PLAINS INDIAN WAR CAMPAIGN

Beyond Negotiations by Bev Doolittle

BACKGROUND
The Sioux and Cheyenne allies have refused to resettle on the reservations set aside by the white man. As they
have done for centuries they are moving their tribes to the Sacred Gathering and then will disperse to their
individual hunting grounds for the winter. The US Cavalry has assembled 3 cavalry regiments to convince, with
extreme prejudice, the Indians to return to the reservations. It is late summer and the grass is long and the sun
still warms that skin.

PLAYERS AND FORCES

3 US Commanders:
 4th Cavalry Regiment (8 companies + 2 supply trains) - Mike Johnson
 5th Cavalry Regiment (8 companies + 2 supply trains) - Mark Cramer
 7th Cavalry Regiment (8 companies + 2 supply trains) - Brian Connolly
* One cavalry regiment may have one company of Crow Allies which can help in scouting.

Three to 5 Indian Commanders:

 Lakota Sans Arc Tribe (4-6 Warbands) Mike Huskey
 Lakota Blackfeet Tribe (4-6 Warbands) Bob Minadeo
 Northern Cheyenne Tribe (6-8 Warbands) Hal Hood
 Lakota Oglala Tribe (8-10 Warbands) Mike Bolling
 Lakota Hunkpapa Tribe (10-12 Warbands) Ben Fryer (This may be too large a force)

(Other tribe names Brulé and Miniconjou, but are not represented)

Indian villages have the same number of Tipis as warbands. So if the Oglala tribe has 10 warbands, their village
will have 10 Tipis. Each tribe will roll a die until they get a number in range of their tribe. So a 4-6 tribe would roll
a D6 until they got a 4, 5, or 6. This will give the entire Indian Nation from 32 - 42 warbands!

 Cavalry companies represent roughly 40 to 60 soldiers. (Each regiment is around 400 men and staff)
 Indian Warbands represent 40 to 60 warriors.
 Each supply train represents enough wagons to supply all the cavalry units in their regiment.
 Each cavalry unit has integrated mule transport that is abstracted through the supply rules.
  Each tipi represents enough tipis to house one warband. Likely 40 to 60 real tipis.

MAP
The map made up of locations that are either plains (square), river\creek (circle), or mountains(triangle). This is a
point-to-point map and costs one MP to move to each space. Each space represents 10 to 15 miles of terrain. The
map has 3 US Cavalry main depot locations and five tribal areas. Each tribal area is made up of six locations. Each
location on the map is numbered (usually in the top right of the location) for the purpose of giving troops
movement orders.

SETUP
Each US Cavalry player starts in a different depot location based on their regiment number. The regiment number
is located in the square box on the map and marked in red.

Each Indian tribe will start in their colored tribal area (one of six hexes). Each player will roll a D6 and that is the
location that all the warbands and their village start. The tribe chief (player) will then roll a die that could give
them the number of units listed above. For example, the Hunkpapa tribe would roll a D12 until they got a 10, 11,
or 12. That is how many units they start with and the same number of tipis.

Two Bears of the Blackfoot - by Bev Doolittle.

TURN SEQUENCE
1. Players Submit Orders
2. Movement
3. Battles
4. Adjust BDV based on post battle situations
5. Check Supply (for next turn)
6. Adjust BDV based on supply status and situations
7. Send Scouting Reports to players

MOVEMENT
Units, villages, and supply trains can move along brown lines (trails) or blue lines (rivers) that connect the
numbered areas. Units use Movement Points (MP) to move from one area to another.

Example: A unit could move from area 37 to area 57 on the Little Big Horn River for one Movement Point.

When traveling along a river the player must declare which side of the river they are moving on.

Example: moving along a river – 50e, 65w, etc

Crossing Major Rivers (thick blue lines) costs 1MP for warbands and cavalry.
Minor Rivers (thin light blue lines) cost nothing to cross, but could affect a battle.

