YOU CAN'T RND IT AT THE COMPLEAT SI'RAI'EGIST

YOU WON'T RND IT ANYWHERE!

At THE COMPLEAT STRATEGIST you'll be able to find evetything you'll ever need or want for your wargaming hobby, from books to brigands! We carry historical books, refer­ence books, boardgames, all the historical wargame magazines, at least 50 different historical wargame rules from ancients to modems. We have over 3,000 figures and a complete line of paints, brushes and accessories.

You'll enjoy the friendly casual atmosphere at THE COMPLEAT STRATEGIST and our staff will be happy to answer any questions you may have and assist you with your

you can't wait to get home to start playing." We are happy to announce the opening of

another store that caters particularly to the historical wargamer, located at:

320 West 57th Street New York, NY: Opening Date:

On or about June 1,1981 If you're unable to visit one· of our

locations, we also accept mail AND phone orders. Mail orders are accepted ONlY at our 33rd Street location; or by phone during business hours at (212) 685-3880-1 . Please

use VISA or MASTERCHARGE for purchases. There are even game rooms located in our stores just in case

phone orders. Write to ~THE

OMPLEi4T ........... JR4TEGI5T

the store nearest you for a free Catalog.

WE'VE GOT IT ALU

In New York: 11 E. 33rd Si.

A" .r.'" .. 10016 (212)685·388()'1 10,30·6,00 Mon. to Sat. Thun. till 9:00

• No game room at the 57th Street store.

In New Jersey' 209 Gte:nridge Ave. Montclair. NJ. 07042 (201) 744·6622 11,00·7,00 Tues. to Sat. Thun. till 9 :00

InFloriciaJ 5406-8 Silrllng Rd. Davie, Fla. 33314 (305)961·5660 11 ,00·7 ,00 Tues. to Sat. Thun. tiD 9:00

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NORTH AMERICA'S FOREMOST MINIATURE GAMING MAGAZINE

FEATURE ARTICLES THE NEW NAPOLEONIC RULES - AN IN DEPTH RE VIEW

BRUCE WEEKS reviews Batta l ionmasse, Vive l ' E mpereur, Empire & Genera lship Napoleonics. 4

PIKE AND SHOT, PA RT 1 - FREIBURG 1630 PAT CONDRA Ystarts a 4 part review of P&S rules through wargame reports . . . . . . . . 12

OFFICIAL AMMENOMENTS TO 6th EDITION ANCIENT RULES PHIL BARKER provides class ification and some new optiona l rules ................ .. . • ... 21

THE PRINCIPLES OF ANCIENT WARFARE DAVID CLICK develops rules of thumb to win (or lose by) ................ . 23

A NAVAL SCENARIO WALTER SIMON a battle using the techniques of Cljff Sayre's article in last issue . 28

FILM AND THE ZULU WAR IA N J. KNIGHT reviews both old and new movies ..................... . 32

DAY BY DAY IN HISTORY P. HOLLINGER & E. RITCHIE Historica l Happenings in September and October ....... . 36

ORIGINS '81 & GENCON EAST DICK BRYANT reports ...................... . 37

WHERE LIES REALISM PHIL BARKER discusses miniatures vs boardgames . . . .. • . .... .... 39

DEPARTMENTS

SAPPEUR'S REPORT terrain Modules by Eric Ritchie . . ....................... . .•. . .... THE RE V IEWING STAND with Jim Womer. ...................................... . ... . FORAGE PARTY Nick Nascati presents an annotated bibliography of the Renaissance . THE COURIER DISPATCH with Robert Maclean ................ . DISPATCHES FROM THE FIELD letters to t he Editor ................... .

17 24 41 43 46

VOLLEY FIRE ............................. . .......... • ...•. . .................... 48

PIKE AND SHOT PG12 1

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~~uri£tt MANAGING EDITOR: Richard L. Bryant

BUSINESS MANAGER: Leo Cronin ART DIRECTOR: Joseph Miceli

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Gloria Mjceli THEME EDITOR: THE RENAISSANCE

Nick Nascati

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS William Abrams; Ken Bunger; Phil Barker; Robert Beattie; Rodman Burr; Steve Carpenter; Tom Des­mond; Steve Haller; Peter Hollinger; Ian Knight; Doug Johnson; Robert Mosca; Eric Ritchie; Bob Sarber; Clif Sayre; Jim Womer; Ned Zuparko.

