Introduction. freewargamesrules.co.uk presents Glory Days! by Craig Cartmell These are a set of rules for fighting the American Civil War at regimental and brigade level. The smallest unit sizes are infantry and cavalry regiments, artillery batteries and General s Staff elements. Although developed with 20mm plastic figures in mind the ground scale lends itself equally well to 15mm metal. If you want to use them for 25mm then simply increase all movement and firing ranges by 50%. The main guideline in the development of these rules was simplicity. You ll never need more than 4 sixsided dice to play, and the rules will generally become memorised after but a single battle. Core Concepts. The main mechanic underlying these rules is the concept of Initiative. On his turn a player may continue to move and fire his units, one-by-one until either he fails in activating a unit, or his opponent successfully interrupts him with reaction fire. This works as follows. To move or change the formation of a unit a player must first make a successful activation roll. This means rolling a six-sided die and equalling or exceeding a target number. The target number can be modified by the troops experience; the terrain they are in; and how tired, disordered and damaged they are. If he succeeds the unit can move, and the player can then try to activate another unit. If he fails to activate the unit the initiative passes to his opponent. Similarly when a player wants to fire at an enemy that is in range he rolls a number of six-sided dice, and provided he hits with enough dice he may continue to move or fire units. If he does not cause enough damage the initiative passes to his opponent. The second key mechanic is the D-marker. As a unit takes damage from musket and artillery fire, or loses cohesion from moving through difficult or godforsaken terrain, it accumulates D-markers. Each D-marker adds one to the target number for just about any action a unit could be ordered to take, making it more likely they will fail, and the player loses the initiative. Any unit may carry up to 3 D-markers at a time. The only way to remove D-markers is to attempt to rally. Troop s experience and closeness to the enemy or their own generals all make an impact on this. Troop Types and Figures. For the sake of simplicity we have standardised the size of all units by type. We have also standardised weapon types. Infantry. Infantry are organised into regiments of 4 elements. Each element should be the same size and hold either 4 or 6 figures (depending on how rich you are). They can be deployed either in a column one element wide by four deep, or in a line one deep and four wide. For presentation s sake one element should have an officer, standard-bearer etc., though this has no impact on the rules. All infantry are considered to be carrying rifled muskets. Feel free to experiment with alternatives for very early or late war scenarios. Cavalry. Cavalry are organised into regiments of 4 mounted elements. Each element should be the same size and hold either 2 or 3 figures (depending on how rich you are). They can be deployed either in a column one element wide by four deep, or in a line one deep and four wide. For presentation s sake one element should have an officer, standard-bearer etc., though this has no
impact on the rules. Cavalry can be deployed dismounted, in which case place three elements of infantry down to represent the troopers and place a single element of cavalry behind as horse-holders. All cavalry are considered to be carrying smoothbore carbines, pistols and sabres. Feel free to experiment with alternatives for very early or late war scenarios. Artillery. A single gun model, four crew and a limber represent a battery of 12 pounder smoothbore or rifled cannon. Artillery may be deployed either limbered or unlimbered. Depending on the scenario some artillery may be designated as Horse Artillery and so benefit from the increased movement rate. Otherwise all artillery is Field Artillery. Generals and their Staff. Each Brigade, Division and Corps has a designated General element. This is normally represented by 2-3 mounted figures on a cavalry base. In reality it represents the General, 4-5 senior officers and aides, halfa-dozen couriers and a small number of cavalry troopers as guards. It is not a fighting unit. Organisation. Infantry. The workhorse of the battlefield. Nobody can win and hold ground without infantry. Unless a scenario dictates otherwise at least two-thirds of a CSA force must be infantry, and three quarters of a Union one. Infantry is organised into Regiments of 4 elements (24 figures). A Brigade may contain between 3 and 6 Regiments, and will be led by a General (72-144 figures!). A Division may contain 2-5 Brigades, and will be led by a General. A Corps may contain 2-5 Divisions, and will be led by a Senior General. An Army may contain 1-4 Corps, and will be led by a most Senior General. Note that each side seldom had more than three full armies in the field at any one time. This game works best with one all-arms division per side. Cavalry. Except in a few circumstances cavalry were always outnumbered by infantry, and were subservient to them. In this game both sides may deploy up to a Brigade of cavalry per division, comprising 2-5 Regiments. If you want to re-fight Brandy Station and have the figures, good luck to you. Cavalry became more useful in the late war when repeating carbines became the norm. Artillery. Generally players may choose one or two Batteries per Division of infantry. This is best done by agreement before the game. Note that for the purposes of calculating the proportion of forces that are not infantry, batteries count as three elements. Troop experience. Each Regiment, Battery and General has an experience level. They are either Veteran, Seasoned or Raw. This represents their level of training, battle experience, competence and courage. In a campaign players may, by agreement, advance successful units and Generals (even though early-war Union Generals seemed immune to betterment). Normally each unit and General s experience level would be determined by the scenario. However we have included some random tables for those spur of the moment games.
