Wargame Wednesdays - Russian Civil War Rules

These rules represent some quick and simple rules for doing basic engagements in the Russian Civil War. Rules for Aircraft and Tchankas have been developed, and even playtested, but are not included here because these rules are specifically being published to support an upcoming game, and only units in that scenario are being presented here. There is also a more complex version of these rules that have been run at conventions a number of times. Those (including about a dozen scenarios, and simple campaign rules) will be published here later on, or perhaps published through an online pdf publisher.  The Spanish-American War rules published here back in 2012 were based on an earlier version of these rules.

Figures and Battlefield

1. 15mm figures
2. Units are Infantry, Cavalry, Machinegun teams (MGs), Artillery, Tanks, and Armored Cars (A/C).
3. Infantry stands are 25mm square (or whatever is convenient).
4. MG and Artillery stands are 30-40mm square (or whatever is convenient).
5. Tanks and A/C units should be based on bases appropriate for the model.
6. Units should be organized by stands.
   • An infantry unit should have between 4 and 6 stands.
   • A cavalry unit should have between 4 and 6 stands
   • A Machine Gun unit should have 1 stand
   • An Artillery unit should have 1 stand
   • A Tank unit should have 1 stand
   • An A/C unit should have 1 stand
7. Each stand should have several figures mounted on it
   • An Infantry stand should have 3 figures
   • A Cavalry stand hould have 2 figures
   • A Machine Gun stand should have 1 MG and 2 crew members
   • An Artillery stand should have 1 gun and 2 crew members
   • A Tank stand should have 1 model
   • An A/C stand should have 1 model
8. The table top should be prepared before the battle.
   • The fighting space should have ample areas of cover (patches of trees; windbreaks; farmland walls; road escarpments), especially at the edge of the battlefield.
   • There should be several small built up areas, on a road network, in the central part of the battlefield.
   • Roads have no effect in the game, unless they pass through forest, then they permit full speed movement, and also artillery movement
   • Hills should not be so steep that they affect movement, only line of sight.

Game Setup

1. Each side should have 3 or more commands of troops.
2. Each command should have a handful of units.
3. Players dice for set up, high roller has the option of either setting up first, or of setting up second.
4. First player sets out one whole command, all units should be within six inches of another unit in the same command (this is only enforced at setup).
5. Second player follows with a command. This alternates until all brigades are set up.

Turn Sequence

1. Each side rolls 2d6 for initiative. High roller has the option of moving first or second.
2. If either side (or both sides) roll doubles, then they can nominate one unit on the other side that may not move, this turn. That unit may still fire, and test morale, etc, and may have to route - but it may not move voluntarily.
3. If the dice are a tie, roll again. If the dice are a tie, and both sides rolled doubles, than for that turn no units at all may move, but all units may fire.
4. The first player elects a command of his that may move. All units in that command that are not in the process of Routing may move. Players then alternate moving commands.
5. Infantry, MGs and Artillery move 6 inches per turn.
6. Tanks and A/Cs may choose to move up to 5d6 worth of inches. If three of a kind are rolled on any of the dice (three 5s; three 3s; etc) then the unit may not move at all that turn (mechanical problems).
7. Artillery, Cavalry, Tanks and A/Cs may not enter rough terrain (swamp, forest, etc). Infantry and MG units move half in rough terrain.
8. If an Artillery unit or MG unit move, they may not shoot.
9. An Infantry or Cavalry unit may charge the enemy.If this is the case, the unit gets +1d6 inches added to their basic move.
10. See charges and responses (below) to determine what happens during a charge, and how a unit may respond to being charged.
11. After all commands have moved then all artillery, tank, A/C and MG fire takes place, simultaneously.
12. After all artillery and MG fire is done, then all infantry fire takes place, simultaneously. Units charged may fire; charging units may not.
13. After all firing takes place, then fight hand to hand combat (see charges and responses, below).
14. Begin next turn.

