Napoleon's Last Battles
Napoleon's Last Battles Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 1.0 Introduction
- 2.0 General Course of Play
- 3.0 Game Equipment
- 4.0 Sequence of Play
- 5.0 Movement
- 6.0 Exiting the Map
- 7.0 Combat
- 8.0 Artillery
- 9.0 Reinforcements
- 10.0 Chateaux
- 11.0 Demoralization
- 12.0 Optional Rules
- 13.0 Victory Conditions
- The Individual Games
- 14.0 Ligny
- 15.0 Quatre Bras
- 16.0 Wavre
- 17.0 La Belle Alliance
- Designer's Notes
- Developer's Notes
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Subject of the Game
Napoleon's Last Battles is an operational level simulation of the battles which comprised the Campaign of 1815 in Belgium, which was the culmination of Napoleon's brief, hundred-day reign after his return from exile on the island of Elba. The four battles are Ligny, Quatre Bras, Wavre and Waterloo; the components of these four games may be linked together by owners of the entire QuadriGame to create the Campaign Game.
1.2 How the Game is Organized
The rules are presented in two Rules Folders. This folder actually applies to five different games: The four Folio Games (Quatre Bras, Ligny, Wavre and La Belle Alliance) and the Campaign Game. Each Folio game has one 17" x 22" map and 100 counters; if you are playing one of the Folio Games (so called because of the folio or folder in which they are packaged), you needn't be concerned with rules or components which apply only to the Campaign Game. The Standard Rules Folder (the one you are reading now) contains all the rules necessary for the play of any one Folio Game. To play the Campaign Game (an option available only to those who purchased the entire QuadriGame) the Standard Rules are used in conjunction with the rules in the Campaign Game Rules Folder.
1.21 Each of the Rules Folders is divided into Major Sections, which are arranged in the order in which they are used in a complete Turn of the game. Each Major Section is numbered with a whole number (e.g., 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, etc.). The Major Sections lead off with a General Rule, which is a simple summary of the rules in that section.
1.22 Players new to conflict simulations should examine all the main components of the game before reading any further in the rules. Examine the charts and tables, the playing pieces and the map. Then break out the counters and place them on the map as shown (their positions are printed on the map and on the Turn Record Track).
1.23 The complete rules to the game, presented as rigorous positive statements, are contained in the General Rules, Procedures and Primary Cases (e.g., 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, etc.), which are in large type. Players should first read through these, skipping over the secondary cases (e.g., 5.11, 5.12, 5.13, etc.), which are in smaller type (this size). If any confusion arises concerning intent or interpretation, go back and read the pertinent secondary cases under the topic heading concerned (the outline may be used to find the right section).
1.24 Players should be sure that they are familiar with all the aspects of at least one of the individual Folio games before attempting the more complicated Campaign Game.
2.0 General Course of Play
General Rule: Each game is primarily intended for two Players, although they can be played solitaire, and the Campaign Game is well suited to multi-Player use. One Player assumes the command of the French Armies, and the other Player assumes the command of the Prussian and/or Anglo-Allied Armies.
During his Turn, each Player may move his units, by expending Movement Points from their total Movement Allowance for each hex entered; after which he may conduct attacks, by comparing the total Combat Strength of all units in an attack with the Strength of the units being attacked, and rolling the die to determine the outcome of each attack.
3.0 Game Equipment
3.1 The Game Map
Each 22" x 17" map section portrays the area in which a battle was fought. It includes all the significant terrain on the battlefield, a Terrain Key and a Turn Record Track. Each hex number is preceeded by an understood code-letter: Q=Quatre Bras; L=Ligny; W=Wavre; B=La Belle Alliance.
3.11 A hexagonal grid is superimposed over the terrain features printed on the map in order to regularize movement and positioning of the playing pieces. To make the map lie flat, back-fold it against the creases. Small pieces of masking tape may be used at the corners of the map to hold it taut.
3.2 Game Charts and Tables
Various visual aids are provided for the Players in order to simplify and illustrate certain game functions. These are the Terrain Effects Chart, the Combat Results Table, and the Turn Record Track.
3.3 The Playing Pieces
The cardboard pieces represent the actual military units that took part in the original battle. The numbers and symbols on the pieces represent the strength, movement capability and type of unit represented by that piece. These playing pieces will hereafter be referred to as "units."
3.4 How to Read the Units
3.41 Sample Unit. The printed sample unit is labelled as follows.
- Front: Unit Size (printed above the unit symbol); Designation (printed vertically along the left edge); Command Designation (printed vertically along the right edge); Type Symbol (in the centre of the counter); Combat Strength and Movement Allowance (the figures on the bottom line, shown as 4-4 in the sample, with Combat Strength first and Movement Allowance second).
- Back: the Reduced Combat Strength (shown as 2-4 in the sample, on the side with the white band across it).
3.42 Definition of Terms.
Combat Strength is the relative strength of a unit when attacking and defending, expressed in terms of Combat Strength Points.
Reduced Strength (reverse side) of a unit is shown for some units in the initial deployment at the start of the game; in the Campaign Game, eliminated units which are subsequently reorganized show their Reduced Strength side.
Movement Allowance is the maximum number of Clear terrain hexes that a unit may be moved in a single Movement Phase, expressed in Movement Points. More than one Movement Point may be expended for certain hexes.
Unit Sizes: X=Brigade, III=Regiment, XX=Division
Unit Types:
- Infantry (symbol: a box with an X)
- Cavalry (symbol: an open box)
- Horse Artillery (symbol: a diagonal cannon barrel)
- Artillery (symbol: a filled circle)
Designation is Brigade commander's name or Regiment's name; Command Designation is to the right of the slash in two part designations; to the left is the division i.d.
