"The Battle of Gettysburg, Pa. July 3d. 1863." Currier & Ives, ca. 1863

In order to attack, ground unit combat must be initiated by a Leader who has passed his combat initiative die roll. Defending ground units do not require the presence of a Leader. Defending Leaders do not roll for combat intiative - they can always declare they are helping to defend.

The normal Command rules apply to combat, in the same manner they apply to movement. Units attacking must be under attack command from a Leader they can normally receive command from, whether its direct from a Leader to a unit, from a Leader to its corp. HQ to its units, or from an Army Leader, to a Corps Leader, to the Corp. HQ he commands, and then down to the individual units in that corps. If you want to remove troops from a HQ roster, so that they can be commanded by another Leader - you must conduct the removal before rolling for combat initiative. You cannot, however - reinsert the troops back into the HQ, until the next strategic segment.

To attack, you need to roll your initiative value or lower on a d6. This number is also the maximum battle intensity chit you can select. The combat rating is the amount this Leader can affect the final combat roll.

Both attacker and defender select a "Battle Intensity Chit". This is a number from 0 - 4. You can only select an intensity level up to the initiative rating of the Leader who is in charge. If you select a chit of value 0 means you want to keep it as small a battle as possible. A chit value of 4 means you want to make a big battle. Units without a Leader automatically choose 0. If the defender has multiple Leaders that could command the units being attacked, then the defender can select any Leader to use, thereby using that Leader's initiative and combat ratings. The defender could also choose not to involve a Leader. The attacker must choose a Leader who can normally command all the units that are attacking. The final combat intensity is determined by adding together the selected attacker and defender intensity chits. If the total is 0, then the result is an automatic "contact" - nothing happens, other than rolling for combat supply on both sides.

The Leader's combat ratings also affect the combat die roll - if the player wishes to risk the Leader to "Leader loss". The combat rating is used to modify the combat roll in either direction by the amount of the combat rating. So if, for example, a Leader's combat rating was 3, he could change the die roll result from -3 to +3 rows. A roll of 3 could result in a result of 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6. If both the attacker and defender have Leaders available, then the net result of the two ratings will be the amount that can be changed on the roll - with the player with the Leader with the greater combat rating chosing how to change it.

Supply is not required to attack. But it may critically weaken the attack, and defense, if it is required and there is none to be had. In a combat, both attacker and defender roll on the Combat Supply Table to determine if, and how much, supply must be expended in order for their units to fight at full strength. The larger the force, and the higher the intensity level, then the higher the possible cost in supply points. You use the combat intensity chosen for your force, not the combined total, when rolling on the Combat Supply Table. Even if you choose combat intensity 0, you have to roll (on the combat intensity "zero or 1" column). If you do not have the supply required by the Combat Supply Table, then your units must fight at half strength, your losses are doubled, and you cannot advance after combat. The supply used has to be "on map", either physically sitting on the map, or inside a supply train, or from an Army HQ that is carrying supply, or from an on-map depot. An Army HQ can issue its supply for combat use even if that HQ is not involved in the combat. The combat supply source has to be in the same hex or adjacent to the unit(s) requiring the supply. You cannot use "broadcast supply" for combat use.

Units can only attack from 1 or 2 hexes, and only one hex can be targetted by an attack. A two-hex attack can only occur if the attacking units are in hexes adjacent to each other and under the command of a common Leader. You cannot combine an attack from 3 or more hexes.

A Corps. Leader who is attacking can never order another Corps. Leader to join in on the attack. To get more than one Corps to attack, you will need an Army Leader directing the attack. Often you will have a situation where your Army Leader is more reluctant to attack than his Corps. Leaders. But, to get the Army and multiple Corps. to attack a single hex, you will *have* to get your Army Leader to make his combat intiative roll. Sometimes during the game, you may experience the frustration of having to attack with a single corps, while the rest of your magnificent army stays idle due to your Army Leader failing his combat initiative roll.

