Jay Stribling's rule set for the Russian Civil War

Heavily plagarized from many sources, it's direct ancestor was a set that appeared on Mark Herman's THE GAUNTLET web page. Its title there was RED CAVALRY MARCH! A very similar set appeared in MWAN on MAGWEB with the title of STOLICHNAYA SIDINGS! Many parts of the rules come from dark and devious sources (like my subconcious). The sequence of action may seem familiar. It is borrowed from Avalon Hill's SQUAD LEADER. This is still a work in progress and will be updated often and without warning! Enjoy!


RED AND WHITE

Quick & Bloody (or is that Bloody Quick ?) RCW Rules

Last updated 9/21/07

HISTORICAL TERMS USED


Bolshevik: A member of the political party headed by Lenin, who came to power in the revolution of November 1917. Years later, the party changed its name to the "Communist" Party.
Commissar: A Bolshevik party member assigned to observe an officer in the Red Army in whom the party did not have complete confidence. He reported on the officer's actions and sometimes had to approve them before they could be implemented. This arose from the Bolsheviks' need to employ officers that had once served in the Czarist army. This practice became institutionalized and survived under a different name till the fall of communism.
Military Specialist: An officer in the Red army who had been in the old Czarist army. Since most of the officers had real or imagined leanings toward the old regime or just distaste for the Bolsheviks, the Reds did not want to allow ex-officers to serve in their ranks. Their desperate need for trained officers as the civil wars went on (and the red army expanded), forced them to use officers who had once served the Czar. Military specialists were closely watched by commissars.
Tchanka: A machine gun mounted on a carriage or cart to enable it to keep up with cavalry units and provide fire support to them. Used by all sides in the RCW & Russo-Polish war.
Petrol bomb later known as a "Molotov Cocktail". The infantry's only anti-tank weapon. Available only with the agreement of the game master.

GAMING TERMS USED


Saving Throw = Roll a D6, the hit was really a miss on 1,2,3, hit takes effect on 4,5,6

Complete cover Units may not be seen nor fired at when in Complete cover

Cover Units in Cover may be fired at, but at reduced effect.

Supression Units which lost a stand due to fire in phase 1 of that turn are suppressed and may not fire in phase 4 unless they pass a morale test. Suppression ends when the turn does.

Game Master also known as the Umpire. The person who sets up the game, determines the victory conditions, and confuses the players with his rules interpretations during the game. His word is ironclad!

SEQUENCE OF ACTION


A complete round of play is divided into two turns:
THE RED TURN
1) Reds determine leadership value, then move leaders.
2) Reds fire any units they wish*
3) Reds move any units that did not fire*
4) Whites fire defensive fire**
5) Reds fire units capable of “attacking fire”
6) Resolve melees
7) Whites test unit and army morale
THE WHITE TURN
1) Whites determine leadership value, then move leaders.
2) Whites fire any units they wish*
3) Whites move any units that did not fire*
4) Reds fire defensive fire**
5) Whites fire units capable of “attacking fire”
6) Resolve melees
7) Reds test unit and army morale

*Must have leadership to move or fire in these phases.
**Units which lost a stand due to fire in phase 1 of that turn are suppressed and may not fire in phase 4 unless they pass a morale test.

LEADERSHIP


Leadership is what motivates a unit to act. A unit must have Leadership to fire in phase 2 or move in phase 3. Note that the terms Officers and Leaders are used interchangably in these rules.

DETERMINING LEADERSHIP: There should be a leader figure for each player. There may be more leaders than there are players. Each unit on the table is assigned to a leader. In phase 1 of each turn, roll A D10 for each unit under a leader's command. If a unit receives a leadership point it may move or fire. Units whose leaders have been killed or whose leader has defected to the enemy roll on the "Over 36" line as below. Units which are being "led heroically" by their officer need not test for command. Other units unider the command of an officer who is "leading heroically" must roll on the "Over 36" line.
Distance from leaderChance of move/fire
12" or lessWill move or fire
24" to 12"1-9
36" to 24"1-8
Over 36" or no leader1-6

Leaders may only influence their own troops except for the commander in chief who may influence any of his units. Example: The 1st Siberian Rifles are under the command of General Pavlov who unfortunately is over 36" away on the other end of the battlefield. Although Colonel Strelski, a brave officer, is within 12", he is not their leader so they must check for leadership on the "Over 36" line of the table above.