STAFF CARTOONIST: Jose Niera STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Philip O . Stearns Tom Desmond EDITOR, SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS: Bruce Weeks

THE COURIER DISPATCH: Robert Maclean

STAFF ILLUSTRATORS Alan Archambault Mike Gilbert

THE COURIER PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. Richard L. Bryant, President

DIRECTORS Richard Bryant, Leo Cronin, Gloria Miceli

THE COURIER is published approximately bi­monthly at 45 Willow Street, Brockton, MA 02401 USA. Back issues are available for $2 .75 (foreign $3.00 surface, $4.50 airmail) six issue subscriptions are $10.50, USA ($12.00 Canada & foreign surface rate; All foreign airmail , 3rd class - $25 .00). All monies in US funds drawn on US banks or interna­tional Postal Money Order. Subscriptions start with NEXT published issue after receipt of payment.

No responsibility is assumed for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors. No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited manuscripts, but all sub­missions are welcome, no query necessary. All sub­missions should contain a self-addressed STAMPED envelope large enough to return the submission .

This magazine and other publications of The Courier Publishing Company are sold with the understanding that every reasonable attempt is made to deliver them safely through the mails. The Cou ri er Publishing Company is not responsible for

items lost in the mails. Replacements will be pro­vided at their usual cost.

All DEALER INQUIRIES, ADVERTISING COPY AND INQUIRIES, SUBSCRIPTIONS AND AR­TICLES to THE COURIER, Box 1878, Brockton, MA 02403.

AUSTRALIA, N.Z ., OCEANA: Subscriptions & bulk sales to: Battlefield, 50 Clissold Parade, Campsie, NSW, Australia 2194.

Entire Contents Copyright © 1981 by The Courier Publishing Company, Inc.

THE VANGUARD

EDITOR'S NOTES

In p ng toget the report on Origins and Gen Con East, I thought again about why historical gamers do not attend conventions in any proportion to their numbers in the hobby. It has been discussed before that the manufac­turers, suppl iers and hobby stores gauge in part their involvement in supply­ing the historical gamer by the "play" historical items get at these conven­tions. We have noted that several manufacturers bring I ittle, if any, of their historical items to the cons because they sell so little. This can result in their cutting back in historical lines.

Conventions also provide the service of introducing non-historical gamers to our end of the hobby by providing historical games they can experience. They serve as well to introduce the historical gamer to new rules or someone else's game theory, and as a place to get together to discuss ideas, etc .

If conventions cut back on historical gaming activities because there is not enough interest by the historical gamer to make it worthwhile, these services and the resulting increase in historical gaming is lost.

Many historical gamers with whom I have discussed the problem give their reason for not coming as " too many fantasy gamers and/or boardgamers"; "Not enough Historical Miniature Events", or "Nothing there I want to buy". Never do they seem to mention distance, travel or boarding costs .

We have shown in several convention reports that historical gaming slots go unfilled and that all the other reasons exist only because the historical gamers don't go - a "chicken or egg" impasse!

Perhaps we need a " Historical Gaming Convention", one with only Historical Miniature Events & Supppliers. Walter Simon, Washington, D.C. and several other "old warhorse" gamers are investigating the possibility - you will see more about it in these pages in the near future. Another answer may be a smaller seperate Historical Gaming Convention within one of the larger na­tional conventions. Both approaches are insular and neither will help in spreading the hobby amoung our fantasy and boardgaming bretheren, but maybe a first step in getting the complacent historical gamer to become more active. Drop me a line with your thoughts.

This issue has another "Courier Book Choice" the response to our first (Waterloo) was so good that we will continue these offers for the forseable future. Please write and let me know what books you would like to see so of­fered .

In response to the many requests of our readers, The Courier is starting a Sales and Trade Column as part of the Courier Dispatch. Finally with the holiday season upon us you may want to take advantage of The Courier Gift Cer­tificate offer found elsewhere in this issue. Give a gift to a wargaming friend or leave the magazine laying around with the page opened to the advertise­ment (if you don't care about being discreet, outline it in red crayon) and perhaps someone dear will give you a gift.

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Now we know why Crescendo of Doom outsold the 2nd best Avalon HIlI game 2 J 77 to 1

~~BEST GAME OF THE YEAR" Charles S Roberts Award-ORIGINS '81, 20th Century Category!