Each unit type can move specific distance, but units don’t have to use all their movement in one turn.
Indian Village 1MP
Indian Warband 3MP
US Supply Wagons 1MP (Either Move, Move & Build a Forward Depot, or breakdown a depot)
US Cavalry 2MP

Indians may always refuse battle and there is a location to retreat to, unless they are defending a village. If
defending the village the Indians will fight until the village either escapes or is destroyed.
US Cavalry may refuse a fight, provided they are not defending their supply wagons or forward depot.

NOTE: The longer supply trains were out in the field the more attrition the train suffered. The further they have
to move to and from the camp, and from depot to depot, the fewer wagons there are available on any given run.
The supply situation should become worse with time even without enemy action, as that is what brought most
campaigns to a halt, rather than enemy action. This is why supply trains travel so slowly and take so long to
create and tear down a depot.

MARCHING TO THE GUNS

If a unit doesn’t use all its movement in a turn then it can “react” to situations around it. A maximum of 1 MP can
be used to react. Units marching to the guns will arrive on three or later. A Stratagem Card will be shuffled into
the army’s sequence deck at the end of turn two. When that card is pulled the units arrive from the direction
based on the map locations. Reactions like this can only to be activity in adjacent spaces.

Example: A cavalry company has moved only one space this turn. A battle starts in a space adjacent
to their location. They may be brought into the battle per the rules above.

NOTE1: Tipis, supply wagons, and villagers move 6 inches per move card in battles.
NOTE2: Although Indian Villages could move fairly quickly and cavalry had a hard time keeping up with them,
then did need to rest and gather supplies for the Winter. So instead of having the Indian villages move 2MP I
have made them move only 1 to average out fast moving with gathering resources for winter. (Another aspect is
to let the Indians move one MP and gather supplies for winter, or move two and not gather supplies. I may try
this in the next campaign. They would have to gather X amount of resources before dispersing for the winter or
they would be forced to rejoin the reservation.)

Dust of Many Pony Soldiers – by Howard Terpning

SUPPLY
Supply status is determined at the beginning of the turn and remains in that condition for the remainder of the
turn.

When measuring supply distances use the range in areas rather than movement points. Indian village must end
its move on or within one area of a creek or river. The village may not end their movement out of supply. Indian
Warriors are always in supply if they are within two areas of a river\creek. US Supply Wagons and Forward
Depots are always in supply.

US Cavalry companies are in supply if within:

 5 areas of their Main Depot
 3 areas of a Forward Depot
 1 area of supply Wagon

Effects of being out of supply are below.

1. First turn out of supply has no effect. (OOS1)
2. Each turn after first turn of being out of supply, -1 on BDV for each unit. (OOS2)
3. Add one Dress Line card per turn out of supply if in a battle, including first turn.
4. Any units out of supply for more than 4 turns (OOS5) desert and are considered removed from the campaign.

Each supply train for the Cavalry has 1 integrated company of US infantry. They ALWAYS stay with the wagons
and can never leave them. The cavalry cannot have more than 3 supply wagons and\or forward depots built at
any one time.

How to create a Forward Depot(FD)

If a supply train remains in one location for a turn it can be converted to a Forward Depot. Forward Depots
can “create” a new supply train if they roll a 4-6 on a D6. One roll per turn (rolled by umpire). Forward
Depots supply all allied forces (including other regiments) within 3 spaces of the FD. FDs can be dismantled
and turned back into a supply train.

Note: the reason you may not be able to create a new supply train is because there may be a shortage of
wagons, mules, horse, supplies, and infantry to guard the wagon.
Protectors of the Cheyenne People by Howard Terpning

INTELLIGENCE
Both sides are assumed to have scouts out and doing recon at all times. You don’t have to send out “scouts” to
gather intelligence, but you could split off a unit or two to get a wider area of intelligence coverage.

Range of scouts: (Don't let player's know the distances, that way I can move things around as I wish)
US Cavalry - 2 points out from their location
US Supply Wagons - no scouting
Indian War Party - 3 points out from their location
Indian Village (no warbands) - 1 point out from their location.

