Some ideas generated by using the 'Dominion of the Spear and Bayonet' rules

Using Steve Parker's DOMINION OF THE SPEAR AND BAYONET rules has given me pause for thought regarding my own PORTABLE WARGAME rules, particularly the draft Belle Époque version that I have been working on for some months.

At present, units are defined by arm (e.g. infantry, cavalry, artillery) and quality (e.g. elite, average, and poor) ... but using the DOMINION rules has made me re-examine this, and I have come up with the following ideas regarding units.

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Types of unit

• Rifles: These units are armed with modern magazine rifles capable of delivering considerable firepower at several hundred yards/metres. They can fight at close quarters but not as effectively as Shock units and are best suited to fighting at some distance from the enemy.
• Firearms: These units are armed with obsolete firearms (e.g. single-round rifles or black powder muskets) capable of delivering considerable firepower at a hundred yards/metres or less. They can also fight at close quarters but not as effectively as Shock units.
• Skirmishers: These units fight in dispersed formations, and although these have less effective firepower than Rifle or Firearm units, they are also less easy to hit. They can fight at close quarters but nowhere near as effectively as Rifle, Firearm, or Shock units, and are best suited to fighting at some distance from the enemy.
• Shock: These units fight in compact formations at close quarters and rely on numbers and impetus to destroy enemy units. They are vulnerable to fire from Rifles, Firearms, and Skirmishers, but can be superior in close quarter combat to other units.
• Artillery: These units are armed with cannons and can deliver considerable firepower at several hundred – if not thousand – yards/metres. They do not expect to fight at close quarters unless matters are going badly for their side.
• Supply: These units have very little combat power but can fight at close quarters if attacked. Their main function is to act as a source of supply on the battlefield and to represent an army’s train... including its medical services, which can be vital in returning lightly wounded personnel to the frontline.
• Command: These units represent an army’s commander and staff. Their presence can increase a unit’s effectiveness, but if destroyed, their loss can cripple an army’s morale and seriously reduce its capacity to win a battle. They do not expect to fight at close quarters unless in extremis.

Units in European-style armies

• Infantry units armed with magazine rifles. (These can be Rifles [3 SPs] or Skirmishers [2 SPs].)
• Mounted cavalry units armed with magazine carbines and swords/lances. (These are Shock [2 SPs].)
• Dismounted cavalry units armed with magazine carbines. (These are Skirmishers [2 SPs].)
• Machine Gun units armed with automatic machine guns (e.g. Maxim Guns). (These are Rifles [2 SPs].)
• Artillery units armed with guns mounted on carriages fitted with recoil mechanisms. (These are Artillery [2 SPs].)

Units in Native-style armies

• Infantry units armed with obsolete rifles and/or muskets. (These are Firearms [3 SPs] or Skirmishers [2 SPs].)
• Infantry units armed with spears and/or swords. (These are Shock [3 SPs].)
• Cavalry units armed with obsolete carbines and/or swords and/or lances (These are Shock [2 SPs].)
• Machine Gun units armed with mechanical machine guns (e.g. Gatling Guns). (These are Firearms [2 SPs].)
• Artillery units armed with guns mounted on carriages that are not fitted with recoil mechanisms. (These are Artillery [2 SPs].)

Units common to all armies

• Supply: units armed with hand-held weapons that are purely for self-defence. (These are Supply [1 SP].)
• Command: units armed with hand-held weapons that are purely for self-defence. (These are Command [Notionally 6 SPs for the calculation of a side’s Exhaustion Point].)