Battle of Guilford Courthouse - rules, scenario, and game report

A couple of months ago I bought a pair of average dice (2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5) with the intention of using them in some One-Hour Wargames-style games instead of standard six-sided dice (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). This week I finally got around to setting up a game to try them out.

It feels like it has been a long time since my American War of Independence (AWI) forces last appeared on the tabletop. The collection is not particularly large, consisting mainly of old Peter Laing miniatures, with the cavalry being the only exception. Looking back, when I purchased them way back in 1978, I wish I had got more cavalry and along with some Highland troops.  Unfortunately, it was not until 2015, when I started dabbling in historical wargaming again, the figures were finally painted and based, many years after the miniatures had disappeared from the market.

Peter Laing 15mm miniatures back on the tabletop for the first time in a while.

My original plan was to select a scenario from the One-Hour Wargames book. I had my eye on scenario 26 - Triple Line. However, after browsing through a couple of books on the period, I decided instead to recreate the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, where an American force deployed in three lines. The main challenge gaming this battle is how to set it up so that the smaller attacking force has a reasonable chance of victory. Donald Featherston discusses this issue in his book when examining how to reconstruct the battle as a wargame.

The sources of inspiration for this game from  "Seven Steps to Freedom" by C. Wesencraft and "Wargamers Handbook of the American War of Independence" by D. Featherstone.

For this game I chose to modify the One-Hour Wargames Horse and Musket rules by adding a rally mechanism and allowing infantry units to charge. With these couple of additions, I hoped, would give the attackers a fighting chance. 

Here are the rules below followed by the scenario and battle report...

AWI Rules

Introduction

These simple rules are based on the One-Hour Wargames system, with additional inspiration drawn from the classic Charge rules. They use average dice (2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5).

The game uses the troop types:

• Infantry – The backbone of armies, fighting in line formations. Quality ranges from elite grenadiers, British regulars, and American Continentals to less reliable provincial and militia units.
• Cavalry – Limited in use and number due to transport difficulties and terrain.
• Skirmishers – Light troops, including light infantry and riflemen, trained to make effective use of cover and broken ground.
• Artillery – Mostly smaller calibre guns, but useful support for infantry.
• Generals – Commanders who can rally nearby troops.

These rules are designed for my 15mm armies, where: Infantry and skirmisher units have a frontage of 4", cavalry 3", artillery 2", and generals are mounted on 2" × 2" bases. Any basing system may be used, provided both armies are based consistently.

Sequence of Play

Each game turn comprises two player turns, where each player follows the sequence below:

1. Movement
2. Shooting
3. Melee
4. Rout
5. Rallying

Movement

All unit movement must be in straight lines unless following a road:

• Infantry and Artillery: 6”  
• Skirmishers: 9” (edit)
• Cavalry and Generals: 12” 

Effects of terrain on movement:

• Towns: Half movement. Impassible for artillery and cavalry except by roads.
• Marsh/Lakes: Impassable.  
• Rivers: Crossable only via bridges or fords. Halve movement.
• Hills: Half movement when moving uphill.  
• Roads: Add 3” to the movement.
• Woods: Halve movement for infantry and skirmishers. Impassible for artillery and cavalry except by roads.

Turning - Units may pivot on their central point to change facing. A turn may be made at the start and/or end of a move.  

Moving and Shooting - Units cannot shoot if they have moved (including any pivots).

Interpenetration - Units cannot move through other units.  

Enemy Presence - Units within 6” of an enemy unit may only retire directly away from the enemy or advance directly towards them.

Charges - A charge is made by moving a unit into contact with an enemy unit. Charges are subject to the following restrictions:

• A charging unit may make one pivot at the start of its move of up to 45 degrees.
• An enemy unit may only be charged by one unit.
• Melee is resolved during the Melee Phase.
• Charging units receive no road movement bonus.

Unit Restrictions:

• British Light Infantry may only charge enemy skirmishers. )Skirmishers who are not light infantry may not charge.) edit
• Infantry may charge skirmishers and infantry.
• Cavalry may charge any unit type.
• Artillery never charge, but all the above can charge artillery (edit)

Musket Shooting

The procedure for shooting is as follows.

• Adjudge Field of fire. Units may only target a single enemy unit within 45 degrees of their frontal arc providing there are no friendly units within 3” of the target. 
• Measure the range. Muskets have a range of 6”.
• Assess Casualties. All units roll an average dice (AvD) and apply the following modifiers in the order listed: 
• -1 if the shooting unit is a skirmisher unit. 
• +1 if the shooting unit is a British Regular unit or American Continental unit.
• +2 if the shooting unit is a British Grenadier unit.
• -1 if target in cover.

