Recently, our esteemed editor shared some thoughts with me about an all day convention game that he would wish to run someday with his newly started collection of single based 25mm ACW figures. After some discussion back and forth, the idea evolved into a min-campaign game based on a Union Cavalry Raid into the south, which would allow for a continuing series of battles to be fought out using the same troops and rules throughout the day. Players could either recruited for the battles as needed, while the problems of strategic command could be handed off to vendors or convention organizers who normally do not get a chance to take part in a game. This article is part of a possible three sided attempt to make this idea into reality. Part I is the mini-campaign game which I have written up in typical Novakian long winded fashion. Part II is a terrain system that would need the help of the readership to make it a success, while Part III, the Tactical Civil War rules shall be left up to our esteemed editor. Therefore let me present part I: PART I: THE MINICAMPAIGN GAME As a starting point, Hal's project involves the following sized units: INFANTRY REGIMENT: Each with a Headquarters and five Infantry Companies: HEADQUARTERS: With an officer on horseback (Colonel), an officer on foot (Adjutant), a Musician, and two flagbearers, one for national colors, one for state/regimental. INFANTRY COMPANY: An officer and nine enlisted men. CAVALRY REGIMENT: Each with a Headquarters and five cavalry squadrons. HEADQUARTERS: With two officers on horseback, (Colonel, Adjutant) Two Standard Bearers on Horseback, (one national color, one regimental/state color), 1 Sergeant Major on Horseback. CAVALRY SQUADRON: One officer, 1 bugler, 1 guidon bearer, and nine enlisted men, all mounted on horseback. [Dismounted figures will be needed for each figure in the cavalry] ARTILLERY BATTERY: Northern batteries have a headquarters and three sections, while southern batteries have only two sections. HEADQUARTERS: With an officer on horseback (Battery Commander), Guidon bearer on horseback, and battery wagon with two horse team and driver. GUN SECTION: One gun, one limber with two horse team, a driver for the team, a limber rider, a lieutenant and five gunners on foot. BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS: Two officers on horseback, (Commanding Officer, Aide) Orderly on Horseback. Having set the parameters for unit size, let us look at the possible backgrounds for our game, when we find that we can follow one of two similar but different approaches to our game. We could attempt a historical remake of Grierson's Raid through Mississippi ( April 17th - May 2nd ), or we could do the same raid but in terms better known to gamers and pattern it after the 1959 John Ford movie "THE HORSE SOLDIER'S", starring of course John Wayne. Given such a choice with Hal and myself, there was no question as to the course of action to be followed. Hollywood, here we come! In reality, however, whether we use Colonel Grierson or Colonel Marlowe as the basis of the game is of little impact on the nature of the victory conditions that the game will employ, as both men were faced with the same set of problems. Their goal after all is to strike deep into rebel territory, do as much damage as is possible to the rebel supply lines and other targets of opportunity, and to get as many men back alive as is possible. Our Rebels have the task of hunting down and destroying the Union forces before they do any major damage, which considering the forces at hand should be an easy enough task. However, even as this game takes place Grant is starting his final campaign against Vicksburg, and forces diverted to hunting down the Union raiders will not be at Vicksburg when needed. Thus our mini-campaign game needs to take in account the following factors: 1. The total damage done to the Rebel Supply Lines, and to other Targets of Opportunity as the Union Cavalry proceeds on it's mission. 2. The total losses suffered by the Union and Rebel forces during the course of the mini-campaign. 