Battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Elements
Preparing the Battle
Fighting the Battle
Winning the Battle
Battlefield Terrains
- Control
- Cover
- Fortified
- Impassable
- Obstruction
- Rough
Unit Classes
Optional Rules
Credits
- - Fire Dice Results

Game Elements

Game Components

This rules booklet
78 blue and 78 red Unit pieces
20 Objective markers
5 blue and 5 red Order tokens
5 blue and 5 red Activation markers
1 blue and 1 red Victory markers
1 blue and 1 red Reinforcement markers
3 blue and 3 red Leader pawns
3 Rout markers
2 Assault grey special dice
2 Fire orange special dice
1 Hazard black special die
1 Six-sided die
4 Battlefield maps
4 Battle Folders
2 Player Aid sheets

The Battlefield Map

The game comes with four different battlefield maps of different sizes, depending on the scale of the battle to be played.

The battlefield is divided into hexagonal spaces, where the units of the two armies will move and fight.

The scale of the battlefield - as well as that of the units' pieces - is different from battle to battle, and is specified on each Battle Board (see below).

On the battlefield there can be terrain elements or settlements of various types, which are associated with special rules that change the way units move or fight. (see "Battlefield terrains" section on page 14).

Battlefield Folder and Battle Board

Each battlefield map comes accommodated in a Battlefield Folder.

On the front of the Folder a short description of the historical background of the battle recounts its premises, unfolding and outcome.

On the back an image of armies starting deployment is to be used during the setup of the battle itself.

On the inside of the Battlefield folder you will find the Battle Board. This will be placed next to the battlefield map at the start of the game to manage the course of the battle.

Within the top band of the Battle Board, from left to right, are indicated:

the place and date of the battle;
the nations (or coalitions) involved in the battle, and their associated Command value (the number of Order tokens and Activation markers each faction will have available), the number of Leaders, and the Initiative for the battle;
a Qrcode that leads to a web page dedicated to the battle, with additional details, faq and variants.

In the middle section, on the left, any special rules applying for battle are described.

On the right, the rules that apply to the specific battlefield terrains are also described.

At the bottom, the row of Order spaces will be used by players to place their Order tokens during the game, to issue orders to their units.

Finally, on the lower edge of the Battle Board there is the Victory track, where players will advance their markers every time they get Victory points during the battle, and where they will check the game end conditions of the battle.

Unit Pieces

Each unit piece is defined by three attributes: its type, its quality, and its faction. It also has an orientation and two different sides indicating different conditions of the piece.

The icons on the piece indicate the unit's type, whether it is Infantry, Cavalry, or Artillery;
The colour of the icons indicates its quality: units with yellow-gold icons are the highest quality troops, followed by those with silver-grey icons and finally by those with white icons. The quality of a unit is also associated with special rules, described in the corresponding section on page 14.
The background colour indicates the faction to which the piece belongs. For most of the battles, blue pieces belong to the French army (or an army allied with it), while red pieces belong to 'Coalition' armies, opposing the French army;
Finally, the arrows at the top of the piece indicate its orientation within a space;

Each unit piece is double sided, with a side showing 2 icons - representing 2 points of strength - and a side 1 icon, representing 1 point of strength (see "Unit strength" paragraph for more information).

Normally, unit pieces begin the battle showing the side with 2 points of strength.

Red (coalition) Cavalry unit, gold quality, with 1 point of strength.

Blue Artillery unit, white quality, with 2 points of strength.

Blue (french) Infantry unit, silver quality, with 2 points of strength.

Unit Formation

Each unit on the battlefield is represented by two pieces that occupy the same space. The arrangement of these two pieces in a space represents the formation adopted by the unit on the battlefield at that specific moment.

Each formation acts very differently on the battlefield. Columns are employed to move faster, to assault and push away opposing units and finally to occupy strategic locations on the battlefield.

Lines are less mobile but more effective in firing and reducing the strength of enemy units.

Finally, Infantry Square formations are very effective in defending against enemy Cavalry assaults, but are also completely unable to move, assault or fire (see "Forming a Square" paragraph on page 12 for details).

Infantry units can be deployed as Lines, Columns or Squares, and will be able to change formation during the battle.

Infantry in Column, Line and Square formation.

Cavalry units can only be deployed as Columns. Artillery units can only deployed as Lines.

Cavalry in Column and Artillery in Line formation.

Unit Orientation

Each unit must be positioned within a space so that its Front faces one of the sides of the hex.

The three spaces in Front of the space occupied by the unit are referred to as the 'Front' of the unit. These are the spaces towards which a unit can normally attack. In addition, enemy units entering a Front space are normally forced to stop their movement.