NOTES ON LEADERSHIP


MOVEMENT

Roll appropriate number of D6. The result is the number of inches moved.
VARIABLE MOVEMENT (Normal move table)
Infantry moving in open 2 D6, half in rough
Cavalry in open 4 D6, half in rough +2 D6 if charging
Tchanka same as cavalry, cannot charge
Officers, mounted or on foot 6 D6 (they have some form of transport!)
Tanks 2 D6 in open or rough
Armored car on road 5 D6, off road 2 D6, cannot go into rough
Guns; limbered 3 D6, ˝ move in rough, unlimbered 2” (pushed by hand)
Trains; 5 D6 if they fire or not
Ships 4 D6 or 3 D6 if towing barges.
Supply wagons or Droshkies 2D6, half in rough
Units on road or trail in column add one D6
Road/trail negates rough terrain penalty if unit in column
Tanks get no road bonus, nor do armored cars

Some gamers do not like the idea of variable movement that is as random as above. Below is a movement table with a standard distance to which is added a D6 for some variability. Players should decide before the game as to which movement system will be used.
ALTERNATE MOVEMENT TABLE
Infantry or Machine guns in open 4"+D6, half in rough
Cavalry in open 11"+D6, half in rough +2 additional D6 if charging
Tchanka moves as cavalry, cannot charge.
Officers, mounted or on foot 18"+D6 (they have some form of transport!)
Tanks 4"+D6 in open or rough
Armored car on road 15"+D6, off road 4"+D6, cannot go into rough
Guns; limbered 7"+D6, ˝ move in rough, unlimbered 2” (pushed by hand)
Trains; 15"+D6 if they fire or not
Ships 11"+D6 or 8"+D6 if towing barges.
Supply wagons or Droshkies 4"+D6, half in rough
Units on road or trail in column add one D6
Tanks get no road bonus, nor do armored cars

No units except ship or ships can move through a Bombardment without testing morale. Any morale failure and the unit must stop at edge of bombardment area. If morale test passed, unit’s move is cut in half. Tanks & armored trains must test morale and fall back if they fail. Ships are not affected by bombardment.

SMALL ARMS FIRING

Infantry, Machine guns, and Dismounted Cavalry: Roll a D6 for each stand firing.
5 & 6 hits against targets in open
˝ hits against targets in cover
Saving throw for artillerists and Machine gunners
Light Machine guns roll 2 D6 per gunner
Heavy Machine guns roll 3 D6 per gunner
MG on tank/arm. car/train roll 3 D6 per MG

Modifiers to die rolls
+ 1 Point blank range
+1 Interventionist (British/Canadian/U.S./French/Serbian/Czech)
+1 officer figure attached to unit, leading heroically
+1 Commissar (see special rule below) with red unit
+1 Religious leader (see special rule below) with white unit
-1 long range

Ranges

NOTES ON FIRING:

ATTACKING FIRE

Some units may fire after they have moved, when attacking into melee.

SUPRESSION

Units which lost a stand due to fire in phase 1 of that turn are suppressed and may not move in phase 3 or in phase 4.Suppression ends when the turn does.

CLAIMING COVER

There will be areas on the battlefield designatated as cover. A unit inside such cover and not at the edge capable of firing and seeing out is said to be in complete cover. It may not be seen nor fired at unless the umpire sets up special rules.

Units at the edge of such cover, but able to fire out and be seen, are referred to as being in cover. Note the difference between cover and complete cover. Being in defilade behind hills or woods usually gives complete cover.

Due to the irregularities of the ground, there will be folds and depressions, that may provide cover but are too subtle to be represented with the usual miniature hills. To attempt to recreate this, any unit that moves only 1/2 or less of the movement to which it is entiled by the dice may claim to be in cover. Place a "Cover Marker" or otherwise designate the unit as being in cover.

Note that units that claim cover by virtue of taking only 1/2 move, may only do so against units which they could see or had knowledge of during their move.

Note that units that claim cover by virtue of taking only 1/2 move, may NOT do so against units which are firing on them from Point Blank range.

BANNERS


An elite unit will have a banner (flag) with it. This gives it a +1 in most situations. This banner, showing elite status, remains with the unit during the entire game.

Normally elite units might be Officer units, cadet units, Cossacks, Czech legion, foreign intervention units, for the Whites, and Fanatical Bolsheviks, Sailors, and possibly Red guards for the Reds.

