Biblical Update - Movement

MY rules are very much based on Neil Thomas's biblical ones in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, but the movement section has considerable input from Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame.

At the start of each turn, dice to see who has the initiative, higher score moving first. If the army has a great general, add one to the roll; if the army has a poor general, subtract one.

The higher score moves first, ie the winner does not have a choice in the matter, and the winning player picks a unit of his army to start with, and it moves, shoots, tests morale, etc, before a second unit does likewise, and so on.

Open-order cavalry and light chariots can move 24cm; close-order cavalry, heavy chariots and camelry, 20cm; open-order infantry and auxiliary infantry, 12cm; close-order infantry, 8cm.

Turning is free to open-order troops, light chariots and camelry, but other troops that deviate more than 30° from straight-ahead lose half their allowance.

When a unit tries to use at least three-quarters of its allowance, roll a die: 6, add 25% to the distance covered; 1, subtract 25% from the distance covered.

For example, a unit of close-order cavalry wants to turn to its flank and advance 8cm. Close-order cavalry have a normal movement allowance of 20cm, but since the unit turned more than 30°, its allowance is reduced to 10cm, and since 8cm is more than three-quarters of 10cm, a die is rolled. It lands as a 1, meaning the unit, perhaps because of an unexpected obstacle or confusion about the order, only covers 6cm.

This rule should not be enforced when the result would be ridiculous, eg a unit sent to defend a wall or line a river bank should not be made to move across the wall or into the river as the result of a 6 being rolled.

Assyrian close-order cavalry

*Amended 4/4/26 to make clear that open-order cavalry, as well as open-order infantry, light chariots and camelry, can turn more than 30° without losing any of their movement allowance.

Biblical Update - Moving & Firing

UNDER Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming it is stated that "close-order* troops may never move and fire."

Nevertheless, a special rule for the Assyrian army allows its close-order infantry and cavalry units to fire with half their bases even after moving.

I have more-or-less kept this special rule in that I am allowing Assyrian professional close-order infantry and close-order cavalry to move and fire.

Moving on to open-order troops, he states that open-order infantry, open-order cavalry and light chariots may move and fire "under certain circumstances."

1. Open-order infantry armed with javelins may throw their javelins either before or after moving.

2. Open-order cavalry and light chariots armed with bows may shoot either before or after moving.

3. Open-order cavalry and light chariots armed with javelins may split-move, ie shoot at any point during their move.

However, no unit may shoot if charging, ie intending to force a melee.

I understand why ordinary close-order infantry armed with bows are not allowed to move and fire, but why are open-order infantry armed with bows the only open-order troops unable to move and fire?

This seems to me a clear anomaly, and I intend treating open-order archers the same as bow-armed open-order cavalry and light chariots, ie by letting them fire before or after moving.

Egyptian open-order bowmen

*He uses the word "heavy," but "close-order" is a better term, as I have explained before.

Biblical Update - Canaanites & Philistines

NEIL Thomas's Canaanite and Philistine list in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming covers "states operating in what is now Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria."

He goes on to add the Mitanni, in what is now Iraq, "and even the Hammurabic Babylonian empire."

CHARIOTS bow-armed light chariots, elite 2-4 units

SPEARMEN biblical infantry, light protection, levy 2-4 units

SKIRMISHERS javelin-armed open-order infantry, light protection, levy 2-4 units

ARCHERS open-order bowmen, light protection, levy 0-1 unit

The Philistines are allowed an extra troop type:

GUARDS biblical infantry, medium protection, average 0-1 unit

The Babylonians also receive a compulsory extra:

ARCHERS close-order bowmen, light protection, levy 1-2 units

I do not have much to say about this list at present, except that an argument can be made for upgrading the Philistine guards to elite.

Open-order archers were an integral part of many biblical armies

Biblical Update - Hittites

THE Hittite list in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming covers six centuries, and is basically the equivalent of lists 16 (Hittite Old & Middle Kingdom), 24 (Hittite Empire) and 31 (Neo-Hittite & Later Aramaean) in De Bellis Antiquitatis.

HITTITE CHARIOTS spear-armed heavy chariots, elite 2-4 units

SYRIAN ALLIED CHARIOTS bow-armed light chariots, average 0-2 units

SPEARMEN biblical infantry, light protection, levy 2-4 units

SKIRMISHERS javelin-armed open-order infantry, levy 1-2 units

There are no special rules for a Hittite army in A&MW, but two points from the list stand out.

The first is that Hittite chariots, as opposed to the chariots of their allies or vassals, are treated as melee weapons, rather than shooting platforms, and I agree with Thomas's arguments on this score.

The second point is the levy status of all infantry, which seems a little harsh, but I intend going with it unless I find convincing evidence to prove this wrong.

Hittite biblical infantry may have been impressed, but can also have something of an impressive look

Biblical Update - Elamites

THERE are lists for 11 armies in the biblical section of Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, which is a low number when compared with, for example, Phil Barker and Sue Laflin-Barker's De Bellis Antiquitatis.

Some of Thomas's lists are suitable for more than one nation's armies, with a minimum of adapting, but even so there is nothing that would be suitable for the type of Elamite army that won the Battle of Siddim in about 1800 BC, that being the first battle mentioned in the Bible.

Nevertheless it is a fairly easy process to come up with an appropriate list, and here is mine.

CHARIOTS bow-armed light chariots, elite 0-1 unit

ROYAL GUARD close-order archers, light protection, elite 0-1 unit

ARCHERS open-order, light protection, average 5-8 units

JAVELINMEN open-order infantry, light protection, levy 0-2 units

If chariots are chosen, the general - perhaps commander, or king, is a better word - will be with them. If chariots are not chosen, but the royal guard is, the army commander will be with them. If neither elite unit is chosen, the commander will be with one of the open-order archery units, which will be upgraded to elite.

