost. Menshikov Life Sqn (1 V)
Nevski (2 T)
Infantry Brigades: You receive one brigadier for each Rostovski (2 T)
three base strong unit you have. A maximum of Sibirski (2 T)
three brigadiers are available. Smolenski (3 T)
Vjatsky (2 T)
Vladimirsky (3 T)
Artillery Infantry: (one brigade):
One unit of trained light guns is available per com- Ingermanlandski (3 T)
mand with infantry fielded.

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 The Battle of Lesnaja - Russia, 1708
Golitsin’s command: Golitsin (A: 1) Kievski (2 T)
Koporski (R 3)
Cavalry: (in two brigades): Narvski (2 T)
Nischegorodski (3 T) Novgorodski (2 T)
Troitsky (3 T) Permski (2 T)
Tverski (3 T) Ustiugski (R 3)
Yambourgski (R 2)
Infantry: (in two brigades):
Preobrazhenski (3)
Semenovski (3)
Astrakhanski (1)

Reinforcement Command: Bauer (A: 2)

Cavalry (in four brigades):

Kargopolski (R 2)

68 Polemos Great North War

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 The Battle of Poltava - Russia, 1709
This list is based on the armies at Poltava, 1709. Main Action
This battle was the decisive battle of the Russian
Maximum Maximum
campaign and indeed the war. Over the preceding Dice Roll Type
Units bases
months the Russian army had in stages succeeded
in pinning the Swedes into a ever smaller box. As 1-40 Infantry 7 11
the strategic situation worsened the Swedes re- 41-100 Cavalry 15 39
solved on a ‘do or die’ assault on the main Russian
camp, unfortunately for the Swedes on this occa- Historical Unit Use: (Bases in brackets)
sion is was not to be ‘do’!
Lost
Initial
before Guarding Besieging
Attack Detached
Battle types and setup Group
main
action
Camp Poltava

10 units 3+ units
These lists can be used for creating armies based Infantry
(16) (5)
- 2 units (2) -

either on the whole armies present at the time. 16 units 1 unit

Cavalry 6 units (9) 1 base 1+unit (9)
They can also be used to create armies based only (44) (5)
on the forces that were engaged in the climatic 3 units (8-
Cossacks - - 1 base -
main action. This is when the Swedish main forces 14)
has moved past the small redoubts and is facing
just the main Russian army and the units in the Notes:
camp. Three of the cavalry units used in the main action
had detachments elsewhere.
It is very difficult to be precise about the structure
of both armies, but particularly the Russian. This is One unit, the Light horse, was only used for a di-
because changes were made in the structure during versionary attack before the main army advanced.
the battle. The structure represented here is at the Three and a half of the infantry units (5 bases) got
time of the main action. lost during the approach march and so fought
separately from the main army.
The Swedish Royal Army, Unit Qualities Tables
Poltava (1709)
Infantry
Maximum army size: 38 units in the full army.
26 units were used in the main action. Roll a1D10 once on the table below to determine
Each unit’s quality and size.
Opponents and Allies 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Size 1 1 1 1 1(2) 1(2) 2 2 2 4
Opponents: Historical: The Russian Main Army,
Poltava (1709). Quality V/Dt V/Dt V/Dt V/Dt V/Dt V/Dt V/Dt V/Dt V/Dt E

1 (2): These units nominally had 2 battalions but

Unit Type Determination they were so weak that in Polemos terms they only
count as a single base. If you wish they may be
Full Army fielded as 2 bases.

Maximum Maximum  A maximum of one elite unit is available,

Dice Roll Type (the Guards).
Units (full) bases (full)
1-35 Infantry 12 18
 A maximum of three units (one in the main
action) with two bases are available.
36-95 Cavalry 23 62
96-100 Cossacks 3 15

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 The Battle of Poltava - Russia, 1709
 A maximum of two units (one in the main Cavalry
action) with one or two bases are available,
(the 1 (2) units). Roll on the table below to establish unit quality.
 A maximum of six units (four in the main
action) with one base are available. Main Action
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
All bases are GP tactics infantry.
Quality LH/T T T T V V V V E E

Alternative Unit Size

All of the Swedish Line regiments were in theory 
two bases strong, but the campaign so far had
reduced many to a single base. In some units this 
was ‘officially’ the case, i.e. they only had one bat- 
talion, in others they still had two battalions at 
least on paper, (the 1(2) units).

As mentioned above you could field the 1(2)
units as two bases. You could also field all the 
non-Guard units as two bases strong, with your
opponent’s agreement.
All units, except the LH, are GH and the V
and T units are determined.
The LH unit is trained, LHm.
A maximum of three units may be elite.
A maximum of nine units (six in the main
action) may be veteran.
A maximum of ten units (six in the main
action) may be trained.
A maximum of one light horse may be
used in the full army. On a roll of a one
you may chose this unit or a trained unit.

Infantry Brigades: One brigadier is available if you Unit Size

have the Guards and one for each three other
units used, rounded up. A maximum of five bri- Elite: Roll 1D6. The number in brackets is for the
gades are available. full army.
Elite 1 2 3 4 5 6
Artillery
Bases 1 1 2(3) 2(3) 5 5

Artillery is always Veteran.

A maximum of one unit of each size.
Available Swedish artillery amounted to three
field guns and five light guns. In the real battle Veteran: Roll a dice below for the number of
only one light gun accompanied the main army, bases. In a full army this is 1D10. In a main ac-
while all but one other light gun were left to tion army it is 1D6.
guard the camp. The other light gun was
Veteran 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
‘besieging’ Poltava.
Bases 2 3 3 3 4 4 1 1 4 4

If you are doing the main action you have one

light gun.  A maximum of three units (two in a main
action) may have four bases.
If using the full army you have three field guns  A maximum of three units may have three
and five light guns. bases.
 A maximum of one unit may have two
If four or more stands of artillery are in action bases.
then an artillery brigadier may be used.  A maximum of two units (none in a main
action) may have one base.

70 Polemos Great North War

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 The Battle of Poltava - Russia, 1709
Trained: Roll a dice below for the number of Command
bases. In a full army this is 1D10. In a main action
army it is 1D6. Army Commander: Rehnskold (Ex 5). At the time
Trained 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 of the battle Charles XII was injured and so could
not command the army. If you wish you could use
Bases 2 3 3 3 4 4 1 1 4 4
him as a (Ex 6) C-in-C Monarch for ‘what if’
 A maximum of two units (none in a main battles. In the historical battle Charles XII still
action) may have four bases. travelled with the army into battle. He was carried
 A maximum of seven units (six in a main on a litter around the battlefield. If the King is not
action) may have two bases. in command he can instead be present on the bat-
 A maximum of one unit (none in a main tlefield, giving some bonuses.
action) may have one base.
You may depict him as a unit. He was lying on a
Light Horse: Roll 1D10 below, not used in the camp bed strung between two white horses, in
main action tandem. He had a bodyguard of forty Guardsmen
and lots of servants, advisors, etc, milling about.
Cavalry Brigades: You receive one brigadier for the He will count as a train stand for movement. For
light horse and for each unit three bases or more combat the stand will count as elite, determined
strong. In addition you receive one brigadier for GP infantry. They receive an additional +1 on
each two other units you have, rounded down. A their defensive factors to normal but a -1 on their
maximum of fifteen brigades may be used. offensive factors. They may not charge into com-
bat. This stand gets 2TPs each turn. This may be
Cossack Allies used to move the stand itself or be spent on any
Swedish unit within 1BW or given to any com-
A number of Ukrainian and Zaporozhian rebel mander within 1BW.
Cossacks were also with the army. The exact
number and composition of these is not known Commanders: One commander is available for each
but it is likely that they were mostly Zaporozhian. four brigades you use, rounded down.
In the real battle these troops mostly stayed with
the Swedish train in their camp and so are only Commanders available:
used with the full army. Lewenhaupt (Infantry: Ex 2)
Roos (Mixed: A 1)
For each unit you have roll 1D10 on the table be- Hamilton (Cavalry: A 2)
low. Creutz (Cavalry: A 2)
 All units are raw and wavering.
Additional commanders may be had if the camp
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
guard and detachment are used, or in other cir-
Size 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 4 4 5 cumstances. In such cases, one commander may
Tactics SI SI SI SI(M) SI SI SI(M) LHf LHf LHf be used for each three brigades used, rounded
down.
 SI (M) are skirmish infantry which have
horses and may count as MI. Possible extra commanders:
 All Cossacks can be dismounted defending Rehnskold may be an Ex 2+2 Wing
the camp if you wish. Commander in charge of cavalry if
Charles XII is in command of the
Brigades: Each Cossack unit is a brigade. If two or army.
more brigades of Cossacks are used they must be Mazeppa (Cossacks: P 2) Allied
in an Allied Command under Mazeppa. Commander in charge of all
Cossacks.