The game-master will decide which units are elite, at the start of the game.

COMMISSARS

A red unit with a commissar attached is like a unit with a banner (+1). However the effect of a commissar is sometimes uncertain, as he interferes with the actions of the unit’s commander. Whenever the unit performs any action that would cause the +1 value of the commissar to be used, there is an Unlikely chance of command problems. Roll a D10. If the result is "0" they occur, then roll a D6 for the result:
1,2,3 violent argument between commander and commissar, no +1 for remainder of this turn.
4,5 = commissar overrules commander and changes orders, -1 for remainder of this turn.
6 = Commander shoots commissar and deserts to the White side, no +1 for remainder of game.

Any time that the unit to which the commissar is attached takes a casualty, roll a D10. There is a small chance he was hit. If so he is removed from the game.

The game-master will decide which units have commissars, at the start of the game.

RELIGIOUS INSPIRATION

A white unit with a priest or religious leader attached is like a unit with a banner (+1). Any time that the unit to which the priest is attached takes a casualty there is a chance that the priest may be distracted from his job. Roll a D10, if the result is "0" then roll a additional D6 for the result:

The game-master will decide which units have religeous leaders attached, at the start of the game.

MELEE

Only Infantry, Cavalry and Tanks may initiate melees. All others must defend only.
  1. Attacker moves his units into contact.
  2. Defender gets defensive fire from any units in range that could have fired at attacking units at any part of the path they took during movement to attack. Measure range at nearest point to unit.
  3. The attacker may then fire units capable of “attacking fire”.
  4. The attacker & defender each roll a D6 and add/subtract appropriate modifiers.
-1 each stand lost
-1 infantry attacked by cavalry (and not in trenches, breastworks, or buildings)
-2 attacked in flank/rear
-2 attacked by tank
-2 attacking through barbed wire (if tank makes hole in wire , attackers may storm through
the gap so that a tank nullifies the wire)
-2 to defender for each additional unit on attacking side
+1 Machine gun attached to defending unit
+1 in trenches or buildings or behind breastworks
+1 elite unit with banner.
+1 heroically led
+1 Commissar (see special rule) with red unit
+1 Religious leader (see special rule) with white unit
+2 Armored train defending

NOTE: Units that are "falling back" and are attacked in melee are always considered to be "Attacked in flank/rear."

Highest roll wins. Attacker loses ties unless attacking on flank/rear then wins ties.
Loser takes 1 casualty for every number he is beaten by and falls back to starting position if attacker or one move to rear if defender.(tank takes no loss).
If the defender is in trenches or other defenses, the attacker must win by 3 or more to force enemy out of defenses. If he does not, he falls back to starting position. In this case, any casualties called for must be on the attacker, even if his die roll exceeded the defender's roll (but not by 3 or more).

Cavalry, Armored cars, and Armored trains may withdraw before melee by making a normal move away.

Infantry units attacked by tanks may attempt to destroy them with petrol bombs if the infantry win the melee. Must pass morale, then each infantry stand has an unlikely chance of a hit with petrol bomb. See below under TANK if infantry hits a tank with a petrol bomb.

EXAMPLE OF MELEE

EXAMPLE #1 A Red infantry battalion with attached commissar attacks a White battalion defending behind barbed wire, in trenches, with a section of heavy machine guns attached.
Red fire in Phase 2 kills 2 of the white figures. White defensive fire in phase 3 kills 3 of the reds.
Red attacking fire in phase 4 kills one more white. Both sides have lost 3 men but no complete stands.
Modifiers are:
WHITE: 0 (no stands lost), +1 machine gun section attached, +1 entrenched, Net = +2 to D6
RED: 0 (no stands lost), -2 attacking through barbed wire, +1 commissar attached. Net = -1 to D6.
The die rolls were (WHITE) 4 and (RED) 6. Net rolls including modifiers are (W) 6 (R) 5.
The whites win the melee since their modified die roll was one more than the Reds. (6 to 5)
The Reds take one casualty and fall back to their starting position.