3.5 Game Scale
Each hexagon on the map represents 480 meters of real terrain from side to side. Each Strength Point represents between 350 and 750 men, or one battery of artillery. The Game-Turns are hourly, for the most part, as indicated on the Turn Record Track.
3.6 Parts Inventory
| Component | Folio Game | QuadriGame |
|---|---|---|
| Game Map Section | 1 | 4 |
| Sheet of Die-Cut Counters | 1 | 4 |
| Standard Rules Folder (8 pg) | 1 | 2 identical |
| Campaign Rules Folder (4 pg) | 0 | 2 identical |
| Die | 0 | 1 |
| Game Box | 0 | 1 |
| Folio (Folder) | 1 | 0 |
If any of these parts are missing or damaged, write to the publisher's Customer Service at the address printed in the original rules. [Publisher's mailing address omitted from this transcription.]
Questions regarding the rules of the game will be answered if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Send to: Game Questions: Napoleon's Last Battles, at the above address. [Publisher's address omitted from this transcription.]
3.7 Setting Up the Game
The cardboard Playing Pieces should be punched out of the Unit Counter Sheet. The differently colored units represent forces of the various contingents. The French Player always controls all French units (only); his opponent always controls units of all other nationalities and contingents. Players should determine which side each will play. The Players then place a unit of the specified type and nationality in each hex on the map which has a picture of a unit printed on it.
Some units will be shown at their reduced (reverse side) Strength. These units, only, are set-up showing their reverse side (the side with the white band across it). Units can be flipped over only in the Campaign Game. Unit set-ups for the Campaign Game only (these, in La Belle Alliance only, are identified as such directly on the map) should not be used in the Folio Game (and vice-versa). The initial deployment hex of Leaders contain the Leader's name, only. Leaders are used only in the Campaign Game (in which each Leader should be set-up in his corresponding hex).
Combat units not included in the initial set-up will be brought in as reinforcements. Reinforcements are shown adjacent to the Game-Turn of entry on the Turn Record Track. Below each group of reinforcements is shown the exact hex or hexes upon which they appear. Leaders appearing during the course of the Campaign Game are listed in the spaces on the Turn Record Track which contain the Leader's name, only; these indications are to be ignored in the Folio Game. Furthermore, any reinforcements which are shown on the Track to fall before or after the course of the Folio Game are ignored when playing the Folio Game.
The Turn Record Track lists the beginning and end of the Folio and Campaign Games. When setting up, be certain to place the Game-Turn Marker in the correct space for the First Turn of the game being played; this will not always be the first space on the Track. The Game-Turns are not numbered, but are identified by the beginning of the one-to-three hour time period they represent (using the 24-hour clock).
4.0 Sequence of Play
General Rule: The game is played in successive Game-Turns composed of alternate Player-Turns. During each Player-Turn, the Player maneuvers his units and resolves combat in sequence, according to the following outline, and within the limits provided by the rules which follow. At the conclusion of the final Game-Turn, the Victory Conditions are consulted and a winner is determined.
Cases:
4.1 Sequence Outline. The Game-Turn is divided into a French Player-Turn and a Prussian and/or Anglo-Allied Player-Turn. The Player whose Player-Turn is currently in progress is termed the Phasing Player. The activity which may take place during each Phase is outlined below.
- French Player-Turn
- A. Movement Phase. The Phasing Player may move all, some or none of his units as he desires within the limits and restrictions of the rules of Movement. The Phasing Player may bring reinforcement units onto the map as allotted by the Turn Record Track and the Reinforcement rules. The non-Phasing Player's units may not move.
- B. Combat Phase. The Phasing Player uses his units to attack the non-Phasing Player's units according to the rules of Combat and Artillery. During this Phase, neither Player may move his units except when called for as a result of the Combat Resolution procedure.
- Prussian and/or Anglo-Allied Player-Turn. The Prussian and/or Anglo-Allied Player now becomes the Phasing Player and accomplishes movement and combat in the manner and sequence described above.
- Game-Turn Record Interphase. The Game-Turn Marker should begin the game on the Turn Record Track in the space marked "Begin Folio" if the Folio game is being played, or "Begin Campaign" (in both tracks) if the Campaign Game is being played. At the end of each Game-Turn, the Game-Turn Marker should be advanced one space to mark the passage of one Game-Turn and signal the start of another.
5.0 Movement
General Rule: During the Movement Phase, the Phasing Player may move as many or as few of his units as he desires. They may be moved in any direction or combination of directions.
Procedure: Units are moved one at a time, tracing a path of contiguous hexes through the hex grid. As a unit enters each hex, it must pay one or more Movement Points from its total Movement Allowance.
Cases:
5.1 Movement Limitations
The number of Movement Points which may be expended by a unit during a single Movement Phase may not exceed the unit's Movement Allowance.
5.11 Movement may never take place out of sequence. A Player's units may be moved during his own Movement Phase. During the Combat Phase, a unit which is either attacking or defending may be called upon to advance or retreat after its combat is resolved. During the Enemy Player's Movement Phase, and during both Players' Combat Phases, except when advancing or retreating as a result of combat, Friendly units must not be moved.
5.12 No combat takes place during the Movement Phase. Once a Player has begun to resolve combat, has thrown the die, he has irreversibly initiated the Combat Phase.
5.13 A unit may expend any portion of the Movement Allowance, but unused Movement Points may not be accumulated until another Movement Phase or transferred to another unit.
5.14 Movement from hex to hex must be consecutive; that is to say, a unit may not skip hexes.
5.15 Once a unit has been moved, and the Player's hand is taken from the piece, it may not be moved any further during that Movement Phase, nor may it change its move without the consent of the opposing Player.