Em the Nazi invasion of Poland , through the heroic defense of tiny Finland against the Russian behemoth, the blitzkrieg conquests of Norway and the Low Countries , the Battle of France, and the seizure of Greece the player is struck by the despair of men and nations alike as seen by the soldiers who vainly sacrificed their lives against a more powerful ag ­gressor. This is CRESCENDO OF DOOM .. . a gripping game of tactical combat set against the seemingly in­vincible juggernauts of war-torn Europe. Setting the scene for the colossal struggle of the titans which will follow , CRESCENDO OF DOOM is, nonetheless, far more than a simple prelude to Barbarossa. While fur­ther refining the innovations brought forth in its highly successful predecessors SQUAD LEADER and CROSS OF IRON, CRESCENDO breaks yet even more ground in the realm of realistic tactical combat without disturbing the underlying basic simplicity of a uni­versally acclaimed game system . CRESCENDO is a welcome extension for the SQUAD LEADER en­thusiast even before he contemplates a single new counter.

In each game you get: • 520 double-printed 1/2 " die-cut counters representing the

men and weapons that comprised the combatants of the Western Front ; 1939-1942.

• 804 double-printed 5/8 " die-cut counters representing the complete vehicular and ordnance Order of Battle for the British . French. Polish, and Belgian Armies.

But CRESCENDO OF DOOM offers far more than that. Complete armor, ordnance, and infantry units are provided for Poland, Belgium , Finland , and a host of other minor neutrals including Elite, Line, and Reserv­ist formations for all nationalities. In graphic detail far superior to any narrative account, you will see for yourself how the outnumbered German panzers defeated the superior armor of the French tanks . Ex­perience personally the French frustrations brought on by radioless AFVs and one man turrets . There are no Panthers orT-34s . .. here it is the Mk III vs. the Char B, Somua, Or Matilda.

And CRESCENDO need not end in 1942 with our 32nd scenario . The entire British Order of Battle is presented for the whole of WWII enabling fans of the Western Desert, Italian , or Normandy campaigns to design their own scenarios for those periods. CRESCENDO OF DOOM is more than just a game. When combined with SQUAD LEADER and CROSS OF IRON, it provides the ultimate in a tactical gaming system which can be used to portray any company or battalion level action . Be forewarned! CRESCENDO is not an easy game. Do not attempt it unless you have first mastered SQUAD LEADER and CROSS OF IRON.

• Two additional 8 " x 22 " geomorphic mapboard sections increasing the possible terrain configurations and adding several new terrain types .

• Comprehensive, illustrated 36 page Programmed Instruc­tion rule book .

• Illustrated scenario cards for situations 21-32. • Two expanded Quick Reference Data Cards .

~8 d - 11 '~ 'ft

New features include: Fighters Gliders Trenches Scouts Booby Traps AT Mines

Ghurkas ~".? . t'. " + 1 • _ '\.."-. 0

,;~~ 4-5-8 /jOL ." W .

~ ~. 3-5-7

~ ~ ~ .. .. ... .... 4-4-7

0 * ~

.... ::> • 0 <> .,

Obstacle Bypass Movement Advanced Bombardment Rules Complete Weather Rules Advanced Berserk Rules Wagons & Sleighs Ski Units Motorcycles & Bicycles Bridges & Demolition Assault Boats

Field Promotions Interrogation HE Critical Hits

Partial Armor Penetration Rivers , Orchards , Mudflats Wounded Leaders ... and much , much more

COPYRIG HT 1979 THE AVALON HI LL GAME CO MPAN Y BALT IMORE. MAR YLAND Prin ted In U.S A

" CRESCENDO OF DOOM" is Avalon Hill's trademark name for its World War II tactical combat gamette expanding on the original "SQUAD LEADER" game system_

Ownership of "SQUAD LEADER" and "CROSS OF IRON" is necessary to play this game.