Combat Initiative In this example, we have what could be called the "Army of Northern Virginia" attacking a Union Corps. under the command of Porter. For the Confederates to attack, the player will either have to get Lee to roll his initiative (4) to get everyone to attack, or J.Johnston will have to roll his initiative (3) to attack. The unattached 6-3 infantry unit will have to be declared (before rolling for attack initiative) to be attached to one commander, for the purposes of the coming planned attack. If Lee successfully makes his combat initiative roll, then he can have the troops under the Army N. Va. HQ. attack AND order J.Johnston to attack with his Corps. The 6-3 infantry, if it was attached to Lee or to J.Johnston, will be able to join in the attack. So if Lee makes his roll, then all Confederate troops shown can attack Porter's Corps. If Lee fails his roll, then the player can attempt to roll for J.Johnston to attack. If the player rolls a 3 or less, then J.Johnston will attack. However, J.Johnston has no command ability over Lee or Lee's Army HQ. J.Johnston will only be able to get his Corps. to attack, and, if the 6-3 was attached to J.Johnston, he can also order it to join in the attack. Porter does not have to roll his initiative to defend. All Leaders always activate for defense. If Lee is commanding the battle (only possible if Lee passed his combat initiative roll), then he can choose a combat intensity chit of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 (up to his initiative rating). If J.Johnston is commanding the battle (even if Lee was the one to pass his command roll, he can give command of the battle to J.Johnston), then he can choose a chit 0, 1, 2, or 3 intensity. Porter can choose a chit 0, 1, 2 or 3 intensity. After both players select their intensity chits, they are revealed, and added together to get the resulting battle intensity. This number will determine which combat table the Confederates will roll on. Higher intensity battles have higher losses. If an attack occurs, then both sides will have to roll to find out if they require Combat Supply. If the Confederate troops do require combat supply, then they can draw from either the supply that is with the supply train (5 points of supply available) or, if the Army N. Va. HQ is carrying supply, they can draw from there. Even if Lee fails his combat roll, the supply that is with the Army N. Va. HQ can be given to J.Johnston's attack. If supply is required but not available, the combat strength of the supply-starved troop strength is halved, rounded down, and their losses are doubled. In this situation, if Lee commands the battle, his combat rating (3) will go up against Porter's rating (1) for a net result of 2. Therefore, Lee can modify the combat die roll result by up to 2. If J.Johnston commands the battle, his rating of 1 will be cancelled out by Porter's rating of 1, so there will be no modifications possible to the combat die roll.

A combat can never involve more than a single defender hex.

Ground units without command can never attack. Command must come from a Leader. Ground units always defend, with or without command. Units that defend without command fight with a combat initiative of 0.

Units attacking across a river have their combat strength halved, regardless of the presence of roads or bridges.

Units cannot attack across a tidal river or an estuary hexside except at a ferry crossing. If they do attack using a ferry crossing, their strength is halved (rounding up).

Units defending in rough or city hexes can ignore retreat results on them, if the owning player chooses to.

Results from combat will often cause losses and retreats on ground combat units that participated in the combat. Losses are described in percentage lost. There is a Combat Attrition Table that will tell how many strength points are lost, depending on the size of the force and the percentage that is lost.

Losses must be fairly spread out among the forces. For example, if you have one infantry unit and one cavalry unit and have to lose 2 points, you can't choose to lose two points of infantry and leave your cavalry untouched. Common sense should prevail on how to allocate the lost points. A larger infantry unit should take a loss before a smaller infantry unit does, for example. No unit can take a 2nd loss until all units (that are eligible for loss) take 1 loss first. Supply trains, naval bases, and supply depots do not fall under this loss distribution rule. You can take all the losses on your combat units before having to resort to taking losses on these special units.

Units that retreat can only retreat into a hex where they could normally move into during regular movement. Units defending in rough or City hexes can ignore the retreat result if the owning player chooses to.

Attack From March

This style of attack is very useful in that it does not require a separate combat initiative roll to attack. All that is needed is that the unit(s) be under Command, stacked with the Leader that is providing the command, and moving with the ability to enter the hex as if the enemy was not present. Non-cavalry units are halved in combat strength when doing Attack From March. No combat supply is used for "Attack From March" for either side. Neither player can select a combat intensity chit greater than 1.

"Attack from March" cannot be used to storm a fort or fortress. Units that are being besieged, however, can "Attack from March" out of their fort.

If the enemy units are dislodged from the hex, then the attacker can enter the hex. The attacker can not move any further after an "Attack from March".

Cavalry units can retreat one hex before a purely infantry "Attack from March" on them. If they are the subject of an "Attack from March" again in the hex they retreated to, they can execute the retreat again.

Siege

Confederate fort Confederate fortress Union siege train Union port

Normally units cannot enter hexes occupied by enemy units. An exception is if the enemy units are all inside a fort or fortress. When combat units enter a hex with a fort or fortress (hereafter I'll just call it "fort") that has enemy units inside of it, then a "siege" is said to be taking place on that fort.

Note that units that are in a hex with a fort do not have to be inside of the fort. By placing combat units on top of a fort counter, you are indicating that they are outside the fort. The owning player can move them inside the fort during the owning player's movement phase, or during a retreat.

Once a fort is under siege, the units inside the fort cannot move out of the fort unless they are attacking. Other friendly units that are outside of the hex cannot enter a hex under siege, and therefore you cannot reinforce the besieged units.

If units are attacking out of a fort, ignore the terrain in the hex for combat purposes.

Forts and the units inside it cannot be Attacked From March, nor can they be amphibiously assaulted. Units that are considered outside the fort, however, do not get these benefits.