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 The Battle of Poltava - Russia, 1709
Historic Army
Army Commander: Rehnskold (Ex 5)
Monarch: Charles XII, see special rule above.
Main Action Army
Right Wing: Creutz (A:2)
Cavalry: (in five brigades):
Drabants (1 E)
Life Guard (5 E)
Life Dragoons (2 E)
Smalands Cavalry (3 V)
Norra Skanska cavalry (3 V)
Sodra Skanska Cavalry (2 V)
Hielm Dragoons (2 T)
Taube Dragoons (2 T)
Centre: Lewenhaupt (Ex: 2)
Infantry: (in 3 brigades)
Life Guard (4 E)
Vastmanlands (2)
Upplands (1 (2))
Skaraborgs (1)
Ostgota (1)
Kalmar (1)
Narke Varmlands (1)
Artillery: One Light Gun
Left Wing: Hamilton (A: 2)
Cavalry: (in five brigades):
Abo Lans Cavalry (4 V)
Nylands Cavalry (3 V)
Ostgota Cavalry (4 V)
Ducker Dragoon (2 T)
Gyllenstierna Dragoons (2 T)
Skanska Dragoon (2 T)
Upplands Temporary Cavalry (2 T)
Camp Command: The Swedish camp and the
units guarding it.
Cavalry: (in two brigades):
Swedish Adelfan (1 V)
Livland Adelsfan (1 V)
Karelska Cavalry (2 V)
Upplands Temporary Dragoon (1 T)
Albedyl Dragoons (2 T)
Schreiterfelt (2 T)
Cossacks: (three brigades): Mazeppa (P: 2):
Infantry (3 to 5)
Infantry (2 to 4)
Light Horse (4 or 5)
Artillery: three field guns and three light
guns.
Train: A large number of wagons, etc.
Poltava Command: Units ‘besieging’ Poltava,
organised in one brigade.
Infantry: Kronobergs (1)
Sodermanlands (1)
Cossacks: Infantry (1)
Artillery: One Light Gun
Detached Command
Cavalry: (in two brigades)
Life Dragoons (1 E)
Sodra Skanska Cavalry (2 V)
Ducker Dragoon (2 T)
Meijerfelt Dragoon (4 T)

Other forces
Roos’ Command: Roos (A: 1). The units that got
lost during the advance or performed a diver-
sionary attack.
Infantry: (one brigade):
Jonkopings (1)
Dal (2)
Vasterbottens (1 (2))
Narke Varmlands (1)
Light Horse: (one brigade)
Vallack (5)
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 The Battle of Poltava - Russia, 1709
The Russian Main Army  A maximum of seventeen N units (twelve
Poltava (1709) in the main action) are allowed.
 A maximum of five L units (one in the
main action) are allowed.
Maximum unit types: 64 in the full army, 53 in the
 A maximum of one S unit (none in the
main action.
main action) is allowed.
Opponents and allies
Next roll, where appropriate, below for the qual-
ity, tactics and size of the unit.
Opponents: Historical: The Swedish Royal
Army, Poltava (1709) Guard 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Bases 1 1 1 1 1(2) 1(2) 2 2 2 4
Unit Type Determination

Full Army  All G units are veteran and Russian school.

Maximum Maximum  A maximum of one of each sized unit is
Dice Roll Type
Units bases allowed.
1-55 Infantry 34 + engineers 75+2
E (Experienced) roll 2D10. The first roll is for
56-100 Cavalry 130 100 tactics and number of bases. The second roll is
for RS units only and is for quality.
Main Action
Exp 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Maximum Maximum
Dice Roll Type Tactics AP AP AP AP AP RS RS RS RS RS
Units bases
Bases
1-45 Infantry 23 51 (Full)
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
46-100 Cavalry 30 3100 Bases
(Main)
1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3

Quality
(RS T T T T T T V V V V
Unit Qualities Tables only)

Infantry  A maximum of five RS units (four in the

Roll 1D10 once on the table below to determine main action) are allowed. No more than
the unit type using the appropriate row of the ta- one of these units may have three bases.
ble, morale and tactics. These units are the most experienced line
units in the army.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  A maximum of four AP units are allowed.
Full L N/L N N N N E E E G/S No more than one of these may have one
Main N/L N N N N E E E G/E G
base in the main action. These units vet-
eran, A Prest and grenadiers.
 G = Guard, E = Experienced, N = Named,
L =Line, S = Streltsi. N (Named) roll 1D10 to determine the number
 G/S and G/E = If both G (Guard) units of bases in the unit
have been used the third, or more, roll gives
Named 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
you the second unit type.
 N/L = Roll a further D10. 1, 2 or 3 gives Bases
(Full)
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3
an L unit, any other roll an N unit.
Bases
 A maximum of two G units are allowed. (Main)
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3
 A maximum of nine E units (eight in the
main action) are allowed.

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 The Battle of Poltava - Russia, 1709
 A maximum of three units may have three
bases.
 Named units are the first class units in the
army which have, generally, been given the
name of a province or city. They are all
trained and Russian school.
L (Line)
 These are regular units but which are second
class. They usually retained their colonel’s
name and were disbanded or became garri-
son units later.
 They are raw and Russian school. All units
have two bases in a full army and one base
in the main action.
Artillery
All Russian artillery is trained.
Field artillery (FG): One base may be used for each
two infantry brigades used, rounded down, but
with a maximum of eight guns.
Light Artillery (LG): One base of LG may be used
per infantry command. In addition one base may
be used if at least one command of dragoons is
present. This must be attached to a dragoon com-
mand.
Cavalry
Roll 2D10 . The first roll is for morale and tactics,
the second for size.

S (Streltsi) Cavalry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 Yes they still exist! They are raw, Russian Bases R R T T T T T T V V
school and wavering, with two bases. Tactics LH LH D D D D D D D D

Brigades: You have one brigadier for each G Vet D Size 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4

(Guard) unit you have and one for each two other Other D Size 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4
units rounded down - including the engineers (see LH size 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6
below).
 A maximum of five V units may be used.
No more than one V unit may have one base
Field works and defences and no more than four units may have two
In the real battle the Russian army constructed or more bases.
field works and other defences. They may position  A maximum of 19 T units may be used.
a large camp on table, at the rear, which may be  A maximum of six LH units may be used.
fortified.
Light Horse: The light horse are Cossacks and Kal-
In addition they may deploy small redoubts. To mucks.
construct these 2 bases of engineers/construction  One unit of three bases may be Kalmucks.
workers can be deployed. For each engineer de- They are T, LHf.
ployed downgrade one other Russian infantry unit  All other units are Cossacks. They are R,
by one grade. For example, all bases in a ‘Named’ LHx and wavering.
unit go from T to R class.
Cavalry Brigades
Each base of engineers means the Russian player
can deploy up to five redoubts. These are big Dragoon: Two brigadiers are available for each
enough for one infantry base. One in every five three units , rounded up.
redoubts is also big enough to deploy a gun in ad-
dition to the infantry. One of the four redoubts Cossacks and Kalmucks: Each unit is a brigade. A
without artillery is only partially constructed and maximum of six light horse brigadiers are avail-
must be defended by an engineering base. An engi- able.
neer base counts as levy, wavering and Russian
school infantry.

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 The Battle of Poltava - Russia, 1709
Command Historic Army

Army Commanders: Tsar Peter (A: 3) C-in-c Main Army

Monarch.
Army Commanders: Tsar Peter (A: 3) C-in-c
Wing Commanders: One Wing commander is Monarch
available for each three commands.
Sheremetev (Infantry: A: 1+2) Right Wing: Bauer (A: 1+2) , Wing commander
Menshikov (Mix: A 1+2) in charge of the three cavalry commands below.
Bauer (Cavalry: A: 1+2)
Volkonski Artillery: One Light gun
(Cavalry and Light Horse: P: 1+1)
Behm’s Command: Behm (A:1) organised into
Commanders: One commander is available for four brigades.
each two brigades, rounded down. This includes Veteran Dragoons: Kropotov HG(3)
the Wing commanders above. Dragoons: Archangelski (3)
Nevski (3)
The Historic commanders: Bjeloserski (3)
Vjatski (3)
Infantry Nischninovgorodsk1 (3)
Repnin (P: 1)
Hallart (P: 1) Schaumberg’s Command: Schaumberg (P:1)
Golitsin (A: 1) organised into four brigades.
Rentzel (A: 1 Veteran Dragoons: General’s Sqn (1)
Kelen (P: 1) Roschnev HG(3)
Aigustov (P: 1) Van der Roop HG(3)
Gunther (P: 1) Dragoons: Vladimirski (3)
Moskovski (3)
Cavalry Sibiriski (3)
Heinske (P: 1)
Volkonski (P: 1)
Not available if Volkonski is a Wing Volkonski’s Command: Volkonski (P: 1) or-
commander. ganised into four brigades.
Schaumberg (P: 1) Dragoons: Asovski (3)
Behm(A: 1) Narvski (3)
Skoropadski (A: 1) (Cossacks and Novotroitski (3)
Kalmucks only) Permski (3)
Rjazanski (3)
Tverski (3)

Cossack Wing: Skoropadski (A: 2) Allied

Commander.
Five Cossack brigades: each four to
six bases.
One Kalmuck brigade: three bases.

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 The Battle of Poltava - Russia, 1709
Centre: Sheremetev (A: 1+2) ,Wing Commander Left Wing: Menshikov (A: 1+ 2) Wing com-
in charge of the four infantry commands below. mander, organised into four brigades.

