March into Battle - Napoleonic

The March into Battle system portrays 19th century campaigns at a low operational level, with five turns per day and 1km per hex. This is a scale that is eminently suited to show the large scale maneuvering that allowed Napoleon to concentrate forces for battle through superior generalship. However, it is small enough in scale to be enjoyable and support historical grand tactics for battle resolution as well. The system is a variation of Hampton Newsome's At All Hazards system for the American Civil War.

The Napoleonic version of this system, also referred to as "Formations et Reglements pour Operations et Manoeuvres" (FROM) has been adapted to fit the peculiarities of that colourful era, incorporating concepts such as cavalry charges and more artillery detail.

Using mechanics that let armies and units behave in historical fashion but make it possible to play a multi-day battle in a couple of hours, this is an army commander's view of how to coduct a campaign or battle. Fatigue, morale, supply and command are as important as fighting prowess and sheer numbers. Formations are activated by chitpulls, showing the limits on coordination, and units not just take physical losses but will become ineffective from fatigue and disorder long before they run out of men - unless you, in command, can manage them effectively and maintain their edge over mutiple days of fighting.

Map scale: 1km per hex
Unit scale: divisions, 1000 men per strength point
Time scale: 3.5 hours per daylight turn, 8 hours per night turn

Link to Consimworld discussion topic.


FROM Game Projects (existing and planned)


FROM Rulebook (Beta)

FROM Rules: Rules 0.1.14 Beta (PDF).

FROM Charts: FROM Charts Beta (PDF).


Free Minigame - Battles of the Waterloo Campaign (Beta release)

These are currently three minigames (A4 maps) on Ligny, Quatre Bras, and La Belle Alliance. Wavre, hopefully, to follow. For time reasons A4 only at this point - sorry. Letter users need to work out how to print these with their printer settings.

All files (ZIP format). (now includes rules version 0.1.14, uploaded 15-07-09)

Full resolution maps (PDF): La Belle Alliance, Ligny, Quatre Bras.

Alternate Map Styles (PDF, provided by Edmund Hudson)

La Belle Alliance: DocD Style, Vinegar Style, Seville Style, Seville Deluxe, MST3K Style, Ellen Bee Style, GCNW Style.

Ligny: MST3K Style, Seville Style.

Quatre Bras: DocD Style, MST3K Style, Seville Style.

Errata for rules version 0.1.12: At La Belle Alliance, Perponcher sets up in 1922, not 1722. Perponcher can also set up using Extended Line (16.6) in 1922 and 2022. NL Light Cavalry can set up in 1722 at player's option. Vivian and Vandeleur's cavalry brigades can alternatively set up in 1922 at player's option.


Free Game - From Andujar to Bailen (Beta release)

In addition to the FROM rules and charts above, you will need the special rules for From Andujar to Bailen, as well as the maps, formation tracks, and the Spanish turn track. (The French turn track is already integrated into the map.) Note that at this point, the game can be played in five different ways:

From Andujar to Bailen Special Rules: Special Rules and Scenarios (PDF).

From Andujar to Bailen Cover Page (PDF). The remaining components are available in both A4/A3 and Letter size format to facilitate printing in the right size. It should be noted that this means that the Letter format maps are missing one hexrow each on the west and east map edge. However, this should not greatly affect play.


Counters - A4/A3 Sized

Note: you only need to download one of the three counter files.

Tracks, Maps - A4/A3 Sized

Note: the maps are formatted as A3 size. I cannot provide advice on how to print them on a specific printer.

Counters - Letter Sized

Note: you only need to download one of the three counter files.

Tracks, Maps - Letter Sized

Note: the maps are formatted as 11x17" size. I cannot provide advice on how to print them on a specific printer.

Markers for trackless play (used for Variant 2 and 4)

Safety Warning: I know that there are some gamers for whom any sort of off-map record is anathema, and who will grouch and complain about the offmap tracks. Personally, I use what works, and for this system, the tracks work very well. I think that for any but the smallest game, the extra clutter on the map by using the markers will be far worse than the at-a-glance-status report you can get from the track. However, for those who absolutely want no extra sheets, here are the markers required if you want instead to build bigger stacks on the map. All must be placed beneath the affected unit or leader.

Trackless markers (PDF Format): A4 format (PDF), Letter format (PDF).


Last modified 9.1.2013