At Siddim, which was probably at the south end of the Dead Sea, King Chedorlaomer of Elam and three client kings fought against the forces of five rebel Canaanite cities.

The army of the cities may have been armed to the Elamite force, but I have not looked into this in any depth yet, so I am keeping an open mind.

Seven units of Elamite archers, including one at three-quarter strength and one in close-order

Biblical Update - Midianites

I AM yet to field a Midianite army on the tabletop, but I have all the necessary figures, including an abundance of camelry.

The relevant list in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming is as follows.

CAMELRY bow-armed, open-order, light protection, average 2-4 units

SKIRMISHERS open-order javelinmen, light protection, levy 2-4 units

SLINGERS open-order, light protection, levy 2-4 units

ARCHERS open-order, light protection, levy 0-2 units

What this means is that even if a wargamer takes the full allowance of four units of camelry, all of whom are of average quality, the other four units of the army will be levy.

To my mind, 50% levy is too high, and I will change this to be that half of all non-camel units will be levy, and the other half average.

In addition, under my adaptation of Thomas's biblical rules, one of the units of camelry will have the 'general' - perhaps the title chieftain, sheikh or commander is a better choice - and thus be elite.

The Midianite list, which is meant to represent any Arab tribal army, has a special rule for camels.

This states that they have a movement allowance of 16cm and enjoy a saving roll of 4+, rather than 6, which is the norm for troops with only light protection, "if attacked by horses in hand-to-hand combat."

Two points leap out at me.

Firstly, the wording implies that if camelry attack cavalry or chariots, they do not get an enhanced roll - it only applies if the horsemen attack the camels.

Later, on the same page, Thomas writes: "(Camelry) may be able to repel chariots and cavalry owing to its enhanced armour saving-roll against horses."

I find it hard to believe this is what is really meant, and I will be giving camelry a 4+ saving roll in melees with cavalry and chariots, no matter who attacks whom.

The second point is that camelry's movement allowance of 16cm is not only 8cm less than that of light chariots and open-order cavalry, but is 4cm less than heavy chariots and close-order cavalry.

I accept that horses generally move quicker than camels, but I do not accept that camelry, which, remember, is in open-order, would manoeuvre slower than cavalry in close-order, even if the close-order would, perhaps, not have been as tight as it later became as cavalry developed over the centuries.

Accordingly I am giving camelry a movement allowance of 20cm, ie the same as heavy cavalry and chariots.

Bedouin camelry in action as part of an Assyrian-led army that took on Egyptians, using Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame ancient rules, reported on my blog just over a year ago

Biblical Update - Hebrews

NEIL Thomas's list for a Hebrew army in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming is really three lists, covering the same centuries as the Early Hebrew and Later Hebrew lists in De Bellis Antiquitatis.

(Thomas uses the word Israelite, rather than Hebrew, but this can lead to confusion after the Jewish kingdom splits into a northern part, Israel, and a southern one, Judah).

The main list, which covers Hebrew armies up until the accession of David's son Solomon to the united throne, is as follows.

SIMEONITES & EPHRAIMITES Auxiliary infantry, light protection, elite 1-2 units

GADITES & ISSACHARITES* Open-order javelinmen, light protection, average 1-2 units

BENJAMINITES Open-order slingers, light protection, average 1-2 units

OTHER SEVEN TRIBES Auxiliary infantry, light protection, average 2-4 units

One of the units of Benjaminites can be equipped with bows, rather than slings.

The army enjoys a special Guerrilla Warfare rule, designed to reflect its skill at ambushing enemies after luring them into suitable terrain.

Accordingly the Hebrew commander can add two pieces of rocky terrain anywhere on the battlefield (size of the terrain pieces is not stated, but a diagram of suggested deployment for the army shows two units in each of the pieces of rocky ground).

The Hebrew commander can also deploy two open-order units anywhere on the battlefield after the enemy has finished setting up. Again, the mechanics of this are not explained.

The second list is specifically for Solomon's army, which cannot use the Guerrilla Warfare rule, but gets an additional troop category:

CHARIOTS bow-armed light chariots, elite 1-3 units

With this addition I think it only fair that the Simeonites and Ephraimites lose their elite status, becoming average.

The third list is for armies after Solomon, ie for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and ignores all the above.

Instead Thomas says to to use the list for Canaanite and Philistine armies, and I will look at this later. 

*"Issacher" in A&MW, but clearly Issacharites is meant.

Hebrew army at the Battle of Palm Hill

Left-to-right in the photo are Issacharite javelinmen; Benjaminite slingers and Ephraimite auxiliary infantry in rocky ground; two ordinary bands of auxiliary infantry in the centre rear; more Benjaminite slingers and Simeonite auxiliary infantry in the second patch of rocky ground; Gadite javelinmen.

Biblical Update - Assyrians

THE Assyrian army list in Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming is titled New Assyrian Imperial, and covers the years 750-610 BC.

The dates are uncontroversial, at least from a new-versus-conventional chronological viewpoint, and Thomas's dates are essentially the same as the Neo-Assyrian Empire (745-681 BC) and Later Sargonid Assyrian (680-609 BC) lists in De Bellis Antiquitatis by Phil Barker and Sue Laflin-Barker.

CHARIOTS Heavy chariots, elite 1-2 units

CAVALRY Close-order cavalry, light protection, elite 1-2 units

LINE INFANTRY Professional close-order infantry, medium protection, elite 2-4 units

AUXILIARY INFANTRY Auxiliary infantry, light protection, average 2-4 units

ARCHERS Open-order infantry, light protection, levy 0-2 units

There are two special rules for the Assyrians - terror and mixed units.