SCOUTING RULES
You can’t scout through points containing enemy forces (this includes villages and supply trains)
Indians and cavalry know the location of other Indians if they are within 3 locations of each other.
Intelligence rolls are done by the umpire and then lets the player know the results.
Players will not know whether or not the intelligence is accurate or not.
Roll one D6 for each enemy force within scouting range and apply the results from the table.

US Scouts (D6)
1 Unable to locate the enemy – scouts cannot find any Indians.
2-3 Limited Intelligence (old or unreliable)
- Report # of Indian units D6 (1 = -2 units, 2,3 = -1 unit, 4 , 5 = +1 unit, 6 = +2 units)
4-5 Solid Intelligence
- Report # of Indian units D6 (1, 2 = -1 units, 3, 4 = exact, 5, 6 = +1 unit)
6 Accurate Intelligence - Report Indians exact location and unit count

Indian Scouts (D6)

1–2 Limited Intelligence (old or unreliable)
- Report # of cavalry units D6 (1 = -2 units, 2,3 = -1 unit, 4 , 5 = +1 unit, 6 = +2 units)
3–4 Solid Intelligence
- Report # of cavalry units D6 (1, 2 = -1 units, 3, 4 = exact, 5, 6 = +1 unit)
5-6 Accurate Intelligence - Report cavalry location and accurate unit count.

If US Cavalry force has Indian allies use the Indian Scouts table instead along with all cavalry modifiers.
Add +1 if enemy is one location away from the scouting force at the end of a move. (Cavalry only)
Add +1 if two or more scouts from different groups are scouting the same location. (Cavalry only)
Subtract 1 if enemy in mountains.
Subtract 1 if scouting and someone moves through your scouting range, but is out of that range at the end of
the turn.

Roll a D6 to see if scouts are spotted by enemy.

1–2 Enemy sees the scouts
3–6 Scouts are undetected
+1 to die roll if in Mountains

Scouting Example:
An Oglala warparty led by He-Dog with 4 warbands ends their move in area 99. The 4th cavalry is
located in areas 103 (2 spaces away) and 111 (3 spaces away). Roll a D6 on the Indian Scouts table
for each space being scouted. The umpire rolls a 3 on the Indian Scout table for the 4th cavalry
located in area 103, which is “Solid Intelligence”. The umpire then rolls one D6 for unit strength. The
umpire rolls a 1 for the unit strength, meaning the cavalry will have their strength underreported.
There are 3 cavalry companies in area 103, but He-Dog is informed that there are only two
companies. After scouting is done you determined if the scouts were spotted. The umpire rolls a 1 and
the cavalry has seen the Indian scouts. Next scouting is down for area 111. The umpire rol ls a 1 which
means “Limited Intelligence”. A 6 is rolled for unit size and since there are 3 companies of cavalry in
111, we overestimate and He-Dog is told that there are 5 cavalry companies in area 110. Lastly, we
roll to see if the scouts are spotted by the enemy and the umpire rolls a 5, which means that cavalry
is unaware of Indians spying on his column.
If forces move into the same location, both sides will be informed of the enemy and their exact composition with
no scouting roll needed. Both sides have to agree to battle to have one unless there is a village or supply train
then the battle is mandatory if the side without village or supply wagons wishes to battle. (rewrite)

COMMUNICATION WITH FRIENDLY FORCES

If different US cavalry commands end their turn within 3 moves of each other they may communicate via courier.
If different Indian commands end their turn within 3 moves of each other they may communicate via riders.
Players will communication via email and will include the umpire in all communications.
Cheyenne by Frank McCarthy

VICTORY POINTS & OBJECTIVES

Each player is trying to accumulate enough VPs to win the game. One side can win (Indian or Cavalry), but only
one player will be crowned VICTOR! It may be important to band together, especially the Indians, to help your
side win the campaign. There is a vast amount of terrain on the map. Use it to your advantage and make sure you
spread out until you can dial in the location of the enemy; otherwise you may completely miss them.

If an Indian player loses all his Tipis he cannot win the campaign no matter how many VPs he has collected.
Protect your village at all cost! The player that has lost all his Tipis can still continue to fight with his warbands,
but can’t win the campaign.

