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Age of Musket

.

Tricorne and Musket 1740 1763

Wargame rules for battles in the Age of Reason

Peter Morffew

Copy right 2000

Edited 2010

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Troop types

Musketeer / Fusilier: These troop's were the line Infantry of the day . The Fusilier's had lost their role as

baggage guard's and were now front line troop's . Neither of these troop's were used as Light Infantry in

Europe and cannot be used in skirmish formation .

Grenadier's: These troop's were the assault troop's of the period . The Grenadier's were the taller men of aRegiment . They carried a musket and manoeuvred the same as other Infantry on the battle field . Also they

carried a axe and Grenades . Because of this ability to carry out an attack on troop's in or behind cover there is

no deduction on their melee factor against troop's in cover .

Light Infantry : These troop's were used in varying quantities by different armies . The Austrian's put great

stead on light Infantry and used them to great effect . Frederick loathed the tactic's of Light Infantry , being

able to retreat at will and were referred to as Infantry that desert . Light Infantry form up in extended order

only .

Light Cavalry: These troop's were chiefly Hussar's . Light Cavalry unit's were either regular , Militia ,

Freicorp or irregular such as the Bosniaks in Prussian service or Cossack's with the Russian army . The

irregular unit's tended to be unreliable in battle and were used for reconnaissance . There were very fewregular lancer unit's because of the skill needed to weald a lance in battle . The best lancer troop's were

irregular unit's but gave poor service in battle .

Medium Cavalry: These troop's were Dragoon's , Horse , some Guard Cavalry and Horse Grenadier's . The

Dragoon's had lost their role as mounted Infantry and were now classed as Cavalry .

Heavy Cavalry: Heavy Cavalry at the time were Cuirassiers , some being Guards such as the Garde du Korp

in the Prussian army . They had just a front plate for protection .

Battalion Gun's: Battalion Gun's were light Artillery piece's attached to a Battalion . In the case of the

Prussian army some battalion's had six pounder gun's , by the end of the Seven Year's War most Battalion's

had seven pounder howitzer's .

To represent a battalion gun one artillery crew figure will represent the gun and crew . The figure will keep

pace with the Battalion as it advance's . Infantry from the Battalion would assist with moving it on the

battlefield to ensure that it did not lag behind .

As a rule the Battalion gun would stay with the parent Battalion . Where a Regiment has two or three

Battalion's the other Battalion gun's can be attached to one particular Battalion of that Regiment .Battalion gun's will fire at the same target as the battalion they are with unless the range exceeds musket

range ,then the gun's can fire at any target within a 45 degree arc to the front . The Battalion's Infantry fire is

amalgamated to the fire from the Battalion guns or gun's and then the factor's are applied .

The Battalion gun crew adopt the same morale a the battalion they are with and will carry out the same morale

reaction's as the Battalion they are with . If a Battalion retires or retreat's the gun will move back regardless of

the distance and is unable to fire that bound . If the Battalion rout's the Battalion gun or gun's are abandonedand lost for the rest of the game .

Garrison troop's: Most armies had garrison Infantry that would act as the training Battalion . They rarely

would be used on the battle field . The exception being the Prussian Garrison Regiment's who were used by

Frederick later in the Seven Year's War to bolster his army . These troops were the invalid's or older troop'sand were unable to be of any great use on campaign's .

Militia: Prussia raised a number of militia unit's to deprive the invading armies of extra man power . Prussia

raised six militia Grenadier Battalion's , a number of Infantry Battalion's and some Hussar Regiment's .

Freikorp: Prussia found that it had to recruit more and more mercenary unit's as the Seven Year's War

progressed . Initially only Infantry Battalion's were used but Cavalry Regiment's were also formed . By the

end of the Seven Year's War Friekorp brigades had been formed with Infantry and cavalry combined . These

troop's varied in quality but very rarely were on par with the Prussian Unit's .

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Horse Artillery: Horse Artillery was still in it's infancy during this period . Russian Dragoon and Horse

Grenadier Regiment's had a Artillery battery attached to them . Frederick formed a horse battery which

suffered badly and was wiped out twice in battle . Other than these two countries no other country used horse

artillery .

Field Artillery: Field gun's varied in size , but because of their weight the maximum size tended to be twelve

pounder gun's and eighteen pounder howitzer's . The ammunition type was limited to canister and round shot

for long range fire . The canister would comprise of stone's and glass . Field Batteries consisted of six , eight ,

or twelve gun team's . Depending on the nationality .

For game purposes one artillery gun and crew represents a who battery. The base size is for two guns in the

battery. For more guns expand the size of the base.

Irregular troop's: Irregular unit's were used during the Seven Year's War , such as Cossack's ,Bosniak's and

Trenk's Pandoour's . These were used in either reconnaissance , raiding parties or on occasion actually on the

battle field where they tended to be of poor quality and not very reliable.

