GCACW Tactics: Battlefield Basics
There are always two parts to any wargame system's combat resolution procedure: the mechanics (how to do it in terms of the game) and the tactics (how to apply the mechanics in a game). This tutorial focuses on the mechanics in the GCACW system and is written for experienced gamers who are new to the series.
The Basics
Combat resolution in GCACW is a simple procedure: Both players roll a die, apply modifiers to their roll and take the modified attacker roll minus the modified defender roll to determine the result. This difference is cross referenced with each side's strength to determine losses and the combat outcome. At first there are a lot of combat modifiers which require looking up values on charts (ratio, artillery, type of attack) but in practice, these modifiers can be easily memorized. Here is a summary of the combat modifiers:
Attacker Modifiers
- Ratio: Ratio of attacker's combat value to defender's combat value (including effects of entrenchments). The modifiers are in a table, but basically, a 1:1 is +0, 2:1 is +1, 3:1 = +2...(1:2 is -1, 1:3 is -2...)
- Type:Column of Route, Hasty, Normal, Prepared or Assault
- Tactical: Difference between the attacker's highest and defender's highest tactical values.
- Artillery: Difference between attacker's artillery value and defender's (after effects of entrenchments). If the difference is +2 to +4 (attacker - defender) then there is no artillery modifier. Otherwise, the type of terrain and difference is cross-referenced on a chart to determine the effect. In some cases, an additional die roll is necessary to generate a 50% chance that a particular modifier is in effect.
There is a bit of a history behind the effects of artillery in combat. In the original rules (SJW and HCR), artillery values were simply added to each forces combat values to determine the overall attack value (AV) and defense value (DV). Terrain modified the artillery value before it was added to the combat value and the defender's artillery value usually received a higher modifier. This produced a counter-intuitive effect in that though artillery increased your DV (lowering the combat ratio in the defender's favor), it also increased defender casualties since the DV determined the column on the CRT. This new method was introduced in OTR and is now officially part of the Standard Series Rules. In practice the artillery rules work well even though they require looking up a new chart. I like the fact that some modifiers may or may not apply. Thus, you don't know the final combat modifier until you commit to the attack. - Rain: -1 if it is raining
- Flank: +0 to +4. In many ways the flank rules are the heart of the tactical feel in the GCACW system. So much so, that I have a special section on Flank Attacks.
- Special Bonuses: The Confederates have special assault bonuses in specific games: Lee (OTR, SJW, HCR, SLB, GTC), Jackson (SJW, HCR) and Longstreet (GTC) bonus. The Lee bonus gives a +1 for an assault if Lee is stacked with the assaulting leader. The Jackson and Longstreet bonuses grant a +1 for an assault initiated by these generals. (Note that Jackson has a tactical rating of 4 SJW and HCR under the Standard Series rules.)
Defender Modifiers
- Creek: +1 if attacker attacks across a creek. (+2 in rain turns)
- River: +2 if attacker attacks across major or minor river
- Mountain: +3 if attacker is not in a mountain hex but defender is; +1 if both are in a mountain hex.
In practice, most gamers compute a net modifier that applies to die roll difference instead of modifying each roll separately. There are other modifiers such as Union Panic (SJW) and Hooker Loses Confidence (SLB) that are game specific and not covered here.
Time for some examples in the next few pages so you can see combat in action.