Repnin’s Command: Repnin (P: 1) organised Veteran Dragoons: Leib (3)

into three brigades.
Experienced: Repnin Grenadier (2) Dragoons: Ingermanländski (3)
Butirski (2) Kievski (3)
Named Kievski (3) Vologdski (3)
Novgorodski (2) Novgorodski (3)
Narvski (3) Jaroslavski (3)
Schlüsselburg (2)
Artillery One Light gun Other Forces

Hallart’s Command: Hallart (P: 1) organised into Small Redoubts Command: Aigustov (P: 1)
four brigades. Occupying the small redoubts, organised into two
Experienced: Busch Grenadier (2) brigades.
Named: Vologdski (2)
Nischninovgorodski (2) Experienced: Bjelgorodski (2)
Kazanski (2) Line: Nekljudov (2)
Pskovski (2) Alehin (Titov) (2)
Moskovski (3) Streltsi: Nechaev (Natyaev) (2)
Sibirski (2) Engineers: Two bases
Artillery: One Light gun Artillery: One field gun,
One Light gun
Golitsin’s Command: Golitsin (A: 1) organised Redoubts: Eight plus two partially
into three brigades. constructed
Guard: Preobrazhenski (4)
Semenovski (3) Poltava Command: Kelen (P: 1) garrison of
Experienced: Bieltz Grenadier (1) Poltava, organised into two brigades.
Astrachanski (2)
Ingermanländski (3) Named: von Fichtenheim (1)
Artillery: One Light gun Tversky (2)
Line: Apraksin (1)
Gunther’s Command: (guarding the camp): Von Mengden (2)
Gunther (P: 1) organised into two brigades. Unknown unit (2)
Artillery: One Field gun
Experienced: Bieltz Grenadier (1) Two Light guns.
du Bois Grenadier (1)
Lefortski (2) Rentzel’s Command: Rentzel (A: 1) Sent south
Named: Von Rentsel (2) from the main camp to attack Roos, organised in
Troitski (2) two brigades.
Line: Apraksin (1)
Artillery: Six Field guns Experienced: du Bois Grenadier (1)
One Light gun. Named: Koporski (2)
Tobolski (2)
von Fichtenheim (1)
Rostovski (2)
Artillery: One Light Gun

76 Polemos Great North War

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 The Battle of Helsingborg - Sweden, 1710
The Swedish Home Army Brigade Formation: You may field one infantry
Helsingborg (1710) brigadier for each two infantry units you field,
rounded up. A maximum of five infantry briga-
diers can be used.
Following Denmark’s re-entry into the war in late
1709 they invaded Southern Sweden. This list is
Artillery
based on the armies at Helsingborg. This battle
You may use up to one gun for each infantry bri-
was a narrow Swedish victory and forced the
gade used but with a maximum of four allowed.
Danes to withdraw from Southern Sweden.
Up to half of these may be field guns, the others
are light guns.
Maximum army size: 21 units.
All artillery is veteran.
Opponents and allies:
Cavalry
Opponents: Historical: The Danish Army,
Helsingborg (1710)
Roll 1D10 per unit to determine its type and size.
All units are galloping horse.
Possible: The Russian Army,
Baltic Campaign
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(1710)
Allies: None Morale R R/Dt RDt T/Dt VDt T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt V/Dt E

Unit Type Determination Size 3 2 2 1 2 3 4 4 4 4

Maximum Maximum
Dice Roll Type  A maximum of one elite unit may be used.
Units bases
 A maximum of two veteran units may be
1-55 Infantry 11 22
used.
56-100 Cavalry 9 26  A maximum of three trained units may be
used and no more than two of these may
have three or four bases.
Unit Qualities Tables  A maximum of three raw units may be used
and no more than one of these may have
Infantry three or four bases.
Roll 1D10 for each unit to determine its type.
Cavalry Brigades: You may use one brigadier for
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
each unit with three or four bases and one for each
Morale T R/Dt T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt T/Dt R T/Dt V/Dt two other smaller units. A maximum of six Swed-
ish cavalry brigades may be used.
Size 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

GP GP (- GP GP GP GP
Tactics AP (-P) P) (-P) (-P) (-P) (-P)
GP GP GP

 A maximum of one unit may be veteran.

 A maximum of eight units may be trained.
 A maximum of two units may be raw.
 A maximum of one unit may be trained, AP
tactics. This unit is recruited from Saxon de-
serters and prisoners. They may be GP(-P) if
you feel they had adopted the Swedish sys-
tem.

Polemos Great North War 77

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 The Battle of Helsingborg - Sweden, 1710
Command
Army Commander: Stenbock (Ex: 4):
Commanders: A maximum of one commander
may be used per four brigades, rounded up.
Commanders available:
Ducker (A: 3): Cavalry
Lewenhaupt (A: 2): Cavalry
Von Der Noth (A: 2): Infantry
Historic Battle
Army Commander: Stenbock (Ex: 4)
Artillery: Two Field guns
Two Light guns
Right Wing: Ducker (A: 3)
Cavalry (in three brigades):
Life Guard Cavalry (4 E)
Queen Dowager’s (4 V/Dt)
Part of Smalands Cavalry (2 T/Dt)
Adelsfan (1 T/Dt)
Upplands Temporary Cavalry (3 R)
78 Polemos Great North War
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Centre: Von Der Noth (A: 2), organised into five
brigades.
Infantry: (GP-P unless otherwise stated):
Elfsborgs (2 V/Dt, GP)
Kalmar (2 T/Dt)
Kronobergs (2 T/Dt)
Ostgota (2 T/Dt)
Sodermanlands (2 T/Dt)
Upplands (2 T/Dt)
Vastmanlands (2 T/Dt)
Jonkopings (1 T/Dt)
Upplands Temporary (2 R, GP)
Smalands Temporary (1 R/Dt)
Sachiska (1 T, AP)
Left Wing: Lewenhaupt (A: 2)
Cavalry: (in three brigades):
Vastgota Cavalry (2 V/Dt)
Ostgota Cavalry (4 T/Dt)
Part of Smalands Cavalry (2 T/Dt)
Vastgota Temporary Cavalry (2 R/Dt)
Skanska Temporary Cavalry (2 R/Dt)
 The Battle of Helsingborg - Sweden, 1710
The Danish Army
Helsingborg (1710)
Maximum army size: 22 units.
Opponents and allies
Opponents:
Allies:
Artillery
You may use one gun for each infantry brigade
fielded. Up to half of these guns are Field guns, the
rest are Light guns. Danish artillery is trained. The
Danish army had a large number of guns but they
were not used in the actual battle.
Cavalry
Swedish Home Army (1710) For each unit you have roll to determine what type
of regiment it is. Roll once per unit on the table
None but in theory any anti below.
Swedish force could have
helped. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Morale R T T T T T T T E E
Unit Type Determination:
Size 4 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 1 2
Maximum Maximum Tactics D H H H H H D D H H
Dice Roll Type
Units bases
1-55 Infantry 12 25  A maximum of one elite unit may be used.
56-100 Cavalry 9 22  A maximum of three units may be D
(Dragoons), one of each morale grade.
 A maximum of six units may be H (Horse).
Unit Qualities Tables
Brigades: You may have one cavalry brigadier for
Infantry each four base units you have. In addition you may
have one brigadier for each other three cavalry
Roll 1D10 for each unit to determine its type. units you have, rounded down. A maximum of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 five Danish cavalry brigades may be used.
Morale R R T T T T V V V E
Command
Size 3 3 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Tactics AP AP DS DS DS DS DS AP DS, Gr DS Army Commander: Rantzau (A: 5)

 A maximum of two units may be raw. Commanders: A maximum of one commander

 A maximum of seven units may be trained, may be used per three brigades, rounded up.
only one of these may have one base.
 A maximum of four units may be veteran, Commanders available:
only one of these may be AP and only one Rodsten (A: 2): Cavalry / Mixed
DS, Gr. Dewitz (A: 2): Cavalry / Mixed
 A maximum of one unit may be elite. Hessen (P: 1): Infantry
Eichstedt (A: 1): Infantry

Brigade formation: You get one infantry brigadier for

every two infantry units you have, rounded down.
A maximum of six infantry brigadiers can be used.

Polemos Great North War 79

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 The Battle of Helsingborg - Sweden, 1710

Historic Army Ostsjaelandske Militia (3 R)

Army Commander: Rantzau (A: 5) Left Wing: Dewitz (A: 2). Cavalry in 3 brigades
Artillery: One Light gun, the rest were not Horse: 1st Fynske (2)
present. 2nd Fynske (2)
1st Jyske (1)
Right Wing: Rodsten (A:2). Cavalry in 2 brigades. 3rd Sjaellandske (1)
Horse: Life Guard Horse (2 E) Dragoons: Bulow’s (4 T)
1st Sjaellandske (2) Part of Sjaellandske (2R)
Dragoons: Life Dragoons (4 V) Infantry: (1 brigade):
Part of Sjaellandske (2 R) 1st Imperial (2 V, AP)
Infantry: (one brigade): Prince Christian’s (2 T) Marine (2 V,DS)

Centre: Eichstedt (A: 1)

Infantry: (in 4 brigades):
Guard (2 E)
Grenadier Corps (2 V, DS, Gr)
Dronningens (2 T)
Jyske (2 T)
Fynske (2 T)
Prince Hesse (2 T)
Laalandske (1 T)
Vestsjaelandske Militia (3 R)