The space exactly behind the one occupied by the unit are referred to as the 'Rear' of the unit. Sustaining fire or being assaulted from the Rear space is particularly dangerous for a unit.

Front and Rear spaces of a unit

Unit Strength

Infantry and Cavalry units normally start the battle at full strength, with both pieces showing the face with two icons, totaling a strength of 4. Every time an Infantry or Cavalry unit takes a casualty for any reason (enemy fire or assault, or failed retreat), it must flip or remove its unit pieces to show the change in strength:

When it takes the first casualty, one piece of the unit is flipped;
When it takes the second casualty, the second piece of the unit is flipped;
When it takes the third casualty, one piece of the unit is removed (the unit is considered to be Broken: see "Broken units" section below);
When it takes the fourth and last casualty, the second piece is also removed (the unit is removed from the game).

Infantry Column with 4, 3, 2 and 1 (Broken) points of strength

Every time a unit is removed from the battlefield, a victory point is awarded to the opponent (see "Winning the battle" section on page 13).

Broken Units

When a unit, for any reason, has lost 3 points of strength and is reduced to a single piece with 1 point of strength is considered Broken.

Broken units cannot move, assault or fire, but when a Rally is performed, they can add a second piece with one point of strength to re-establish a formation (see "Rally" section, on page 8).

Broken units have no formation, and don't have any Front.

Disordered Units

Due to various causes (retreats, assaults or fire from the Rear, hazard die results), units during battle may become Disordered. The two pieces of the unit are 'scattered' in the space to represent this status.

Disordered units cannot move, fire or assault. When a Rally is performed, they can be redeployed in any allowed formation.

Disordered units don't have any Front.

Broken unit / Disordered unit

Leaders

Leader pieces represent high-ranking officers capable of giving orders and positively influencing the actions of friendly units near them. They can share the same space on the Battlefield of a friendly unit, or they can occupy a space on their own.

Leaders serve two functions:

They make units in their space or in adjacent spaces more effective during combat (see "Fire Dice Results" and "Assault Dice Results" sections);
They allow the use of the "Leader Action" order, which activates units in the Leader's space and in adjacent spaces (see "Leader Action order", on page 7).

Order Tokens and Activation Markers

At the start of the game each player will receive a number of Order tokens and Activation markers equal to the Command value of their army, as specified on the Battle Board (e.g. if an army has a Command value of 5, each player will receive 5 Order tokens and 5 Activation markers).

Order tokens will be used on the Battle Board, to select the type of order that will be issued in each turn.

Activation markers will be placed on the battlefield during each turn to indicate the units that will be commanded.

Objective Markers

Objective markers are either grey (on both sides) or double-coloured markers (one side blue and the other red). These markers are placed in specific spaces of the battlefield during setup to mark tactically important locations.

If a player's unit ends its move in a space occupied by a grey marker, this is replaced with a marker showing the player's own colour. They immediately gains one victory point.

If a player's unit ends its move in a space occupied by a marker showing the opponent's colour, this is flipped over to show the colour of that player, who immediately gains one victory point. The opponent does not lose any victory point (see "Winning the battle" section on page 13).

Special Dice

There are three types of dice in the game:

Orange dice ("Fire dice") will be used when resolving the effects of fire (see "Fire" section on page 10).
Grey dice ("Assault dice") will be used to resolve the effects of assaults (see "Assault" section on page 11).
The black die ("Hazard die") can be added to rolls in order to have a better chance of success, with higher risks, during a fire or assault.

Other Markers and Tokens

Other items in the box are used during the game on the Battle Board.

Players will advance their

Victory markers and Rout markers

Victory Markers on the Victory Track to show the victory points obtained during the battle (an indicator of how close the opponent is to a rout). When one of the Rout markers - randomly placed face down at the start of the game - is reached, this will be turned over to see if the battle is over or if it continues to the next Rout marker (see "Winning the Battle" section on page 13).

Reinforcement markers

Reinforcement markers will move on the reinforcement track to indicate when new troops have arrived on the battlefield (see "Reinforcements" section, on page 13).

Finally, the six-sided die included may have different uses depending on the battlefield chosen (and sometimes may not be used at all).

Preparing the Battle

To set up a battle, simply select a Battle Folder, take out the Battlefield Map and open it in the centre of the table.

Decide who will play with each army, and take seats at the table accordingly.

The outside of the folder contains a historical introduction to the battle (you can read it aloud before you play the battle) and the setup illustration.