3. The total number of Rebel Troops used to Hunt down the Union Cavalry, as well as the effect of any movement of Rebel forces by rail to block the Union raid. (The Confederacy suffered from a limited number of railroad engines and rolling stock. The use of any to move troops to block the Union forces means that there is one less engine/cars for the essential movement of supplies. Thus, Colonel Marlowe's command is quickly hunted down and destroyed by a co-ordinated attack of two Rebel cavalry divisions and two infantry divisions, supported by a massive movement of Confederate troops by rail. While this is going on, Sam Grant strolls into Vicksburg as most of the troops which are supposed to be helping defend that place are off taking care of Marlowe. Thus, on the battlefield, Marlowe dies a lonely death, but within the game framework wins a strategic victory!! Keeping these items we need to design a game around them. To start with we will need to draw up a semi-historical map of Mississippi in 1863. To aid in the running of the campaign we will use point to point movement system, linking the points on the maps by roads, and in some cases railroads. The area covered will run from the Tennessee/Mississippi line on the north to the Louisiana/Mississippi line in the south, and from Jackson on the west to Meridan on the east. Note that not all of the points on the map (boxes) are connected to all adjacent boxes by road. PLAYING THE GAME  1. VICTORY CONDITIONS: The victor of this minicampaign will be determined by comparing the number of Union and Confederate victory points at the time at the time when: A: The Union Forces have either returned to safe territory: or B: All Union Forces have been Destroyed. or C. A combination of A and B has occurred. To start with, the Union Forces must have a minimum of 100 victory points accumulated in order to even qualify for a possible victory. If the Union Forces do not have at least 100 Victory Points, the Rebel Forces automatically win the mini-campaign. The Victory point point of the Union is compared to that of the Rebels: If the ratio of Victory points is less than 1:1, it is a REBEL VICTORY If the ratio of Victory points is from 1:1 to 1.99:1, it is a DRAW If the ratio of Victory Points is 2:1 to 2.99:1, it is a UNION TACTICAL VICTORY. If the ratio of Victory Points is 3:1 or higher, it is a UNION STRATEGIC VICTORY. The Union Forces receive Victory Points for any of the following circumstances. Some victory points are award to the Union player ONLY after the game is over, these are marked with an *. Per Confederate Figures killed in Battle 1 point Per Confederate Flag captured and returned to Union territory 5 points Per Confederate Gun Captured 5 points Per Additional Confederate Infantry Regiment Committed * 40 points Per Additional Confederate Cavalry Regiment Committed * 60 points Per Additional Confederate Artillery Battery Committed * 20 points Per Railroad Box entered and destroyed by spending one movement point ( Printed Value in each Box ) 10-100 points Per Confederate Infantry Company moved by Rail * 5 points Per Confederate Cavalry Squadron moved by Rail * 10 points Per Confederate Artillery Battery moved by Rail 10 points Per Confederate Supply Point Captured (Printed value is on the reverse of counter - not found till after it is captured 0-60 points The Confederate Forces receive Victory Points for any of the following: Per Union Figures killed in Battle 1 point Per Union Flag captured 5 points Per Union Gun Captured 5 points For purposes of Victory Conditions Guidons are NOT considered as flags. 2. FORCE POOL MD SETUP UNION: At the start of the game, April 17th, the Union Forces start with the following forces in LAGRANGE: BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS: 3 figures 1st ILLINOIS CAVALRY 65 figures 2nd IOWA CAVALRY 65 figures 1st MICHIGAN CAVALRY 65 figures 1st ILLINOIS BATTERY* 24 figures, 3 6# Wiard Rifles Historically this unit was with Grierson, but it was deleted from the book and the movie. I suggest bringing the unit along, but keeping track of the ammunition used. Besides, it will allow Hal to come up with some neat rules to duplicate the effects of this weapon. COMFEDERATE: The Confederate forces start the deployed as follows: SUPPLY COUNTERS: There are 12 Confederate Supply Counter Markers, marked with the following values on the reverse, 60, 50, 40, 30, 10, 5, with the remaining 6 having a 0. These are mixed together and place by the one of the Union players in each of the boxes marked (S). The Union player is not allowed to see the value of the counter, only that it exists in that location. The Confederate players are allowed to look at the values of the Supply Counters after they are placed, but are not allowed to move them. Thus the Confederate players will know which points are worth defending, but the Union players will not know which points are worth attacking until he has already captured them. FORTIFICATION: The boxes of Tueplo, Oxford, West Point, Meridan, and Jackson are considered fortified. For each 25 points value of the box allow the Confederate a redoubt 12"x12", or the