EXAMPLE #2 Two White infantry battalions (one with a banner and one led by a heroic officer) attack a Red battalion in cover (but not trenches) supported by a machine gun. The whites have the fire of 3 guns firing in phase 2 while the reds have the fire of two more battalions of infantry (at long range) in phase 3.
The white artillery kills 3 reds and attacking fire from the infantry kill 1 more, so a stand is lost. A morale test reveals that the Reds are not supressed. The defensive fire of the red unit under attack kills 4 men, and defensive fire from other two red units each kill one more white so 6 men are lost to the attackers but not a complete stand. (It would probably be worth being very careful here as to which of the attacking units take which casualties.
Modifiers are: WHITE -1 for casualties (1 stand lost), +1 for banner, +1 for heroic leader (tested for leader casualty but none occurred). Net = +1 to die.
RED -2 attacked by more than one unit, +1 for machine gun attached. Net = -1 to die.
The die rolls were (WHITE) 5 and (RED) 5. Net rolls after modifiers are (W) 6, (R) 5. The whites win the melee since their modified die roll was one more than the Reds (6 to 5). The Reds are not in trenches or buildings, so they take one casualty and fall back.

NOTE: If the reds had been in trenches or buildings the whites would have had to fall back because they did not win by 3, and the casualty would be on the white forces even though their modified die roll was higher.

MORALE

Phase 7Each unit that has taken any casualties or is marked as "falling back" must test morale in phase 7 of the sequence of action.
Roll a D6, need to roll equal to or less than number of stands in unit to pass.

Die Modifiers

Attached machine guns or tchankas are not counted for morale purposes, but they act according to morale of the unit to which they are attached.
Units, that fail morale, move one move to rear and mark as falling back. A unit that is already marked "falling back" and fails morale again merely moves to the rear one move and remains marked falling back.
A unit that tests morale because it is falling back and passes the morale test, is no longer considered falling back.

Supression Units which lost a stand due to fire in phase 1 of that turn are suppressed and may not fire in phase 4 unless they pass an immediate morale test.

Petrol Bombs vs. Tank Infantry unit must pass morale, then each infantry stand within 1" of the tank has an unlikely chance of a hit with petrol bomb.

Morale is also tested in other phases as called for by the rules and with specific results which may differ from above.

INFANTRY

In open roll 2 D6 for movement distance, half in rough.
Moving down road or trail in column add one D6
May fire 1/2 eligible stands after movement in phase 5 if attacking into melee.
Infantry stands that have taken losses may fire small arms at full effect until eliminated by losses.
If the game master allows petrol bombs, each infatnry unit on the side so allowed may test at the beginning of the game to see which units have made petrol bombs. Each unit has a good chance of having petrol bombs. Record bombs with the the game master.

CAVALRY

In open roll 4 D6 for movement, half in rough. Add one D6 if moving along road. Charging, add 2 D6, any attached Tchanka clanks along in rear at best speed if cavalry unit to which it is attached charges (even it it has fired). Units may not used the extra "charge dice" two turns in a row due to the fatigue of the horeses.

Cavalry may withdraw before melee.

Dismounted cavalry stands have three men on each base. A 4-stand cavalry unit when dismounted would have three stands each with three figures on foot, and one stand with three mounted figures to represent the horse holders and the unit's horse. Dismounted stands are treated as infantry in all respects for fire or movement. In close combat, the horse holder stand is allowed to fight so that the unit is not penalized for "missing a stand".

ARTILLERY

Move 3 dice when limbered. Limbered guns moving along a road add one D6. A gun may move only 2” if unlimbered. It takes 1 turn to unlimber and prepare to fire.
A gun can limber and move on same turn but only gets ˝ movement. Cannot move unlimbered or limbered if it fires.

A stand with an artillery piece and a certain number of gunners (see artillery chart below) represents a section of 2 guns in these low-level battles.A battery is 3 of these gun sections and a 2-man command stand.
Guns may fire directly, indirectly, or may Bombard an area. Guns firing in phase 1 (preparatory fire) may fire any type of fire. Guns firing in phase 3 (defensive fire) may fire only directly (except for interventionist guns, which may fire directly or indirectly in phase 3 as well as in phase 1)

Procedure: Place a square impact area for each gun section. See chart below for size of impact area. The impact areas for each battery should abut each other or they may be superimposed on each other. Roll a D10 per "shell" fired.

