Battles determine the fate of nations. It is necessary that actions should be decisive, either to free ourselves from the inconveniencies of a state of warfare, to place our enemy in that unpleasant situation, or to settle a quarrel which otherwise perhaps would never be finished. A man that is wise will make no sort of movement without good reason; and a general of an army should never be engaged without some design of consequence. If he be forced into an engagement by his adversary, his former errors must have reduced him to that situation, and given his enemy the power of dictating the law to him.

- Frederick the Great

Purpose

These are a set of rules for the conduct of 18th century wargaming campaigns. They are designed to make Theatre level decision making, by the Commander-in-Chief, important to the ongoing conduct of operations. The resultant battles of this campaign can be played out by any set of miniatures rules, but one where individual battalions are the maneuver elements is desirable. The approximate size of a typical battle will be of a Division on each side, with approximately 3-4 Brigades - each with 3-5 units. This will include infantry and cavalry. In rare situations, there may be battles as large as 2 or 3 Divisions on a side.

Turns

Each turn, several events occur, but the most important is that the Commander of each side will submit orders for each one of his Divisions in the play area as soon as the results of the previous turn's orders are adjudicated. These orders are written before battle results or scouting reports are revealed.

1. Resolve orders written last turn
2. Receive status report from Referee
3. Based on status report, write new orders for the following turn.
4. Receive scouting reports.
5. Fight any battles.

The first turn of the game will actually start with phase C, the beginning positions of the troops being the assumed results of any moves that happened in the fiction turn beforet he game began.

Units

There are two types of Units in the game, Magazines and Divisions.

Magazines never move. A Division must be able to trace a line of supply back to a magazine (up to 8 Supply Moves in length), or it's selection of orders will be modified. The out-of-supply Division (determined by the referee in a Status report) will not be able to issue 'Muster' orders, and before issuing an 'Advance' order, it must first issue a 'Provision' order reflecting the added time needed to forage. Other orders ('Fortify' and ‘Scout') are not affected.

Divisions are the combat troops that the Commander of each side can order to march about on the map, and attempt to satisfy the victory conditions with. A Division will have a number of units that the Commander will divide up into 3 Brigades before the battle starts. In certain situations, the Division will be divided up into 4 Brigades (see the effects of the Muster order, below). Depending on which orders the Division has received during a particular turn, it may have additional or fewer units available to it for a battle. Other orders ('Muster' in particular) may have a longer effect on how many units a Division as available to it.

Basic Division Components 6x Line Infantry Battalions 1x Converged Grenadier Battalion 1x Light Infantry Battalion (could represent jagers or grenzers) 1x Light Cavalry Regiment (hussars, croats, Cossacks?) 2x Heavy Cavalry Regiments 2x Heavy Artillery Batteries

Order Definitions

There are five possible orders that a unit may receive. These are listed below, along with a description of what they can perform.

Advance

This is the basic movement order for a Division. The order is given as "1st Division, Advance to Gratz". When a Division is ordered to Advance on a Black road (as depicted on the Theatre map), then it automatically succeeds. If the Division is ordered to Advance on a Red road, then it must roll 2d6, and if an 8 or higher is scored, then the Division moves, if not, then it remains in place. A second Advance order given to a unit to move over a particular Red road, will automatically succeed if the first failed. A Division with Advance orders neither gains nor loses any units when in combat. A Division with Advance orders may receive some limited scouting information.

Scout

This is the order given to a Division when intelligence about the surrounding countryside and enemy positions are required. The Division that receives a Scout order does not move, but elements of that Division are out among the surrounding territory. Information on enemy Divisions and magazines can be reasonably expected, if they are close enough. If a Division receives a Scout order before attempting to cross a Red road, then the die roll to cross succeeds on a 6 or higher (again, the second attempt is automatically successful, regardless). A Division with Scout orders will not have it’s Light Cavalry unit available if it is engaged in combat.

Provision

This order is only issued to Divisions that are out of supply. Once issued, this allows the Division to then receive an Advance order. If a Division has received a Provision order, and then subsequently gets an Advance order that is unsuccessful because it failed it’s move roll on a Red road, it still is considered to be ‘Provisioned’ when making the second attempt on that same Red road. A Division with Provision orders will not have either it’s Light Cavalry nor it’s Light Infantry available if it is engaged in combat.

Muster

This is the only way a Division may ever have more units than it’s basic allotment. To be issued Muster orders, a Division must be within 2 Supply Moves of a Magazine. If a Division ever moves out of supply (i.e. - beyond 8 Supply Moves from a Magazine), then all additional units that where gained from Muster orders are lost (permanently). A Division may have a maximum of four additional units due to Muster orders. For each Muster unit a order is issued, roll 1d10 on the following chart to see what is available. These units are not kept track of, but are re-rolled for before each battle engagement. A Division that is engaged in combat while under Muster orders will receive the new unit before the battle commences. A Division with 3 or 4 additional units (due to Muster orders) will split it’s forces into 4 Brigades prior to battle.

