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War-gaming on a tabletop battlefield with miniature figurines is an attractive and absorbing hobby. But until now, it has always presented a newcomer with the daunting prospect of spending weeks, if not months, in painting the armies before they are ready for action. As a result, many people lose interest before they ever get to play a game. WoFun miniatures now offer a revolutionary solution to this problem. The figurines come ready-printed in full color, and all you have to do is simply press them from their sprue and slot them into their bases. No paints, no glue – all the hard work has already been done for you! Best of all, a ready to use 28mm WoFun regiment costs less than a similar number of unpainted hard plastic miniatures and is far cheaper than metal castings. The 18mm scale troops are even more economical. So now you can buy affordable, battle-ready armies and get straight down to wargaming action. As someone who has spent more than fifty years of his life enjoying war-gaming – painting armies, fighting battles and writing my own rules – I was interested to learn about this brilliant technical breakthrough which could open up the hobby to a new audience. So, I was very happy to be asked to contribute to the WoFun project by writing a series of rules for download by customers. They are aimed specifically at gamers who have never played a historical wargame before and are designed as a simple introduction to the hobby, to get players used to the idea of battlefield manoeuvres and rolling dice to decide combat.
enormous. At Leuthen, perhaps the best known and one of the largest battles of the age, there were over 100,000 men engaged. These rules are designed for much smaller affairs, perhaps the sort of engagements between advance- and rearguards which often took place before or after the big battles. This is a two-player game which sets out to recreate the warfare of this period in a simple way. These rules are suitable for beginners to the hobby of historical tabletop wargaming and have been written with the WoFun Games Peter Dennis Signature collection in mind. After the basic rules you will find some suggestions for a more advanced and challenging game. Each player needs an army (see below for an example of a small battle), a handful of dice (the ordinary, 6-sided kind) and a ruler or tape measure. You will also need some “smoke” markers (cotton wool balls are ideal) and some small counters or stones to record casualties on units– alternatively use spare individual WoFun figurines, laid face down. All measurements in these rules are expressed in “base widths” (BW) so they can be used with any scale of miniatures. A 28mm scale WoFun base is 4cms wide or 3cms in 18mm scale. . Andy Callan
As WoFun launches additional products, I will be writing rules in this style for each new historical collection, and I look forward to working on this exciting collaboration.
The Seven Years War in Europe (1756-63) was a long and bitter struggle in which a Coalition of France, Austria and Russia fought to contain the ambitions of Prussia. The war ended in mutual exhaustion but the Prussian army had managed to hold its own against allcomers and its king came to be known as Frederick the Great for his victories. There were many major actions in the field and when the armies did meet in battle the number of men involved could be 1
A Company (base) of Infantry has 2 ranks of 4 figurines A Company of Cavalry has 2 ranks of 3 figurines A Company of Artillery has a cannon and a crew of 3 or 4 Infantry and cavalry units operate in a line formation with all their bases touching. The Prussian army has seven units: 3 battalions of Infantry each of 5 companies plus a Command company (with a flag). 2 squadrons of Cavalry, each of 4 companies 2 artillery companies.
The Austrian Army is organised in the same way.
The Army has 28 companies plus one mounted General giving a total Army Strength of 29. The Army strength number is used later in the game to measure Victory (see Stage 5. below)
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GET READY TO START THE BATTLE
Set up the two armies, facing each other and 15 BW apart (so, 60 cms in 28mm scale, 45cms in 18mm scale). The diagram shows a typical starting line-up (but you can choose to arrange the armies in any way you wish – you are the General! Each unit should have all its stands arranged in a line and touching each other, with the command stand in the middle.
Both Players roll a dice. The one with the highest score (roll again if it is a tie) shoots first with their army and then the other side shoots back. Who can shoot? Any of your units which have enemy troops who are in range and inside their shooting zone (see the diagram). You can’t target the enemy General or shoot through your own troops. You do not have to shoot if you don’t want to. How far? Long range for Artillery is 16BW, for Infantry it is 8BW. Always measure ranges from the centre of the shooting unit’s line. Put smoke markers in front of each unit that shoots.