80 Polemos Great North War

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 


Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
GREAT NORTHERN WAR The most numerous of these were musketeers i.e.
regular infantry armed with a musket. In theory,
ARMIES - A BRIEF GUIDE.
this was a flintlock musket, but could be a match-
lock musket, especially early in the war, or for low
Armies of this period consisted of the three basic
status units such as militia. Again in theory this
arms of Service; Foot, Mounted and Artillery. In
would be complemented by a bayonet and a
each case there was a great variety of types, tac-
sword, but this was not always the case. Musket-
tics, uniform, etc. Because of the length of some
armed infantry could be called by many different
conflicts, these elements could change over time.
names; fusilier, guardsman, etc, but all had in
It was not necessarily the case that all armies
common that they fought in close formations,
would always deploy all three arms of service.
with varying numbers of ranks.
The following is a brief guide to
the armies of the Great North-
Muskets in this period were
ern War which should give you
slow loading and very inac-
some basic information.
curate unless used at short
ranges. Close formation en-
abled the maximum fire-
The Foot
power to be achieved. For
In general Foot in this period
some armies firepower alone
was organized into Regiments
was thought to be enough to
consisting of one to four Battal-
decide the day, but often the
ions. Each battalion had a vary-
secondary weapons also
ing number of companies
came into play. The bayonet
and a theoretical strength of 600
was used to fend off
to 800 men. As frequently hap-
mounted attacks and in con-
pened all through history it was
junction with the sword
very unlikely that they would
could be used in attack to
reach the battlefield with this
drive off the enemy. The
number of men.
various tactical theories
placed a different emphasis
Such Foot was normally
on how much fire was
‘Regular’ although in this period
needed and how much ag-
they might not be in permanent
gression. (See the in the
formations, with no guarantee
main rules.)
of a continued existence once
hostilities had ended.
Musket armed infantry nor-
mally formed at least half the numbers of a battal-
The exceptions to the above were the ‘Irregular’
ion. Before efficiently designed bayonets were
units that were still used by some armies. The Ot-
widely available, musketeers relied on pike-armed
toman Empire, the Cossacks, The Tartars and
infantry to protect them, particularly from cav-
even the Swedes, when really pressed in the later
alry. For many nations the availability of effective
stages of the war, all used various irregular forces.
bayonets meant that they could dispense with
These had no standardized organization and were
these ‘old fashioned’ troop types. The majority of
often based on older structures and formations.
European armies were doing just this in the early
years of the period and the 10 to 20% of a battal-
There were many types of infantry but these can
ion which were formerly pikemen became musket
be reduced to four categories; musketeers or line
-armed men. This was often the case even before
infantry, grenadiers, pikemen and irregular infan-
the army officially lost its pikemen.
try.



Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
However, for some nations in the Great North-
ern War the pikes were still a useful weapon. Both
Sweden and Russia retained pikes well into the
war and well past the time that other nations had
discarded them. Indeed for the Swedish army
they were seen as essential. The aggressive Swed-
ish tactics called for one in three of each unit,
with a few exceptions, to be pike-armed and only
shortages of pikes in the later stages of the war
altered this situation.
For the Russians pikes were also useful. Normally
they could not rely on their mounted forces to
protect their infantry from the enemy horse, so
the pike for them still had its traditional anti-
cavalry role. It also helped when facing Swedish
pike armed infantry assault. The exact proportion
of pike armed infantry in Russian units is not
known and in any case seems to have varied over
time and in different circumstances. In general,
one man in five or six would be armed with a
pike in the Russian army. Pikes would normally
be concentrated into a single group in the centre
of the battalion, although other deployments
could be used.
The next type of infantryman that featured in
regular units was the Grenadier. In reality he was
more a specialist musket-armed man and would
be equipped in a similar fashion, with the addition
that he would have grenades and be expected to
use them in assaults on fortifications and built up
areas. The grenadiers were the strongest, bravest
and best soldiers of a unit and were often as-
signed the most difficult tasks, leading assaults, or
posted in the most exposed positions, on the
flanks of the battalion.
Normally grenadiers formed a separate company
within a battalion/regiment, typically forming be-
tween 5%and 20%of the unit’s strength. It was
common practice for them to be detached from
their parent units and combined for special tasks.
In some armies this became a standard practice at
all times. The Danes and the Russians both
formed units of grenadiers.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
The final category, Irregular infantry, is a broad
one. In general these too were mainly armed with
muskets by this time, although commonly these
would be matchlocks. They would often have
some kind of secondary armament but bayonets
were rare and swords or even knives would have
been more likely. These muskets were generally
more accurate than western types but with a lot
slower rate of fire, so typically these troops used
longer-ranged, individual fire. Sometimes this was
followed by an assault, a tactic often used by Ot-
toman Janissaries. For others it was enough sim-
ply to just snipe at long range. Typically these
troops were used defensively, for example Cos-
sack foot of this type usually defended fortifica-
tions, camps or built up areas. Irregular infantry
could also have had horses to transport them to
the battlefield and indeed on the battlefield, but
they were not trained to fight mounted.
The other type of irregular infantry was the con-
ventional ‘levy’. By this time these were quite rare
and not very numerous, but ‘levies’ armed with
traditional weapons, sword, shield, spear, etc, still
occasionally appeared on the battlefield.
Appearance
By the time of the Great Northern War the vast
majority of troops were uniformed. The exact
details of the uniforms worn by all the combat-
ants are beyond the scope of this piece, although
some basic information is given below. The vast
majority of troops wore the standard European
uniform of the period - a long coat without turn-
backs and a black, tricorne hat. The general ap-
pearance of troops of different nationalities was
similar to the western armies of the period, al-
though colour schemes and minor details were
different. Pikemen looked very similar to their
musket-armed colleagues. They wore no armour
and were only really marked out by their weapon.
It was common for grenadiers to wear a different
kind of headgear, most commonly a cap of some
kind, the design of which varied from nation to
nation. Not all grenadiers were distinguished in
this way, and many could look exactly like their
‘Line’ comrades.
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Many units in the Swedish and Russian armies
wore a distinctive form of headwear, a round felt
cap with flaps that could be pulled down over the
ears and neck or pinned up. In the Russian army it
was called a kartuz and in the Swedish army a kar-
pus. Often the body of the cap was one colour and
the lining another. There was no system for which
units used these caps but perhaps a quarter to a
third of all Swedes and Russians wore them.
There were a number of exceptions to this general
pattern. Swedish units wore coats with the skirts
turned back all throughout the war. Polish and
Russian infantry wore more traditional uniforms
in the early stages of the war. Typically this looked
like the style of dress worn by these nations in the
later part of the 17th century, consisting of a long
kaftan-type coat and a fur trimmed hat. The Rus-
sians changed to the standard pattern early in the
war and it is very likely that Polish infantry fol-
lowed suit. The other main exceptions were the
irregular units. In many cases troops such as the
Cossack and Ottoman infantry wore clothing
similar to that worn in the previous century. In the
case of Janissaries this was a uniform pattern but
in the others it would have varied considerably.
The same was true of the irregular and militia
troops used in the north. These were usually
dressed in any clothing they could get, and so
would often be in civilian dress.
Mounted Troops
The basic formation for most mounted troops
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
was the squadron, the size of which varied from
army to army, and in the field. Most squadrons
had a theoretical strength of about 100 to 150
men. Regiments of mounted troops had two or
more squadrons but these were not the normal
groupings used in combat. In combat a number of
squadrons, each of about 300 men, operated to-
gether on the battlefield. Irregular formations of-
ten used similar sized units.
Mounted troops during this period included
Horse, Dragoons, Light Horse and Eastern Horse.
Horse
These were Western-style heavy cavalry and could
be called ‘Horse’ or ‘Cavalry’ or ‘Cuirassiers’. They
were big men on big horses and were front line
battle cavalry. They were equipped with a sword,
one or more pistols and a carbine. They might
also have worn armour, typically a breastplate, and
protective headwear. The latter item was always
hidden underneath a hat. The breastplate was of-
ten worn under the coat.. The normal tactic of the
time was for the unit to advance at the trot, firing
pistols at the enemy and then engage in hand to
hand combat. There were many variations on this
idea. Some would fire at their opponents from a
distance and then trot in. Others would fire as
they trotted in and some would not fire at all. All
these tactics had a relatively small impact or shock
effect. The exception to this, as in many things,
was the Swedish mounted arm. Neither Horse nor
Dragoons had any armour and both charged at the
full gallop without any firing, giving them a far
greater shock effect.
In general Horse would look very similar to each
other. Normally they would wear a very similar
coat and tricorne hat to the infantry pattern.
Guards and other ‘elite’ units might have extra
decorative features to their uniforms. If the unit
used armour that might be visible. However, it
was often just the colours of the uniforms them-
selves and the unit’s standards that differentiated
the formations. Swedish Horse, like their infantry,
had coats with turnbacks and some units wore the
karpus.
 
