Warhammer Empire Tactics [PDF]

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HITCH HIKER’S GUIDE TO THE EMPIRE Don’t Panic! Second Edition.

By Sikko Boersma.

CONTENTS Introduction Acknowledgements

3 4

I. Preparing for Battle 1. Overview 2. Building an Army 3. Determining Generic Objectives 4. Anatomy of an Army

5 5 6 6 7

II. The First Element – Infantry 5. Overview 6. The Parent 7. The Detachment 8. The Battalion’s Formation 9. Employing a Screen 10. Infantry on the Offensive 11. The Infantry Battle Line

9 9 10 11 11 12 13 14

III. The Second Element – Cavalry 12. Overview 13. Heavy Cavalry 14. Light Cavalry 15. Cavalry Supporting the Defensive Battle Line 16. Cavalry Supporting the Offensive Battle Line

15 15 15 16 17

IV. The Third Element – Firepower and Magic 17. Overview 18. Artillery 19. Cannon 20. Mortars 21. A Note on Beards 22. Wizards 23. Missile Troops

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V. The Fourth Element – Flexible Units 24. Overview 25. Scouts 26. Flankers 27. Reserve 28. The Helblaster 29. Final Considerations on the Fourth Element

23

VI. Characters 30. Overview 31. Elector Count 32. Templar Grand Master 33. Captain 34. Warrior Priest 35. Master Engineer

27 27 27 28 28 29 29

VII. Fighting a Battle 36. Overview 37. Deployment 38. The Battle Plan 39. Choosing the Defensive or Offensive

30 30 30 31 32

Conclusion

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Appendix A: Example Army Lists

35

Appendix B: Example Battle Plans

39

23 23 24 24 25 26

18

19 20 20 21 21 22 22

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INTRODUCTION The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Empire first came into being as a starter’s guide – it was a brief essay covering basic tactics, followed by an introduction to painting and modelling. This first edition was circulated through Games Workshop’s online forums to what must have been at least a dozen people, and generated some very positive replies. This was what inspired me to re-write the Guide. I wanted it to become more comprehensive and better organized, but most of all I wanted it to inspire. What I never liked about the original Guide was that it simply put ready-made battle tactics before the reader, not putting nearly enough emphasis on a General’s personal development and style, because as we all know, no two Generals would ever do the exact same thing with the exact same army. A different approach was needed, and I had just had the good fortune of reading Clausewitz. His style and method fascinated me – a highly logical and systematic approach to a field of study that is considered by many to be the realm of brilliant minds, well beyond the reach of mere mortal understanding. When analysed and organised, however, we find that there are very simple and sensible structures to tactical decision making, that general principles can be defined and applied, and that even a relative layman can be a proficient commander if he uses his common sense. The object of the Guide then became to reveal and explore at least some of these principles, and show how they may be applied in practical terms. I do not doubt that many Generals will find my tactics impossible to work with, but I do believe – or at least hope – that even the most scarred veteran can look at his army after having read this Guide and point out his elements, state his generic objectives, determine whether he has applied the principle of Unity, and so on. It does not need to make him change anything, because most experienced Generals already do these things by instinct, but it might perhaps yield a better understanding of how and why his tactics and composition work. Although a lofty goal, a purely theoretical study would not make for very interesting reading. Worse yet, a fully comprehensive study would take one man a lifetime to complete. It was my great fortune then to come across the website Warhammer-Empire.com, a true gem of a community which also hosts a considerable library of tactical articles. Together with one of the site’s administrators and main contributors, mister Randy Atchley, or “Atchman”, the idea was born to use the Guide as a vehicle for that site’s articles. This would achieve several amazing things – first of all, it would allow the Guide to remain fairly loyal to its role as a theoretical study, leaving practical application mostly to in-depth articles. Second, by combining these articles into themed and printable compilations, people would be given the option to download and print a document which they could read in bed, in the train, or at work. While digital storage and distribution is a marvellous thing, most people still prefer a hard copy for the sake of quick and easy reference, and sheer ease on the eyeballs. This, then, is the product you have before you now. At the moment of writing this introduction, a first compilation of articles is being prepared, themed on the use of the Empire’s various characters (an area only very briefly explored by the Guide). Exactly what size and shape we will see in the future is as yet unclear, but with Warhammer-Empire.com’s steadily growing list of War Room articles, and possibly the inclusion of contributions from other sources, there is no doubt that there will be plenty of material to add over time.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many months ago, upon completing what turned out to be a rough draft of the Guide, I wondered if it would be a good idea to ask some people to proof-read before releasing the Guide to the general public. This proved to be a momentous decision, which shaped and reshaped the Guide dramatically. Not only did I receive more replies than I had ever dared hope for, they were astonishing in their keen observations and constructive criticisms. Having gathered the first batch of comments, I realized that the Guide was a long, long way from being finished. A lot has been changed since then and I now shudder to think of the marginal quality of the work that would be floating around out there – with my name on it! – if it hadn’t been for the remarkable contributions of the proof-readers. First and foremost among these, I must mention – in alphabetical order – Ralston Heath, James Tait, and David Toye. Their ceaseless dedication, but more especially, their sharp analyses and suggestions, have been invaluable contributions to this work. In order of reaction, Edric Kwong, Jason Kantwerg, Alexander Storch, Maurice van Selm, and Henrik Hoffström have all sent useful comments and suggestions at one point or another. All taken together, these fine people have ensured that the Guide is up to the highest standard one can achieve without a professional publishing company. Whatever faults and errors may remain are mine, and mine alone. I am also grateful for Randy Atchley’s immediate enthusiasm towards the idea of hosting the Guide on Warhammer-Empire.com and using it as a vehicle for later compilations of articles. While on the subject, I must not forget mister Bugman and the wonderful staff at said website for running the most enjoyable place for a General to take his boots off, have a seat by the fire, and discuss tactics with his peers over a good pint of ale. As it is the author’s prerogative to send his acknowledgements even to people who no-one knows, I must thank my good friend Dennis Ringersma, brutish Orc warlord extraordinaire, who has been giving my reds-and-blues a jolly good run for their money for longer than I care to remember. And last but not least, glory be Rick Priestly and the magnificent company which thrives on his brainchild, for taking fantasy wargames out of the dank, dark, smelly back-rooms of second-rate comic shops, and putting them on the shiny racks of professional stores. I owe you all a drink. ***

“The maximum use of force is in no way incompatible with the simultaneous use of intellect.” -- Carl von Clausewitz, On War.

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I. PREPARING FOR BATTLE 1. OVERVIEW The Empire is the largest, most powerful realm of man. It stretches from the seas of the West to the World’s Edge Mountains in the East, from the border with Kislev in the North to the Grey Mountains in the South. Within this enormous enclosure, there are great forests, mighty rivers, jagged mountains, rolling hills, and vast expanses of fertile land. Our magnificent realm is beset on all sides by every imaginable threat, whether this be the Greenskin hordes pushing at our mountain borders, the warped followers of Chaos invading from the North, Elven pirates raiding our shores and rivers, or vile Beastmen that breed within our very forests. Sometimes even our allies can turn foe, as the honour of Dwarves or Bretonnians can be easily slighted, and strife between the Electors and lesser nobles has more than once caused our own armies to come to blows with each other. Twenty-five hundred years of perpetual war have honed the Men of the Empire to deadly warriors, not so much by their individual skills, but by the refinement and genius of our tactics and strategy, transmitted through our schools and academies to the esteemed members of the officers’ corps. The Empire is among the most interesting, but by no means easiest armies to use. It offers the General plenty of opportunity to experiment: A wide variety of regiments can be chosen as Core units which means one could go for an all Cavalry army, or a mass of Infantry, or an exceptional amount of ranged firepower (although most players, including the author, frown upon this practise). However, we cannot often afford the luxury of tailoring our forces to one specific enemy, and therefore, we must strive to create a balanced army. This balance can be very hard to achieve in army selection, and even harder to properly use on the battlefield – there exists always the risk of going over-emphasizing one aspect of the army, which by rule weakens the others and results in loss. Many players call the Empire a “Jack of all trades, master of none” – there is certainly some truth to this, but a well-balanced army has an incredible advantage over the specialized enemy in that it can adapt its tactics at will to exploit whichever weakness the opponent shows. A balanced army, therefore, must not only include a well-rounded selection of units, but must be led intelligently and with determination if it is to be successful. In terms of composition, the balanced army relies on an infantry line first and foremost. Fortunately, the Empire has the best infantry in the world, and there are a number of accepted tactics and formations to use them well, which will be explained here in detail. Second, artillery is a critical factor, as it is used to “level the playing field” for the troops. Again the Empire excels here with its Great Cannon. Third, to finally rout and destroy the enemy, we will use heavy Cavalry, amply provided for by the grand Knightly Orders. A selection of support units will operate to assist our main units and disrupt the enemy army while the battle plan unfolds. As we shall see, the balanced army plays on the strengths of the Empire, and seeks to direct them against the enemy’s weaknesses wherever possible. Before we go into any details however, we should establish a few basic principles of battle that will serve as a framework for the rest of this volume to expand on.

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2. BUILDING AN ARMY In order to do battle, we will first and foremost need two armies. As the enemy will supply one of these, half the work has already been done – all that remains is to select one of our own. Choosing an effective mix of units from the bewildering array of options in the Army Book may seem difficult, especially when the matter is complicated even more by the abundance of equipment pieces, magical weapons, shields, hats, rings, and other trinkets that appeal to the General’s fascination for shiny objects. In the following few chapters, we hope to show that the primary focus of building an army must be on recruiting units that together form an effective fighting force, and to provide them with adequate leadership and support. Enchanted bunny slippers are a distant second at best. There is a single supreme principle that must run like a thread – no, rather like a mooring cable – through the General’s mind while he builds an army. As we shall discuss in later chapters on fighting battles, this same cable runs straight through onto the battlefield itself, thereby linking the theoretical realm of army selection to the practical matter of combat. The smoother this cable runs, that is, the less it has to bend and curl to reach the final conclusion of the battle, the better our army will function. To the General, this cable provides a constant lead which he himself has laid out, and if it has been laid well, all he needs to do is follow it to achieve Victory. The cable we speak of is best summarized as the Principle of Unity. It must work on each level of the battle plan, from the single soldier to the army as a whole. Put simply, Unity means that single elements must pursue single objectives, and must be tailored to achieve these as effectively as possible. These objectives must in turn be united in the pursuit of larger ones, all the way up to Victory. It follows, then, that the first requirement for constructing an element is an objective – otherwise we would not know where to begin. A common failure of the young General is to build individual units in a haphazard, ad-hoc manner, and end up taking to the field with a collection of bits and pieces barely resembling an army between them, lacking cohesion and purpose, forcing the General to improvise some kind of plan from scratch every turn. If we start by identifying our objectives, we can then appoint elements of our army to achieve them, and subsequently construct these elements from units that will support each other internally.

