The Art of Siege
The Art of Siege Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 1.0 Introduction
- 2.0 General Course of Play
- 3.0 Game Equipment
- 4.0 Sequence of Play
- 5.0 Movement of Combat Units and Leaders
- 6.0 Zones of Control
- 7.0 Intervention
- 8.0 Bombardment, Counter-Bombardment, and Repair
- 9.0 Fire Combat
- 10.0 Melee Combat and Ladder Assault
- 11.0 Regrouping of Combat Units
- 12.0 Siege Engines
- 13.0 Engineering
- 14.0 Leaders
- 15.0 Cavalry and the Naphtha Grenadiers
- 16.0 Conrad of Montferrat (Optional Rule)
- 17.0 Initial Set-Up
- 18.0 Victory
- Historical Notes
- Charts and Tables
- 5.27 Terrain Effects Chart
- 8.4 Bombardment Table (Crusader Giant Catapults)
- 8.5 Counter-Bombardment Table (Moslem Small Catapults)
- 8.6 Wall Repair Table
- 9.4 Fire Combat Range Attenuation Table
- 9.5 Fire Combat Results Table
- 10.8 Melee Combat Results Table
- 13.4 Subterranean Combat Results Table
- Abbreviated Sequence of Play (as printed on the mapsheet)
- Addenda: The Art of Siege Warfare (as of October 1979), Acre Section
1.0 Introduction
The Siege of Acre simulates a crucial battle in the centuries-long war called the Crusades. The Introduction text is printed in full in the Table of Contents block above.
2.0 General Course of Play
Acre is played in a series of Phases, not all of which are used in each Game-Turn. One Player controls the besieging Crusader Army, while the other directs the relieving Moslem Army and the besieged garrison of Acre.
Each Game-Turn begins with a Planning Phase. After completing that Phase, the Players decide whether they wish to bombard or assault during that Game-Turn. In the former case, the Crusader Player fires his catapults at the walls of Acre, after which the Moslem Player returns fire with his small catapults and undertakes repairs. In the latter case, both Players have ten separate impulses (turns within a turn) of movement, fire combat, and melee combat with the Crusader Player trying to capture the city, while the Moslem Player attacks to relieve the siege.
3.0 Game Equipment
3.1 The Game Map
The 22" x 35" mapsheet portrays the city of Acre and the surrounding areas as they were at the time of the siege, including all the terrain significant to the battle. Also printed on the mapsheet are various charts used in the play of Acre. These include the Terrain Effects Chart, Bombardment Table, Counter-Bombardment Table, Wall Repair Table, Fire Combat Range Attenuation Table, Fire Combat Results Table, Melee Combat Results Table, and Subterranean Combat Results Table. A numbered hexagonal grid is superimposed over the terrain features printed on the mapsheet in order to regulate movement and combat.
3.2 Game Charts and Tables
Various visual aids are provided for the Players in order to simplify and illustrate certain game functions. These are the Terrain Effects Chart, Melee Combat Table, Fire Combat Table, Range Attenuation Table, Bombardment Table, Counter-Bombardment Table, Wall Repair Table, Subterranean Combat Table, and Mine Planning Sheet.
3.3 The Playing Pieces
The playing pieces (or units) represent the contingents of fighting men, the siege artillery, and the historical leaders who took part in the actual siege. The numbers and symbols on the pieces represent the strength, movement capability and the type of unit represented by the piece. These playing pieces are referred to as units. There are also several markers used for informational purposes such as Breach Damage Level markers, etc.
3.31 How to Read the Units
- Leader (front): shows the leader's name, Morale Rating, Combat Bonus, Command Radius and Movement Allowance. Leader (back) is blank.
- Melee Unit (front): shows the unit type (Spearmen, Cavalry, Bowmen, and so on), the Melee Strength, and the Movement Allowance. Melee Unit (back): shows the Disrupted side (DSRPTD) and the Melee Strength used on the Defense only.
- Fire Unit (front): shows the unit type, Melee Strength in brackets, and the Movement Allowance. Fire Unit (back): shows the Disrupted side.
3.32 Summary of Counter Types
Moslem
- Spearmen (Faylag 1, 6-5); Siphasis Medium Cavalry (Faylag 3, 8-9); Bowmen (Faylag 1, (2)6); Horse Archers (Faylag 3, (1)9); Small Catapult
- Saladin's Guard: Elite Spearmen (16-4); Ulefisy Senior Guard (14-8); Chiarious Junior Guard (12-8); Naphtha Grenadiers (4-6); Archers of the Eyes ((2)6)
- Garrison: Garrison Spearmen (6-5, backprinted as the reduced-strength Garrison Spearmen 3-5); Garrison Bowmen ((6)6, backprinted (3)6)
Crusader
- Giant Catapult (Mangonel), Men-at-Arms (Anjou, 8-4), Knights (Hospitallers, 10-4), Javelin (Lancers) (Bretons, 8-6), Knight Cavalry (English, 6-7), Ballista, Crossbowmen (Norman, (2)5)
- Leaders: Saladin (Saladin Guards leader, 5-4-4-9 on the counter display); Guy (King Guy, 0-1-2-7); Conrad (Backprinted Leader, 3-3-3-7 on the Optional rule side)
The counter display on page 3 shows each counter's Front and Back.
3.4 Game Scale
Each hexagon on the map is the equivalent of approximately 50 meters, each Game-Turn equals two days, and each unit represents 600-800 men. Leaders and their personal contingents are represented by leader counters. Siege towers and giant catapults are represented individually, and each group of 20 small catapults or ballistae is represented by one counter.
3.5 Game Equipment Inventory
A complete game of Acre should contain:
- One game map (22" x 35")
- One sheet of 200 die-cut counters (backprinted)
- One rules folder
- One plastic die
- One game box assembly
If any of the above parts are damaged or missing, write Customer Service, Simulations Publications, Inc., 44 East 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10010.
3.6 Rules Questions
Questions concerning the rules for Acre will be answered if phrased in such a way that a simple yes or no reply will suffice, and if the questions are accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Mark the envelope "Rules Questions: Acre."
4.0 Sequence of Play
General Rule
The Sequence of Play in Acre consists of three Phases, only two of which are used in any given Game-Turn. They are the Planning Phase, Bombardment Phase, and Assault Phase. The Assault Phase consists of up to 10 Impulses, which may be considered "turns-within-a-turn."
All actions must be performed strictly in the Sequence as listed. Once an entire Game-Turn has been completed, the Players move the Game-Turn marker to the next Game-Turn on the Game-Turn Record Track and begin the Sequence of Play anew. There are 16 Game-Turns in the entire game, but the Players may, by fulfilling certain victory criteria, shorten the length of the game. If the Crusader Player has not achieved any of his victory conditions by the end of Game-Turn Sixteen, the Moslem Player automatically wins.
The Game-Turn
1. The Planning Phase
A. Allocation Segment. The Crusader Player secretly notes if he is going to bombard or assault during this Game-Turn. The Moslem Player then secretly notes the number of Engineer Points allocated to wall repair and tunnel discovery for this Game-turn. He secretly chooses an Intervention counter. Repaired siege engines and wounded leaders may be returned to play.
B. Strategic Movement Segment. First the Crusader Player may move any of his units up to double their Movement Allowance between the outer works and the Foss, but not within four hexes of a Foss hex. The Crusader Player may also relocate his siege units. The Moslem Player may then move his garrison units up to double their Movement Allowance on or within the walls of Acre. No Moslem unit may be moved into a Foss hex. Finally, the Moslem Player may relocate his small catapults.
C. Crusader Tunnel Segment. The Crusader secretly notes on his Mine Planning Sheet which hexes he is attempting to "tunnel." He rolls a die for each hex to see if the tunneling operations have succeeded.
D. Moslem Tunnel Discovery Segment. Using the Engineer Points allocated for tunnel discovery, the Moslem Player may attempt to discover Crusader tunnels. If he is successful, subterranean combat occurs. Undiscovered tunnels under walls and towers are then "caved in" creating permanent breaches.
2. Bombardment and Repair Phase
The Crusader Player may bombard only if he has not planned an assault for this Game-Turn; if he has, or if the Moslem Player has chosen the "Saladin Attacks" Intervention counter, the Players skip this phase and proceed immediately to the Assault Phase.
A. Crusader Bombardment Segment. The Crusader Player may attempt to breach the walls of Acre with any of his giant catapults using the Bombardment Table (8.4). Damage Level markers are placed to indicate damage to the walls.
B. Moslem Counter-Bombardment Segment. The Moslem Player may use his small catapults to counter-bombard any Crusader giant catapults using the Counter-Bombardment Table (8.5). All attacks are allocated before any are resolved.
C. Moslem Damage Repair Segment. Using the Engineer Points allocated for that Game-Turn to wall repair, the Moslem Player may attempt to repair damaged wall and tower hexes using the Wall Repair Table.
3. Assault, Repair, and Regrouping Phase
If the Crusader Player has chosen to bombard, and the Moslem Player has not chosen the "Saladin Attacks" Intervention counter, the Assault Phase is omitted in the current Game-Turn and play proceeds to a new Game-Turn.
Assault Impulse (Segments A through H)
A. Crusader Movement Segment. The Crusader Player may move his units.
B. Moslem Movement Segment. The Moslem Player may move his units.
C. Simultaneous Fire Combat Segment. The Crusader and Moslem Players may direct fire combat at each other's units. Note that though combat is resolved sequentially, all results are applied simultaneously.
D. Crusader Foss Filling Segment. The Crusader Player may fill the Foss by using his combat units as "engineers." Only units which have not been moved during this Impulse may be used to perform this task.
E. Moslem Garrison Melee Segment. The Moslem Player's garrison units may melee (attack) any Crusader unit adjacent to them. Individual melee results are applied immediately.
F. Crusader Melee Segment. The Crusader Player may melee (attack) any Moslem (garrison or army) unit adjacent to his own. Ladder assaults may occur. Individual melee results are applied immediately.
G. Moslem Army Melee Segment. The Moslem Player's army units may melee (attack) any Crusader units adjacent to them. Melee results are applied immediately.
H. Simultaneous Disruption Removal Segment. All disrupted combat units are un-disrupted (the counters are turned right-side up).
Note: The Players repeat the sequence of Segments A through H up to 10 times, each sequence constituting an Impulse. At the end of the last Impulse or after an earlier Impulse, if both Players agree, play proceeds to Segment I.
I. Regrouping Segment. First the Players determine which of their units are isolated, and those units are eliminated and placed in the Regrouping Box. All units on the map may then be redeployed within the restrictions of Case 11.2. Then each Player "pairs" all eligible units in the Regrouping Box (see Case 11.3, Regrouping). One unit of each "pair" is then destroyed (permanently removed from the game) and one unit redeployed on the map.
Game-Turn Indication. The Game-Turn marker is advanced one space on the Game-Turn Record Track to signal the passage of one Game-Turn, unless either Player has fulfilled his victory conditions, in which case the game is over.
5.0 Movement of Combat Units and Leaders
General Rule
During his Movement and Strategic Movement Segments, each Player may move as many or as few of his combat units and leaders as he wishes. These units may be moved in any direction or combination of directions, so long as their Movement Point Allowances are not exceeded. Note: Movement of siege units is covered in Section 12.0.
Procedure
Units are moved through the hexgrid one at a time along a path of contiguous hexes. When a unit is moved into a hex, a portion of its Movement Point Allowance is expended. Movement costs vary depending on the type of terrain in the hex. The cost for each type of terrain is listed on the Terrain Effects Chart (5.27). Note: In this Section (5.0) the term "unit" refers to both combat units and leaders.
Cases
5.1 How to Move Units
5.11 A Player may move his units only during his Movement Segment or the (mutual) Strategic Movement Segment. Note that advance after Melee combat (Case 10.7) is not considered movement for purposes of this Section.
5.12 Friendly units may never be moved into a hex containing Enemy combat units. Friendly combat units may be moved into a hex containing only an Enemy leader and/or siege units, in which case the Enemy leader or siege unit is eliminated. Friendly leader and/or units may not be moved into a hex containing Enemy leaders and/or siege units.
5.13 Friendly combat units may be moved through hexes containing other Friendly units, but at the end of a Movement Segment, no combat unit may ever occupy the same hex as another combat unit. There is no "stacking" of combat units in this game. One leader, however, may occupy the same hex as a Friendly combat unit (see Case 5.5, Stacking). There may be one siege unit in a hex in addition to any other units.
