Contemptible Little Armies

Contemptible
Little Armies
3
THIRD EDITION
Sinister Laboratories is a joint venture between
Rattrap Productions LLC

www.rattrapproductions.com
by Chris Peers
World War I Era

Fast Play Wargames Rules 1910 — 1928
$25.00 A Sinister Laboratories Joint Production
Contemptible
Little Armies THIRD EDITION
3
by Chris Peers
“Contemptible Little Armies” 3rd Edition is © Copyright

Brigade Games & Hobby Supply, LLP and Rattrap Productions LLC
Table of Contents
Intorduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Scales.................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Equipment Needed for Game............................................................................................................................... 5
Figures.......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Table............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Terrain.......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Other............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Sequence of Play................................................................................................................................................... 7
Movement............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Unit Cohesion............................................................................................................................................... 8
Visibility............................................................................................................................................................... 8
Effects of Darkness and Weather Conditions................................................................................................. 9
Fire and Smoke............................................................................................................................................. 9
Direct Fire........................................................................................................................................................... 10
Shooting Procedure..................................................................................................................................... 11
Rolling to Hit...................................................................................................................................... 11
Rolling for Casualty............................................................................................................................ 11
Target Priorities........................................................................................................................................... 12
Firing at Armoured Vehicles........................................................................................................................ 13
Close Combat..................................................................................................................................................... 13
“Blood on the Tracks”.................................................................................................................................. 14
Morale................................................................................................................................................................ 14
Test Procedure............................................................................................................................................. 15
Command and Control....................................................................................................................................... 16
Orders......................................................................................................................................................... 16
Commanders............................................................................................................................................... 16
Staff Officers............................................................................................................................................... 17
On-Table Units................................................................................................................................................... 18
Infantry....................................................................................................................................................... 18
Cavalry........................................................................................................................................................ 19
Snipers........................................................................................................................................................ 19
Heavy Machine Guns.................................................................................................................................. 20
MG 08/15s......................................................................................................................................... 20
Field Artillery...................................................................................................................................................... 20
Restrictions on Use...................................................................................................................................... 21
Specialised Artillery............................................................................................................................................. 21
Light Infantry Mountain Gun..................................................................................................................... 21
Trench Mortars and Anti-tank Guns........................................................................................................... 21
Off-Table Artillery............................................................................................................................................... 22
Observers.................................................................................................................................................... 22
Types of Artillery Support........................................................................................................................... 22
Static Barrage...................................................................................................................................... 22
Rolling or Creeping Barrage................................................................................................................ 22
Defensive Barrage................................................................................................................................ 22
Opportunity Fire................................................................................................................................. 23
Counterbattery Fire............................................................................................................................. 23
Ammunition Types...................................................................................................................................... 23
Shrapnel.............................................................................................................................................. 23
High Explosive.................................................................................................................................... 23
Heavy High Explosive......................................................................................................................... 24
Super Heavy High Explosive............................................................................................................... 24
Machine Gun Barrages........................................................................................................................ 24
Smoke................................................................................................................................................. 24
High Exxplosive and Smoke................................................................................................................ 24
Gas...................................................................................................................................................... 24
Gas and High Explosive or Gas and Smoke......................................................................................... 24
2 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

Tanks and Armoured Cars................................................................................................................................... 25
Breaking Down........................................................................................................................................... 25
Unarmoured machine Gun Carriers............................................................................................................ 25
Tanks of World War I Table......................................................................................................................... 26
Key to Vehicle Armament Data........................................................................................................... 27
Notes.................................................................................................................................................. 27
Aircraft................................................................................................................................................................ 28
Procedure for Employing Aircraft................................................................................................................ 28
Attacks by Aircraft....................................................................................................................................... 28
Anti-Aircraft Fire......................................................................................................................................... 28
Air to Air Combat....................................................................................................................................... 29
Troop Characteristics........................................................................................................................................... 30
Tactical and Morale Ratings................................................................................................................................ 31
Tactical and Morale Ratings Chart.............................................................................................................. 32
Point Values........................................................................................................................................................ 33
On-table Troops.......................................................................................................................................... 33
Off-table Artillery........................................................................................................................................ 34
Terrain and Cover............................................................................................................................................... 35
Low Hills.................................................................................................................................................... 35
Escarpments................................................................................................................................................ 35
Steep Hills................................................................................................................................................... 35
Woods......................................................................................................................................................... 35
Scrub or Open Woods................................................................................................................................. 36
Broken Ground........................................................................................................................................... 36
Crops.......................................................................................................................................................... 36
Marsh.......................................................................................................................................................... 36
Streams....................................................................................................................................................... 36
Canals......................................................................................................................................................... 36
Gullies......................................................................................................................................................... 36
Rivers.......................................................................................................................................................... 37
Roads or Tracks........................................................................................................................................... 37
Fortifications and Stratagems............................................................................................................................... 37
Fire Trenches and other Field Fortifications................................................................................................. 37
Barbed Wire................................................................................................................................................ 38
Pillboxes and Blockhouses........................................................................................................................... 38
Dugouts, Tunnels, Saps, and Communication Trenches.............................................................................. 38
Night Fighting and Illumination................................................................................................................. 39
Armoured Trains......................................................................................................................................... 39
Scenarios and Deployment.................................................................................................................................. 41
Prepared Attack........................................................................................................................................... 41
Orders................................................................................................................................................. 42
Meeting Engagement.................................................................................................................................. 43
Orders................................................................................................................................................. 43
Fighting Retreat.......................................................................................................................................... 43
Orders................................................................................................................................................. 44
Recommended Points Totals........................................................................................................................ 44
General Deployment Rules......................................................................................................................... 45
Late Arrivals........................................................................................................................................ 45
Frequently Used Charts Quick Reference............................................................................................................ 47
Special Thanks to:

Tim Greene for the Alternative Firing Rules; Keith Stockburn, Jim Stanton, John Speiss, and Malcolm Garbett for the use of their
photos in producing this title. Cover painting is “Hell Fighters” from Harlem by H. Charles McBarron
www.rattrapproductions.com.com Contemptible Little Armies • 3

INTRODUCTION
“Contemptible Little Armies” takes its title from the Kaiser’s sneer at the British Expeditionary Force of 1914 - which of course soon
turned out to be anything but contemptible. As the title suggests, the main focus of the rules is the First World War, but they are also
suitable for many of the other conflicts of the same era, for example:
• The Mexican Revolution, 1910 - c.1920.

• The Italian-Turkish War of 1911 - 1912.
• The Warlord Era in China, 1911 - 1928.
• The Balkan Wars, 1912 - 1913.
• The Russian Civil War, 1917 - c. 1922.
• The Greek-Turkish War, 1920 - 1922.
There are already plenty of rule sets about for the First World War period, but we believe that there is still a need for an easy to learn,
fast-playing set which nevertheless manages to capture some of the flavour of the subject. The rule book is fairly thick, but most of it
is the explanatory material needed to select your troops, lay out the terrain and (optionally) determine the game scenario. The actual
rules which you will need to keep referring to during play are as compact as we can make them, and occupy a handful of pages.
Therefore we do not feel that there is any need for one of those separate playsheets which cause so much trouble by getting lost,
cluttering up the table, and almost invariably requiring you to consult the main rules anyway if you are to make any sense of them.
SCALES
25 or 28mm figures are popular for wargaming in this period, and these rules were designed mainly with this scale in mind. However,
they will work equally well in practice with figures of any scale from 2mm upwards. Normally figures in “Contemptible Little Armies”
are based and removed singly, but in 2mm or 6mm scale, multiple figure blocks can easily be substituted, and are treated exactly as if
they were individual figures. As no precise relationship between figure and ground scales is specified, there is no need to change the
measurements given in the rules, although centimetres could be substituted for inches if you wish to make the best use of a smaller
than average playing surface.
We have not found it necessary to state how many men each figure is supposed to represent, nor what level of unit in the real life
organisation of your army a wargames unit is assumed to portray. Look upon each of your models as standing for a variable number
of actual troops, so that a unit may represent anything from a platoon to a brigade, depending on the theatre of conflict and the type
of operations you are interested in. Therefore we do not need to be bothered by one of the recurring problems of 20th century period
gaming, which is the difficulty of reconciling the size of your tiny force on the table with the variety of artillery and air support it
has at its disposal. Our approach may seem a little odd at first, and will no doubt annoy the purists. From the point of view of the
game, though extensive playtesting experience has proved that it works.

For the same reason we allow a certain amount of latitude
in building units and armies. We consider rigid tables
of organisation and equipment to be not only boring,
and unnecessarily restrictive in a game context, but also
not very relevant to real life. In real wars, units which
correspond precisely with their official establishments
are very much the exception. So, while the notes on
“Restrictions on Use” accompanying the lists of available
troop types on pages 18 to 29 will help to ensure that
your tabletop armies bear some resemblance to their
historical prototypes, you can still recreate a very wide
range of variation, or even build your own fictitious
armies if that is what appeals to you.
Ground and time scales will obviously vary depending

on what level of force you are trying to represent, and in
any case they seldom have much relevance to a playable
game. We believe that what really matters is getting the
balance right between movement, morale and firepower,
so that historical tactics have a reasonable chance of achieving historical results. The results of our games tie in fairly well with what
might be expected historically, which is more important than calculating the exact relationship between the (theoretical) maximum
ranges of various weapons. Time scale will only matter much if a scenario specifies that a particular event - dawn or dusk, for
example - will occur after a certain time. In this case players or umpires can easily agree on a method of deciding how many turns
will elapse.
Like our other rule sets, “Contemptible Little Armies” is designed around individually based single figures. The common practice of
mounting a number of figures on each base may make the game look slightly better, but the cost of 28mm or even 15mm figures
nowadays makes it unnecessarily expensive. You make the most efficient use of your figures if you use them to convey as much of
the information needed during the game as possible. So the rules operate on a simple casualty removal system, with each figure
either unhurt and able to fight at full effectiveness, or “dead” and removed from the table. Therefore a minimum of record keeping
is required.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR A GAME

“To be ready means nowadays a degree of preparation which those who conducted past wars could hardly conceive... Everything
must be foreseen, no extemporising will avail: what will be lacking at the declaration of war will remain lacking, and the least
gap may cause a disaster.” —General Joffre, 1913.
Figures
They can be individually based and suitably painted, to represent your army’s on-table fighting units, commanders, and other
independent figures such as staff officers and snipers. Base sizes are seldom critical, although if they are too large or oddly shaped you
will be at a disadvantage in hand-to-hand combat, as your opponent will be able to concentrate more figures on the same frontage.
We recommend 20mm square bases for foot figures, with extra width and/or depth as required to accommodate mounted figures,
machine guns or artillery. Alternatively, pennies or similar round metal bases provide added stability at the cost of making it slightly
harder to estimate shooting angles. Machine gun and artillery crew are not treated separately from their guns in these rules, and so
can be mounted together with the weapons themselves on a single large base. It is not strictly necessary to represent off-table artillery
with models, but this does improve the look of the game, and provides an excuse to field some nice gun models. It also makes it
slightly easier to resolve counterbattery fire (see page 23), as markers can be placed next to affected batteries rather than having to
write anything down. Off-table guns can be deployed either on a separate table or along your army’s base table edge, but of course
they cannot shoot or be shot at using direct fire.

Table
A table or similar playing surface of any convenient size. The deployment rules assume that the table will be rectangular, with two
long edges and two shorter ones. Six feet by four feet is a popular size, but for big games involving 28mm figures a good rule is the
larger the better. On the other hand, when playing in areas of dense cover, a smaller surface will often be sufficient.
Terrain
Appropriate terrain pieces to represent areas of cover or relief, or other features which may affect the course of the battle. These also
play an important role in enhancing the look of the game, and so should be of a size and overall appearance which reflects as far as
possible their real-life counterparts. A list of terrain types and their effects on the game is given on pages 35 to 37.
Other
A number of conventional 6-sided dice, or D6.
A ruler or measuring tape for each player, marked in inches or other agreed units. We prefer to allow players to measure any on-table
distances they wish, on the assumption that at least roughly accurate maps will be available to all commanders.
A supply of white cotton wool puffs as smoke from artillery shells, and yellow or green puffs for gas, if the player intends to use these.
Brown or black cotton wool or hamster bedding may also be useful, to represent smoke from fires.
A couple of morale test failure markers for each of your fighting units. Casualty figures or small shellbursts are ideal for this.
Alternatively you could simply make a note of morale failures on a sheet of paper. What is not really acceptable is littering the table
with scraps of paper, plastic counters or other rubbish as markers. This spoils the look of the game completely, and is frankly an insult
to an opponent who has probably spent a lot of time painting up his army and making it look good.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY
A game is broken down into Turns. Within each turn, the sequence of events is as follows:
1. Write and dice for transmission of new orders, if any.
2. Dice for late arrivals, if appropriate (page 45).
3. The attacker begins by moving one unit of his choice (see below for movement procedure).
4. The defender now moves one unit of his choice.
5. Repeat these two steps until all the units on both sides that wish to move have done so.
6. Independent figures, such as staff officers, snipers and artillery observers, are now moved in a similar alternate sequence,
starting with the attacker.
7. Resolve all off-board artillery
8. Resolve all Direct Fire shooting.
9. Resolve close combat.
10. Determine any casualties and remove models.
11. Take any morale tests required as a result of events this turn. Note that all tests are taken at this point, regardless of when in
the turn sequence they were triggered.
12. Check whether either side has achieved any victory conditions set out in the scenario. If so, the game ends at this point. If
not, repeat the sequence for the next turn.
MOVEMENT
“Although we had had an awful march that night, with just two hours` rest, we forgot hunger and exhaustion... Silently we
advanced in open formation. We were sternly confident of victory; and the predominant feeling was one of curiosity to see the
enemy.” – Officer of German 125th. Infantry Regt., Metz, 1914.
Units move in an alternate sequence. The attacker moves one of his units. This is followed by the defender moving one of his. If
one player has moved all his units that can do so, the other player now moves all of his remaining units in any order he wishes. A
declaration that a specific unit is not going to move counts as a move for this purpose. If a unit does move, not all its figures need
move the full permitted distance, and some may remain stationary while others move.
The maximum distance which any of a unit’s figures may move is decided for each turn separately, by throwing one or more dice as
set out in the Characteristics table on page 30. This gives the maximum number of inches which any figure in the unit may move.
The unit’s figures need not all move the full distance, and some may remain halted while others move.
Normally only one throw per turn is required for each unit, but in the case of those troop types which throw different numbers of
dice depending on whether they are in the open or in difficult terrain, it is advisable to dice separately for each part of a unit which
has figures in both types of going. Independent figures, such as staff officers, observers and snipers, dice individually, moving as
infantry (though a staff officer may be mounted on a horse and move as cavalry).
The reduced movement rates for difficult terrain apply to any figure whose movement starts in or passes through terrain which is