Early War (1861-62). Infantry Cavalry Artillery Generals D6 Rebel Union Rebel Union Rebel Union Rebel Union 6 Vet Vet Vet Seas Seas Vet Vet Seas 5 Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas 4 Seas Raw Seas Raw Raw Seas Seas Raw 3 Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw 2 Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw 1 Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Mid-War (1863-64). Infantry Cavalry Artillery Generals D6 Rebel Union Rebel Union Rebel Union Rebel Union 6 Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet 5 Vet Seas Vet Seas Seas Vet Vet Seas 4 Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas 3 Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas 2 Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Seas Seas Raw 1 Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Raw Late War (1864-65). Infantry Cavalry Artillery Generals D6 Rebel Union Rebel Union Rebel Union Rebel Union 6 Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet 5 Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet Vet 4 Vet Vet Vet Vet Seas Vet Vet Seas 3 Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas 2 Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas Seas 1 Raw Raw Seas Raw Raw Seas Seas Raw Movement. Activation. In order to move a unit a player must first activate it. To do this they must roll a six-sided die and equal or exceed a target number. The base target number is 3, but this can be raised or lowered depending on the modifiers below: In column & on a road -1 General with unit -1 Per previous move made on this initiative +1
No friendly units within 6 +1 Moving in/into Difficult Terrain +1 Moving in/into Godforsaken Terrain +2 Thus a Raw unit in open woodland (difficult terrain) with 1 D-marker would need to roll a 6. If it was in godforsaken terrain (i.e. a bayou) it could not move unless it could rally off its D-maker or a General joined it. A unit can be activated a number of times during a single initiative. However, if you wish to move a unit more than once it must be done consecutively (i.e. not interrupted by other actions). Thus you could try to move an infantry regiment three times in succession as long as you managed to roll successfully (remember the +1 penalty for each previous move on this initiative). You could not move the regiment twice, get it to fire or move another unit, then come back and try to move it again. Failure to activate a unit to move gives the initiative to your opponent. Failure to activate a unit to move into or in difficult or godforsaken terrain gains the unit a D-marker. Movement Rates. Once activated units may move up to the following distances: Infantry in column 6 Infantry in line 4 Cavalry in column 12 Cavalry in line 8 Field Artillery 6 Horse Artillery 9 General & Staff 12 Infantry and Cavalry in column, Generals and limbered Artillery may all choose to begin and end their move following a road. If they do so they may add one third to their movement. Effects of Terrain on Movement. There are four types of terrain that can affect movement: Type Examples Effect Obstacles Difficult Walls,Fences, Sunken Roads, Ditches, Small Streams Light Woodland, Orchards, Tall Crops, Steep Hills, Streams Reduce units move distance by one third See above in activation, Cavalry & Artillery can only cross on road.
Godforsaken Dense Woodland, Bayou, Swamp, Built Up Areas, Rocky Outcrops, Fortifications See above in activation, Cavalry & Artillery can only cross on road. Rivers Potomac, Shenandoah etc. Can only be crossed by bridge or ford Changing Formation. At any point a unit may attempt to change formation. The following formations are permitted: Infantry and Cavalry may deploy in a line one element deep, or in a column one element wide. Cavalry may also deploy mounted or dismounted. Dismounted Cavalry are represented by three infantry elements with a cavalry element behind acting as horse-holders. Artillery may deploy limbered or unlimbered. To change formation a player must first activate the unit. To do this he must equal or exceed a target number on one six-sided die. The base target number is 3, which can be modified as follows: No enemy units within 12-1 Moving from line to column to cross a bridge/ford. -1 Per previous move made on this initiative +1 In Difficult Terrain +1 In Godforsaken Terrain +2 Interpenetration. Voluntary Interpenetration. This is where a regiment of infantry or cavalry, formed in line attempts to pass through another regiment, also in line and facing the same direction. When performed successfully it was a very effective tactic for bringing fresh troops into an attack (the front regiment having taken the brunt of the enemy fire). However, it was very difficult, especially under battle conditions. To represent this just prior to the attempt both regiments must make a movement activation roll. Should both succeed the moving regiment passes through the stationary one in good order and with the minimum of disruption. But, should one regiment fail, both fail and the moving unit comes to a halt directly behind the stationary one. Both units pick up a D-marker for their trouble and the initiative passes to their opponent. Involuntary Interpenetration. This occurs when a unit is forced withdraw as a result of melee, and another friendly unit lies behind it and within its movement distance. In either case both test for interpenetration as above. If they both succeed they both take a D-marker, and the moving unit carries on through the stationary one.