3. DETERMINING GENERIC OBJECTIVES We shall first point out that the objectives mentioned in this chapter are generic objectives. It is assumed that we are not certain what the enemy is going to field, what his tactics will be, how the terrain will be laid out, and so on. Once we are on the field and have a fair degree of certainty in these matters, we will translate these generic objectives into practical ones, which will form our actual battle plan. If we have any prior knowledge of the battle we are about to fight, it may even be possible to determine practical objectives beforehand, but these will be dealt with in the chapters on fighting a battle. In determining objectives, we start out with the objective of the army as a whole. Put in the simplest of terms, our army’s objective is to defeat the enemy. In nine out of ten cases, the best means to achieve this objective is to destroy as much of the enemy army as possible in combat. This gives us a solid – if somewhat broad – goal to achieve. We can now break this down into subdivisions, which will form the objectives for our army’s elements. Once again 6

we ask the reader to keep in mind that these objectives pertain to a balanced, flexible army – armies dedicated to one particular fighting style may well use a very different set of objectives. 1. To engage the bulk of the enemy’s units in combat and win. While it may seem terribly straightforward, this objective is the best way to facilitate the final objective of the army as a whole, and must never be overlooked or downplayed for its simplicity. The element we assign to achieve this objective must be large and capable of successfully engaging a wide array of enemy units, because we cannot be completely certain what the bulk of his army will consist of. It should be able to operate offensively as well as defensively. 2. To strike at an inviting part of the enemy army, causing serious disruption, serious destruction, or both. This objective also has the advantage of being quite widely applicable – the vast majority of enemy armies will feature one or more parts that invite a powerful blow. This part may either be “soft”, that is, weak and poorly supported, so that our shock element can smash through it with ease and cause serious disruption, or it can be “hard”, featuring a formidable element, the defeat of which will amount to serious destruction (and probably disruption as well). An element created to achieve this objective must have powerful offensive capabilities. The flank of the enemy army, if it can be turned, is always an inviting target. 3. To support the completion of objectives #1 and #2 by reducing or neutralizing enemy units which threaten it. As the enemy is probably not about to let us just have our way with our objectives, it is reasonable to assume that he will use his own troops to try and thwart our plans. It is therefore wise to include support units that can reduce or neutralize whatever obstacle is put in our path. Destruction is not necessarily a part of this; there are a great many ways of preventing an enemy element from interfering with our business other than smashing it by brute force – we could also stop it from manoeuvring into an effective position, or distract it away from our vital elements. Enemy support units such as artillery or Wizards may also fall into the category of threats. 4. To support all operations of the army in a flexible way. This is the most vaguely defined of the generic objectives, but is intended to give the General a tactical “wildcard” that he can play in a variety of roles, some of which may have been previously unforeseen. To label this element a “reserve” would be wrong – while the army reserve would certainly fall into this element, it is not so vice-versa, because supporting units of this category may as well be used in a primary combat role. Mobility and flexibility are prized characteristics for units in this type of role, whereas general combat effectiveness is more valuable for units in reserve.

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4. ANATOMY OF AN ARMY Having determined four basic objectives for our army’s elements to achieve – in order to reach the end goal, that is, Victory – we can now take a look at which units we can use, and in what disposition. To avoid any confusion in the rest of this volume, we will first establish a vocabulary for the various blocks of which an army is built. -

-

-

The Army is the whole of our force – everything we field that is under our command is considered part of the Army. Elements are broad categories within the army that serve roughly the same purpose. Elements should be established based on the predetermined sub-objectives of the army. Most elements consist of several units, but it is possible even for a single unit to have such a unique purpose that it must be considered an element on its own. Battalions, Forces or Groups are combinations of two or more units that operate together – they are directly linked on the battlefield to provide mutual support, and should be assigned single practical objectives so that they remain together. While predetermined battalions or forces generally work best, it is possible to create them adhoc, depending on the circumstances at hand. Units are the smallest parts of an army: They are the indivisible formations we choose from the Army List: Regiments of infantry, companies of cavalry, a gun and its crew, and so on.

Schematically, an Army is built up as follows:

Army

Elements

Battalions / Forces / Groups

Units

We can now look at each of the four objectives from the previous chapter, and identify which units would best fill out our elements, and whether or not they should be combined into battalions, forces or groups for their purpose.

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II. THE FIRST ELEMENT - INFANTRY 5. OVERVIEW Infantry forms the backbone of the Empire army. Large and effective Imperial regiments, supported by their Detachments will usually eat other armies’ units for breakfast. As Empire infantry is quite cheap, we will outnumber most enemy armies, with the exception of dedicated horde armies like Greenskins or the Skaven. These numbers, combined with smooth, disciplined and reliable tactics, make the foot soldiers of the Empire a lethal and versatile fighting force, and therefore an excellent choice to achieve our first objective: To engage the bulk of the enemy’s units in combat and win. The governing principle of tactical victory in a mêlée is to win by a margin large enough to rout the enemy. It is important to recognize that combats are not won or lost by casualties – they are lost by combat resolution points. Causing casualties is only one way to gather these points, but not nearly the most effective or reliable. Rather than the crude expedient of force, the Empire Detachment rules allow our infantry to gather points and sway combat wildly in our favour before even a single blow is struck: By denying the enemy his rank bonus, capitalizing our own, and adding the benefits of flank- or rear charges, all that remains is to keep the number of our casualties in check, rather than go to extreme lengths and try to kill as many of the foe as possible. These principles must be kept in mind at all times when considering Empire infantry. It follows that an effective infantry fighting formation (referred to as a battalion) must consist of a large and resilient Parent regiment, and an effective combat Detachment. The Parent is the element that supplies the points by which we will win the combat: That is, our rank bonus, and the regimental standard. In order to ensure that these points are available in combat, it is more important that our Parent survives rather than kills. Our Detachment must seize the enemy flank or rear, thereby denying the unit its rank bonus, and gaining us further points for flanking, and probably for outnumbering as well. In order to achieve this, we should strive to create one of the following scenarios: 1. Our Parent charges the enemy front, and the Detachment makes a supporting charge to the unit’s flank, or vice-versa. This is obviously the most advantageous scenario as it allows both our units to strike first, reducing the number of casualties the enemy can cause us, and offsetting them with the casualties we cause him. 2. The enemy charges our Parent, and the Detachment makes a counter-charge into its flank. In this scenario, our Detachment will strike first, followed by the enemy, and finally our Parent. While not as effective as the first scenario, it still offers us a considerable advantage and a good chance of routing the enemy in the first round of combat. This is probably the most oft-encountered scenario. 3. The enemy pursues or overruns into our Detachment, and the Parent charges its flank during our own turn. This is a tricky manoeuvre, and the least advantageous of the three as it means the main force of the enemy’s charge will be projected onto our Detachment. Although we are still likely to win the combat, it is doubtful that the Detachment will survive in sufficient shape to be effective later on. Furthermore, the 9

cluttered formations that result may well take up to two turns to sort out, during which time the whole battalion is vulnerable. A scenario that must be avoided is one where the enemy manages to get a charge into our Detachment or Parent during our turn – which could happen as a result of pursuit or overrun. In this case, we will not be able to manoeuvre to support the charged unit until our next turn. One-on-one with a ranked enemy combat unit, an Empire regiment – let alone a Detachment – will have a hard time holding its ground.1

6. THE PARENT As stated before, the role of the Parent will be to survive and supply resolution points by ranks and standard. It should therefore consist of either Swordsmen or Spearmen. Swordsmen have a formidable 4+ armour save in close combat, and their increased Weapon Skill and Initiative values make them more effective against high-grade troops. Spearmen are less survivable on their own, but their reduced points value allows them to be fielded in larger numbers, preserving the regiment’s effectiveness. While the increased casualties will count negatively on our combat resolution, they can fight from two ranks – provided they are stationary – and make up for these themselves by causing additional casualties upon the enemy. One option often used is to equip Spearmen with shields, allowing them to use their hand weapons in combat and gain a 4+ armour save at the expense of the second rank fighting – this, however, makes them as expensive as Swordsmen without the added bonus of higher Weapon Skill and Initiative. Generally speaking, Swordsmen have a slight edge over Spearmen, especially when facing high-grade troops. In most combat situations though, the difference is negligible. The most effective unit formation for the Parent is in ranks of four wide, and at least four deep, but preferably five or six. As killing power is no primary consideration, the narrow frontage will be no handicap, but will save points that can be spent elsewhere. If the General is naturally more inclined to an aggressive disposition (which will be discussed in more depth in a later chapter), he is advised to enlarge his Parent regiments to 25-30 strong, which gives him more men in the fighting rank, as well as a greater ability to accept casualties without losing ranks. Greatswords deserve a special mention due to their unique characteristics. While hey are arguably the finest foot soldiers in the Empire arsenal, they are also the most expensive, take up a Special slot, and come with contradicting equipment and abilities. A General should therefore carefully weigh whether or not the Greatswords are worth their cost. In terms of equipment, they come with an impressive 4+ armour save, which can however be realized just as well by Swordsmen. Their superiority, then, lies in the weapon from which the unit takes its name – the Great Sword. In order to make the most of this, however, the General will have to ensure a wide fighting frontage – which translates into a large, and therefore expensive, unit – and the charge, because Great weapons will strike last under all other conditions. Although undoubtedly highly effective on the charge, this offensive-minded role contradicts the Greatswords’ expensive Stubborn ability, which is a defensive virtue. For this reason, 1

There has been some discussion on this issue: It can be argued that, as the enemy unit in question “counts as charging” during the enemy Movement phase (Rulebook p. 76 & 78), the Detachment would be able to countercharge as normal. Considering, however, that a counter-charge is most akin to a charge reaction rules-wise, and a charge reaction is specifically forbidden in the case of pursuit or overrun into a fresh enemy, we believe it wise to be on the safe side and not allow the counter-charge.

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many Generals take to the field with a small unit of Greatswords, intended to tie up an enemy regiment in combat long enough for help to arrive. However, if the General is aiming for such a “tar pit” unit, Flagellants might well be a better choice. Though they are only marginally less expensive than Greatswords, and significantly less well-equipped, they are both Unbreakable and Immune to Psychology, which means the only Flagellant who will yield his ground is a dead Flagellant. A unit of ten or more strong may be expected to keep any enemy unit tied up in combat for two turns at least, which should be more than enough time for the General to bring up reinforcements and make the most of the Flagellants’ sacrifice. For the rest of this Guide, however, we shall consider these two troop types no further; the aim being to demonstrate the workings of a systematically constructed army by means of clear examples, not by highly specific tactics such as the “tar pit”.

7. THE DETACHMENT The role of the combat Detachment is to seize the enemy unit’s flank and thereby deny it the benefit of ranks. Additionally, we will gain a bonus point for having a flank charge, and probably one for outnumbering as well. This means the combat Detachment will at least need to be of Unit Strength 5 and have a frontage of 4 models. To secure the odds further in our favour, we should use a unit of eight to ten models as Detachment, arranged in two ranks, so they may absorb some casualties before being rendered useless. In combat, the Detachment will usually strike first, and against the enemy flank where it should expect to face only common troops. To capitalize on this advantage, the most effective combat Detachments are made up of either Halberdiers or Free Company fighters, both of which have a considerable punch in combat provided they get the first strike.