Artillery Shooting

The procedure for bombardment is as follows.

• Adjudge Field of fire. Units may only target a single enemy unit within 45 degrees of their frontal arc providing there are no friendly units within 3” of the target. 
• Check the range. Measure the range and calculate the number of 6” bounds to reach the target. For example, a unit at 20” range is at 4 bounds.
• Assess Casualties. Roll an AvD and deduct the number of bounds. If the unit is in woods or buildings subtract 1.

Melee

The procedure for resolving melees is as follows:

• Two Sided Combat. Both the defender and attacker roll for casualties.
• Assess Casualties. The unit rolls an AvD and apply the following modifiers in the listed order:  
• +1 if regular or continental unit. 
• +2 if grenadier unit or cavalry unit
• -1 if a skirmish unit.
• Double the result for flank and rear attacks. 
• Double the result if attacking  artillery.
• -1 if charging against units in cover or uphill.
• Melee Retreat. The unit with the most total hits (not just from the melee) must retreat directly away a full move and end up facing away from their adversary.

Rout

Infantry and Skirmisher units are routed and removed from play when they accumulate 13 or more hits. Cavalry and Artillery units are routed and removed when they accumulate 9 or more hits. 

Army Resolve - If a force loses more than half of its units, the remaining units immediately suffer 2 additional hits to represent the fatigue and reduced battlefield cohesion.

Rallying

Generals may rally their troops during the Rally Phase to remove hits. Each General may attempt one rally per turn and has a limited number of rally attempts available during the game. Artillery and cavalry may not be rallied.

The rally procedure is as follows:

• Check Command Range – The unit to be rallied must be within 12" of the General.
• Attempt Rally – Roll an AvD. Remove one hit from one or more units for each point scored, subject to the following limits:
• Grenadiers, Regular Infantry, British Light Infantry, and Continental Infantry: maximum of 2 hits removed.
• Riflemen, Cavalry, Militia, and Provincial Infantry: maximum of 1 hit removed.

A General's total number of rallies available during a game may be determined using the following guidelines:

• +1 rally for each Grenadier, Regular Infantry, British Light Infantry, or Continental Infantry unit in the force.
• +1 rally for an average General.
• +2 rallies for an above-average General.
• +3 rallies for an exceptional General.
• −2 rallies if the force is poorly supplied or has undertaken a forced march.
• +1 if the force is well supplied

The Scenario

This game is my take on the battle using the scenario ideas from the books "Seven Steps to Freedom" by C. Wesencraft and "Wargamers Handbook of the American War of Independence" by D. Featherstone.

Background

A British force of approximately 1900 troops commanded by Cornwallis are pursuing of the American army commanded by Nathanael Greene with an estimated 5500 troops. Greene has chosen to make a stand near Guilford Courthouse, deploying his troops in depth.

On 15 March, Cornwallis attacked the American position. The British drove back the first two lines but suffered heavy casualties in the process. Greene opted to withdraw his third line and remaining troops from the field, but the British victory came at a heavy cost. Cornwallis's army was so weakened that it would ultimately lead to his defeat later that year. A tactical British victory but a strategic American victory.

Forces

British:

1 x Grenadier unit

3 x Regular Infantry units

1 x Light Infantry unit (skirmishing)

1 x Artillery unit

1 x Cavalry unit

1 x General with 8 rally attempts during the game

American: 

2 x Continental units
4 x Militia units
3 x Riflemen units (skirmishing)
2 x Artillery units
1 x cavalry unit
1 x General with 4 rally attempts during the game

Tabletop

A 4x4 foot tabletop is used for the scenario, as this size works well for my 15mm armies.

Map of tabletop

Deployment

The American must be deployed in three lines and each line must have at least 2 infantry units of any type. The Continental units must be in the third line, and one artillery piece must be placed in the first and second line.

The British deploy their units within 6" of their table edge.

Deployment areas

Game Length and Turn Order

The scenario has 15 game turns and the American player begins.

Victory Conditions

American victory - Rout more than 50 percent of the British units.

British victory - Rout or force off the tabletop 1 of the American continental units.

