All units may engage in melee combat. A unit attacking an adjacent enemy unit is said to be engaging that enemy unit in melee. An adjacent enemy unit engaged in melee is always considered within range and in line of sight of their attacker.
A unit adjacent to an enemy unit may not use ranged combat against the adjacent enemy unit or target another enemy unit within fire range. The unit must melee combat the adjacent enemy unit if the unit chooses to combat.
Melee Combat Procedure
- Announce Melee Unit Combat
- Defending Unit Retire and Rally from Melee
- Determine Strength of Melee Combat
- Resolve Combat
- Score Hits
- Retreats and Rally Checks
- Additional Combat Actions; Taking Ground, Bonus Melee Attack
- Melee Battle Back: Defending unit’s battle back, apply hits, resolves retreats and rally checks
1. Announce Melee Unit Combat
Announce the ordered unit you want to melee and the enemy unit it is battling. The unit must be in an adjacent hex to the targeted enemy unit to engage in melee combat. Each melee combat is declared and resolved one ordered unit at a time, in the sequence of your choice. You must declare and resolve one unit’s melee combat entirely, including any additional combat actions, before beginning the next unit’s combat. Melee Combat by several friendly units against one enemy unit must be made and resolved one at a time.
2. Defending Unit Retire and Rally from Melee
All Cavalry units that are being attacked in melee combat may retire and rally instead of standing and possibly battling back. The player must announce that the cavalry unit being attacked is going to retire before the attacking unit rolls the unit’s melee dice. Game courtesy, requires the attacking player to ask if the cavalry unit being attacked would like to retire and rally. To retire and rally, a unit must be able to move back two hexes toward its side of the battlefield. Occupied hexes, impassable terrain and the edge of the battlefield may prevent a unit from retiring 2 hexes. If there are not two hexes for the unit to move back, the unit may not retire and rally.
A unit cannot Retire and Rally when an enemy unit is battling back or playing an Ambush or First Strike card. When the unit does not choose to retire and rally, or cannot, the melee is resolved normally.
When a unit declares it will retire and rally, the attacking unit rolls its melee combat dice, but only unit symbols will score a hit. All other symbols including flags are ignored. After hits are removed, the unit that declared it will retire and rally, is moved two hexes back towards its side of the battlefield. After the unit has moved, the unit must roll a rally check: see “Retire and Rally Check when attacked in melee” rules section.
- A unit that retires and rallies may move through terrain hexes that would normally stop movement, but not through impassable terrain or units.
- A unit without an attached leader may retire onto a hex that contains a lone friendly leader. The leader is immediately attached to that unit and the unit’s retire and rally movement stops. In this case a one hex retire and rally is possible.
- A unit, when it retires and rallies, may not battle back.
- After a unit retires and rallies, the attacking unit may advance onto the vacated hex. The attacking unit may not gain a bonus melee combat, even if the unit that retired and rallied is eliminated or fails its rally check.
3. Determine Strength of Melee Combat
The base number of battle dice rolled in a melee is the number in ( ). The number of block losses a unit has suffered does not affect the number of battle dice the unit rolls in melee combat. A unit with a single block retains the same combat strength as a unit at full strength.
Infantry Melee Combat
- An ordered grenadier infantry unit will melee combat at (3) dice.
- An ordered regular infantry unit will melee combat at (2) dice.
- An ordered highland infantry unit will combat at (2) dice and will also receive a Highland Battle Bonus of 1 additional die in melee when ordered and during a bonus melee combat. No Highland Battle Bonus when battling back or when using a First Strike or Ambush card.
- An ordered lowland unit will melee combat at (2) dice.
- An ordered militia unit will melee combat at (2) dice.
Cavalry Melee Combat
- An ordered battle cavalry unit will melee combat at (2) dice.
- An ordered light cavalry unit will melee combat at (2) dice.
Artillery Melee Combat
- An ordered trained artillery unit will melee combat at (2) dice.
- An ordered light artillery unit will melee combat at (2) dice.
Leader Melee Combat
- A leader may not engage in melee combat when alone in a hex.
The base number of melee dice is increased or reduced as follows:
- A full strength unit combats with 1 additional die.
- A leader attached to an infantry, cavalry and artillery unit, the unit rolls 1 additional die in melee combat.
- Add any Command card melee combat additions.
- Add any Combat card melee combat additions.
- Reduce the number of dice rolled in melee combat when an ordered infantry unit moves, its melee combat dice are reduced by 1 die.
- A cavalry unit’s melee battle dice are not reduced when it moves.
- Reduce the number of dice rolled in melee combat by any Terrain Modifiers melee combat reductions: see “Terrain” rules section.
Note - In combat, a good habit is to first add the number of dice to the base number and then determine any reductions.
4. Resolve Combat
Roll the resulting number of battle dice against the target unit; hits are resolved first, followed by retreats.
5. Score Hits
In melee combat, the attacker scores 1 hit for each unit symbol rolled that matches the enemy unit and 1 hit for each saber symbol rolled. A saber symbol normally scores 1 hit regardless of the unit type being targeted. Other symbols rolled are a miss.
Melee Combat Roll
- Score 1 hit on Infantry unit
- Score 1 hit on Cavalry unit
- Score 1 hit on Artillery unit
- Score 1 hit in melee on any unit. Militia infantry and light cavalry units do not score a hit when a saber is rolled in melee combat.
- A flag does not cause a hit, but may cause the unit to retreat
For each hit scored, 1 block is removed from the target unit.
When the last block in the opponent’s unit is removed, collect a Victory Banner. If a player rolls more hits than the number of blocks in the enemy unit, these additional hits have no effect.
Chance to Hit a Leader: When an enemy unit with an attached leader takes a hit in melee combat, the attached leader must make a leader casualty check: see “Leader Casualty Check” rules section.A leader when not attached to a unit (alone in a hex) may be attacked in melee: see “Leader Casualty Check” rule section.
6. Retreats and Rally Checks
A flag does not cause a hit, but may cause the unit to retreat: see “Retreat and Rally Check” rules section.
7. Additional Combat Actions
See “Additional Combat Actions, Taking Ground and Bonus Melee Attack” rule sections.
8. Melee Battle Back
The defending enemy unit may battle back against the attacking unit, if one or more of the defending unit’s blocks survived the melee combat 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: see “Additional Combat Actions, Battle Back” rules section.