Across Five Aprils Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1.0 Introduction
  • 1.1 Game Questions
• 2.0 Game Equipment
  • 2.1 Maps
  • 2.2 Playing Pieces
  • 2.3 Player Aid Cards
• 3.0 Sequence of Play
  • Sequence of Play Outline
• 4.0 Movement
  • 4.1 Movement Phases
  • 4.2 Movement Procedure
  • 4.3 Stacking Limits
  • 4.4 Exiting the Map
• 5.0 Zones of Control
• 6.0 Combat
  • 6.1 Combat Restrictions
  • 6.2 Combat Resolution Procedure
  • 6.3 Applying Combat Results
  • 6.4 Morale Checks
  • 6.5 Retreat
  • 6.6 Advance
• 7.0 Artillery
  • 7.1 Bombardment
  • 7.2 Bombardment Combat
• 8.0 Reinforcements
  • 8.1 Arrival
  • 8.2 Entry
• 9.0 Night
• 10.0 Fortifications
• Comprehensive Example of Play
• 11.0 Introduction to the Exclusive Rules
  • 11.1 Victory Determination
• 12.0 Bull Run Exclusive Rules
  • 12.1 Bull Run and Catharpin Run
  • 12.2 The Unfinished Railroad Line
  • 12.3 Combat Phase Markers
  • 12.4 Victory Conditions
• 13.0 Pea Ridge Exclusive Rules
  • 13.1 Indians
  • 13.2 Union Movement Restriction
  • 13.3 Victory Conditions
  • 13.4 Options
• 14.0 Shiloh Exclusive Rules
  • 14.1 Union Phase Markers
  • 14.2 Surprise Attacks
  • 14.3 The Lexington and Tyler
  • 14.4 Union Reinforcements
  • 14.5 Victory Conditions
  • 14.6 Options
• 15.0 Gettysburg Exclusive Rules
  • 15.1 Big Round Top
  • 15.2 Fortifications
  • 15.3 Union Movement Restrictions
  • 15.4 Special Confederate Movement Rules
  • 15.5 The Unfinished Railroad Line
  • 15.6 Victory Conditions
• 16.0 Bentonville Exclusive Rules
  • 16.1 Union Phase Markers
  • 16.2 Union Reinforcements
  • 16.3 Victory Conditions
• Historic Notes
  • First Bull Run
  • Pea Ridge
  • Shiloh
  • Gettysburg
  • Bentonville
• Designer's Notes
  • The Origins of Across Five Aprils
  • The Game System
  • The Battles
  • The Future
  • In Conclusion

1.0 Introduction

Across Five Aprils contains five games simulating great battles of the American Civil War in a single package. All five games share a common set of basic rules (which you are presently reading), but each also has a short body of Exclusive Rules that simulate the unique aspects of that specific battle.

1.1 Game Questions

If you have any questions about the rules to Across Five Aprils, please feel free to mail them in, written so that they can be answered with a simple one-word response when possible. Be sure to enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Mail your questions to:

Across Five Aprils Questions Victory Games 4517 Harford Road Baltimore, MD 21214

2.0 Game Equipment

A complete game of Across Five Aprils contains these items:

• One Rules Booklet
• One Exclusive Rules Booklet
• 352 5/8-inch Playing Pieces
• Two 22" x 32" Mapsheets
• Two identical Player Aid Cards
• Two 6-sided dice

2.1 Maps

The maps are divided into six-sided spaces called hexagons—hexes for short—that are used to regulate the movement of the playing pieces. Each hex represents an area 300 yards across, and contains one or more types of terrain that affect both movement and combat during the course of play. The different types of terrain can be identified by examining the Terrain Key printed each game map. The effects of terrain on movement and combat are summarized on the Terrain Effects Chart printed on the Player Aid Cards.

Note: The isolated farmsteads, fences and orchards (and the two ponds on the SHILOH map) have no effect upon play whatsoever. These have been included for purely aesthetic reasons, and have no influence on combat, movement or the tracing of Lines of Sight in any way.

Hex Terrain: Each hex contains a symbol that indicates what type of terrain is present in that hex. There are seven different types of Hex Terrain symbols: Clear, Woods, Hills, Wooded-Hills, Swamps, Rough and Towns. Each hex consists of only one type of Hex Terrain; if a hex contains the symbols for more than one type of Hex Terrain, the entire hex is considered to consist of the terrain type that covers the majority of its land area.

Example: A hex that is mostly Clear terrain, but which also has some Woods terrain "spilling" over into it from one or more adjacent hexes, is considered to consist solely of Clear terrain when judging terrain effects on movement, combat and lines of sight.

Note: There are no Rough terrain hexes on any of the maps in Across Five Aprils. This is not an error; information for Rough terrain was included on the Player Aid Cards and maps for sake of completeness. There will be Rough terrain on the maps in future installments of the Across Five Aprils series (see Designer's Notes).

Hexside Terrain: Some hexes have Hexside Terrain (terrain symbols that run along or across their sides) in addition to their Hex Terrain symbol. There are eight different types of Hexside Terrain symbols: Roads, Tracks, Railroad Lines, Streams, Creeks, Rivers, Fords, Bridges and Embankments.

2.2 Playing Pieces

There are two basic types of playing pieces in the game: Markers and Combat Units.

Markers

Markers are used to record essential information during the course of play and to determine in what order units move and fight. The markers are:

• Objective Hex Control Marker
• Fortification Marker
• Movement Phase Marker
• Combat Phase Marker

Combat Units

Combat Units represent the military formations that historically participated in the battles simulated in Across Five Aprils. Most of the Combat Units represent Brigades, although there are also some that are smaller units such as Regiments and Battalions. These terms have no effect on play.

Each combat unit has a series of symbols and numbers printed on it that affect its ability to move and conduct combat. Note that the backs of most Combat Units also have symbols and numbers printed on them—some of which are different from those printed on the front. These reduced values are used to represent the decline in a unit's capabilities that occurs when it suffers losses. Thus, when a two-sided Combat Unit takes its first loss in combat, it is flipped so that its back side is face-up; when it takes another loss, it is eliminated (removed from play).

Casualties caused by combat are measured in terms of "Steps." A two-sided Combat Unit is said to have 2 Steps, while a one-sided Combat Unit has only 1 Step.

The following sample counters identify all of the various symbols and numbers, and the following paragraphs explain each in turn: unit type, setup/entry information, unit designation, attack strength, morale rating, movement allowance. Sample unit types shown are Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery.

Unit Types: There are three basic types of Combat Units in the game, each of which is shown by a different unit type silhouette. The three types are:

• Infantry: These units consist of foot soldiers who carried either rifled muskets, or breech-loading carbines or rifles.
• Cavalry: These units represent soldiers mounted on horses who were usually armed with swords in addition to either pistols or carbines.
• Artillery: These units represent several batteries (4-6 guns apiece) of horse-drawn, smoothbore or rifled cannons.

Note: There is a fourth type of combat unit in the Shiloh game: the gunboats Lexington and Tyler. The details of these two units are given in the Shiloh Exclusive Rules.

Formation Color Designation: The three numbers printed across the bottom of each Combat Unit (its Attack Strength, Defense Strength, and Movement Allowance, reading from left to right) are color-coded to signify which formation it belongs to. All of the Combat Units in a battle that have the same color numbers belong to the same Formation. During play, all of the units in a Formation move together, and units belonging to other Formations cannot move at that time.

Unit Designation: Besides being color-coded by Formation, each unit also has one or two pieces of information printed on it that give its historical unit designation.

• Most Union units are identified by a series of arabic and roman numerals separated by slashes ("/"). Reading from left to right (or bottom to top), the first number lists the unit's Brigade number, the second its Division number, and the roman numeral (if any) identifies the Corps to which it belongs.

Example: The listing "1/2/XX" identifies a unit as the 1st Brigade of the 2nd Division of the 20th Corps.

• Most Confederate units (and some Union units) are identified by the brigade commander's name, which is printed vertically along the left side. Sometimes, instead of giving the brigade commander's name, a unit designation will list a regimental title, such as "24th Mo" (24th Missouri), or a Corps number such as "V Corps."
• Most Confederate units have a second unit designation given in the form of a name printed horizontally across the unit. This is the name of the commander of the division to which the unit belongs.

Attack Strength: This value represents a unit's combat power on the attack.

Defense Strength: This value represents a unit's combat power on the defense. Each point worth of Defense Strength equals about 400 infantrymen or cavalrymen, or 3 to 4 cannons.

Movement Allowance: This is the number of Movement Points that a unit can expend each time it moves. The Terrain Effects Chart shows how many Movement Points must be spent to enter each type of Hex Terrain and/or cross each type of Hexside Terrain.

Morale Rating: This number measures how well a unit's soldiers performed in battle, representing the fact that some units historically fought much better than others. A rating of zero (0) is considered average; those units with positive numbers are above average, while those with negative ratings are below average. The Morale rating is used to modify die rolls made when attacking and defending in combat, and when resolving Morale Checks (see 6.4).

Set-up Hex / Entry Turn and Location: If a unit begins a game on-map, the hex in which it is set-up is printed on it. If a unit enters the game after play has started, it is called a reinforcement. Each reinforcing unit has a code printed on it consisting of a number followed by a letter. The number lists the turn on which the unit enters play, while the letter indicates the entry hex or hexes (corresponding to the letter printed on that game's map) in which the unit enters the map.

Note: Some reinforcing units list two entry hexes separated by a slash (for example, "C/D"). This means that the unit can enter play at either of the two printed entry hexes. Furthermore, all of the units in a group of reinforcements that are entering play on the same game turn need not use the same entry hex.

Game ID: A two-letter abbreviation is printed on the back of each unit to indicate to which of the five battles it belongs:

• BR = Bull Run
• BV = Bentonville
• GB = Gettysburg
• PR = Pea Ridge
• SH = Shiloh

2.3 Player Aid Cards

There are two identical Player Aid cards included in Across Five Aprils, one for each player. Printed on these are the Terrain Effects Chart (which lists the effects of terrain on play), the Combat Results Tables (which determine the outcome of combat), the Morale Check Table (which is used to resolve morale checks and determine whether or not units retreat), the Retreat Priorities and Retreat Prohibitions Charts, and a Sequence of Play Summary.

3.0 Sequence of Play

The games in Across Five Aprils are played in game turns. Each game turn is divided into three segments, that must be played through in exactly the following order:

1. Phase Marker Cup Segment
2. Operations Segment
3. Game Turn Advancement Segment

Sequence of Play Outline

1. Phase Marker Cup Segment

In this segment, all Phase Markers that are currently in play are placed into a single opaque cup or container (a coffee cup works well) called the Phase Marker Cup. There are two kinds of Phase Markers:

Movement Phase Markers: The Combat Units of both sides are divided into Formations that are identified by the color-coding of the three numbers printed across the bottom of the playing pieces. Each Formation has either one or two Movement Phase Markers that are coded in the same color as that Formation's component units.

During the Phase Cup Marker Segment all Movement Phase Markers due to enter play on the current game turn are placed into the Phase Marker Cup along with the Movement Phase Markers belonging to all those Formations that currently have at least one unit on the map.

Design Note: In general the formations in the games of Across Five Aprils reflect the divisional or corps organizations historically used in these battles. However, in some cases, units are grouped into formations according to their proximity to one another, the order and location in which they arrive as reinforcements, and other considerations having to do with simplifying the player's task.

Combat Phase Markers: The Union and Confederate sides each have a single Combat Phase Marker. These are also placed in the Phase Marker Cup unless they are not due to come into play until a future game turn.

Note: In the Bull Run game, both sides' Combat Phase Markers come into play only on turn #2. In the Bentonville game the Union Combat Phase Marker enters play on turn #2, while in the Shiloh game the Union Combat Phase Marker can come into play anytime between game turns #3 and #6.

2. Operations Segment

The players alternate drawing markers from the Phase Marker Cup one at a time, the Confederate Player always drawing first. All movement or combat caused by the drawing of a marker must be resolved before another is drawn. The players continue to alternate drawing markers from the cup until none remain. At that point the Operations Segment comes to an end.

• If a Movement Phase Marker is drawn, the owning player can move all units belonging to that Formation.
• If the Union or Confederate Combat Phase Marker is drawn, that side's Combat Phase is immediately resolved (see 6.0).

3. Game Turn Advancement Segment

The Game Turn Marker is moved ahead one space on the Game Turn Track (each game's Game Turn Track is printed on its map), and a new game turn begins with the Phase Marker Cup Segment. However, if that Game Turn's space on the Game Turn Track has the words "Victory Determination" printed in it, then no more game turns remain, and the players must determine which one of them has won the game (see Exclusive Rules).

Exception: In the Pea Ridge, Gettysburg and Shiloh games, the players must check to see if one of them has won at the end of each day. If one of them has achieved a victory, then the game ends immediately. If not, play proceeds to the next Game Turn and thus into the following day.

4.0 Movement

4.1 Movement Phases

When a Formation's Movement Phase Marker is drawn, all units belonging to that Formation can move. No other units, on either side, can move during that Formation's Movement Phase.

Multiple Movement Phase Markers

If a Formation has two Movement Phase Markers, its units conduct a Movement Phase the first time that one of the two Movement Phase Markers is drawn during the Operations Segment. The Formation's units do not get to move again when the second Movement Phase Marker is drawn.

Exception: In the Gettysburg game, units belonging to formations with two Movement Phase markers can move when either of them is drawn (but not both). Details are given in the Exclusive Rules.

4.2 Movement Procedure

Each unit has a Movement Allowance printed on it. This is the number of Movement Points that it can expend in a Movement Phase. Units move across the map from hex to adjacent hex, paying a cost in movement points that varies depending upon the type of Hex Terrain that it enters, and Hexside Terrain that it crosses (see the Terrain Effects Chart). When a unit moves across Hexside Terrain, add the Hexside Terrain cost to the Hex Terrain cost to enter the hex.

Example: An infantry unit that enters a Woods hex across a Stream would expend 3 Movement Points (2 for the Woods, +1 for the Stream). If, however, the infantry unit crossed the Stream at a Ford, it would pay only 2 Movement Points, since the Ford negates the cost of the Stream (a Bridge would have the same effect).

Movement Along Roads, Tracks & Railroads

If a unit enters a hex by crossing a hexside that is also crossed by a Road, Track or Railroad Line (essentially moving "along" the Road, Track or RR-Line), the unit ignores the normal cost of all Hex and Hexside Terrain in the hex, and pays the Road/Track/RR-Line cost instead.

Movement Restrictions

• A unit cannot enter a hex if doing so would cause it to exceed its printed Movement Point Allowance.

Exception: During its Movement Phase, a unit can always move one hex, regardless of Movement Point Costs, so long as it does not enter or cross prohibited terrain (see the Terrain Effects Chart).

