Standard game rules - Victory Point Games

Napoleonic 20 Game Rules v2.0 4Diversionary Attacks: Whenorganizing a series of battles, a playermay allocate his attacking units in such away that some attacks are sacrificiallymade at poor differentials (a wargamingtechnique called ‘soaking off’) so thatother adjacent attacks may be made atmore advantageous differentials.Artillery BonusArtillery units represent large, unwieldyparks of cannons that were concentratedinto Grand Batteries to blast a hole in theenemy’s line. The Combat Strength of anArtillery unit is always doubled whenattacking, but it uses its normal (printed)strength when being attacked. Artilleryunits never Advance after Combat.[9.3] Combat Strength Unity: A givenunit’s Combat Strength is always unitary;it may not be divided among differentbattles during a single Phase, either forattack or defense.Terrain Effects on CombatDefending units benefit from the terrain inthe hex they occupy and / or that hex’sperimeter hexsides it is attacked through.[9.4] The Terrain Effects Chart: Theeffect of terrain on combat is reflected byadding the Combat Strength of the hex orhexside, as indicated on the Terrain EffectsChart, to the defender’s strength total.[9.4.1] Non-Cumulative Benefits: Theterrain benefits for combat are notcumulative. A defending unit receivesonly the single most advantageousterrain benefit (for the defender) in a hexor through a hexside.[9.4.2] Multiple Benefits: When two ormore defending units are involved in asingle battle, and they receive differentterrain benefits (i.e., different effects onthe Combat Differential), then the entireattack is modified by the single mostfavorable benefit to the defender.In this illustration, the singleFrench infantry unit mustattack the Prussian cavalryunit, and may attack thePrussian infantry unit (9.1,the Prussian infantry unit’sZOC does not extend across the bridgedriver hexside, so the Phasing French unit isnot obligated to attack it). The Frenchsituation is desperate, so the French Playerdeclares that he will attack both units,initiating a single Battle against them.The Prussian cavalry unit is in Open terrain,so the Prussian infantry unit’s benefits willapply for the defender (9.4.2).The Prussian infantry is in Jena, a Town hexlocated across the Saale River at a Bridgehexside. Each of these terrain advantagesfor the defender (Town and Bridge) is worth1 additional Combat Value, but their benefitsare non-cumulative (9.4.1), so only thesingle best (i.e., 1) is added.Prior to commitment of Reserves by eitherside, this Battle stands at 4 vs. 4 (2 + 1 + 1)and will be resolved on the ‘0’ Differentialcolumn of the Combat Results Table (CRT).[9.4.3] Attacker Consideration:Terrain in hexes occupied by theattacker has no effect on combat. Notethat Fortified, Redoubt, and adjacentTown/Fortified/Redoubt hexes do nothave Enemy ZOCs extending into them,nor do ZOCs extend across Major Riverhexsides (even at Bridges or Fords).Thus, units in these hexes or across thesehexsides need not attack out of or acrossthem. However, if they do, Rule 9.1fully applies.[9.5] Voluntary Differential Reduction:The Phasing Player may reduce theC ombat Differential of any given battleduring Step ‘E’ in the Battle Procedure,resolving it at a lower differential.Explanation of Combat ResultsOnce determined, combat results areapplied immediately, including any Retreatand /or Advance after Combat, beforeresolving the next battle that Phase.[9.6] Combat Results: The different battleoutcomes and listed are explained below:[9.6.1] AB: Attacker Breaks. Break allattacking units in this battle. Thedefender conducts any Advance afterCombat (9.9).[9.6.2] AR: Attacker Routed. Thedefender rolls one die for each Routedunit. The attacker retreats each attackingunit in this battle the indicated numberof hexes. The defender conducts anyAdvance after Combat (9.9). SeeOptional Rule 16.5.[9.6.3] AW: Attacker Withdraws. Allattacking units in this battle are retreatedone hex (9.8) by the attacker. Thedefender conducts any Advance afterCombat (9.9).[9.6.4] DB: Defender Breaks. Break alldefending units in this battle. Theattacker conducts any Advance afterCombat (9.9).[9.6.5] DR: Defender Routed. Theattacker rolls one die for each Routedunit. The defender retreats eachdefending unit in this battle the indicatednumber of hexes. The attacker conductsany Advance after Combat (9.9). SeeOptional Rule 16.5.[9.6.6] DW: Defender Withdraws. Alldefending units in this battle areretreated one hex (9.8) by the defender.The attacker conducts any Advance afterCombat (9.9).[9.6.7] EX: Exchange. First, break alldefending units, and then the attackermust break from among his units in thatbattle an amount of Combat StrengthPoints at least equal to the defender’sCombat Strength total. Use only theprinted Combat Strength values on theunits, unmodified by terrain, Events, etc.Note that if the defending side’s moralewas not reduced to ‘0’ (i.e., the attackerwon the game, as per 15.0), the attackermay be forced to break units whosestrength is greater than the defender’s ifthere is no other alternative – i.e., youcan’t ‘make change.’ The attacker mayalso choose to break a stronger unit thannecessary if he so desires – this mightoccur if a weaker unit is deemed morevaluable to the attacker for some reason.If there are any surviving attackingunits, the attacker conducts any Advanceafter Combat (9.9).[9.6.8] N: Engaged. There is no effect.Neither side breaks any units, retreats oradvances as a result of this battle.Broken UnitsA unit that is ‘Broken’ through combat isremoved from the map, but set asidebecause it can be ‘Rallied’ (see 10.0).Routed UnitsImportant: When an Elite Force(i.e., one with a red CombatStrength, as shown here) Routs,subtract two (-2) from the Routdie roll. If the modified result is less thanone (