CONCEPT PLM is a morale game; individual figures within a unit are not removed from the field. Only when a unit has failed morale tests or lost NCOs equal to the number of stands in the unit (max of 8, min of 3), is it taken off the field. Large Illustration (slow: 153K) PLM is a tactical game. The maneuver element is the infantry battalion, the cavalry regiment, the artillery stand, and the legion. Each of these elements is termed a unit. General officers can assist in melee and morale tests but put themselves at risk by doing so. During the bound, certain units on the non-phasing side may attempt an out-of-sequence preemptive action (fire or charge) before the phasing unit can move or fire. The thought here is that the non-phasing commander, in "seeing movement" within the enemy ranks, may be quick enough in his response to have his own units react before those of the active commander. Built-up areas are broken up into "town-blocks", each measuring 6" by 6". Only a single unit can occupy a block at a time. When an infantry unit enters a town, it changes to 2 ranks of 3-stands each, and it will occupy only one block at a time. The number of blocks within a town should be determined before the battle commences. All blocks must be cleared of enemy troops for a town to be captured. A. SEQUENCE 1. The sequence is governed by rolling a D10 which denotes the number of actions each unit on the active side may take. When a contact is made, a Melee Card Deck, is called upon to determine the reactions of the involved units. 2. On his half of the turn, the phasing player, i.e., the active side, rolls a die and acts accordingly. 3. A D10 is thrown to determine the number of actions available. 1-3: Active side (A) performs 2 actions 4-7: Active side (A) performs 3 actions 8-10: Active side (A) performs 4 actions 4. If a 1 - 3 is thrown (2 actions), the non-phasing side, (P), has a chance to react to the actions of the active side's (A's) units. As A points to each of his units, P decides which of his own units will attempt such an action (see Section E.7, Officers) a. A unit is permitted one such attempt per roll. b. A side is permitted one such attempt per opposing unit. c. The action is offensive; infantry and artillery may fire, while cavalry may charge. d. If the active side's unit can initially be "seen", then B's action is preemptive; his unit acts before A's. e. If Side A's unit cannot initially be seen, but can be seen after it acts (such as emerging from woods), then Side B's unit can react. f. For preemptive actions: (i)P fires at A. If A passes a morale test, its unit moves or fires as normal. If it fails, it suffers the normal penalties and is immobile for that roll, i.e., it has forfeited its movement. (ii)P contacts A. The melee is resolved immediately. If A is forced to fall back, it remains immobile for the roll, i.e., it has forfeited its movement. If A wins, however, it may now move as normal. 5. An "action" consists of one of the following procedures: Load weapon/Fire weapon Move standard distance/Turn 90 or 180 degrees Change formation 6. Light Infantry, Cavalry, and Skirmishers a. All three types of units have the capability of evading contact. Light infantry may evade regular infantry; cavalry may evade any infantry; skirmishers may evade any. b. If the appropriate unit evades, it must move back the full distance indicated on the action card of the unit that attempted to make contact. c. Note that this evasive move is not confined to the play of a 2 Action roll result; it may be performed anytime. d. Skirmishers are represented by placing up to two inches between each stand. e. All line battalions, to include regular Loyalists and Continentals may not skirmish. Converged lights, jaegers, militia, legion foot, all cav can skirmish. Certain unitscould also be designated as able to skirmish depending on the situation or campaign. B. MOVEMENT 1. The standard movement per "action" are: Infantry 3 inches in line/4 if in column Cavalry 6 inches in line/8 if in column Artillery 1 inch unlimbered /3 if limbered 2. Change of formation: 25% per increment if A/B class troops, 20% per increment if C/D troops, and 15% per increment if E/F troops, cumulative. If the attempt is not successful, the unit is immobile and the formation change must be attempted anew on the next turn. Interpenetration: Permitted if both units perform no other actions that turn and one of the units remain stationary. Skirmishers moving through stationary non-skirmishers and vice versa allows both units to perform other actions. Turns: Units in a line that turn 90 degrees end up in a column. Units in a column which turn 90 degrees stay in a column unless they roll to "expand" into a line. Oblique: Units can move obliquely, 45 degrees to either side at the cost of 2 inches per one inch move. Retrograde: Units can retrograde move at the same cost as moving obliquely. 