The terror rule has it that enemy troops in hand-to-hand combat with any Assyrians, apart from archers, must test their morale before the first round.

The mixed-units rule means Assyrian cavalry, line infantry and auxiliary infantry are assumed to be equipped with bows, and can shoot with half of their bases each turn even if they have moved.

There is a fair bit in the above with which I am not happy.

For starters, since a Thomas army has eight units, it is possible using his list to field an Assyrian army in which three-quarters of the units are elite, eg by selecting two units of chariots, two of cavalry and two of line infantry, along with two units of auxiliary infantry.

I also do not understand why the average infantry are regarded as auxiliary infantry, rather than biblical infantry.

My version of the above list is therefore:

CHARIOTS Heavy chariots, elite 1-2 units

CAVALRY Close-order, light protection, average 1-2 units

PROFESSIONAL INFANTRY Professional close-order, heavy protection, average 2-4 units

SPEARMEN Biblical infantry, medium protection 2-4 units

ARCHERS Open-order infantry, light protection, levy 0-2 units

Note that as well as debuffing the quality of cavalry and professional infantry, from elite to average, I have upped the protection of professional infantry from medium to heavy, and of spearmen from light to medium.

This is because professional infantry tended to have both large shields and body armour, while spearmen - at least the ones I have painted - have large shields.

I am keeping the terror rule, but I am only allowing cavalry and professional infantry to use the mixed-units rule.

A 13-unit Assyrian army, plus a general in a chariot, organised for a battle using Bob Cordery's ancient rules in The Portable Wargame

Biblical Update - Egyptians

THE Egyptian army list in the biblical section of Neil Thomas's Ancient & Medieval Wargaming is designed for New Kingdom Egypt and is dated 1200-800 BC.

That is because Thomas is using Egyptologist David Rohl's controversial - putting it mildly - new chronology, which has not found mainstream acceptance, but is popular with conspiracy theorists.

More conventional dates are found in version 3.0 of De Bellis Antiquitatis, where Phil Barker and Sue Laflin-Barker give 1543-1069 BC.

The dates are not important for my current purposes - what counts are the units in the A&MW list, which is as follows (using my terminology, where it differs from Thomas's).

CHARIOTS Bow-armed light chariots, elite 1-3 units

SPEARMEN Biblical infantry, light protection, average 2-4 units

ARCHERS Close-order bows, light protection, average 1-2 units

SHERDEN GUARD Auxiliary infantry, medium protection, elite 0-1 unit

The list has a special rule that allows one unit of spears to be upgraded to medium protection, thanks to the men having body armour as well as shields.

This mostly strikes me as very reasonable, except for one thing - the defensive protection of the spearmen.

Under Thomas's biblical rules, all troops are classified as having light, medium or heavy protection.

He writes: "If a soldier is equipped with a breastplate or a shield, he counts as having light armour; if he has a breastplate and a shield, he has medium armour. These ratings can be augmented if the man has extra armour, horse armour, or an unusually large shield."

To my mind Egyptian spearmen, at least the ones in my collection, have unusually large shields, and so I am going to classify all such units as enjoying medium protection.

That makes the corrected list as follows.

CHARIOTS Bow-armed light chariots, elite 1-3 units

SPEARMEN Biblical infantry, medium protection, average 2-4 units

ARCHERS Close-order bows, light protection, average 1-2 units

SHERDEN GUARD Auxiliary infantry, medium protection, elite 0-1 unit

This incidentally does away with the special rule for upgrading the protection of one unit of spears.

An Egyptian army using the deployment suggested in A&MW

Biblical Update

MY long-term major project of fighting battles from the Bible with 10mm-scale figures is progressing nicely.

There is still a fair bit of painting to do, but I have been reading and researching the period, and, importantly, have settled on a ruleset.

I will be using Neil Thomas's biblical rules from Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, but incorporating ideas from Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame, as well as modifications of my own.

You will need both books to fully understand the concepts, but especially A&MW.

Here I want to discuss how the armies will be organised.

Under Thomas's rules, an army always consists of eight units, and each unit almost always consists of four 40x20mm bases, aligned in two ranks of two bases.

I like this approach, especially for the pre-classical ancient period, when information on army sizes is very limited, and usually very biased.

In addition, knowledge of unit organisation and tactics are usually extremely limited - guesswork is the order of the day.

So normally I will follow Thomas, albeit reserving the right to vary unit numbers when I feel it is necessary.

In my experience the rules work perfectly well with more units on the table, and with rival armies fielding different numbers of units.

Thomas has nine types of unit for his biblical armies.

Five are on foot: heavy infantry, biblical infantry, heavy archers, auxiliary infantry and light infantry.

Four are mounted in one way or another: heavy cavalry, light cavalry, heavy chariots and light chariots.

I have discussed before why I disagree with some of the terms he uses as I think they can be inappropriate and confusing.

For example, Thomas's heavy archers often have neither shields nor armour - the defining criterion for them is that they fight in close order.

Below I list Thomas's nine types of troops, my names for them, how many figures there should be per base, and the basic characteristics of each type.

THOMAS'S NAME     MY NAME                 FIGURES

Heavy infantry            Professional infantry       6

Well-drilled, fulltime, close-order, often with heavy protection, ie shield and body armour.

Biblical infantry          Biblical infantry              6

The great bulk of close-order melee infantry.

Auxiliary infantry       Auxiliary infantry            4 

Disciplined melee infantry, but in looser formation. They move quickly, and are a match for biblical infantry (but not professional infantry) in hand-to-hand fighting in, and are especially effective in difficult terrain.