• A Road, Track or RR Line cannot be used to enter a hex that is already stacked to the limit (i.e., contains 2 units; see 4.3). In this case, units wishing to move through the hex must pay the normal Movement Point cost to enter the hex.
• A unit can never enter or cross terrain types that are prohibited to it. Artillery and Cavalry units are prohibited from entering Rough terrain and from crossing Embankments. Artillery units are also prohibited from entering Swamp hexes.
• A unit must stop when it enters an enemy Zone of Control (see 5.0).

4.3 Stacking Limits

Any number of units can move through a single hex during an Operations Segment, but no more than 2 units of any type can ever voluntarily end their movement stacked in the same hex. The only way in which more than two units can be stacked in a hex is if a unit is forced to retreat as a result of combat and cannot conduct an Extended Retreat (see 6.5) because of the location of enemy units and/or their ZOC's. Place the overstacked unit(s) at the bottom of the stack.

Effects of Overstacking

Units stacked in a hex in excess of the Stacking Limit cannot attack, and do not count when determining the hex's Defense Strength. However, the overstacked unit(s) suffer the full effects of any combat result applied against units in the hex (i.e., Step Losses, Retreats and Morale Checks are applied in full). Furthermore, the owner of the overstacked units must move the excess unit(s) out of the hex at the very first opportunity.

4.4 Exiting the Map

Units cannot voluntarily exit the map. A unit that is forced to retreat off-map is eliminated instead.

5.0 Zones of Control

Design Note: Zones of Control represent the fact that a unit cannot just march right past an enemy force at close range, because the enemy troops would open fire, forcing the marching unit to stop and engage. The one-hex radius of a Zone of Control corresponds to the Civil War-era rifled musket's effective range of several hundred yards.

Each unit has a Zone of Control (hereafter referred to as ZOC) that consists of the six hexes adjacent to the hex occupied by the unit. Zones of Control affect the movement and retreat of enemy units (for details, see below and Combat, 6.0).

Exception: ZOC's do not extend across River hexsides unless the river hexside in question also contains a bridge or ford. They also do not extend into fortified hexes across Breastwork or Entrenchment hexsides (see 9.0, Fortifications).

ZOC's are exerted mutually. Thus, if a Union unit is adjacent to a Confederate unit, they exert Zones of Control into each others' hexes. Likewise, if the Union and Confederate units were separated from each other by one hex, they would both project a ZOC into that hex simultaneously.

Zones of Control and Movement

A moving unit that enters an enemy ZOC must immediately stop moving and can move no further during that Movement Phase. A unit that begins its Movement Phase in an enemy ZOC can move out of it provided that it does not enter another enemy ZOC during that Movement Phase.

Note: This is an important difference from other wargames that permit a unit to leave one enemy ZOC and enter another in the same Movement Phase. Note also that friendly ZOC's do not negate enemy ZOC's. Thus, if a unit is surrounded by enemy ZOC's, it cannot move.

Exception: Units can move directly from one enemy ZOC to another as a result of Advance (6.6), and sometimes as a result of Retreat (6.5).

6.0 Combat

When the Union or Confederate Combat Phase Marker is drawn during the Operations Segment, that side immediately conducts its Combat Phase.

Note: There is no combat during a Formation's Movement Phase.

6.1 Combat Restrictions

• Every enemy unit that exerts a ZOC into a hex(es) occupied by friendly units must be engaged in combat.

Note: The rule requires only that each enemy unit that exerts a ZOC into a hex occupied by friendly units must be attacked; it does not require that it be one of those same friendly units that attacks it. Therefore, a Bombardment Attack (7.0) conducted by artillery units that are not in the enemy unit's ZOC can be used to satisfy this requirement.

• All friendly units that are in enemy ZOC's must attack one or more adjacent hexes containing enemy units.
• Each combat must be announced and completely resolved before another can be conducted.
• No unit can attack or be attacked more than once per Combat Phase.
• All Automatic Retreats (see 6.2, step 2) must be conducted before any regular combats are resolved.

6.2 Combat Resolution Procedure

1. Organize the Combat: The attacking player announces which friendly units are attacking which enemy units in which hexes. Keep in mind the following guidelines:

• All units attacking the same group of enemy units must combine their attack strengths into a single attack.
• Units located in different hexes may combine to attack the same target hex(es).
• Units stacked in the same hex may make separate attacks against enemy units located in different hexes.
• Enemy units stacked together in a hex must be attacked as a group.

2. Automatic Retreat Option: Sometimes the Attacker will not want to go through with a certain attack because it would be almost suicidal. Therefore, the Attacker can choose to automatically "lose" a combat, but without taking any casualties. He simply announces that he is conducting an Automatic Retreat, and then Retreats (see 6.5) each such "attacking" unit one hex. The Defender can then Advance (see 6.6) one unit into each hex vacated by a unit that just conducted an Automatic Retreat.

Note: All Automatic Retreats must be conducted before any regular combats are resolved.

• Units that are conducting Automatic Retreats must, if possible, continue retreating until they are no longer in an enemy ZOC (see 6.5; Extended Retreat). There is no penalty if such a unit cannot retreat until it is no longer in an enemy ZOC, it just has to if it can.
• A unit that has an Attack Strength of zero (0) must conduct an Automatic Retreat if it is the only attacking unit involved in a particular attack.
• All friendly units in the Zone of Control of a particular enemy unit must conduct an Automatic Retreat. If any Retreat, all must Retreat.

Exception: A non-adjacent (Bombarding; see 7.1) artillery unit (or units) can be declared as part of an "attacking" group in Step #1. After the other "attacking" units conduct their Automatic Retreat, but before the defending units get to Advance (see 6.6), the Bombarding artillery resolves a Bombardment Attack (if it can muster 1-to-4 odds). Since this satisfies the requirement that the enemy unit or stack be attacked, friendly units that can attack other enemy units or stacks do not have to participate in the Automatic Retreat. Essentially, this allows the attacking player to conduct an Automatic Retreat with only some of his units that are in the ZOC of a particular enemy stack, while permitting the rest to attack other adjacent enemy units.

3. Compute Initial Combat Odds Ratio: Divide the total Attack Strength of all units that are attacking the same hex(es) by the total Defense Strength of all enemy units located in that hex(es), and express the result as a ratio (round fractions down).

Example: A force with a total Attack Strength of 22 attacks a force with a total Defense Strength of 8. Dividing 22 by 8 gives a result of 2.75, which, when rounded down, yields an Initial Combat Odds Ratio of 2-to-1.

• Initial Combat Odds of less than 1-to-4 are treated as 1-to-4 for all purposes.
• Initial Combat Odds Ratios of greater than 6-to-1 are treated as 6-to-1 for all purposes.

4. Determine Final Combat Odds Ratio: Find the column corresponding to the Initial Combat Odds Ratio on the Combat Results Tables, and then shift the odds a number of odds ratio columns to the left or right as dictated by the following factors:

• The Hex Terrain type in the defender's hex causes the odds ratio to shift to the right or left as indicated on the Terrain Effects Chart. If defending units occupy two or more hexes containing different types of Hex Terrain, use the terrain type that causes the greatest number of column shifts to the left (i.e., that which is most beneficial to the defender).

Exception: Hill terrain is a special case. A defending unit that occupies a Hill hex benefits from the 1-column shift to the left only if none of the attacking units occupies an adjacent, connected hex of the same hill. Note, however, that two Hill hexes can be adjacent without being connected (i.e., the Hill color does not extend across the dividing hexside). If a unit that occupies a Wooded-Hill hex is attacked from a connected hex of the same hill, the 1-column shift for Woods still applies, although the 2-column shift for Wooded Hills does not.

• Hexside Terrain types in the defender's hex causes odds ratio shifts as indicated on the Terrain Effects Chart, but only if all attacking units are attacking across Hexside Terrain. Column shifts for Hexside Terrain are cumulative with those for Hex Terrain.

Example: A 3-to-1 attack against a unit located in Woods terrain is shifted one column to the left, becoming a 2-to-1 attack. If the attack is also mounted across a Stream, the odds are shifted another column to the left, yielding a final combat odds ratio of 1-to-1.

• If all of the hexes surrounding all attacking units contain enemy units or their ZOC's, the odds ratio is shifted one column to the left. If all of the hexes surrounding all defending units contain enemy units or their ZOC's, the odds ratio is shifted one column to the right.

Note: It's not inconceivable that both sides in a combat could be totally surrounded, causing simultaneous column shifts that would cancel each other out.

All applicable column shifts are added together to yield the total column shift. However, the total number of column shifts in either direction can never be greater than three (excess shifts are lost), and column shifts above 6-to-1, or below 1-to-4, are ignored.

5. Choose Morale Ratings: The attacking player declares what morale rating he will use to resolve the attack. It must correspond to the morale of at least one of his units that is involved in the combat. Once the attacker has declared his morale rating, the defender does the same, likewise choosing from among those of his units involved in the combat.

Exception: The attacker cannot choose the Morale Ratings of Bombarding artillery unit(s) unless the combat is a Bombardment Attack (see 6.8).

Note: The first step loss inflicted by a Combat Result (see below) must be assigned to a unit whose morale rating equals that declared during this step.

6. Determine the Combat Results: The Attacker and Defender both roll a die and add the morale ratings they declared in step #5. The Defender locates his modified roll on the Defender's Combat Results Table to determine the combat result inflicted upon the attacker. The attacker locates his modified roll on the Attacker's Combat Result Table to determine the combat result inflicted upon the defender.

Exception: If terrain shifts would cause the odds ratio to be reduced to less than 1-to-4, the attacking player does not roll a die and therefore gets no chance to inflict losses upon the defending units. The defending player rolls normally using the 1-to-4 odds ratio column on the Combat Results Table. This applies to Bombardment attacks as well as normal attacks (except, of course, that the defending player doesn't get to roll).

Interpreting Combat Results

• — : No Effect
• A number (e.g. "1"): Lose that number of Steps and conduct a Morale Check for each surviving unit. Each unit which fails its Morale Check retreats one hex.
• A number followed by "R" (e.g. "1R"): Lose that number of Steps and retreat each surviving unit one hex. Then conduct a Morale Check for each retreated unit; if failed, that unit retreats another hex.

Exception: Bombarding artillery units are never affected by Combat Results. They do not have to conduct mandatory retreats or Morale Checks, and the attacker cannot assign step losses to them (see 6.7).

6.3 Applying Combat Results

The attacker and defender resolve combat simultaneously, but combat results are applied to the defender before they are applied to the attacker. For both sides, strictly observe the order of the following steps:

1. Apply Step Losses: The first step loss must be applied to a unit that has a morale rating identical to that which was declared in Step #5 of the Combat Resolution Procedure. If more than one unit with the declared morale rating is available, the owning player chooses which one to apply it to. Remaining step losses can be assigned to his units in any way that the owning player desires.

A step loss can be satisfied in the following ways:

• "Flip" a two-step unit so that its back (reduced strength) side is face-up.
• Eliminate a two-step unit that had earlier been "flipped".
• Eliminate a one-step unit.

Exception: Step losses can never be assigned to bombarding artillery units.

2. Conduct Mandatory Retreats: If the combat result includes an "R", the player must Retreat each of his surviving units (except bombarding artillery, see 7.0) one hex.

3. Conduct Morale Checks: If any of his units suffered a step loss, then a player must conduct Morale Checks for each of his units that participated in the combat (except bombarding artillery). If a unit fails its Morale Check, it must Retreat one hex.

Note: A unit may have to Retreat two hexes as the result of combat, one hex due to a Mandatory Retreat, and another because of a failed Morale Check.

4. Conduct Voluntary Retreats (Defender only): The Defender has the option to retreat all or some of his units which were attacked, but did not retreat in Steps #2 or #3 of this procedure.

6.4 Morale Checks

When a Morale Check must be conducted for a unit, refer to the Morale Check Table, roll a die and add the unit's Morale Rating. The result of a failed Morale Check differs depending upon why the Morale Check was made. If a Morale Check is being made to determine whether or not a unit Retreats due to a Combat Result, a failed Morale Check means that it must Retreat one hex. If a Morale Check resulted from a unit retreating through a Zone of Control (see below), a failed Morale Check means that it loses a Step.

6.5 Retreat

A unit can retreat for four different reasons: a failed Morale Check, a Mandatory Retreat result, the defender can conduct Voluntarily Retreats after combat, and the attacker can choose to conduct an Automatic Retreat. All these kinds of retreats are conducted in exactly the same way, except that a unit(s) conducting an Automatic Retreat must (if possible) continue retreating until it is not in an enemy ZOC. Retreat is not considered movement, and does not require the expenditure of Movement Points.

If a unit retreats into a hex that is attacked later during the same Combat Phase that it retreated, its Defense Strength is not added to that of the other units in the hex, but it suffers from all adverse Combat Results as normal.

Retreat Prohibitions

Sometimes it will be impossible for a unit to retreat in certain directions—or at all—due to the presence of enemy units and/or prohibited terrain. A unit may never retreat into:

• An enemy-occupied hex.
• A hex in an enemy ZOC that is not occupied by a friendly unit.
• A hex containing prohibited terrain.

Morale Checks Caused by Retreat

When a unit retreats into a hex containing an enemy ZOC, it must immediately roll a Morale Check. If it passes the Morale Check, it suffers no ill effects and can—if necessary—continue retreating. However, if the unit fails the Morale Check, it immediately suffers a step loss. A retreating unit must conduct a Morale Check for each hex containing an enemy ZOC into which it retreats. A unit does not have to Retreat an additional hex if it fails one of these Morale Checks (assuming, of course, that it wasn't eliminated by the step loss).

Effects of Being Unable to Retreat

Each unit that must Retreat and cannot due to the Retreat Prohibitions, must lose one step for each hex that it cannot Retreat. Therefore, if a unit suffers a Mandatory Retreat and also fails a Morale Check, it can lose two steps as the result of its inability to Retreat.

Example: A stack of Confederate units containing Russel's and Stewart's Brigades (see Shiloh) suffers a "1R" combat result. Both Brigades consist of two steps and are at full strength. The Confederate player chooses to apply the step loss to Stewart's Brigade, reducing it to one step. He cannot, however, satisfy the Mandatory Retreat due to the location of Union Zones of Control. Thus, each unit in the stack suffers an additional step loss, destroying Stewart's Brigade and reducing Russel's Brigade to one step. Furthermore, since Russel's Brigade suffered a step loss in the battle, it conducts a Morale Check to determine if it must retreat another hex. If Russel's Brigade fails the Morale Check, it will be destroyed due to its inability to retreat.

