Yet more questions

[Churchill]

Hi Barry,

Played another game today at our club in preparation for the Border Reiver game that we are putting on.
Still we are finding that things are not explained properly in the rules.
I had just crossed a bridge in column the previous turn and placed a form marker to change to line, but Jim with a cavalry squadron declared a charge on them.He was more than 12" away when he passed his charge test.I in turn even though I was Raw passed my being charged test as charge movement comes before normal movement I couldn't form into line and so only had the option of either firing with one base or try and form square.
Believe it or not I managed to throw a 2 and formed square and being unable to fire or fight back I stood and prayed Jim didn't get a six to kill.
On the first round of melee Jim failed to get a six and so the melee continued....on the second round Jim got a single kill and so push my square back and being Raw routed me.
Question is can a square be pushed back so easily???
Next Question is on the opposite side of the river I had a battalion in line which I had left to support the crossing.I wanted to fire at the charging squadron, but again because the charge move comes before small arms fire Jim said these are now in melee and so can't be fired on even though only four figures were in contact with the square.

Was all this done correctly??? First time we've had a square.

Regards.......Ray.

[J Anderson]

Hi

So can a unit not being charged fire at a unit which which is charging another unit (i think not). I don`t think a square could be pushed back but ray forgot to mention that his raw unit became shaken by the unit being charged test and was extremely lucky to form the square in the first place ( can a shaken unit form a square ?). The square drew the first round but lost a second round and then failed the losing a melee test so the quandry was is it broken by the push back or if not it would have to rout anyway for failing it`s test.

Jim.

[J Anderson]

Hi

Oops shaken infantry can form square sorry about that one.

Jim

[barr7430]

Guys,
most of the answers are in the rules. This is not Napoleonics. Think of the logic and not the competitive element..

A unit of RAW troops in MARCH COLUMN comnig off a BRIDGE and charged by HORSE. Are these barely trained, poorly officered, underpaid and under equipped farmboys going to have the ability to calmly deploy in line and deliver short range volleys? Would they be capable of of calmly forming a 'square' to repel a cavalry charge? Would other troops not directly concerned with that immediate combat really start pouring supportive fire into a combat (and leaving their own cumbersome and slow loading muskets empty)which is not theirs knowing that they could be next?
Sometimes, players get their units in the wrong place and in the wrong formation.. sometimes real life colonels did and still do the same. Usually its a disaster.. sounds like this was too!

RAW troops will find it difficult to go into square. If you do and your SHAKEN there is no point in going into square anyway as its useless. Even if they had pikes these would be useless for the saving throws as you need to be formed. RAW troops break on first push back anyway.

Ray, I think the problem was where you put your RAW troops

If you think this is unrealistic you don't have to look too far for parallels

3 veteran battalions, 1 trained and two raw were broken and massacred in less than 5 minutes with over 1,000 casualties in 1689 at Killiecrankie Pass by...

Less than half of their number of tribal infantry (RAW) and about 50 dragoons charging down a hill.
If anyone could have thrown a METAPHORICAL 6 in that example it would have been Sir Hugh Mackay or Sir George Ramsay. The first legged it the second got pinned to a tree by a claymore.

Hope this helps

[J Anderson]

Thanks Barry

Ray was extremely lucky to form square with his raw units maybe we should limit hedgehog/square to eastern europe or just elite/guard units. I

Jim.

[Churchill]

Thank you Barry,

Yes I suppose I was asking for trouble sending my raw troops across the bridge , but unfortunatly my whole infantry brigade when diced for was Raw just bad luck.
Being shaken let alone being Raw does now seem an impossible task to form into square.
As I said this was the first time I had tried to form square and that was only because I didn't have the time in which to form line.
In our game for Border Reiver we need to gain a river bridgehead using three crossings, a ford in the centre and/or by bridges on both flanks.
The objective for us is to capture two of them by crossing with two units each.
We as the Williamites have 9 battalions in three brigades and 9 squadrons in three brigades.The Jacobites have a third less than us, having 6 battalions and 6 squadrons.
The irish version of (A Bridge Too Far).

Ray.