822 Squad Leader $17 Retail 8221 Cross of Iron $14 Retail The Avalon Hill Game Company 8222 Crescendo of Doom $16 Retail 4517 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214

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NAPOLEONIC RUI.FS REVIEW

Because it has always been the most popular period in wa rgaming, Napoleonic period wargame rules have tend­ed to be numerous. This trend continues today with more sets being released (a nd in some cases rere leasedl con­stantly . In this article we will attempt to review construc­tive ly several sets of Napoleonic period rules t hat are in­dicative of a new t rend in wargaming towards games of " grand tactica l" scale. We tend to describe gra nd tac­tica l ga mes as those whe re eac h player assumes the rule of a Divisional or even Corps commander and in which the rul es shou ld, in some way, rep roduce the ebb and flow between the major units of the period that would be locked in combat. This is by no mea ns as simple to get at as it sou nds. Too many deta il s concerning the organiza­tion, movement, facing, and firing. of the units leads to a game overly co ncerned with tactica l matters, suc h a game does not infuse the b road sweep of the battle fie ld interactions of the three major combat a rm s. Too generalized an approach. on the other hand, e lim inates many of the intri nsic o rganizationa l and capability dif­ferences that le nds so mu ch of the fl avour to the period . Somewhere in between these two extremes lies the as yet uncaptured level o f tru e Gra nd Tactica l gami ng.

What we hope to do in reviewi ng these sets of rules is give them as objective a rating as we ca n with respect to the fo ll owing catego ries as wel l as givi ng our imp res­sio ns on how we ll they approac h and mainta in a grand tactical level of play.

Major Playi ng Concepts - what are the rule writers primary means of carry ing on the game - what makes it tick? Pb:yabilily - How eas'r' are the rules to understa nd and p lay? Mechanisms - How complex o r simple are the major relationships that make up the game. Does it al l go togethe r? Organi zation - How well o rganized a nd thought out are the rules . Are thay cross referenced adequate­ly? Completeness - Does it cover al l aspects of the period that mos t p layers wou ld expect to be able to find covered? Compatability - Wou ld it be compatible (figu re organization, etc.) with other sets of ru les currently

•

in use o r is it a sta nd alone effort? Cost vs. Content· Is the tota l cost justified by the content of the ru les?

GENERALSHIP NAPOLEONICS

By James R. Arnold. 29 pages in a plastic spi ral holder with thick paper and covers. $6.50 postpaid from Jim at 512 Timber Lane. Fa ll s Church. VA 22046

Major Playing Concepts - G.N. is an unusual set of rules in that many of the concepts used by rule writers have been sacrificed to the author' s impression that detail s like unit organization, fro ntages, mounting of figures, etc. are not crucial to p layi ng a simple realistic game. The game purports to al low players to command a co rps a nd resolve corps sized actions in three to fou r hours "without recourse" to lengthy rule manuals, num ero us statistical tables and predigious bookkeepi ng .

." . These statements a re not completely supported by the rules s ince o rder writi ng, maintenance of unit rosters, and re ference to twe lve different charts to play one turn a re all ,eo,"" ed

GN a lso makes the claim that figu res do not have to be remounted to play this game. Presumabl y th is means that players who cu rrently ha ve their figures al l mounted si mil a rl y fo r a different rule set can use them directly in eN. The other possibiltiy, that players whose figures are mounted for radica lly different games could use them

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equa ll y well toget her is simply not via ble.

The game turn sequence distinguishes nin e phases for eac h turn, but then makes the stateme nt that mora le checks are the heart of the game a nd they are taken at numerous points during a move (tu rn ?). No me ntion is clearl y made of who c hecks what fi rst o r for what causes . In truth t he mo ral e syste m is sim ple - th ere are no pages o f mod ifiers to consider eac h time - and the mora le effects appea r easy to comprehend. But if this system is the heart of the game it needs some restorat ive su rgery to get the game sequence to in clude its effects at the proper place and time.

Playability - The st ro ngest point in favour of GN is that it appears easi ly playable. BasIC un its (batta lions o r regim e nts) are brigaded together and operate as units of their respective mothe r brigade . All mechanics apparent­ly relate to the basic unit and seperation of the basic units appea rs to be pro hibited . The actua l mec hanics of mov ing, firing, a nd meleeing are fai rl y tradit io nal and eas ily grasped. The lack of any definitio ns wha tever regarding unit sizes, organization into basic units, forma­tion req uire ments a nd figure spac ing though is a major problem a nd needs to be resolved by the players themse lves. The confus ion rega rding the tu rn sequ ence has a lready been alluded to but in a ga me designed to be p layed out in 8-10 moves as a day this can be accepted .