Heavy archers           Close-order archers           6

Bows in close-order formation. Do not carry shields, but can have full mail armour, but can also have just medium or light protection.*

Light infantry            Open-order infantry          2

Skirmishers equipped with bows, slings or javelins.

Heavy cavalry           Close-order cavalry          3

Usually melee troops. Often, but not always, protected with shield and body armour, and the horse may have protection too.

Light cavalry             Open-order cavalry          1

Mounted version of open-order infantry.

Heavy chariots           Heavy chariots                 1 (plus crew)

Chariots designed for close combat.

Light chariots             Light chariots                   1 (plus crew)

Chariots designed for shooting, usually with bows.

*Troops have heavy, medium or light protection, needing a saving throw to negate a hit of 4+, 5+ or 6 respectively.

Six units of javelin-armed open-order cavalry - figures from Newline Designs

Handy Find

AM visiting Bad Wörishofen, a Bavarian spa town that seems to cater to upmarket hypochondriacs.

That may be a little unfair, but there is no doubting the numerous health facilities and swanky hotels.

This is very much off-season as most of the town's medical treatments are based around hydrotherapy, which requires walking through water troughs that only fully operational in the summer months.

As well as hotels, spas and smart restaurants, there is a large toy shop that I suspect does a good trade with indulgent grandparents.

It has also done a decent amount of business with me this year.

These four palm trees will enhance a desert oasis

A pack of 15 deciduous trees that could make a small wood or orchard

The palms have stability issues that I should be able to solve fairly easily, but there is no such problem with the 15 green 'uns

I cannot deny that the palm trees were expensive, but I have found it difficult to obtain suitable such models for 10mm-scale battle scenes.

More Hittite Infantry

Four more units of 10mm Hittite infantry

These are again from Newline Designs, and painted using my new glued-to-the-base method.

Charity Begins At Orpington

WHENEVER I find myself with spare time in a place I have not visited for a while, I like to tour the charity shops.

I am mostly looking for unusual history and travel books, but at the Kent town of Orpington earlier this month I made two finds much more directly related to wargaming.

First up, and costing 50p each, were these 75ml tubes of acrylic paint - compare their size with the regular 18ml Citadel pot - from children's charity Demelza

The second find, costing £1.99 for the pair at Age Concern, was these approximately 10mm-scale boats

I very much hope the lefthand tube will make an acceptable flesh colour, while white is always useful, and I am sure I will find uses for the purple.

The boats may only play a decorative role, but will be none the worse for that.

New Painting System

I HAVE painted my first unit of Hittite infantry, arranged for Neil Thomas's biblical rules in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

10mm figures from Newline Designs

Previously I have painted 10mm figures by first fixing them with Blu Tack to coffee stirrers - the type easily obtainable in Costa, Caffè Nero, etc.

But recently I took a new approach, at least when painting troops in open-order, gluing them to already-painted bases.

This worked so well that I decided to try the same technique for close-order infantry, the result being the figures above.

As usual with 10mm troops - at least, with my 10mm troops - it does not pay to inspect them too closely.

However, to be fair, 10mm figures are not meant for close scrutiny. Spears, for example, are almost as thick as legs, and facial features are very limited.

But I like the from-a-distance look, and there is no doubt that painting figures glued to bases, rather than Blu Tacked to thin strips of wood, leads to far fewer messy accidents.

Summing Up Our Refight Of Wörth

THE original Battle of Wörth saw the Germans suffer about 10,000 casualties, a third less than the French.

This was in stark contrast to Spicheren and, to a certain extent, Wissembourg/Weissenburg, where, although the Prussian-led armies were victorious, they suffered high casualties.

Our refight of Wörth started slowly, but as German, especially Prussian, reinforcements reached the battlefield, the casualty rate swiftly climbed.

It ended with a German victory, but with strength-points lost only just higher for the French, although the latter lost two complete units to the Germans' one.

Reg and I agreed the refight seemed quite realistic, despite the toy-soldierish nature of the affair, and it was certainly enjoyable, a testament to the rules, based largely on those of Neil Thomas, but with a major input from the writings of Bob Cordery.

Wörth - Turn Seven

Situation after six turns

I roll for reinforcements, but fail to bring the final Bavarian infantry brigade to the table.

Both my guns are still masked by friendly troops. There seems no point in manoeuvring the forward, Prussian gun, but I order the other gun to advance, although the gunners do not respond (I roll a 2 for activation - one less than is required for non-Prussian Germans).

My four-base infantry south of Niederwald finish crossing the Sauer, advance two hexes and fire at the two-base French infantry, but a -1 modifier for shooting in the same turn as moving means no hit is inflicted.

My two-base infantry bayonet-charge the same French unit, but only the French inflict a hit, and it becomes the compulsory loss of a strength point.

My three-base infantry north of Niederwald are ordered to charge the French infantry directly ahead, but fail to activate, and so shoot instead. However, their morale is clearly shaky as they fire wildly, causing no damage.

The Bavarian infantry are similarly unsuccessful in shooting at the French opposite them.

I next choose to fight the melee between my lancers and the French gun crew in Frœschwiller. I roll a 4, which, thanks to the lancers being cavalry in hand-to-hand combat with artillerymen, is enough to score a hit, despite a -1 modifier for the French being in cover. MacMahon fails to score a hit, but the hit his men suffer can be resolved as withdrawing a hex, and this is what he chooses.

This means the artillerymen, with their gun, leave Frœschwiller, and my unit immediately occupies the village, and initiates another round of combat. Again I score an unanswered hit, and this time MacMahon accepts the loss of 1SP, rather than have the unit retreat to the edge of the battlefield, where it would inevitably suffer another round of meleeing.