listed as reducing movement (see pages 35 to 37), or which intends to advance into close combat with an enemy who is in or behind
such terrain, or in a trench or similar defensive position, or behind a barricade or other obstacle. In this case, if the player has elected
to dice for the figure’s movement counting as if it is in the open, it may not contact the enemy but must halt at least 1 inch short of
the cover or obstacle. (Note that tanks have only one movement rate for all types of terrain.)
“Close Order” infantry who are in close formation throughout the turn may add the score of an additional D6 to their movement
allowance.
Unit Cohesion
Units must always deploy and attempt to remain with their figures no more than a certain distance apart from their nearest neighbour
in the unit, ie. there must not be any gaps wider than this distance in the unit as a whole. This distance is 5 inches for Irregulars,
otherwise the unit’s Tactical Rating in inches. If a wider gap does appear (due to casualties, for instance), an attempt must be made to
rectify it the next time any figure in the unit moves. However, while the whole unit remains stationary it need not move any figures
just for the purpose of closing the gap.
”Close Order” infantry gain movement and morale advantages as long as they are in close order formation. This requires that the
unit forms a single block with all figure bases touching, except that they may separate by the minimum necessary to diverge around
impassable obstacles or small (up to 3 inches across) patches of difficult terrain which would otherwise slow them down. Any gaps
caused by this, or by casualties, must be closed in the next movement phase for the unit to continue counting as in close order.
Note that other troops do not receive any advantage from close order formation, even though they may sometimes be obliged
to adopt it (for example to cross a bridge, or pass along a road through a defile). They do suffer the same disadvantage of extra
vulnerability to fire (page 12).
The whole of a routed unit is immediately removed from the table. It cannot be rallied, and cannot return during the game.
VISIBILITY
Normally in this game, all figures are assumed to be aware of the general location of all the enemy troops on the table (but see under
Orders, page 16). This also applies to any troops in trenches or other fortifications, as the enemy will assume that they are manned
unless he discovers otherwise. However, before a figure may use direct fire or call down defensive or opportunity fire, the target must
be directly visible.
Lines of sight may be blocked by terrain or by intervening figure bases (but see the exceptions below). Observers on higher elevations
can see over figures on lower ground, but not over terrain features such as woods or buildings. Regardless of whether a line of sight
exists or not, shooting over a friendly or hostile figure is only possible in the following circumstances:
• If the intervening figures are in trenches and the shooters are not.
• By ground troops against aircraft (but not vice versa).
• If the shooter is in a pillbox or similar purpose-built fortification, or is artillery firing to and/or from a hill or escarpment, and
any intervening figures are on level ground and at least 12 inches away from both firer and target.
• Targets other than snipers and stationary infantry may be shot at over intervening snipers, or infantry who have been halted
throughout the turn, if target priorities permit.
Note that in all other cases shooting over other troops is not permitted, even if they are on lower ground than both shooter and
target. To be seen or shot through, a gap between intervening figures should be at least the width of the shooter’s base if shooter or
target is within 1 inch of the gap, otherwise 3 inches. An artillery observer or C-in-C controlling off-table fire can see over figures in
the same circumstances as they can be shot over.

In the graphic to the left, the sniper on the right behind
the tree can shoot over his allies in the trench, but not
over his own unit advancing (not even to shoot at the
pillbox).
The unit in the pillbox on the left can shoot over its own
advancing unit at any of the opposing models as long as
line of sight can be drawn to the target.
The artillery on the hill can shoot at the pillbox or the

advancing enemy unit as long as friendly units are at
least 12” away from both the artillery and the target.
Effects of Darkness and Weather Conditions

Night fighting was often avoided by commanders in this era, as it exacerbated the already formidable problems of command and
control, so in most game scenarios the action can be assumed to take place in daylight. However, the attacker in a Planned Attack
scenario may choose to attack at night. A campaign or scenario may also call for a game to be fought in fog or blizzard conditions,
which are treated similarly.
At night, or in fog or blizzard, all troops move at the reduced rate for difficult terrain. Motor vehicles may not move at all except on
roads. Aircraft may not be used.
The maximum distance for visibility is 8 inches, unless a figure is silhouetted against a fire or illuminated by a flare or star shell at
night, when he may be seen and shot at at normal daylight ranges. (See page 39 for the effect of illuminating rounds.)
To reflect the extra difficulty of communicating and controlling a battle at night or in fog, deduct 2 from the Tactical Ratings of all
the attacker’s troops (though they are still costed at their normal rate, ie. using the Tactical Rating before the deduction).
No spotting of targets for defensive or opportunity artillery fire is possible at night, or in fog or blizzard, although pre-planned fire
missions may still be used as the targets are assumed to have been previously registered in good daylight conditions.
Fire And Smoke

A village, a section of up to 8 inches radius of a larger built-up area, an isolated building or an undamaged wood may be set on fire,
either deliberately by its occupants, or if any figures within it are the target of a flamethrower attack. In either case dice once each
turn, needing a 4 or better for a fire to break out.
The whole of a burning feature (or in the case of a very large terrain piece, that part of it within an 8 inch radius of the fire’s point
of origin) immediately becomes untenable. Any figures which remain inside it at the end of the next turn’s movement phase are
destroyed. It may not be entered again during the game. Commencing in the turn after the fire was started, smoke drifts downwind
(decided at random before starting the fire) at 4 inches per turn for 4 turns, then remains in this position for the rest of the game.
Smoke fired by artillery is treated in the same way, except that it disperses completely 3 turns after firing has ceased. Its point of origin
is the centre of the battery’s beaten zone.
All smoke completely blocks line of sight, including to or from aircraft or higher ground, but figures emerging from it in the current
turn cannot claim any benefit of cover from shooters on the same side of the cloud.

DIRECT FIRE
“Blood is flowing in endless streams, but there is no other way to fight. The more blood flows the better the results, and the sooner
the war will end.” — General Brusilov, Galicia, 1914.
Direct Fire is resolved in the following order.
1. Anti-aircraft fire
2. Attacks by aircraft
3. HMGs, including those mounted on vehicles
4. Field artillery
5. Tanks firing field guns
6. Infantry weapons
7. Flamethrowers

Within these shooting categories fire is regarded
as taking place simultaneously, so that a figure
already removed in this shooting phase may still
shoot back. However, a figure killed by a weapon
which fires before he does in the sequence may
not shoot this turn. So, for example, an infantry
model killed by an HMG during the turn, would
not be able to shoot before being removed. If,
however, that same model was shot by another
Infantry model, it would get its chance to shoot
before being removed.
Direct fire, by and to on-table figures, is normally

adjudicated from each individual figure to a
nominated target figure, rather than from unit
to unit. In practice it may sometimes be more
convenient to dice for several shooters together,
throwing one D6 for each, and then use common
sense to allocate the casualties among the target
figures. However this should not be done in cases where it is important to decide exactly who is hit - for example if the target figures
are of different types, or if some are advancing into close combat with the shooters.
The number of dice which a weapon may throw each turn, and its maximum range, are given in the Characteristics table on page
30. A figure may shoot anywhere within 90 degrees of straight ahead (but see the special rules for vehicles and armoured trains on
pages 25 and 39). A figure may end its turn facing in any desired direction, but if this is not obvious from the position of the figure
or base it should be declared to the opponent in order to avoid any ambiguity.
Regular cavalry cannot shoot while mounted. Vehicle-mounted weapons, aircraft, and Irregular cavalry may move and shoot in the
same turn (without penalty, as they are assumed to halt temporarily in order to do so). Other figures may not shoot if they have
moved or turned. Dismounted field guns and HMGs (but not 08/15 MGs, light infantry or mountain guns, or anti-tank guns) must
also have been stationary for the whole of the previous turn before they can fire.

Shooting Procedure
There are two steps for shooting. The first involves determing whether a hit is scored, the second, on whether a casualty is taken.
Rolling to Hit
In addition to determining how far apart figures in a unit may be from each other and how far away a staff officer can be when
rallying the unit or giving it orders Tactical Ratings also reflect how well the soldiers can use dispersal and cover. To conduct fire in
the appropriate phase, follow the procedures outlined below.
Small Arms Fire (includes snipers, light machine guns, and light mortars)
1. Designate target unit to which the unit has line of sight.
2. Roll # of D6 unit is eligible to fire. Tactical Rating of the target unit on the table below determines the numbers needed to
be rolled for each D6 to roll that D6 as per the Firing rules to determine how many figures in the target unit are Hit.
Target unit
Target Hit On
Tactical Rating
2 2-6
3 3-6
4 4-6
5 or Irregulars 5-6
Machine Gun Fire (includes MGs mounted on vehicles)

1. Designate target unit to which the machine gun has line of sight.
2. Roll 6D6 per HMG. Tactical Rating of the target unit on the table below determines the numbers needed to score a Hit.
Target unit
Target Hit On
Tactical Rating
2 2-6
3 3-6
4 4-6
5 or Irregulars 5-6
Artillery On-Table Battery Fire (also Trench Mortars and vehicle mounted weapons)
1. Designate target unit to which the gun has a line of sight.
2. Roll equal to or less than the gun crews’ Tactical Rating to see if gun is on target.
3. If gun is on target the Tactical Rating of the target unit on the table below determines how many D6 are rolled as per the
Firing rules to determine how many figures in the target unit are Hit. No templates needed. Example: A target unit with a
Tactical Rating of 3 has 4d6 rolled against it; with models hit on a 4-6. So a maximum of 4 models can potentially be hit.
Target Unit Number of

Target Hit On
Tactical Rating D6 Rolled
2 6 4-6
3 4 4-6
4 3 4-6
5 or Irregulars 2 4-6
Artillery Off-Table Battery Fire

1. Designate point on table where fire is plotted to fall.
2. Roll against Army Artillery Tactical Rating (given in the army list books) to see if fire comes in.
3. If fire comes in and if there are any enemy figures where the shells fall, the Tactical Rating of the target unit on the table below
determines how many D6 are rolled to see how many figures in the target unit are Hit. No templates needed.

Target Unit Number of
Target Hit On
Tactical Rating D6 Rolled
2 8 4-6
3 6 4-6
4 4 4-6
5 or Irregulars 2 4-6
Rolling for Casualty

Roll a D6, then add or subtract as appropriate for each of the following that apply. To cause a casualty, a shooter needs to score a total
of 4, 5 or 6. This is done prior to Morale so players will not know casualties until the end of the turn.
Modifier Condition
Firer is a French 75mm field gun from 1910 onwards, or a British Mark IV 18-pounder from 1918 (though not if
+1
mounted on a vehicle, nor if firing at vehicles or at troops in trenches or hard cover).
Target is in close order, if fired at by small arms or machine guns. (For this purpose a target counts as in close order if
+1 it is in base contact with another friendly figure, or has at least 2 such figures within half an inch of its base. This does
not apply to snipers, or artillery and machine gun crews, who never count as in close order in any circumstances.)
-1 Firer is a tank using a field gun.
-1 Firer is a vehicle that has moved during the turn.
-1 Firer is wearing a respirator as a result of a gas attack (see page 24).
-1 Visibility is affected by darkness, fog or blizzard conditions (page 9).
Target is at over half the shooter’s maximum range (this does not apply in the case of flamethrowers, bombs, or
-1
“Marksmen” using rifles); or the shooter is using a single shot rifle or is Irregular cavalry.
Target is on foot (including dismounted field guns, HMGs etc.), and has been halted throughout the turn, or has
-1
ended the turn in cover.
-1 Target is an “Irregular” who has been on foot and in cover throughout the turn.
In the last 2 cases, do not count the benefit of the cover if the target is moving into close combat with the firing figure this turn.
Target is in fire trenches, or other fortifications or hard cover, unless attacked by bombs, light mortars or
-2
flamethrowers.
A target figure cannot count both the minus 1 for “halted throughout the turn” or “in cover”, and the minus 2 for “trenches or hard
cover”.
Target Priorities
Field guns (including those in vehicles), light guns, trench mortars and snipers may always shoot at any eligible target of their choice.
All other figures must shoot at the following types of target if available, in descending order, in preference to any others:
1. Any figure which ends its move in close combat with the shooter, or, if the shooter is an armoured vehicle, close enough to
attack it with infantry weapons.
2. The nearest enemy figures within range and advancing directly towards the shooter.
3. Any figures of the nearest enemy unit within 24 inches or the shooter’s maximum range, whichever is less, and in the shooter’s
90 degree firing arc.
Shooters may not choose to fire at an LMG or other support weapon incorporated in a target unit if any of the target’s other figures
are closer. However, such weapons should take a proportionate share of the casualties if they are allocated among the unit as a
whole.