Size of gunDirect fire indirect fireBurst Area
Light: 57mm or soPt. Blank to 8"Close to 16"Long to 24" No indirect 2" square
Roll D10 per shell fired. 1-8 miss, 9-10 hit. Target stands lose 1 figure per hit.
+1 Firing at Point blank range, -1 Firing at long range.
Light guns have 2 crew ROF: 2 shells per man per turn
Field: 76mm or soPt. Blank to 12"Close to 24"Long to 48" Unlimited2" square
Roll on D10 per shell fired. 1-7 miss, 8-10 hit. Target stands lose 1 figure per hit.
+1 Firing at Point blank range, -1 Firing at long range.
Field guns have 4 crew ROF: 1 shell per man per turn
Medium: 100mm or soPt Blank to 12"Close to 28"Long to 54"Unlimited2.5" square
Roll on D10 per shell fired. 1-7 miss, 8-10 hit. Target stands lose 2 figures per hit.
+1 Firing at Point blank range, -1 Firing at long range.
Medium guns have 4 crew ROF: 1 shell per 2 men per turn
Heavy: 150mm or soPt Blank to 12"Close to 30"Long to 60"Unlimited3" square
Hits on D10 per shell fired. 1-6 miss, 7-10 hit. Target stands lose 2 figures per hit.
+1 Firing at Point blank range, -1 Firing at long range.
Heavy guns have 5 crew ROF: 1 shell per gun stand every turn

Example: A white battery of 76mm guns fires at a Red battalion in cover. The battery can see the target so it is direct fire, and the distance is 32" so it is long range. The firing battery has 3 gun stands so 3 impact areas each 2" square - making a rectangle 2" x 6" - are laid over the target unit. All four stands of the target unit fall under some part of this rectangle. Now twelve D10 dice are rolled (One "shell" fired per each of the four gunners per section) with -1 (because it is long range) subtracted from each die.

The die results - after the "-1" modifier are 9,8,8,6,6,5,5,4,2,2,1,1. That category of gun "Medium" inflicts hits on a D10 roll of 8-10 so three hits are scored. Each "hit" removes 1 man so if the target was in the open, three men would be ringed as dead. BUT the target unit was in cover.

So one man is ringed as dead and a saving throw is taken (Roll a D6 - on 1-3 the hit did not occur - on 4-6 the hit did occur). The D6 saving throw result is 4 so a second poor Red infantryman is ringed as dead.

Artillerists work in open order and have some protection from the gun shield, and so are a poor target! There is a saving throw for each casualty taken by artillerists as well as for each casualty due to small arms.

SAVING THROW = Saved on D6 roll of 1,2,3, Killed on D6 roll of 4,5,6.

Artillery fire is -1 vs tanks (moving targets are harder to hit) except at point blank range.

Indirect fire was not practiced too much in Russia. The game master must allow it before the start of the game. An officer must have a line of communications back to the firing battery. One officer may only "Spot" for one battery

INDIRECT FIRE
Distance from leader
to battery
Able to fire?
Roll D6
12" or lessFire on 3-6
24" or lessFire on 4-6
Above 24"Fire on 5-6
Interventionist Guns+1 to above die roll

BOMBARDMENT is an area that artillery is firing into, in an attempt to keep enemy units from moving through or into the area.

Place a square impact area for each gun section. See above charge for size for gun sections. The impact area for sections of the same battery should abut.

If a unit attempts to enter or move throuh, an area that is being bombarded, it may not move any farther that turn without passing a morale test. If it does not pass morale it is Pinned. Even if it passes morale, it may move only ˝ normal move. If the testing unit rolls a "6" on morale, it takes one casualty due to the bombardment. Pinned units may not fire or move further in the turn. Note that trains tanks and armored cars must test to enter bombardment areas, but if they fail morale, they may fall back instead of being pinned.

Larger guns are more effective at bombardment. Light guns may not bombard.

Gun SizeDie roll Modifier
Light gunsMay not Bombard
Field gunsNo modifier
Medium guns+1 to morale roll
Heavy guns+2 to morale roll

MACHINE GUNS

Most machine guns in this game represent heavy water-cooled guns. These two-man machine gun teams are small targets! There is a saving throw for each casualty taken by a machine gun team. A heavy machine gun cannot move in Phase 3 if it has fired in phase 2 unless mounted on tchanka, armored car, tank or train.

Light machine guns represent light aircooled machine guns such as the Colt, Lewis, or Chamond. They are represented by one figure with the LMG. They may only be attached to infantry units. They fire with 2 D6 effect. Only one light machine gun may be attached to an infantry unit. They may fire with full effect in the attacking fire phase. Machine guns attached to infantry or cavalry units (tchanka) may be hit if the unit takes hits due to fire. Roll a D10 and if the result is 0, the MG stand takes 1 hit.