3. Firing: The firing sequence is FIRE/LOAD/FIRE/LOAD. Thus with 3 or 4 actions, the active unit may fire twice with a musket. There is an "automatic" LOAD between die rolls, hence no record need be kept of a unit's firing status. Rifle firing sequence is FIRE/LOAD/LOAD/FIRE. When premptive action is taken on an opponent's 2 action die roll, the preemptive unit is given a single action, hence infantry can fire once. 4. Rough terrain: Neither cavalry nor artillery can enter woods. Units in column of march and deployed light infantry and skirmishers suffer no terrain penalties. <%-2>All other deployed units have a 70% chance to pass through rough terrain unimpeded. <%-2>Passing through a combination of hilly, wooded terrain will call for two "70%" checks... one for the woods, one for the hills. The 70% test applies to both uphill and downhill movement. 5. Built-up areas: The 70% test (above) does not apply to built-up areas or villages. Only 1 unit is permitted in a block. Infantry must be in 2 ranks of 3-stands each. Movement inside the area is fluid; units are placed as desired. C. PRE-EMPTION AND REACTION 1. This occurs only when one side, the active side, rolls for 2 actions. As the active side points to a unit, the reacting side designates one of its eligible units that will attempt such a pre-emptive action. The only permitted actions are: Infantry: A regiment may fire once with a single volley. It may not move nor change formation, hence the target must be within its arc of fire. Artillery: If facing properly, guns may fire once. The guns cannot pivot or change formation, hence the target must be within their arc of fire. Cavalry: A squadron may charge a distance of 12 inches to close with its target unit. The unit must be deployed and may not change face more than 45 degrees when charging home. The charging unit must pass any applicable terrain tests. 2. For preemptive action, as the active side, A, points to each of his units, the preempting side, P, decides which of his own units will attempt a preemptive action (see Section F, Generals and Units) a. A unit is permitted one preemptive attempt per roll. b. A side is permitted one preemptive attempt per opposing unit. c. The preempting action is offensive; infantry and artillery may fire, while cavalry may charge. (i)P fires at A. If A passes a morale test, its unit moves or fires as normal. If it fails, it suffers the normal penalties and is immobile for that card, i.e., it has forfeited its movement. (ii)P contacts A. The melee is resolved immediately. If A is forced to fall back, it remains immobile for the card, i.e., it has forfeited its movement. If A wins, however, it may now move as normal. 3. To be eligible for preemptive action, the preempting unit must be in position to "see" the prompting unit before any action occurs. Note that the preemptive action can be taken against any target unit. 4. If the prompting unit cannot be seen before it acts, then a reaction is permitted the opposition after the unit acts if the unit can then be seen. 5. When the opposing side rolls only 2 actions, the chance to preempt with a unit is a function of its base morale grade: Morale Grade of Unit Chance to Preempt F 40% E 50% D 60% C 70% B 80% A 90% If the attempt to pre-empt is not successful, there is no penalty. D. FIRING 1. An infantry unit in column may not fire. Skirmishers fire as other infantry. Firing arc is 30 degrees off the end stand of each unit. Units must fire at the same target unless charged by multiple units and pull a "defender fires" melee card (see Section G.13) 2. Target "casualties" caused by a volley are noted by a momentary decrease in unit morale. The decrement to the target unit's morale level is a function of three factors: Number of volleys, V; Range to target, R (ten's digit of range measurement); Number of stands firing N. 3. For musketry, the Fire Effect, i.e., the decrease in target morale, is: FE (Fire Effect)= N x V x r NOTE: r =(3 - R) if muskets; (4 - R) if rifles; (2 - R) if carbines; 4. Artillery fire follows the guidelines for musketry. Arc of fire is 30 degrees off of each corner. When a cannon fires, each figure on the base is counted toward "N". Additionally, the Range Factor, R, is increased for artillery fire to (5-R). 