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Unit size

The following table's give the maximum size of Infantry Battalions and Cavalry Regiment's that are permissible

in these rules . The number of figures is arrived at by only accounting for the Musketeer's , Fusilier's or trooper's

in a unit . Staff are not accounted for . Where here are two figures in a cell the following applies . Sweden - The

smaller number was the size of a Hussar unit at the beginning of the Seven Years war , the musketeer unit size

for Sweden can be either .The Austrian Musketeer unit size is given for the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War

respectively .

France Sweden Russia Bavaria Austria Saxony

Dragoon's 12 14 18 14 18 14

Cuirassier's 8 14 16 14 18 10

Horse

Grenadier's

16 8

Horse Guards 20Hussar's 10 16 16 20 8

Musketeer's 12 - 16 14 10

Fusilier's 12 12 14 / 16

Grenadier's 8 14 8 8 8

Guard

Infantry

20 12

Jager's 14

Britain Hanover Holland Prussia

Dragoon's 6 10 12 12

Cuirassier's 12

Hussar's 20

Guard Cavalry 6 4 12 8

Horse 6 6

Horse Grenadier's 2

Musketeer's 10 14 12 12

Fusilier's 12

Grenadier's 8 8 8 8/10

Guard Infantry 8 8 10 12

Jager's 12Garrison Infantry 12

Freicorp Infantry 12

Militia 12/10

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Formations

Line : Line is a formation of two rank's of figure's to indicate the unit in close formation in three rank's . The

exception being the Russian's who used four rank's . Factor's take into account the deeper formation .

Column of route: This formation is a column of figures two figures wide . This formation is to assist a unit to

move from A to B in an orderly manner and then to be able to deploy in line .

Skirmish line: This formation is used by Light Infantry only . It is a single line of Infantry double spaced

which charging Cavalry and Infantry will automatically break through .

Square: This is a formation that is used by Infantry in defence against Cavalry . The figures form a hollow

square with an even number on the four side's . The Infantry can fire , each figure counting that is facing the

Cavalry unit . Each face of the square has an arc of 45 degree's to it's front . Square's that have been formed in

the same bound whilst being charge can attempt to be broken through .

Unformed: This is a unit that has had it 's uniformity disrupted , this could be caused by a number of reason's .

Melee , breakthrough ,

routing , etc. . To signify that a unit is unformed each base / stand is turned diagonally to the next one .

Reforming: When a unit comes to reform the unit must be stationary . The unit changes it's formation from

that as above i.e. unformed and adopts the reforming formation . To signify a unit is reforming the stand's /

bases are formed up in staggered line with the corner's of each base touching .

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Definitions

Retire : A unit will move away from the direction of the charge , attack , fire or melee in good order towards

it's own base line for one bound. If attacked the unit will defend itself and only retire for half of a bound. If a

friendly unit is blocking the direction to be retired in the unit will halt in front of the friendly unit and turn to

face the enemy . If a friendly unit is directly behind blocking the route to retire in the unit retiring will pass

through the friendly unit's rank's leaving it unformed . After retiring the full bound the unit will turn to face theenemy . A unit retires at the normal line pace .

Retreat :A unit retreating will move away from the direction of charge , attack , fire or melee towards it's

own base line for one bound . If the unit is followed up and contact is made the retreat will become a rout . If

the unit is retreating in response to a charge and the charging unit can make contact the unit will then rout for

the remainder of the move . If no follow up is made or contact made the unit will retreat as normal . If the line

of retreat is blocked by a friendly unit the retreating unit will pass through the friendly unit's rank's thus

unforming it self and the friendly unit . At the end of the retreat the unit will remain facing away from the

enemy and will have to turn to face next bound . A retreating unit will move at column of rout pace .

Rout :A unit routing will move away from the direction of attack , fire , charge or melee towards it's own base

line for one bound . If followed up the unit will rout for a further bound , if the morale check dictates yet

another bound of rout this will be added to the number of bounds that have already been dictated . If the line

of rout is blocked by a friendly unit the unit will rout through it's rank's thus unforming it .

At the end of a rout the unit will be facing away from the enemy and will also be unformed . A unit that rout's

has to spend two bound's reforming . Artillery that rout's will abandon the gun's and will not return to them forthe rest of the game . A routing unit will move at column of rout charging pace .

Battalion :A unit of Infantry that can be joined with other Battalion's to form Regiment's .

Reform :An action carried out by a unit so that it can dress it's rank's . This is carried out after a rout

regardless of circumstance's . It can also be carried out after a melee , charge , breakthrough or being broken

through by another unit . In the later the reform is optional .

