During the combat phase, after a melee combat the attacking unit may be entitled to take ground and make a bonus melee combat.
Taking Ground
When an ordered infantry or cavalry unit attacks in melee combat and eliminates or forces the defending enemy unit or lone leader to retreat from the hex it occupies, the unit has conducted a successful melee combat. The victorious attacking unit may advance (move) onto that vacated hex.
This is referred to as taking ground.
- Taking Ground is never mandatory. It remains the attacking player’s choice.
- Taking Ground is subject to normal terrain movement restrictions.
- An infantry or cavalry unit that attacks a unit that declares it is going to retire and rally may take ground after the unit completes its retire and rally movement.
- An infantry or cavalry unit that attacks a leader alone in a hex may take ground after the leader retreats or is eliminated.
The following situations do not allow a unit to take ground:
- Ranged combat attacks never give the attacking unit the opportunity to take ground.
- An ordered artillery unit attacking in melee may not take ground.
- A defending unit that is battling back may not take ground.
- A defending unit that uses the First Strike or Ambush card against an attacking unit is not eligible to take ground.
Bonus Melee
An ordered infantry unit with an attached leader, a highland infantry unit or a cavalry unit after a successful melee combat that has taken ground (advanced onto the hex vacated by the enemy unit or leader) may make a bonus melee combat.
- A bonus melee action is optional. The unit, after a successful melee, is not forced to take ground and bonus melee.
- During a bonus melee the unit calculates its base number of dice, any additional dice and dice reductions in the same manner as when attacking in melee.
Note taking ground is counted as movement and will reduce an infantry unit’s melee dice by 1.
- If a unit does not take ground and move onto the vacant hex, it forfeits the opportunity to make a bonus melee, even if it is adjacent to other enemy units.
- The target of the bonus melee does not have to be the same enemy unit as the original unit that was attacked in melee, even if the original target is still adjacent.
- Terrain movement and combat restrictions apply to a bonus melee the same as they do to normal melee combat.
- A unit may only make one bonus melee on a turn.
- An attacking unit that eliminates or forces the enemy unit to retreat on its bonus melee, may take ground onto the vacated hex. Terrain restrictions still apply.
- A unit’s initial melee combat and bonus melee must all be completed before beginning the next unit’s combat.
- After a unit retires and rallies from a melee, the attacking unit may advance onto the vacated hex, but the attacking unit may not gain a bonus melee combat, even if the unit that retired and rallied is eliminated or failed its rally check.
Defending Unit Battle Back
The defending enemy unit may battle back against the attacking unit in melee, if one or more of the defending unit’s blocks survived the melee combat attack and the defending unit did not retreat from its hex. The attacking player’s unit, that conducted the initial attack, is now considered in a defending posture.
- During a melee battle back the unit calculates its base number, additional dice and dice reductions in the same manner as a normal melee.
- After the defending player’s battle back, the melee will stop; i.e. there is never any battle back against a battle back.
- A defending unit being attacked in melee by a number of enemy units in separate melee attacks, may battle back against each attacking unit. Each melee and battle back is resolved one unit at a time.
- If the defending unit is forced to retreat out of its original hex, it may not battle back, even if its retreat move places the unit in a hex that is still adjacent to the original attacking unit.
- If a defending unit that is unable to retreat from its hex, after taking block losses and passing its rally check, may battle back as long as it still has one or more blocks remaining.
- A defending unit that is battling back may not take ground, or make a bonus melee attack.
- A First Strike Command card or Ambush Combat card may not be played against a unit that is battling back.
- A unit that played a First Strike Command card or Ambush Combat card may not battle back.