5. Modifiers: The following targets, if fired upon, test morale with a +10% modifier (these are cumulative): The target is in cover The target is an artillery unit The target is in skirmish order. A target tests morale with a -10% modifier if it is flanked. A target inside a substantial structure like a brick house, fortification, etc, it tests with a +25%. 6. The fire effect on a target is NOT cumulative; the target must test its morale, each turn, every time it is fired upon. 7. Figures are not removed; "casualties" are noted - only when the target unit fails its morale check - by placing a permanent marker beside the unit. 8. Artillery Gap Rule: Overhead firing is not permitted. Additionally, if the Line Of Sight (LOS) to the target from an artillery piece is less than 5 inches from a friendly unit, there is the chance that the shot will impact upon the friendly unit rather than the target. If D is the distance from the friendly unit to the LOS: Chance to impact upon friendly unit = 20(5 - D) 9. Firing from/to towns: Towns are defined as consisting of town-blocks, each measuring 6" by 6". a. An infantry unit within a town must be in a single block, and is always placed in 2 ranks of 3-stand each. It may fire from only one face of the town on each action card. Only the front 3 stands may fire. b. The unit in the town has fluid movement and may fire from different faces (town-blocks) on subsequent action cards. Actual movement is not necessary; the unit is simply moved from block to block as desired. c. Each time a unit fires from the town, all of its stands are moved to the face from which it fires. It then becomes a specific target, under cover, at which enemy fire may be directed. d. A unit outside the town may not fire at a target unit within the town if the target does not occupy the edge of the town facing the firing unit. e. During the melee phase which is triggered when opposing units occupy a town, units that are fired on will be considered as being under cover. 10. Units in woods can fire on each other if the range is 3" or less. A unit outside can only fire at a unit inside if at 3" or the target occupies the edge of the woods and can fire out. 11. Ammo: The ammunition supply of each gun is diced for: 01 to 33 = 6 rounds; 34 to 66 = 8 rounds; 67 to 100= 10 rounds E. MORALE 1. Units will test morale when: a. Mandated by the Melee Deck b. Fired upon 2. Units are assigned one of six basic Morale Grades (MG): A 100% B 90% C 80% D 70% E 60% F 50% 3. When testing unit morale, the ML (Morale Level) accounts for: MG, Morale Grade ; M , Permanent Markers; FE, Fire Effect; OA, General Officer or NCO Assistance; D, Distance from Command Stand. ML = MG - (10 x M) - FE - D + OA 5. Modifier. If attacked and meleed in the flank, in column or if not armed with bayonets, a unit's ML is halved when calculating melee results and effects. 6. All units on the field are assumed to always be in good order, i.e., there is no formation for disorder. 7. Result: A unit failing a morale test will do the following: a. It will fall back, 12 inches, in good order. b. It will face the enemy. c. It will form column of march. d. It will receive a permanent marker. e. Artillery crews fall back 12 inches leaving guns behind. 5. A unit will disintegrate, i.e., flee the field, when it receives markers equal to the number of combat stands. Artillery takes 3 markers and no unit can take less than 2 or more than 8. 6. NCO: The unit's amorphous NCO can contribute up to 20% when assisting morale. The "risk" is equal to the number of points allocated. If "blown", the unit receives a marker but is not assumed to have failed a morale test. Thus it is possible to pass the morale test and still take a marker if the NCO was used to boost morale and failed the risk roll. Regiments with two battalions (almost always German or French units) have NCOs with each battalion. The Regimental command stand can be with both if each is operating together. Should one detach, the <%-2>command stand can only be with one (or neither) battalion. The distance between the command stand and one or both battalions is D. 7. General Officer contributes up to 20 percentage points to assist a unit in his brigade in testing morale. The C inC can contribute to any unit's testing morale. Only one Officer can assist at any one time. This will place the Officer at risk for the number of the points allocated. General Officers can add their total along with any NCO when boosting morale. However, each "risk" roll is seperate. When a General Officer blows a risk roll, consult the Leader Risk table. 