5.14 Once a Player moves a combat unit into an Enemy-controlled hex (see Section 6.0, Zones of Control), he must not move that unit any further during that Movement Segment (i.e., the unit must end the Movement Segment in that hex). The Player may move the unit again in his next Movement Segment, but only if it is moved immediately into a non-Enemy controlled hex.
5.15 The number of Movement Points expended by a unit during a single Movement Segment may never exceed its given Movement Point Allowance (Exception: Strategic Movement). Unused Movement Points may never be accumulated from one Segment to another or transferred between units.
5.16 During the Planning Phase, both Players have a Strategic Movement Segment. During this Segment (only) the Crusader Player may move his units up to double their Movement Point Allowance between the outer works and the Foss but not within four hexes of a Foss hex. Then the Moslem Player may move his garrison units up to double their Movement Point Allowance on or within the walls of Acre. A unit need not be within its Leader's Command Radius to move its full Strategic Movement allowance.
5.17 During the Strategic Movement Segment, Crusader siege units may be relocated anywhere between the Foss and the outerworks. Moslem small catapults may be relocated anywhere on or within the walls of Acre.
5.2 Effects of Terrain on Movement
Moving a unit into a hex costs a certain number of Movement Points, depending on the type of terrain in the hex.
5.21 The cost to move a unit into a Clear terrain hex is one Movement Point.
5.22 The cost to move a unit into a Breached Wall or Tower hex is two Movement Points.
5.23 The cost to move a unit from a Wall or Tower hex to an adjacent Unbreached Wall or Tower hex is 1/2 Movement Point. The cost to move a unit from a non-Wall/Tower hex into an Unbreached Wall or Tower hex is one Movement Point (however, see Case 5.24).
5.24 A unit may not be moved into an Enemy-controlled Unbreached Wall or Tower Hex unless it is moved into such a hex from an adjacent Wall or Tower hex.
5.25 A unit may never be moved into a hex if it does not have sufficient Movement Points remaining in its Movement Point Allowance to pay for the cost of the hex.
5.26 Other terrain types that affect Movement are the foss, outerworks, and the camps. The effects of these types of terrain are listed on the Terrain Effects Chart (5.27) and case 5.3.
5.27 Terrain Effects Chart (see map)
5.3 Special Terrain
5.31 The Foss. The foss was a wide ditch dug outside the walls of Acre. It was not designed to be flooded as some fosses were, but it was still a substantial obstacle, preventing siege engines from being rolled to the walls and impeding the advance of infantry. The foss could be filled by the Crusaders with rocks, debris, and bundled stacks of wood called "fascines" during his Movement Segment. The Terrain Effects Chart shows the effect of filled and unfilled Foss hexes.
5.32 The Outerworks. The army of Guy dug an even wider ditch and built a short parapet and cavalry traps to help defend against Saladin's army. It has the same effects as the foss, but cannot be filled.
5.33 Camps. The tent camps contained the Crusaders' wives and camp followers, as well as their gear and provisions. Their loss would have crippled Crusader morale and seriously delayed the Crusaders' drive.
5.34 The Towers. Each Tower represents a stretch of wall including a single tower taller than the wall. The Prison, the Accursed Tower (Maledictum), and the Castle are larger and stronger towers giving the defenders even more protection against fire attacks.
5.35 The Walls. The weakest sections of the wall, without towers, were still in excess of 10 meters high, with numerous firing embrasures and slits for bowmen. However, men atop the walls were more vulnerable to missile fire than men within the towers. Gates and sally ports were set in the walls at frequent intervals, but were built-up enough so as not to be considered weak points. The walls and towers can be breached by giant catapult fire and subterranean tunneling.
5.4 Effects of Leaders on Movement
At the beginning of each Movement Segment, any fire and/or melee units that are further than twice their leader's Command Radius (in hexes) from that leader may expend a maximum of only one-half their Movement Point Allowance in that Movement Segment (see Case 14.1, Command Radius).
5.5 Stacking
In Acre, units of the same type may not generally be "stacked" together in the same hex. Note that fire units and melee units are considered combat units while leaders and siege units are not. Stacking restrictions apply at the end of each Movement Segment and/or Phase. Except during retreats, Players may move Friendly units through other Friendly units (see Case 5.13, How to Move Units).
5.51 No more than one combat unit may occupy a particular hex at the end of any Movement Segment or Phase.
5.52 No more than one leader may occupy a particular hex at the end of any Movement Segment or Phase.
5.53 No more than one siege unit may occupy a particular hex at the end of any Movement Segment or Phase.
5.54 A Player may freely combine units of different types in the same hex, as long as no more than one of each unit type is present. The maximum number of units that could be combined in any one hex in this manner would be three: one leader, one combat unit, and one siege unit (Exception: see Case 15.14, Cavalry).
5.55 The Informational markers never count in any way for stacking purposes.
5.6 Terrain Effects Chart (see map)
6.0 Zones of Control
General Rule
Each combat unit in the game exerts a Zone of Control. The six hexagons immediately surrounding a hex occupied by a combat unit constitute the Zone of Control of that unit. Zones of Control affect movement, retreat, and the tracing of leaders' command radii. Hexes constituting a Zone of Control are referred to as "controlled" hexes.
Cases
6.1 How Zones of Control Operate
6.11 Each combat unit exerts a Zone of Control, except when it is stacked with a siege tower. Disrupted combat units do exert Zones of Control. Siege units, leaders and information counters do not exert Zones of Control.
6.12 A combat unit's Zone of Control does not extend through an All-Sea hexside.
6.13 A combat unit that is in an Unfilled Foss hex or Outerworks hex exerts a Zone of Control only into adjacent Foss or Outerworks hexes.
6.14 A combat unit that is not in an Unbreached Wall or Tower hex does not exert a Zone of Control into any Unbreached Wall or Tower hexes.
6.15 Friendly Zones of Control do not negate the effects of Enemy Zones of Control for any purpose. Friendly units do negate Zones of Control in the hex they occupy for the purpose of tracing Command Radius.
6.2 Effects of Zones of Control
6.21 A unit that is moved into an Enemy-controlled hex must cease movement in that hex. There is no additional cost in Movement Points to move a unit into an Enemy-controlled hex, but a unit so moved may be moved no further for the remainder of that Movement Segment.
6.22 A unit that is in an Enemy-controlled hex at the beginning of a Movement Segment may be moved during that segment if and only if the first hex it is moved to is not Enemy-controlled. Players should note that this rule prevents Crusader units from being moved across walls defended solely by Moslem Zones of Control.
6.23 A unit may not enter an Enemy-controlled Wall/Tower hex, except from an adjacent Wall/Tower hex, without conducting a ladder assault (Case 10.3).
6.24 A Player may not trace the Command Radius of a leader to a combat unit through an Enemy-controlled hex. Exception: Friendly units negate Enemy Zones of Control in the hex they occupy for the purposes of tracing Command Radius.
6.25 A unit forced to retreat as a result of combat may never be retreated into or through an Enemy-controlled hex.
6.26 Friendly Zones of Control never affect Friendly units. There is no additional effect when more than one unit exerts a Zone of Control into the same hex.
7.0 Intervention
Commentary
While the Crusader Army besieged Acre, Saladin's Moslem Army watched and waited for an opportunity to crush the Christians. Saladin could not send his entire army against the Crusaders each day; supplies would be exhausted and morale would suffer from the effects of the continual attrition. Instead, Saladin sent skirmishers to the outerworks each day and made an occasional spoiling attack, always in response to a Crusader assault on the walls. Thus the whole of the army was committed only rarely, but with potentially more decisive results.
General Rule
Each Game-Turn, the Moslem Player decides what portion of Saladin's army to utilize. By choosing one of three possible options, the Moslem Player may bring onto the map either the Army of Mosul, the Army of Egypt, or the entire off-map Moslem Army. He is limited in the number of times that he can choose any given option.
Procedure
During the Allocation Segment of the Planning Phase, after the Crusader Player has chosen whether he will bombard or assault, but before he has revealed his choice to the Moslem Player, the Moslem Player secretly selects one of the three Intervention counters. If the Crusader Player has chosen to bombard, the Moslem Player must reveal whether or not he has selected the "Saladin Attacks" Intervention counter. If he has, play automatically proceeds to the Assault Phase. If the Moslem Player has not selected the "Saladin Attacks" counter, play proceeds to the Bombardment Phase. If, on the other hand, the Crusader Player has chosen to assault, play proceeds directly to the Assault Phase (and there is no Bombardment Phase during that Game-Turn). In this case, the Moslem Player need not reveal his chosen Intervention counter until the end of the Game-Turn.
Cases
7.1 Intervention Counters
7.11 There are three different Intervention counters, each of which represents an option for the deployment of the Moslem off-map armies against the Crusader forces besieging Acre. The three Intervention counters are: "Saladin Attacks," "Army of Egypt," and "Army of Mosul."
Selection of the "Saladin Attacks" counter automatically assures that there will be an Assault Phase during that Game-Turn, regardless of whether or not the Crusader Player opts for one. During that Assault Phase, the Moslem Player is allowed to deploy on the map any and all units and leaders of the Army of Sinjan, the Army of Egypt, and the Army of Mosul. The "Saladin Attacks" Intervention counter may be selected a maximum of twice during the game.
7.12 Selection of the "Army of Egypt" Intervention counter allows the Moslem Player to deploy on the map any and all units and leaders of the Army of Egypt during the Assault Phase of the current Game-Turn, if the Crusader Player has opted for an Assault Phase. The "Army of Egypt" Intervention counter may be selected a maximum of six times during the game.
7.13 Selection of the "Army of Mosul" Intervention counter allows the Moslem Player to deploy on the map any and all of the units and leaders of the Army of Mosul during the current Game-Turn, if the Crusader Player has opted for an Assault Phase. The "Army of Mosul" counter may be selected a maximum of eight times in the game.
7.2 The Moslem Off-Map Armies
7.21 Army units that the Moslem Player is allowed to utilize during a given Assault Phase as determined by the Intervention counter he has selected may be deployed on the map at the beginning of any Movement Segment of the Assault Phase in any hex along the north or east map edges, or along the south map edge on hexes 0101 to 0701 inclusive. Deployment of a unit on the map in a Movement Segment expends one Movement Point.
7.22 The Moslem Player need not bring all the units he is allowed to deploy during the Assault Phase onto the map in any one Segment; he may bring some units on in one Segment and the rest in a subsequent Segment of the same Assault Phase — or, not at all. Note that regardless of whether or not the Moslem Player utilizes all of the units he is allowed to utilize by the chosen Intervention counter, the selection of that counter does count toward the limit on the number of times it may be selected. The Moslem Player must select one of three Intervention counters each Game-Turn.
7.23 If the Crusader Player moves one of his units into an Outerworks hex during an Assault Phase in which the Moslem Player has chosen the "Army of Egypt" or the "Army of Mosul" Intervention counter, the Moslem Player may freely move all of the additional off-map armies onto the map, regardless of which Intervention counter he has selected. This does not count against his two-time limit on the use of the "Saladin Attacks" counter.
8.0 Bombardment, Counter-Bombardment, and Repair
General Rule
Bombardment is the process by which the walls of Acre may be reduced and breached. During the Bombardment Segment of the Bombardment, Counter-Bombardment, and Repair Phase, the Crusader Player allocates each of his giant catapults in turn to fire at a particular Wall or Tower hex. For each bombardment, he rolls the die and consults the Bombardment Table (8.4) to determine the effect of the bombardment. During the Counter-Bombardment Segment, the Moslem Player may have his small catapults counter-bombard the Crusader giant catapults using the Counter-Bombardment Table (8.5). Finally, during the Wall Repair Segment, the Moslem Player may attempt to repair any wall/tower breaches using the Wall Repair Table (8.6).
Cases
8.1 Crusader Bombardment
This rule simulates the effects of a 48-hour-long bombardment by the Crusaders' giant catapults. To have effect, a siege engine had to concentrate its fire on one particular point of the wall.
8.11 At the beginning of the Bombardment Segment, the Crusader Player must allocate the fire of each giant catapult for that Game-Turn to a particular Wall or Tower hex. He cannot roll the die to resolve any bombardment until he has completed all allocations, and once the allocations have been completed, they may not be changed.
