The La Bataille Forum

Artillery Ammunition Wagons

by Ed Wimble

Several people greeted the inclusion of the Artillery Ammunition Wagons in Lutzen with less than enthusiasm; treating their arrival as unnecessary detail added to one of the few straight forward procedures in the game; artillery resupply. In a sense I agree with them.

On the other hand, I think using them to mark expended rounds of ammunition a lot less complicated than having to use markers beneath or above the batteries themselves, or creating roster sheets. And the ability they give the player, to concentrate an artillery ammunition reserve, really adds a new dimension to the game. I think the biggest problem players have with them is the way they cramp, rather than "clutter" the battlefield. There is little enough room already afforded the combat units of a brigade/division by its leader's command span than to have to take the AAWs into their calculations too. In fact, accommodating them can be a real distraction, sometimes to the detriment of the brigade's performance. In order to alleviate this "cramping" I think it necessary to take them a little less seriously with regard to their "in and out of command" status. After all, it was their job to keep up with the brigades and batteries, not the other way around (players being forced to consider where they should be positioned when, in fact, the AAWs took care of this on their own.) Therefore:

Solution #1:

    An AA W is considered in command if it is adjacent to any unit belonging to a particular brigade that is in com- mand, and that belongs to its same corps/line. In other words, as long as the infantry, artillery and cavalry of a brigade are within the radius of their leader, the AAW may expand that radius by merely being adjacent to the units, rather than being within the radius itself. And, since an AAW is considered in command by this proximity to an in command unit, any AA W adjacent to it is also in command (in other words, a string of in command AA Ws can be created, several hexes outside of the command radius of the leader, as long as the head of the "string " is adjacent to a unit in command).

Solution #2:

    AAWs and not subject to the command rules; i.e., they may move every turn regardless of being in or out of command. They may only move, however, when the artillery action chit is pulled.

    Procedure:

      1. The artillery action chit is pulled.
      2. All artillery fire is executed.
      3. The AA Ws belonging to the player that pulled the chit are moved.
      4. The AAWs belonging to the other side are now moved.

Players must decide prior to the start of the game which of the two solutions given above they will employ.

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