Battle Report

The Americans deploy their first line of defence along the fence line, consisting of two militia units, two units of riflemen acting as skirmishers, and an artillery piece. A second line, positioned in the central wooded area, had two more militia units and another gun, leaving sufficient space for the forward troops to retire through the position should they retreat. The final and third line, consists of two Continental infantry units, cavalry and riflemen.

Both armies deployed.

The British deployed with their artillery covering the road. On the right are the Grenadiers and a unit of regular infantry, while the left has two units of regulars supported by a unit of light infantry.

The British advance on the first American line of defence.

The British advance commences without delay. Their line moves forward against the American troops lining the fence. After exchanging several volleys to wear down the defenders they charge whenever a militia unit shows any signs of disorder. Three of the four militia units gave way to charges and retreat, though one unit stubbornly maintained its ground. In the confusion of the withdrawal, the American gun is abandoned. The British left wing press on in pursuit of the retreating militia, while on the right the remaining defenders were finally routed with the support of the Grenadiers.

The first line of defense retreats.

Grenadiers help rout the last defenders of the fence line.

With the first line swept aside, British attention turns to the second American position amongst the central wooded area. This line had been strengthened by some of the retreating troops from the first line. The attack opens with the British left wing, where the light infantry work their way through the woods to threaten the American flank. 

Supported by artillery fire, two units of regulars advance once more and successfully rout several of the defending units. One unit of British regulars are lost in the process of clearing out the militia.

The British left wing advances taking losses in the process.

On the British right wing the remaining American gun finds its range, delivering accurate fire against the Grenadiers as they try to close with the second line. Determined to stop the troublesome gun, the British commander orders his cavalry forward along the road. Their charge successfully silences the gun, but they suffer heavily casualties and retire from the battle.

Cavalry charge down the road to silence the remaining gun.

As the American second line began to crumble, the Continental units and riflemen of the third line advance to meet the enemy. British units having gained possession of the wooded centre are now exhausted from the prolonged fighting. They exchanged a couple of volleys with the riflemen, but are not in a position to advance further without artillery support, which is yet to arrive.

The central wooded area is finally taken by exhausted British troops.

The Continental infantry are in good order and appeared ready to contest the field. However, with daylight fading no further assault would be attempted without the necessary artillery support. The British retain control of the central wooded area. 

The game ends in a draw with neither army achieving their victory conditions.

The British move up their artillery, but it would arrive too late to support their worn out infantry.

Wrap Up

This proved to be an enjoyable solo game, with American units focused entirely on holding their successive defensive lines for as long as possible. The game unfolded in a manner not dissimilar to the historical engagement, with the British forcing their way through the second line of defence but becoming too disorganised and exhausted to press on. Under the scenario's victory conditions, the result is recorded as a draw, which feels like a fair and fitting outcome.

From early in the game, the British commander was attempting to rallying units in order to keep them in the fight, the loss of any unit would reduce the army's firepower and slow its advance. By the time the British had secured the central wooded area, all the available rally opportunities had been used and most units were close to being eliminated.

The average dice also worked out well and I am tempted to experiment with them further with other One-Hour Wargames rules and rule variants.

A quick AWI Game

This afternoon I was able to set up and play a quick American War of Independence game using scenario 8 (Melee) from the One Hour Wargames book. A small American force holds a hill and the British are making a surprise attack. The objective is to capture or hold the hill. Both forces have units arriving during the game.

For this game I am using two bases to represent a unit. The majority of units are made up of Peter Laing 15mm figures.

Opening moves as the British arrive.

For the rules I am using a variation of One Hour Wargames Horse and Musket rules by Neil Thomas. The rules use D3 dice to determine hits rather than D6 and minus 1 instead of halving the hits. Units are eliminated after 9 hits. I also use a simple activation system to create increasing friction as units take hits. Units have to check to activate when attempting a move or shooting. 2D6 are rolled, if the score is greater than the unit’s accumulated hits, the unit is activated to move or shoot.

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The British plan is to move swiftly down the road to block any reserves arriving down the road and attack the hill around the woods to avoid the American artillery position on the hill.

British move down the road and are faced by American reinforcements arriving to support the hilltop position.

British light infantry have occupied the woods and are engaging the hilltop defenders. While more British troops arrive.

British artillery engage their counterparts on the hilltop.

The last arriving American units are quickly engaged in the battle. A skirmish unit makes it way to the hilltop where the units are under pressure from artillery and shooting from the woods. 

Both sides are suffering losses and the American forces are tenuously hanging on to the hilltop. 

The hilltop is cleared but the British forces are weakened and are not well positioned to take advantage.