8.12 Each giant catapult may be fired at only one Wall/Tower hex per Game-Turn. Each giant catapult's fire is resolved individually; their fire may not be combined against the same hex. However, one hex may be fired upon by more than one giant catapult in the same Bombardment Segment (the fire of each being resolved individually).
8.13 A giant catapult can bombard at a range of up to six hexes. The Crusader Player need not trace a Line of Sight (see Case 9.1) between a giant catapult and its target hex.
8.14 Walls and towers are breached when they reach a Breach Damage Level of 6. The Breach Damage Level of a Wall hex may never exceed 6.
8.15 To indicate the present Breach Damage Level of a hex, the Moslem Player places a Breach Damage Level marker within Acre pointing at the hex.
8.16 A breached Wall or Tower hex may be moved into, and units occupying such a hex may be attacked normally, without ladder assault. The Terrain Effects Chart lists the characteristics of both Breached and Unbreached hexes.
8.17 Giant catapult fire affects only Wall/Tower hexes. Giant catapults never affect Friendly or Enemy units in any way.
8.2 Moslem Counter-Bombardment
8.21 At the beginning of the Counter-Bombardment Segment, the Moslem Player must allocate the fire of each of his small catapults to a particular Crusader giant catapult. He cannot roll the die to resolve any Counter-Bombardment until he has completed his allocations, and once completed, these allocations may not be changed.
8.22 Only small catapults which are on Wall/Tower hexes may fire at giant catapults. The range of small catapults is six hexes. The Moslem Player need not trace a Line of Sight between any small catapult occupying a Wall/Tower hex and its target.
8.23 Crusader giant catapults which are damaged by small catapult fire are automatically "repaired" and may be returned to play during the Crusader Strategic Movement Segment after two Game-Turns. Example: A giant catapult damaged in Game-Turn Three may return during the Strategic Movement Segment of Game-Turn Five.
8.24 Small catapult fire affects only Crusader giant catapults during the Counter-Bombardment Segment of the Game-Turn. Combat units are affected by small catapult fire only during the Assault Phase. Note: Small catapult fire has no effect on giant catapults during the Assault Phase.
8.3 Repairing Wall Breach Damage
During the Wall Repair Segment, the Moslem Player may utilize any Engineer Points which he allocated to wall repair during the Planning Phase to attempt to repair damaged Wall/Tower hexes.
8.31 The Moslem Player determines how many Engineer Points are allocated to wall repair. Prior to resolving any repair attempts, the Moslem Player must allocate each Engineer Point to a particular Wall/Tower hex. More than one Engineer Point may be allocated to a particular Wall hex. The Moslem Player cannot roll the die to resolve any repair attempts until all available Engineer Points have been allocated. Once completed, Engineer Point allocations may not be changed.
8.32 For each Engineer Point allocated to the repair of a particular Wall/Tower hex, the Moslem Player may roll the die once and consult the Wall Repair Table (8.6) to determine how much the Breach Damage Level is reduced. There is no limit on the number of times a particular hex may be repaired. Note, however, that a hex may never have a "negative" Breach Damage Level.
8.4 Bombardment Table (see map)
9.0 Fire Combat
General Rule
Fire combat takes place during the Simultaneous Fire Combat Segment of the Assault Phase. Only fire units (including small catapults and ballistae) have fire combat capability. Leaders, siege towers, giant catapults, and melee units may not engage in fire combat. In general, a fire unit may attack any hex within range to which an unblocked Line of Sight may be traced. Fire combat is always voluntary, and all results are applied simultaneously, after all fire combat has been resolved.
Procedure
To fire, the owning Player announces which hex a fire unit is firing at. The Range Attenuation Table is consulted to determine the units' Fire Strength. A die is rolled, and the result is cross-referenced with the Fire Strength column yielding the result. Any results are applied to defending combat units after all other fire combat attacks have been resolved, simultaneously with all other results. Note: As fire combat results are not applied until after all fire combats have been resolved, Players will have to "remember" all such results. In practice, it is useful to apply all Disrupted and Eliminated results as the attacks are resolved. But apply retreat results that affect each other in local areas (nearby attacks) together.
Cases
9.1 Line of Sight and Other Restrictions on Fire Combat
9.11 In order for a unit to be able to fire, the owning Player must trace a Line of Sight from the firing unit to the hex at which the fire is directed. A Line of Sight is defined as a straight line traced between the center of the hex occupied by the firing unit and the center of the hex being fired upon, which does not pass through any Camp hex, Wall hex, or Tower hex (breached or not). If the owning Player cannot trace a Line of Sight between a given unit and a potential target, that unit cannot fire at that target.
9.12 A Line of Sight cannot be traced along the border between two hexes, one of which is Blocking terrain. A Line of Sight may be traced through an otherwise eligible hex that is occupied by Friendly or Enemy units.
9.13 A fire unit can only fire at one hex per Segment. A hex may be attacked by more than one unit in a single Segment, in which case each attack is resolved separately.
9.2 Fire Combat Results
Fire combat results are all applied simultaneously, after all fire combat has been resolved. Hence, a fire unit eliminated by fire combat would still be able to fire during the Segment in which it is eliminated. Similarly, all Retreat results are applied simultaneously hex by hex, after all fire combat has been resolved.
9.21 Combat results apply to fire and melee units (combat units). Siege engines, catapults, and ballistae are never affected by fire combat results and remain in a hex regardless of whether or not a unit in the same hex is fired upon and is disrupted, eliminated, or retreats.
9.22 A leader in a hex with a unit that is retreated may be retreated along with the unit at the owning Player's option. A leader in a hex with a combat unit that is eliminated is subject to the Leader Loss Procedure (see Case 14.4, Loss of Leaders).
9.23 Disruptions. An affected combat unit is flipped over to indicate its disrupted status. Disrupted units cannot engage in fire combat or melee attack or be used to fill Foss hexes (see Case 13.1). A disrupted unit disrupted a second time must be retreated. A disrupted unit is automatically "undisrupted" — its counter is flipped back right-side up — during the Disruption Removal Segment of each Assault Impulse. Disruption affects only melee and fire units.
9.24 Retreat (see also Case 9.3). An affected unit must be retreated a number of hexes equal to its Movement Point Allowance plus three (Exception: Case 9.25) ignoring terrain movement costs. A Disrupted unit that suffers a retreat result is retreated. A unit cannot be retreated into a Prohibited terrain hex, into an Enemy-controlled hex, or a Friendly combat unit (exception: units may retreat through Friendly fire combat units); nor can it be retreated off the map (Exception: Case 9.26). A retreating unit must be retreated as far away (in hexes) as the combat results indicate from the hex which it occupied when the combat is resolved. Any unit that cannot be retreated within these guidelines is eliminated. A unit may be retreated into a hex containing only an Enemy leader and/or siege engine, thereby eliminating any such Enemy unit. A unit that has suffered a Retreat result may not use road movement rates during the next Game-Turn.
9.25 A unit in a Wall/Tower hex that must be retreated is retreated only two hexes. If the unit is Moslem, it is retreated off the wall and into Acre. If the unit is a Crusader unit, it must be retreated off the wall toward a Camp hex of that unit's nationality.
9.26 A Moslem Army unit which is retreated off the map is not eliminated but may not be brought back onto the map during the current Assault Phase. Exception: units of Saladin's Guard Faylag may be brought back onto the map if so retreated in the next Movement Phase.
9.27 Eliminated. The affected combat unit is placed in the Regrouping Units Box. Note: Moslem garrison units have two Steps (are backprinted with a reduced strength). If disrupted, place a "disrupted" counter on the unit. If eliminated, reduce the unit one step (by flipping the counter to the backprinted side if at full strength, or by removing it from play if it has already lost a step. If a full strength (not half strength) Moslem garrison unit is in a non-breached Wall/Tower hex, and it suffers a retreat result, the Moslem Player may elect to take a step loss and remain in place. If the Wall/Tower hex is breached, the unit suffering the retreat result must be retreated.
9.3 How to Resolve Simultaneous Fire Combat Retreats
Retreats required by the resolution of fire combat are accomplished simultaneously, hex-by-hex (i.e., all units that must be retreated are retreated one hex, and any units unable to do so within the restrictions listed in Case 9.24 are consequently eliminated). Then all surviving retreating units are retreated a second hex, and any that cannot do so are eliminated, and then all are retreated a third hex, and so forth.
9.31 A unit in the process of being retreated exerts a Zone of Control only into the hex from which it has just been moved. Example: A Friendly unit retreated from hex 1616 to hex 1617 would exert a Zone of Control only into hex 1616. Note that no Enemy unit could be retreated into hex 1616 because the Friendly unit was retreated from that hex and it would be exerting a Zone of Control into that hex.
[See examples 9.31A and 9.31B on page 8.]
9.32 If a Friendly unit could retreat into a hex which an Enemy unit could also retreat into, neither unit may retreat into that hex. If forced to do so, they are eliminated instead. A Player may not voluntarily retreat his unit into the same hex as his opponent is retreating a unit to if he has an alternative retreat.
9.4 Fire Combat Range Attenuation Table (see map)
9.5 Fire Combat Results Table (see map)
10.0 Melee Combat and Ladder Assault
General Rule
Melee combat takes place during the Melee Combat Segments of the Assault Phase. Only melee units may engage in attacks using melee combat. Some units have the option to retreat before melee combat. Ladder assault is a special form of melee combat wherein the defending unit is in an Unbreached Wall or Tower hex. Leaders and army morale may affect melee combat. Melee combat results are applied immediately, and attacking units may advance if the Enemy unit is eliminated or retreated.
Procedure
The attacking Player determines his Attack Strength by totaling the individual Melee Strengths of all units involved in the attack plus the Leader Bonus if any (see Case 10.4). The defending Player determines the Defense Strength by adding the defending unit's Melee Strength to the Leader Bonus (if any). The Attack Strength is compared to the Defense Strength. This comparison is stated as a ratio — Attack Strength to Defense Strength. This ratio is simplified to conform to one of the ratios listed on the Melee Combat Results Table (10.8), rounding the result "down" in favor of the Defender if necessary. The Attacker rolls the die. The Morale Rating of one Leader may be added to the die roll by the Attacker and subtracted from the die roll by the Defender. Army Morale Ratings are added and/or subtracted from the die roll as applicable (Case 10.5). The adjusted die roll is then cross-referenced with the odds ratio on the Melee Combat Results Table. Any results are applied immediately, prior to the resolution of any other melee attack.
Cases
10.1 Restrictions on Melee Combat
10.11 During the Moslem Garrison Melee Segment, only Moslem garrison units may attack using melee combat. During the Crusader Melee Segment, only Crusader units may engage in melee attacks. During the Moslem Army Melee Segment, only Moslem Army units may engage in melee attacks.
10.12 Melee attacks are voluntary. A Player is not compelled to have a unit engage in a melee attack.
10.13 A melee unit may attack any Enemy combat unit in a hex adjacent to the hex occupied by the attacking unit. A melee unit may attack a Leader or siege unit in any adjacent hex not also occupied by a combat unit. When the hex is occupied by both a combat unit and a Leader or siege unit, only the combat unit may be attacked. No unit may attack more than one Enemy unit in any single Melee Segment, and no unit may be attacked more than once per Melee Segment.
Examples of Retreat (Case 9.31):
Example A. The Moslem Bowman unit from Faylag 1 (which is surrounded by Enemy Zones of Control) fires upon the Crusader Breton Crossbow unit, inflicting a retreat result. In turn, the Crusader Breton Crossbow unit (which is also surrounded by Enemy Zones of Control) fires upon the Moslem Bowman unit from Faylag 1 and inflicts a retreat result. During the simultaneous retreat procedure, both units are forced by Enemy Zones of Control to enter the same hex as the first hex of their retreat paths. In this example, both units would be eliminated (Case 9.32).
Example B. The Moslem Bowman unit from Faylag 1 (which is surrounded by Enemy Zones of Control at the beginning of the Simultaneous Fire Phase) fires upon the Crusader Guienne Crossbow unit, inflicting a retreat result. In turn, the Crusader Guienne Crossbow unit fires upon the Moslem Bowman unit from Faylag 1 and inflicts a retreat result. During the simultaneous retreat procedure, both units may be retreated into the hexes indicated by arrows. In this example, both units which have been forced to retreat may retreat because their Zones of Control extend only into the hex from which they are retreating.