ARMORED VEHICLE FRIGHT

If attacked in melee by a tank, cavalry units will not stand, automatically fall back towards the rear.
Artillery needs 1 or 2 on a D6 to stand or they limber up the guns and fall back similarly.

ARMOURED CARS

Fire as MG teams (roll 3 D6 per MG turret). Any small-arms hits on an A/C have to be recorded. If trying to move, the A/C must roll above its morale with a D6 to avoid breaking down - reflecting gradual damage, shredded tires, shot radiator etc. Rifles can only hurt A/C at point-blank range and and machine guns at nromal range or less. Even then the A/C has a saving throw for each hit. Similarly, it has a saving throw for hits by artillery. If an A/C has more than 3 hits, it rolls 1 less D6 when firing per turret). If Armored car is attacked in melee, it rolls 1 D6 +2 for defense, but it cannot attack into a melee. The armored car has a base morale point of 6. Each hit reduces the morale point by 1. Test morale every time hit.

TANKS

There are severeal types, British Mk V male & females, British Whippets, and French FT17 (or similar).
The Mark V male has a 57mm light gun on each side plus 2 MG on each side and one MG that fires Ahead and One to rear. Female is same but 3 MG on each side, no 57mm guns. The FT17 has a machine gun or a light 37mm gun in a revolving turret. British Whippet tanks had several machine guns, each poking out of one side fo the vehicle. It may fire any two of them per turn. Tanks cannot be hit by infantry (except by using petrol bombs in melee) and roll below for each artillery shell hit. Roll a D6 per hit
1,2,3 = Shell defeated by the armor, no effect.
4 = close miss, and tank commander grows alarmed, test morale
5 = count as hit against tank, no further damage but reduces morale.
6 = Critical hit, roll D6 again
CRITICAL HITS
1,2. = Engine/track hit cannot move till repaired but can shoot. Test morale each turn Failure = no repairs. Pass, roll D10, repair on 5+
3,4 = Immobilized for remainder of game. Test morale if hit again by artillery or attacked in melee by infantry. Pass = may fire normally, Fail = surrender or abandon tank.
5,6 = On fire, abandoned, it burns conspicuously for remainder of day.
Tanks have a base morale point of 6. For each hit they take, morale point is reduced by 1.
For each stand of infantry that attacks a tank in melee, roll a D6. On a 1, the infantry stand suffers a casualty. On a 6, the petrol bomb hits the tank. For each petrol bomb “hit” on a tank roll a D6
1,2,3 = count as a “hit” against the tank
4 = driver blinded/overcome by fumes, tank does not move next turn.
5,6 = Tank ablaze, burns for remainder of game.

ARMORED TRAINS

Are invulnerable to small arms/machine gun fire. If fired on by artillery must test morale. Base morale point of 5. -1 for each hit. If fail morale, they move to rear 1 move.

OFFICERS & LEADERS

The terms Officers and Leaders are used interchangably in these rules. An officer figure represents an officer or equivalent and a few NCOs or cronies and bodyguards. The most direct way that the leader affects the unit is by leading heroically. (grabbing his rifle or pistol, waving it about and shouting loudly). If he does so, he gives the unit +1 for movement, firing and melee. This represents blowing his whistle an awful lot and being publicly brave at the expense of his higher command functions.

Officers are moved in phase 1 right after leadership is determined for each unit. An officer may move to join a unit and lead it heroically if the unit was determined to have no leadership in phase 1. Officers move at the rate of 6 D6 per turn.

Other units who's officer is leading heroically at the start of the turn check for leadership on the "Over 36" line of the table. This represents the fact that the leader is obsessed with the small unit action and is neglecting the "big picture". The unit being led heroically need not test for leadership.

If the unit which the officer is leading heroically takes casualties, there is a small chance that the officer will be hit; If hit, roll another D10 to determine his fate:
1,2 = Merely a scratch, out of action this turn. Returns to same unit start next turn
3-6 = Serious wound carried to rear, out for rest of game
7-10 = Died for the Czar/Martyred for the revolution. DEAD!
Since any second in command is new to the men, he is not given the chance to lead heroically and his men always test leadership on the "Over 36" line.

Officers may lead heroically if a commissar or religious leader is with the unit, however if the unit takes a casualty, every special figure attached to the unit (officer, priest, commissar) all must test to see if they were hit. If leading heroically a unit with a banner both the officer's +1 and the Banner's +1 may apply.