8. THE BATTALION’S FORMATION In the field, our formation should look like this (P=Parent, D=Detachment, each letter represents one model):

PPPP PPPP PPPP DDDD PPPP DDDD PPPP

The enemy is assumed to be “above”. Make sure that the Detachment is never more than 3” from the Parent, and never more than a charge move (8” including wheel) from the Parent’s front. Also, place the Detachment so, that if a unit is fighting the Parent Regiment, more than half of the Detachment will be in the enemy’s flank arc (see Rulebook page 46, diagram C). This will allow the Detachment to make an independent flank charge if the Parent Regiment is 11

charged outside of the enemy Movement Phase (i.e. it’s swept in during the Magic phase, or pursues or overruns into the Parent during the Close Combat Phase). As a rule of thumb, if the Detachment’s front rank is on the same line as the Parent Regiment’s 3rd rank, and the Detachment is 1-2” to the side of its Parent, it will be in the enemy flank arc. Using this formation, we have ensured that most enemy infantry cannot charge the Detachment instead of the Parent unit, a vile and devious (but effective) anti-Empire tactic. However, fast units may be able to take up position outside of the Parent’s charge range and engage the Detachment instead, denying us all the benefits of the Detachment rules. The following chapter will deal with employing a screen to prevent just that.

9. EMPLOYING A SCREEN By using a screen, we hope to achieve three things: First, to be able to direct the path of enemy units so they end up where we want them, second, to soften up the enemy by missile fire from unobstructed positions, and third, to shield our main combat units from the attentions of enemy missile troops and magicians. To this end, we will deploy missile troops in front of our combat regiments. Their fire should be concentrated, preferably in tandem with the artillery, and focussed on disrupting the enemy to such a degree that our infantry battalions can engage his units one at a time. Common military sense tells us that missile troops will get slaughtered in close combat – but rather than move them out of the way once the enemy is near, we’ll leave them in place to be charged, so they may direct the enemy units straight into our waiting regiments. Good screening troops are either Handgunners or Archers. Handgunners are powerful and will cause quite some casualties on the enemy. They’re also a bit unwieldy as they cannot move and shoot (but they shouldn’t be moving much anyway). Archers, as Skirmishers, are more flexible but less powerful. Due to their skirmish formation however, we will need fewer models to screen our battalion. Both types of screen require a different set of tactics to be effective due to their different formations. There are several ways of using the screen to direct our enemy into an unfavourable position. For one, we may manoeuvre our combat units behind the screen to “catch” the enemy as they break through. This is not often practicable, as tactical circumstances may make it impossible to move an entire battle line sideways. A second option is to place a long line of formed troops (ie. Handgunners) at an angle before our combat units, so that the attacker’s free alignment wheel will put it on a course towards the front of our Parent unit. It is important to be keenly aware of the rules governing charge arcs, and the General is encouraged to study the Rulebook closely on this matter. The third option is to use skirmishers (ie. Archers) to move some distance ahead of the combat regiments; this forces the enemy to charge through them. When the General has judged the distance correctly, the enemy will not be able to redirect his charge into the combat Detachment, but must choose to either charge the Parent (and face a counter-charge by the Detachment) or accept a failed charge (and, hopefully, be left stranded within charge range of both the Parent and Detachment).2

2

Randy Atchley has written an article entitled Against the Skirmishers. As its endearingly straightforward title suggests, it deals with tactics to counter Skirmishers, but when using an Archer screen the General should know such tricks so that he may guard himself against them.

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A full battalion formation should now look like this (H=Handgunners, A=Archers):

A MMMMMMMM A PPPP PPPP PPPP DDDD PPPP DDDD PPPP

A A

A A

PPPP PPPP PPPP DDDD PPPP DDDD PPPP

Note that, as explained earlier, the Archer screen should move ahead of the combat units and manoeuvre to obstruct charge paths, while the Handgunner screen should wheel – or deploy at an angle at the start of the battle – to direct chargers into the Parent. In any case, the screen forces an oncoming enemy to choose between several evils, and an efficient screen will never allow the enemy to strike our line where it is weakest – that is, where the Detachments are.

10. INFANTRY ON THE OFFENSIVE So far we have focussed on using our infantry formation in a mainly defensive role. This is because the defensive offers us several distinct advantages, especially when facing an aggressive enemy, or one that outnumbers us. The advantage gained is mostly one of time: Time that can be spent disrupting the enemy advance with the battalions’ organic firepower, as well as the actions of various support elements, as will be discussed in later chapters. However, against an enemy that has adopted a defensive posture himself, it is imperative that we seize the offensive. It must be remembered that the infantry’s objective is to engage the bulk of the enemy’s units in combat and win. We will not be able to kill anything very well if we are sitting pretty on the other end of the battlefield, so we must bring the battle to him. While the offensive has some powerful inherent strengths (which will also be covered in specific chapters), an infantry assault is generally a risky and complicated undertaking which must be well thought-through and carried out with great resolve from the start. The first thing we will have to decide upon is what to do with our screen. As most defensive armies feature quite a sizeable amount of firepower, we would probably do best to continue using these troops as a screen, protecting our combat regiments from harm, and march them at full speed across the field. Archers are far preferable to Handgunners in this function, as Archers are harder to hit, can cover more ground, and can move more flexibly, allowing them to get out of our main units’ charge paths when we have advanced close enough (assuming some of the screening troops have survived the crossing). As our regiments close into charge range with the enemy, the tactic of keeping the Detachment slightly back from the Parent remains valid; the threatened enemy unit may be tempted to seize the initiative at this critical point and charge our main units, so we must ensure that our Detachments remain at a safe distance, while at the same time close enough to 13

seize the enemy flank if we get off a charge of our own. The Parent must therefore be positioned so that the targeted enemy unit can not charge the Detachment without clipping the front of the Parent – in effect, the Parent blocks the enemy’s path to the Detachment. At the same time it is crucial that no enemy support units remain to cover the enemy unit’s flank that our Detachment wishes to charge, and that there is enough room for the Detachment to manoeuvre. In a solid enemy line, such gaps must often be created by the ranged firepower of our artillery, or be smashed in by a charge of heavy cavalry. We will repeat again here that, for all the above reasons, an infantry assault must be carefully planned, and executed with supreme focus and resolve. The General’s single ambition must be to prepare the enemy army in such a way that his battalions can engage key units with the maximum possible advantage – even the slightest deviation from this purpose can spell doom.

11. THE INFANTRY BATTLE LINE We have earlier defined a basic infantry battalion that will cost roughly 300 points. Many armies pay the same for a single regiment! These formations are modular – to bolster the line one can simply purchase another battalion at around 300 points and place them side-by-side in the formation shown. We suggest at least 2 such formations in any army of 1,000 pts or more, which will be found most effective when operating closely side-by-side, in an infantry battle line, which will appear on the battlefield as such:

A A A A A A A MMMMMMMM PPPP PPPP PPPP DDDD PPPP DDDD PPPP

PPPP PPPP PPPP DDDD PPPP DDDD PPPP

This line can be mirrored – that is, with the combat Detachments to the left of their Parents instead of the right, but a General should not place Detachments side-by-side, as this will create a large, weak centre, which a cunning enemy will charge to render our entire line ineffective. In some cases, cover for Detachments can be provided by scenery in front of the battle line, such as a copse of forest or a building, but it should be noted that such a feature will also reduce the ability of battalions to support each other. Deployed in this way, our battalions will work together by covering each other’s flanks, and the missile screens can more easily concentrate their firepower. The outer flanks of the line can be secured either by scenery, the table edge, or by dedicated units such as a regiment of Greatswords. The approach route of the offensive element – which will be discussed next – can also be considered the anchor of a flank.

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III. THE SECOND ELEMENT CAVALRY 12. OVERVIEW The generic objective of our second element was defined as follows: To strike at an inviting part of the enemy army, causing serious disruption, serious destruction, or both. A powerful offensive shock force is required for this task, and none are more adept at it than the mounted forces of the Empire. Moreover, as hinted at in the previous chapter, the area in front of such a heavy assault force can be treated as “secure” – that is, either no enemy will dare enter it, or those that do will be destroyed there. This secure area can be projected so that it covers one flank of the infantry battle line, or any other area the General considers vital. In the Empire army we have a choice of two classes of Cavalry: Heavy and Light, or Knightly Orders and Pistoliers respectively.

13. HEAVY CAVALRY Heavy Cavalry forms the mailed fist of the Empire arsenal. It is much up to the General’s preference whether he chooses a company of lance-armed knights that make up most of the Orders, or a company of White Wolves, although tactical considerations weigh in as well. Both have their advantages and drawbacks, but the difference is slight. Regular knights provide a powerful blow on the charge and have a more substantial armour save of 1+, but it is imperative that they smash their foe in the first round of combat. Should they grind down in heavy opposition – or worse yet, face a charge themselves – their lances will be useless and although they still fight admirably with sword and shield, their great advantage has been lost. The White Wolves, swinging their mighty cavalry hammers, gain the same +2 strength bonus on the charge that lances would give them, but continue to provide +1 Strength in subsequent rounds of combat, which makes them more adept at fighting protracted combats, and even allows them to put up a considerable resistance against a charge. The price for this bonus is a mildly lower armour save of 2+. The White Wolves may, in light of previous chapters, seem to defy the principle of Unity – that is, their characteristics and equipment do not focus completely on their role as a shock force. But several other considerations must be looked at, which owe to the unique nature of Heavy Cavalry. First, it should be stated that White Wolves are nearly equally effective shock troops as their lance-armed counterparts. Their slightly lower save will only become an issue against enemy troops of strength 4 or above, but even so, if they get the charge there should not be much left capable of striking back at them. However, as we may expect our Heavy Cavalry to smash straight through their target (because this target will be well-chosen), they will most probably end up on the other side of the enemy’s line, and in his rear area. Unless our enemy is woefully unprepared, they will have to face his reserves there, which may well be able to get in a charge. It is in this situation that the White Wolves will prove superior to regular knights. But, having said all this, it should still be noted that the difference is marginal at best. 15

A word of caution is in order, because it is quite common to see Generals go overboard on their splendid company of Knights at excessive cost. Do not forget that, for all its power, this is still an element that functions in a support role to the battle line. A unit sized eight or ten is quite large enough for its purpose. A full command group, however, is invaluable because the Heavy Cavalry has at best only one rank to add to its combat resolution – any further points we can assure ourselves of are worth their weight in gold. The War Banner is therefore a sound choice, its extra +1 to combat resolution compensating further for its small size. When room allows, including a Captain to lead the company adds a significant amount of power to the unit’s assault potential. To make a final note on unit size for Heavy Cavalry, the “eight to ten” we propose here is intended as a generally useful number: Powerful enough to do whatever is asked of it, yet small enough to not cost an abominable amount of points. If a stricter tactical role is chosen, the General is well advised to in- or decrease the unit size to match. A unit of five or six strong is more than sufficient to attack the flank of an already engaged enemy regiment. Also, such a unit could very well attack an enemy regiment from the front if a second unit – of Light Cavalry, for instance – attacks the flank. Either way, a unit this small will not stand a chance against a fully ranked regiment of foot. For this, one would need a company of at least twelve strong, to ensure the bonuses of a rank and superior numbers in addition to a large number of fighting men in the front rank.