5.2 Effects of Terrain on Movement
The basic Movement Point cost is one Movement Point per hex. The cost to enter certain hexes and/or cross certain hexsides may be more or less than one MP, as shown on the Terrain Effects Chart.
5.21 A unit which moves from one Road hex directly into an adjacent Road hex through a Road hexside expends only ½ Movement Point, regardless of other terrain in the hex.
5.22 A unit which moves from one Trail hex directly into an adjacent Trail hex through a Trail hexside expends only one Movement Point, regardless of other terrain in the hex.
5.23 Units may cross River hexsides only by moving through a Bridge hexside. There is no additional cost for moving through a Bridge hexside.
5.24 Units may cross Stream hexsides. Movement through a Stream hexside costs two additional Movement Points. Example: If an infantry unit moves through a Stream hexside into a Forest hex, the cost is four Movement Points.
5.3 Stacking Friendly Units
A maximum of two Friendly units may be stacked in a single hex at the end of any Phase.
5.31 A Friendly unit may move through hexes occupied by other Friendly units. There is no additional cost for entering a Friendly-occupied hex.
5.32 There is no limit to the number of Friendly units which may pass through a single hex in one Movement Phase.
5.33 Friendly-controlled hexes never inhibit the movement of Friendly units.
5.4 Zones of Control
The six hexagons immediately surrounding a hex constitute the Zone of Control of any units in that hex. A unit may never exit an Enemy-controlled hex during any Movement Phase. Zones of Control never extend through non-Bridge River hexsides or into Chateau hexes.
5.41 All units exert a Zone of Control throughout the Game-Turn, regardless of the Phase or Player-Turn. The presence of Zones of Control is never negated by units, Enemy or Friendly.
5.42 Units do not pay any additional Movement Points to enter an Enemy-controlled hex, as in some other SPI games.
5.43 There are only two ways to exit a hex in an Enemy Zone of Control: Either by retreat or advance as a result of combat, or by removal or the Enemy unit exerting the Zone of Control as a result of combat.
5.44 Obviously, if a given unit is in an Enemy controlled hex, the Enemy unit is also in its controlled hex. The two units are equally and mutually affected.
5.45 If there is an Enemy and Friendly Zone of Control exerted over the same hex, both Zones co-exist, and that hex is mutually controlled by both Players. There is no additional effect from having more than one unit exerting Zones of Control onto a single hex.
Example: The printed example is a diagram of a 6-4 unit with each adjacent hex labelled "ZOC" or "NO ZOC" according to whether it lies in that unit's Zone of Control; the diagram is not transcribed.
5.5 Night and Rain Game-Turns
Units may not enter Enemy-controlled hexes during Night or Rain Game-Turns, nor may Units already in Enemy-controlled hexes exit them.
5.6 Terrain Effects Chart
(See page 8.) To determine the cost, in Movement Points, to enter a hex, ascertain the type of terrain in question (check the terrain key if in doubt), and find the corresponding Terrain category on the Terrain Effects Chart. The full cost shown must be paid; if the unit has insufficient Movement Points remaining to pay the full cost, it may not enter that hex that Phase.
| Terrain | Movement Points (MP) to Enter (or cross) | Effect on Combat |
|---|---|---|
| Clear Hex | 1 MP | No effect. |
| Forest Hex and Marsh Hex | Cav. & Horse Art.: 4 MP. Inf. & Art.: 2 MP | Cavalry: Strength halved when attacking into or defending in hex. All others: No effect. |
| Crest Hexside | No additional MP | No effect. |
| Road Hex | ½ MP if entered through Road Hexside. | Depends on other terrain. |
| Trail Hex | 1 MP if entered through Trail Hexside. | Depends on other terrain. |
| Chateau Hex | 2 MP | Defender tripled in hex. |
| Town Hex | 1 MP | Defender doubled in hex. |
| River Hexside |
5.61 Terrain Effects are cumulative for movement purposes, but not for combat purposes. Thus, to enter a Forest hex through a Stream hexside costs four Movement Points. A unit in a Chateau hex which is attacked through a Stream hexside is merely tripled.
5.62 Forest, Town and Chateau hexes and Crest hexsides are the only types of terrain which block artillery bombardment Line of Sight. (see 8.3)
6.0 Exiting the Map
General Rule: A Player may exit his units from the map at specified hexes only. To exit the map, a unit must expend a number of Movement Points equivalent to the cost for entering the imaginary hex off-map identical to the hex it exits from.
Cases:
6.1 Restrictions
6.11 An exited unit is removed from play and may never return to the game.
6.12 Units exited off the map may count toward the Owning Player's Victory Point total. They are not considered eliminated units for Victory Point purposes.
6.13 No unit may exit the map in fulfillment of a retreat as a result of combat. If a unit is forced to retreat due to combat, it may not exit the map; it is eliminated instead.
6.14 A unit may exit from a hex regardless of the number of Enemy or Friendly units which exited from the same hex previously.
7.0 Combat
General Rule: All Enemy units that have Friendly units in their Zones of Control must be attacked by the Friendly (Phasing) Player's units in the Combat Phase. Artillery units (8.0) are the only units which may attack units to which they are not adjacent. The Phasing Player is termed the Attacker; the other Player is the Defender, regardless of the overall situation.
Procedure: The attacker totals the Combat Strengths of all the units attacking a given hex and compares the total to the total Combat Strengths of the defending units in the hex under attack. The comparison is expressed as a ratio between attacking and defending Strength Points (attacking Strength Points divided by defending Strength Points) and is simplified by rounding down to one of the odds ratios on the Combat Results Table. Example: If thirteen Strength Points were attacking four, the combat odds ratio would be 3.25 to 1, rounded off (always in favor of the defender) to three to one.