8. If a brigade has no general officer, when testing morale, it must deduct both the distance from the command stand and 10 percent. If the army has no CinC, it must deduct 20 percent. Units do not add both the CinC and brigade general officer together, only the worst one applies. 9. Legions made up of more than one arm may seperate without negative modifiers as long as an officer in each arm is still alive. 10. Return to board: Units called upon to fall back and that leave the board doing so can come back on if they roll their morale level, minus any permament markers or loss of General Officer modifiers. F. GENERAL OFFICERS & UNITS 1. Each army has a CinC and may have brigadier officers depending on scenario or campaign setup. They are represented by a mounted figure. 2. General officers assist units in two ways a. When testing morale. This places the Officer at risk. b. When assisting the unit in combat. This places the Officer at risk. 3. Brigadier generals can only assist units in their brigades. The C inC can assist any unit on the field. A General Officer can assist by allocating up to 20 percentage points to that unit but runs a risk equal to the number of points given. 4. As long as he lives, a General Officer always has 20 percentage points available, and there is no limit to the number of times an Officer figure may assist his units. Each time assistance is given, a test is immediately made to see if the Officer must consult the risk table, and if the Officer is killed, he cannot help in subsequent tests. Tests are sequential. GENERAL OFFICER RISK TABLE Die Roll Result 1: Near Miss Officer wets pants 2-3: Flesh Wound Roll 3 dice, 10+ no effect; otherwise, General retreats 12" no move for 1 turn. 4-5: Limb Wound Roll 2 dice, same as above except can't move for 2 turns. 6-7: Serious Wound Roll 1 dice, same as above except can't move for 3 turns. If in melee, roll 1 die with a 1-5 indicating capture. 8-9: Near Fatal WoundRoll 1 dice, 1-5 instant death, otherwise retire off battlefield unless in melee then is captured. 10: Fatal Wound General officer dies immediately. 6. A Commanding Officer has a total of 50 Victory Points (VP) with which he may attempt to stave off the defeat of his entire force (see Section H). Each time he uses a number of VP, they are subtracted from the total available. Commanding Officers cannot help individual units. G. MELEE 1. Artillery crews manning their guns will not engage in melee, but will fall back 12 inches when a "Resolve Melee" Card is drawn as described below. Until then, as each card in the Melee Deck is drawn, the involved gun may fire, test morale, etc. When the "Resolve Melee" Card appears, all artillerists in the battery will retreat, leaving their guns behind. As it retreats, the artillery crew receives a marker. Captured artillery can be fired (if ammo remains) by detaching one stand of figures to man the gun. 2.In melee, the effect on the opposing unit, denoted by E, is to decrease its Morale Grade (count each stand in contact plus one on either side if overlapping): UNIT TYPE MELEE EFFECT (E) Infantry 2% per stand Lt Cavalry 1% per stand Hvy Cavalry 0% per stand 3. When a unit charges, only the unit in front, the lead unit, will actually engage in combat, but it will be considered to have an advantage for each supporting unit located behind it. Note that a supporting unit does not decrement the opponent's Morale Grade, but increases its own lead unit's Morale Grade by 10%. 4. When contact is made, the Melee Deck is used to determine the reactions of the involved units. Here, the units may fire, test morale, etc. When a Melee card is drawn, melee takes place in two phases: a. Determination of markers received by each unit. b. Determination of post-melee action. 5. In the first phase, to determine the number of markers received, compute the lead unit's Morale Level (ML): ML = MG - (10 x M) - E + OA+ (10 x A) Where: MG Unit's Morale Grade M No of markers E Effect of opposing units OA Officer AssistPoints added by Officer (20 max) A Advantages/Disadvantages (incl. effect of supports) MARKER DETERMINATION Roll 2D10 if result is: Greater than ML Receive 2 markers 1/2 ML to ML Receive 1 marker less than 1/2 ML No markers 6. Units within 4 inches behind and in an arc corresponding to the firing arc can support a melee. The first designated unit on each side has a 70% chance to advance and line up behind the lead. a. Designated units must be deployed and must be facing its lead unit. b. The second designated units on each side have a 60% chance of advancing; the third has 50%, and so on. If a unit fails to move, it may try again at a lesser percentage although a single unit cannot try more than twice. c. All advances are free of terrain penalties. d. Supporting units are placed directly behind the lead units. 