14. LIGHT CAVALRY The Light Cavalry of the Pistolier Corps is a uniquely powerful and versatile Empire unit. Being fast cavalry, they can manoeuvre and reform freely as far as their movement allows, shoot from the saddle (with no range or movement penalties, see the Pistol rules in the Rulebook, page 93), and their special “Fusillade” rule means each Pistolier can fire both his pistols in the first round of combat. For a unit of 5, of which the leader is equipped with a Repeater Pistol (a total 112 points), this means we have 11 s4 attacks with a -2 Armour Save on the charge, and another 6 s3 attacks from the horses and the leader’s sword. We will consider their use as a tactical reserve or harassment unit in later chapters. Pistoliers form a powerful complement to a company of Heavy Cavalry, as they can fill a role similar to that of Detachments to Parent Regiments. Knights can be expected to rout just about anything they charge, except for large blocks of infantry: Against these they will have a hard time beating the enemy bonuses for outnumbering and ranks. If a unit of Pistoliers charges in tandem with the knights, preferably engaging the enemy flank or rear, these bonuses will crumble and the enemy unit is most certainly doomed. The General should take care though, because cavalry tends to engage the enemy several turns before the infantry, and as such the enemy will be less softened up, have a more intact battle line, and may still feature substantial flank cover. This can make it hard to manoeuvre Pistoliers into an effective flanking position. Even so, simply adding them to a frontal charge adds a substantial amount of weight to the assault.

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15. CAVALRY SUPPORTING THE DEFENSIVE BATTLE LINE If the infantry battle line has adopted a defensive pose, the cavalry force’s first purpose may well be to cover a flank or other tactically important area, such as an approach route into our army’s rear area. However, its objective remains to strike at an inviting part of the enemy army, causing serious disruption, serious destruction, or both. Obviously, this “inviting part” may well be whichever enemy element threatens the area the cavalry covers at the start, but dramatic tactical developments can change the practical objectives during the course of a battle. Whatever the case may be, it would be a waste of points not to commit our cavalry to combat at some point during the battle. The cavalry force can support the main defensive line in one of several ways: They are listed below in chronological order, and as the window of opportunity for each passes, the General may need to reposition his cavalry to be ready to grasp the next. 1. Striking at the enemy well before the main forces join in combat. This is only useful if an exceptionally important enemy unit presents itself vulnerable during the opening moves. More often than not, this will be the result of a severe miscalculation on the part of the enemy. As most opponents do not make such monumental mistakes very often, the General should consider very carefully if his cavalry is not being led into a clever trap! If, however, such a rare opportunity presents itself, and no serious repercussions can be predicted, resolution must take precedence over caution, for to waste such a chance would be a greater shame than to waste one’s cavalry. 2. Striking at the enemy just before the main forces join combat. An effective tactic, a powerful blow just before combat is joined can throw the enemy severely off balance. Again, the aim should be to cause “serious disruption, serious destruction, or both”, and in such a way that it will benefit the main battle line. The main consideration when choosing a target is not so much whether it is “hard” or “soft”, but rather its position in relation to our battle line: Units that would prevent us from using our Detachments to full efficiency are primary targets. 3. Striking at the enemy when the main forces are in combat. This tactic serves best against an exceptionally resilient enemy, as in most cases our battle line should be able to repulse the main enemy assault within one round of combat. Alternatively, it may be so that the enemy has used a double line of assault troops, or by chance one or two regiments still hold out. Most of the time, at this point an assault will be required to turn the flank of the main enemy force, or to destroy an enemy element that threatens to turn our own. In any case, introducing a fresh force of cavalry against an enemy element in combat should cause quite some consternation. 4. Striking at the enemy when the main forces have fought in combat. There are two possible outcomes of the engagement between our battle line and the enemy’s bulk force: Victory or Defeat. If our line has been victorious, the cavalry can now charge in to smash what units the enemy may have left, or to run down and destroy units that have been repulsed by our line. If combat has not gone our way, it is now up to the cavalry to turn the tide by flank-charging enemy units that have broken through, preventing them from rampaging into our rear area or from (further) pursuing our broken regiments. Has the engagement been truly disastrous, the cavalry can only try to contain the damage by obtaining victory points and/or denying them to the enemy. In any of these situations, targets will need to be chosen ad-hoc based on a simple cost-versus-benefit consideration.

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16. CAVALRY SUPPORTING THE OFFENSIVE BATTLE LINE Much the same table as presented in the previous chapter can be used governing cavalry supporting an aggressive battle line. There is however one specific role to be added to item 2, “Striking at the enemy just before the main forces join combat”, which is unique to the offensive disposition. Just before battle is joined between the main forces, the cavalry may create a gap in the enemy line to be exploited by follow-up units. The basic idea is to use the heavy cavalry as a battering ram, smashing a hole through which other units can pour into the belly of the enemy army. Such follow-up units can perform a number of tasks once inside the enemy line, the most effective being flanking enemy main-line combat units, rampaging through the enemy rear area (ie. Hunting war machines, small units, characters), and chasing down enemy units that flee from our battle line. Most of these roles are self-explanatory, but we do urge the General to assign – or at least prioritize – targets before the breach is made. In the fury of an all-out charge, it is only too easy to become distracted and send units off chasing inferior target merely because they are weak and close by. Keep in mind always that the objective remains to strike at an inviting part of the enemy army, causing serious disruption, serious destruction, or both. This must also remain tied in with the primary objective of destroying the enemy force. Therefore, it would be unwise to ruthlessly hunt down an enemy baggage pony when, with a little thought and patience, an elite regiment could be caught and destroyed as it flees. In the role of follow-up unit, Pistoliers excel, and they may even be part of the cavalry force right until the breach is made. At that point, the General may decide to detach the Pistoliers and allow them to pursue objectives of their own. Skirmishing Archers can be useful hunters of war machines and lone characters, as their consistent movement value of 8” and flexible formation allows them to nimbly squeeze through the turmoil of hostile units in disarray that is bound to result from such a breach. A different type of follow-up to this breach can be achieved by linking the Cavalry’s role more directly to that of the battle line: If we can advance our main combat units into the gap created by the cavalry, the enemy will find himself engaging the bulk of our force in a very disadvantageous position, unable to let his units properly support each other or to bring his reserves to bear. However, a successful execution of such a manoeuvre requires a lot from the General commanding, and unless the terrain or the enemy disposition heavily favours this approach, it will be nearly impossible to make it practicable. Finally, the General may consider keeping his cavalry force behind the main line, which would allow them to follow up on any success gained by any part of the infantry force. As it is often uncertain exactly where our units will breach the enemy lines, the cavalry combine the mobility to strike where they are needed with the power to exploit a breach in no uncertain terms. The observant reader will notice that this is in fact a similar tactic to the breach-andexploit mentioned above, but now with the infantry creating the breach and the cavalry following up. It is more adaptable as the cavalry can race to wherever a breach is made, but it does expose the infantry units that do not cause a breach to great danger.

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IV. THE THIRD ELEMENT – FIREPOWER AND MAGIC 17. OVERVIEW The task put before our third element is to support the completion of objectives #1 and #2 by reducing or neutralizing enemy units which threaten it. “Units which threaten it” can come in many shapes and sizes. The most obvious are those that we wish to destroy with the first and second elements: Their ability to defend themselves threatens our efforts to destroy them. However, in most cases these targets will be easy pickings for the forces we send to engage them - if they are on their own. Breaking up the enemy’s ability to let one unit support the other is the prime task for the third element. Also, a degree of security for our main combat force can be provided by eliminating enemy support units. Such considerations work both ways – our third element should focus on destroying those units that support the targets of our first and second elements. At the same time, these first two elements should choose their targets based on the predicted ability of the third element to deprive them of support. This process of assigning practical objectives will be more closely examined in a later chapter. For now we will assume that the most probable threats to our first and second elements’ objectives are, in general order of importance: 1. Large monsters or small but exceptionally powerful units. These are concentrated bundles of raw destructive power that can cause immense damage if unleashed against our regular troops. They often possess superior mobility – and therefore, tactical flexibility – and are at their most dangerous when operating in tandem with regular forces. Their vulnerability is contained in their numbers, and we may need only to remove a few models in order to render the unit useless. This goes especially for monsters like Dragons, which are a single model and can be targeted and killed as such. 2. Units that cover the flanks of our first and second elements’ targets. In a long, solid battle line – such as one may encounter when fighting the Greenskins or the Skaven – these are often regiments of infantry. If the enemy army is smaller, flanks can be covered by mobile units like cavalry or chariots. Whatever the case, these units must be removed, so that our main combat force can engage its targets as they are isolated and exposed. 3. Enemy support units that are not part of the main fighting force. An enemy army often includes independent support elements much like our own. War machines are a prime example, but so are wizards, or forces designed to swing around our lines and threaten our flanks and rears. They threaten to cause disruption and destruction among our forces and should be neutralized. It must be noted that specific tactical circumstances can change this order – it is up to the General to determine which units pose the greatest threat to Victory, and target them as such. Units that will only become a threat in two or three turns may be ignored in favour of a unit that threatens our army now. However, the amount of time expended in neutralizing the threat 19

must of course also be taken into consideration. It is wise to spend some thought prioritizing targets before making one’s opening moves, but again, this will be discussed in a later chapter. The units required to make up the third element can now be chosen. They should be able to target enemy units from afar and inflict crippling damage on them in a short span of time. They should do so reliably, because much of our battle plan will revolve around our ability to remove threats, and a failure to do so will seriously reduce our options. Against units that use specific abilities or immunities to stay safe from destruction – like Wizards – we must deploy specific countermeasures.

18. ARTILLERY The first type of unit that springs to mind is artillery. Empire Great Cannon have superior range, firepower, and accuracy, making them ruthlessly effective against most of the threats we have defined. They can be relied on to destroy monsters in a single volley, to cripple small powerful units beyond repair, and even to cause sufficient mayhem on an infantry regiment to send it fleeing. Many generals will hesitate to advance their flanking force under our guns. Those that don not hesitate will find out why they should have. Cannon can remove specific threats with surgical precision. Mortars are a different story – they cause an explosion that is vast in scale but limited in power, and lacking in accuracy. Still, the sheer amount of carnage they can cause in an area where low toughness, low armour save troops are densely packed together is staggering. We consider Mortars to be an efficient complement to Cannon, but their use within the third element is fairly limited. The Helblaster is a unique piece of artillery that does not fit well into the categories we have defined beforehand, and it will therefore be discussed when we reach the “catch all” fourth element.

19. CANNON We should take a closer look at how to use these magnificent pieces of Dwarven ingenuity and Human development. Cannon are supreme support weapons because they can be used with a great deal of efficiency against a wide range of targets. Their ability to cause a Strength 10 hit and D6 Wounds – with no armour saves allowed – makes them the perfect tool to use against monsters, knights, and other units that usually find themselves protected by a high toughness value, high number of wounds, high armour save, or any combination of the three. Another key virtue of the Cannon is its accuracy: Provided our range guess is good, there is only a minor chance of the Cannon not hitting its target. Against massed formations, a successful cannon shot will rip through the ranks causing horrendous casualties. There are a number of technicalities to keep in mind when firing Cannon. First of all, two Cannon will do more damage than one. Not only that, but the chances of an all-important shot being neutralized by a fluke roll of the dice are reduced exponentially (as the chance of rolling two misfires is but a fraction of the chance of rolling one). When guessing the range to the intended target, attempt to aim about 8”-10” short, as the added distance of the powder charge 20

and the “bounce” may otherwise cause one to overshoot his target. Another advantage of using two Cannon in tandem is the ability to use two slightly different range guesses if we are not entirely certain of how far the target is: This technique is known as “bracketing” the target. Be sure to keep track of where each shot lands for use in future guesses. Guessing ranges is an important skill to master, and Generals are encouraged to practice this in any way they can.3 Finally, when firing against a large unit such as a regiment of infantry, do not aim as short as when the target is small. Even if one’s shot lands in the middle of a regiment, its bounce will cause tremendous carnage. Again, two Cannon cause twice the damage of one. The best way to deploy a battery of Cannon is together on one flank of our line – if possible, slightly back and on a hill so the main army protects them without obstructing their field of fire. Cannon shots that range diagonally across the enemy line are most likely to cause severe damage, possibly to more than one unit at a time. A clear line of sight to the most important enemy target is necessary to fire at full effect, but we may also exploit an enemy’s cautiousness by covering an important part of the field, so that he will hesitate to move his prize troops into the open. For the sake of security when we are unable to adequately protect a concentrated battery of guns – for instance, when the enemy uses several units of flyers or scouts – they can instead be deployed in between our infantry battalions. The General must take care not to deploy his guns in such a way that manoeuvres of the army will critically obstruct their fields of fire.

