CHARGE! - The Basic Rules

For those of us who may not have the book:

The Move consists of five phases:

1. Movement

	Normal	Hills	Woods	Marshes	Obstacles
Cavalry	12	6	6	Na	6
Infantry	6	3	3	3	3
Artillery	6	3	Na	Na	3

• N.B. All carriages, pontoons &c move at infantry speed.
• Woods: Guns cannot pass through woods; cavalry can only move through them in single file; infantry can only move at half speed.
• Marshes: These are impassable to cavalry and guns. May be impassable to infantry or passable at half speed only.

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2. Firing
1. Artillery

i. The gun must be manned by at least 4 soldiers. The target must be visible from the gun and not more than 45° left or right of the direction in which the gun is pointing. The path of the shell or round-shot must not be closer than one inch to any other troops of the same army.

ii. If these conditions are met, measure range to target, then throw dice:

Range to Target&Dice Score to Hit

3’ ****************** 6

2’6” **************** 5

2’ ****************** 4

1’6” **************** 3

1’ ****************** 2

6” ****************** Automatic Hit

iii. If the target is hit, throw dice to decide the ‘standard’ number of casualties. If the range is more than nine inches, the number on the dice is halved to give the standard number; if nine inches or less, the number on the dice is the standard number.

2. Infantry fire

i. Target must be visible to firer, not more than 45° to right or left, and lines of fire must not pass closer than one inch to own side.

ii. Long range (3” to 6”) - throw one dice per 8 infantrymen capable of firing. The number on each dice is halved for the standard number of casualties.

iii. Short range (0 to 3”) - throw one dice per eight infantrymen as above, but the number on each dice is the standard number of casualties.

iv. A dice can be thrown for not less than 4 infantrymen. The number on the dice is then halved, and should be halved again if the fire is at long range.

v. Infantry receiving fire can count their casualties when returning that particular fire, casualties must then be immediately removed.

3. Casualties
1. A fraction of a casualty is disregarded if it is less than half. If the fraction is half or more it counts as a casualty. All firing must be completed and all fractions added together before casualties for fractions can be claimed.
2. Rates: Infantry in the open suffer standard number of casualties. Gunners and cavalry half the standard number.
3. Cover: Number of casualties for troops behind cover is halved.
4. Allocation: Men within range of firing should be decided, and the obvious men made casualties. If there is doubt or disagreement, throw a dice and take appropriate men, counting right hand man as No. 1; If a three is thrown on dice take every third man, until the correct number of casualties has been removed.

i. If a gun crew is the target, a 6 on the dice destroys the gun. Otherwise the man behind the gun is No. 1 and you continue counting clockwise until all casualties have been removed. Guns can only be destroyed by fire from an opposing gun.

ii. Infantry or gunners returning fire next turn can count their casualties as effective for purposes of returning fire only. Such casualties must then be immediately removed.

4. Melees
1. These take two turns. First the attacker moves his troops into contact with those of the defender. Next turn the defender can fire (if he is able to). Then after casualties from the firing have been removed the melee is treated as a series of individual hand-to-hand combats. Opponents throw dice against each other and the one throwing the higher number by more than one ‘pip’ wins, the loser removing his soldier from the board. If the combat is two against one or a cavalryman against an infantryman, the player with the two men or the cavalryman doubles the value of his throw. Odds cannot be greater than two-to-one. If neither side wins the throw, both soldiers survive. If a cavalryman and an infantryman fight a single cavalryman, the player with the cavalryman and an infantryman adds a quarter to the number he throws. If the cavalryman and the infantryman are defeated the cavalryman is removed but the infantryman survives.
2. After each combat the survivor(s) move back 3” if infantry or 6” if cavalry.

5. Morale

If more than half the original number of soldiers in an army have been removed from the board as casualties, that army has been defeated and can fight no more.