Firing Sequence

1. Firing Ranges
   • Infantry may fire 12 inches
   • Cavalry may fire 6 inches
   • A/C may fire 18 inches
   • MG may fire 24 inches
   • Tank may fire 36 inches
   • Artillery may fire 48 inches
2. Infantry fire is done by rolling 1d6 per stand firing, and scores a hit on a 5 or 6.
3. Cavlry fire is done by rolling 1d6 per stand firing, and scores a hit on a 6 only.
4. MG fire is done by rolling 3d6 per crewman (there are 2 crewman per MG stand, initially), and score a hit on a 5 or 6.
5. A/C fire as an MG stand (but with shorter range) with 1 crewman (total of 3d6), but may fire at two separate target units (or twice at the same unit). They score a hit for each 5 or 6.
6. Artillery fire is done by first picking a target point, then rolling a drift dice and 1d6 (2d6 if over half range). If the drift dice indicates a hit, then good, otherwise drift the target point the amount rolled on the dice.Roll 1d6, and any unit within 1 inch of the landing point takes that many hits. It is possible for an artillery barrage to "drift" past the maximum range of the weapon.
7. Tank fire is as an MG stand (but with longer range), rolling a total of 6d6.
8. Infantry units under cover may be fired at, but receive a save of 4,5,6 per hit scored.
9. Units under cover may fire out of cover, if they are at he edge of that cover.
10. Hit Results
    • Infantry and Cavalry units that lose a stand must test morale. See below for procedure.
    • Tanks may roll a save vs. every hit they take. Roll 1d6, on a 4,5,6 the hit does not count.
    • A/C units may roll a save vs. every hit Except for Tank fire and Artillery fire. Roll 1d6, on a 4,5,6 the hit does not count.
    • For vehicles (Tank and A/C), on every turn the vehicle is hit it must test to see if it is destroyed. Roll 1d6, if the roll is less than or equal to the TOTAL number of hits the unit has suffered in the game so far, it is destroyed. Roll only once per turn, but count all hits suffered, from previous turns, and all the hits from this turn.
    • Each infantry stand can suffer three hits before being removed.
    • Each cavalry stand can suffer two hits before being removed.
    • Each MG stand can suffer two hits before being removed. After 1 hit, it can only move half speed.
    • Each Artillery stand can suffer two hits before being removed. After 1 hit, it cannot move, but may still pivot to fire.

Charge and Response

1. When a unit wishes to charge, before measuring the distance to the charger, roll 1d6 and add that many inches to the unit’s move.
2. If the unit has enough move to contact the enemy, then the charge is a success.
3. If the unit does not have enough move to contact the enemy, then it stops after moving as far as it can.
4. The charged unit may shoot during the Firing sequence part of the turn, but only at the charging unit.
5. The charging unit may not fire, even if it did not contact the enemy.
6. If the charging unit loses a stand, and then tests morale, it may fail (see below). If it does fail the morale test, then it does not make contact (but may be shot at by the charged unit).
7. If the charged unit gets to move after being contacted, and wants to evade, it moves away 1d6 inches. If the charging unit has enough remaining movement to catch it, then it is removed from the game. An evading unit may not fire or charge another unit.
8. If the charging unit makes contact, then both sides roll 1d6. The higher modified roll wins, the loser taking the difference in hits. The winning unit automatically takes 1 hit. The losing unit automatically routes (see below)The following modifiers affect the dice toss.
   • Charging unit gets +1 (not vs. MG, Tank, or A/C)
   • Cavalry unit gets +1
   • Larger unit gets +1
   • Unit defending earth works or in a building gets +1
   • Vehicles fighting Infantry get +1
   • Elite units get +1

Morale and Results

1. When a unit has to roll a morale test, roll 1d6, if it is Less than the number of stands remaining it passes.
2. If a unit fails morale, it has two choices, it can route, or take 1 full stand as casualties.
3. If a unit routes, move it 2d6" away from the enemy. It is marked as routing.
4. When a routing unit's command is activated in the turn sequence, then roll a morale test for the routing unit, if it passes, it recovers from routing, and may turn to face the enemy. If it fails, it continues routing (2d6").
5. Certain units may have Elite status, if so, add one to the number of stands they have before testing for morale.