20. MORTARS The Mortar, as has been said, is quite different from the Cannon in its use. The lack of accuracy and power makes it practically useless against heavy units and monsters, but the scale of the explosion is lethal against light enemy troops. A range guess for the Mortar should anticipate that the shot may veer off up to 10”: Therefore, the General should aim into the centre of a dense concentration of light forces, so that even a badly deviated shot will hit a considerable amount of enemy troops. It should be clear that the Mortar is nearly useless against armies that consist of only a very few units, especially if these are heavily armoured. Using mortars en masse is a lethal tactic against horde armies (one only needs to imagine the effect of three or four 5” templates per turn on a Goblin army), but is also seriously frowned upon by the gaming community, including the author of this volume.

21. A NOTE ON BEARDS As the last comment of the previous chapter indicated, artillery opens up several possibilities of abuse, which is known as being “beardy”, “cheesy”, or “playing the rules, not the game”. Chief among these is the vulnerability of the range guess. The rules state clearly that the range from the weapon to the target must be guessed. In fact, this means that it is against the rules to use aids: Rulers “casually” dropped on the edge of the table, lots of unnecessary pointing, or the dreaded “air measure” where a general extends a ruler into the air, claiming he is not measuring a range on the table. Not only is this cheating, it is exceptionally poor sportsmanship which deserves only the utmost contempt.

3

Popular methods include tossing two coins on the floor and guessing the distance, or depriving yourself of coffee until you have accurately guessed the range to your cup.

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A similar abuse is “cannon sniping”, whereby the General exploits the targeting rules for Cannon by aligning them with characters they could not normally see. Deliberately over- or under-guessing the range, merely clipping the corner of a regiment so that the shot will bounce into a wizard hiding behind the battle line, and many more foul and devious ploys – all of them may not be technically cheating, but certainly demonstrate an incredible lack of spine, honour, and maturity. Generals ousted from gaming clubs or smacked across the back of the head and neck with a hard-cover copy of the rulebook on account of such mischievousness get what they deserve!

22. WIZARDS Within the balanced army, we shall only consider the Wizard as a support unit: The expenses required to wield a consistently effective, aggressive magic phase are far too great for our tastes. That is not to say we should do nothing but hire low-level mages and have them bring every Dispel Scroll they can carry: Merely that we should be economical in our efforts. For an army in the 1,000 – 1,500 points range, a Level 1 wizard with a couple of Dispel Scrolls will suffice. In such small engagements, every point truly counts. When we reach the 2,000 point mark, we will have more room to spread our wings and take a second Wizard of higher level, whom we may want to equip with a Power Stone so he can capitalize on his success if he manages to gain the upper hand in the magic phase. Do not expect wonders from Wizards, for they are fickle at the best of times, but be prepared to take good advantage of their fortunes when they do turn up.4

23. MISSILE TROOPS A further degree of support and security can be gained by fielding independent units of missile troops. These can augment the firepower of our artillery against large enemy regiments, or on their own take on small, light enemy units, such as fast cavalry that may try to run around our flanks. Arguably the best unit in this role would be Archers – their skirmish formation allows them to quickly shift positions if need be, and they can concentrate their firepower from a fairly small area, as opposed to Handgunners or Crossbowmen that would need to be in an extended line, unless a very convenient hill is available. As a word of caution, independent missile units are generally poor in combat and will leave a very obvious weak link in one’s battle line, unless backed by solid troops. Considering also that an independent unit will cause Panic when broken, we remain of the opinion that missile troops are best fielded as Detachments. Choosing a place to deploy these troops can be difficult, especially because of their weakness in combat. We refer the reader to our chapter on cavalry in a defensive line: The area of cover they provide can be used to protect a unit of missile troops as well as the flank of the infantry battle line. If terrain allows, one might also choose to have the missile troops garrison a terrain feature such as a building or other obstacle that provides them with protection from assault forces. Of course, they should be fielded with a sufficient field of fire to do their job.

4

For a far more exhaustive look at Wizards, we refer the reader to Randy Atchley’s excellent Magica article, which will also be reproduced in the first of our series of Companion compilations.

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V. THE FOURTH ELEMENT – FLEXIBLE UNITS 24. OVERVIEW To support all operations of the army in a flexible way. This is the task we have defined for our fourth and final element, and it can be interpreted very broadly – which is exactly the point. We can never know for certain what the enemy will field, what the terrain will be like, what unexpected moves or deployments we will face. In order to give our army a degree of flexibility to cope with such unforeseen events, we will include some “wildcards” – units that have no clear pre-determined objective, but that can be assigned a mission just before battle starts. They may even be assigned to bolster one of our regular elements if no specific task can be found for them. This means the principle of Unity is exceptionally hard to apply to units in the fourth element. Because of this uncertainty it would be unwise to invest heavily in a unit that may not even have an objective – they key virtues for a unit in the fourth element are therefore low points cost and a wide array of possible uses. On the other hand, there are a number of roles we can almost certainly expect will need to be filled, and units suited to them can easily be attached to one of the regular elements.

25. SCOUTS Scouts – or Huntsmen if you prefer – have the unique ability to set up very close to the enemy, in an area he considered safe during deployment, and to operate there with incredible ease of movement. Their small unit size (five is best, as a larger unit is harder to hide behind cover) and skirmish formation means they can nimbly make use of the cover provided by terrain, or even by enemy regiments, protecting them from harm as they move around in the heart of the enemy army. They are also cheap enough to sacrifice if a clear advantage can be gained by doing so. When deployment is over, there are several things we can do with our Huntsmen: 1. Place them somewhere inside or close to the enemy army to destroy a specific unit. The rather meagre combat capacity of Huntsmen means that such a unit will need to be very vulnerable – for instance a war machine’s crew, or a lone non-combat character like a Wizard. As the Huntsmen are equipped with Long Bows, they can also choose to engage such targets from a distance, which is often more wise than a headlong charge. 2. Place them somewhere inside or close to the enemy army to disrupt moves. This is commonly known as “march blocking” and is done by getting within 8” of an enemy unit, which may then no longer march. March blocking is only useful when it fits into the whole of the battle plan, but if done well, may prove absolutely invaluable. March blocking can force the enemy to either advance in part, or to advance at a much slower rate, and either way we will gain a significant advantage. This tactic is obviously not much use against a defensive enemy, or against Dwarfs. 23

3. Place them in a forward position to harass and distract the enemy. While five Long Bows may not seem like much, they can cause damage, and on very light or small units, this may actually prove quite effective. The enemy will need to choose to either accept this damage, or divert part of his force to hunt down a tiny unit. If we have chosen our position well, and have intended to disrupt the enemy army by sacrificing the scouts, we come out as the winner in either case. The best forward position is in a defendable terrain feature, preferably a building, which makes the Huntsmen hard to root out. 4. Use them to counter enemy scouts. If our scouts deploy last, and the enemy has managed to slip some of his own into a favourable position, we can use the Huntsmen as a counter-move and neutralize this threat, either by destroying them or keeping them pinned down for the duration of the battle. 5. Use them to bolster some part of our army. If no truly useful position for our scouts can be found, they can still be attached to a regular element and operate with them. Some role in rear-area security is most likely.

When using Huntsmen inside the enemy army, the General must always keep a close eye on them and make sure they do not move into harm’s way unless he wants to provoke a response for reasons of distraction. Huntsmen are exceptionally frail and prone to panic because they operate well beyond the General’s leadership – therefore, they should be expected to be destroyed if any serious amount of violence is projected upon them.

26. FLANKERS Another type of disruptive support tactic is flanking. This relies on a small, mobile force to attempt and get around the enemy’s main line and threaten his flank or rear. Such an effort must of course fit into the overall battle plan to be effective, and is a hazardous operation at best. Therefore, a contingency plan is crucial should the enemy decide to divert a unit or commit some reserves to counter the flankers. The General should prepare for the actual flanking mission to fail, in such a way that it will still yield a positive result, instead of a mere waste of troops. The possible uses for drawing an enemy unit from the main line, leaving it isolated and exposed, are manifold and often quite obvious when the tactics from previous chapters are considered. Pistoliers are arguably the best flanking unit. Being fast cavalry they can flee from a provoked charge and, if rallied, immediately reform and move back to safety – or even around the previous charger and into the enemy army. They also pack enough punch to take on targets in the enemy rear with a high chance of success, or to support a major combat from the flank or rear. Their main drawback is their relatively high cost and low armour save, which means a flanking operation with Pistoliers should be carried out with the utmost care.

27. RESERVE Keeping a unit in a safe position from where it can quickly move up to assist the main force is a highly useful support tactic. Reserves are not only a “failsafe” to plug gaps that may incidentally appear in the main force, but they can also be committed to turn the tide in a protracted fight, or to exploit a tactical victory. Additionally, they can be moved to counter 24

enemy flankers or units that manage to infiltrate our army and threaten the rear. A reserve unit should be able to put up a serious fight, and possess a reasonable mobility to get where it is needed. However, clever deployment may allow a reserve unit to be no more mobile than a regiment of infantry. Two units have a high use as reserves – Pistoliers and Free Company. Pistoliers combine mobility and hitting power, which often allows a single unit to cover the whole line including the flanks. Their effectiveness as a small unit and potent close-range firepower can prove highly useful in the often cramped conditions of the rear area in which they may operate. The main disadvantage in this role is their high usefulness in others, and the fact that they are a Special unit means we cannot field an abundance of them. The Free Companies – rough militia units recruited locally, often for a single battle – form a useful reserve option as well. For a minor points cost, one can field a full regiment of twenty models with a complete command group, and although they are too vulnerable to rely on as a main line unit, they should prove quite capable of holding their own for a turn or two until serious help can arrive from the main combat units. Unfortunately, such a large unit of infantry is somewhat unwieldy and will have problems when faced with small, nimble units such as enemy flankers or scouts. In favour of one large unit, several small ones may also be considered, as they are more manoeuvrable and can cover more ground. A third unit should be mentioned – Archers. While of little use in combat, they can prove very capable in hunting enemy flankers or scouts. Still, they will not be able to plug a breach of our main line by a serious enemy combat unit.

