Terrain
The table is 9' X 6' with each square one foot on a side. 1 inch equals 100 yards. Most of the board is fairly open farmland with a scattering of buildings across the expanse of fields. The top edge of the table is North, with Zsigard on the southeast quarter of the board. Towns: These are substantial, all of stone.
Forest
The Kilicserdb is an old growth forest. This should disorder all arms moving through it except skirmishers. It should slow all movement with applicable defensive advantages. LOC only goes to the edge of the forest. The rest of the tree symbols represent sparse woods or orchards. These should block LOC but units in them can be seen. No defensive advantages.
Rivers
The Holt-vag is a major stream. It stops movement of all arms in some rules and costs movement points to cross in others. It provides no defensive advantage. The River at the southwest corner around Kiralyrev is a major river, the Dudvag, and only crossable at the stone bridge.
Roads
These are major thoroughfares. For Hungary in 1849 this meant wide dirt roads.
Time
The scenario starts at 5 pm on June 20th. This day ends at 8:30 pm. (or 9pm with hour turns.) This will be 7 half-hour turns or 4 hour turns. The Austrians move first. At the end of the day, both armies may have one full 'evening' move, but all units must move outside of musket range if they begin the evening. Where enemy units are within musket range of each other, a D6 is rolled at the beginning of the turn, Odd Hungarian, even Austrian. The die roll indicates which side much moves out of musket range, the other side's unit may stay where they IF they are outside of musket range at the end of their turn.
The second day starts with the 6am turn and ends with the 8:30pm turn (or 9pm with hour turns.), or when one side has left the field. This is 29 half-hour turns or 15 hour turns. Few games will last that long. The side that lost the fewest casualties move first the second day. All rules that might be provided by a rules set pertaining to two day battles can apply to this scenario. If no such rules are provided, half of all casualties may be returned to infantry and cavalry units ONLY.
Special Rules
Muskets
Both armies had regular units armed with the 1842M Augustin-type cartridge-fuse smoothbore musket. It had an early version of the percussion-cap. This should increase the firepower of these units. The question is "how much?" No calculations of the smoothbore's effect compared to the flintlock have been found. I give them a 15% increase in their fire effects, depending on the game rules. For instance, it has been determined that as many as one in four shots of a musket misfired, so decreasing that misfire to 1 in 6 or 7 seems reasonable, but just a guess.
Morale
The morale comparison between the two armies, man-for-man, favored the Hungarians. If the rules being used have an elite, veteran, and regular gradation in morale, the Hungarian battalions should be veterans compared to the Austrian and Russian regulars. In some rules, like Volley & Bayonet, division exhaustion also represents the morale of an army. In this case, the Hungarians should have a higher exhaustion level. Neither the Austrians nor the Russians had the same interest in the outcome of the war that the Hungarians did. They weren't seasoned veterans like the Hungarians at this time. On top of this, the Hungarian army had repeatedly embarrassed the Austrians on the battlefield. Few Austrian or Russian units had the elan and confidence enjoyed by the Hungarians.
Skirmishing
All Hungarian infantry can skirmish. Only the Austrian Jagers can completely deploy as skirmishers. Austrian line infantry and Russian Jagers can deploy 1 in 6 as skirmishers. The Russian line regiments cannot skirmish. The Russian Cossacks can only skirmish, and may not attack either steady infantry, cavalry or artillery. They may attack disordered infantry in the flanks and all routed infantry and cavalry.
The Forces
The Hungarians
All Hungarian forces start on the table except Nagysandor's 1st Corps. - Up to two brigades total can be placed at the start in the towns of Pered and/or Kiralyrev. The rest of the army can be set up anywhere a foot or more from the north edge of the table.
Nagysandor's 1st Corps
This corps may appear during the game. A deck of cards is required with the jokers removed. Each turn of the second day, June 21 starting with the 7am turn, a card is picked. If an ace is picked, the 1st Corps may enter anywhere on the east edge of the table the next turn. The Austrian player will know this when the ace is picked. If no ace is picked, the 1st Corps does not appear. In the actual battle, Nagysandor didn't bother to find a ford or bridge across the Vag, though there were several. He had no forces facing him and orders to march to the guns, but never did.
The Austrians
The Austrian IV Corps may appear anywhere on the north edge of the table EXCEPT in Pered. This means that the Austrians may split their forces on either side of Pered, which is what they did historically. The Austrians may hold up to two brigades of infantry off the table. If the Austrian player decides to do this at the start of the game, he writes down where they will be appearing. They will appear the next day, anytime between 6am and 8am. They may appear on the north table edge or halfway down the west or east board edge from the north edge (three feet down from the north edge of the table). One of the two brigades can appear at the southwest corner of the table, on the road to Kiralyrev.
The Russians
The 9th division appears on the northern edge of the table at 7am on June 21st. A D6 is rolled. On a 1-2 the division enters in the western three feet of the northern edge. On a 3-4, it enters in the center three feet on either or both sides of Pered. (Where it actually did appear) and on a roll of 5-6, the division may come on the eastern three feet of the table's north edge. If all of the division can not enter at 7am for whatever reason, the rest will enter in the following turns when possible. The communication between the Allies was poor, and in the battle Pauntin did not appear with his 9th Division where he had been asked to deploy. (far right of the line.) During the battle, the Russians played a very passive role, even though they were ordered to support the attack on Zsigard.
When the Austrian player wants to move the Russians forward, the turn after they appear on the table, he rolls a D6 for each regiment. On a 4-6 they do not move. The Artillery Brigade and Cossacks may move freely. The Austrian may attempt to move the Russian units in any order desired, but once rolled for they either move normally or do not move at all. If a unit begins a turn within musket range of enemy infantry ONLY, they may move normally that turn.
Victory Conditions
Both players receive points for controlling territory and causing enemy casualties.Towns
Either player receives five points for control of Zsigard, and Pered. Control means that only friendly units are in the town or were the last to pass through the town bey the end of the scenario. Control of Kiralyrev is ten points. It was the only access to the Puszta-Aszod bridge (off the table). To gain the ten points the bridge outside Kiralyrev must also be controlled. Otherwise it is only 5 points. There are no points for controlling the bridge alone.
Casualties
Players determine how casualties will be counted--by unit, stand or strength point. Each side gains one point for every five casualties, however they are counted.
Withdrawal
If either army withdraws completely of f the table, that side receives ten points. The Austrians must withdraw off the north edge, the Hungarians anywhere off the southern two feet of the table. (i.e. Any edge, west, south or east, south of the town of Kiralyrev.) Add one point for every two units that the Hungarians exit on the road out of Kiralyrev.
Victory levels
Minor victory: The side with the higher points
Tactical victory: 1.5 times more points than the enemy
Strategic Victory: 2+ times the points than the enemy
Historically, the Austrians barely won a minor victory, with the Hungarian 3rd Corps retreating south and the 2nd Corps through Kiralyrev.
Map
The Battle of Pered: June 20-21, 1849 "The Russians are here."
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© Copyright 2003 Hal Thinglum
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