Mechanisms - GN relies heavily o n the use o f the unit roster and the tables (c harts) to port ray graphicall y the information needed to play the game. Beyond this, of course, is the order writ ing and order changing pro­cedure, and the use of com mand er figu res and initiative roll s to e nhance the ro le of the command figures in the ga me. These areas would need to be rewritte n more clea rl y and developed mo re fully but the basic concept is so und a nd appealing as a method of introdu ci ng some va riance in the ability of units to perfo rm . The me lee procedure int roduces a couple of nove l and interest ing concepts with the cava lry charge value doubl ing on the fi rst cha rge of the day, and with the sti pulation that the onl y melees fought are those between infantry and infan­try o r those between cava lry and cavalry. Any other situation resu lts in the destruct ion of the less fortunate unit. Bruta l a nd capricious as this sounds we suspect it tends to keep commanders very conscious of the need to keep reserves posted handi ly to protect the ir exposed skirm ishers and vulnerable batteries.

O ne area of game mechanics that seems strange is the requirement to keep un it rosters that trac k actual figures rema ining and c ross indexes on a strict-pe rcentage basis morale, whi le at the same time remov ing figures when casualties a re incu rred. With al l that work it would seem to have made more sense to a llow morale to decline at va rious rates depending o n tactica l facto rs and be t rac k­ed on a roster whi le casualties were tracked by re moving figures from the unit. It is a lso assu med that the genera l o rder of the day should be recorded on the roster sheet, although th is is not actu lall y stated, a nd that the time record should be there to ind icate when changes to o rders ca n be acted upon . As an aside we have yet to see a system requi ring o n table movement of messenge r figures to work adequately. They seem invaria bl y to e ither get lost or move 100 inches a tu rn and it is impossi­ble to legis late o r mo nitor them.

5

Organization - The re is a lack o f any clear definition o f suc h basics as unit organiza tio n (can o ne use stands with figures mounted in double ra nk s as well as single rank s? How many ranks make a column? How many figures should there be in a cava lry reg ime nH) o r limits as to si ze of units. THe re are simpl y too many loopholes a nd unstated ass umptions build into the USE of these rules by thei r deve lopers that would ca use many hearta ches (and much heartburn) amou ngst players and groups at­tempting to sort these thi ngs o ut. Finally, the rules a re wo rded in some pl aces in a conversat io na l style that tends to run o n with thoug hts being deve loped at ran­dom and not being in corporated into the body of the rules.

Completeness - In this area as we ll , GN is not fully developed as most players would expect. There are no provisions noted for the use of specia lized troops such as sappeurs, pontooners, train o r even speCia l scouts and cossacks. No campa ign ideas a re p resented to attempt to tie the battlefield actions togethe r. There are no in­dications o n how to condu ct seiges or specia lity en· counters such as rea rguard actions. In fact there is no ad­vice or procedures indicat ied o n how one could go about setting up a situatio n to fight. No victory determ in ation system, no formula fo r bala ncing forces agai nst eac h other. In short these rules are for fi e ld tactical batt les on­ly. In fairness to the author. the rules never make a ny cla im to bei ng more that that - but our feeling is that the "state o f the a rt" of rul e writing would seem to require, if nothing else, some rema rks and procedures concern ing setting up a game with the rules and how to arra nge rea list ic objec ti ves for the oppo ne nts.

Compatability· GN, as a set of battle rules prides itself on the fa ct tha t it is compatable with a lmost all other sets of rules si nce there is no requirement to base figures in any spectia f manne r o r to sac rifice you units' integrity to fit them into the GN system. With the caveat that we me ntio ned ea rl ier about m ixing troops from different rule systems this appears to be true and is o ne of GN st rengths.

BATT ALiONMASSE

By Order Ca mes, 66 Palisade Avenue, Berge nf ield, N.J. 07621 . 20 pps of rules, 30 pps of un it summa ry informa­t io n with 3 two-sided thick cara summary sheets in a pl ast ic spi ra l holder with thick paper and covers. Copiously illustrated with d iagrams and old lithograph

METAL mm fiGURES BY PETER LAING 15 Ideal for W argames + Oioramas

English Civil War/3D Years War , Col onials , Ancients, Medieve1, Feudals , Napo1eonics, Amer ican Revo lut ion, Marlbuian, WW1, WW11, Crimean , Wild West Peter Laing Catalog Warrior Cata log

~LDIER \>ffiLD U, S, A,

75~ 75~

P. O. Box 17 5 Shr ewsbury, Pa. l7 361

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