March Attack and Other Bits

Over the past couple of weeks I not only managed to finish off a four stand unit of irregular Cossacks but also had a great time playing a setoff rules called March Attack, by Crusader Publishing. This battle was pretty big and used most of my collection so far. Played on my standard 6' x 4' table using the mixed ground Cigar Box mat I really enjoy.

Saxon and French columns assault the Russian defenders.

My Russian Cossacks as well as some other minis I finished off recently :)

The rules worked out really well with divisions moving under various orders to capture objectives, defend objectives and otherwise lend support to each other. One aspect of the rules is that it allows for large battles at the battalion level - in other words your basic unit on the tabletop are battalions. The rules have an almost perfect balance between large scale grand tactics, and small scale battalion tactics - there are unit formations like column, line, and square that can be adopted.

Bloody fighting at a farm defended by the Russians. The small red dice are used to track current CV levels - the
combat value of units.

 All in all I really enjoyed the battle. It played very quickly and I caught on to the rules after only a couple of turns in. Granted, the rules seem confusing and look cumbersome but really they are not. The concepts are actually very easy to grasp and the rules are indeed well explained and written. Take note however, these rules may not be to every ones taste. There is no point system or army lists, and the rules do make use of written orders for divisions - which I really like and use with all my SOLO games anyway. They do force you to plan ahead and come up with a plan something I feel is critical in SOLO gaming.

The Russian defenders are reinforced!

I will be playing these rules again for sure. I do have to admit however, I am more of a fan of the gritty tactical level with BIG unit sizes - March Attack units are only two stands in size! SO no, these are not likely to become my go to set of rules at the moment. Yes, the quest continues. However, I must admit that I really am enjoying the Black Powder rules at the moment. Very fun and has some nice details.

The fighting was brutal but the French and Saxons managed to break the defenders after a long fight.

French under Davout assault the heights defended by a division of Russian grenadiers.

Russian and French columns about to collide.

Units in March Attack are two stands in size, allowing you to represent column, square, or line formations.