Simultaneous Movement Systems all require a period during which each unit's orders are either written or mapped out. The time required for this procedure may, in some instances, be quite lengthy: first, perhaps due to the sheer number of units involved, and second because of the need to intensively analyze all available options due to an impending "crunch" between both sides. The method presented here shortens the order writing period to the barest minimum, since units are not specifically told WHAT to do, but merely WHEN they should act. The following procedures are oriented towards Napoleonics; other periods may be adapted from those given. THE PHASES Each turn is divided into 3 phases, (a), (b) and (c). An infantry unit, during a complete turn, may perform one action during one of the 3 phases. It may, for example, move, or fire, or fall back during Phase (b). A light cavalry unit, in contrast, may perform an action in each of the 3 phases. The various types of units, together with their phase limitations, are listed below: Unit Type Number of Phases Infantry 1 Unlimbered Artillery 1 Limbered Artillery 2 Heavy Cavalry 2 Light Cavalry 3 Regardless of its type, when a unit moves during any phase, it may move up to 6 inches. This basic 6 inch distance may be further modified by road or column bonuses, charge increments and so on. Thus if an infantry unit moved during Phase (b), it could have moved up to 6 inches during that phase and, at the end of the turn, it would have moved no more than 6 inches. Note, therefore, that light cavalry, by moving in all 3 phases, at 6 inches per phase, could have moved up to 18 inches. Similarly, heavy cavalry could attain a total movement per turn of 12 inches by moving in any 2 of the 3 phases. THE CHECK-OFF SHEET Each side is given a simple check-off sheet which looks like the following: UNIT MOVE 1 MOVE 2 MOVE 3 a. b. c. a. b. c a. b. c. 999th Infantry . . . 17th Hvy. Cav. . . . 20th Lt. Horse . . . Each turn, the commanding officer merely checks off those phases during which he wants particular units to act. He may, for example, on Turn 3, check Phase (b) for the 999th Light Infantry, Phases (a) and (c) for the 17th Heavy Cavalry, and Phases (a), (b) and (c) for the 20th Light Horse. Note that even though the 20th Light Horse is capable of moving on all 3 phases, not all 3 need be checked. Thus Phases (a) and (c) could be checked, with the cavalry unit immobile on Phase (b). Note also that the units are not ordered to do anything in particular. All that has been done is to specify when, i.e., on which phase, a unit will act . . . what that action will be is not written down; indeed, it is unknown at the time the phases are checked. At the commencement of the turn, therefore, all commanders note on their sheets when they want their units to perform during that turn. Since there is no order writing, the checkoff procedure is quite rapid and the actual movement and firing procedures may be started immediately. Many times a unit will have no option concerning the phase in which it must act. For example, if, at the end of Turn 4, the 20th Light Horse is bearing down on the 999th and is within contact distance, then the commander of the 999th had better check Phase (a) of Turn 5, so that the 999th can at least get off a volley before the 20th Light Horse comes crashing through. RESOLUTION OF NON-INTERACTING MOVEMENT and FIRING PROCEDURES Most of the time, units do not interact and so may carry out their functions immediately. If Phase (a) is checked for both the 77th Foot and the Guard Cuirassiers, and they are each located on their respective baselines, some 5 feet apart, then the 77th Foot commander can commence his march to the front lines just as his opposite number can direct his Cuirassiers to gallop towards the battle; neither unit will interfere with the other. Note that, having checked Phase (a) for the 77th Foot, their commander is free to do anything he wishes with his unit. He may change their facing, order them to fire, form square . . . i.e., they can perform any one function he desires during Phase (a). There is no restriction concerning prior written orders . . . there are no prior written orders. Having "reserved" Phase (a) for the 77th Foot's actions, the commander may have the 77th perform, in "free flow" style, whatever evolution he demands. At the commencement of each phase, all units on the table for which that particular phase was checked and which do not interact with any other unit may therefore be moved as desired. RESOLUTION OF INTERACTING MOVEMENT and FIRING PROCEDURES Now we come to the fun part. Assume, for example, my worthy opponent has checked Phase (a) for his elite Brobdingian Guard Infantry, which are only 6 inches from my gallant Wheaton Militia: "I have checked Phase (a) for