By game's end both forces are able to get a unit to occupy the hilltop. A drawn game.

The activity check rule worked well, causing a few problems as the game progressed and units accumulated hits. I will be keeping the activation rules for another game.

A return to the AWI campaign

It seems to have been quite a while since I played a game from my solo American War of Independence (AWI) campaign. My last post was back at the end of November. The campaign does not have a set number of battles, but has the possibility of 24 battles dependent upon the weather and ability forces coming into contact (both decided by dice rolls). The winner will be the side with the most victories.

Campaign map tracking the battles. Red crossed swords a British victory and Blue an American victory

A quick recap:

• British land at New York to make it their base of operation.
• May 12th - Battle of Flattop Hill - British victory
• May 24th - Battle of Smith;s Creek - American victory
• June 16th - Battle of Barwon Hill - British victory
• West Point is secured by the British
• July 29th - Battle of Blake's Farm - American victory
• August 12th - Battle at Lightman's Wood - British victory
• August 16th - Battle of Reynold's Farm - British victory
• New Brunswick and surround area in British hands. They now start their move towards Philadelphia.
• September 28th - Battle of Rosston - American victory

A closer look at the theatre of operations

During the campaign I have been refining my AWI house rules (which are based on One Hour Wargame rules). Over the Christmas period I have been able to gather up my notes and write them up. They can be found on the pages tab at the top.

I now have my board setup ready for the next game and plan to get a game in this weekend.

A lack of time to focus on wargaming

A few days ago I took a break from both my Hundred Year War (HYW) and American War of Independence (AWI) tabletop gaming. It has actually been quite a while since I played a game from the AWI campaign. This is mainly due to switching most of my efforts to completing my HYW models and terrain before Christmas. I will be returning to the AWI campaign after all the festivities are over and life settles back to normality again.

I am looking forward to some more of this after Christmas

That being said I did get a couple of quick SciFi games last weekend. I have been tinkering with the rules (again) trying to get a quicker game which will last for only 30-45 minutes. The rules are geared towards units and ideally I would like to have all the figures based on larger bases rather than based individually. So for the moment I just clump the figures closely together, terrain permitting, and I may try and create some bases to slot the figures into should my rules ever become settled. It will also speed up the movement part of the game, which is something I am really liking about the other periods I play which all have biggish bases.

A quick encounter SciFi game using my W40K

During the Christmas holiday any free time I get will be used to update my AWI rules. There are a multitude of notes and changes I have made during the course of the campaign so far. So here is an excuse for another AWI photo taken from a game about a month ago.

American forces line up for battle

AWI Campaign - August 16th, 1776, continued...

With the new shooting and elimination rules in place (jotted down on a note pad) and with a few final tweaks based on comments received from my last post, it was time to test the rules out.

British line up for battle

A very quick recap of the rules with their modifications.

When shooting units roll a number of dice (D6) depending the unit type and hitting on 4+ regardless of whether the target unit is in cover.

Artillery and Light Infantry and Frontiersmen roll 1D6
Line Infantry, Grenadiers and Militia roll 2D6
Cavalry roll 3D6 when charging

Once a unit has exceeded the limit of hits allowed they are eliminated. However, a unit's staying power is increased by 2 when they are in cover.

Militia - 4 hits in open and 6 hits in cover (Militia get cover when in fenced fields and buildings)
Artillery - 4 hits and 6 hits in cover (fortifications only)
Frontiersmen - 4 hits in the open and 6 hits in any cover
Cavalry - 5 hits
Light Infantry - 5 hits in open and 7 hits in any cover
Line Infantry - 6 hits in open and 8 in cover (buildings only)
Grenadiers - 7 hits in open and 9 hits in cover (buildings only)

Having decided hills would not increase a units staying power. Any unit shooting down from a hill is allowed to re-roll one failed to hit dice. This deliberately helps artillery and skirmish type units more so than line infantry.

So on to the game - the battle of Reynold's Farm...

Turns 1 and 2
The American commander started the game with a resolve of 6 having gained 2 resolve points with holding the farm and one on the hills. American forces decided to hold the farm and nearby fields placing their militia units in fields to benefit with an increase staying power (6). Their other forces made a flanking move on the British left flank.

The British for their part quickly raced to hold the two hills to their centre and left flank. Gaining 2 commander resolve points (resolve = 6).

Note - hills and building squares when occupied increase a commanders resolve being key terrain features.

