The other day I had a situation when a column of troops were marching to the relief of a garrison surrounded by hostile Indians. The garrison commander had been lucky enough to get a message through to his GHQ and a column of troops was now only a days march away, but events were about to change.

Not far from the column was a settlement under attack by another war party and the settlers had sent to the column for help. 'So what would the column commander do?' 'What would you do?'. Go and rescue the settlers or carry on with the relief of the garrison. He did neither.

Being unfamiliar with the territory he went and attacked a village of friendly Indians, leaving both the settlers and garrison to their fate. If you want to known how such a situation could be arrived at in a solo game, read on.

Play the Options

The answer is to play the options. The mechanics are fairly simple. List the options including any with a historical background, giving each a percentage. Naturally the more likely have the greater chance. Then adjust the amounts until they total a hundred. Using a set of percentage dice you can then see what orders to follow.

For example:

1 to 30	Disregards the message and carries on with there existing orders. (Going to the garrisons relief).
31 to 50	Go to the relief of the settlement under attack.
51 to 70	Split the force in half, sending one half to each location.
71 to 90	Attack the nearest Indians to the column. (Attacks a camp of friendly Indian).
91 to 100	Encamp for the night and decide what to do in the morning.

I think you will agree you might take any of the above actions. The following rules are based solely on options, which makes for a different type of game. I disregard casualties to a unit the only factor required is to know if they have won or lost. What I like about this method of play is you can adapted it to any situation. It gets a bit more difficult when using two European forces, opposing each other as the invaders option will be quite different from the defenders.

Normally an invader will disregard any villages they pass through when entering a territory, focusing on making contact with the main enemy troops. Using options, you can workout how the villagers will react: Do they try to defend the village. Destroy the bridges and crops. Run in panic or welcome the invaders as long lost brothers. The possibilities are endless. It is rather like dicing for chance cards.

ON THE WARPATH

These rules are for a colonial campaign when a European force has been garrison a native population in what is a potentially hostile area. I will use the Indian War's of the mid 18th Century as an example, although there is no reason why it should not be used in any period or location with some adjustments.

To set the scene an army garrison has been established in a area of Indian tribes and colonial settlements. Among the tribes is growing resentment at the settlers encroachment on to their land. If one of the tribes rises in revolt it could set-up a chain reaction with a general uprising.

The area commander will only take action when receiving a message from the settlers or independent commanders in the field. There are five sets of instructions, one of which will be selected at random on receiving a message. Some instructions might not seem rationale for a given situation, but they are all similar to actual events that happened during an Indian uprising.

Using a map select a number of areas as Indian territories and locations for their villages. Do the same for the European settlements. These should be scattered over the map at random in likely positions.

At the beginning of the campaign, one of the Indian villages should be selected as the first tribe to go on the warpath. This can be achieved by dealing each Indian village with a playing card with the highest card starting the uprising. The rest of the Indians will remain neutral for the present. The settlement to be raided is selected in the same manner, ignoring any that have already been destroyed. The Indians objective will be to burn the buildings and kill or drive off the settlers. After a raid the war party take a reaction test. (See Indians Reaction Test after a Raid). After each Indian raid, deal out the cards again to select a new tribe to make a raid and the settlement to be raided. Indians do not seem to have any planned strategy when going on the warpath. They might after a successful raid, attack another settlement or just go home. If they lost a fight they normally went home or would go to a neighbouring tribe for sanctuary.

Using this method there will always be one tribe or more on the warpath. The area commander will only be receiving out of date information with much chasing about the map, often the troops going in the wrong direction after the wrong Indians. This gives the campaign a strange sense of reality and some very unusual scenarios.

It can get very complex with columns of troops on one mission, coming quite by chance on Indians out on a raid or returning home. Once the game is up and running many unforeseen events can happen so if there is a problem, write out a list of the options and roll the dice. At times it is rather like being commanded by a nitwit. So anyone who has followed a military career will find it quite compatible.

INDIANS REACTION TEST AFTER A RAID

Roll the two percentage dice after any Indians have taken part in a fight regardless if they won or lost. If they failed to capture a settlement or lose a battle, add 30% to the score.

1 to 45	Go and attack the nearest European settlers or troops
46 to 90	Return to their home village and make no further raids until selected again. They are considered neutral on their way home.
91 to 100	Move to the nearest neutral Indian territory and make no further raids unless the neutral tribe join the uprising when they will accompany them.

NEUTRAL INDIANS REACTION TO TROOPS ENTERING THEIR TERRITORY

When troops enter any Indian territory, even if only marching through it to another destination, use the following test. Take no action unless attacked and will avoid contact.

1 to 50	Neutral Indians will withdraw from the immediate area of any troops, unless in their own village
51 to 100	Advance on the enemy and set an ambush. Indians that lose a fight in their own territory will retreat to the nearest friendly village.