Shaken :A unit has become unsteady and need's to reform , the morale is affected and could have adetrimental affect on any future action's .

Breakthrough : A charging cavalry unit has impacted on another unit and the impetus of the charging unit

has caused it to penetrate the rank's and exit the opposite side/end of the charged unit . Any unit behind can beengaged during the same bound if contacted . The first engagement must be resolved first . Both unit's that

have been contacted must resolve the melee .

A stand :One stand is four figure's = 200 men . Referred to in the response to a charge , one stand may turn to

face .

Unformed: A unit that has lost it's cohesion and is unable to operate as normal i.e. it will lack impetus in a

charge . An unformed unit can charge but will have it's limitation's .

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Getting started

To run a game the player need's a measure , pencil , note paper and a six sided die .

Prior to setting out the figures and starting the game player's on each side must mark where they will set up

their figures . This can be done with a notation of each Battalion , Regiment or Brigade on a map of the game

area . Also the objectives of each Brigade must be either written out or marked on the map . The objective can

be to hold ground or a feature , hold the right or left flank /wing , attack the left or right flank or even capture acertain geographical feature on the table .

Having drawn up the starting position's the figures are laid out on the table .

Once set up both side's determine if either have the initiative ,i.e. the tactical advantage . Both player's role a

six sided die each . The player with the highest score has the initiative . The difference between the scores

indicates the number of bound's the player can move before the opponent . Where the score's are the same both

player's start in the same bound .

There are die role adjustment's to for certain player's for historical representation . For the War of Austrian

Succession and Seven Years War games the Prussian's have one added to their die role . The exception being a

game between the Swedes and Prussian's in a Seven Year's War game . For Russian's in Seven Year's War

games one is deducted from the die role .

In a game during the War of Austrian Succession the Anglo - Allies army have two added to their initiative die

role .

Sequence of play

1 )Declare charges - move charging unit up to maximum musket range of the intended target .

2 )Charged unit's need to check their response to the charge .

3 )Charged unit carries out it's response to the charge .

4 )Where contact is made carry out melee .

5)Charging unit check's to see if it's break's through .

6 )If the unit breaks through and contacts another unit carry out the same as above for charges , i.e. responseto charge , etc.

7 )If the charging unit breaks through and makes contact with another unit , again check charged unit's

response and then carry out action's and melee .8 )Other movement , those that moved in the morale reaction's from the previous bound or charge phase do

not move .9 )Other firing - unit's that fired in the charge response phase cannot fire .

10)Morale check's .

11 )Morale reaction's - retire , retreat , rout , follow up . These unit's cannot move in the next bound's

movement phase

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Charges

All charges are declared at the beginning of the bound cycle . The unit or unit's charging must be indicated as

well as the unit or unit's being charged .

The unit or unit's charged must check their response to being charged .

If a charged Infantry unit has a rout reaction and the charging unit is Cavalry which makes contact in thecharge phase the Infantry unit is considered to have been ridden down and will take no further part in the game

and will carry on routing for the rest of the game . This does not mean that the entire unit is destroyed . If the

game is part of a campaign the melee phase is resolved as normal to see what casualties are inflicted .

An Infantry unit formed up in square from a previous bound does not have to check it's response to being

charged .

If the Infantry unit has a obey order's reaction to being charged the Infantry unit may form square or it may

have a reaction to form square . When this is the case the Cavalry can still attempt to break through if it makes

contact as the square might not be fully formed . The Infantry form square , the Cavalry make contact , the

melee phase is resolved as normal and then the Cavalry try to break through . If unsuccessful it is consideredthe square is fully formed and there may be no further attempt to break through whilst that unit remain's in

square .

Whilst forming square the Infantry unit cannot fire .

If a charging unit is fired on and takes casualties . The casualties are removed before contact is made . If thecasualties amount to more than fifty percent of the front rank the charge has been broken and will halt at at the

next range bracket

i.e. if fired at from short range the Cavalry will halt at short range . If fired at from medium range the unit halts

half an inch short of contact . If the Cavalry unit has any movement left it may use that up , taking into

account the deduction for turning about . If there are any friendly troops behind the unit that has been stopped

who are also charging they will move up to base to base contact with the rear rank and halt there . When thishappens the front unit , the one that has had it's charge broken cannot elect to use up any movement that

remains and will stay where it is for the rest of the bound . The unit behind can if it wishes use up any

remaining movement and turn about .

In the event of a Cavalry unit breaking through that melee must be resolved first and the casualties taken off .

The breakthrough takes place and if a second unit is contacted that melee is then resolved .

Charging Infantry cannot fire regardless of the distance they have too move.