10.14 All Friendly melee units adjacent to an Enemy unit may combine to execute a single melee attack against that Enemy unit.
10.15 Disrupted melee units may not attack.
10.2 Retreat Before Melee Combat
All Moslem units with a Movement Point Allowance of nine, as well as the Moslem Naphtha Grenadiers unit and the Moslem Archers of the Eyes units, may retreat before combat if melee attacked. No other units have this option.
10.21 Whenever the Crusader Player announces a melee attack against one of the units listed above, the Moslem Player may elect to Retreat before Combat. He must announce the retreat before the die for the attack is rolled. The unit is retreated a minimum of three hexes and a maximum of the unit's full Movement Point Allowance at the option of the Moslem Player, and it is disrupted.
10.22 The Moslem Naphtha Grenadiers unit and the Moslem Archers of the Eyes unit cannot be retreated before combat if one or more of the attacking units is cavalry.
10.23 Moslem Horse archer units outside the command radius of their Leader must be retreated before combat if threatened with melee combat, even if such retreat would result in their elimination. Such units must be retreated their full Movement Point Allowance plus three hexes. (Historically these formations never engaged in melee combat; their purpose was to skirmish and harry opposing units with missile fire, and if threatened seriously, they would withdraw.)
10.24 Crusader units allocated to melee combat against units that Retreat before Combat may be advanced normally (see Case 10.7, Advance after Combat).
10.25 Units that undertake Retreat before Combat may not be attacked during the current Melee Segment.
10.3 Ladder Assault
Ladder Assault is a special procedure that is required as a prerequisite to melee attack against a unit in an Unbreached Wall or Tower hex. Any unit that is not in a Wall or Tower hex or not in a hex containing a Friendly siege tower must undergo the ladder assault procedure in order to be able to make a melee attack against a unit in a Wall or Tower hex.
10.31 For each separate melee unit making a ladder assault, the die is rolled by the owning Player. On a roll of 1 or 2, the unit fails to mount the walls and cannot participate in any melee attack against the defending unit (Exception: see Case 10.33). On a roll of 3 through 6, the attempt to mount the wall succeeds, and the unit must participate in a melee attack against the defending unit (Exception to Case 10.1, Restrictions on Melee Combat).
10.32 In order to contribute a Combat Bonus and/or a Morale Rating effect to a melee combat against a unit in a Wall or Tower hex, a leader must either be in a Wall hex or in a hex with a Friendly siege unit or undergo the ladder assault procedure successfully. If a leader undergoes the ladder assault procedure, the owning Player follows the same procedure as for his melee units (Exception: see Case 10.33).
10.33 German knights and leaders (due to the heavy armor they wore) fail to mount a wall on a die roll of 1 through 3.
10.34 Only units and/or leaders in Clear terrain or filled foss hexes may make ladder assaults.
10.35 A ladder assault must be made against a specific unit. A unit may not be moved from a non-Wall/Tower hex into an unoccupied Enemy-controlled Wall/Tower hex. If there is no Enemy unit in a particular Wall hex free from Enemy Zones of Control, then units may be moved freely into that hex.
10.36 Cavalry units may not conduct ladder assault.
10.4 Effects of Leaders on Melee Combat
10.41 A Player may add the Combat Bonus of any leader that is in the same hex as one of the combat units belonging to that leader's faylag or contingent (see Case 14.3, Leadership Combat Bonus Melee) to the Melee Strength of that unit in any melee combat (attack or defense) in which that unit is involved.
10.42 The Morale Rating of a leader may be added to the resolution die roll of any melee attack involving only units of that leader's contingent or faylag so long as at least one of the units involved in the attack is within the Command Radius (see Case 14.1) of that leader. The Morale Rating of a leader may be subtracted from the resolution die roll of any melee attack involving only units of that leader's contingent or faylag so long as the unit is within the Command Radius of the leader. When both Players utilize leaders' Morale Ratings in a given melee, the Defender's die roll modifier is subtracted from the Attacker's to yield the final effect on the die roll for that melee.
10.5 Effects of Army Morale Levels on Melee Combat
At the beginning of the game, the Morale Levels of both armies is zero (i.e., normal). Certain actions may affect the morale of either army positively or negatively. If one Player's Army Morale Level is less than or greater than zero, all melee die rolls are adjusted accordingly.
10.51 The first time the Moslem Player moves (or retreats) a Moslem off-map army unit into Acre, the Morale Level of the entire Moslem Army and garrison is increased by 1. Wall/Tower hexes count as part of Acre.
10.52 Should 30 Moslem Army units (not garrison units) be eliminated (placed in regrouping box since the beginning of the game), the Moslem Army Morale Level is decreased by 1.
10.53 If King Richard is killed, the Army Morale Level of the English Army (only) is decreased by 1.
10.54 If King Philippe is killed, the Army Morale Level of the French Army (only) is decreased by 1.
10.55 If the German Leader Leopold is killed, the Morale of the German Army (only) is decreased by 1.
10.56 Changes in the Moslem Army morale affect melee combat involving Moslem Army and/or Moslem garrison units equally. Increases or decreases in Crusader Army Morale affect only melee attacks involving units of the particular nationality. All such melee attacks are affected, even if they also involve units of another nationality.
10.57 Army Morale Level melee effects are cumulative. Thus if the Moslem Army Morale were +1 (for Case 10.51) and -1 (for Case 10.52) and the English and French Army Morale Levels were both -1, a die roll for an attack by a combination of English and French units on a Moslem unit would be reduced by one, not counting adjustments for leaders. However, the Army Morale Level of a particular force does not affect a particular die roll more than once, regardless of the number of affected units involved. That is, if the Moslem Army Morale Level were -1 and two Moslem units made a melee attack, the die roll would be adjusted by -1, not -2.
10.58 Army Morale Level effects are permanent, although they may be altered by additional Morale Level adjustments.
10.6 Melee Combat Results
The results of melee combat are applied immediately after the die is rolled, before another melee attack is resolved.
10.61 Melee combat results apply to fire and melee units (combat units). All other units (leaders and siege units) which are alone in a hex are automatically eliminated if melee attacked.
10.62 Disruption. See Case 9.23 for the effects of Disruption.
10.63 Retreat. See Cases 9.24, 9.25, and 9.26 for the effects of Retreats.
10.64 Elimination. See Case 9.27 for the effects of Elimination.
10.7 Advance After Melee Combat
10.71 Whenever a defending unit is eliminated as a result of a melee attack, one attacking unit plus one leader may be advanced into the vacated hex immediately, disregarding Zones of Control, by the attacking Player, at his option (Exception: see Case 10.74).
10.72 Whenever a defending unit is retreated as a result of melee combat, the hex it vacates and the hexes through which it is retreated constitute the Path of Retreat. At the owning Player's option, any of the attacking units, including leaders, may be advanced along the Path of Retreat disregarding Zones of Control (Exceptions: see Cases 10.73 and 10.74). Friendly advancing units may be moved only into hexes through which the Enemy unit retreated. Friendly advancing units may not enter hexes occupied by Enemy combat units or containing prohibited terrain. A unit may be advanced up to a maximum of its Movement Point Allowance.
10.73 A unit cannot be advanced into a Wall/Tower hex in an Enemy Zone of Control unless that unit participated in a melee attack against a unit in that hex during the current Melee Segment. In that case, it can be advanced normally.
10.74 Crusader knight (both cavalry and foot) units must be advanced after combat as far as possible along the Path of Retreat. Exception: The Crusader Player is not required to advance knight units into outerwork hexes. (Knights had a tendency to charge the Enemy in situations that a cooler observer would recognize as suicidal. A standard Moslem tactic was developed involving a feigned retreat in the face of a Crusader charge, followed by a counterattack against the overextended knights.)
10.8 Melee Combat Results Table (see map)
11.0 Regrouping of Combat Units
Commentary
Leadership in the course of a medieval battle was often a problematical affair, and command control in the best of circumstances was difficult. At Acre, each day's fighting produced many stragglers, resulting from a combination of men who just ran away before they could be rallied and those who simply "got lost." Hence, the Elimination result on the Combat Results Table represents the disorganization of units as much as the killing of personnel. Accordingly, it is possible to reconstitute many of the units Eliminated in Acre.
General Rule
Combat units that are eliminated during the Assault, Repair, and Regrouping Phase as a result of either combat or isolation are placed in the Regrouping Box. During the Regrouping Segment, approximately half of such units may be returned to play by the owning Player and re-deployed with the other units of its type. For each unit returned to play, one equivalent unit is removed from the Regrouping Box and considered permanently destroyed.
Procedure
At the beginning of the Regrouping Segment, each Player attempts to trace a Line of Communications from each of his units to a Friendly base (Exception: see Case 11.14, Isolation). Each unit for which such a Line of Communications cannot be traced is Isolated and is eliminated and placed in the Regrouping Box. After isolated units have been eliminated, each Player "pairs" those of his units that are in the Regrouping Box and removes half of each such pair from the game permanently. The other half of each pair is re-deployed, along with all other surviving units, on the map (or, in the case of the Moslem Army units, off the map).
Note that only combat units are placed in the Regrouping Box. However, all of a Player's units currently in the game are deployed on (or off) the map.
Cases
11.1 Isolation
11.11 A unit is isolated if a Line of Communications cannot be traced from the unit to a Friendly base.
11.12 A Line of Communications is a path of contiguous hexes, none of which contains impassable terrain and none of which is Enemy-occupied or Enemy-controlled. The Line may be as long and as circuitous as necessary, so long as each hex meets these listed criteria.
11.13 Any hex along either the north or east edge of the map may be considered a Friendly base for every Moslem Army unit. Any Crusader Camp hex is considered to constitute a Friendly base for a Crusader unit.
11.14 Moslem garrison units can never be isolated.
11.15 At the beginning of each Regrouping Segment, all units determined to be isolated are eliminated and placed in the Regrouping Box.
11.2 Regrouping
During the Regrouping Segment, after all redeployment has been completed, each Player matches up identical pairs of units from among those in the Regrouping Units Box. Each pair must be composed of two units identical in type, strength, and nationality (e.g., two German 12-4 knights units). All such pairs of units are removed from the Box, and one of each pair is returned to play and re-deployed as stipulated in Case 11.3. The remaining unit of each pair is permanently destroyed and removed from play. Note: There is no limit on the number of Game-Turns which a unit may remain in the Regrouping Box; if there is no possible "pair" present in the Box, then the unit remains there. Players may not, however, refuse to regroup units which can be paired. Note also that Moslem garrison units which have been regrouped are re-deployed at full strength.
11.3 Re-Deployment
After all isolated units have been placed in the Regrouping Box, the owning Player re-deploys all surviving units.
11.31 The Moslem Player places all Moslem garrison units anywhere within Acre (including in Wall/Tower hexes).
11.32 The Crusader Player places his units anywhere between the outerworks and the foss, but not within four hexes of a Wall/Tower hex.
11.33 The Moslem Player removes all Moslem army units from the map during the Re-deployment Segment.
12.0 Siege Engines
Commentary
The course of the siege of Acre was heavily influenced by the technology of the siege engines present. The giant catapults, small catapults, ballistae, and siege towers employed both offensively and defensively were technically complicated and limited in number. One of the siege towers used at Acre was the largest that had ever been constructed. These instruments of siege were powerful weapons — when used correctly. And as there was limited wood, leather, and machinery available to build and repair these siege engines, their proper utilization was crucial to the outcome of the siege.
General Rule
The Crusader Player can deploy siege towers, giant catapults, small catapults, and ballistae.
Both Players have small catapults. The siege towers may be utilized to nullify the defensive benefits of Wall hexes. Giant catapults may be used to increase the Breach Damage Level of particular Wall/Tower hexes. Small catapults and ballistae may be used against combat units or (by the Moslem Player only) to counter-bombard Crusader giant catapults (see Case 8.2).
Cases
12.1 Siege Towers
Siege towers were built of wood either at Acre or "pre-fabricated" in Europe and reassembled in the Holy Land. Armored with heavy plating and covered with animal skins (to protect against Greek fire), the siege towers were used to provide a protected firing platform and allow the attackers to reach the walls without clambering up ladders while under fire.
12.11 Each siege tower counter represents the tower itself and the men assigned to move it. Thus, siege towers may be moved by themselves; it is not necessary to have them pushed by other units.