Retreat Priorities

Units retreat one at a time, and the following priorities must be observed (if possible) in the order given. A retreating unit should retreat to:

• Priority #1: A hex that is not in an enemy ZOC.

Exception: A unit may retreat into a hex that is in an enemy ZOC if no alternative exists and the hex is occupied by a friendly unit.

• Priority #2: A hex that is in the direction of Friendly Lines. The direction of Friendly Lines is shown by the Retreat Compass printed directly on each game map.

Note: In Bull Run, the direction of Friendly Lines for the Union Player is toward the North, Northeast, or Northwest.

• Priority #3: A hex where it will not violate the stacking limit (see 5.0).
• Priority #4: A hex that is further away from the greatest number of enemy units than the hex being retreated from.

Extended Retreat

Units that are conducting an Automatic Retreat must (if possible) continue retreating until they are no longer in an enemy ZOC. All retreating units that retreat into a hex in excess of the Stacking Limit (see 5.4) must continue retreating until they are no longer overstacked. In either of these circumstances the unit retreats one additional hex at a time, observing all Retreat Priorities and Prohibitions, until it is no longer overstacked/in an enemy ZOC. This is referred to as Extended Retreat.

Overstacking

If a unit is forced to retreat into a hex in violation of the Stacking Limit and cannot conduct an Extended Retreat due to the Retreat Prohibitions, it may remain overstacked. Place overstacked units at the bottom of the stack; only the top two units count in combat. However, if an overstacked stack suffers any combat result, the result applies equally to all the units in the hex, not just the two which actually fought in the combat.

Note: Overstacking can occur only as the result of a retreat situation where an Extended Retreat cannot be continued.

6.6 Advance

There are two situations in which a unit can Advance:

1. An attacking unit can Advance if all defending units in an adjacent hex are either eliminated or forced to retreat as the result of a combat in which the attacking unit participated. Of course, if the attacking unit is itself required to retreat as a result of the combat, it cannot Advance.
2. A defending unit can Advance if an attacking unit retreats from an adjacent hex as the result of an Automatic Retreat.

Advance Procedure

One unit—and no more than one unit—can Advance into each hex from which all enemy units Retreat or are eliminated. Advance is not considered movement and does not cost Movement Points. A unit may Advance into a hex regardless of the presence of enemy ZOC's, even if it moves from one enemy ZOC directly into another.

Restrictions on Advance

• An artillery unit can never Advance.
• A defending unit cannot advance as a result of combat. It can, however, advance after an attacking unit(s) conducts an Automatic Retreat.
• A unit can only advance into the first hex that an enemy unit retreats from. If the enemy unit has to retreat from a second hex, the advancing unit does not get to advance into that hex as well.
• The option to advance must be taken immediately after the enemy unit(s) retreat, before any further game activity of any kind takes place.

Example: If a defending Union unit retreats as the result of an unfavorable combat result, the Confederate Player must Advance into the vacated hex immediately, or not at all. The Confederate Player cannot wait until after other combats have been resolved to decide whether or not he wants to advance a unit into the hex in question.

7.0 Artillery

7.1 Bombardment

In Across Five Aprils artillery units can attack and defend against enemy units in adjacent hexes just like infantry or cavalry units. However, artillery units can also Bombard (attack) enemy units that are up to four hexes away, so long as they can trace a Line of Sight (see below) to them.

Note: Bombarding artillery units may attack across River hexsides (see Terrain Effects Chart). All other unit types are prohibited from attacking across Rivers.

Bombardment Restrictions

• An artillery unit that Retreats for any reason cannot Bombard in the same Combat Phase.
• An artillery unit cannot Bombard if it is in an enemy ZOC.

Range Attenuation

If Bombarding artillery units are firing at a range of greater than one hex, their total Attack Strength is reduced by one-half (rounded down). Thus, an artillery unit with a printed Attack Strength of 1 cannot Bombard by itself, since its attack strength would be reduced to 0.

Example: Two artillery units with Attack Strengths of 3 and 2 are Bombarding a target two hexes away. Their effective Attack Strength is reduced to 2 (one-half of 5, rounded down).

Design Note: This rule reflects the fact that artillery of the Civil War era was most effective against infantry targets when firing at point-blank range, where it could use grapeshot or canister ammunition. At longer ranges, however, these types of ammunition were totally useless, forcing artillerymen to employ roundshot, which was much less effective.

Line of Sight

In order to Bombard, an artillery unit must have a clear Line of Sight (hereafter referred to as LOS) to the target hex(es). The LOS is traced as a straight line from the center of the bombarding artillery unit's hex to the center of the target hex(es). Remember that each hex consists of only one type of Hex Terrain. Therefore, completely ignore all Hex Terrain symbol(s) that "spill" over into a hex, and assume that the entire hex consists of the terrain type that covers most of its area.

If the LOS crosses Blocking Terrain the LOS is blocked and the artillery unit cannot bombard that target hex. If the LOS runs exactly along a hexside between two hexes, one of which consists of Blocking Terrain and another which does not, then the LOS is not blocked.

Exception: When checking LOS, ignore Blocking Terrain in or along the sides of the bombarding and target units' hexes.

Blocking Terrain

Embankments, Towns, Woods, Hills, and Wooded-Hills are blocking terrain types.

Note: Unlike some other wargames, friendly and enemy units do not block LOS. A bombarding artillery unit can always fire through hexes containing friendly or enemy units.

7.2 Bombardment Combat

There are two ways in which an artillery unit can Bombard enemy units: Bombardment Attacks and Combined Attacks.

Bombardment Attacks

An attack in which Bombarding artillery is the sole attacking force is referred to as a Bombardment Attack. Bombardment Attacks can only be made against a single enemy-occupied hex, and the Initial Combat Odds Ratio must be at least 1-to-4. The attack is resolved normally except that the defender does not roll a die. Consequently, the Bombarding artillery units never suffer any Combat Results.

Note: During a Combat Phase, each enemy unit that exerts a ZOC into hexes occupied by friendly units must be attacked (see 6.1). By having artillery units conduct Bombardment Attacks, friendly units that are in the ZOC's of more than one enemy stack can be relieved of the obligation of having to attack all of them (though they still must attack at least one enemy stack).

Combat Odds column shifts (see 6.2, Step #4) for Stream, Creek and River Hexside Terrain types are ignored when conducting Bombardment attacks. However, Combat Odds column shifts for all other types of Hexside and Hex Terrain types apply normally to Bombardment Attacks.

Example: A Bombardment attack with an Initial Combat Odds Ratio of 2 to 1 is being made against units located in a Woods hex behind a Stream hexside. The Combat Odds Ratio is shifted one column to the left for the Woods, but the usual leftward column shift for the Stream is ignored because this is a Bombardment attack. Thus, the Final Combat Odds Ratio is 1 to 1.

Combined Attacks

Bombarding artillery units can join in an attack which involves other friendly units that are in the ZOC of the defending enemy unit(s). This is referred to as a Combined Attack. If the enemy units defending against a Combined Attack are located in more than one hex, then the bombarding artillery unit(s) must be within four hexes and have a clear line of sight to all of them.

A Combined Attack is resolved normally except that the Bombarding artillery units are completely immune to all combat results (attacking artillery units that are in the ZOC's of the defending units suffer step losses and retreats normally). Furthermore, the attacker must use the Morale Rating of one of the units actually adjacent to the defending units to resolve the attack, he cannot use that of the bombarding artillery.

8.0 Reinforcements

In the games of Across Five Aprils some units are not on the map when play begins, but arrive as reinforcements during the course of play. Each reinforcing unit has its turn of arrival and entry-hex letter printed on it.

8.1 Arrival

Organizing Reinforcements: At the beginning of play, place all reinforcing units and Phase Markers on the game's Turn Record Track in the spaces corresponding to the turns on which they will enter. Each reinforcing unit's turn of arrival is printed on the front of its playing piece in the upper right-hand corner.

Arrival of Phase Markers: During the Phase Marker Cup Phase of each game turn, check the Turn Record Track to see if any Movement or Combat Phase Markers are due to enter play in the current turn. If so, they are placed in the Phase Marker Cup along with all of the other Phase Markers.

Arrival of Combat Units: If some or all of a Formation's combat units are due to Arrive as reinforcements during the current game turn, the owning player has the option of entering all, some or none of them when the Formation's Movement Phase Marker is drawn during the Operations Segment. Reinforcing units that are voluntarily delayed off map are placed in the next turn's space on the Turn Record Track.

8.2 Entry

Where: Each reinforcing unit's Entry Hex (or Hexes) is printed on the front of its playing piece in the upper right-hand corner. These correspond to letters, printed on the maps, that designate Entry Hexes.

How: Reinforcements enter the map by paying the Movement Point cost to enter the terrain in their entry hex. If a unit enters along a Road or Track, it pays the Road or Track cost. Reinforcing units may enter stacked up to the two-unit Stacking Limit. If more than one stack of units enters the map in the same entry hex during a Movement Phase, there is no additional cost in Movement Points to enter stacks following the first (as in some other games).

Blocked Entry: Reinforcements can enter the map in a hex that is in an enemy ZOC, but cannot enter in an enemy-occupied hex. If their entry hex is blocked, reinforcing units may enter the map in whichever unblocked hex(es) is closest to the original entry hex.

Exception: In the Shiloh game, Union reinforcements can only enter at their printed Entry Hex; if it is Blocked, they cannot enter play.

9.0 Night

During night game turns, the following exceptions to the normal rules apply:

• There are no Combat Phases. Therefore, the Union and Confederate Combat Phase Markers are not placed in the cup during the Phase Marker Cup Segment.
• A unit cannot enter an enemy ZOC unless the hex in question is already occupied by a friendly unit. It can, of course, still leave an enemy ZOC so long as it does not enter another.

10.0 Fortifications

Design Note: During the Civil War, both sides employed a variety of field fortifications for defensive purposes. These ran the entire gamut from breastworks hastily thrown up with piles of fence rails, to elaborate trench systems foreshadowing those of World War I. Given the limitations of Civil War era weapons and tactics, even weakly-manned lines of breastworks or entrenchments were almost impregnable.

Fortifications are a special form of artificial Hexside Terrain that can be constructed during the course of play, and which provide combat benefits to units stacked on top of (i.e., "in") them. Fortifications come in two different types: Breastworks and Entrenchments. The construction of a fortification is recorded by placing a Fortification Marker in the hex on its appropriate side (Breastwork or Entrenchment). Once constructed, a fortification is permanent and remains in place for the duration of the game.

The Exclusive Rules for the various games in Across Five Aprils specify how, when, and what types of fortifications may be constructed. If the Exclusive Rules for a game do not specifically permit the construction of fortifications, none may be built during the play of that game.

Fortification Effects

Fortifications function as Hexside Terrain. Note that Fortification markers depict the Breastwork or Entrenchment as running along three connected hexsides. The effects of the fortification apply only to those three hexsides. Thus, when placing a newly-constructed fortification marker, align it so that the three Breastwork (or Entrenchment) hexsides on that marker line up with three hexsides of the hex in which it is being placed. Once placed and aligned, a fortification marker cannot later be turned so as to change the alignment of the three fortified hexsides.

Fortification ZOC Effects

ZOC's do not extend into a hex across Breastwork or Entrenchment hexsides. However, the ZOC of a unit occupying a fortification extends normally into all 6 adjacent hexes (i.e., even across fortified hexsides).

Example: A friendly unit is adjacent to an enemy unit that's in an Entrenchment, and the hexside separating the two hexes is one of those covered by the Entrenchment. In the enemy's Combat Phase, his unit does not have to attack since the friendly unit's ZOC doesn't extend across the Entrenchment.

During your Combat Phase, however, the friendly unit must attack (or conduct an Automatic Retreat) because the enemy unit's ZOC does extend across the Entrenchment. Furthermore, during its Movement Phase, the enemy unit may freely leave the Entrenchment hex and enter a friendly ZOC since it did not begin in one of your ZOC's.

Fortification Combat Effects

Units that occupy fortifications when they are attacked gain beneficial Combat Odds Ratio column shifts just as if they were being attacked across natural Hexside Terrain. However, like other forms of Hexside Terrain, the combat effects of fortifications apply only if all attacking units are attacking across Breastwork or Entrenchment hexsides. Units attacked by enemy units that occupy fortifications gain no defensive benefit from the fortified hexsides.

• Breastworks: 1 column shift to the left.
• Entrenchments: 2 column shifts to the left, and the attacker's step losses are automatically increased by 1 unless the combat result is "—" (no effect).

Example: A combat result of "1R" inflicted upon the attacker in an attack made across an Entrenchment automatically becomes "2R." However, a combat result of "—" (no effect) remains "—".

Comprehensive Example of Play

The following is a detailed account of a play-through of the first four turns of the Pea Ridge game. It is intended to illustrate how the Across Five Aprils game system works, and to help resolve rules questions that may come up during play. Players who are new to the Across Five Aprils game system should read through this example before reading the rules for the first time. To learn as much as possible from this example, you may want to set up the Pea Ridge game and "play along" with the example.

Initial Set-Up

Only two units are set up on the map: the 24th Missouri Regiment (of the Independent Group) in hex 3205, and Dodge's Brigade (of Carr's Division) in hex 4312.

All three Objective Hexes are controlled by the Union player at the beginning of the game, so Objective Hex Control Markers are placed in hexes 3605 (Elkhorn Tavern), 4009 (Union HQ) and 4117 (Leetown) with their Union flag sides face-up.

The Game Turn marker is placed in the Turn #1 space on the Pea Ridge Game Turn Track.

Game Turn #1

Phase Marker Cup Segment

Along with his Combat Phase Marker, the Union Player places Carr's Division's and the Independent Group's Movement Phase Markers into the Phase Marker cup because both Formations have units currently on the map. Ousterhaus' Division's Movement Phase Marker also goes into the cup since it arrives as a Reinforcement on Turn #1.

The Confederate player places Price's and McCulloch's Divisions' Movement Phase Markers in the Phase Marker Cup along with his Combat Phase Marker because both arrive as Reinforcements on Turn #1.

Operations Segment

During the Operations Segment, the Phase Markers are randomly drawn from the Phase Marker Cup one at a time (the players alternate back and forth). When a Movement Phase Marker is drawn, all of the units in that Formation can move. When a Combat Phase Marker is drawn, all units on that side engage in combat with enemy units. The following paragraphs list the order in which the Phase Markers were drawn during our sample game, and describe the movements and battles that resulted.

Note: For the sake of brevity, we do not detail the activities of those formations and units (McCulloch's Confederate Division, Ousterhaus' and Davis' Union Divisions, etc) that are operating in the vicinity of Leetown on the western flank of the battlefield.

