Napoleonic Rules

2mm Scale

Reviewed by Norm McLeod

By Peter Dennis and Cliff Knight in association with George Jeffrey, published by Hard Cover Designs, Fieldhead, Nottinghamshire, England. American distribution by Howard Whitehouse Apartment G1, Amberidge Apartments, 11031 Scott Boulevard, Decatur, GA 30030; $3 postpaid (contininetal U.S.). 22 pages in a small-format. Nine line drawings of play aids and examples of play. Above-average paper and print job. Thick card play sheet included.

This rules booklet is an attempt to put the variable-length-bound and certain other ideas of George Jeffrey into a format that can be more usefully accessed by other wargamers. As such, the variable-length-bound does not take the center stage that it did in George's articles in the miniatures gaming press.

The authors recommend 2mm blocks at a ground scale of 1:8000 (i.e., 1 mm = 8 meters), although all necessary information is given for using 6mm figures at a scale of 1:4000. To give you, an idea of what this means, at 1:8000 a 5mile-by-10-mille battlefield would require 40 inches by 78 inches; a field the size of Waterloo would be 2 feet by 4 feet. Playing pieces or figures must be organized down to the infantry half-battalion/cavalry squadron/artillery section (2 guns) level, but the brigade is usually the lowest indivisible level of command/combat. Players should command at least a division and preferably a corps. Movement is in 10-minute increments, with infantry averaging around 600 meters per increment and cavalry around 1,000. Written orders are required for movement and actions. A dialogue system is used to expedite play and determine the points at which to 'update' thee gametime:

Once orders have been written... players must explain their movements to their opponent. [They] compare the movements and actions of their forces so that the next change of situation can be found, When it is found, troops are moved into position and their movement is timed. This gives the length of the bound and other units... are moved for the same length of game time. [p. 61.

Tactical engagements are resolved by comparing Combat Values (typical initial Value for line infantry is 8 per half-battalion) after modifying them for artiller yfire, cover and flanks. This comparison tells the player which 'Band' (Al through E; plus R for automtic rout) to use on the Combat Results Table. The possible results on this table, obtained from a pair of percentage dice, are Lower Combat Value Routs, Higher Combat Value Routs; 10-, 20-, and 40-minute Engagement. If an engagement is the result, a second dice throw is made at the end of the engagement to determine which side breaks. Loss in men and loss in Combat Value are separate calculations. When a unit is reduced to Zero Combat Value, it must rest for eight full hours before fightin gagain; otherwise, units may recover 3 CVpqints per hour of rest. Artillery fire causes temporary CV loss as well as loss in men.

However, the heart of these rules is command control. I he key table in the rules is the one which lists the ten actions that are considered to be "a change of situation" (COS) because new orders may be sent only due to a change of situation. The sending of orders is timed, the time depending on the distance involved, the number of command levels involved, and a chance factor. If the COS is not visible to a commanders he cannot react to it until sufficient time has elapsed for a messenger to have arrived.

These rules are a heroic effort to impose order and system upon a theory of play that is essentially free form They are done in a readable style that I found 'to strike an excellent balance between "not enough" and "too much". As the authors say, "Players should not seek an answer to every conceivable situation in this slim set of rules... (and] a satisfactory body of [House] case law will soon build up..."

However, the booklet fails to resolve the problems I encountered six years ago when I tried to incorporate some of George Jeffrey's ideas into my then current grand tactical playing systems. This, by the way, from someone who knows and likes George, and admires the nuts-and-bolts tactical research that he has done. The most concrete of these problems is tedious preparation (you are going to have to label, in some clear fashion, a hundred or more counters or trays per side perg ame) and excessive bookkeeping. Next in the problem of updating different parts of the battlefield so that they are at least periodically in sync. (The best way I have found is to leave bits of paper all over the battlefield showing current time for the various minitheaters but this is far from perfect.)

With time and practice, these problems can probably be accommodated if not solved. However, there are philosophical problems that are true reasons why I personally have given up on George's system - and to which this booklet offers no magic solutions.

First, the system attempts to simulate a battle at too many levels. The highly tactical nature of the movement and combats ystem draws player attention away from the command control issues on which battles of is size should hinge.

Second, in my own play I have found that this system simulates "dialogue" more than the quality of plans and orders. In other words, becoming proficient at dialogue - and I'm not talking here about gamesmanship - is a bigger key to success than a good plan. (This was a key problem, by the way, at a demonstration game run by George himself at an Origins six or seven years ago).

In summary, the authors state that "Players... are bound to find the idea of 'glossing over the minor tactical fighting... rather hard to get used to." This Is certainly true; I have found that about half of my gaming partners are not interested in abandoning 'traditional' tactical concepts in order to fight a larger-scale engagement. However, this system as it stands does not do enough glossing over. Yet that conclusion begs a question with which I still grapple. Can systems based on miniatures concepts ever be as successful at Napoleonic grand tactics as a good board game? I am beginning to think not, and this booklet has now shown anything to the contrary.

Recommendation: If you are interested by George Jeffreys ideas and articles, I would invest $3 in this booklet, which if nothing else translates his ideas into nuts-and-bolts game rules. if the idea of playing a miniaturesstyle game using wooden blocks or sub-miniature figures appeals to you again, I say invest $3; you will-at least find food for thought worth that modest price. However, if you have not read any of George's articles, this booklet will be of little value to you. Similarly, if you have made the understandable decision to keep your miniatures gaming tactical in nature,. these rules will hold little or no interest for you.

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