Place the unit pieces as shown, paying attention to the each unit formation and orientation. Also, place the Leader pieces and the Objective markers on the battlefield as shown in the picture.

Now open the folder, turn it over and place it next to the battlefield map. The folder will serve as the board you will use during the battle to place your Order tokens and to keep track of each army's Victory points. The board also displays all the specific details and rules that apply to the battle you are going to play. Read them aloud before the battle, and carry on the required actions.

Each player takes the number of Order tokens and Activation markers indicated in the "Command" section of the Battle Board, places a Victory marker on the first space of the Victory track, at the bottom of the Battle Board, and a Reinforcement marker - if needed - on the first space of the Reinforcement track.

Shuffle - face down - the three Rout markers and place them on the three marked spaces of the Victory track.

Place the dice next to the battlefield map.

You are now ready to battle!

Fighting the Battle

During the battle, the two players take turns, starting with the player with the Initiative (specified on the Battle Board).

In your turn, you must decide whether:

To issue an Order to your units, by placing an Order token on the Battle Board, or
To perform a Rally, by retrieving all the Order tokens already placed on the Battle Board.

Issuing Orders

If you choose to issue an order, as a first step during your turn, you must place one of your unused Order tokens on an Order space not yet occupied by one of your Order tokens (it does not matter if your opponent's token is present).
After doing that, choose - one at a time - the units on the battlefield that you want to activate to perform one of the actions described in the chosen Order space, placing an Activation marker on it. Each unit must complete its activation before the next unit is activated.
When you cannot or don't want to activate further units, recover your Activation markers, together with the unused Activation markers you have left.

A description of the Order Spaces commonly found on a Battle Board will now follow. Some Battle Boards will have different Order Spaces, that will be described in the "Special rules" section for the specific Battle Board.

Infantry Lines Order

Infantry units in Line formation can be assigned an Activation marker to perform one of the following actions:

Move up to 1 space (see "Movement" section on page 9), or
Fire at a enemy unit in its Front (see "Fire" section on page 10), or
Change formation to Column (may also change orientation) or Square

Infantry Columns Order

Infantry units in Column formation can be assigned an Activation marker to perform one of the following actions:

Move up to 2 spaces (see "Movement" section on page 9), or
Move up to 1 space and assault a enemy unit in its Front (see "Assault" section on page 11), or
Change formation to Line (may also change orientation) or Square.

Cavalry Order

Cavalry units in Column formation (not Broken or Disordered) can be assigned an Activation marker to perform one of the following actions:

Move up to 3 spaces (see "Movement" section on page 9), or
Move up to 2 spaces and assault an enemy unit in its Front (see "Assault" section on page 11).

Artillery Order

Artillery units in Line formation (not Broken or Disordered) can be assigned an Activation marker to perform one of the following actions:

Move up to 2 spaces (see "Movement" section on page 9), or
Fire at an enemy unit at range (see "Fire" section on page 11).

Elite Infantry & Heavy Cavalry

Gold quality Infantry or Cavalry units that are not Broken or Disordered can be assigned an Activation marker to perform one of the allowed actions:

Elite Infantry Lines can either move up to 1 space, fire or change formation to Column or Square;
Elite Infantry Columns can either move up to 2 spaces, move up to 1 space and assault an enemy unit or change formation to Line or Square;
Heavy Cavalry Columns can either move up to 3 spaces or move up to 2 spaces and assault an enemy unit;

Leader Action Order

Choose one of your Leaders on the Battlefield. Units in its space or in spaces adjacent to it can be assigned an Activation marker to perform one of the allowed actions:

Infantry Lines can either Move, Fire or Change formation to Column or Square;
Infantry Columns can either Move, Assault, or Change formation to Line or Square;
Cavalry units can either Move or Assault;
Artillery units can either Move or Fire;

Note that if the unit sharing the space with the Leader moves to a different space, and the Leader moves with it, different units may become adjacent to the leader and thus can be activated.

After activating the units, you can also reposition the selected Leader in any space of the battlefield not occupied by enemy units or Leaders.

With a Leader Action order, units in the Leader space or adjacent to it can be activated to perform different actions (move, fire, assault or change formation).

Maneuver Order

Units of any type that are not Broken or Disordered can be activated to Move double the allowed number of spaces (up to 2 spaces for Infantry Lines, 4 spaces for Infantry Columns and Artillery Lines, 6 spaces for Cavalry Columns) and/or change orientation (see "Movement" section on page 8).

Rally

At the beginning of your turn, if you cannot or do not want to place an Order token, you must perform a Rally. Rally does not require Order tokens, and will allow you both to recover all the Order tokens already placed and reorganize your units on the battlefield, but it will also concede Victory points to your opponent.