My unit directly west of Wörth, now that the cavalry are not blocking its line-of-sight, can shoot at the three-base French northwest of Niederwald. A hit is scored thanks to the +1 modifier for my unit having more than 3SP, and the hit causes the compulsory loss of 1SP.

The other Prussian infantry west of Wörth cannot advance, but the Prussian unit that arrived on the battlefield last turn advances two hexes.

The French are hanging on, but time seems to be against them

MacMahon, perhaps hoping to get the bad news over first, starts with the ongoing artillery-v-cavalry melee, and his men duly suffer another hit, without being able to inflict one in return, and it becomes the compulsory loss of 1SP, meaning the French have lost a second unit.

The infantry melee south of Niederwald is inconclusive.

The three-base French west of Frœschwiller fail to activate, and so have to settle for shooting at the Bavarian infantry (MacMahon explained that he had hoped to have them melee with my lancers). However, there is good news for the French when his men score a hit, which eliminates the Bavarian infantry's last strength point.

The two-base French west of Niederwald advance obliquely right to take partial shelter behind the wood, from where they shoot at the nearest Prussian infantry. MacMahon rolls a 5, but -1 modifiers for having moved, and for having fewer than 3SP, mean no hit is scored.

The four-base infantry west of Niederwald turn and advance a hex, getting them off the edge of the battlefield, and shoot at the same Prussian target, this time scoring a hit. My men have nowhere to withdraw, meaning I must accept the loss of 1SP.

Another bloodthirsty turn - each side lost 3SP - means the French, in addition to losing two of their six units, have lost exactly half of their starting strength points, while the Germans have lost a relatively modest one unit and 10SP (out of 38)

With defeat inevitable - an army is beaten once its starting total of strength points or of units falls below 50% - MacMahon concedes.

Wörth - Turn Six

Situation after five turns

I roll for reinforcements, receiving a brigade of Prussian infantry.

Neither of my guns can fire as both are masked by friendly troops.

My three-base unit south of Niederwald fires at the two-base French, but I roll a 1. The other Prussian unit south of Niederwald spends this half-turn crossing the Sauer.

My three-base unit north of Niederwald shoots at the French directly ahead, scoring a hit, which proves to be the compulsory loss of a strength point.

The infantry in Wörth leave the village, and line up to shoot at the same French unit, but another 1 means no damage is done.

The infantry east of Wörth pass through the village, but have no suitable target as they are partially masked by the ongoing cavalry melee.

The Bavarian infantry in the northwest charge the French nearest them, but the melee is inconclusive.

I leave my artillery where it is.

Finally, the cavalry melee is also inconclusive.

The Prussian attack is gaining momentum

The French gun does not have a target, so MacMahon orders it to swivel within Frœschwiller in the hope of having a clear line-of-sight next turn.

The infantry south of Niederwald shoot at my three-base unit opposite them, scoring a hit, which I choose to resolve as the compulsory loss of 1SP, rather than have the unit fall back into a river hex.

The three-base French immediately northwest of Niederwald shoot at the Prussians advancing on them, scoring a hit which becomes the forced loss of a strength point.

The four-base unit northwest of Niederwald fails to activate as a 2 is rolled.

In the infantry melee the French score a hit, which I choose to resolve as making my men fall back a hex (my men fail to score a hit in return). MacMahon orders his victorious unit to follow up their success by occupying the vacated hex (this does not require an activation roll), so instigating another round of meleeing. This time both units inflict a hit. MacMahon has a choice as how to resolve the hit his men suffer, and decides to let them fall back a hex. I also have a choice, but since falling back would take the unit off the battlefield, I suffer the loss of 1SP.

In the cavalry melee, my men score a hit, and do not suffer one, and the hit is resolved as the compulsory loss of 1SP, meaning the French hussars become the first unit eliminated. My men occupy the vacated hex, and initiate a round of hand-to-hand combat against the French artillery in Frœschwiller. However, despite my unit receiving a +2 modifier for being cavalry fighting artillery, I fail to score a hit thanks to rolling a 2, as there is a -1 modifier for the enemy being in cover. MacMahon rolls a 5, but a -2 modifier for being artillery fighting cavalry means the French also do not score a hit.

A relatively bloodthirsty turn means the French have now lost 8 strength points (out of a starting total of 22SP) and one unit, while the Germans have lost 7SP, having started with 38SP

Wörth - Turn Five

Situation after four turns, looking from above the Prussian-controlled east bank of the Sauer, with Bavarian reinforcements arriving from the north

I do not receive any reinforcements this turn.

My rearward artillery fire at Frœschwiller, but I roll a 1. My forward artillery fire at the infantry next to Frœschwiller, but again I roll a 1.

The Bavarian infantry in the northwest corner of the battlefield shoot at the French infantry nearest them, scoring a hit - just - with a 4. The hit is resolved as either the loss of a strength point, or falling back a hex, and MacMahon chooses the latter.

The Bavarian lancers advance to the outskirts of Frœschwiller.

My Prussian infantry south of Niederwald shoot at the two-base French opposite them, but the die lands as a 2.

The Prussians in Wörth shoot at the French infantry beside Frœschwiller, easily scoring a hit, which is resolved as the French falling back a hex.

The Prussians in the river hex emerge and shoot at the only target in range, the French artillery in Wörth, rolling a 5. There are -1 modifiers for having moved and for the target being in cover, but a +1 modifier for having more than three strength points, so a hit is scored, which is resolved as the compulsory loss of 1SP.

The brigade behind Frœschwiller remains where it is. Really I should have ordered the unit in Frœschwiller to advance, so the other brigade could enter the village.

Finally, my rearward infantry on the left flank start to cross the Sauer.