With the order to charge Infantry would do just that thus ensuring momentum and shock on impact

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Response to a charge

A unit being charged must check it's response to being charged . The only unit that does not have to check it's response to being

charged by Cavalry is a Infantry unit formed up in square . A unit that has checked it's response to being charged and chooses to

form square cannot fire and the square can still be broken through , the square would not have been formed properly and is still

vulnerable to a Cavalry charge .

If a friendly unit is in base to base contact with a charged unit this unit must check it's response to a charge as well .

A Cavalry unit that has a reaction to obey order's and is unformed can remain stationary and dress rank's . The unit will be form to

receive the charge .

If the Infantry or Artillery response to a charge is to fire and the target is closer than the range given then the unit does not fire as it

is construed that the unit is unable to respond quickly enough and is shaken . Infantry will stand and receive the charge . Artillery

crew's will abandon the gun's . Artillery crew's who abandon the gun's will seek cover with Infantry within six inches and when the

threat has receded can return to the guns . If the closest Infantry are further than six inches but less than twelve inches they willabandon the gun's and will need a morale check to return to the gun's unless an Infantry unit moves to within base to base contact

with the gun bases , physically recapturing the gun's . If the closest Infantry are more than twelve inches the Artillery crew's will

abandon the gun's and not return for the rest of the game . Where the Artillery crew's seek refuge with an Infantry unit they areeffectively part of that unit and will adopt the same charge and morale reaction's . Where the Infantry unit rout's the gun's are also

lost for the rest of the game .

To check a unit's response to being charge . Role a six sided die and compare the score against the unit 's present morale status on

the chart below .

Die role score Response to the charge

6 or more points under

present morale status

Infantry fire at 2'' , if charge is halted will counter charge . Artillery will fire at 3'' and stay with gun's .

Cavalry counter charge and use charge factor's

4 or 5 point's under

present morale status

Infantry fire at Cavalry at 2'' range , Infantry counter charge Infantry . Artillery fire at 3'' range and retire

to closest Infantry . Light Infantry fire at 3'' and retire . If attacked in the flank Cavalry and Infantry turn

to face .Cavalry counter charge but do not count the charging factor . Artillery crews of 8lb or less turn

the guns . Heavier gun's crew's abandon gun's and retire to nearest Infantry unit .Equal to the morale

status or 1,2 or 3

point's under present

morale status

Infantry charged by Cavalry fire at 3'' or can form square . Cavalry and Infantry against Infantry obey

order's . Light Infantry fire at 6'' and retire . If attacked in the flank or rear one stand my turn and face .Artillery fire at 6'' then retire to safety .

1 or 2 points over

present morale status

Infantry fire at 5'' , Artillery fire at 8'' , Light Infantry fire at 8'' and retire , Light Cavalry retire , Medium

and Heavy cavalry dress rank's and receive charge . If being charged in the flank rear will retreat .

3 or 4 point's over

present morale status .Infantry shaken , will not fire . Artillery fire at 10'' , Light Cavalry retreat , Medium and Heavy Cavalry

retire . Light Infantry retreat . If being charged in the flank or rear will rout .5 or 6 points over

present morale status

Infantry rout . Artillery fire at 15'' , Light Cavalry rout , Medium and Heavy Cavalry retreat . If being

charged in the flank or rear will rout for two bounds .More than 6 points

over present moralestatus

All rout for two bounds . If charged in the flank will rout off table .

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Melee

When a melee is carried out the first two rank's of a unit are counted . There is also an over lap of two figures at

each end .

Infantry in square can only count those figures facing the opposing figure's .

After one bound of melee all troop's become unformed unless in square . To reform the unit need's to be

stationary for one bound and carry out no other function , i.e. fire , move or come under fire .

A unit unformed can still charge , test for a break through and melee but with impediment's .

Unit's in skirmish line will avoid a melee . If charged they will fall back as indicated by the response to a charge

and will then reform in skirmish line at the end of the bound , unless in hard cover then the unit will stay where

it is .

If a Cavalry unit contact's with a unit in skirmish line it will automatically break through .

Artillery that is attacked will fall back to safety to the closest Infantry within 6'' . They will return to the gun's

once safe and will not be able to fire until next bound .

If a Cavalry unit has broken through a square that has been formed this bound then the factor for Cavalry

against Infantry in square does not apply .

The melee factor for the charging unit breaking through is applicable for both units whether they have brokenthrough or have been broken through .

Casualty calculation :Multiply the melee factor's by the number of figures . Add or subtract the tactical factor . Subtract the score of a

six sided die .

For each total score of six one figure or one gun is lost .

If the final score is less than six than the die is rolled . The score must be equal or be less than the remainingmelee factor .