When you perform a Rally, follow these steps:

Your opponent advances their marker on the Victory track one space, if not differently specified in the Special Rules of the Battle Board (see "Winning the battle" section on page 13);
Recover all your Order tokens placed on the Battle Board and place them back in front of you;
If stated by the Special Rules of the Battle Board, advance your marker on the Reinforcement track and check if new units enter the battlefield (see "Reinforcements" section on page 13);
Broken units of any type can be assigned two Activation markers to reform, by adding them a second unit piece with a one point of Strength and deploying in any allowed formation;
Disordered units can be assigned one Activation marker to deploy in any allowed formation and orientation;
Oher units can be assigned one Activation marker to change formation and/or orientation;
Recover all the used Activation markers from the units.
Reposition any of your Leaders in any space not occupied by enemy troops or Leaders on the battlefield;

Performing a Rally and using a total of 4 Activation markers, a unit can change formation, a broken unit can reform and a disordered unit can redeploy in a formation.

Example of a turn (1) It is the turn of Louis Nicolas, who places his Order token on the "Infantry Columns" Order space. He then takes an Activation marker and places it on one of his Regular Infantry units in Column to move it two spaces. After making the move, he places another activation marker on a Veteran Infantry Column to move it one space and assault an adjacent opposing Infantry unit. Finally, he uses the last available Activation marker to change the formation of a third Infantry unit from Column to Line. He then takes back all the Activation markers from the activated units and finally passes the turn to his opponent.

Example of a turn (2) It is the turn of Joachim, who has an Order marker left and desperately needs to launch an assault with his Cavalry. However, the 'Cavalry Columns' Order space is already occupied by one of his Order tokens. He could decide to use a different order space, but in view of the situation he prefers to Rally and retrieve all placed Order tokens. In his next turn he will be able to command the cavalries again... hopefully not too late!

Movement

Different types of units and formations can move a different number of spaces:

Cavalry Columns may move up to 3 spaces;
Artillery Lines may move up to 2 spaces;
Infantry Columns may move up to 2 spaces;
Infantry Lines may move up to 1 space;
Infantry Squares cannot move;
Broken and disordered units cannot move;

Units can be moved in any direction, regardless of their starting orientation. At the end of their movement, units may be oriented in their arrival space in any way.

The Infantry Column moves 2 spaces and change its orientation at the end of the movement.

It is not allowed to move into, or through, border spaces that are only half pictured on the battlefield.

Moving Through Units

Movement is allowed through spaces occupied by friendly units, but not through spaces occupied by enemy units o leaders.

Units can never end their movement in a space occupied by another unit, or resolve an assault from an occupied space.

The Cavalry Column moves through two spaces occupied by friendly units.

Moving into a Enemy Front

Units must stop their movement when entering a space in the Front of one or more enemy units. They can still assault one of these units, if they have the opportunity (see "Assault" section on page 11).

Units that begin their movement within the Front of one or more enemy units may leave it normally, but must stop again if they enter another space in the Front of the same or of a different enemy unit.

The presence of a friendly unit in a space cancels the blocking effect of of enemy units on that space, and thus allows the unit to pass through that space without stopping.

The blue Infantry Column can move through a Front space of the red Infantry, since it is occupied by a friendly unit.

Leaders Movement

Leaders don't move like units and don't require Activation markers to be placed on them. Instead, they move around the battlefield in two ways:

if they share a space with a unit, and this unit moves or retreats, Leaders may follow the unit in moving;
can move to any space not occupied by enemy units, leaders or Objective markers after a Leader Action order is issued, (only the chosen Leader can move), or when a Rally is performed (any Leader can move).

Fire

When a unit is resolving a Fire order, follow the steps below in the order given:

Change orientation - The firing unit can change orientation within its space as desired;
Choose target - Choose an enemy unit to be the target of the fire; if the firing unit is an Infantry unit, the target unit must be in a space of its Front; if the firing unit is an Artillery unit, the target unit must be inside the Artillery fire arc (see diagram below);

Artillery and Infantry fire arc

Firing on a broken unit? - If the target unit is broken, it is removed from play without the need of resolving the steps below;
Firing from the Rear? - If the line traced between the center of the firing unit and the center of the target unit passes through the Rear space, the target unit is immediately Disordered. Arrange the two pieces of the unit accordingly;
Hazard Die? - Decide whether to add or not the Hazard die to the unit fire (see "Hazard Die" section on page 12);
Roll Fire Dice - Roll the Fire dice (plus the Hazard die, if you decided to add it) and check their results. For each Fire die rolled, check whether the indicated requirement is fulfilled (see table in this page). If it is fulfilled, the die counts as a success.
Firing on a Disordered unit? - If the target unit was disordered, all the rolled dice are considered to be successes, regardless of the requirements shown;
Resolve Retreats - For each Retreat icon rolled on a successful die, the target unit must retreat one space (see "Retreats" section on page 12). If at least a Retreat icon has been rolled, the targeted unit becomes Disordered (if not already Disordered or Broken).
Resolve Casualties - For each Casualty icon rolled on a successful die (and for each space the unit cannot retreat, see "Retreats" on page 13), the target unit loses 1 point of Strength.