The crunch point of the battle seems near

The artillery in Frœschwiller fire at the Bavarian infantry, but without effect.

The French infantry south of Niederwald shoot at the Prussians nearest them, but also unsuccessfully.

The hussars charge the Bavarian lancers, but soon think better of it after failing to score a hit in the melee, while suffering one themselves. The hit is resolved as the compulsory loss of 1SP.

The three-base French infantry move so as not to block the line-of-sight of the unit next to them, and turn to shoot at the Bavarian infantry, but miss.

The unblocked infantry fire at the same target, scoring a hit, which I choose to resolve as the loss of a strength point, rather than have the unit leave the battlefield (Reg and I, after a quick conflab, agreed the unit would not be able to re-enter).

Finally, the other full-strength French infantry brigade advances to shoot at the Prussians who have just crossed the Sauer. A roll of 5 is enough for a hit, despite a -1 modifier for moving. The hit is resolved as the compulsory loss of 1SP.

With both armies losing 2SP this turn, the French have lost 6SP and the Germans 4SP

Wörth - Turn Four

Situation after three turns

I receive reinforcements in the shape of Bavarian lancers, who arrive beside the River Sauer on the north edge of the battlefield, ie on the right of the photo.

My rearward gun fires at the French artillery in Frœschwiller, scoring a hit, which MacMahon this time chooses to resolve as being unable to take action this turn.

My other gun successfully fires at the hussars, but MacMahon lets the unit fall back a hex rather than lose a strength point.

The Bavarian infantry shoot at the French infantry nearest them, but a 2 is insufficient despite a +1 modifier for being at full-strength.

My infantry south of Niederwald continue their shooting match with the French unit there, scoring a hit which becomes the compulsory loss of 1SP.

The infantry in Wörth shoot at the French directly ahead, scoring a hit thanks to the +1 modifier for being at full-strength. MacMahon again gets to choose how to resolve the hit, and he lets the unit fall back diagonally left to the only hex open to it.

Both my recently arrived brigades on the east edge of the battlefield activate and advance two hexes.

Finally, my infantry in the river hex have to remain there for this turn.

The French are outnumbered on the battlefield by nine units to six, and there are still two more German units - one Prussian, one Bavarian - that could arrive after marching to the sound of the guns

The French artillery cannot fire this half-turn, but the three-base infantry next to them move forward so as again to shoot at my unit in Wörth, although without success.

The four-base infantry facing the Bavarian infantry shoot at the latter, scoring a hit which becomes the compulsory loss of 1SP.

The hussars, unable to reach a target this turn, take shelter behind Niederwald, but the four-base infantry beside them fail to activate.

Finally, the French south of Niederwald fail to score a hit on the Prussians opposite them.

With both armies losing a strength point this turn, the French have now lost 4SP and the Germans 2SP

Wörth - Turn Three

Situation after two turns

I roll for reinforcements, receiving a brigade of Prussian infantry, who arrive on the battlefield beside the long-barrelled gun, which shoots at the French artillery in Frœschwiller. There is a +1 modifier for being at full-strength, but a -1 modifier for the target having cover, but these prove irrelevant as I throw a 6. To resolve the hit, MacMahon rolls a 5, giving him the choice of losing a strength point or being unable to fire in the French half-turn. He chooses to lose 1SP.

My Prussian gun advances a hex to beside Wörth, and so be in position to shoot next turn.

The infantry in Wörth shoot at the French directly ahead. A roll of 3 is just enough to score a hit as there is a +1 modifier for being at full-strength. The resolution throw allows MacMahaon the option of having the unit fall back, rather than lose 1SP, and that is what he chooses, another die-throw indicating the unit retreats to behind Frœschwiller.

My left-flank forward infantry exit the river hex, and shoot at the French south of Niederwald, rolling a 6, and so easily inflicting a hit, despite having moved. The hit is resolved as the compulsory loss of a strength point.

The other infantry crossing the Sauer and emerge on the west bank, north of Niederwald, and shoot at the French in Frœschwiller. There are -1 modifiers for firing while moving and for the target having cover, but +1 modifier for being at full-strength, and that proves vital as I roll a 5. MacMahon has a choice as to how it is resolved, and decides the best thing is to give up shooting rights this turn.

The Bavarian infantry in the northwest of the battlefield successfully activate, and shoot at the three-base French infantry beside Frœschwiller. However, a roll of 2 is insufficient, despite a +1 modifier for having the full 4SP.

Finally, the Prussian infantry that arrived last turn, fail to activate (I rolled a 1).

A successful half-turn for the German cause in that I inflicted the loss of 2SP, rendered the French artillery unable to fire this turn, and got units across the Sauer

MacMahon orders the three-base infantry south of Niederwald to shoot at my men approaching them. However, the die lands as a 2.

He then successfully activates the hussars, who emerge from behind Niederwald to charge my infantry that have just crossed the Sauer near Wörth. In the melee the cavalrymen receive a +1 modifier for being mounted troops fighting infantry, while my unit gets +1 for having 4SP. We both score a hit, and both hits are resolved as losing 1SP or falling back a hex. We both choose to fall back a hex. That takes my infantry into a river hex, which they will have to spend next turn in before trying to leave it.

The three-base French behind Frœschwiller move so as to shoot at my men in Wörth, but roll a 1.

The four-base infantry beside them shoot at the Bavarians, but also roll a 1.

The remaining infantry unit, west of Niederwald, fails to activate.

