Part1 Setting up the Game
Setting up the game Necessary equipment All you need to play Polemos American Civil War is: A number of ordinary six-sided dice, numbered 1-6, known hereafter as D6. A ten-sided dice, for the army generators numbered 1-0, known hereafter as D10. A measuring device, either an expanding metal tape measure or a measuring stick marked in base widths (BWs) and depths. (BDs). See section below on basing. Two (or more) armies of miniature figures. Generals may be placed on bases 30mm square. The higher the status of the general, the more aides, hangers-on, lackeys, etc he can have on his base. Messengers may be depicted by a single mounted figure on a small round base. Troop types Infantry units in this era formed in increasingly more open formations with a skirmish line in advance and a formed reserve deeper in the rear of the formation. In attack however, columns were often used to deliver fast moving assaults. Basing The basic unit of manoeuvre in Polemos ACW is the Base. This is a group of wargames figures mounted permanently on a single base of a given size. The actual number and position of the figures on the base is not important. Nor is it important that the base sizes given below are adhered to. So long as both armies use the same basing system, the rules should not be affected. The ratio of 2:1 between base width and base depth for infantry and cavalry should, however, be retained. All distances are given in base widths (BW). Infantry units can form in line or attack columns with skirmishers out in front and a formed reserve in the rear. This can be depicted by figures in single or multiple ranks, in line or column on a standard base of 60mm x 30mm, using other infantry to represent a skirmish line or even a reserve behind the main line. Confederate Infantry Infantry: Most Infantry known as Regulars, Militia, Volunteers or any other name, are formed units mostly armed with smoothbore or rifled muskets but later in the war may have breech loading rifles or repeating rifles. They can deliver their fire by command or individual shots upon a given target but mainly rely on the volume of fire to break up attacks or engage in fire-fights. Cavalry can be depicted by one or two ranks of figures in the same fashion again on a standard base of 60mm x 30mm. You may depict cavalry using one line of figures or skirmishers and a second rank of horse holders. Artillery, both smoothbore and rifled varieties, is depicted by a 30mm square base bearing one gun model. Limbers should be mounted on a separate base of standard size, 60mm x 30mm. Union Infantry Skirmishers: These are not depicted by distinct bases of their own, but by a skirmish capability factor which is assigned to standard infantry bases. This represents the infantry base s ability to skirmish. 4 Polemos ACW On They Came
Setting up the game Cavalry units did not generally fare well against the increased rate of infantry and artillery fire during the war. Mainly armed with carbine, sword and pistol, they may however, have a mixture of small firearms. Later in the war repeating rifles or carbines would be a more popular option for the fast moving cavalry columns and dismounted actions. To compound matters the cavalry arm was mainly used in raiding, supply disruption, pre-battle scouting, harassing a retreating enemy or providing rearguard actions to delay the enemy. Artillery: Batteries were able to closely support infantry or cavalry attacks and unlimber close to the enemy line. Heavier Corps or Reserve guns were usually placed in support of troops in defence. Union artillery was plentiful, usually better supplied and handled throughout the war. The Confederate artillery arm on the other hand had many problems relating to quality of ammunition, leadership and shortages of supply to contend with. In some cases large Cavalry battles took place, like Brandy Station, however Cavalry charging Infantry would generally end up in failure, as did Farnsworth s unsuccessful charge against Hoods Division at Gettysburg and success in this type of attack was very rare. Dismounted these units could be very effective in closed terrain or holding onto flanks or defend advanced positions as Buford s cavalry did on day one of Gettysburg. Union Cavalry Troop quality These are the categories the troops are organised in and some broad examples of the quality of troops who fought. Raw: This category includes untrained, unwilling or militia troops. Troops who could count as Raw include some of the following; green troops, conscripts, State Militia and some Volunteers. Trained: Troops who have undergone training and know their business well enough to change formation or open fire without falling into confusion. Troops who could count as Trained include some of the following; some State Militias, most Volunteers, and some regulars. Cavalry & Dismounted Cavalry: Cavalry trained to scout, skirmish and screen in front of the Army, but also capable of charging. Dismounted they behave in the same way as infantry and gain an SK Value. Artillery Units were mainly used to support defensive lines by breaking up attacking formations movements. They would also be used in suppressing enemy guns in counter battery fire and occasionally for supporting attacks. Smoothbore artillery with its shorter range was much more effective in close support, whereas the rifled artillery tended to engage targets at longer ranges in counter battery fire or disrupting attacks to neutralise any threat and then move closer in to support attacking formations. Veterans: Troops who have experienced actual combat ( seen the elephant ) and know what to expect. Troops who could count as Veterans include some of the following: regulars and exceptional volunteers. Elite: Troops who have a high opinion of themselves. Elite status is in addition to one of the other classes. A unit could therefore be Elite and Raw, i.e. they have an unjustified high opinion of themselves. Troops who could count as Elite include some of the following; The Stonewall Brigade, The Iron Brigade, Kershaw s Brigade of Mclaw s Division and the Irish Brigade. Also some individual units like the Louisiana Tiger Zouaves, The Bloody Seventh West Virginia or the 1 st US Berdan s Sharpshooters. Polemos ACW On They Came 5