Having determined the actual combat odds, the attacker rolls the die. The result indicates a line on the Combat Results Table (7.7), which is cross-indexed with the column representing the combat odds. The intersection of line and column yields a combat result. This should be immediately applied to the involved units, before going on to resolve any other combat. Separate combats may be resolved in any order that the attacker wishes, so long as all combats are resolved during that Combat Phase.
Cases:
7.1 Which Units Attack
No unit may attack more than once per Combat Phase, and no Enemy unit may be attacked more than once per Combat Phase.
7.11 All of the Phasing Player's units which end the Movement Phase in an Enemy-controlled hex must attack some Enemy unit during the ensuing Combat Phase. The Phasing Player may choose which attacking units will attack each defending unit, as long as all adjacent Friendly units participate in an attack.
7.12 An Enemy-controlled hex may be attacked by as many units as can be brought to bear in the six adjacent hexes, and by as many artillery units as are within range.
7.13 Units may only attack when adjacent to the defending unit (except artillery, which may make bombardment attacks; See 8.1).
7.2 Multiple Unit and Multi-Hex Combat
All units in a given hex must attack or defend as a single Strength; the Strength of all the units in the hex is totalled. A single attack may involve any number of attacking or defending units on different hexes. To be resolved as a single combat, all the attacking units must be adjacent to all the defending units, with the exception of (non-adjacent) bombarding artillery units.
7.21 The defender may not withhold a unit in a hex under attack. The attacker must attack all the units in a stack together. Different units in a given hex may not be attacked separately.
7.22 If more than one attacking unit is in a given hex, these units must be used as an integral Combat Strength. They may not be used in separate attacks.
7.23 Combat Strength Unity. A given unit's Combat Strength is always unitary. It may not be divided among different combats either in attacking or defending.
7.24 If a Phasing Player's unit is in the Zone of Control of more than one Enemy unit, it must attack all those adjacent Enemy units which are not engaged by some other attacking unit.
7.25 Units in two or more different hexes may combine their Combat Strengths and attack a single hex.
7.26 Diversionary Attacks. A unit may make attacks at poor odds in order that adjacent attacks against other defenders may be made at higher odds (by allotting most of the attacking force to the major objective). These attacks are known as "Diversionary" or "Holding Attacks."
7.3 Effects of Terrain
A unit defending in certain types of terrain may have its Combat Strength increased by a multiple of its original Strength. When halving strengths, round fractions up.
7.31 Example: A unit with a Combat Strength of "5" would defend, in a Town hex, at an effective Strength of "10."
7.4 Retreating as a Result of Combat
When the Combat Result requires that a Player's units be retreated, the Owning Player must immediately move those units one hex so that they are no longer in an Enemy-controlled or -occupied hex. If no hex is open to retreat into, the unit is eliminated (but see 7.6). Two units in the same hex may retreat into two different hexes.
7.41 The Owning Player may decide the direction that each of his retreating units moves.
7.42 A retreating unit may not retreat into a prohibited hex, cross a prohibited hexside, or enter an enemy controlled hex.
7.43 A retreating unit may enter a vacant hex (within the restrictions of Case 7.42) or it may stack with some other Friendly unit (within the Stacking Restrictions) so long as the unit it stacks with is not in an Enemy-controlled hex.
7.44 If a unit is retreated into a Friendly hex which is subsequently attacked by artillery bombardment, the already retreated unit does not contribute its Combat Strength to the defense (see Case 7.1), but it does suffer the result of the attack.
7.5 Advancing as a Result of Combat
Whenever a hex is vacated as a result of Combat, one victorious unit adjacent to that hex which participated in that combat may advance into the vacated hex. This advance may be made regardless of Enemy Zones of Control. The option to advance must be exercised immediately, before any other combat resolution.
7.51 A unit is never forced to advance. A unit may never advance more than one hex as a result of combat.
7.52 After advancing, units may neither attack nor be attacked that Phase (see 7.1), even if their advance places them next to Enemy units whose battles are yet to be resolved, or who were not involved in combat. However, advances are useful in cutting off the retreat of Enemy units whose combat has not yet been resolved.
7.53 Only one victorious unit may advance into a vacated hex. If two hexes are vacated as a result of a single combat, the victorious Player may still advance only one unit.
7.6 Displacement
If the only hex available to the retreating unit is one which it could not normally move into because of stacking restrictions, then one of the units in the hex must be displaced. The displaced unit is moved back by the Owning Player (as if it were retreating as a result of Combat) and its position is taken by the retreating unit.
7.61 The displaced unit itself may not be forced into Enemy-controlled hexes or other prohibited hexes. One retreating unit displaces only one unit in a stack; two retreating units displace two.
7.62 If the displacement would cause any of the displaced units to be eliminated, the retreating unit is instead eliminated. Displaced units can themselves displace other Friendly units in a sort of chain reaction of displacement, if that is the only permitted path of displacement open to them.
7.63 A unit may be displaced more than once per Combat Phase, if that is the only alternative. Units may not displace other Friendly units if they have other paths of retreat open to them.
7.64 Displaced artillery units which have not yet engaged in combat, may not fire during that Combat Phase.
7.7 Combat Results Table
(See game map.) The Combat Results Table is printed on the game map and is not reproduced in this rulebook.
7.8 Explanation of Combat Results
Attacks executed at greater than "6-1" are treated as "6-1;" attacks executed at worse than "1-5" are treated as "1-5." Prior to the resolution of any attack, the attacking Player may announce that he wishes to reduce the combat odds of that attack.
7.81 He incurs no responsibility or penalty by doing this, but he may not change his mind subsequent to the die roll.
7.82 Example: An attack is computed to be a "5-1" attack. The Player announces that he desires a "3-1" attack, and resolves it using that column. Players may wish to do this to avoid excess casualties through exchanges, or to attempt to retreat Friendly units.