12.12 Siege towers may not be moved into Unfilled Foss hexes.
12.13 Siege towers have no Melee Strength and are damaged if alone (or with only a leader) in a hex attacked by or moved through by an Enemy combat unit (see Case 12.17).
12.14 A Moslem unit in a Wall hex attacked by a fire unit in a hex with a siege tower gains no defensive benefit from the wall. However, a unit in a Tower hex does receive the appropriate defensive benefit even if fired upon by a unit in the same hex as a siege tower (see 5.27, Terrain Effects Chart).
12.15 A melee unit stacked with a siege tower may melee attack a Moslem unit in a Wall/Tower hex without the normal prerequisite of the ladder assault procedure (Exception to Case 10.3).
12.16 If a siege tower is in the same hex as a Crusader combat unit, both are immune to all Moslem fire except that of small catapults during the Assault Phase (only). Should a unit in a hex with a siege tower be forced to retreat, the unit retreats leaving the tower unoccupied.
12.17 When a siege tower is damaged, it is immediately removed from the map and is lost to the Crusader Player for three Game-turns. During the Allocation Segment of the third Game-Turn after the turn in which the siege engine was damaged, the Crusader Player may re-deploy it on the map.
12.2 Giant Catapults (Mangonels)
"The Victorious," "The Furious," "The Wrath of God," "The Evil Neighbor," and "God's Own Sling" were the names that the Crusaders attached to the giant catapults that they built to destroy the walls of Acre.
12.21 A giant catapult may be fired only during a Bombardment Phase (see Section 8.0, Bombardment).
12.22 Giant catapults may be used to attack (bombard) the walls of Acre only; they may not be used to attack Moslem units. Giant catapults have a range of six hexes, and the Crusader Player need not trace a Line of Sight between the catapult and the Wall or Tower hex that is the target.
12.23 Giant Catapults have no Melee Strength or Movement Allowance. A giant catapult in a hex without a Friendly combat unit that is moved through or attacked by a Moslem combat unit is damaged. Giant catapults cannot be moved except during the Strategic Movement Segment, when they can be deployed in any hex between the outerworks and the foss at the option of the Crusader Player. A giant catapult can be deployed in a Filled Foss hex, but not in an Unfilled Foss or Outerworks hex.
12.24 When a giant catapult is damaged, it is immediately removed from the map and is lost to the Crusader Player for two Game-Turns. During the Allocation Segment of the second Game-Turn after the turn in which the giant catapult was damaged, the Crusader Player may re-deploy it on the map.
12.3 Small Catapults and Ballistae
Both sides at Acre had small stone-throwing catapults, and the Crusaders possessed many javelin-throwing ballistae. The Crusader weapons were utilized primarily against Saladin's outside army, as they were not strong enough to affect the walls nor accurate enough to fire through the wall and tower embrasures to hit men deployed there.
12.31 All small catapults and ballistae may be fired during each simultaneous Fire Combat Segment of an Assault Phase at combat units (only). Small catapults that fire during the Assault Phase never affect leaders, siege engines, or other catapults. To fire at a combat unit, a Line of Sight must be traced between the firing catapult and target unit (see Case 9.11). A small catapult firing at a combat unit in a siege tower uses the Fire Combat Results Table. A small catapult firing at a siege tower uses the Counter-Bombardment Table.
12.32 Crusader small catapults and ballistae may not be fired at units in Wall/Tower hexes.
12.33 During the Counter-Bombardment Segment (only), Moslem small catapults that are in Wall/Tower hexes may fire at Crusader giant catapults. The Moslem Player need not trace a Line of Sight to direct such fire. Only Moslem small catapults may fire during the Counter-Bombardment Segment, and such fire affects only Crusader giant catapults (see Case 8.2, Counter-Bombardment).
12.34 Small catapults and ballistae have no Melee Strength or Movement Allowance. Catapults alone in a hex (or with a leader) that are melee attacked or moved through by an Enemy combat unit are destroyed (removed permanently from the game). Small catapults and ballistae may not be moved, except during the Strategic Movement Segment, when the Crusader Player may deploy his small catapults and ballistae anywhere between the foss and the outerworks exclusively, and the Moslem Player may deploy his small catapults anywhere in Acre, including in any Wall/Tower hex.
13.0 Engineering
Commentary
The conduct of the siege of Acre necessitated engineering efforts critical to the taking and the defense of the city. The attacker attempted to dig tunnels to collapse walls while the defender counter-tunneled to disrupt the attacker's activity. Ditches dug as obstacles were systematically filled in by the attacker and just as systematically emptied by the defender. At the time of the siege of Acre, trained engineers were rare, and their loss in combat could cripple a siege or defensive effort.
General Rule
The Crusader Player can utilize combat units to fill the foss. He may also expend tunnel points to tunnel under the walls of Acre and collapse them, causing permanent breaches. Each Game-Turn, the Moslem Player receives a certain number of Engineer Points. These may be applied either to wall repair or counter-tunneling, which if successful, destroys Crusader tunnels and precipitates subterranean combat.
Cases
13.1 Filling the Foss
The foss, a large ditch running along the outside of the walls of Acre, was a serious defensive barrier. Among other things, its presence prevented the close approach of Crusader units and ladder assaults. During his Movement Segments of the Assault Phase, the Crusader Player may use his combat units to fill in sections of the foss with debris, stones, and fascines. Historically, the Moslem garrison disrupted the Crusader attempts to fill the foss.
13.11 Any Crusader non-cavalry combat unit that is not moved during a Crusader Assault Phase Movement Segment may be used to "fill" any one adjacent vacant Foss hex. Designate a Filled Foss hex by placing a spare blank counter in the hex, or noting it on a copy of the Mine Planning Sheet.
13.12 During the Regrouping Segment of each Game-Turn, the Moslem Player rolls the die once for each filled Foss hex. On a roll of 1 through 4 inclusively, the Foss has been cleared (Moslem units from within Acre have removed the debris during the night), and the "filled" counter is removed, or the Mine Planning Sheet is erased. A die roll of 5 or 6 results in the hex remaining filled. There is no limit to the number of times any hex may be filled and then cleared.
13.2 Crusader Tunneling
During the Crusader Tunnel Segment, the Crusader Player expends his Tunnel Points as desired, rolling the die to determine the status of each new Tunnel hex and recording it secretly on his Mine Planning Sheet. It is possible that the construction of a new Tunnel hex may be blocked by rock or suffer a collapse (this is determined by the die roll). Furthermore, the Moslem Player may attempt to locate the tunnels and destroy them (see Case 13.3, Moslem Engineer Points). A tunnel that has been extended into a Wall/Tower hex that is not discovered by the Moslem Player may be caved in at the end of the Moslem Tunnel Discovery Segment, causing a permanent breach in that Wall hex.
13.21 From the beginning of the game, the Crusader Player may expend four Tunnel Points each Game-Turn. This rate may never be increased, although it may be decreased due to subterranean combat (see Case 13.3). Construction of each new Tunnel hex requires the expenditure of one Tunnel Point. Construction of each Tunnel Base requires the expenditure of two Tunnel Points.
13.22 Before the Crusader Player may construct any Tunnel hexes, he must construct four Tunnel Bases. A Tunnel Base is a hex which serves as the starting point for a tunnel. Each Tunnel Base must be built in a Clear terrain hex at least eight hexes from the nearest Wall or Tower hex (well out of small catapult range). The Crusader notes the location of the Tunnel Base counter on the Mine Planning Sheet and places a Tunnel Base in the hex to indicate the construction of a Tunnel Base. After the initial four Tunnel Bases are constructed, the Crusader Player may never construct any more Tunnel Bases. (The Crusaders built additional Tunnel bases during the siege; however, the Moslems knew through their spies exactly which Bases were active due to the acute shortage of timber.) Should any Moslem combat unit remain in a Tunnel Base hex for an entire Movement Segment during an Assault Phase. Then that Tunnel Base, along with all Tunnel hexes connected to it (see Case 13.26), are permanently destroyed. The
Tunnel hexes so destroyed are revealed to the Moslem Player.
13.23 The location of Tunnel hexes (not Bases) is kept secret from the Moslem Player. During the Crusader Tunnel Segment, the Crusader Player notes the location of his tunnel construction on his Mine Tunnel Planning Sheet (extra copies should be made of this before the game). The locations of Tunnel hexes are revealed only when they are discovered or purposely caved-in.
13.24 Each time he expends a Tunnel Point, the Crusader Player rolls the die to determine if an "operative" Tunnel hex has been successfully constructed. On a roll of 6, the tunnel is considered to have struck rock or suffered a collapse in that particular hex. The Crusader Player places an "X" in the corresponding hex on his Mine Planning Sheet; that hex is thereafter "inoperative," and no tunnel may ever proceed into, through, or out of that hex. On any roll other than 6, the hex is an "operative" Tunnel hex, and the tunnel has been extended successfully into that hex. The Moslem Player may see the die rolls, but of course, he would not know the locations of any non-operative Tunnel hexes. Tunnels may be continued around "inoperative" Tunnel hexes.
13.25 The Crusader Player may allocate his Tunnel Points to the construction of any tunnel (or tunnels) connected to any Tunnel Base (or combination of Tunnel Bases) at his option, assuming he has completed the construction of all Tunnel Bases. Note that the Crusader Player must allocate all Tunnel Points before rolling to determine the success of each Point expenditure. If a Tunnel hex is determined "inoperative," all other Tunnel Points allocated to that Tunnel (beyond the inoperative hex) during that Game-Turn are lost as if no tunneling had taken place.
13.26 In any tunnel, each tunnel hex must be connected either directly or by a path of contiguous tunnel hexes to a Tunnel Base. A tunnel may extend to any length the Crusader Player desires. If, as a result of subterranean combat, any Tunnel hex is no longer connected to a Tunnel Base, that Tunnel hex immediately ceases to exist. Any new construction in that hex must be rolled for to determine success.
13.27 No single Tunnel hex may be adjacent to more than two other operative Tunnel hexes. This includes operative Tunnel hexes from two tunnels extending from separate Tunnel Bases. That is, a tunnel must consist of one single mineshaft only and may not branch out. And two tunnels from two different Tunnel Bases may not cross through each other.
13.28 If the Crusader Player extends a tunnel into a Wall or Tower hex during the Crusader Tunnel Segment, and if during the immediately subsequent Moslem Tunnel Discovery Segment the Moslem Player fails to discover the Tunnel, the Crusader Player may announce the location of that Tunnel hex and collapse it. (This was accomplished by burning the wooden supports). The Wall or Tower hex is considered to have a Breach Damage Level of six for the remainder of the game (it cannot be repaired), and all Tunnel hexes of the collapsed tunnel back and including the Tunnel Base, become inoperative.
13.29 The Crusader Player may never collapse more than one Tunnel from each Tunnel Base. Only one tunnel may be started from each Tunnel Base.
13.3 Moslem Engineering Points: Counter-Tunneling, Subterranean Combat, and Wall Repair
From the beginning of the Game, the Moslem Player may expend six Engineer Points per Game-Turn. This capacity can be reduced by losses incurred in subterranean combat; it can never be increased. During the Allocation Segment of each Planning Phase. The Moslem Player decides and records on paper how many Engineer Points will be allocated to counter-tunneling and how many will be applied to wall repair during the current Game-Turn. This allocation cannot be changed until the next Game-Turn.
13.31 During the Moslem Tunnel Discovery Segment. The Moslem Player can search one hex for each Engineer Point allocated to counter-tunneling. The Moslem Player calls out the number of any hex within three hexes of a Moslem-controlled Wall or Tower hex and the Crusader Player must inform him if that hex is an operative Tunnel hex. If it is, then the Players immediately consult the Subterranean Combat Table (13.4), a die is rolled, and the result is applied.
13.32 A loss for the Moslem Player on the Subterranean Combat Table results in the permanent loss of one Engineer Point. A loss on the Subterranean Combat Table for the Crusader Player results in the permanent loss of one of his four Tunnel Points. However, the Crusader Player may never be reduced to fewer than one Tunnel Point. If tunnel hexes are "closed" by a result on the Subterranean Combat Table, all such hexes become inoperative Tunnel hexes (see Case 13.24).
13.33 Engineer Points allocated for wall repair are utilized during the Moslem Damage Repair Segment of the Bombardment Phase—if there is a Bombardment Phase. (If there is no Bombardment Phase, Engineer Points allocated to wall repair are lost.)