Ready to start? The game is played as a series of turns. Each turn has 5 stages that must be played through in the same order each time: 1. Shoot: musketry and cannon fire 2. Move: the armies manoeuvre on the battlefield 3. Fight: the clash of sabres and bayonets 4. Discipline: units test their will to fight 5. Victory: check to see if the battle is won or lost.
What’s the damage? Count the number of companies shooting and roll dice as follows: Cannons: Artillery roll 3 dice per company. Muskets: Infantry roll 2 dice per company (including the Command company) 3
Any 6s rolled are hits on a target at Long range (over 4BW away). Any 5s and 6s rolled are hits on a target at Short range (4BW or less). Put 1 casualty marker behind a target for each hit it takes. When it gets to 3 hits, remove one company (the Command company is the last one you lose) and put it in a “Dead Pool” on your edge of the table. Carry forward any spare hits. So, a target which started a turn with 1 hit and then took 4 more hits from enemy fire would lose 1 company and carry forward 2 spare hits).
movement zone (this is the same as the shooting zone). Take 1BW off a unit’s maximum move (2BW for Cavalry) if it makes a manoeuvre. This is a) when any of its companies end their move outside the movement zone by moving sideways, rearwards or in any other way OR b) when it pivots on one end of its line and “wheels” the other end. Measure a manoeuvre by the distance covered by the company that moves the furthest. Manoeuvres under fire are very difficult. A unit cannot manoeuvre or allow a “passage of lines” (let another unit of friendly troops move through it) in the same turn it lost a base to shooting. When you move a unit don’t forget to move any hit markers with it. An attack is any move that will bring troops into contact with the enemy so that two units are touching at the end of the move. Only Cavalry can attack. Infantry fight by moving up to close range and shooting at their opponents.
Both Players roll a dice. The one with the highest score (roll again if it is a tie) moves their army first and then the other side moves next. Who can move? You can move as many or as few of your units as you wish. Any of your units which have not shot this turn can make a full move (see below). Otherwise, any unit which has already shot this turn (and so has a smoke marker) can move only half distance. When a unit moves remove its smoke markers. How far do troops move?
Work out fights between opposing units one at a time, in an order chosen by the Player who has the lowest losses so far in the battle (the least number of companies in the “Dead Pool”). Who can fight? Count up all the companies that finished their move touching or overlapping an enemy company (see the diagram, below).
Infantry: 4BW (or 2BW if they shot this turn) Cavalry: 8BW (or 4BW if they shot this turn). Artillery: can’t move at all, but they can pivot on the spot. These are maximum move rates for movement straight ahead or obliquely within the forward 4
Example of Play A Prussian Cavalry Squadron (A-D) is attacking an Austrian Infantry Battalion (1-6). The cavalry are cunningly attacking only one end of the enemy line, to maximise their chances of success. The attack has come in at an oblique angle but if any of the attacking bases end their move touching an enemy base the rest can also move into contact, even if this means moving them a little bit further. Prussian bases B, C and D end their move touching an enemy base and A is overlapping enemy base 1. All 4 of these bases count in the fight. Cavalry roll 2 dice for each base in a fight, giving a total of 6 dice, but hitting only for 5s and 6s, since they are attacking the front of Infantry. The Austrians have stands 1, 2 and 3 in contact and 4 is overlapping D. Bases 5 and 6 are neither in contact nor overlapping so they are not involved in this round of fighting. Four stands in total count in the fight. Infantry roll 1 ½ dice for each base in a fight, giving a total of 6 dice but they hit for 4s, 5s and 6s, since they are defending against a frontal attack from Cavalry.
Who wins the fight? Count the number of hits taken. The unit that took the most hits in the fight is the LOSER. In a Cavalry vs Cavalry fight if both took the same number of hits this round of fighting is indecisive and the fight will continue next turn, but if Cavalry draw or lose a fight with Infantry they must immediately retreat to outside musketry range (8BW), facing away from the enemy. Once you have worked out if either side has won or lost the fight you can now remove a company for every 3 hits taken and carry forward any excess hits (as for shooting). The losers are pushed back 2BW by the winners and must take a Panic test (see below) if they have just lost a company. If they fail the test they Panic and run away (see below) which may affect nearby friendly troops. Otherwise the fight continues next turn. The previous winner in a Cavalry vs Cavalry fight hits for 4,5,6. All other troops in a continuing fight now hit only for a 5 or 6.
