With the help of General F. Haub, the famed Paladin of Potomac, the following melee system was developed for rules using single or stand-mounted figures.
The term "normalized" is used to indicate that each man or figure in the melee is referenced to some standard value... in this case, to a medium line infantryman. In other words, each man first determines what his melee value would be against a "standard" opponent before comparing his value against that of his foe's .
The steps to be followed are outlined below.
Step A. After the opposing men are brought into contact, determine each man's value against the standard infantryman. The basic value for an infantryman is 30 points. This is modified by whatever the situation calls for. For simplicity, throw in a series of "plus or minus tens" as required. Thus an infantryman who is downhill gets a -10, one charging gets a +10, a heavy infantryman against a medium gets a +10, etc., etc. The only time a modifier differs from a value of 10 is when one of the figures is a cavalryman; here, we give the mounted man a +15 for his horse.
Step B. Now take the difference between the values of the men involved. As an example, consider an ancients battle in which a heavy cavalryman is charging uphill at an elite light infantryman.
| For Each Heavy | For Each Light |
|---|---|
| He is a heavy, one grade above medium +10 | He is one grade under medium -10 |
| He has a horse +15 | He is elite +10 |
| He is charging +10 He is charging uphill -10 | He is uphill +10 |
The difference here is 15, i.e., the heavy cavalryman totals 15 points more than the light.
Step C. To determine the combat points of each man, the man with the lesser value is always valued at 30 points. In the example, if the light is valued at 30, then the heavy is 15 above that, or 45. Note that if equals meet equals in combat, each side would thus be valued at 30.
Step D. Total the points involved in the melee. If 4 cavalry charge 5 lights as above, we get:
- Cavalry... 4 x 45 = 180 percentage points
Infantry... 5 x 30 = 150 percentage points.
Thus the cavalry kill l, with 80% chance of a second. Similarly, the lights kill one horseman, with 50% chance of a second kill. Each side rolls the dice to see if the second kill is successful.
Another example. Consider 8 elite heavy infantry charging a line of 7 conscripts, medium infantry, behind works.
| For Each Heavy | For Each Conscript |
|---|---|
| He is one grade above medium +10 He is elite +10 | He is a grade below line. i. e., conscript -10 |
| He is charging +10 He is charging works -10 | He is behind works +10 |
Here the difference is 20. The conscripts, having the lesser value, are automatically given the base value of 30 each; the heavy infantry are worth 20 more, or 50 each.
- The elites... 8 x 50 = 400 percentage points
The conscripts... 7 x 30 = 210 percentage points
The elites kill 4 conscripts in the first round. The conscripts kill 2 elites, with a 10 percent chance at a third.
Step E. The first round is now completed. The winner of each round, not the melee, is the side losing the least men in that round. If both sides lose the same number, dice for the winner. Winning a round is important since, in the next round, it is the winner who determines if he wishes to expand the frontage of the combat. If he decides to do so, he may increase the number of figures he has in the front rank by one; the loser may do as the winner does, that is, add one figure to the front rank.
Step F. Recompute the percentage points for the second round and dice for kills as necessary. Again the winner may increase frontage. Do the same for the third round.
Step G. As the frontages increase, round by round, the casualties per round increase. At the end of the 3rd round, both sides check morale to see if they remain or flee. If both remain , there is a 4th round and so on. After the 3rd round, morale is checked every round.
Step H. Note that morale was first checked for both sides after the 3rd round. The 4th round is considered to be the start of the final phase of the melee. Commencing with the 4th round, no situational modifiers are used.
Thus a unit charging works will suffer for the first 3 rounds... after that, if they pass their 3rd round morale check, they are considered to have broken through the defenses. In our example of 8 elite heavies against 7 conscripts behind works, the heavies were each 50 and the conscripts were 30 for the first 3 rounds. In the 4th round, the charge bonus and the increments for works are removed.
| For Each Heavy | For Each Conscript |
|---|---|
| He is a heavy +10 He is elite +10 | He is a conscript -10 |
Now the difference is 30 points. The conscripts, being the lesser valued, remain at 30, while the heavies, have broken through, are up to 60 each, Step L. By the time the 4th round occurs, there will be many casualties on both sides. Once one side flees, the following happens:
- a. Loser retreats in disorder one full move
b. Winner reforms in place
c. EACH SIDE GETS BACK HALF ITS CASUALTIES (Dice for the odd number)
This last item comes as a pleasant surprise to the commander of a unit which appears to have been decimated in the melee. The resultant casualty rates are not, therefore, as high as it first appears. Winning a round is critical in terms of being able to hold, or expand, frontage. A large unit wants an increase to gradually outnumber a smaller unit that doesn't have the reserves to meet the expansion rate. If a unit keeps winning, it may expand the number of figures in contact until they outnumber the enemy figures 2 to l. If a small unit wins, its commander will refuse to enlarge the melee frontage. He will thus limit, as much as he can, the enemy's "kill" percentage.
The above melee procedure is extremely quick to implement. Further, added to the enjoyment of the sequence is the provision allowing the gamer to exercise his option - if he wins a round - to get "one up" on his opponent.
One final example, this one for the Napoleonic period. We will assume all fighting men in this era are of medium grade with the exception of armored heavy cavalry. Assume a unit of infantry is caught in the open by a squadron of Cuirassiers with 4 men in the front rank.
| For Each Cavalryman | For Each Infantryman |
|---|---|
| He is a heavy +10 He has a horse +15 He is charging +10 | 0 |
Here, for the first 3 rounds, The Cuirassiers are 35 points over the infantry. Thus we place the infantry, the lesser value, at 30 and the Cuirassiers at 65 each.
There are 4 cavalrymen; their TOTAL is 4 x 65 = 260 percentage points. Assume the cavalry dice throw is 42; they therefore kill 3 infantry. The 4 contacted infantrymen total 4 x 30 = 120; assume their dice roll is 63... they kill only one trooper. The cavalry have won the first round; they choose to expand frontage by one... we now have 5 on 5 since the infantry may match the expansion.
Five cavalry in contact total 5 x 65 = 325; 5 infantry total 5 x 30 = 150. If both miss their dice throws, the cavalry kill another 3 soldiers, the infantry kill one.
For the third round the cavalry again choose to expand... it is now 6 on 6. The cavalry: 6 x 65 = 390. The infantry; 6 x 30 = 180. If both succeed with their dice rolls then 4 more infantry go down, along with 2 mounted troopers.
At this point, a morale check is called for. Total cavalry losses are 4; the infantry have lost 10. If both units hold, the next round is fought. The fourth round will see one change: the horsemen lose their impetus bonus and their differential is reduced to 25. Hence the infantry are at the base of 30, while the Cuirassiers now are at 55.
And so it goes...
In using the technique, note that there is no bonus for column over line in the melee. The column gets its bonus in the third round morale check, and in subsequent morale checks. The March 1979 and April 1980 issues of the REVIEW both carried excerpts on this very point. The cited authors indicated that the column derives its strength, not from its sheer ability to crush the opposition, but from its capability of outlasting its opponent. This is simulated by giving the column a "plus" value when it checks morale, thus making it less likely to flee than the unit it contacted.
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© Copyright 1981 by Wally Simon
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