SETTLERS UNDER ATTACK

When a settlement is attacked by Indians, the settlers main preoccupation will be survival. A settlement on being attacked will automatically send for help to the next settlement and then do their best to defend themselves. The next settlement receiving news will dispatch a courier to the nearest regular army commander where ever he might be. They will also take one of the following actions:

THE REACTION OF NEIGHBOURING SETTLERS RECEIVING A MESSAGE

1 to 5	The population evacuate the area and move to the army garrison for safety.
6 to 35	The settlement sends half the local militia to help who ever is under attack. (Returning home if they find no Indians on arrival at their destination. They will follow the same instructions as the army commander after fighting an action or happen to receive a message).
36 to 100	The population evacuate any outlying farms or building and move to defensive positions within the settlement. (There were generally one or two houses built to withstand musket fire and arson in each village to protect the population during an emergence).

MILITARY COMMANDERS RESPONSE TO A MESSAGE

When settlers are attacked the nearest regular army commander will react when receiving a message. Each independent commander, (regular or militia) can act on any of these instruction regardless of their location. Any unit operating in the field sent a fresh message will disregard the previous orders and roll the dice again for new instructions. If receiving more than one message then they will act on the last message. If receiving a message when engaged in fighting the message will be disregarded.

1 to 30	Moves directly to the sight of the attack and await developments.
31 to 45	Go and attack the hostile Indian village.
46 to 60	Attack the nearest Indians regardless if hostile or neutral.
61 to 75	Go to the nearest settlement to the attack for its defence.
76 to 100	Regards the message as a rumour and take no further action and continue to carry out their existing orders.

REACTIONS OF MILITARY COMMANDERS AFTER LOSING A BATTLE

1 to 35	Return to their main base to replace casualties and supplies.
36 to 55	Retreat to the nearest settlement in good order with all heavy equipment. Take no further action until receiving a new message.
56 to 100	Retreat to the nearest settlement in disorder and abandon all artillery and supply wagons. Take no further action until receiving a new message. Dispatch a courier to their GHQ for reinforcements.

REACTION OF MILITARY COMMAND AFTER WINNING A BATTLE

1 to 20	Returns to main base considering there is nothing more to be gained.
21 to 40	Moves to the nearest settlement and encamps until receiving a new message.
41 to 60	Attacks the closest Indian village hostile or neutral.
61 to 80	Holds his position and rests the troops. Takes no further action until receiving a new message. Fights if attacked.
81 to 100	Pursues the defeated Indians immediately.

General HeadQuarters (GHQ) RESPONSE TO A MESSAGE

If a situation arrives when a field commander requests help and there are no regular army units left in his territory, the message will go to GHQ. The GHQ is situated off the map of the campaign area and takes no part in the campaign unless contacted by the area commander. One position on the edge of the map should be selected before the game starts as the entry road for the arrival of any reinforcements. The reinforcements in the first place will march towards the position of the area commander. If receiving a message for being the nearest military force to a raid, then they will act as an independent unit under their own set of orders. (See Military Commanders Response to a Message). Make some allowance for the time it takes for new troops to arrive on the map.

1 to 30	Have no troops available.
31 to 60	Send a single company of troops.
61 to 80	Send two companies of troops.
81 to 95	Send three companies of troops.
96 to 100	Send a full battalion of troops.

NUMBER OF TROOPS

When Indians or troops leave their home base, only half the total force will leave. The rest will be kept as a defence force. When returning after receiving casualties the two units will be amalgamated. Should they leave again, they will be divided in half so the new unit will be reduced in size.

I suggest that if you have about half a dozen Indian villages then there should be at least double the number of European settlements. The regular garrison troops should be substantially stronger than any single Indian war party. Each settlement will have its own small force of militia, which will compatible to its defence. A fair ratio of figures might be one Indian to every regular. The militia, can be twice the number of regulars as they are seldom called out, so will remain largely a paper force.

COURIERS

Couriers sent from a settlement will move to the nearest military commander to deliver the message. It is presumed that the settlers hear the gunfire or see smoke from the neighbouring settlement so are able to raise the alarm. Couriers move at double speed and travel by the most direct route. The courier if encountering an enemy force on the journey has a fifty percent chance of evading capture. 1 - 50 = Caught. 51 - 100 = Evades capture.

REACTIONS OF ENEMIES HAVING CHANCE ENCOUNTERS

At times during a campaign enemy forces will have chance encounters when moving into the same map square. The first thing to assess is if they are aware of the enemies presents. Rangers and Red Indians have a 60 percent chance of finding the enemy. European troops have a 25 percent chance of finding Indians. If they fail to see the enemy then they will continue to carry out their existing orders. If one or both are aware of each other roll the percentage dice.

1 to 33	Take cover and ambush the enemy if they are moving in their direction. Should the enemy be moving in another direction they will continue to carry out their existing orders, (marching to their destination). If both have the same result and set an ambush for each other the European troops will always advance and attack the Indians. The Indians will always lay an ambush.
34 to 66	Advance and attack the enemy.
67 to 100	Withdraw to a friendly village and await new instructions.

TROOPS ENTERING A FRIENDLY SETTLEMENT

1 to 25	Find enough provision for the total force. They are able to march at double speed for the next day.
26 to 50	Find a full unit of troops to recruit.
51 to 65	Are able to find enough recruits to replace all casualties.
66 to 75	Find a small cannon an ammunition.
76 to 90	The troops are unable to find any supplies or recruits.
91 to 100	The force is welcomed by friendly settlers with the result there is much drinking and feasting. The troops become drunk and stay at the settlement for the next three days. They disregard any messages sent to them. At the end of the three days they take the same test again.