The Austrians have a narrow advantage on the dice odds here and Cavalry always need to score more hits than Infantry in the first round in order to carry on the fight, so chances are the Prussians will be driven off. Cavalry attacking the front of Infantry is always a risky business! How to work out fights
Roll two dice for every Cavalry company in the fight and one and a half dice for every company of Infantry. In this game any halves always round UP so an Infantry battalion reduced to 5 companies rolls 8 dice. Units attacked in their flank or rear count only one company. Cavalry attacking other Cavalry or into the flank or rear of Infantry hit for 4,5,6. Infantry defending against a frontal attack from Cavalry hit for 4,5,6 Otherwise, all companies hit for 5 or 6. Artillery who are attacked are automatically overrun – put them in the “dead pool”.
In the case of a continuing Cavalry vs Cavalry fight, if another Cavalry Squadron moves up from behind to support (touch) a Squadron that is already fighting, the second Squadron’s companies also count in the fight, hitting for 5 or 6 and any hits taken in the fighting are shared between the two Squadrons. (A skilful use of Cavalry “reserves” was a mark of good generalship). If neither side has run away after a second successive turn of fighting the original attackers must immediately fall back beyond musketry range (8BW), still facing their opponents. 5
1. Check each unit to see if it has suffered HEAVY LOSSES: Any unit that has lost half of its companies (3 infantry or 2 cavalry companies) is “worn out” and all it can do from now on is to hold its position and defend itself. If the unit went below half strength as a result of losing a Fight it must run away 8BW, straight back towards its own table edge, avoiding the enemy but running straight through any friendly troops who are in the way during the first 4BW of its move. Any unit reduced to just one company always runs away.
Who wins the battle? At the end of each turn check both army’s losses by counting the companies in their Dead Pools. If one army has lost more than half of its original army strength (so, a loss of 15 companies in the case of the armies in the example battle, above – note that a lost General counts the same as a lost company), then it is defeated and the other side can claim Victory (Hurrah!). If both armies have lost more than half then the battle is indecisive and both armies must retreat. Time to fix a re-match! If neither side has reached this threshold for defeat, the battle continues. Finally, remove any remaining smoke markers from the battlefield and START THE NEXT TURN
After they have run 8BW put the runaways in the Dead Pool but before this happens they might cause nearby friendly troops to take a Panic Test. 2. Check to see if any units must take a PANIC TEST: A unit must test: a) if it lost a company after being on the losing side in a fight. b) if any friendly troops run through it after failing a Panic Test c) if it sees friends run past it within 4BW. No matter how many friendly units run away. (Infantry ignore Cavalry who run past and vice versa). Roll a dice for a Panic Test- minus 1 for each company the unit has lost so far and minus 1 if friends are running through it. So a battalion with 2 companies lost and friends running through it takes 3 off its dice roll. If the final score is 0 or less the unit panics and runs away (as above). A unit never takes more than one panic test in a turn for for seeing friends run past. 3. Pursuit: If Cavalry defeat enemy Cavalry who then run away or panic roll a dice: 1,2,3 means they must pursue (chase them) for that many turns, at 10BW per move. If the pursuit takes them off the battlefield they do not return. 4, 5 or 6 means they hold their position.
The General figurine represents you, as the Army Commander. Always move your General first before you move any other troops. He can move up to 10BW. If he joins a unit (put him behind it, touching a company) he can also move when it does. By joining a unit to lead it in person he hopes to encourage it to fight better.
A General who is leading a unit can: a) Re-roll one dice that is a miss whenever the unit shoots or fights. b) Re-roll a failed Panic Test. If this fails to stop 6
the panic he runs away too and quits the battle! c) Rally a worn-out Squadron of Cavalry by joining it and then moving it to reinforce another incomplete Cavalry squadron in order to make a combined unit of no more than 4 companies. d) Halt or order a Pursuit. If any unit led by a General loses a company to Shooting or Fighting he is in danger. Roll a dice (you can’t re-roll this one!). If the score is 1 he is wounded and out of action for the rest of the battle (so he can’t do any more re-rolls or rallying). Put him in the dead pool. The army simply ignores the loss of their General and carries on fighting (in all the smoke of battle they don’t know what has happened to him).