The target unit is disordered, so the fire dice rolled are always successful. The target unit takes one casualty and retreats one space.

The first die is a success (the target unit is in Column formation), but the second is a fail (the firing unit is not an Artillery). The target unit takes one casualty.

The Artillery unit is firing uphill, so just one die is rolled (see "Battlefield terrains" section, on page 14). The firing unit has not a better quality of the target unit, so the die roll is a fail.

Artillery Fire

An Artillery unit cannot fire if any obstacle (another unit, a village, wood or hill space) is present on the line between the center of its space and the center of the space occupied by the targeted unit. If this line passes exactly along the dividing line between two spaces and at least one of them is unobstructed, then the Artillery can fire normally.

The Artillery may also fire if the obstacle is on a lower level of the firing Artillery.

Firing on Leaders

It is never possible to fire on a Leader alone in a space. If the unit sharing the space with a Leader is removed from play due to a unit fire, the Leader remains alone in that space but is unaffected by the fire.

An another unit is between the firing Artillery and its target, but the Artillery is on a higher ground, so it can fire normally ignoring the obstacle.

Assault

A unit resolving an Assault order may be moved following the normal rules (Infantry Columns can move up to 1 space, Cavalry Columns can move up to 2 spaces), change its orientation in any way, then declare an assault against an enemy unit in a space of its Front.

To resolve an assault, follow the steps below in the order given:

Reaction - If the assaulting unit is in a Front space of the assaulted unit, the assaulted unit may in some cases perform a Reaction (see 'Reactions to enemy assaults' section on page 12);
Assaulting a Broken unit? - If the assaulted unit is broken, it is removed from play without the need of resolving the steps below;
Assaulting from the Rear? - If the assaulting unit is in the Rear space of the assaulted unit, the assaulted unit is immediately Disordered. Arrange the two pieces of the unit accordingly;
Hazard Die? - Decide whether to add or not the Hazard die to the unit assault (see "Hazard die" section on page 12);
Roll Assault Dice - Roll the two Assault dice (plus the Hazard die, if you decided to add it) and check their results. For each Assault die rolled, check whether the indicated requirement is fulfilled (see table in this page). If it is, the die counts as a success;
Assaulting a Disordered unit? - If the assaulted unit was disordered, all the rolled dice are considered to be successes, regardless of the requirements shown;
Resolve Retreats - For each Retreat icon rolled on a successful die, the assaulted unit must retreat one space (see "Retreats" section on page 12). If at least a Retreat icon has been rolled, the assaulted unit becomes Disordered (if it was not already Disordered or Broken);
Resolve Casualties - For each Casualty icon rolled on a successful die (and for each space the unit cannot retreat, see "Retreats" on page 13), the assaulted unit loses 1 point of Strength;
Take ground - If the unit has retreated at least one space, or has been removed, the assaulting unit must now move into the vacant space, reorienting as desired.

The red Infantry is broken (it only has 1 point of strength), so the assaulting unit doesn't need to roll dice. The red Infantry is removed, and the assaulting unit takes ground moving into the space.

The blue Infantry is being assaulted from a Rear space, so it immediately gets disordered. The assault dice don't need to satisfy any requirement, so they are both successful, and the assaulted unit must retreat 3 spaces.

The blue Infantry Column moves one space and assaults the red Infantry Line. The first die is a success (the assaulted unit is in Line formation), but the second is a fail (the target unit is not in the Front of another friendly unit). The assaulted unit must retreat 1 space and is disordered.

Assaulting a Leader

If a Leader is left alone in a space because the unit in its space has been removed from the game due to an Assault, and the assaulting unit takes ground, the Leader is also removed from the game.

A Leader alone in a space for any reason may also be Assaulted by an enemy unit. In this case, the Leader is removed from the game without the need to roll Assault dice.

When a Leader is removed from the game, the opponent player immediately gets one victory point (see "Winning the Battle" section on page 13).

