S D Thomas - 07:04pm Feb 16, 2002 PST (#1793 of 1793) Danube, rules clarifications from Frédéric Q. Entrenchment's. We found these too easy to build and too effective. Do these cover all 'side' of an area or do they only face one connection. As there is no indication about facing we assumed these are 'circular' but we would have thought most entrenchment's tended to be built facing in one direction. Are they armies going into some kind of mini siege where they are basically encircled or are they a defensive line on a battle field with open flanks and rear? The cost of building an entrenchment is not nothing; the whole PM of the unit (=15 days at the same place) and 2CP. In the errata I have clarified that the 1.5 multiplication of the strength should be deleted. Only the column shift has to be taken into account. I changed my mind between the two modifiers, and forgot to cancel the first one (* 1.5) from the rules! Entrenchment's effectively cover all sides of an area. Q. Can you leave just a dummy in an entrenchment and march off, leaving the entrenchment in place or does the entrenchment disappear if there is no real unit in it. The suggestion was that the entrenchment stayed in place until the other side entered the area or did a recon. Dummy unit are not enough to keep an entrenchment effective. A real infantry unit has to stay in the area other wise the entrenchment is removed. Errata clarifies that a cavalry (alone) unit cannot build a entrenchment Q. Does the entrenchment cover ALL the units in an area? The rules refer to a unit or a stack but does the term 'stack' mean 2 infantry and one cavalry as per the movement rules or ALL the units in the area. The column modifiers apply to the whole stack (ALL the units)in the area. Q. Sieges. These seem far too easy and it's hardly worth putting units into fortified cities, there is a one third chance of it falling on the first turn and five sixth chance of it falling thereafter. The siege rules refers to the capture of fortified towns and ignore the longer siege of small citadels inside the city. During 1800/1805/1809 campaigns not a single town has resisted one month (two turns). Just look what happen to Regensburg in 1809. The Citadels resisted longer, but that is not taken into account. The errata forbids a siege by a cavalry unit alone. Q. There are a number of modifiers that we would have expected but perhaps they have been omitted for simplicity ie no requirement for a minimum besieging force, no modifier for generals on either side, all fortified cities are rated the same, no modifier for the size of the besieged force, no starvation rules and no requirement for a siege train. I have tried to have a very simple set of rules/modifiers. I will probably add some detail in the next version. Q. What is the terrain modified for combats fought in a fortified city area? 8.8 indicates that the terrain is defensive terrain when fighting outside the city. Note. I misinterpreted Rule 8.8 which refers to 'benefits from only the defensive terrain modifiers'. Based on Frederics clarification this means that the terrain is automatically considered defensive. Q. Reaction move. We had a bit of a discussion about this. The Austrians moved from area (A) a stack into an area (B) occupied by a French infantry unit. The area (B) was adjacent to area (C) which was occupied by a French force commanded by a leader. Areas A & C were not adjacent. When the Austrians entered area B the French force in area C attempted a reaction move with the intention of moving to area B - this is a reaction move and they would arrive during the movement phase and before combat. It failed. Our understanding is that this is a legitimate reaction move. Yes, however see proposed modification below. Q. The problem came in the combat phase when the Austrians attacked the French infantry in area B. The French units in area C now attempted to do a 'March to the sound of the guns' into area B - this is a combat move and they would only arrive after two rounds of the battle. This time they succeeded. The Austrians concern was that, in effect, the French were getting a double opportunity to reinforce the battle. They did not believe that this was correct and suggested that the reaction move should not be used to reinforce an area that was already occupied but only to intercept into a vacant area or retreat. You are right, I will add that in the new version. Q. Can a force do a reaction move into an area already occupied? Yes, for the moment. No, after the above mentioned change. Q. Can a force that fails a reaction move then do a 'march to the sounds of the guns'? Yes Attempts to do either a reaction move or 'march to the sounds of the guns' have dice roll modifiers. Thus if a force is in command (ie a valid LOC to the CinC). If the force attempting the move is the CinC then presumably it still gets the dice roll modifier? Thinking through the reaction rules they seem a bit too effective. A force can be under a under a 1 or 2 rated leader and it gets a -2 of it has a LOC to the CinC. Thus it could have a 3 or 4 in six chance of doing a reaction move. Napoleon, with a 4 rating and a -2 on the dice for having a LOC to himself, can always do a reaction move (subject to the terrain modifier). The same issues relate to 'the march to the sound of the guns' rule. Regarding the scale (time and distance) it sounds good for me. Q. There is also a slight anomaly with the dice modifiers for reaction moves. There is a +1 to the dice if the connection to the adjacent box costs 2 PM. To which connection does this apply? Is it 1. To the area the enemy force is in? 2. To the area the reaction force is trying to move to? It is when the connection between the two units (ie the enemy force and the force trying to react) costs 2 PM. It is not related to the terrain of the area. Q. What is classified as a Decisive or Offensive battle for victory point purposes? Is the level of battle determined by the number of rounds that the battle is meant to be fought? ie one side picks a 4 battle and the other a 2 battle so it lasts 3 rounds, becoming an Offensive battle. Yes, I will clarify that this is the correct one in new version Q. Is the level of battle determined by the number of rounds it lasts. For example, while it should last three rounds the moral of one side breaks on the first round. Does this still count as an Offensive battle? No Q. The Flank attack modifier rules state that the attacker can get a flank attack bonus. They then say however that a force which has done a 'march to the sound of the guns' ie the defender can get the bonus as well. Does this override the earlier reference to the 'attacker' getting the bonus? Corrected in errata published in VV. When doing a sound of the guns move it is not possible to get the bonus.