equivalent inches in breastworks. Once the type of fortification has been picked, it may not be changed. UNITS: The following Confederate units exist at the start the game: (Names are either taken from the movie or made up.) OXFORD: 1st MISSISSIPPI CAVALRY REGIMENT 65 figures 1st ARKANSAS INFANTRY REGIMENT 55 Figures TENNESSEE ARTILLERY BATTERY 18 figures, 2 guns TUPELO 1st ALABAMA CAVALRY REGIMENT 65 figures 8th ALABAMA INFANTRY REGIMENT 55 figures ALABAMA ARTILLERY BATTERY 18 figures, 2 guns WEST POINT 10th GEORGIA INFANTRY REGIMENT 55 Figures JACKSON 1st TEXAS INFANTRY REGIMENT 55 figures 1st KENTUCKY CAVALRY REGIMENT 65 figures MISSISSIPPI ARTILLERY BATTERY 18 figures, 2 guns 2nd MISSISSIPPI INFANTRY REGIMENT 55 figures MERIDAN 1st SOUTH CAROLINA INFANTRY REGIMENT 55 figures 1st VIRGINIA CAVALRY REGIMENT 65 figures FLORIDA ARTILLERY BATTERY 18 figures, 2 guns 2nd ALABAMA INFANTRY REGIMENT 55 figures  GUNN MURPHY'S HILL MILITARY ACADEMY# 17 figures McCOMB 1st LOUISIANA CAVALRY REGIMENT 65 figures The MURPHY'S MILL MILITARY ACADEMY (with apologies to Mike Askins, a gentleman and a noted ACW gamer) consists of a elderly officer on foot, and two companies of 8 cadets each. This command must remain together at all time and does not have to be activated. It may however only move once, from Gunn to any surrounding box by road. It may not be engaged by any Union unit, and Union troops which encounter it MUST retreat. On the turn after it moves from GUNN, the unit must return there and remains there for the rest of the game. (20mm ACW figures should make a nice Cadet unit!) Since it extremely doubtful that all of these units will take part in the game, it will not be necessary to paint all of them up. Most of the units listed, especially the Infantry regiments, will not be in play unless attacked. 3. ACTIVATION OF UNITS Units may only be moved if they are activated. At the start of the game all Union units are considered as activated, and continue so throughout the game. Confederate units are the other hand must be activated in order to move, and once activated they remain so for the duration of the game. At the start of the game the Confederate players are given a pool of 200 activation points. These are provided without cost to the Confederate side. As the game progresses, each time the Union players accumulate 100 victory points by the destruction of railroads, supply points, or Confederate figures, 50 extra points are added free to this pool. Victory points awarded to the Union for the activation of Confederate units (see before) are not counted. This rule takes into account the fact that the more damage the Union raiders do, the greater the pressure will be on the Confederate Command to deal with this problem. The Confederate players may activate any unit in the game by paying the following points from this pool: INFANTRY REGIMENT 40 points CAVALRY REGIMENT 60 points ARTILLERY BATTERY 20 points Once activated, a unit remains activated the rest of the game. It may not be deactivated and the points put back into the pool. The Confederate players do not. have to activate any units until they chose too, but no unit may be moved unless it is activated. As an alternative, the Confederate players may activate additional units during the game by paying victory points to the Union side for those units. In the event that there are not sufficient free points in the Activation Pool mentioned above the needed points can be acquired in this manner. (The Confederates have 30 points left in the Activation Pool. They wish to activate the 1st Louisiana Cavalry at a cost of 60. They may do so by paying 30 points from the pool, and then by giving to the Union side the 30 additional Victory points needed to activate the regiment.) Non activated units which are attacked may freely defend themselves in action. They are not considered as surprised, but they may still not move off in pursuit untill the activation points have been paid. 4. PLAYING THE GAME Each turn represents one day of time, starting on April 17th. Players at the strategic level are divided into two teams, one Union and one Confederate. Players are provided with copies of the map, and a listing of the forces under their command. At the start of each day players are given. intelligence according to the following guidelines: UNION: The Union players are told of the existence of any Confederate units in a box adjacent to the one in which they start the turn, regardless of whether it is connected to that box by a road. The Union players will be told of the type of Confederate unit present, ie .artillery, infantry, or