Melee factor :

In contact : melee from last bound Charging : first bound of contact

Infantry / Light Cavalry........1 Infantry / Light Cavalry .......1 . 5

Medium Cavalry ..............1 . 5 Medium Cavalry.........................2

Heavy Cavalry.......................2 Heavy Cavalry.......................2 . 5

Tactical factor adjustment :Being attacked in the rear or flank .........................................................................................Deduct 2Infantry meleeing against troop's behind hard cover .............................................................Deduct 2

Cavalry meleeing against Infantry in square *.......................................................................Deduct 2

Meleeing up hill .....................................................................................................................Deduct 1

Reforming , shaken , unformed, retreated last bound ...........................................................Deduct1

Unit routed last bound ...........................................................................................................Deduct 2

Grenadiers meleeing against troops in hard cover ................................................................Deduct 1

* Not applicable if Cavalry have broken through .

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Movement

Formation's :Line is a unit of figures formed up in two rank's . Skirmish line is a unit - battalion formed up in

single rank . Column of route is a unit formed up in a column , two figures wide.

Advancing and firing : Infantry may advance and fire . The distance they can advance and fire depend's on the

type of Infantry they are .Light Infantry can advance 5'' and fire , Prussian Infantry can advance 4'' and fire , other Infantry can advance 3''

and fire . Infantry cannot charge and then fire.

Formation changes :These are carried out with the unit stationary and will take one bound to complete .

A unit forming square can change formation whilst being charged . This can only be carried out during theresponse to the charge phase . Turning about , turning to the right or left only takes half a bound .

Reforming : Unit's take two bound's / cycles to reform after a rout and one bound to reform after any other

event i.e. melee ,

charge , breaking through another unit or being broken through . Unit's reforming must be stationary whilst

carrying out this action and cannot change formation .

If a unit need's to defend itself it cannot reform until it has finished firing or meleeing .Any troops routing off table will not return to the game . Any troops following up a routing unit off table will

need a morale check to return i.e. obey order's or better . Arriving on table they will be unformed .

Obstacles : Wood's , wall's , hedge's , uphill , moving in and out of building's , crossing stream's and ditches

reduces a unit's speed by half .Wood's , wall's , ditches , stream's building's and hedges nullify the charge

impetus of Infantry .

Wall's , wood's and building's nullify the charge impetus of Cavalry .

Artillery :Movement of Artillery is restricted by the weight of the cannon / howitzer .

Light Artillery :1lb , 2lb , 3lb cannon's and Howitzer's up to 7lb . These are considered to be light gun's for the

period . These move at line pace when unlimbered and at skirmish pace when limbered up , i.e. Battalion and

Regimental gun's . Battalion gun's alway's move at the same pace as the Battalion they are with .

Medium Artillery :6lb , 7lb , 8lb , 10lb , 12lb cannon's are considered to medium gun's for the period . These

can only be moved limbered up . When unlimbered they can be pivoted through 90 degree's per bound or 45

degree's and fired at half effect .

Heavy Artillery : 18lb , 24lb 30lb cannon's and howitzer's are considered to be heavy gun's for the period .

These can only be moved limbered up . Once unlimbered they cannot be pivoted but fire from the position they

are pointing in , with a 45 degree arc to the front .

InfantryLight

Infantry

Light

Cavalry

Medium

Cavalry

Heavy

CavalryLight Medium Heavy Horse

Line 8'' 14'' 12'' 10'' 6'' 4'' 3'' 10''Skirmish

line11''

Charge +3'' +3'' +6'' +5'' +4'' +5''

Column of

route10'' 12'' 18'' 16'' 14''

Limber up

unlimber

oneBound

TwoBounds

Halfbound

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Morale

Morale check's are carried out for the following reason's . Having taken casualties during a melee , casualties

from Artillery or musket fire , if a friendly routing unit passes through another unit's rank's - unless either are

Light Infantry or if when formed up in line the unit is in base to base contact with the next unit which rout's , if a

unit that follow's up a routing unit and goes off table , it will need to take a morale check to return .

Morale checks are carried out at Battalion level for Infantry , Regimental level for Cavalry and battery level for

Artillery .

Any morale check on an Infantry Battalion will also affect the Battalion gun's . This rule also applies to theRegimental gun's with Russian Dragoon and Grenadier-a-Cheval Regiment's .

To check the present morale status of a unit you add or subtract the morale factor's to the relevant unit morale

factor below . The resulting score is the present morale status . Role a six sided die and consult the morale

result's chart , the bold type refers to the die roll .

Unit morale factor :

Fortress troop's or

Irregular troop'sMilitia Musketeer's

or FreicorpArtillery , Cavalry ,

Militia Grenadiers

& Regular

Musketeer's/

Fusilier's

Regular

Grenadier'sGuard's

3 4 5 6 7

Morale factor's :General with unit - base to base contactUnit in hard cover

General within 3''

Prussian , British troop's , Swiss troop's , Irish in French service , Hanoverian troop'sEach casualty taken by a unit during game . Each bound Cavalry are in continuous melee

Battalion , Regiment shaken or retired this bound / Infantry rank's broken through by Cavalry

Being attacked in the flank or rearUnit retreated this bound .