7. After the first phase is resolved, the second begins and each unit tests for post-melee reaction. The ML of each unit is computed, using the markers, if any, received during the first phase: POST-MELEE REACTION Roll 2D10, if result is: Greater than ML: Fall back 12 inches, facing, and form column. If unit was supported, supporting units may not move. 1/2 ML to ML: Hold in place. If contactis maintained, resolve melee. Supports do not move. Less than 1/2 ML: Hold in place. Lead unit may exchange places with its support. If contact is maintained, resolve melee. If all opposing units fall back and lead unit is cavalry, or cavalry is adjacent, the cavalry may pursue. This includes supporting cavalry. 8. Note that if a unit is flanked, caught in column, or not equipped with bayonets, it may engage in melee, but the ML remains halved for all melee computations. 9. There is a maximum of two rounds of melee. If at the end of the second round, both units hold, then both will fall back 3 inches, facing. 10. Pursuit by cavalry: Note that only cavalry may pursue; infantry will hold after melee. The cavalry may move forward 12 inches to contact a unit. The advance should deviate no more than one stand width to either side. Contact with a unit that has just fallen back is considered a new melee. If contact is made with a different unit, the unit must test its reaction by testing as in Step 11, below. 11. When contacted by pursuing cavalry, the reaction of a newly contacted unit (not one that has just been defeated) will be: Roll 2D10, If result is: Greater than ML Stand 1/2ML to ML Deploy as desired Less than 1/2 ML Deploy as desired and fire 12. Note that a preemptory charge resulting in a melee uses the Melee Deck as in a regular melee. 13. The Melee Deck consists of 10 cards: Attacker fires 1 card Defender fires 3 cards Defender test morale 1 card Attacker test morale 1 card Resolve Melee 4 cards 14. When a "Defender fires" card is drawn, a unit caught in column, or in the flank or rear, cannot fire. 15. Combat in built-up areas or towns. a. Towns are divided into town blocks. A town block is defined as a 6 inch by 6 inch area. Only a single unit may exist in a block at any time. To win a town, the enemy must be driven from all its blocks. b. An enemy unit entering the town will not make contact with a town's occupants until it enters the same block. c. If, during melee, a Fire card is drawn from the Melee Deck, all stands may fire (if the unit is deployed). H. VICTORY CONDITIONS 1. For each side, tally the following: B Value of each inf. btn C Value ofeach cav. regt G Value of each arty. std S= B + C + G Legions count each component arm as seperate units. French regiments count double. 2. The value of each infantry regiment is dependent on its morale grade. Morale Grade Value F 1 D,E 2 B,C 3 A 4 3. When the number of markers accumulated by a side equals the sum S, there is a 60% chance that the entire force leaves the field, defeated. 4. The C in C may utilize some or all of his 50 Victory Point total to lower the probability of defeat. Each time he does so, his available point total decreases by the amount allocated. 5. If the side fights on, then for every marker received thereafter, 10% is added to the probability of defeat, and an immediate test is taken except that a unit which receives two markers at the same time (blows both a morale and an NCO roll), while over the limit, makes only one roll but counts both into the probability of defeat. I. ORGANIZATION 1. The Americans. Infantry regiments consist of 5 stands of three figures each. One of these stands represents the light infantry company. The regiment also has one stand of three figures as its "command", hence a total of 18 figures are needed per regiment. Cavalry squadrons representing the four Dragoon Regiments can run any size since unit strength flucuated wildly during the war. "Paper" strength, however, would be 7 stands of two figures each. You can mix in command figures amongst the 14 of the unit since all will fight unlike those in an infantry regiment. Legions also varied in strength and initial composition. "Paper" strengths are given. Add one stand of 3 infantry to each for a command stand but consider this integral to the cavalry arm of each legion. Pulaski's Legion 3 stands of 3 infantry 5 stands of 2 cavalry one 3# gun with 2 crew Armand's Legion 3 stands of 3 infantry 3 stands of 2 cavalry. Lee's Legion 3 stands of 3 infantry 4 stands of 2 cavalry. Artillery 3/4 pounders 2 figures per base 6/8 pounders 3 figures per base 12 pounders 4 figures per base. Light infantry stands can be stripped from the parent regiment to form independent battalions. 