Once you have played these simple rules a few times you may wish to try something a little more challenging. The core rules are the same as before but now you have to deal with the added complexity of terrain features, issuing orders, new types of troops and some special tactics.
Streams, Walls and Fieldworks as obstacles: Unless the difficulty of crossing a battlefield obstacle is agreed beforehand and known to both players, the first time a unit tries to cross it roll a dice: 4/5/6: Easy to cross. The unit gets to the other side but cannot move any further this turn. 2/3: Difficult to cross. Try again next turn or cross this turn but become disordered. 1: Very difficult to cross. Infantry can only cross by becoming disordered. Cavalry cannot cross. Artillery can only cross easy obstacles. The result obtained by the first unit trying to cross an obstacle applies to any other unit trying to cross it later in the battle.
Cover: Always halve the number of dice when shooting at a target behind fieldworks. Infantry (but not Artillery) shooting at enemy who are behind a wall, lining the edge of a wood, or inside a building halve the number of dice they roll. Troops inside a wood can only be hit by other troops who are also inside it and at short range. They also halve their dice. Remember, halves always round UP. An Infantry battalion defending fieldworks or buildings always hits for 4,5,6 in a fight.
Instead of a plain battlefield, some extra terrain features will make the game rather more interesting. Unless you are going to reproduce a historical action, one Player sets out the battlefield terrain, then the other chooses which side of the table to deploy on. Hills: Any Troops moving on a steep hill risk becoming disordered (see 5. below). Low hills do not affect movement but Cavalry cannot charge up them (See “Cavalry Tactics” in 3. below) and they block line of sight for shooting. Artillery on a hilltop can fire over friends below so long as the target is more than 6BW away from the nearest friends in the line of fire. Bad Going: (Woods and Bogs): Infantry battalions in bad going make only a half move and always become disordered (see 5. below). Cavalry and Artillery cannot move at all in bad going.
In the basic game, all troops are rated the same. In this more advanced game there are now 3 different grades of troops. These gradings should be used with an army points system (see 6 below) so that the best troops cost more to deploy on the table. 1st Class (Veterans or Elite): Battle-hardened regulars or high status units (such as Grenadiers or Cuirassiers), who keep their heads in a crisis. Special rules apply to 1st Class troops as follows: Bayonet Attack: Infantry can make a bayonet 7
attack against other Infantry or a defended position (a wall, earthworks or a village) by shooting AND making a full move into contact in the same turn. In a fight they always hit for 4,5,6 whether attacking or defending. Manoeuvres: Infantry and Cavalry under fire can manoeuvre freely or allow a Passage of Lines. Counter-charge: Cavalry always react to an enemy attack by meeting it half way – both sides count as attackers in the fight. Fire Control: (see 3. below). Infantry always pass the test. Panic: Infantry and Cavalry always re-roll a failed Panic test (once). Pursuit: Cavalry may choose whether or not to pursue a beaten enemy 2nd Class (Trained): Units with some battlefield experience who are usually reliable (most troops are like this). The standard rules apply in all circumstances. Infantry can attack enemy infantry or artillery in a defended position by moving into contact rather than engaging in a firefight 3rd Class (Raw): Disaffected allies, newly-recruited or poorlytrained troops (such as Militia) who are liable to lose their heads if things get tough. As well as in the usual circumstances, they always take an immediate Panic test whenever they: a) lose a company to shooting or b) see any friendly troops run past them.
1. Artillery: Various types of artillery were in use. Guns were often deployed in batteries (2 or more guns in this game), sometimes behind earthwork emplacements. The smaller guns could be manhandled to new positions but anything heavier was hard to move once it was set up because the horse teams were usually taken away by their drivers once they came under fire.
Light Guns: can be moved by hand 3BW in any turn they did not shoot. Short range is 4BW, Long is 16BW. They roll 2 dice per gun at Long range and 3 dice at Short. Field guns: can move 6BW per turn while they are pulled by a horse-team or 2BW by hand. They take 1 turn to unlimber or limber-up and cannot move in the same turn. Short range is 4BW, long is 20BW. They roll 2 dice per gun at Long range and 3 dice at Short. Heavy Guns: are fixed in position at the start of the battle and cannot move. Short range is 4BW, Long is 24 BW. They roll 3 dice per gun at any range but they can fire only on alternate turns (they are slow to re-load!). Take two smoke markers for each gun and leave one in place for the next turn to show the gun cannot fire.