Firing at Armoured Vehicles
Only the following weapons can engage armoured vehicles:
Infantry with bombs, anti-tank rifles or flamethrowers ignore the usual modifiers; instead, each figure throws 2D6. A total score of
2, 3, 11 or 12 is required to knock out an armoured car, or 11 or 12 to knock out a tank.
HMGs (including 08/15s) can fire at tanks or armoured cars at up to their usual maximum range. An HMG fires only once per
turn in this situation, and cannot engage any other targets in this turn, whether it hits the vehicle or not. It throws 2D6, ignores all
modifiers, and requires a total score of 12 to knock out a tank, or 11 or 12 for an armoured car.
Field guns, anti-tank guns, trench mortars (though not light mortars) and light infantry guns can engage armoured vehicles like
normal targets, using the usual modifiers, but in this case if they hit they do not inflict collateral damage on nearby troops.
CLOSE COMBAT
“Remember that every Boche you fellows kill is a point scored for our side; every Boche you kill brings victory one minute nearer.
Kill them! Kill them!” — Colonel Campbell, British Assistant Inspector of Physical and Bayonet Training.
“Close combat” includes not only actual hand-to-hand fighting, but also the use of bombs, revolvers and other firearms at very close
range. It occurs when a figure moves into base contact with an enemy figure at any point during the movement phase, and prevents
any further movement by either combatant until it is resolved. The defender may shoot at the attacking figure only if he has not
already moved this turn, and if the attacker was within his shooting angle at the beginning of the turn. He may never shoot at another
figure which is not attacking him, even if the attacker himself is not eligible as a target. Figures which are in close combat through a
turn, or leave it only by killing all their opponents in the close combat phase, may not be shot at except by off-table artillery.
Each figure involved in a close combat throws a D6, then modifies the score as follows:
Modifier Condition
+2 Cavalry fighting infantry in the open.
+2 Regular cavalry fighting Irregular infantry or
cavalry.
+2 A second attacker fighting against a single
opponent*.
+1 “Ferocious” or “Stubborn” infantry fighting other
infantry or heavy weapon crews.
+1 Infantry armed with “trench brooms” fighting
other infantry or heavy weapon crews.
+1 Regular infantry fighting Irregular infantry.
-1 Fighting to cross a defended natural or man-
made obstacle (but not the parapet of a trench if
attacking into it from above).
*If two figures fight one, the outnumbered figure fights the opponent of his choice as normal. If he survives this, he then fights the
second attacker, who receives a bonus of +2 in addition to any other modifiers. No more than two opponents may fight in close
combat against a figure in the same turn.
If one figure’s score exceeds the other’s by 2 or more, the loser is killed. Otherwise there is no result.

A figure which survives a turn of close combat may move out of contact next turn, in which case he may be shot at like a normal
target, but no figure can leave one combat and enter another in the same turn.
“Blood on the Tracks”

A sub-heading of “Close Combat” involves physical contact between tanks and enemy troops. Tanks in this period moved fairly
slowly, so infantry and cavalry in the open can always avoid being crushed. Just move the figures backwards or sideways by the
minimum necessary to accommodate the model.
However an unarmoured vehicle, or a field gun, HMG or other crewed weapon is destroyed if it is contacted by an enemy tank. A
figure on foot in a trench and directly in the path of a tank as it crosses the trench must dice: on a score of 3 or less, he is crushed
and removed from play.
Tanks may not deliberately collide with other tanks or armoured cars. Armoured cars or unarmoured vehicles may never deliberately
contact enemy figures or models.
MORALE
“There is a limit to human endurance in battle, and once that limit is reached the reaction is severe.” — British Fourth Army
“Tactical Notes”, 1916.
A unit must take a morale test in the appropriate phase of the turn (see page 7) for each of the following circumstances which applies.
It may therefore have to take two or more tests in a turn.
Each turn in which it loses a significant proportion of its strength in casualties. The number of figures which must be removed in a
turn to trigger a test depends on the number of figures which the unit contained at the beginning of that turn:
Number of models Losses before

in unit Morale Check
6 figures or fewer 1 casualty
7 to 12 figures 2 casualties
13 or more figures 3 casualties


(Every additional complete multiple of
these casualties requires another test - so
that if, for example, a 10-man unit loses 2
or 3 figures it tests only once, but if it loses
4 it must test twice.)
In addition, the following events will also

cause a unit to take a Morale test:
• If Irregulars are under gas attack his

turn.
• The first turn of the game in which

a unit suffers casualties due to
flamethrower or air attack.
• Troops on foot must test on the first

occasion when enemy tanks (or
armoured cars if the testing unit is
entirely in the open) come within 8
inches of any of their unit’s figures.
• Troops on foot and in the open must test in any turn in which hostile mounted cavalry contact any of their unit’s figures.
Exceptions:
• “Close Order” infantry who are in close order formation throughout the turn may ignore one test per turn which they would
otherwise have to take. Any gaps caused by casualties during this turn’s shooting phase do not prevent the unit counting as
in close order.
• Mounted regular cavalry and “Ferocious” infantry may ignore one test in any turn in which at least half of their unit’s figures
have advanced towards any visible enemy, or towards an enemy position or terrain objective which they have orders to
attack.
• “Stubborn” troops may do the same if at least half of their figures are in trenches, buildings or other fortifications which they
have orders to defend.
Test Procedure
To take a morale test, throw a single D6 for each unit. If the score exceeds its Morale Rating, the unit has failed. The first time a unit
fails a test it may continue to act as normal, but its confidence has taken a knock. Place a suitable marker beside it (but see page 6
for a note on markers). This marker may be removed only if the unit is successfully rallied by its C-in-C or a staff officer (page 16)
in the appropriate phase of the turn.
A unit which accumulates 2 morale failure markers may not advance nearer to any visible enemy. It routs immediately if it receives
a third marker, or if any of the following apply while it still has 2 markers:
• Any of its figures are contacted in close combat by an enemy figure or model.
• It comes under gas attack, whether actually in the beaten zone or as a result of drifting (page 24).

COMMAND AND CONTROL
“Il superiore ha sempre ragione, specialmente quando ha torto.”
(“The boss is always right, especially when he is wrong.”)
— Italian saying, quoted by General Cadorna.
Orders
One of the most obvious characteristics of warfare in this period was the rigid control which generals exercised (or attempted to
exercise) over the troops under their command. To a large extent this was justified, as the huge scale of First World War battlefields
usually prevented local commanders seeing enough of the action to be able to use their initiative, and also because the primitive state
of communications technology made changing orders during a battle very difficult. Unfortunately, therefore, realism requires that
Contemptible Little Armies should incorporate at least a very basic system of written orders. As we prefer to emphasise simplicity
and speed of play rather than paperwork, we regard this as a necessary evil, and so have done our best to make it as unobtrusive and
painless as possible.
Commanders, staff officers, artillery observers, snipers, aircraft and armoured trains never need to be given orders, but can always act
as the player wishes. This also applies generally to units in defence, whose roles are less complex and who can generally be assumed to
be at the end of reasonably intact telephone lines. The scenarios on pages 41 to 44 explain the orders which need to be given to units
in other circumstances. Off-table artillery fire is subject to special rules governing the planning of fire missions, for which see page
22. (See also the sections on Unit Cohesion on page 8, and Target Priorities on page 12.) Apart from these requirements, a player’s
figures may move and shoot as he wishes.
In a game in which movement is not strictly prescribed by orders, the main source of problems is likely to be interactions of the
“if you do that, then I’ll do this” sort. The alternating movement system used in these rules (see page 7) is designed to prevent this,
while also avoiding the unfair advantage which one side can gain if one entire force has to move before the other. It also reflects the
fact that most battles take the form of bursts of action and reaction interrupted by pauses, rather than continuous activity. You will
get the best out of this system if you do not try to think of all movement as simultaneous, but use your tactical skill to decide which
of your side’s units need to move early on in the sequence, and which should wait to see what your opponent does. Exploiting the
move system in this way is entirely within the spirit of the rules.
Another potential source of difficulties is the question of reacting to events which the player is aware of, but which the figures on the
table would not be able to see. In most cases we do not worry about this too much, assuming that the general location of all on-table
troops is either at least vaguely visible or has been revealed in pre-battle orders. However, in situations where a player wishes a unit
to make a drastic (say over 45 degrees) change of direction in response to an as yet unseen threat to its flank or rear, we suggest that
you throw a D6. If the score is at least 2 less than the unit’s Tactical Rating, its officers can use their initiative to redeploy or change
the axis of advance as they wish.
Commanders
Each army must have a Commander-in-Chief figure representing the
senior officer present on the table, plus his staff. Depending on the
scenario and the level of game you prefer to represent, he may be of any
rank from Captain to Major General. He may be depicted either by a
single figure or by a small staff group on a single base. He is not part
of a unit, and does not have to take morale tests. He may if necessary
move, shoot and fight hand-to-hand like an ordinary rifleman, but may
not undertake any command tasks in a turn in which he does so. At
the beginning of the game, players should roll a d6 to determine the
Commander’s Tactical Rating. Results of 1 or 6 should be re-rolled.

Otherwise, he may perform one of these tasks each turn. They are:
1. Change orders and activate Reserve or Second Wave units (see the scenarios on pages 41 to 44).
2. Call for defensive artillery fire if available (page 22).
3. Rally one of his units which has any figures within its Tactical Radius in inches of him. This cannot be done with Irregulars.
To rally a unit the player throws a D6, and succeeds if the result is less than the unit’s Morale Rating. This removes one morale
failure marker from the unit (see page 14).
Staff Officers
An army may also have one or two additional staff officers, whose
function in the game is to reflect the tactical flexibility permitted
by an efficient command structure. As in most periods, some armies
were much better organised and led than others, and this factor is
represented by allowing the following to field up to 2 staff officer
figures each:
• All British, French, German and Japanese armies.

• Turks and Bulgarians from 1915 to 1922. (In the case of
Bulgarians, and Turks before 1919, at least one staff officer
will probably be a German Advisor.)
• Americans in Mexico and Central America (but not in Europe
in 1917 - 18, where their lack of experience in handling large
formations caused serious difficulties).
• All other armies may use only 1 such figure.
A staff officer may be used in two ways:
1. By optionally taking a turn in the alternate move sequence (see page 7) as if he was a unit. He does not need to actually move
to do this, but like a normal unit may simply declare a “no move”. In effect this forces your opponent to move another of his
units without obliging you to commit one of yours until after he has revealed his intentions
2. He may also rally units (page 14) in exactly the same way as a C-in-C figure (see above).
A staff officer figure must always be physically on the table in order to perform any of these functions. He moves at normal infantry
rate, or at cavalry rate if mounted. He may never shoot or move voluntarily into close combat. He may be shot at and killed like
a normal figure, but does not count as a unit for the enemy’s target priority purposes, so will not often be an eligible target. At
the beginning of the game, players should roll a d6 to determine the Commander’s Tactical Rating. Results of 1 or 6 should be re-
rolled.
If he is “killed” by an enemy figure who is within 4 inches of him, or contacted in close combat by any enemy, a staff officer is
considered to be wounded and captured. He may now be used by his captors as an additional staff officer of their own, even if this
now takes them over their normal maximum. This reflects the likelihood that he was carrying maps or other documents which will
help the enemy to gain the initiative.

ON-TABLE UNITS
“After a long peace, the fortune of the next war largely depends upon which of various guesses as to the many changes that have
taken place in warfare and in weapons will be best supported by practice, and what way of using new weapons will prove the most
effective. Until the test of war is applied, all this remains guesswork.”
Hilaire Belloc, “A General Sketch of the European War”, 1915.
The men represented by our figures are grouped into a number of different categories, depending on their armament, methods of
fighting, and overall effectiveness. The troop-types used in the rules are as follows:
Infantry
Infantry must be organised into units with an initial strength of between 8 and 18 figures. In this period they were generally armed
with bolt-action magazine rifles and bayonets, although many reserve, colonial and irregular troops still carried obsolete single shot
breech-loaders. Until around 1916 few infantry units incorporated much in the way of heavier support weapons, but during the
latter half of the Great War these began to appear in ever larger numbers. The following weapons are considered to be integral to
infantry units. They are all carried by a single figure, instead of or as well as a rifle, and their users count towards the figure total for
the unit:
Bombs: Infantry may be equipped with “bombs” or grenades in addition to their other weapons. They may always choose to use
them in preference to other arms if the target is within 2 inches. Bombs were often used in very large numbers, but their effect was
less than might be expected for a number of reasons, including the unreliability of early fuses and the ease with which they could be
seen coming. Infantry throwing bombs are therefore treated as if shooting normally (see pages 10 to 13), but suffer fewer penalties
against certain targets, especially those in cover.
Light Machine Guns: This category covers those light, air-cooled automatic weapons which could be carried and operated by one
man, even though a larger crew was generally provided. It is subdivided into two main types: the first type is basically a lightened
version of an ordinary machine gun, with a substantial magazine, a bipod, and an effective range of around 1000 yards or more.
Examples are the Lewis gun, Madsen and 08/18 Maxim. The second type covers weapons like the Chauchat, Villar Perosa and
Browning Automatic Rifle; these are more like early versions of individual automatic weapons, generally designed for laying down
suppressive fire on the move, less accurate at long range, and in many cases cheaper and more crudely made than the first type.
Any LMG may fire up to 3 shots per turn, as long as all subsequent targets are within 3 inches of the first. No more than 1 shot may
be fired at each target figure.

“Trench Brooms”: From 1918 onwards some assault troops
began to substitute sub-machine guns or pump-action
shotguns for their rifles. Both these types of weapon were
designed as “trench brooms”, delivering heavy firepower
at close range to clear the enemy from trenches and other
defences. They are treated like LMGs for firing, but have a
much shorter range.
Light Mortars: Light trench mortars like the German

“granatenwerfer” types, the French Brandt, and the British
3-inch Stokes were sometimes attached to attacking infantry
to deal with fortifications which ordinary small arms could
not tackle. In this case they are treated as part of the infantry
unit and shoot like small arms, except that they are more effective against targets in cover. However these weapons were not really all
that light, so they move at a slower rate than the infantry (see page 30). The improvised catapult bomb-throwers of 1915 were fairly
useful at close range, and can also be included in this category.
Anti-tank Rifles: The Germans introduced anti-tank rifles around late 1916 in response to the appearance of British tanks. The
earliest versions were allegedly converted elephant guns, but a specially designed weapon in 13mm calibre appeared soon afterwards.
A figure carrying one moves and fires like a normal rifleman, but has a reduced range. The weapon can only be used against
vehicles.
Flamethrowers: Only flamethrowers of the lighter portable type, such as the German Wex and the French Schilt, are considered
here, as the heavier models like the British Livens Projector were so immobile as to be pretty well useless except in the special
circumstances of static trench warfare. In the First World War they were restricted mainly to the French, Germans, and Italian
“Arditi.” Flamethrowers count targets in trenches or fortifications of any type as if they were in the open. They use the usual
procedure for firing, but each throw 4 dice per turn, which may be used against up to 4 different targets, as long as all are within 2
inches of the first. Alternatively, any or all of the dice may be used against the same target.
Our Army List books set out in detail what support weapons are permitted to various types of infantry. In general, however, no unit
should have more than 1 LMG, light mortar or anti-tank rifle before 1917, and 2 afterwards. “Trench brooms” cannot be used before
1918, and in most cases should be restricted to a small proportion of each unit. No army should field more than 6 flamethrowers
in total.
Cavalry
Cavalry are treated for organizational purposes as if they were infantry mounted on horses, and form units in the same size range.
However, in many armies they were still armed with short carbines instead of the rifles of the infantry. Cavalry may mount or
dismount without penalty at the beginning of their movement phase, and then count as either mounted or dismounted - with
the resulting advantages and disadvantages - for the whole of that turn. When dismounted, they are treated exactly the same as
infantry.
Theoretically, cavalry may carry any of the support weapons available to the infantry, although in practice they are likely to be more
lightly equipped. Any of these weapons can be used only if dismounted.
Snipers
A sniper is treated as an independent figure, and is not attached to any unit. He moves and shoots like an ordinary rifleman, but has a
longer range (see page 30), and does not have to obey any target priorities. Each army may deploy up to 2 snipers. A sniper receives a
saving throw against all direct fire from further away than 4 inches, to reflect the effectiveness of his camouflage and fieldcraft. Throw
a D6; if the score is less than his Tactical Rating, the target is unhurt. As a sniper always represents only one man - as opposed to a
variable but significant number in the case of ordinary troops - he is automatically eliminated if he is contacted in close combat.

Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs)
This category covers all tripod-mounted
crewed automatic weapons such as the
Maxim, Hotchkiss and Vickers guns, which
were usually referred to as heavy or medium
machine guns. An HMG with its crew counts
for all purposes - including close combat - as
an individual figure, and is best mounted on
a single large base incorporating 2 or 3 crew
figures.
An HMG may not fire if it moved this turn or

last. It may shoot at up to 6 different targets
per turn, as long as they are all within 6 inches
of the first, and no more than one shot is fired against each target. HMGs often had crews of up to 10 men, including ammunition
carriers, but in an emergency could be operated by only one or two. Therefore an HMG receives a saving throw against all shooting
except from bombs and flamethrowers; if the score of a D6 is less than its Morale Rating, the gun can continue unaffected. This
simulates the likelihood that enough of the crew will be unhurt and unshaken to keep it in action.
Unless overridden by a specific Army List, a force should normally field no more than 1 HMG for every 3 infantry and cavalry
units. However, if defending from 1916 onwards 2 extra guns, in addition to those allowed by this rule, may be used. Each HMG is
treated as an independent unit. It is therefore in effect immune to morale tests for casualties (though not for other causes), and either
continues to fight at full strength or is destroyed.
MG 08/15s
A special rule is required for the 08/15 Maxim, which was used by the Germans from 1916 onwards. This was a lightened version
of the standard Maxim HMG, but it retained the water jacket, which made it too heavy to count as a proper LMG. On the other
hand this meant that it was more suitable for sustained fire. Therefore we treat it the same as a normal HMG (including points cost),
except as follows:
Its maximum range is 24 inches.
It does not need to spend a whole turn stationary before the one in which it fires: ie. it can shoot in any turn in which it does not
move, like an LMG.
Field Artillery
Field guns are those normally used for direct fire on the battlefield. They may be of any calibre up to 122mm, and are generally all
treated as equivalent. The only exceptions are the French 75mm M1897 and the British Mark IV 18-pounder of 1918, which had
advanced hydraulic recoil systems permitting a very high rate of fire, and receive a shooting bonus (page 12) to reflect this. Most
rounds fired will be shrapnel, but different ammunition types are not taken into account for the purpose of direct fire.
Field guns fire once per turn like a normal figure, at targets to which they have a direct line of sight, except that if the target figure
is hit, all other non-vehicle figures inside the same building - or within 2 inches of him if in the open or in the same trench - must
dice to see if they are caught by stray rounds or flying shrapnel. This applies even if such figures are separated from the target by the
crest of a hill. Each such figure becomes a casualty on a score of 5 or 6. If the original target is missed, this is probably because the
range has been estimated wrongly, and the round has fallen well over or short. Therefore other figures in the vicinity are not diced
for in this case.

Like an HMG, each field gun counts as an independent unit. Together with its crew it counts for all purposes - including hand-to-
hand combat - as a single figure, and receives the same saving throw against shooting. It may not fire if it moved this turn or last.
Restrictions on Use
Up to 1 field gun may be used for every 3 infantry and cavalry units fielded.
Specialised Artillery
Light Infantry or Mountain Guns

Several armies attempted to develop a lighter, more
portable artillery piece designed to advance with the
infantry and engage enemy machine gun nests with
direct fire. Unfortunately their tactical influence was
slight, mainly because they were still not as portable as
they could have been. This category is defined by tactical
handling rather than just by calibre, but it cannot include
anything larger than 65mm, German attempts to convert
their 77mms and captured Russian 76.2mms into close-
range weapons notwithstanding. Light guns include the
French and Austrian 37mms, and the French 65mm
Schneider-Ducrest mountain gun, though not the much
heavier Italian Model 1911 weapon of the same calibre.
They cost the same and are treated the same as ordinary
field artillery, except as follows:
1. Maximum range is reduced to 40 inches, or 24

inches if used in the anti-tank gun role against armoured vehicles.
2. They can shoot in any turn in which they have not moved, and do not need to spend an extra turn halted before they can
do so.
3. Figures within 2 inches of a target, which would normally be hit on a dice score of 5 or 6, require a throw of 6 to become
casualties.
Trench Mortars and Anti-tank Guns:

Trench Mortars are treated the same as field artillery, except that they have a shorter range and cannot be moved during the game.
Anti-tank guns can only be used against vehicles, and never cause collateral damage.
Restrictions on Use:
Up to 1 field gun may be used for every 3 infantry and cavalry units fielded. (This includes all types of specialised artillery.) Anti-tank
guns cannot be used before 1917.

OFF-TABLE ARTILLERY.
“To the bitter end of the war it remained the greatest wonder that so much ammunition could be expended without hurting
anyone but the taxpayer.” — Charles Carrington, Royal Warwickshire Regt.
This covers guns, howitzers and mortars which are not actually present on the tabletop, but have been allocated to support the battle
in your army’s sector with long-range indirect fire, ie. against targets which the gunners themselves cannot see. Because this was such
a significant feature of the First World War - especially on the Western Front - we have to go into it in considerable detail. In other
theatres and conflicts, such as the Russian and Chinese Civil Wars, it was much less important, and players concentrating on these
subjects may prefer to ignore this section of the rules. The number of points which may be spent on off-table artillery depends mainly
on the game scenario (pages 41 to 44). Army Lists may give additional restrictions on the amount and types of artillery available to
different forces.
Observers
Any army is allowed to field up to one on-table artillery observer, although in practice many will have no need for one, as they cannot
use the types of artillery which he is required to control. His function is to spot for and control Opportunity Fire and some other
kinds of artillery support. An observer is treated for movement purposes like a staff officer (see page 17), but receives the same saving
throw against fire as a sniper (page 19). He does not fight or take morale tests, and is eliminated if contacted in close combat.
Types Of Artillery Support
Static Barrage
A static barrage may only be used by an attacking player. It is permitted to all armies, and may use any ammunition type not
prohibited by date or army list restrictions. It is paid for and placed in “beaten zones” of 4 inches radius from specified point, each
of which is assumed to represent the area affected by the fire of one battery. The target points and timings (ie. the turns in which the
fire is to arrive) must be accurately marked on an attacker’s map before any figures are deployed by either side. The guns are assumed
to have been registered in advance, so it is not necessary to dice to see if the fire deviates from the designated targets.
In most cases a static barrage must commence at the beginning of the game, and last for a predetermined number of turns. It cannot
be restarted once it has ceased, and an individual battery may not change targets during the game. However British and French
artillery after 1916, and Germans after 1917, may write a fire plan in which batteries change to new targets, stop and/or resume
firing at preplanned intervals, and cease firing in response to a flare signal from an on-table observer. The player may choose for the
latter to happen at any time during the game, as long as the observer has a line of sight to the target point.
Rolling or Creeping Barrage

This is treated in the same way as a static barrage, except that it is bought and placed in “blocks” 6 inches wide by 3 inches deep,
and must move towards the enemy’s table edge at a fixed rate of 6 inches a turn. A rolling barrage is permitted only to British and
French armies after 1916, and Germans after 1917. It may employ any ammunition type except machine guns, super heavy high
explosive, or gas.
Defensive Barrage
A defensive barrage is deployed in beaten zones like those of a static barrage. It is available to British, French and German armies
after 1915, and to others after 1916. It can only be used by a defending player, but may use any permitted ammunition type except
super heavy high explosive or smoke. It is plotted on a map before the game, but does not actually arrive until it is called for by an
on-table observer or the defending army’s C-in-C, using a telephone or flare signal. Either of these must be able to see enemy figures
in the zone to be covered by the fire before he can call for it. When he does so, he must specify the number of turns - up to 3 - for
which the fire will last. This cannot be changed subsequently.
When requesting a defensive barrage the player must dice for the fire to arrive, needing to roll less than the artillery’s Tactical Rating

to succeed. If he does so, the fire will arrive immediately (ie. in the relevant phase of the same turn). If he fails he may repeat the
request twice more, dicing once per turn. If he has not been successful after three attempts we assume that the telephone lines have
been cut or communications otherwise disrupted, and no more requests for defensive barrages may be made by that player for the
rest of the game.
Opportunity Fire
It was rare in this period for indirect opportunity fire to be called in on a target which had not been previously registered, as the
necessary technology was still in its infancy. However, any British, French or German army after 1916 may dedicate a single battery
to opportunity fire, using any ammunition except super heavy high explosive or gas. An on-table observer can then request it to fire
on any target which he can see. The procedure is exactly the same as for a defensive barrage, except that the player must score at least
2 less than the artillery’s Tactical Rating to succeed. Any change in the aiming point counts as a new mission, and must be diced for
again. The guns cannot be given a new task in any turn in which they fire.
Because the target is not registered, however, there is a good chance that the fire will be inaccurate. A second dice throw of at least
2 under its Tactical Rating is needed for it to hit the exact aiming point specified in the first turn. If it does not hit, dice again for
deviation: first throw 2 D6 and add the scores to give the distance in inches by which it misses the target, then throw another D6
for the direction:
Die Result Result

1 to 3 Short (ie. in the direction of the firer’s base edge).
4 Right (from the point of view of the firing player).
5 Left.
6 Over (in the direction of the enemy’s base edge).
Counterbattery Fire
Any army may dedicate one off-table battery to counterbattery fire. In reality this was a complex process, involving locating enemy
guns by sound, flash spotting or aerial reconnaissance, then calculating the range and correcting the fire on a target which was usually
invisible to direct observation. We have simplified it for game purposes, merely requiring the battery to nominate any enemy off-
table battery which fired last turn, then throw a variable number of dice for the effect.
The number of dice thrown reflects the army’s technical proficiency in counterbattery work. Before 1916, all armies throw 2 per
turn; after that British and French throw 4, all others 3. If any of the dice is a 6, the target battery has been hit and its operations
disrupted. It must cease fire for 1 turn, after which it can resume where it left off. If 2 6s are thrown in any one turn, the target
battery has been destroyed.
Ammunition Types
Off-table artillery may fire the following types or combinations of ammunition:
Shrapnel
All armies may use shrapnel. Its popularity was due mainly to the fact that it was easy to manufacture rather than particularly
effective, and large quantities had been stockpiled before the experience of war revealed its limitations. It has no effect on troops in
trenches, nor on vehicles, buildings or fortifications, but other figures which are in the beaten zone of shrapnel must dice, becoming
casualties on a score of 5 or 6 if moving, or 6 if they are stationary throughout the turn.
High Explosive
High explosive may also be used by any army’s artillery. It is assumed to involve a mixture of calibres, including some medium shells
capable of collapsing trenches. It was more effective than shrapnel against dug-in troops, but a shortage of good fuses made it rather
unpredictable. It has no effect on concrete fortifications or deep dugouts. Tanks, and men in trenches, within the beaten zone are hit
on a score of 6, all other figures on a 5 or 6.

Heavy High Explosive
This category covers shells fired by guns of 8-inch/200mm calibre or more. Their greater explosive power is largely cancelled out
by their slower rate of fire, so they have the same effect as normal high explosive on troops in the open or in trenches. However if a
concrete fortification or deep dugout is wholly or partly covered by the beaten zone, it must dice. On a score of 6 it has collapsed,
and all figures inside are killed. Heavy high explosive can be used by any army unless prohibited by army lists.
Super Heavy High Explosive

Players may occasionally wish to employ exceptionally heavy guns (like the German 420mm “Big Bertha”, for example, or the
British 12- and 14-inch railway guns) for the bombardment of fortifications, or just to make a spectacular bang. Only Germans and
Austrians from 1914, French from 1915, and British and Italians from 1916 may use super heavy high explosive, and no army may
field more than one gun. Each gun counts as a battery, and may only be used by the attacker in a Prepared Attack game. It must
spend 2 turns reloading after each shot before it can fire again, but this does not count as an interruption of its task for the purposes
of planning barrages (see page 22). A hit by such a gun destroys any figure, vehicle, building or fortification of whatever type in its
4 inch radius beaten zone on a score of 4 or better.
Machine Gun Barrages

Only British from 1916, and Germans from 1918, may use machine gun barrages. They are ineffective against armoured vehicles,
fortifications, buildings, or dug-in or halted troops, but can be devastating against other targets, as the bullets travel faster than sound
and so arrive without warning. Any unarmoured vehicles, or figures moving on foot or horseback in the open, within the beaten zone
become casualties on a score of 4 or better.
Smoke
For the effects of smoke, see under Visibility (page 8). Smoke shells may be used by the British from 1917, and by other armies from
1918. Apart from British after 1917, no army may use more than 1 battery firing smoke for up to 2 turns during the game.
High Explosive and Smoke

This combines the effects of both types of ammunition, and is subject to the same restrictions on use as smoke.
Gas
Gas warfare is indiscriminate, unpleasant, and not particularly effective under most conditions. Many wargamers prefer to avoid
using it, but it can hardly be ignored in a set of rules dealing with this period. Therefore we simplify the subject, and treat all the
various types of gas the same. Only gas shells fired by artillery are covered here: projector or “cloud” gas attacks could be built into
certain scenarios, but are not on the whole conducive to a good game, being either totally devastating or utterly useless, depending
on such uncontrollable factors as the weather. Gas shells may be used by French and Germans from 1916, and by British, Italians
and Austrians from 1917.
We assume that in areas where gas is likely to be used, all troops except Irregulars will possess respirators (including the horses of the
cavalry and field artillery), so immediate casualties are likely to be negligible. (Figures do not need to pay for these respirators under
the points system.) All figures in the beaten zone are affected, but rather than dicing for hits, they suffer a reduction in their fighting
performance (see pages 30 and 32) while wearing their masks. This lasts for 3 turns after they leave the beaten zone or the gas attack
ceases. Irregulars must also take a morale test if gassed (page 14).
In addition to those in the beaten zone, all units which have figures within 18 inches of the zone must dice each turn to see if any of
the gas drifts in their direction. On a score of 5 or 6, the whole unit is affected in the same way as if it was in the beaten zone itself.
Gas and High Explosive, or Gas and Smoke

These combinations may be used by any army which is allowed to fire both types of ammunition, and simply combine the effects
of both types.