FORCE HQ.

This is represented by a few appropriate figures and a car, truck or armored train. This is where the army's commanding officer is normally (when he is not out acting heroically). If the Force HQ is overrun by the enemy it is removed from the table and counts as one unit lost for Major Morale purposes

MAJOR MORALE.

At the start of the game count the total units in each army. Keep a log of the losses suffered by the force’s units. When the total of units destroyed, surrendered, fallen back off the field, or reduced to half strength equal or exceed 30% of total units, test Major Morale at end of turn. The Force HQ counts as a unit for major morale purposes.

Test by rolling a D6.
Losses are:
30% = Chance of breaking is 1-3 on D10
40% = Chance of breaking is 1-4 on D10
50% = Chance of breaking is 1-5 on D10

Modifiers: An armored train lost counts as 3 other units lost.
If the supply line to the rear is cut, this counts as 3 units lost.
An enemy armored train captured or forced to retreat from the table reduces your losses by 2 units
If the enemy’s supply line to the rear is cut this reduces your losses by 2 units.

CONSEQUENCES OF MAJOR MORALE FAILURE:

OFFICERS' CHARACTER

Officers may have characters, roll a D10 for each at the start of the game. These die results listed are for the Commander-in-Chief. Note the character of the man on paper. No need for the enemy to know!
1 The Man is a Fanatic - No need for army to test major morale till losses reach 50%.
2,3,4 Committed Bolshevik or Loyal Czarist - May re-roll major morale immediately twicee per game if major morale roll goes badly.
5,6,7,8 Normal, nothing special about this guy
9 An Efficient officer - A "military specialist" if Bolshevik or "Higher military college graduate" if Czarist. May add 6" to the leadership distances on the leadership table above.
10A Coward Never leads heroically.

These die results listed are for subordinate commanders
1 He is a Fanatic - MUST lead heroically each turn
2,3,4 Committed Bolshevik or Loyal Czarist - Adds +2 instead of +1 if leading heroically.
5,6,7,8 Normal, nothing special about this guy
9 Efficient officer - A "military specialist" if Bolshevik or "Higher military college graduate" if Czarist. May add 6" to the leadership distances on the leadership table above.
10A Coward Never leads heroically.

CONSEQUENCES OF OFFICER'S FAILURE: A test of character: If the officer is involved in a melee that is lost, OR if he tries to halt by leading heroically a unit that falls back off the table, OR if the army fails its major morale roll: roll a D6. If the result is 6 (5 or 6 if coward), his character fails. To determine what this failure of character means, roll yet another D6:

ORGANIZATION

Infantry units consist of 4 stands of four men each, 16 total. These can be thought of as a battalion or as a company. Since many battalions in the RCW were of company strength, the differance may be nonexistant.

Cavalry units are 4 stands of three men each, 12 total. These cam be thought of as a Squadron or a regiment. As above, often the terms were synonomous.

Most machine guns in this game are heavy water-cooled guns and are two men per gun. This represents a grouping of 2-4 guns. They may be attached to infantry units. They may form separate companies in units of 3 mg stands plus a two-man command stand, if the game master allows. If attached as an individual stand to infantry unit, the machine gun stand is not counted for morale purposes as part of the unit.

A tchanka is a machine gun w/2-man crew on wagon or cart. Always attached to a cavalry unit. Not counted for morale purposes as part of the unit.

Guns: Tactical Scale: 1 gun and 4 gunners represent a 2-gun section. A battery is 3 stands plus a 2-man command stand.

A section of light guns may be attached to an infantry unit. It moves with the unit but does not count for morale purposes.

Tanks and armored cars are individual units as are trains. The tanks represent a single vehicle, while the armored cars represent 1 or 2 cars. Trains represent one train.

NOTES by the original author
"These rules are not all inclusive and are certainly not 100% accurate. You can, however, start with very few figures. Units will get whittled away and you will find that the harder they are used, the harder it will be to get them to do what you want. The RCW was a bloody episode and these rules reflect that. You can always allow casualty recovery, say 2/3 figures for the winner and 1/3 for the loser. You can use Chekists or Commissars to stiffen the morale of dodgy troops (or even generals), but more of that anon; I have an armored train to catch... "
From : Issue No.11 The Gauntlet

NOTE by Jay Stribling
When I first saw these rules, I was attracted by their simplicity. Since I have “improved them” they no longer are simple!

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