Battalion Mass Counters

These counters are used to designate an Austrian line infantry unit that is in a square formation unique to the Austrian Army.

In 1807, Archduke Charles created the Battalion Masse (hereafter referred to as Battalion Mass). The Austrian line infantry was trained to form a solid square, which differed from the traditional hollow square. The solid square was a dense formation that could be formed quickly by closing the intervals between the companies and having the men on the sides and the rear turn to face outwards.

Note: In the interest of uniformity of play, the 1805 scenarios allow the Austrian player to form Battalion Mass with his Line Infantry units. Whatever advantage accrues to the Austrian player from the Battalion Mass is factored out in other ways.

When a player chooses to have an Austrian line infantry unit form Battalion Mass, the attacking cavalry player will not select a Command card at random from the hand of the player. Instead, a Battalion Mass counter is placed on the infantry unit’s hex to indicate the unit is in square. All other unit in square rules will still apply to the infantry unit in a Battalion Mass square.

The total number of Battalion Mass counters that may be used in a scenario at one time is limited to the number of Command cards the Austrian player has at the start of a battle.

Note: The infantry in square track and the numbered counters are still used to track all other Austrian infantry units (Light, Grenzer, Grenadier and Militia) that have formed square on the battlefield. See the core Infantry Square rules section for complete Forming Square and Combat details.