Muster Unit Availability
1-5	Line Infantry Battalion
6	Grenadier Battalion
7	Light Infantry Battalion
8	Light Cavalry Regiment
9	Heavy Cavalry Regiment
0	Light Artillery Battery

Fortify

This is the way a Division may better emplace itself in position. Once a Division has received Fortify orders, it will then receive fortification assets to use during a battle. If the Division ever receives Advance orders, it will lose those fortification assets (permanently). Note that if a Division receives Advance orders to cross a Red road, but does not because it fails it’s die roll, the fortification assets are still lost. A Division may receive Fortify orders up to three times while it is in the same map position, and each Fortify order will grant either (1) a Redoubt good for protection 1 gun battery, or (2) Trench or linear obstacle enough to protect up to two Infantry units in line. These assets need not be chosen until that actual battle is fought. A Division that is engaged in combat while under Fortify order will receive the assets for that battle, but will lose the use of one Line Infantry Battalion, as they were employed for labor and the collection of material.

Writing Orders

Each turn, orders for each Division must receive orders, or they will stay in place. Here is an example of a set of clearly written orders, to be passed on to the Referee.

Army of the West Orders - October 1712
1st Division	Advance to Grossnitz
2nd Division (M2F3)	no orders
3rd Division (P)	Advance to Calbria

Notice that some units have annotations after their names. These annotations show, by the Referee in a status report, the current state of the Division. The Commander when writing orders for his Divisions, should use the same annotations.

• M1, M2, M3, M4 is an indication that a Division has received that many Muster assets.
• F1, F2, F3 is an indication that the Division has received that many Fortification assets.
• P is an indication that the Division has been Provisioned and may receive Advance orders, even if out of supply.

Stacking Units

On the Theatre map, the maximum number of Divisions that may occupy a single space, under one Commander, is three. This will make for a Corps consisting of three Divisions. That is the largest force that can be assembled in these rules.

Transfer of Assets

Whenever more than one Division occupy the same space on the Theatre map, they may NOT transfer assets between each other. This includes Muster units, Fortification levels, or Provisions.

Automatic Victory

Whenever a force of three Divisions is in an engagement of one Division, there is an Automatic Victory, and the losing Division is forced to perform a Withdraw. Rules for the Withdraw move must be observed.

Battle Engagements

Battles occur because one of two possible conditions. First, if the Divisions of two Commanders are ordered to Advance to the same location on the same turn, and both Advance orders are successful, then a Meeting engagement is the outcome.

Second, if a Division of a Commander is order to Advance against the position of an enemy Division that has either Muster, Provision, Fortify, Scout, or no orders, then it is an Attack/Defense engagement.

1. In both situations, the Referee (or a third party) will set up the terrain for the battlefield.
2. Now, if either side has Muster unit assets, they roll for those to see what they are.
3. Both sides decide, on paper, or by setting their models out, the separation of units in Brigades.
4. If the Defender has Fortification assets available, he decides on what they will consist of, and places them on the field. Also, the Defender makes a note, on a simple paper map, of the location of all his units. Note that this will only occur in Attack/Defense Engagements.
5. Placement of arriving units - this is done by the Attacker in Attack/Defense Engagements, and by both sides in Meeting Engagements.

Attack/Defense Engagements

The Advancing force in an Attack Defense engagement now chooses his desired entry point for his Brigades (this cannot be within 24" of the edge of the table). His C-in-C figure will be with the First Brigade he places. The First Brigade comes on where he plans, but for all others, he must roll 1d6 - on a 1 the Brigade enters 24" to the left, on a 6 it enters 24" to the right, on a 2-5 it comes on where planned. These Brigades are now placed on the table, with all the units of that Brigade within 12" of either side of the entry point, and no more than 6" on the table. Artillery batteries may be placed with any Brigade, but must be announced before the dice is rolled. As soon as this is done, the Defender places all his units as determined on his paper map.

Meeting Engagement

Roll to see who places the first Brigade. 2d6, high roller places first, then alternate Brigades. Each Brigade that is placed (after the First for each side) follows the same procedure that the Attacker used above. Nominate an entry point and then roll 1d6 to see if it comes on there or to the left, or right. If a Brigade is to have Artillery Batteries with it, it must be announced before the dice is rolled.

Battle Results

If the Battle rules used don’t determine such things, then the Referee, or another disinterested party, will determine victory, and whether it was Marginal or Decisive. The Losing side after the battle is fought will either Withdraw or Retreat. If the Referee declares only a Marginal victory for the winning side, then the Losing side must perform a Withdraw. Also, if no conclusions can be drawn about the battle (in essence, a Draw or a Tie), then both sides must perform Withdraws. In all other situations, the Loser must Retreat.

Withdraw

A unit that must perform a Withdraw retains whatever Muster assets it might have with it, and also retains it’s Provisioned status if it has not used them on an Advance order yet. The unit must move to an adjacent space on the Theatre map. This move, to be successful, cannot violate stacking rules; and may not be made to the location that the Enemy force came from for the battle. If a Withdraw move is made over a Red road, than roll 2d6 - on an 6 or higher, it is successful. In all cases where a Withdraw move is not successful (either because it has no place legal to go, or because it failed it’s Red road die roll), then the Division is eliminated.

Retreat

A unit that must perform a Retreat is handled exactly like a unit that must perform a Withdraw. Except, that the unit performing a Retreat will lose any Muster assets or Provisioned status it enjoyed before the Engagement. A unit performing a Retreat over a Red road must roll an 8 or higher to be successful. Again, if the unit may not Retreat to a legal space on the Theatre map, or if it fails it’s Red road die roll, then it is eliminated.