TURN SEQUENCE:

1. COMMAND ( BE WITHIN 6" FROM LEADER)
2. MOVEMENT (STRAIGHT OR OBLIQUE, 1ST FACING CHANGE FREE, 2ND IS 1/2 MOVE, DISORDER RECOVERY IS 1/2 MOVE)
3. RALLY (ROUTED UNITS TOUCHING LEADERS OR 6" FROM MONARCH, PETER AND CHARLES ARE MONARCHS)
4. MORALE (UNITS TOUCHING OR WITHIN CLOSE RANGE OF ARTILLERY)
5. COMBAT (DEFENDER ONLY FIRES AT CLOSE RANGE OR IF ATTACKED). DEFENSIVE FIRE BEFORE MELEE, CHECK MORALE IF HIT. DEF. ROLLS MELEE FIRE DICE, ATT. ROLLS ALL
6. DIVISION EXHAUSTION (DIVISION EXHAUSTED IF LEVEL REACHED, CHECK FOR MORALE COLLAPSE).

MOVEMENT

MARCH MODE: FACING CHANGE, NO MORE MOVEMENT THAT TURN, DOUBLE MOVEMENT. NO FIRING, IF MELEED, 1 DICE.

ARTILLERY ELIMINATED IF MELEED. MARCH TO NORMAL: FACING CHANGE, NO MORE MOVEMENT THAT TURN

MOVEMENT EFFECTS

MORALE MODIFIERS

MORALE: A UNIT WITH MORALE OF 6 FAILS ON DIE ROLL OF 6 AND SUBSEQUENT ODD DIE ROLL

NUMBER OF COMBAT DICE ROLLED

RANGES AND HIT NUMBERS

MODIFIERS: CAVALRY HITS DISORDERED UNITS ON 5+, UNITS ATTACKED IN FLANK ROLL HALF DICE.

SAVING ROLLS, 4+ TO AVOID HIT

Turn Sequence

The normal turn sequence is followed but combat has been changed. Before a melee, the defending unit gets to roll its fire dice depending on if it was moving or stationary. If one or hits are scored, the attacking unit takes a morale check. If the unit passes, it closes into melee. If not, the attacker moves back half a move and is disordered. If no hits are scored, the attacker closes and takes a morale check as per the normal rules. The defender now checks morale. The attacker then rolls all melee dice. The defender rolls remaining melee dice (fire dice subtracted from melee dice). For determining the melee winner, hits scored by defensive fire count toward this total. This rule is more realistic. During the war, Sweden emphasized cold steel and closing in with the enemy (the reason for pikes). Russia used musketry fire to break up Swedish attacks.

Movement

I have reduced movement by half. With the original movement rates, the battles are too swirling. Breaks in a line can easily be reinforced. One of my friends commented "I thought this was 18th century, not World War II!". There is still a march mode that doubles movement.

Also, when field/heavy guns are unlimbered, they can't be limbered again. Guns were towed by civilian drivers who left the battlefield. The light pieces could keep up with the infantry. Finally, I let Russian dragoons dismount like they did historically. This counts as a facing change.

Morale

Under the morale modifier chart, there's a note regarding units with a morale of six. In the original rules, units with a morale of six always pass morale checks. I think they should have some chance of failure. If a unit with a morale of six rolls a six during a morale check, roll again. On an odd die roll, the unit fails.

Combat

The first chart tells how many dice the unit rolls. The second chart gives the range and the hit number in parenthesis. 4+ means four or higher on one die to score a hit. The Swedish infantry and cavairy get two more dice in melee conflict for emphasis on cold steel. The Swedish infantry were more powerful in melee with their pikes and training. The Swedish cavalry was more powerful being that they charged at a full gallop and rode knee to knee in a tight formation (the reason Russian infantry had pikes; to counter Swedish cavalry charges).

Notice unlike the original rules, a unit gets no more melee dice for being stationary. It was a mistake I made when we played our first game. My friends thought the game was balanced so we kept it.

Other General Notes

I give the Swedes higher morale than Russians: five's, six's, and a few four's. Russians get a lot of four's (especially cavalry) and five's and some six's. Swedish units get three or four strength points, Russians get four or five. Division exhaustion levels are fifty to sixty percent for Sweden, forty to fifty percent for Russia. These modifications encourage the Swedes to attack like they did historically.