13.4 Subterranean Combat Table (see map)
14.0 Leaders
Commentary
The leader counters represent the most charismatic of the highly ranked officers at the siege. The effects of leaders on the morale of their men cannot be over-emphasized; medieval kings and generals routinely led their men into battle, and frequently the battle was decided by the presence of an inspiring leader and his standard at a critical moment. By the same token, the death of a beloved leader could cause an entire army to lose heart.
General Rule
Counters representing individual historical leaders of the Crusader and Moslem armies have been provided with the game. These individuals are the historical leaders of the various contingents within the Crusader army and of individual faylags within the separate Moslem armies. Leaders influence both melee combat and movement. Leaders have three characteristics: A Leadership Morale Rating which can affect the die roll of a melee combat; a Command Radius which is the effective "range" of both the Morale Rating and the ability of the leader to affect movement; and a Leadership Combat Bonus which can be used to augment the Melee Strength of a particular unit.
Each combat unit in the game also belongs to a particular contingent or faylag. In order for a leader to influence the movement or affect the combat ability of any unit or units, leader and units must belong to the same contingent or faylag.
Cases
14.1 Command Radius of a Leader
A leader's Command Radius is the maximum distance in hexes between that leader and a unit of that leader's contingent or faylag for the unit to benefit in movement or combat from the leader's presence. When calculating a Command radius, the hex containing the unit to which the radius is traced is counted, but the hex containing the leader is not counted.
14.11 A Command Radius must be traced through a path of contiguous hexes between the leader and the particular unit. This path of hexes must be free of Enemy combat units and their Zones of Control. Exception: For the purpose of tracing Command Radii, Friendly combat units negate Enemy Zones of Control.
14.12 To be moved at its full Movement Point Allowance, a combat unit must be within a number of hexes of its leader equal to twice the leader's Command Radius. If this condition is not met, the unit may be moved a maximum of half of its Movement Point Allowance, with any fractions dropped. Exception: Cavalry units are never subject to this restriction and may always be moved up to their full Movement Point Allowance, unless their leader has been killed (see Case 15.15, Restrictions on Cavalry).
14.13 For a leader's Morale Rating to affect a particular combat, at least one of the Friendly combat units involved must be within the Command Radius of the leader. See Case 14.2 for other restrictions on the application of leadership Morale Ratings to melee combat.
14.2 Leadership Morale Ratings
The Morale Rating of a leader may affect the outcome of a melee combat both for the offense and the defense.
14.21 If and only if all the units involved in a melee attack belong to the same contingent or faylag, the attacking Player may apply that unit's leader's Morale Rating to the attack, if the condition of Case 14.1 is observed.
14.22 If the unit which is the object of a melee attack is within the Command Radius of its leader in accordance with Case 14.1, then the Morale Rating of that leader may be used to affect that melee attack in the favor of the defending unit.
14.23 If a Player applies the Morale Rating of a leader to an attack, he may add the leader's Morale Rating to the die roll. If a Player applies the Morale Rating of one of his leaders to a combat in which one of his units is defending, he may subtract that Morale Rating from the die roll. It is possible for both Players to apply Morale Ratings to the same combat, and thus for an addition and a subtraction to be made to and from the die roll (possibly even canceling out). Example: If the Crusader Player applied the Morale Rating of a leader whose Morale Rating is 3 to an attack against a Moslem army unit, and the Moslem Player applied a leader Morale Rating of 2 to the same combat defensively, and the die roll for that combat were 4, then the adjusted die roll would be 5 (4 plus 3 for the Crusader leader and minus 2 for the Moslem leader).
14.24 There is no limit to the number of times a particular leader's Morale Rating can be applied to different melee combats in the same Game-Turn. However, a Player may not apply more than one leader's Morale Rating to any one melee combat.
14.3 Leadership Combat Bonus
If a unit is in the same hex as the leader of its contingent or faylag, it may benefit from the leader Combat Bonus.
14.31 A unit may benefit from a leader Combat Bonus whenever involved in a melee combat, either on attack or defense.
14.32 The effect of the Combat Bonus is to increase the Melee Strength of the unit by an amount equal to the leader Combat Bonus. However, the Melee Strength of a unit may never be more than doubled as a result of a leader Combat Bonus.
14.33 A Player may never apply a leader's Combat Bonus for a leader's own defense. A leader alone in a hex that is the subject of a melee attack is automatically eliminated.
14.34 A Player may apply the leader Morale Rating and the leader Combat Bonus of the same leader to the same (or different) combats at the same time. A Player may also apply any number of leader Combat Bonuses to the same attack. Note that any attack to which more than one leader Combat Bonus is applied is ineligible for any leader Morale Rating bonus, as units from more than one contingent or faylag would be involved in the attack.
14.4 Loss of Leaders
A leader unit in the same hex as a combat unit is not affected per se by any combat results affecting the combat unit. If the unit is retreated, the leader may be retreated along with the unit; if the unit is eliminated, however, the Player must perform the leader loss procedure to determine the fate of the leader.
14.41 To perform the leader loss procedure, the Player rolls the die for each affected leader. A roll of 1 through 5 allows the Player to place the leader in any hex containing a Friendly combat unit. A roll of 6 results in the leader being wounded. In this case, the Player must roll the die a second time. A roll of 5 or 6 (on a second die roll) results in the death of the leader (elimination). A roll of 1 through 4 means that the leader is wounded and temporarily removed from the game. A wounded Moslem leader would be out of play for a number of Game-Turns equal to the second die roll (i.e., one to four Game-Turns); a wounded Crusader leader is out of play for a number of Game-Turns equal to twice the die roll (i.e., two to eight Game-Turns). Example: If on Game-Turn Two the Moslem Player had to roll for a leader and obtained rolls of 6/2 (the second roll being necessitated by the 6 rolled on the first roll), then the Moslem leader would be removed from the game until the end of Game-Turn Four.
14.42 Wounded leaders are returned to play in the Allocation Segment of the appropriate Game-Turn. Returned Crusader leaders may be placed in Camp hexes; Moslem garrison leaders may be placed anywhere in Acre; Moslem Army leaders are placed off-map along with other Moslem Army units.
15.0 Cavalry and the Naphtha Grenadiers
Cases
15.1 Restrictions on Cavalry
15.11 Cavalry units may not occupy Wall or Tower hexes at the end of a Friendly Movement Segment, although they may be moved through such hexes if they are Friendly-controlled. (There were frequent sally ports and gates in the walls.)
15.12 Cavalry units may not be used to fill Foss hexes.
15.13 Cavalry units may not perform ladder assaults.
15.14 Cavalry units may not be moved into Marsh hexes. Cavalry units may also not be placed in the same hex as Friendly siege units, although they may be moved through such hexes.
15.15 Cavalry units need not trace a leader Command Radius for movement purposes (see Case 14.12). However, if their leader is killed, they may move at a maximum of only one half their Movement Point Allowance for the remainder of the game.
15.2 Crusader Cavalry Charge
Because the Crusader knights used couched lances (lances which were cradled against their shoulders for added impact), each Crusader cavalry unit may charge once per Assault Phase (in any Assault Impulse).
15.21 To have one of his cavalry knight units perform a charge, the Crusader Player must move the unit through at least four Clear terrain hexes "in a straight line" and end its movement adjacent to the Moslem unit that is the object of the charge during a Crusader Movement Segment of the Assault Phase (see diagram). In the Crusader Melee Segment of that Assault Impulse, the Crusader unit performs a melee attack against the Moslem unit with a Melee Attack Strength double its normal strength. After the melee attack has been resolved, the Crusader unit is automatically disrupted.
15.22 The Crusader Player must verbally announce during his Movement Segment that a particular unit is charging. Merely moving a unit in accordance with Case 15.21 without making such an announcement does not constitute a charge.
15.23 A charging cavalry unit may not be the object of a fire attack in the Assault Impulse in which it is charging.
15.24 Moslem cavalry units may never charge.
15.3 The Naphtha Grenadiers
The Moslem Naphtha Grenadiers may melee-attack with incendiary naphtha grenades up to four times per game. The effect is to automatically make the defending unit retreat. No other unit may make grenade attacks.
[Printed diagrams for the cavalry charge and the Naphtha grenade attack are not reproduced in text.]
16.0 Conrad of Montferrat (Optional Rule)
Commentary
Conrad was one of the finest leaders of the war. When Guy led the Eastern Knights to disaster at Hattin in 1187, allowing Saladin to reconquer much of the Holy Land, only Conrad's brilliance kept the great port of Tyre from falling. Conrad bid for the crown, marrying princess Isabel of Jerusalem. But Guy had been ransomed and, despite Philippe's support, Conrad did not become King until after the siege. This was unfortunate, since Guy's men remembered how another army had been wiped out at Hattin and were not encouraged. This rule shows the possible effect if Conrad had led at Acre.
General Rule
The French leader Conrad is considered king of Jerusalem for all purposes. Guy is removed from the game. Jacques takes direct command of Conrad's Breton units. Note that the counter representing Guy is backprinted with Conrad and the counter representing Conrad is backprinted with Jacques.
17.0 Initial Set-Up
The Crusader Player places all of his units anywhere between the outerworks and the foss but not within four hexes of a foss hex. The Moslem Player then places the units of the Acre garrison in any of the Wall or Tower hexes (including the harbor tower in hex 1951 [printed; corrected to hex 2104 by the Addenda, see the Addenda section]) or within the city. All units must begin the game within double the Command Radius of their leader; a unit in 1951 is exempted.
Crusaders:
French
-
Bretons under Conrad
-
Anjou under King Philippe
-
Guienne under Henri
-
Templars under Robert
English
- English under King Richard
- Normans under Walter, Bishop of Salisbury
- Hospitallers under Garnier
Kingdom of Jerusalem
- Division I under King Guy
- Division II under Geoffrey
German
- Swabians under Leopold
Crusaders have two small catapults and two ballistae and a tunneling capability of four hexes per Game-Turn.
Moslems
- Moslem garrison under Mashtub and Qaraqush. Plus six Engineer Points and two small catapults.
The following units are available off-map for intervention.
Army of Sinjan
- Faylag #1 under Taqi
- Faylag #2 under Zain
- Faylag #3 under Isa
- Faylag #4 (Saladin's Guard) under Saladin
Army of Egypt
- Faylag #1 under Saif
- Faylag #2 under Qutb
- Faylag #3 under Husam
Army of Mosul
- Faylag #1 under Ala
- Faylag #2 under Zahir
18.0 Victory
Cases
18.1 Crusader Victory
- If, at the end of an Assault Phase, 10 Crusader Combat units plus one leader occupy hexes within Acre (not including Wall or Tower hexes), the game ends in a Crusader victory.
- If at the end of an Assault Phase Saladin has been killed, the game ends in a Crusader victory.
18.2 Moslem Victory
- If, at the end of any Assault Phase, Moslem units occupy any 12 Crusader camp hexes, the game ends in a Moslem victory.
- If at the end of an Assault Phase King Richard the Lionhearted and King Philippe of France have both been killed, the game ends in a Moslem victory.
- If neither of the Crusader victory conditions is met by Game-Turn Sixteen the game ends in a Moslem victory.
18.3 Draw
- If two opposing victory conditions are met simultaneously at the end of an Assault Phase, the game ends in a draw.
Historical Notes
On July 4, 1187, Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, led 20,000 infantry and 1500 knights and cavalry into battle at Hattin near the Sea of Galilee. Guy had stripped all of the Holy Land's cities and fortresses to field the army; they had marched for days in armor under a broiling sun to reach the battleground. They had not drunk for over a day when Saladin, Sultan of Eastern Islam, attacked with perhaps 30,000 men, mostly cavalry.
The Christian army was annihilated, Guy captured. The jihad had come again.
Saladin moved quickly to recapture Palestine. By winter, all but a few port cities and mountain castles had been taken from the depleted Christian garrisons. Tyre, commanded by the able Conrad of Montferrat, withstood a short Moslem siege—lifted because Saladin needed the troops elsewhere—and later a more serious effort. On January 2, 1188, Saladin lifted the siege and moved back from the coast to await the expected Third Crusade.