Assault Dice Results

Assaulted unit retreats one space.
Assaulted unit retreats one space if a friendly Leader is in the same space or in a space adjacent to the assaulting unit.
Assaulted unit retreats one space if the assaulting unit has a better quality (silver quality unit assaulting a white quality unit, or gold quality unit assaulting a silver or white quality unit).
Assaulted unit retreats one space if it is in Line formation.
Assaulted unit retreats two spaces if it is in the Front of at least another enemy unit.
Assaulted unit retreats one space and takes one damage if assaulted by a Cavalry.

Reactions to Assaults

If the assaulting unit is in a Front space of the assaulted unit (and therefore also if the assaulted unit is not Disordered or Broken), the assaulted unit can in specific cases react to the assault.

Depending on the type of units involved in the assault, there are three different reactions the assaulted unit can possibly take.

Evade

If an Infantry unit is assaulting a Cavalry Column, the latter may evade the assault by moving into an adjacent space and orienting itself as desired; the assaulting unit must then enter the vacated space, orienting itself as desired. The assalt is considered terminated.

The Cavalry unit is assaulted by an Infantry Column. It simply moves one space away, and the assaulting unit enters the space left unoccupied.

Reaction Fire

If the assaulted unit is an Artillery unit or an Infantry line, it may perform a reaction fire.

Roll a single Fire die and immediately resolve its effect as it was a normal Fire (see "Fire" section on page 9).

If the assaulting unit is not Broken or Disordered as a result of the reaction fire, it may proceed to resolve the assault.

The Infantry Line is assaulted by an Infantry Column. It performs a reaction fire with one die, rolling a success. The assaulting unit takes one casualty and proceeds with the assault.

Form a Square

If a Cavalry Column is assaulting an Infantry Line or Column, the assaulted unit may form a Square, arranging the two unit pieces accordingly.

When a unit is in Square formation, all Retreat icons rolled by enemy Cavalry assaults on the unit are ignored, and only Casualty icons are considered.

Infantry Squares are an excellent defence against Cavalry assaults, but they come with certain disadvantages:

Infantry Squares cannot move, assault or fire;
Infantry Squares have no Front;
Infantry Squares may only change formation to Line or Column when a Rally is performed;
If an Infantry Square is targeted by fire, or assaulted by an Infantry Column, it is immediately disordered.

An Infantry Line that has performed a Reaction fire cannot form a Square as a reaction to the same assault, and vice versa.

The Infantry Line is assaulted by a Cavalry Column, and decides to form a Square. The assaulting Cavalry decides to try the assault but the retreat caused by the successful dice are ignored.

Hazard Die

The Hazard Die is a special die that can improve a unit's chance of success in fire or assault, but at a cost.

Adding the hazard die to your roll means taking an action with a certain level of intensity and a degree of risk (such as an especially vigorous assault or intense firing).

Whenever you must roll dice for an assault or fire, you can choose to place a second Activation marker on the unit to add the Hazard die to its roll.

If you decide to add the Hazard die, roll it together with the Fire or Assault dice.

The Hazard die has no requirements to be satisfied to be considered a success, but might also present some negative effect (casualty or disorder) for the unit using the Hazard die.

Resolve the effect of the Hazard die on the assaulted or target unit together with those of the other dice.

At the very end of the Fire or Assault resolution - after the assaulting unit has possibly advanced in the space left empty by the assaulted unit - resolve the white bordered Casualty or Disordered icon on the Hazard die.

An Infantry Line is firing on a Cavalry Column, and decides to add the Hazard die. The target unit takes two casualties, but the firing unit also takes one.

Hazard Die Results

The enemy unit takes one casualty.
The enemy unit must retreat one space.
Both the enemy unit and your unit take one casualty.
The enemy unit must retreat one space. Your unit is disordered.
The enemy unit takes one casualty and retreats one space. Your unit is disordererd.
Your unit takes one casualty.

Retreats

For every Retreat icon rolled on successful Fire or Assault dice, the enemy unit must retreat one space in a direction chosen by the owner of the retreating unit. Retreats must follow these rules:

Each space entered in a retreat must increase the distance from the unit that caused the retreat.
A unit can only retreat through spaces not occupied by enemy or friendly units or Leaders, or enemy controlled Objective markers.
As with normal movement, a unit must stop when retreating into a space in the Front of an enemy unit.
Terrain effects like "Rough" or "Impassable" (see "Battlefield terrains" section on page 14) also apply on retreats.
Artillery units can never retreat.

For each Retreat icon the unit is unable to fulfill due to these restrictions, it takes one casualty instead.