1. Confederate Combat Phase Marker: Since there are no Confederate units on the map, there can be no combat.
2. McCulloch's Division's Movement Phase Marker: McCulloch's units enter at Entry Hex A (3120) and move along the trail toward Leetown.
3. Ousterhaus' Division's Movement Phase Marker: Ousterhaus' units enter at Entry Hex D and move toward Leetown.
4. Union Combat Phase Marker: There are no Confederate units that project Zones of Control (hereafter ZOC's) into hexes occupied by Union units, nor are any Confederate units within range of Union artillery units, so there can be no combat.
5. Union Independent Movement Phase Marker:
   • Bussey's Cavalry enters at Entry Hex D and moves toward Leetown.
   • The 24th Missouri cannot move on Turn #1 (see Pea Ridge Exclusive Rules; 13.2).
6. Price's Division's Movement Phase Marker: Price's units have the choice of entering at either of the two "B" Entry Hexes (3104 and 3105).
   • Price's Brigade and the "Price B" artillery unit enter at hex 3105 and must immediately stop because they have entered the 24th Missouri's ZOC [1/2 MP].

Note: Throughout this example, the number of Movement Points expended by a moving unit will be recorded in brackets. Thus, [1/2 MP] means that the unit or units in question expended one-half of a Movement Point.

• Slack's and Little's Brigades enter at hex 3104 and move along the trail to hex 3402 [4 MP]. By this move the Confederate player is hoping to outflank any line that the Union player might try to form in front of Elkhorn Tavern.
• The "Price A" artillery unit enters at hex 3104 and then moves into hex 3204 [3 MP], where it must stop moving both because it has entered a Union ZOC and has expended all of its Movement Points.

7. Carr's Division's Movement Phase Marker:
   • Dodge's Brigade moves from Pratt's Store (hex 4312) to hex 3707 along the Telegraph Road [4 MP].

Game Turn Advancement Segment

The Game Turn marker is advanced into the Turn #2 space on the Pea Ridge Game Turn Track.

Game Turn #2

Phase Marker Cup Segment

All of the Phase Markers that went into the Phase Marker Cup on Turn #1 go back into the cup. No new Formations arrive as Reinforcements on Turn #2, so no additional Phase Markers have to be put into the cup.

Operations Segment

1. Union Combat Phase Marker: The 24th Missouri must engage in combat with Price's Brigade, and the "Price A" and "Price B" artillery units because all three project ZOC's into its hex. However, since the 24th Missouri has an Attack Strength of 0 it must conduct an Automatic Retreat (see 6.2; Combat Resolution Procedure, Step #2). According to the Retreat Priorities (see 6.5), the 24th must retreat into hex 3306 since it is the only hex available that is both not in an enemy ZOC (Priority #1) and in the direction of Friendly Lines (Priority #2).

Advance: After a unit conducts an Automatic Retreat, one enemy unit can Advance into the vacated hex. Since artillery units can never Advance (see 6.6), only Price's Brigade can advance into 3205, which it does.

2. Confederate Combat Phase Marker: Price's Brigade (5-8) attacks the 24th Missouri (0-1) because it is in the Union unit's ZOC. The Initial Combat Odds are 5-to-1, but the Wooded-Hill terrain in hex 3306 causes the combat odds to shift 2 columns to the left, yielding Final Combat Odds of 3-to-1. Both sides must now declare what Morale Rating they will use to resolve the combat. Since each side has only one participating unit from which to choose, the Confederate Morale Rating must be -1 while the Union Morale Rating must be 0.

Note: Throughout this example, the Attack and Defense Strengths of units that are participating in combat are recorded in parentheses. Thus, the listing "(5-8)" means that the unit in question has an Attack Strength of 5 and a Defense Strength of 8.

Combat Resolution Die Rolls

• The Confederate player's die roll is 6, modified to 5 by Price's Morale Rating. On the 3-to-1 odds column of the Attacker's Combat Results Table, a roll of 5 yields a Combat Result of "2R" (2 Step Losses and a Mandatory Retreat). Since the 24th Missouri can only absorb 1 Step Loss, it is eliminated and removed from the map.
• The Union player's die roll is 4 (the 24th Missouri's Morale Rating of 0 causes no modification), which, on the 3-to-1 odds column of the Defender's Combat Results Table, yields a combat result of "1" (1 Step Loss). Price's Brigade loses a Step and is flipped onto its back side.

Morale Check

• Because it lost a Step in the combat, a Morale Check must be made for Price's Brigade to determine if it must Retreat. On a lucky roll of 5, modified to 4 by Price's -1 Morale Rating, the unit doesn't have to Retreat (as it would have to have if the modified roll had been 3 or less).

Advance After Combat

• Because Price's Brigade didn't Retreat, it can advance into the hex (3306) vacated when the 24th Missouri was eliminated. However, the Confederate player chooses not to since he wants to keep Price on the road.

3. Carr's Division's Movement Phase Marker:

   • Carr's Artillery enters as a Reinforcement at Entry Hex C and moves along the Telegraph Road to hex 4110 [3 MP].
   • Dodge's Brigade moves to hex 3604 through hexes 3606 and 3605 [2 MP]. The Union player chooses this position because he wants to block both the Telegraph Road and the trail leading from Clemens' Farm to the Union HQ.

4. Price's Division's Movement Phase Marker:

   • Price's Brigade moves along the Telegraph Road to hex 3505 [1 1/2 MP], where it must stop since it has entered Dodge's Brigade's ZOC. Because Price's Brigade now projects a ZOC into the hex containing Elkhorn Tavern, the Objective Hex Control Marker is removed (neither side occupies the Tavern, but both project ZOC's into the hex, so nobody controls it).
   • The "Price B" artillery unit moves along the Telegraph Road to hex 3505 [2 MP].
   • The "Price A" artillery unit moves into hex 3105 and then to 3305 along the Telegraph Road [3 MP].
   • Slack's and Little's Brigades occupy Clemen's Farm (3603), moving by way of hex 3503 [3 MP].

5. McCulloch's Division's Movement Phase Marker: From this point onward we will no longer trace the activities of this and other Formations operating on the western flank of the battlefield.

6. Union Independent Movement Phase Marker: Bussey's Cavalry is the only Independent unit currently in play and it is operating outside the scope of our interest.

7. Ousterhaus' Division's Movement Phase Marker

Game Turn Advancement Segment

The Game Turn marker is advanced into the Turn #3 space on the Pea Ridge Game Turn Track.

Game Turn #3

Phase Marker Cup Segment

All Phase Markers that were placed in the Phase Marker Cup on Turn #2 now go back into the cup. There are no Reinforcing Formations whose Phase Markers need to be added.

Operations Segment

1. Ousterhaus' Division's Movement Phase Marker
2. McCulloch's Division's Movement Phase Marker
3. Carr's Division's Movement Phase Marker:
   • Dodge's Brigade does not move.
   • Carr's Artillery moves to hex 3606 along the Telegraph Road [3 MP].
   • Vandever's Brigade enters as a Reinforcement at Entry Hex D and moves to hex 3909 along the Telegraph Road [4 MP].
4. Union Independent Movement Phase Marker
5. Confederate Combat Phase Marker: Slack's (1-2), Little's (2-4) and Price's Brigades (2-5-4), and the "Price A" artillery unit (3-7) attack Dodge's Brigade (4-4). The Initial Combat Odds are 2-to-1 (Attack Strength 8 versus Defense Strength of 4), but the Final Combat Odds are reduced to 1-to-1 because of the Woods. All Confederate units have -1 Morale Ratings, while the Union player must use Dodge's Morale Rating of +1.

Combat Resolution Die Rolls

• The Confederate player's die roll is 4, modified to 3 due to Morale. On the 1-to-1 odds column of the Attacker's Combat Results Table, a roll of 3 yields a result of "1" (1 Step Loss), so Dodge's Brigade loses a Step and is flipped onto its back side.
• The Union player's die roll is 5, modified to 6 due to morale, yielding a "2R" (2 Step Losses and a Mandatory Retreat) Combat Result on the 3-to-1 odds column of the Defender's Combat Results Table. The Confederate player chooses to apply one Step loss apiece to Slack's and Little's Brigades, flipping them onto their back sides. All four Confederate units then conduct a Mandatory Retreat. Price's Brigade and the "Price B" artillery unit retreat to hex 3404 because, in keeping with the Retreat Priorities, this is the hex that is in the direction of Friendly Lines and furthest from the greatest number of enemy units. For the same reasons, Little and Slack Retreat into hex 3503.

Morale Checks

• Because Dodge's Brigade suffered a Step Loss, it must roll a Morale Check to see whether or not it retreats. The roll is 4, modified to 5 by Dodge's +1 Morale Rating, so the brigade doesn't have to Retreat (see the Morale Check Table).
• Because Confederate units suffered Step Losses, Morale Checks must be rolled for all four Confederate units that participated in the combat (even those that did not lose a Step) to determine if they must retreat another hex. All rolls are modified by -1 for the units' Morale Ratings. Little and Slack retreat to hex 3402 after failing their Morale Checks on modified rolls of 1 and 2 (respectively). The "Price B" artillery unit retreats to hex 3304 on a modified roll of 1, while Price's Brigade passes its Morale Check and stays in 3404.

Advance After Combat

• Although all Confederate units in hexes 3603 and 3505 retreated, Dodge's Brigade cannot advance because defending units can never Advance except after an Automatic Retreat.

6. Union Combat Phase Marker: No Confederate units project ZOC's into hexes occupied by Union units, and no Union artillery units have Confederate units within range, so there is no combat.

7. Price's Division's Movement Phase Marker: Despite the beating that it just took, Price's Division gamely advances into contact once again.

   • The "Price A" artillery unit moves to hex 3505 along the Telegraph Road [1 MP].
   • Price's Brigade moves back into hex 3505 [2 MP].
   • The "Price B" artillery unit moves into hex 3404. The unit can do this despite the fact that the move costs 4 Movement Points [2 for the Woods +2 for the Creek] and its Movement Point Allowance is only 3, because the Movement Procedure rules (see the first exception in section 4.2) say that a unit can always move at least 1 hex per Movement Phase.
   • Little's and Slack's Brigades move through hex 3403 and on into hex 3504 [4 MP].

Game Turn Advancement Segment

The Game Turn marker is advanced into the Turn #4 space on the Pea Ridge Game Turn Track.

Game Turn #4

Phase Marker Cup Segment

All of the Phase Markers that were in play last turn go back into the Phase Marker Cup, along with the Movement Phase Marker for Davis' Division, which arrives as a Reinforcement this turn.

Operations Segment

1. Carr's Division's Movement Phase Marker: The Union player gets lucky and moves first once again.

   • Dodge's Brigade stands in place, single-handedly contesting control of Elkhorn Tavern and blocking both routes into the Union rear.
   • Carr's Artillery also remains where it is so that it can block Confederate flanking moves over the southeastern tip of Pea Ridge.
   • Vandever's Brigade moves to hex 3707 along the Telegraph Road [1 1/2 MP], then turns off into hex 3706 [an additional 2 MP].

2. Union Independent Movement Phase Marker:

   • Bowen's Cavalry enters as a Reinforcement in Entry Hex C and gallops along the Telegraph Road to hex 3606 [6 MP].
   • The Independent artillery unit enters at Entry Hex C and moves along the Telegraph Road to hex 4110 [3 MP].

3. McCulloch's Division's Movement Phase Marker

4. Union Combat Phase Marker: Dodge's Brigade must conduct combat against all four Confederate units that project ZOC's into its hex. Since the Initial Combat Odds are 1-to-4 even before taking the Woods terrain into account, the Union player decides to have Dodge conduct an Automatic Retreat. According to the Retreat Priorities, hexes 3705 and 3704 are equally valid alternatives (both are in the direction of Friendly Lines and are equidistant from the greatest number of enemy units), so the Union player chooses to fall back into 3705 since this keeps him adjacent to Elkhorn Tavern.

Note: The actual combat odds are 1-to-6 (Attack Strength of 3 versus Defense Strength of 16), but combat odds of less than 1-to-4 are always resolved on the 1-to-4 column on the Combat Results Tables.

Advance

• Price's Brigade advances into hex 3604. As infantry units, Slack's and Little's Brigades were also eligible to Advance, but Price's Brigade was chosen because it was the strongest.

5. Ousterhaus' Division's Movement Phase Marker

6. Confederate Combat Phase Marker: The Confederate player declares that Price's Brigade (2-5-4) and the "Price A" artillery unit (4-8-3) will engage Dodge's Brigade (3-4-4). Because the artillery unit is Bombarding (see 7.1) a non-adjacent hex, its Attack Strength is halved to 2. The Initial Combat Odds are 1-to-1, but the Woods would reduce the Final Combat Odds to 1-to-2. Unwilling to virtually guarantee the elimination of his strongest remaining infantry unit with only a 50-50 chance of polishing off Dodge's Brigade, the Confederate player decides to conduct an Automatic Retreat. Price's Brigade retreats to hex 3505 because it is towards Friendly Lines (priority #2) and will not exceed the Stacking Limit (priority #3), although the Retreat is not into the hex furthest from the greatest number of enemy units (in violation of priority #4).

Bombardment Attack

• At this point Dodge's Brigade would normally have an opportunity to Advance into the hex vacated by Price's Brigade. However, since the "Price A" artillery unit is participating in the combat, it now conducts a Bombardment Attack against Dodge (the Confederate player hopes to roll lucky and eliminate Dodge, thus preventing him from advancing back into 3604 and blocking access to the Tavern). The Initial Combat Odds are 1-to-2, but the Woods terrain reduces the Final Combat Odds to 1-to-3. The Confederate Player must use the artillery unit's -1 Morale Rating. The Union player, on the other hand, doesn't choose a Morale Rating because no roll is made on the Defender's Combat Results Table when resolving a Bombardment Attack.

Combat Resolution Die Roll

• The Confederate die roll is 4, modified to 3 due to Morale. On the 1-to-3 odds column of the Attacker's Combat Results Table, this yields a result of "—" (No Effect).

Advance

• Dodge's Brigade advances back into hex 3604.

7. Davis' Division's Movement Phase Marker: White's and Pattis' Brigades and Davis' artillery enter at Entry Hex D and move off toward Leetown.

8. Price's Division's Movement Phase Marker:

   • The Confederate player marches Slack's Brigade to hex 3602 by way of hex 3503 [4 MP] in order to start another flanking move, and to free up stacking space in hex 3504.
   • The "Price B" artillery unit moves into the space conveniently vacated by Slack's Brigade in hex 3504 [2 MP].

Game Turn Advancement Segment

The Game Turn marker is advanced into the Turn #5 space on the Pea Ridge Game Turn Track.