cavalry, and the relative strenght of the forces present. If the Union are divided into two or more separate commands occupying different boxes, each command is only told of the units that are adjacent to him, and not of the forces adjacent to the other Union commanders. At the start of every turn, the Union players may check for roads not indicated on the map. They may attempt to see if a route exists between the box they are in, and any adjacent box that is not connected by a road. This route can not cross an existing road or railroad, and can only be looked for during the intelligence phase. To find a path, roll a D6 with a roll of a 5 or 6 meaning that such a path exists. It need not be followed by the Union troops that find it, but they are the only ones that can use it as they have the only guide. CONFEDERATE: At the start of every turn, all Confederate commanders are notified of the locations of ALL Union commands, regardless of where they are located on the board, but not of the actual strength of the commands. That they have to work out for themself. The Intelligence Rules are designed to reflect the fact that the Union forces, through a combination of the scouts dressed in civilian clothing, and information passed on by slaves along the route, tended to be well informed about the Confederate forces that were actively pursuing them, but not about the location of any Confederate forces outside their immediate area. Several attempted ambushes of the Union troops were foiled due to the superior Union intelligence. The road rule takes into effect the help that might be furnished to the Union forces by the slave communities en route. For the Confederate's, the ability to know where all of the Union forces are, but not the actual strength is a mixed blessing. Historically, Grierson kept dividing his forces again and again as he proceeded on his raid, with the result that the Confederates could never be quite sure which was the main force and which were diversions. All authorities and citizens of Mississippi cooperated in the passage of information about the passage of the "dammed Yankee's", but all too often what information was passed on turned out to be contradictory or incorrect. Having received their intelligence briefing, players turn in their orders for that day. All activated units may be moved, so players commanding any activated units, or units which are activated at the start of the turn, must plot all movement for the turn. Conditional orders are not allowed, though players will have some limited ability to change their orders during the course of a turn. It is not necessary for all elements of an activated unit to move together. A unit may be broken into companies, squadron, or sections, with each element moving to a different set of orders. Movement rates are expressed in terms of Movement Points, henceforth referred to as MP's. The movement rates for the different types of units are as follows: CAVALRY: Cavalry units have a basic speed of 2 MP's. They may force march by using endurance points. Confederate Cavalry units start the with four (4) Endurance Points per unit, while Union Cavalry Regiments start the game with six (6) Endurance Points per unit. (Union Cavalry is not better mounted then its Confederate counterparts, rather the Union Cavalry can commandeer horses from the countryside as it moves and use them to replace worn out mounts, a luxury not enjoined by the Rebels.) The first forced march movement point used in a turn costs one (1) Endurance Point, a second forced march movement point used during the same turn costs two (2) Endurance Points, while a third movement point in a turn may be purchased at a cost of three (3) Endurance Points. When a unit uses up all of its Endurance Points, it may not use a forced march until after it has rested. For every Movement Point used in a turn for resting, a cavalry unit regains two (2) Endurance points, provided that the unit makes no attempt to Force March that turn. Thus a cavalry unit could carry out a normal march with 2 MP's, and use the first MP to move one box, and the second MP to rest, and thus regain two endurance points. However a unit may never regain more endurance points then it started the game with. ARTILLERY: Artillery batteries move in the same manner as cavalry regiments, and use the endurance point system. As with the Cavalry, Confederate batteries start with four (4) Endurance Points, while the Union Battery starts with six (6) Endurance Points. INFANTRY REGIMENTS: Infantry regiments have one Movement Point. They may attempt to force march and gain a second