the Brobdingian Guards," he says, "and they are going to fire and blast your militia." "Aha!" I cry, "I, too, have checked Phase (a) for the heroes of the Wheaton Militia, and they are going to hop over the wall immediately at their backs and seek shelter before your clumsy Brobdingians can even press the triggers on their muskets." My opponent and I glare at each other. One can immediately note that the easy "free flow" of unit action has come to an abrupt halt. Another example: It is Phase (b) and my opponent declares: "I have checked Phase (b) for my Cuirassiers and they are less than a charge move from the flank of your 77th Foot. They are charging to contact and shall show no mercy in completely pulverizing your miserable 77th." "Not so," I reply, "I have cleverly reserved movement for my stalwart 77th by checking Phase (b), and they are obviously going to form square and repulse your hulking Cuirassiers." Once again the air is blue with electricity. The above two examples are typical of what might occur with interacting units. The problem, of course stems from the fact that, since there are no written prior orders, it appears that I can react to my opponent's orders and mutter, "Well, if you do that, I'm doing this!!" and my opponent, in turn, may decide, "Well, since you're doing that, I've changed my mind and I'm now doing this!!" The problem is easily resolved, however, by instituting a simple series of checks and balances in the number of options available to each side. First, prior to each turn, both sides dice; the commander with the higher number is termed Red, the lower Blue. On each phase of that turn, Red will be the one to declare first, for each of his interacting units, what that unit may do. He may list several options, making each one conditional upon the response of Blue. Having heard what Red might intend, Blue now states the action to be taken by his unit in response to each of Red's choices. With both sides having voiced their options, Red now states specifically what his unit will do. Both sides are thus locked into the action sequence and any resultant firing or melee is accordingly resolved with the aid of the Situation Chart, described below. Red's selection immediately activates Blue's declared response. Example 1. Consider the following situation. Blue's 10th Infantry are behind a waist high stone wall, the entire unit, according to Blue, ducking down and hidden from the sight of Red's advancing 999th Infantry which are some 6 inches from the wall. Red first states his options for the 999th: Red 1. " I may charge the cowardly 10th who are cringing behind the wall." Red 2. "Or, if the men of the 10th dare to raise their heads, l may fire." Blue replies for the 10th Infantry: Blue 1. "If the 999th charges, my 10th will rise up and fire." Blue 2. "In fact, the 10th shall rise and fire regardless of what those milksops in the 999th shall do." Red, now knowing of Blue's response to his proposed actions, makes his choice: "Charge!" and the 999th surges forward, the 10th rises and blasts away at them and the 2 units engage in hand-to-hand combat. Example 2. The above example is a straight forward one; there were no surprises on either side and the actions of Red and Blue were both logical and unhesitating. But picture a situation wherein Blue's Hussar's are bearing down on Red's unformed light infantry, the 77th, in skirmish order in a village courtyard. Red, having previously checked the appropriate phase, declares his options: Red 1. "I may form square with the 77th." Red 2. "The 77th may dash into the village houses, evading the charge." Red 3. "The 77th may form into line and fire. " Blue, now fully informed of Red's 3 possible actions, states: Blue 1. "If you form square I will not charge but will move off." Blue 2. "If the 77th attempts to run to shelter in the houses, I shall charge." Blue 3. "If the 77th attempts to form line and fire, I shall charge." Blue's responses are considered by Red, and Red chooses to have the 77th make for shelter in the village houses. Blue now charges, and the critical issue is: can the men of the 77th reach shelter before the Hussars come amongest them? Resolution of this type of question comes about by use of the Situation Chart. USE OF THE SITUATION CHART FOR INTERACTING UNITS When one unit moves and the opposing unit either fires or tries to advance to contact, the questions arise: at what point during the move will the fire take place, or at what point will the contact, if any, take place? Consider Example 1, wherein the Red 999th is charging the Blue 10th. Reference to the Situation Chart and cross indexing the Column "X ADVANCING TO CONTACT" for Red, and "Y FIRES" for Blue, shows that there are 3 possibilities. Blue's response is a function of his unit, the 10th's, morale. Assume