Postscript

At this point we break off our account of the Battle of Pea Ridge. Four turns is enough for our purposes because we have had an opportunity to portray the workings of all of the basic rules systems, as well as covering a couple unusual situations (for example; the Bombardment Attack conducted by the "Price A" artillery unit during the Confederate Combat Phase of Turn #4, after Price's Brigade had Automatically Retreated). Thus prepared, first-time players of Across Five Aprils will find the rules much easier to digest.

11.0 Introduction to the Exclusive Rules

Rules Sections 12.0 through 16.0 are collectively referred to as the Exclusive Rules. While all five of the games in Across Five Aprils share the same set of Basic Rules, the Exclusive Rules are necessary to account for the many unique aspects of the various battles. The Exclusive Rules for each battle are unique to it, and are never used in any of the other games.

11.1 Victory Determination

Each of the five games has its own criteria by which the winner and his level of victory are judged; these are fully explained in each game's Exclusive Rules. However, there are some features of Victory Determination that are common to all five games.

Objective Hex Control

There are a number of Objective Hexes printed on each of the game maps in Across Five Aprils, and the winner is usually determined by the number of Objective Hexes controlled by each player. A player controls an Objective Hex if:

• he has a unit occupying the hex, or
• he has a unit that is projecting a ZOC into an unoccupied Objective Hex. If Union and Confederate units are both projecting ZOC's into an unoccupied Objective Hex, then neither side controls it, or
• he was the last to have a unit move through it, and neither of the two previous criteria apply.

Control of an Objective Hex can change any number of times in a single Game Turn. Each game's Exclusive Rules indicate which side controls the Objective Hexes at the beginning of play.

Exception: In Gettysburg, each side has its own Objective Hexes, and the conditions for gaining control of them are somewhat different than those listed here.

Example: At the start of play in Pea Ridge, all three Objective Hexes are controlled by the Union player. Early in game turn #3, a Confederate unit moves into hex 3605 (Elkhorn Tavern), thus taking control of the Objective Hex even though a Union unit is projecting a ZOC into it from hex 3706. However, during the Confederate Combat Phase of game turn #3, the Confederate unit is forced to retreat from Elkhorn Tavern into hex 3505. Since the hex is unoccupied and in the ZOC of both a Union and a Confederate unit, it is controlled by neither. Later still during turn #3, the Union unit moves onto the Tavern, restoring it to the Union player's control.

The control status of Objective Hexes is recorded using the Objective Hex Control markers, which have the Union flag printed on one side, and the Confederate battle flag on the other. When a player gains control of an Objective Hex, place or flip the Control Marker so that his side's flag is showing face-up. The Objective Hex Control Marker is removed from an Objective Hex that neither side controls, but it is replaced as soon as one side or the other gains control.

Victory Points

The relative losses suffered by the two sides in a game can also be a factor in deciding who wins. In those games where this method of determining victory is used, Victory Points (VP's) are awarded to the players according to the following criteria:

• each 2-Step enemy unit eliminated = 3 VP;
• each 1-Step enemy unit eliminated = 2 VP;
• each 2-Step enemy unit reduced by 1 Step = 1 VP.

12.0 Bull Run Exclusive Rules

12.1 Bull Run and Catharpin Run

• Units can move or attack across Bull Run and Catharpin Run (Creeks) only at Bridges and Fords. Therefore, units that are in the ZOC of enemy units on the opposite side of Bull Run do not have to attack them (and, indeed, cannot attack them) during the friendly Combat Phase.

Exception: Bombarding artillery units can attack across Bull Run normally.

• Confederate units cannot cross Bull Run or Catharpin Run. A Confederate unit which is forced to Retreat across a hexside of either creek is eliminated instead.

Design Note: These rules reflect the fact that in this first battle of the Civil War, commanders on both sides tended to overestimate the value of Bull Run as a military obstacle (the creek could, in fact, be forded at most points along its length). Union General Ambrose E. Burnside made exactly the same mistake when confronted with Antietam Creek at the battle of the same name approximately a year later. Confederate units cannot cross Bull Run because the Confederate commander, P.T. Beauregard, had designated the creek as his main line of defense, and had relatively little idea of where Union troops were on the other side. In fact, well into the battle, he expected to be attacked in the center of his line (off-map to the southeast).

12.2 The Unfinished Railroad Line

The unfinished Independent Line of the Manassas Gap Railroad functions like a normal Railroad Line for all game purposes. Note, however, that there is no Bridge or Ford where the unfinished RR crosses Bull Run (hexes 2806-2906).

12.3 Combat Phase Markers

Neither the Union nor the Confederate Combat Phase Markers are placed into the Phase Marker Cup during the Phase Marker Cup Segment of Game Turn #1. Both are placed in the cup during the Phase Marker Cup Segment of Game Turn #2 and all following turns.

12.4 Victory Conditions

The object of the game is to gain control of the three Objective Hexes printed on the map. All three are Confederate-controlled at the beginning of the game.

Objective Hex	Hex
Stone Bridge	3912
Robinson House	3413
Henry House	3315

Game Turn #9 Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #9, determine if either player has won the game, and, if so, the extent of his victory. If neither player has won, then play proceeds to Game Turn #10.

Level of Victory	Objective Hexes Controlled
Confederate Decisive	Confederate controls 3
Union Substantial	Union controls 2
Union Decisive	Union controls 3

Game Turn #10 Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #10, determine which player has won the game, and the extent of his victory.

Level of Victory	Objective Hexes Controlled
Confederate Decisive*	Confederate controls 3
Draw	All uncontrolled
Union Marginal	Union controls 1
Union Substantial	Union controls 2
Union Decisive	Union controls 3

Historical Result

13.0 Pea Ridge Exclusive Rules

13.1 Indians

Design Note: Pike's Brigade (Confederate) was composed of "civilized" Cherokee and Creek Indian troops from the Indian Territory (what is now Oklahoma). Although the Indians often displayed considerable bravery as individuals, they had little aptitude for fighting in disciplined bodies. As one observer wrote soon after the Civil War, "They fought very well when they had an opportunity to take shelter behind trees and logs, but could not easily be brought to face artillery, and a single shell thrown at them was generally sufficient to demoralize them and put them to flight."

The following special rules apply to the Indian unit:

• It may never voluntarily move or retreat adjacent to a Union artillery unit. If forced to retreat adjacent to a Union artillery unit, the Indian unit is eliminated instead.
• It is immediately eliminated when attacked by artillery. If attacked while alone in a hex, the Indian unit is eliminated without determining odds or rolling dice, and the Union suffers no loss. If the Indians are stacked with another Confederate unit, eliminate the unit before determining the Initial Combat Odds Ratio for the combat.
• It must conduct an Automatic Retreat if it is adjacent to a Union artillery unit during the Confederate Combat Phase. If the Indian unit cannot conduct an Automatic Retreat, it is eliminated instead.

13.2 Union Movement Restriction

The Union 24th Missouri Regiment (which sets up in hex 3205) cannot move on Game Turn #1.

13.3 Victory Conditions

The object of the game is to gain control of the three Objective Hexes printed on the map. All are Union-controlled at the beginning of the game.

Objective Hex	Hex
Elkhorn Tavern	3605
Union HQ	4009
Leetown	4117

First Day Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #9, determine if either player has won a Decisive Victory. The Confederate player wins a Decisive Victory if he controls any two Objective Hexes, and the Union player wins a Decisive Victory if he controls all three. If neither player has achieved a Decisive Victory, play proceeds to Game Turn #10 and continues into the second day.

Second Day Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #15, determine which player has won the game, and the extent of his victory. Any combinations other than those listed below result in a draw.

Level of Victory	Objective Hexes Controlled
Confederate Decisive	Confederate controls 3
Confederate Substantial	Confederate controls 2
Confederate Marginal	Confederate controls 1
Union Substantial*	Union controls 3

Historical Result

13.4 Options

Switch Confederate Entry Hexes

The two Confederate Divisions switch entry areas; Price enters at "A" and McCulloch enters at "B."

Confederate Unified Command

All Confederate units enter at "A" or "B," according to the Confederate player's choice. However, only one division may enter on Game Turn #1; the other enters on Game Turn #2. Furthermore, if both divisions arrive at Entry Hex B, the Confederate player needs to control one more Objective Hex to achieve each level of victory on Turn #15, and the Union needs to control only two Objective Hexes in order to achieve a substantial victory.

Example: If the Confederate player controls two Objective Hexes at the end of Game Turn #15, he achieves only a Marginal Victory, not a Substantial Victory. Likewise, if he controls only one Objective Hex he cannot win at all (though he can prevent the Union player from winning by contesting control of one of the other two Objective hexes).

14.0 Shiloh Exclusive Rules

14.1 Union Phase Markers

Union Combat Phase Marker

The Union Combat Phase Marker is not placed in the Phase Marker Cup until the Phase Marker Cup Segment of the Game Turn following that in which a Confederate unit first enters any Union ZOC, or until the Phase Marker Cup Segment of Game Turn #6 (whichever comes first).

Union Movement Phase Markers

The Movement Phase Markers for the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Divisions of the Union Army of the Tennessee are not placed in the Phase Marker Cup until the Phase Marker Cup Segment of Game Turn #6 unless a Confederate unit enters a Union ZOC on or before Game Turn #4.

If a Confederate unit(s) enters the ZOC of a Union unit on or before Game Turn #4, that (Union) Division's Movement Phase Marker is put into the Phase Marker Cup in the Phase Marker Cup Segment of the next Game Turn. Furthermore, the Movement Phase Markers of all other Divisions of the Union Army of the Tennessee are placed into the cup in the Phase Marker Cup Segment of the turn after the next turn.

Example: During Game Turn #3, Confederate units enter the ZOC's of units belonging to the 5th and 6th Divisions (the first time they've entered any Union ZOC during the game). The 5th and 6th Divisions' Movement Phase Markers go into the cup on Game Turn #4; the 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions' Movement Phase Markers will go into the cup on Game Turn #5.

14.2 Surprise Attacks

Design Note: During the Battle of Shiloh, both sides achieved surprise. On the first day, the Confederates caught the Union Army of the Tennessee unprepared, routing many units before they could get organized. On the second day the Union troops achieved surprise because they attacked early and in strength, while the Confederates had falsely assumed that the Yankees were too badly battered from the previous day's fighting to do any attacking.

The effect of a Surprise Attack is portrayed in the game by automatic Combat Odds Column shifts gained by the attacking player. These shifts are applied after shifts due to defensive terrain have been applied. Surprise Attack shifts apply only to attacks; a player who has a Surprise Attack bonus gains no benefit from it when he is defending in combat.

Confederate Surprise Attack

• All Confederate attacks made during the first Game Turn in which Union units are attacked have their Final Combat Odds Ratio (see 6.2, Step #4) shifted two columns to the right.
• All Confederate attacks made after the first Game Turn in which Union units are attacked but before Game Turn #7 have their Final Combat Odds Ratio shifted one column to the right. (i.e., the Confederate surprise advantage ends on Turn #6).

Union Surprise Attack

• All Union attacks made during the first four Game Turns of the second day of the battle have their Final Combat Odds Ratio (see 6.2, Step #4) shifted one column to the right.

14.3 The Lexington and Tyler

Gunboat Activation and Movement

The Lexington and Tyler are Activated by their own Movement Phase Marker which is placed in the Phase Marker Cup with all the rest. They can only move into hexes that are all or part Tennessee River, and cannot enter any riverfront hex (i.e., a hex containing both land and Tennessee-River terrain) on the west bank of the Tennessee River. Each Tennessee River hex entered costs one Movement Point.

Gunboats and ZOCs

The Lexington and Tyler exert no ZOC's, and are totally unaffected by Confederate ZOC's (i.e., their movement is unrestricted and they do not have to attack adjacent Confederate units).

Gunboats and Combat

• Gunboats function like artillery (7.0) units, and can therefore conduct both Bombardment and Combined Attacks. They trace Line of Sight and suffer the effects of Range Attenuation exactly like normal artillery units. Gunboats never suffer any combat Result when attacking.
• Gunboats cannot be the lead unit in a Combined Attack, and can never Advance.
• Gunboats can be attacked only by bombarding Confederate artillery units, and an attack against a gunboat remains a Bombardment Attack even if the attacking artillery units and the gunboat(s) are in adjacent hexes (thus, artillery units attacking gunboats never suffer any combat results).
• Gunboats can be attacked separately even when stacked together. There is no requirement that both gunboats in a stack must be attacked.

Note: Infantry and cavalry units cannot attack gunboats.

14.4 Union Reinforcements

Pittsburg Landing

Union Reinforcements that enter at Entry Hex C (Pittsburg Landing) must pay 1 Movement Point to "disembark" in the hex.

Blocked Entry

Union reinforcements can enter the map only in their designated entry hex. If the entry hex is occupied by a Confederate unit, they cannot enter in the nearest unblocked hex. Instead, they are held out of play until the entry hex is free of enemy units.

Note: This is an exception to the Blocked Entry rule in section 8.0 of the Basic Rules.

14.5 Victory Conditions

The object of the game is to gain control of the five Objective Hexes printed on the map. All five are Union-controlled at the beginning of the game.

Objective Hex	Hex
Purdy/East-Corinth Crossroads	1012
Shiloh Church	1107
Cloud Field	1415
Pittsburg Landing	1921
Snake Creek Bridge	2711

First Day Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #10, determine if either player has won the game, and the extent of his victory. If neither player has won, play proceeds to Game Turn #11 and continues into the second day.

Level of Victory	Objective Hexes Controlled By The Confederate Player
Confederate Decisive	5
Confederate Substantial	4
No Victory, Play Continues	3
Union Substantial	2
Union Decisive	0 or 1

Second Day Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #17, determine which player has won the game, and the extent of his victory.

Level of Victory	Objective Hexes Controlled By The Confederate Player
Confederate Decisive	4 or 5
Confederate Substantial	3
Determined by Victory Points	2
Union Substantial	1
Union Decisive	0

Determining Victory by the Victory Point Ratio

If, at the end of Game Turn #17, the Confederate player still controls two Objective Hexes, the winner and his level of victory are determined by the ratio of Confederate Victory Points to Union Victory Points (do not round off).

Level of Victory	Ratio of Confederate VP's to Union VP's
Confederate Substantial	2-to-1 or higher
Confederate Marginal	1 1/2-to-1
Union Marginal	1-to-1
Union Substantial	less than 1-to-1

14.6 Options

Cavalry Units

With the exception of the Confederate Reserve Corps' Cavalry brigade (commanded by Nathan Bedford Forrest), all of the cavalry units in the Shiloh game are included only when using this optional rule. Furthermore, all such cavalry units (excepting Forrest's cavalry unit) are prohibited from entering an enemy ZOC except as the result of Retreat.