Movement Point. The attempt to Force March is announced, and a D6 is rolled. On a roll of 1-2 the attempt fails, while on a 3-6 it is a success and the unit moves an additional box. However for each prior attempt made for a forced march, a minus one modifier (-1) is made to the die roll. This modifier is made regardless of whether or not the prior attempts were sucessful of not. Infantry units may rest for a turn, and by doing so remove any die modifiers for forced march attempts. RAILROAD MOVEMENT: The Confederacy may use up to 8 trains per turn, though players are reminded that use of the railroads will give victory points to the Union side. Each train may hold a battery of artillery, or two infantry companies, or a cavalry squadron. Headquarters units of Infantry or Cavalry Regiments are considered as Infantry companies for this rule. Trains have 8 Movement Points and may only move from box to box if the boxes are connected by a rail line. If Union troops move into a rail box and claim the victory points for that box, trains may no longer enter or exit that box. Any Confederate unit in a railhex at the start of a turn may board a train. It costs IMP from the train to load an infantry or headquarters unit, or 2 MP's to board a cavalry or artillery unit. To unload a unit takes the same movement costs as to load it. Troops may remain on board from turn to turn, but each turn gives the Union side victory points as valuable rolling stock is being tied down in this manner. Units that are unloaded are not allowed any further movement for that turn. MOVEMENT ORDERS: Orders for units must indicate the total number of movement points that the unit is planning to use for the turn, including any plans for forced marches. The total number of movement points used per turn can not be changed once it is announced. Movement orders will indicate the starting points of the unit, and the planned route that the unit will follow. A sample order might be 1st Illinois Cavalry - 4 MP, - using 3 Endurance Points - From Point A to Point B to Point C to Point D. Since in warfare things do not always work out as planned, there are some exceptions to the planned course of movement allowed: 1st. Any time a Union unit enters a box from which Victory Points can be collected it may do so by stopping and paying one MP. This use of a MP need not be plotted in advance, as there are some circumstances under which the Union players will enter boxes worth Victory Points without knowing the value of the box. At that time the Union player will have to decide whether or not to spend the time to gain the points. This MP is in addition to any that must be paid in order to fight a battle. Note that this is voluntary, and that the MP need not be paid. If not paid, no victory points are awarded to the Union player, and if a box connected to another by rail, that section is NOT considered as destroyed, and it may be used by trains. 2nd. Anytime a battle is fought, it costs both forces 1 MP regardless of the length of the battle. The loser of the battle is forced to retreat to the next box along the road that it retreats off the game board on. The retreating unit loses all remaining MP's and is considered as disordered. Disordered units must pay 1 MP to reorganize before they can move again. If a disordered unit is attacked before it can reorganize by an attacking force with at least twice as many figures as the defenders have, the unit is considered destroyed. The attackers must again pay IMP for action. Winning units do not have to pay any MP's to reorganize after a battle. 3rd. Confederate units moving by rail which may not proceed any further due to Union destruction of railroad track may change their orders at the point where the track end. They must pay all costs to unload, and then may not move any further for that turn. Whenever a unit ends by paying a MP due to enemy action or other reason that was not planned for, the unit may change it's orders. It may not use more MP's then were stated at the start of the turn, but it need not follow the same course of action as planned. If already plotted to use a forced march, it may not change it's orders to Rest. The Referee will move all units according to their orders. In the event that enemy units meet while following their orders, the referee will work out the point of engagement, set up the battle, see events through and advise players as to what happens. Map The Horse Soldiers: Part II: Terrain  Back to MWAN # 54 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1991 Legio X This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com