that the 10th's present morale level is 80%. Throwing the dice, Blue scores an 89. This is higher than the 10th's morale level and according to item (c) in the table, Blue will flee before the charge of the 999th. In Example 2, Red's 77th are attempting to FALL BACK TO COVER before Blue's Hussars ADVANCING TO CONTACT. Cross indexing these two factors, we again see that the 77th's response is a function of its morale. Assume the 77th morale is presently 90% Red throws the dice and obtains an 18. This falls uncle; item (1a) . . . One quarter of the morale level is 22% and 18 is less than this . . . hence the men of the 77th have successfully made it to shelter and peer out at the Hussars storming past. The Situation Chart also covers such basic configurations as that previously given, wherein the Brobdingian Guard was firing during the time that the target unit, the Wheaton Militia, was attempting to jump over and seek cover behind a stone wall. Cross indexing the X FIRES column with the row titled Y FALLS BACK TO COVER, it is seen that the result is a function of the militia's morale level. Assume the Wheaton Militia has a 60% morale factor; the dice are thrown; 43 results, falling between the full morale value of 60 and the halfway mark of 30. The Chart, therefore, on item (b), indicates that the Militia didn't quite make it; they were fired at with a "cover modifier one grade less than that sought." Thus if they were dashing behind hard cover, the Guards would loose a volley at them using a firing modifier appropriate for soft cover. SUMMARY Note that the procedures outlined here allow for no unexpected confrontations, no disgruntled and dissatisfied participants. Once having won the initial dice throw, Red MUST specifically state his possible options. Blue MUST answer each of Red's choices with an appropriate response. The ball then goes back to Red's court and he must choose one of the options he previously listed . . . Red cannot, at this time, decide upon a course of action he did not describe before. Once the parties have decided upon their respective functions, the Situation Chart comes into play and arbitrates the resultant outcome. It tells if troops run or flee, if a contact is made, and where firing takes place. The phased movement system coupled with resolution of interacting unit response by means of the Situation Chart provides an exceedingly rapid method of implementing simultaneous movement. The check-off procedure, during which the gamer decides on which phases he wishes his units to act, rarely takes more than a minute, as contrasted with the 5 to 10 minute order-writing periods necessitated by the usual simultaneous movement. Phased movement itself provides an additional advantage over normal simultaneous movement. Once a unit's orders are written out prior to movement, in the regular manner for simultaneous movement that unit is obligated to perform in the manner designated. Thus, assume we have a cavalry unit ordered to charge, from the maximum permissible distance, an infantry unit. Assume, also, that the infantry unit commander, sensing the danger, ordered it to form square. The charge of the cavalry and the formation change of the infantry therefore occur simultaneously. Most rules provide for some sort of calculation, taking into account the charge distance, determining whether or not the infantry successfully formed square . . . but whether they did or not, the cavalry will always complete the charge and close to contact... there is no provision for an "abort". Now assume, in the phased movement system, that the cavalry commence their long charge in Phase (a) noting that the infantry form square in the same phase just as the charge begins. How much more satisfying -- and realistic -- is it to then permit the cavalry commander, seeing his target formed into an impregnable defensive posture, to turn his unit aside in Phase (b) or (c) and shy from contact. In short, what phased movement does is to permit the faster moving units to react to the actions of the slower moving ones. The more rapid response units thus get a chance to size up the situation and react accordingly . . . they are not locked in to an illogical procedure. The techniques described above have been especially adoptable to skirmish gaming using a one-to-one scale. Here, 4 phases are used, with movement/action checked off dependent upon the character's ability. Thus an Expert could function on all 4 phases, an Average individual could check-off 3 out of 4, while a Recruit being all thumbs, would have only 2 out of 4 phases available. Situation Chart (150K) More Phased Movement Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. 1 #6 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1980 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