7.83 Explanation of Combat Results
- Ae=Attacker Eliminated. All attacking units are eliminated (removed from the map).
- De=Defender Eliminated. All defending units are eliminated.
- Ex=Exchange. All defending units are eliminated. The Attacking Player must eliminate attacking units whose total, printed (face value) Combat Strengths at least equal the total printed Combat Strengths of the eliminated defending units. Only units which participated in a particular attack may be so eliminated.
- Ar=Attacker Retreat. All attacking units must retreat one hex (see 7.4).
- Dr=Defender Retreat. All defending units must retreat one hex.
7.9 Night and Rain Game-Turns
There is no Combat Phase during a Night or Rain Game-Turn; no combat of any kind is allowed during a Night or Rain Game-Turn.
7.91 Night and Rain Game-Turns have no Combat Phase. Opposing adjacent units do not engage in combat; they simply remain in place. Artillery units may not bombard during Night or Rain Game-Turns.
8.0 Artillery
General Rule: Unlike infantry and cavalry units, artillery units may participate in attacks by bombarding the defending unit. Artillery bombards a unit from two hexes distant. Artillery units must participate in combat when in the Zone of Control of opposing units. In other words, artillery may participate in two types of attacks, depending on their distance from the defending unit.
Procedure: Determine the odds of the attack in exactly the same fashion as any other attack. All results are applied in the same fashion, except that bombarding artillery units (i.e., units firing from a non-adjacent hex) are not affected by combat results.
Cases:
8.1 Bombardment Attacks
A bombardment attack is an attack by an artillery unit against an Enemy unit which is not in its Zone of Control. Artillery units may only attack a single Enemy-occupied hex when bombarding, except when making a combined attack with infantry or cavalry.
8.11 Artillery units may attack non-adjacent Enemy units, up to two hexes distant, but they are never forced to attack an Enemy unit merely because it is in range.
8.12 Range from the bombarding artillery unit to the target hex is counted by including the target hex, but not the bombarding unit's hex.
8.13 If two artillery units in the same hex are bombarding, they must both bombard the same hex.
8.14 Artillery attacking from a non-adjacent hex (that is, bombarding) suffer no Combat Results; they are never destroyed or retreated as a result of their own attacks.
8.15 Thus, if an "Exchange" were the result in an attack solely by bombarding artillery, the defending unit would be eliminated, but the bombarding units would not be affected. Of course, other units cooperating with the bombarding artillery units from an adjacent position (including adjacent artillery units) would be affected by Combat Results, and they would suffer the effects of an "Exchange" result.
8.16 Bombarding artillery may voluntarily elect to suffer "Attacker Retreat" if it is the Combat Result.
8.2 Combined Attacks
Artillery units may attack alone or in concert with any Friendly units, adding their bombarding Combat Strength to the attack. If Friendly units are attacking Enemy units in more than one hex, the bombarding artillery units need only be within range of one of the defending hexes to add their Combat Strengths to the attack.
8.21 When making a combined attack with bombarding artillery units, infantry, cavalry and adjacent artillery units always suffer all Combat Results, though bombarding artillery units do not.
8.3 Line of Sight
If any of the hexes or hexsides intervening between the bombarding hex and the target hex is Blocking terrain, the Line of Sight is said to be blocked, and the target hex may not be bombarded by that artillery unit. The terrain in a bombarding unit's hex and in the target hex does not block the Line of Sight. Forest, Chateau and Town hexes and Crest hexsides are the only Blocking terrain.
8.31 If a straight line between the centers of the bombarding and target hexes is congruent to a hexside, the target may not be bombarded if: 1) the hexside is a Crest; and/or 2) both hexes adjacent to that hexside are blocking terrain.
8.32 If the Line of Sight passes through the juncture of two or more blocked hexsides or the juncture of a blocking terrain hexside and a blocking terrain hex, the Line of Sight is blocked.
8.33 Blocking hexsides block all bombardment attacks, even if the blocking hexside forms part of the bombarding unit's hex and/or the target unit's hex.
8.34 Example: Each hex is labelled as to whether artillery bombardment from that hex against the target hex is possible. The printed diagram marks each hex around a 4-4 target unit as "YES" or "NO"; the diagram is not transcribed.
8.4 Adjacent Attacks
When in the Zone of Control of an Enemy unit, artillery units must participate in an attack against adjacent Enemy units.
8.41 When an artillery unit is in an Enemy-controlled hex, it is treated like an infantry or cavalry unit, and may not bombard.
8.42 When attacking from a controlled hex, artillery units may attack as many units as they are adjacent to, but may not attack non-adjacent units.
8.43 Artillery units attacking from an enemy controlled hex must suffer all the Combat Results of their attacks.
8.44 Blocking terrain (see Case 8.3) does not relieve an artillery unit from the necessity of making adjacent attacks.
8.45 Although normal combat is not permitted across an unbridged River hexside, an artillery unit may attack any Enemy unit within range across such a hexside according to the Bombardment Attack rules (8.1).
8.5 Defense
Artillery units may never add their Combat Strength to another unit's defensive value by bombardment.
8.51 When artillery units are themselves attacked, they suffer all Combat Results in the same manner as other units, even when bombarded by Enemy artillery units.
9.0 Reinforcements
General Rule: Both Players receive reinforcements according to the Reinforcement Track. These enter (are physically placed) on the map in the appropriate hex. The reinforcing units arrive paying the normal terrain cost for the entry hex (including Road and Trail bonus) during the Player's Movement Phase of the Game-Turn indicated. The Owning Player may determine the exact order of arrival when he moves the reinforcements onto the map.
Procedure: The Player should visualize the reinforcements as a column of units entering the map from a chain of hexes off-map, so that the first stack brought onto the map expends one Movement Point entering the entry hex, the second stack expends two Movement Points, the third expends three Movement Points, etc.