Tanks and Armoured Cars
“Pretty mechanical toys.” — Lord Kitchener, 1916.
Armoured vehicles operate independently, with each one counting as a separate unit. Their performance and armament varied a
great deal, so their characteristics are listed here individually (including some which in reality never saw action), although only a
representative selection of the enormous variety of armoured cars in use - many of them improvised one-offs - is provided for.
Breaking Down
The mechanical reliability of tanks improved rapidly after 1916, but was never very satisfactory. After every turn of movement, a tank
must throw 2D6 to see if it has broken down. The total scores needed for it to do so are as follows:
Countries Die Roll

German and Italian tanks, and all 11 or 12
others before April 1917:
British, French, Russian and US 12
tanks from April 1917:
A broken-down tank may still shoot, but it may not move for the remainder of the game. Other vehicles do not need to test for
breaking down.
Unarmoured Machine Gun Carriers

Numerous types of unarmoured vehicles were fitted with machine guns in this period, including motorcycles, open-topped lorries,
and ordinary cars. For simplicity, we treat them all as if they were armed with a single machine gun which can shoot all round.
These vehicles are dealt with exactly like armoured cars, except that their vulnerability to all shooting is the same as that of an
ordinary figure (their multiple crews and the larger target which they present being assumed to cancel out). They cannot count the
benefit of cover, nor the “minus 1” shooting modifier (page 12) for being stationary throughout the turn.
A Russian HMG on a horse-drawn

cart or “tachanka” is treated exactly
the same, except that it moves in all
terrain at cavalry rate, and cannot
shoot in any turn in which it has
moved.
Restrictions on Use
The table below gives the dates from
which the main types of armoured
vehicle were in service. For more
details on which types were used by
which armies see the accompanying
Army List books. No army may
field more than 1 fighting vehicle
(including unarmoured machine
gun carriers) for every 3 infantry and
cavalry units.

Type Date Armament Move Points
British
Rolls Royce A/C 1914 1xMG(T) * 60
Lanchester A/C 1914 1xMG(T) * 60
Austin A/C 1916 2xMG(ST) * 70
Mark I - V tank 1916 4xMG(S); or 2xFG(S), 2xMG(S) 1xD6 120
Medium A “Whippet” 1918 1xMG(T) 2xD6 80
Medium “C” or “D” 1919 1xMG(T); or 1xFG(FF) 2xD6 80
Mk VIII tank 1919 2xFG(S), 2xMG(S), xFG(FF), 1xMG(T) 1xD6 150
R.E. Tank 1919 2xMG(S)** 1xD6 100
French
Charron A/C 1914 1xMG(T) * 60
White A/C 1916 1xFG(T), 1xMG(T)*** * 70
Schneider tank 1917 1xFG(FF), 2xMG(S) 1xD6 100
St. Chamond tank 1917 1xFG(FF), 2xMG(FF), 2xMG(S) 1xD6 120
Renault FT 1918 1xFG(T); or 1xMG(T) 1xD6 70
Char 2C 1919 1xFG(T), 2xMG(T), 2xMG(S)**** 1xD6 170
German
Erhardt A/C 1915 1xMG(T) * 60
Bussing Nag A/C 1915 1xMG(T) * 60
A7V 1918 1xFG(FF), 4xMG(S) 1xD6 120
K-Wagen 1919 4xFG(S), 6xMG(S), 1xMG(FF), 1xMG(R) 1xD6 200
LK II 1919 2xMG(FF); or 1xFG(FF) 2xD6 70
Austrian
Romfell A/C 1915 1xMG(T) * 60
Juncoviz 1 & 2 A/C 1915 1xMG(FF), 2xMG(S) * 80
Belgian
SAVA /Minerva A/C 1914 1xMG(T) * 60
Italian
Lancia IZ A/C 1915 1xMG(T) * 60
Tipo 2000 tank 1919 1xFG(T), 2xMG(FF), 4xMG(S), 1xMG(R) 1xD6 150
Tipo 3000 tank 1921 2xMG(T) 2xD6 80
Russian
Austin-Putilov A/C 1916 2xMG(T) * 80
Austin-Putilov ½-trk 1917 2xMG(T) ***** 80
Treat the Russian KS tank the same as the French FT (which is basically what it is).
American
Ford Mark I tank 1919 1xMG(FF) 1xD6 60

Key to Vehicle Armament Data
FG: Field gun of between 37mm and 75mm calibre.
MG: Machine gun (treated for most purposes as an HMG).
FF: Forward firing. Arc of fire is 15 degrees either side of

straight ahead, except for the French Schneider tank, which
may fire in a 45 degree arc to the right of straight ahead.
S: Sponsoned or side-facing. Half of the total number of guns

may fire in a 160 degree arc to either side, but none can shoot
within 10 degrees of directly ahead or behind.
T: Rotating turret. Arc of fire is 360 degrees. Two offset

turrets, as in the Russian Austin-Putilov armoured car, are
treated like a single turret mounting 2 guns. Most German
armoured cars, like the British Whippet tank, actually had several guns firing in different directions out of slits in a fixed turret, but
not enough crewmen to operate them all simultaneously. Therefore they too are treated as if they were single weapons in a rotating
turret.
ST: Twin side-by-side turrets as in the case of the Austin armoured car. Half of the weapons may fire in a 180 degree arc to each side;
all of them may also fire directly ahead or behind.
R: Rear-firing, up to 15 degrees either side of directly behind.
(See page 12 for the rules governing firing from and at tanks and armoured cars.)
Notes
*Movement rates are given only for tracked (and half-tracked) vehicles, as armoured cars move at the standard rate for wheeled
vehicles (see page 30).
** British R.E. (Royal Engineer) tanks each carry one large fascine, which can be used to bridge any trench, ditch or stream. It is
assumed to be 4 inches wide, and allows all figures and vehicles to cross the obstacle over that frontage as if it was open ground. The
tank needs to spend one full turn halted to place the fascine.
*** The French White armoured car had a 37mm gun and a machine gun pointing out of the same turret in different directions;
both of these have a 360 arc of fire, but only one can be used in a turn.
**** The Char 2C had exceptionally thick armour for the period. Therefore it is invulnerable to HMGs and anti-tank rifles firing
from within its 180 degree frontal arc.
***** The Austin-Putilov half-track travels at 2xD6 inches in good going, and D6-2 in difficult. It may destroy wire like a tank, but
cannot cross trenches or other obstacles.

Aircraft
“L’aviation, c’est du sport.” — General Foch, c. 1912.
In the early part of this period the role of aircraft was mainly restricted to scouting, and even
here their impact was limited to large-scale strategy, owing to the length of time needed to
bring back and process their information. This role can therefore be ignored in a tabletop
game. The small bombs and flechettes which were sometimes carried at this time were
of mainly nuisance value, and were far too inaccurate to be of much use except against
large buildings, transport, and possibly dense columns of marching troops. Around 1916,
however, aircraft began to intervene more directly in land battles, either by bombing or low
level strafing attacks using machine guns. This is the role in which aircraft are used in these
rules. We do not normally distinguish between different types of machine (this is not a set
of air warfare rules, after all), so treat them all with the rules below.
Procedure for Employing Aircraft

Aircraft are bought as part of the on-table points total for a game scenario, but do not appear automatically on the table when
required. Instead the player must dice for each machine at the beginning of each turn, starting with the first, and needs to throw
under its Tactical Rating on a D6 for it to arrive. Aircraft may be placed on the table at any point along the player’s baseline, and
may make a full move from there. They need not be given orders, but can attack any targets the player wishes - other than buildings,
fortifications and armoured vehicles (subject to the misidentification rules, below). They may remain on the table for up to 6 turns,
or until forced to retire by damage. They may not be used at night or in fog.
Aircraft move up to 6D6 in inches. Their movement is not affected by terrain features, but line of sight to or from them may be
blocked by smoke, hills, woods or buildings in exactly the same way as if they were at ground level. They may move their full
permitted distance and still shoot without penalty.
Attacks by Aircraft
All aircraft are assumed to be attacking with one or more machine guns, and all fire with the same effect. A machine may fire up
to 6 shots per turn, as long as all subsequent targets are within 4 inches of the first. No more than one shot may be fired against
each figure. Maximum range is 6 inches. The normal modifiers for ground fire (page 12) do not apply. The following dice scores are
required to hit:
Unit Die Roll

Mounted cavalry, unarmoured vehicles or 4+
infantry in close order, if in the open
Other figures in the open 5+
Figures in cover or in trenches 6
It was common for pilots to misidentify friendly troops as enemies, so whenever a machine’s route takes it within 6 inches of friendly
infantry or cavalry not deployed in their own side’s trenches or fortifications, the player must throw another D6. On a score of 6, the
aircraft must attack the first friendly unit encountered for one turn.
Anti-Aircraft Fire
Aircraft may be fired at by specially mounted anti-aircraft guns, or by troops on foot with rifles or LMGs. Any army from 1916
onwards may field up to 2 anti-aircraft guns. These were usually fixed on fairly inflexible high-angle mountings, and so cannot be
used to fire at ground targets. As in all other circumstances, a target is only eligible if it is in range at the end of the movement
phase. The maximum range for anti-aircraft guns is 24 inches, and for other weapons 6 inches. For his purpose all figures can shoot

all round unless their line of sight is blocked. Throw 1D6 per turn for each anti-aircraft gun, 1 for
every 2 LMGs, and 1 for every 8 riflemen.
A score of 6 means that the target has been hit and suffered damage. It immediately cancels its
mission and is removed permanently from the table. However, an armoured ground attack machine
like the Sopwith Salamander or Junkers J1 receives a saving throw against each hit. Dice again, and
if the result is 3 or less, the aircraft may carry on unaffected.
Troops on the ground were even more prone to firing at friendly aircraft than vice versa, so any anti-aircraft gun or rifle-armed unit
which has any figures within range of a friendly machine at the end of the movement phase must also dice. On a score of 5 or 6,
anti-aircraft guns, and other figures which have not moved and do not have an enemy ground target available to fire at, must shoot
at the aircraft his turn.
Air-to-Air Combat
If machines from opposing sides are on the table at the same time they fight each other on a one-to-one basis, preventing either
from interfering in the ground battle. As it would slow the game excessively to keep on abandoning the main action to fight aerial
combats, we also simplify this process drastically. Each aircraft throws a D6. If the scores are equal or differ by only 1, continue the
dogfight in subsequent turns until it is resolved. If one scores at least 2 more than its opponent, the lower scorer is shot down or
driven off, and takes no further part in the game. The winner may resume the ground attack role next turn. Any aircraft in excess of
those needed to fight enemy machines may attack ground targets as normal.
Restrictions on Use
Ground attack aircraft may not be used before 1916. British, French or Germans from 1917 may field up to 2 models. In all other
cases, an army may use only 1. Only British and Germans from 1918 may use armoured ground attack types.

TROOP CHARACTERISTICS
The following table gives the main movement and shooting data for each on-table troop type. See the appropriate sections on
movement and shooting for further details.
Unit Firing Movement

Maximum Range No. of Dice Good Going/Difficult
Infantry (rifle) 12 1 2D6/1D6
Infantry (“Marksman”) 18 1 2D6/1D6
Infantry (carbine) 8 1 2D6/1D6
Infantry (“trench broom”) 4 3 2D6/1D6
Light Machine Gun (Lewis type) 24 3 2D6/1D6
Light Machine Gun (Chauchat type) 18 3 2D6/1D6
Anti-tank Rifle 8 1 2D6/1D6
Sniper 18 1 2D6/1D6
Flamethrower 4 4 2D6/1D6
Light Mortar 18 1 1D6/D6-2
Regular Cavalry (weapons as for infantry) 4D6/1D6

Irregular Cavalry 6 1 4D6/2D6
All wheeled vehicles (weapons variable) 4D6/2D6*
Heavy Machine Gun 40 6 1D6/D6-2

MG08/15 Machine Gun 24 6 1D6/D6-2
Vehicle-mounted Machine Gun 24 3 (movement as for vehicles)
Field Gun 80 1 1D6/D6-3

Light Infantry or Mountain Gun 40/24** 1 1D6/D6-2
Anti-tank Gun 24 1 1D6/D6-2
Trench Mortar 36 1 (no movement allowed)
Aircraft 6 6 6D6***
Notes
* Wheeled vehicles may move the score of 4D6 on roads, and 2D6 in good going, but may not move in difficult terrain.
** Light Guns have a maximum range of 24 inches against armoured vehicles and 40 inches against other targets.
*** Aircraft movement is not affected by terrain.