American forces deployed and in the background they start their flank move

Turns 3 and 4
The British force was surprised by the speed of the American flanking move and came under some ineffective fire from their artillery. The hill on their left flank was shaping up to be the crucible of the coming battle.

American forces can be seen moving up on the British left flank

Turns 5 and 6
British and American forces had deployed a good portion of their forces around the hill and were exchanging volleys of fire. While the British artillery were finally deployed.

Volleys being exchanged between sides

Turns 7 and 8
Units on both sides were suffering hits, but neither side had yet lost any units. While American artillery was focused on the hill, British artillery was firing upon their counterparts with a good level of accuracy delivering a number of hits.

The view of the battle from Reynold's farm

Turns 9 and 10
Both sides started to suffer unit casualties. The British losing a line infantry unit and the light infantry on their left flank. This quickly drew the cavalry reserve into the battle to shore up the left flank. The American forces lost an artillery unit and line infantry.

The commander resolve of both sides was reduced to 4 a piece. Note - commander resolve is reduced by one whenever one or more units are lost during a turn.

British cavalry move in to shore up their left flank

Turns 11 and 12
While American forces continued to be lost in the attack upon the hill, the British grenadiers were lost in its defence. Meanwhile on the left flank the remaining British forces had started to advance upon the farm buildings.

The American attack starts to wane as casualties take their toll

Turns 13 and 14
With the attack losing momentum and British advancing upon Reynold's farm, addition loses saw American command resolve reduced to 1. British resolve was only fractionally better sitting at 2, but their remaining units in better condition the tide of battle was now definitely in their favour.

The American attack finally crumbles

Turns 15
The American commander concedes and the remaining units retire.

The rule changes appear to work ok and need some more games to be tested, but they will remain for the present and will need to be written up. My next task in the coming weeks.

AWI Campaign - August 16th, 1776

As I work my way through a number of the battles in my American War of Independence campaign. I am making adjustments to various areas of the rules. The latest adjustment is to combat, shooting to be more precise, and the number of hits a unit can absorb before it is eliminated.

Getting ready for another game

When shooting units roll a number of dice (D6) depending the unit type and hitting on 4+.

Artillery, Light Infantry and Frontiersmen roll 1D6
Line Infantry and Militia roll 2D6
Grenadiers roll 3D6

Previously when a unit was in cover a 5+ was required instead of a 4+ to hit. The rule change will try the approach of always hitting on a 4+ regardless of cover and instead increase the number of hits a unit can take (absorb) when they are in cover. Once a unit has taken their limit of hits they are eliminated.

Militia - 4 hits in open and 6 hits in cover (Militia get cover when in fenced fields and buildings)
Artillery - 4 hits and 6 hits in cover (fortifications only)
Frontiersmen - 4 hits in the open and 6 hits in any cover
Cavalry - 5 hits
Light Infantry - 5 hits in open and 7 hits in any cover
Line Infantry - 6 hits in open and 7 in cover (buildings only)
Grenadiers - 7 hits in open and 8 hits in cover (buildings only)

This does mean units are required to remain in cover once they exceed the number of hits allowed outside of cover.

The intent of these rule modifications is to even up Militia and Line Infantry when there is cover available, and limit the effectiveness of skirmishing units (Light Infantry and Frontiersmen) out of cover to a role of harassment and delaying tactics.

Next game in the AWI campaign with Militia convieniently placed in fields

So I have the next campaign battle game lined up to try out this shooting rule approach.

AWI Campaign - in a bit more detail

The AWI campaign is now moving into August and the British forces are making a second push on New Brunswick after suffereing a marginal defeat. From the rules perspective the first dice roll was for the weather. This produced a 6 - Rain!

April - June 1-4 clear, 5-6 rain
July - September 1-5 clear, 6 rain
October - December 1-4 clear 5-6 rain
January - March 1-2 clear, 3-4 rain, 5-6 snow

The impacts of weather are.

Clear - no impact
Rain - Remove one artillery unit and two other units of the players choice from the marching columns.
Snow - battle on 5+

The British Commander observes the gathering American troops

The next dice roll was to determine if there will be a battle in the first half of August. A 5 was rolled and so a battle there will be as a 4+ is required. A quick roll on a D20 provided the date, 12th August 1776.

The next step is to line up the forces into three columns and roll the dice for each column. The lowest scoring column does not make it to the battle. Any ties and the player chooses. The British go first as they are advancing and are followed by the American's.