Cases:
9.1 Entering the Map
9.11 The Owning Player may enter his reinforcements on the map at any point during his Movement Phase.
9.12 Once a unit has entered the map, it may move and attack freely, just as any other unit already present.
9.13 Reinforcing units may arrive stacked.
10.0 Chateaux
Commentary: Dotting the Belgian landscape, the Chateaux (walled-farms) are virtual small fortresses. If occupied by detachments of infantry these positions are extremely powerful.
Cases:
10.1 Effects on Zones of Control
Units in chateaux are not required to attack adjacent Enemy units, but if they elect to attack, all adjacent Enemy units must be attacked.
10.11 Zones of Control extend out of Chateaux at all times. Units adjacent to Chateau hexes must always attack enemy units therein.
10.2 Effects on Stacking
No stacking is permitted in Chateau hexes; only one unit per Chateau at the end of any Phase.
10.3 Effects on Combat
Attacks on infantry units (only) in Chateaux: a) are resolved on the "4-1" odds column if made at "4-1" or greater; b) treat Dr results as "No Effect." Infantry units do not receive these benefits if they are demoralized (and, in the Campaign Game, if they are out of command).
10.31 Infantry units in Chateau hexes are affected only by "Exchange" and "Elimination" (Ae or De) results. Artillery and cavalry units do not receive these benefits.
10.4 Effects on Bombardment
Artillery units may never bombard into a Chateau hex.
10.5 Effects on Advance and Retreat
Units may never advance after combat into Chateaux, or retreat into occupied Chateaux.
10.51 Units may not be displaced out of Chateau hexes to facilitate the retreat of Friendly units.
11.0 Demoralization
General Rule: Demoralization represents the cumulative effect of combat losses on an army's morale. Units of a demoralized army lose their ability to advance after combat for the remainder of the Folio game being played (or, in the Campaign Game, until their Corps or Nationality is undemoralized).
Cases:
11.1 Demoralization Levels
The Individual Game Rules list Demoralization Levels for each force in each game.
11.2 Occurrence of Demoralization
An army is demoralized when the total, in Combat Strength Points, of all its units destroyed (known as the Casualty Level), reaches or exceeds its Demoralization Level.
11.21 Either, both or all armies in any game may be demoralized. An army is not prevented from becoming demoralized by simple virtue of another army's becoming demoralized. However, it is possible that one army's demoralization level may increase due to an opposing army's demoralization.
11.22 If both Players' armies reach, or exceed, their respective Demoralization Levels at the same instant (possible in an "Exchange" result), the non-Phasing Player is considered to have been demoralized first.
12.0 Optional Rules
Commentary: Players may add either or both of the following rules to any of the four Folio games or the Campaign Game. These rules achieve a marked increase in the realism of the games, while sacrificing a small amount of playability.
Cases:
12.1 Combined Arms Attack
A Combined Arms Attack is an attack against a single hex in which at least one infantry, cavalry and artillery unit (bombarding or adjacent) is participating. In such an attack, the final odds column is increased by one (shifted to the right) full column; a "1-1" attack becomes a "2-1" attack, and a "6-1" remains a "6-1."
12.2 Imperial Guard
The infantry of the Imperial Guard were elite troops thrown into battle only at the critical point to break the back of enemy resistance. Much of the French Army's morale depended upon the belief that the guard was unstoppable. If any infantry unit of the Imperial Guard is involved in an attack during the French Player's Combat Phase, and the result of that attack is Ae, Ar or Ex, the French Demoralization Level is immediately reduced by 20 Points.
12.21 If the specific attack made by the French Imperial Guard infantry succeeds in demoralizing or disintegrating either the Anglo-Allied or Prussian Armies, then the French demoralization is not reduced, no matter what the Combat Result.
12.22 Units of the Imperial Guard are identified by a Command designation of "Gd".
13.0 Victory Conditions
General Rule: In the Folio Games, victory may depend upon the fulfillment of a specific condition or conditions, or it may be dependent upon the acquisition of Victory Points. Points are awarded according to the Victory Point Schedule (if any). Victory is awarded to the Player who has amassed the greatest number of Victory Points at the end of the game, or to the Player who has fulfilled his specific Victory Condition.
Procedure: Each Player keeps track of the Victory Points that he has scored on a separate sheet of paper. At the end of the game, the number of Points is totalled for each Player, and the Player with the higher number of Points is awarded a victory.
Cases:
13.1 Occupation
Occupation is defined as having a Friendly unit physically on the hex in question or having been the last to have moved a Friendly unit onto the hex in question.
13.11 The occupation definition can be met by moving a Friendly unit through the hex in question. Players should use blank counters of the appropriate color to keep track of which Player occupies which hexes, if necessary.
13.2 Automatic Victory
If the French Army is demoralized, or if the Anglo-Allied or Prussian Army is disintegrated in any Folio Game, the opposing Player achieves an automatic victory.
The Individual Games
From among the following Sections, Players must find the Section concerning the game they will play. For example, owners of La Belle Alliance Folio Game would skip directly to section 17.0; the intervening Sections have no bearing on that Folio Game. Owners of the Quadri Game who wish to play the Campaign Game should skip directly to the Campaign Game Rules Folder for the additional details required for play thereof.