Design Note: We chose to eliminate the cavalry units from the standard Shiloh game because historically they had very little impact upon the battle. In April of 1862 the combatants had yet to figure out how to employ cavalry profitably on a battlefield dominated by rifled infantry weapons. Since traditional mounted charges were almost suicidal, both Union and Confederate cavalry units at Shiloh were generally relegated to such secondary roles as scouting and rounding up stragglers. Later in the war, both sides made much better use of their cavalry units in battle, primarily by having them fight dismounted delaying or screening actions. We have included the cavalry units as an option so that you can see what effect they could have had if these tactics had already been developed.

Lew Wallace Presses On

The 3rd Division of the Army of the Tennessee (which normally arrives on Game Turn #10 at Entry Hex B) can instead arrive on Game Turn #6 or #7 at hex 1502. During the Phase Marker Cup Segments of Turns #6 and #7, the Union player rolls one die. If the result is a 1 or 2 the 3rd Division arrives that turn. If Wallace's Division does not arrive on Turn #6 or #7, it arrives normally on Turn #10 at Entry Hex B.

When playing with this option, Confederate units cannot enter hex 1502.

Design Note: Late in the morning of March 6th, General Lew Wallace's 3rd Division—then at Crumps Landing, four or five miles down-river from Pittsburg Landing—was ordered to march up and join Grant's army on its right flank. Having a less than perfect grasp of the road network, and expecting that Grant's right would be in the vicinity of Shiloh Church, Wallace set his units in motion on a route that would bring them to the battlefield by the Purdy Road. It was only after several hours that Wallace learned of his mistake from one of Grant's aides, and shifted his line of march, causing delays that prevented his troops from arriving on the battlefield until just before darkness fell. This option assumes that Grant's aide fails to contact Wallace, who therefore sticks to his original route.

15.0 Gettysburg Exclusive Rules

15.1 Big Round Top

Big Round Top (hex 3212) has Embankment hexside terrain along all six of its hexsides, although this is not readily visible on the map.

15.2 Fortifications

Breastworks may be constructed during Night Game Turns by infantry units that occupy Hill (or Wooded-Hill) hexes and which do not move during that turn.

Note: Entrenchments cannot be constructed.

15.3 Union Movement Restrictions

Union Cavalry Movement Restriction

The Union 1/1st and 2/1st Cavalry Brigades, and Calef's Artillery (all of Buford's Cavalry Division) cannot move across Willoughby's Run until Game Turn #3. They can, however, Retreat across the Stream if no alternative route is available.

Union Reserve Artillery Movement Restriction

The 1st Regular Artillery and the 1st through 4th Volunteer Artillery units constitute the Union player's Artillery Reserve. When these units arrive as Reinforcements on Game Turns #14 and #15, they must move as rapidly as possible into hex 2010 or any adjacent hex. Once the units of the Artillery Reserve are deployed in or adjacent to hex 2010, they must remain there until they are Released. Unreleased Reserve Artillery units can participate in normal and bombardment combat without restriction.

All units of the Artillery Reserve are Released in the Phase Marker Cup Segment of any Game Turn in which the Confederate player either controls one or more Confederate Objective Hexes, OR has units adjacent to two or more Confederate Objective Hexes. A Reserve Artillery unit is also Released if it is attacked by Confederate units located in adjacent hexes (i.e. not solely by Bombarding Confederate artillery units). Once a Reserve Artillery unit has been Released, it can move without restriction for the rest of the game.

If the conditions for the release of the Artillery Reserve are already in effect when the Reserve Artillery units Arrive, they can immediately move without restriction.

15.4 Special Confederate Movement Rules

In Gettysburg, each of the three Confederate Corps has two Movement Phase Markers. Contrary to the normal Movement rules, some or all of the units in a Confederate Formation can move when each of the Phase Markers is drawn.

Staggered Movement of Confederate Corps

Each Confederate Corps is made up of three divisions plus several independent artillery units; e.g., Longstreet's I Corps consists of McLaw's, Pickett's and Hood's Divisions, and Alexander's and Eshleman's artillery units.

The first time that one of a Confederate Corps' Phase Markers is drawn during an Operations Segment, all of its component units can move, but all of the units of at least one of its divisions must move. When the Corps' second Phase Marker is drawn, movement is conducted by all of the Corps' units that didn't move when the first Phase Marker was pulled. No unit can move both times that a Corps' Movement Phase Marker is drawn.

Exception: See the Longstreet's Corps special rule below.

Movement is conducted by divisions. If any of a division's units move when a Corps' first Phase Marker is drawn, then all of the division's units are assumed to have moved (and none can move when the second Phase Marker is drawn). A Corps' independent artillery units can move when either of its Phase Markers is drawn; they don't all have to move on the same one. To keep track of which units in a Corps have moved, rotate the playing piece of each unit that has moved 90° after it has finished moving.

Longstreet's Corps

Beginning on Game Turn #14, all units of Longstreet's Corps can move when each of the Corps' Movement Phase Markers is drawn; effectively moving twice per turn. This special movement ends on the turn that any Union unit can trace a normal, four-hex Line of Sight to any unit of Longstreet's Corps; beginning on the following turn, all units of the Corps can move only once per turn. Thus, if a unit of Longstreet's Corps is within the Line of Sight of a Union unit on Game Turn #14, the Corps will move twice on that turn only, reverting to normal movement on Game Turn #15.

15.5 The Unfinished Railroad Line

The unfinished portion of the Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad functions like a normal Railroad Line for all game purposes. Note, however, that there is no Bridge or Ford where the unfinished RR crosses Willoughby Run.

15.6 Victory Conditions

The object of the game is to inflict more damage on the enemy's units than he inflicts upon yours, and to control as many Objective Hexes as possible. Note that the Union and Confederate players have different Objective Hexes (Union in blue, Confederate in grey). You win by controlling your own Objective Hexes, but controlling your enemy's Objective Hexes is also important since it prevents him from gaining Victory Points.

Victory Points for Controlling Objective Hexes

A side gains control of an Objective Hex by being the last to have a unit occupy or move through the hex. Control of an Objective hex can change any number of times in a single Game Turn.

Note: In Gettysburg, an Objective Hex cannot be controlled merely by placing it in the ZOC of a friendly unit.

The number of Victory Points gained for the control of Objective Hexes varies between the Confederate and Union players, and from day to day of the battle. See the various Victory Conditions listed below for the specifics.

First Day Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #11, determine if either player has won a Decisive Victory according to the following criteria. If neither player has achieved a Decisive Victory, play proceeds to Game Turn #12 and continues into the second day.

Confederate 1st-Day Victory Conditions

Control one Confederate Objective Hex, and have at least a 1 1/2-to-1 ratio of Victory Points over the Union Player. Each Confederate Objective Hex controlled is worth 6 Victory Points.

Union 1st-Day Victory Conditions

Have more Victory Points (for inflicting losses on CSA units) than the Confederate Player has overall.

Second Day Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #22, determine if either player has won a Decisive Victory according to the following criteria. If neither player has achieved a Decisive Victory, play proceeds to Game Turn #23 and continues into the third day.

Confederate 2nd-Day Victory Conditions

Control both Round Tops (2912 and 3212), or all three hexes of Culp's Hill, or all four hexes of Cemetery Hill, and have a 1 1/2-to-1 ratio of Victory Points over the Union Player. Each Confederate Objective Hex controlled is worth 6 Victory Points.

Union 2nd-Day Victory Conditions

Control five Union Objective Hexes, and have a 2-to-1 ratio of Victory Points over the Confederate Player. Each Union Objective Hex controlled is worth 5 Victory Points.

Third Day Victory Determination

At the end of Game Turn #31, determine who has won the game and his level of victory. Note that both players must satisfy two criteria for each level of victory; if only one can be met, then that level of victory is not achieved. It is possible that the game will end in a Draw. Historically, the battle was a Union marginal victory, but the campaign was a Union substantial victory.

Confederate 3rd-Day Victory Conditions

Each Confederate Objective Hex controlled is worth 10 Victory Points.

Level of Victory	CSA Objective Hexes Controlled	CSA to USA VP Ratio
Confederate Marginal	1-2	+1 but < 1 1/2-to-1
Confederate Substantial	3-7	1 1/2-to-1 or higher
Confederate Decisive	8 or more	2-to-1 or higher

Union 3rd-Day Victory Conditions

Each Union Objective Hex controlled is worth 5 Victory Points.

Level of Victory	USA Objective Hexes Controlled	USA to CSA VP Ratio
Union Marginal*	0-4	+1 but < 1 1/2-to-1
Union Substantial	5 or more	1 1/2-to-1
Union Decisive	5 or more	2-to-1 or higher

Historical Result

16.0 Bentonville Exclusive Rules

16.1 Union Phase Markers

The Union Combat Phase Marker, and the XIVth and XXth Corps' Movement Phase Markers, are not placed in the Phase Marker Cup during the Phase Marker Cup Segment of Game Turn #1. They are placed into the cup during the Phase Marker Cup Segment of Game Turn #2 and all subsequent turns.

16.2 Union Reinforcements

The Game Turn on which Union reinforcements Arrive is determined randomly. Boxes 2 through 5 on the Bentonville Game Turn Track have a die-roll range printed in them which is used to determine when Union reinforcements arrive. During the Phase Marker Cup Segment, the Union player rolls one die for each of his units that is not currently in play. If the die-roll result is within that Game Turn's printed die-roll range, the reinforcing unit will Arrive during the turn. Only three reinforcing units can Arrive per Game Turn.

Example: The Union Reinforcement die-roll range printed in the Game Turn #3 box on the Game Turn Track is 1-3. If the result rolled for a particular unit is 1, 2 or 3, that unit Arrives as a reinforcement during the current turn.

The Union player rolls for his reinforcing units one at a time until he has either rolled for all of them, or has rolled successfully for three of them, whichever comes first. All units of the XIVth Corps must be rolled for before any rolls are made for XXth Corps units, and all infantry units of the XXth Corps must be rolled for before a roll is made for the XXth Corps' artillery unit.

16.3 Victory Conditions

The object of the game is to gain control of the seven Objective Hexes printed on the map. All are Union-controlled at the beginning of the game.

Objective Hex	Hex
Final Defense Line	0110, 0210, 0310, 0410, 0411 and 0512
Harper's House	0212

Determining Victory by Objective Hex Control

At the end of Game Turn #5, determine if the Confederate player wins through control of Objective Hexes.

Level of Victory	Objective Hexes Controlled By The Confederate Player
Confederate Decisive	3+
Confederate Substantial	1 or 2
Determined by Victory Points	0

Determining Victory by the Victory Point Ratio

If the Confederate player does not win by control of Objective Hexes, then Victory is determined by the ratio of Confederate Victory Points to Union Victory Points (do not round off).

Level of Victory	Ratio of Confederate VP's to Union VP's
Confederate Substantial	2-to-1 or higher
Confederate Marginal	1 1/2-to-1
Draw	1-to-1
Union Substantial	1-to-1 1/2
Union Decisive	1-to-2 or less

Historic Notes

First Bull Run

The Battle of Bull Run was the first major battle of the Civil War, and, as such, was one of its most important. In the Summer of 1861 most people believed that the war would be brought to a swift conclusion in a single, decisive battle, and bridled at the delays involved in raising armies and giving them a bare minimum of training. From all sides came demands for immediate action, and the cry "On to Richmond!" resounded throughout the North. Ultimately, the popular pressure was so great that the Union had to take the offensive before its armies—or those of the Confederacy—were truly ready. A battle, "The Battle" to decide the war, was the goal of this offensive, but not its result.

General Irvin McDowell marched out of Washington, D.C. in July of 1861 with an army of 37,000 green, but eager, Union soldiers. Facing him at Manassas Junction, some 20 miles southwest of Washington, was General P. G. T. Beauregard with some 20,000 equally green Confederates. Having a numerical advantage of almost 2-to-1, McDowell hoped to destroy Beauregard's army before it could be reinforced by General Joseph E. Johnston's force of 13,000 men in the Shenandoah Valley, some 40 miles to the west. Once Beauregard was out of the way, McDowell would march in triumph into Richmond, the capitol of the Confederacy.

McDowell proceeded toward Manassas cautiously, having learned that the Confederates had drawn their defensive line behind a lazy little stream called Bull Run. As McDowell approached, General Johnston was ordered to rush his Army of the Shenandoah eastward and combine it with Beauregard's. Thus, McDowell was unknowingly running—and losing—a race against time as he methodically made his approach to Bull Run. On July 18th the Union army occupied Centreville, several miles to the north of Bull Run, and on the following day fought the first major skirmish of the campaign at Blackburn's Ford. On the 19th and 20th, however, the Union forces remained halted in order to bring up supplies and prepare for the decisive advance.

McDowell's delay allowed General Johnston to bring down a substantial part of his troops from the Shenandoah Valley by rail. The first of his units to reach Manassas was the brigade of General Thomas J. Jackson, which arrived at about 4:00 PM on July 19th. On Saturday the 20th more substantial numbers arrived, along with Johnston himself. Since Johnston outranked Beauregard, he was technically in command of their combined armies, but in fact command remained split between the two, a source of confusion for both their troops and, later, historians. Meanwhile, Union reconnaissance had revealed that the crossings over Bull Run upstream from the Confederate left were unguarded, and General McDowell formulated an audacious plan to exploit this weakness.

At 2:30 AM on July 21st a column of 13,000 Union soldiers from the 2nd and 3rd Divisions began marching in a broad arc to the north and west that placed them beyond the Confederates' left flank. Turning southward again, they crossed Bull Run at Sudley Springs Ford and arrowed in behind the Confederate line. Meanwhile, the Union 1st Division moved forward to the Stone Bridge in order to mount a feint attack that was intended to pin the enemy's left flank units in place. At 5:00 AM the Union artillery near the bridge opened fire and the Battle of Bull Run began.

Discovering that Union troops on the Sudley Springs Road were bearing down on his unguarded northern flank, Confederate General Nathan "Shanks" Evans rushed his small brigade to meet the threat on a line running along a shallow ridgeline southwest of the Matthews House, and sent out a desperate call for reinforcements. However, the Confederate army was encamped around Manassas Junction, several miles to the south, and spread out all along Bull Run guarding its many fords. Therefore, the reinforcing units arrived on the battlefield piecemeal rather than in a mass, adding greatly to the disorganization on the Confederate side.

First to show up were Bee's and Bartow's Brigades, but even this force was too small to stem the Federal tide. As the Union pressed the attack with its superior numbers, the Confederates fell back across Young's Branch and up the slopes of Henry House Hill. If Henry House Hill was captured the Union forces on the other side of Bull Run would be able to cross the Stone Bridge, join in the attack, and roll up the remainder of the Confederate line from north to south. The battle had reached a crisis for the Confederates.