US Cavalry VPs are centered on the destruction of the Indians or returning them to the reservation.

Indian VPs are for hurting the US Cavalry, gaining honor through counting coup in battle, and making it to the
gathering point, then dispersing for winter hunting grounds.

The Lakota Hunkpapa tribal leader will designate a location in their tribal area (one of six locations) and that will
be the gathering point for all five tribes. Their village must be on that location when they declare it as the sacred
gathering point. Players will not know the location of this Sacred Gathering Place until they have come into
contact with a village that is in that location or a warband of a village that is in that location. The other tribes
must reach that location and gather until at least three villages, including Hunkpapa, have congregated there. At
least 3 villages must be in the Sacred Gathering grounds to get the VP bonus. A village must remain in the Sacred
Grounds for at least one full turn, after that the village may depart for winter hunting grounds. A D6 will be rolled
for each tribe to determine which location they must move to to move off the map and into the winter hunting
grounds. When the village leaves the map all of the tribe’s warriors must leave the map with them. The warriors
may not stay and fight.

Indian VPs
Each full turn player’s village in Sacred Ground 1VP (doesn’t apply to Hunkpapa)
For each Village that joins the Hunkpapa village in the Sacred Ground 2VP Hunkpapa only
Each US Cavalry unit routed or destroyed 1VP
Each successful Counting Coup 1VP
50% or more of Village’s Tipis exit map 5VP (designated location only)
Each US Supply Train or Forward Depot Destroyed 2VP

US Cavalry VPs
Each Indian warband routed or destroyed 1VP
Each Indian tipi destroyed 2VP
Each Indian tipi captured and taken back to the Home Depot 5VP (back on the reservation)

GIVING ORDERS
Since all locations are numbered on the map Orders should be look like the following. (I will give out a list of unit
designations for each commander.)
th
7 Cavalry movement example
th
Let’s say the entire 7 Cavalry is located in 117.
st nd rd
Turn Group# Unit Designation StartLocation -> 1 Move -> 2 Move -> 3 Move(Indian Only)
2 G1 7A, 7B, 7C, 7S1, 7S2 117 -> 116
2 G2 7D, 7E, 7F, 7G, 7H 117 -> 116 -> 95 (group stops on east side of Bolling River)

There will be a column called “Additional Details” where you can type in additional orders or details that are
important.

UNIT DESIGNATIONS

US CAVALRY
Regiment# then Company#
th
4A = 4 Cavalry Regiment, Company A unit
th
4S1 = 4 Cavalry Supply Train #1
th
4 Cavalry Regiment
4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H
4S1, 4S2
th
5 Cavalry Regiment
5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F, 5G, 5H
5S1, 5S2
 th
7 Cavalry Regiment
4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H
4S1, 4S2

CA1 = Crow Allies (one company to be assigned to one of the cavalry regiments)

INDIAN TRIBES
Lakota Sans Arc Tribe (4-6 Warbands)
SA1, SA2, etc
SAV = Sans Arc Village

Lakota Blackfeet Tribe (4-6 Warbands)

BF1, BF2, BF3, etc
BFV = Blackfeet Village

Northern Cheyenne Tribe (6-8 Warbands)

NC1, NC2, NC3, NC4, etc
NCV = Northern Cheyenne Village

Lakota Oglala Tribe (8-10 Warbands)

O1, O2, O3, etc
OV = Oglala village

Lakota Hunkpapa Tribe (10-12 Warbands)

H1, H2, H3, etc
HV = Hunkpapa village

Once the number of warbands is determined I will assign quality to all units.
Watching the Wagons by Frank McCarthy
UMPIRE SENDS OUT END OF TURN SCOUTING REPORTS
Use the following template as a guideline to send out scouting reports.