14.0 Ligny
14.1 Historical Commentary
June 1815 finds a triumphant, but beleagured Napoleon again on the throne. Napoleon is outnumbered and virtually surrounded; his only chance to maintain the throne and the position of France is to gain a significant military victory. To succeed against these overwhelming odds, Napoleon boldly decides on an offensive designed to destroy two of his opponents and drive the English from the continent. At the field of Ligny, the Prussian I, II and III Corps concentrated to face the French invaders. The day is hot and Napoleon does not move decisively until 2:00 P.M.; he awaits the arrival of D'Erlon's Corps. The Prussian forces are ensconsed in extremely strong positions along the Ligny Creek and in the several towns in the area. Napoleon waits until late in the afternoon to launch a concerted attack by the Imperial Guard and the IV Corps, which drives the Prussians back in disarray. The Prussians are badly hurt and Napoleon is convinced that they are out of the campaign; but it is not the decisive defeat that Napoleon had hoped for.
14.2 Demoralization and Disintegration Levels
French Demoralization: (see 14.3)
Prussian Demoralization: 55
Prussian Disintegration: 74
Both Prussian Levels are reduced by three Points for each hex listed below while occupied by French units. Ligny: 0922, 1021, 1022, 1122. St. Amand: 0423, 0524, 0624.
14.3 Victory Conditions
The French Player wins if the Prussian Demoralization Level is reached and French losses are lower than 35 Strength Points. The Prussian Player wins by avoiding a French victory.
15.0 Quatre Bras
15.1 Historical Commentary
At Quatre Bras, a wild battle occurred. Initially, the French II Corps and Cavalry Corps face a lone division of Dutch Belgian infantry; but the cautious French advance is thwarted and British reinforcements begin to arrive. Throughout the day Ney, who is conducting the French forces at the battle, awaits the arrival of I Corps and conducts piecemeal attacks against an increasingly strong British position. The First Corps never arrives and, although the vital crossroads at Quatre Bras are taken briefly by French cavalry it is the British who hold the ground at the end of the day. Though the British have won the battle of Quatre Bras, the Prussian retreat makes the British position untenable. Wellington elects to retreat towards Brussels and previously surveyed defensive positions.
15.2 Demoralization and Disintegration Levels
French Demoralization, 1400-1500: 10
French Demoralization, 1600 & later: 25
British Demoralization: 25
British Disintegration: 40.
15.3 Victory Point Schedule
- Each Player is awarded one Victory Point for every Enemy Combat Strength Point eliminated.
- Each Player is awarded one Victory Point at the end of each Game-Turn his units occupy Quatre Bras.
- The Player who occupies Quatre Bras at the end of the game receives an additional five Victory Points.
15.4 Forces
The Anglo-Allied Player controls all Netherlanders, Brunswickers, Hanoverians, Nassauers, and British units. The units of these nationalities are always Friendly to each other, and always Enemy to the French. Leader units are not used in the Quatre Bras Folio (they are used only in the Campaign Game, which can be played only with the entire QuadriGame package). The French units marked as "Optional" in the initial deployment on the map and on the Turn Record Track never arrived in the actual battle (they were called off the map); their use will swing play balance heavily in the French favor. If Players wish to simulate the battle, they should not be used.
16.0 Wavre
16.1 Historical Commentary
The Prussians barely manage to keep the remnants of their shattered army together, but they fall back parallel with the British rather than away from them as Napoleon had hoped they would. Blucher gives Wellington assurance that he will, indeed, be available to assist Wellington if the need should arise. Wavre, a town on the Dyle River in Belgium, formed the focal point of the Prussian retreat and served as the rallying ground for their defeated army. Grouchy, partly because of his late start on the 17th and partly because of a poorly conducted pursuit, is several miles away from the Prussians as the 18th dawns. By 12 P.M. he has not yet begun to move his army, and despite the fact that the sounds of a heavy cannonade are coming from the west in the general vicinity of Waterloo he does not move towards them.
16.2 Demoralization and Disintegration Levels
French Demoralization: 30
Prussian Demoralization: 40
Prussian Disintegration: 50.
Modifications: The French Demoralization Level is raised by the then-current number of French Victory Points. For example, if the French Player has accumulated 15 Victory Points by Game-Turn Three, the French Demoralization Level is 45.
16.3 Victory Point Schedule
- The French Player receives 5 Victory Points for each French Combat Strength Point exited from the eastern map edge north of hex 0117 (inclusive) at any point in the game.
- The Prussian Player receives one Victory Point for each Prussian Combat Strength Point exited from the eastern map edge north of hex 0117 (inclusive) on or before Game-Turn Four.
- Each Player recieives one Victory Point for each Enemy Combat Strength Point destroyed.
- The French Player receives one Victory Point for each Prussian Combat Strength Point still on the map at the end of the game.
17.0 La Belle Alliance
17.1 Historical Commentary
After pursuing Wellington's Anglo-Allies and being sure that they had indeed stopped and taken up positions, Napoleon bivouacs in front of the low ridge which cuts across the Brussles road near La Belle Alliance, where he makes his headquarters. Dawn finds the ground too wet for operations and it is not until noon that Napoleon launches his preliminary attack to clear the chateau of Hougomont. Napoleon's plan is not elegant. He pushes directly up the road toward Waterloo and Brussels to break the back of Wellington's army. Again and again, French infantry and cavalry combine in attacks against Wellington's extremely strong position. Now the battle reaches a climactic pitch when the French Old Guard assault the wavering center of the British line. But the Guard is repulsed, sent reeling back by a blast of British musket and artillery fire. The French Army breaks, and begins its long retreat to Paris. The most decisive campaign in European history has ended.
17.2 Demoralization and Disintegration Levels
French Demoralization: 60
Anglo-Allied Demoralization: 45
Prussian Demoralization: 25
Anglo-Allied Disintegration: 55
Prussian Disintegration: 35
Modifications: If the French Player demoralizes either the Anglo-Allied or Prussian Armies, the French Demoralization Level increases by 10 Points. If a French unit enters any hex of Waterloo, the Anglo-Allied Levels decrease by 20 Points. At the instant that the first combat occurs between Prussian and French units, the Anglo-Allied Demoralization and Disintegration Levels increase by 10 Points.