TACTICAL AND MORALE RATINGS.
“Better command a resolute section than a wavering company.” — Lt. Ernst Junger, German Stormtrooper.
Each on-table fighting unit, except for aircraft and armoured trains, must be given a Tactical and a Morale Rating of between 2 (the
worst) and 5 (the best). The former reflects the quality of leadership and training, and the latter the men’s enthusiasm for combat.
Aircraft and off-table artillery require a Tactical Rating only.
In addition, infantry and cavalry units may be given special qualities, as follows:
“Close Order” applies only to infantry. These troops are trained to manoeuvre and attack in dense columns (see Unit Cohesion, page
8) - a method which speeds deployment and movement, and makes it easier for the officers to exercise control, but risks incurring
very heavy casualties against determined opposition. The Germans used this tactic extensively in the opening campaigns of 1914,
but without much success.
“Ferocious” infantry are those with a special enthusiasm for close combat, especially the use of the bayonet, and an exceptional
disregard for casualties when going forward. Examples are British Highlanders, French African Tirailleurs, late war German
stormtroopers, and White Russian officers` companies.
“Stubborn” troops are infantry who are known for their tenacity in defence, especially when in linear positions. Many British and
Turkish troops, for instance, come into his category.
“Marksmen” are rifle-armed infantry or cavalry who are exceptionally well trained in musketry, and so are able to combine a high rate
of fire with long-range accuracy. The best known examples are British regulars in 1914 and US regulars in 1918.
“Irregulars” may be infantry or cavalry. They do not belong to conventional military units, but compensate for lack of formal
training with individual skill and determination. They do not need a Tactical Rating, but have a Morale Rating like normal units.
Irregular cavalry are assumed to be armed with a mixture of long-range weaponry, including relatively modern rifles and carbines,
jezails or equivalent obsolete longarms, pistols, and (in Mongolia for example) possibly even bows. Examples of Irregular troops are
Montenegrin levies, Lawrence’s Arab allies, and Central Asian Basmachis.
The following list gives some examples of suggested ratings for popular wargames units.
These will not necessarily be appropriate for all the units in these categories. For more detailed treatment, see the Army List booklets
which accompany these rules.
Special qualities are listed as:
“C” for “Close Order”

“F” for “Ferocious”
“S” for “Stubborn”
“M” for “Marksmen”

Unit Tactical Morale Special
British Expeditionary Force, 1914 5 5 S, M
British “New Armies”, 1915 - 1916 3 5
Most British, 1917 onwards 4 4 S
ANZACs, Canadians and elite British divisions 5 4 F or S
French Colonial troops etc, 1914 2 5 F, C

Most French, 1915 - 1918 4 4
French Foreign Legion 4 5 F
German Regulars, 1914 - early 1918 4 4 C

German cavalry in 1914 3 4
Most Germans, mid-1918 onwards 4 3
German stormtroopers, 1917 - 1918 5 5 F
Austrian “German” and “Hungarian” infantry 3 4

Austrian “Slav” infantry 3 3
Austrian cavalry, 1914 - 1915 2 5
Russian Regulars 1914, and Guards 1914 - 1915 4 5 S

Most Russians, 1915 - 1916 2 4
Russian cavalry 4 4
Most Bolsheviks, 1918 - 1922 2 3 S
Elite White Russians, 1918 - 1921 2 5 F
Most Italians 3 4
Italian Alpini or Bersaglieri 5 4
Italian Arditi assault troops 4 5 F
Turkish Nizam infantry and artillery 3 5 S

Turkish cavalry and reservists 2 4
US Marines or regular army, 1917 -1918 5 5 M

Most Americans, 1917 - 1918 2 5
Chinese “dare to die” or “big sword” troops, 1916 - 1928 3 5 F

Most Chinese warlords’ troops, 1916 - 1928 2 3 C
Kuomintang troops, 1928 3 4 S
All armoured and unarmoured wheeled vehicles 4 5

All tanks 3 5
Aircraft do not need Morale Ratings, and only require a Tactical Rating for the purpose of dicing for arrival. They should be given a
rating of 4 before 1918, and 5 thereafter.

POINT VALUES
An optional system of points values is provided with these rules, so that players can select forces for a game which is at least roughly
balanced. These are also recommended for use in a campaign, when pre-game events will dictate the relative sizes of the armies.
On-table Troops
Troop Type Cost
Basic cost of any figure Tactical Rating + Morale Rating
Ground Mounted HMG w/crew

French 75mm w/crew Same cost as 8 Basic Figures
British Mark IV 18 Pounder Field Gun w/crew
All other Field Guns Same cost as 6 Basic figures
Trench Mortar
Anti-Tank Gun Same cost as 4 Basic figures
Anti-aircraft Gun
Irregular unit figure Morale Rating +3

Commander in Chief Free
Artillery Observer
50 Points
Staff Officer
Mounted Staff Officer 60 Points

Upgrades Cost
If rifle-armed figure not equipped with bombs -1 Point
If armed with a carbine or single shot rifle -2 Points
If figure is cavalry +2 Points
If figure is “Stubborn” +2 Points
If figure is “Ferocious” +3 Points
If figure is “Marksman” +4 Points
If figure equipped with Bangalore torpedos for destroying wire +4 Points
If figure armed with light LMG similar to Chauchat or BAR +6 Points
If figure armed with Lewis-type LMG +12 Points
If figure armed with flamethrower +12 Points
If figure armed with anti-tank rifle +12 Points
If figure is a sniper +12 Points
Wire Cutters & Gas Masks Free

Vehicles and Fortifications Cost
Aircraft 150 Points
Armoured Ground-Attack Aircraft 200 Points
Unarmoured Motorized Machine Gun Carries

50 Points
Horse-drawn Tacchankas
Armoured Vehicles See page 26 for point values

Fortifications and other Defensive Equipment See pages 37-40 for point values
Off-table Artillery
The points cost of off-table artillery is calculated using a different system. One turn of static or rolling barrage fire costs the following
per battery, depending on the type of ammunition used:
Artillery Type Cost

Shrapnel 15 Points
High Explosive 25 Points
Heavy High Explosive 35 Points
Super Heavy High Explosive 40 Points
Machine Guns 25 Points
Smoke 35 Points
High Explosive and Smoke 50 Points
Gas 40 Points
Gas and High Explosive 60 Points
Gas and Smoke 60 Points
10X Tactical Rating of

Defensive Barrage Fire
battery per turn
Dedicated Opportunity Fire Battery 25X Tactical Rating
25 Points per die per turn

Dedicated Counterbattery Fire
(see page 23)

TERRAIN AND COVER
“My God! Did we really send men to fight in that?” — Attributed to Haig`s Chief of Staff at Passchendaele, 1917.
The terrain pieces which represent the topographical features of our battlefields may affect play in three ways: by reducing visibility;
by providing cover against shooting; and by slowing movement. These terrain pieces are classified under the following broad
headings:
Low Hills
These are relatively gentle folds and rises in the ground, which do not affect movement (although other features which do may be
superimposed on them). For simplicity, assume that the crest is a line bisecting the feature along its greatest length; any line of sight
crossing this crest is blocked. Also remember, however, that regardless of how we depict them on the table real hills are continuously
curved, and not built up in layers of flat contours. Any point on a hill should therefore normally be considered to be higher than any
two other points which are further away from the centre of the crest, and so will block line of sight between them. All lines of sight
longer than 4 inches between figures anywhere on the same hill - though not between those on the hill and those on level ground
below - should also be considered to be blocked for the same reason.
Escarpments
Escarpments are steep slopes between 4 and 12 inches wide, which may either surround a flat-topped hill or form a linear feature
running all or part of the way across the table. They may be either continuous or broken by gaps, which represent easier slopes and
count as open ground. Escarpments slow movement for cavalry, tanks, and troops on foot other than Irregulars. They are impassable
to wheeled vehicles except along a road or track. Infantry halted on the slopes count as in cover against shooting. Escarpments do
not in themselves affect line of sight, but a figure which is more than 2 inches beyond the top edge of the slope cannot see or be seen
by figures which are below that edge, whether on the slope itself or on level ground beneath.
Steep Hills
These may have a central ridge or crest, or be
treated as if they are a flat area of flat rocky
ground at the top, entirely surrounded by an
escarpment. The slag heaps found in industrial
areas of Flanders also come into this category.
Steep hills are impassable to vehicles, and
normally slow movement for all other figures;
alternatively they may be designated as too
steep to be climbed by any troops except by
a track. Such a track must be negotiated in
both directions at reduced speed and in single
file, and may only be used by infantry and
HMGs.
Woods
Stands of dense, tall vegetation, which may in
fact be anything from thick scrub to mature
forest. Woods are impassable to vehicles,
and slow movement for other troops. They
provide figures inside them with cover against
shooting. Any line of sight which passes though
more than 1 inch of a wood is blocked.

Scrub or Open Woods
Also covers woods which have already been extensively damaged by shellfire before the game begins. Treat as woods, but may be
crossed by tanks and (at reduced speed) by half-tracks. Line of sight is blocked by 4 inches of this type of terrain.
Broken Ground
This represents scattered boulders, rubble or crater fields, which may be either on a hill or on level ground. Crater fields may be
superimposed on a marsh. Broken ground is impassable to wheeled vehicles, and slows movement for all other troops except infantry
and tanks. It does not block line of sight, but figures which are stationary on foot in crater fields or amongst rubble count as if dug
in against direct fire.
Crops
Crops slow wheeled vehicles, but do not otherwise affect movement or block line of sight. Infantry in standing crops count as in
cover against direct fire.
Built-up Areas
Treat a built-up area as a single continuous terrain piece, ignoring the individual buildings, which are only there for the sake of
appearance and can be moved about as desired to facilitate the movement of figures. Any line of sight passing through more than 3
inches of the terrain piece is blocked unless it is along a straight road. Intact built-up areas slow all troops except infantry and tanks.
Stationary figures on foot inside them count as dug in against direct fire. Damaged or destroyed towns and villages are treated the
same, except that the rubble-strewn streets make them impassable to wheeled vehicles, and slow all other troops except tanks.
Marsh
Marsh does not block line of sight or provide cover, but slows all movement. Only infantry may move in marshes; HMGs may be
placed there at the beginning of the game, but cannot then move. Other troops may never enter them. Off-table artillery using gas,
or high explosive of any calibre, has no effect in marshes. The wet conditions tend to inactivate the gas, while shells are likely to sink
too deeply into the soft ground to explode effectively.
Streams
Natural watercourses up to 3 inches in width are described as streams. Any move which starts in, or is intended to take a figure across,
a stream must be at reduced rate, except for tanks. Streams do not block line of sight, but a figure on foot who is halted for the entire
turn in a stream and in base contact with the bank, facing outwards, counts as in cover against shooting from his 180 degree frontal
arc. At least one end of a stream must be on a table edge or a river; the other end may be on one of these or in a marsh.
Canals
A canal is the same width as a stream, but is uncrossable other than by bridges or boats. If used, a canal must extend in a straight line
between two opposite table edges, and must be spanned by at least two bridges.
Gullies
Gullies are treated as if they were two escarpments running roughly parallel, between 2 and 6 inches apart, with broken ground at
the bottom. There may be a stream or track running down the middle. Only figures on level ground within 2 inches of the lip may
see into a gully or be seen from inside, but line of sight across the feature, between two figures who are outside it, is not affected. At
least one end of a gully must be on a table edge or river.

Rivers
A river can be of any width from 3 inches upwards, or may occupy the whole of one table edge. Both ends must be on opposite table
edges. It may be crossed only in boats or, if both banks are on the table, at a ford. Figures crossing a ford move at reduced rate as if
crossing a stream. Rivers do not affect visibility, but the banks may provide cover in the same way as streams.
Roads or Tracks
Roads and tracks simply cancel out the effect on movement of any terrain which they cross, except marsh. They count as open
ground for movement, and also permit uninterrupted lines of sight along straight sections except where they cross hill crests,
escarpments, or the lips of gullies.
FORTIFICATIONS AND STRATAGEMS

“We shall be thrown back when we reach the enemy’s wire... I have reconnoitred in the enemy lines and I know that there are ten
rows of it, with machine guns every fifteen yards. It is useless to advance. If we do we shall be dead men, with nothing left to hold
our front.” — Bolshevik anti-war leaflet, 1917.
The following options are mainly useful for armies in defence. See pages 41 to 44 for the rules governing their employment in
particular scenarios.
Fire Trenches and other Field Fortifications

Field fortifications include trenches, breastworks and ordinary buildings prepared for defence. All of these cost 1 point per inch of
frontage. They can only be occupied by figures on foot, and by HMGs and artillery. They count as hard cover against all shooting
for troops manning them, except as follows:
Attackers using bombs, light mortars or flamethrowers do not count targets in trenches or fortifications as in cover.
Figures in a trench who are visible from a tank

which is astride the trench (ie. not hidden
round a bend or traverse) do not count cover
against fire from the tank.
Men on foot may enter, cross or climb out of

trenches or other fortifications, counting that
move as in difficult terrain. Those travelling
along a trench move as if they were in the open.
Cavalry may cross trenches at difficult terrain
rate, but may not enter them while mounted.
Wheeled vehicles cannot cross trenches. Tanks
may do at normal speed, but must throw 2D6
(in addition to the normal throw for breaking
down) to see if they become stuck. British and
German tanks are stuck on a score of 11 or 2,
others on 10 or more. Treat stuck vehicles as if
broken down (see page 15).