A fort (identified with a "2x" on it) can contain up to 10 combat strength points. A fortress (3x) can contain up to 100 combat strength points. If a fortress gets reduced to a fort during siege, the units that where in the fortress stay in their besieged condition, even if their strength is over 10 combat strength points - however, in this case, only 10 combat strength points would be considered as doubled in defense strength.

A fort and the units inside of it do not exert a zone of control, even in the hex they are in. However, they do cause enemy river units that are going by them to undergo Naval Transit Attack.

Once a fort is being sieged, the player doing the siege has 3 options.

The player can siege it during the strategic turn.

A player can Storm a fort in a combat phase(s) while also conducting Siege Combats during the strategic turns.

Siege example In this example, we have Leader Couch, in command of a corps, with a siege train, besieging a Confederate force holed up inside a fortress. The Conferate force consists of a 6-3 regular infantry division, a 5-1 garrison unit, and 3 points of supply. During regular combat for the Union, Couch could attempt to "Storm" the fortress with his corps, if Couch rolls his attack initiative. Note that the Confederate troops would be tripled in defense strength for odds computation. Attacker losses are doubled when conducting a Storm. During the stategic phase, the Union could conduct siege combat. Siege combat consists of two different options. The besieger can only select one option in a strategic turn. The besieger can always automatically conduct either option if wished. Attack initiative is automatic for any Leader present: a) Use the siege train to bombard the fortress. This does not consume supply. b) Conduct special siege combat. This is like a Storm - but does not require attack initiative, and attacker losses are not doubled. The combat routine is conducted as usual. Neither option requires attack initiative. The besieger could automatically conduct either option a or b. The Confederates, since in this example they have no Leader inside the fortress, cannot attack out at the besieging Union troops. Note that the "x" on the fortress counter is aligned with the river hex it is supposed to be on - for purposes of interfering with enemy river transports and flotillas. This is fixed in place when placed according to scenario setup instructions, or when built. It cannot be changed to a different hexside (without destroying the fort and building a new one).

Storm

A player can attack units inside a fort by simply being on top of the fort and conducting a regular attack in a combat phase. This attack, like other attacks, require Combat Initiative, and the possible expenditure of combat supply for both sides. Units cannot attack a fort from adjacent hexes. The garrison will be doubled for a fort, or tripled for a fortress, for combat odds calculation. Terrain in the hex has no effect when executing a Storm. Losses to the attacker are doubled.

Siege Combat

In the Strategic Turn, a besieging player can do 1 of two actions. Both these actions are called "Siege Combat", but they are different in their mechanics. Attack initiative is automatic (a Leader must be present).

He can attack the fort with the combat troops in the hex. This is like a Storm but has differences. In this type of attack, the defender is still doubled or tripled in defense. But the attacker does not suffer double losses, and no attack initiative is needed. The combat supply routine is conducted as usual. Terrain (other than the fort or fortress) is ignored for this combat.

Siege trains can move by rail or naval movement, or overland by its movement allowance (2). They can be made to force march, but you risk losing it then. This presents a problem when a player needs to siege a fort that is on a river but is not accessable by rail, and difficult to get to overland. The solution is to build a base on the hex that is being besieged, then ship a siege train into the hex. A long process to be sure - but may be required to help get rid of some of the pesky Confederate forts on the Mississippi.

Naval Combat

Naval combat occurs between naval combatants in a hexside or in a hex (at sea). If combat capable naval units enter a hex that has enemy combat capable naval units, then the units must stop in the hex. During the combat phase, the player can engage the enemy units in naval combat. If naval units enter a hex that has only enemy transport units, then the units can move through the hexside or hex and ignore them.

If combat occurs, then all friendly combat capable units must attack all enemy naval units using the Naval Combat Results Table.

The Union transport is toast

Naval and river transport units have no combat factor. If alone and attacked, they are automatically eliminated. If they are in the company of friendly naval combat units, and those combat capable units are eliminated in combat, then the transports are also eliminated.

Naval Units and Fortifications

A naval unit entering a hexside on which a enemy fortification lies must undergo Naval Transit Attack (see table) before continuing through. If the unit wishes to stop at that hexside, then it does not undergo Naval Transit Attack.

Naval units can attack fortifications during the movement phase. Compare the attacking naval combat strength against the doubled or tripled strength of the garrison. The attack takes place on Combat Results Table 1. Any attacker loss results in the entire loss of a naval unit that attacked. The defending garrison ignores retreat results. Attacking naval units that suffer a retreat result must now undergo Naval Transit Attack before retreating. If the units fail the Naval Transit Attack, they are destroyed. Naval attacks on fortifications never damage the fortifications, they can only reduce the garrison.

Friendly Unit Support

Combat capable naval units stacked with friendly ground combat units can contribute their combat strength to the defense of the hex in regular ground combat. Naval units providing ground support will suffer complete elimination for any loss result against the defender. Loss must be apportioned to the defending units, but at least one of the naval units have to take one of the hits.