28. THE HELBLASTER Being a unique and versatile piece of artillery, we have decided to discuss it here rather than with the other guns of the Empire. The Helblaster has the potential to cause a huge amount of devastation, but being a war machine, is always at risk of blowing itself up without firing a single shot, and can be eliminated by enemy light troops or scouts with relatively little effort.5 However, what is possibly the Helblaster’s greatest power is the sheer terror it inspires in the Empire’s enemies. Many will go out of their way to avoid a Helblaster’s killing field, and it is in this role that a cunning General can use this weapon to deny the enemy an important area, such as an approach route to his army’s flank. The gun is, however, short ranged, and not nearly as effective at 12”-24” as it is within 12”, making thoughtful positioning critical. We do not overly encourage the use of the Helblaster as we believe there are ways to achieve the same results at a lower cost, for instance a unit of cavalry doubling as a flank guard, or the grapeshot fired by cannon if the enemy approach our artillery, or some Handgunners who will not misfire. One unique virtue of the Helblaster must be its effectiveness against Skirmishers, due to the number of hits on a target unit being determined by the roll of an Artillery die instead of a template; indeed, against armies in which Skirmishers proliferate – such as Beastmen – Helblasters may well be found worth their weight in gold.

5

Two crucial considerations which Lang omitted when making his admirable calculation that a Helblaster, on average, is worth 48 Handgunners in his Tactica Universalis. Handgunners, of course, are more resilient to enemy light troops, and do not blow themselves up.

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29. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE FOURTH ELEMENT We have discussed the nature of flexible units, and then went on to describe a wide range of possible uses. It is now prudent to return to what was said at the start of this section: Fourth element units are meant to be flexible, expendable, and cheap. Investing too much in support units draws away from the main elements, and as we have said, the fourth element is an auxiliary and is not capable of winning in an all-out combat situation. A General who would attempt to field units in order to fill each and every one of the above mentioned roles will find himself seriously lacking in first- and second element units, which are after all the bulk forces that need to win the battle. On another note, risky missions such as operating behind the enemy line, or flanking, should be undertaken only if there is a valuable objective to be achieved by doing so, and if the forces committed to the task can be spared from the main line. All such operations can fail miserably, and if there is no clear advantage to be gained, it is better to keep the forces as a reserve or to attach them to regular elements instead. Wasting soldiers only adds to the enemy’s victory points. It is imperative that the General carefully plan such special missions before committing any forces to them. Finally, the observant reader will have noticed that the noble Pistoliers have been mentioned quite a few times in these chapters. It is our conviction that no Empire army should take to the field without at least one unit of these fine troops – but where they are best used depends on the tactical specifics of the battle at hand. This may or may not be in a fourth element role.

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VI. CHARACTERS 30. OVERVIEW In a well-balanced army, you will find there is little need – or room – for heavily tooled-up characters. As we have stated from the beginning, we rely on troops and tactics to win the battle. In this philosophy, characters must only provide a form of support that augments these, and will therefore only be covered in brief.6 Characters bristling with magic weapons cost far too many points in the concept of the balanced army, let alone the horrible crime of committing an entire regiment to be a “transport unit” for some close-combat monster. A few simple examples of useful magic items are included with their relevant character entries: In general, we would simply like to say that, unless some prior knowledge justifies a highly specialized item, the simple ones work best. Also, we urge the General to take care in determining whether the benefit of a magic item could not more easily be attained by mundane equipment at a much lower points cost. Wizards have already been discussed in the section on the third element, so in this section we shall only look at command characters, and “exotic” characters. The special characters mentioned in the Army Book – Luthor Huss or Balthasar Gelt – are not covered, their unique nature and high cost making them unsuitable to the general nature of this work.

31. ELECTOR COUNT We follow the order of the Army Book, but the reader should note that an Elector Count may only be fielded in an army of 2,000 points or more. In an army this size, the Elector Count is an excellent choice for an army General. He is relatively cheap – especially when compared to other armies’ Lord characters – and quite capable of holding his own in combat. The place for the army general is in the dead centre of the infantry line. This is where his leadership will be most needed, because at a modest 7, our regiments are quite prone to panic if anything terribly frightening comes to pass. The Count’s main task will be to stay alive and provide leadership. In this function, protective magic items such as the Armour of Meteoric Iron and the prized Holy Relic are quite worth the investment. Please note that the latter makes an investment in magical armour superfluous. A mundane suit of full plate armour – possibly with a shield and the Helm of the Skaven Slayer – will be quite sufficient.7 Provided with sufficient protection, it would be wise to equip the Elector Count with a Great Weapon, so he gains a strength bonus in combat. Neither of these items is terribly expensive, and will prove quite effective against the enemy’s bulk forces (which the Count, after all, is supposed to fight from his position in the main battle line). 6

The War Room on Warhammer-Empire.com hosts several interesting articles on characters, a good place to start being Brian Scott Lang’s Characters section from his Tactica Universalis. The first Companion compilation to this Guide will include many of these articles. 7 A suit of full plate armour, a shield, and the Helm of the Skaven Slayer together cost 35 points, whereas the Armour of Meteoric Iron costs only 30 points and leaves both hands free to wield a great weapon. The former option, then, is only advised if the Armour of Meteoric Iron is already taken.

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32. TEMPLAR GRAND MASTER The Templar Grand Master is an expensive character, a Lord, and can only join a unit of Knights. This makes him quite unsuitable as a General in a balanced army, and therefore only a viable option in a force of 3,000 points or more, when two Lords can be chosen. As a matter of fact, at that level it may be better to include a Wizard Lord, which means we are considering 4,000-5,000 points armies before the Templar Grand Master can take the field. Suffice to say he is a very powerful commander for a company of knights – but in such grand battles, many other considerations come into play that we will not cover in this volume. Should the General desire a force that is mostly – or completely – composed of Heavy Cavalry, the Grand Master’s special rules make him the Lord of choice.

33. CAPTAIN Captains are excellent unit commanders, and Generals of choice in armies under 2,000 points. They provide enough close combat power to justify their cost – which is low, compared to other armies – and enhance leadership from a meagre 7 to a reliable 8. When used as a General, we will want to place our Captain in a central unit of infantry as described for the Elector Count. However, in an army of this size, investing in a Holy Relic and a full suit of armour would cost too many points – the Armour of Meteoric Iron offers the perfect solution, and leaves the Captain’s hands free to wield a Halberd or Great Weapon. When used as a unit commander, the first unit of choice would be a company of Heavy Cavalry. This unit must rely on combat power to break the enemy, and a Captain provides a perfect complement to the elite knights. He needs only to be equipped with full mundane armour and a suitably powerful weapon (either a Lance or a Great Weapon) to add three more powerful attacks to the unit’s front rank. Another highly efficient way to use a Captain is to mount him on a Pegasus, equipped with a full set of mundane armour and a Lance or Great Weapon. His exceptional speed and manoeuvrability allow him to quickly get into the enemy rear area and wreak havoc on war machines and lone characters; alternatively, he can provide an excellent complement to a cavalry force. However, the exact tactics for using a Pegasus-mounted Captain are diverse and specialized, and fall outside the scope of the Guide.8 In very large battles, Captains may be used to command infantry battalions on the outer wings, where they are beyond the General’s leadership. In a battle of over 2,000 points, one might also consider a Battle Standard, although the investment is quite big for a character that serves a negative purpose (we are not the ones supposed to be taking break tests).

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We gladly refer the reader to Atchman’s excellent Pegasus Tactica and Advanced Pegasus Tactica. In the future, both these works may be included in a Companion revolving around flyers – one which will surely feature Simon “Heimdall” Dent’s superb Griffon Tactica as well.

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34. WARRIOR PRIEST The Holy Warriors of Sigmar are devout, but not terribly efficient fighters, and cannot choose full plate armour as a mundane option. This, combined with their high points cost, makes them quite sub-standard when compared to Captains, unless we are completely sure we will face Chaos, Undead or Skaven. Their place is undoubtedly among the infantry, providing inspired leadership, Hatred, and some useful prayers when fighting the minions of evil. Another popular option is to have the Warrior Priest lead a unit of Pistoliers, allowing them to re-roll their “Fusillade” attacks due to Hatred. Due to the Warrior Priest’s specialized nature, he will not be further covered in this work.9

35. MASTER ENGINEER Master Engineers are interesting characters, and their ability to ensure a piece of artillery does not blow up can be useful – but once more, they are expensive and very limited in their use. Equipped with a Hochland Long Rifle they may be able to take out a unit champion, but chances are slim. Also, Murphy’s Law dictates we will most likely roll a “Misfire” on an artillery piece the Engineer did not join. Quite frankly, we consider Master Engineers to be a nice addition to a very large army, and a waste of points in anything else.10

9

He will, however, be covered quite extensively in two of the articles found in the first Companion compilation; namely, Atchley’s The Warrior Priest Tactica and the aforementioned Characters section from Lang’s Tactica Universalis. 10 Both Rufus Sparkfire’s Engineer Tactica and Lang’s Tactica Universalis agree with us that the Engineer does not produce a very favourable bang-for-buck ratio, on top of using a valuable character slot.

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VII. FIGHTING A BATTLE 36. OVERVIEW Having explored every element of the balanced army in excruciating detail, the time has now come to finally bring all the threads together and look at how the General can use all this information on the battlefield – even if just to prove that we have not been selling glaring nonsense. The most important aspect, which we will once again emphasize in this section, is the battle plan. From start to finish, the General must convert his generic objectives to practical ones in a well thought-out fashion, choose his targets with care, and find the correct balance between resolve and caution, between focus and flexibility, without falling prey to indecisiveness or rigidity. This section is probably the most involved, theoretical, and complicated of all. The reader should note that the chapters are presented in a convenient order, which is not necessarily the order in which they should be applied when battle is joined. All considerations offered below interact with each other, and the General must go through all of them before he puts a single unit into the field. In particular, the chapters deal with deployment and plan making, rather than specific in-battle tactics. We consider the latter to evolve naturally out of the starting dispositions of opposing armies, and from the lessons presented in the previous sections.

37. DEPLOYMENT The first stage of converting generic objectives to practical ones begins at deployment – as soon as we know what the terrain will be like. Several important decisions will need to be made this early on, and we will have to work with the results of those for the entire battle. When he can see the deployment zone, the General should ask himself the following questions: 1. What is the best place for my battle line? The main issues to consider are the most likely approach route of or towards the enemy (most often the largest stretch of clear field), security of the flanks (a table edge or scenery feature, keeping in mind that the second element can also secure a flank), and room to manoeuvre (again determined by the availability of clear field). In nine cases out of ten, this means the battle line will be set up facing the open field, with one flank anchored on the table edge or a scenery feature. 2. What is the best place for my cavalry force? This decision usually follows after the first has been made, because the second element will need to secure the open flank of the battle line. Further considerations may be the availability of secondary assault routes (as they may be separated by terrain), and the security of other elements (like the artillery positions). 3. What is the best place for my artillery? Artillery needs a wide and clear field of fire, which will allow it to support the operations of the first and second elements. Hills are worth their weight in gold here. Security of the position is another factor to carefully weigh, as artillery should preferably not be deployed in a vulnerable place. If there are truly no useful positions to be found, artillery pieces may be distributed among the main battle line (in between infantry battalions) to benefit from the protection of main 30

combat units. This will, however, compromise their effectiveness as it becomes harder to fire the guns in unison. Another protective placement for artillery is in a copse of woods, which will provide some protection from missile fire, and may well cut short the charge of flyers, at the expense of narrower fire arcs. 4. What is the best place for other missile units? Again, clear fields of fire are a consideration, but it should also be noted that independent missile units can provide security against light forces. This can be important if the security of the artillery position – or even that of the cavalry force – is compromised by disadvantageous terrain (most often in the form of obstructed lines of sight or manoeuvre). An independent missile unit can cover a concealed approach route as its sole objective. 5. Which options are open to my fourth element? It is usually best to hold these elements back until more insight has been gained into the enemy disposition, but a few ideas can be hatched this early, so the General can choose the best one after he has deployed his main forces. We refer the reader back to the section on the fourth element for details, because the starting position of these units must of course be determined by the mission they are assigned.