Unit routed this bound

Unit routed last bound

Add2

Add2

Add1

Add 1Deduct1

Deduct1

Deduct3

Deduct2

Deduct3

Deduct 2

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Morale results5 or more point's under the morale status : Cavalry in melee follow up routing , retreating or retiring unit's

for one bound . Infantry in melee follow up routing or retreating Infantry for half a bound , ( unless in square ) .

Artillery man gun's . Otherwise obey order's .

4 points under the morale status : Cavalry in melee follow up routing or retreating unit's for one bound .

Infantry in melee follow up routing Infantry for half a bound , ( unless in square ) . Artillery man gun's .

Otherwise obey order's .

3 point's under morale status : Cavalry in melee follow up routing unit's for one bound . Infantry in melee

follow up routing Infantry for half a bound . Artillery man gun's . Otherwise obey order's .

Equal or 1 or 2 point's under morale status : Obey order's .

1 point over morale status : Shaken , will not initiate a charge , halt for half a bound to dress rank's . Artillery

battery that is limbered up will unlimber to fire . If unlimbered will hold unless in melee will then abandon guns

.

2 point's over morale status : Shaken , will not initiate a charge , Infantry in melee will recoil 3'' , if followedup will retire . Infantry in square against Cavalry will hold . Cavalry will retire for one bound . Artillery battery

unlimbered will hold present position . Artillery limbered up will unlimber to fire . Artillery in melee will

abandon gun's .

3 point's over morale status : Shaken , will not initiate a charge , halt for one bound to dress rank's . Infantry

in melee will retire , if followed up and casualties received will become a retreat . Infantry in square against

Cavalry will hold . Cavalry will retire for one bound . Artillery unlimbered will hold present position for the rest

of the game unless it has a reaction to retire , retreat or rout . Artillery limbered up will retire for one bound and

unlimber - will not advance any further for the rest of the game . Artillery in melee will abandon gun's for two

bound's .

4 point's over morale status : Retire for one bound at line pace , if followed up and casualties received will

become a retreat . Infantry in square against Cavalry hold . Artillery unlimbered or limbered up will limber up

and retire for one bound and not advance for the rest of the game . Artillery in melee will abandon gun's .

5 point's over morale status : Retreat at line pace for one bound , if retreat is followed up the retreat becomes

a route .

Infantry in square against Cavalry can be broken through , Cavalry can role for the break through . If successful

square will break and rout for one bound . Artillery retreat for one bound whether unlimbered or limbered up , If

battery is attacked or fired upon whilst retreating it will become a rout .

6 points over morale status :Route for one bound at column of rout pace , Artillery will abandon gun's for the

rest of the game . Unit will take two bounds to reform .

More than 6 points over morale status : For each point the die roll exceeds 6 point's over the morale status

the unit will rout one extra bound . I.e. a unit has a morale status of minus one . A die roll is six . This is one

point above six and so the unit will route two bounds .

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Addenda

HistoryBetween 1740 and 1763 there were three major wars in Europe that shaped the national boundaries that were

to become familiar in the next century . This period was to be known as ' the Age of Reason ' where old

conflicts over religion gave way to war's over industrial resources .

Armies became more professional and were modelled on the Prussian style developed by Frederick the Great .

Between 1740 and 1763 Austria was at the centre of three wars . Firstly with Prussia under Frederick the Great

. In 1740 Frederick invaded the Austrian province of Silesia starting the First Silesian War . With Austria

occupied with Prussia in Silesia , Bavaria supported by France advance up the Danube valley attacking

Austria .

at the same time France advanced into Austrian - Nederlands . This attack was opposed by an allied army

composing of British , Hanoverian , Dutch , Hessen , and Austrian troops .

In southern Europe Spain and France attacked Italy ,a Austrian possession at the time . This war

( The War of Austrian succession ) lasted until 1748 . The Silesian War ended but Maria Teresa was

determined to take back Silesia and so Austrian troops advanced on Silesia , sparking the Second Silesian War. This second war lasted until 1748 in which Prussian maintained possession of Silesia .

There was a period of peace which was broken by Prussian in 1756 in a pre-emptive attack on Saxony , a

minor Austrian ally with the intention to also attack Austria . This was to prevent the Grande Alliance of

Russia , France , Sweden , Austria , Bavaria , a number of other smaller states and Principalities plus the Reich

Armee attacking Prussia . Frederick thought that by defeating Austria the other nation's would back down .