Dragoons
In the previous century these were a hybrid troop-
type, capable of fighting both mounted or on foot.
By the time of the Great Northern War they were
rarely called upon to fight on foot. However, Rus-
sian and Polish Dragoons frequently dismounted
to fight. Compared to the Horse, they were gener-
ally smaller men on smaller horses and so nor-
mally would be relegated to a second line position
in battle. They were equipped similarly to the
Horse, but did not wear armour. For the Horse
the carbine was a little-used accessory but Dra-
goons they would be expected to use it when dis-
mounted or when on picket duty and other non-
battlefield tasks. On the battlefield they used the
same tactics as their heavier comrades. Because of
their smaller size the impact of Dragoons tended
to be less than Horse units. The exception here
were Swedish Dragoons who fought in exactly the
same manner as Swedish Horse.
Dragoon units were often raised during a war and
so had a lower status and level of experience than
Horse. In appearance Dragoons would look very
similar to the infantry and Horse of the day. Once
again Swedish Dragoons wore coats with turn-
backs and some units wore the karpus just as the
rest of the army did. Similarly Russian Dragoon
units also wore the kartuz. In the early stages of
the war at least, Polish Dragoons wore a fur hat,
but it is likely that these were replaced with tricor-
nes as the war progressed. Some nations also
fielded Horse Grenadiers. These were the
mounted equivalent of the foot grenadiers and
similarly were the best men in a unit. They too
often wore special grenadier caps and could, like
foot grenadiers, be combined into composite
units.
Light Horse
Many armies in the Great Northern War used
light horse from different sources. Cossacks, Tar-
tars, Kalmucks, Polish Jazda Lekka and various
Ottoman types all made an appearance. Many
looked similar to traditional Eastern light horse
used in earlier armies. The chief difference by this
time was in weaponry. Traditional weapons such
as bows, spears and lances were still used but were
increasingly being replaced by modern swords,
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pistols and carbines. Light horse were not gener-
ally organised in any systematic way, operating in a
far looser formation than the heavier cavalry.
Some light horse placed a greater emphasis on
melee, some on firing, while others used a mixture
of the two, but none of the light horse was gener-
ally capable of taking a place in a battle line. Their
duties were those traditionally assigned to light
horse; scouting, skirmishing, raiding, etc.
Eastern Horse
In the early stages of the war the Russians, Poles
and Ottomans fielded troop types straight out of
the previous century. Ottoman ‘Spahi'’and ‘Timar’,
Polish ‘Hussars’ (the winged ones) and ‘Pancerni’
and Russian noble cavalry did not differ greatly
from their predecessors. As with the light horse
traditional weapons were still used although once
again more modern weapons were increasingly
common, with bows in particular frequently being
replaced by carbines or other firearms. These
kinds of units also continued to wear armour al-
though again this may have been less common
than previously. Polish Pancerni and Ottoman
‘Spahi’ and ‘Tmar’ wore chainmail and helmets,
while Polish lancers still wore the full equipment
of previous generations.
As with the light horse, organisation similar to that
found in other mounted units was common.
These troops should not be though of as
‘irregulars’. They were full time warriors but or-
ganised and fighting in different styles to Western
troops. The only true irregulars were the light
horse and some units such as the Polish noble
levy, a rarely used traditional ‘host’.
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Artillery
Artillery was a part of every army of this period
and was generally ‘useful’ rather than decisive. All
guns in this period were heavy and difficult to ma-
noeuvre. Even light ‘battalion’ guns were nearer in
weight to later heavy guns such as 12-pounders. It
also didn’t help that the horses and limbers were
provided by civilian contractors who naturally
tended to disappear with their property once the
fighting started. This meant that artillery could not
yet show its full potential. Its normal role on the
battlefield was to attempt to disrupt the enemy
and their movements. For this, and also for its
usefulness in sieges, it was an essential part of all
armies. Even Charles XII of Sweden usually had it
available even if he did not always choose to use
it.
There were two general categories of artillery.
Light guns, less than 4-pounders, and Field guns,
4- pounders and more. In general Field guns were
immobile once positioned, while Light guns did at
least have some kind of mobility. The majority of
light guns were used as ‘close support’. These are
often thought as being ‘battalion guns’, but true
battalion guns did not exist in this period. The
Light guns were just too heavy to generally keep
up with the infantry. Other guns, including ‘spare’
light guns, were normally placed in batteries and
then did not move at all during the battle.
The Armies
This section gives a brief overview of the armies
and how they are organised and operate in Polemos
Great Northern War.
In general a ‘normal’ army should have a mini-
mum of 50% of its bases as cavalry. As an exam-
ple, Swedish and Ottoman ‘normal’ armies often
have two cavalry bases or more to each infantry
base. It was also common for cavalry-only armies
or forces to be fielded. Sweden, Saxony, Russia,
Poland- Lithuania, the Ottoman Empire and Cos-
sack/Kalmuck/Tartar forces or detachments were
often entirely mounted.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Some nations, notably Russia but also the irregular
Eastern armies, often used what the Russians
called (flying columns). These had a large percent-
age of cavalry and all the accompanying infantry
were mounted infantry. These enabled rapid com-
bined armies (usually accompanied by light guns)
to strike unexpectedly against their enemies.
The Participants
Brandenburg Prussia was active in this war from
1715 to 1720 and fought against the Swedes. The
army was generally a standard ‘Western’ force. In-
fantry regiments had one or two battalions and
used AP tactics, although it is also possible that
some used DS tactics ‘unofficially’.
There are a relatively large number of good units;
Guards, combined grenadier battalions and veter-
ans of Marlborough’s wars. There are also a simi-
lar number of raw, newly-raised units. The
mounted are very average and units consist of one
to three bases.
Uniforms: Standard. Infantry wore blue uniforms
and cavalry generally white. Grenadiers had small
mitre caps.
Cossacks and Kalmucks were active during the
whole war, usually as part of the Russian army.
However there were various rebellions which saw
independent armies fighting the Russians and also
autonomous armies fought against the Ottomans
and their Tartar allies. Rebellious Cossacks were
sometimes found with the Swedish and Ottoman
armies. Contingents operating with the Russians
against the Swedes were normally all light horse
but infantry could be available in other situations.
Units should normally be brigade sized, i.e. about
four bases. Different groups used different tactics
but in general Cossacks should be raw and mixed
tactics, while Kalmucks are trained and firing tac-
tics.
Tartars (the Crimean Khanate) were allies of the
Ottomans and fought whenever they did. They
too were normally an all mounted army but when
 
defending their homeland some infantry would
also be available. Mounted troops tended to be
generally better than Cossacks, so some would be
trained, and all types would be available. They too
would be organised in brigade sized units.
All infantry are mainly SI types and normally used
defensively in camps, villages, etc. There can also
be smaller numbers of mounted infantry available.
Denmark was one of the original aggressors in
the conflict but was knocked out of the war in
1700. When news of Poltava arrived in late 1709
they re-entered the war to try to take advantage of
Sweden’s position. In this they were not very suc-
cessful and peace in 1720 brought them little re-
ward.
The Danes had a good army but it was perhaps a
little unlucky. In 1700 the foot used AP tactics but
the majority used DS by the time Denmark re-
joined the war. The guards, grenadier corps, veter-
ans of Marlborough’s wars and other ‘elite’ units
gave the army a solid, high-quality core. Regiments
had three battalions generally but normally only
two were used in the field.
The cavalry was not as good as the foot but it was
still probably above average. Horse units have one
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
to two bases, Cuirassiers two to three and Dr
goons three to four. Compared to many other ar-
mies there are few Dragoons and normally two or
more units of other types are available compared
to Dragoons.
Uniforms: Standard. The infantry and cavalry origi-
nally wore mainly grey uniforms but some units
had different colours. From 1711 the army were
supposed to wear red uniforms but it is not cer-
tain if they actually wore them for some time after
this. Grenadiers had small mitre caps.
Hanover was active in 1700 as part of the interna-
tional force sent to resist the Danish invasion of
Holstein. War was declared on Sweden in 1715
but was not very actively pursued and peace was
secured in 1719. The army was very average in all
respects. The infantry used DS tactics and were
normally in single battalion regiments, although
some had two battalions. Horse units are one to
two bases and Dragoons three.
Uniforms: Standard. Infantry were in red coats and
mounted troops in grey. Grenadiers wore Austrian
style caps.
Norway was under Danish rule at this time. The
Norwegians were not very active and generally
both sides were happy to let each other co-exist.
In 1716 and 1718 this changed and Sweden in-
vaded Norway in both years. The army was very
short of cavalry and relied on militia. This did not
stop it being relatively effective on home ground
and the invading Swedes found them difficult to
deal with.
Unit sizes varied considerably. The army used SI
infantry and various other unusual troop types.
The cavalry were all Dragoons and frequently dis-
mounted to fight.
Uniforms: Standard although some units used un-
usual Norwegian style hats. The full time units
were in red but the others were generally in grey.
The Dragoons were in blue or grey/white.

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Ottoman participation in the events of this period
was varied. In 1695 -96 they were fighting the
Russians in the Crimea. In 1711 and a little after-
wards they successfully fought the Russians and
their Cossack and Kalmuck allies. Also they had a
number of campaigns further west against the Im-
perialist and other ‘Western’ states.
The core of the infantry was the famous Janiss
ries. These were not as good as formerly but were
still formidable. They would normally be outnum-
bered, but not necessarily by much, by SI support-
ing infantry from various sources. Some of these
could be mounted infantry. In addition there were
sometimes relatively small numbers of traditional
‘levy’ type troops armed with little more than tra-
ditional weapons.
Similarly the more numerous cavalry had at its
core the Timar units, often called Spahis in the
past. These units used EH tactics. The most effec-
tive of these were the Court units and then the
European units. Asian units were most likely to
use traditional weapons and generally were of a
lower quality. At least half of the Ottoman cavalry
were normally Timar, but the Court units would
be a small minority of these. The rest of the Otto-
man cavalry consisted of LH of various types
from diverse sources within the empire.
All Ottoman units are brigade sized. The Ottoman
army was also notable for its large number of very
heavy guns.
Uniforms: Very varied but generally following the
pattern of clothing from the previous century.
were a joint state at this time under a king who
was also the Saxon ruler.
Poland and Lithuania were a joint state at time,
under a king who was also the Saxon ruler. The
Commonwealth officially started fighting Sweden
in 1702, despite the fact that the Swedes had al-
ready been in Poland for over a year. By 1703 the
Swedes had sponsored their own nominee as the
Polish king and a civil war developed in Poland-
Lithuania.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
From then on the Poles and Lithuanians could be
found fighting for and against everyone, including
each other. Even after the Swedes had left the civil
war continued and a fresh war was fought against
the Saxons as the restored Saxon king came to
reclaim his throne.
The Polish-Lithuanian forces in this war suffered
from an acute lack of infantry. In the large major-
ity of battles there were no infantry present at all
and even when they did make a showing it was in
small numbers. Infantry were theoretically one of
two types; ‘German’ and ‘Hungarian’. German
units were usually actually Polish soldiers but in
Western style units. It is not known what tactics
were used but they would probably have been AP
or RS, the latter especially if the Poles still used
pikes. Hungarian units were also actually Polish
but they dressed in Hungarian style and fought in
an ‘Eastern’ manner probably like Janissaries or SI
tactics. In practice very few ‘Hungarian’ units ex-
isted and so it is difficult to make firm conclu-
sions.
Cavalry was normally 80% to 100% of Polish-
Lithuanian armies, although small numbers of
guns could still be present. Most armies had a
mixture of traditional Polish 17th century troop-
types, Winged Hussars, Pancerni and Light horse.
They also had mercenary or native-raised Western
typ units called Dragoons or Arquebusiers
(Horse). For the official Polish army, (the Crown
army), the ratio would be something like one unit
of Hussars, to three to six Pancerni, to one to two
Light Horse (Jazda Lekka), to zero to four Dra-
goons, to zero to two Arquebusier (Horse).
Lithuanian and ‘Private’ armies tended to have less
Hussars and more Pancerni and ‘Western’ units.
Lithuanians had lance-armed Pancerni type units
called ‘Petyhor’. The ‘traditional’ cavalry looked
like similar units from the previous century, al-
though modern swords, pistols and carbines
would be more common than bows and spears.
Pancerni could form mixed units with either Hus-
sars or light horse. Dragoons often dismounted in
action and sometimes were little more than
mounted infantry.
 