He had not long to wait, for the shock of the disaster had spread through Europe like the Black Death. For the first time, the sovereigns of the great nations of Christendom planned to come themselves, bringing all the men and ships at their disposal. European disputes were laid aside—temporarily. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany set out through the Balkans with 100,000 men. King Richard Coeur de Lion (Lionheart) of England and King Philippe Augustus II of France brought smaller armies by sea, wintering in Sicily—where squabbles nearly led to war between England and France.
Meanwhile, back in the Holy Land, Conrad and Guy had been struggling for control of what remained of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Guy had been ransomed from Saladin and released at Tripoli in disgrace. In the spring of 1189, he cobbled together an army and marched south to Tyre—where Conrad refused to allow Guy's men through the gates!
Finally, in August, Guy launched his first offensive, with Conrad grudgingly accepting a subordinate position. Guy had been reinforced by advance contingents from Europe; with Conrad's troops, he had perhaps 30,000 men. Lacking the siege engines for a proper assault, Guy had to settle for a blockade. His fleet attempted to keep Acre from being reinforced or resupplied by the Moslem fleet based in Egypt, while the army settled in around the city in anticipation of the arrival of Saladin's main army.
Saladin, for his part, was determined not to lose Acre—from Acre, a Crusader army could drive down the coast and eventually east to Jerusalem with its line of communication to the coast short and secure; without Acre the Christians simply could not take the Holy City. In September a Moslem convoy broke through with reinforcements, bringing the garrison up to 6000 men. Saladin's army encircled the Christian force. With winter coming on, Saladin hoped to starve the Crusaders out, forcing them to retreat by sea to Tyre, or so weaken them that the Christians could not mount an assault for many months.
On 4 October Guy attacked. It was a massive battle by Medieval standards, 60,000 men or more fighting on a plain three miles square. The cavalry of the military Orders, the Templars, Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights trotted forward, full armor and lances glinting in the sun. French, English, and German infantry, together with the remnants of the Kingdom of Jerusalem (including a few units of converted Moslems) charged forward—crossbowmen, swordsmen, spearmen and priests. It was a confused melee. Taqi, on the Moslem right attempted a traditional Moslem tactic of feigned withdrawal; as expected, the Crusaders took his withdrawal for a rout and followed rashly. At that point Saladin made a rare tactical error. He took Taqi's retreat as genuine and weakened the center to shore up the flank. The Templars on the flank were pushed back just as Conrad seized the moment for an attack in the center. Christian cavalry crushed the light Moslem horse archers and streamed behind the Moslem lines.
As the Christians seemed about to win the day, they stumbled across Saladin's baggage camp and harem. The undisciplined Christians broke formation to plunder both. Saladin counterattacked in the center with infantry, forcing King Guy and the Hospitallers back toward the city. The Christian reserve force ran to the rescue—abandoning their watch on the city garrison, which sallied forth to hit the Templars in the rear. By nightfall, the Crusaders had hacked their way through the Moslem infantry faylags and reached the safety of the camp. The Battle of Acre ended. Fifteen hundred Moslems died. Seven thousand Crusaders perished in the fruitless attack.
After that slaughter, both sides settled down to wait for reinforcements—the Crusaders from Europe, the Moslems from Egypt and Iraq. It was a hard winter. Disease took thousands of lives on both sides. Supplies reached the Crusaders only erratically by sea; the Muslim garrison was bad off as the desultory Christian sea blockade continued. Even Saladin's army had supply trouble. The surrounding countryside could not feed the whole army, and many farmers from other areas had missed harvest because they were fighting at Acre. The Crusaders spent the winter building an outerwork around their camp. Saladin concentrated on keeping his army from going home. (The Crusaders had no desertion problem; there was nowhere to go.)
Meanwhile, the main body of the European Crusaders was delayed and disrupted. Barbarossa's Germans advanced through the Balkans and Turkey, suffering heavy attrition from clashes with the Christian and Moslem inhabitants and from desertion. The greatest blow came on June 10, 1190 when Barbarossa fell from his horse and drowned while crossing the River (Calycadnus) in Turkey; his armor pulled him to the bottom. Without his stern hand, the demoralized German army collapsed. Many returned home, many more fell in skirmishes. Only a few thousand men under Leopold of Swabia reached Syria — where a Moslem army scattered them. A handful of tired, sick, demoralized soldiers — with almost no horses left — stumbled down the coast to Acre.
Richard diverted his army to Cyprus, realm of King Isaac Ducac Comnenus, to spend the winter. Though Cyprus was a Christian land, Richard saw no reason not to blood his troops with a quick campaign; he overran the island quickly. (In later years, Cyprus would be an irreplaceable haven to Christian refugees retreating from the Holy Land.) Philippe, as well, diverted his fleet to Cyprus; he was understandably more worried about leaving Richard alone to go campaigning than of leaving Guy alone a little longer. It provided an opportunity for Richard and Philippe to argue their positions on the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Philippe supported Conrad of Montferrat, hero of the defense of Tyre, over the disgraced Guy. Conrad had recently married a relative of Guy's to establish a claim to the throne. Richard was wary of installing a King of Jerusalem who would be as active an ally of Philippe as Conrad would; he preferred to leave Guy on the throne — though his men had little confidence in him, he could be easily controlled. Eventually, Richard and Guy won out. Thus the winter passed on Cyprus, with the nobles at each other's throats and the men busy enjoying the fruits of the island and building great wooden siege engines to be used at Acre.
In Spring, with the French and English contingents reasonably peaceful, the armies (minus a small Cyprus garrison) sailed to the Holy Land. The main body of the French arrived on April 20, 1191, the English on June 8, 1191. They were greeted with feasts and prayers by the exhausted men of Guy and the advance contingents from Europe. Now, with huge siege engines unloaded and assembled, and enough men to assault the city and defend against Saladin's relief attempts, the final siege of Acre began.
Catapults and trebuchets battered the walls of the city. Mining under the walls was begun in earnest. The Templars and Hospitallers, the most zealously religious of the Crusaders, fought with an elan that historians of both sides marvelled at. On 14 June Philippe ordered a general assault against the wishes of Richard who was down sick. It failed. Another assault on 17 June made no more headway, though the battering was beginning to take effect as the tired Moslem garrison struggled to repair the gaps. The Cat, a French sow with a drill at the tip, tried to bore into the walls with little success. Greek fire launched by small catapults on the walls kept the siege towers from closing.
Every morning Saladin sent thousands of troops against the Outerwork. Faylag after faylag tried to break through to the city. Cavalry troops stumbled up the trench or the steep sided ravine of the River Belus. Horse archers skirmished, but had little effect on the Crusader infantry behind the Outerwork's parapet. But the assaults on the Outerwork had the desired effect; they kept the English and French from massing together on the walls. The attrition was fierce. No Crusader records exist with reliable data, but certainly thousands died in June. Saladin's losses were comparable. About 1000 men of the garrison were lost in this time, mostly in savage struggles to repulse ladder assaults. Several times the French attacked in late afternoon, hoping to secure a section of the wall by dusk to be reinforced during the night. Each time they were repulsed. The garrison sent out sally parties at night, occasionally gaining some trivial victory over sentries or even raiding the Crusader camps. But this had no lasting effect on the siege and bled the garrison further. Gradually Crusader work parties managed to fill in the foss despite bow fire from the walls. As the Acre garrison tried to stop the tunneling, desperate skirmishes were fought in the dark passages with pick and spade and dagger. It was not decisive warfare. It was slow, agonizing attrition, with losses rising steadily as the walls began to crumble.
On 3 July the Crusaders burned the wooden foundation they had emplaced under the walls near the Accursed Tower Maledictum. A wide section collapsed into dust and rubble. This more than any other moment in the long siege was decisive, for no longer did the Crusaders have to use their wood and rope assault ladders (which sometimes collapsed under the weight of armor); now it was a matter of forcing through the determined spearmen and bowmen standing in the rubble. The next day the garrison commanders Mashtub and Qaraqush offered to trade the city for their men's lives; they were refused. On 5 July another breach was made in the walls.
Now Richard, Philippe, and Guy put additional troops on the walls, stripping the outerworks in an effort to conclude the siege quickly. Saladin continued to attack. Each time a Crusader assault began, horns were blown from the tower of Maledictum; Saladin would order yet another attack on the outerwork. This tedious pattern of assault and counter-assault went on for another week, until the Crusaders achieved a major lodgement in the city on 11 July. A final counter-thrust by the hoarded cavalry reserve in the city failed. A final major assault by Saladin's depleted, discouraged army failed. On 12 July, 1191 Acre surrendered. In August Richard ordered the 5000 prisoners killed.
The conclusion of the siege had far-reaching effects. Saladin dismantled coastal forts to keep Richard from using them and poured resources into Jerusalem. Philippe decided to return to France with most of his army—enraging Richard, who understandably feared that Philippe might attack English holdings in Europe. With this thought gnawing at him, Richard was loathe to take heavy casualties afterward. Eventually, after another year of battle on the path to Jerusalem, Richard and Saladin negotiated a great peace that lasted almost a century, dividing the Holy Land between Christianity and Islam. Perhaps, if Philippe had not abandoned the Crusade, a military victory would have been possible. In any case, the battle for Acre strengthened the Crusaders position and allowed a truce; otherwise Saladin would have continued the jihad until Palestine was free of Christians. In the wake of the peace treaty, both sides prospered—indeed, a heavy trade sprang up between the sworn enemies, who were realists after all. They had largely been bled of their idealism.
In the 1280's the truce broke down as another holy war was launched. Acre was the last city in Palestine to fall. On 18 May, 1291, after a two-week siege by perhaps 50,000 troops (200,000 according to Moslem historians), Acre fell. The last holdouts, a handful of Templars, did not relinquish their hold on the Templar Tower of Acre for another 10 days. A few survivors from Acre managed to reach Cyprus. The Kingdom of Jerusalem no longer existed. Like the Crusades in toto, the first siege of Acre had proved futile and pointless in the long run.
Moslem Organization & Tactics
The basic Moslem infantry unit was the faylag, a division of about 5000 men. The faylag was fifty percent spearmen, fifty percent bowmen. The spearmen (who were also armed with scimitars, daggers, and a variety of stabbing weapons) deployed several lines deep in the center of the formation. During the approach to the enemy, the bowmen would march at the ends of the line to protect the flanks. As the faylag drew near to the enemy (slowly, in good order) the bowmen would retire behind the safety of the spearmen while still protecting the spearmen's flanks. The infantry of the faylag were very lightly armored (usually no metal at all, only leather or cloth armor). The faylag commander would ride up and down the line exhorting his men.
There were several types of cavalry faylag, each with about five thousand men. The light horse archers were unarmored and avoided melee combat; they had swords for defensive use. Their main weapon was a short bow they fired from the saddle. The horse archers would ride parallel to the enemy, firing to disrupt and panic enemy formations rather than to decisively defeat them. Heavier cavalry and infantry would then deliver the coup de grace with a melee attack. Frequently the horse archers would try to draw the enemy out of their formations by feigning retreat. The archers would retire, and the overextended enemy troops would be cut up by the other units. (This tactic was most successfully used at Hattin in 1187, where Guy's encircled infantry bled itself to death piecemeal hopelessly chasing horse archers on foot). On those occasions that horse archers were surrounded by enemy cavalry or even infantry, they were in trouble—lacking melee training and armor. They were usually quickly wiped out in these cases.
A heavy cavalry faylag was heavy only by Moslem standards, for the men and horses lacked armor.
1. The Approach. [Printed diagram; its counter layout is not reproduced in text. It shows Faylag 2 units (horse archers (2)6 on the flanks, spearmen 6-5 in the center) and the Zain Faylag 2 (3-2-3-9) unit to the rear, with arrows for the direction of advance.]
2. Contact. [Printed diagram; not reproduced in text. It shows the same Faylag 2 units in contact with the Crusader line.]
Armed with swords and lances, the cavalry charged at high speed in loose formation. When the faylag met the defending enemy, it would break up and the battle would be decided by individual duels. Officers would maintain unit integrity by drum and bugle orders. Sometimes a faylag would dismount after making the first charge with the lance, draw five thousand scimitars, and fight as infantry. Remounting was difficult so this was seldom done if a need to retreat was anticipated. On the defensive, the faylag would run until a time of its choosing, then try to outflank and crush its pursuers.