At this point the Confederate troops of Jackson's and Bonham's Brigades arrived and joined with the remnants of Evans' and Bee's units to make a stand along the crest of Henry House Hill. They soon found themselves hard-pressed as the Union troops launched attack after attack against the thin Confederate line. It was here that General Jackson won the nickname "Stonewall" because his troops steadfastly resisted the worst of the Union onslaught and formed the hard core of the Confederate defense. Over the next two hours the battle's tempo steadily increased as more and more troops from both sides joined in, and countless charges and countercharges surged up and down the hill.

All the while a steady stream of Confederate troops from the Army of the Shenandoah were detraining at Manassas Junction and marching straight into the battle. At around 4:00 PM the latest of these reinforcements, General Kirby Smith's Brigade, overlapped the right end of the Union line, attacking it in the flank and rear while the rest of the Confederates mounted a simultaneous frontal attack. The combined attack pushed the Union troops back and suddenly, with incredible speed, the Union line broke and began streaming off the field. The half-trained soldiers had seen enough of fighting and dying, and could not be stopped despite all of their officers' pleas, cajolery and threats. At first, the Union troops fell back in reasonably good order, but the retreat soon turned into an utter rout when a severe traffic jam developed on the road to Centreville. The thousands of civilians who had ridden out from Washington to watch the great battle joined in the rout, greatly intensifying the confusion and congestion on the roads.

Consequences

Although the Union army suffered a major defeat, a few "professional" regiments of the old Regular Army covered its retreat and the great majority of its men got away. The Confederates, although victorious, were disorganized almost as badly, and in no shape to effectively pursue their fleeing foe. Therefore, the Battle of Bull Run was an important victory for the Confederates, but was in no way decisive. The North was shocked by the Bull Run fiasco and responded by redoubling its war effort. General McDowell was removed from command, and replaced by General George B. McClellan, who began the inevitably long process of building a much larger and more proficient army. The people of the South were initially ecstatic at their victory and expected great things from it, but were soon disappointed as it became clear that the North was as determined as ever to continue the fight. Thus, the aftermath of the Battle of Bull Run revealed that the war would probably be much longer, and bloodier, than either side had expected.

Pea Ridge

Missouri was a strategic border state that was vital to both sides in the Civil War, and consequently witnessed more fighting than any other state except Virginia. The loyalties of its population were strongly divided, a fact demonstrated by the vicious treatment that Union and Confederate partisans in Missouri often meted out to one another. However, despite the deep divisions within Missouri's body politic, the Union swiftly gained the upper hand in the state, largely through the vigorous—and ruthless—efforts of General Nathaniel Lyon (who died at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in August of 1861).

By the end of 1861 the Confederates had been driven totally out of the state, and a Union army of 11,000 men under General Samuel R. Curtis had pressed on across its southern border into Arkansas. Facing Curtis was General Earl Van Dorn and his Confederate army of 17,000 men; and a strange army it was. It consisted of the exiled Missouri State Guard (which was more irregular militia than military), "civilized" Indians from the Indian Territory (later Oklahoma) who sided with the Confederacy, and Confederate troops from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and other western states. It was a hard-bitten, ragtag army led by a man who was nothing if not a bold, aggressive leader. Confronted by Curtis' invasion, Van Dorn decided to take the offensive.

In a situation rare during the Civil War, Van Dorn's advancing Confederate army outnumbered its opponent, and Curtis began to fall back towards the Missouri border. The Confederates force-marched for three days to catch up with the withdrawing Union forces, consuming all their rations as they went. However, when they finally caught up, they found the Union troops well-entrenched behind a stream called Sugar Creek, about a mile south of an Arkansas hamlet called Leetown that was just below the Missouri border. Curtis, a West Point trained engineer, had constructed an excellent defensive position behind the creek, and by all rights the story should have ended there. But Earl Van Dorn was determined to fight, both because of his characteristic aggressiveness and his desperate need to capture supplies.

On the night of March 6, 1862, Van Dorn divided his troops into two columns and marched them in a huge arc around Curtis' right flank and turned inward to attack the Union position from the rear. The left-hand column, under General Sterling Price (formerly the Governor of Missouri), marched around the eastern end of a rocky prominence named Pea Ridge and then southward along the Telegraph Road, the only decent thoroughfare in the entire area, and the main line of supply for Curtis' army. The right-hand column, under General Ben McCulloch of Texas, turned off at the western end of Pea Ridge and marched towards Leetown and the Union's right rear.

As dawn broke on March 7th, Curtis realized that the Confederates were no longer before him across Sugar Creek, and shortly scouts came in warning that Van Dorn's army was rapidly approaching from the north. The Union army was cut off and outnumbered, leaving Curtis with the options of either retreating southward into enemy territory without a supply line, or "retreating" northward to confront the Confederates. He chose the second option. With his enemy thus forewarned, Van Dorn had lost the element of surprise, but still enjoyed a considerable positional advantage, so he pressed on.

The battle opened at 10:30 AM with Price's Missourians falling on outposts of Colonel Eugene A. Carr's 4th Division around Elkhorn Tavern. Almost simultaneously, McCulloch's column assaulted troops of the Union 1st Division under Colonel Peter Osterhaus north of Leetown. The outnumbered Union troops were pushed back on both fronts. However, Union reinforcements were steadily marching up from the Sugar Creek line in the form of General Alexander Asboth's 2nd Division and the 3rd Division of the ironically-named Colonel Jefferson Davis, both of which were initially sent to the left flank.

However, the Union left continued to fall back before McCulloch's advance until they occupied the southern edge of a large field just to the north of Leetown. In the early afternoon, the Confederates charged across this open field in the face of Union fire coming from both their front and flank, and McCulloch and many of his men were cut down in the deadly crossfire. Colonel McIntosh, the next in command, was killed within the hour, and his successor was captured after accidentally riding into the Union lines. The survivors of McCulloch's command fell into confusion and many retreated from the field of battle. Those that remained fell back to the north and east to join up with Price at Elkhorn Tavern.

Van Dorn, over with the Missourians on the Telegraph Road, knew there was trouble when an ominous silence fell over the western side of the battlefield. On Price's front the Confederates had captured Elkhorn Tavern and steadily pushed the Union forces back, but neither side was able to force a decision before darkness came. After some deliberation Van Dorn decided to fight on, and spent the night shoring up Price's line with the remnants of McCulloch's command as they straggled in. Curtis also had to consider the advisability of continuing the battle. At around midnight, he called a council of war in which three of his four principal lieutenants advised him retreat, while the other remained silent. Curtis, however, was convinced that the Confederates had spent themselves, and decided that the Union army would stand its ground on the 8th, and even attack if a favorable opportunity came.

And come it did. The Confederates opened the second day of battle low on ammunition (they'd left their supply train back beyond Sugar Creek) and hungry, but they attacked anyway. The attack sputtered out almost immediately and Curtis had his opportunity. Starting on his left flank near Pea Ridge, Curtis' forces began advancing relentlessly. Van Dorn knew the battle was over and began retreating to the north and east. By early afternoon on the 8th the Battle of Pea Ridge was over and the triumphant Union army held the field.

Consequences

Pea Ridge was the largest Civil War battle fought west of the Mississippi River and was also one of the most decisive battles in the war. Its outcome ensured that the Confederates would never again seriously threaten the Union's dominant military and political position in Missouri. There would be countless smaller battles, bushwhacks, and guerrilla fights, but Missouri would remain irrevocably in the Union.

Van Dorn's disorganized army took a week to reassemble, and soon after received orders to cross the Mississippi and proceed on to Corinth. There Van Dorn was to join forces with General Albert Sidney Johnson, who was massing troops for an attack on General Ulysses S. Grant's Union army at Pittsburgh Landing (Shiloh) in Tennessee. Unfortunately for the Confederates, Van Dorn arrived one week after the Battle of Shiloh was fought.

Curtis' victory at Pea Ridge should have made him famous and advanced his career, but it did neither. He was awarded command of the Department of Missouri but quickly fell out of favor with the Governor of that state and was removed by President Lincoln. He was sent to fight Indians—the usual employment for unsuccessful Union generals. It was a poor reward for Curtis' victory, and a loss for the Union, since his conduct of the Battle of Pea Ridge demonstrated that he was a highly capable field commander.

Shiloh

In early 1862 the Confederates were reeling after the surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson (respectively on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers) forced them to abandon Nashville, the capitol of Tennessee, and fall back before the advance of General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee and General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Cumberland. Tennessee was all but lost to the Confederacy and the time had come to either write it off or attempt to retake it. The Confederate western theater commander, General Albert Sidney Johnston, chose to attack and used the railroads to assemble forces from all corners of his far-flung command at the junction town of Corinth in northeastern Mississippi.

For the moment, the armies of Generals Grant and Buell were widely separated. Buell was located near Nashville, while Grant was more than 50 miles away, encamped on the western bank of the Tennessee River at Pittsburgh Landing, and blissfully unaware of the forces massing against him only 20 miles away. The Confederates, hoping to defeat Grant before Buell could join with him, marched off to the attack on April 3rd, but things went badly from the start due to confusion, rain and mud. Instead of taking only one day to cover the distance to Pittsburgh Landing, it took the Confederates three. They were finally in position to attack on the morning of April 6th, and, amazingly, Grant was still unaware that 40,000 rebels were lurking in the woods nearby. But, for their part, the Confederates did not realize that Buell and one of his divisions were very close at hand and the others were a mere 20 miles away.

The battle of Shiloh began at about 5:00 AM on April 6th when the Confederates engaged an advance Union patrol, but their luck held and surprise was maintained. Pressing on, the Confederates hit the Federal troops in or just in front of their unfortified camps. Although the Union forces fought bravely, by 8:00 AM they were forced to retreat, abandoning their camps to the rebels, who gleefully looted them. Unfortunately for the Confederates, General P. T. Beauregard had devised a plan of attack in which all four Confederate Corps deployed behind one another, and had to advance in linear formation through the densely wooded terrain. Not surprisingly, formation cohesion was swiftly lost and reinforcing units arrived late or in the wrong places. The resulting delays gave the Union forces time to rush up reinforcements and establish a new line along a sunken road that ran between the Peach Orchard and the Duncan Field.

When the Confederates encountered the new Union line, they attacked frontally instead of outflanking it, and an intense, close-quarters fight commenced in which the Federals repulsed attack after Confederate attack, delaying the enemy's advance for several precious hours. In an angle of woods later called the Hornet's Nest, the remnants of General Prentiss' 6th Division resisted eleven Confederate assaults before being surrounded, attacked by over 60 massed artillery pieces, and forced to surrender. This success finally broke the Union line and the Confederates poured on toward Pittsburg Landing, but by that time their commander, General Johnston, was already dead, fatally wounded while leading a charge through the Peach Orchard.

Beauregard took command of the Confederate army, and as nightfall approached two Confederate brigades pressed onward to within several hundred yards of Pittsburgh Landing, but were stopped there by the massed fire of Grant's remaining artillery, the gunboats Lexington and Tyler, and the leading brigade of Buell's army. Thus, the Confederate plan of crushing Grant's army against the river failed by a hair's breadth, but close was not good enough, since, during the night, Grant received over 20,000 fresh troops as the full strength of Buell's army arrived.

At dawn on April 7th the Union army attacked, taking the Confederates, who had thought that the Yankees were too beaten-up to attack, rather by surprise. Through a series of unrelenting attacks, Grant's and Buell's troops pushed the enemy back all along the line, regaining the ground lost on the previous day. The Confederates fought tenaciously but were too tired, weak, and disorganized to halt the advance. Around noon Beauregard called for a retreat back to Corinth and the Confederates slipped away. The battle of Shiloh was over.

Consequences

The Battle of Shiloh was, at the time, the largest single battle ever fought on the North American continent. The intensity of the battle, and the huge casualty toll it produced, shocked the people of both the North and South, demolishing any remaining notions that the war would be short and relatively bloodless.

The Union had won the Battle of Shiloh, but, because he had been caught by surprise and his victory was in no way decisive, Grant came under severe attack in the North. Many people called for his immediate removal, but President Lincoln stood by Grant, saying "I can't spare this man—he fights." However, for the moment, command of Grant's army was taken over by General Henry W. Halleck, the Union's western theater commander. The North retained its hold on Tennessee.

The Confederates fell back to Corinth and held that important rail junction for seven weeks until the approach of Halleck's much-larger army (with Grant as second-in-command) forced them to retreat. Shiloh was a major setback and disappointment for the Confederates. They had missed an excellent opportunity to crush a major Union army, lost troops that they could not afford to lose, and had once again lost the initiative in the western theater. With the almost solitary exception of the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, the Confederate forces in the West would know nothing but defeat for the remainder of the war.

Gettysburg

In June of 1863 the Union armies in the west were pressing forward on several fronts as General Rosecrans pushed General Braxton Bragg's Confederates out of Chattanooga, and General Grant besieged Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. But, in the eastern theater, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had seized the initiative after its brilliant victory at Chancellorsville and was invading the North. Lee hoped to draw the Union Army of the Potomac away from Richmond, feed his army on the green and unravaged fields of Pennsylvania, and, most importantly, fight a victorious battle on Northern soil in the hopes that this might convince the Union to accept Southern independence and end the war.

Lee's army of 76,000 began crossing the Potomac into Maryland on June 15th, with General Joe Hooker's Union army following slowly to the southeast. Lincoln, unhappy with Hooker's slow pace, and inability or unwillingness to attack the Confederates, accepted Hooker's resignation on June 28th and replaced him with the capable, if not brilliant, General George Gordon Meade.

Lee's army fanned out across south-central Pennsylvania, threatening Harrisburg—the state capital—and spreading panic throughout the North, but causing no serious damage. J.E.B. Stuart was out of communication with Lee, off leading his three best cavalry brigades in yet another largely pointless ride around the Army of the Potomac. Thus deprived of his best means of reconnaissance, Lee only discovered Meade's approach rather belatedly, and rushed off orders for his scattered army to concentrate at Cashtown. On June 30th a Confederate infantry brigade that had been sent east from Cashtown to probe the small town of Gettysburg—and to steal shoes from a factory there—encountered a small force of Union cavalry. A spirited skirmish resulted, and from this unexpected encounter grew the greatest battle ever fought on American soil.

Day One of the Battle

On July 1st, the Battle of Gettysburg was a massive meeting engagement between two major armies, with the vital question being which army would concentrate fastest. The battle opened around 8:00 AM when Confederate troops of General Henry Heth's division stumbled upon the Federal cavalry division of General John Buford several miles west of the town. The battle steadily grew in intensity as more Confederates of General A.P. Hill's Corps came down the Chambersburg Pike and engaged the hard-pressed cavalrymen on McPherson's Ridge. At mid-morning infantry of the Federal I Corps came to Buford's relief and wrecked two Confederate brigades, but General John Reynolds, one of the North's finest corps commanders, was killed at the head of his troops.