After three turns the Germans have lost 1SP and the French 3SP

Wörth - Turn Two

Situation at the end of turn one

I roll for reinforcements, receiving a brigade of Bavarian infantry from the north, and a brigade of Prussian infantry from the east. I then roll to determine at which hexes they enter the battlefield. For the Bavarians, this can be any of the six hexes on the north row between the Sauer and the west edge of the battlefield. I roll a 1, meaning the extreme west hex. For the Prussians it can be any vacant hex on the east edge of the battlefield, and I roll a 3, putting them directly opposite, but six hexes away from, the most southern French unit. Neither of my two new units can move or shoot until next turn.

My non-Prussian gun again fires at the French artillery in Frœschwiller, but I again roll a 3, which has no effect. My other gun has no target, so I successfully activate it, and the crew advance with their gun two hexes (Prussian aggressive use of artillery was a hallmark of the Franco-Prussian War from its early stages).

My right-flank infantry also activate, and enter Wörth (there is no penalty for crossing the river if using the village to do so), and shoot at the French directly ahead. I roll a 6, which is easily enough to score a hit, especially with a +1 modifier for being at full-strength, and despite a -1 modifier for having moved. My opponent rolls a 2 to resolve the hit, meaning the first French strength point is lost.

My other two advancing infantry units enter the Sauer, where they will have to remain next turn, unable to shoot, before emerging on the far side.

The Prussians are advancing boldy, much as they did in the real battle, without too much regard for minimising casualties

MacMahon starts with his artillery in Frœschwiller, which shoot at my newly arrived Bavarians. He rolls a 2, which is never going to be enough, even without a -1 modifier for having a French imperial crew.

The three-strength infantry behind the artillery shoot at my men in Wörth, but fail miserably with a 1. The infantry next to them shoot at my Bavarians, but also roll a 1.

The French south of Niederwald no longer have a target in my three-strength unit as the thick wood obstructs their line-of-sight, but MacMahon successfully activates them, so the unit can move and shoot. However a 2 is rolled.

MacMahon does not try to activate the hussars, and the infantry adjacent to them fail to activate.

At the end of turn two both armies have lost 1SP

Wörth - Turn One

Looking from behind the Prussian lines

I start by ordering my non-Prussian gun on the right flank to fire at the village of Frœschwiller, on the far side of the River Sauer, and specifically at the French gun positioned in the village. I roll a 3, which is increased for my unit being at full-strength, but decreased for the target being in cover, so I narrowly fail to score a hit.

My Prussian gun shoots at the French infantry directly ahead, rolling a 5. This is increased for the crew being Prussian, and for the unit being at full-strength, so a hit is easily scored. General MacMahon (aka 'Reg') rolls a 5 to determine the effect of the hit, which means he can choose to lose a strength point OR retreat a hex. He selects the latter, and, since a direct fallback is obstructed by a friendly unit, the infantry retreat obliquely to their left.

I successfully activate all three of my infantry units on the battlefield, and each advances two hexes, with one unit reaching the outskirts of Wörth, and the other two the east bank of the Sauer. However, being German infantry with a weapon range of three hexes (rather than French with a range of four), none of the units has a target to fire at.

Situation after the German half-turn

MacMahon starts by ordering the infantry unit that fell back, to advance on Wörth, but it refuses to move (French troops need a 3 to activate, and a 2 was rolled).

He then orders the unit that was directly behind it, and is now in line-of-sight of my Prussian gun, to move south a hex, which it wisely does.

The only French unit that has enemy within range and line-of-sight is the infantry unit south of Niederwald. It shoots at my men who have reached the bank of the Sauer, and rolls a 6 - easily enough, even without the bonus for being at full strength. To resolve the hit, I roll a 3, meaning the compulsory loss of a strength point.

First blood to the French

Wörth-Specific Rules

REINFORCEMENTS

The French start with their full force on the table - four brigades of infantry, one of cavalry, and a gun.

The French in position, with the gun in the village of Frœschwiller, ie in the same hex, and so enjoying cover

The Germans start with both guns on the table, but only three brigades of infantry

Three brigades of Prussian infantry will arrive from the east, and two brigades of Bavarian infantry and one of cavalry will come from the north.

At the start of the second and subsequent turns, dice for each off-table unit: 5+ means it arrives this turn, and should be placed on the table at the start of the turn, but will be unable to further move or fire until the next turn.

No units in this scenario are elite - partly because the small number of units would give elite ones a disproportionate effect.

But also because the French are partly demoralised following early reverses in the war, and the Germans because I am already allowing them a higher proportion of Prussian troops than they actually had in the battle.

The French gun naturally counts as French imperial artillery. My crew with the long-barrelled gun are non-Prussian German; my other crew are Prussian.

TURNS

I consider a turn to encompass 45 minutes of action. The fighting at Wörth started around 10am on an August day, which left about 11 hours before darkness would bring a halt, so the refight will last a maximum of 15 turns.

Weather was not a factor.

Wörth - The Rules

WE have been very pleased with the rules, which are based around Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame series of books, in particular the late-19th century rules from his original publication, The Portable Wargame (Eglinton Books, 2017).

I am using 54mm toy soldiers on a Hexon II grid, formed of hexes 100mm across, from Nottinghamshire-based Kallistra.

You will need Cordery's book to understand the brief summary of my rules that follows.
I have changed a few of his concepts - sometimes to fit in with how I like a wargame to work, sometimes adapting ideas from Neil Thomas's Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe, and sometimes to give the rules a more-distinct flavour of the Franco-Prussian War.
The summary below mainly covers the changes I have made to Cordery's core rules, and below that I give my reasons.