Barbed Wire
Wire may be placed in the same circumstances and types of location as trenches. It is assumed to consist of belts of any length, and
up to 4 inches thick. For game purposes it is placed and removed in 4-inch long sections, costing 15 points each. There should be at
least one 2 inch gap for every 24 inches of wire. Wire may be crossed at normal speed by tanks, but is impassable to all other troops
unless destroyed, when it no longer has any effect. It may be destroyed in the following ways:
A tank crossing wire automatically destroys a 4-inch long section.
A field gun, light infantry gun or trench mortar firing direct throws 2 D6 for each turn of fire, and destroys a section on a score of
11 or 12.
Throw 2 D6 for each section which is at least partially in the beaten zone of off-able artillery firing high explosive. It is destroyed on
a score of 11 or 12 if ordinary or heavy high explosive, 10 or more if super heavy.
An infantryman equipped with a bangalore torpedo can remove a section in 1 turn if he remains halted in contact with it for the
entire turn, and does not undertake any other actions. The same task using wire cutters requires 3 full turns.
Pillboxes or Blockhouses
If defending against a Prepared Attack, a French army before 1917, or a Belgian, Russian or Austrian army from 1910 onwards, can
deploy up to 6 pillboxes or similar concrete fortifications in its own half of the table. These may represent a large fort such as Liege,
Verdun or Przemysl, which are best depicted as a complex of separate pillboxes, trenches and dugouts. (The French took most of the
guns out of their forts early in the Great War to supply the field armies.) A British or German army can deploy up to 2 pillboxes in
the same circumstances from 1916 onwards. A pillbox etc. costs 50 points, plus the cost of the gun or HMG.
Each pillbox may contain 1 field gun or HMG, which may fire throughout the fortification’s 180 degree frontal arc. (This is for the
sake of simplicity. In reality, of course, it may hold several weapons firing through different embrasures.) However, because there was
usually some dead ground in the vicinity of the construction which its guns could not be moved to cover, field guns cannot shoot
from inside at targets within 6 inches, and HMGs throw only 3 dice instead of the normal 6 when engaging such targets.
A concrete fortification may also shelter up to 8 infantry figures. They may not shoot or be shot at directly while inside, but are all
killed if the fortification is destroyed by artillery, or its gun is knocked out by a bomb or a flamethrower.
For the effects of off-table artillery on pillboxes, see pages 22 to 24. Otherwise, the weapon inside may be engaged only by on-table
field guns, HMGs, or infantry with LMGs, “trench brooms”, bombs or flamethrowers. Treat this as normal shooting against a target
in the open, as the construction itself will be fairly easy to hit, but give the weapon inside a saving throw against all hits. If hit by
bombs or flamethrowers, or by a field gun firing from 4 inches range or less, the target is unaffected on a throw of 5 or 6 on a D6.
Against other weapons, it survives on a 2 or better.
Dugouts, Tunnels, Saps and Communication Trenches

Dugouts and tunnels are used to shelter troops from the effects of bombardment. They may be deployed in its own half of the table
by any army which is defending against a Prepared Attack from 1915 onwards. A dugout or tunnel costs 40 points. It may hold up
to 18 infantry or HMGs, with each HMG counting as 3 figures. It is treated exactly as if it was a pillbox, except that no one can
shoot out of it, and it can only be engaged by off-table artillery, infantry bombs and flamethrowers.
A communication trench enables troops to move without exposing themselves to enemy fire. It is treated exactly as if it was a normal
trench, except that it is deeper, so no one may shoot into or out of it using direct fire.
A sap is a trench designed to allow attacking troops to advance ahead of their own front line without being detected by the enemy. It
is treated like a communication trench, except that it is permitted only to the attackers in a Prepared Attack scenario, who may use
up to 2 separate saps, each extending up to 24 inches ahead of their own front line. A sap costs 8 points per inch.

Night Fighting and Illumination
If a battle is taking place at night, each player may have - free of points cost - up to 6 flares or illuminating rounds, which may be
fired at the beginning of any shooting phase by a field gun, trench mortar or off-table battery which is not otherwise firing this turn.
The shell or flare may be fired to any desired point on the table, and illuminates an area of 6 inches radius around that point. All
figures within this zone may be seen and shot at for this turn only at normal daylight ranges. See pages 8-9 for the rules governing
visibility in night fighting.
Infantry who are illuminated may choose to lie down immediately in the hope of escaping observation. They are still spotted, but
can be fired at as if “halted throughout the turn” (page 8) even if they have already moved this turn. However, if fired at they must
remain halted for the whole of the next turn.
Armoured Trains
These represent trains which were intended to advance into close proximity to the enemy and engage him with direct fire, rather
than those mounting artillery designed only for indirect fire. An Austrian, Russian or (from 1918) a Chinese army may field up to 1
such train. Germans should only use one if fighting Russians. It must be deployed on a single track running across the table between
two opposite edges. An armoured train does not need orders, but can act as the player wishes. It can be deployed on the table at the
start of the game, or may enter, leave and re-enter the table at any time without needing to dice. It must first come on at a point in
its own half of the table, but if it re-enters subsequently it must do so at the spot at which it left.
A train consists of an engine at the front and between 1 and 4 wagons, plus another optional engine at the rear. A wagon may carry
one of the following:

A field gun in a turret.
2 field guns, 1 firing to either side.
Up to 4 HMGs, up to 2 firing to either side.
Up to 12 infantry or 6 cavalry figures, 4 of whom may fire rifles or carbines only through loopholes in each side.
Weapons fired from a train are treated the same as their dismounted counterparts, except:
Turreted weapons can shoot all round, others only within 15 degrees of directly towards the side they are facing.
All weapons may fire on the move, but deduct 1 from all their “to hit” dice for every complete 6 inches that the train has moved
this turn.
A train may move in either direction, but must halt (or

remain off-table) for at least 1 turn before it changes
direction. It may gain or lose speed in increments of up to
6 inches per turn (ie. if it starts off halted it may move up
to 6 inches next turn, 12 inches in the one after that, and
so on). Maximum speed is 36 inches per turn.
It may only run on undamaged track (see below for

damaging tracks). If it hits a damaged section the leading
engine is automatically derailed, and the wagons following
it must dice in succession, starting from the front.
Multiply the score of a D6 by 6; if the result is greater
than the speed of the train in inches (ie. the minimum
distance that it would have had to travel if it had not
hit the damaged track) the wagon comes to a halt, but
is undamaged. Those behind it are now safe and do not
need to dice. Otherwise it is derailed, and all figures and
weapons inside are destroyed. If there is a second engine
which is not derailed, it and the surviving wagons may
continue to operate after 3 turns` delay, although of course
they can no longer use the portion of track occupied by
the wrecked engine or other wagons. Any group of at least
5 enemy infantry or cavalry figures in contact with the track may spend one full turn ripping up or blocking it. A section in the
beaten zone of heavy or super heavy high explosive is damaged on a dice throw of 5 or 6.
If fired at, each engine or wagon of an armoured train is treated the same as a tank. If it is knocked out all figures and weapons inside
are destroyed, but the wagon itself remains on the table and can continue to move as part of the train. However if the only engine
is destroyed, the train must decelerate at the normal rate until stationary, and may no longer move for the rest of the game. Infantry
and cavalry carried in a wagon may dismount - taking one full turn - at any time when it is stationary. They count from then on as
an independent unit.
The track and the first engine cost no points. A second engine or a troop-carrying wagon costs 40 points. Any troops carried
constitute a separate unit, and must be paid for separately at the normal rate. Wagons carrying field guns or HMGs are free of charge,
but each weapon of either type costs 100 points if firing to the side, or 150 if turreted.
A train, and any figures still inside it, do not have to take morale tests.

SCENARIOS AND DEPLOYMENT.
“My centre is giving way, my right wing is collapsing - Situation excellent! I attack tomorrow.” — General Foch, Battle of the
Marne, 1914.
Obviously it is quite acceptable to place two opposing armies on the table for a straightforward head to head encounter game, but
- especially in a campaign - it is usually more interesting to decide on a scenario which will provide them with a reason for fighting,
and give each side different deployment conditions and aims. In most of the wars of this period, for example, pre-planned attacks
on defensive positions tended to be more common than pitched battles in the open. We recommend the following procedure
for choosing a scenario. First, decide which side is attacking and which is defending. This will usually be obvious in a campaign
situation; otherwise it can be done by dicing, by considering which army was on the strategic offensive historically at the appropriate
date for your armies, or simply by mutual agreement. Then throw a D6 to determine the type of engagement:
d6 Roll Type of Battle

1, 2, or 3 Prepared Attack
4 or 5 Meeting Engagement
6 Fighting Retreat
The deployment rules and victory conditions for the different scenarios are as follows:
Prepared Attack
This represents a situation in which one side is launching a deliberate assault on a restricted frontage, in an attempt to break through
the enemy’s defence line. The opposing forces’ base lines are the opposite short table edges.
The attacker is allowed 250% of the defender’s points total. He may use up to 96 inches of fire or communication trenches, and up
to 48 inches of saps. Apart from saps, all of these must be within 12 inches of his base line. All his on-table units must be deployed
in the saps, or within 12 inches of his base edge.

The defender may use as many defences and fortifications
as he wishes (subject to any restrictions on their
employment by his army). They, and all his on-table
figures, must be placed within the half of the table nearest
to his base line.
Both sides may spend up to a third of their points on

off-table artillery, subject to any restrictions in army lists.
They may also keep up to half of their units off the table
as a reserve, and dice for them to come on later (see page
45). The timing of their planned arrival must be written
down in pre-game orders. Their precise point of arrival
need not be specified, but must be on the player’s own
base edge.
The defender must first deploy all his fortifications and

defences. The attacker then writes orders (including
the initial deployment of his units) and fire plans, and
places his trenches. He may if he wishes declare that he
is attacking at night (see pages 8 and9 for the effects of
darkness on control and visibility). In his orders, the
attacker must nominate an objective. This must be one
of the following:
• A hill, wood, built-up area or bridge in the quarter of the table nearest to the enemy’s base edge.
• A large or prominent fortified feature held by the enemy (ideally a fort or complex of pillboxes and machine gun nests, and
not just a section of trench).
• A complete breakthrough of the enemy’s defence line. This is achieved by moving at least 2 units (not aircraft or armoured
trains) off the enemy’s base edge. To count, both of these units must still have at least half of their original strength in figures,
and no current morale failure markers.
Next, the defender deploys all his on-table figures. The attacker may now fire up to 3 turns of pre-planned (and paid for) static
artillery barrage if he wishes, before the battle proper begins.
After this the attacker must deploy all his on-table units and announce his objective. He wins the game if he achieves his objective
within the time allotted. In order to count as having captured a terrain objective, he must have figures occupying it for at least 2
consecutive turns while the defender has none. This allows the defender a chance to organise a hasty counterattack.
Orders
In a Prepared Attack scenario the attacker should place each of his on-table fighting units in one of the following categories:
1. First Assault Wave: These units must begin the game by moving towards either a visible enemy unit, the game’s terrain
objective, or the enemy’s base line. Infantry, cavalry and armoured vehicles must continue to do so until they have captured
a terrain objective or failed a morale test, when the player may decide to halt them instead. Other troop types may halt
at any time after any of the First Assault Wave has come under direct fire, and may then fire on any enemy permitted by
their Target Priorities (see page 12). Any figures which halt must score under their Morale Rating on a D6 to resume their
advance.
2. Second Assault Wave: These units hold their present position for a number of turns specified by the player before the game,
then are treated like the First Assault Wave.

3. Reserve: Units in Reserve hold their present position until the player orders them to advance. He may give the order either
to the Reserve as a whole or to individual units separately. In either case, in order for it to obey, each unit must throw
under its Tactical Rating on a D6. If it does not respond, the player may repeat the order once per turn until it does. Once
advancing, treat Reserve units the same as those in the Assault Waves.
4. Support: These are field guns, HMGs or other crewed weapons which are detailed to support the Assault Waves by fire.
They may manoeuvre as required to achieve this, as long as they remain in their own half of the table.
The defender’s units do not need orders, but may act as the player wishes.
Meeting Engagement
In this case, two mobile forces have collided unexpectedly. This might happen fairly frequently in theatres of war where manoeuvre
was still relatively easy - in the Russian and Chinese Civil Wars, for example, or the Eastern European fronts in the First World
War - or even on the Western Front if an attacker has broken through the enemy front line and is confronted by a hastily assembled
reserve.
Both sides use the same points totals. Their base lines are the opposite long table edges. No fortifications or trenches, and no more
than 1 off-table artillery battery, may be used by either side. There is no need for written orders, except for artillery fire plans, of
which each side may have 2 turns. Instead the two armies deploy a unit alternately, followed by their independent figures, until all are
placed on the table. All must be deployed within 12 inches of the players` base edges, except for 1 infantry, cavalry or armoured car
unit per side, which may be placed up to 18 inches in as an advance guard. Up to 2 units per side may be kept off-table to be diced
for as late arrivals (page 45), coming in at a point along the edge of their own half of the table (ie. their own base line, and that half
of each side edge which is nearest to it).
The game ends as soon as one side either concedes, or has no fighting units left on the table. (It may still have individual figures, but
these do not count for this purpose.) That side is then deemed to be the loser.
Orders
Neither side needs to write orders for their on-table units in a Meeting Engagement, except to specify the table edge along which
late arrivals are to appear.
Fighting Retreat
In this situation the defender must attempt to disengage and retreat in the face of overwhelmingly superior numbers. The BEF`s
Retreat from Mons in August 1914, the Serbian march into Albania in late 1915, and von Lettow-Vorbeck`s later campaigns in
German East Africa, are just a few examples of this common scenario.
The forces` base lines are the opposite short table edges. The attacker is allowed 300% of the defender’s points total. Both sides
may spend up to a fifth of their points on off-table artillery. Off-table artillery fire missions must be planned before all deployment
begins.
The defender must first deploy all his figures within the third of the table furthest from his own base line, except for his C-in-C, and 1
infantry and 1 other unit, which may be deployed in reserve anywhere within the opponent’s half of the table. Neither side is allowed
any defences or fortifications, except that the defender may deploy his reserve infantry unit in hastily dug trenches.
The attacker does not deploy any figures straight onto the table, but must make an initial move over his own base edge with his
Advance Guard (see below, under Orders). He brings the Reserve on over his base edge at the beginning of the third turn, and may
dice to bring any remaining units on later as late arrivals, appearing anywhere along the edge of his own half of the table, as for a
Meeting Engagement.

The defender can claim a victory if he gets at least
half of his original strength in figures off his own
base edge. (Any which have been removed as a
result of routing (page 14) cannot of course be
counted as having got safely off the table.) The
attacker wins as soon as he has inflicted enough
losses to make this impossible.
Orders
The attacker in a Fighting Retreat game divides
his on-table units into two groups:
1. Advance Guard: The Advance Guard is

detailed to pursue the enemy as vigorously as
possible. Its units act in the same way as the First
Assault Wave in a Prepared Attack.
2. Reserve: Once on the table, the units allocated
to the Reserve may act as the player wishes.
The attacker must also specify the table edge on which late arrivals are to appear. The defender does not need to give orders to his
on-table units.
Recommended Points Totals

The points totals which are allocated to the opposing sides will depend partly on the theatre of conflict and the nature of the armies
involved. On the main European fronts in the First World War, for example, support weapons were generally available in large
quantities, and indirect artillery fire played a major role. A reasonable sized army will therefore cost considerably more in points than
an equivalent number of figures in Africa, China or other theatres, where the troops will individually cost less, as well as being less
well supported. Suitable totals will also vary according to the figures the players have available, and how long they intend the game
to last. For a basic two-player game, we recommend the following:

Main Fronts, 1915 - 1918 Other Conflicts
Attacker Defender Attacker Defender
Prepared Attack 1500 600 1000 400
Meeting 1200 1200 1000 1000
Engagement
Fighting Retreat 1500 500 1000 333
General Deployment Rules

Late Arrivals
Units which are not deployed on the table at the start of the game (other than the attacker’s in a Fighting Retreat scenario – see page
43) are diced for at the beginning of each turn until they arrive, starting in the fourth turn, or any later turn specified in the player’s
orders. The attacker dices for and places his arrivals first (or in the case of a Meeting Engagement, dice each turn to see who goes
first). Irregulars must throw a 1 on a D6 to arrive; other troops must throw under their Tactical Rating. The second player to do so
must not place any new arrivals within 18 inches of any of the opponent’s units which have arrived in the same turn.
Late arrivals may not take any action, nor be shot at by direct fire (other than by aircraft) or attacked hand-to-hand, in the turn in
which they arrive, although they may find themselves in the beaten zone of off-table artillery and have to dice for casualties for this.
Aircraft, which are assumed to have a better chance than ground troops of seeing and identifying the newcomers before they reach
the battle zone, are an exception, and may attack them in this first turn. However, as the approach of arriving troops will usually be
given away by dust or other signs before they can be definitely identified, it is permissible for enemy units to react to them in other
ways - for example by moving towards or away from their position.