Setting up the game Skirmish capability Marking units Infantry dismounted cavalry units are assigned a skirmish capability of 0 to 2. This represents: 0 = Formations (mainly Raw) that may have skirmish support but is ineffective. 1 = Formations with effective skirmish Support. 2 = Experienced formations (mainly Veterans) that have very heavy skirmish lines pushed well forward of the main bodies, or are trained to skirmish en-masse. Note: Skirmish capability is tied to the experience of the parent units and is not necessarily a representation of the amount of skirmishers but more a measure of the effectiveness and experience of the screen they provide. It can be difficult to keep track of troop quality and skirmish capabilities during a large battle, so the following may be of use; certain distinctions may be marked by the use of small coloured stickers available from stationers and placed on the rear of the relevant bases. Troop quality markers on the Right Rear of bases: Red for Veterans. White for Raw. With Black added for Elite status. Skirmish capability markers on the left rear of bases: Yellow for level 0 Green for level 2 Alternatively, skirmish figures may be permanently affixed to infantry bases to represent their skirmish capability. Up to four figures close to the unit and closer together for level 1, more than four for level 2, and none for level 0. 6 Polemos ACW On They Came
Part 2 Playing the Game
Army Organisation Part one of Polemos American Civil War On They Came is intended to be suitable for actions up to Corps level, with the focus on the actions of individual units. Base scales for On They Came A base of infantry represents an infantry regiment, about 300 to 500 men. A base of cavalry represents a cavalry regiment, about 300 to 500 men and horses. Artillery bases represent a grouping of 8 to 12 guns (two batteries). Army organisation Organisations did not seem to vary much in the armies participating in the American Civil War (ACW). The following organisation rules for Polemos ACW On They Came (OTC) use certain generic terms which you may need to translate to those in use with your particular army. Unit - single, or groups of regiments of infantry or cavalry or grouping of guns represented by a single base. This is the smallest formation of which we take account in OTC. Each artillery base should be accompanied by a standard size base representing their limbers, caissons, etc. This base is placed immediately to the rear and in contact with the battery when it is deployed. A standard base for infantry or cavalry represents an area 200 yards wide by 100 yards deep. Note that this does include quite a bit of empty space room to deploy and manoeuvre, adopt a more open order formation and have a reserve formation. An artillery base represents an area 100 yards square. There is no timescale but for those who must, try 20 to 30 minutes per turn. First Division, IX Corps: Wilcox (2994/400 = 7 (7.4) Bases) 8 Polemos ACW On They Came Example Brigade - a force generally consisting of from three to seven units of infantry or cavalry commanded by a Brigadier. (Units within a brigade may be linked as part of the same regiment. This has no effect under the rules.) Division - a force comprising a number of brigades of infantry and cavalry with attached artillery, with the whole under the command of a General. Army or Corps - a force, that could possibly contain all arms, directly under the command of the CinC. (The player). Here are some examples of the forces as they might be formulated for use in On They Came from the battle of Antietam (1862) in the eastern featuring some divisions from each army. 1st Brigade: CHRIST 4 Regiments (1335) (3 Bases - Trained, RM, SK1) 2nd Brigade: WELSH 4 Regiments (1659) (4 Bases - Trained, RM, SK1) Artillery: WILCOX Artillery 2 Batteries (12 Guns) (1 Base - Trained, Elite - Light SB) I have amalgamated these two batteries of 12 guns into 1 Base shown above: Cook s Battery 8 th MA Light (SB - Light) and Benjamin s Battery E 2nd US (SB Heavy) Second Division, IX Corps: Sturgis (3063/400 = 8 (7.65) Bases) 1st Brigade: NAGLES 4 Regiments (1335) (4 Bases - Trained, RM, SK1) 2nd Brigade: FERRERO 4 Regiments (1659) (4 Bases - Raw, Elite, RM, SK0) Artillery: STURGIS Artillery 2 Batteries (10 Guns) (1 Base - Trained - Light Rifle) I have amalgamated these two batteries of 10 guns into 1 Base shown above: Durrell s Battery D PA Light (Rifled - Light) and Benjamin s Battery E 4 th US (Rifle - Light) A P Hills Division: Brig. A P Hill (4532/400 = 11 (11.33) Bases) Branch s Brigade: BRANCH 5 Regiments (809) (2 Bases Veteran, RM, SK2) Gregg s Brigade: GREGG 5 Regiments (1077) (3 Bases Veteran / Elite. RM, SK2) Archer s Brigade: ARCHER 4 Regiments (518) (1 Base Veteran / Elite, RM, SK2) Field s Brigade: BROCKENBROUGH 4 Regiments (627) (1 Base Veteran / Elite, RM, SK1) Pender s Brigade: PENDER 4 Regiments (737) (2 Bases Veteran / Elite, RM, SK1) Thomas s Brigade: THOMAS 4 Regiments (764) (2 Bases Veteran, RM, SK2) Divisional Artillery: HILL 4 Batteries (15 Guns) (2 Bases - Trained - Heavy SB) I have amalgamated these 4 batteries of 15 guns into 2 Bases as shown above) Crenshaw s Richmond Artillery, (SB - Heavy), Braxton s Fredericksburg Artillery, (SB - Light) McIntosh s Pee Dee Artillery, (SB - Heavy), Pegram s Richmond Purcell Artillery, (Rifle - Light). Notes: In creating these divisions we have chosen the 400 troops per base for Infantry and 12 guns per battery. Some of the formations (regiments) were so small that they have been amalgamated (as they did then) onto 1 or 2 bases, thus keeping the number of bases down. However we could equally have used 300 troops per base and used more bases. We have also amalgamated the artillery into the overall type for the troop quality and artillery type to keep record keeping to a minimum. Also as the Confederates are at 12 guns per base like the Union artillery we could reasonably drop the -1 for Confederate Artillery firing.