UNITS
Type                                                           Strength Points Move Weapon Range
French Infantry                                                      4                2             4
German Infantry                                                    4                2             3
Cavalry                                                                  2                3             0

French Imperial Artillery                                        4                2             6
French Republican & Non-Prussian
German Artillery                                                    4                2             9
Prussian Artillery                                                   4                2            12
There is no separate commander figure as I think the huge numbers of men involved in battles of the Franco-Prussian War would make such a figure disproportionate.
VICTORY (replaces Exhaustion Point)
An army is defeated once it loses more than half of its strength points OR more than half of its units.
TURN SEQUENCE
Turns are alternate (aka IGOUGO). Defender goes second. If neither side is obviously on the defensive, dice for who goes first in turn one, continuing with alternate half-turns.

Phases:
1. Artillery fire.
2. Move activated units. To be active, a unit needs to roll a minimum die score.
Prussians and Garibaldi Redshirts: 2.
Others, including non-Prussian Germans: 3.
Elite: +1. Poor: -1.
3. Rifle fire (available to inactive as well as active troops).
4. Resolve melees.

So Player A, for example, first fires any guns he wishes to shoot. Then, taking each unit in turn, he can try to activate it if he wants to move the unit. That unit can then shoot, whether it has activated or not, unless, naturally, it has contacted an enemy unit and so initiated a melee. Player A continues until he has activated/fired all his units, or at least the ones he wishes to activate/fire. Then it is Player B's half-turn.
ARTILLERY FIRE (guns that fire cannot also move that turn)
Line-of-sight firing only.
Roll a die, needing 4 to score a hit.
Prussian: +1
French Imperial: -1
Target in cover: -1
Firers have more than 3 strength points: +1
Firers have fewer than 3 strength points: -1
RIFLE FIRE
Roll a die, needing 4 to score a hit.
Firers moved this turn: -1
Target in cover: -1
Firers have more than 3 strength points: +1
Firers have fewer than 3 strength points: -1
MELEEING
A melee occurs when a unit tries to enter a square occupied by an enemy unit.
Both units roll a die, needing 4 to score a hit (if, with modifiers, the score is 8 or more, two hits are inflicted).
Attacking in flank or rear: +1
Being attacked in flank or rear: -1
Enemy uphill: -1
Enemy in cover: -1
Unit is infantry or artillery with more than 3 strength points: +1
Unit is infantry or artillery with fewer than 3 strength points: -1
Unit is cavalry with fewer than 2 strength points: -1
Unit is cavalry fighting infantry: +1
Unit is infantry fighting cavalry: -1
Unit is cavalry fighting artillery: +2
Unit is artillery fighting cavalry: -2
Unit is infantry fighting artillery: +1
Unit is artillery fighting infantry: -1
A unit that wants to break off from a melee (as opposed to withdrawing as the result of a hit) must move in a straight line directly away and end its turn with its backs to the enemy.
RESOLVING HITS
When artillery suffers a hit from firing and it is resolved as "lose a strength point or withdraw one square," this is replaced by: lose a strength point or be unable to fire or move next turn.
ALL OTHER RULES
As in The Portable Wargame, unless a scenario requires a rule to be modified.

THE THINKING BEHIND THE CHANGES
UNITS
Cordery uses strength points of four for infantry, three for cavalry and two for artillery. I have debuffed cavalry and upgraded artillery to make them in line with my reading of the Franco-Prussian War.
Weapon ranges are largely based on Thomas's figures.
I have removed the ability of cavalry to fight dismounted with rifles and/or carbines as that basically did not happen in the Franco-Prussian War, at least not at division or brigade level.
TURN SEQUENCE
Prussian staff work was ahead of its time, which is why Prussian units are more likely than most other units to activate. Garibaldi's Redshirts showed similar abilities.
ARTILLERY FIRE
Cordery's artillery need a 5 to score a hit, but guns using line-of-sight get a +2 modifier, meaning they only need a 3. I am exclusively using line-of-sight because howitzers were largely anonymous in battles involving many tens of thousands of troops, so it would make sense if my artillery only needed to roll a 3. I am making it 4 because I have also added modifiers for a unit's strength points, so an artillery unit at full strength, ie with four strength points, gets +1, which means it only needs to roll a 3 to score a hit. I have introduced modifiers for the number of strength points because it seems strange that a unit at full strength can fight as effectively as a unit with only one strength point remaining.
The modifiers for Prussian and French imperial guns represent the quality of the guns and the respective armies' use of said guns.
RIFLE FIRE
Cordery's units need a 5 to score a hit. But units that have not moved get a +1 modifier, meaning they only need to roll a 4. I prefer to to say units need a 4 (the same as for artillery) to score a hit, but with a -1 modifier for having moved.
MELEEING
Cordery has units meleeing when they are in adjacent squares. But at the scale of my battles, I think combat in adjacent squares should be determined by firing, with melees taking place when a unit tries to enter a square occupied by the enemy.

Wörth - The Battlefield

MAPS of the battlefield show a veritable jumble of terrain.

But it is important not to get bogged down with too much scenery, especially at 54mm scale, and even more so when a small number of figures is being used.

The Prusso-Bavarian force for our refight has 32 infantrymen, two cavalrymen, and two guns, with eight crewmen - 42 men in all.

The French army is smaller: 16 infantrymen, two cavalrymen, and one gun, with four crewmen - 22 men in all.

The salient features of the battlefield, over which they will be fighting, are the River Sauer, the villages of Wörth and Frœschwiller, and two dense woods - Niederwald and Hochwald.

Looking from the south, we can see the Sauer running through Wörth, with Frœschwiller to the northwest - on the west bank of the river is Niederwald, and in the northeast corner of the battlefield is Hochwald 

Infantry and cavalry take a turn to cross the Sauer (it is impassable to artillery).

The mechanics are that a brigade enters the river hex on turn one, spends a turn there, during which it cannot shoot, and leaves on the following turn.

Both woods are impassable to all troops (in reality, small numbers of infantrymen could operate in the woods, but they would be insignificant at our scale).