Light Mortars and howitzers: May be moved like field guns. Long Range is 18BW. Light Mortars cannot fire at Short range (4BW). They roll only 2 dice per gun but they can fire over the heads of friendly troops who are more than 6BW from the target in line of fire. Horse Artillery: A Prussian innovation, using light guns but with gunners who had their own horses. This meant it was able to shoot from one position, then move quickly to another. It moves 8BW (like cavalry) or 4BW in any turn in which it shoots. A Prussian army can have only one of these guns. All guns can swivel in position up to 45 degrees but Heavy guns can’t do this if they have just fired. 2. Cavalry Cuirassiers: these were armoured Cavalry. They 8
move and fight like other Cavalry but roll a “saving throw” dice for any hit they take in a Cavalry vs Cavalry fight and ignore the hit for a 5 or 6. Dragoons: These were mounted troops who were also capable of fighting on foot on outpost duty but were not expected to do so during a battle. Dragoons were the most common type of Cavalry in this period. Light Cavalry: Fast-moving horsemen, including Hussars, Cossacks, Bosniaks and Mounted Freikorps, who could not fight other types of Cavalry face to face on equal terms. They move 10BW and roll 2D6 per company in a fight with other Light Cavalry or Skirmishers but only 1 dice in a fight against regular Infantry or any heavier cavalry. They are best used to threaten flanks, chase off any worn out troops or to raid the enemy baggage wagons. Cavalry Tactics Austrian Cavalry had the habit of firing their pistols or carbines before a fight, which had the effect of reducing the momentum of their attack and their effectiveness in the subsequent combat. Prussian Cavalry, by contrast, relied on a fierce charge and the shock of cold steel, which seems to have been a better tactic. So, in this advanced game, when Cavalry fight Cavalry: An Austrian Dragoon Squadron which has not fired before (remember, each company gets only 1 shot per game) shoots just before contact with the enemy (whether attacking or defending) unless a General is with them to order otherwise. Roll 1 dice per company, hitting only for 6s – any hits count towards the result of the fight). After firing they then hit only for 5 or 6 in the subsequent fight, even if attacking. A Prussian Cavalry Squadron which is attacking for the first time in a battle gets a “charge” bonus, hitting for 3,4,5,6 in the first round of a fight. Cavalry of other nationalities lacked a consistent tactical doctrine so, in this game, they neither shoot nor get any charge bonus.
3. Infantry Prussian Infantry Were noted for their ability to out-manoeuvre their opponents on the battlefield. So, in this game: They always win a tied dice-off for who moves first - AND They move 5BW (not 4) or 4BW if they carry out a manoeuvre. Infantry Fire Control Infantry must always make a special Fire Control test whenever advancing enemy first come within musketry range (8BW). Roll a dice (3rd class subtract 1 from their dice roll, 1st class add 2). A General leading the unit may do a re-roll. 5 or 6: The unit passes the test and is ready to deliver a tightly-controlled first volley. The first time the unit shoots it re-rolls any 1s or 2s. 3 or 4: The unit passes the test and shoots normally. 1 or 2: the unit fails the test, it opens fire uncontrollably and now hits only for 6s at any range. Note that this puts defenders at a slight disadvantage – so aggressive tactics are rewarded!
Platoon Fire: this was a special technique for keeping up a rolling fire along a battalion’s line. It was used by Prussian troops – they always roll one extra shooting dice per battalion. Light Infantry Skirmishers (Pandours, Freikorps, Jagers). First used by the Austrians, who fielded irregular troops from their Balkan possessions in this role. They proved so successful that other nations tried to raise their own equivalents. 9
Skirmishers operate in detachments of 4 companies, each with 3-4 figures to a base, with a gap between bases to show their loose formation - because of this, any troops shooting at them halve the number of their shooting dice. Skirmishers roll only 1 shooting dice per base, but hit for 5 or 6 at any range up to 8BW (10BW for rifle-armed Jagers). They can move 6BW or shoot AND move up to 4BW in the same turn and are not slowed or disordered by bad going or by an orders roll of 2. In a fight they roll only 1 dice per base so if they are attacked they take evasive action and get a free move of 1 dice x BW – so cavalry may still catch them! Other troops don't take a Panic test when they see Skirmishers running away – they expect this sort of behaviour from them! Infantry vs Cavalry Infantry who have passed a Fire Control test can usually be relied upon to beat off a frontal attack by Cavalry. But a battalion of Infantry can be ordered to form a defensive square if you think it is at risk of being attacked in its vulnerable flank or rear.