British have 3 balanced columns. The centre column with the lowest score does not make it to the battle

The Americans take a slight gamble and stack their centre column. With the tied result they are able to choose the centre column.

Then the tabletop terrain was randomly generated and produced an interesting setup with one or two challenges. Whichever side wins the roll to layout their forces first, would get the advantage of quickly securing three terrain objectives (which are always hills and buildings). Taking objectives adds to the Commander's resolve score which during the game is whittled down by 1 each time they lose 1 or more units in a turn. I use this determine the winning side.

Dice generated terrain

The British score highest in the dice roll to pick the tabletop side and get to choose the side and layout their forces. This will possible compensate the advantage the Americans with having cavalry. In the next post I plan to do more of a battle report - I just need to play the game.

British forces march into place

AWI campaign continues into July 1776

Following on from their victory at Barwon Hill, British forces marched on and secured West Point, resting up for a few weeks. From a campaign gaming point they failed to roll a 4+ for the first two weeks of July 1776 meaning no battle. They did successfully roll a 4+ for the second half of July as they marched on New Brunswick and were met by a defending American force on July 29th. Where the battle game of Blake's farm was fought out.

The A4 sized campaign map

The area of campaigning

Here are the only pictures I took of the game (a phone recharge was required) which saw an American victory.

British forces advance

The presence of American cavalry, while not that active in the battle itself they were able to tie down 2 British units to cover their flank. This along with a good defendable position allowed the defending American forces to weather the initial British attack and later successfully counter attack with their line infantry.

American forces meet the advancing British

The British command resolve at the end of the game was lower than the American commander so they retired from the field of battle. The commander resolve rule was introduced in the previous game. A commander loses a resolve point for each turn they have one or more units eliminated, and they gain one point when a terrain objective (hills or towns) is first occupied. The army with the better command control at game's end wins. From a campaign narrative point of view a one point difference is a marginal victory, two points a victory, and three points a major victory.

I may well introduce some campaign implications for the level of victory, but as this is a new rule mechanism I am still in a wait and see situation.

American forces quickly with draw and were to successfully defend their position

In this game I had made two changes to the house rules I use. The first was not all units are eliminated on the same number of hits. Now for example, militia can take up to 4 hits before elimination, regular troops 5 hits and grenadiers 6 hits.

The second change is in relation to the commander who, providing they are in an adjacent square, can attempt to rally one eliminated unit per turn. This is done by rolling one dice and scoring greater or equal to their maximum number of hits for the unit quality. So a militia unit having taken more than four hits would normally be eliminated, but if next to a commander can be rallied by the commander rolling 4+. If rallied they remain with 4 hits with the other hits being ignored.

I am using this approach to represent the different quality of troops and the ability for militia in particular, who fought in less rigid formations, to withdraw and reform.

AWI Campaign - June 1776

The Battle of Barwon Hill, 16th June 1776, occurred while British forces were making another attempt to cease West Point and encountered American forces. This battle turned out to be a marginal victory to the combined British and Hessian force.

The British assault on Barwon Hill begins

The British victory was mainly due to their cavalry who were able to successfully defend their flank, with the support of some light infantry, and defeat their counterparts before moving to support the centre attack on the hill.

After a series of hard fought actions the American defenders were forced to retire and let the hill fall into the hands of the British forces. While on the British right flank the American defenders were more successful and made the attacking British units to retire before they took unnecessary losses.

Heavy fighting for control of the hill

The start of the unsuccessful attack by the British right flank. Matchsticks are used to track hits

As I am progressing with this campaign I am taking the opportunity to fiddle around with areas of the rules the house rules I use (based on One Hour Wargame rules). One area of change, fiddling, or meddling is the combat phase. Originally, I had

• Units in the open are hit on a 3+.
• Units in cover (woods, towns or entrenched) are hit on a 5+.
• When shooting at Cavalry a 5+ is required to hit.

The number or dice rolled depended on the type of unit. For example, skirmishers rolled 1 dice, line infantry 2 dice, artillery 1 dice, etc. The number of dice is rolled is doubled when attacking the rear or flank of a unit.

I have made two changes to: 1) slow down the effects of hits on units in the open, and 2) reduce the effectiveness of artillery at long range. Units now hit on a 4+ with the following modifiers:

• -1 if in cover
• -1 if target unit not in adjacent square (or more than 6 inches away).

The number of dice rolled by a unit remains unchanged. 

After more that six hits a unit is eliminated. Although I am now modifying this ever so slightly for the next game.