After resolving a retreat, even if the unit was actually unable to move due to the restrictions above, the retreating unit becomes Disordered (if not already Disordered or Broken).

The red Infantry Line has been assaulted and must retreat two spaces. A space is prohibited since it should move through an Impassable terrain, while another is occupied by another unit. The only possible retreat space is on the hill, but the Rough terrain stops the retreat, causing one casualty on the unit (see "Battlefield terrains" section on page 14).

Reinforcements

During the Napoleonic wars, not all units were usually present on the battlefield from the beginning of the day. The Battle Board may provide - in its special rules section - for the arrival of reinforcements at some point later in the game.

Unless otherwise stated, the check for the arrival of reinforcements is a step of the Rally procedure. In this step, you advance your Reinforcement marker one space on its track for each Order token you are retrieving from the board. If the Reinforcement marker reaches or passes one or more spaces indicating reinforcements for your army, check if and what reinforcements will enter according to the specific rules of battle.

If the space reached by the marker has a number (e.g. 4+), this means that supplies only enter the battlefield this turn (if they have not already entered) if you roll that number or higher with the die.

The blue player recovers 3 Order tokens from the board, so the Reinforcement marker is advanced 3 spaces, allowing for the entry of Massena reinforcements.

Reinforcement units will enter, deployed any allowed formation, from the marked battlefield space, immediately performing a 'Maneuver' movement (at twice the normal movement allowance), without using any Activation markers (with the marked space being the first space of the movement).

Any reinforcements that cannot enter the field due to the presence of enemy units blocking movement may eventually enter if and when another Rally is performed, again starting from the indicated space.

Also as a result of the reinforcement track, a player can also obtain new Leaders, new Order tokens and new Activation markers.

Winning the Battle

The Victory track on the bottom side of the Battle Board is used to keep track of outcome of the battle, and how close they are to victory or to routing.

During the battle, you will get a victory point and advance your marker on the track accordingly:

when both pieces of an enemy unit are removed from the battlefield;
when an enemy Leader piece is removed from the battlefield;
when you take control of an Objective marker on the battlefield;
when your opponent performs a Rally;
in other cases specified on the Battle Board by specific rules;

If you move your victory marker to a space occupied by a Rout marker, immediately reveal it. If it shows a red icon, your opponent's morale is broken and the enemy army is routed: you win the battle! Otherwise, the battle continues.

Some battles may specify different ways in which the battle can be won by either player. Keep these conditions in mind during the game!

Battlefield Terrains

Each space on the battlefield is characterised by a certain type of terrain that can affect the way the units move or fight.

Most of the spaces of a battlefield usually consist of open terrain: flat ground with no particular impediments, which do not have specific rules.

Other spaces, or edges between spaces, can have different terrain elements, and thus one or more specific rules that affect the gameplay.

The rules for the various terrains appearing on a specific battlefield are listed on its Battle Board.

Control

If the unit occupying a space with "Control" is not Broken or Disordered, or in Square formation, its Front is extended to all the six adjacent spaces.

The village occupied by the Infantry Line has "Control": all the adjacent spaces are considered to be its Front (and thus it can fire on units in any adjacent space).

Cover

When assaulting or firing on a unit in a space providing Cover, a single Assault or Fire die is rolled.

The red Infantry is in a wood space with "Cover". The assaulting blue unit thus only rolls one die for the assault.

Fortified

If a unit is assaulted or targeted by fire through a Fortified edge, all the Retreat icons rolled can be ignored by taking a single casualty.

A unit can always enter a free Fortified space during a Retreat (even if entering doesn't increase the distance from the attacking unit), and ignore further Retreat icons taking a single casualty.

The blue Infantry Line is in a wallled building, so it can ignore the Assault die retreat result taking one casualty instead.

Impassable

An Impassable space or edge cannot be entered or crossed or assaulted by the specified units.

A unit can still fire at an enemy unit in an impassable space.

An impassable space in the Front of a unit doesn't stop enemy units moving through it.

The river is impassable, so the red Artillery is stuck on its left bank.

Obstruction

Units cannot fire each other through an Obstruction space or edge.

The steep hill edge is an Obstruction, so the two infantry Lines cannot fire on each other even if adjacent.

Rough

When the specified units enter a Rough terrain space, they must immediately end their movement (and cannot assault adjacent units).

The Cavalry unit moves up the hill (considered "Rough"), so it stops its movement and cannot assault the adjacent enemy Infantry.

Other battlefields not included in this box may contain other types of rules for terrain elements, which will be described in the respective Battle Boards.