Western style cavalry and infantry started the war
with some elements of Polish dress such as fur
hats and kaftan coats, but as the war progressed
they probably adopted tricornes and Western
coats. The whole Polish-Lithuanian army should
have been as effective as in previous wars. Unfor-
tunately internal problems meant that their actual
performance, except when fighting each other,
was generally not very good.
Russia fought the Ottomans in 1695-96 and again
in the period after Poltava, especially in 1711.
They were at war Swedes from1700 until 1721,
and put down various internal rebellions.
At the beginning of the period old style Russian
units were still widely used. Infantry units called
Streltsi were fielded, usually in single battalion regi-
ments. ‘Noble’ cavalry were really just old style
regular cavalry. They were armed and equipped as
these types of unit had been prior to this period.
The infantry carried musket and possibly an axe
and the cavalry a sword and pistol. They were
dressed in traditional style with fur hats, kaftans,
etc. However, these troops proved largely ineffec-
tive against Russia’s Swedish enemies and so were
largely converted to new style units or relegated to
rear security duties after the early years of the 18
century. They did not disappear entirely and small
numbers were still to be found late into the war.
The new Russian infantry initially looked very
similar to the Streltsi but after the first few cam-
paigns they changed into Western style dress.
Regiments typically had two battalions although
some had only one and a few had three or even
four in one of the guard regiments. As the war
progressed, grenadier companies were formed
(1704) and grenadier battalions, from1706 and
more permanently from 1708. Russian infantry
tactics appear to have changed over time as did
their equipment. Russian tactics were generally
quite cautious and usually they would be classed as
RS. Infantry units were raw when they were first
formed but over time they improved. Usually the
best units were the older formations and those
that were ‘named’ with a geographic title rather
than using the Colonel’s name. Second grade, non
-named and militia units were used throughout the
war.
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
For cavalry the Russians relied on Dragoons and
light horse provided by the Cossacks and Kal-
mucks. Russian Dragoons could wear the kartuz
but more commonly had tricorne hats and looked
similar to Western troops. Russian Dragoon regi-
ments varied in size over the period but usually
had a nominal strength of four bases. As with the
infantry, Horse Grenadiers were added to the
units and in 1709 separate Horse Grenadier regi-
ments were formed. As with the infantry the Dra-
goons were usually raw when first raised and in-
creased in experience in a similar fashion.
There were also some units of smaller sizes, typi-
cally called ‘squadrons’ instead of ‘regiments’.
Some of these were body guard units for Russian
generals and could be of high quality. Other than
this there were no guard cavalry units in the Rus-
sian army at this time.
Unlike most contemporary Dragoons, the Rus-
sians were happy to dismount and fight on foot,
enjoying considerable success when doing so. Rus-
sian forces were also notable for having the near-
est things to ‘battalion guns’ in this period, i.e.
guns that were always attached to a particular unit.
This meant that they often had plenty of ‘spare’
light artillery and could use this to bolster their
lines.
Uniforms: Standard for the new style units. Infantry
and cavalry were in a mixture of coat colours but
with green being the most common. Grenadiers
and Horse Grenadiers had tall mitre caps.
Saxony was another of the original combatants of
the Great Northern War. They fought from 1700
until temporarily knocked out of the war in late
1706. As with other nations they re-entered the
war in late 1709 when news of Poltava arrived.
However they did not get too much opportunity
to take advantage of the situation as they had to
first of all defeat the pro-Swedish Polish groups
and then faced a war against other discontented
Polish forces.

 
The Saxon army was a standard western army. Its
forces were generally average at the start of the
war but their quality declined as losses had to be
replaced by raw infantry and newly raised dra-
goons.
The infantry was equipped as standard troops of
the period and used AP tactics. Regiments were
supposed to have two battalions but newly raised
units often had only one in practice. Horse and
dragoon regiments both had three bases but often
losses were heavy. Initially the cavalry was mainly
horse but over time these became outnumbered
by newly-raised units of raw units of dragoons.
Saxon armies often operated with Polish or Rus-
sian allied contingents.
Regular horse initially wore buff coats with cui-
rasses showing but later switched to red coats that
hid the cuirass. All other troops wore red. Grena-
diers had tall mitre caps.
Holstein was a small state to the south of Den-
mark and an ally of Sweden. It was invaded by
Denmark in 1700. An international relief force
compelled Denmark to sue for peace before major
action occurred. In 1712 a fugitive Swedish army
fled to Holstein followed by a combined enemy
army. This led to a Danish occupation of the state
when the Swedish army was forced to surrender in
1713. At this time the bulk of Holstein’s army was
in fact fighting as part of Marlborough’s armies.
When this war finished the army was effectively
‘homeless’ and became mercenaries in Swedish
pay. Some of the units fought in the later Swedish
campaigns and were captured when the last of
Sweden’s German possessions fell.

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
The Holstein army was very small and originally
contained Swedish mercenary units. It was organ-
ised and equipped as a standard Western army,
although it was probably of below average quality.
The whole army, not including Swedish mercenar-
ies could muster five or six infantry bases and
three cavalry bases.
Sweden was at the centre of the events of this
period and was a major power at the start of the
war. At this time it controlled Finland, the Baltic
States and various parts of Northern Germany.
Initially things went well but defeat at Poltava in
1709 spelled the end of the Swedish Empire and
turned the war into a catastrophe for Sweden.
The Swedish army was arguably the best army in
the world at this time. The Royal army up until
Poltava was excellent and achieved some stunning,
‘against the odds’ victories, but it represented the
best that the Swedes had to offer. Elsewhere, and
after Poltava, Swedish commanders had to fight
with another kind of army often with very differ-
ent kinds of units.
The Swedish army generally had its own way of
doing things and contrary to all contemporary
military thinking this meant ‘shock’ was the tactic
to use and not firepower. In theory Swedish infan-
try retained a ratio of pikemen that was fifty years
out of date because of their power when using
shock tactics. Similarly all Swedish cavalry,
whether horse or dragoons, charged at the gallop
without any armour or shooting.
Swedish infantry were normally organised into
regiments with two battalions, although some
units only had one and the guards had three or
four at different times. All infantry had in theory
one third of their numbers equipped as pike men
but many units never attained this. Shortages in
the later part of the war also reduced the numbers
of pike available and indeed some units fought
without them altogether. However this did not
change the Swedish tactics and their infantry
should be GP or GP(-P). A few units may be AP.
 