5 stands of three figures are needed, hence five regiments can form one regiment of light infantry. A 3 figure command stand is also needed. 2. The British Infantry regiments are just like American except that an additional stand of 3 figures is needed to represent the grenadier company. Regular Loyalist regiments (not militia) are also organized this way. Two dragoon regiments served in North America, the 16th and 17th. Each should be organized like its American counterpart (with command figures mixed in and able to fight). >Only two "legion-like" British units will be mentioned, the Queens Rangers and the British Legion, although others existed. A 3 figure command stand is needed for the infantry arms, mix them in with the cavalry arm. Queens Rangers 4 stands of 3 line 1 stand of 3 lights 1 stand of 3 grenadier 1 stand of 3 Highland 5 stands of 2 cavalry 3 # with a 2 crew British Legion 4 stands of 3 infantry 7 stands of 2 cavalry. Artillery as Americans Light and grenadier companies were taken from the parent regiment to form elite battalions. The same requirements as listed for American light regiments apply here except that it takes six battalions' elites to form one light infantry or grenadier regiment. Stripping the elite battalions reduces the parent line regiment to "E" Class. The 3 British Guards regiments were somewhat smaller than standard line battalions. Each should have a 3 figure command stand plus three stands of three figures each. 3. The Germans Each German regiment consists of two battalions each having 3 stands of three figures for the line troops and 1 stand of three figures for the grenadier companies. The latter were often stripped away and it takes 4 regiments to form 1 battalion of converged grenadiers. Don't forget to include one three figure command stand. Like the British, the parent line regiment reverts to "E" Class morale if its elites are stripped. Artillery is identical to American and British entries. Include 1 stand of three figures per German regiment as its Jaeger detachment. The Hesse-Cassal Jaeger Corp 6 stands of 3 rifles 3 stands of 2 cavalry. 4. The French Infantry regiments consisted of two battalions each having 5 stands of 3 figures. The first battalion also has a grenadier company which consists of 1 stand of 3 figures. The second battalion has a chasseur company (light infantry) which is 1 stand of 3 figures. The French did not strip the elite companies to form seperate battalions like the British but could be if you had enough regiments (6 would form one battalion of grenadiers and one of chaessers). The parent regiment would revert to "E" class. Artillery is identical to the others. Two French artillery regiments, the Auxone and the Metz, served in North America. Each consists of three 6pndr, two 8pndr, and one 12pndr with appropriate crew for each gun. Luzon's Legion 6 stands of 2 infantry 8 stands of 2 cavalry 1 4# with 2 crew. 5. Militia The Militia can be any size but recommend regiments no larger than 8 stands of three figures each. Smaller units should consist of rifles. MORALE GRADES A British Guards B All converged Grenadier regts, British Fusiliers/ Marines, 42nd & 71st Highlanders, Lauzon's Legion infantry, Haslet's (Hall's) Deleware Regt. C All converged light inf., rangers, Continental and Brit dragoon regts, all Legions (except Armand's) all artillery, Crack Continental regts, German Fusiliers, Jaegers. D French, British, German regts with elites present regular Continental regts, elite militia cavalry. E French, British, German regts without elites, elite militia inf., militia arty and ordinary militia cav. F Ordinary militia, Indians. Related The Southern Campaign of the American Revolution: Part II Uniforms of the Southern Campaign What Happened to AWI Commanders Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #67 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com