Some midnights ago, I was reading old, old Reviews, and in the October, 1979 issue, found something called Phased Movement. It looked rather interesting... the single article described a Napoleonics game, addressed the concept, and that was that. For some reason, I never tried the procedure again. Obviously, back in 1979, in my avant garde stage, I been a wee bit premature... here, in 1996, here was an idea whose time had come. And so Phased Movement rides again! Perhaps I should say 'rode again', because now I know why I never looked at the s4 stem a second time. I set up a Napoleonics game, and the sequence divided the bound into 4 phases. In each phase, certain types of units were called on to move and/or function. For example, light cavalry got to move in all 4 phases, hence they were in motion for the entire bound. Regular infantry only functioned on 3 of the 4 phases, and so they were in action for three-quarters of the bound. And so on. For each phase, we had a Phase Deck, with each card in the deck denoting the type of unit that was active. The Phase 4 deck, for example, had 4 cards: one each for trained infantry, unlimbered artillery, light cavalry, and heavy cavalry. I should note that each side had its own Phase Decks. And so when it came time for Phase 4, the sides alternately draw from their Phase 4 decks, moving and firing units as appropriate. The result of this card drawing exercise was to produce one of the choppiest sequences it has ever been my misfortune to experience. 'Twas sad... the logic behind the sequencing of unit types made sense to me... the swifter units, light cavalry, for instance, should move faster, more rapidly, i.e., should function more often than the slower moving units. But in practice, the system made for a lousy game. When its card was drawn, you moved your light cavalry... then you waited for your heavy cavalry card... then you waited for your infantry card... no, I will be the first to admit that 'phased movement' is not the sequence of the future. I should mention in my dispatches, however, the feat of Simon's Light Horse Brigade. This 2-squadron brigade of light horse moved on every phase, and at the beginning of the battle, they set out on a mad charge across the field toward the enemy artillery batteries. Each time the card for light horse was drawn, off they ran for a distance of 5 inches... thus in 4 phases, i.e., the complete bound, they moved a total of 20 inches. The light horse started out some 40 inches from the enemy lines... they need some 2 bounds to close. The problem was that the unlimbered enemy artillery, awaiting them, had 3 cards in each of the 4 phase decks, i.e., the guns fired 3 times per phase, or 12 times per bound! I can assure you that the men of Simon's Light Horse, early on, realized they had bitten off more than they could chew. There were five of us table-side, and by the time the remnants of Simon's Light Horse finally made contact, all five of us, both sides of the table, were cheering for the brigade. One squadron of the two succumbed to canister just prior to making contact, but the remaining unit passed 'lebenty-'leben morale tests, and had, on its data sheet, hundreds of crossed-out boxes... but, battered as it was, still it made contact. Alas... the exhausted remaining men in the unit were cut down by the artillery crewmen. No happy ending here... And as for phased movement... let it rest in peace... Back to PW Review August 1996 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List Copyright © 1996 Wally Simon 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