Swedish mounted troops whether called ‘Cavalry’
or ‘Dragoons’ were in fact identical. In general
‘Cavalry’ units came from Sweden or Finland and
‘Dragoon’ units from the Baltic and German
provinces, but other than this they were organised
and equipped identically. They also used the same
aggressive tactics of charging at the gallop.
The only difference between them was perhaps
one of quality.
The dragoon regiments, like those in many other
armies, were often raised during the war and of a
slightly lower quality than the horse. Mounted
squadrons were strong in the Swedish army and
the number of squadrons per regiment varied
greatly. Units could vary between one and four
bases but at certain times could be bigger and the
Life Cavalry regiment was normally six bases. As a
general rule the better units had a nominal
strength of four bases, while lower quality units
had one or two bases.
In the Swedish army the surest guide to the quality
of a unit was its source. The best units were the
Guard. There was a Guard infantry unit and three
mounted units of Guard status. These would nor-
mally all be found in the Royal army. Next in
terms of quality were the Indelta regiments raised
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
from the provinces of Sweden and Finland. They
would typically start as trained and determined
and become veteran over time. Normally the bulk
of the Royal army would consist of such units,
while secondary armies would have relatively few.
The next section of the army were the Varvat
(Enlisted), regiments. Usually this meant recruited
in the other parts of the Swedish Empire, Ger-
many and the Baltic States, but it also included
units composed of prisoners of war.
The quality of these varied greatly. Some would be
trained but many would be raw and only become
trained over time.
The final type were the temporary units, e.g.
the‘tremanning’ or ‘fyrmanning’ regiments. These
were recruited from the same areas as the Indelta
regiments and would be raw when first raised but
could become determined and trained over time.
Typically secondary armies would have many
enlisted and temporary units.
Uniform: Standard but most had turnbacks and-
some units wore the karpus. The standard uni-
form for all troops was blue, often for the infantry
with yellow facings. Some units had different fac-
ing colours and some wore grey uniforms. Some
Swedish grenadiers may have worn caps but many
seem to have just worn tricornes.
The United Provinces were only actively in-
volved in these wars in 1700. At this time a small
number of Dutch units joined the international
force sent to defend Holstein against Danish at-
tack. It was not involved in any major actions. The
Dutch contributed four infantry bases (four single
battalion regiments), three bases of horse and one
of dragoons to the allied force.
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DESIGNER’S NOTES
When the opportunity came to write these rules, I
jumped at the chance. Partly this was because of
my deep interest in this war. But it also gave me a
chance to try to portray my view of conflict on the
tabletop. Every set of wargame rules is, if it works
as the designer hopes, a reflection of how the de-
signer views the battles and period in question.
These rules are no different in this and they reflect
my views on the tactics and military art of the pe-
riod. As such you may not agree with them or you
may wonder why I have done some things in
some ways. In this section I will try to briefly out-
line some of the factors in my design of these
rules.
The central problem in this war can be summed
up in three words - ‘The Swedish Army’. Whilst it
is true there are other problems with gaming this
war but this is the central one I think. The prob-
lem is that the Swedish army in this period often
fought in situations in which normally armies
would have had little chance of winning. In addi-
tion they are using what are often thought of as
‘archaic’ tactics and weapons. Yet despite this they
still won most of the battles!
In part the problem is that much of the writing on
this period is very ‘Anglo centric’. Another prob-
lem is that very often this period is seen as being
the same or very similar to the later period, the
Seven Years War for example. It must also be said
that the lack of good and easily available resources
for the war is also a problem. These things com-
bined have led to many people dismissing the war
and the armies involved. So I will start with a
quick guide to the various combat arms and the
nature of the war.
Infantry
In this period the general trend was towards in-
creasing the effectiveness of fire in firefights. Ar-
mies reduced the number of ranks they fought in;
they also got rid of pikes and introduced new fir-
ing systems. All of this was to enable them to win
firefights and indeed these changes did help. Yet
not all armies followed this road, the Russians to a
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
certain extent but centrally the Swedes, rejected
this idea. To many then, and now, their system
seemed archaic and old fashioned. They continued
to not only use pikes but to use a very high pro-
portion of them, one third of each unit. They also
continued using relatively deep formations and
put no emphasis at all on winning firefights!
The reason for this was that while the various im-
provements to firing had made it more effective in
a firefight the Swedws did not plan to fight in any
such actions. Rates of firing at this time were a lot
slower than in the 1750s as a number of technical
improvements, such as iron ramrods, were not yet
available. Their pike, their tactics, everything in the
Swedish system was designed to emphasise the
‘shock’ of their attack. Unlike the other armies of
the period they would quickly advance towards
the enemy. Then, rather than attempting a fire-
fight they would charge in with pike, bayonet and
sword. It was not that they expected to fight hand
to hand with their target. Rather the speedy ad-
vance and charge would unnerve their enemy and
they would waver before contact. The use of in-
timidating weapons like the pike and the speed of
the advance would minimise casualties from their
slow firing adversaries. It proved to be an ex-
tremely effective tactic and provided a string of
Swedish victories during the war.
Cavalry
This was also a period which saw a relative decline
in the importance of cavalry. In ‘Western’ armies
the other arms increased in both importance and
in numbers. But in the ‘East’ the cavalry largely
still retained its central role. This was because of
the great distances involved in ‘Eastern’ wars. First
of all it greatly helped to have a strong mounted
arm to conduct the common ‘cavalry only’ opera-
tions of the war. Secondly it was important be-
cause unlike in the ‘West’ there was not usually a
convenient fortress to fall back into in the event
of defeat. Pursuits were common in the ‘East’ and
without adequate cavalry support the other arms
would be extremely vulnerable on a long march
from a battlefield defeat to a friendly fortress.

On the battlefield itself the greater firepower of
the infantry and the use of bayonets had generally
reduced the effectiveness of frontal cavalry attacks
on infantry. It was still possible but generally was
not attempted unless the infantry were already dis-
comforted in some way. In the ‘West’ cavalry at-
tacks consisted of relatively sedate advances, often
with pistol firing at various stages, followed by a
‘charge’ at the trot, again sometimes accompanied
by shooting. There were variations on this theme
but none of them were anything like the standard
‘charge’ of later periods. Once again things were
different in the ‘East’.
In the ‘East’ you had large numbers of light horse
using traditional light horse tactics. Many nations
also fielded eastern horse which combined charg-
ing and shooting. They would initiate a charge but
if the enemy did not waver they would convert
this into a ‘shoot and scoot’ manoeuvre. Finally of
course you had the Swedish cavalry which like the
Swedish infantry used tactics very different to the
standard tactics of the day. Swedish cavalry, of all
types, attacked aggressively and charged at the gal-
lop with no shooting. This, in essence, was the
tactic that would be used later in the century; it
was genuine ‘shock’ cavalry tactics. It gave the
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

Swedish cavalry an often decisive advantage com-
pared to other systems.
The increased vulnerability of infantry was one of
the reasons that the pike still had a role in the
‘East’. The Russian army probably started the war
relying on bayonets like the ‘Western’ armies they
tried to imitate. Yet experience showed that bayo-
nets were not enough and so the pike was re-
introduced.
Artillery
Artillery at this time was, in general, not very ef-
fective as a ‘killing machine’. Compared with the
Seven Years War the guns were very heavy. Light
3 or 4 pdr guns of this period were nearly as heavy
as 12 pdr guns in the 1750s, while the heavier
guns were more like later siege guns in weight. In
addition it was not the practice at this time to as-
sign infantry to the lighter guns to provide the
‘muscle’ to move them around. Instead all artillery
used limbers to move but even these were a two
edged sword. The drivers, who often provided the
horses as well, were civilians and so once the
shooting started they often disappeared to the rear
taking their horses with them.
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 
These two factors combined to make artillery, of
whatever size, very difficult to move in the time
frame of a battle. It was often best to set them up
and then just leave them in position to fire at
whatever was in front of them. This meant that
artillery was generally used more as a harassing
factor. So you will find that artillery is very diffi-
cult to move in these rules. It is also not generally
very powerful at targeting a base and causing casu-
alties directly. Often it is better to use artillery to
disrupt the enemy’s actions by a general bombard-
ment.
The Rules
Hopefully the rules will generally reflect the
‘reality’ that I have outlined above. It will be obvi-
ous that the Tempo idea and Tempo points are
central to this game. You will never have enough
of them to do everything you want to do, al-
though having the Tempo will help. I have also
used the TP cost of various actions to reflect the
situation and tactics of the period. This will help
those bases that use aggressive tactics to use them
as for these bases aggressive actions are usually
cheaper in TPs. At the other end of the scale it
will make it very difficult to move artillery once it
is in position.
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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Often the above is also evident in the combat fac-
tors, outcomes and other rules. Many of which are
designed to reflect or produce the behaviour of
the historical unit type. Finally I would like to
mention the use of ‘Determined’ and ‘Wavering’.
Determined was largely conceived as a way to
make the Swedish army more effective without
making them ‘supermen’. By making it temporary
the Swedes’ opponents can work to take the ‘edge’
off the Swedish units by seeking to remove this
status. Also it was a useful device to show the dif-
ference between the main Swedish army and the
troops available elsewhere. Often the troops in the
minor armies and theatres did not have this ‘edge’.
Wavering, on the other hand, is more of a ‘catch
all’ idea. There were numerous occasions when,
for one reason or another, an army
‘underperformed’ and so they are rated as
‘Wavering’. I also use it in the Army morale sec-
tion and in troop classification for units that are,
or have become, unwilling to continue fighting.
 
FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
The following are a number of corrections, clarifi-
cations, etc for the Polemos Great Northern War
rules.
Light Guns
Question: Light guns are up to 4 pdr guns, does
this include 4 pdr’s.?
Answer: Light guns are small guns used in close
support of (normally) infantry, while Field guns
are larger guns acting more as long range fire sup-
port. The problem with 4pdr’s is that they seem
to have been used in both ways. So if they are as-
signed for close support they are LGs otherwise
they are FGs. If in doubt classify them as FG's.
Question: Wouldn’t it be easier to hit a larger
army (more stands) that it would a small army?
Answer: Yes, easier to hit, but more difficult to
produce a negative effect. Suppose you were to
fire at a command of ten bases and you get a 1+0
result. Anything that these ten bases do that turn
will cost an extra TP, i.e. the fire has produced
enough minor disorder, etc, to make it more diffi-
cult to do things & 'command' effectively. If the
same number of guns were to hit a command of
40 bases and get the same result then all 40 bases
get to pay an extra 1 TP to do anything that turn.
The minuses for target size reflect the fact that it
is more difficult to produce the same level of mi-
nor disorder, etc, with the same number of guns if
there are more units that will be affected.

Bombardment
Question: Bombardment; +1 same target as last turn
Is this target type (command/army) or are we
talking stands i.e. To get the modifier must I be
able to target the same stands that were targeted
last turn?

Answer: Bombardment is against a command or

against the whole army. If you fired at the whole
army last turn you get a +1 this turn if you fire at
it again. With commands as targets it is firing at
the same command as you fired on last turn. It is
not important if you can exactly see the same
stands.

Question: There are modifiers for target size 11

to 20, 21 to 30 and 31 to 40 bases. Why?