Overall, I think Volley and Bayonet is a great set of rules for the gamer that likes to game several periods with one set of rules.

Sources for Wargame Scenarios

There hasn't much written about the Great Northern War in the wargame magazines. Two articles have appeared in Wargames Illustrated years ago on gaming the Battles of Narva and Poltava and are by the same author, Peter Berry. Narva was in number 47 and Poltava is in number 23. Both articles are great introductions to the period and have detailed notes.

A more easily available source is the Osprey Campaign book, Poltava. This book details the three major battles of the period (Holowczyn, Lesnaya, Poltava) with maps and orders of battle. It also has suggestions for smaller battles. There was few major actions fought during the period.

This is the major problem of this period: lack of information in English. It is very hard to find detailed maps and orders of battles on other actions. Several battles were fought between the Swedes and the Danish and Saxons but those battles are even harder to find information on. The University of Michigan Library has over seventy books on the war but most are written in Russian and Swedish.

One solution is to fight hypothetical battles or a campaign game. I plan on using the Strategy and Tactics boardgame, "On to Moscow" featured in issue number 171 to fight the 1707-1709 campaign. I have some ideas and it should be easy to convert to generate miniature battles.

Period Books

There are several period books written in English. I recommend the following:

• The Battle of Poltvava by Peter Englund. This is the best book on the period I've read! You feel you are there with the Swedish and Russian armies at Poltava. Though concentrating on this battle, there's a lot of background information. I ordered my copy from On Military Matters. They provide great service.
• The History of Charles Xll, King of Sweden by Voltaire. This is an old book by a French author. A very good, concise introduction to the period. I picked up my copy at a Barnes and Noble Bookstore for around $8.
• Peter the Great, His Life and World by Robert Massie. If you read one book about Peter the Great, read this one! Though it's quite long (900 pages) and it might seem intimidating, try it. It is so lucid, it reads easily. It has a detailed description of the GNW. I found my copy on a bookstore sale table for half off. If you can't find it, try used bookstores or Edward Hamilton Bookseller.
• Charles the Xll of Sweden by R. M. Hatton. This book is great for the diplomatic maneuvering during the GNW and after the defeat of Poltava. I don't know if it's still in print (It was published in the late 1960's). I found my copy at a used bookstore.

I hope this article has helped those getting into the period or has piqued your interested. It is a very colorful and interesting period. Myself and my fellow wargamers have had fun gaming it.

Company Addresses

IRC's are International Reply Coupons available at your post office.

1) Agema Publications, 3 Workshop Road, Sneinton, Nottingham, NG3 2BA, U. K. Agema carries rulebooks for a wide variety of periods. Send five IRC's for a catalog. I don't know if they take a credit card.

2) Arofan Gregory, c/o F.A. Davis Company,1915 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. Arofan carries three unique rulebooks for various periods. Write to him for prices.

3) Conflict Miniatures, 27 Leighton Road, Harley Vale, Plymouth, Devon PL3 5RT, U.K. Conflict carries 10 and 2 mm miniatures for a wide variety of periods. They take credit cards. Their newest range is 10 mm ECW which I plan on using for one of my next periods. Send a few IRC's for a listing.

4) Editions Brokaw, c/o Pat Condray, 8 South Somerset, Crisfield, MD 21817. Pat carries the wide range of Marlburians and GNW figures around for the budget minded gamer. Also, several painting guides are available. Send a SASE for a listing.

5) Edward Hamilton Bookseller, Falls Village, CT 06031-5000. A wide range of brand new books for a third off or more are listed. Several recent titles are carried. While primarily WWII books are carried, a greater variety is carried now such as War of 1812. Write for a catalog.

6) Friekorp 15, 25 Princetown Road, Bangor, Co. Down, BT20 3TA, Northern Ireland. The Koenig Krieg ruleset is available for $15 (postage included) which includes the rules, Marlburian/GNW supplement and the campaign rules. Send $5 or some IRC's for a listing of their extensive 15 mm figure line.

7) On Military Matters, 55 Taylor Terrace, Hopewell, NJ 08525. This firm carries Partizan Press ECW products and magazines plus new and used books. I'm not sure how much a catalog cost but a few dollars should do the trick.

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© Copyright 1996 Hal Thinglum

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