Charge

Charge: The Charge move is permitted only when melee contact is expected during some portion of the turn. When a unit moves a charge move it must move at normal speed on the following turn. Cavalry charges must be in a relatively straight line (up to a maximum of a 45 deg. curve is allowable). Victorious charging units must continue to move out the balance of their charge move, in the direction first indicated, providing they attained victory before melee or during the first round of melee.

Swiss/Landsknechte Pike Charge: Because of the reputation and ferocity of these troops, an enemy charged by Swiss or Landsknechte piker,.en (other than like troops) must roll two dice and consult the Loss Table, just as if they had suffered excess casualties. However, if the unit being attacked fails to score high enough it is not removed from play; rather, it retreats 1 1/2 moves, backs to the enemy, and must rally. If they are followed up by pikemen before they rally, the unit is totally eliminated. Note: The charging pike formation must be eligible to receive "mass shock" dice (at least 10 figures in 5 x 2 formation) in order to force enemy units to check morale.

Cavalry Charge: In order to withstand a charge by mounted men, the defending unit must check morale. Fear of the charge was usually more dangerous than the impact of the cavalry. Units that fail to score the required total retreat 1 1/2 moves, backs to the enemy, and must rally. If both units are charging, both must check morale, adding 1 to the dice score if Foot, and two to the dice score if Horse.

Defending Unit:	Attacking Unit Light	Attacking Unit Medium	Attacking Unit Heavy
Peasants	9	10	11
Light Foot, Levies	8	9	10
Heavy Foot	7	8	9
Elite Heavy Foot, Armored Foot	6	7	8
Light Horse	5	6	7
Medium Horse	4	5	6
Heavy Horse	3	4	5

Swiss and Landsknechte armed with pikes or pole arms facing the enemy automatically stand any charges.

Units charged in the flank deduct 1 from the dice score; units charged in the rear deduct 2 from the dice score.

Declaring Charges

During Step 1 of each turn (except for the first turn of any scenario), players can announce which of their units will charge during that turn. When declaring a charge, a player also indicates the enemy unit that will be the target of the charge. It is possible to declare charges by more than one unit against the same target in the same turn. For every charge declaration, the owning player receives a -2 modifier to his die roll for determining initiative (in Step 2).

If the situation on the battlefield makes it important to determine the order in which players determine charges, or the number of charges each side declares, then the players can agree to settle the issue in any way they desire. Some possible methods:

(1) The player who did not win initiative on the previous turn must make all of his charge declarations first. (This is the "default" method; see page 14.)

(2) The players roll dice, with the high roller getting the option of making his all of his charge declarations last or allowing his opponent to do so; or

(3) One of the two above methods is used for the first declaration, but thereafter players alternate declaring charges until one of them chooses to stop. The other player can then continue for as long as he desires.) (Remember that at this point in the turn, no one knows who will be moving first or second— and also, declaring a charge does not guarantee that the charge will actually take place, since the unit must still succeed on a charge initiation check later in the turn.)

A unit must be in good order to charge. A unit can only complete a charge successfully if there is at least one enemy unit in its charge range (see below), and the declared target unit must be visible to the front rank of the charging unit. (See the section on "Line of Sight," page 43.)

Once a unit has declared a charge, it is committed to following through on that charge, unless it fails a charge initiation check (which causes the charge to be negated or discontinued at that point). A charging unit can change facing, change frontage, or wheel into a different position before beginning its forward movement, so long as this preliminary movement does not cost more than 3" (see below under "Performing a Charge").

Charge Range

A unit's charge must be directed toward a target (enemy unit) that is located entirely or partially within the area in front of the charging unit, extending 45 degrees to either side of the direction the charging unit is facing (see the illustration above). In order for an enemy unit to be considered within range, the base of at least one figure of the target unit must be entirely within the charge range of one figure in the charging unit.

A charging unit receives a 50% bonus to its movement allowance; thus, a unit with a normal move of 12" could charge a target as far as 18" away, at the outer limit of the unit's charge range. At the other extreme, a unit's charge range does not include the space immediately in front of the unit up to half of its movement allowance away, or out to a distance of 6", whichever is less. Thus, a unit with a movement allowance of 6" cannot charge a target that is 3" or less away from it; a unit with a move of 12" or more cannot charge a target that is 6" or less distant. If a charging unit contacts an enemy unit before moving this minimum distance, combat still takes place—but the attacking unit receives none of the combat benefits for charging. (In terms of realism, this rule simulates the fact that across a relatively short distance, the charging unit does not have enough room to build up the momentum needed for a thunderous impact against the target unit.)

Performing a Charge

Most of the charges that a player performs with his units will occur during his movement step. Occasionally a player will have a chance to make an opportunity charge (see the following section) during his opponent's movement step. The basic procedure for all charges is the same, regardless of when they take place.

First, the player makes a charge initiation check for the unit attempting to charge. If the unit fails this check, it cannot charge at any time during the current turn. If the check is successful, the charge proceeds.

The charging unit is allowed to change frontage, change facing, or wheel before charging—at no movement cost. However, this preliminary maneuvering can involve no more than 3" of movement. (For example, a regular unit could make a right face turn for 2" and then change its frontage by 1 figure, or it could perform a 3" wheeling maneuver.) Then the charging unit must move in as straight a line as possible to the target. As stated above in the section on "Charge Range," it can move up to 1 1/2 times its movement allowance.