17.3 Victory Conditions
The French Player wins by demoralizing both the Prussian and Anglo-Allied Armies, or by causing the Anglo-Allied Army to reach its Disintegration Level. The Allied Player wins by demoralizing the French Army or by avoiding the French Victory Conditions at the end of the game.
17.4 Forces
The Anglo-Allied Player controls all Prussians, Nassauers, British, Hanoverians, Netherlanders, Brunswickers, and K.G.L. units.
Designer's Notes
To begin with, how much "design" did we actually start with when the "Waterloo Campaign" was first proposed—it seems surprising—a full year ago? Actually, not much more than the notion that four maps could be contrived to fit together ... this much was sketched out beforehand. And in fact, the game only seduced its designer after preliminary work on the actual terrain plan, which was troublesome. The basic source for the road net was the West Point Atlas of Napoleonic Wars, but for other features we used a period map.
At this point we first discovered the flaws of the game-maps used in earlier simulations of the campaign. In fact, there was a tradition of misinformation, particularly the wholly imaginary "hill" at Quatre Bras, which was passed down from AH to GDW. A third, topographical source revealed only the slightest of crests south of the town with a rise of about 10 meters between the initial French and Netherlands positions. The game's impetuous developer continually revised the terrain features to bring them into line with each new account of the battle, and confirmed them with fresh assaults against the New York Public Library's map division, armed only with a see-through hexgrid overlay and the latest prototype game-map.
While the map was in its first evolution, an order of battle for the folios was begun. While this, on a brigade level, is probably the most easily accessible OB of any historical period, the actual order of appearance and the precise location of units at given times is subject to controversy. This listing finally became so unwieldy that a Unit Manifest was devised, which listed each unit only once, but showed its location on each day and its time of arrival in the area. This, in turn, sparked the notion of standardized reduced strengths on the reverse side of each unit, while simultaneously it became apparent that these units could not sustain 50% losses in battle and remain coherent: such losses would give the survivors good cause to scatter to the winds, while a good number of troops would rally to a less badly-mauled brigade.
This rationale also explains the rather bloody-looking CRT used, with little modification, since the dawn of the NAW system; the loss of tactical unit effectiveness, as measured in temporary unit elimination, is not a measure of casualties per se but a measure of unit cohesion... Thus units which have previously taken losses become more 'brittle'; their inability to reorganize after any further beating is an even more serious matter than the fact of their reduced strength. The rough handling that the Prussian First Corps' advanced guard received near Charleroi on the 15th June places these units in a precarious position from the start of the game. (As a footnote, it would be impossible for the French Player to reorganize the units of the 7th Division if lost on the 16th June—because of the proximity of their corps officer—and, even so, in the actual campaign what remained of these units stayed at the Ligny battlefield, and failed to show up to provide a planned rearguard at Quatre Bras after the events of 18th June.)
Napoleon could have been ensured of victory in the campaign if he had inflicted a decisive defeat on the Prussian army on the 16th. With Blucher obliged, even against his nature, to withdraw upon his lines of communications about Liege, Wellington's defeat by the greater part of the French army would have been no longer in doubt. Yet such an ignominious Prussian act would never come about in a game; and we could hardly award victory to an independent Prussian Player over the French and British Players for so doing, for his army would have been next destroyed after Wellington's. With a three-player game thus ruled-out, means had to be found to keep the entirely separate, if not secretly hostile, Prussian and Anglo-Allied armies from cooperating as a single player would have them do. Thus came about the rules concerning communications. Wellington was even more prone to fall back upon his communications than was Blucher and, on the 15th, had actually ordered his army's concentration toward them, away from Napoleon's intended goal and the all-important support of the Prussians. An eye had always to be kept toward the maintenance of communications upon separate bases, by both Wellington and Blucher, until the firm commitment by the other could be insured; and any sort of concentration toward the inner flank had to be delayed until the decisive battle against Napoleon. Thus, even at Waterloo, Blucher held back his forces until Wellington's intentions could be seen.
Developer's Notes
The tactical situations presented in the four battles of the set include all types of Napoleonic era action: From the set piece assault of Ligny, to the wildly variable Quatre Bras, to the monumental action at La Belle Alliance, to the double delaying action at Wavre, all games present the Player with a challenging situation. It is recommended that players utilize the Combined Arms and Imperial Guard special rules to show the rather important and interesting ineraction of the tactical arms of these forces. What about the Crest hexsides? It is just possible (although arguably) that Wellington's use of reverse slope tactics against Napoleon and his Generals just about outmoded Napoleon's artillery-based type of warfare. At Ligny, for example, Blucher insisted, against Wellington's advice, on deploying on the forward slopes of the surrounding hills, virtually assuring the destruction of Blucher's three Corps at Ligny. On the other hand Wellington, deploying his small, but well disciplined force on the reverse of a low ridge, stopped Napoleon for nearly six hours until the arrival of Blucher's Prussians sealed Napoleon's fate.
As in the design of a game the play of a game concerns itself with a series of decisions. In a tactical sense there are always a seeming myriad in every game; whether or not to advance, how to allocate these Combat Strength Points (ad infinitum). In a strategic sense (when there is one) these decisions are usually fewer in number and considerably more subtle. The Player who is rewarded by his strategy is the Player who makes one or two basic decisions; takes a limited point of view as to the problems involved. Then analyzes them correctly and acts on them quickly and efficiently with a minimum of haste and plenty of room for mistakes and "bad luck". Don't be too fancy: You may find yourself with your back to a locked door.
As a final word, the concomitant development of Wellington's Victory and the discussion and examination of the campaign that resulted was extremely valuable for all involved.