However, a square makes an easy target. Any troops shooting at it hit for 5 or 6 at any range.
In the basic game, troops always move as you wish, like chess pieces. In this advanced game, you must give orders to units before they move. To do this, say the order out loud (e.g. “Grenadiers advance to the right oblique”), point to where you want the unit to go (to show your opponent what you are trying to do) then roll a dice to see if your troops obey the order. Units in a Brigade organization (3-6 units) may be given a single order if they are all ordered to do the same thing (e.g. “Brigade advance”). An individual unit joined by a General always obeys, so you don’t need to roll a dice for it. Other troops must always roll a dice before moving: If it is a 1 they fail to move (orders can be misheard amidst the chaos of battle!). If it is a 2 and they are moving on a steep hill or making a manoeuvre they get Disordered. Rallying Cavalry: Only Cavalry of the same type (e.g. Dragoons) can be combined in a new unit. Rallying cannot take place within 8BW of the enemy. Wounded Generals: If a Brigade or Army Commander is wounded in action all of the troops under his command must halt for the rest of the current turn and minus 2 off any orders rolls in the following turn. After that a replacement General takes over.
Do this by rolling a dice to see if the order is obeyed (see 4. below) then moving the companies sideways to positions in front of and behind the Command company so as to form a solid block. A square can move only 2BW a turn. When shooting it counts one company per face of this “square”. It has no rear or flanks. Any Cavalry foolish enough to attack it count no overlaps and hit only for 6s in a fight. Infantry in square count 2 companies in a fight when attacked from any direction and hit for 4,5,6.
Troops risk their ranks becoming disordered by terrain or faulty manoeuvres (see 1 and 4, above). Show disorder by staggering a unit’s companies to make an irregular line. A disordered unit rolls only half the normal number of dice in a fight or when shooting. Disordered units who do not shoot may be ordered to re-form their ranks at the start of the 10
Move stage. If they pass the orders roll they can then do only a half-distance move.
Some wargamers like exactly evenly-matched sides and rulebooks often provide army lists to allow them to do this. We don’t have the space or inclination to do this here. In reality, opposing armies were never exactly equal but one side was rarely too much bigger than the other as an outnumbered General could usually refuse battle and march away. However, you might like to use the following simple points system to achieve a rough balance of forces on your tabletop battlefield: Infantry or Cavalry: 3 points per company (4 points if 1st class, 2 points if 3rd class). Artillery: 4 points for a Light Gun, 5 points for a Field Gun, 6 points for a Heavy Gun Each General: 5 points (in a big battle you might want to have one General for each Brigade of Infantry or Cavalry (3-6 units) as well as one Army Commander. An army should have roughly equal numbers of Battalions and Squadrons and no more than half as many guns as there are Battalions + Squadrons. This means (in terms of men) that our wargames armies have rather more than twice as many Infantry as Cavalry, which is typical for the period.
Work out the overall Army Strength (the total number of companies, guns and Generals) at the start of the battle and halve it to calculate the threshold for Victory or Defeat. To finish a big battle quickly reduce the threshold to 40% or less.
SOME FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE No wargames rules, however long and detailed, can ever hope to cover all the possible sets of circumstances that might occur on the tabletop battlefield. If a situation comes up that is not covered in these rules and you and your opponent can’t agree on how to play it, try not spoil the game by getting into a petty argument. Instead you should simply reduce it to a question of “Can I do something – Yes or No?” and roll dice to decide. Then leave it to discuss after the game and perhaps agree a “House Rule” for use in future. This sort of thing has exercised rules writers since the very beginnings of the wargaming hobby:
“There is not a piece of constructive legislation in the world...that we do not regard the more charitably for our efforts to get a right result from this apparently easy and puerile business of fighting with tin soldiers...” (H.G.Wells, 1913) Andy Callan Nottingham, England October 2021
WoFun Minis Prussian Army Collection
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