This did not happen and the war dragged on for the next seven years . The Seven Years War was a world wide

conflict where Britain , Prussia , Hanover and other German states were pitted against The Grande Alliance , (

Spain joined in 1762 ) .

The Anglo allied army fought in the west whilst Prussian fought the Russians and Austrian's in the east . The

Anglo allied army under the Duke of Cumberland was defeated by France and capitulated .

Prussia wa forced to fight on all fronts by itself . A Russian army marched into East Prussia , Austrian troops

marched into Silesia , the Franco allied army advanced from the west and the Swedes attacked from the north .

Frederick prevented his Kingdom from being over whelmed with an outstanding victory at Rossbach , where20,000 Prussian's defeated 60,000 French . At Leuthen Frederick defeated the Austrian army .

The Anglo allied army reformed and supported by some Prussian troops defended the west flank for the rest of

the war .

The commander was the Duke of Brunswick , who was put forward by Frederick the Great . The Allies

inflicted a serious of defeat's on the French over the next few years in campaign's that involved considerable

manoeuvring .

During the next four years Frederick won some masterful victories against the poorly organised Grande

Alliance .

Costly victories at Zorndorf in 1758 and at Leignitz in 1760 as well as Frederick's worst defeat at Kunnersdorf

drained the Prussian army .

At the end of 1761 the Austrian's advanced into Saxony and Silesia and the Russians held Pomerania . Prussiawas stretched to the limit . The Prussian army now composed of a large contingent of Frei Korp units .

Peter the III succeeded the Russian throne and withdrew Russia from the War . Austria was unable to defeatPrussia alone and withdrew from Silesia leaving it in Prussian hands

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Tactic's of the period

Tactic's of the period covered by these rules tended to be slow and ponderous .

Armies would manoeuvre onto the battlefield in column of route and deploy for battle in line

( linear formation ) .Smaller Armies such as the Prussians managed to out manoeuvre their enemies and gain the upper hand by

deploying to the flank . Which was perfected by Frederick the Great .

Once deployed for battle Battalion's would advance on their objective at a slow pace ensuring that the rank's

remained closed up . Where gap's appeared they would be closed quickly as possibly with the cohersion of the

Ensign's and Sergent's .

Infantry were considered to be the taker's and holder's of ground . The Infantrymen were drilled to fire fiveround's per minute . In battle this proved difficult for several reason's . The musket barrel getting hot , the

priming pan getting clogged up with carbon from the gun powder , ram rod's breaking - a number of armies

still employed wooden ram rod's , breakages i.e. the trigger mechanism , flint's breaking and even ram rod's

being fired by mistake .

The Infantry marched literally shoulder to shoulder at about 65 pace's a minute , similar to to the modern slow

march and as previously mentioned in line .Column during this period had died out of fashion during the previous century after Adolphus Gustaph had

used line to maximum effect to inflict casualties in his enemies . Line was three rank's deep , the Russian's

changed back to a four rank formation after a period of experimentation . battalion's would march to within

200- 100 yards and then fire a number of volleys before charging or would advance closer and fire again and

then charge . The Prussian's fired from the hip whilst marching at ranges of 300 - 400 yard's . This tactic wasused well to effect at Chotusitz .

If Infantry were charged by Cavalry they would ideally form square but what happened on a number of

occasion's the Infantry would stand and wait until the Cavalry got close and then let loose a murderous volley

such as that fired by the British Infantry at Minden . If the Cavalry were not stopped and carried on charging

the Infantry would lay down a let the Cavalry run over them saving them from the sabre slashing . Some

veteran unit's even stood up after the cavalry had passed and fired a volley into the back of the Cavalry.Grenadier's were the assault troops of the period . They were armed with a musket as other Infantry but also

an axe and a pouch of grenade's made of porcelain or wood . Grenadier battalion's were formed bywithdrawing the Grenadier company's from the Infantry Battalion's and amalgamating them into unit's of

about 400 men .

Some Armies formed ad hoc Grenadier Battalion's for the duration of the battle or campaign . Other armies ,

such as the Prussian's and Russia's formed regular Grenadier battalion's .Cavalry would form up in line , threerank's deep almost boot to boot . When advancing they stopped every so often to redress the rank's to ensure

the squadron's were in good order . The initial pace was the trot , this would build to a canter as they closed to

the enemy . In the last 100 yard's the Cavalry would gallop at the enemy .

The Prussian Cavalry were expected by Frederick to charge before the enemy , adding to the shock effect .

Austrian Cavalry would fire a volley with their pistol's as they rode in . This reduced the impact effect of the

full charge , plus it proved difficult to put the pistol away and then use the sword .Cavalry melee's tended to be short , especially if it was light or irregular Cavalry .Artillery fire was slow and

not very accurate outside canister range . Artillerist's would fire without running up the gun or even fire

without aiming the shot . Some Infantry commanders knew this and used tactic's to evade artillery fire , suchas marching diagonally .