If only one succeeds that unit takes a D-marker and the other loses an element. If the one that succeeded was the moving unit it carries on through. If they both fail they both lose an element and the moving unit stops in confusion in front of the stationary one, and facing it. Firing. Firing on one s own initiative. During your initiative each of your units may attempt to fire once. To fire a unit must have a target that is both within range and within a 45 degree arc of the unit s front. Only elements that can trace a direct line-of-sight to the target unit may be counted as firing. Other troops, and difficult or godforsaken terrain all count against visibility (exceptions being streams and steep hills which offer no cover). However, if the target/firing unit is on the edge of the difficult/godforsaken terrain it can be targeted/fire. If both firer and target are within difficult terrain the maximum visibility range is 6. Within godforsaken terrain visibility is 3. Weapon Range Smoothbore Musket 4 Rifled Musket 6 Carbine (all types) 4 Smoothbore Cannon Shell 12 Smoothbore Cannon Cannister 4 Rifled Cannon Shell 18 Rifled Cannon Cannister 4 Infantry and Cavalry roll one six-sided die per element. Artillery firing shell roll two six-sided dice, and four if firing cannister. Cavalry with repeating carbines may roll one extra six-sided die for each three elements firing. Generals do not fire, but they can be fired upon if unattached, and there is no closer, better target. To hit with an element the player must score equal to or more than a target number. The base target number is 3 and can be modified as follows: Enfilading target (firing into flank or rear) -1 Fired on same target last initiative -1 If firer moved on this initiative +1 Target behind and adjacent to fence/wall +1
Target in Difficult Terrain +1 Target in Godforsaken Terrain +2 Thus a regiment of seasoned cavalry at full strength (4 elements), with a single D-marker, who have ridden to within range of an enemy infantry regiment s flank, dismounted (reducing them to 3 elements) and fired would have a target number of 4 (base 3, seasoned +0, enfilading 1, moved +1, D-marker +1). So if they rolled a 2, 4 & 6 they would hit twice. Reaction Fire. Unfortunately enemy units do not sit passively while you move your units around. If a unit moves into or through an enemy unit s fire zone (range and 45 degrees of front), that enemy unit can declare reaction fire! at any point during that move that it could legally fire at it. At that point carry out firing in the same way as for fire on your initiative (above). If the enemy unit scores at least two hits the moving unit must stop and the initiative is passed to the enemy. A unit may only use reaction fire once in its opponent s initiative. Melee. Melee begins when one unit moves into contact with another. To do so the charging unit must be within movement range of their target, survive the target unit s reaction fire (if any), and then pass a charge test. A unit that is charged by a unit to its front may declare reaction fire, but even if it successfully hits the charger, it does not gain the initiative. The charging player must roll one six-sided die and equal and exceed a target number. The base target number is 4, and can be modified as follows: Cavalry charging Infantry in the open -1 CSA Cavalry charging (1861-1863) -1 General with unit -1 Charging in/into Difficult Terrain +1 Charging in/into Godforsaken Terrain +2 If the charger succeeds it moves into base-to-base contact with its target. If it fails it stops 2 from its target and initiative passes to the enemy. Once a melee begins all elements of both units are lined up face-to-face. Infantry and Cavalry roll one six-sided die per element. Artillery roll four dice on the first round (final blast of cannister), and none thereafter. Generals do not fight, but they can be attacked if unattached. The base target number required for a hit is 2, and can be modified as follows:
Charging flank/rear* -2 Charging* -1 Enemy behind and adjacent to fence/wall* +1 Enemy in fortifications* +1 * in first turn only. If after a turn of melee: A unit has failed to hit its opponent, and it has been hit by in return it will retire one full move. If it had the initiative that passes to its opponent. Both unit have either scored no hits or the same number of hits. Another turn of melee is fought immediately. One side has scored more hits than the other, that side gains the initiative and may either continue to fight, or withdraw a full move away from its opponent (not Artillery). If it withdraws it may then move/activate other units as per normal. Effect of Hits. Any unit that is hit has two choices; become disordered or lose men. This is represented by allowing the player to either add D-markers equal to the number of hits, and/or to remove complete elements. However, no unit may carry more than three D-markers. Once you have three your only alternative is to remove elements. The removed elements are not all dead. The lost men represents about 25% dead or seriously wounded, 25% lightly wounded, 25% men who are escorting their comrades off the field, and 25% fled. Few regiments in the war took more than 50% actual dead and wounded in a single battle, though there were exceptions. Artillery batteries are comprised of three elements; the gun, the crew and the limber. The limber always goes first, immobilising the battery. Then the crew, which effectively neutralises the battery. Generals are quite vulnerable when out on their own. They can take three D-markers, then on the next hit - they re dead! A General that is attached to and supporting another unit cannot be targeted until the unit is destroyed. Rallying. The only way to remove D-markers is to rally a unit around its officers or an attached General. To rally a unit it must equal or exceed a target number on one six-sided die. The base target number is 3 and can be modified as follows: Veteran General with unit -2 Seasoned General with unit -1 Enemy unit has just withdrawn from melee with this unit -1
Outside movement range of any known enemy -1 No friendly units within 6 +1 If successful the unit can remove a single D-marker. To remove more, rally again. If the unit fails to rally off a D-marker initiative passes to the opposing side. As you can see, the best way to rally is to withdraw the unit to a safe distance and add a good General to bolster morale.