<Template>

End of Turn x Scouting Report for <tribe, or cavalry regiment>

<commander’s name>

<Brief Summary>

Victory Points earned this turn: 0

Victory Points for Campaign: 0

Warband & Village Locations or Cavalry, Supply Train, & Forward Depot Locations
Tbd

Supply Situation for next turn …

tbd

Scouting report:
Tbd

You may communicate with …

Orders for turn xxx are due …

</Template>
MISCELLANEOUS RULES

HOW TO DESTROY A TIPI OR SUPPLY TRAIN

Units moves into contact with the Tipi or Supply wagon. On next melee resolution card roll the units MELEE value
adjusted UP2 vs. a D6. If the unit’s roll is higher, then the Tipi or supply wagon is destroyed. There are four supply
wagons per supply train. The train is destroyed if 3 out of 4 are destroyed.

HOW TO CAPTURE TIPIS

Units move into contact with the Tipi. On the next melee resolution card roll the unit’s MELEE valued adjusted
UP1. If the unit’s roll is higher, then the Tipi and villagers associated with the Tipi are captured. Tipis\villagers
move on Move cards and must be escorted from the battlefield and then on the campaign map. On the campaign
map there must be at least one stand per tipi for guard purposes.

Indians can re-captured tipis\villagers by moving into contact with the tipi\villages. Provided there are no cavalry
units in touch with the tipis\villagers then they begin moving on the Indian’s move cards.

POST BATTLE RECOVERY

The Indian wars had very low amounts of casualties so battle recover will take this into account unless a unit is
caught in place (dismounted). Umpire will determine special loses to units overrun and wiped out.

Roll a D8 for each stand lost

Modified by the unit status at the end of the battle.
Routed +1
Destroyed +2 (all stands removed)

1–7 Stand is recovered

8 Stand is lost for campaign

P OST B ATTLE I NDIAN R EGROUP

After a battle (anything that we actually setup on a table to fight) where the Indians don’t hold the field, all
Indian warbands should return to their home village for supplies and munitions (arrows, bullets, etc) or if they
remain in the field they are considered “low on ammo” and fire at DOWN2 and melee at DOWN1 until they
return to their home village. The umpire can overrule this if the battle was very limited in scope and combat. If
the Indians win the battle and hold the ground they may resupply from discarded weapons on the field and don’t
have to return to their home village. The umpire may also reward a Indian unit with US Cavalry weapons if they
cut down enough cavalry units.

Historical Note: Indians didn’t have supply trains and ammo wagons. They needed to return to the village to get
more arrows and ammunition for their weapons.

POST BATTLE BDV ADJUSTMENTS

After the battle make the following BDV adjustments. They only last for the next turn.

-1 Losers (should I keep this one?)

+1 Winners
-1 Routed
-2 Routed Unralliable
-2 Destroyed
+1 Battle Honor (Permanent change)
RETREATING OFF THE BOARD DURING BATTLE
Attackers must retreat in the direction he attacked from. If attacking from multiple directions, then one or all the
locations can be retreated to. Defenders must retreat to their line of supply first and cannot retreat off the board
where the attackers launched their attack from. (rewrite)

Surprise Attacks?

FIGHTING BATTLES WITHOUT MINIATURES

Cavalry 4 step units (1 step per stand)

Indians 4 step units (1 step per stand)

C1 firepower for Indians with bows\old carbines

C2 firepower for Indians with Henry’s and Springfield’s

B2 Cavalry with Springfield’s, Indian Veterans with Advanced Weapons.

A2 Experienced Cavalry

3 rounds of combat. Defender fires first. B type units fire first.

Roll one D6 per step. Firepower # or less needed to hit.

Each hit reduces the amount of dice thrown by the enemy unit in their combat round.

If Indian unit throws all 6s on their combat roll for a unit, that unit retreats from battle.

Post Battle

Each step lost can be a permenant lose for the campaign. Roll 1D6 for each step lost. A 6 means that step is lost
for the game.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Links to history for this time period
th
4 Cavalry Regiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._4th_Cavalry_Regiment
th
5 Cavalry Regiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._5th_Cavalry_Regiment
th
7 Cavalry Regiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._7th_Cavalry_Regiment
http://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/
http://www.nps.gov/libi/
http://www.nps.gov/PWR/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=libi&parkname=Little%20Bighorn%20
Battlefield%20National%20Monument

Crow Scouts
Army Regulations by Howard Terpning