SOME OTHER RULES FROM Sinister Laboratiories
ARMY LISTS FOR “CONTEMPTIBLE LITTLE ARMIES”. PART I: THE MAIN EUROPEAN FRONTS, 1914 – 1918.
Revised August 2002.
IN THE HEART OF AFRICA: Rules for the Period of Exploration and Imperialism in “Darkest Africa”, c.1860 - 1899. 2nd
Edition.
AT CLOSE QUARTERS: Skirmish Rules for 20th to Early 21st Century Small Unit Actions. 2nd Edition.
EVER-VICTORIOUS ARMIES: Fast Play Rules for Late 19th Century Warfare, c.1860 – 1885. 2nd Edition.
A GOOD DAY TO DIE! Skirmish Wargames Rules for the “Old West” and other 19th Century Conflicts and Adventures. 2nd
Edition.
For figures and rules, visit our web sites at
http://www.brigadegames.com
http://www.rattrapproductions.com
Or contact us at:
Brigade Games, 35 Brookvale Road, Kinnelon, NJ 07405.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY Small Arms Fire (includes snipers, light machine guns, and light mortars —
1. Write and dice for transmission of new orders. Roll # of D6 unit is eligible to fire. Tactical Rating of the target unit on the table
2. Dice for late arrivals. below determines the numbers needed to be rolled for each D6 to roll that D6 as
3. The attacker begins by moving one unit of his choice. per the Firing rules to determine how many figures in the target unit are Hit.
4. The defender now moves one unit of his choice. Target unit Tactical
Target Hit On
5. Repeat these two steps until all the units on both sides that wish to Rating
move have done so. 2 2-6
6. Independent figures are now moved in a similar alternate sequence, 3 3-6
starting with the attacker. 4 4-6
7. Resolve all off-board artillery 5 or Irregulars 5-6
8. Resolve all Direct Fire shooting.
Rolling for Casualty
9. Resolve close combat.
10. Check for casualties and remove models. To cause a casualty, a shooter needs to score a total of 4, 5 or 6 with modifiers.
11. Take any morale tests required as a result of events this turn.
Modifier Condition
12. Check whether either side has achieved any victory conditions.
Firer is a French 75mm field gun from 1910 onwards, or a
Shooting +1
British Mark IV 18-pounder from 1918.
Machine Gun Fire (includes MGs mounted on vehicles) — Roll 6D6 per
HMG. Tactical Rating of the target unit on the table below determines the Target is in close order, if fired at by small arms or machine
numbers needed to be rolled for each D6 to roll that D6 as per the Firing rules +1
guns.
to determine how many figures in the target unit are Hit.
Target unit -1 Firer is a tank using a field gun.
Target Hit On
Tactical Rating
-1 Firer is a vehicle that has moved this turn.
2 2-6
3 3-6
-1 Firer is wearing a respirator as a result of a gas attack
4 4-6
5 or Irregulars 5-6
-1 Visibility is affected by darkness, fog or blizzard conditions.
Artillery On-Table/Off-Table Battery Fire
Target is at over half the shooter’s maximum range or the
1. Designate target unit to which the gun has a line of sight (or point for -1
shooter is using a single shot rifle or is Irregular cavalry.
off-table).
2. Roll equal to or less than the gun crews’ Tactical Rating to see if gun is Target is on foot, and has been halted throughout the turn, or
on target (or if guns fire for off-table). -1
has ended the turn in cover.
3. If gun is on target the Tactical Rating of the target unit on the table below
determines how many D6 are rolled as per the Firing rules to determine Target is an “Irregular” who has been on foot and in cover
-1
how many figures in the target unit are Hit. No templates needed. throughout the turn.
In the last 2 cases, do not count the benefit of the cover if the target is moving into
Number of D6 Number of D6 close combat with the firing figure this turn.
Target Unit Target Hit
Rolled Rolled
Tactical Rating On
(on-table) (off-table) Target is in fire trenches, or other fortifications or hard cover,
-2
2 6 8 4-6 unless attacked by bombs, light mortars or flamethrowers.
3 4 6 4-6
4 3 4 4-6 A target figure cannot count both the minus 1 for “halted throughout the turn” or
5 or Irregulars 2 2 4-6 “in cover”, and the minus 2 for “trenches or hard cover”.
Close Combat Morale

To take a morale test, throw a single D6 for each unit. If the score exceeds its
Each figure involved in a close combat throws a D6, then modifies the score
Morale Rating, the unit has failed.
as follows:
Number of models in unit Losses before Morale Check
Modifier Condition 6 figures or fewer 1 casualty
+2 Cavalry fighting infantry in the open. 7 to 12 figures 2 casualties
+2 Regular cavalry fighting Irregular infantry or cavalry. 13 or more figures 3 casualties
+2 A second attacker fighting against a single opponent*.
In addition, the following events will also cause a unit to take a Morale test:
+1 “Ferocious” or “Stubborn” infantry fighting other infantry • If Irregulars are under gas attack his turn.
or heavy weapon crews. • The first turn of the game in which a unit suffers casualties due to flamethrower or air
attack.
+1 Infantry armed with “trench brooms” fighting other • Troops on foot must test on the first occasion when enemy tanks (or armoured cars) come
infantry or heavy weapon crews. within 8 inches of any of their unit’s figures.
+1 Regular infantry fighting Irregular infantry. • Troops on foot and in the open must test in any turn in which hostile mounted cavalry
contact any of their unit’s figures.
-1 Fighting to cross a defended natural or man-made obstacle Exceptions:
(but not the parapet of a trench if attacking into it from • “Close Order” infantry who are in close order formation throughout the turn.
above). • Mounted regular cavalry and “Ferocious” infantry may ignore one test in any turn in
which at least half of their unit’s figures have advanced towards any visible enemy, or
towards an enemy position or terrain objective which they have orders to attack.
• “Stubborn” troops may do the same if at least half of their figures are in trenches, buildings
or other fortifications which they have orders to defend.
Tanks and Armoured Cars Light Machine Gun (Chauchat type) 18 3 2D6/1D6
Type Armament Move Anti-tank Rifle 8 1 2D6/1D6
British Sniper 18 1 2D6/1D6
Rolls Royce A/C 1xMG(T) * Flamethrower 4 4 2D6/1D6
Lanchester A/C 1xMG(T) * Light Mortar 18 1 1D6/D6-2
Austin A/C 2xMG(ST) *
Regular Cavalry (weapons as for infantry) 4D6/1D6
Mark I - V tank 4xMG(S); or 2xFG(S), 2xMG(S) 1xD6
Irregular Cavalry 6 1 4D6/2D6
Medium A “Whippet” 1xMG(T) 2xD6
All wheeled vehicles (weapons variable) 4D6/2D6*
Medium “C” or “D” 1xMG(T); or 1xFG(FF) 2xD6
Mk VIII tank 2xFG(S), 2xMG(S), xFG(FF), 1xMG(T) 1xD6 Heavy Machine Gun 40 6 1D6/D6-2
R.E. Tank 2xMG(S)** 1xD6 MG08/15 Machine Gun 24 6 1D6/D6-2
French Vehicle-mounted Machine Gun 24 3 See vehicles
Charron A/C 1xMG(T) * Field Gun 80 1 1D6/D6-3

White A/C 1xFG(T), 1xMG(T)*** * Light Infantry or Mountain Gun 40/24** 1 1D6/D6-2
Schneider tank 1xFG(FF), 2xMG(S) 1xD6 Anti-tank Gun 24 1 1D6/D6-2
St. Chamond tank 1xFG(FF), 2xMG(FF), 2xMG(S) 1xD6 Trench Mortar 36 1 None
Renault FT 1xFG(T); or 1xMG(T) 1xD6 Aircraft 6 6 6D6***
Char 2C 1xFG(T), 2xMG(T), 2xMG(S)**** 1xD6
Unit Tactical Morale Special
German
British Expeditionary Force, 1914 5 5 S, M
Erhardt A/C 1xMG(T) *
British “New Armies”, 1915 - 1916 3 5
Bussing Nag A/C 1xMG(T) *
Most British, 1917 onwards 4 4 S
A7V 1xFG(FF), 4xMG(S) 1xD6
ANZACs, Canadians and elite British divisions 5 4 F or S
K-Wagen 4xFG(S), 6xMG(S), 1xMG(FF), 1xMG(R) 1xD6
French Colonial troops etc, 1914 2 5 F, C
LK II 2xMG(FF); or 1xFG(FF) 2xD6
Most French, 1915 - 1918 4 4
Austrian
French Foreign Legion 4 5 F
Romfell A/C 1xMG(T) *
Juncoviz 1 & 2 A/C 1xMG(FF), 2xMG(S) * German Regulars, 1914 - early 1918 4 4 C
Belgian German cavalry in 1914 3 4
SAVA /Minerva A/C 1xMG(T) * Most Germans, mid-1918 onwards 4 3
Italian German stormtroopers, 1917 - 1918 5 5 F
Lancia IZ A/C 1xMG(T) * Austrian “German” and “Hungarian” infantry 3 4

Tipo 2000 tank 1xFG(T), 2xMG(FF), 4xMG(S), 1xMG(R) 1xD6 Austrian “Slav” infantry 3 3
Tipo 3000 tank 2xMG(T) 2xD6 Austrian cavalry, 1914 - 1915 2 5
Russian
Russian Regulars 1914, and Guards 1914 - 1915 4 5 S
Austin-Putilov A/C 2xMG(T) *
Austin-Putilov ½-trk 2xMG(T) *****
American
Russian cavalry 4 4
Ford Mark I tank 1xMG(FF) 1xD6
Most Bolsheviks, 1918 - 1922 2 3 S
Break Down — After every turn of movement, throw 2D6 to see if it has broken Elite White Russians, 1918 - 1921 2 5 F
down. Most Italians 3 4

Countries Die Roll Italian Alpini or Bersaglieri 5 4
German and Italian tanks, and all others before April 1917: 11 or 12 Italian Arditi assault troops 4 5 F
British, French, Russian and US tanks from April 1917: 12 Turkish Nizam infantry and artillery 3 5 S
Units Turkish cavalry and reservists 2 4
Unit Firing (Wounding) Movement US Marines or regular army, 1917 -1918 5 5 M
Max. Range No. of Dice Good/Difficult Most Americans, 1917 - 1918 2 5

Infantry (rifle) 12 1 2D6/1D6 Chinese “dare to die” or “big sword” troops 3 5 F
Infantry (“Marksman”) 18 1 2D6/1D6 Most Chinese warlords’ troops, 1916 - 1928 2 3 C
Infantry (carbine) 8 1 2D6/1D6 Kuomintang troops, 1928 3 4 S
Infantry (“trench broom”) 4 3 2D6/1D6
All armoured and unarmoured wheeled vehicles 4 5
Light Machine Gun (Lewis type) 24 3 2D6/1D6
All tanks 3 5
Contemptible
Little Armies
3
THIRD EDITION
Sinister Laboratories is a joint venture between
Rattrap Productions LLC

www.rattrapproductions.com
by Chris Peers
World War I Era

Fast Play Wargames Rules 1910 — 1928
$25.00 A Sinister Laboratories Joint Production

Contemptible Little Armies

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What are the scales and equipment needed for the game?

What are the scales and equipment needed for the game?

What is the sequence of play and movement rules?

What is the sequence of play and movement rules?

Contemptible

Sinister Laboratories is a joint venture between

Rattrap Productions LLC

World War I Era

“Contemptible Little Armies” 3rd Edition is © Copyright

2 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

Special Thanks to:

www.rattrapproductions.com.com Contemptible Little Armies • 3

• The Mexican Revolution, 1910 - c.1920.

4 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

Ground and time scales will obviously vary depending

EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR A GAME

www.rattrapproductions.com.com Contemptible Little Armies • 5

6 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

1. Write and dice for transmission of new orders, if any.

2. Dice for late arrivals, if appropriate (page 45).

4. The defender now moves one unit of his choice.

7. Resolve all off-board artillery

8. Resolve all Direct Fire shooting.

9. Resolve close combat.

10. Determine any casualties and remove models.

www.rattrapproductions.com.com Contemptible Little Armies • 7

8 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

The artillery on the hill can shoot at the pillbox or the

Effects of Darkness and Weather Conditions

Fire And Smoke

www.rattrapproductions.com.com Contemptible Little Armies • 9

Direct Fire is resolved in the following order.

Direct fire, by and to on-table figures, is normally

10 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

Machine Gun Fire (includes MGs mounted on vehicles)

Target Unit Number of

Artillery Off-Table Battery Fire

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Rolling for Casualty

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“Blood on the Tracks”

Number of models Losses before

14 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

In addition, the following events will also

• If Irregulars are under gas attack his

• The first turn of the game in which

• Troops on foot must test on the first

www.rattrapproductions.com.com Contemptible Little Armies • 15

— Italian saying, quoted by General Cadorna.

16 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

• All British, French, German and Japanese armies.

A staff officer may be used in two ways:

www.rattrapproductions.com.com Contemptible Little Armies • 17

Hilaire Belloc, “A General Sketch of the European War”, 1915.

18 • Contemptible Little Armies www.brigadegames.com

Light Mortars: Light trench mortars like the German

www.rattrapproductions.com.com Contemptible Little Armies • 19

An HMG may not fire if it moved this turn or

Its maximum range is 24 inches.