In addition to these divisions, there was a faylag known as Saladin's Guard, containing specialist units. A heavy, armored infantry contingent fought with a longer spear and sword and shield; it was basically a copy of the Christian infantry it faced. There was also a heavy cavalry unit. Like the Christian knights, both men and horses in this unit were heavily armored. Thus the Guard cavalry was somewhat slower than regular cavalry, proceeding at a trot rather than a gallop in a charge. It was correspondingly more powerful, though it did not fight dismounted. The Archers of the Eyes, so called because of their accuracy, and a contingent of skirmishers trained in throwing naphtha-filled hand grenades, rounded out the Guard. These two units were trained to retreat by "leapfrogging" and could hold off most infantry they faced, giving ground slowly. The Guard, as with most Guards throughout history, were saved for the last big push—the charge that would win or lose the battle. Their morale and training were the best in the army. In peacetime the Guard stayed in arms, maintaining order and watching the borders, as well as guaranteeing the Sultan's power. The rest of the army was a militia, raised as needed and (if possible) returned home at harvest time. Unlike most European militias of the time, the faylags trained intensively before going into battle.
Crusader Organization & Tactics
The Crusaders had a less rigid, less disciplined view of infantry formation. At Acre, the ratio of crossbowmen to melee troops varied between 1:1 to 1:3. In any case, the swordsmen or (infrequently) spearmen would advance in a ragged line, hacking and slashing while the crossbowmen would fire over their heads, advancing steadily with them. In contrast to the faylag, the Crusader infantry was apt to advance out of ranks and get cut off. Discipline was poor, and there was little officer control. Flank security was also a problem, though the Moslem practice of placing bowmen on the flanks was generally used by the Crusaders. There was no set number of men in an infantry force. In the polyglot army at Acre, a contingent from one nation or area would fight as a body.
Crusader infantry was armored with mail and some partial-plates. Thus they were slower and more easily tired than Moslem infantry (especially on a hot summer day) but tougher in a fight. Some contingents carried spears, but most used swords and shields. The German infantry at Acre, mostly knights who had lost their chargers, used huge two-handed broadswords and carried no shields—a problem when the knights were fired at by bowmen. The Crusader infantry were typical of Medieval European infantry, though better armed, armored, and trained than a duke's militia. Their weakest trait was their lack of discipline; their weaponry and skill were equal to those of the faylags.
Crusader cavalry was similarly organized as a loose aggregation. With both horse and man heavily armored, armed with lance and sword, the heavy cavalry was potent indeed—and slow. Crusader cavalry could never hope to ride down light Moslem cavalry, but a Crusader charge against a faylag was a devastating thing. Trotting, closely packed, gleaming in the sun, hundreds of lances would strike in unison. This would generally rout the defenders. With the energy of the charge spent, the knights would drop their formation and fight individually. Christian knights in the Middle Ages were wont to get carried away, charging everything in sight and not realizing when they were getting in too deep. Combined with the beloved feigned withdrawal tactics of the Moslems, this led frequently to Crusader cavalry being cut off far in advance of Crusader infantry. By 1191, though, most of the knights outside Acre had learned to control themselves. Those who had not were mostly dead.
One factor that cannot be stressed too much is morale. The sort of closely fought "soldier's battles" seen at Acre, where planning deteriorated and melee decided battles, depended more on the soldiers' confidence than on their equipment or skill. The best soldier at Acre was only as good as he felt, only as strong as his confidence in his leaders—King or Sultan, God or Allah.
Designer's Notes
The Crusades have been ignored by wargame designers. I don't know why. The period included many battles and campaigns on land and sea that match any conflict in history for drama, excitement, and color. The scope of the wars collectively called the Crusades is vast. Vast alliances—Islam and Christendom—clashed over a period of centuries for the same land. Seldom in history has a grudge been held so long. Yet despite all that is going for them, no games have appeared on the Crusades until now.
Acre fits in well with the other games in the SPI seige series, illuminating a fascinating situation and showing the mechanics of a Medieval siege and assault in some detail. The strategic situation at Acre in the Summer of 1191 is rare, perhaps unique. Caesar's better-known battle at Alesia was similar, but Caesar was not faced with the headache of assaulting the town; he needed only to defend against attacks from within and without. At Acre, both Moslems and Christians had to defend against attacks from within and assault prepared positions.
The great fun in Acre, the game, is in the unusual weapons and unit types. How often do you run across naphtha grenadiers, ballistae, catapults, different types of bowmen, cavalry with distinct tactical roles, even picks and shovels (in Subterranean Combat)? Some rules changed a great deal in development. A fire combat system was developed which cut odds calculation out of the procedure and smoothly integrates range attenuation. The siege of Acre was a two-year long affair, but the action really started when the English arrived, just before Game-Turn 1.
[Design credits block on page 15 omitted: attribution only.]
Charts and Tables
The Acre charts are printed on the mapsheet and in the rules folder. They are transcribed here as printed. Table numbers match the case references above.
5.27 Terrain Effects Chart
| Terrain Type | Movement Point Cost / Effect on Melee |
|---|---|
| Clear | 1 / No effect |
| Road | 1/2 / No effect |
| Marsh / Belus River Ravine | 3 / Attacker in hex halved in Strength |
| Camp | 2 / Moslem Defender halved in Strength |
| Outerwork / Unfilled Foss | 4 / Defender in hex halved in Strength |
| Filled Foss | 2 / No effect |
| Wall/Tower, Breached | 2 / Defender in hex doubled in Strength |
| Wall/Tower, moving or attacking into from Wall or Tower hex | 1/2 / Defender in hex doubled in Strength |
| Wall/Tower, Non-Enemy-Controlled (moving or attacking into from other terrain type) | 1 / Defender in hex doubled in Strength |
| Wall/Tower, Enemy-Controlled (moving or attacking into from other terrain type) | P / P |
Cavalry may not enter Marsh hexes. Cavalry may move and retreat through, but not end a Movement Segment in, Friendly-controlled Wall or Tower hexes. P = Prohibited (ladder assault only).
8.4 Bombardment Table (Crusader Giant Catapults)
| Die | Effect on Target |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 |
| 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 |
| 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 |
Result indicates number of Breach Points inflicted. A Wall hex is breached upon accruing 6 Breach Points.
8.5 Counter-Bombardment Table (Moslem Small Catapults)
| Die | Effect on Target |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | No effect |
| 6 | Damaged for two Game-Turns |
8.6 Wall Repair Table
| Die | Current Damage Level 1 through 4: Points Repaired | Current Damage Level 5 or 6: Points Repaired |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | 2 | 2 |
Moslem Player may roll die once for each Engineer Point allocated.
9.4 Fire Combat Range Attenuation Table
Target distance in hexes: 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
| Firing Unit | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archers of the Eyes | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Crossbows | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Small Catapult | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| Ballistae | 1 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Bowmen | – | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Horse Archers |
Number result is the Range Attenuation Rating used to resolve the fire combat on Table 9.5. – = No effect.
9.5 Fire Combat Results Table
Firing Unit's Range Attenuation Rating: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
| Die | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | – | – | – | D |
| 3 | – | – | D | D |
| 4 | – | D | D | R |
| 5 | D | D | R | R |
| 6 |
See 10.8 for explanation of results.
Die Roll Modifiers: Add 1 if target unit is in Swamp, Belus River Ravine, Unfilled Foss hex, or Outerworks, or if target is German knight unit. Subtract 1 if target unit is in Wall or Tower hex. Subtract 2 if target unit is in Accursed Tower or Prison Tower. Subtract 3 if target unit is in Castle Tower. A Breach does not affect these die roll modifiers.
10.8 Melee Combat Results Table
Combat Ratio (Attacker Strength to Defender Strength)
| Die | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 4-1 | 5-1 | 6-1 | 7-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | – | – | – | – | D | D | R |
| 2 | – | – | – | – | D | D | R | R |
| 3 | – | – | D | D |
Results indicate effect on defending unit. D = Disrupted; R = Retreat; E = Eliminated; – = No effect. Attacks at less than 1-2 have no effect. Attacks at greater than 7-1 are resolved at 7-1. Modified die rolls of greater than 6 are resolved as die rolls of 6; modified die rolls of less than 1 are resolved as 1.
Morale Effects: Morale effects are cumulative and effect both Melee and attack and defense for the remainder of the game. An army's Morale Rating is applied only once for each melee.
Moslem Army Morale: Add 1 if an off-map Moslem unit enters Acre (including a Wall or Tower hex). Subtract 1 if 30 off-map Moslem units are eliminated (placed in the Regrouping Box).
Crusader Army Morale: Subtract 1 if a King or a German Leader is killed (affects individual nationality only).
Melee Die Modification Determination: Subtract the defending contingent/faylag Leader Morale Rating from the attacking contingent/faylag Leader Morale Rating. Add or subtract applicable Army Morale Ratings. Apply the resulting number to the melee resolution die roll.
13.4 Subterranean Combat Results Table
| Die | Moslem Engineer Points Lost / Hexes Closed | Crusader Tunnel Points Lost / Hexes Closed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0/3 | 1/3 |
| 2 | 1/3 | 1/3 |
| 3 | 0/3 | 0/3 |
| 4 | 0/1 | 0/1 |
| 5 | 0/1 | 0/1 |
| 6 | 0/1 | 0/1 |
On a die roll of (1), (2), or (3), the Tunnel hex in which the subterranean combat occurs is closed and the Tunnel is permanently closed for a distance of 1 hex in both directions from that hex. On a die roll of 4, 5, or 6, only the Tunnel hex in which the combat occurs is permanently closed.
Abbreviated Sequence of Play (as printed on the mapsheet)
- Planning Phase
- A. Allocation Segment
- B. Strategic Movement Segment
- C. Crusader Tunnel Segment
- D. Moslem Tunnel Discovery Segment
- Bombardment and Repair Phase
- A. Crusader Bombardment Segment
- B. Moslem Counter-Bombardment Segment
- C. Moslem Damage Repair Segment
- Assault, Repair, and Regrouping Phase: If the Crusader Player has chosen to bombard, and the Moslem Player has not chosen the "Saladin Attacks" Intervention counter, the Assault Phase is omitted in the current Game-Turn and play proceeds to a new Game-Turn.
- Assault Impulse (Segments A through H; ten impulses):
- A. Crusader Movement Segment
- B. Moslem Movement Segment
- C. Simultaneous Fire Combat Segment
- D. Crusader Foss Filling Segment
- E. Moslem Garrison Melee Segment
- F. Crusader Melee Segment
- G. Moslem Army Melee Segment
- H. Simultaneous Disruption Removal Segment
-
- Regrouping Segment
- Assault Impulse (Segments A through H; ten impulses):
The Impulse Record Track and Game-Turn Record Track on the mapsheet are used to mark the Impulse and Game-Turn in play and are not transcribed.
Addenda: The Art of Siege Warfare (as of October 1979), Acre Section
The SPI "Art of Siege Warfare: Addenda, as of October 1979" sheet printed in the rules folder. Its Acre corrections and additions are transcribed here as printed, and are in force for this rulebook; the other battles' items are not transcribed here.
- [4.3] (correction) The Assault, Repair and Regrouping Phase should read the Assault and Regrouping Phase.
- [5.27] (correction) There should be no filled foss hex listed on the Terrain Key. There are no filled foss hexes at the beginning of the game. (correction) Non-Enemy-Controlled Wall/Tower hex should be listed as Friendly Occupied Wall/Tower hex.
- [8.3] (addition) If more than one engineer point is allocated to wall repair, and the damage level is reduced, all later engineer points use the new (repaired) damage level column on the wall repair table.
- [9.23] (clarification) If a unit is disrupted by fire combat and then disrupted again in the Melee Segment it is retreated. In addition, since all fire combat is simultaneous, the statement "Disrupted units cannot engage in fire combat" is not applicable.
- [9.24] (addition) All units which are retreated are disrupted at the end of the retreat.
- [10.34] (addition) Ladder assaults may be made from inside the city (in an Acre street pattern hex) out onto the walls.
- [10.72] (addition) Leaders may not advance after combat unless they are stacked with a combat unit which participated in the attack.
- [12.2] (clarification) A wall hex with a damage level of 6 from giant catapults may be repaired.
- [13.12] (correction) The Regrouping Segment occurs at the end of every Game-Turn for purposes of foss unfilling during both the Planning and Assault Phases.
- [17.0] (correction) The harbor tower hex is hex 2104 not 1951.