Unit Classes

The different colours of the icons on the unit pieces not only represent their different quality, but also indicate different classes of units that were used on the battlefield for specific purposes.

Each unit class can have one or more special rules that change the way the unit moves or fights.

Regular Infantry

Fanterie de ligne, Riflemen, ...

Constituted the bulk of the armies of the time, used both for offensive and defensive functions. Usually heterogeneous in quantity and quality of training.

Regular Infantry has no specific rules.

Veteran Infantry

Fanterie légere, Jäger, ...

Lightly equipped but usually better trained troops, they were normally used to assault or defend strategic points on the battlefield.

Veteran Infantry units ignore the effects of Rough terrain during movement, and the rules of Cover when firing or assaulting an enemy unit.

Elite Infantry

Guards, Grenadiers, ...

Highly experienced troops, they were normally deployed as a reserve on the battlefield to be deployed in case of need to inflict the 'coup de grace' on the enemy or to redress the balance of the battle.

Elite Infantry unit ignore the rules of Cover when firing or assaulting an enemy unit, and they can never be Disordered.

When an Elite Infantry unit is removed from the battlefield, the opponent gains one additional victory point.

Light Cavalry

Hussars, Cossacks, Chasseurs a cheval, ...

Units equipped with particularly fast horses, mainly used for reconnaissance tasks or to intercept opposing Cavalry.

Light Cavalry units may move 1 additional space (4 spaces in a movement, 3 before an assault, 7 when a Maneuver order is issued).

Medium Cavalry

Dragoons, Lancers, ...

Constituted the main Cavalry component of armies, and was often trained to fight both on horseback and 'dismounted'.

Medium Cavalry units can add the Hazard die to their assaults without spending an additional Activation marker.

Heavy Cavalry

Cuirassiers, Heavy Dragoons, Carabiniers, ...

These represent the ultimate Cavalry units, equipped with armour and used as a striking force on the battlefield, to open up gaps in the enemy's deployment.

Heavy Cavalry units can add the Hazard die to their assaults without spending an additional Activation marker.

Heavy Cavalry taking ground after an assault may immediately assault the same or another adjacent unit (without adding the Hazard die, and without a Reaction from the assaulted unit).

When a Heavy Cavalry unit is removed from the battlefield, the opponent gains one additional victory point.

Artillery

All types of Artillery

During the battles of the Napoleonic period, Artillery really began to play an important role, not only for morale but also for the actual losses caused to the enemy army.

Artillery can add the Hazard die - at no cost - to its Reaction fire. If the Artillery unit is broken or disordered due to the effect of the Hazard die, consider this condition before resolving the assault.

Optional Rules

These rules have been excluded from the base rules for simplicity or consistency with other rules. Feel free to add them to your games if you find them to your liking.

Cavalry Feints

If a Cavalry unit assaults an Infantry unit and the Infantry unit reacts by forming a Square, the Cavalry unit may - instead of resolving the assault - move one space in any direction (without declaring another assault).

Disbanded Units

When issuing an order, or when performing a Rally, activating a unit that is distant more than two spaces from a friendly unit or Leader requires one more Activation marker.

Efficient Leaders

When a Leader order is issued, adjacent Infantry Square units, adjacent broken or disordered units and broken units can also be assigned Activation markers activated, respectively reforming or changing formation.

You can find - or suggest! - new optional rules on the dedicated page on the publisher's website.

Credits

Game design - Paolo Mori & Alessandro Zucchini

Artwork - Jacques Onfroy de Bréville "Job" (1858-1931), Richard Knötel (1857-1914)

Counters and Dice icons - Fabio Maiorana

Maps & Editing - Paolo Mori

The publisher would like to thank all the people who have accompanied and supported this project over the years: Andrea Bortolotti, Massimo Capuccini, Giovanni Cerafogli, Florent Copeau, Roberto Di Meglio, Fabrizio Giuberti, Fabio Maiorana, Sergio Schiavi, Michele Sommi, Francesco Sirocchi, Parmagamers, Casus Belli, LudoStoria, and all the people who tried the game during an event and made it better with their suggestions.

Dedicated to Giovanni Melandri

Fire Dice Results

Target units takes one casualty.
Target unit take one casualty if a friendly Leader is in the same space or in a space adjacent to the firing unit.
Target unit takes one casualty if the firing unit has a better quality (silver quality unit firing on a white quality unit, or gold quality unit firing on silver or white quality unit).
The target unit takes a casualty if it is in Column formation.
Target unit retreats one space if it is in a space adjacent to the firing unit.
Target unit retreats one space and takes one casualty if the firing unit is an Artillery.