In the early afternoon, the Union I Corps line to the west of Gettysburg was threatened in the flank as General Richard Ewell's Corps approached from the north. The Confederates were temporarily halted north of Gettysburg by the troops of General Oliver Howard's XI Corps which had just arrived on the battlefield, but, after a bloody fight, the unlucky "Dutchmen" fell back in confusion through Gettysburg. Since I Corps was almost encircled, it too retreated back through Gettysburg, rallying only when it reached Cemetery Ridge behind the town. Losses in killed and wounded had been heavier on the Confederate side, but, when taking prisoners into account, the Union had unquestionably gotten the worst of it. General Lee himself had arrived in time to watch the Union retreat and to plot how to take advantage of it.

The Union forces hastily formed a fishhook-shaped line drawn along Cemetery Ridge, anchored on the right by Culp's Hill and in the center by Cemetery Hill. Lee ordered the attack to continue "if practicable", but his subordinates did not attack, thus missing what many believe was their best chance for victory. Thus, at the end of the first day of the battle, the Confederates had won a sizable victory, but the Union army was still on the field and had reinforcements arriving hourly. His partial victory in the first day's fighting encouraged Lee to continue the battle in hopes of winning a major victory—a decision with disastrous consequences.

Day Two of the Battle

On the morning of July 2nd, the Union forces holding the "fishhook" faced-off against the Confederates holding Seminary Ridge to the west and Gettysburg itself to the north. Lee placed the main effort of his army to the south, ordering General James Longstreet's Corps to assail the Union left and take Little Round Top, a position from which the entire Union line would be outflanked. However, Longstreet was slow in getting his Corps in place and did not begin his attack until mid-afternoon. Before Longstreet was ready to attack, General Dan Sickles advanced his Union III Corps into the valley between the two armies—exceeding his orders—and took up position in a salient that ran through a peach orchard on the Emmitsburg Road and a rocky hillock called Devil's Den.

Longstreet's attack fell upon Sickles' Corps with full force, touching off several hours of incredibly vicious fighting. Eventually, Sickles' Corps, outflanked and overwhelmed, was forced to retreat back to Cemetery Ridge, but the Confederates failed to take Little Round Top. The hill had been left undefended until literally the last moment, when Colonel Strong Vincent's Brigade of the Union V Corps was rushed up to the crest. In some of the bravest fighting of the war, the Union troops—and in particular, the 20th Maine—fought off the Confederate assault and saved Meade's army from being outflanked.

To the north General Ewell was ordered to attack the Federal positions on Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill, but he also acted too late. Ewell's troops took the lower slopes of Cemetery Hill, but were committed to the fight piecemeal and were forced to fall back at nightfall. Over on Culp's Hill the Confederates captured and held a line of breastworks near the eastern base of the hill, but could not overrun the entire position. Thus, at the end of the second day, the battle seemed to hang in the balance. The poorly-coordinated Confederate attacks had failed to win the battle, but yet another Union corps had been taken apart. However, unknown to General Lee, by that afternoon the Union army outnumbered the Confederate army and Federal reinforcements were still arriving.

Day Three of the Battle

During the night Lee decided to attack the center of the Union line on July 3rd. By any standard this was an extremely risky decision. The Union Army of the Potomac had finished its concentration on the battlefield, outnumbered the Confederates by almost 20,000 men, and held a naturally strong defensive line bristling with artillery.

At 1:00 PM on the 3rd, Lee opened the assault with an artillery bombardment the likes of which had never before been seen in North America. The ground trembled under Lee's massive barrage, touching off a counter-bombardment by the Union artillery deployed along the crest of Cemetery Ridge. After over an hour of intensive shelling the Union artillery fire slackened and then stopped in order to save ammunition for use against the Confederate infantry attack that could plainly be seen massing on Seminary Ridge. Lee, thinking the Union artillery had been silenced, launched his last remaining fresh troops against Cemetery Ridge.

Three Confederate divisions under the overall command of General George Pickett, some 12,000 men in all, charged across the valley. The Union artillery and infantry opened fire on the advancing Confederates and huge gaps appeared in the Confederate lines as the Union fire found its mark. The closer the Confederates came, the higher their casualties mounted. Fewer than 6,000 Confederates reached the crest of Cemetery Ridge, there to be overwhelmed by superior numbers as Union reserves converged from all sides. Pickett's charge, the high tide of the Confederacy, was repulsed and thousands of Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, and captured. The shattered remnants of Pickett's command staggered back into the Confederate lines and Lee's army braced for the expected Union counterattack. It never came. Both armies stood their ground, glaring at one another across the blood-soaked valley—the battle of Gettysburg was over.

Consequences

July 4th 1863 was a decisive date in the history of the Civil War, since it was both the day on which Lee began his retreat from Gettysburg and the day on which the Confederate army besieged in Vicksburg surrendered. Lee's army had suffered crippling losses—over 28,000 casualties out of some 70,000 men engaged—that the South simply could not replace. When Lee's Army reached the Potomac River, it found itself with no way to cross, its bridge having been destroyed by Union cavalry. The Army of Northern Virginia entrenched and waited as another bridge was hastily constructed.

General Meade's Army had suffered over 23,000 casualties out of some 85,000 engaged. Meade followed Lee cautiously to the Potomac, but, to President Lincoln's great disgust, did not attack Lee when he was trapped with his back against the river. Eventually, Lee's army slipped across the river, denying the Union the full strategic benefit of its victory at Gettysburg. Ultimately the battle's most important strategic consequence was that Lincoln brought his most successful general—Grant, the hero of Vicksburg—east to take command of all the Union armies and to direct the Army of the Potomac personally.

The battle of Gettysburg is the most storied battle in American history. More books have been written about it than about all the other battles of the Civil War combined. Its fame derives from the fact that it represented the high-tide of the Confederacy, the last point at which the South could hope to win the war by a dramatic offensive victory. Gettysburg also marked the end of a two-year period of humiliating defeats for the Federal Army of the Potomac. After Gettysburg, the Union armies would do no more retreating, although their steady advance toward Richmond and final victory would be accomplished only at an immense cost in casualties.

Bentonville

The battle of Bentonville is one of the least known and least studied battles of the war. It was the last battle fought between rival "western" armies—although it was fought in North Carolina—and the second-to-last battle of consequence in the war (the last being the Battle of Five Forks between Lee and Grant). General William T. Sherman's army had taken Atlanta in late 1864 and then driven southeastward to the sea, leaving a broad swath of scorched earth across the heart of Georgia. Now, in the Spring of 1865, Sherman was pushing north through the Carolinas on his way to join Grant for the final attack against Lee in Virginia.

The Confederate Army of Tennessee had been more or less destroyed in the disastrous battles of Franklin and Nashville in 1864, and, by March 1865, only a pitiful remnant consisting of some 20,000 men (little more than two divisions in the old days) remained to confront Sherman's mighty army of almost 100,000 battle-hardened veterans. Sherman's army, however, was not concentrated; part of it was on the coast in Wilmington, while the main body of about 60,000 men was divided into two columns as they marched into North Carolina. The Confederate commander, General Joseph E. Johnston—he of First Bull Run fame—saw that his only option was to defeat one of the Union columns before the other came to its aid. With that strategy in mind he retreated steadily before Sherman's advance and waited for an opening.

On March 19th his opportunity came and one of the best-prepared—and worst-executed—battles of the Civil War began. Johnston planned a surprise attack against the Union XIV Corps of General Slocum's column as it marched toward the town of Bentonville, North Carolina. Johnston deployed his army along a ridge line, covered by woods, so that the advancing Union column would march into a trap and could be attacked from three sides at once. The plan almost worked, as the Union Corps advanced into the trap as planned. However, the Confederate forces, led astray by faulty maps and other troubles typical in the days before radio communications, were not all present for the attack. In mid-afternoon the attack fell on the advancing Union column, 15,000 Confederates versus 15,000 Federals, with surprise on the Confederate side and reinforcements on the way for both.

The Union forces were forced back, some units even broke ranks, but in fairly short order they reformed. Even though surrounded on three sides and trapped against a swamp, the Union veterans held off the uncoordinated Confederate attack. Once the situation stabilized somewhat, the Union left fell back to the stream running in front of the Morris Farm, where reinforcements from XX Corps had established a fall-back position.

The Confederates assaulted the Union position three times before the battle ended at nightfall. Already outnumbered and with tens of thousands of additional Union soldiers converging on the battlefield, General Johnston fell back to the ridgeline from which he had mounted his initial attack. On the 20th he faced a Union army of over 60,000 men. Rather than attack and lose men to no purpose, Sherman simply waited for the Confederates to retreat, which they did on the morning of the 21st. The Union juggernaut then resumed its relentless advance northward.

Consequences

The battle of Bentonville was a close-run affair for a few hours, but Lee's Army of Northern Virginia surrendered less than three weeks later, and Johnston's own army two weeks after that. Thus, even if Johnston had succeeded in smashing the XIV Corps, the "victory" would have been strategically pointless. The only thing the Battle of Bentonville accomplished, at the cost of some 1,400 casualties on the Union side, and probably twice that many for the Confederates, was to demonstrate that the southerners were willing to fight until the very end even though the hopelessness of their cause was clear to all.

Designer's Notes

Dedication

To my father, Samuel Lee Smith, and to my uncle, John Eugene Smith, who taught me to love American history.

The Origins of Across Five Aprils

This game system had its genesis way back in the early 1980's. At that time, I was a staff game designer for SPI (Simulations Publications, Inc.) in New York City and was developing A Gleam of Bayonets, Rich Berg's game on the Battle of Antietam. In order to test that game's command control system, I went back to the old SPI Blue and Gray quad-game, Antietam. Using the smaller game I was able to test the command system over and over again because it played so quickly. Out of this experience grew the idea of creating my own Civil War "quad" game.

I grew up on SPI quad games, especially Blue and Gray and the Napoleonic series. I and a group of friends played them consistently and enjoyed them a great deal. They played very quickly, were easy to learn, and allowed you to play a wide variety of battles without having to go through the hassle of learning a whole new set of rules. Across Five Aprils is a game in that spirit.

The Game System

Across Five Aprils is a simple game, but nonetheless has a number of novel features. The most important of these is the Phase Marker system, which portrays a fundamental truth about the nature of Civil War battles (and, indeed, about the battles of any era).

Battles are, by their very nature, highly confusing, chaotic affairs that make it difficult for even the most able of commanders to keep track of everything that's going on, and to maintain effective control of their troops. March delays, misunderstood orders, and lost or delayed messengers all conspire to ruin a commander's best-laid plans, making it particularly difficult to coordinate maneuvers and attacks involving multiple formations. Typically, the units engaged in a battle will spend most of their time out of combat, either marching from one place to another or just sitting around awaiting orders. Thus, most battles are characterized by periods of fierce combat interspersed with long lulls during which relatively little fighting takes place.

Traditionally, wargames have ignored these facts and given players a highly unrealistic degree of control over their units. Maneuvers involving multiple formations are coordinated perfectly 100% of the time, attacks can be planned down to the last combat factor, and, in general, the tempo of combat is simply much too fast. Across Five Aprils avoids this pitfall by means of its semi-random sequence of movement and combat, which better simulates the fundamentally chaotic nature of battle. A fortunate side-effect is that Across Five Aprils plays very well as a solitaire game.

The other rules systems are fairly traditional, but some have important twists. The combat resolution system, for example, uses traditional odds columns, but both players roll a die, which creates 36 possible combinations. Add in the morale modifications and you have a combat system that generates a broad range of outcomes. Note, however, that regardless of the dice combination, the result is usually a step loss or two and a retreat. The results are attritional, not decisive, which reflects the actual results of Civil War combat—lots of casualties, but few decisive engagements.

The Battles

In deciding which battles to include in Across Five Aprils, I looked for balanced situations that would make good, fun games without requiring lots of Exclusive Rules. For the sake of variety, I wanted to include both large and small battles, with the additional motive of offering players a broad range of playing times. Bull Run and Bentonville were chosen because they were—respectively—the Civil War's first and last "gameable" major battles (The Battle of Five Forks occurred after Bentonville, but the Confederates had little chance of winning). Gettysburg and Shiloh were natural choices because they are perhaps the two most famous battles of the entire war. Pea Ridge stands out as the most important battle fought west of the Mississippi River. Ironically, I had designed the Across Five Aprils system to simulate battles with communications and leadership breakdowns, such as occurred at Antietam and Chancellorsville, yet we only included battles that did not require such rules.

The Future

On the Bull Run map you may have noticed that there is a second Retreat Compass, and a number of Entry Hexes that are not used in this, the first battle of Bull Run. These have been included in anticipation of a future expansion of the Across Five Aprils system. Assuming that Across Five Aprils is successful, we will publish a second series of battle games that will include the Second Battle of Bull Run, which will be played on the same map.

At present, the only battles that we know for certain will be in the projected second installment of Across Five Aprils are 2nd Bull Run and Antietam, the other three have not yet been determined. However, we will include several battles (such as Antietam) that had communications and/or leadership failures in order to exploit fully the capabilities of the Phase Marker system. Once you've played Across Five Aprils, you can just imagine the possibilities; give Stonewall Jackson a separate combat phase marker to allow him to attack twice per turn, have certain movement phase markers "activate" only on a die roll, and so forth. The possibilities are many and they will be simple, realistic and fun. Of course we'll also include some battles which don't require such rules—as long as they make for a good game.

If you've enjoyed Across Five Aprils and would like to see a second series of games, drop us a letter and let us know. Feel free to comment on the five games in this series, and make suggestions as to those battles you would like to see in the next series. Send your replies to the same address given for rules questions on page #2 of the Basic Rules Booklet.

In Conclusion

We hope you enjoy Across Five Aprils. If you do, much of the credit goes to Kevin Boylan, the game's developer, and to the corps of playtesters who have spent so many hours tweaking each game.

Until next time,

Game Credits

• Game Design: Eric Lee Smith
• Game Development: Kevin Boylan
• Research Assistance: Tony Curtis
• Cover Painting: First Minnesota by Donald Troiani from the National Guard Heritage Painting Series. Courtesy of Lt. Colonel Leonid Kondratiuk of the National Guard Bureau
• Map Design: Eric Lee Smith, Kevin Boylan, Charles Kibler
• Graphics: Charles Kibler
• Camera Department: Lou Velenovsky
• Production Coordination: Phyllis Opolko
• Printing: Monarch Services, Inc.
• Playtesting: Clayton Smith, Tony Curtis, Chris Eckard, Mark Luccioni

Victory Games © 1992 Victory Games, Division of Monarch Avalon, Inc., 4517 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214.