After the unit has succeeded on its charge initiation check and performed a preliminary maneuver (if desired), the player measures the distance to the target unit. If, after measuring, the player discovers that the target is not in charge range, his unit must still move forward 1 1/2 times its movement allowance— and the would-be charging unit automatically becomes shaken. (Unless you are very good at judging distances, it's best not to take chances on trying to charge an enemy unit that you think is on the very outer edge of your unit's charge range.)

When an enemy unit is struck by a charging unit (just as when struck by any unit moving normally), the enemy cannot change frontage or facing, nor can it move, for the remainder of the turn.

Any unit that is declared to be charging must do so, either in a normal charge or an opportunity charge (see the next section the player cannot change his mind later in the turn. If more than one enemy unit lies within a unit's charge range, and the enemy unit that had been designated as the target of a charge is allowed to move out of charge range, then another enemy unit within range must be charged instead. If all enemy units move out of charge range, the charging unit must still move forward (toward the designated target) and become shaken, just as if the owning player had underestimated the distance between the opposing units.

Terrain Effects on Charges

A unit can charge through an area of special terrain, if it is able to move through the type of terrain in question and if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The target unit is not located in special terrain.
2. The charging unit can pay the movement cost of getting through the special terrain and still have enough movement left (including its charge bonus) to contact the target.
3. The charging unit, when it emerges from the special terrain, is at least as far away from the target as its minimum charge range.

Penalties (to the player) for miscalculation or mismeasurement are assessed just as if the charging unit had been moving across clear, Hat terrain.

As noted earlier in the rules about performing a charge, a unit can cross an obstacle (fence, hedge, etc.) and still complete a charge, as long as the conditions given above are met. Note also that a unit attempting to cross an obstacle during a charge must make a successful charge initiation check in order to be able to proceed.

A unit cannot move uphill and charge in the same turn, even if it would have enough movement left after making the ascent to complete the charge. However, a unit can descend from a higher elevation to a lower one in the course of making a charge (unless the specific rules for a scenario dictate otherwise).

CHARGE

A regular unit or mob may Charge during its Movement Phase if it can reach an enemy unit to engage in melee at the end of its move. A charging unit may move 1 ½ its normal movement rate (this is called a "charge range"). At the end of the move, the charging unit must be in base-to-base contact with an enemy unit or figure, and it must attack that figure during the Melee Phase.

Skirmish units and individuals cannot charge. Their "charge range" for Discipline Checks is the same as their normal movement rate.

To charge, the unit must be able to move at least 2/3 its normal movement rate before it comes into base-to-base contact with its target. The last % of the charge distance must be in a straight line.

A unit may charge in open, closed, or mob formation. A regular unit that charges in closed formation gains a -1 bonus (minuses are advantageous) to its Attack Rating [8.3] for the Melee Phase in that Game Round only.

If the charging unit is in closed formation and consists of creatures of chaotic alignment or low intelligence, it must make a Discipline Check when charging. If the Discipline Check fails, the unit goes out of command and breaks into open formation during the charge. Except in this one instance, an out of command regular unit cannot charge.

If a charging unit runs into an enemy figure or figures that would be killed even if the charging unit does minimum possible damage, it Breaks Through. The enemy figures are immediately removed and the unit continues its charge. The charging unit does not need to eliminate an entire unit to break through; just those figures in its path. However, the charging unit must end its Melee Phase in base-to-base contact with another enemy figure or figures or suffer the penalty below.

If a unit in closed formation fails to end its charge in base-to-base contact with an enemy figure or figures, it breaks into open formation, but remains in command. If a unit in open or mob formation fails to end its charge in base-to-base contact with an enemy figure or figures, it suffers a -3 penalty to current morale for the remainder of the current Game Round.

Opportunity Charges

An opportunity charge is a charge performed by a player during his opponent's movement step in reaction to an enemy unit's movement. A unit can make an opportunity charge if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The charging unit has not yet moved during the current turn.
2. The target unit is about to move, has been moved, or has changed facing or frontage.
3. The opportunity charge is declared during or immediately after the target unit's move, before any other enemy unit is moved or reoriented.

Even if the above conditions are met, an infantry unit is not allowed to make an opportunity charge against a cavalry unit. (This reflects the reality that foot soldiers are not physically capable of intercepting and interrupting the movement of mounted troops.)

If an enemy unit has its move interrupted by an opportunity charge and the charge succeeds in contacting the target unit, then that unit cannot move any farther during the current turn.

A unit that has been designated to make an opportunity charge must make a charge initiation check. If no charge was declared for the unit during Step 1 of the turn, the unit's morale rating is modified by - 2 for the purpose of this check. If the check is failed, the unit does not charge and cannot charge during the rest of the current turn. If the check succeeds, the charge takes place.

If the enemy unit that triggers an opportunity charge was itself charging the unit making the opportunity charge, the two units meet halfway between the locations they occupied when the opportunity charge was declared. (If a player waits too long to declare an opportunity charge, he may discover that the target unit is too close to be within the charging unit's charge range. In this case, the two units still come together for combat, but only the enemy unit receives attack bonuses for charging.)