The most important decisions to make this early are 1 through 3: Some flexibility can be used at point 4, and even more so at point 5. Once committed, there can be no deviation from the deployment of the first, second and third elements: This would disrupt the unified nature of the elements and their interaction. While this rigidity may seem a disadvantage, the General will in fact find that it helps him focus on a simple and robust battle plan, to which he will grow ever more accustomed as he gains experience.

38. THE BATTLE PLAN Forming a battle plan has already begun for a large part during deployment, but when all the troops are on the table and the first turn begins, we need to fix our practical objectives and then move to achieve them. At this point we can base our battle plan on the terrain and the enemy disposition, which means that there should be few surprises. The first point of order is to analyze the enemy army: The General must attempt to place himself in his opponent’s shoes and think about how the army arrayed before him is intended to work. The best way to do this is to identify enemy elements and their purpose, and then pick out independent support units and possible wildcards. With the bewildering amount of variety possible in an enemy army, it would be folly to try and describe a step-by-step procedure for doing so: Common sense, experience, and knowledge of the army we face will prove invaluable. Be sure to have read the rules in the enemy Army Book at least once prior to battle. The general nature of the enemy army before us must be established – is it aggressive or defensive? Horde or elite? Troops or characters? The idea of a centre of gravity deserves attention here. The centre of gravity of an army is that part around which the main force is concentrated – the hinge of the army, the core, the heart, whatever one may call it. In many armies, this will be a single elite unit, commonly led by a character or the general himself, well equipped, and well supported. In horde armies, one may be able to identify two or even three of such concentrations of power. These are the “hard” parts of the enemy army that have been mentioned earlier, they are the solid supports that hold the entire force together. 31

Any attack against the enemy army must consider these “hard” and “soft” parts of the enemy army. The General must decide if he wishes to strike at the “soft” part, causing a breach of the enemy line and a rout of weaker units and support elements, or if he wishes to strike a powerful blow against the “hard” part, ripping the heart out of the enemy army and throwing all else in disarray. A great deal of practical considerations will determine which of the two will be more useful: We generally favour the latter. Also, the battlefield must be scrutinized and made absolutely clear. Which terrain is difficult and which isn’t? What counts as hard cover? Is the river impassable? Again, the variety in terrain is enormous, but both Generals will benefit from clarity on these points before battle commences. At the same time, one must identify primary and secondary approach routes (both ways), sorted by order of ease to use. Finally, the General must determine his fields of fire, those of the enemy, and any blind spots that may be left after deployment.

39. CHOOSING THE DEFENSIVE OR OFFENSIVE One of the first decisions we will have to make once battle is about to commence is whether our main effort will be offensive or defensive in nature. For the greater part this concerns the stance our infantry battle line will take, and from that follow the actions of our supporting elements. The choice of a stance will be determined mainly by the army opposing us – we are seeking a powerful decision by combat, and if the enemy will not come to us, we will come to him. Both methods have some characteristic pros and cons, and they must be weighed carefully before battle. The defensive is our favoured form of doing battle, because it has several inherent advantages that perfectly suit our army’s character. First of all, time is on the side of the defender: He can sit back and let the enemy come to him, which allows his artillery and missile troops to do their tasks quite leisurely. When battle is joined, therefore, the defenders will be fresh and in full fighting condition. The attackers, on the other hand, have made a mad dash across the field, into a withering hail of missile fire. The psychological effect of arriving at the decisive moment in battle with a damaged force while the enemy is still completely fit should not be underestimated, and can indeed be greater than the reality of the situation would justify. An insecure, timid commander, lacking confidence in his troops, or worse, in his own plan and his abilities, will soon buckle and start making mistakes. Many armies have fallen apart as their commanders panicked and frantically attempted to repair a battle line or improvise some sort of support element, while only a minor part of the actual fighting forces had suffered serious casualties. Moreover, severe damage caused to elite units – which are often the enemy General’s favourites – may well lead him to believe the battle is lost, even when his rank-and-file are still able to carry the day. While most opponents will not over-react in such a haphazard way, the pressure on the attacker is undoubtedly greater than that on the defender, and even the most weathered and confident general will find himself hard pressed to maintain focus. If we take the offensive, then, this is exactly what we should guard ourselves against. We must set clear and simple objectives for our forces and accept that they will suffer casualties getting there. The plan becomes of paramount importance, greater even than on the defensive, and we should pursue it boldly, energetically, and resolutely. Resolve is a virtue of far greater 32

value to the aggressive general than caution: Determination, focus, and confidence stem from it. By not allowing ourselves to be distracted, we also start to shake the confidence of our opponent – he does not see his adversary waver under stress, there is no hesitation in his moves, and he does not struggle to pull together some ad-hoc battalions while under enemy fire. There are few things as frightening as a general who does not doubt. An inherent advantage of the offensive, which is often mentioned, is that it has the initiative in battle. The attacker most often has the luxury of being able to choose his targets, whereas the defender can only accept what the enemy throws at him. Although many have stressed the potency of an aggressive force because it seizes the initiative, we do think it is often overrated, because the advantages of a well-chosen waiting position can quite easily outweigh those of the initiative, and because the defender has no excuse to be completely idle. In fact, as we have shown over the previous chapters, even a defensive force should include flexible and aggressive forces that can be used in a number of ways to strike powerful blows at the enemy, and to knock him off balance. We do not contradict that the initiative is an important virtue in itself – merely that it is not as exclusive to the offensive as is often suggested. Finally, the offensive en masse is much more likely to recover from failure than the defensive. The defensive General has his troops operating much closer to the table edge, and is therefore more likely to lose them completely once they are broken. Also, a defensive position relies on a carefully chosen formation, and unless a strong reserve has been kept back, it is often enough to break a single unit to cause a catastrophic breach of the line. The attacker, on the other hand, can rally and regroup his forces if they flee, and come back for another go: This time against a shaken enemy that has already fought off an assault, and may be in serious disarray. The temptation of pursuit may lead an ill-disciplined defender to break up his formations and expose the flanks of his units, or leave gaping holes in his main battle line. A rapid follow-up assault, possibly carried out by reserve forces chosen for just this purpose, will have little trouble keeping the enemy army off balance until the main force has regrouped.

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CONCLUSION At the end of the main body of the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Empire, it is our hope that we have achieved the objectives set before us in an efficient, clear, and concise way. While several appendices await the reader yet, these will only cover some general examples of how the tactical principles identified in this Guide can be applied practically – and again, we stress that this work is a theoretical one, with hard tactics offered only as examples. Specific areas of the Empire’s broad tactical spectrum will be explored in greater detail over the months – perchance, years? – to come, in the form of the aforementioned Companion compilations of articles. Generals are also greatly encouraged to take part in the lively discussions raging back and forth at various websites, and to read some of the wealth of articles available. Remember, knowledge is power. What has the Guide sought to achieve over the past Chapters? In the first section, we have established a general overview and vocabulary, a framework, so to speak, in which all the later sections could be put together. Following the outline given by the “Generic Objectives”, the second through fifth sections have shown how each abstract requirement can be met by an “Element”, hierarchically arranged in order of importance to the final objective, Victory. The most important idea we have tried to transmit throughout these sections is an inversion of the classical – and, in our opinion, flawed – way of selecting an army. Rather than haphazardly piecing individual units together, and devise a plan somewhere halfway along, we have demonstrated how a General may seek to build an army by following a generic outline of what any army must be able to accomplish, to choose his primary mode of doing so (his first element), and to select his supporting elements based on a solid idea of how the army will function in battle. The sixth section deals with the unique role of characters in an Empire army, and shows how the choice of characters is completely subordinate to the way the army as a whole functions. Finally, in the seventh section, we have laid down a few rough guidelines on how to make the most of one’s army once more is known about the nature of the battlefield and the disposition of the enemy. We have deliberately not carried on beyond deployment, as the scope for variation once the first die is rolled is enormous, and if we may cite an age-old maxim: Make a plan and stick to it. The constant process of evaluation and re-evaluation of situations in mid-battle would make excellent material for another mammoth work of theory, but it is our firm belief that a General who has built a solid army and chosen a solid plan should be able to achieve Victory without any dramatic battlefield adjustments. If this Guide achieves anything, we at least hope it is to cause Generals to think of their armies in a more abstract way before pouncing on the first opportunity to field anything with an above-average amount of shiny parts. No doubt, such ventures into the realm of theory will raise profound questions, which in turn will result in discussion, and then, answers. And if the Guide achieves nothing, then at least we will have elaborately and eloquently established how it doesn’t work. Whatever happens, we all come out on top!

-- Sikko Boersma

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APPENDIX A: EXAMPLE ARMY LISTS OVERVIEW In this Appendix, we seek to present to the reader a number of army lists composed according to the principles set forth in the main sections of this volume. Each of these will be accompanied by a brief explanation of the thought behind each selection, and some ideas of how the army might work in battle. The 2,000 point army presented here will be used in Appendix B to illustrate the example battle plans presented there. In all cases, the example army used will be the author’s personal Altdorf XIX, commanded by Baron Maximillian von Mauritz.

EXAMPLE ARMY – 1,500 POINTS

ALTDORF XIX Baron Maximillian von Mauritz – 84 Captain, Great Weapon, Armour of Meteoric Iron.

The General of this force is to take position at the head of the Iron Cross regiment, and as such can be expected to get in a fight. The Armour of Meteoric Iron should suffice in keeping him alive long enough to bring his Great Weapon to bear. Captain Marder of the Axe Men – 76 Captain, Full Plate Armour, Great Axe, Barded Warhorse.

This Captain will command the Knights of the Axe in battle, and is suitably equipped for the task – his Great Axe will not suffer from striking last as the company of Knights is supposed to charge rather than be charged. Even in a protracted fight, his plentiful armour should keep him safe. Ludwig Herrimacher of the Jade Order – 110 Battle Wizard (Heavens), Dispel Scroll x2.

This is a purely defensive wizard. Using the Lore of Beasts, he may be able to get off the occasional The Oxen Stands if things go awry, but we expect little of him except that he keep our prize units safe from destructive magic. First Company, Knights of the Axe – 261 7 White Wolves, Inner Circle, Full Command, War Banner.

This company forms the heavy shock force required for the Second Element of the army. In a battle of only 1,500 points, they are indeed a force to be reckoned with, and can demolish whatever we point them at.

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Bensel’s Banditos – 112 5 Pistoliers, Marksman with Repeater Pistol.

As has been stated many times over, the Pistolier Corps forms one of the most versatile light units in the Empire arsenal. Depending on the tactical circumstances we face, this squadron will either be assigned to the Knights to act as a support unit, stay behind the line to act as a reserve, or ride out ahead of the army to threaten the enemy flanks and rear. Iron Cross Rgt.– 148 (Battalion: 252) 19 Swordsmen, Standard Bearer, Musician.