Answer: Bombardment is basically area fire and

the size of the target modifiers is used as a means
of reflecting the size of the target you are shoot-
ing at. You are shooting at a command or other
large group of bases, not an individual base. Also
the effects of bombardment are generally on the
command structure resulting in TP loss, rather
than on the bases directly.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 
Passage of Lines
Question: Which (if either) of the following is
correct?
(1) Passage of Lines (PoL) is a manoeu-
vre that takes two or more turns..
Since there must be a 1BW gap and
infantry moves 11BW per turn, it can
only PoL the next turn (or whenever
the gap is closed).
(2) In order to PoL one unit moves
back 1BW (thus closing the gap
presumably to less then 1BW) and
the other then moves forward, caus-
ing the Pol. So once declared, at
some point it will have to begin the
turn within one BD and end up be-
hind the other unit.
Answer: Please refer to Success and Failure at the
bottom of page 36.
If you pay for both units or groups to move. One
stands still and the other moves (the stationary
one is making gaps in the unit to allow the moving
one through). You declare who is moving, i.e. the
front one or the back one. Then you roll the dice.
If you get a success the moving unit can move
2BW (if foot) and pass through. If you get a fail-
ure the moving unit moves to touch the front or
rear, whichever is appropriate, of the non moving
unit and all assume 'mess formation':)
Army Lists
Question: In the Historical Lists, you have a
number in brackets behind each regiment e.g.
Narvski (2).
Is this the number of Polemos stands required to
recreate the regiment in the historical army, or is it
the number of real battalions in the historical
army, which may be the same number, or not?
Answer: In the vast majority of cases these things
are the same, the obvious exception being some
Swedish units at Poltava. If you look at this army
you will see that some units are denoted 1 (2) - i.e.
they are theoretically two battalions but actually
they are so small that one Polemos base is used.
So it is strictly speaking the number of bases you
need for the unit in Polemos terms. But in the vast
majority of cases this is in fact the number of bat-
talions present.
Incidentally this is not always the case. Cavalry
often have a smaller number of bases than the
theoretical number of squadrons would suggest.
While in some of the other lists available, i.e. those
not in the rules, different situations exist. Nor-
mally though I have indicated when this is the
case.

The moving unit effectively moves a lot quicker

when doing this, i.e. they split formation move at
the double to their new position and attempt to
reform.

One clarification would be that you must be 1 to

2BW from the edge of the unit you are passing
through. You will always, (assuming you are the
right distance away), end up the other side of the
unit you pass through.

Also check out the example on page 37, this

should help as well.

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Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 Great Northern War Quick reference sheet
Game turn sequence Bombardment modifiers
a) Tempo bidding., Bombardment. Modifier
b) Tempo player: Move Generals if desired. Allocate TPs.
Target stationary (under half of bases moved). +1
Move other bases.
c) Tempo player ranged combat. Same target as last turn. +1
d) Outcome moves from ranged combat. For each extra artillery base firing above one. +1
e) Tempo player close combat..
f) Outcome moves from close combat. Target is 11 to 20 bases strong. -1
g) Non tempo player: Move Generals if desired. Allocate -1
Per additional 10 bases or part thereof.
TPs. Move other bases.
h) Non tempo player ranged combat. Target in cover (half or more of the bases). -1
i) Outcome moves from ranged combat.
Target is 21 to 30 bases strong. -2
j) Non-tempo player close combat..
k) Outcome moves from close combat Target is more than 5BW away. -2
l) Both sides may rally shaken bases and then discard.
Target is more than 5BW away. -3
Tempo points costs
 Target Effect
Tempo Non
Action ‘Miss’ No effect. Bombarding base(s) may not fire
Player Tempo All
next turn .
To move a Commander of any type 0 0
First number = additional TPs to be spent when per-
To move a single base * 1 2 Com- forming any action with units in this command during
To move a single base to close musket mand this turn Second number = number of bases which
range or to contact with an enemy, not 2 3 receive an extra level of shaken
GH, CI or GP. ** The number is the number of TPs that the enemy C-in
-c loses this turn. If the final modified result is 15 or
To move a Group of bases * 1 2 Army
more then a further 1D6 is rolled, and two added indi-
To move a Group of bases to close mus- cating how many TPs are lost.
ket range or to contact with enemy, not 2 3
GH, CI or GP.
Movement rates

To initiate or stop a Reform order. 2 3 Troop Type Movement

Infantry, dismounted dragoons, Train (on road)
For each additional 2 bases after 4 1 1 1BW
and limbered light artillery.
Unlimber artillery 1 2
Infantry skirmishers. 3BD
Limber artillery 4 5
Cavalry and limbered light artillery (on road). 2BW
Pivot an artillery base 2 3 Light Horse and Generals. 3BW
Dismount/mount dragoons 1 2 Unlimbered light artillery, limbered field guns
1BD
Rally one level of shakiness 1 1 and Train.
Charging fire outcomes
Second or more order issued to a brigade +1 +1
Defender’s
Refuse to charge. EH, CI and GP perform
score exceeds
Command is retiring because of Army charging fire.
‘x 2 ‘x 2 that of tester’s:
Morale Testers charge home unless wavering. EH
may charge home or perform charging fire.
Acting in the other player’s phase ‘x 4 ‘x 4 Defenders may elect to stand and fire against
Scores equal,
charging home. CI and GP infantry charged
Bombardment or tester’s up to
by foot can counter charge. Cavalry can
2 higher:
counter charge anything. LH and SI may
Target Type 2 or less 2 1 4 5 6 7 8 evade. Artillery crew may shelter in infantry
units with which they are in base contact.
Command Miss - - - - - - - Testers charge home. Defenders stand
Army Miss - - - - - - - Tester’s score 3
shaken, wavering bases, LH and SI recoil
or more higher:
Target Type 9 10 11 12 13 14 15+ shaken.
Command - 1+0 1+0 1+1 1+2 2+2 2+(D6+1) Tester’s score 6 Defenders receive 3 levels of shaken and
Army - 1 1 2 2 3 D6+2 or more higher: break before contact.

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)

 Great Northern War Quick reference sheet
Firing and charging Firing outcomes
Offensive Defensive
 Result Outcome
Firing and charging Close Long Close Long
Defender beaten by No effect, but EH recoil against AP, DS,
Range Range Range Range 1 or less RS, GP, H and D
A prest Infantry 4 1 3 3 Defender beaten by Defender recoils shaken, SI and LH (any)
2 to 4 just recoil.
Dutch School Infantry 5 1 3 3
Defender recoils with two extra levels of
Russian School Infantry 3 1 3 3 (4) Defender beaten by
Shaken (one if SI or LH). ‘Determined’
5 or more
Gå På infantry 3 0 or 3 3 (4) units lose that rating.
charge Close Combat procedure
Charging Infantry 1 Charge 2 3 Both sides throw 1D6, modified as follows:
Dismounted Dragoons 2 1 2 2 Modifier
Skirmishing infantry 3 2 2 3 EH Charging or countercharging, AP or J advancing +1
Field or light guns 4 2 1 3 into contact.

Train 0 - 1 2 Following up recoiling enemy, (not against EH). +1

Cavalry (H,D, GH, EH)* 1 (0) Charge 2 3 Rear support +1

Light Horse - Fire 2 - 3 3 Horse (H or GH) vs. Dragoons (D). +1

Light Horse - Mixed 1 Charge 3 3 GH vs. Non GH cavalry in 1st round. +1

Light Horse - Melee 0 Charge 3 3 EH in 2nd and subsequent rounds. +1

Testing to charge Veteran troops. +1

Light Horse - Mixed - 0 - - Commander with unit. +1

Light Horse - Melee - 1 - - To defensive factors if raw or levy troops, or offensive +1

factors if levy.
Western Horse - 3 (4) - -
and Dragoons For each level of shaken +1

Eastern Horse - 2 (3) - - If testing to charge and ‘wavering’ +1

Galloping Horse - 4 (5) - - Charging or counter charging. +2

Charging Infantry - 3 (-) - - Close order troops vs. LH (any) or SI in the open. +2

Gå På infantry - 4 (-) - - Attacking artillery, pioneers, etc. +2

Modifiers Elite troops. +2

Veteran or elite troops in defence. Elite troops in +1 Monarch with unit. +2

attack. Attacking enemy flank (not against LH or SI) or rear. +4
If testing to charge and an adjacent base has succeeded +1 For each level of shaken. -1
in charging this move.
For each flank overlapped (attackers only on first -1
If testing to charge enemy flank, not against LH (all +1
types) and SI. round, in second round).

If testing to charge, reacting to a charge or being fired +1 Infantry wall ithout a secure flank** attacked by cav- -1
on in a charge and ‘Determined’. alry, per flank.

If LH testing to charge other LH (all types), SI, FG or +2 Raw troops. -1

LG in the open.
Levy troops -2
If testing to charge enemy rear. +2
The defence value of terrain +/- value
The defence factor of terrain if defending (Gr and J + value
deduct 1 point of defence factor if their target is de-
Close Combat outcomes
fended by walls, settlement, breastwork or towns.) Result Outcome
The score of 1D6. + score Difference No result, continue combat next round.
0 -2 Wavering units recoil if they lost.
To defensive factors if raw or levy troops, or offensive -1
factors if levy. Difference Loser recoils and adds a shaken level.
3–4 Determined units lose their status.
For each level of shaken -1
Difference of
Loser receives 3 levels of shaken and routs.
If testing to charge and ‘wavering’ -1 5 or more
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)
 Welcome to Polemos Great Northern War
- a rulebook which enables you to fight
battles set in Northern and Eastern Eu-
rope between 1700 and 1721.
The booklet also contains detailed
listings of the forces involved in five
major battles of the period, and a
unique army generation system which
enables you to field forces from Den-
mark, Poland, Saxony, Sweden and
Russia, along with historical back-
ground and information on the armies
of all the nationalities involved.

Edwin J Torres (Order #25487496)