According to a study by Guillaume Daudin, using the Battle of Ligny as our example, we have found that the losses in Combat suffered in a Pitched Battle are quite a bit too high. The results of this study are posted at http://talk.Consimworld.com (Click Boardgaming, then Individual Game and Game Series, then Napoleonic, and finally Campaigns of Napoleon/Napoleon at Bay.) The existing CRT will become the "Pursuit" CRT, and we will create an entirely new "Pitched" CRT. The new combat results table will be for pitched battle only, while the concept of 'rounds of combat' will remain as always. To generate this new CRT we will begin by reducing all the losses on the table by about 50%. However, that would be only a first step. The proportion of losses generated at various odds will not correspond to the existing table. If you total all the losses from line 1 to line 6 in each odds column, you will find, let's say, that at 1-1 the proportion of men lost will be 50/50. This will not necessarily be the case with the new Pitched CRT. In addition, there will need to be a wider "swing" in results between the minimum and maximum loss on each odds column. These outcomes will be derived from a large study of Napoleonic battles designed by M. Daudin. We will also have the opportunity to create another new CRT, one for use exclusively by the Counterattacker. Before we begin to make the new CRT, we will check another battle or two from other campaigns, to see if the level of losses is equally high. We will look at one from 1807 and one from 1813, perhaps even Wagram, since these battles had very high losses. We noticed that the Prussians shifted reserve forces to their right during the battle of Ligny. So we are working on an addition to the reserve rule option, to allow troops in reserve to move one hex each round, just like troops marching to the sound of the guns. Another proposal covers what might be termed a "stay" in the Pitched Combat procedure. This would allow forces committed to an attack to interrupt the combat procedure prior to rolling the die. The player could do this on any round of combat, including the first. This _would_ count as an attack. The opposing player would have the option to choose to counterattack during any round in this situation normally. Your comments and suggestions based on your experience with the system are welcomed. Back to OSG News October 2000 Table of Contents Back to OSG News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Operational Studies Group. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com