During this period all Infantry Battalion's had Battalion gun's . These were mostly two or three pounder's . In

the case of the Prussian Army some Battalion's had six pounders and towards the end of the Seven Year's War

most Battalion's had seven pounder howitzer's .

Because of the weight of the field gun's their movement was very restricted . Once set up the gun's would not

be moved and stay in the same position through out the battle . This was due to the limber train was all staffed

by civilian's .

Horse artillery was just coming into use . First with the Russian Dragoon's and Horse Grenadier's and then

Frederick formed a Horse Artillery unit which was ruthlessly used . It was wiped out twice but rebuilt and

survived to the end of the Seven Year's War .

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Battles of the Seven Year's War , 1756 - 1763

Lobositz : October , 1756 - Prussian's 28,000 , vicotor's / Austrian's 33,350

Prague: 6th May , 1757 - Prussian's 67,000 , victor's / Austrian's 60,000

Kolin : 18th June ,1757 - Prussian's 32,000 / Austrian's 40,000 , victor's

Hastenbeck: 26th July , 1757 - Anglo-allies 36,000 / French 60,000 , victor's

Gross Jagersdorf: 19th August , 1757 - Prussian's 24,700 / Russian's 54,800 , victor's

Rossbach: 5th November , 1757 - Prussian's 22,000 , victor's / Franco - allies

Leuthen: 5th December , 1757 - Prussian's 35,000 , victor's / Austrian's 60,000

Crefeld: 23rd June, 1758 - Anglo - Allies 30,500 , victor's / French 47,000

Zorndorf : 14th August ,1758 - Prussian's 25,000 / Russian's 40,000

Hochirch: 14th October , 1758 - Prussian's 30,000 / Austrian's 78,000 , victor's

Bergen: 13th April , 1759 - Allies under Duke of Brunswick 27,000 , victor's / French

30,000

Zullichau: 12th July , 1759 - Prussian's / Russian's

Kay: 23rd July , 1759 - Prussian's 27,000 / Russian's 52,000

Minden : 1st August , 1759 - Anglo - Allies 42,500 , victor's / French 54,000

Kunnersdorf: 28th August , 1759 - Prussian's 40,000 / Austro - Russian army 90,000 ,

victor's

Maxen: 20th November , 1759 - Prussian's 15,000 / Austrian's 32,000 , victor's

Warburg : 31st July , 1760 - Allies under Duke of Brunswick 24,000 , victor's / French

21,500

Leignitz: 15th August , 1760 - Prussian's 26,700 / Austrian's 100,000

Torgau: 3rd November , 1760 - Prussian's 44,000 , victor's / Austrian's 64,000

Belle Isle: 7th - 8th April , 1761 - British 8,000 , victor's / French 3,000

Bruzenitz: August , 1761 - Austro -Russian's / Prussian's

Burkersdorf: 21st July , 1762 - Prussian's 55,000 , victor's / Austrian's 75,000

Freidburg: 29th October , 1762 - Prussian's , victor's / Austrian's

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Bibliography

Warfare in the Age of Reason: :..........................................................................................................Wordsworth

Frederick the Great :................................................................David Fraser :.................................Penguin Press

Dictionary of Battles :..........................................................................................................................Hutchinson

Guide to the Battles of Europe :............................................ Peter Chandler :...... .............................Wordsworth

Dictionary of Military Biography :......................................................................................................Wordsworth

Eighteenth Century Europe , 1700- 1789 :..............................Jeremy Beach :.....................................Macmillan

Frederick the Great :..............................................................Giles MacDough :...........................Pheonix Press

Famous British Battles :.........................................................Geofffrey Regan :............Michael O'Mara book's

Great Battles of the British army :.........................................David Chandler :...........................Bramley book's

Art of warfare in the age of Marlborough :..............................David Chandler :.......................................London

History of warfare :................................................................H. W. Koch :........................................W. H. Smith

Firer power , weapon effectiveness

effectiveness on the battlefield :..............................................Major General B.P. Hughes.....Arms and Armour

Russian uniform's & flags of the Seven Years War :.................................................... R.D. Pengel , G.R. Hurt

Russian Infantry of the Seven Year's War :....................................................................R.D. Pengel , G.R. Hurt

Swedish Army in Pomerania 1756 - 1763 :....................................................................R.D. PengelPrussian Infantry uniform's of the Seven Years War :...................................................R.D. Pengel , G.R. HurtAustro-Hungarian infantry regiment's :..........................................................................R.D. Pengel , G.R. Hurt

Basic guide to Armies & uniform's of the Seven Years War :................................................Active service

uniform's

AustriaFrance

British

Saxon's

Hanoverians

Prussia