Æ 8 Free Company – 40 Æ 8 Handgunners – 64 The first battalion of our line, the Iron Cross regiment and its Detachments are a powerful combat formation, even more so when joined by the Baron. They will most likely have the Steel Eagle battalion on one flank, and the heavy cavalry on the other, thus putting the General in the centre of the army where his leadership is most efficient. Steel Eagle Rgt. – 155 (Battalion: 259) 20 Swordsmen, Standard Bearer, Musician.

Æ 8 Free Company – 40 Æ 8 Handgunners – 64 Much the same applies to the Steel Eagle battalion as to the Iron Cross. Archers Auxiliary – 96 12 Archers – 96

This auxiliary unit is as flexible as the Pistoliers. Because they can skirmish, they can bring the full weight of their firepower to bear without having to form in a ridiculously long line, or being confined to a hill. They will most likely deploy behind the main army to provide security in the rear area, and to keep the flanks safe from enemy light units. Local Scouts – 50 5 Huntsmen – 50

Enough has been said about the usefulness of Huntsmen in a support role already – it is hard to find an instant where their ability to scout ahead of the main army cannot be put to good use. Von Kernkopf’s Battery – 200 2 Great Cannon – 200

The two Great Cannon provide a fearsome amount of long-ranged, accurate, and deadly firepower which will superbly augment our Handgunners, as well as be able to deal with lone threats like monsters or chariots.

TOTAL – 1500 Points

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EXAMPLE ARMY – 2,000 POINTS

ALTDORF XIX Baron Maximillian von Mauritz – 143 Elector Count, Great Weapon, Full Plate Armour, Holy Relic.

The configuration and role of the army General has remained largely the same, though the addition of the Holy Relic has made the Armour of Meteoric Iron redundant. With a 4+ Ward save on top of his regular armour, the Baron may expect to survive quite a good deal of punishment so he can continue to spread his all-important Leadership 9. Herbert Brennholtz of the Order of Fire – 145 Battle Wizard (Fire), Extra Level, Doomfire Ring, Dispel Scroll.

A more aggressively oriented Wizard has been added to the mix, so that we may be able to get a spell or two off every now and then. His Doomfire Ring should always be aimed at a weak enemy unit, so the enemy must either commit one or two dispel dice, or risk losing a few models every turn. Ludwig Herrimacher of the Jade Order – 110 Lvl 1 Heavens Wizard, Dispel Scroll, Dispel Scroll.

The basic defensive wizard is still around to protect our units from conjured harm. Captain Marder of the Knights of the Axe – 76 Captain, Full Plate Armour, Great Weapon, Armoured Warhorse.

Even in a battle this size, we do not deem it necessary to kit out our commander of the Knights to any further degree. His role in a shock unit does not necessitate it. First Company of the Knights of the Axe – 317 9 White Wolf knights, Inner Circle, Full Command, War Banner.

See earlier notes on the company of Knights. Bensel’s Banditos – 112 5 Pistoliers, Marksman with Repeater Pistol.

See earlier notes on the Pistoliers. Iron Cross Rgt.– 148 (Battalion: 236) 19 Swordsmen, Standard Bearer, Musician.

Æ 8 Free Company – 40 Æ 6 Archers – 48 Instead of Handgunners, the Swordsmen battalions are now screened by a unit of Archers which allows them to operate in a more aggressive way, and offers the General the opportunity to put more complicated plans of action into effect.

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Steel Eagle Rgt. – 165 (Battalion: 253) 20 Swordsmen, Full Command.

Æ 8 Free Company – 40 Æ 6 Archers – 48 See note above. Golden Lion Rgt. – 169 (273) 24 Spearmen, Full Command.

Æ 8 Free Company – 40 Æ 8 Handgunners – 64 To offset the aggressive nature of the Swordsmen battalions, the Spearmen battalion is of a defensive nature, allowing it to protect the artillery and form a strongpoint for the rest of the battle line to hinge around. Local Scouts – 60 6 Huntsmen – 60

See earlier notes on Huntsmen. Von Kernkopf’s Battery – 275 2 Great Cannon – 200 1 Mortar – 75

A Mortar has been added to the artillery, which will prove a powerful addition to the defensive position of the Golden Lion battalion, and can freely pivot to defend the big guns should an enemy light unit stray too close.

TOTAL – 2000 Points

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APPENDIX B: EXAMPLE BATTLE PLANS OVERVIEW Below, the reader will find a series of battle plans that can be carried out with the example armies presented in Appendix A. They show how the balanced army is quite capable of operating under any one of the generally known plans, offensive as well as defensive, and several more interesting plans are added to demonstrate that flexibility is an inherent quality of an army built and commanded along the lines of this Guide.11 Below you will find a key to the diagrams – please note that the Wizards and Huntsmen have been omitted, as their deployment depends on far too many individual factors to fit into a basic battle plan. Also, for ease of graphic representation, all missile screens are shown as a line, regardless of whether they are Handgunners or Archers.

11

Another very interesting plan – which is not included here because the author cannot verify its effectiveness from personal experience – is presented by Jewells Nagy in his article on The “Bowl” Defense.

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EXAMPLE BATTLE PLAN – DEFENSIVE LINE

A very simple plan, and effective only against highly aggressive armies, the Defensive Line is just that – a strong position in which we wait for the enemy to come to us. The Golden Lion battalion, our most powerful defenders, has been deployed to cover the guns on the flank near the table edge, supported by the Mortar. The Iron Cross battalion takes the centre to make the best use of the Baron’s leadership, and the Steel Eagles deploy the outer flank. The Knights have been positioned behind the Steel Eagles, angled outwards so they may cover the entire open flank of the battle line, with the Pistoliers in reserve.

EXAMPLE BATTLE PLAN – REFUSED FLANK

A classic defensive deployment, the Refused Flank is as transparent as it can be effective. It is generally reserved for fights against opponents that are vastly superior in numbers, or that have a high number of fast, offensive units, that can turn the flanks of a line by their sheer numbers. The Refused Flank in fact anchors both flanks of the battle line on the table edge, preferably around a hill for the artillery to deploy upon. The army’s Cavalry can either be kept within the circle to respond to any breakthrough, or, as shown in the diagram, it may be sent to assault the enemy and reduce the number and order of units reaching the position. Huntsmen and Pistoliers may be of special use in this plan to delay and distract the enemy, though under the circumstances they are likely to be destroyed unless a very good opportunity presents itself. Still, even if in sacrifice, such an action may buy our guns another turn or two to soften up the enemy before they reach our stronghold. A refused flank is often a desperate position, and one will find it hard to recover if any part of the perimeter is breached.

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EXAMPLE BATTLE PLAN – LEFT- OR RIGHT HOOK

The Left- or Right Hook – also known as the Flank Attack or Loaded Flank – is a very common and rather transparent tactic, which can be useful against certain enemy armies that have an obvious weakness on one flank, or which are ponderous and slow to respond. The advantage of this plan is that we need only commit the Cavalry element of our army to the attack, possibly backed up by a battalion of infantry, while keeping the rest in reserve to exploit a collapse of the enemy flank or hold the line should the attack fail. If the enemy has the speed to threaten our Cavalry thrust from the sides, however, the attack is practically doomed to fail. Generals are advised to use caution when committing themselves to a Hook.

EXAMPLE BATTLE PLAN – PINCER ATTACK

The Pincer Attack – or, as the Zulus called it, the Horns of the Bull – is in essence a dual Flank Attack. It is more complicated yet also more flexible. Each wing is formed by a unit of cavalry, with an infantry battalion moving up in support. The centre remains static with the artillery, putting firepower onto the centre of the enemy army while both his flanks are being threatened. This forces the enemy to respond in two directions, which may well overstretch his abilities. If necessary, the centre can advance in a later stage to prevent enemy centre units from outflanking either pincer, to cover a retreat if things go awry, or to assist in mopping up if the plan succeeds.

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EXAMPLE BATTLE PLAN – CENTRE ATTACK

The Centre Attack is an all-out aggressive plan and commits the entire army – except for the artillery, of course – to a headlong assault. It is useful only against a very defensive opponent who has a small number of units, or a clearly identifiable centre of gravity, or who is located in a powerful defensive position from which he will not stir. The plan revolves on getting one powerful shock unit to the enemy line safely, break through in one point, and exploit the gap immediately with a follow-up unit, hopefully causing a general rout of the enemy army. The Knights form the centre of this attack, flanked on both sides by an infantry battalion, and screened by their Archers. The Handgunners have no place in this attack and should remain behind to protect the guns. Directly behind the Knights advances the General’s battalion so he may use his leadership for as many units as possible, and behind them again the Pistoliers, who can rush to aid either flank. The formation must be kept tight and advance at the fastest pace of the infantry. Should the enemy be within fortifications, the point unit should be the General’s battalion rather than the Knights, because the Knights rely on their causing casualties to break the enemy, which they will find exceedingly hard if the enemy is well entrenched: The numbers and ranks of the infantry will count for more. The flanking battalions must first and foremost cover the flanks of the centre attack unit, and may open up charges of their own if the centre has been breached, to make the most of their success. The artillery should focus all the firepower it can on the unit that is to be the target of the assault, so that it will have the greatest chance of success. All things considered, a centre attack against a strong enemy position is a risky affair and usually has only one chance of success. Be advised that it is unlikely the General will be able to effectively manoeuvre his Detachments to aid the assault forces.

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EXAMPLE BATTLE PLAN – OBLIQUE ADVANCE

A cunning and highly recommended plan of battle, developed by Frederick the Great, the Oblique Advance combines a powerful offensive with a swing around one flank, without dividing the army up into two parts as would be needed for a left- or right hook. In the Oblique Advance, the same basic deployment is used as in the Defensive Line. Once underway, the anchored flank will not stir – it is there to act as a hinge for the entire battle line, and to ensure that the enemy flank opposing the Golden Lions cannot move to resist our flanking move. The Iron Crosses advance at a modest pace so their flank is still covered by the Golden Lions, while the Steel Eagles advance more briskly to cover the flank of the Knights, without exposing their own. The Knights, using their great speed, move to threaten the enemy flank – where regiments cannot turn for fear of exposing themselves to the Steel Eagles – and the Pistoliers dash around all the way to either support the Knights or threaten the enemy rear. Our artillery meanwhile should be concerning itself with any dangerous reserves, such as light cavalry, that might attempt to check our flank move, or enemy war machines that do the same from afar. The power of this plan lies in its relative simplicity, and a keen understanding of flanks. The threatened enemy units can hardly manoeuvre to defend themselves as they are being threatened on two sides, while the rest of the army cannot come to their aid due to our oblique position (which would in turn threaten the flanks of any enemy units attempting to reinforce). Any reinforcements the enemy moves behind his line will find themselves threatened by our Cavalry as much as the main regiments they have come to aid, and no matter how the enemy moves, there will always be a flank to turn, which will start a general rout of his units. Even if our flanking force fails in its mission, the Cavalry can retreat behind the infantry and regroup to at least prevent our own flank from being turned.12

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Atchley has written a superb article on Fredrick the Greats Oblique Attack, which goes into the matter a good deal more deeply.

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